• Article

Overview of SQL Server Utility

SQL Server customers have a requirement to manage their SQL Server environment as a whole, addressed in this release through the concept of application and multiserver management in the SQL Server Utility.

The SQL Server Utility models an organization’s SQL Server-related entities in a unified view. Utility Explorer and SQL Server Utility viewpoints in (SSMS) provide administrators a holistic view of resource health through an instance of SQL Server that serves as a utility control point (UCP). Entities that can be viewed in the SQL Server UCP include:

  • Instances of SQL Server

  • Data-tier applications

  • Database files

  • Storage volumes

Resource utilization dimensions that can be viewed in the SQL Server UCP include:

  • CPU utilization

  • Storage space utilization

Support for SQL Server Utility in SQL Server 2008

After SP2 has been applied, instances of the SQL Server 2008 Database Engine can be enrolled with a utility control point (UCP). However, you must use the SQL Server 2008 R2 client tools – SSMS - to monitor instances of SQL Server that are enrolled in a UCP. For more information, see Overview of SQL Server Utility in the Books Online for SQL Server 2008 R2.