What They Are and How to Use Them
SQL Server policies are a powerful tool that can help you manage your SQL Server instances more effectively. They allow you to define and enforce rules and best practices for your SQL Server environment, ensuring that your databases are secure, reliable, and performant.
In this article, we'll take a closer look at SQL Server policies, including what they are, how to create and manage them, and some best practices for using them effectively.
What Are SQL Server Policies?
SQL Server policies are a set of rules that you can define and enforce on your SQL Server instances. These rules can cover a wide range of areas, including security, performance, and configuration.
For example, you might create a policy that requires all SQL Server logins to have strong passwords or a policy that ensures that all databases are backed up regularly. You can also create policies that check for specific configurations, such as ensuring that the maximum memory setting is configured correctly.
Policies are created using the Policy-Based Management feature in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS). Once you've created a policy, you can evaluate it against one or more SQL Server instances to see if they comply with the policy rules.
How to Create and Manage SQL Server Policies
Creating and managing SQL Server policies is relatively straightforward. Here's a step-by-step guide to getting started:
- Open SQL Server Management Studio and connect to the SQL Server instance you want to create policies for.
- In Object Explorer, right-click on the SQL Server instance and select "Facets".
- In the Facets dialog box, select the facets you want to include in your policy. Facets are predefined sets of properties that you can use to define your policy rules. For example, the "Server" facet includes properties such as "Maximum Server Memory" and "Default Trace Enabled".
- Click "OK" to close the Facets dialog box.
- In Object Explorer, right-click on the SQL Server instance again and select "Policy-Based Management".
- In the Policy-Based Management window, right-click on "Policies" and select "New Policy".
- In the New Policy dialog box, give your policy a name and description.
- In the "Check Condition" section, define the rules for your policy. You can use a variety of conditions, such as "Equals", "Greater Than", and "Less Than", to define your rules.
- In the "Evaluation Mode" section, choose how often you want the policy to be evaluated. You can choose from "On Demand", "On Schedule", or "On Change".
- Click "OK" to create your policy.
Once you've created your policy, you can evaluate it against one or more SQL Server instances to see if they comply with the policy rules. To do this, right-click on the policy in the Policy-Based Management window and select "Evaluate".
