Media Coverages

Daylight Savings Time and Automated Patching

February 27, 2007 -- Describing it as "the mini Y2K for the database," GridApp Systems, a provider of database automation software and solutions, is using the federal government's mandated change to daylight savings time to focus attention on the need to automate database patching. This year, daylight savings time will start earlier and end later than before, requiring every physical server and database to be patched to accommodate the change. "This really highlights the problem with not having automatic patching because now you have to go around manually and get updated," Matthew Zito, chief scientist for GridApp, told 5 Minute Briefing. "It is particularly bad for folks in the database space, because it is not just that you have to patch up the database, which is problematic enough, but you have to patch every database client as well. And once this year's problem is addressed, Zito said, "There is nothing that says that next year it won't change again and we will have to go through all of this again."

Using GridApp Systems' Clarity database automation software for patch management simplifies patch installation, reducing the time and resources required for deployment by a factor of up to 75 percent, according to the vendor. Moreover, with Clarity, DBAs can customize their workflow processes to ensure they always know the state of their databases - such as which database has been patched, including information on when and why. "Most organizations still don't have a concerted way to make mass change and Clarity really focuses on enabling organizations to effect change globally very, very easily within their database environment," Zito said. For more information, go here.