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CA Database Management for DB2 for zOS vs Foglight for Databases comparison

Why PeerSpot?
 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 1, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

CA Database Management for ...
Ranking in Database Development and Management
15th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
8.2
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Foglight for Databases
Ranking in Database Development and Management
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
24
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2026, in the Database Development and Management category, the mindshare of CA Database Management for DB2 for zOS is 1.5%, up from 0.8% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Foglight for Databases is 3.6%, down from 5.2% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database Development and Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Foglight for Databases3.6%
CA Database Management for DB2 for zOS1.5%
Other94.9%
Database Development and Management
 

Featured Reviews

JG
Technical Project Manager at Interra Information Technologies, Inc.
Report generation offers invaluable insights into database performance
I basically use the solution for database management and to view the performance of a particular database object, any specific program, batch program, or online programs. Using the CSSZ tool, I can effectively monitor performance. In case of an exception, I can inform the application team. At DB2…
AkshayChaudhari - PeerSpot reviewer
Data specialist at TCS
Centralized monitoring has reduced troubleshooting time and improves visibility across databases
I would improve the user interface of Foglight for Databases, as I feel it is somewhat complex, especially when using the specific troubleshooting view, particularly for new users. I would also appreciate more flexibility when customizing the dashboards and alerts, so better prioritization based on impact would be beneficial. Reporting could also be more straightforward with more ready-made reports and easier customization. Clearer recommendations during troubleshooting would help users move from identifying a problem to understanding the likely root cause. There is still room for improvement in the user interface, reporting, and alert customization, but overall Foglight for Databases has been valuable.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The feature we find most useful is the consistent ability to create strategies across the products that allow for consistent foundations for the business processes and the ability to repetitively use them by different resources."
"The ability to do the CA utilities faster than IBM using less resources, and the RC/Migrator product that allows us to make changes quickly and efficiently using either the IBM utilities or the CA utilities."
"We had no issues with stability; everything was working perfectly with DB2 v10 and v11 after the upgrade."
"The most important features are batch reporting and the ability to create repositories, enabling automated analysis. These are valuable because they enable me to do automated analysis of trends over time and reduce the time for comparing performance between two periods to identify anomalies."
"PDA and PPA make our daily housekeeping easier and prevents us from unnecessary reorganizations."
"​It helps us to reduce hardware costs and to optimize processing times.​"
"The reports generated and the old statistics shown are really helpful."
"It gives us better insight into our tables and our databases."
"It enables you to pin down troubleshooting within 30 minutes to an hour, whereas before, you'd be pouring over reports or data from queries for days."
"Using Foglight for Databases has been beneficial because it is a third-party tool that already has all of Dell's or Quest's experience, adding value in terms of ROI mainly through three avenues: less diagnostic time, fewer prolonged incidents, and less operational inefficiency."
"Foglight for Databases provides real-time data that is invaluable for analyzing ongoing issues with database servers."
"Foglight for Databases allows us to save up to four months of data, enabling us to track performance data for at least one quarter."
"The ability to monitor multiple database platforms streamlines our database operations. The single pane of glass is what we were really after when we picked Foglight. We knew we wanted something that could monitor cross-platform because it does save a lot of time to use the same tool. The one thing that I like with Foglight is that we don't have to install anything locally, like agents, directly on the database servers. That was also a big seller because it simplifies things."
"Based on my experience, I would estimate we are able to resolve database-related performance issues about thirty to forty percent faster than before."
"Foglight's Change Tracking capabilities are another huge feature. It is wonderful to be able to do that. People don't realize the amount of information that Foglight gathers from a given server or instance. It gets down to the version of SQL, the disk array, everything that's there. Any change that's made, any upgrade to SQL, shows up on the dashboard almost immediately. You don't know how much time you save just having a tool in your back pocket that does that for you."
"Foglight for Databases has helped us reduce the time we spend monitoring and troubleshooting database issues."
 

