To meet our database configuration standards we want to make sure that we have only one database transaction log file and more than one data file. In this tip we look at how this can be done using a policy.  Read more...

We need to exclude SQL Server database files from Antivirus and Third Party Backup Software (to make sure that files are not accessed directly). How can we be sure that all of our SQL Server file extensions are using the standard file extensions for database files?  Read more...

In SQL Server, the built in conditions and policies are a great place to get started with monitoring your environment, but there are no facets for some aspects of SQL Server I want to monitor. How can I check on my environment using Policy Based Management? Check out this tip to learn more.  Read more...

you have created a SQL Server Policy to check database recovery models. Now you need to check the databases on all of your SQL Server instances. In this tip we will show how you can evaluate a SQL Server policy against multiple instances.   Read more...

There always seem to be more and more instances to manage, but not more and more staff. Steve Jones talks about the key to good management being delegation of the work.  Read more...

How to enforce standards using PBM. Everything from setup to deployment.  Read more...

PBM raises errors for policy violations. We can create alerts on those errors to be notified of policy violations. In order to setup alerts on these errors there are three prerequisites. Note that violations for the “On Demand” evaluation mode do not raise errors. A policy must be set to  Read more...

This article demonstrates how a DBA can check for policy compliance by leveraging the Policy Based Management Feature of SQL Server.  Read more...

I need to monitor all the SQL Agents to find out if a job failed in the last 24 hours. Could this be done with policy based management? If so, can you show me how to create the policy?  Read more...

Whilst it may be more exciting as a DBA to rush around fixing broken databases, it is far better to forestall problems by making sure that your servers conform with best-practices. It is even better if you can also manage your servers centrally, and monitor that they are all adhering to company policies.  Read more...

I have created several policies using Policy-Based Management and need to rename some of them. I don’t see an option in the GUI to rename a Policy. Is there any way I can rename them without dropping and recreating them?   Read more...

You need to periodically ascertain if there are any databases in your production environment which are not in SQL Server 2008 Compatibility Level. In this tip we cover the step by step process for setting up a policy to identify databases that are not in SQL Server 2008 Compatibility Level.  Read more...

How can I receive notifications when the policies I have implemented have been violated so I don't have to manually look at each server?  Read more...

I have installed a new instance of SQL Server 2008 Analysis Services and I am unable to find the Surface Area Configuration tool that I used to use in SQL Server 2005. How can I manage the Analysis Services features in SQL Server 2008?   Read more...

This article describes how to Evaluate Policies on Multiple Instances using EPM and PowerShell.  Read more...

Keeping track of the space used and free in your database files is something that all experienced DBAs need to do. And something many new DBAs forget. New author Jayakumar Krishnan brings us an easy technique to do this in SQL Server 2008 with Policy Based Management.  Read more...

The Enterprise Policy Management (EPM) Framework leverages and extends the new Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Policy-Based Management feature across an entire SQL Server enterprise, including down-level instances of SQL Server such as SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2005.  Read more...

I recently submitted a tip regarding the existence of your backup files using the undocumented system stored procedure xp_fileexist. But how would you go about executing that script against all your SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008 instances? I took that script and decided to go one step further using Policy Based Management to create a custom policy that you can then run against all your SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008 instances.  Read more...

New features such as the FILESTREAM data type and Policy-Based Management offer clear performance enhancements that may make the decision to migrate to SQL 2008 a no-brainer.  Read more...

SQL Server 2008 introduces " Policy Based Management " (PBM) as a way to better manage your servers. This was a feature that I really thought had, and still has a lot of potential for making the life of a DBA easier. The tagline for PBM is "manage...   Read more...