I first wrote about Mladen Prajdic's excellent tool in my Tool Time column at SQL Server Magazine HERE. The tool is a nice plug-in to SSMS and definitely worth having. If you’ve never installed it or have only installed an older version, but sure to pick up the newest release. Here’s Mladen’s press release complete with hyperlink for the tool: SSMS Tools Pack 1.9.4 is out! Now with SQL Server 2011 (Denali) CTP1 support. As Mladen says: ...this release adds support for SQL Server 2011 (Denali) CTP1 and fixes a few bugs. Because of the new SSMS shell in SQL 2011 CTP1 the SSMS Tools … [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: Exciting New Community for Users of Toad for SQL Server
March 9, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Join the Toad for SQL Server Community! I was just bragging about how Toad for SQL Server keeps getting better. In that post, I also pointed out a lot of great resources you can put to work immediately on improving your skills with this great tool. (Incidentally, there's a freeware version without all of the features, but it's still quite useful. And you can always use the beta product, if you want all of the features and many new features that are undergoing community testing.) One of the reasons that Toad is so good is that it's always been a community-driven product. Back when I … [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...]
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...]
