Performance Improvements in Firebird 5 HQbird
October 2025 – IBSurgeon announces HQbird 2024 R2 Update 7, delivering significant performance improvements in Firebird 5, simplified cloud deployment, and advanced replication features for enterprise database environments.
Update 7 brings core engine optimizations that directly impact your daily operations:
- Bulk insert acceleration - Handle large data imports more efficiently
- Up to 20% faster database restore - Minimize downtime during recovery operations
- CREATE TABLE AS SELECT - New functionality for quick and safe creation of temporary and permanent tables from SELECT query results
Perfect for data warehousing, migration tasks, and backup/restore scenarios.
Advanced Replication Features
Better control for Master-Replica environments:
- Duplicate control between VIP and group databases during auto-registration
- Prevents conflicts when re-initialization files are in monitoring directories
- Segment resending requests for group databases
- Sequential re-initialization mechanism - processes one database at a time to prevent resource conflicts
- Enhanced logging with file size information for incorrect segments
- Improved error handling and diagnostic information
- Better stability in multi-database environments
Group Tasks Enhancements
Group tasks in HQbird are designed for SaaS scenarios, when 1 server serves multiple databases.
- New execution time limit parameter prevents tasks from running too long
- Queue stops automatically when time limit is reached
- Smart Filtering: register master databases by size: "larger than" and "smaller than" filters
- Improved master registration with better error handling
- Enhanced group backup verification with additional diagnostics
- Better error resistance for complex batch operations
Web Interface Improvements
- New tooltips and improved dialog texts for better guidance
- Connection test button for pump-export tasks
- Version control with automatic cache management
- Browser cache prompts when web console version changes
- Modify socket server parameters without restarting HQbird FBDataGuard
- Automatic cookie and local storage cleanup on version mismatch
- Better feedback for configuration changes
Security and Configuration
- Password encryption for server properties
- Password encryption for database properties (including group databases)
- Passwords encrypted automatically when saved and on HQbird FBDataGuard startup
- Automatic path calculation for firebird.log, firebird.conf, and aliases file, paths calculated based on Firebird server version
- Deeper configuration validation on HQbird FBDataGuard startup
- Detection and logging of unexpected directories in configuration
New Parameter:
- db.expecteddb parameter for trace creation, provides better trace management for monitored databases
Technical improvements
Under the Hood Enhancements:
- Updated Tomcat 9 for extended monitoring viewer
- Improved FTP export plugin with complex path handling
- Atomic file rename operations to avoid antivirus and backup software locks
- Enhanced HTTP notification delivery with failed-send retention
- Better error handling when saving to log files
- New pump-export task at server level for unified group database exports
- Centralized file name constants
- Improved installation process in Windows Installer with better error handling during setup
Who Should Upgrade?
Recommended for:
- ✅ Users running Firebird 5 databases (performance improvements)
- ✅ Administrators managing multiple databases (group task features)
- ✅ Organizations using replication (stability and control improvements)
- ✅ Teams planning cloud migration (Digital Ocean integration)
- ✅ Linux administrators (simplified installation process)
Download and installation
- Windows installer
- Linux installers (unified installer and 1-step installation scripts)
- Digital Ocean cloud images
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IBSurgeon provides the encryption plugin framework for Firebird:
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