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Welcome to another edition of SQLSupport.org's blog, where we unravel the complexities of SQL Server management. Today, we'll be discussing the nuances of managing SQL Agent Job Ownership and Alerts. This is a crucial task for DBAs as it ensures the smooth operation of databases, task execution and the overall health of the SQL Servers. Since SQL Server 2016, Microsoft has made significant strides in enhancing SQL Agent capabilities, and we will delve into the details in this post.

Firstly, let's talk about SQL Agent job ownership. By default, the person who creates a job becomes its owner. However, this can present issues when the creator's account is deactivated or removed. Thankfully, you can change job ownership in SQL Server. Let's take a look at the T-SQL command to do this:

USE msdb ;
GO
EXEC dbo.sp_update_job @job_name = N'Sample Job',
@owner_login_name = N'NewOwner' ;
GO

The above script changes the owner of 'Sample Job' to 'NewOwner'. Remember to replace 'Sample Job' and 'NewOwner' with your specific job name and new owner login name.

Now, let's discuss job alerts. SQL Server Agent can send alerts when certain events or performance conditions occur. Alerts can help you proactively manage your SQL Server environment. For example, you might create an alert that sends an email when a specific error occurs or when CPU usage exceeds a specified limit. Here's how you can create an alert in SQL Server:

USE msdb ;
GO
EXEC msdb.dbo.sp_add_alert @name=N'Sample Alert',
@message_id=55000,
@severity=0,
@enabled=1,
@delay_between_responses=0,
@include_event_description_in=1;
GO

The script above creates an alert named 'Sample Alert' that will trigger when an error with a message id of 55000 occurs. It's enabled and will include the event description in the email.

In conclusion, managing SQL Agent job ownership and alerts are essential tasks for DBAs to ensure the smooth running of SQL Server environments. Understanding the job ownership concept and being able to change it can prevent job failures due to deactivated accounts. Additionally, properly set up alerts can provide proactive warnings about potential issues. Stay tuned for our next blog post where we will discuss more about SQL Server management.