SQL Defrag Manager

SQL Server Solutions
GETTING STARTED WITH
SQL Defrag Manager
Purpose of this document
Due to its depth and potential for customization, there are often parts of Idera SQL Defrag Manager
that are overlooked during the initial trial period. This document is designed to point out areas that may
have been missed or that can be modified to give you full control over management and reporting in
your SQL Seserver environment.
Introduction
SQL Defrag Manager lets you find and fix fragmentation hot spots on databases running in
your SQL Server environment.
Why use SQL Defrag Manager?
The week starts with getting access to a machine and to the domain. Typically, you’ll be given a freshlyimaged laptop. It’s going to take a few hours to set it up the way you want, and you can work on this task
throughout the week – but it should be done by the end of the week. Getting this task done can be even
harder if you don’t have local admin access. Have your list ready before Day 1 so you only have to make
one request to load the stuff you need.
• Automated analysis - Analysis of over 20 key metrics to pinpoint fragmentation hot spots
• Intelligent remediation - Intelligent heuristics determine the best-fit approach and
schedule for defragmentation, ensuring the minimum impact to production servers
• Continuous improvement - Analysis of historical fragmentation statistics enables
SQL Defrag Manager to intelligently refine its approach as time progresses
• Centralized management - Management console provides central management
and control of defragmentation activity across hundreds of servers
• Granular retrospective analysis - Drill down to a point-in-time snapshot
and see what was causing system issues
• Comprehensive reporting - Easily run reports to verify that database performance
is continuously optimized
• Resource monitor - Postpone defrag operations when resource contention issues are discovered
• Automated alerting - Email alerts help inform administrators of fragmentation
issues and policy results
• Immediate feedback and automated responses - Alerts when there are issues &
automates responses to common problems
• Easily adjusted policies - Use “set it and forget it” policies to easily adjust
how you handle your fragmentation issues
System Requirements
Management Console
• Windows 2000 SP4, Windows XP SP3, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows 2008 SP1,
Windows Vista SP2+, Windows 7 SP1+, Windows 2008 R2, Windows 8, Windows 2012
• Microsoft .NET 2.0 SP1
• MDAC 2.8 or later
• Windows Installer 3.1 or later
Management Server and Data Repository
• Windows 2000 SP4, Windows XP SP3, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows 2008 SP1,
Windows Vista SP2+, Windows 7 SP1+, Windows 2008 R2, Windows 8, Windows 2012
• Microsoft .NET 2.0 SP1
• Repository: SQL Server 2000, 2005, 2008, 2008 R2, 2012
Note: SQL Defrag
Manager does not
install any components,
DLLs, scripts, stored
procedures, or tables
on the SQL Server
instances being
monitored.
Supported SQL Server Environments (for defragmentation)
•
•
•
•
SQL Server 2000 and SQL Server 2005
SQL Server 2008 R2
SQL Server 2012
SQL Server 2014
Management Service Permission Requirements
The Windows user account used by the Management Service requires the following permissions to
access the SQL Server instances you want to manage:
TYPE
REQUIRMENT
Windows Permissions
Local Administrator permissions on the computer hosting the
Management Service.
SQL Server Privileges
A member of the sysadmin fixed server role on the SQL Server instance
hosting the Repository and on each managed SQL Server instance.
Product Components
SQL Defrag Manager Console
The SQL Defrag Manager Console is the interface you use to configure SQL Defrag Manager, view
analysis and defragmentation results, schedule automation activities, and perform other related functions.
SQL Defrag Manager Repository
The SQL Defrag Manager Repository is a central storage area for configuration
information & fragmentation data and statistics collected by the Management Service.
Management Service
The SQL Defrag Manager Management Service gathers fragmentation data from your
managed SQL Server instances and stores the information in the SQL Defrag Manager
Repository database. The Management Service also controls scheduling activities.
Managed Instances
The managed instances are the SQL Server instances you registered with SQL Defrag
Manager. SQL Defrag Manager periodically analyzes and optimizes these instances
based upon the management settings you specified. SQL Defrag Manager stores this
collected data in the SQL Defrag Manager Repository and displays the data in the
SQL Defrag Manager Console.
SQL Defrag Manager Capabilities
To register a SQL Server instance with SQL Defrag Manager:
1. Click Register on the Fragmentation Explorer tab of the
SQL Defrag Manager Console or click next on the Welcome window.
Follow the instructions until you finish registering the SQL Server instances
you want to manage. This wizard allows you to select the:
• Instances to register
• Authentication type
• Policy
Automate defragmentation using policies
You can use SQL Defrag Manager to analyze database index
fragmentation across your enterprise. You can then defragment
hot spots to improve performance. SQL Defrag Manager
provides policies that allow you to automate this process and
maintain your databases with minimal time and effort.
