SQLServerCentral / Discuss Content Posted by David Bird / Article Discussions / Article Discussions by Author / Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA / Latest Posts

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

Kim Killian-SiteDataView — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 07:02:24 GMT

David, is there any trick to getting this set of reports and ssis working on S2k8? I have this rolled out on my environment which has 2000-2008 and I'm only successfull with SQL 2000 and 2005. On the 2008 machines, I get the following errors:Load Backup History component "OLE DB Source" (1) failed validation and returned error code 0xC020801C.Load Database Status component "OLE DB Source" (1) failed validation and returned error code 0xC020801C.Load Job History component "OLE DB Source" (1) failed validation and returned error code 0xC020801C.Load Jobs component "OLE DB Source" (1) failed validation and returned error code 0xC020801C.Execute XP_MSVER Failed to acquire connection "MultiServer". Connection may not be configured correctly or you may not have the right permissions on this connection.Get Database Info Failed to acquire connection "MultiServer". Connection may not be configured correctly or you may not have the right permissions on this connection.Get Disk Space Failed to acquire connection "MultiServer". Connection may not be configured correctly or you may not have the right permissions on this connection.Get ErrorLog Failed to acquire connection "MultiServer". Connection may not be configured correctly or you may not have the right permissions on this connection.Load Backup History SSIS Error Code DTS_E_CANNOTACQUIRECONNECTIONFROMCONNECTIONMANAGER. The AcquireConnection method call to the connection manager "MultiServer" failed with error code 0xC0202009. There may be error messages posted before this with more information on why the AcquireConnection method call failed.Load Database Status SSIS Error Code DTS_E_CANNOTACQUIRECONNECTIONFROMCONNECTIONMANAGER. The AcquireConnection method call to the connection manager "MultiServer" failed with error code 0xC0202009. There may be error messages posted before this with more information on why the AcquireConnection method call failed.Load Job History SSIS Error Code DTS_E_CANNOTACQUIRECONNECTIONFROMCONNECTIONMANAGER. The AcquireConnection method call to the connection manager "MultiServer" failed with error code 0xC0202009. There may be error messages posted before this with more information on why the AcquireConnection method call failed.Load Jobs SSIS Error Code DTS_E_CANNOTACQUIRECONNECTIONFROMCONNECTIONMANAGER. The AcquireConnection method call to the connection manager "MultiServer" failed with error code 0xC0202009. There may be error messages posted before this with more information on why the AcquireConnection method call failed.Load Backup History SSIS Error Code DTS_E_CANNOTACQUIRECONNECTIONFROMCONNECTIONMANAGER. The AcquireConnection method call to the connection manager "MultiServer" failed with error code 0xC0202009. There may be error messages posted before this with more information on why the AcquireConnection method call failed.Load Database Status SSIS Error Code DTS_E_CANNOTACQUIRECONNECTIONFROMCONNECTIONMANAGER. The AcquireConnection method call to the connection manager "MultiServer" failed with error code 0xC0202009. There may be error messages posted before this with more information on why the AcquireConnection method call failed.Load Job History SSIS Error Code DTS_E_CANNOTACQUIRECONNECTIONFROMCONNECTIONMANAGER. The AcquireConnection method call to the connection manager "MultiServer" failed with error code 0xC0202009. There may be error messages posted before this with more information on why the AcquireConnection method call failed.Load Jobs SSIS Error Code DTS_E_CANNOTACQUIRECONNECTIONFROMCONNECTIONMANAGER. The AcquireConnection method call to the connection manager "MultiServer" failed with error code 0xC0202009. There may be error messages posted before this with more information on why the AcquireConnection method call failed.Load Backup History There were errors during task validation.Load Database Status There were errors during task validation.Load Job History There were errors during task validation.Load Jobs There were errors during task validation.I have enabled xp_cmdshell and ole and the dtc service.

