SQL Server Agent

SQL Server Agent or SQL Agent is a Microsoft Windows service that executes scheduled automated tasks. In SQL Server this task is called jobs. This article explains SQL Server Agent.  Summary of the article:

• What is SQL Server Agent?
• Benefits of SQL Server Agent
• Components of SQL Server Agent
• Configurations of SQL Server Agent
• How to start SQL Server Agent?

What is SQL Server Agent?
SQL Server Agent is a component of Microsoft SQL Server. It is built-in on SQL Server. It handles automated tasks and schedules jobs. It runs as a Windows service. It can be started automatically or manually. After a new installation of SQL Server, by default the SQL Server Agent may disabled. Before starting with jobs it is better to check whether it is stopping or running. For any scheduler task it is mandatory to start the agent.

Benefits of SQL Server Agent
SQL Server Agent runs jobs, handle Reporting Services subscriptions, perform log shipping sub-tasks (backup, copy, restore), monitors SQL Server, processes alerts, user tasks such as scheduling some T-SQL or command line statement.

Components of SQL Server Agent
The main components of SQL Server Agent are as follows:

• Jobs
  Jobs consist of one or more steps to be executed. Each step contains some or one SQL statement. It can be scheduled to run at specified times or at specified intervals.
• Alerts
  Alerts consist of a set of actions to occur when a specific event occurs (such as when a particular error occurs, low disk space). It can include sending an email to the administrator to fix the problem.
• Operators
  Operators are community or people who can address problems with SQL Server. It can be identified through their network account or their email address.

Configurations of SQL Server Agent
SQL Server Agent generally uses system database msdb. We can configure SQL Server Agent jobs, alerts and operators via SQL Server Management Studio.

How to Start SQL Server Agent?
We can start and stop the SQL Server Agent Service via SQL Server Management Studio, Windows Services console, or via the SQL Server Service Manager. We need to have the SQL Server Agent Service running before any scheduled jobs can be run or alerts can send.
To start the SQL Server Agent Service via SQL Server Management Studio, right click on the “SQL Service Agent” node, and click “Start”.

The SQL agent is an important components of MS SQL Server. It makes some task easy and save valuable times.