Note: Until it is updated there is a correction to the code.

dim App, cntServ, cntGrps

Set App = CreateObject("SQLDMO.Application")

For cntGrps = 1 to App.ServerGroups.Count
    For cntServ = 1 To App.ServerGroups(cntGrps).RegisteredServers.Count
  MsgBox App.ServerGroups(cntGrps).Name & " - "_
    & App.ServerGroups(cntGrps).RegisteredServers(cntServ).Name & " - "_
    & App.ServerGroups(cntGrps).RegisteredServers(cntServ).Login & " - "_
    & App.ServerGroups(cntGrps).RegisteredServers(cntServ).Password
 Next
Next

Set App = nothing

As usual, great article James, Good Job!

I finished reading it and it let me so intrigued that I decided to give it an additional twist to the code and try to port it to a stored procedure (using sp_OA.. procedures to instantiate the DMO COM object model). This is the result

CREATE PROC sp_CheckGroups AS
BEGIN
DECLARE @intReturnCode   int,
  @intDMO     int,
  @intServerGroups  int,
  @intGroupTotal   int,
  @intGroupCount   int,
  @intServerGroup   int,
  @intRegisteredServers int,
  @intServerTotal   int,
  @intServerCount   int,
  @intRegisteredServer  int,
  @strTmpChar    varchar(100),
  @strServerGroupName  varchar(100),
  @strServerName   varchar(100),
  @strServerLogin   varchar(100),
  @strServerPassword  varchar(100),
  @strDoing   varchar(100),
  @strSource   varchar(100),
  @strDescription  varchar(100)
  
 SET @strDoing = 'Creating the DMO object'
 EXEC @intReturnCode = master.dbo.sp_OACreate 'SQLDMO.Application', @intDMO OUTPUT
 IF @intReturnCode <> 0
  GOTO Error
 
 SET @strDoing = 'Creating the ServerGroups object'
 EXEC @intReturnCode = master.dbo.sp_OAGetProperty @intDMO, 'ServerGroups', @intServerGroups OUTPUT
 IF @intReturnCode <> 0
  GOTO Error

 SET @strDoing = 'Counting Registered Groups'
 EXEC @intReturnCode = sp_OAGetProperty @intServerGroups, 'Count', @intGroupTotal OUTPUT
 IF @intReturnCode <> 0
  GOTO Error

 SET @intGroupCount = 1

 WHILE @intGroupCount <= @intGroupTotal
 BEGIN
  SET @strDoing   = 'Creating the Server Group'
  SET @strTmpChar = 'Item(' + CAST(@intGroupCount AS VARCHAR) + ')'
  EXEC @intReturnCode = sp_OAMethod @intServerGroups, @strTmpChar, @intServerGroup OUTPUT
  IF @intReturnCode <> 0
   GOTO Error

  SET @strDoing = 'Creating the RegisteredServers object'
  EXEC @intReturnCode = master.dbo.sp_OAGetProperty @intServerGroup, 'RegisteredServers', @intRegisteredServers OUTPUT
  IF @intReturnCode <> 0
   GOTO Error
 
  SET @strDoing = 'Counting Registered Servers'
  EXEC @intReturnCode = sp_OAGetProperty @intRegisteredServers, 'Count', @intServerTotal OUTPUT
  IF @intReturnCode <> 0
   GOTO Error
  
  SET @intServerCount = 1
   
  WHILE @intServerCount <= @intServerTotal
  BEGIN
   SET @strDoing    = 'Creating the Registered Server'
   SET @strTmpChar  = 'Item(' + CAST(@intServerCount AS VARCHAR) + ')'
   EXEC @intReturnCode = sp_OAMethod @intRegisteredServers, @strTmpChar, @intRegisteredServer OUTPUT
   IF @intReturnCode <> 0
    GOTO Error   
  
   SET @strDoing = 'Get the Name Property of The Group'
   EXEC @intReturnCode = sp_OAGetProperty @intServerGroup, 'Name', @strServerGroupName OUTPUT
   IF @intReturnCode <> 0
    GOTO Error

