Management, Security, and Tools
Like Microsoft’s Enterprise Manager, myLittleTools can help administrators by giving insight to the system-level operation of their servers. myLittleAdmin allows administrators to create, edit, and delete system users, create backup devices and backup databases, attach databases, watch processes, and see the locks on databases. Unfortunately, unlike Enterprise Manager, you cannot kill processes through myLittleAdmin.
Some of the noteworthy features here include a nifty Generate Insert Scripts features which allows you to easy create SQL code that takes the data in your tables and creates an Insert script that you can then use to rebuild the table and data, should you need it later.
You can also import data from an external database into your SQL database using a CSV file of data exported from your external database. No doubt this will come in handy for tons of folks who are trying to move their database from one host to another.
Administrators can easily backup databases to devices they’ve set up in myLittleAdmin and Restore them as necessary as well. I would have liked to have seen the ability to restore a database from a local disk since I often have customers asking me to restore their database for them and have to copy the DB to the server before I can restore it.
Keep in mind, there are some features missing. Data Transformation Services is not included. And administrative tasks are still missing like creating Database Maintenance plans and viewing SQL Server logs.
Other Things to Consider
myLittleAdmin is skinnable. That means you can give it your own look and feel to match your own web site. The code is open and written in ASP, so someone with some good knowledge of ASP can make this tool look even better. You can customize the icons, change the text, and so on.
myLittleTools’ support is excellent! Prompt, courteous, and helpful. While I’ve rarely had an occasion to ask for support, it’s good knowing it’s there when I need it. They’re also willing to listen to their customers for ideas and feedback on their products.
Comparisons
It’s difficult to compare myLittleAdmin to other web-based SQL management tools. There just aren’t any others out there I’ve reviewed that seem to come close. As mentioned earlier, the free tool from Microsoft called Web Data Admin is way behind myLittleAdmin. It was rather tedious to install and very limited as far as features go. myLittleAdmin is definitely the choice if you’re looking for an editor that can do just about everything MS Enterprise Manager can.
Conclusion
A host is only as good as the features it offers. The power, flexibility, and affordability of myLittleTools’ myLittleAdmin for MS SQL Server makes this product a must-have if you’re going to be offering MS SQL Server hosting and want to keep your customers happy. This product comes highly recommended!
About the Author
Anthony Wilko is president of Infuseweb LLC, a full-featured, affordable Windows-based web hosting company located in San Antonio, TX, USA. He has been working in the web hosting industry supporting individual users and small businesses with web hosting and design needs since 1998.
Infuseweb is dedicated to providing the individual user and small business with powerful, affordable, and easy-to-use web, e-mail, and database hosting, domain registration, and web design solutions. Visit http://www.infuseweb.com for more information.
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