question

As this is a Red Gate sponsored forum (see bottom of page) then you are likely to find lots of responses around the idea of Red Gate making the great tools for the sql dba market. I know there are a few of us that work with Red Gate on EAP and beta versions of their products so we are certainly in favour of them. I will endeavour to be as factual and un-baised as I can...

In-house here we have the SQL Toolbelt licensed for 5 users. We dont pay for any other tools as the toolbelt gives us all the key applications - backup, data generator, sql prompt, sql compare and data compare etc etc. We do use plenty of free tools from Idera, Atlantis and Quest and they are very useful.

Specifically with SQL Backup (currently v4) we use the compression and encryption and get great results. Using the maximum compression setting we can compress a 15GB database better than using native backup and then compressing it. SQL Backup beat it by 600MB! Added to this SQL Backup will do object level restore directly out of its own backup files and SQL Compare and SQL Data Compare will compare live databases to the backed-up version of the database then they make a compelling arguement for being a 'must have'.

Like I say, we are wholly Red Gate here and have been for a year or two so I am not right up-to-date with the latest versions of other vendors products, they may do similar things. With Red Gate its the interaction between the products that makes the whole suite a great asset.

Edit:
As pointed out by Slick84 - I have made an error in the above paragraph regarding the version of SQL Backup that supports object level restores. I should have said that it is SQL Backup v6 that supports the object level compression, I was thinking about the Level 4 compression that got the figures stated.

apologies for any confusion caused

FULL DISCLOSURE: I'm a "Friend of Redgate" which means, because I've sung their praises far & wide, I get a little more access than others. Just wanted to say that up front.

The company I work for maintains a number of Red Gate licenses, mainly Toolbelt, but also Prompt, SQL Compare, Data Compare, others. We do this because we find the products do the job we need them to do. Also, the products are easy to use. Finally, the company has always been responsive when there are issues with their tools or our use of their tools.

That said, I don't own, nor would I recommend all their products. For example, I've never been terribly enamored of SQL Response, their monitoring product. I don't think it's going to do what most shops need and certainly won't do what large scale enterprise systems will need. I've never been favorably inclined to SQL Backup. Although, now that they own Hyperbac, I might be buying a Red Gate backup solution. SQL Doc only works well if you've already done all the work to comment your code, add extended properties to your objects, etc., from which it can build a nice document about your database. Otherwise, it's just a list of objects, so not all that useful. Other than that, I've found uses for most of their tools.

It really depends on what your needs are, and your style of working. I've just found Red Gate software, most of it, to be very much in line with my needs and style. That said, I know that, for example, Apex software, has very similar offerings that are in many ways absolutely as good as Red Gate, and in some ways, probably, better. But, I've had great experiences with the Red Gate people and company and will continue to use, and support, their products until something changes.

As for monitoring, it kind of depends on what you want to monitor and how you want to deal with it, but the two products I like currently are Idera's Diagnostic Manager and Confio's Ignite. These two products do similar stuff, but in very different ways. You may find one more suited to you than the other. My company uses Microsoft System Center Operations Manager for some of our system monitoring as well. It's a great tool, but could be overkill depending on your needs.

That's my 1.5 cents.