Litespeed vs Redgate SQL Backup

  • Hi everybody just wondering if anyone has experience in using both these products and

    how each one performs.  What is the difference and has anyone out there really compared the two.

     

    Litespeed is expensive while SQL Backup has a reasonable price tag. I suspect there

    is a really good reason for the price difference and  I am hoping someone can tell me why?

     

    I have been using litespeed for a couple of years so I am very familar with how well this product performs.

     

    But It doesn't hurt take a look at the competition.

     

    Thanks 

  • Hi

    I trialled both these products (and others) recently and have just purchased the Redgate product as backup sizes were becoming an issue on some of our servers. The compression rates between the two products were very similar and it was a price decision to go with Red Gate. I'm guessing the fancier the GUI the more you pay, but our backups are done with TSQL commands and command line scripts so I wasn't too bothered about how easy the GUI is to use. In the end Litespeed was just way too expensive.

    I used to still get 70% - 80% compression using Winzip 9.0! The downside being you had to create a full size backup first via sql before compressing it. It was handy when disk space wasn't an issue and you had to copy the backup offsite over slow WAN links.

    cheers

  • I've used both the products, and in terms of performance and output size, they are almost identical (only 2% size difference). Both have slightly different feature sets, but overall they perform the same task. Both can use multiple processors. Litespeed gives a single output file which is nice.

    My experience is that red-gate seem quite helpful and fast in making suggested updates. They also have a number of other useful sql server products, so bundle pricing helps.

    If anything, I think the reason between the pricing difference is just because they are different companies. In an environment where you have a lot of data on a lot of instances, there is a pretty compelling price difference between the suppliers. Remember that SQL Server 2000 comes with sample code that would get you well on the way to developing your own backup compression tool (but why bother?).

    If your in the position where you need to buy more licenses for a backup compression tool, I'd recommend trialing both and seeing how they perform in *your* environment on a couple of databases of various sizes.


    Julian Kuiters
    juliankuiters.id.au

  • Quick note from LiteSpeed vendor, Quest Software formerly Imceda

    Some of the key differences are that LiteSpeed has proven scalability to Enterprise level SQL environments.

    Microsoft Certification

    Object level (table) restore capabilities

    Back-up direct to tape

    Command line substitution

    Includes and supports log shipping

    If anyone would like to further discuss and put the additional price tag to the test then please feel free to contact me.

    Thanks for taking the time to consider LiteSpeed.

  • I read the Tolly report from october 2006 (see link: http://www.red-gate.com/products/SQL_Backup/performance_evaluation.htm) Does anyone has comments about it?

  • I agree 100% with Julian. I also used both. LiteSpeed for a VLDB for manufacturing. The product was great for that application and the company was willing to pay for the solution. This was back when the product was from Australia, meaning less expensive (Imceda). They were great to work with and willing to cut a deal to sell the product. For our payroll app a couple of years later, the company wanted a similiar solution but was unwilling to pay alot of money. We introduced RedGate as the alternative. I've never had any issues with support for either vendor. Compare the two and make the best decision for your company.

    -- You can't be late until you show up.

  • Thank you for your feedback. Does Redgate supports logshipping?

  • Absolutely. Check out http://www.red-gate.com/products/index.htm

    Go to the backup product and checkout the features link. (No, I don't work for RedGate:D)

    -- You can't be late until you show up.

  • Disclosure: I work for Red Gate.

    I think both of these products are nice. I haven't used Red Gate's (don't manage servers now), and I haven't used Litespeed since v3 (Imceda), but both will work fine. From what I've seen, Litespeed is geared more towards the Enterprise space, someone with lots of servers and instances to manage, but I wouldn't be surprised if Red Gate has a lot of these functions.

    Hyperbac, another product, is built by the people that originally built Litespeed. They were the founders of DBAssociates, which was purchased and named Imceda before sold to Quest. They re-entered the market last year.

    I'd test all 3, see which one seems to fit your environment, and choose that one.

  • Thank you for your post.

  • Hi,

    Can you post me or guide me material to read about litespeed

    as I want to know about it. I am a newbee to SQL Server Admin.

    Thanks

    itjmn

  • You can find some useful information about litespeed on http://www.quest.com/litespeed-for-sql-server/. I will suggest you to check other tools. Just to make sure you get what you really need.

  • We recently performed evals of Litespeed and SQL Backup. We went with SQL Backup for several reasons. One reason is we encountered quirky bugs with the Litespeed GUI in regards to the maintenance plans. Not going iinto details. Email me if you want more information. Another reason was the price. Compression was real close. Backup durations were better with SQL Backup. Anyway, the decision was an easy one.

    KU

  • itjmn (12/28/2008)


    Hi,

    Can you post me or guide me material to read about litespeed

    as I want to know about it. I am a newbee to SQL Server Admin.

    Thanks

    itjmn

    Is Google broken?

    -- You can't be late until you show up.

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