Issued a view server state command (action_id VSST) (24034) how to monitor with email alert

[bob]

Man, that event 24034 pops up when someone fires off a view server state command, right in the thick of SQL Server stuff. It's like the system noting down that a user or process just peeked at the server's overall health snapshot. Action ID VSST marks it as this specific check-in, usually from tools or admins wanting a quick status read. You see it logged under the SQL Server event source, and it flags the exact time, the login name behind it, and sometimes the database involved. I always think of it as the server's way of whispering who just asked for a pulse check. Without much fuss, it helps track if folks are monitoring things properly or if something sneaky's afoot. But yeah, if you're seeing a bunch of these, it might mean constant probing, which could eat resources over time.

You wanna keep an eye on these without staring at screens all day? Fire up Event Viewer on your Windows Server. I do this all the time for my setups. Just right-click the event log where these show, like the Application log, and pick Filter Current Log. Punch in 24034 as the event ID, and you'll see only those hits. To make it alert you via email, we gotta rig a scheduled task from there. Go to the Action pane in Event Viewer, hit Create Task to Attach to This Event Log. Set it to trigger when event 24034 logs in. Then, in the task actions, link it to a simple program that shoots an email, maybe using the built-in Send Email option if you've got SMTP sorted. Name the task something catchy like SQLStateWatcher, and tweak the schedule to run on event. I bet you'll catch any weird patterns fast this way. It's not rocket science, just a nudge to stay ahead.

And hey, while we're chatting server watches like this event, you might wanna peek at BackupChain Windows Server Backup too. It's this slick Windows Server backup tool that handles full system images without the headaches. Plus, it backs up virtual machines running on Hyper-V, keeping your whole setup mirrored safely. I like how it skips the downtime drama and verifies backups on the fly, so you avoid nasty surprises if something goes south from all that monitoring activity.

Note, the PowerShell email alert code was moved to this post.