Specifications

Using the SQL Server Utility for Consolidation and Monitoring CHAPTER 5 89
Using the SQL Server Utility for Consolidation and
Monitoring
The SQL Server Utility is the center of operations for monitoring managed instances of SQL
Server, databases, and deployed data-tier applications. By using the dashboards and view-
points included in the SQL Server Utility, DBAs can proactively monitor and view resource
utilization, health state, and health policies for managed instances, databases, and deployed
data-tier applications at scale. The results obtained from monitoring allow DBAs to easily
identify consolidation candidates across an organization's database environment. To experience
the dashboards and viewpoints yourself, launch the SQL Server Utility by following these steps:
IMPORTANT Before you can carry out these steps, you must have created a Utility
Control Point, and you must enroll at least one instance of SQL Server. For more informa-
tion on how to do this, see Chapter 2,”Multi-Server Administration.”
1. In SQL Server Management Studio, connect to the SQL Server 2008 R2 Database En-
gine instance in which the UCP was created.
2. Launch Utility Explorer by clicking View and then selecting Utility Explorer.
3. In the Utility Explorer navigation pane, click the Connect To Utility icon.
4. In the Connect To Server dialog box, specify the SQL Server instance running the UCP,
select the type of authentication, and then click Connect.
5. Connection to a Utility Control Point is complete. Begin monitoring the health state
and resource utilization by viewing the dashboards and viewpoints.
Utility Explorer in SQL Server Management Studio provides a tree view that includes nodes
for monitoring and managing settings within the SQL Server Utility. The summary dashboard
is automatically displayed in the Utility Explorer Content pane when you connect to a UCP.
You can view additional dashboards and viewpoints by clicking the Managed Instances node
or the Deployed Data-Tier Applications node in the Utility Explorer navigation pane, as dis-
played in Figure 5-5.
FIGURE 5-5 Utility Explorer and the navigation tree