Being a DBA is a challenging job that requires a deep understanding of SQL Server and the ability to handle stressful situations when things don’t go as planned. Many people underestimate the complexity of this role, thinking it’s just about performing routine tasks like backups and upgrades. However, a DBA’s responsibilities go beyond that.
In this article, I want to share with you a useful technique that a senior DBA used in his environment to query multiple SQL Server instances with a single query. This technique can save you time and effort, especially when you need to perform the same query on multiple servers.
The senior DBA had assigned a junior DBA the task of installing SQL Server 2016 SP1 on various servers in different environments (Dev, test, QA, etc.). He needed a way to quickly check if the servers were installed with the correct version without manually querying each server using the @@VERSION command.
The solution he came up with was to use the Registered Server pane in SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS). By registering all the servers in the environment, he could easily execute a query against multiple servers simultaneously.
Here’s how it works:
- Open SSMS and go to the Registered Servers pane.
- Right-click on the “Server Group” and select “New Query”.
- Now, any command you execute in this window will be executed against all the registered servers.
In the example provided, the senior DBA had two servers registered, and the query was executed against both servers. The result set displayed an integrated output with an additional column “Server name” to identify which server the data belongs to.
This trick is a handy way to query multiple SQL Server instances with a single query, saving you time and effort. If you have any similar tips or tricks, feel free to share them in the comments section. I would be more than happy to write a blog post about it.