For those non-techies amongst us, a “DBA” is a data-base administrator, very much a “gate-keeper” in our case, tasked with the daily grind of ensuring our system (partfindermarine.com) is running optimally, that there are no unexpected system outages, and that no unwanted or dangerous visitors get into either the front-end of our site, or sneak in through the back door either.

Heaven or Hell PF blog

As you can probably imagine this is very much like a spell in the military with periods of repetitive mundane tasks interspersed with manic and seemingly uncontrollable reaction to attacks or potential data breaches.

Now would probably be a good time to say that (touch wood) we have never had a data breach or a successful hack attack, but that is not to say it could never happen. And boy are we ever grateful we made the decision to buy a remote server in a secure location (huge thanks and kudos to Namesco for their great service and support over the last six years).

We have a QA process that details who can or cannot use our service, very much a yes/no script that leads to a clear cut decision. This one was a ” no”. I Wonder why?

We have pretty clear rules about who can and can’t get into the system, so registering a Company as located in Dubai, logging in from Wallasey ( near Liverpool in the UK) with a Newcastle UK postcode and obviously fake phone number ( 07776655443) is not going to cut the mustard here either.

And that is just the front-end, we also get the expected back-door hackers trying to break in to the site – what they expect to get is anyone’s idea, unless it is just to cause mischief, here’s a shot of what the last major attack looked like. It was not successful, but it was time-consuming fighting it off….

Still, there is something comforting about seeing the screen below, a sort of “HAL9000” moment if you like (“I’m completely operational and all my circuits are functioning perfectly”)

PF clear log

We keep a pretty tight rein on “Maker Names” in the system as well, we don’t allow users to add them ad-hoc, they have to be approved by Admin, so it should be clear from the example below why we do this.

And whilst we can see and feel how fast and responsive the site is to loading and searching, sometimes it’s easy to forget that the first visit to a site is the most important, which is why it is reassuring to see the results of this mornings speed test below:

We’re still pushing to reach our goal of 1M parts listed on the Partfindermarine.com parts database by the end of 2016, so if you want to add your stock to the listing or update your existing list, please either drop us a line ( info@partfindermarine.com) or login  here and navigate to “Profile- My Parts” where there is a download option for your existing listing.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, hope you found it interesting, and maybe spare a second thought for the DBA’s in your life who have to wade through data and routines like this on a daily basis to keep your systems alive, kicking and most importantly, safe. If you like this update, please feel free to share it amongst your colleagues and friends.