Policy Based Management Basics

Introduced in SQL 2008 , PBM allows you to standardise your SQL servers.

PBM is found under Management \ Policy Management in SQL Management Studio,
PBM relies on Facets (which in turn have properties), Conditions & Policies.

FacetsThese are the area of SQL we wish to control; e.g. 'Log File'
(There are lots of these, even more in SQL 2012).

PropertiesThe 'Log File' Facet has 15 properties, 'Growth' being a potentially important one.

ConditionsThe condition compares the Facet and it's property. For example we might want Log file Growth to always be set to 10%.

PoliciesThe policy itself defines the target servers and the evaluation modes.

Evaluation Modes are

• On Demand
• On Schedule
• On Change Prevent
• On Change Log Only

So to sum up, to implement a policy -

1. Create condition based on a facet

2. Create a policy

1. Based on the named condition
2. Set the evaluation mode

3. Enable the Policy


Simple Talk : Introduction to Policy Based Management