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CA Database Management for DB2 for zOS vs Foglight for Databases comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Mar 1, 2026

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

CA Database Management for ...
Ranking in Database Development and Management
15th
Average Rating
8.8
Reviews Sentiment
8.2
Number of Reviews
13
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Foglight for Databases
Ranking in Database Development and Management
1st
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
6.5
Number of Reviews
22
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
 

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2026, in the Database Development and Management category, the mindshare of CA Database Management for DB2 for zOS is 1.5%, up from 0.7% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Foglight for Databases is 3.5%, down from 7.5% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Database Development and Management Mindshare Distribution
ProductMindshare (%)
Foglight for Databases3.5%
CA Database Management for DB2 for zOS1.5%
Other95.0%
Database Development and Management
 

Featured Reviews

JG
Technical Project Manager at Interra Information Technologies, Inc.
Report generation offers invaluable insights into database performance
I basically use the solution for database management and to view the performance of a particular database object, any specific program, batch program, or online programs. Using the CSSZ tool, I can effectively monitor performance. In case of an exception, I can inform the application team. At DB2…
Vijay Ram - PeerSpot reviewer
Technical Engineer at Hitachi Systems, Ltd.
Centralized monitoring has simplified multi-database oversight and improved query analysis
Foglight for Databases is very useful; however, the negative side we face is that customer care support is not frequent. If any issues related to Foglight arise, we cannot reach customer care support as soon as possible. It takes much longer compared to other third-party tools, and that is a major issue we are facing with Foglight for Databases. Foglight for Databases is good for monitoring, and we can fetch problematic issues and queries. However, the only main drawback is the customer care support. It is available only during the general shift, so if any issue occurs after 6:00 p.m. or before 9:00 a.m., there is usually no one to handle it. I think there are only two or three people handling customer care for Foglight for Databases.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"We had no issues with stability; everything was working perfectly with DB2 v10 and v11 after the upgrade."
"We have more control over our DB2 systems and can do our everyday DBA work faster and easier."
"Improved monitoring and performance management."
"PDA and PPA make our daily housekeeping easier and prevents us from unnecessary reorganizations."
"​It helps us to reduce hardware costs and to optimize processing times.​"
"The reports generated and the old statistics shown are really helpful."
"The feature we find most useful is the consistent ability to create strategies across the products that allow for consistent foundations for the business processes and the ability to repetitively use them by different resources."
"The ability to do the CA utilities faster than IBM using less resources, and the RC/Migrator product that allows us to make changes quickly and efficiently using either the IBM utilities or the CA utilities."
"The profiler allows us to look at the profiles of the database queries that are being run over time. It allows us to go back to our customers and say that these are some of the queries causing them some headaches. It gives us the opportunity to provide suggestions on how to improve their experience."
"The PI module allows [my colleague] to identify which new indexes or modified indexes are going to make the biggest impact."
"Foglight's Change Tracking capabilities are another huge feature. It is wonderful to be able to do that. People don't realize the amount of information that Foglight gathers from a given server or instance. It gets down to the version of SQL, the disk array, everything that's there. Any change that's made, any upgrade to SQL, shows up on the dashboard almost immediately. You don't know how much time you save just having a tool in your back pocket that does that for you."
"Foglight for Databases is the best tool for monitoring all aspects such as database, backup information, storage information, and operating system side."
"Based on my experience, I would estimate we are able to resolve database-related performance issues about thirty to forty percent faster than before."
"It can save time and effort when doing root cause analysis. It enables me to obtain information quicker and easier compared to manually compiling it."
"Foglight definitely saves us time when it comes to root cause analysis."
"Its reporting capabilities are immense."
 

