April 14, 2005 at 2:10 pm
Any have any pros or cons for either of the above? We use LiteSpeed and it meets our needs but is more pricey and more maintenance annually than Idera's product. Just looking for comments. Thanks.
Terry
April 15, 2005 at 7:27 am
I've tried both, but ended up going with Embarcadero's Backup Analyst, which does the same thing as both. I like Idera's interface and features over Imceda's, but (like you) I was looking at cost and found Embarcadero's even cheaper and it does the same type of stuff (compression, encryption, etc.)
April 15, 2005 at 7:41 am
I can vouch for Litespeed based on my own experience. I have a relatively small database (3gb) but I use Log Shipping to keep my standby server in synch. The log shipping that comes with SQL2K was failing all the time and I moved to LiteSpeed to fix it. Not only does it work all the time, it will backup my 3gb database in about 10 minutes and I have a 750mb footprint for the file. That sure beats copying a 3gb backup file across the network or to tape. Not to mention the encryption which keeps others from seeing the data.
I read a review of both SqlSafe vs LiteSpeed in Infoworld last year and they gave higher marks to LiteSpeed which influenced my decision. I believe it was the Dec 30, 2004 issue - but I threw away my copy and it doesn't seem to be retrievable from Infoworld's site.
It might be more expensive, but I have restored several backups and have never had a problem, so I trust this product.
I've been using their tool Speed SQL IDE for about six months and I can honestly say that I don't know how I lived without it for so long. If you get the chance - evaluate this tool too. The standard version ($99) does everything I need and works like a champ. Beats ISQL/W hands down.
Also with Litespeed - you can get the standard version of under $2k per server. The only difference between Standard and Pro that I know of is that you don't get individual file restore. To me that was not a problem, so I purchased Standard.
Ad maiorem Dei gloriam
April 15, 2005 at 8:10 am
see http://qa.sqlservercentral.com/columnists/wbrown/fourofakindbackupsoftwareshootout.asp for a great comparison. I am using Red-Gate's SQL Backup product which works well and was inexpensive.
Francis
April 15, 2005 at 9:49 am
I used to use Litespeed. The only problem I have experienced with it is the price point. Basically there is a per cpu cost, when you add the professional option which allows you encrypt the backup the cost doubles. With my company needing to be SOX compliant I needed the encryption aspects and could not justify the cost (especially with the expanding enviroment in which I am working).
I've since switched over to Idera's SQL Safe tool. The central interface and new reporting functions are great. I have been through one or two problems with the tool, but have found the support staff to be quick and helpful. The added compnents with the most recent release, including stored procedure execution of the backups is a big step forward. Speaking with the dev team there is a definite direction to the tool. One of my favorite things is to show the managers and directors the biult in function for calculating the actual savings in disk and tape capactiy therefore cost. When it says a million dollars they tend to take notice.
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