Job Management
• Idera’s SQL job manager—With SQL job manager, you can view and manage SQL Server Agent jobs across multiple SQL Server systems from a central administration console (www.idera.com/Products/Free-Tools/SQL-job-manager)
• JAMS Monitor—With JAMS Monitor, you can manage Windows Task Scheduler and SQL Server jobs and ensure that they’re running successfully from a centralized management console (www.mvpsi.com/FreeMonitor.aspx)
• SQLjobvis—You can use SQLjobvis to view your SQL Server Agent job history, including failures and long-running jobs, via a visually appealing interface (sqlsoft.co.uk/sqljobvis.php)
Log Management
• Log Parser 2.2—You can use this tool to access text-based data (e.g., log files, XML files), as well as data sources in Windows (e.g., Active Directory, the event log) (www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=890cd06b-abf8-4c25-91b2-f8d975cf8c07)
• PSSDIAG Data Collection Utility—This diagnostic data collector can be used to gather logs and data files (www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=5564386A-28C2-4483-8293-76FFF67B9EB3)
• SQL Log Rescue—You can use this tool to analyze your transaction logs, and, in the event of a disaster, you can use it to recover data (www.red-gate.com/products/SQL_Log_Rescue/index.htm)
Performance and Monitoring
• ClearTrace—You can use this graphical display tool to summarize query performance data from server-side trace and SQL Server Profiler sessions (www.cleardata.biz/cleartrace/default.aspx)
• Confio Software's IgniteFree—Use this response-time database performance analysis tool to view bottlenecks in your SQL Server environment (www.ignitefree.com)
• DMVStats 1.01—You can use this tool to collect, analyze, and report on performance data from SQL Server 2005 Dynamic Management Views (DMVs) (www.codeplex.com/sqldmvstats)
• Idera’s SQL check—This tool runs as a secure screensaver and monitors your SQL Server systems, as well as offers a look at processes, error logs, and SQL Server Agent jobs (www.idera.com/Products/Free-Tools/SQL-check)
• Internals Viewer for SQL Server—You can use this tool to see how data is allocated, organized, and stored in the SQL Server storage engine (internalsviewer.codeplex.com)
• MDX Script Performance Analyser—You can use this tool to identify which statements in your SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS) MDX script are negatively affecting MDX query performance (www.codeplex.com/mdxscriptperf)
• Performance Analysis of Logs (PAL) Tool—PAL automates the collection and analysis of performance counters in the Performance Monitor Counter log (www.codeplex.com/PAL)
• Quest Discovery Wizard for SQL Server (beta)—You can use this tool to monitor your network for changes and find all your SQL Server instances (www.quest.com/discovery-wizard-for-sql-server)
• RML Utilities for SQL Server (x86)—With this tool, you can monitor SQL Server performance by processing SQL Server trace files and viewing reports, and test how a specific change will affect your SQL Server systems (www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=7EDFA95A-A32F-440F-A3A8-5160C8DBE926)
• SQLIOSim—SQLIOSim replicates SQL Server’s types and patterns of I/O requests on a disk subsystem and verifies data similarly to how SQL Server would in a production environment (blogs.msdn.com/sqlserverstorageengine/archive/2006/10/06/SQLIOSim-available-for-download.aspx)
• SQLQueryStress—This tool is helpful when performance stress testing T-SQL queries because it collects data about whether your queries will run under load, and each query’s resource usage (www.datamanipulation.net/sqlquerystress)
• SQL Server 2005 Performance Dashboard Reports—These reports help you quickly identify performance bottlenecks and provide the information necessary to resolve them (www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=1d3a4a0d-7e0c-4730-8204-e419218c1efc)
• SQL Server Cache Manager—Find out what is being stored in the SQL Server cache and if the cache is being used efficiently with this free tool (www.codeplex.com/sqlservercache)
• SQL Server DBA Dashboard—This tool uses graphs and reports, which are integrated with SSMS, to identify what is using your SQL Server systems’ resources (www.sqlserverexamples.com/v2/Products/tabid/76/Default.aspx)
• SQL Spy—Use this tool to monitor database activity, user connections, CPU, wait statistics, and more (www.ispysql.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2:spy&catid=2:spy&Itemid=2)
Prevent SQL Server Injection Attacks
• bsqlbf-v2—This Perl script lets you extract data from blind SQL injections (code.google.com/p/bsqlbf-v2)
• HP Scrawlr—This scanner tool crawls your web pages, checking for SQL injection vulnerabilities (www.communities.hp.com/securitysoftware/blogs/spilabs/archive/2008/06/23/finding-sql-injection-with-scrawlr.aspx)
• Microsoft Source Code Analyzer for SQL Injection—You can use this tool to find SQL injection vulnerabilities in ASP code (support.microsoft.com/kb/954476)
• URLScan—URLScan restricts the type of HTTP requests Microsoft IIS will process (learn.iis.net/page.aspx/473/using-urlscan)
Web Administration
• SQL Server Hosting Toolkit—The SQL Server Hosting Toolkit offers two tools: the Database Publishing Wizard, which you can use to upload your databases to a hosting environment, and the Database Publishing Services, which offers ASP.NET web services that can make it easier for you to deploy databases (sqlhost.codeplex.com)
• SQL Server Web Tools—This web-based administration tool lets you perform management tasks, including administering accounts, managing databases and tables, and creating and running queries and stored procedures (sqlwebtools.codeplex.com)
• SQL Web Data Administrator—This SQL Server management tool lets you create and edit databases, export and import database schema and data, and more (www.codeplex.com/SqlWebAdmin)
Who Says Nothing in Life Is Free?
Although this list includes dozens of free SQL Server tools, it doesn’t include them all. If you know about a free SQL Server utility that’s not on this list, we want to hear about it: You can email me at mkeller@sqlmag.com. Also, please share your feedback about the tools included in this list in the Tool Time forum at www.sqlmag.com/forums. For even more free tools, see the sidebars "Free SQL Server Projects and Samples" and "Free PowerShell Scripts for SQL Server."