Red Gate Roadmap for 2013

Our roadmap for 2013 shows the evolution of our tools and where we plan to go through the year.

We adapt our plans according to the feedback we hear from our customers, so please contact us if you have comments or suggestions. We offer T-shirts, licenses, and other freebies for interesting ideas.

Already a customer? Make sure your Support & Upgrades are valid before a new release comes out, so you get instant access to the latest versions of your tools.

Our release schedule at a glance

  • SQL Toolbelt & SQL Developer Bundle
    1. SQL Compare 10.2 – use custom migrations scripts from the command line. Released
    2. SQL Source Control:
      1. Version 3.1 – performance enhancements to the engine. Released
      2. Version 3.2 – persistent user selections on the Commit tab. Released
      3. Version 3.3 – check TFS Policies. Released
      4. Version 3.4 – added customized options to link a database to Git, Mercurial, or a working folder, which means you can source control your database schema and static data in any version control system; performance improvements on the Commit and Get Latest tabs; ability to name migration scripts. Released
      5. Version 3.5 – support for multiple SSMS instances; better support for TFS. Due Q3-Q4 2013
      6. Version 4.0 – improved migrations feature that supports all version control systems (including Git and Mercurial) and works across branches. Due Q3-Q4 2013
      7. Version 4.5 – under investigation

      We're actively monitoring our Suggestion Forum to help prioritize what we should work on next and would love to hear from you.

  • Continuous Integration and Deployment
    1. Continuous Integration – The SQL Automation Pack to use Red Gate tools as part of your Continuous Integration process. Released
    2. Deployment Manager – ASP.NET and database deployments.  
      1. Version 1.0 – initial release for ASP.NET deployments. Released
      2. Version 1.1 – SQL Server Deployments. Released
      3. Version 2.0 – full, simple automation of application and database deployments. Due Q2 2013
  • SQL DBA Tools
    1. SQL Monitor
      1. Version 3.0 – addition of access permissions and custom metrics functionality. Released
      2. Version 3.1 – navigation improvements to Alert Inbox. Released
      3. Version 3.2 – SQL Monitor metrics website launched. Released
      4. Version 3.2.1 – improvements to IE 10 and availability group functionality. Released
      5. Version 3.3 – email alert improvements and multiple metric analysis. Released
      6. Version 3.4 – improved time control navigation. Released
      7. Version 3.5 – introduction of baseline functionality. Due Q3 2013
    2. SQL Backup Pro
      1. Version 7.0 – addition of integrated, automated verification with scheduled restore + DBCC CHECKDB. Released
      2. Version 7.1 – enhancements to Jobs tab and Activity History. Released
      3. Version 7.2 – improvements to default naming for scheduled backups and reminder for Schedule Restore Jobs wizard. Released
      4. Version 7.3 - quickly, easily and securely take your backups offsite into hosted storage. Released.
      5. Version 7.4 - improvements to the installation experience for users of SS2012. Due Q2 2013
  • .NET Developer Tools
    1. .NET Profilers
      1. ANTS Performance Profiler 8.0 now captures outgoing web request performance data, and offers async and WinRT support. Released
      2. ANTS Memory Profiler 8.0. Under investigation
    2. .NET Reflector.
      1. Version 8.0 – Improved the debugging workflow in Visual Studio, enabled rapid decompilation from call stack frames, introduced new search functionality, and improved performance. Released
      2. Version 8.1 – Minor bug fixes and stability improvement. Released
    3. SmartAssembly.
      1. Version 6.8 contains support for portable class libraries, very large assemblies, and includes further improvements for WPF applications. Released
    4. Glimpse
      1. Version 1.0. Released
  • Oracle Tools
    1. Source Control for Oracle – Enables easy Oracle database source control with SVN & TFS. Released

SQL Toolbelt & SQL Developer Bundle

SQL Compare, SQL Data Compare, and SQL Comparison SDK

We have been continually adding SQL Server 2012 support throughout the year to SQL Compare 10. SQL Compare 10.2 allows you to use the command line to run custom migration scripts, enabling the use of SQL Compare in Continuous Integration processes.

For further releases of SQL Compare and SQL Data Compare, the teams are looking at new ways of making Continuous Integration effortless. We want to improve the integration of these products into SQL Server Management Studio.

The ability to deploy from database projects will be added to SQL Compare in Q1.

Finally, we recently released a new version of the SQL Comparison SDK, with SQL Server 2012 and SQL Azure support.

SQL Source Control

SQL Source Control 3.4 now supports all version control systems by linking to a working folder. This option also enables atomic commits with application code. We also have custom options for Git and Mercurial and have improved performance over the past few releases. We now check TFS policies, which allows you to require comments when you commit or associate commits to TFS Work Items. We also now support TFS 2012, Team Foundation Service, and Vault 6.1.

Currently, we're investigating enhanced migrations functionality to support all version control systems (including Git and Mercurial) and work across branches. The team are also investigating other areas such as better TFS integration, enhanced branching and merging support, and several other requests from our users. We're actively monitoring our Suggestion Forum to help prioritize what we should work on next and would love to hear from you.

Continuous Integration and Deployment

Continuous Integration

With the SQL Automation Pack, you can run the tools from the SQL Developer Bundle on your build server, bringing your database into your Continuous Integration process.

Deployment Manager

We've just released version 1 of a new tool, Deployment Manager, that allows developers, DBAs, and DevOps teams to create and manage repeatable and reliable deployments of their ASP.NET applications and database updates.

