How We Differ
How We Differ | Try it Free!
Why we're different
Sql Power Tools agentless monitor has a low 1% overhead. Our Zero Impact SQL Capture Agent (usage is optional) also has a low 1% overhead.

The most important database server metric to measure is end-user response time! In two mouse clicks you can see the wait conditions causing SQL to not complete on a timely basis and have a poor end-user response time.
  • In ONE mouse click drill into 120+ important performance monitoring areas!
    Immediately pinpoint in ONE mouse click server farm performance hotspots in a summary dashboard, SQL wait times, I/O wait times, TempDb contention, Top N SQL, SQL with poor plans, SQL with high I/O, SQL having degraded performance, blocking, deadlocks, performance counters, SQL agent job issues, index fragmentation issues, low disk space and high disk space growth issues, buffer cache usage, procedure cache usage, backup issues, VMware performance and more.
  • Extensive usage of 3D graphs so that the performance of the entire Server Farm can be viewed in a single graph.
    View in 3D graphs SQL wait times, I/O wait times, performance counters, database space usage, disk drive space usage, procedure cache usage, buffer cache usage and the results of the baseline analysis for the entire Server Farm.
  • Agentless monitoring of the Server Farm with a low CPU, I/O and network overhead on the monitored servers. We do NOT issue millions of I/Os to the TempDB database, fill the procedure cache with ad hoc SQL or send millions of characters of SQL text across the network impacting the performance of the monitored servers.
    Monitoring of wait conditions, wait times, I/O bottlenecks, SQL performance, performance counters, blocking, database space, disk drive space, procedure cache, buffer cache and SQL jobs is performed using an agentless monitoring architecture.

    Unlike many other monitoring tools, Sql Power Tools has a LOW overhead on the monitored servers. Nor will it miss important monitoring events.

    Our agentless monitor's CPU, TempDB I/O and network overhead on the monitored servers is a FRACTION of other monitoring solutions.

    We do NOT issue millions of I/O requests to the monitored server's TempDB database thereby impacting the throughput of monitored server's disk sub-system and SQL end-user response time.

    Nor do we FILL the monitored server's plan cache with ad hoc SQL monitoring requests that potentially force production SQL out of plan cache thereby increasing CPU pressure, memory pressure and cause needless SQL re-compilations.

    Millions of characters of monitoring SQL text are not sent 24x7 across the network impacting the performance of the network.

    Annual cost of operation is minimal. Monitoring solutions having a high overhead on monitored servers may have a cost of operation that exceeds their license fee.
  • The SYSADMIN privilege or role is NOT needed for agentless monitoring of the Server Farm.
    THe SYSADMIN privilege or role is NOT needed for agentless monitoring of any monitored database server or the product database repository.
  • Cannot pinpoint what is causing poor database server throughput? Where the server bottlenecks are? What is causing long SQL response time? Current monitoring solution is missing events?
    Our agentless wait state monitoring can! We monitor the 600+ wait conditions that a database server posts when a SQL statement cannot move forward to completion on a timely basis due to resource contention or being queued due to a lack of available resources. Wait condition wait times are tracked by SQL statement, stored procedure, wait type, database and the end-user client.

    Reducing SQL wait time -> reduces end-user response time -> improves server throughput. In most cases this can eliminate an expensive and unnecessary hardware upgrade.
  • Agentless monitoring of server bottlenecks and 600+ wait conditions.
    The wait conditions (600+ that a database server posts) causing SQL statements and stored procedures to not complete on a timely basis due to resource contention or being queued due to a lack of available resources are monitored. Wait condition wait times are tracked by SQL statement, stored procedure, wait type, database and the end-user client.

    Reducing SQL wait time -> reduces end-user response time -> improves server throughput. In most cases this can eliminate an expensive and unnecessary hardware upgrade.
  • Stealth wait state monitoring of 600+ wait conditions.
    Stealth wait condition and state monitoring is available when our Zero Impact Agent SQL Agent is enabled. With stealth wait state monitoring wait times are only investigated when a SQL statement on the server runs longer than N seconds. E.g. 100 milli seconds.

    This provides the lowest monitoring overhead for any wait state monitoring product in the industry! Important for production monitoring.
  • Automatic drill down to the SQL activity, wait conditions and performance counters.
    Drill down into wait conditions and wait times from a weekly, daily or hourly summary of wait times down to the exact SQL that was running with its resource usage.

    When a long running SQL statement is observed drill down into the corresponding wait conditions and performance counters.

