Getting started

YourSqlDba automates SQL Server maintenance using a dedicated database, YourSqlDba, SQL Agent jobs, and stored procedures.

The central maintenance procedure is:

Maint.YourSqlDba_DoMaint

Its primary diagnostic companion is Maint.HistoryView. It presents the commands, messages, status, and errors recorded by maintenance jobs and can correlate jobs that ran during the same period.

This page explains the DBA workflow, the default jobs, and the first checks after setup.

What YourSqlDba does

YourSqlDba is designed to run standard maintenance tasks across multiple databases without requiring a custom maintenance plan for each database.

It can:

create full, differential, and transaction log backups
clean up old backup files
run database integrity checks
update optimizer statistics
reorganize or rebuild indexes when appropriate
clean up SQL Server, SQL Agent, mail, backup, and maintenance history
send maintenance reports by email
record detailed execution history for troubleshooting

Design approach

The initial setup is intended to provide useful maintenance without requiring a separate maintenance plan for every database. For many small and medium-sized instances, the default jobs are a practical starting point that can be adjusted after the first runs have been reviewed.

YourSqlDba also limits work that does not need to run in full during every maintenance window. Statistics updates and full integrity checks can be spread across several runs, while index maintenance targets indexes according to their condition. These behaviors make the maintenance cycle easier to fit within the available window.

Detailed reporting is part of the operating model, not an afterthought. Each run records enough context to identify the commands that were executed and the errors that occurred. Email reports direct the DBA to Maint.HistoryView, which can focus on the relevant errors or show the wider activity around a job.

DBA quick start

Run YourSQLDba_InstallOrUpdateScript.sql against the target SQL Server instance.
Execute Install.InitialSetupOfYourSqlDba with values that match your environment.
Review the SQL Agent jobs and the job steps that call Maint.YourSqlDba_DoMaint.
Verify backup paths, mail settings, and the first maintenance run.
Use Maint.HistoryView to investigate any errors reported by that run.
Adjust Maint.YourSqlDba_DoMaint parameters for your environment.

Default jobs

The default initial setup creates two SQL Agent jobs:

Job	Schedule	Purpose
Full maintenance	Daily, around midnight	Full backups, integrity checks, statistics updates, and index maintenance
Log backups	Every 15 minutes	Transaction log backups for databases in full recovery model

These jobs usually call the same procedure with different parameters.

From the default setup to advanced configurations

The active maintenance configuration remains visible in SQL Agent schedules and job steps. A DBA can progressively adapt it by:

changing the schedule of either default job;
using @IncDb and @ExcDb patterns to target database groups;
separating backups, integrity checks, statistics, or index maintenance into different job steps;
creating additional jobs when a database group requires its own schedule;
using restore-based mirroring to maintain a recoverable copy or prepare a migration to another SQL Server instance.

If all selected databases can be maintained sequentially within the available window, the default structure may be sufficient. When that window becomes too long, the same procedure can be divided across jobs or steps without replacing the maintenance framework.

What to verify after setup

After installation and initial setup, confirm that:

SQL Agent jobs exist and are enabled
job steps call Maint.YourSqlDba_DoMaint
@FullBackupPath and @LogBackupPath are correct
Database Mail profile and SMTP server are configured
notification recipients are set
the first maintenance run completes successfully

Where to customize maintenance

The main configuration point is the SQL Agent job step that calls Maint.YourSqlDba_DoMaint.

Common customizations include:

excluding databases from the default job
maintaining a specific database group only
separating backups from integrity checks
adjusting backup retention
changing log backup file behavior
configuring mirror or standby restore behavior

See Configuration and Maint.YourSqlDba_DoMaint for detailed parameters.