How to check if SQL Server Agent is running using t-sql

Question: I want to check if SQL Server Agent is running using t-sql. I know I can check through the services.msc or other methods such as Powershell scripts to report on the SQL Server Agent status , but the requirement is to extract this information via t-sql. Do you have a script using t-sql to get the SQL Server Agent Status? Answer: If you check the SQL generic Refresher program in the sysprocesses list , it is possible to establish the SQL Server Agent status through t-sql. The SQL Generic Refresher is an app program. When the SQL Server Agent... Read more →

How to check if Puppet is reboots a windows server with Powershell

If you want a Powershell script to quickly check if Puppet has initiated a reboot on a Windows server , use this script . It uses the Powershell cmdlet -Get-WinEvent. Typically - a Puppet maintenance window is set per server. If a reboot is required , due to a pending patching change - than the reboot will occur during the designated window. A server owner may experience an unexpected outage - and will want to investigate the root cause. Part of the root cause may include analysing the Event viewer logs for clues. The Windows Event Logs stores loads of... Read more →

Use Get-ADPrincipalGroupMembership with other Active Directory domains

Question: I use the Powershell cmdlet Get-ADPrincipalGroupMembership to get AD group membership of IDs within the current domain, but how can I use Get-ADPrincipalGroupMembership to check the membership of an ID in another domain? Answer: Yes , The Get-ADPrincipalGroupMembership cmdlet will return the group membership of the specified user , in the current domain of the logon executing this cmdlet . To access the group membership of a specific ID , you'll need to use the -server switch . Example Get-ADPrincipalGroupMembership 'ID1' -Server 'anotherdoamin' | select name If you want to read on how to access the group membership of... Read more →

How to master Mount-Diskimage in Powershell

Question: I want to set up a script to Mount a Disk in an automated way utilising Powershell ? The image exists as an ISO on a network path and requires to be made available as a drive letter & path. It doesn't have to be a dedicated drive letter - just the next letter after the highest. So for example , if I already have E:, F:,G: than I want it to be set as I: . I have some code in the script which can identify the drive letter assigned Answer: The Powershell code below will create the... Read more →

How to search SQL Server Agent Command Text for a string

Question: I'd like to find all SQL Server Agent Jobs with a certain string within the Command section . There's been a change in reference to a database table, therefore I need to review all SQL Server Agent Jobs and check they are not referencing this database table. Is there a sql query I can use to search for the string? As an extra request - do you have any advice on how to run this query across multiple SQL Server Instances and create a report? Answer: Both of these tasks are possible . Firstly , let's look at t-sql... Read more →