To get started with the Policy wizard:
1. Select the indexes you want to evaluate.
2.Select the index thresholds and analysis frequency.
3. Select index filter options.
4. Select policy response.
5.Schedule when and how often you want the policy to run.
6.Select which resource checks to run before running the policy.
7. Select the action you want to occur when certain conditions are met.
8.Name the policy.
Perform manual defragmentation
When you initially use SQL Defrag Manager, you should first analyze your databases
to collect updated fragmentation information. Then, review that information and
defragment the highly-fragmented areas. As you become familiar with SQL Defrag
Manager, you may choose to automate this process. This section describes how
to manually analyze, view, and correct fragmentation issues on tables and indexes.
Use the following topics to guide you through the manual defragmentation process.
• Analyze database fragmentationt
The SQL Defrag Manager Analyze Fragmentation window
allows you to investigate the fragmentation levels of tables and
indexes in the registered databases and instances. The SQL
Servers and Databases field lists all the registered instances and
databases. Select one or more database for analysis, specify
the type of analysis you want SQL Defrag Manager to perform,
and then click Finish.
• View analysis results
Once SQL Defrag Manager analyzes the registered instances and
databases, you can use the Fragmentation Explorer tab to view
the latest analysis information. SQL Defrag Manager displays the
analysis details for the objects within the selected database object.
For example, if you select a table, SQL Defrag Manager displays
the analysis details for each index on that table.
You should regularly monitor fragmentation levels on indexes
and schedule SQL Defrag Manager to regularly analyze database
fragmentation. Use the scheduled analysis to identify specific
fragmentation levels before defining your policies to automatically
reorganize or rebuild indexes.
• Optimize performance and space usage
The Defragment and Optimization window allows you to
defragment one or more instances and databases. The SQL Servers
and Databases field lists all the registered instances and databases.
You can select the databases you want to defragment, and then select
the type of defragmentation approach you want to use. SQL Defrag
Manager simply reorganizes indexes for optimal performance or
defragments indexes by completely rebuilding them.
View activity and results
After an action occurs, you can view alert history (if configured) and the recent activities occurring in your environment,
and you can run reports to compile and display the available information. All of this data helps you verify that your policies
are effective and that you are using SQL Defrag Manager most effectively. Use the following topics to help you decide
what information you want to view:
• View Alert History
If you configured policies to send alerts, SQL
Defrag Manager displays a record of those alerts
on the Alerts History tab.
• View Recent Activity
The Recent Activity tab of the SQL Defrag Manager
Console displays the analysis and defragmentation
tasks SQL Defrag Manager has performed. You can
view the improvements accomplished during each
defragmentation task.
• View Reports
Once you have configured SQL Defrag Manager and
assigned policies, you can run reports to compile
and display the information available. You can access
these reports by clicking the Reports tab.
You can select from the following list of reports:
• All Registered Objects
Shows all registered objects in SQL Defrag Manager (servers, databases, tables, indexes,
and partitions), whether they are scheduled for automated analysis or defragmentation.
• Index Counts
Shows index counts by server, database, and table registered with SQL Defrag Manager.
• Page Density Change Over Time
Shows page density changes as a result of index and partition operations over time,
filtered by server, database, and minimum page count.
• Resources Reclaimed Over Time
Shows the number of pages reclaimed over time using SQL Defrag Manager for
each server, database, index, and partition.
• Top 10 Fragmented Clustered Indexes
Shows a list of the top 10 clustered indexes with the greatest amount of fragmentation.
• Top 10 Fragmented Indexes
Shows a list of the top 10 indexes with the greatest amount of fragmentation.
• Top 10 Largest Databases
Shows a list of the top 10 largest databases ordered by the sum of the last analyzed
index page counts.
• Top 10 Largest Indexes
Shows a list of the top 10 largest indexes ordered by the last analyzed index page counts.
• Top 10 Largest Tables
Shows a list of the top 10 largest tables ordered by the sum of the last analyzed index page counts.
Idera was started in 2004 and is now the leader in application and server management software.
Their over 12,000 global clients include Fortune 1,000 enterprises, government entities, and several of the
world’s largest datacenters and cloud infrastructure providers. These and many other companies rely on Idera’s
products to keep data backed up and protected, while keeping their servers optimized for performance.
Idera’s products help keep servers running smoothly, which potentially adds value to business. Continual
server performance and efficiency keeps companies running at their peak, while allowing those who manage
them to focus on major issues as they occur. Whether a company has ten servers or ten thousand, Idera and
its products gives companies of all sizes the best performance and value with products that are easy to
install and deploy to deliver real and measurable ROI.
Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Idera is a Microsoft Managed Partner with international offices
in Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America.
SQL Server Solutions