SQL Server Reviews and Pricing

Service Operations Manager at a tech vendor with 51-200 employees

Aug 5, 2015

Its use of hyper-threading causes stability issues, but the higher limits for storage and table management are valuable features.

What is most valuable?

Reliability
Transaction management
Its higher limits for storage and table management

What needs improvement?

Improvement to synchronous replication. Currently Microsoft's Always-On implementation of synchronous replication is not truly synchronous, as it counts the data to be written to the slave node, when it is written to the LDF file, not when it is committed to the actual database. This cause a problem when you are load balancing transactions across synchronous nodes.

For how long have I used the solution?

I have been using it for over seven years, including 2008 (5/10) and 2012 (6/10) versions. We also have an early release of 2016 (8/10) which I have tested, but it's not in our production environment.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

We deploy multiples of these servers now and it is all managed via PowerShell scripts and templates. It does not play nicely with hyper-threading, so we disable this now by default.

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What do I think about the stability of the solution?

If there is flapping of Always-On database node, SQL Server will break the replication to the child nodes, and it requires manual intervention to restart replication.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Currently no as we use our own load balancer to enable us to scale to any level.

How was the initial setup?

A strong knowledge of AD is a must as well as the ability to decipher MSFT blog posts.

What about the implementation team?

We did it in-house.

What was our ROI?

Depending on how the product is used, it will take about 12 months.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Chose your database based on traffic type and desired functionality not on initial cost.

What other advice do I have?

Take a look at the environment you plan to implement including the application and traffic model. Consider using Azure DB depending on your implementation requirements.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

AlbeezIT Director at DAR AL ARKAN

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Jul 4, 2017

I suggest to engage with an expert in SQL Always ON configuration to address the issues as we have been using it for over 5 years and never faced such issues. Heart-beat Sync between two nodes of remote locations has a dependency on latency which must be less than 15-20 ms. Also review the processor model used for virtualization; sometimes the issue may be at the processor / hyper-visor level.

it_user284160

Freelance at a tech services company with 51-200 employees

Aug 2, 2015

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Running long and complicated queries could make the software crash, but it allowed to me make all kinds of important reports easily.

What is most valuable?

The ability to browse table structures and re-design it easily.

How has it helped my organization?

It improved the efficiency in giving service to clients, and allowed to me make all kinds of important reports easily.

What needs improvement?

The compiler should be much more precise and give you more information about the error.

For how long have I used the solution?

I've used it for two and a half years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

No issues encountered.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

Running long and complicated queries could make the software crash. You should run them part by part instead (i.e. with stored procedures).

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

No issues encountered.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

I haven't had to contact them.

Technical Support:

They give quick, and helpful, responses. About 9/10.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

This was the solution I've used.

How was the initial setup?

It's pretty straightforward, and usually everything goes smoothly. Everything was user-friendly and took me a minimum amount of time to understand how everything works.

What about the implementation team?

We did it in-house.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

The price is pretty high, buy it's worth getting the license.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

No other options were evaluated.

What other advice do I have?

Personally, I love Microsoft products and I’m pleased with this one as well. I would advise you to get it.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

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it_user231318

Associate Consultant with 501-1,000 employees

Apr 28, 2015

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It has enhanced our real time decision making capabilities but SSRS could include some ad hoc reporting.

What is most valuable?

There are lots of features including the analysis, database, and reporting, services. We use it mainly for reporting and analysis purposes.

The components I use are -

SSAS 8.5/10
SSIS 8/10
SSRS 7/10

How has it helped my organization?

It has enhanced our real time decision making capabilities. It ensures we are up to date regarding our customers buying behaviour.

What needs improvement?

SSRS should have more capabilities in terms of more ad hoc reporting
SSAS multi-dimensional expression queries should be more simple

For how long have I used the solution?

I've been using it for the last five and a half years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

With the latest version, it's very easy and intuitive.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

We had a stability issue with the SSRS component when we deployed it into the production environment.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Not much of an issue to date.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service:

9/10.

Technical Support:

9/10.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

We were using a solution from Informatica for ETL purpose, which was 8.5/10, but now we are doing it through SSIS, because it is easy to use and its cost.

How was the initial setup?

The migration was, as always, a hard job, but we were able to migrate successfully.

What about the implementation team?

We implemented it in-house.

What was our ROI?

