Database Management Articles
Today, we operate in a global economy at internet speed. Globalization of our workforce has shifted the way work gets done. The explosion of wireless and edge technology has raised the expectations of consumers, who are more informed, educated, and knowledgeable about products and services. This changing landscape places immense pressure on business applications in organizations worldwide. Critical application outages caused by software defects can cost the business millions of dollars in revenue for every hour of downtime.
Posted July 07, 2011
As the economy shifts to expansion mode, and businesses start hiring again, a familiar challenge is rearing its head. Companies are scrambling to find the talent needed to effectively run, maintain, and expand their technology platforms. This is not a new problem by any means, but this time around, it is taking on a greater urgency, as just about every organization relies on information technology to be competitive and responsive to growth opportunities. A new survey of 376 employers finds a majority depend on the educational sector - universities and colleges - to provide key IT skills, often in conjunction with their own internal training efforts. However, few of the executives and managers hiring out of colleges are entirely satisfied with the readiness of graduates.
Posted July 07, 2011
More than 1,000 Oracle Exadata Database Machines are now installed at customer sites globally, Oracle has announced. In total, the Oracle Exadata Database Machine - a complete package of servers, storage, networking, and software that is massively scalable, secure, and redundant - has been implemented by customers in 67 countries across 23 industries to power demanding database applications.
Posted July 06, 2011
Oracle has announced the first Oracle VM Template for MySQL Enterprise Edition. The aim of the new Oracle VM Template for MySQL is to help eliminate manual configuration efforts and risks by providing a pre-installed, pre-configured and certified software stack that includes Oracle VM Server for x86, Oracle Linux with the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel and MySQL Enterprise Edition. "By using the Oracle VM Template for MySQL Enterprise Edition, organizations do not have to spend the time downloading, installing, configuring and testing all the components together before deploying in production," an Oracle spokesperson tells 5 Minute Briefing.
Posted July 06, 2011
Embarcadero Technologies, a provider of administration tools for database platforms, is shipping a new version of its DB PowerStudio suite that includes new capabilities within its multi-DBMS management suite. Enhancements include features for optimizing SQL with fewer clicks, new database and schema change management functionality, improved reporting features and faster performance across all tools. Together, these enhancements make it easier for DBAs and developers to improve database performance and to carry out their work with greater efficiency. "With our XE2 database products, we're giving database professionals, especially those tasked with working in multi-DBMS environments, a set of tools that enables them to get their job done faster, more efficiently, and with higher dependability and quality," Scott Walz, senior director of product management for Embarcadero, tells 5 Minute Briefing.
Posted July 06, 2011
The PASS Summit 2011 Community Sessions have been finalized. Details on all community sessions, including four new half-day sessions, are now accessible on the PASS website. There are only a couple of days left to take advantage of savings on PASS Summit 2011. PASS is encouraging attendees to register by June 30 before the rate increases.
Posted June 28, 2011
Representing a continued expansion of its big data analytics portfolio, IBM has introduced a new addition to the Netezza product family of analytics appliances that is designed to help organizations uncover patterns and trends from extremely large data sets. The appliance is the first to be delivered by IBM since it acquired Netezza in November 2010. According to IBM, using the new appliance, businesses can now more easily sift through petabytes of data, including banking and mobile phone transactions, insurance claims, electronic medical records, and sales information, and they can also analyze this information to reveal new trends on consumer sentiment, product safety, and sales and marketing effectiveness. "This new appliance takes the scalability to a completely new dimension," says Razi Raziuddin, senior director of product management at IBM Netezza.
Posted June 24, 2011
Oracle has announced the availability of Oracle JDeveloper 11g Release 2. Part of Oracle Fusion Middleware 11g, Oracle JDeveloper is a free, full-featured IDE. "It's a very broad and very productive environment targeted toward Oracle developers in the Java environment," says Bill Pataky, vice president of product management, Oracle, tells 5 Minute Briefing. The new release enhances the overall development experience by delivering an improved IDE, including support for new technologies and standards, as well as updates to Oracle Application Development Framework (ADF) 11g. "Java developers will immediately notice the difference."
Posted June 24, 2011
With data breaches rocking large organizations with alarming regularity, Application Security, Inc. (AppSec), a provider of database security, risk and compliance solutions for the enterprise, today announced new enhancements to its flagship enterprise platform, DbProtect. The latest version (v6.3) of the database security solution now includes the ability to block real-time attack and unauthorized activity. In addition, DbProtect will now include rights management support for IBM DB2 and Sybase ASE environments, joining the previously announced capabilities for Oracle Database and Microsoft SQL Server. "AppSec already offers proactive measures that short-circuit attacks in their early stages, and now we're bolstering those capabilities with an active defense," says says Josh Shaul, CTO, AppSec.