Cons

"In the case of any particular SQL which is executing for a longer time and causing issues with any particular store or DB2 programs, if it could pinpoint the problems like any other tool should do, that would be really helpful."
"They need to provide a way to create and maintain performance repositories. The online tool is not perfect, but it is giving me what I need."
"These tools have had their share of bugs."
"The product has been fairly stable for the last couple of years. It has a high learning curve for some of the traditional DBAs who don't want to venture from IBM."
"It's a good product. I would give it a nine out of 10, and the reason is, in general, it's a technical product so I think that it's a little cumbersome."
"All the information we need, we could use to have it in a more usable format.​"
"I look forward to the application of these tools to all platforms in use, such as z/OS, Unix, and Windows."
"The initial setup parameters are quite exhaustive and some parameters cross with the products."
"One thing that I would like, and it's probably something that I could set up internally, is something other than a dashboard which I have to look at to know that a server is down. I'd like bells and whistles to go off... If I look at the dashboard I know there's a server down. But if I'm not looking at it, if I'm looking at some other problem, I want to know about it. You can do that, you can use SMSs and alerts to your phone, and I could set it up to handle that, but it would be nice if, out-of-the-box, Foglight did that."
"I do not like the OS monitoring part of it much."
"Quest must release a Spanish version. That's critical because not everyone speaks English in Latin America. It's an excellent product, so it's super important that they offer the application and customer service in Spanish."
"The system is not that stable; we started having a lot of stability issues once the environment crossed 150 or 160 Db2 servers, with the Agent Manager restarting every five minutes and generating a lot of alerts."
"The system is not that stable. We have been facing a lot of issues. We built a new store environment of Foglight, an environment for monitoring the Lowe's store servers, which are all Db2 servers. The objective is to monitor 800 Db2 servers in each Foglight instance. Up to 150 Db2 servers, the environment was working fine. The moment it crossed 150 or 160, we started having a lot of stability issues."
"Overall, I am happy with the product, but there are a few areas where it could be improved."
"Foglight does have a component that allows you to look at things in real time, but it's not as friendly or as efficient in terms of responsiveness as Quest Spotlight is. Foglight might be lacking in this department."
"The monitoring capabilities for Postgres should be at par with SQL Server. This is the area where we push back on our Quest representative. We want more insights into Postgres."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

Information not available
"The price of Foglight could be a little more competitive in Chile, and it should be lowered for long-time customers— at least by 20 percent. Sometimes the price is a limitation. We have seven instances and nearly 5 million users. If Quest Foglight could reduce its prices for the clients that have been with it for a long time, we would be able to have more instances."
"It is cost-effective. With our EA, it is really based on the scale of our database environment. We found the Quest team to be reasonable and flexible when it comes to pricing and scaling of licenses."
"Compared to the other tools on the market, Foglight is okay in terms of pricing and licensing."
"The price is worth it, if you have the time to go through the information."
"Pricing is very reasonable. We were able to construct a pretty easy contract with Quest, who were very easy to work with and very amenable to what we are trying to do. It worked out well for us."
"This is like the "Cadillac" of performance monitoring software. It's not cheap... I am currently with a company that I was able to convince that the product is worth the cost."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Construction Company
18%
Financial Services Firm
18%
Recreational Facilities/Services Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
9%
Financial Services Firm
16%
Government
9%
Manufacturing Company
9%
Outsourcing Company
8%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Midsize Enterprise4
Large Enterprise8
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business4
Midsize Enterprise2
Large Enterprise18
 

Questions from the Community

What needs improvement with CA Database Management for DB2 for zOS?
In the case of any particular SQL which is executing for a longer time and causing issues with any particular store or DB2 programs, if it could pinpoint the problems like any other tool should do,...
What is your primary use case for CA Database Management for DB2 for zOS?
I basically use the solution for database management and to view the performance of a particular database object, any specific program, batch program, or online programs. Using the CSSZ tool, I can...
What advice do you have for others considering CA Database Management for DB2 for zOS?
The solution operates on JetOS platform. It is a very good, perfect solution. I would rate it ten out of ten. Currently, I do not have any planning for investment at all.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Quest Foglight for Databases?
I have had a good experience with the licensing costs of Foglight for Databases, as we have a provider who has given us good prices, and so far we have not had any cost problems. Regarding configur...
What needs improvement with Quest Foglight for Databases?
Primarily, given that Foglight for Databases is so multi-platform with different databases such as Oracle, SQL Server, and MySQL, the reports are very specific for each engine. An improvement could...
What is your primary use case for Quest Foglight for Databases?
Foglight for Databases serves multiple purposes in my organization, with the primary use being the multi-database aspect, where I can have the status and availability of all databases in a single v...
 

Also Known As

CA Database Management Solutions for DB2 for z/OS
No data available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Blue Hill Data Services
CommitDBA
Find out what your peers are saying about CA Database Management for DB2 for zOS vs. Foglight for Databases and other solutions. Updated: August 2026.
908,800 professionals have used our research since 2012.