SQL Server Magazine

If you're a pressed-for-time DBA managing multiple servers in multiple locations, then SQL Sentry's Event Manager for SQL Server (formerly InterCerve sqlSentry) could be the tool you need to get a handle on managing all the jobs running on your various database servers. You could think of Event Manager for SQL Server as SQL Agent on steroids, but its functionally actually goes far beyond SQL Agent. Like SQL Agent, Event Manager for SQL Server lets you create and schedule jobs to run on SQL Server. But Event Manager for SQL Server surpasses SQL Agent by offering visual schedule management, performance monitoring, cross-server job scheduling, event notification, and cross-platform support. Event Manager for SQL Server is supported on SQL Server 2005 and 2000, as well as on Oracle 8i, 9i, and 10g releases. In addition to scheduling SQL Server jobs, it can also schedule and monitor Windows tasks. Event Manager for SQL Server is a 100 percent .NET application and requires the .NET Framework 2.0.

Installing the SQL Server Enterprise Edition of Event Manager for SQL Server proved to be somewhat difficult because it hung up on a password prompt after my installation attempt failed. However, SQL Sentry support personnel quickly identified the problem and provided a fix that enabled me to successfully complete the installation. The installation process creates a database named SQLSentry20. All of my SQL Servers previously registered in SQL Server Enterprise Manager were automatically registered in the SQL Sentry Console by the SQL Sentry installation process.

Event Manager for SQL Server doesn't use agents on remote servers, so getting up and running is quick and easy. Smaller shops with a dozen or so servers can be running in just a few minutes as you add each new server to Event Manager for SQL Server's management console.

You manage Event Manager for SQL Server by using the SQL Sentry Console, which Figure 1, shows. The SQL Sentry Console supports a surprising number of tasks, and mastering it takes some effort. Fortunately, the SQL Sentry Web site provides a variety of brief training videos to help you quickly get up to speed. Event Manager for SQL Server can track SQL Agent Jobs, Alerts, DTS package execution, maintenance plans, and Reporting Services reports. In addition, Event Manager for SQL Server can monitor Windows Task Scheduler jobs.

One of SQL Sentry's most valuable features for the DBA is the all-devices global calendar view, which gives you a big picture of your enterprise job execution schedule. All events appear on the global calendar, and you can filter the view to show only failed and long-running jobs so that you can quickly see which server and jobs might need immediate attention. The SQL Sentry Navigator pane (the leftmost pane in Figure 1) lists all the servers that Event Manager for SQL Server is monitoring. Each job is represented by a rectangular box on the

visual schedule window (the rightmost pane in Figure 1). A green or red status bar in the job box signals the job's success or failure. A blue duration bar indicates how long the job ran. Clicking any of the event boxes displays a pop-up window that lists the job's run details, including error-message text for failed jobs. One limitation of the product was its inability to create new jobs and alerts on SQL Server 2005.

The SQL Server Enterprise Edition of Event Manager for SQL Server supports a feature called event chaining that lets you create a set of dependencies between events on one or more servers. Event chaining supports a basic workflow concept wherein one set of tasks can be executed when an event succeeds and a different set of tasks can be run if the event fails. Event Manager for SQL Server's SMTPbased notification system sends job completion notifications. (The notification system doesn't require the use of SQL Mail or MAPI.) The tool also supports setting job execution thresholds to automatically terminate long-running events. In addition to job scheduling, Event Manager for SQL Server can monitor for and report on a variety of predefined performance thresholds. The tool utilizes Reporting Services to deliver a set of management reports. Out of the box, you'll find seven different preconfigured reports, including Current Failures, Management Summary, Performance Counters List, Configured Actions Lists, and Notification Lists.

If you need to manage a complex job execution environment that's spread across multiple servers, or if you need to manage jobs on both the SQL Server and Oracle platforms, then Event Manager for SQL Server belongs on your shortlist. Its unique capabilities for cross-system job scheduling and monitoring enable DBAs to manage multiple servers more effectively.

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