Posted June 22, 2011
When you think of mission-critical services, perhaps none is as critical as electrical service. Not much can happen in modern businesses, government offices, or even homes without it. Central Vermont Public Service (CVPS) is the largest electric company in Vermont. More than 159,000 customers in 163 communities rely on the electrical service CVPS provides. And, according to J.D. Power and Associates, a global marketing and surveying company, for overall customer satisfaction, CVPS continues to rank in the top tier of utilities in the eastern region, more than 50 points above the regional average.
Posted June 22, 2011
ParAccel, Inc., an analytic platform provider, announced the latest version of its flagship technology which introduces analytic integration for a wide range of analytic tools and data sources. ParAccel Analytic Database 3.1 (PADB 3.1) enables organizations to combine all internal and external data sources, both structured and unstructured, into analysis work."Analytic integration delivers new applications and analytic capabilities to our customers," says Tarun Loomba, chief marketing officer of ParAccel, tells 5 Minute Briefing.
Posted June 21, 2011
Oracle announced a new TPC-H 1TB benchmark, which showcases the scalability of Oracle Database 11g Release 2 running on Oracle's SPARC Enterprise M8000 server.
Posted June 15, 2011
Oracle VM Server for SPARC 2.1 delivers live migration capabilities to the SPARC T-series server family, including SPARC T3, UltraSPARC T2 Plus and UltraSPARC T2 based servers, allowing customers to quickly migrate running domains from one physical server to another, eliminating application outages and server downtime. In addition, Oracle Enterprise Manager Ops Center Virtualization Management Pack provides full lifecycle management of Oracle VM Server for SPARC.
Posted June 15, 2011
Confio Software, maker of the Ignite8 performance analysis software tool, has introduced IgniteVM, targeted specifically at DBAs to monitor and ensure database performance in a VMware environment. IgniteVM provides visibility beyond the database and into the virtual server layers, reducing the risk of database performance issues and helping to enable a successful physical to virtual (P2V) transition. With IgniteVM, which is focused squarely on the DBA and the DBA management team, Confio aims to reduce risk and increase visibility by combining the essential database response monitoring available in Confio's Ignite8 tool with non-intrusive VMware visibility.
Posted June 15, 2011
Dell says it will resell RainStor's specialized data retention database to support solutions such as application retirement and retention of machine-generated data. RainStor, a data storage infrastructure software company, designs and sells technology that enables data to be de-duplicated and compressed, while still accessible online through standard SQL language and BI tools. "The RainStor-Dell solution combines the object storage capabilities of the Dell DX with RainStor's online data retention (OLDR) repository," Ramon Chen, vice president of product management at RainStor, tells 5 Minute Briefing.
Posted June 13, 2011
Sage, a global supplier of business management software, has announced that it has further integrated Oracle Database 11g within Sage ERP X3 in order to offer customers a comprehensive solution. Sage ERP X3 is also now available using the Oracle Exadata Database platform.
Posted June 08, 2011
Oracle, working with CGI, has completed the first upgrade to Oracle Enterprise Taxation Management 2.2 with the Vermont Department of Taxes. Already live on the previous version of Oracle Enterprise Taxation Management, the Vermont Department of Taxes uses the solution to optimize all aspects of the revenue collection process and quickly respond to tax law and regulatory changes
Posted June 08, 2011
One of the things I repeatedly encounter when speaking to database professionals working with Microsoft SQL Server is that many of them simply don't know about some of the most elementary and fundamental means of investigating SQL Server performance. For example, I recently created a popular poster for Quest Software that shows all of the most meaningful and useful Windows Performance Monitor (PerfMon) counters. Now friends, PerfMon has been with us since Windows NT Server, and yet, PerfMon counters are a mystery to at least half of the DBAs I meet. Half!
Posted June 08, 2011
I just got back from the very well done 2011 MySQL Conference put on by O'Reilly out in Santa Clara, California. I believe this was my sixth time at the MySQL show, although this year it was somewhat of a different experience for me. This time, instead of representing the MySQL band of merry men (and women), being that I am now at EnterpriseDB, I was promoting PostgreSQL. In fact, if you want to hear something really strange: EnterpriseDB was the only diamond sponsor of the event. A PostgreSQL vendor? The diamond sponsor at a software show catering primarily to MySQL professionals? What gives?
Posted June 08, 2011
The DBA, often respected as a database guru, is just as frequently criticized as a curmudgeon with technical knowledge but limited people skills. Most programmers have their favorite DBA story. You know, those anecdotes that begin with "I had a problem ..." and end with "... and then he told me to stop bothering him and read the manual." DBAs do not have a warm and fuzzy image. This may have something to do with the nature and scope of the job. The DBMS spans the enterprise, effectively placing the DBA on call for the applications of the entire organization. Database issues can require periods of quiet reflection and analysis to resolve, so DBAs generally do not want to be disturbed. But their quiet time is usually less than quiet; constant interruptions to answer questions and solve problems are a daily fact of life.
