Toronto-based DataMirror Corporation recently announced an enhanced version of its Transformation Server data integration software.
The company said version 4.6 includes new features and functionality in data resiliency and ease-of-use.
According to John Vandermay, director of development for DataMirror, Transformation Server handles real-time capture, transform and flow of data between different repositories.
Version 4.6 comes equipped with Alerts and Alarms, an automated error notification and handling feature that DataMirror said can notify administrators automatically through e-mail, wireless devices or messaging onto an operator’s console.
Another recently added feature is Advanced Heartbeat Monitoring, which the company said maximizes data integrity by empowering administrators to automatically start a controlled shutdown of all functions.
DataMirror said when combined with Alerts and Alarms, Heartbeat Monitoring ensures that administrators are aware of any issues giving them the ability to take immediate action.
Vandermay said an additional feature is Auto Discovery, which is like an auto-configuration component of the software.
“When you install a new server into the replication network, the auto discovery automatically notifies the rest of the network that the server is available for replication without having to go through the process of configuring it,” Vandermay said.
He added that the auto discovery feature will tell the other servers the IP address, the port number and the database of the new server.
“It really helps to simplify the administrative side of the equation when it comes to data replication,” he said.
Carl Olofson, program director for Framingham, Mass.-based IDC Corp., said DataMirror’s products are designed to keep the data infrastructure synchronized.
“DataMirror’s value proposition is that they transform the data from the format of one system to another,” Olofson said. “As organizations become more and more integrated in terms of their data management, what you want to have is a sort of background system that is doing this automatically so you don’t have to go through special manual steps every day or every week.”
Olofson said automatic data integration systems will not necessarily have people pouring over the data that is being integrated.
“It makes sense that you would have a system where you can set up rules that say ‘if this changes’ or ‘if this value gets out of this range let me know about it.'”
Vandermay noted, “I think we have really added some features into our product that really help improve the customer experience, and I think we have been able to deliver on that. We have put some key differentials into the product.”
DataMirror said the new features will be rolled out across all Transformation Server supported platforms including UNIX, Linux, Windows NT, Windows 2000 and IBM OS/390. Transformation Server is available now and pricing is based on size of server. For more information visit www.datamirror.com.