Database Management
Red Gate SQL Bundle Pro
The platinum award for Database Management software goes to Red Gate SQL Bundle Pro (formerly SQL Bundle Developer Edition). This collection of essential database-management tools provides DBAs with an array of SQL Server management functions that aren't part of the built-in management tools for SQL Server 2005 or 2000. SQL Bundle Pro contains Red Gate's SQL Compare Pro, SQL Data Compare Pro, SQL Packager Pro, SQL Toolkit, and DTS Package Compare products. SQL Compare compares and optionally synchronizes the data between two databases. SQL Data Compare performs the same comparison for the data in a database. DTS Package identifies differences in DTS packages.The SQL Toolkit provides an API for the different Red Gate comparison products.And SQL Packager Pro lets you create database-installation packages. Contact Red Gate at 866-733-4283, (44) (0) 870-160-0037, or http://www.red-gate.com.
InterCerve sqlSentry
We had a tie for the gold winner in the Database Management category. One of our gold winners in the category is InterCerve sqlSentry, software that tackles the problem of scheduling jobs on SQL Server 2005 and 2000. sqlSentry goes beyond the capabilities of SQL Server's built-in SQL Agent.The product can schedule jobs across multiple SQL Server systems, and its agentless architecture makes it easy to deploy throughout an organization. sqlSentry provides user-friendly job scheduling, giving you an Outlook-style calendar view of a server's job schedule.In addition to job scheduling,sqlSentry provides flexible MAPIless alerting and notification capabilities. sqlSentry can monitor up to 72 different server events,and the software lets administrators choose from up to nine response actions.The product also provides a set of comprehensive charts and graphs that report job and schedule performance. Contact InterCerve at 704-895-6241 or http://www.sqlsentry.net.
Embarcadero Technologies DBArtisan
The other gold winner for Database Management is DBArtisan by Embarcadero Technologies, a product that automates and streamlines day-to-day administrative tasks such as managing space, creating user accounts, altering objects, migrating schemas between development, test, and production databases, and monitoring performance.The version-specific graphical object editors and wizards let you create, drop, or alter database objects, including tables, constraints, indexes, views, users, procedures, functions, triggers, groups, roles, profiles, and packages. DBArtisan helps you establish and maintain database security by managing users, roles, logins, profiles, groups, aliases, and password security. From a common interface, you can set privileges for multiple users, grant and revoke roles of users and other roles, and grant and revoke system-and object-level privileges. The software offers visual tools for creating and analyzing complex SQL statements and server-side code objects such as stored procedures and triggers. By using a point-and-click interface in the Embarcadero Query Builder, you can construct even complex SQL statements.Then, the Query Builder automatically generates the code. The built-in syntax-checking facility ensures that all SQL statements are built and run correctly the first time. Built-in hotkeys and code-completion features help you code SQL quickly. Contact Embarcadero at 415-834-3131 or http://www.embarcadero.com/ products/dbartisan/dbdatasheet.html.
Data Recovery
Red Gate Software SQL Log Rescue
The platinum winner for Data Recovery tools is SQL Log Rescue by Red Gate Software. SQL Log Rescue lets you undo and redo individual SQL Server database transactions, protecting users from losing data and eliminating downtime. The tool examines backup files and live transaction logs, letting you browse the row history, recover deleted data, undo updates, and recover dropped tables.The log record records Time,Table, User,Action Type, and Transaction ID.Transactions are laid out in a grid that lets you filter and search for problems. Once you identify the specific transaction you're looking for, selecting that row on the grid brings up the transaction in a detail window that shows the Row Data, Row History, Undo Script, or Redo Script. From this window, you review the scripted SQL for redoing the transaction. The tool interface provides T-SQL Undo and Redo scripts that can be copied and stored for reuse. In addition to the columns listed above, the product includes the Log Sequence Number and a view of the precise data affected. In the case of an update, the data before and after the update are shown. Contact Red Gate Software at 866-733-4283, (44) (0) 870-160-0037, or http://www.red-gate.com.
Lumigent Log Explorer
The gold winner in the Data Recovery category is Lumigent Log Explorer 4.0, software that provides a transaction-analysis and data-recovery solution that improves the availability and integrity of your data.Through Log Explorer's extensive database transaction log, you can identify the source of data changes, selectively recover modified, deleted, dropped, or truncated data, and export data for follow-up analysis and reporting. You can identify the source of any data, schema, or permissions change; receive instant email notification when key database events—including DROP and CREATE DATABASE—occur; browse and filter all the activities recorded in the transaction log, including filters byWindows workstation username, SQL Server login name, client host name, and SQL Server application name; repair data at various levels of granularity by selectively undoing or redoing individual transactions or entire transaction sets; and export transaction information for analysis. In addition, the software supports undo and redo features for stored procedures, triggers, views, and functions. And a RestoreTables from Backup Options feature lets you find dropped tables and quickly restore them.You can export selected log records to XML, HTML, or comma-delimited text files or to a SQL Server table for unlimited analysis and reporting. Contact Lumigent at 866-586-4436, 978-206-3700, or http://www.lumigent.com.
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Hardware
AMD64
The AMD64 hardware platform is the platinum winner of the Editors' Choice award in the Hardware category. The AMD64 architecture lets OEMs use dual-coreAMD Opteron processors to build up to four-way systems. AMD x64 Opteron processors are 100-percent binary compatible with existing 32-bit x86 applications, plus the processors support native 64-bit x64 applications. A primary advantage of the x64 architecture is that it increases available system memory from 4GB (the limit of the 32-bit platform) to a full 1TB. To reduce memory latencies associated with legacy front-side bus system designs, the AMD architecture uses an integrated memory controller and the high-performance Direct Connect Architecture, which is built with HyperTransport bus technology and supports CPU and I/O connect speeds of 8GB per second.The performance of this architecture has been proven in many scenarios—including worldrecord performance for 4-P systems in the Transaction Processing Council's (TPC's) TPC-C online transaction processing benchmark. In the record-setting test, an HP ProLiant DL585 server equipped with four Opteron 880 dual-core processors scored 202,557 tpmC, the highest mark for any four-processor system. Contact AMD at 919-840-8080, 919-840-8062, or http://www.amd.com.
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