We are pleased with the level of our ROI.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

GaryMData Architect at World Vision

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May 18, 2016

Re. SSRS for adhoc reporting, I would argue SSRS was not meant for adhoc reporting - that's the purpose of PowerBI and Excel PowerPivot. The people who use SSRS should be data consumers who want specific formats whereas adhoc reporting is data explorers who will want a different tool. One size never fits all with any vendor and this is not exception.

it_user165207

Infrastructure Analyst / Engineer (24x7) at a tech services company with 501-1,000 employees

Nov 27, 2014

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The user interface can be improved but its always been reliable and consistent, providing tremendous functionality.

What is most valuable?

Reliability
Ease of use
Extensive Knowledge Base to improve and maintain the product

How has it helped my organization?

The majority of the software frameworks utilised by companies I have supported use SQL Server by Microsoft as the application's database management system. It always been reliable and consistent providing tremendous functionality for many years.

What needs improvement?

The user interface can be improved through the adoption of the intuitive interaction design of the MS Office 2013 applications.

For how long have I used the solution?

5 years

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

I previously used MongoDB before the stability of innovative products still remains questionable in both theory and practice.

What was our ROI?

100%.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

it_user153675

SQL DBA at a computer software company with 51-200 employees

Oct 2, 2014

The SSIS or SQL Server Integration Services is a vital component that is associated to the Server.

SQL Server and SQL Server Integration Services – Informative Article

SQL Server and SQL Server Integration Services: Discussed and Explained

The concept of Relational Database Management System when brought forward by Microsoft was known as SQL Server. Architecture of SQL is a division where all the components combine and work, both; independently and together. This is done in order to process the services offered, in a defined way. This allows SQL Server to work smoothly.

The external SQL Server interface is developed by the Protocol Layer. All the operations conducted on the server are transmitted through a defined format known as the Tabular Data Stream (TDS). Basically, this is an Application Layer Protocol that helps to transfer data between the client and server (database).

Some other points that in a combination help make SQL an essential database management system for users include the following:

Data Storage

It is a collection of a variety of tables with all sorts of types including; primary types – decimal, integer, float, etc., varchar, and more.

Concurrency and locking:

The server permits users to make use of the SQL database concurrently by multiple types of clients. So it is required to take control of the simultaneous database access to the shared data. The two concurrency control modes provided are; pessimistic and optimistic.

SQL uses lock mechanism, in the pessimistic mode of concurrency control and they can be further classified as; shared & Exclusive Locks.

Data retrieval:

Data in SQL Server is retrieved via querying it and this query procedure is executed by the SQL Server variant; T-SQL. The order of steps in the procedure of querying for essentials to recall the data requested for is decided by the Query Processor.

Buffer Management

This part of SQL Server plays a critical role in reducing the Disc I/O while it buffers the pages into RAM. One can store up to 8 KB of pages in the buffered memory and this collection of all buffered pages is known as the Buffer Cache.

SQL Server and Its Versions

The entire database held by SQL Server is available as Primary (*.mdf) and Secondary (*.ndf) Database respectively. While an LDF file’s role is to hold the entire log details of the transactions carried out on any of the database.

Amongst all the versions of SQL Server; 2005, 2008 R2, 2014, and others; 2000 was the first version to be adding multiple performance measures to the Server. And out of all the measures introduced by SQL Server version 2000, SQL Server Integration Services or SSIS was the most vital one.

Detailing Of SQL Server and SQL Server Integration Services Security

The SSIS Security of SQL Server consist of a variety of layers offering a completely sound environ for the services. These layers constitute of the below mentioned components:

Package Properties;
Digital Signature;
Operating System Permissions;
Database roles.

When used in a combination for applying security measures, these components act as a defensive shield to the packages of SQL Server.

In order to interpret the concept of SQL Server and SQL Server Integration Services security, understanding the platform of SSIS is of primary importance. The forthcoming segment of this article discusses about the same as well as the attributes offered by it in SQL Server environ.

Understanding the SSIS Concept of Security

The SSIS or SQL Server Integration Services is a vital component that is associated to the Server. Normally used for carrying out a wide number and variety of operations related to data migration this platform has been structured considering the two mentioned elements:

Data Integration which happens to be an approach for combining the data from different set of resources. Thus, representing it in a manner that is unified and coordinated.
Workflow programs a set of applications that modify procedures to some point and even require manual agreement / customization or modification of activities sometimes.

