Database Management Articles
SEPATON, Inc., which provides disk-based data protection solutions specifically designed for large enterprises, has released DeltaStorDBeXstream software, which is intended to enable the backup and restore of large databases at industry-leading rates while also delivering high capacity reduction through byte-differential deduplication. The software is part of the 6.1 release of its enterprise-optimized data protection software, which powers its S2100 systems.
Posted June 20, 2012
Quest Software, Inc. says it has entered into an amendment to a previously announced merger agreement with affiliates of Insight Venture Partners to add Vector Capital as a member of the buyout group, and for an increase in the offer from $23 per share in cash to $25.75 per share in cash. According to Quest, the increased purchase price represents a 33% premium to Quest's closing stock price on the day prior to the announcement of the Insight merger agreement on March 8, 2012.
Posted June 20, 2012
Ntirety's CEO and founder, Michael Corey, has been named both an Oracle ACE and a VMware vExpert. Corey was independently selected for both designations because of his expertise and his public advocacy for Oracle databases and contributions to the VMware community of users. The VMware vExpert title is given annually to individuals for their commitment to sharing knowledge and passion for VMware technology above and beyond their job requirements. The Oracle ACE Program recognizes individuals for advocating the company's technology and applications and is based on the significance of their contributions and activity in the Oracle database community.
Posted June 19, 2012
In the dim, dark past of data warehousing, there was a time when the argument was put forward that "history does not change." It was posited that once a piece of data was received by the data warehouse, it was sacrosanct and nonvolatile. A fact record, once processed, was to remain unchanged forever. Dimensions, due to their descriptive nature, could be changed following the prescribed Type 1, 2, or 3 update strategies, but that was all. It was the expectation that due to their very nature, fact tables would become huge and in being huge would give poor update performance; performance so poor that updates would be virtually impossible to enact.
Posted June 13, 2012
By now, you've heard that Microsoft has publicly released SQL Server 2012. I have to be honest in telling you that it came sooner than I expected, despite my many inside connections at Microsoft. I was fully expecting the RTM to occur a bit before summer, just in time for a spectacular launch at Microsoft TechEd.
Posted June 13, 2012
Unless you plan for and issue regular COMMITs in your database programs, you will be causing locking problems. It is important for every programmer to issue COMMIT statements in all application programs where data is modified (INSERT, UPDATE, and DELETE). A COMMIT externalizes the modifications that occurred in the program since the beginning of the program or the last COMMIT. A COMMIT ensures that all modifications have been physically applied to the database, thereby ensuring data integrity and recoverability. Failing to code COMMITs in a data modification program is what I like to call "Bachelor Programming Syndrome" — in other words, fear of committing.
Posted June 13, 2012
Companies are scrambling to learn all the various ways they can slice, dice, and mine big data coming in from across the enterprise and across the web. But with the rise of big data — hundreds of terabytes or petabytes of data — comes the challenge of where and how all of this information will be stored. For many organizations, current storage systems — disks, tapes, virtual tapes, clouds, inmemory systems — are not ready for the onslaught, industry experts say. There are new methodologies and technologies coming on the scene that may help address this challenge. But one thing is certain: Whether organizations manage their data in their internal data centers, or in the cloud, a lot more storage is going to be needed. As Jared Rosoff, director of customer engagement with 10gen, puts it: "Big data means we need ‘big storage.'"
Posted June 13, 2012
To help customers optimize the value of their technology investments, Oracle has announced Oracle Platinum Services. The Oracle Platinum Services are available at no charge as part of a standard support contract to customers with either Oracle Exadata X2-2 and X2-8, Oracle Exalogic X2-2, and SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 Servers with Exadata storage, Sun ZFS Storage or Oracle's Pillar Axiom 600 Storage. To access Oracle Platinum Services, customers install a patented, secure monitoring gateway that will allow Oracle to deploy quarterly updates on their behalf. With the new services, Oracle is delivering what it thinks is the highest level of service in the industry, says Larry Abramson, senior vice president and general manager, Oracle Advanced Customer Support Services.
Posted June 13, 2012
QlikTech, a business intelligence software provider, has acquired Expressor Software, a Burlington, Massachusetts-based data management software company and QlikTech Qonnect partner. "Expressor fits squarely in our acquisition strategy. We are acquiring complementary, tuck-in technology that will enhance the value we provide to our customers as we further develop and bring to market these solutions. We are also adding more than 20 outstanding people, primarily software engineers, expanding our R&D skill set," said Lars Björk, CEO of QlikTech.
