January 2017 | SansSQL

Monday, January 16, 2017

Kernel for SQL Database - Product Review - A guest Post by Andre Williams

Most of the organizations that handle large amount of data is very much dependent on MS SQL Server for their operations. However, an MS SQL database corruption, can cause a lot of troubles to the organization owing to the criticality of the data contained in the database. Fortunately, many SQL Server recovery tools are available in the market. We will try to understand the features, working, and benefits & drawbacks of a popular, SQL recovery tool—the Kernel for SQL Database.


Product information
  • Name - Kernel for SQL Database
  • Description – MDF file recovery software (recovers SQL data from corrupt databases)
  • Developers – Lepide Software
Company information 
Lepide Software, the developers of Kernel range of products, is known for sophisticated IT security, management, and recovery solutions. Its Kernel range, designed and developed for small and mid-sized organizations offers cost-effective solutions for most of the day-to-day issues faced by IT organizations. These products help organizations in email migration, email recovery, data recovery, file repair, and more. The company has a loyal customer-base spanning across the world owing to its quality products and dedicated customer support.

Notable features of the software
  • Automatically detects the SQL version of the database
  • Fixes almost all types of SQL corruption issues
  • Recovers all type of SQL data—tables, triggers, views, stored procedures, constraints, indexes, rules, and user defined functions/data types
  • Works even with large SQL databases
  • Recovers data even when the SQL Server is live
  • Supports MS SQL 2000, 2005 and 2008, 2008R2 and 2012 versions
Kernel for SQL Database - versions available
  • Demo version
    The demo version, meant educate users on SQL recovery process, is completely free. But it is not equipped with the saving facility.
  • Licensed version
    Licensed version is the fully featured version of the software and is available on purchase only. It can save all the recovered data.
How to use Kernel for SQL Database to repair corrupt MDF files?
The hallmark of Kernel for SQL Database is the simplicity of its operation. The steps are simple, the interface is intuitive, and recovery is quick. The major steps of the SQL database recovery process are outlined here:
  1. Selecting MDF file for recovery
    The Open button (in the main page of the software) opens the Select SQL Database dialogue box. In this dialogue box, one can browse for the corrupt database. If users are sure about the SQL server version, the can select the version. Otherwise, they can use the auto detect option. Finally, the recovery process can be initiated by clicking the Recover button.
  2. Previewing the recovered data
    Once the software displays the recovered objects, the users can click an object on the left tree to preview its data.
  3. Saving the recovered data
    Two saving options are available—saving to SQL Server and saving to batch file. The first option allows to save directly to an SQL Server either through server authentication or through Windows authentication. In the Batch File option, the data is stored in script files in the desired location (which can be copied to a new database).
Benefits and drawbacks of Kernel for SQL Database
Benefits:
The important benefits of Kernel for SQL Database are:
  • Friendly interface
    The software interface itself provides information on how to execute the recovery process. So even non-technical users can perform recovery without any help. 
  • Preview facility
    Everything recovered can be viewed on the software’s preview pane before saving. Previewing helps users to know about the recoverability of the data.
  • Automatic detection of SQL Version
    If the users know the version of the SQL, they can select it. But if they do not know, the software can automatically detect the SQL version.
  • Multiple saving options
    The software saves the recovered MDF file files to SQL Server directly. In addition, it can save files in batch file, which users can copy to a new database when required.

Drawbacks:
The major drawback of Kernel for SQL Database is:
  • No saving option in the trial version
    The trial version of Kernel for SQL Database cannot save the data. With this version, users can only preview the data. 

Final verdict
Kernel for SQL Database is a great tool for SQL recovery. As we understand, users are happy with the product. Still the product can be improved in some areas. Also, it is good if Lepide can add some limited saving facility to the trial version. https://www.nucleustechnologies.com/sql-recovery.html 

Performance rating
Overall rating for the software is 4/5

About Andre Williams
Andre Williams, with more than three year's experience in SQL related technologies, contributes articles, blogs, and how-to tips regularly.

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