Stop Overpaying for Database Observability: The Engineering Marvel Disrupting Enterprise Monitoring

chandan kumar — Thu, 02 Jul 2026 10:49:36 +0000

For years, database administrators and IT teams have been locked into a frustrating compromise. If you wanted comprehensive observability for your SQL and Windows servers, you had to pay exorbitant enterprise licensing fees to giants like Datadog, SolarWinds, or ManageEngine. If you couldn't afford them, you were forced to piece together fragile, open-source scripts.

The gap between "too expensive" and "too fragmented" has finally been bridged. Born out of Bangalore’s tech ecosystem after six years of dedicated engineering, SQL Planner is quietly shifting the landscape of full-stack infrastructure monitoring.

A Unified Command Center for Your Data
Managing modern infrastructure means juggling multiple environments. SQL Planner was built to eliminate the friction of context-switching by combining deep database diagnostics with full Windows Server monitoring in a single, browser-based dashboard.

Instead of deploying heavy agents that drag down server performance, SQL Planner uses a lightweight, agentless architecture. With seamless Windows Authentication and multi-database support—scaling effortlessly from SQL Server to PostgreSQL, MySQL, and Oracle—it plugs directly into your existing security framework.

Why IT Leaders are Making the Switch
SQL Planner isn't just another dashboard; it’s a fully automated DBA assistant. Here is what sets it apart from legacy monitoring tools:

Wait-Wise Performance Analysis: Stop guessing why a query is slow. Instantly pinpoint exactly what your SQL servers are waiting on, identifying the root cause of deadlocks and bottlenecks.

AI-Driven Insights & ServiceNow Sync: Ask the built-in AI assistant about CPU-heavy queries or usage trends (without exposing production data), and automatically route critical events directly to ServiceNow for ticket lifecycle management.

Zero-Friction Automation: Automate index defragmentation, routine maintenance, and backups—with the unique ability to auto-restore on test servers just to validate backup integrity.

Enterprise Features, Bootstrapped Pricing: Offering up to 60% lower costs than traditional enterprise monitors, it includes a robust Free Professional Edition that covers 10 Windows Servers and 10 SQL instances out of the box.

Built for the Real-World DBA
Whether you are a solo system admin, a growing SaaS startup, or an enterprise managing dozens of servers, visibility shouldn't cost a premium. You need a tool that works precisely the way you do—accessible securely from any device, capable of managing complex schema deployments, and smart enough to alert you before a storage issue takes your application offline.

Ready to see exactly what your databases are doing?

Take control of your infrastructure today ,visit https://mssqlplanner.com

How to monitor Windows Server and SQL Server for $0 using SQL Planner.

chandan kumar — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 16:11:37 +0000

As a DBA, I’ve always been frustrated by the "monitoring tax." You either pay thousands of dollars for enterprise tools, or you’re stuck with basic scripts that don't give you the full picture. I wanted a tool that combined deep SQL metrics (deadlocks, expensive queries, health checks) with Windows OS-level monitoring (CPU, IO, Memory, IIS, Services) under one roof.

What is SQL Planner?
I’ve spent the last 5+ years building SQL Planner to bridge this gap. It’s a lightweight tool designed to handle:

Performance Analytics: Real-time monitoring of blockers, long-running queries, and IO latency.
Database Automation: Handling SQL Monitoring, Auditing, backups, and automated index defragmentation.
Windows Monitoring: Monitoring IIS, Windows Services, and OS-level resources without a massive agent footprint.
Reporting: 100+ deep-dive reports for audit and health checks.

The Tech Stack
The tool is designed for Windows environments. I focused heavily on ensuring the monitoring overhead is negligible—collecting 100+ metrics shouldn't become the performance bottleneck it’s trying to solve.
Why Free?
I’m offering this for free to the community. I believe every developer and DBA should have access to professional-grade monitoring regardless of their company's budget.

I would love your feedback on:
Missing Metrics: What is the one SQL Server metric that always saves your life during a production outage?
UI/UX: Is the dashboard intuitive enough for a sysadmin who isn't a SQL expert?

Link: https://mssqlplanner.com

DEV Community: chandan kumar

Stop Overpaying for Database Observability: The Engineering Marvel Disrupting Enterprise Monitoring

How to monitor Windows Server and SQL Server for $0 using SQL Planner.