Cons

"I look forward to the application of these tools to all platforms in use, such as z/OS, Unix, and Windows."
"Only one issue was not resolved but this was because the customer did not agree to send data which the vendor asked for as it was user-sensitive data but without this, a full investigation was not possible."
"These tools have had their share of bugs."
"The initial setup parameters are quite exhaustive and some parameters cross with the products."
"They need to provide a way to create and maintain performance repositories. The online tool is not perfect, but it is giving me what I need."
"They could work on the installation process main job that runs, maybe break it up into several jobs instead of one."
"It's a good product. I would give it a nine out of 10, and the reason is, in general, it's a technical product so I think that it's a little cumbersome."
"The initial set up of parameters is quite exhaustive and some parameters cross products."
"One thing that I would like, and it's probably something that I could set up internally, is something other than a dashboard which I have to look at to know that a server is down. I'd like bells and whistles to go off... If I look at the dashboard I know there's a server down. But if I'm not looking at it, if I'm looking at some other problem, I want to know about it. You can do that, you can use SMSs and alerts to your phone, and I could set it up to handle that, but it would be nice if, out-of-the-box, Foglight did that."
"When holding data for two years for 20 SQL Servers, the reporting becomes sluggish and unresponsive."
"The data model needs improvement when it comes to creating custom reports. That is an area where it needs a bit of improvement. Foglight gathers a lot of information around our databases as part of its monitoring. While I know all this information is in there, trying to pull the metric we want out for custom reports is sometimes hard to find. One nice thing about Foglight is that you can create custom dashboards, which you can easily convert to reports. We would be doing a lot more of that if it weren't for the challenging data model."
"Foglight for Databases could benefit from fewer generic alerts and more rules based on impact, priority, and action path, which would make it more useful for daily operations, on-call shifts, and incident follow-up."
"Over this past weekend I had 400 emails from Foglight. That's a lot. And at least 395 of them were white noise."
"When we decided to go with Foglight, a lot of people stopped using the diagnostics part because it was very intimidating... They still won't use it because they feel it's too intimidating. They will open something up and not know what to do. It's not very user-friendly. You have to click on a lot of stuff to find the information."
"Better communication and alerts regarding the transaction logs getting full would also be beneficial. What I have noticed is that if the log files on the SQL server are full, we cannot log in and have to do some cleanup on the Foglight DB. It would be good if they could monitor that and alert us when it is getting too full."
"Quest must release a Spanish version. That's critical because not everyone speaks English in Latin America. It's an excellent product, so it's super important that they offer the application and customer service in Spanish."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"This is like the "Cadillac" of performance monitoring software. It's not cheap... I am currently with a company that I was able to convince that the product is worth the cost."
"The price of Foglight could be a little more competitive in Chile, and it should be lowered for long-time customers— at least by 20 percent. Sometimes the price is a limitation. We have seven instances and nearly 5 million users. If Quest Foglight could reduce its prices for the clients that have been with it for a long time, we would be able to have more instances."
"Compared to the other tools on the market, Foglight is okay in terms of pricing and licensing."
"The price is worth it, if you have the time to go through the information."
"Pricing is very reasonable. We were able to construct a pretty easy contract with Quest, who were very easy to work with and very amenable to what we are trying to do. It worked out well for us."
"It is cost-effective. With our EA, it is really based on the scale of our database environment. We found the Quest team to be reasonable and flexible when it comes to pricing and scaling of licenses."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Financial Services Firm
17%
Outsourcing Company
15%
Construction Company
14%
Comms Service Provider
8%
Financial Services Firm
15%
Outsourcing Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Government
9%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business5
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise19
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with CA Database Management for DB2 for zOS?
In the case of any particular SQL which is executing for a longer time and causing issues with any particular store or DB2 programs, if it could pinpoint the problems like any other tool should do,...
What is your primary use case for CA Database Management for DB2 for zOS?
I basically use the solution for database management and to view the performance of a particular database object, any specific program, batch program, or online programs. Using the CSSZ tool, I can...
What advice do you have for others considering CA Database Management for DB2 for zOS?
The solution operates on JetOS platform. It is a very good, perfect solution. I would rate it ten out of ten. Currently, I do not have any planning for investment at all.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Quest Foglight for Databases?
I have had a good experience with the licensing costs of Foglight for Databases, as we have a provider who has given us good prices, and so far we have not had any cost problems. Regarding configur...
What needs improvement with Quest Foglight for Databases?
Overall, I am happy with the product, but there are a few areas where it could be improved. First, I think the user interface could be more modern and intuitive, especially for new users. Some dash...
What is your primary use case for Quest Foglight for Databases?
My main use case is database performance monitoring and troubleshooting. As a developer, I use Foglight for Databases to understand whether database performance is contributing to an application is...
 

Also Known As

CA Database Management Solutions for DB2 for z/OS
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Blue Hill Data Services
CommitDBA
Find out what your peers are saying about CA Database Management for DB2 for zOS vs. Foglight for Databases and other solutions. Updated: September 2026.
914,351 professionals have used our research since 2012.