Use Performance Objects
SQL Server Agent includes performance objects and counters to monitor how the service is performing. These performance objects allow you to use Performance Monitor, a Windows tool, to identify what the SQL Server Agent service is doing in the background. For example, you can identify how many active jobs the SQL Server Agent service is currently running to identify those jobs that are blocked.
The SQL Server Agent service performance objects and counters exist for each instance of SQL Server that is installed on a computer. Performance objects are named according to the instance of SQL Server that each object represents.
The following table shows how the SQL Server Agent service performance objects are named:
| Instance type | Object name |
|---|---|
| Default | SQLAgent: object:counter |
| Named | SQLAgent$ instance_name : object:counter |
SQL Server includes the following performance objects for SQL Server Agent.
| Object name | Description |
|---|---|
| SQLAgent:Jobs | Performance information about jobs that have been started, success rates, and current status |
| SQLAgent:JobSteps | Status information about job steps |
| SQLAgent:Alerts | Information about number of alerts and notifications |
| SQLAgent:Statistics | General performance information |
See Also
Monitor and Tune for Performance
Start System Monitor (Windows)