| title | Administer multiple servers using Central Management Servers | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ms.date | 08/12/2016 | ||||||
| ms.prod | sql | ||||||
| ms.prod_service | database-engine | ||||||
| ms.reviewer | |||||||
| ms.technology | supportability | ||||||
| ms.topic | conceptual | ||||||
| helpviewer_keywords |
|
||||||
| ms.assetid | 427911a7-57d4-4542-8846-47c3267a5d9c | ||||||
| author | MashaMSFT | ||||||
| ms.author | mathoma | ||||||
| ms.custom | seo-lt-2019 |
[!INCLUDEappliesto-ss-xxxx-xxxx-xxx-md] You can administer multiple servers by designating Central Management Servers and creating server groups.
An instance of SQL Server designated as a Central Management Server maintains server groups that contain the connection information for one or more instances. You can execute [!INCLUDEtsql] statements and Policy-Based Management policies at the same time against server groups. You can also view the log files on instances managed through a Central Management Server.
Basically, a Central Management Server is a central repository containing a list of your managed servers. Versions earlier than [!INCLUDEssKatmai] cannot be designated as a Central Management Server.
[!INCLUDEtsql] statements can also be executed against local server groups in Registered Servers.
To create a Central Management Server and server groups, use the Registered Servers window in [!INCLUDEssManStudioFull]. Note that the Central Management Server cannot be a member of a group that it maintains.
For how to create Central Management Servers and server groups, see Create a Central Management Server and Server Group (SQL Server Management Studio).