Shrink-Wrapped DBAs

Quest Central for SQL Server
As with DBArtisan, my first exposure to Quest Software's Quest Central for SQL Server came during the testing for this review. Obtaining an evaluation copy of the software was simple, and the Quest Central installer was well organized, making setup a snap.

The basics. After I completed the installation, I set about exploring the standard administration features. I found the options to be roughly similar to those of Enterprise Manager. Servers, databases, and constituent objects were all arranged in hierarchical fashion, with context-sensitive menu options providing all the necessary administrative functionality, as Figure 2, shows. As for the editors available for managing objects, I didn't find them to be as strong or compelling as DBArtisan's editors. In some cases (such as for editing users), the editor simply directs you to what appear to be windows pulled directly out of Enterprise Manager. Additionally, the editors don't provide immediate access to the SQL or DDL code for each object. Instead, as with Enterprise Manager, you need to load the scripted definitions in another tool. In the case of Quest Central, this tool is called Script Runner.As an overall code editor, Script Runner isn't terribly impressive: It offers an interface similar to that of Query Analyzer (providing a query tab, a results tab, and a statistics tab), but the editor could stand to be more robust. Still, if you use Quest Central as a single point of interaction for heterogeneous platforms, these concerns probably won't be as problematic.To be thorough, I also tested Quest Central's graphical Query Builder tool and found it to be quite intuitive and well designed—and it generates ANSI-92-compliant SQL code, by default. Unlike DBArtisan, Quest Central doesn't provide any data import/export functionality, nor does it offer any readily visible way to export or migrate schema. It does, however, provide a powerful utility for quickly and easily comparing schema between databases, but it's missing the ability to synchronize the differences through the creation of a script.

One intriguing Quest Central feature is a plug-in called Knowledge Expert. Similar to SQL Server Books Online (BOL), this collection of expert information is organized hierarchically and lets you browse, search, and add topics to a list of favorites. It also lets you add your own notes against each topic (at the bottom of a reader pane).The information itself is solid, very approachable, and beneficial. Topics include coding standards, syntax references, backup and recovery best practices, and so on. Knowledge Expert is an excellent resource for junior-level DBAs who are looking for help. I'm not sure this feature will be beneficial to experienced DBAs, who already have solid notions and opinions about backup needs and coding techniques. Also, skilled DBAs are probably more likely to gather pertinent information from online resources.

Diving deeper. Next,I turned my attention to Quest Central's various analysis agents. I started with the Database Analysis functionality, and the results impressed me. Quest Software markets this functionality as a way to "yield targeted, insightful advice that rivals that of expensive consultants," and the tool does a solid job of delivering on that promise. A simple wizard starts the Analysis Agent (running outside of SQL Server), which then returns with an extensive report on findings. For my lightly loaded SQL Server installation (effectively just a stock SQL Server installation on a virtual PC), the analysis was pretty quick, but it checked more than 40 rules and returned the results in an easy-to-navigate report. Rules covered everything from server settings (including whether the Address Windowing Extensions—AWE—setting was correctly configured to take advantage of available memory) to specific settings and configuration details for individual databases and objects. This is a very thorough analysis tool that any DBA will find beneficial: It even points out foreign keys (FKs) with cascaded constraints that don't have properly accompanying indexes. For less skilled DBAs, this tool is an excellent resource to get servers quickly compliant with best practices that will help ensure security, stability, and scalability. More important,to help provide context and understanding,targeted documentation accompanies each recommendation—a big advantage. The tool even creates an action-plan view that summarizes all the findings and lists them in order of priority, accompanied by a comparative complexity/effort rating. More experienced DBAs will use this tool to ensure that tuned servers and databases stay that way: A quick scan would provide easy insight into a server's current standing.

Another powerful tool bundled with Quest Central is the SQL Tuning component, designed to evaluate SQL statements for efficiency.The SQL Tuning component executes show plans on queries that you want to evaluate, then uses its own algorithms to generate magically equivalent ( mathematically verified optional ways to perform the query) versions of the SQL statement, which it then evaluates to see if it can find a less expensive version of the existing query. The tool automatically prunes queries with more expensive execution plans, then lets you run all remaining alternatives as a batch to gather actual execution costs.This ingenious feature provides excellent value to less experienced DBAs, who will ideally learn how to write more efficient code. However, users need to be cautious: Just because their current syntax has no faster-performing variants doesn't mean that it's "optimized" and can't be improved. Quest Central seems to be aware of that concern, and the documentation warns users that the tool isn't a substitution for index tuning. It's just another tool to help DBAs improve code performance.

The final piece of Quest Central functionality that I evaluated was Spotlight for SQL Server, a performance-diagnostics tool. Similar to DBArtisan's Performance Analyst, this tool provides real-time information about current system activity and load. A toolbar at the top of the UI lets you quickly and easily navigate to metrics families such as Memory, CPU, Activity, Support Services (e.g., SQL Agent, SQL Mail, Replication), and the home page, which displays overall status.The tool is intuitive and easy to navigate, and it provides data in a clear and manageable fashion. For experienced DBAs, Spotlight for SQL Server provides the kind of real-time information that's helpful for troubleshooting problems. For example, suppose you're seeing lots of WRITEs to your server; Spotlight for SQL Server lets you easily view WRITE information per file for all files in a database and for all databases on the server. For less skilled DBAs tasked with managing complex systems, Spotlight for SQL Server also offers context-sensitive information about presented data types through an easy-to-access context menu.