Overview of SQL Server Utility
SQL Server customers have a requirement to manage their SQL Server environment as a whole, addressed in this release through the concept of application and multiserver management in the SQL Server Utility.
The SQL Server Utility models an organization’s SQL Server-related entities in a unified view. Utility Explorer and SQL Server Utility viewpoints in (SSMS) provide administrators a holistic view of resource health through an instance of SQL Server that serves as a utility control point (UCP). Entities that can be viewed in the SQL Server UCP include:
Instances of SQL Server
Data-tier applications
Database files
Storage volumes
Resource utilization dimensions that can be viewed in the SQL Server UCP include:
CPU utilization
Storage space utilization
Support for SQL Server Utility in SQL Server 2008
After SP2 has been applied, instances of the SQL Server 2008 Database Engine can be enrolled with a utility control point (UCP). However, you must use the SQL Server 2008 R2 client tools – SSMS - to monitor instances of SQL Server that are enrolled in a UCP. For more information, see Overview of SQL Server Utility in the Books Online for SQL Server 2008 R2.