Before you log in to an instance of Microsoft® SQL Server™, you need to know how to start, pause, and stop an instance of SQL Server. After you are logged in, you can perform tasks such as administering the server or querying a database.
When you start an instance of SQL Server, you are starting the SQL Server service. After you start the SQL Server service, users can establish new connections to the server. The SQL Server service can be started and stopped as a Microsoft Windows NT® 4.0 or Windows® 2000 service, either locally or remotely. The SQL Server service is referred to as MSSQLServer if it is the default instance, or MSSQL$instancename if it is a named instance.
If you are running Microsoft Windows 98, SQL Server Service Manager can be used start, pause, stop and check the state of local services, though it cannot remotely administer services.
If you have to restart your computer, SQL Server Service Manager appears automatically and the default service is displayed. It is possible to change the default service on the local computer through the SQL Server Service Manager. When you restart the computer, the default service will now be displayed in SQL Server Service Manager. For example, if you change the default service to SQL Server Agent service, and then shut down the computer, the next time you start it, SQL Server Agent service will be displayed in SQL Server Service Manager.
SQL Server Service Manager can also be used to start, pause, or stop an instance of SQL Server 2000 Analysis Services.
To change the default service
SQLServerAgent is a Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000 service that executes jobs, monitors SQL Server, and fires alerts. SQLServerAgent is the service that allows you to automate some administrative tasks. As such, you must start the SQLServerAgent service before your local or multiserver administrative tasks can run automatically. SQL Server Agent runs as a service called SQLServerAgent if it is the default instance or SQLAgent$instancename if it is a named instance.
If the SQL Server service and SQL Server Agent service are not configured to start automatically, you must start them manually.
The service status of various SQL Server components is monitored regularly by SQL Server Enterprise Manager and SQL Server Service Manager. Both allow the monitoring interval to be changed.
You can set the interval at which SQL Server Enterprise Manager checks the status of SQL Server, SQL Server Agent, the Full-Text Search feature (which runs as the Microsoft Search service), SQL Mail, Replication Monitor, and Microsoft Distributed Transaction Coordinator (MS DTC) to determine whether they are running, paused, or stopped. The status of each service is displayed through its icon in the console tree of Microsoft Management Console (MMC).
You can set the interval at which SQL Server Service Manager checks the status of SQL Server, SQL Server Agent, the Full-Text Search feature, and MS DTC to determine whether they are running, paused, or stopped. View the status by clicking the SQL Server Service Manager icon in the Windows taskbar.
To set the polling interval