As an early Christmas treat, we have decided to release the beta version of SQL Backup 5.0 as a public beta. It's out now, please download it from the forum at http://www.red-gate.com/messageboard/viewforum.php?f=57.

SQL Backup is the leading tool for creating and securing your SQL Server backups. Compatible with SQL Server 2000 and 2005 (32-bit and 64-bit versions including Itanium servers).

The latest release a revolutionary way to manage your SQL Server backups, using a patent-pending timeline based approach. Past backup and restore activity is displayed in blocks to indicate how long they have taken and when they occurred. You can create a scheduled job in the SQL Server Agent to run recurring backups (using SQL Backup) and these are displayed (in the future) in the timeline, with predictions for how long they will take. This makes monitoring what has already happened and what is going to happen with regards creating Backups on your server much more intuitive. Knowing in advance that backup activity may overlap is very useful information for example.

This is a beta version and as such lacks the polish of a final release and although is stable there are a number of known bugs. Please don't use this version on a production server. The idea for releasing it as a public beta is to allow users the chance to influence the final release. Any feedback on the forum is rewarded with red gate goodies, but also will be used to steer the final stage of development.