When architects speak with database administrators, it is important they come forearmed. Tools can help. While Microsoft's own database management tools cover the most common database administration scenarios, they don't do anything about some of the most common pain points faced when you need to maintain and deploy SQL Server databases for projects under active development. That's where Red Gate comes in.  Read more...

Version 2 of the great monitoring tool from Pearl Knowledge is now available.   Read more...

Most of the time, it's the simplest tools that have the biggest impact on our lives. If you have a camera and believe, like Leonardo DaVinci, that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication, then why not enter Red Gate's Ingeniously Simple Tools photo competition... To enter is simple. All you need to do is send us a photo of your favorite, simple tool.  Read more...

Choosing a backup solution can be a trying exercise with all the various add on products these days. New author David Bird gives us some insight into his testing and decisions with a look at Litespeed and Tivoli's Storage Manager.   Read more...

With a new version supporting SQL Server 2005, Periscopde for SQL Server is offering a 25% discount for SQLServerCentral.com members. This product helps with performance monitoring.   Read more...

Impressions of this new book from Brian Kelley.  Read more...

Do you have a need to generate bar codes for an application? Check out this new product, reviewed by Dinesh Asanka, that uses Reporting Services to help you easily print bar codes.   Read more...

Do you want intellisense for Query Analyzer? Many people would love this amazing enhancement that has long been available for Visual Studio users. It is now available as an add-in from PromptSQL and Brian Kelley reviews this amazing product.   Read more...

In this review, Brian reviews one of his favorite tools in his DBA toolkit. He shows you some of the new features in this event management system and how it can shave hours off your day each day.   Read more...

sqlSentry, a leading developer of management solutions for Microsoft SQL Server, today announced that it has released the 64-bit version of its industry-leading scheduling and notification management system for SQL Server 2005, supporting both x64 and Itanium-based systems.   Read more...

Apress is giving away some copies of this book on SQLServerCentral.com by sponsoring our Question of the Day. A sample chapter is also available online now!   Read more...

Have you ever needed to figure out which objects in development need to go to production? Ever wondered about how to get your databases back in synch? SQL Server guru David Poole takes a look at SQL Examiner, a product that he feel works well for him and is looking to purchase. Read about David's impressions and see if this is for you.   Read more...

A new product has just been released in Beta to help you with source control for your SQL Server development. Beta testers are wanted, so if you're interested, read on.   Read more...

The integration of SQL Server 2000 with version control is basically nonexistent. Managing and keeping track of your changes and files is a cumbersome task, and prone to have mistakes occur. There is a product that can help you with this called dbGhost and Jeremy Brown takes a look at this product and how it works.   Read more...

SQL Diagnostic Manager from Idera is a great tool for troubleshooting issues with your SQL Server databases. Kathi Kellenberher puts this tool through it's paces and gives you some insight into how it fits in a busy SQL Server environment.   Read more...

Cryptography and encryption are coming to many systems, including databases. Check out a sample chapter from this upcoming book.   Read more...

Now it's time to review yet another migration related product from AdventNet. It is called "AdventNet SwisSQL Sybase to SQL Server Migration Tool 2.1". As the name suggests, this migration product automates the conversion of Sybase ASE (Adaptive Server Enterprise) T-SQL stored procedures, inbuilt functions, triggers, tables, views, and other database objects to Microsoft SQL Server T-SQL.   Read more...

Having a good tool to read your SQL Server transaction log can be a lifesaver, or a job saver. RegGate Software, maker of a number of useful SQL Server utilities has a log reader and Grany Fritchey takes a look at this product and how it might work in your environment.   Read more...

How often do you check your SQL Server tables for fragmentation? How often do you defragment them? This is one of those technologies that has been available for disks for a long time, but now is here for SQL Server. Norb Technologies is offering a discount to the SQLServerCentral.com community on this product.   Read more...

With a new version supporting SQL Server 2005, Periscopde for SQL Server is offering a 25% discount for SQLServerCentral.com members. This product helps with performance monitoring.   Read more...