Computer Associates (CA) announced late last week the release of its latest effort, called CA Erwin Data Modeler (DM). According to CA, they have the first data modeling tool that integrates tightly with Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition for Database Professionals. The newest release DM r7.2 is a smaller component of Erwin Modeling Suite that integrates technologies for relations database design and modeling.

As the years have passed SQL Server has become a shining star as a leader in the enterprise class database platform. I can remember a time when it was just Oracle out there on a shiny, golden throne. Those days are long gone. If you are a DBA, Architect, and or developer, you can use the CA Erwin Data Modeler to visualize all of your arduous daily tasks. With CA ERwin Data Modeler r7.2, you can design, generate, and manage data warehouses, enterprise databases, and or data marts.

All of this is presented to you with an easy-to-use user interface (UI) environment that simplifies database design and automates many arduous tasks such as creating high performance transactional and data warehouse databases. Moreover, if you are a SQL Server DBA, you can visually design and generate managed objects in a Microsoft Visual Studio development environment.

“Microsoft Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition for Database Professionals enables database professionals who use SQL Server to deliver business solutions that fulfill the constantly evolving requirements of enterprise customers,” said Matt Nunn, group product manager for Visual Studio Team System at Microsoft Corp. By integrating its popular ERwin Data Modeler with Visual Studio 2005 Team Edition for Database Professionals, CA is helping customers further streamline their development processes, reduce design defects and assure the proper business alignment of their critical applications.”

Additionally, with Erwin DM r7.2, you can migrate existing SQL Server schemas to help quickly deploy Visual Studio projects. Managed objects in DM r7.2 can be reverse engineered from Visual Studio into Erwin DM r7.2 to create the following:

  • Meta data visualizations
  • Integration
  • Reporting

This release also delivers full native support for SQL Server 2005 relational syntax and supports the following databases:

  • MySQL
  • DB2
  • UDB
  • V9
  • Sybase IQ

Let’s go over some of the new features included in ERwin DM r7.2. They are as follows:

  • User Interface (UI) enhancements
  • Alter script enhancements to support SQL Server 2005 features and functions
  • Schema generation to support SQL Server 2005
  • Model Manager Improvements to allow more control and better growth over data marts
  • Complete Compare Improvements that make it easier to discover, model changes
  • Name Hardening for organizations to properly manage naming standards
  • Global Find and Replace
  • Action Log Filtering enables you to capture all changes made to a model during a modeling session
  • PDF Indexing allows you to navigate large reports that the Erwin DM Report Template Builder can generate in Enterprise environments for sharing model metadata for various stakeholders
  • Manage Logical Volumetric Information
  • Subtype Discriminator UI Change is the compliance and support of IDEF1x modeling specification
  • Improved Drawing Objects that let you graphically represent business rules

According to Danny Sandwell, Product Manager Data Modeling Suite “Enterprise IT organizations are under increased pressure to deliver more sophisticated, high-performance business solutions within their existing resource constraints and to fully minimize the risk of error in their development process.” He goes on to say that “By enabling best practices for model-driven development, the latest release of CA’s ERwin Data Modeler empowers today’s database professionals to meet these technically challenging objectives.”

CA ERwin Data Modeling suite can be licensed individually for small to mid-size companies or through authorized CA resellers such as Programmer’s Paradise, Inc. “CA has the technology solutions our customers want and provides support for channel programs that make us both successful,” said Simon Nynens, Chairman and CEO, Wayside Technology Group, Inc. “The CA team is first rate and their products are first class. With CA’s ERwin Data Modeler r7.2 they have again set the bar high for value delivered. We are pleased to work with them closely to provide quality software solutions to the developer community.”

You can also download a copy by browsing to CA Erwin Modeling Suite Support web page at http://ca.com/trials.