Database Management Articles
If you've worked with relational database systems for any length of time, you've probably participated in a discussion (argument?) about the topic of this month's column, surrogate keys. A great debate rages within the realm of database developers about the use of "synthetic" keys. And if you've ever Googled the term "surrogate key," you know the hornet's nest of opinions that swirls around on the topic. For those who haven't heard the term, here is my attempt at a quick summary: A surrogate key is a generated unique value that is used as the primary key of a database table; database designers tend to consider surrogate keys when the natural key consists of many columns, is very long, or may need to change.
Posted September 11, 2012
If you have not heard the buzz around Oracle's Engineered Systems, then you must not be keeping up with Oracle's marketing promotions, reading any technical journals, or even just walking through any airports lately. While the marketing claims are impressive, the use of Marvel's characters was imaginative and Oracle's use of the slogan "Hardware and Software Engineered to Work Together" is enticing, you may be asking yourself, "What does all of this mean to me?" Well, let's illustrate by example.
Posted September 11, 2012
In recent years, the networks of developers, integrators, consultants, and manufacturers committed to supporting database systems have morphed from one-on-one partnerships into huge ecosystems in which they have become interdependent on one another, and are subject to cross-winds of trends and shifts that are shaping their networks. Nowhere is this more apparent than the huge ecosystem that has developed around Oracle. With Oracle's never-ending string of acquisitions, new functionality, and widespread adoption by enterprises, trends that shape this ecosystem are certain to have far-reaching effects on the rest of the IT world. Concerns that percolate through the ecosystem reflect — and influence — broad business concerns. New paradigms — from cloud computing to big data to competing on analytics — are taking root within the Oracle ecosystem long before anywhere else.
Posted September 11, 2012
Attunity CloudBeam, Attunity's recently introduced SaaS platform for Amazon Web Services (AWS), has expanded its services to provide a new data replication-as-a-service solution for AWS' Simple Storage Service (S3). Currently available for testing, the service provides replication and synchronization of big data stored in S3 across AWS cloud regions to enable business-critical initiatives, including disaster recovery, backup and data distribution. "Amazon Web Services has a replication capability but it is far less efficient and performant than ours and this is one of the reasons that AWS is so happy to have this capability," Matt Benati, vice president of global marketing, Attunity, tells 5 Minute Briefing.
Posted September 10, 2012
EnterpriseDB, provider of PostegreSQL and Oracle database compatibility products and services, has released a public beta of its new Multi-Master Replication (MMR) capability in Postgres Plus xDB Replication Server. According to EnterpriseDB, this will provide database administrators with improved write-availability and read-scalability, customization, database performance, as well as a cost reduction in Oracle licensing.
Posted August 28, 2012
SAP AG introduced a new solution to help organizations gain real-time insights into market trends and customer sentiment. The SAP rapid-deployment solution for sentiment intelligence with SAP HANA is intended to allow users to analyze customer sentiment from social networking sites, communities, wikis, blogs and other sources, and combine the information with CRM data. Customers that have had success getting started with big data analytics are the ones that have set out to solve a very specific use case or set out to solve a specific problem, David Jonker, director of marketing for database and technology at SAP, tells DBTA. "The rapid deployment solution for sentiment intelligence does exactly that."
Posted August 23, 2012
TransLattice, a provider of distributed databases and application platforms for enterprise, cloud and hybrid environments, has released TransLattice Elastic Database (TED), which the company describes as the world's first geographically distributed relational database management system (RDBMS). A single database can run on multiple TransLattice nodes around the world, allowing for greater data availability, performance, and scalability at a lower cost than traditional databases. "Since we have the ability to pre-position the data close to end users and have a node that's operating on their behalf in distributed queries, we can offer a much higher level of user experience than conventional systems," Michael Lyle, CTO of TransLattice, explains to DBTA. Additionally, TED makes it easier for global enterprises to comply with data jurisdiction policy requirements.
Posted August 23, 2012
Pentaho's Business Analytics 4.5 is now certified on Cloudera's latest releases, Cloudera Enterprise 4.0 and CDH4. Pentaho also announced that its visual design studio capabilities have been extended to the Sqoop and Oozie components of Hadoop. "Hadoop is a very broad ecosystem. It is not a single project," Ian Fyfe, chief technology evangelist at Pentaho, tells DBTA. "Sqoop and Oozie are shipped as part of Cloudera's distribution so that is an important part of our support for Cloudera as well - providing that visual support which nobody else in the market does today."