Posted June 08, 2011
Occasionally, one sees a data structure abomination. This atrocity involves an object of almost any type, in almost any database wherein the object has a start date but no end date. It is not that the finish date currently has no value and is null; it is that the end date does not even exist on the table structure. The stop date was never intended to exist. The object in question starts, but it doesn't ever end.
Posted June 08, 2011
Oracle recently completed a benchmark test of Oracle Insurance Policy Administration for Life and Annuity Version 9.3 running on Oracle Exadata Database Machine X2-2 and Sun SPARC Enterprise M9000 application servers. The benchmark included 100 million policies and more than 2,000 concurrent users.
Posted May 26, 2011
Oracle has announced the availability of Oracle SQL Developer 3.0. The new release focuses on ease of migration, improving development and database administrator (DBA) tasks, and introduces support for Oracle Data Mining and Oracle Spatial. A free graphical tool for database development, Oracle SQL Developer Release 3.0 is downloadable from the Oracle Technology Network (OTN).
Posted May 26, 2011
The Oracle Exadata Database Machine X2-2 and X2-8 with the Solaris option began shipping just this month. Now in its third generation, the Database Machine combines all the components to create what the company describes as the best platform for running the Oracle Database. Here, Tim Shetler, vice president of Product Management, Oracle, talks about the performance innovations that differentiate Oracle's offering, how customers are using the system today for business advantage, and also — what's ahead.
Posted May 26, 2011
SAP AG and Sybase, Inc., an SAP company, have announced plans to make the enterprise resource planning (ERP) application SAP ERP the first SAP Business Suite application running on Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE). The announcement was made at SAPPHIRE NOW in Orlando where pilot customers also showcased how they are using SAP ERP on Sybase ASE. In combining SAP applications with Sybase technology, along with "harmonized" customer services and support, the companies say they will be able to offer organizations a new database option for running SAP applications and accessing critical information, providing efficiency gains and cost reductions.
Posted May 25, 2011
TechWave 2011 will be co-located with SAP TechEd, September 12-16 at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. TechWave will continue to deliver targeted training on Sybase products, plus offer attendees access to TechEd keynote sessions, exhibits, special event and other networking functions. Sybase TechWave is the only event that provides in-depth training and education across the range of Sybase products, access to key Sybase partners, and fun and entertaining opportunities for networking and increasing knowledge. The agenda will feature over 150 breakout sessions covering enterprise mobility, data management, application development tools, business intelligence & analytics, mobile commerce and mobile messaging.
Posted May 25, 2011
SAP AG and Sybase, Inc., an SAP company, have announced plans to make the enterprise resource planning (ERP) application SAP ERP the first SAP Business Suite application running on Sybase Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE). The announcement was made at SAPPHIRE NOW in Orlando where pilot customers also showcased how they are using SAP ERP on Sybase ASE. In combining SAP applications with Sybase technology, along with "harmonized" customer services and support, the companies say they will be able to offer organizations a new database option for running SAP applications and accessing critical information, providing efficiency gains and cost reductions.
Posted May 25, 2011
HiT Software, a provider of data integration and change data capture products for heterogeneous database environments, has announced DBMoto version 7.1, the newest version of its change data capture product. This release adds IBM Informix log reading, open APIs to embed DBMoto in applications and systems, and a replication activity viewer to monitor replication jobs. "A number of customers have asked us to develop log reading for Informix," Carolyn Hughes, director of marketing, tells 5 Minute Briefing. "A lot of the Informix installed base deals with high-transaction businesses, such as retail and telco, and so being able to read the transaction logs as opposed to relying on triggers will enable a huge time savings."
Posted May 24, 2011
Symantec Corp. has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Clearwell Systems, Inc., a privately held vendor in the e-discovery market for a purchase price of approximately $390 million, net of Clearwell's existing cash balance of approximately $20 million. "As information continues to grow at unprecedented rates, the biggest challenge for customers is to protect, manage and backup this information as well as have the ability to categorize and discover it efficiently," said Deepak Mohan, senior vice president, Information Management Group, Symantec. The acquisition is expected to close in the September quarter.
Posted May 19, 2011
After 5 years in Seattle, PASS (the Professional Association for SQL Server) will hold its annual SQL Server and BI conference in Charlotte, NC, in 2013, bringing the event closer to database professionals in the eastern U.S. who may not have been able to make the cross-country trip in the past, as well as making it more convenient for international travelers. PASS Summit 2007 in Denver was the last Summit held outside Seattle.
