Chapter 14. Automating management with SQL Server Agent

We’ve covered backups, index maintenance, and a number of other important maintenance tasks so far. You can perform all of those tasks manually, but wouldn’t it be nicer if you could set them up once, and have them run on a regular basis? Of course! That’s where SQL Server Agent becomes your very best friend.

14.1. What is SQL Server Agent?

SQL Server Agent, Agent for short, is a separate service that installs along with SQL Server. It runs under its own service account, and it stores its configuration information in the built-in MSDB database. You can think of Agent as a kind of super-duper task scheduler: it runs tasks on whatever schedule you set. It can also do a lot to help automate ...

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