New Products, February 2005

BACKUP AND RECOVERY

Compress Backup and Recovery Times

Imceda announced LiteSpeed 2005 for SQL Server, backup and recovery software that packs a variety of new features, including Adaptive Compression and Dynamic Distribution features; command substitution; multiple compression and encryption libraries; a new console; enhanced object-level recovery; and a new licensing structure. The Object Level Recovery feature reduces restore times by letting you restore only the objects that you need. In addition, LiteSpeed provides database administrators (DBAs) with support for enterprise backup tools and 100 percent support for third-party applications. The product offers advanced performance tuning, dynamic deployment, and support for multiple encryption standards. For pricing and more information, contact Imceda at 781-229-6300, 888-763-7685, [email protected], or http://www.imceda.com.

BACKUP AND RECOVERY

Reduce Recovery Time

Idera announced SQLsafe 1.1, backup-and-restore software designed for enterprise-scale SQL Server implementations. The product provides compressed, encrypted backup; automated multi-server backup management; a central repository of backup and restore information; and rapid enterprisewide deployment. SQLsafe includes advanced compression, disk writing, and multithreading technologies that increase backup speeds and SQL Server availability. The variable-compression technology reduces the size of backup output files by as much as 95 percent, resulting in reduced storage costs and simplified backup-and-recovery strategies for very large databases (VLDBs). And an enterprise console interface and DynamicDeployment technology lets you start your restore operation in seconds, eliminating time wasted hunting for backup files, restore software CD-ROMs, and license codes. SQLsafe costs $995 per SQL Server instance and is available alone or as part of Idera's SQLsuite Advanced Edition. For more information, contact Idera at 713-523-4433, 877-464-3372, or http://www.idera.com.

CODE EDITOR

Increase Developer Productivity

ApexSQL announced ApexSQL Edit 2.10, an SQL code editor that helps SQL Server developers create, test, manage, and execute code. The product features an easy-to-use interface and is integrated with Visual SourceSafe, which reduces the time needed to create SQL-based stored procedures, tables, views, and queries and eliminates manual check-in and checkout. ApexSQL Edit also has Intellisense capability, which helps you expedite recalls of tables, stored procedures, columns, and column values. The product's automatic T-SQL formatting can support nearly unlimited formatting options and makes code easier to read. The product's development environment includes Visual Studio .NET-like collapsible regions, drag-and-drop filing from any source, graphical execution plans, short cuts and hot keys, and Quick Info from result sets. ApexSQL Edit works with SQL Server 2000 and 7.0 and will be available for SQL Server 2005. Free 14-day downloads are available at http://www.apexsql.com. Pricing for a single-user license starts at $199 and includes free support and product upgrades. For more information about the product or other pricing options, contact ApexSQL at 866-665-5500, [email protected], or http://www.apexsql.com.

DATA-ANALYSIS APPLICATIONS

Analyze Web Data

Sane Solutions announced NetTracker 7.5 SMB and NetTracker 7.5 eBusiness, Web-data analysis applications that use your SQL Server database to provide users with scalable Web analytics and open access to your Web data warehouse. Both products use an open database schema to let users easily extract data for integration with other business data through third-party solutions such as business intelligence (BI), customer relationship management (CRM), sales force automation (SFA), or contact-management tools. The products provide custom reporting features and Web-data-management options. Pricing for NetTracker 7.5 SMB starts at $7500, and pricing for NetTracker 7.5 eBusiness starts at $25,000. For more information, contact Sane Solutions at 401-295-4809, 800-407-3570, [email protected], or http://www.sane.com.

DATABASE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Solve Performance Problems Proactively

VERITAS Software announced VERITAS i3 7.1, application-management software that lets IT administrators simultaneously compare performance and availability characteristics of complex applications over clusters and multiple instances. Like previous releases, VERITAS i3 7.1 comprises three parts: Insight, Indepth, and Inform. Of particular interest to SQL Server professionals is Indepth for SQL Server, which monitors and captures transactions as they enter and exit the database, letting you analyze minute details of performance. For example, you can capture a single transaction and analyze where it is consuming the most resources, then fix the problem before end users notice a slowing of performance. In addition, the latest release has a repertoire of more than 225 reports for sending performance information to management and developers. And the product's alerting function lets you know about hot spots that develop over time so that you can fix performance problems before they affect your users' experience. VERITAS i3 7.1 is designed to work with SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3), and pricing for a 4-CPU environment starts at $9200. For more information and pricing details, contact VERITAS at 650-527-8000, 800-327-2232, or http://www.veritas.com.

REPORTING TOOL

Deliver Reporting Services Reports in Excel and Word

SoftArtisans announced the SQL Server Reporting Services Edition of OfficeWriter, software that lets end users design, publish, and deliver Reporting Services and ASP.NET reports directly from Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Word. OfficeWriter creates RDL files, but unlike Reporting Services' default Excel output, Excel-based reports from OfficeWriter retain all Excel features including pivot tables, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) code, macros, advanced formulas, and charts. And without OfficeWriter, Reporting Services can't deliver reports in Word format. OfficeWriter-rendered documents preserve all of the Word features that the user's Word template contains. Through an integrated toolbar, users access a data source and insert data or text through merge fields and repeat blocks. Users can then save, preview, edit, and publish their reports to the Reporting Services server for distribution. The Reporting Services Edition of OfficeWriter is packaged with the Enterprise Edition of OfficeWriter 2.5, or you can purchase the product as a standalone. Pricing for the product is per server CPU. For pricing details and other information, contact SoftArtisans at 877-763-8278 or http://officewriter.softartisans.com/msreporting.aspx.

REPORTING TOOL

Build Reports from Multiple Data Sources

Metamatica Software announced MetaReport 2.0 for Windows, a report-building tool that lets you use multiple data sources to create reports. Users who work in heterogeneous environments can access report data in SQL Server, Microsoft Access, Oracle, dBase, Paradox, InterBase, and other database platforms. And users can deliver reports in a variety of formats, including text, comma separated value (CSV) files, XLS files, HTML, and PDF. This flexibility means you can build a report with MetaReport and process it later in Excel or another application, put it on the Internet, email it to a colleague, or make it part of a presentation. You can save report templates and even lock them to prevent anyone else from altering them. A single copy of MetaReport costs $99.95, and a free evaluation copy is available on the company's Web site. For more information, contact Metamatica Software at http://www.metareport.com.

SCRIPT GENERATOR

Cut Scripting Time

Red Earth Technologies announced Superior SQL Builder 1.5, a SQL scripting tool that lets you build complete SQL scripts without typing code. The product's scripting technology lets you quickly transform database data by using an intuitive interface that simplifies the script-building process. By using the integrated scripting environment, you eliminate the need to cut and paste individual queries to form a solution, and the environment lets you view complete SQL scripts. The product's new features include the automation of database connections and the inclusion of new script templates that give you the ability to eliminate syntax, logic, and typographical errors when developing SQL scripts. SQL Builder 1.5 supports SQL Server, Microsoft Access, Oracle, and MySQL. A fully functional evaluation version of the product is available at the company's Web site, and online program registration costs $349. For more information, contact Red Earth Technologies at 403-762-2487, [email protected], or http://www.superiorsql.com.