Can one monitor server monitor log shipping of multiple databases?

  • We've set up log shipping from our on-line database to the standby server.

    When we set up the first database for log shipping, the alert job for that database was properly created on the monitor server.

    When we set up the second database for log shipping, the alert job for the second database was properly created on the monitor server. However, the first alert job has been deleted.

    So, can a monitor server be used for monitoring multiple databases? BOL (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms190224(SQL.90).aspx) doesn't mention whether one monitor server can monitor multiple databases.

    Thanks,

    Wayne
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008
    Author - SQL Server T-SQL Recipes


    If you can't explain to another person how the code that you're copying from the internet works, then DON'T USE IT on a production system! After all, you will be the one supporting it!
    Links:
    For better assistance in answering your questions
    Performance Problems
    Common date/time routines
    Understanding and Using APPLY Part 1 & Part 2

  • If I am not mistaken, there is only one monitor job for all databases. This is differrent than the way it was in 2000. Let me see if I can find some documentation on it.

  • Here it is...

    " A single monitor server can monitor multiple log shipping configurations. In such a case, all of the log shipping configurations that use that monitor server would share a single alert job."

    http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms187103(SQL.90).aspx

  • Thanks Ken - I had the same question too. Your post confirmed my suspicion. But to me, this makes no sense. Log Shipping should set up an alert job for each Log Shipped database so that it allows you to manage them separately. For instance, if I want to see if my Log Shipping is in synch....don't I go to the Alert job and get status from there? Is there another way to see if LS is in synch. Also, if you want to disable log shipping jobs, you can't disable the Alert job, because it could be potentially Alerting for another database. Thirdly, if you want to just go and "View History" for that job, you can't see the history for each instance. It just makes no sense why they would set it up so that you can't have more than one Alert job on the monitor server. Any thoughts?

    Dave Coats

  • Dave Coats (5/13/2009)


    Thanks Ken - I had the same question too. Your post confirmed my suspicion. But to me, this makes no sense. Log Shipping should set up an alert job for each Log Shipped database so that it allows you to manage them separately. For instance, if I want to see if my Log Shipping is in synch....don't I go to the Alert job and get status from there? Is there another way to see if LS is in synch. Also, if you want to disable log shipping jobs, you can't disable the Alert job, because it could be potentially Alerting for another database. Thirdly, if you want to just go and "View History" for that job, you can't see the history for each instance. It just makes no sense why they would set it up so that you can't have more than one Alert job on the monitor server. Any thoughts?

    Dave brings up some good points. If I fail over to my backup server, I would disable the existing log shipping jobs involved. As long as they are disabled, then this one alert job would constantly fail, even if it is monitoring other databases on other servers.

    Ken, thanks for your reply.

    Wayne
    Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server 2008
    Author - SQL Server T-SQL Recipes


    If you can't explain to another person how the code that you're copying from the internet works, then DON'T USE IT on a production system! After all, you will be the one supporting it!
    Links:
    For better assistance in answering your questions
    Performance Problems
    Common date/time routines
    Understanding and Using APPLY Part 1 & Part 2

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