April 30, 2015 at 12:05 am
Comments posted to this topic are about the item SQLServerCentral Runs sp_Blitz - The Future
April 30, 2015 at 4:06 am
What about license restrictions?
I heard Brent speak about this and my understanding was that you are not allowed to store the result of sp_Blitz or save the script on any server that you are comercially working on. I.e. on clients machines.
If I am correct you may only use this on servers that your employer own.
Just asking...
Please see attached quotes from BOU EULA
(C) 2014, Brent Ozar Unlimited.
See http://BrentOzar.com/go/eula for the End User Licensing Agreement.
c. You may not use the Software to develop any product having the same primary function as the Software, and you may not create any derivative works or other works that are based on or derived from the Software in whole or in part.
...
You consent to the Software sending usage data (e.g., the number of instances the Software is launched, the device IP address, and/or the version of the Software), for registration, authentication, use and anti-piracy auditing and enforcement purposes and for all usage purposes described in this Section 5.
I hope I am wrong because I love the script. But today I would not put it on any of my clients servers because of this.
April 30, 2015 at 5:06 am
April 30, 2015 at 6:32 am
Sounds great. I'll pass this on to our DB Admin.
April 30, 2015 at 7:29 am
I appreciate someone pointing out licensing challenges with this script.
Is there a better forum for asking questions about what metrics you can pull back with sql monitor?
I'd particularly like to see table counts exceeding certain thresholds.
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April 30, 2015 at 8:48 am
sqlcopilot (4/30/2015)
What about license restrictions?I heard Brent speak about this and my understanding was that you are not allowed to store the result of sp_Blitz or save the script on any server that you are comercially working on. I.e. on clients machines.
If I am correct you may only use this on servers that your employer own.
Just asking...
I hope I am wrong because I love the script. But today I would not put it on any of my clients servers because of this.
Hi! Brent here. You are not allowed to distribute sp_Blitz® (or any of our scripts) to other people, or install it on someone else's servers. Only the people who own the servers are allowed to install the software there.
You're absolutely right in that you shouldn't put it on your clients' servers - but you are totally free to say to your clients, "There's a script that will help me do my job better. You can get it from this location over here. We can install it together."
That's the same approach I use with Adam Machanic's sp_WhoIsActive too, for example - I want to explain to my clients where the script comes from, what it does, and why it's on their production servers. I don't want them to be surprised by stuff I left all over their servers. 😉
April 30, 2015 at 8:52 am
To elaborate a little more about the licensing - here's some of the challenges we've faced in the past.
We found a consulting company that was modifying sp_Blitz®, then installing it on their clients' servers. After the consulting company was asked to leave (for unrelated reasons, I hope!), we got support calls about why sp_Blitz® was breaking so badly. I looked at the code, and it had code we'd never written. That's not fair to us to have to support that company's bad code.
In another case, a blogger was distributing an old version of sp_Blitz® and not keeping it up to date. We got emails from people saying they had the latest version but it still had bugs - when the real problem was that they kept downloading this blogger's old zip file.
We pour a lot of our free time into building this stuff, and we love giving it away - but we want people to always get the most up-to-date version to keep our support time down, and we want to make sure we're properly credited for the hard work we do. That's why we don't allow folks to redistribute our code and install it on servers they don't own.
We have nothing against consultants though! You're free to use our tools to make your life easier - just don't install them on servers you don't own. Ask the server owners to install 'em, and then go from there.
Hope that helps!
April 30, 2015 at 9:07 am
Brent,
It would seem like an MIT license would be more friendly. Of course, the think I appreciate most about your license is your thoughtful reply to a sincere question.
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April 30, 2015 at 9:11 am
robert.sterbal 56890 (4/30/2015)
Brent,It would seem like an MIT license would be more friendly. Of course, the think I appreciate most about your license is your thoughtful reply to a sincere question.
The MIT license lets people modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, sell, etc. While that would indeed be much more friendly to users, it would make it a lot harder for us to put food on the table while simultaneously giving away free tools. 😀
It's a tough decision. We talked a lot about it when we first started the company - it's so tough to build a living on this stuff. I'm always curious when other people launch free community tools to see what licenses they pick.
April 30, 2015 at 9:15 am
It would really depend on your revenue model, and your comfort level in replacing the consultants that left enough of your tools behind for the potential customer to find you.
There are no easy answers, and I'm not suggesting any. I usually have to read scripts for techniques since it isn't totally clear which licenses are safe for me to use at work.
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April 30, 2015 at 9:17 am
robert.sterbal 56890 (4/30/2015)
It would really depend on your revenue model, and your comfort level in replacing the consultants that left enough of your tools behind for the potential customer to find you.There are no easy answers, and I'm not suggesting any. I usually have to read scripts for techniques since it isn't totally clear which licenses are safe for me to use at work.
Yeah, exactly. We have the same challenges with our own consulting work too - we have to read licenses carefully. All the stuff they didn't teach us in school that we really needed to know these days, hahaha!
April 30, 2015 at 9:21 am
I have a harder time making this get taken seriously by peers than I do with understanding what the licenses say.
I'm just disappointed the the authors of the articles don't detail as much as they reasonably could when they discuss the scripts.
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April 30, 2015 at 9:26 am
robert.sterbal 56890 (4/30/2015)
I'm just disappointed the the authors of the articles don't detail as much as they reasonably could when they discuss the scripts.
You know, it's funny, I had a Eureka moment like that several years ago. I went to a user group, watched a session, and thought, "Man, this presenter isn't doing justice to this topic. In fact, I think he knows even less about it than I do. I bet I could do a better job of presenting this topic."
And I realized that was my sign.
Everybody in the community is here as a volunteer. We get up on the podium or sit down at the keyboard because we want to reach out and help other people, to share our knowledge.
If you're not happy with someone else's level of detail, that's your sign: it's time for you to start giving back. It's time for you to start a blog, write a presentation, and do justice to a topic that you know well.
April 30, 2015 at 9:26 am
(deleted - duplicate comment)
April 30, 2015 at 9:30 am
My employer and the requirements that I give them discretion prevents me from going into much detail publicly.
I actually enjoy social media, so if there are any SQL organizations who would like some help managing their footprint I'd enjoy that kind of opportunity.
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