river1 (12/28/2009)
I don't need to see if my SQL Server service is down...what i need to know is if the server it self is down
In that case, you don't want something installed on the database servers, as it'll be kinda hard for a program installed on a server to notify you that the server it is installed on is down.
You need a centralised diagnostic server. Get demos of the ones that people have mentioned in this thread and try them out.
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability