Brad’s Sure Guide to SQL Server Maintenance Plans- P43: SQL Server has a reputation as being a simple database application to install, configure, and maintain. This is a little misleading. SQL Server is a powerful relational database that can handle the needs of the largest organizations and, as such, its proper maintenance almost certainly requires the attention of an experienced DBA. | Chapter 17 Configuring Maintenance Tasks Using the Designer Figure The Update Statistics Task configuration settings. Once again these options are identical to those shown and described in the Configuring the Update Statistics Task section of Chapter 9 and so will not be covered again here. Shrink Database Task In Chapter 6 1 explained why 1 strongly advise you avoid using the Shrink Database task found in the Maintenance Plan Wizard. The exact same advice holds for the Shrink Database task in the Designer so 1 won t be discussing it further here. Execute SQL Server Agent Job Task As detailed in Chapter 10 the Execute SQL Server Agent Job task allows you to run one and only one predefined SQL Server Agent job as part of a Maintenance Plan. The big advantage of using this task in the Designer is that while the Maintenance Plan Wizard only allowed you to create one of these tasks per plan the Designer allows you to create multiple instances of this task within the same plan allowing you to include multiple jobs inside a plan. Figure shows the task box for the Reorganize Index task as dropped onto a design surface in its unconfigured state. 211 Chapter 17 Configuring Maintenance Tasks Using the Designer .r Execute SQL Server Agent Job Task Execute Job on Job name Figure The Execute SQL Server Agent Job Task on the design surface. Double-click on the task box to bring up the configuration screen shown in Figure . Figure The Execute SQL Server Agent Job Task configuration screen. Your screen will look very different because your SQL Server instance will have different jobs than my SQL Server instance. Above one job has been selected to run. Yet again these options are identical to those shown and described in the Configuring the Execute SQL Server Agent Job Task section of Chapter 10 and so will not be covered again here. History Cleanup Task As discussed in Chapter 11 the History Cleanup task simply removes old data from the msdb database .