Posted June 13, 2012
Ravi Pendekanti heads Systems Product Marketing for Oracle on a global basis. He has been in the Systems industry for more than two decades, working in the areas of servers, storage, software and networking. In this article, Exabriefing talks with Pendekanti about the Oracle engineered systems approach - what's been learned and why it works.
Posted June 13, 2012
Cloudera has unveiled the fourth generation of its flagship Apache Hadoop data management platform, Cloudera Enterprise. Cloudera Enterprise 4.0 combines the company's Cloudera Manager software with expert technical to provide a turnkey system for deploying and managing Hadoop in production. The company also announced the general availability of CDH4 (Cloudera's Distribution Including Apache Hadoop, version 4), resulting from the successful completion of a beta program among its enterprise customers and partner ecosystem and the contributions of Cloudera's engineering team and the greater Apache open source community.
Posted June 06, 2012
It seems only reasonable that what one person can do, others can learn. On the other hand, taking people through training does not usually result in the creation of great new database administrators (DBAs). It often appears as if those who are exceptional at the craft operate at higher levels as they dive into a problem. Can training alone provide folks with the attention to detail, the urge to keep digging, or the ability to recall minutiae that allow them to rise from simply holding the DBA title to becoming someone who is a great DBA? Or must the genetic potential exist first, and then one might fall into the DBA occupation and astound those around them. It is very hard to say with any degree of certainty whether great DBAs are made or born; yet again the battle between nature and nurture arises.
Posted June 06, 2012
Embarcadero Technologies has introduced a new version of its database management and development platform, DB Power Studio XE3, which offers enhancements to further improve the performance and availability of databases.
Posted June 06, 2012
Informix Genero, a new IBM offering developed under partnership with Four Js Development Tools, is a logical enhancement to the Informix 4GL language and environment that offers extensive capabilities for developing modern web and desktop GUI applications, reports, and web services. With IBM Informix Genero, users can recompile 4GL applications and run them as GUI and web applications while retaining the business logic.
Posted June 05, 2012
Kapow Software, a provider of social media, cloud, and big data solutions, has announced a strategic partnership with Informatica Corporation to deliver Informatica PowerExchange for Kapow Katalyst. This solution harnesses the power of the web, cloud applications and social media, allowing IT and line-of-business users alike to access and extract relevant information from disparate data sources in real time. The solution will be integrated into Informatica 9.5, which is scheduled to be released at the end of June.
Posted May 29, 2012
The PostgreSQL Global Development Group has announced the beta release of PostgreSQL 9.2, which it says will include increases in performance as well as vertical and horizontal scalability.
Posted May 29, 2012
Idera, a provider of application management solutions for Windows and Linux, has introduced SharePoint diagnostic manager 2.7, which provides new capacity planning features enabling administrators to predict when they will need to expand or upgrade hardware in order to prevent performance issues caused by growth of SharePoint sites and content. This release also provides expanded analytics for SQL Server performance, web page health and uptime, and content usage and composition.
Posted May 29, 2012
Despite IT industry talk about the need for real-time data, a new survey of more than 330 data managers and professionals who are subscribers to Database Trends and Applications reveals that access to current data to support decision making is not actually possible for many companies. At least half of companies represented in the survey indicate that relevant data still takes 24 hours or longer to reach decision makers.
Posted May 23, 2012
The term "big data" refers to the massive amounts of data being generated on a daily basis by businesses and consumers alike - data which cannot be processed using conventional data analysis tools owing to its sheer size and, in many case, its unstructured nature. Convinced that such data hold the key to improved productivity and profitability, enterprise planners are searching for tools capable of processing big data, and information technology providers are scrambling to develop solutions to accommodate new big data market opportunities.
Posted May 23, 2012
InterSystems Corporation has launched the next generation of its InterSystems HealthShare strategic informatics platform for interoperability and active analytics. Designed originally for public health information exchanges (HIEs) at regional, state and national levels, HealthShare has been extended and re-architected to also deliver the advanced technologies needed by integrated delivery networks (IDNs). The new version of HealthShare addresses the need in the healthcare field to enable access to up-to-the minute information and to help users more easily gain insight from unstructured content, Dominick Bizzarro, HealthShare global business manager, InterSystems, tells 5 Minute Briefing.
