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Tell Me When tempdb Is Low On Space

Dave Mason shows how to configure alerts to fire when tempdb is low on disk space:

Naturally, the job runs on a predefined schedule. But how frequently should we check disk/available space for [tempdb]? The temporary nature of [tempdb] makes this a difficult question: objects within aren’t saved from one session of SQL Server to another, and evidence to explain runaway growth or loss of available space may be gone before an assessment can be made. Whatever schedule I decide on, I’ll always wonder if it’s frequent enough (or too frequent).

It’s tempting to “over-schedule” a job’s frequency, perhaps as much as every X seconds. Asking SQL Server “Are we out of disk space?” over and over again doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, though. It reminds me of Bart and Lisa asking HomerĀ “Are we there yet?”until he snaps. Ideally, instead of asking, I want SQL Server to *tell me* when disk/available space is running low.

Read on to see how Dave does this.