ADMINISTRATIVE TOOL
Monitor Available Disk Space on SQL Server
Woodstone announced Servers Alive 4.0, a program that can monitor any Winsock service, ping a host, and determine whether a Windows NT service or process is running. Enhancements include a new interface, a new alerting engine, a built-in Secure Shell (SSH) server, and database-logging capability. You can use the software to retrieve a URL, check on your database, and report on your SQL Server, Windows, or Oracle server's available disk space. You can run Servers Alive natively as a service and monitor as many as 1000 hosts and services, including all TCP services such as POP3, SMTP, FTP, and DNS. Servers Alive 4.0 supports SQL Server 2000, 7.0, and 6.5 and costs $90 per license. Contact Woodstone at http://www.woodstone.nu.
DATABASE MANAGEMENT
Monitor SQL Server Transactions in Realtime
AppDancer Networks released AppDancer/FA, enterprise application flow and analysis software. The newest version lets you monitor SQL Server and Exchange Server transactions in realtime. AppDancer/FA not only monitors your devices, applications, and all associated IP flows, but it also lets you understand the inner workings of your network. The software can show you whether your network is suffering from overuse or incorrect use problems, which cause brownout conditions. The software supports SQL Server 2000 and 7.0. Pricing is $4995, and the annual support agreement costs $995. Contact AppDancer Networks at 770-643-6800 or http://www.appdancer.com.
Manage Your Database Through a Wireless Console
Expand Beyond announced PocketDBA 2.0, mobile software for database administration. You can now manage your mixed IT network from anywhere. By using PocketDBA, you can control your database from a wireless console such as a PDA. The software supports SQL Server, Oracle, and IBM DB2 Universal Database (UDB). You can keep your important business databases running at maximum efficiency. PocketDBA 2.0 supports SQL Server 2000 and 7.0. Pricing starts at $500. Contact Expand Beyond at 312-587-9990, 800-404-4059, or http://www.xb.com.
SECURITY
Scan for SQL Server 2000 SP3
Application Security announced that it has enabled AppDetective, vulnerability assessment software, to scan your SQL Server servers for SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP3). By selecting a computed column that references a user-defined function (UDF), you can verify whether your SQL Server installation is vulnerable to a Denial of Service (DoS) attack. You can also check SQL Server to see whether database ownership chaining has been disabled. New AppDetective capability also verifies whether you've installed the patch that prevents an intruder from using an invalid OpenRowset command to reveal the account name that SQL Server runs under. For pricing, contact Application Security at 212-420-9270, 866-927-7732, or http://www.appsecinc.com.