Spotlight on SQL Server That's right! An all new version 8.0 of Spotlight on SQL Server Enterprise is now GA and updated trials are live on the website. Some cool stuff therein: • Support for SQL Server 2011 (Denali) - Spotlight can now be used to monitor SQL Server 2011 databases (Denali CTP1 and CTP2 releases). • Project Lucy integration - Use Project Lucy to analyze the performance of your database and compare your experience with everyone else who uses the service. • VMware memory diagnostics - Analyze virtual memory using charts similar to that used to analyze virtual CPU. We also … [Read more...]
Wednesday Quest: Toad and Policy-Based Management
June 1, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Did you know that Toad for SQL Server has some nice features for users of policy-based management (PBM)? Importing Policies For example, Toad can import policies into a PBM server, so that you don’t have to manually create them every time. You can import policies that you have exported from other servers, and you can also import the Microsoft Best Practice Policies. (Read about the concept HERE). The Microsoft policies are a great place to start learning what you can do with PBM, by simply importing them and inspecting their various configurations. They are installed by default and … [Read more...]
Wednesday Quest: Power GUI Integration
March 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Two tools that I really like are PowerGUI, a tool to take all the hard work out of PowerShell scripting, available in both free and paid versions from Quest Software. You can also get PowerGUI extensions for Visual Studio for free from CodePlex. Another tool I really like is PowerWF. PowerWF is a really cool visual workflow builder that creates PowerShell scripts for you. Turns out that it integrates with PowerGUI! This video shows 2 different ways that PowerWF Workflows can be run from within Quest Software's PowerGUI tool. Watch the Video - Download PowerWF Enjoy! -Kev … [Read more...]
Wednesday Quest: New Product Training and Documentation
March 2, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Product documentation and product training are two areas where our customers consistently press us to improve...and one we take if very seriously. Bold Claims One of my favorite tools in the Quest Software toolbox for SQL Server (and Oracle) DBAs is called Foglight Performance Analysis, or more commonly, PA. This product can do things that no other tool or amount of customized scripts can ever reproduce. I am dead serious about this claim. To find out more, navigate to www.quest.com/foglight-performance-analysis-for-sql-server and click on "Key Product Documents". You'll then be taken … [Read more...]
Integrating Workload Replays into Database Change Management
March 1, 2011 by Leave a Comment
I would like to make you aware of a recently written paper by Bert Scalzo. The paper focuses on how DBAs can rely on the Toad and Benchmark Factory to perform database workload replays, ensuring that changes to the databases do not degrade the user experience. White Paper: Integrating Workload Replays into Database Change Management I encourage you to read the paper and make workload replay a part of your database change management practices. As I’ve been saying for years, if you don’t have quantitative evidence of what normal is for your database, how can you know what is … [Read more...]
Wednesday Quest: On-Line Demos for Toad Data Analyst and Benchmark Factory
February 23, 2011 by Leave a Comment
If you've attended any of my public sessions about SQL Server technology, then you might remember that I extend a standing offer to provide a free, long-term license to any of several products from Quest Software, such as Toad for SQL Server (including the SQL Optimizer), Toad Data Analyst, Toad Data Modeler, and the awesome performance and scalability testing tool Benchmark Factory. If you've ever wondered about these tools and why I tout them, why don't you take a couple minutes to look at the on-line demos available at each of the preceding links? If you like what you see, drop me a … [Read more...]
Have You Heard About Project Lucy?
February 16, 2011 by 1 Comment
Quest Software's latest community initiative, Windows Azure-based Project Lucy, has debuted! Project Lucy is part infrastructure analytics, part social media experiment, and part performance data warehouse. The best things about Project Lucy include: It’s Free - just like our SQLServerPedia website, Project Lucy is free to anyone who wants to upload a trace file It’s 1oo% web-based - you don’t have to download or maintain anything and updates roll out seamlessly, all the time It really helps - just generate a SQL Trace on a SQL Server 2000, 2005 or 2008 instance, upload it on … [Read more...]
What’s Up With Discovery Wizard for SQL Server?
February 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment
First, the Good News I really like the free SQL Server utility from Quest Software, nicknamed "Disco", that enables you to discover and inventory all versions and editions of Microsoft SQL Server from the mid-1990's onward. You can see what it does at http://questkb.com/category/sqlserver/discovery-wizard/. I've had a lot of customers who have faced the challenge of bringing an unwieldy and chaotically growing SQL Server infrastructure to heel. It can be really daunting in a big enterprise trying to find all of the SQL Servers tucked behind third-party applications, Microsoft … [Read more...]
