Wednesday Quest: Toad and Policy-Based Management

Did you know that Toad for SQL Server has some nice features for users of policy-based management (PBM)?

Importing Policies

For example, Toad can import policies into a PBM server, so that you don’t have to manually create them every time.  You can import policies that you have exported from other servers, and you can also import the Microsoft Best Practice Policies.  (Read about the concept HERE).  The Microsoft policies are a great place to start learning what you can do with PBM, by simply importing them and inspecting their various configurations.  They are installed by default and simply need to be imported from the following directory:

%installdir%\100\tools\policies\

Under the directory mentioned above there are several others broken out by technology like SSIS and SSAS.  For the Microsoft Best Practice Policies, focus on the policies in the “%installdir%\100\tools\policies\Databaseengine\1033” folder.

As an example exercise, let’s import the Microsoft Best Practice Policy named “Database Auto Shrink”.  Follow these steps:

1. Right click on the policies folder and select import.
2. In the Import dialog, click the ellipsis next to “File to Import” and navigate to the policies folder mentioned above.
3. Select the “Database Auto Shrink.xml” file.
4. Click OK

And you’re off!

For more support, check out the discussion forums on http://db-management.com.