Firebird 2.5 release: Performance and Audit

Firebird 2.5, the 5th release of an open source relational database, was released on October 4. Press release ( English) here , download distributions and source codes at www.firebirdsql.org . 32-bit and 64-bit versions are available for Windows and Linux, MacOSX, Solaris and HP-UX will appear later.

New features for Firebird 2.5

• New SuperClassic architecture. Firebird 2.5 introduces a new architecture called SuperClassic, which allows you to get more return on multiprocessor and multi-core servers, and work with even more users.
• Audit. The new Services API features allow you to audit requests to the server almost in real time, and analyze all the queries that are performed on the database.
• Queries between databases. Firebird 2.5 allows you to access other Firebird databases from stored procedures, triggers and code blocks of one database.
• Advanced user management. User management is now available through SQL statements.
• Other features include offline transactions in PSQL code (stored procedures, triggers, and code blocks), regular expressions in SQL - SIMILAR TO, asynchronous disconnection of connections, enhanced monitoring capabilities, and more.
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More information about all the innovations can be found in the Release Notes Firebird 2.5 document.


Pricing and Availability

Firebird 2.5 is an open source database that is free for any kind of use, including commercial, educational, non-commercial or private. Both ready distributions and source codes can be downloaded for free from the Firebird project site. Registration or activation is not required.

What users say (from the press release)

Alexander Shaposhnikov, head of IT department of the distributor of medicines Profitmed : “Now our base is 65 gigabytes with 250 active users working 24x7. In the next two years, its volume and the number of users will increase by 2 times. We are confident that Firebird 2.5 is great for our needs. ”

“Most of our customers have Firebird databases ranging in size from 200 to 400 gigabytes, and their growth continues,” says Stewart Spink, CTO Watermark Technologies . “The performance improvements in Firebird 2.5 give us the assurance that customer needs will continue to be met.”

About the Firebird Foundation

The Firebird Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports the development of the Firebird RDBMS. This fund was established in 2002, and now has more than 300 active members, some of whom are also project sponsors. The Foundation accepts donations in the form of finances or resources, and distributes them to the development of new functionality of the Firebird RDBMS.


Support in Russia
Firebird in Russia is supported by iBase .