What is database change management?
A: One possible definition: the process by which the structures, settings, and data within a database may be tracked and managed over time: across physical environments like test, development and production, and back to-as well as forward from-the design layer.
Typically an organization may try to employ elements of the software change management process to do database change management, but there are gaps in this methodology. Database change management has a number of unique requirements that can only be addressed with specialized database change management tools, for example: preserving data when making structural changes; validating synchronicity in a replicated environment; managing reference data across test, development, and production; maintaining security and storage differences; and much more. Please read the white paper "Ringing the changes for Change Management" for more information about modern database change management techniques.
What's new in Change Manager 5.1?
Full Unicode Support - Change Manager 5.1 provides full Unicode character support.
Data Auto-synchronization - Change Manager will automatically truncate the target data as data from the source is streamed to the target.
Data Masking - Shuffle or randomize columns to de-identify data. Protecting Data Privacy in the Development Lifecycle.
Schema Auto-synchronization - Automatically synchronize the target to match the source once there is a successful comparison.
Cross-DBMS Schema Compare - Schema comparison and synchronization between Oracle <> SQL Server and Sybase ASE <> SQL Server
Job History - Track previous comparison runs and reload results to generate synchronization scripts and results
Enhanced project support - Users can group jobs and results into named groupings, each of which can be independently connected with source code control repositories via Eclipse plug-ins provided by third parties
How does Change Manager help me track changes in the production environment?
Use Change Manager to capture archives and then run a comparison of the live database against those archives for tracking changes or diagnosing problems in Production. Simply schedule regular schema archives using the flexible object selection features to make sure you capture exactly what you need to track. Then run or schedule regular compare jobs to track schema and database configuration changes. New in Change Manager 5.0 is the ability to run one-to-many data, schema, and configuration compare jobs.
How does Change Manager help with rolling out application updates or a patch for a packaged application?
Use Change Manager archive and compare features to find out how the roll out will impact the database. It is a simple, nearly automated process that saves time and reduces errors. All you have to do is create an archive using the object refinements feature to select components that you need. Then generate a change script - the change script will generate create, alter, and/or drop statements, automatically accounting for dependencies and preserving data when the change requires a table to be recreated.
How does Change Manager help streamline the development process?
There are a number of ways that Change Manager can help streamline the development process. First of all, developers can capture changed objects and then generate change scripts that automatically account for dependent objects. This saves analysis time and reduces the possibility for errors because they do not have to figure out the correct syntax for the particular database version they are using.
Change Manager capture and comparison features let developers track and report on complex iterations of scripting to preserve data. And keeps an accurate history of all work to generate reports or revert back to previous states, and create reports to communicate with data modelers and DBAs, or just to report status. Source code control support and integration further enhance collaboration and workflow.
Which Edition should I purchase?
Change Manager is packaged in "Editions" that are tailored to the needs of database developers and DBAs. The Personal and Standard Editions are geared toward the needs of the developer, and include: schema and data compare functionality; advanced alter generation and object filtering; as well as source code control integration. The Standard edition also includes reporting capability. The Professional and Ultimate Editions are primarily oriented towards DBAs, offering advanced automation features such as a command line API, email notification (as well as pluggable user-defined notification), and advanced configuration auditing features.
The Editions allow a certain number of datasources to be managed within the Change Manager product. Please go to the Product Editions page for more details and to help you decide which edition will suit your needs.
