The DBA lens · Tuesday, August 04, 2026

AWS Transform for full-stack Windows modernization now allows offline source transformation, enabling migration from Microsoft SQL Server to Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL without a live database connection. The service converts storage objects using AWS DMS and handles code objects like stored procedures through an interactive, agentic experience. Enterprises can upload SQL Server DDL files to assess complexity and generate customizable migration plans directly.

• Migrate SQL Server to Aurora PostgreSQL without requiring a live connection to the source database.
• Upload DDL files directly to assess database and stored procedure complexity before migration.
• AWS DMS handles storage object conversion while an agentic tool manages stored procedure code.
• Enables offline modernization for legacy .NET applications and their dependent SQL Server databases.

AWS has generally released the Context Ontology Accelerator, an open-source tool designed to build machine-readable business ontologies for AI agents. The system ingests structured and unstructured data to draft an ontology, which domain experts then review and approve before it is stored in a W3C-standard knowledge graph. Agents access this trusted context via a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server to ensure decisions are consistent and auditable.

• Drafts ontologies from data using AI, requiring human expert validation for accuracy.
• Stores approved models in a W3C-standard knowledge graph owned by the organization.
• Exposes context to AI agents via a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server.
• Aims to improve trust, explainability, and auditability in agent decision-making.

The pgBackRest community has released version 2.59.0, delivering updates to the popular PostgreSQL backup and restore tool. This release introduces malware and ransomware protection capabilities alongside the ability to resume partial or failed backups. The software continues to support parallel operations, multiple compression types, and encryption for scalable database infrastructure.

• New malware and ransomware protection features enhance backup security.
• Partial and failed backup resumption reduces recovery time for interrupted jobs.
• Supports parallel backup/restore and asynchronous archiving for large workloads.
• Maintains compatibility with S3, Azure, GCS, and SFTP storage repositories.
• Validates page checksums during backup when enabled in the database.

The E-Maj 5.0.0 release introduces the ability for non-superuser roles to install and operate the extension, with feature access governed by specific privileges. This update ensures compatibility with PostgreSQL versions 14 through 19 and enhances the Emaj_web client. Key improvements also include better support for idempotent administration scripts and streamlined parameter management.

• Non-superuser roles can now install and use E-Maj, enabling finer-grained access control.
• Full compatibility with PostgreSQL 19, supporting versions 14 through 19.
• Emaj_web client updated to leverage new privilege and scripting features.
• Improved handling of idempotent admin scripts and E-Maj parameter configuration.

Amazon Aurora DSQL now supports multi-Region clusters in Europe (Stockholm), Europe (Spain), Asia Pacific (Mumbai), and Asia Pacific (Singapore). This serverless distributed SQL database offers active-active high availability and multi-Region strong consistency. Each multi-Region cluster provides a writable endpoint in both peered Regions, presenting a single logical database that remains available even if one Region becomes unavailable.

• Aurora DSQL multi-Region clusters are now available in Stockholm, Spain, Mumbai, and Singapore.
• Each multi-Region cluster provides a writable endpoint in both peered Regions.
• The database presents a single logical database that remains available even if one Region fails.
• Aurora DSQL is the fastest serverless, distributed SQL database with active-active high availability.
• Multi-Region strong consistency is maintained across the peered Regions.

Percona published an investigation into the memory usage of stored procedures within Percona Server for MySQL. The analysis originated from performance comparisons of different memory allocators during benchmarking. The authors highlight unexpected memory effects discovered during this process that warrant detailed examination.

• Memory allocation behavior for stored procedures may differ from expectations.
• Memory allocator choice can significantly impact server resource consumption.
• Benchmarking should include detailed memory profiling for stored logic.
• Review Percona's specific allocator implementations for optimization opportunities.

PostgreSQL 18 introduces a new GUC enabling extension control and SQL files to reside outside standard server directories. This change facilitates packaging extensions as independent OCI images, allowing them to be mounted at runtime via Kubernetes ImageVolume or Docker volumes. The approach supports independent versioning and upgrading of extensions without rebuilding the core PostgreSQL server image.

• PostgreSQL 18 adds a GUC to locate extension files outside server directories.
• Enables packaging extensions as separate OCI images for runtime mounting.
• Allows independent extension upgrades without rebuilding the server image.
• Decoupling effectiveness depends on the specific extension's architecture.

Amazon RDS for Oracle now supports 1-year and 3-year Reserved Instances for the R8i and M8i instance families, offering up to 53% savings over On-Demand pricing. These instances leverage custom Intel Xeon 6 processors exclusive to AWS, providing up to 2.5x more memory bandwidth and 15% better price-performance than previous generations. Reserved Instance benefits apply to both Single-AZ and Multi-AZ configurations, allowing flexibility to switch between them within the same instance class.

• Up to 53% cost savings available for R8i and M8i instances via 1- or 3-year RIs.
• Custom Intel Xeon 6 chips deliver 2.5x memory bandwidth vs. prior gen Intel instances.
• RIs apply to Multi-AZ and Single-AZ, allowing config switching without losing benefits.
• Ideal for stable workloads needing high memory bandwidth and predictable Oracle costs.