The following functions are allowed to be performed at a higher level:

Data retrieval through any source and loading of components into any source with a defining workflow.
Carrying out a wide number procedures on the database including; calculation, conversion, etc.

This was an overview of the SSIS platform therefore, proceeding to the concept of SSIS security measures is feasible now.

The Concept of SSIS Security

Always using trusted mediums for launching the packages is one of the most important concepts of the SSIS Security measure. And prior to that, you must necessarily identity the source of package before opening it, which can be done by allotting certificates to packages.

The Perks of It: Unauthorized access to the server’s sensitive data can be kept under control via allotting identity features to a package. Also, it guarantees control on the SQL Server package configuration.

Even the logs, checkpoint files, and the configurations can be protected as well.

The Package Information displayed via SSMS (SQL Server Management Studio) Integration Services is offered integrity and protection by the medium of this platform.

A better understanding about the functional measures and features of the SSIS Security can be referred in the upcoming sections below.

Access On Package Data Components To Be Controlled: To limit or restrict access to package or its components, they are encrypted via “ProtectionLevel” property applied. Level of this type of security can be adjusted accordingly. Values get automatically encrypted for properties that are assigned to sensitive set of data by the IS (Integration Services). Only on providing the correct password, can an encrypted data be displayed.
Package Access To Be Controlled: SQL’s MSDB database or an XML file can be used for storing the IS Packages with file extension as .dtsx. In an MSDB database the “sysdtspackages” & “sysssispackages” for storing the package, tables are taken into usage. Thus, when database backup is created, associated packages automatically get backed up. In order to control access to these packages, three types of database roles are allotted to them:

Db_ssisadmin
Db_ssisltduser
Db_ssisoperator

TIP: In case the file system is used for package storing, make sure that file or folders containing the packages are secure completely.

Access to Packages Containing Files To Be Control: Information encapsulated within the log, checkpoint files, and configuration packages require being prevented and protected due to the sensitive nature they have. Some of the factors associated with the approach are:

Checkpoint file storage must only be done into the file system.
Storage of Logs and Config files can be done using; SQL DB Tables or the File System.
Extra provision of security is needed by the checkpoint files stored under file system.

IS Service Access To Be Controlled: “Windows Administrative” group members are assigned with package running access & stop roles. Meanwhile, users that are not member of the group are authorized to access or eliminate packages started only by them.

Conclusion: Security is a matter of concern regardless of the platform being discussed about. And understanding the detailed aspects of the SSIS Security measure helps prevent the SQL Server packages from unofficial access.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

it_user143286

Senior IT Consultant/Program Mgmt at Consultant

Jul 31, 2014

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Performance Monitoring

Valuable Features:

Activity Monitor and Dynamic Management Views

Improvements to My Organization:

After reviewing a client's Microsft SQL environment, I have been able to setup specifics alerts and jobs in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) to definitely show them where they are experiencing network latency, disk latency, memory pressure, etc., etc. I have done this type of performance review for over 20 clients in the last 5 years

Room for Improvement:

When reviewing SQL processes it would be great if all of the local processes on the SQL server were marshaled to a remote SSMS client.

Use of Solution:

I have been using Microsoft SQL Server since 6.0

Deployment Issues:

WMI configuration

Initial Setup:

Setting up Microsoft SQL server performance alerts and jobs on a single server or in a Cluster is very straightforward. I typically start off looking at the following:

Batch Request/Sec
Buffer cache hit ratio < 96%
CPU Utilization > 80 % sustained
Compilation/Sec
Re-compilation/Sec
Page Life Expectancy (PLE)
User Connections
Lock Waits / Sec: _Total
Process Lock/Block By

My objectives are to provide a baseline to determine database growth pattern to ensure capacity planning, stability, bottlenecks, etc., etc.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

it_user135978

Developer at a retailer with 501-1,000 employees

Jun 27, 2014

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SQL server is probably one of the best relational database servers.

What is most valuable?

Indexes, CTE, aggregate functions, partitions, memory optimized tables, service broker, CLR (C# assemblies),...

How has it helped my organization?

Can't imagine work without sql database. I have complete warehouse logic inside stored procedure and it works like a charm. It is installed in 20 companies with different warehouse types.

What needs improvement?

There is always some place for improvements. Statistics could be better (2 table statistic), or dynamic partition function, but that is probably true with every other product.