Posted August 23, 2012
eLearnIT's Yakov Werde will present a hands-on PowerBuilder Developers Conference (at SAP TechEd) pre-conference training course. This pre-conference session is sponsored by ISUG in cooperation with SAP and eLearnIT.
Posted August 22, 2012
Raj Rathee will be a guest speaker at certain local user group meetings this month. Raj is a senior manager within the engineering and product management organization at Sybase (SAP), and currently leads product management responsibilities for SAP Sybase ASE.
Posted August 22, 2012
SAP AG has announced a free mobile developer license, a new SAP Mobile Apps Partner program, and additional support for integrating the software development frameworks from Adobe, Appcelerator Titanium, and Sencha with the SAP mobile platform. With the new programs, SAP seeks to encourage the developer community to create new mobile apps for business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) environments, David Brutman, senior director, Developer Relations at SAP, tells 5 Minute Briefing.
Posted August 22, 2012
It is impossible to have missed the sweeping changes being thrust upon the data world due to regulatory compliance. But even if you've noticed, chances are that the sheer volume of regulations was too mind-boggling to fully digest. Compliance starts with the CEO, but it works its way down into the trenches, and impacts database administration. With that in mind, this month's column will offer a brief introduction to the regulatory landscape and its impact on database administration.
Posted August 21, 2012
Attunity Ltd., a provider of information availability software solutions, has signed a distribution partnership agreement with Tokyo-based Insight Technology Inc. (ITI). The reseller agreement provides ITI the rights to distribute Attunity's data replication solutions in Japan, together with ITI's database machine "Insight Qube." "The partnership with Attunity is an important and strategic one for ITI," says Ichiro Obata, CEO at Insight Technology, Inc. "The key reason is big data. Making big data available is a critical need for today's top companies in Japan and all over the world, yet accessing and managing it quickly and efficiently for analytics and disaster recovery initiatives is a persistent challenge."
Posted August 14, 2012
Cloud operating system provider Nimbula has unveiled its elastic Hadoop solution with MapR Technologies, allowing users to run their Hadoop clusters on private clouds. The elasticity and multi-tenancy of Nimbula Director paired with the dependability and security of MapR Hadoop Distribution allows for a fully-functional and highly-available Hadoop cluster on a single pool of infrastructure. "What we're trying to achieve is have the power of Hadoop on top of a private cloud and bringing the best of each world to the customer," Reza Malekzadeh, Nimbula's vice president of marketing & sales, tells 5 Minute Briefing. Customers can run Hadoop and non-Hadoop workloads on the same shared infrastructure.
Posted August 14, 2012
SQL database vendor Clustrix has announced high-performance SQL database offerings with new cloud economics, including a new database-as-a-service (DBaaS) and Clustrix Version 4.0. The products will address the real-time needs of customers developing applications with big data and in the cloud.
Posted August 14, 2012
SQL Server 2012 includes a lot of new and exciting features. One feature that has caught the imagination of many in the user community is the high-performance feature called Columnstore Indexes. (Incidentally, it was also known as Apollo during its beta cycles). Columnstore indexes, as their name implies, store indexed (and always compressed) data contiguously in columns, rather than in standard format where the data is stored contiguously on 8Kb data pages according to the rows in which the data resides. Because of their structures, columnstore indexes speed up read-heavy operations like data warehouse queries from factors of 10x to 100x.
Posted August 14, 2012
A database design may occasionally show evidence that it lacks proper prioritization. Data models should express truths about the business, or about the universe of discourse. But in expressing business truth this does not mean a data model should express absolutely every truth that anyone might conceive. Some relationships are significant while other relationships are not. And as a general rule, database design is not an exercise in trivial pursuit. Insignificant truths only clutter up a design, increasing complexity, causing users' eyes to glaze over more quickly, and adding no real value towards the endeavors of the enterprise.
Posted August 09, 2012
Throughout the 2000s, a huge number of website developers rejected the Enterprise Java or .NET platforms for web development in favor of the "LAMP" stack - Linux, Apache, MySQL and Perl/Python/PHP. Although the LAMP stack was arguably less scalable or powerful than the Java or .NET frameworks, it was typically easier to learn, faster in early stages of development - and definitely cheaper. When enterprise architects designed systems, they often chose commercial application servers and databases (Oracle, Microsoft, IBM). But, when web developers or startups faced these decisions, the LAMP stack was often the default choice.
