A database is the backbone of any enterprise application. And most of these applications use database management systems (DBMS) to create, store and manage data. These DBMS software, like Oracle, IBM DB2, Sybase, Microsoft SQL Server or MySql are responsible for creation, updation, retrieval and storage of information in a structured format. Plus, it must also maintain data integrity, access control and security. Since there's so much to do in a database, the organization must dedicate a database administrator for the job, who has to ensure efficient and proper design of data in the database.

If anything goes wrong with an application, the DBA has to use his skills to check whether the problem arose because of a fault in the database design or due to the application's logic. This is not an easy task, which is why (fortunately) there are database management tools that help a DBA keep a real-time check on the performance of DBMS. Not only do these tools provide for performance optimality but also help in the design and development of database on various DBMS platforms. The database management tools can broadly be classified into two categories: Production, and Development tools.

DBManager's Query Builder can be used to create queries by selecting the appropriate data object from the Objects panel. The result is displayed in the Output panel

Production DBA tools
A database administrator is required to maintain the production and test environments of an application development project. The tools used to manage the production environment are used to sort issues related with database performance, administration and database recovery.

The DBA can tune and improve the performance of a database by using such tools. The performance-monitoring tool helps a DBA gauge the efficiency and responsiveness of SQL queries, system parameters and database structures. Such performance monitoring tools run in the background and maintain a log of the database performance statistics and alert the DBA on occurrence of any problem. Some advanced tools can also take proactive steps to counter the problem so that database performance is not hindered at all.

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