To execute Transact-SQL statements against all the servers in a server group at the same time, open a Query Editor from the server group in the Registered Servers window. Transact-SQL statements executed in the Query Editor will be executed against all the servers in the group. The results that are returned by the query can be merged into a single results pane, or can be returned in separate results panes. When you are merging results, the first server to respond sets the schema for the result set. To merge the result sets, the query must return the same number of columns that have the same column names from each server. When you are merging results, a message is displayed for each server that does not match the schema (column count and column names) that is returned by the first server to return results. When you do not merge results, the results set from each server will be displayed in its own grid with its own schema.

As an option, the Query Editor can include columns that provide the name of the server that produced each row, and the login that was used to connect to the server that provided each row.

For more information about how to execute multiserver queries, see How to: Execute Statements Against Multiple Servers Simultaneously (SQL Server Management Studio).

A policy can be evaluated against a registered server or a whole server group. The on-demand policy execution mode enables both the evaluate and apply modes for policies. If a connection cannot be established to one or more servers, those servers are ignored and evaluation against the other servers continues independently. For more information about Policy-Based Management and execution modes, see Tutorial: Administering Servers by Using Policy-Based Management.