Posted August 09, 2012
Oracle has enhanced its Exastack Optimized program with the ability to achieve Oracle Exastack Optimized status for Oracle's SPARC SuperCluster T4-4. In addition, partners can now test their solutions on the SPARC SuperCluster T4-4 through the Oracle Exastack Labs, remotely accessible environments for the purposes of testing and tuning applications on the latest major releases of key Oracle Exastack components. Part of the Oracle Exastack Program, Oracle Exastack Optimized enables independent software vendors (ISVs) and other qualifying members of Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN) to optimize their applications to run faster and more reliably on Oracle Exadata Database Machine and Oracle Exalogic Elastic Cloud.
Posted August 08, 2012
Big data is one of the most significant industry disruptors in IT today. Even in its infancy, it has shown significant ROI and has almost universal relevance to a wide cross-section of the industry. Why? Big data turns traditional information architecture on its head, putting into question commonly accepted notions of where and how data should be aggregated, processed, analyzed, and stored. Enter Hadoop and NoSQL, the open source data-crunching platform. Although these technologies are hotter than an Internet IPO, you simply can't ignore your current investments - those investments in SQL which drive everything from your data warehouse to your ERP, CRM, SCM, HCM and custom applications.
Posted August 07, 2012
DataDirect Networks (DDN), a provider of scalable storage, announced a centralized management solution for its storage, file system, and in-storage processing technology. With a unified interface designed to handle all aspects of big data storage infrastructure administration, DDN's DirectMon minimizes administrator overhead and provides a framework for both real-time and predictive systems management and tuning of SAN, NAS and parallel file storage environments.
Posted August 06, 2012
The winner of the Apple iPad 3 drawn from the pool of 358 data managers and professionals who responded to the 2012 IOUG High Availability Survey has been announced. The winner is Debbie Gollnick, president of Gollnick, Inc. The executive summary of the survey report, "Enterprise Data and the Cost of Downtime: 2012 IOUG Database Availability Survey," is publicly available, and the full survey report is available exclusively to IOUG members.
Posted August 01, 2012
Oracle has introduced a new migration tool that aims to make it easier for users to migrate data from SQL Server to MySQL. The new migration tool is integrated into MySQL Workbench, which allows the visual design, development and administration of MySQL Databases. According to Oracle, with MySQL Workbench, SQL Server developers and DBAs can easily convert existing applications to run on MySQL, both on Windows and other platforms. In addition, to address the growing demand from business analysts using MySQL for data marts and analytic applications, Oracle has announced a new "MySQL for Excel" application plug-in that allows users to import, export and manipulate MySQL data, without requiring prior MySQL technical knowledge.
Posted July 25, 2012
Syncsort, a global leader in high-performance data integration solutions, has certified its DMExpress data integration software for high-performance loading of Greenplum Database. Syncsort has also joined the Greenplum Catalyst Developer Program. Syncsort DMExpress software delivers extensive connectivity that makes it easy to extract and transform data from nearly any source, and rapidly load it into the massively parallel processing (MPP) Greenplum Database without the need for manual tuning or custom coding. "IT organizations of all sizes are struggling to keep pace with the spiraling infrastructure demands created by the sheer volume, variety and velocity of big data," says Mitch Seigle, vice president, Marketing and Product Management, Syncsort.
Posted July 25, 2012
SAP AG has announced the general availability of the on-demand edition of SAP Sybase SQL Anywhere. For independent software vendors (ISVs) adding software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings to their product portfolio or building new SaaS applications, SAP Sybase SQL Anywhere, on-demand edition, is a data management solution that enables ISVs to build, deploy and manage cloud applications as demanded by their application and customers without having to compromise. The new product allows users to take advantage of the cloud's economies of scale while providing them with the tools they require to help ensure they can still treat each of their customers individually.
Posted July 25, 2012
Dell is introducing a new Big Data retention solution aimed at reducing the costs of retaining big data while helping to improve management for easy retrieval and analysis. "Not only are the volumes of data growing - so is its value to the organization," says Darren Thomas, vice president and general manager, Dell Enterprise Storage. "Being able to cost-effectively capture and store all of the relevant data makes it possible to gain insights that support innovation and business value. The key is having the right data management solution to fluidly move data, tier it, dedupe it, protect it and archive it. To us, that means your data is fluid."
