How does DSAuditor enable performance optimization?
DSAuditor provides detailed information about all database activity, including reports on table and column usage, applications accessing the database, and long-running queries. The complete SQL statements can be included in the report and there's even a "playback" feature. This all combines to help a DBA identify problem SQL queries and create better indexes.
What are the advantages to NOT using an appliance?
Embarcadero offers a flexible approach where you can perform the same monitoring activity and store audit logs separately from your database servers, but still have choices in hardware and software. For example, rather than limiting you to storing your audit trail in an under-powered MySQL database, Embarcadero enables you to choose from Oracle, DB2, or Teradata. This also allows the monitoring and repository servers to be integrated into your standard change control, security, anti-virus, and backup and recovery processes.
How can DSAuditor help secure sensitive information?
You can use DSAuditor to ensure data privacy in several ways. First, DSAuditor provides detailed audit trails for sensitive information, including all 'select' activity, to facilitate compliance with data privacy regulations, industry regulations, and corporate (internal) security policies. Second, companies can monitor access to sensitive information and set alerts for unusual or suspicious activity.
Why do I need DSAuditor when I have already implemented security solutions?
While organizations have made significant investments in securing and protecting the perimeter as well as hardening corporate servers and workstations, they have often left their most valuable information-customer records and financial information-vulnerable. DSAuditor works next to existing security solutions to protect valuable data from internal threats and ensure data privacy. With its rich auditing capabilities and intrusion detection services, DSAuditor provides the next necessary level of defense.
How does DSAuditor's networked-based approach compare to log-based solutions?
At Embarcadero, we understand that it is important to balance security with data availability and performance. While detailed auditing is required to meet compliance and security requirements, data must be available, and SLAs must be maintained. Log-based solutions depend on native database auditing controls for granular data access and change reporting. These native controls dramatically increase log size and negatively impact database server performance without providing a complete audit trail. For example, log-based solutions do not always log 'select' statements and procedure calls. Additionally, logs have to be managed and purged regularly to prevent filling up all available disk storage. DSAuditor avoids this problem by listening to client-server database network traffic, while storing and analyzing the log files on a separate server. It is truly a zero overhead solution.
