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Redis Labs eases database management with RedisInsight
Based on the open source RDBTools project, Redis Labs' new tool gives database administrators a stable graphical user interface for database management.
Sean Michael Kerner
The robust market of tools to help users of the Redis database manage their systems just got a new entrant.
Redis Labs disclosed the availability of its RedisInsight tool, a graphical user interface (GUI) for database management and operations.
Redis is a popular open source NoSQL database that is also increasingly being used in cloud-native Kubernetes deployments as users move workloads to the cloud. Open source database use is growing quickly according to recent reports as the need for flexible, open systems to meet different needs has become a common requirement.
Among the challenges often associated with databases of any type is ease of management, which Redis is trying to address with RedisInsight.
"Database management will never go out of fashion," said James Governor, analyst and co-founder at RedMonk. "Anyone running a Redis cluster is going to appreciate better memory and cluster management tools."
Governor noted that Redis is following a tested approach, by building out more tools for users that improve management. Enterprises are willing to pay for better manageability, Governor noted, and RedisInsight aims to do that.
RedisInsight based on RDBtools
The RedisInsight tool, introduced Nov. 12, is based on the RDBTools technology that Redis Labs acquired in April 2019. RDBTools is an open source GUI for users to interact with and explore data stores in a Redis database.
Database management will never go out of fashion.
James GovernorAnalyst and co-founder, RedMonk
Over the last seven months, Redis added more capabilities to the RDBTools GUI, expanding the product's coverage for different applications, said Alvin Richards, chief product officer at Redis.
One of the core pieces of extensibility in Redis is the ability to introduce modules that contain new data structures or processing frameworks. So for example, a module could include time series, or graph data structures, Richards explained.
"What we have added to RedisInsight is the ability to visualize the data for those different data structures from the different modules," he said. "So if you want to visualize the connections in your graph data for example, you can see that directly within the tool."
RedisInsight overview dashboard
RDBTools is just one of many different third-party tools that exist for providing some form of management and data insight for Redis. There are some 30 other third-party GUI tools in the Redis ecosystem, though lack of maturity is a challenge.
"They tend to sort of come up quickly and get developed once and then are never maintained," Richards said. "So, the key thing we wanted to do is ensure that not only is it current with the latest features, but we have the apparatus behind it to carry on maintaining it."
How RedisInsight works
For users, getting started with the new tool is relatively straightforward. RedisInsight is a piece of software that needs to be downloaded and then connected to an existing Redis database. The tool ingests all the appropriate metadata and delivers the visual interface to users.
RedisInsight is available for Windows, macOS and Linux, and also available as a Docker container. Redis doesn't have a RedisInsight as a Service offering yet.
"We have considered having RedisInsight as a service and it's something we're still working on in the background, as we do see demand from our customers," Richards said. "The challenge is always going to be making sure we have the ability to ensure that there is the right segmentation, security and authorization in place to put guarantees around the usage of data."
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