Routine work that should not be manual.
WHAT TO AUTOMATE
Backups, and their verification Transfer of backups off the machine Removal of old backups Statistics updates, where not automatic Checking replication status Reporting on slow queries Monitoring growth
WHAT EVERY AUTOMATED TASK NEEDS
A log Failure detection Alerting
WHY BACKUP VERIFICATION SPECIFICALLY
A backup job reporting success while producing an empty file is common.
WHAT TO CHECK
That the file exists That its size is plausible That it is not dramatically smaller than yesterday
WHAT TO AUTOMATE PERIODICALLY RATHER THAN NIGHTLY
A full restore test.
WHY
It is expensive, and monthly is far better than never.
WHAT TO NEVER AUTOMATE WITHOUT CARE
Deletion of data Schema changes Anything that locks tables during business hours
WHAT TO SCHEDULE OFF-PEAK
Backups Large maintenance operations Reporting
HOW TO KNOW WHEN OFF-PEAK IS
Query volume by hour, recorded over a week.
WHAT TO DOCUMENT
What runs, when, and what it touches.
WHAT TO REVIEW
Whether each task is still needed.
