Managing the Core Database Engine - Microsoft SQL Server 2008 R2 Administration - page 88

SQL Server 2008 R2 has rich and intuitive GUI management tools, which lower the costs in
data management by incorporating automation and delegation of administrative tasks. This
chapter covers the SSMS features that are new and enhanced in SQL Server 2008 R2 to
enable operational efficiency in developing the joint best practices and integrated solutions to
derive a greater Return On Investment (ROI) and lower the Total Cost Ownership (TCO) for
the data platform environment.
Implementing Central Management feature
enhancements
Central Management Server (CMS) is a feature that enables the DBA to administer multiple
servers by designating a set of server groups, which maintain the connection information for
one or more instances of SQL Server. In this recipe, we will go through the implementation
strategy for the CMS feature in your SQL Server data platform. Before we continue into the
recipe, it is essential for you to understand the core functionality of this feature, which uses
the multiple features from the SQL Server core database engine:
F SQL Server system repository
F Manage the SQL Server farm from one location
F Easy reporting about system state, configuration, and performance
Getting ready
As per the feature characteristics described previously, there are three important components
in the system. These components are:
F Storage
F Execution
F Reporting
Storage is used to store the system repository, Execution manages the SQL Server instances,
and Reporting shows the statistical information.
The CMS feature implementation is a dual-process (setup and configuration) making use
of SQL Server components. The prerequisite of services is to install SQL Server 2008 R2
and Reporting Services. To support the extensive features of the core database engine
Enterprise Edition, it is recommended that the CMS be a single point of resource to manage
the multiple instances of SQL Server. However, for cost purposes, you can still make use of
the Standard Edition.