This is the oldest editorial we have on the SQL Server Central site. This is being re-run for the US President’s Day holiday as Steve is on vacation and we are celebrating 25 years of SQL Server Central.
I was browsing the web recently and caught this note on coders and their tools and a related article on must have tools. It seems the focus was more for programmers and network administrators, but there are definitely some good tools in the list for DBAs to understand.
However, since it’s Friday, it got me thinking…
What are your essential DBA tools?
By these I mean those pieces of software not included with SQL Server, that you find very handy. It can be a utility that serves some purpose or a programming aid, I’m wondering what tools outside of those that come with SQL Server do you consider essential.
For me I have to say that the one tool I find most handy right now is Litespeed. I’ve used this utility for backups to save space for years. We made a deal a long time ago with DBAssociates, who developed the tool, and we’ve stuck with it. As of now we’re quite a few versions back since Imceda and then Quest took over the tool, but we’re happy with the way it’s worked.
That’s not to say other products aren’t just as good or even a better value, but that’s the one tool I’ve found most handy for me with SQL Server.
So are you using compare tools? Programming IDEs? Something else I’m not thinking of that has proven to be an essential SQL Server DBA or developer tool?
Let us know. You might just make someone’s day.
Steve Jones
Voice of the DBA 
I can’t speak to its effectiveness as I’ve never used LiteSpeed to backup DBs but I can tell you from the other side, someone needing to restore from a LiteSpeed backup that they make it a pain in the backside to do. They do have a free tool for unlocking the backup so you can restored the DB without having a LiteSpeed license but they make it very hard to locate and get to. Its like they try to make it just difficult enough that one will consider buying one their cheaper entry level licenses.
I don’t believe any software vendor should be bale to make files that others can’t use without buying that vendors license when the file type in question is not something the vendor created but one they compressed.
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Ah, apologies. Meant to respond last week.
I thought Litespeed installed the conversion tool when you added it to a server. I know SQL Backup does, or should. We also have the tool here: https://documentation.red-gate.com/sbu/tools-and-utilities/sql-backup-file-converter
For most of these tools, they should be free, and ours is. You are free to redistribute it if you send the backup file to someone.
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I eventually got the tool but at the time (this was a few years back) it wasn’t made as simple and straight forwards one would think. It was on the site but it was one of those things where you had to know where to look. I think it’s fine to charge people who use the tool to make backups, its just that those who then need to restore that shouldn’t be faced with having to pay anything to do that.
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