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

Hemantgiri S. Goswami — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 04:56:15 GMT

Hi All,I was searching for some tool and landed here on this page. It is nice to see great tools. Here are some free tools:SQLDBDiff V3.0.0 -- This tool can compare data and schema SQLDBSearch V2.0.0 -- This tool is used to search content or object SQLDBSize V1.0.0 -- graphical display of sp_spaceused These tools can be downloaded from http://www.sqldbtools.com/Tools.aspx

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

Paul McKenzie — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:43:03 GMT

Here is a great free tool for rapidly creating SQL Reporting Services Reports. Its quick, easy and will give you fully featured (filtering, sorting, summing and styled) report. Enjoy![url=http://www.expressreporting.com]http://www.expressreporting.com[/url]

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

dejan-1116676 — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:58:59 GMT

DbOctopus, browsing and editing for SQL Server with strong support for relations. Also includes SQL Editor with code completion. Free licenses until 1st September 2009.[url]http://www.cogin.com/dboctopus/[/url]

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

amit_ary — Mon, 04 May 2009 01:39:21 GMT

SQLDoc Sharp, an interactive tool designed to generate the SQL Server 2005/2008 documentation.It allows exporting the documentation to CHM format (Microsoft Compiled HTML Help). And it is easy and interactive, also allows multiple database documentation.http://www.amitchaudhary.com/SQLDocSharp_WordToHTML.htm

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

Adrian Charles Chetwynd-Talbot — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 06:37:58 GMT

The section about the FullSun SQL Server Toolkit sounds excellent, the only problem being clicking on the hyperlink connects to the URL http://www.fullsun.net but with no web pages? would be great if the correct website/url was available or guidance to obtain this tool

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

Ismael Medina-428634 — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:22:52 GMT

Amazing!!!!.Incredible list of tools :w00t:.I would add 2. The best performance analisys tools, very useful, makes my tuning job very simple.Performance Analisys of Logs - CODEPLEX (Useful to identify hardware bottlenecks)SQL Nexus - CODEPLEX (Useful to identify the top n expensive statements or batches).This two consume information from PSSDiag and SQLDiag.

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

yonision — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 07:08:43 GMT

hey,here's another cool free tool:its something like sql server but monitors your data only. tells you about any data changes that happened in your tables, generate scripts to roll back or forward to any point in time. nice.http://www.nobhillsoft.com/DataProfiler.aspx

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

Jay Hopping — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 15:27:27 GMT

for database comparison, I use sql effects clarity ce which is the free version.edit_11/9/2009: FYI: the name has been changed to SQL Accord CE

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

sol.nt — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 21:59:08 GMT

[quote][b]AJ (4/14/2008)[/b][hr]I know that the new version of SQL Prompt is paid.Fortunately, when they had just begun with the project, they had free distribution of the software, which i have a copy of.If anyone wants the copy, they can let me know either directly, or guide me to a place where i can upload it, for others to download.[/quote]Could you upload this tool on gmail or mediafire? I deleted my copy and now i can not find anywhere on net. :(ThanksSol

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

john barnett — Mon, 19 May 2008 04:58:56 GMT

PSPad (www.pspad.com)Freeware MDI text editor with colour syntax highlighting for a huge number of formats, including SQL.

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

cdms — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:51:19 GMT

Oracle SQL Developer with "jtds" is also useful for working with ms sql server 2005 !

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

john.mccutcheon — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 08:29:53 GMT

Idera offer free tools- so why don't you have a look there.

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

jezemine — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:47:06 GMT

for web email, I like fastmail.fm better than either yahoo or gmail. been using them for many years.

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

Vic Kirkpatrick-173212 — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:24:32 GMT

Yahoo email? Not! GMail all the way. There's not even a comparison here.

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

darkos — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 08:58:58 GMT

[quote][b]Jon Monahan (4/10/2008)[/b][hr]I know there's a for fee version available, but there also used to be a free version of SQL Prompt from RedGate (not sure if there still is...). It's great for those extra large databases where you just don't want to have to type all of the names of those tables or SPs... This functionality exists within SSMS 2008 - but seems very quirky so far.[/quote]I know that the new version of SQL Prompt is paid.Fortunately, when they had just begun with the project, they had free distribution of the software, which i have a copy of.If anyone wants the copy, they can let me know either directly, or guide me to a place where i can upload it, for others to download.