Posted May 22, 2012
For those unable to attend last month's ISUG Virtual ASE presentation, the recorded replay is available to view on-demand. This advanced, technical session presented by Sybase database expert, Edward Stangler of Bradmark Technologies, along with special guest speaker, Rob Verschoor, senior technology evangelist at Sybase, an SAP company, discusses what various SQL, RPCs, stored procedures, and batches look like in the MDA tables and how to calculate their metrics in Sybase ASE 15.0.3 and later. The impact from other Sybase ASE features, such as statement cache and Cluster Edition, are also explored.
Posted May 22, 2012
Confio Software has introduced its Ignite 8.2 database performance software. The rapidly-growing company based in Boulder, Colo., has tripled in size during the past 3 years, delivering tools that identify, pinpoint and resolve pain points in Sybase, Oracle, SQL Server, and DB2 databases, under the theme of "Keep it simple and get to the problem in four clicks." The new version of Ignite 8.2 includes enhanced features offering expanded support for Sybase; Oracle Exadata, RAC and ASM; as well as for SQL Server.
Posted May 22, 2012
Plans are underway for an event specifically focused on Sybase PowerBuilder and tools that will be separate from TechEd but held at the same time and location, according to Christine Weber, marketing manager, Events, at Sybase, an SAP company. There will also be close to 100 hours of sessions specifically focused on Sybase database and analytics products at SAP TechEd 2012, Weber tells 5 Minute Briefing. "It is a good portion and it is focused on the traditional kind of content that we have always done with Sybase." Sybase-specific content will include tips and tricks on how to use existing products, as well as previews of what's ahead in new product releases. Now that the call for papers has closed, Sybase is going through its approval process for the presentations. Well over 200 presentations were submitted - "a good problem to have," Weber notes.
Posted May 22, 2012
SAP AG has announced a range of innovations. The announcements put heavy emphasis on SAP HANA, and focus on three main areas, David Jonker, director of product marketing - Data Management & Analytics, SAP, tells 5 Minute Briefing. One is working with customers to accelerate their existing investment in the SAP landscape, a second emphasis is big data and analytics, and the third is around sparking new innovation by working with customers, partners and startups to leverage real-time analytics to rethink how business gets done.
Posted May 22, 2012
Organizations are struggling with big data, which they define as any large-size data store that becomes unmanageable by standard technologies or methods, according to a new survey of 264 data managers and professionals who are subscribers to Database Trends and Applications. The survey was conducted by Unisphere Research, a division of Information Today, Inc., in partnership with MarkLogic in January 2012. Among the key findings uncovered by the survey is the fact that unstructured data is on the rise, and ready to engulf current data management systems. Added to that concern, say respondents, is their belief that management does not understand the challenge that is looming, and is failing to recognize the significance of unstructured data assets to the business.
Posted May 09, 2012
DBI, a software company providing database performance management tools, has announced Brother-Panther version 5.2. The new release of the performance monitoring, tuning, and trending tool incorporates several new customer requested enhancements, lower overhead, support for DB2 10, and support for the z/Linux operating system.
Posted May 09, 2012
Red Gate has announced that its SQL Server development tools now support SQL Server on Amazon RDS, the latest cloud-based database offering from Amazon. In addition, the company says, its SQL Developer Bundle also supports Amazon RDS, enabling users to continue to compare, manage, and deploy their schemas and data with their regular tools, even when they are moving between RDS and other SQL Server instances.
Posted May 09, 2012
Big data has become a big topic for 2012. It's not only the size, but also the complexity of formats and speed of delivery of data that is starting to exceed the capabilities of traditional data management technologies, requiring the use of new or exotic technologies simply to manage the volume alone. In recent years, the democratization of analytics and business intelligence (BI) solutions has become a major driving force for data warehousing, resulting in the use of self-service data marts. One major implication of big data is that in the future, users will not be able to put all useful information into a single data warehouse. Logical data warehouses bringing together information from multiple sources as needed is replacing the single data warehouse model. Combined with the fact that enterprise IT departments are continually moving towards distributed computing environments, the need for IT process automation to automate and execute the integration and movement of data between these disparate sources is more important than ever.
Posted May 09, 2012
There has been a significant change in the IT world recently; solution developers no longer believe the answer to all data management challenges is a relational database. After 40 years, data management was considered to be a quiet part of IT where the products and providers were firmly decided. It is evident that information management has again become quite dynamic with a broad set of solutions offering new options for managing the big data challenges of today.
Posted May 09, 2012
Every now and then some sage consultant will offer advice like "Large tables should be partitioned" or "Be sure to use static SQL for your applications with high volume transaction workloads." But how useful is this advice? What do they mean by large and high volume? Terms such as these are nebulous and ever changing. Just what is a large database today?
