The geodatabase administrator in Oracle

The geodatabase administrator account in Oracle is the account that owns the geodatabase repository. There is an administrator for the master geodatabase. This user must be named sde. It owns and manages the following:

• The system tables, triggers, and procedures that make up the master sde geodatabase
• The SQL types and functions
• The ArcSDE service (if one exists)
• Geodatabase versions within the master sde geodatabase

In addition to the master geodatabase, your Oracle database can store geodatabases in the schemas of individual users. The administrator for those geodatabases is the schema owner. That user owns and manages the following:

• The geodatabase system tables, triggers, and procedures in the user's geodatabase
• Geodatabase versions within the user's geodatabase

Because the geodatabase administrator owns all the geodatabase system files, directories, and tables, this account must be created before the geodatabase can be created. If you use the Create Enterprise Geodatabase geoprocessing tool or script to create the master geodatabase, an sde database user is created for you and granted the privileges necessary to create a geodatabase. If you use the Create Enterprise Geodatabase geoprocessing tool or script to create a user-schema geodatabase or the Enable Enterprise Geodatabase geoprocessing tool, script, or wizard to enable geodatabase functionality in an Oracle database, you must create the geodatabase administrator user and grant it the privileges required to create a geodatabase.

Keep in mind that the geodatabase administrator user is not the same as the DBA. Although conditions at your site may necessitate that the geodatabase administrator have DBA-level permissions, this is not required for day-to-day operation of a geodatabase.

The geodatabase administrator and schema

It is recommended that the sde user's schema only be used to manage and store the master sde geodatabase repository. You should create separate users to create data objects, such as feature classes and raster datasets.

If your database contains user-schema geodatabases, the owners of the user-schema geodatabase can only own data in that geodatabase; he or she cannot own data in the sde master geodatabase or any other user's schema geodatabase. Users who do not own a user-schema geodatabase can only own data in the master sde geodatabase.