SQL Server errorlog management

The other day i encountered a problem when trying to open the SQL Server errorlog. SQL Server had been up and running for a long time without a restart so the errorlog had grown very big which made it very time consuming to open.

This scenario can be avoided with a litte planning.

If you suspect that your SQL Server instance will be running for a long time without interruption it could be a good idea to change the number of errorlogs before it’s recycled from default (6) to, for example, 30.

But this alone will not be enough. There is a stored procedure to recycle the errorlog, sp_cycle_errorlog which can be used to create a new logfile without restarting SQL Server. This command can be scheduled to run at appropriate intervals and together with the increased number of errorlogs it will make access to your SQL Server errorlog much more painless.

These are two very simple things that can make your life a lot easier and they will let you focus on the real problem when it arrives.

If you need help with planning your SQL Server environment don’t hesitate to contact us.