Jobs, Tasks, and Logs
After I set up the jobs, I created tasks. Each task is a logical entity, which consists of a schedule, a sequence of jobs, and additional backup and execution parameters. For example, I created a task to run every night at 2:00 a.m. to verify data and run backup steps. The task contained parameters to specify which device to direct the backup to. The Db Maint interface hides some of the flexibility that SQL Server Agent jobs have—for example, in Db Maint each task might have only one schedule, whereas in SQL Server Agent, a task can have many schedules. I found it disturbing that changes I made in Db Maint showed up in Enterprise Manager, but changes I made in Enterprise Manager didn't show up in Db Maint, even after I reconnected Db Maint to the server.
As I established the jobs and tasks, I appreciated Db Maint's centralized status and results log of the jobs. Although SQL Server Agent appends job output to a job's history, I found that Db Maint's Log Details window was more convenient because it collected all the result information in one place and it was easy to navigate. Db Maint also has a nice export feature. You can easily export many file types, such as Db Maint dialog and configuration screens, to a text file. Also, because Db Maint stores everything in Microsoft database (msdb), I went directly to the tables to examine the results.
Performance Monitoring
A feature that you can't easily achieve without Db Maint is the ability to capture SQL Server performance counters and store them in additional tables in a database. I found it much simpler to use Db Maint's SQL-based performance data for analysis, tuning, and capacity planning in Windows NT Performance Monitor log files than setting up the Performance Monitor on my own to capture the data and exporting it out of the Performance Monitor for analysis.
Simplifying DBA Tasks
The Db Maint architecture is robust; it uses native SQL Server scheduling tools, but it executes work through Interactive SQL (ISQL) to capture all possible output and isolate potential failures. Because Db Maint uses SQL Server facilities, all the notification paths—the Db Maint log, NT event log, HTML, email, operator notification, and SNMP—are available.
An experienced DBA could do most of what Db Maint does without buying the product, but Db Maint lets you manage database servers in an effective, centralized way. Why spend time using other applications when a good, reasonably inexpensive tool can do these DBA tasks for you, freeing you up to take on more heroic and rewarding tasks?