Operations | Monitoring | ITSM | DevOps | Cloud

The latest News and Information on Databases and related technologies.

Mastering Cross-Database Date Manipulation: Subtracting Days in MySQL and H2

Short Summary: Different databases use different SQL syntax for simple tasks like subtracting days from a date. In this post, we show how these differences appear across databases such as MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle, and H2. We also explain how dbForge Edge helps teams work with them in one place while keeping application logic consistent.

ODBC Driver for MySQL: Open-Source vs Commercial (2026)

The MySQL ODBC driver is what keeps BI tools, reporting systems, and ETL pipelines connected to MySQL without errors. Teams have depended on it for years, and it’s still vital today, especially with MySQL ranked worldwide in February 2026. However, not all ODBC drivers are built alike. There are two categories: open-source options and commercial ones. While both connect applications to MySQL, they differ in areas like stability, performance, security, and support.

Mastering Temporal LEFT OUTER JOINs for Historical State Analysis in SQL Server

Short Summary: This guide shows how to use time-based LEFT OUTER JOINs with SQL Server temporal tables, step by step. You’ll see how dbForge tools help you fine-tune these queries so you can get accurate reports for specific points in time, fully understand how your data changes, and confirm that your logic is correct.

The Complexity Myth in Test Data Management

This is a guest post from James Hemson. For years, the test data management market has told smaller companies the same story. Test data is complex. You need consultants. Compliance is expensive. Expect a six-month implementation before you see any value. At Redgate we think that's wrong. And we think it's wrong by design. Complexity creates services revenue. It creates switching costs. Most vendors have built their businesses around this.

Smarter Custom Metrics for Redgate Monitor: Additional Alert Text Query

This is a guest post from Nick Coombe. Redgate Monitor's built-in metrics cover the most common database pressure points out of the box. However, every estate has a few KPIs and metrics that are specific to the business, and users can create custom metrics to track those signals and receive an alert when they cross a threshold.

The benefits of leadership coaching in the tech industry - with Cindy Gross

Steve is joined by Cindy Gross to discuss leadership coaching in the technology industry – what it is, how it works, and the many benefits it brings. Recorded on-site at PASS Data Community Summit 2025 in Seattle. Cindy is an executive coach and Adaptive Leadership Expert with 25 years in the US tech industry. As a former SQL Server Master (MCM) and expert in cross-organizational navigation at Microsoft, she transformed her focus from complex technical systems to empowering leaders within systemic chaos.

Log Management for your Homelab with Fluentd and Aiven for PostgreSQL

Tired of not knowing why your home lab containers are crashing? In this video, we’ll walk through how to set up a consolidated logging pipeline using Aiven for PostgreSQL (with TimescaleDB), Fluentd and Grafana — all running on my upgraded Mac Mini home lab. The key insight: never keep your troubleshooting tools on the same machine that's giving you problems!

VictoriaMetrics February 2026 Ecosystem Updates

This month, we’re thrilled to see OpenAI using the VictoriaMetrics Stack internally — including VictoriaMetrics, VictoriaLogs, and VictoriaTraces — in their Harness engineering experiment, as shown in their architecture diagram. It’s a great way of combining observability and AI agents.

PostgreSQL Explain Plans in AWS Aurora

I recently wrote about a project I created on AWS Aurora PostgreSQL where I'm capturing APRS data from a radio. I focused on the ease of use, getting a database, some Lambda Functions, and a few schedulers working together with a web page. It was easy. However, I'd like to focus on a slightly different area now, performance.

Best SQL Server ODBC Drivers 2026

Most database problems get blamed on queries, schemas, or infrastructure, and rarely on SQL Server ODBC drivers. Fair enough, those components often break. But in many cases, the real culprit is the connection layer itself. Poor drivers can lead to security gaps, performance hits, cloud connection struggles, Unicode issues, or incompatibility across platforms and modern SQL Server versions.