Posted May 18, 2011
Through the many changes in IT over the years, one constant has always been a concern for performance. With database systems there is especially true. Even with the many advances in relational database technology, SQL performance still remains a key concern for IT professionals and management. Writing SQL for performance is one of the single biggest opportunities for professionals to contribute efficient, effective, cost saving deliverables to projects. Writing SQL for performance can also avoid having to respond to an urgent problem with performance in a production environment. To a considerable extent, a person can choose whether they are running because it is lunch or whether they are running because they are lunch, by following a few simple techniques for writing SQL for performance.
Posted May 12, 2011
Design reviews are an important facet of the system development lifecycle for database applications. It is during the design review that all aspects of the database and application code are reviewed for efficiency, effectiveness, and accuracy. It is imperative that all database applications, regardless of their size, are reviewed to assure that the application was design properly, efficient coding techniques were used, and the database is accessed and modified correctly and efficiently. The design review is an important process for checking the validity of design decisions and correcting errors before applications and databases are promoted to production status.
Posted May 12, 2011
Tables within a database management system (DBMS) need primary keys and defined indexes in order for the DBMS to have the opportunity to provide good query performance. Without indexing, the worst possible query performance is guaranteed. The content of these non-keyed tables remains unknown to the DBMS, a black box, where the only possible approach for query execution is to read every row one-by-one. Under such scenarios, the DBMS is little more than a file server that operates more slowly than usual. Without the primary key and indexing, the DBMS may expend even more processor cycles in moving data in and out of the DBMS proprietary storage areas than a file server uses in opening files.
Posted May 12, 2011
I have been working with SQL Server for more than 10 years now, and my time with Quest has been spent as a consultant visiting hundreds of customer sites, and discussing their environments and matching products to their issues. This has given me a fairly unique insight into how SQL Server is changing. It has also been intriguing to work closely with colleagues from the Oracle world, and seeing how their opinion of SQL Server has changed. They now take it very seriously, something I like to think I have played a positive part in! The most striking trend I have noticed is the lack of expertise in some environments when using SQL Server. I can confidently say you are extremely unlikely to run an Oracle database without an Oracle DBA. However, in the SQL Server world this practice seems to be commonplace.
Posted May 12, 2011
The PostgreSQL project has released the first beta of version 9.1. This beta release contains all of the features which will be in the final release, which is expected to be released 2 to 4 months from now, sometime between July and September. According to the PostgreSQL project team, PostgreSQL 9.1 contains a "huge volume" of new features, possibly more than any single release of PostgreSQL before. The overarching theme of the new release is innovation - "not just new to us but new to anybody," Josh Berkus, PostgreSQL core team member, tells 5 Minute Briefing.
Posted May 03, 2011
Red Gate Software, a provider of tools for Microsoft technology professionals, says it will provide free perpetual licenses for current .NET Reflector 6.x users who upgrade to version 6.8. The free version of .NET Reflector was previously planned to expire at the end of May.
Posted May 03, 2011
Representing a continuation of a long-running partnership between the two companies, IBM and Sybase have introduced a new workload-optimized server appliance aimed at financial institutions, mobile operators and enterprises called the IBM mCommerce Appliance Solution. The hardware and software appliance features IBM POWER7-based Power 750 servers running IBM DB2 information management software and IBM WebSphere software application server, IBM System Storage DS5300 and the Sybase mCommerce 365 solution. Specifically, the appliance is targeted at financial institutions and mobile operators but it is not limited to those customers or verticals, Charlie Chen, vice president of platform alliances, Sybase, tells 5 Minute Briefing.
Posted April 29, 2011
Sybase has announced plans for the release of new functionality connecting Sybase Replication Server to Sybase Aleri Streaming Platform. This new functionality will enable data events from heterogeneous databases to be propagated in real-time, via complex event processing (CEP), addressing challenges such as reference data management and risk aggregation.
Posted April 29, 2011
Sybase has announced that the Call for Papers is now open. TechWave 2011 will be co-located with SAP TechEd, September 12-16 at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. TechWave will continue to deliver training on Sybase products, as well as keynote sessions, exhibits, special event and other networking functions.
Posted April 29, 2011
InterSystems Corporation, which develops and markets advanced integration, database and business intelligence technologies, has announced the winners of its 2011 Innovator Awards, which recognize those who use InterSystems technologies in new ways to create innovative applications and integration solutions. Winners were recognized at the InterSystems Global Summit 2011 conference.
Posted April 27, 2011
DBI (Database-Brothers, Inc.) has released Brother-Panther for DB2 LUW 5.1. "Brother-Panther is all about performance monitoring, analysis, tuning and trending. Our customers are very successful at using Brother-Panther to understand what costs the most and what hurts the most in the database. And in a couple of more mouse clicks we are usually able to hand them a solution that will make all that pain go away," Scott Hayes, president and CEO of DBI, tells 5 Minute Briefing. With this release, says Hayes, Brother-Panther now can now help people understand the big picture and the details regarding the consequences of change.
Posted April 26, 2011