   SET @strDoing = 'Get the Name Property of the Registered Server'
   EXEC @intReturnCode = sp_OAGetProperty @intRegisteredServer, 'Name', @strServerName OUTPUT
   IF @intReturnCode <> 0
    GOTO Error

   SET @strDoing = 'Get the Login Property of the Registered Server'
   EXEC @intReturnCode = sp_OAGetProperty @intRegisteredServer, 'Login', @strServerLogin OUTPUT
   IF @intReturnCode <> 0
    GOTO Error

   SET @strDoing = 'Get the Password Property of the Registered Server'
   EXEC @intReturnCode = sp_OAGetProperty @intRegisteredServer, 'Password', @strServerPassword OUTPUT
   IF @intReturnCode <> 0
    GOTO Error

   PRINT 'Group Name: ' + @strServerGroupName + CHAR(13) + 'Server Name: ' + @strServerName +
    CHAR(13) + 'Server Login: ' + @strServerLogin + CHAR(13) + 'Server Password: ' +
    @strServerPassword

   SET @intServerCount = @intServerCount + 1

   SET @strDoing = 'Destroy Registered Server Object'
   EXEC @intReturnCode = master.dbo.sp_OADestroy @intRegisteredServer
  END
  SET @intGroupCount = @intGroupCount + 1

  SET @strDoing = 'Destroy RegisteredServers Collection'
  EXEC @intReturnCode = master.dbo.sp_OADestroy @intServerGroup

  SET @strDoing = 'Destroy Registered Group Object'
  EXEC @intReturnCode = master.dbo.sp_OADestroy @intServerGroup
 END

 SET @strDoing = 'Destroy ServerGroups Object'
 EXEC @intReturnCode = master.dbo.sp_OADestroy @intServerGroups

 SET @strDoing = 'Destroy DMO Object'
 EXEC @intReturnCode = master.dbo.sp_OADestroy @intDMO

 -- IF we get here the normal way, don't do error
 GOTO Cleanup

Error:
 EXEC sp_OAGetErrorInfo @intDMO, @strSource OUTPUT, @strDescription OUTPUT

 PRINT 'Error While ['  + ISNULL( @strDoing     , '' ) +
   '], Source ['  + ISNULL( @strSource     , '' ) +
   '], Description [' + ISNULL( @strDescription     , '' ) + ']'   
 
Cleanup:
END

The procedure works OK, but when I run the script (as a .vbs file) I obtain 8 registered server (versus only one when I run the stored procedure). Do you see anything wrong on the SP? Can anybody here reproduce this strange behaviour?

Keep writing this great articles, I really enjoy them!

I would like to understand how this is working in the first place. Does anyone have a minute to tell me more about how it works.

Also I noticed that it will pick up any servers you have registered and will not pick up the 'local' server if it is noted possibly in the registry as such.

The strange thing I notice is that both the script and my stored procedure are run against the same server and they show me different results. I'm using the same credentials (sysadmin) to run both the procedure and the script (using windows autentication) so the security context is the same too. So why the resultset is different?

In other words

RegisteredServers.Count (equals 8 in the script)

EXEC @intReturnCode = sp_OAGetProperty @intRegisteredServers, 'Count', @intServerTotal OUTPUT (equals 1 in the stored procedure

Why?

Wow, who would have thought?

I know I raise this point every time someone writes something like this:

A user who saves any password is as scary as the ones who write them on sticky note nearby. 

but, what are you supposed to do?  I have easily 100 passwords (and multiple login IDs), and I'd use the same password for each if I could (I know, security flaw) but just about everyone has different password composition rules.  Add to that passwords that have to be changed every 30/60/90 days, and there's no way I can keep track of all them without either saving them (which I don't do), or writing them down (which I do).

So again, what are you supposed to do?

Thanks

@msurasky:

I guess it's not the same security context because, the *.vbs runs in the context with which you are logged in. The SQL-Prog runs as the SQL-Server-Service winnt-account (or sql-proxy-service account if you are not logged in as SA).

//Sarus

Thanks Sarus and thanks James... that's exactly why I have this difference in terms of resultsets!!!

Life is good again