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

Bill Wimsatt-448069 — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:18:54 GMT

I would recommend [url=http://www.oracle.com/technology/ products/database/sql_developer]SQLDeveloper by Oracle[/url]. It has the same feature set as Toad, but is completely free. It can attach to Oracle, MySQL, and SQL Server simultaneously. I personally use the Express Manager for most DBA tasks, but SQLDeveloper is FREE and covers multiple databases.The other nice thing is that SQLDeveloper is cross platform. I have it in Windows, on MacOS X, and Linux. It also runs well in virtual machines.Bill

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

David Bird — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:56:49 GMT

Yes I agree with Rudy Panigas. This article is about free tools for a DBA. This does not mean tools with trial versions. Please refrain from adding responses with products that are not free. Nice tool Jezemine. I have recently used it thanks

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

jezemine — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:53:49 GMT

ok, here's another I wrote that is absolutely free and open source:[url=http://www.codeplex.com/scriptdb]http://www.codeplex.com/scriptdb[/url]you can use it to script out all database objects from the cmd line. it's nice to automate generation of scripts for checkin to a source control system, for example.

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

Rudy Panigas — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:47:53 GMT

I see that people are adding software that is not "free" but could be free to eval. I think we should only be listing free tools that are 100% free to use, without betas or evaluation/trial versions.Just my 2 cents worth :)

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

jezemine — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 10:16:15 GMT

I wrote a tool called sqlspec for documenting databases in SQL Server and every other DBMS of note. some people like it. :)details in my sig below.EDIT: this tool isn't free - it's shareware. I do offer free licenses to charites and open source software projects though, so if you work for a .org or similar and want a free license let me know.

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

Ken Stelter — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 08:36:12 GMT

Nice list indeed! Too bad my Big Company strictly forbids free downloads of any type. Rules are made by mainframe wenies in the home office somewhere across the country.Nor are we allowed to spend a dime for 3rd party tools they don't approve; and they never do.So I have to write it myself, or do without.Does anybody else have this problem?Just wondering.

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

Pete T-366679 — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 07:29:44 GMT

Nice list! One thing I've been looking for forever, but never found (for free) is some tool to help manage pushing changes from development or testing servers to production servers. We seem to have a heck time keeping some things in sync between multiple development environments, and it would be nice to have something that shows you the differences and lets you manage changes. Is there anything that does that out in the world of free? :-)

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

Jon Monahan — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:50:04 GMT

I know there's a for fee version available, but there also used to be a free version of SQL Prompt from RedGate (not sure if there still is...). It's great for those extra large databases where you just don't want to have to type all of the names of those tables or SPs... This functionality exists within SSMS 2008 - but seems very quirky so far.

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

gaurav-628507 — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 22:41:29 GMT

My company recently launched a browser based SQL Server explorer. I think you might want to check it out. It lets you connect to and explore SQL Server version 2008, 2005 and 2000. It also has the capability to search within the database (tables, views, procedures etc.), document the database, generate reports about it. Please check it out at:[url=http://omega.cerebrata.com/?r=SSCC]http://omega.cerebrata.com[/url]

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

Ben Sullins-437405 — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 11:52:37 GMT

Another tool I have found to save an incredible amount of time deploying SSRS reports is the RSScripter by Jasper @ sqldbatips.com. Link below:[url=http://sqldbatips.com/showarticle.asp?ID=62]http://sqldbatips.com/showarticle.asp?ID=62[/url]

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

pat-506058 — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 21:42:25 GMT

Thanks for that Bryant - and I agree that config options would be good.Have just posted up a minor bug fix and will keep doing so as they are found.http://www.curiousdevelopments.net/opensource/SQLNeatener.zipregards,Pat

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

Tatsu — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 09:39:08 GMT

I like that SQL Neatener tool and will probably be using it a lot in the future. I am not looking for any changes but it might be nice for some to be able to control how the code is formatted based on their own personal or company standards.

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

pat-506058 — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 16:10:54 GMT

Have put together freeware Windows GUI and command-line versions of an SQL formatting/indenting utility.[url]http://www.curiousdevelopments.net/opensource/SQLNeatener.zip[/url]It is ambitious in its formatting, trying to do much more than match the starts and ends of blocks - but doesn't always get it right.It does not yet have the source code included, just the binaries (and is written in Delphi). Planning to port it to c# and release the code as open-source next year if there is any interest in extending it.regards,Pat Connors, Curious Developments

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

jgirl — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 16:46:00 GMT

Two more free tools that may be helpful:

SQLpermissions: Creates a T-SQL script to automitically move or copy SQL Server logins & permissions

SQLsafe Freeware: Free SQL Server backup

www.idera.com/freetools

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

Thomas-142793 — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 05:29:00 GMT

Here's one more: Try http://www.sqlscripter.com

Generates DML scripts (Insert/Update/Delete) in T-SQL
Export data to text/csv
Quick Download functionality for reporting srevices files

Enjoy

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

Rudy Panigas — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 10:20:00 GMT

Hey DatabaseWorkBench is not free. I think we are looking for free tools, but not bad product for the price.

