DevOps is spreading. As it grows the database is becoming a more organic part of the development process. This is resulting in teams wanting more copies of the databases to compare continuous changes.

To deal with this, Redgate Software has upgraded its  SQL Clone to give quicker and simpler access to databases, allowing for a higher turnaround of copies.

The new design creates smaller database clones by using the virtualization technologies built into the Windows OS. These replicas are the same as the original but come at a much smaller size of around 40MB or 1TB.

Different needs

Redgate does say, however, that different teams will have different needs. So, depending on what they are working on, teams will require varying levels of data masking.

The firm adds that they deal with this issue by letting Database Administrators (DBAs) and Data Architects to have a higher level of access and power over images, clones, and instances. This not only creates more autonomy but also allows for higher levels of DevOps in a team.

They commented that this option also permits developers to fix their own problems with copies and refresh dedicated development environments when needed.

Responding to a need

James Murtagh, Redgate Product Marketing Manager, says: “With more database environments being created to drive dedicated development and continuous integration pipelines, there’s now a need to provision test data more efficiently. At the same time, though, the question of data privacy has to become business as usual and without the right tooling and approach, it will hamper digital transformation initiatives.”

He goes on to add: “SQL Clone’s new Teams feature enables DevOps teams to self-serve not only safe data, but the precise data related to their particular project. That helps them boost efficiency (it’s what DevOps is all about, after all), and progress DevOps and agile development methods hand-in-hand with privacy regulations.”