broadcast-a-shutdown-message-command-prompt.md

title	Broadcast a Shutdown Message (Command Prompt) | Microsoft Docs
ms.custom
ms.date	03/14/2017
ms.prod	sql
ms.prod_service	high-availability
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ms.technology	configuration
ms.topic	conceptual
helpviewer_keywords	SQL Server, stopping named instances [SQL Server], broadcasting shutdown messages shutdown message broadcast broadcasting shutdown message command prompt [SQL Server], broadcasting shutdown messages default instances [SQL Server], broadcasting shutdown messages stopping SQL Server
ms.assetid	9f20ccd5-d952-431d-ba12-339911af9430
author	MikeRayMSFT
ms.author	mikeray

Broadcast a Shutdown Message (Command Prompt)

[!INCLUDEappliesto-ss-xxxx-xxxx-xxx-md] This topic describes how to broadcast a shutdown message in [!INCLUDEssCurrent] by using the net send command. In the message, include the time the instance of [!INCLUDEssNoVersion] will be stopped so that users can finish their tasks.

To broadcast a shutdown message

1. From a command prompt, enter:

   net send /users "message"

   The /users option specifies that the message be sent to all users connected to the server

Note

The net send command requires the messenger service to be running on both the sending and the receiving computers. The messenger service is disabled by default on Windows Server 2003. For information about net send, see the Windows documentation.

On your network, it may be more appropriate to contact users by e-mail or the telephone. To determine which users are currently connected to [!INCLUDEssNoVersion], use the Activity Monitor. For information on the Activity Monitor, see Activity Monitor and Open Activity Monitor (SQL Server Management Studio).

See Also

Start, Stop, Pause, Resume, Restart the Database Engine, SQL Server Agent, or SQL Server Browser Service