Posted May 09, 2012
The Oracle Applications Users Group (OAUG), will co-host the OAUG Connection Point - Release 12.1/Fusion Applications conference, in partnership with the South Texas Oracle Applications Users Group (STOAUG) and the OAUG Upgrade SIG, July 11-12 at the Omni Austin Hotel Downtown in Austin, Tex. The call for presentations for the event is open through May 10.
Posted May 03, 2012
Confio Software introduced its Ignite 8.2 database performance software during last week's COLLABORATE Conference in Las Vegas. The rapidly-growing company based in Boulder, Colo., has tripled in size during the past 3 years, delivering tools that identify, pinpoint and resolve pain points in Oracle, SQL Server, DB2, and Sybase under the theme of "Keep it simple and get to the problem in four clicks."
Posted May 01, 2012
Oracle addressed the need to make IT infrastructure and business analytics technologies simpler and more efficient in a presentation to OpenWorld Tokyo 2012 attendees that was also made available via live webcast. In addition to presenting its strategy and plans for business analytics, the company also unveiled new additions to its product portfolio. In his keynote address, Oracle president Mark Hurd explained how the business users of tomorrow will require faster and more comprehensive information access. "The true question with analytics is how to get the right information to the right person at the right time to make the right decision," he said.
Posted April 26, 2012
IBM has introduced DB2 10 and InfoSphere Warehouse 10 software that integrates with big data systems, automatically compresses data into tighter spaces to prevent storage sprawl, and slices information from the past, present, and future to eliminate expensive application code. Over the past 4 years, more than 100 clients, 200 business partners, and hundreds of experts from IBM Research and Software Development Labs around the world collaborated to develop the new software.
Posted April 26, 2012
Quest Software has released version 11.5 of its Toad for Oracle software, the flagship product in the Toad portfolio of productivity software for database developers, DBAs, and analysts. Drawing on community feedback from their two million users, Quest has introduced a number of new features and improvements, most notably a new social intelligence component. Toad for Oracle 11.5, Quest contends, will allow users to take advantage of the best ideas and practices from the community and further increase user productivity.
Posted April 25, 2012
EMC Corporation has announced new EMC Data Domain Boost (DD Boost) integration with Oracle Recovery Manager (RMAN). DD Boost software provides advanced integration between EMC Data Domain deduplication storage systems and applications for faster, more efficient backup and recovery. The DD Boost software distributes part of the deduplication process to the Oracle database server and enables RMAN to directly manage Data Domain replication. "This is important because with this new announcement, it really brings complete control of Oracle backup and disaster recovery to the Oracle database administrators," Rob Emsley, senior director of product marketing for EMC's Backup Recovery Systems division, tells 5 Minute Briefing.
Posted April 25, 2012
SAP unveiled its roadmap for the database and mobile markets. At a press conference in San Francisco that was also made available online, Dr. Vishal Sikka, a member of the SAP executive Board, Technology & Innovation, said the company's vision for the SAP real-time data platform includes the SAP HANA platform, Sybase data management offerings, and SAP solutions for enterprise information management (EIM). "In our minds, and in our customers' minds there is now absolutely no doubt that HANA represents the database architecture for the future, for OLTP and OLAP, for analyzing structured and unstructured data, for legacy applications and for new applications," Sikka told the audience.
Posted April 25, 2012
Sybase has announced that Ford Motor Company will centralize all of its logical and physical modeling functions with SAP Sybase PowerDesigner, the data modeling software and metadata management solution for data, information, and enterprise architectures. The solution provides the capability to generate Data Description Language (DDL) for Ford Motor Company's database platforms, including all of the leading databases like Sybase ASE, DB2, SQL Server, Teradata and Oracle.
Posted April 25, 2012
For 2012, the traditional TechWave content will be incorporated into the SAP TechEd conference, taking place October 15-19 at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. The event will continue to deliver targeted training on Sybase products plus offer attendees access to SAP TechEd keynote sessions, exhibits, special events and other networking functions.
Posted April 25, 2012
Database Week, a follow-on to the Database Month conference held this year in January, will be presented May 14 through May 23 in New York City. Described by Eric David Benari, chairman of the event, as a "database festival," the upcoming conference sessions are focused on four main categories of technology: big data, NoSQL, NewSQL, and Hadoop. Like Database Month, Database Week is being spearheaded by the NYC MySQL group but is database technology-agnostic, Benari tells 5 Minute Briefing.
Posted April 19, 2012