DBmarlin vs Quest Spotlight

DBmarlin monitors database performance and tracks changes to help teams identify where SQL execution time goes. It captures SQL statement text and wait states, and automatically detects changes to schema objects, database parameters and explain plans. Its AI Co-pilot provides database tuning insights and advice. DBmarlin is available self-hosted or in the cloud, with Linux, Windows and web platforms listed. The free Starter licence covers one database instance, unlimited users and no time limit. Premium is listed at £999/year per licence and includes priority support; monthly pricing is unavailable, and prices exclude tax. Supported databases include MySQL, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, CockroachDB, SAP HANA, SQL Server, IBM Db2, Oracle, SAP ASE, Informix, MongoDB and Snowflake. Listed integrations include Datadog, Grafana, Harness, Instana, Jenkins, Liquibase, New Relic and Splunk Observability Cloud. Licensing counts active instances, databases or nodes depending on the technology. SAP HANA pricing is marked beta, with pricing to be confirmed. The download page requests a first name, last name and work email to access downloads.

Quest Spotlight is a self-hosted database monitoring and diagnostics product for professionals managing SQL Server environments. Spotlight on SQL Server Enterprise uses agentless monitoring from a centralized diagnostic server and raises alarms for performance deviations. Its tools include incident playback, health checks, workload analysis, deadlock detection, root cause analysis, query profiling, wait and lock analysis, and execution plans. SQL Optimizer integration identifies long-running queries and suboptimal code for further tuning. Users can define thresholds, create counters, and configure rule-based actions to run once or repeatedly. One screen can monitor SQL Server, Windows, and virtualization infrastructure. Supported databases listed are Microsoft SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, Oracle Database, and IBM DB2; SQL Azure is specifically supported by Spotlight on SQL Server. The Diagnostic Server requires a SQL Server account with the sysadmin role, while Windows performance counters use WMI queries. Windows is a listed platform, deployment is self-hosted, and pricing is available on request. Quest offers an on-premises trial, but no duration is stated. Spotlight Cloud reached end of life on December 31, 2024.