Timeline Monitoring™ in SQL Backup 5.0 enables DBAs to easily visualize backups
CAMBRIDGE, U.K., May 1, 2007 – Red Gate Software has released a new version of its SQL Backup software that provides a visual way to configure and monitor backup jobs taking place anywhere in the world. SQL Backup 5.0 also includes multiple threads in its engine to further optimize backup performance.
Before beginning work on SQL Backup 5.0, members of the Red Gate development team visited, spoke, and corresponded with DBAs throughout the world to find out what they needed the most. The answer was an interactive way to visualize whether backup jobs would run successfully or if there would be conflicts.
Timeline Monitoring in SQL Backup 5.0 is Red Gate's solution to the problem. Color-coding in the timeline enables users to view the status of backups and restores at a glance. Users can zoom in and out of the timeline to view past, current and future activities, and easily edit properties. From one timeline, users can set up tabs for SQL Servers in different time zones throughout the world.
Missing puzzle piece
"In our discussions with DBAs, we found that Timeline Monitoring was a missing piece of the backup automation puzzle," says Helen Joyce, SQL Backup 5.0's project manager. "Sometimes DBAs were literally going back to the drawing board, resorting to sketches on whiteboards in an effort to visually manage their backups."
The Red Gate approach works for software developer David Cunnington, who beta-tested SQL Backup 5.0: "I found SQL Backup 5.0 to be a powerful tool with an intuitive interface. I particularly liked the timeline monitoring GUI, which clearly displays backup schedules for multiple servers, making it easy to identify any backup failures. It's then possible to drill into the details of the job in order to investigate the cause of the problem."
Performance proven in 10 million backups
Performance has always been a major consideration in SQL Backup. Last year, Red Gate's software 'demonstrated higher backup throughput and greater compression' than its leading competitors in independent testing conducted by The Tolly Group.
New multiple threads in SQL Backup 5.0 raise the performance bar. In more than 10 million backup tests across 100 different platforms, SQL Backup 5.0 has shown anywhere from 5 to 30 % performance improvement over the previous version.
Transparent pricing, easy to try out
Red Gate's quest for simplicity extends to the pricing model for SQL Backup. Unlike per-processor pricing or schemes known only to the vendor, pricing for SQL Backup 5.0 is completely transparent. The product is priced as one license per server, even if it's a multiprocessor server or there is more than one instance of SQL Server running on it. SQL Backup starts at $195.
Trying out the software is easy too: a fully functional version of SQL Backup 5.0 is available as a free 14-day trial download at www.red-gate.com.
About Red Gate Software
Red Gate Software makes ingeniously simple tools for Microsoft technology developers and DBAs. The company's product line includes tools for comparing, synchronizing, packaging, backing up and recovering SQL Server databases; understanding and fixing Visual Studio code problems to enable better performance; and profiling .NET web applications. Red Gate is a silver sponsor for the Visual Studio 2005 launch and a Visual Studio Industry Partner.
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Press Contacts:
Claire Brooking Bob Cramblitt
Red Gate Software Cramblitt & Company
+44 (0) 870 160 0037, X77 919-481-4599
claire.brooking@red-gate.com info@cramco.com
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