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Sybase Inc.'s SQL Server 11 for Windows NT is reviewed. The software provides administrators graphical administration tools and the flexibility to customize the server for specific applications and workloads. The major improvement in this version is the addition of logical memory management, a set of tools that help administrators improve performance by tuning server memory resources.
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Internet integration tools not included
SYBASE INC.'S SQL Server 11 for Windows NT, a part of the Sybase System 11 family, provides administrators graphical administration tools and the flexibility to customize the server for specific applications and workloads. The major improvement in this version is the addition of logical memory management, a set of tools that help administrators improve performance by tuning server memory resources.
Mix-n-match SQL Server
Unlike its competitors, Sybase divides SQL Server features among separate products instead of combining them into a single product. For example, for replicating data between servers, the Replication Server is needed. For optimizing query speed on decision support applications, Sybase suggests integrating Sybase IQ with the server.
The benefit of this piecemeal strategy is the flexibility it gives customers. You can purchase functionality based on your needs, rather than buying a monolithic product with more than you need. However, it's also a confusing strategy, and more effort is needed to integrate the various products.
Putting on a friendly face
Sybase SQL Server Manager's user interface is similar to Microsoft Corp.'s SQL Server's enterprise manager,but it has more configuration options than Microsoft SQL Server. It's easier to create indexes and triggers and referential constraints in Sybase SQL Server than in Oracle Corp.'s Oracle Server.
Sybase's server provides a list of configuration options and displays the selected option with an explanation of what it does and what the impact of modifying the option might be. I found most of the options helpful, and some of them such as the buffer, pool, and cachesize setup and the page-lock limitation - can improve performance dramatically if they're in the right configuration. There are locking options, but row-level locking capability is still missing.
Sybase SQL Server allowed me to configure the environment not only at the server level but also at the database and table level. I was able to improve performance on a particular database or table by giving it more memory or allocating more server resources.
The data is an the table
Sybase SQL Server also provides table partition functionality. Table partition improves record insertion performance and decreases record lock. However, I was not able to create clustered indexes on a partition table, which made me worry about the impact of database inquiry performance using table partitions.
The database allocation function showed me how much disk space was being used for data, indexes, and logs and how much space was reserved for a database but still unused. With this information, I was able to more easily and wisely manage database disk space usage.
Another useful function is process checking. I was able to check all the tasks that were currently running on the server and the server resources they were using. This let me kill server-hogging tasks and made it easier to optimize performance of my server resources.
Big server's watching you
Another tool for monitoring Sybase SQL Server performance is Monitor Server. Monitor Server presents performance data in clear, easy-tounderstand graphical charts. There are a variety of performance charts available, and you can display whichever are important for your environment.
I could monitor client activities by simply telling Monitor Server which client to watch and which kind of activities I wanted to know about. It would then record the activities for me.
Unfortunately, there is a relatively minor but annoying bug in Monitor Server. It couldn't be started until I removed the server that was created during installation and created another one.
Unlike Microsoft SQL Server, Sybase SQL Server lacks tools to schedule routine backups, and it only provides database-level backup and recovery. And, although most of its competitors have already announced Internet tools for their SQL servers, there are no Internet integration tools in Sybase's server.
Yun-Pei Wang is a technology analyst on the Enterprise Solutions Team at Info World. Her Internet address is yun_wang@info world. com.
Copyright InfoWorld Publications, Inc. May 20, 1996