Posted July 24, 2012
Radiant Logic, provider of identity virtualization services, has released a federated identity service, RadiantOne VDS 6. The product provides a single access point for enterprise identities, enabling authentication and authorization across multiple identity sources and authentication protocols. Authorized for the cloud and federations in high-volume, heterogeneous environments, VDS 6 supports single sign-on (SSO) access control.
Posted July 19, 2012
In the always-on global economy, access to enterprise data is critical, and interruptions and delays in the flow of information necessary for decision-making can have serious consequences. A new study fielded by Unisphere Research among IOUG members and sponsored by Oracle explores the issues related to planned and unplanned downtime, alongside high availability and disaster recovery solutions. The survey which garnered input from 358 data managers and professionals, finds that at least half of the respondents are working to provide their organizations with real-time or near-real-time data, but the challenge to meeting this goal is increasing as data volumes escalate and the variety and velocity of data heightens as well.
Posted July 19, 2012
Quest Software, which earlier this month announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Dell, has enhanced its unified partner program to better meet the needs of its reseller, distribution, service providers (SPs), and global partners. Launched in July a year ago, the Quest Partner Circle (QPC) is now being expanded to include SPs and global partners. In addition, SPs and global partners now have access to QPC infrastructure benefits, including partner training, certification, marketing, business planning, and dedicated technical support.
Posted July 19, 2012
HiT Software, a provider of data replication and change data capture (CDC) solutions for heterogeneous database environments, has announced the release of DBMoto Cloud Edition, the first product in a family of data replication and CDC software designed to support cloud data traffic. DBMoto Cloud Edition has been designed to deliver rapid, secure data updates between disconnected databases. Data changes are captured and passed through the cloud using web services, providing reliable CDC for satellite enterprise databases that have no direct connection to corporate IT systems.
Posted July 16, 2012
After chatting with my friend and fellow Microsoft MVP Allen White about Windows Server Core on a recent SQLCruise.com excursion, I realized that this is a technology I should be evangelizing more. I hope you've heard about Windows Server Core and are considering using it for your SQL Server, and, indeed, any relational database platform you're currently running on Windows Server. Why?
Posted July 11, 2012
The whole world can be divided into two groups, these being splitters and lumpers. Design battles are waged across conference rooms as debates rage over whether to split or to lump. Splitters take a group of items divide them up into sub-groups and sub-sub-groups occasionally going so far as to end with each lowest level becoming a group of one. On the other side of the design fence, lumpers combine items until everything is abstracted into group objects covering very broad territory, such as a "Party" construct, or ultimately an "Object" object. Within data modeling, arguments arise, such as whether to sub-type an entity. Or perhaps lumping is discussed as the grain of a multidimensional fact is proposed. This debate underlies much of the decision-making involved in determining what domains to create within a data model. The split-versus-lump issue is ubiquitous and universal. The question to split or lump arises across many kinds of choices, in addition to the entity definition, table grain, or the domain grain mentioned in the previous examples; this issue is at the heart of deliberations regarding establishing functions, overriding methods, or composing an organizational structure.
Posted July 11, 2012
Although data integrity is a pervasive problem, there are some data integrity issues that can be cleaned up using a touch of SQL. Consider the common data entry problem of extraneous spaces in a name field. Not only is it annoying, sometimes it can cause the system to ignore relationships between data elements.
Posted July 11, 2012
Ntirety, a pioneer of pioneer of database administration as a service for Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle and MySQL databases, announced that it has successfully completed VMware's Virtualization of Business Critical Applications (VBCA) solution competency for Microsoft SQL Server, Exchange and Oracle Databases.
Posted July 09, 2012
NuoDB, Inc., a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based startup, has announced the release of Beta 7 of its web-scale database. The company says the new release provides five times the scalability of the previous version (50 nodes) among other new features. NuoDB takes a shared nothing, asynchronous, peer-to-peer approach that the company says is ideal for the cloud, while also delivering the power, reliability and functionality of a traditional database. The database is planned to be generally available in Q3 2012.
Posted July 03, 2012
Dell and Quest Software announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for Dell to acquire Quest, an IT management software provider offering a broad selection of solutions that solve the most common and most challenging IT problems. Under terms of the agreement, approved by the boards of directors of both companies, Dell will pay $28 per share in cash for each share of Quest for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $2.4 billion, net of Quest's cash and debt. The transaction is expected to close in Dell's third fiscal quarter, subject to approval by Quest's shareholders and customary conditions.
Posted July 02, 2012