Database Blog
Advantages and Disadvantages of Thin Provisioning
Thin provisioning uses virtualization technology to allocate disk storage capacity on demand as your needs increase. Thick provisioning is the counterpart strategy of pre-allocating storage capacity upfront when you create a virtual disk drive. Thin provisioning...
When You Should Use TDE vs Always Encrypted
Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Azure SQL Database offer two complementary encryption options: Transparent Data Encryption (TDE) and Always Encrypted. This blog post will help you decide when to use TDE versus Always Encrypted, and when to combine them for a...
Why We Don’t Always Do What The Customer Asks?
When we ask our customers why they love working with Buda Consulting, the answer we typically get is that we listen to them and we do what they ask (Apparently this is rare in the database support field). And we almost always do. But not always! The Request When I...
Oracle Database Assessment: Here’s What to Focus On
Organizations need to keep a close watch on Oracle operations to ensure agreed service levels are always being met. Database downtime can quickly lead to financial and reputational impacts, making periodic Oracle database assessments integral to the smooth operation...
How CIS benchmarks plug Cybersecurity Framework Gaps
While a good Cybersecurity Framework specifies the implementation of controls to mitigate information-related risk for the full life cycle of critical data, in practice I have observed that in many organizations the framework implementation tends to focus on the...
9 Reasons Why a Remote SQL Server DBA Just Makes Sense
Any company needs its SQL Server databases running efficiently to meet business objectives. But SQL Server DBA skills are most likely not an organizational core competency, and potentially can be outsourced to a remote SQL Server DBA. Is outsourcing SQL server...
3 Reasons Why You Need an Oracle Database Expert on Speed Dial
There’s never a convenient time for a database emergency. When bad things happen to critical database systems—like alarming error messages, poor performance, potential data loss, or a possible security breach—you need to troubleshoot and mitigate the problem fast....
IT Disaster Recovery Planning Done Right
Every business needs proper IT disaster recovery planning as part of its overall business continuity plan. You might think you don’t need to plan for disaster recovery because disasters like floods and fires are so uncommon. But the top reason for IT disasters and...
Why MySQL Performance Tuning is Important for Your Business
MySQL is a popular open-source relational database management system (RDBMS). It is frequently used to support large and/or complex applications, especially web applications. About 15% of all websites currently use MySQL for their databases. With these kinds of...
5 Ways Remote DBA Services Can Help Your Business
Many SMBs today look to establish and maintain a core IT team that has the expertise and agility to respond to business demands, such as developing and updating custom applications. For non-core/maintenance processes like database administration, there are many...
10 Benefits of Virtualization for Your Data Center
Since its emergence over two decades ago, virtualization has become industry-standard best practice in data centers from SMBs to the largest enterprises. But what does virtualization mean in terms of business value? This post covers 10 benefits of virtualization for...
5 Database Security Risks You Probably Don’t Know You Have
I recently appeared on an episode of The Virtual CISO Podcast hosted by my friend John Verry titled “Confronting the Wild West of Database Security.” In our conversation, I emphasized that despite the criticality of the data involved, many companies fail to appreciate...
Database Patch News — August 2022
Welcome to Database Patch News, Buda Consulting’s newsletter of current patch information for Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server. Here you’ll find information recently made available on patches—including security patches—and desupported versions. Why should you...
Does an IT Service Provider Need Cyber Liability Insurance?
First a disclaimer: I am not an attorney, and I am not a cyber liability insurance expert. I am an insurance consumer. Anything I say here should be validated by your attorney, insurance agent, or other qualified professional before acting upon it. But this may help...
How is Database Security NOT Like a Bank Vault?
As John Verry and I discussed in a recent virtual CISO podcast episode, many people think of database security as they think of bank vaults. They secure the perimeter, place the valuables in the vault (database), and then assume those valuables are as safe as if they...
A Focus on Oracle Container Databases
Oracle 12c introduced a major architectural change called Oracle container databases, also known as Oracle multitenant architecture. With this change, an Oracle database can act as a multitenant container database (CDB). A CDB, in turn, can house zero or more...
SQL Server Is Better Than Ever – Blessing or Curse?
As SQL server became a world-class database system over the past two decades, setting a trap for many organizations. Twenty years ago, mission-critical applications were generally only served by enterprise-level database systems (think Oracle and DB2) . SQL Server...
Why Disaster Recovery Testing is Mission Critical
With cybercrime still on the rise, and remote work scenarios stressing IT infrastructures and security controls, every organization needs a disaster recovery (DR) plan to protect against data loss and quickly restore IT infrastructure and systems following a...
To Understand Risk, Ask Better Questions
The importance of asking the right questions Readers of my blog know that a common theme has been the importance of asking the right questions. Today I will illustrate this with a true and painful (literally) personal story that really drives the point home. The story...
Cloud Storage Advantages and Disadvantages
Let's talk cloud storage advantages and disadvantages for SMBs, especially those in regulated industries. Using cloud-based infrastructure for data storage and/or backup has become nearly universal. Estimates of how many businesses of all sizes are using cloud storage...