Introducing Database “AI Query Assist” in SolarWinds Observability SaaS
Get More out of Database Monitoring With Generative AI
Today's databases are complex and dynamic. As workloads intensify and data volumes expand, database performance management becomes increasingly challenging. SolarWinds is proud to announce the launch of an innovative new capability designed to enhance your database monitoring experience: AI Query Assist, powered by cutting-edge generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) technology.
AI Query Assist leverages the transformative power of large language models (LLMs) to analyze database queries and recommend optimizations in real time. By understanding the intricacies of query execution plans and contextual database metadata, AI Query Assist generates recommendations for optimized queries to enhance performance, saving valuable time and resources.
Why Generative AI Matters in Database Query Optimization
Traditional query optimizations struggle to adapt to dynamic database environments and growing data volumes. AI Query Assist transcends these limitations by harnessing the contextual intelligence of GenAI. LLMs can analyze the user's query and context to understand the underlying intent, which is crucial for crafting an effective query. It dynamically assesses and optimizes queries to address inefficiencies that static tools typically miss, significantly reducing the mean time to detect (MTTD) and mean time to remediate (MTTR) performance bottlenecks.
How Does It Work
SolarWinds® Observability SaaS now integrates AI Query Assist directly into your database monitoring workflows. When you review a database query sample with an available Explain Plan, you can effortlessly trigger an AI-generated optimization recommendation. AI Query Assist not only provides an optimized version of your query but also explains the rationale behind each suggestion, helping ensure transparency and enabling informed decisions. Plus, with user-friendly features like one-click query copying and clear success notifications, adopting these enhancements is seamless.
Note: This tool leverages generative AI to provide query assistance and optimization suggestions. While every effort is made to ensure relevance and accuracy, AI-generated outputs may include content that is incomplete, inaccurate, or not suitable for your specific use case. This feature is intended as an assistive aid. All outputs should be reviewed and validated by an expert.
Example Scenarios
Let us run through a few examples of how AI Query Assist may help investigate a sample query with longer-than-expected latency and propose optimizations based on the query plan.
Example 1: Optimizing a SELECT Operation with Multiple Joins
In the example above, one can see the original query sample that was collected, which is a SELECT operation with multiple Joins. Upon running the generative AI-based Query Assist capability, the suggested query is condensed by reducing the number of unnecessary JOINS and simplifying the WHERE clause with other optimizations.
Following SolarWinds AI by Design principles, the AI Query Assist feature provides a complete explanation of the optimizations suggested to make it simple (Simplicity and Accessibility principle) for even a non-DBA user to understand the rationale for the suggested changes and build trust (Transparency and Trust principle).
Further, it summarizes the operations and provides a measurable unit of query cost savings reflecting the possible benefit to application performance.
Finally, it provides an easy visual to compare the queries and enables the optimized query to be copied so that DBA/application developers can experiment with the optimized query in their code. This again reinforces the SolarWinds AI principle of keeping a human in the loop as expressed in the Accountability and Fairness principle.
Example 2: Optimizing a Complex SELECT Query with Indexing Improvements
In the example above, one can see the original query sample that we collected, which is a slightly complex SELECT operation. Upon running the generative AI Query Assist capability, the suggested query does not look much more compact than the first example, but has several critical optimizations suggested, including improvements for indexes, enabling filtering to occur earlier in query execution to reduce rows processed, and elimination of temporary tables.
Again, the AI Query Assist summarizes the operations and provides a complete explanation for the suggestion following the SolarWinds AI by Design Principles.
Example 3: When No Further Optimizations Are Needed
Naturally, in today’s environment of rapid deployments, developers and DBAs are constantly optimizing and improving the performance of their applications and queries. In cases where the query is already optimized, the AI Query Assist will reinforce and provide any other suggestions on the query, such as improved readability, but be explicit that it did not find more room for optimizations, continuing to build trust with the users, such as in the examples above.
Embracing Responsible and Secure AI
At SolarWinds, we prioritize responsible AI innovation. Our AI by Design and Secure by Design principles form the backbone of the AI Gateway, our secure, centralized platform managing interactions between internal systems and external generative AI models. Our AI Privacy and Security principles drive robust features like real-time PII masking, comprehensive authentication protocols, and centralized usage monitoring. SolarWinds helps ensure your data privacy and security without compromising innovation. Also, customer data is not leveraged for generalized training and is completely segregated for just that customer. With AI Query Assist, any potential PII information is masked before using the query or the explain plans.
SolarWinds believes AI systems should aid, assist, and inform their human counterparts, not replace them entirely. Even after our solutions have been deployed, our customer service experts remain involved in monitoring and validating the responses provided by our AI systems. AI by Design’s Accountability and Fairness principle helps ensure that there is a human in the loop to review and regulate decisions made by AI.
Get Started Today
SolarWinds Observability SaaS, with features such as Database AI Query Assist, is designed with your convenience and productivity in mind. It offers an intuitive user interface and actionable insights. With built-in governance features like user opt-in capabilities and clear messaging around AI-generated recommendations, SolarWinds presents a more transparent and controlled experience.
Discover how AI Query Assist can improve your database query performance and unlock new efficiencies for your organization.
Explore SolarWinds Observability SaaS today and give us your feedback. This is our first iteration of this capability, and we really want to know if the optimizations suggested are useful and implementable. With your feedback, we will continue working on vNext to improve this capability and provide better results.