Specifications

C H A P T E R 2

Multi-Server Administration

ver the years, an increasing number of organizations have turned to Microsoft SQL

Server because it embodies the Microsoft Data Platform vision to help organiza-

tions manage any data, at any place, and at any time. The biggest challenges organiza-

tions face with this increase of SQL Server installations have been in management.

With the release of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 came two new manageability features,

Policy-Based Management and the Data Collector, which drastically changed how da-

tabase administrators managed SQL Server instances. With Policy-Based Management,

database administrators can centrally create and enforce polices on targets such as SQL

Server instances, databases, and tables. The Data Collector helps integrate the collection,

analysis, troubleshooting, and persistence of SQL Server diagnostic information. When

introduced, both manageability features were a great enhancement to SQL Server 2008.

However, database administrators and organizations still lacked manageability tools to

help effectively manage a multi-server environment, understand resource utilization, and

enhance collaboration between development and IT departments.

SQL Server 2008 R2 addresses concerns about multi-server management with the

introduction of a new manageability feature, the SQL Server Utility. The SQL Server Util-

ity enhances the multi-server administration experience by helping database administra-

tors proactively manage database environments efciently at scale, through centralized

visibility into resource utilization. The utility also provides improved capabilities to help

organizations maximize the value of consolidation efforts and ensure the streamlined

development and deployment of data-driven applications.

The SQL Server Utility

The SQL Server Utility is a breakthrough manageability feature included with SQL Server

2008 R2 that allows database administrators to centrally monitor and manage database

applications and SQL Server instances, all from a single management interface. This

interface, known as a Utility Control Point (UCP), is the central reasoning point in the