Data Migration Blogs

Federal agencies have a large mandate – keep one of the largest governments in the world running on a budget. When looking for IT solutions, that means finding software that can do the job without having to raise taxes enough to hang Congress – again.

Having been approached by several federal agencies about PostgreSQL about using our data migration services, we noticed some constant positives come up including:

Budget: We’re sure you’re familiar with this. Most federal agencies had heard that PostgreSQL could help them with their budget constraints but they wanted to make sure they weren’t losing functionality, features or performance by not using a proprietary DBMS. They found that they were not only not losing functionality but also gaining tremendous flexibility without the associated cost.

Multiple vendor support: For security reasons and flexibility, federal agencies are resistant to having one vendor control their database. Multiple scenarios cropped up during our conversations including a vendor being bought by a foreign company or being beholden to one vendor with no flexibility on cost or features. PostgreSQL allows them to have more control over their support and code.

Open Source: Reassurance that PostgreSQL would remain Open Source was key to many of these agencies. The current structure of the PostgreSQL community and input from major contributors worldwide addresses the multiple vendor support concern (see above).

Robust features: A spirited PostgreSQL community means that the product will continue to develop robust features based on the community’s needs and, most importantly, do it in a timely manner. No more product development maps dictated by ivory-tower product managers that may or may not included necessary features.

Specialized modifications: Gaining access to PostgreSQL source code was a key benefit to these agencies.  Instead of having to contend with protected code that cannot be modified or customized without incurring heavy costs, federal agencies can implement, use and customize PostgreSQL code as they see fit.

Looking at that list of benefits, is it any surprise that federal agencies are considering PostgreSQL? It really comes down to three factors – budget, control and flexibility. With its Open Source structure and community, PostgreSQL offers these agencies all three of those things.

Bull has experts that can help you secure your data in the case of natural disaster. Bull’s long history with migrations can have you set-up on a Postgres database efficiently. We also offer support, training and performance analysis. Contact us or visit our website (www.postgresmigrations.com) if you'd like to discuss your project in more detail, and to find out more about our managed services, database migration services and PostgreSQL offerings.

Surrounded by natural disasters, you’ve probably paused and thought  - how secure is my equipment and my database?  And, if you had the misfortune to suffer a loss because of Hurricane Sandy, you may be wondering how to turn misfortune into opportunity.

First, is it time to consider a move from a proprietary database?  You can save millions by migrating your data from an exclusive or legacy, non-relational database to an open database such as PostgresSQL.  With an open-source database such as PostgresSQL hosted in a low-risk data hosting center, your database is protected and efficiently managed with less cost than maintaining a proprietary database.

The next stage would be keeping your data secure from future disasters.  The three questions you should ask are:

1. If a disaster hits tomorrow, how secure is my hardware?

If your facility doesn’t provide a secure location, consider moving your hardware to a more secure location. The location should be comply with SAS 70 Type II standards for physical security – video surveillance and secured access by authorized personnel only.  It should also be monitored 24/7.

2. Do I have secure back-ups of my data in a separate location?

If you feel your hardware is secure, consider hosting back-ups of your data in a managed server data center.  The data center should be easily accessible and have extensive building management services including power and cooling systems, fire suppression, and a building management system that detects, interprets, and logs technical and security events.

3. If my network goes down, do I have a redundant connection secured?

The hardest part of natural disaster is not being able to connect to your data remotely.  If you have taken the necessary precautions and kept your data secure, make sure that you can access that data remotely. The data center you select should have a monitored, redundant, and stable network connection with multiple access options and entry points.

Bull has experts that can help you secure your data in the case of natural disaster. Bull’s long history with migrations can have you set-up on a Postgres database efficiently. We also offer support, training and performance analysis. Contact us if you'd like to discuss your project in more detail, and to find out more about our managed services, database migration services and PostgreSQL offerings.

Custom. Proprietary. Exclusive. All words we associate with quality and better performance – custom suits fit better, proprietary software meets our specific needs, exclusive access grants us a social edge.

But is that always true? For vintage cars, probably. But, for an RDBMS? Not always. We put PostgreSQL 9.1 against a proprietary RDBMS and the results are in.

Using the Open Source load test tool, Hammerora, we simulated 500 users, each performing 10,000 transactions against 800 data warehouses and measured sustained throughput. The same platform was used for all tests and repeated multiple times (after reset) ensuring the repeatability of the results.

So, how did PostgresSQL do? In short, consistently better. During our testing, the average Proprietary RDBMS sample showed throughput of 53824 Transactions per Minute (TPM) while PostgreSQL samples averaged 64374 TPM, - an almost 20% higher throughput.

For the full results, (click here).

Contact us if you'd like to discuss your project in more detail, and to find out more about our database migration services and PostgreSQL offerings.

At Bull, we've spent over 40 years providing companies just like yours with data migration services, including major data migrations from both DB2 and Oracle to PostgreSQL. Over that time, we’ve helped organizations cut their costs while improving efficiency. That's why we created our latest set of products and services.

If you are paying high licensing and maintenance costs…
If you are wondering how to derive maximum value from your legacy systems…
If you want to open your enterprise data to the cloud, virtualized environments and mobile devices…

It's time to MOVE IT™.

Modernize, Optimize, Virtualize and Economize Information Technology

Bull now offers a full range of services including database migrations, advanced transaction processing and training & support. We developed MOVE IT enterprise solutions to help organizations reduce costs while opening enterprise data to cloud, mobile devices and virtualized environments.

Our enterprise solutions specifically support:

1. Database Migrations: We can help you seamlessly migrate your legacy or other relational database to PostgreSQL, the world's most advanced open source database. Our services include consulting, implementation and optimization services for both infrastructure and applications.
2. LiberTP Transaction Processing: Our next generation transaction processor enables easy porting of older UNIX-based COBOL and C transaction processing applications to an open environment.
3. Training & Support: Our support services include PostgreSQL support subscriptions; database design and build assessments; database performance and tuning services; and forms and reports migration services.

MOVE IT products and services can work effectively standalone by solving specific challenges or work together to seamlessly provide enterprise IT clients with multiple benefits. Whether you manage work internally or outsource, MOVE IT services and software can free you from high licensing and maintenance costs while flourishing in competitive business environments.

Contact us if you'd like to discuss your project in more detail, and to find out more about our database migration services and PostgreSQL offerings.

Ken Rosensteel presented Bull's PL/SQL-to-PL/pgSQL tool at PGEast last year. Now a free public demonstration version of this tool is available. The demo tool provides a wide range of translation possibilities (but not the full tool capabilities). The user just pastes in the PL/SQL Stored Procedure text itself for a quick translation, and then the user can evaluate the results.

You are welcome to try out the free demo tool at www.postgresmigrations.com/stored-procedure-tool.html, and we request your feedback. You can use the demo tool for 30 days, with a limit of 2000 lines of PL/SQL Stored Procedures.

As mentioned in an earlier post, we're announcing the start of a PUG for Arizona. The first meeting will be Thursday, March 29, from 5 to 7 at Bull's facility in Northwest Phoenix. Refreshments will be provided.

You can join and get onto the mailing list and RSVP for the first meeting at https://www.bigtent.com/groups/azpug