Custom Configuration Checks

Custom configuration checks enable you to verify values that are specific to your SQL Server setup. For example, you can check the last update time in a table, ensure that row counts from replicated tables are in sync, or leverage new DMVs by creating custom queries without waiting for the next release of Aireforge Studio.

Creating a Custom Configuration Check

  1. Open Aireforge Studio.
  2. Navigate to the Compare tab.
  3. From the toolbar, select Configure, then click Add Comparison.

Aireforge Custom Comparisons

This dialog allows you to create custom configuration checks tailored to your environment.

Example: Custom Configuration Check

In this example, we'll create a custom configuration check to verify whether "Lock Pages in Memory" is enabled.

Note: This check is only compatible with SQL Server 2016 SP1 and later. If applied to versions older than 2016, the comparison will fail. You can add a version check in the query for now, and we plan to introduce more granular version control in future updates.

  1. Name: Lock Pages in Memory

  2. Author: You

  3. Category: Create a new category or use an existing one like Instance > Hardware.

  4. Description: The query returns sql_memory_model_desc, which can be one of the following:

    • CONVENTIONAL
    • LOCK_PAGES
    • LARGE_PAGES (Enterprise Edition Only).

  5. Query:

    Since this applies only to SQL Server 2016 SP1 or newer, we'll use a single query. It's possible to create different queries for different SQL Server versions, especially if you want to convert units (e.g., KB to MB) between versions.

    SELECT  sql_memory_model_desc
FROM    sys.dm_os_sys_info;

  6. Applies to: Select SQL Server 2016 SP1. If you apply this check to older versions, it may fail unless you include a version check in the script.

  7. Columns: Define how Aireforge Studio should compare the columns in the result set. For this check, we'll select Normal Compare. The available options are:

    • Primary Key: Used to match rows between result sets.
    • Ignore: The column is ignored and not included in the comparison.
    • Normal Compare: The values should be equal across all servers.
    • No Compare: The values are displayed in the result set but not compared between servers.
    • Unique: The value should be unique across servers.

Saving and Running the Custom Configuration Check

Once you've set up the custom check, save it, and run a comparison through Aireforge Studio. The tool will compare the results across your selected servers, identifying any discrepancies.

If you create a useful script and think it could benefit others, feel free to share it with us for potential inclusion in future Aireforge Studio updates.