EZManage SQL

If you have to manage a number of SQL Servers, you'll know that keeping them all in tip-top condition can be a full time job, and you may spend half your time checking management consoles to make sure you've gone round the whole set. Can EZManage SQL offer an easier solution?

Database maintenance isn't something you can afford to skip. If a database crashes, the company runs the risk of losing critical data; even a temporary shutdown can have a knock-on effect causing lost production, loss of customer information, and loss of orders. Add to this the cost of employees’ time in fixing the problem, and the cost of business users being unable to work while the database is unavailable, and the prospect of database unavailability is not good.

EZManage SQL is a product designed to make the management of SQL Servers easier. It can be used to manage multiple SQL servers across your network from a single central console. The aim of the software is to take those boring routine jobs that every DBA has to do, and to put them into automatic.

Using the software, you can maintain and monitor the performance of your servers. The software can be used to manage not just the performance, but backups, disaster recovery plans, and multiple serverscripting. FutureIT says that EZManage SQL cuts server maintenance costs by up to 40%.

What's new

A new version of the software has recently been released with a re-designed notification engine that gives you more control over user-defined alerts, along with the ability to link automated actions to alerts. For example, if a database goes offline, EZManage SQL could alert the administrator, and also attempt to put the database back online.

The security settings have been improved in the new version, and EZManage SQL now comes with a complete set of internal security settings. These can be used to specify the tasks that can be carried out by different types of user, so a senior DBA might be allowed to delete and restore databases, but a junior DBA wouldn't have permission for the more potentially destructive tasks. EZManage SQL comes in Standard and Pro versions. Standard edition lets you manage one server, while EZManage SQL Pro can be used to manage up to 500 servers.

The main view

The software is agent-less, so you don't put any additional load or installation on your already hard pressed servers and you get a single console from where you view the status of all your servers.

The main dashboard of EZManage SQL is where you'll do most of your work. You're shown a tree view of all the SQL Servers on your network, and from there you can drill down to individual databases on that server. As you view the servers and databases on the servers, you are shown any problems in the form of alerts, and can move from the top level view down to a detailed description of an alert on a database very quickly.



One advantage of this visual display of servers, databases and problems is that it widens the group of people who can manage databases. You don't have to be a DBA to be able to identify a problem and see how to put it right.

Keeping track

When you install a new database server, you can choose to be alerted on a number of aspects of the server, including when limits are reached for the amount of free disk space and memory, or when databases are created, attached, deleted, or detached. The notification can be sent to a single person or a group, and can be sent as an email, using SMS, or to the Microsoft Event log if you have systems management software that will monitor this. Notifications can also be triggered at the database level, so you might want to be alerted if a database has no backup, if a transaction is being blocked, or use any of the default notification settings.

Maintenance Rules

EZManage SQL does a lot more than identify problems. It lets you define maintenance rules that ensure everyday tasks are carried out without the need for human intervention. You can define rules for backing up databases and transaction logs, for optimising indexes, and for shrinking databases and updating statistics. When you're setting up the software you're guided through setting up maintenance rules, and EZManage SQL even suggests the best set of maintenance rules for your databases. You can, of course, add your own rules or customise the ones that are provided, but on the whole you'll be 95% there using just the initial suggestions.

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