Welcome to 2023! Now it is time to get your databases ready for the rest of the year.
First, how are your backups? You need to ensure that you are backing up all the data. Did someone ‘toss a project over the wall’ that needs to be added to the backup procedure? Or did you shut down a project that no longer needs to be part of the backup procedure, at least after rigorous data archiving? This is an excellent time to review your restoration practices to ensure that you can restore that schema, table, or row.
If you replicate from one server to the next, are you replicating what you need? You do not need to replicate everything, but are your filters appropriate for your needs? And how is that replication time lag from the primary doing — is it growing or hopefully keeping pace?
Second, peruse the accounts on your system to trim away those staff who are no longer with your organization. Audit the privileges to ensure you are following the Rule of Least Privileges, where you limit users’ access rights to only what is strictly required to do their jobs. Take some to check how the server is being accessed, as you do not want a project to use the root access for all queries.
Third, double-check the version of the software that is in use. You want to stay up to date, or at least fairly up to date. MySQL 5.7 reaches end-of-life status in October of 2023, so if you are using that release you need to plan to upgrade. It does help to look at the loss of security vulnerabilities for your software, such as this list for PostgreSQL, to assure yourself that your instances are not exposed. Check the versions of database connectors, programming languages, and proceed all the way down to the operating system.
For those who have not committed all to the cloud, it is time to check that your hardware and firmware are in good shape. I do not miss the days of the monthly planned server shutdown for vendor hardware maintenance from the days of yore. But with all the improvements in our equipment they still do need the rare update.
Fourth and finally, how are you doing? Have you been looking at the recent features and changes in your database software? If there are skills you need to pick up, such as learning a new language or investigating new technology, this is the time to develop an action plan. There are several exciting conferences on the calendar where you can expand your technical knowledge and network.
Now that I have mentioned conferences, please register for Percona Live May 22nd to 24th in Denver, Colorado. This is the open source database conference, and you need to be present. Get your tickets early, as you do not want to miss it!
