This is pretty cool... we have several complex, multi-step store procedures and some folks have put some pretty complex logging procedures in them just so they can query a table to see "how it's doing". With just a little forethought, you can add these simple lines to the proc and let the SysProcesses table take care of it…

SET @MyStatus = CAST('someprocname is at Step X' AS VARBINARY(128))

SET CONTEXT_INFO = @MyStatus

With a bit more forethought, you could make a function that you pass the SPID to and it will automatically get the Context_Info from SysProcesses and decode it for readability.

If you "word" it correctly, you could even put a timestamp in the Context_Info and have a view decode when the step started, how long the step has been running, the proc name (can save some space by passing the ID of the proc contained in sysobjects), etc.  Then, just select from the view... use a WHERE for spid if you want.  Combine that with the other available columns such as Host_Name, etc, and you have some pretty good info.

Thanks, Yousef... nice tip.