Welcome to SQLsmarts, Idera’s monthly newsletter for SQL Server Professionals. We welcome your questions, comments or suggestions. Please email us at SQLsmartseditor@Idera.com.
 

In this issue:

Product News
Announcing SQLsafe v2.0: Faster, more efficient SQL backup and recovery

Case Study
PPG Industries uses SQLsafe to reduce SQL Server storage costs and backup time by 70%

Tips & Tricks
Using Multiple Management Services with a Single Repository
Building a Custom Log Shipping Solution with SQLsafe
Increase backup performance using file striping
Optimizing SQLdm for your environment

News
Idera CEO, Rick Pleczko, Interviewed by SQLServerCentral.com
Tool Targets Compliance for SQL Server, article by eWEEK.com

Announcing SQLsafe v2.0:
Faster, more efficient SQL Server backup and recovery
Available for download on May 6th, SQLsafe v2.0 will provide the fastest, easiest solution for backup and recovery across your SQL Server infrastructure. As always, SQLsafe’s enterprise management console and engine enable you to perform massively parallel backup and restore operations, monitor execution in real time, and store a complete history of all backup and restores -- all from a central repository. Furthermore, with SQLsafe’s DynamicDeployment™ technology, SQLsafe v2.0 requires very low overhead and can be deployed in minutes.

• Enhanced Performance: New threading and I/O optimization technologies provide up to 50% increase in performance over previous versions in multi-processor/threaded environments.
• New IntelliCompress™ Technology automatically optimizes backup performance and storage utilization by continually sampling the data that is to be backed up and automatically selecting the best method from a library of over 20 compression approaches.
• Service Level Agreement (SLA) reporting: Service Level Agreement (SLA) reporting: provides the ability to define and report on performance against service level agreements for database backup. SLA reporting is part of a comprehensive catalog of customizable reports delivered using Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services.
• Web Console: enables remote monitoring of backup and recovery activity in real-time and browse historical data in the SQLsafe repository.
• Native T-SQL support: generate, schedule and execute backups using native T-SQL scripts.

Find out how PPG uses SQLsafe to:

• Gain deeper insight into SQL Server backup and recovery procedures including the status of every single instance and the history of all backups
• Perform faster backups with better compression and easy administration

SQLsafe

Using multiple management services with a single repository
One of the primary concerns for a backup and recovery tool is fault tolerance. SQLsafe's architecture ensures that a backup operation will be performed, even if the management service and repository database components cannot be contacted. For an even more fail safe solution, SQLsafe can be architected to use multiple management services with a single repository.
Find out how

Building a Custom Log Shipping Solution with SQLsafe
Using SQLsafe for Log Shipping provides three main advantages: centralized monitoring and management, increased performance and reduced resource consumption, and secure cross-domain log shipping.
Learn about the options available and the benefits to be gained

Increase backup performance using file striping
Striping backups to multiple files – even on the same disk – can significantly increase performance because of the use of multi-threaded processing. Striping is simple to set up, whether you are using the Management Console, T-SQL, or the command line interface to initiate your backups.
Find out how to stripe your backup files

SQL diagnostic manager

Fine-tune SQL diagnostic manager (SQLdm) for optimal performance
A few decisions made at install time can greatly enhance the performance of SQLdm. Find out how to choose a robust monitoring server, how to configure for multiple users, and learn why running SQLdm on the same machine as SQL Server is not recommended.
Find out how to fine-tune SQLdm
 

An Interview with Idera CEO, Rick Pleczko
By Steve Jones from SQLServerCentral.com
Take a moment to learn about the vendor view of the world and the impending release of SQL Server 2005.
Visit SQLServerCentrail.com for the full interview

Tool Targets Compliance for SQL Server Databases
By Lisa Vaas from eWEEK.com
Idera announces SQL compliance manager, a comprehensive solution for auditing and continuous compliance of Microsoft SQL Server databases.
Visit eWEEK.com to view the full article
 

• Idera Announces Auditing and Compliance Solution for Microsoft SQL Server
   
• Idera and Information Shield Form Strategic Partnership to Provide Best Practice Security, Auditing and Compliance Policies for SQL Server

• SQL Server 2005 Roadshow, coming to a city near you this Spring:
  - San Francisco, April 28
  - Chicago, May 12
  - Houston, May 17
  - Dallas, May 19
   
• 2005 PASS European Conference, Munich, Germany, May 11-12
   
• Tech-Ed 2005 Orlando, Florida, June 5-10
   
• Houston Area SQL Server User Group Meeting, May 10
   
• Twin Cities Database User Group Meeting, May 12
   
• Northern Virginia SQL Server User Group Meeting, May 23
   
• Portland SQL Server User Group Meeting, May 26
   
• San Diego SQL Server User Group Meeting, June 7
   
• Bay Area Association of DB Developers Meeting, June 8
   
• North Texas SQL Server User Group Meeting, June 16
   
• Little Rock .NET User Group Meeting, July 14