Toad for MS-SQL and SQL Magazine - Good Choices???

[ColumbiaDiver]

Hi All,

I am fairly new to MS-SQL and have been considering purchasing Toad Development Suite for SQL Server

http://shop.quest.com/682/purl-toad-for-sql-server

and subscribing to SQL magazine and wanted to get the groups opinion of these two products.

I am an Oracle and Informix DBA and in my previous job I where I supported Oracle and based on the recommendation of one of my Oracle instructors purchased Toad for Oracle and found it to be an excellent product. With my current company I have been tasked with supporting our MS-SQL databases and will hopefully attend formal training in the future. At this time I am currently signed up to take online courses for MS-SQL. But as I haven’t been able to attend any formal classes as yet I don’t know what third party tools are considered the best for MS-SQL and wanted to find out what this group thinks of Toad for MS-SQL and/or what third party tools you use and recommend.

2. I am also considering a subscription to SQL Magazine and I wanted to find out if the group considers this a worthwhile publication to subscribe to or if there are others that are considered better that you would recommend.

Thanks

Gordon

 

[SimonSellick]

SQL Server is not in the position that Oracle was in before SQL Developer, in that there have been good GUI-based developer / management tools ever since Microsoft took it over (and possibly before then; I don't know). If anything, it is the scripted tools that are lacking, but there are ways around that. Although a developer rather than a DBA, I find Management Studio to be very good for general instance / DB management as well as development of scripts etc.

 

[mrdenny]

For the most part you don't really need Toad for SQL Server to manage a SQL Server Instance. Toad is more a developer tool than an administration tool. For the most part the tool that you need is just the native tool. There are third party tools for viewing performance metrics from Quest, SQL Sentry, RedGate, etc. They simply gather and display data which can be viewed in other ways, but they make it much easier to look at the data, and they will gather metrics for historical viewing and trending.

As for SQL Server Magazine I like it, it has gotten a lot better recently. Granted I'm biased, as I write articles for the magazine.

Denny
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[markros]

Take a look at this free tool by RedGate SQL Server Scripts Manager

PluralSight Learning Library

 

[ousoonerjoe]

I've worked with Oracle and Toad in the past. They are a great combination. However, the MS-SQL Server Management Studio has something none of the other tools I've used has... Intellisence. It's seems like such a minor thing, but really has become quite the deal breaker. It still has a couple kinks to work out, but is a great tool. All of your tools and tasks are available through its interface. It connects up with Source Safe and Team Foundation Server to create projects and in turn create a log/history of changes made to stored procedures, indexes, etc. You can also manage Report Services and SSIS with it. Mind you, I'm not a fan of MS, but since 6.5, they've really started to get the tool sets ironed out and really practical.

As for an SQL publication, with all the web sites devoted to SQL, I have a hard time spending money (even if it is the boss') on a printed magazine. SQL Server Central is a good, free website that has a daily email that has provided more tips and ideas and solutions than most others out there.

You have a really good set of tools already, the boss/accounting will appreciate not having to buy another set. And between websites like SQL Server Central and excellent support sites like Tek-Tips, there's not a lot of gaps that other tools will be able to fill in.

Just my two cents.

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“Crash programs fail because they are based on the theory that, with nine women pregnant, you can get a baby a month.” --Wernher von Braun
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[markros]

I'm also getting Database Weekly and MSSQLTips and BeyondRelational Newspaper. In fact, I'm getting so much technical content by e-mail that I stopped reading it and only check when something catches my eye.


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