We all know that over time the tablespaces in our Oracle database(s) get fragmented.  Database and application performance can suffer from this fragmentation.

Fragmentation happens when your applications are inserting, updating and/or deleting data.  You…

I often get asked about monitoring SQL workload that is consuming a database instance’s resources. The first question that comes to my mind is, “What is the symptom you are trying to resolve?” Are you looking to understand the root cause of compute resource…

DevOps has been pervasive within Application Development for several years, but the database environment is so different and sensitive in nature, making database development a barrier to an end-to-end DevOps strategy.

The most important element of DevOps…

Spotlight on SQL Server Enterprise‘s main purpose in life is to inform you of SQL Server performance problems, and then give you a quick way to diagnose their root causes so you can take action quickly.  Email and mobile app notifications along with…

Differential backups make perfect sense….backup only what has changed since the last Full backup. Differential backups dramatically reduce the storage needed to maintain backups, while lowering maintenance windows associated with Full backups. 

As the old saying goes, “the one constant in life is change”, and this is especially true in database environments.  There are many reasons why database environments experience change whether it be through typical maintenance efforts such…

The latest release of the Foglight for Oracle cartridge brings a new dashboard, customer enhancements and various fixes.

There is a new overview dashboard:

It is easier to read with an improved layout. I like the way the various areas are summarized…

We’ve posted recently about database developers feeling left out of agile processes. You may wonder how application developers can have it so easy – scrums, sprints and automation – to deploy updates at what can seem like an astonishing pace.…

As you might suspect, I had difficulty coming up with a witty title for this blog. However, I rather enjoy people rolling their eyes when I make bad jokes. Given the topic is about memory settings for Foglight’s Management Server (FMS) and Foglight’s…

Database developers: Does it feel as though everyone else gets the productivity benefits and fun from agile development, but not you?

In most organizations, agile is taking hold in application development, operations and even marketing. Meanwhile, database…

I remember as a young lad of 12 years of age writing letters to friends and family that I had grown up with. As I would finish the letter, I would jump on my bike and run to the local post office to purchase a stamp for the letter. I’m not going…

Dollar Shave Club’s founder Michael Dubin said something like that in his first viral video about his company, and it completely changed the razor market. For a few bucks a month, his company would ship razors and blades directly to your home once a…

We have all read the headlines: Earlier this month, Delta Air Lines experienced a massive power outage that led to the cancellation of thousands of foreign and domestic flights. This seismic event took place at the height of the summer travel season…

In database replication, “immediately” never feels quite fast enough for your users, does it?

“We replicate transactions from production databases in real time,” you tell them. “You’ll see the change immediately, as soon as the transactions…

Third-party validation. No, its purpose isn’t just to stroke our egos in admiration. Nor is it a meaningless attaboy. (“Way to go, little Timmy! You did good today, kiddo.”)

No, third-party validation acts as affirmation — a gut check…

My grandmother was the greatest. She was the iconic example of old world class and style… I never knew she was also a prophet.

As I was growing up, she would always take me aside and raising a finger crooked from age, she would point to me and…

As a database developer or DBA, you’ve lacked the proper tools to help you keep pace with the rest of your organization. You’ve watched your app-developing colleagues across the hall use agile to whiz through product releases and embrace DevOps to automate…

Auditing an application of its users’ activities can be useful and at times a mandatory task in tightly-secured environments. Spotlight has many robust capabilities such as deleting or disabling connections to changing alarm threshold values or stopping…

Let’s face it: We can’t all be the kind of hero who saves the world. But as a database administrator, if you could simplify database migrations and upgrades in your company, wouldn’t that make you a hero with your users and co-workers?…

SharePlex 9.0 is the most exciting and feature rich release of SharePlex I’ve ever been a part of.

Our frenemies over at Oracle with GoldenGate have been working to create fear, uncertainty and doubt (FUD) about the future of SharePlex by telling…