SQL-Hero Scenarios

Which Edition is Right for You?

This page discusses various scenarios your business or development shop might encounter and how it relates to SQL-Hero™ licensing. We strive to make sure you don’t have to pay any more than you need to in order to achieve a successful SQL-Hero deployment – so although this is not exhaustive, it will hopefully be instructive.

Scenario #1 – Single developer

As a single developer, you might be most interested in SQL-Hero features such as the enhanced editor with Visual Studio integration, schema compares, data compares, and other tools. If this is the case, you would likely use a single Developer Edition license. If you are a DBA and only interested in basic features, the Lite Edition may be sufficient. Consult the Features matrix below for more comparative details.

If you’re interested in features like user-defined properties, code generation, unit and performance testing, and change tracking, then a single Advanced Edition license is more appropriate. This includes all the server components necessary to support the central repository with its SOA-based web services. You can install both client and server components on a single box with the Advanced Edition. In this situation, you can reference your server installation using “localhost” as shown here, on the Settings tool window:

Scenario #2 – Very small shop

In this scenario, you might have two or three developers, at least one of whom has a server-class workstation: it is running SQL Server 2005 or 2008, has IIS (5.1, 6.0 or 7.0) installed, and has plenty of memory and disk space. In this case, a single Advanced Edition could be installed on one of these workstations, with the other team members installing Developer Edition licenses.

The Advanced Edition install should select both client and server components. A SQL Server database will be installed, a virtual directory will be created in IIS, and a Windows Service will be installed. The other developers will need to reference this server workstation. This can be done in the Settings tool window as described above.

Scenario #3 – Medium shop

In this scenario, you might have five to ten developers, and have access to one or more dedicated SQL Server boxes. It’s recommended that SQL-Hero server components be installed on dedicated hardware, or hardware shared with other applications as much as possible.

In this case, one Advanced Edition license could be used to install strictly server components on an application server. This box should have SQL Server 2005 or 2008, IIS (5.1, 6.0 or 7.0) and be of server caliber. Developers could then install Developer Edition licenses and point at the application server in their settings.

Scenario #4 – Large shop

In a very large development shop, the Enterprise Edition becomes economical after approximately one Advanced Edition license and 28 Developer Edition licenses. At $7995, the Enterprise Edition allows you to install what amounts to 1,000 Advanced Edition instances. As such, if you did install all 1,000, your TCO drops to less than $32 per seat (using the Developer Edition cost). Additionally, an Enterprise license assures you an unlimited upgrade path, in perpetuity.

Scenario #5 – Multiple Repositories and Repository Clustering

SQL-Hero can support multiple central repositories, using Profiles. This allows you to point at different repositories when Visual Studio or the SQL-Hero standalone client starts up. Settings are retained, per profile. It is also possible to use SQL Server clustering with the installed SQLHeroMgmt repository database. This is an advanced topic covered in a future whitepaper.

Note that since each repository installation needs to be done on a separate machine, separate Advanced Edition licenses are required in this situation.

Upgrade Path

With all versions, you are entitled to free upgrades within a major product version number. There will be at least two of these per year. Upgrade costs across version numbers will be heavily discounted for those who already have licenses. Those with Enterprise licenses are assured free upgrades across major version numbers, indefinitely.

License Server

Licensing of SQL-Hero is done per machine. A license count is maintained on a central server, and so it’s important that you uninstall SQL-Hero from machines that will no longer be using it, using the SQL-Hero installation program. Note that this mechanism will not stop SQL-Hero from working if a machine is unregistered, but you may be violation of the license agreement – it’s your responsibility to remain in compliance. The central license server is largely intended to a) help you remain in compliance without having to manually track this, and b) help us understand usage patterns of the product to make it better.

What is actually IN the central repository

Understanding this can help you know whether you really need at least one Advanced Edition license or not. The central repository holds:

- Global database connection information (encrypted)

- History changes (schema changes on tracked databases and optionally, even DML commands)

- Source control meta-data (for SQL source control provided in the SQL editor tool)

- User-defined property values (used by some types of templates – of note: code generation and unit testing templates)

- Notification engine meta-data

- Unit testing engine meta-data

- Stored trace data

Other Recommendations

Since the SQL-Hero server components include a SQL Server database, this database should receive the same attention that you would pay to other SQL Server databases for applications in your organization. This means including it in backups and regular maintenance. You should monitor the SQLHeroMgmt database size since it can track every single database modification over many different databases and can therefore grow in size over time to many gigabytes.

Feature Matrix

Feature	Lite Edition $59	Developer Edition $249	Advanced Edition $795	Enterprise Edition $7995
SQL Editor, Schema Compare, Data Compare, Tracing Analysis	X	X	X	X
History Tracking	X¹	X¹	X	X
User-Defined Properties	X¹	X¹	X	X
Notifications / Alerts / Triggers	X¹	X¹	X	X
Unit and Performance Testing Support	X¹	X¹	X	X
Trace Reporting and Analysis	X¹	X¹	X	X
Visual Studio Integration		X	X	X
Code Generation Projects / MSBuild Support		X	X	X
Central Repository / Services			X	X
Unlimited Upgrade Path				X
Priority Support				X
Source Code				X²

1 – with at least 1 instance of the Central Repository (Advanced or Enterprise Edition) installed within your organization

2 – with signing of a Non-Disclosure / Non-Compete Agreement

ENTERPRISE EDITION

Enterprise Edition license holders receive the added benefit of having direct access to product developers and special training offers. They are also entitled to receive the complete source code base for SQL-Hero and the CodeX framework, if they agree to sign a Non-Disclosure / Non-Compete Agreement.