DataMirror Unveils Transformation Server 6.0

Published: February 27, 2007

by Alex Woodie

DataMirror last week unveiled a new release of Transformation Server, its data integration software for sharing massive amounts of data among disparate systems, including DB2/400 and nearly every other major databases management system. With version 6.0, the company has improved the product's GUI interface, augmented its support for multi-byte character sets, and enhanced its support for replicating SQL Server databases.

DataMirror bills Transformation Server as a high-performance, bi-directional replication solution that keeps an array of target database systems and assorted middleware components--including DB2/400, DB2 UDB, Oracle, SQL Server, Sybase, Teradata, and its own PointBase database management systems--continuously up-to-date with changes made to the source. DataMirror calls the log-based technology enabling this feat of replication magic Change Data Capture (CDC), to separate Transformation Server from trigger-based and table-scan solutions, which it claims are riskier and require more overhead.

With version 6.0, DataMirror has added several refinements to the software, most notably its GUI management console. With the new version, DataMirror has streamlined the processes required to specify tables for replication, to set up data transformations (including those with custom business logic), and to monitor replication processes.

The company has also consolidated elements of monitoring, configuration, and control into a single GUI screen, which makes it easier to learn and boosts productivity, the company claims. Version 6.0 also introduces a new replication diagram that makes it easier to access latency statistics and the event log, which is important for tracking down problems.

The GUI in version 6.0 introduces a new "promotion wizard" that makes it easier to promote new templates from development to production and eliminates errors resulting from the prior copy-and-paste method. The wizard also assists in creating copies and backups of custom transformation configurations.

Users in China, Japan, and South Korea will find the product easier to use thanks to expanded support for replication of multi-byte character sets (MBCS) in Transformation Server 6.0, the company claims. Because all conversions are handled directly within the product, it reduces IT maintenance costs, DataMirror says.

Last but not least, Transformation Server 6.0 brings expanded support to Microsoft's SQL Server, or "everybody's favorite business intelligence platform." DataMirror has figured out a way to apply its log-based CDC technology to SQL Server, thereby bringing the same level of performance, scalability, and lowered latency that other platforms have enjoyed.

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