Wishlist for next releases
pgrove
Posts: 12
These are my wishlist items for the next release of SQL Backup (if anyone cares 
)
1. Better centralized administration
Backup Agents from different servers communicate/log to Central Database and server agent.
Management Tool uses central database
Central server could monitor agent status, provide failure alerts, notify about databases that aren't being backed up, and other centralized alerts/monitoring.
Site Supports (Multiple remote data centers)
Remote archive management - we use the copy to network share to send backups to alternate datacenters for Disaster recover purposes.
2. Universal Backup Configurations Templates available to all servers, Apply/Change multlple server configs @ same time. Trying to reconfigure 20 SQL servers at the same time is time consuming.
3. More dynamic templates, such as 'Back up transaction logs on 'all databases that support transaction logs' instead of indicating individual databases - for dev/test servers that are constantly adding/moving/renaming the databases. This will help us, because we do a monthly database copy as a snapshot for comparison/reporting from the previous month. I have to modify the backup job each time, because the transaction logs from the snapshot database named 'BigDatabase_Jan2008", and "BigDatabase_Feb2008", and so on. These databases transaction logs can get ridiculously big before I realize they aren't being backed up.
4. Role based security to allow some people different rights to backup, restore, restore from remote share, etc.
NOC/Monitoring - Monitoring role and maintain a view of the management tool, but no rights to change/backup/restore/configure/etc.
Application Admin - Assign rights to one (or a set) of databases to one or more people. Such as our Great Plains administrator - I would like to give him the right to backup/restore just the Great Plains databases, without seeing any other information about any other databases on that (or other servers).
6. Domain root certificate support for encryption of backup files
5. Support for SQL 2008 (if it isn't already working). Haven't tried this one.
)1. Better centralized administration
Backup Agents from different servers communicate/log to Central Database and server agent.
Management Tool uses central database
Central server could monitor agent status, provide failure alerts, notify about databases that aren't being backed up, and other centralized alerts/monitoring.
Site Supports (Multiple remote data centers)
Remote archive management - we use the copy to network share to send backups to alternate datacenters for Disaster recover purposes.
2. Universal Backup Configurations Templates available to all servers, Apply/Change multlple server configs @ same time. Trying to reconfigure 20 SQL servers at the same time is time consuming.
3. More dynamic templates, such as 'Back up transaction logs on 'all databases that support transaction logs' instead of indicating individual databases - for dev/test servers that are constantly adding/moving/renaming the databases. This will help us, because we do a monthly database copy as a snapshot for comparison/reporting from the previous month. I have to modify the backup job each time, because the transaction logs from the snapshot database named 'BigDatabase_Jan2008", and "BigDatabase_Feb2008", and so on. These databases transaction logs can get ridiculously big before I realize they aren't being backed up.
4. Role based security to allow some people different rights to backup, restore, restore from remote share, etc.
NOC/Monitoring - Monitoring role and maintain a view of the management tool, but no rights to change/backup/restore/configure/etc.
Application Admin - Assign rights to one (or a set) of databases to one or more people. Such as our Great Plains administrator - I would like to give him the right to backup/restore just the Great Plains databases, without seeing any other information about any other databases on that (or other servers).
6. Domain root certificate support for encryption of backup files
5. Support for SQL 2008 (if it isn't already working). Haven't tried this one.
Comments
... and whilst I can't reveal my hand regarding our planning for future releases of SQL Backup, I can say that the features you request are under active consideration.
And your question about SQL Server 2008 is answered in another post (here): in brief, SQL Backup 5.3 is already working with SQL Server 2008 CTP.
Thanks for the feedback, please keep it coming!
Colin.
I knew you would be listening... so far you have addressed everything I needed.
Keep up the good work!