Version 2.0, due mid-2013, will include:

  • Permissions, for granular control over which users are able to deploy to which environments.
  • An SSMS packager plugin so that users who aren’t doing Continuous Integration can create database packages for Deployment Manager from within SSMS.

Join the version 2 beta for early access.

SQL DBA Tools

SQL Monitor

In the coming months we'll be adding functionality to SQL Monitor to help you see changes over time, and baseline your servers. We’ll also improve your ability to diagnose performance problems, including reporting on wait stats.

SQL Monitor 3.4 was released in Q2 2013. SQL Monitor can now display multiple metrics in one graph, on a customizable timeline. There's also a new drag and zoom feature to make time navigation simpler.

SQL Monitor 3.2.1 was released in Q1 2013. It contains improvements to IE 10 and availability group functionality. We also added in the ability to compare multiple metrics at once in SQL Monitor 3.3.

SQL Monitor 3.2 was released in Q3 2012, including a custom metric website, sqlmonitormetrics.red-gate.com. Users can import verified custom metrics from the site directly into SQL Monitor, expanding their monitoring range, and share and discuss their own T-SQL with others.

As always, if you have any thoughts on our plans or features you'd like to see, let us know at the SQL Monitor UserVoice forum.

SQL Backup Pro

In 2013 we’re taking your backups to the next level, by enabling you to safeguard them in hosted storage. In Q1 we released SQL Backup Pro 7.3, featuring the ability to quickly, simply, and securely upload and store a copy of your backups in the cloud, protecting your data from onsite disaster. With 7.3 and a Hosted Storage account you can upload your backups to the cloud, manage them online and download them when you need to restore.

Coming up we’re working on improving the installation experience for SQL Backup Pro users on SS2012, and continuing work on the hosted storage functionality. You can let us know your ideas and feedback on the SQL Backup Pro UserVoice forum.

SQL Backup Pro 7.0, 7.1 and 7.2 were all released in 2012. New features in version 7 include integrated backup verification and scheduled restores. We've made the necessary, but tedious, task of verification a whole lot easier, so it becomes a natural part of the backup process. Version 7 also supports SQL Server 2012.

.NET Tools

.NET Profilers

ANTS Performance Profiler

It's likely that performance is becoming ever more important for your applications, so ANTS Performance Profiler is not just keeping up-to-date with new technologies, but pushing back the technological barriers to solving your performance problems.

ANTS Performance Profiler 8 is now out. We recommend taking a look if you are:

ANTS Performance Profiler 8 is the first .NET profiler to show you correct continuations of code after async calls. Not only does this simplify troubleshooting performance, but functional code issues as well. Visualizing call stacks across thread boundaries is especially useful for Windows Store Apps (aka WinRT/Metro-style/Modern), and for any applications with asynchronous I/O.

ANTS Performance Profiler 8 also continues a line of development started in version 7.0 of the tool. It will show you the performance of database calls, and the code that generated them, as well as showing you the same information for all outgoing web requests. With this information to hand, you'll be getting a comprehensive starting point to identify the subsystem with the bottlenecks.

These features are unlikely to be the first that you'll notice, with the obvious visual differences to the timeline and the startup screen to make things even easier and faster for you. Our most popular performance counters are much easier to find and use, and we have improved the way you can zero-in on problem areas of your code.


ANTS Memory Profiler

There's a version 8 in the works, expected for release in Q3 2013. You can join the ANTS Memory Profiler 8 Beta program now, though.

ANTS Memory Profiler is already up-to-date for released .NET platforms and frameworks, so version 8 will add the most requested features (e.g. unmanaged memory profiling) and help you to find and solve even the trickiest memory issues.

Version 7.4 (released in April 2012) added a few usability enhancements and bug fixes, while version 7.3 (released in March 2011) added support for profiling websites in IIS Express and SharePoint.


.NET Reflector

We released .NET Reflector 8.0 in January 2013. Version 8 included improvements to the core debugging workflows, making it easier to find lines of code and follow the flow of data through third-party libraries as you debug. Search functionality was improved in the desktop and Visual Studio extension tools, making it easier to access the debugging functionality in Visual Studio.

Version 8.1 was released in May 2013. This was a minor patch release addressing a couple of bugs and improving stability in Visual Studio.

.NET Reflector is up to date on all released .NET platforms, including Windows 8 (.NET and WinRT) and .NET 4.5.


SmartAssembly

In SmartAssembly, we've been extending the number of application types supported and making our obfuscation even smarter. The most recent release, SmartAssembly 6.8 (May 2013), contains support for portable class libraries, improved support for very large assemblies, and further improvements for WPF applications, now hitting the optimal level of obfuscation and pruning.

SmartAssembly 6.7 (released in May 2012) added improved support for WPF. You can now merge dependencies containing WPF and, in some cases, the WPF code will be obfuscated where it would not have been obfuscated in previous versions.

SmartAssembly 6.6 (released in January 2012) enhanced obfuscation for the Developer and Professional licenses with a new option called 'Method Parent Obfuscation'. This moves methods around in your code by changing the class they are in, making it harder to understand how methods and classes relate to each other.

Glimpse

We are proud to support the Glimpse Open Source project, which gives you a client-side view of your web server. Without leaving your browser, you can see information about your server environment and execution. If you are using one of the plugins, you can get even more detailed information from frameworks and libraries including MVC, Elmah, RavenDB, FluentSecurity, and an ever-increasing number of others.

Glimpse shipped their long-awaiting version 1 in February 2013 and the team is keeping busy committing code every other day whilst preparing their next big feature. Check out Scott Hanselman's blog post on how to debug your ASP.NET MVC application with Glimpse.

Other news

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