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Two factors to consider when purchasing NetID or QIP are price and administration. If your organization is licensing a SQL server, you do not need to install a special version just for the product. Besides, that's a job for a database administrator, not for a network administrator. For purchasers who already own a SQL server, both Nortel and Lucent said they would reduce the sales price of their products accordingly.

However, if you do not have access to a SQL database, the picture becomes murky. Clearly, if you are a network administrator, you most likely do not have database administration experience, much less training. While all the products (including NetID and, to some extent, QIP) can be installed with ease, data-store maintenance will cause problems. For instance, NetID offers full single-point-of-failure protection only if you are using a redundant SQL database.

Which type of product is right for you? That depends. If your company owns a SQL database and has the staff to run it, you might be able to leave the data storage and protection worries to them.

This is not to say that a centralized database is necessarily the better alternative. It has its advantages, especially in lookup and reporting, but it has drawbacks as well. The alternatives to SQL storage are not only easier to install, they also generally are able to do self-maintenance. We have found that problems with noncentralized storage products are easier to solve than any difficulties with database-centric products. The only issues are in reporting and in customizing the package. SQL provides an open means to access your storage, whereas the alternatives generally limit you to what each program offers.