Product Reviews
PocketDBA 2.0
Handy DBA tool for handhelds.
PocketDBA is, as you might guess, a database administration tool for
handheld platforms (either Palm or PocketPC). Depending on what you configure
and install, it can support SQL Server, Oracle, or DB2. Expand Beyond
installs its own Application Server on your network. The cliences communicate
wirelessly, with SSL encryption and optional RSA SecurID protection, with
the Application Server. The Application Server in turn talks to the databases.
The Application Server itself runs on Solaris 8, Windows NT or 2000, or
Red Hat Linux 7.2 or 7.3.
After you've installed the Application Server, the next step is to tell
it which databases it's going to manage; it does not just let you prowl
through the whole network. Once that's done, handheld devices simply connect
to a specified URL to use the databases.
From the handheld, you can perform a variety of DBA tasks:
- View connected users
- Manage users
- View blocks
- Change permissions
- Rebuild indexes
- Execute arbitrary SQL statements
That's just a sampling. With the proper permissions, you can even start
and stop the SQL Server itself and perform some on-the-fly tuning. The
Expand Beyond interface is seriously stripped down to fit on the small
screen, of course, but it makes good use of tabbed dialogs in the limited
space to display information, and keeps the number of mouse clicks to
a minimum.
If you're a DBA who's tethered to his computers, you might look at Expand
Beyond as a way to break free.
About the Author
Mike Gunderloy, MCSE, MCSD, MCDBA, is a former MCP columnist and the author of numerous development books.