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

SRDEV — Sun, 03 Jun 2007 07:33:00 GMT

Check out:

http://www.DatabaseWorkbench.com

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

Al Siks — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 10:24:00 GMT

also, Siccolo - free tool for SQL Server management from mobile device.

at http://www.siccolo.com :

Start/Stop SQL Server Agent
Start/Stop/Restart SQL Server Job
View SQL Server Job Information - steps, schedule, execution history
View Available Databases and Database Objects
Restart SQL Server
Execute SQL Command and view "select command" results
View SQL Server Event Logs (Application, System etc)
Run SQL Query window (with semi-automated Insert/Update/Delete/Select Statements) Open/Save SQL Scripts in multiple tabs Save/Email results
Explore SQL Server Browse databases and database objects (tables/views/stored procedures)
Browse/Manage SQL Server jobs
Browse/Manage windows services (start/stop) View event logs (Application, System)

all from mobile device!

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

Todd Carrier — Tue, 29 May 2007 12:42:00 GMT

I don't think I've seen Clear Trace on anyone's list...

I use it every couple of months... very easy to use, and provides very valuable information regarding Prolile trace files

ClearTrace imports SQL Server 2000 and 2005 trace (and profiler) files into SQL Server and displays summary performance information. It is designed to provide the same performance summary as Read80Trace but in a graphical environment and for SQL Server 2005.

http://www.cleardata.biz/cleartrace/default.aspx

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

vicky_yu — Tue, 29 May 2007 12:40:00 GMT

Thanks for all the useful info.

Wondering if there is a DBA tool available for retrieving SQL password for database logins? Thanks.

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

cmille19 — Mon, 28 May 2007 18:39:00 GMT

Nice article, here's a list of free/open source tools I've used:

Quest Comparison Suite for SQL Server -- Free versionDBDesigner4 -- (http://www.fabforce.net/dbdesigner4/) Data modeling tool generates MySQL scripts from diagrams, small change to make scripts SQL Server compliant.ClearTrace (http://www.cleardata.biz/cleartrace/default.aspx)SQLQueryStress (http://www.sqljunkies.com/WebLog/amachanic/archive/2006/10/21/24261.aspx)Sherlock Block Monitor (http://www.sqlteam.com/downloads/sherlock13.zip)A decent Terminal Services Connection manager is RoyalTS (http://www.code4ward.net/cs2/files/folders/rts1/entry12.aspx)sqlpal -- Light weight Oracle query total that doesn't require messing with tns files. (http://www.sqlpal.com/)GnuWin32 ports of grep, sed tr, paste, cut, etc.

Sourceforge hosted tools:WinDirStat -- For finding and visualizing what's using space on servers. Doesn't need to be installed on server. I run with it \\servername\driveletter$ from my workstationWinMerge -- For comparing filesPassword Safe -- encrypted password keeper.PDFCreator -- create a pdf document from any program

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

Mohammad O. Ali — Mon, 28 May 2007 04:36:00 GMT

Hello great article; thanks for the effort you have put to deliver this.as for the zip utility I faced the same issue with files larger than 4GB; I am using winRAR, great tool in my opinion.Regards Mohammad O. Ali

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

cutespn — Sun, 27 May 2007 10:10:00 GMT

David,

Thanks for good article.

RE: Free Tools for the SQL Server DBA

David Bird — Fri, 25 May 2007 08:40:00 GMT

Thanks for all the feed back on the article. I enjoyed reading about the additional free tools available and your comments on the article. I can't wait to give these other tools a try.

I did take a quick look at the open source tool KDiff3 mentioned by cowboy_k. The tool works great for scripts created by SQL Server 2005 Management Studio. Examdiff was unable to compare these scripts because it would treat them as binary files. KDiff3 has another nice feature. When it finds differences between files, only the differences are highlighted instead of the entire line.

Carlo, you should be able to access the link http://www.fullsun.net/. I am unaware of any alternative link.