For how long have I used the solution?

I'm using this solution for 14 years.

What was my experience with deployment of the solution?

Deployment is pretty fluent.

What do I think about the stability of the solution?

No.

What do I think about the scalability of the solution?

Yes, mostly connected to bad code.

How are customer service and technical support?

Customer Service: Very good.Technical Support: Very good.

Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?

Better user experience, very rich functionality and good reliability.

How was the initial setup?

Pretty straightforward.

What about the implementation team?

In house.

What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?

Impossible to say. We have about hundred SQL servers.

Which other solutions did I evaluate?

mySql, firebird, access, and probably some more.

What other advice do I have?

With right use it could be part of almost any size and type of company.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.

it_user2652Project Manager at a non-tech company with 10,001+ employees

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Oct 26, 2014

How do you backup SQL server databases?

it_user4524

Founder & Principal Architect at a tech services company with 1,001-5,000 employees

May 1, 2014

The best-ever SQL Server release - again

Microsoft’s flagship database engine, SQL Server, keeps getting better with every release. The SQL Server 2014 platform is the best-ever SQL Server release, and is packed full of features for organizations of all sizes.

Every organization has different requirements for data. Vendors might specify a particular product or platform for their software. In-house development staff might be geared towards one platform over others. Management might have their preferences. SQL Server might not be right for all shops out there, but I can state that it provides the same scalability, flexibility, and raw power of other DBMS platforms on the market, and does it with the easiest to manage suite of features that I encounter. I enjoy this product and the technical community that has grown up around this product so much that I have dedicated this portion of my career to the mastery of SQL Server as a database and architecture consultant. SQL Server 2014 continues the platform’s evolution towards the future, and I continue to stand by it.

The core database engine is one of the easiest portions of the product to administer via the included SQL Server Management Studio tool. Quite a few of the SQL Server installations that I encounter in the wild are installed by non-DBAs who just click through the installation wizard and stand up their required SQL Server instances. This simplicity is one of the product’s double-edged swords, because even though it is trivial to install, non-DBAs tend to skip the best practices around infrastructure architecture, installation, post-installation configuration, and ongoing management that helps the product to really shine.

The Enterprise edition contains an updated and enhanced feature called AlwaysOn, and it allows for the simple setup of highly available databases so that the data is available if a server fails. It also plays a double role in allowing for the setup of disaster recovery database servers so that if an entire datacenter fails, applications can continue to work with only a minor interruption in service (usually measured in seconds). Failover and failback are trivial, and a single interface is all that is required to manage the entire setup. I love this feature, and as my clients are starting to migrate to SQL Server 2012 and SQL Server 2014, see a tremendous increase in AlwaysOn adoption at the moment.

The other huge feature is with In-Memory OLTP, or codename Hekaton. It is in-memory extensions that allow an application to begin to use memory to dramatically improve the performance of an application with only minor modifications to the app code.

Other features included in the core engine and licenses editions of the production include:

Backup encryption to make things more secure
Resource governance to keep high trafficked databases from being ‘noisy neighbors’ to other application databases
Data and backup encryption
Finely tuned security levels, based on your organization’s requirements
Integration Services - that includes a graphical means to transport, load, and transform data
Analysis Services – build data warehouses and cubes to help you gain serious insight into your business trends
PowerPivot for Excel to allow your end users to manage and transform the data that they require for decision support processes
Reporting Services – grant your users the ability to run and schedule their own reports in a simple to use management interface
Report Builder – advanced end users can construct their own reports, and even their own queries with the ‘model’ of the data that you present to them

SQL Server also now has the ability to move data into and out of the public cloud with ease through backing up to Microsoft’s Azure platform.

If you currently have SQL Servers in your organization, run – don’t walk – to SQL Server 2014. If you have some of the other database platforms on the market, consider migrating to SQL Server so you can reduce licensing costs, improve scalability while reducing complexity, and increase the number of database that a single DBA can individually manage.

Pros: Tremendous scalability. Easy to use and manage. Blur High Availability and Disaster Recovery with AlwaysOn Database Availability Groups. Business intelligence tools increases business insight into data.

Cons: The licensing has persisted the per-core model, and as a result the cost for the platform stays higher than expected. Adding software assurance, which I consider a must for virtualizing SQL Server, also drives up the cost.

Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.