    When a poor performance counter value is observed drill down to the exact SQL that was running
  • Cannot pinpoint the SQL causing poor performance? Cannot obtain the bind parameters the SQL was run with? Cannot obtain the SQL text for prepared SQL statements? Cannot pinpoint the SQL running longer than 100 milli seconds?
    Our FREE Zero Impact SQL Capture Agent can! Has a low 1% overhead on the monitored server. Optionally install and dynamically enable/disable the agent at any time.

    Use it when you need it to pinpoint poor performing SQL on production servers or when regression testing applications. Think of it as a ZERO impact SQL profiler or trace facility. No intrusive server profiles or traces are used that degrade server performance by 30% to 60%. Ineffective SQL sampling is not used. Agent does not connect to the monitored server nor impact the network.
  • Zero Impact SQL Capture Agent (FREE) captures 100% of the SQL activity.
    Optionally install and dynamically enable/disable the agent at any time. Agent based SQL capture uses non-intrusive ZERO impact network sniffing. Has a low 1% overhead on the monitored server. 100% of the SQL activity is captured 24x7 with the complete SQL text and bind parameters plus most importantly the end-user experience end-user response time (and more). Also captures the SQL text for prepared SQL statements.

    Enable the agent on priority servers where end-user response time is important, on servers experiencing performance issues that cannot be pinpointed with agentless monitoring, or when a server change is about to be made. (refer to our ROI Database Performance Monitoring Methodology). FREE with every SERVER BOTTLENECK and END_USER EXPERIENCE MONITOR license.

    Does not use ineffective server sampling that missed most of the client SQL activity.

    Allows 100% of the SQL activity to be viewed over any time period.

    Pinpoints the poor performing SQL that database performance views cannot show due to the averaging of SQL performance.
  • No intrusive SQL profiling or tracing is used.
    Does not use intrusive server SQL profiling or tracing that degrades server performance by 30% to 60%.

    Capture 100% of the SQL activity with its performance using the Zero Impact SQL Capture Agent (its FREE). It has a low 1% overhead on the monitored server. Does not connect to the monitored server!

    Install it when SQL performance is an issue, when end-user response time is important, on servers experiencing performance issues that cannot be pinpointed with agentless monitoring, or when a server change is about to be made. (refer to our ROI Database Performance Monitoring Methodology).
  • Ad hoc comparison of server performance.
    Ad hoc comparison at any time of performance between servers and time periods at the SQL statement, stored procedure, wait type, database or client host level.
  • Daily baseline analysis of server farm performance.
    Be informed of when the next server slowdown is about to occur!

    Daily baseline analysis of the day's performance is automatically compared to the performance of prior baseline time periods. Increases or decreases in end-user response time, wait conditions, wait times, I/O bottlenecks, SQL performance, performance counters and SQL job run time are pinpointed. Allows performance issues to be proactively addressed before end-user response time is impacted.
  • ROI Database Performance Monitoring Methodology only available from Sql Power Tools.
    Since 100% of the SQL activity with the end-user response time can be captured the impact of change can be accurately measured! Just run the Zero Impact SQL Capture Agent before and after an important change is made.

    E.g. before and after a hardware upgrade, change in the server configuration, table index changes, SQL code changes, regression test of a new application release in QA, deployment of a new application release to production, or upgrade to a new release of the database server software such as Oracle 12, SQL Server 2012 or Sybase 15.7.

    Now SQL statements having an improved or degraded end-user response time are accurately known. Performance issues can be immediately resolved prior to end-users experiencing poor performance.
  • Replay captured production SQL to reproduce a performance issue or analyze the performance of 100% of the SQL activity.
    Run the Zero Impact SQL Capture Agent (FREE) to capture 100% of the production SQL activity. Non-intrusive agent does not connect to the monitored server!

    Perform a multi-threaded replay of the production SQL using SQL Server Profiler's replay facility.
  • 100% web enabled user interface. Free product training.
    All customers receive free product training.
Sql Power Tools awarded Community Choice Best Database Monitoring and Performance Product by SQL Server Magazine Sql Power Tools awarded Best Database Monitoring and Performance Product Community Choice Gold by SQL Server Magazine 2009.
Customers
The Zero Impact Performance Divergence Monitor is released. Offers early warning of deteriorating performance in SQL Server database server farms. Analyzes performance trends and deviations from historical baselines to identify which performance metrics and SQL statements are deteriorating from a prior rolling time period or historical baseline. Read more.
" After years as a DBA, I can tell you there is absolutely nothing on the market that compares to the Zero Impact Sql Monitor product line...it is the best performance investment you will ever make. "
Frank LaDue
Advanced Technology Company

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