SQL Server Agent is a Microsoft Windows service that allows a DBA to automate administrative tasks. SQL Server Agent can run jobs, monitor SQL Server, and process alerts. The SQL Server Agent service must be running before any jobs scheduled to execute automatically can be run
2020-02-19 (first published: 2011-02-17)
21,730 reads
Examines the database mail system configuration in depth. You will learn how to configure database mail to work with SMTP mail systems, and get some troubleshooting tips.
2018-01-10 (first published: 2011-07-28)
6,860 reads
How to be notified when a job succeeds or fails, or be notified when a SQL Server performance condition is met.
2017-12-13 (first published: 2011-06-29)
10,514 reads
SQL Server Agent jobs are made up of a series of one or more Job Steps. A job step is assigned to a specific job subsystem, which identifies the kind of work the job step is going to perform. Each job step runs in a separate security context, although each job also has an owner that determines who can modify the job.
2017-10-11 (first published: 2011-02-17)
10,051 reads
Security is a confusing topic to many, especially when it comes to understanding what rights are needed to monitor and use SQL Server Agent. This article will examine the rights and roles used for SQL Server Agent, as well as the security context requirements for jobs.
2014-04-16 (first published: 2012-01-11)
10,820 reads
Examines the scale-out capabilities of SQL Server Agent, using the MSX/TSX subsystem. This capability allows you to run jobs on multiple systems and consolidate the job results/history onto a single server.
2012-02-22
10,324 reads
How maintenance plans are used as SQL Server Agent jobs to automate standard system tasks. This article will also lay out some suggested jobs that should be on virtually all SQL Server systems.
2012-02-15
6,971 reads
Examines the proxy subsystem, which allows job steps to impersonate another user account in order to perform tasks as a user other than the SQL Server Agent service account. This is especially useful when you want jobs to run as lower privileged users of your SQL Server.
2012-01-25
12,939 reads
One common usage of SQL Server Agent historically has been the ability to shell out to the operating system and run command line programs, using SQL Server Agent primarily as a job scheduler. This article will examine the pros and cons of using the SQL Server 2008 & 2008 R2 Powershell subsystem versus the CmdExec subsystem to perform tasks in the Operating System.
2011-12-28
6,971 reads
The Job Activity Monitor is the system administration tool to run jobs, view job history, and enable/disable jobs. This article will also review some of the stored procedures run by the Job Activity Monitor that you can also use directly to do your own custom job monitoring.
2011-12-07
6,274 reads
Programmatic Tool Calling with the Claude SDK Every morning somebody on the team runs the...
By Steve Jones
mauerbauertraurigkeit – n. inexplicable urge to push people away, even close friends whose company...
By Brian Kelley
Pinal Dave wrote up his methodology for what to do when you discover bad...
While doing some housekeeping I came across a folder containing some scripts that appear...
Comments posted to this topic are about the item Why SQL Server Database Attach...
In SQL Server 2025, I run this code:
select bit_count('A')
What is returned? See possible answers