Magic Quadrant for Monitoring Software?

  • Hi all,

    Apologies for dropping this post into the SQL2008 General forum... but it kind of touches on most areas and platforms.

    My question - Has anyone published a comprehensive comparison of available SQL Server monitoring products? I've been doing quite a bit of searching (both here and elsewhere on the web) and can't seem to find what I'm looking/hoping for.

    Basically, I'd love to see a Gartner-esque magic quadrant that is specific to SQL Server monitoring tools. Our department is seriously looking into purchasing a solution, and it would be great if some of the leg work had already been done - allowing us to focus in on the true leaders in the market.

    I mean, I know about the usual players - Redgate, Idera, etc... but I'm hoping for some rankings from a fairly reputable/knowledgeable source.

    Any ideas?

    Thanks.

  • Sadly dont have a specific answer but would it be worth trialing the different monitors out there to see how they fit? We dont rely on one tool in particular and implement SCOM, Idera and custom scripts with alerts too.

    'Only he who wanders finds new paths'

  • Yeah, we've already started down that path. Unfortunately, it's hard to get a good feel for each offering in the short trial period. So, I was hoping there was already some material that compares the strengths and weaknesses of each product.

    Thanks.

  • My $0.02...

    The two products I have had the most experience with are Idera SQL Diagnostics Manager and Quest (Foglight & Spotlight).

    I'm personally a huge fan of Idera SQL Diagnostics Manager; it is solid, reasonably priced and very easy to use. I have always had great luck with it and the support is excellent.

    I am not a Fan of Quest SQL Monitoring Products. We used Foglight and Spotlight at a big bank with a few thousand servers and it was a nightmare setup and use. It's flaky, unreliable and the interface is absolutely ridiculous. All the DBA's (including me) hated it; we dubbed it the AOL of SQL Monitoring.

    I have not used Redgate Monitor but have seen it demo'd at SQL in the City & at SQL PASS. It looks like an awesome product: it does pretty much everything that Idera does and the interface is the best of all three products I have mentioned. What is especially impressive is the library of custom metrics written by SQL Server MVP's. Here's Redgate Monitor in action: http://monitor.red-gate.com/[/url].

    "I cant stress enough the importance of switching from a sequential files mindset to set-based thinking. After you make the switch, you can spend your time tuning and optimizing your queries instead of maintaining lengthy, poor-performing code."

    -- Itzik Ben-Gan 2001

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