Redgate SQL Monitor vs Solarwinds
Rating: 8 out of 10
February 13, 2018
DT
Vetted Review
Verified User
5 years of experience
I used to use SQL Monitor because I could not afford AppInsight for SQL from Solarwinds.
However they offer different benefits. A feature that Redgate offers is an indication if your server is under attack and where from, a simple extension would allow further action to be drawn from this, eg looking up the IP in a an IP Black list, which could advise you to block further access from that IP address in China. Redgate reports it as a fault, not an attack; they don't look at the bigger picture.
This is the fundamental flaw with all Redgate products, they are too precious about their intellectual property to the detriment of usability. This is often found with installation and upgrades failing, hence they have written but not publicised sanitization tools to remove all traces of Redgate from your system, so once it is installed don't touch it, and I am a fan of Redgate toolbelt. If they had only offered a scripting/WebHook interface to SQL Monitor then an eco system could emerge around it for the benefit of all. Redgate products typically have a UI which is a hosted Chromium UI, so the UI is actually a web page, which has some advantages, speed not being one of them.
So should you get SQL Monitor - well yes (unless you have Solarwinds and thus AppInsight for SQL)
However they offer different benefits. A feature that Redgate offers is an indication if your server is under attack and where from, a simple extension would allow further action to be drawn from this, eg looking up the IP in a an IP Black list, which could advise you to block further access from that IP address in China. Redgate reports it as a fault, not an attack; they don't look at the bigger picture.
This is the fundamental flaw with all Redgate products, they are too precious about their intellectual property to the detriment of usability. This is often found with installation and upgrades failing, hence they have written but not publicised sanitization tools to remove all traces of Redgate from your system, so once it is installed don't touch it, and I am a fan of Redgate toolbelt. If they had only offered a scripting/WebHook interface to SQL Monitor then an eco system could emerge around it for the benefit of all. Redgate products typically have a UI which is a hosted Chromium UI, so the UI is actually a web page, which has some advantages, speed not being one of them.
So should you get SQL Monitor - well yes (unless you have Solarwinds and thus AppInsight for SQL)
- It will tell you if your server is under attack.
- You can quickly see how your server is performing and which queries are taking the longest
- I gives you the feeling that you are in control of your database, that you know what is going on for when they users ring up and tell you that the server is slow
Cons
- Openness - They are too attached to their Intellectual Property to the detriment of usability, stability and reliability. So once its is installed and working leave it alone. Best run it on a VM as that can be restored quickly for when it breaks.
- If they exposed an API/SDK that allowed you to leaver their products life would be far sweeter, it would feel less of a battle.
- Add WebHooks to SQL Monitor to enhance integration to other subsystems.
- Make it easy to install in default mode. So you are not forced to use TomCat Use as ASP.Core Selfl Hosting options.
84%
8.4
- The quality of the product and give a negative investment impression, on the plus side when it does work it is a god send.
- Day to day tasks as made simpler, and a feeling of security of realised. Just don't change anything.
As a RedGate Toolbelt user, this came with a 1 server license and so something is better than nothing. Once you have gone thru the pain of getting it working its not too bad. It is a lot cheaper than SolarWinds product, and it a great starting point as to long running queries, server health and if your server is under attack. It has a nice UI to give your the heads up on what is happening to your SQL investment.