General
Can ApexSQL Audit capture SELECT statements?
Yes. SELECT statements are classified as Queries in the ApexSQL Audit operations type list. This option can be disabled or enabled based on users' needs
Can ApexSQL Audit capture DML and DDL statements?
Yes, ApexSQL Audit can capture both operation types. The DML operations category includes: Insert, Insert bulk, Writetext, Update, Merge, Updatetext, Delete, and Truncate table; The DDL operations category includes: CREATE, ALTER, DROP, Add signature, Enable/Disable trigger, Rename object, Revert/Update statistics
Does ApexSQL Audit show the “before” and “after” data for UPDATE statements?
Yes. ApexSQL Audit currently achieves this by seamlesly integrating our own trigger based solution ApexSQL Trigger. This enables users to easily and quickly create DML triggers for any SQL Server database, to deploy and manage them and to access collected data any time, by using intuitive and readable reports that can be exported to common formats like .docx and .csv. We’re also building a new integrated native solution based on CLR triggers that will be available in the very next release.
Can I use ApexSQL Audit for recovery purposes?
No. Although you can leverage the captured SQL statements in certain scenarios (e.g. if you choose to audit DDL changes, you can recreate a dropped stored procedure by executing the captured CREATE statement, given that the stored procedure was executed after the auditing was set in place), ApexSQL Audit isn't a recovery tool. If you are interested in recovery, check out our ApexSQL Log or ApexSQL Recover
Licensing and evaluation
How is ApexSQL Audit licensed?
ApexSQL Audit is licensed per audited SQL Server instance. A single license of ApexSQL Audit will allow you to audit a single SQL Server instance. If you want to audit additional SQL Server instances, you will need to purchase the appropriate amount of licenses (i.e. one additional license per additional audited SQL Server instance)
Are there any restrictions or limitations on the evaluation version of ApexSQL Audit?
No. ApexSQL Audit is fully functional during the 14 day trial period. After the trial period is over, you need to purchase the license to continue using it
Compliance
Which compliance policies can ApexSQL Audit help me meet?
ApexSQL Audit can help with the following:
- HIPAA
- SOX
- PCI DSS
- Basel II
- FERPA
- GLBA
How can ApexSQL Audit help me meet compliance policies?
ApexSQL Audit captures and reports on all of the activities on your SQL instances, including access and changes made to sensitive data, SQL login, user and password changes, as well as any permission or security related activities. Furthermore, the captured information is stored in a central repository, designed to make obvious any attempts to tamper with the captured data
Installation and configuration
What Windows permissions do I need to install ApexSQL Audit?
The user running the installer must be a member of the Administrator group on each machine where the SQL Server instances which will be audited reside
Does ApexSQL Audit install anything on audited SQL Servers?
No. ApexSQL Audit central repository database is hosted only by the central SQL Server instance that is selected by user during the installation process. Application will not install anything on additional SQL Server instances added for auditing. ApexSQL Audit installs the ApexSQL Audit windows service on a machine which hosts the audited instance(s) that collects the auditing information
Does ApexSQL Audit use triggers?
No. ApexSQL Audit uses SQL Server traces
Does ApexSQL Audit use the transaction log?
No, it uses temporary files containing SQL Server traces for analysis and transfer between the audited and central ApexSQL Audit instance. These temporary files are deleted when captured information is successfully stored into the central repository database
Does ApexSQL Audit use traces?
Yes. ApexSQL Audit uses SQL Server traces, the same technology used by SQL Server Profiler. But, in addition, we added fault tolerance for a wide variety of scenarios, additional processing of captured data, parsing for referenced objects, automatic transfers and loading into centralized repository, tamper-evident data storage, etc.
How much does ApexSQL Audit affect performance of the audited servers?
ApexSQL Audit has minimal performance overhead, equivalent to running the default trace
Does ApexSQL Audit have a tamper-evident data repository?
Yes. The central repository database is designed in such a way to make evident any attempts to tamper with the captured data
Does ApexSQL Audit have alerts?
Yes. ApexSQL Audit provides alerting for data and system events on specified SQL Server instances, with email notifications and the alert overview dashboard
Reporting
Does ApexSQL Audit provide out-of-box reports?
Yes. ApexSQL Audit comes with 11 built-in reports
Does ApexSQL Audit offer customized reporting?
Yes. You can build your own custom reports