RedGate SQL Compare OR Lockwood Tech ApexSQL

What tools do you guys use to ease the nightmare of keeping multiple instances of SQL Server databases synched?

Jason Watts
Tuesday, March 9, 2004

Happy customer of SQL Compare here. 

Only problem we've had is that the automated synchronization can't handle stored procs and/or views that touch linked servers.  Something to do with the transactional nature of the automated script.  It hasn't been a big deal, we just pull those out and do them manually.

Jason (www.mesacanyon.com)
Tuesday, March 9, 2004

We bought ApexSQL Diff because it's base price was significantly less expensive than Red-Gate's bundle and did the same thing - compare structure and data.  When factoring in free support/upgrades we save another $140 I believe.  Although red-gate "claims" to be the fastest product - our tests on physically separate servers showed ApexSQL to be slightly faster on structure comparison and much faster with data comparison.

red-gate's requirement to compare data is ridiculously rigid.  the two tables must have primary key contraints named exactly the same way!  if you happen to have tables with PK constraints that differ even by case then red-gate considers them to be totally different and will refuse to compare them. 

Raymond Maddox
Tuesday, March 9, 2004

I have used both products and have to resoundingly recommend RedGate. I've been a RedGate user for over 2 years now and have been shipping production DBs patched by their "differential engine" without a single issue.

As an aside, try using Lockwood Tech's Apex Audit as representative of their quality . . . even worse, use the transaction log reading utility . . . bad, bad, bad.

Weee
Tuesday, March 9, 2004

These marketing threads are getting fairly imaginative now.  Maybe we should start a thread of products to avoid due to the phoney marketing.

Joel -- as item 294,239 on your todo list could you add a feature that flags multiple posts to the same thread from a single IP address? 

Or perhaps just tag each post with its IP address ANDED with a fixed bit mask (for that thread).

.
Tuesday, March 9, 2004

I have tried both products and decided that ApexSQL Diff is more qualitative than SQL-Compare. The decision is a consequence of one fact: ApexSQL-diff produces the script for synchronizing with much less errors than SQL-Compare produces. I don't consider the number of options as a quality coefficient. What profit of bicycle with square wheels even if it has the gilded handle bar?

Diesel
Wednesday, March 10, 2004

Weee, care to explain why ApexSQL Log ("transaction log read utility" that you mention) is "bad, bad, bad"? As ApexSQL Log Project Leader I'm very interested in some concrete examples of why do you find it lacking in quality. Thanks in advance.

Ivan Erceg
Wednesday, March 10, 2004

I don't know about sql compare tools but if red-gate's is as good as their bloated, obsolete and overpriced ($10,000) bug tracking tool - Aardvark - i would run, not walk, to any compeitors tool.  Most likely the red-gate shills hang out on Joel's forum to learn how to build a good bug tracking system like fogcreek.

Reggie Lewis
Friday, March 26, 2004

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