Visually manage your data models
April 11, 2017
Visually manage your data models
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with ER/Studio
We have a small department, so I am the sole user of ER/Studio Data Architect. I use it to do all database schema changes throughout the department for all databases we have created. ER/Studio is able to provide us a consistent methodology from a database standards and needs perspective. I'm also able to generate data model images for the IT team to use.
- ER/Studio has the ability to provide consistent field names and data types through domains, which are templates. This provides a way to have consistent naming of common fields, like CreatedBy and the data types for the fields. They also have the ability to change all the fields that use that domain to a different data type.
- ER/Studio provides the ability to create custom macros. These macros can be used to apply everything from standard fields based on domains to naming all constraints and indexes. I've also used a macro that comes with ER/Studio to spell check field and table names.
- My favorite feature is the ability to compare your data model to databases for deployments of changes, and to other data models.
- ER/Studio are missing some functionality for SQL Server databases. Indexes can have WHERE statements for filtered indexes. This is not supported.
- The Include statement of an index will start with a comma which breaks the index during deployment.
- New versions need to have better regression testing. I've had versions where features no longer were included, like owners, which are very important in SQL Server. (This feature is in the current version thank goodness.)
- Datatype datetime2 is not supported in domains, so custom macros need to be used to apply to fields using domains.
- A new feature that would be great, would be to have ER/Studio generate an HTML document that creates a searchable image of the data model for team members who don't use ER/Studio. This would be very helpful for large data models.
- New feature: Provide the ability to rollback the deployment script. If it fails, you are currently left in a half way state.
- New feature: Provide a clean way to delete the temporary tables in the database. Right now, I have to run a SQL Script to delete all the objects left in my database.
- The business doesn't know that we use it. I'm the only one that finds it a necessity. It's a necessity because I'm a visual person. It's easier to maintain proper foreign key and primary key indexes, especially when teammates inadvertently delete them.
ER/Studio was difficult to learn at the beginning, but that was 7 years ago. I have used it across many companies since then, and It is really easy to use. I found it much easier to learn than Erwin as well.