IDERA SQL Safe Backup

Data reduction.

Encryption.

SQL Safe is a bit expensive.

Documentation for scripted installs of the client could be better.

Rather than having to copy scripts between SQL servers when you create a new instance, all I have to do is design a policy that predetermines backup location, what to back up, the schedule, encryption settings, etc and then simply assign instances to it as they come and go. And if I need to pause backups to troubleshoot something I simply go to the policy and disable it. SQL Safe handles the rest. Policy-based management of SQL backups is the way to go.

Any good DBA knows that backing up data is important, but that isn't what we're paid to do. We are paid to RESTORE data when needed. And unless you're 100% certain that you can restore any database to an acceptable point in time, then you should rethink your strategy. SQL Safe makes it easy to not only backup the data, but restore it. In addition to vanilla restores, which are amazingly simplified, you can also do test restores without affecting the production load, and even schedule restores to a development (or other) server to keep a test environment refreshed with current data.

If there are failed events, not only does SQL Safe let you know, it provides a very easy way to retry the missed or failed backups. Making sure your environment is okay is a simple as opening the SQL Safe management console and making sure all of the lights are green.

I probably know more about SQL backups than most and can easily manage a set of SQL servers without this tool. But it makes it so darn easy! I would venture to say that even people that know nothing about SQL (general sys admins, small business owners, etc) could learn to use this tool without having to know much about SQL or how backups/restores work. The interface is powerful, but very simple to learn.

When you're adding a new SQL server, sometimes the install from the management server to the SQL server will fail. I'm guessing this happens because of some version difference in Windows components or similar. Not a huge deal because you can just copy the agent to the SQL server and install it there, but considering how easy everything else is, I would expect this to be a little more fluid.

I ran into a situation where part of our business decided to move their servers to a third-party data center. When they took away a SQL server that I was managing with SQL Safe, anything having to do with that policy took forever. Click. Wait 10 minutes. Window reacts. I'm guessing this is because the Management Console is trying super hard to contact the server in question, but I wish it handled losing a server better than it does.