Managing Your SQL Servers

Starting, Stopping, and Configuring SQL Server Agent

SQL Server Agent runs as a service and is used to schedule jobs, alerts, and other automated tasks. After you have scheduled automated tasks, you usually want SQL Server Agent to start automatically when the system starts. This configuration ensures that the scheduled tasks are performed as expected. Using SQL Server Service Manager, you can control the related SQL Server Agent (InstanceName) service just as you do the SQL Server service. For details, see the Configuring SQL Server Services section in Chapter 2.

You use SQL Server Management Studio to configure SQL Server Agent. Chapter 10, covers the agent configuration in detail, but the basic steps are as follows:

1. Connect to the Database Engine on the server you want to configure. You can do this in the Registered Servers view by double-clicking the server entry, or you can use the Object Explorer view. In the Object Explorer view, click Connect, and then select Database Engine to display the Connect To Server dialog box, which you can use to connect to the server.

2. Right-click the SQL Server Agent node, and then select Properties from the shortcut menu. You can now configure SQL Server Agent. Keep in mind that if the service is not running, you need to start it before you can manage its properties.

3. The SQL Server Agent shortcut menu also lets you manage the SQL Server Agent service. Select Start, Stop, or Restart as desired.