EXPERT RESPONSE
VARs must be as proactive as possible when supporting RDBMs providing back ends to Web based applications. They must not only be responsive to failures, but also to performance problems and any trends the client wants them to track. A good SLA will clearly spell out that the responsibilities the VAR is taking on, as well as the response times for each class of incident.
The most common tools which will help VARs be proactive are PerfMon and SQL Server Profiler. PerfMon can provide baselines which can be used to detect deteriorating performance and send alerts to the management team. SQL Server Profiler, in all but the standard template, will add significant load on your SQL Server, but is very useful for providing a window into the activity of your SQL Server.
There are also several tools which allow for remote RDBMs management, like MyLittleAdmin. However most remote DBAs use tools like Microsoft' Remote Desktop Connection which gives them complete access to the remote desktop, or tools like Terminal Services or Citrix MetaFrame which can host Management Tools (like SQL Server Enterprise Manager, or SQL Server Management Studio) remotely.
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