Overview
Scheduled Jobs is a read-only monitoring and triage surface for SQL Server Agent jobs. It helps you review job status, recent runs, step-level failures, alert-oriented failure groupings, and Database Mail-related issues without executing jobs or changing SQL Agent configuration.
What You Can Do
- List SQL Agent jobs for the active instance.
- Spot failed, disabled, never-run, overdue, or long-running jobs.
- Inspect steps, recent execution history, and grouped failures.
- Open Database Mail diagnostics for mail-related failures.
- Export evidence and copy read-only remediation SQL.
Main Screen Areas
- Top toolbar
- Left jobs list panel
- Right details and alert panel
Data Sources & Refresh Model
Main Job Data
- msdb.dbo.sysjobs
- msdb.dbo.sysjobactivity
- msdb.dbo.sysjobhistory
- msdb.dbo.sysjobsteps and scheduling metadata
Mail Diagnostics
- sys.configurations
- msdb.dbo.sysmail_profile
- msdb.dbo.sysmail_event_log
- Database Mail profile and permission state
Refresh Behavior
- Supports manual refresh and optional auto-refresh.
- Refresh runs only when the view is initialized and visible.
- Auto-refresh stops when hidden, paused, or set to Off.
- Successful refresh updates the last refresh timestamp.
Permission Fallback
- The module prefers live activity data from sysjobactivity.
- If access is limited, it falls back to reduced summary behavior.
- Basic job data still loads, but running-job visibility may be incomplete.
Toolbar, Filters & Job List
Top Toolbar
- Last refresh timestamp
- Refresh interval: 10s, 30s, 60s, or Off
- Pause Auto Refresh / Resume Auto Refresh
- Manual Refresh
Primary Filters
- Category
- Needs Attention
- Only failures with 24h or 7d failure window
- Only disabled
- Only long running (>30m)
Status Chips
- All
- Running
- Failed
- Succeeded
- Disabled
- Never run
Job Table
- Shows job, status, category, last run, durations, success rate, owner, proxy context, schedule, next run, and enabled state.
- Search filters the current dataset client-side across multiple fields.
- The view tries to preserve the previous selection when filters change.
Job Details Tab
Summary
- Shows status, enabled state, owner, proxy, category, schedule, and next run.
- Includes last run, last duration, 7-day average duration, success rate, and outcome code.
- Displays the last outcome message in a read-only text area.
- Schedule summaries can collapse multiple schedules into a compact label.
Steps
- Lists step name, subsystem, and command preview.
- Highlights the latest failed step when identifiable.
- Shows the selected step's latest message in a read-only area.
- Supports copying the message or searching the error in Microsoft Learn.
History
- Shows 24h and 7d summary labels for job-outcome rows.
- Displays the newest 20 outcome rows with start, end, duration, and outcome.
- Focuses on recent evidence for operator review.
Useful Actions
- Copy the full last outcome message.
- Copy the selected step message.
- Open an external knowledge search for the current step error.
Alert Inbox
Running
- Lists currently executing jobs with start time, elapsed time, current step, and estimated end.
- Estimated end depends on historical averages and may be blank.
- The tab is informational only and does not expose stop actions.
Failed
- Groups recent failed step executions from the last 24 hours.
- Groups by job, step, and normalized error message.
- Shows top root causes, grouped failures, full error text, and operator actions.
Root-Cause Heuristics
- Database Mail failure
- Proxy permission
- Timeout
- Login failed
- Other
Failure Actions
- Open job details and jump back to the selected job.
- Copy error, export recent evidence, and show related msdb references.
- Copy a read-only remediation SQL helper script.
- Open troubleshooting docs and generate an incident note.
Mail Health, Limits & Workflow
Mail Health
- Focuses on Database Mail-related failures with read-only quick checks.
- Can show whether Database Mail XPs are enabled, profile counts, default profile state, and the most recent event or error.
- Supports copying the current quick-check panel for escalation or manual validation.
Operator Notes
- The module is read-only and does not run, stop, or edit jobs.
- Only failures is based on the latest failed outcome, not full historical matching.
- Root-cause labels and mail classifications are heuristic and may require manual confirmation.
- Live running-job visibility can degrade when access to activity views is limited.
Typical Workflow
- Refresh the screen and review the jobs list.
- Narrow the list with status chips, category, or quick filters.
- Select a job and inspect its summary, steps, and history.
- Open Alert Inbox > Failed for repeated step failures.
- Use remediation SQL, incident notes, or exports for deeper triage.
- Check Mail Health when the failure looks Database Mail-related.