sqmSQLTool · Inventory & Documentation · 2026

Inventory & Docs

Transparency at the push of a button.

Who runs what, on which server, at which patch level, with which databases - answered in seconds instead of hours.

HTML reports CSV export Patch compliance Multi-instance Central archive

Uwe Janke · Senior SQL Server DBA · dtcSoftware

📋 InstanceInventory — SQL01\PROD — 2026-05-20

Instance

VersionSQL Server 2022 (16.0.4175.1)

EditionDeveloper Edition (64-bit)

Patch levelCU17 - current

Max Memory32,768 MB

Databases (5)

FinanceFULL • 42.5 GB • backup: today 20:14

ControllingFULL • 8.1 GB • backup: today 20:14

StagingDBSIMPLE • 1.2 GB • no backup

AlwaysOn AG: AG_Prod

SQL01 (Primary)SYNCHRONIZED

SQL02 (Secondary)SYNCHRONIZED

Motivation

What missing documentation costs

💥

Staff turnover = lost knowledge

Which databases live on SQL03? Who owns "OldArchive"? Is the recovery model set correctly? Without documentation, the search starts from zero.

🕵️

Audit: manual research

Patch level of every instance? Privileged accounts? Certificate expiry dates? Without a tool, every audit question means hours of manual work across dozens of servers.

⏰

Incident: no baseline

"Was it like this yesterday?" Without regular snapshots, there's no way to tell if a configuration deviation is old or new. Root-cause analysis takes hours instead of minutes.

📉

Growing disk use, unnoticed

Databases grow quietly. The first sign is when space runs out - by then it's too late. Forecast data simply doesn't exist.

✓ sqmSQLTool delivers all of this automatically, on a schedule, and filed centrally - no manual queries against every server one by one.

Overview

Four categories. One module.

📋

Inventory

A full snapshot of an instance: version, databases, logins, AG, jobs, configuration.

📑

Database docs

Per database: files, sizes, autogrowth, backup times, objects, users - as an HTML report.

🛡️

Patch compliance

Compares the installed build against current CUs. Traffic-light status per instance and version.

📊

Operational reports

Disk forecasting, AG health, certificate expiry, autogrowth, SPN status - automated daily.

command per report

No script to assemble, no SSMS to open - straight from PowerShell.

instances in parallel

Pipeline-capable: every instance in one call, one consolidated report.

♥

Central archive

CentralPath: every report lands automatically in one defined location.

Inventory

Invoke-sqmInstanceInventory

A full snapshot of a SQL Server instance - TXT (readable) + CSV (machine-readable). Filed in the central archive automatically.

What gets captured

ℹ️ Instance info	Version, edition, patch level, collation, auth mode, MAXDOP, max/min memory, CPU count
💾 Databases	Name, status, recovery model, size (MB), last full backup, owner, creation date
🔑 Logins	Name, type (Windows/SQL), active/inactive, server roles
🔗 Linked servers	Name, product, provider, data source
🗓️ Agent jobs	Name, active/inactive, owner, last run + status
⚙️ sp_configure	Only deviations from default - immediately visible what changed
🔄 AlwaysOn	AG name, primary, replicas + roles, listener (port/IP), sync status

Call

# A single instance
Invoke-sqmInstanceInventory `
    -SqlInstance 'SQL01\PROD' `
    -OutputPath  'C:\Reports\SQL'

# Every instance from a list
'SQL01','SQL02','SQL03' | Invoke-sqmInstanceInventory

Output files

Call

→

*.txt
Readable report

*.csv
Excel/SIEM

→

CentralPath
Archive

Filename: InstanceInventory_SQL01_PROD_2026-05-20.txt

Database documentation

Export-sqmDatabaseDocumentation

A self-contained HTML report per instance - no external CSS, opens straight in a browser. Color-coded status badges.

Content per database

Properties	Status, recovery, collation, owner, creation date, compat level
File sizes	Data / log separately, including autogrowth settings and growth type
Backup age	Last FULL / DIFF / LOG with an age indicator - instantly visible if a backup is missing
CHECKDB	Date of the last integrity check, with an age warning
VLF count	Number of virtual log files (SQL 2016+) - excessive values are flagged
Objects	Count of tables, views, procs, functions, triggers, synonyms
DB users	Name, login name, type - orphaned users spotted immediately

HTML report layout

📑 Database Documentation — SQL01\PROD

Table of contents

🔗 FinanceOK

🔗 ControllingOK

🔗 StagingDB⚠ SIMPLE

Finance - details

Backup FULL4h ago

CHECKDB2 days ago

VLF count312 ⚠

Data size42.5 GB

Call

Export-sqmDatabaseDocumentation `
    -SqlInstance 'SQL01' `
    -Database    'Finance*' `
    -OutputPath  'C:\Reports'

Filename: DatabaseDoc_SQL01_20260520_2015.html

Compliance

Patch level at a glance

Invoke-sqmPatchAnalysis - compares the installed build against an embedded reference table of every known CU. Traffic-light status and a concrete recommendation per instance.

Instance	Version	Build	Status	Recommendation
SQL01	2022	16.0.4175	CU17 - current	No action needed
SQL02	2022	16.0.4135	CU14 - 3 behind current	CU update recommended
SQL03	2019	15.0.2000	RTM - 29 behind current	Patch immediately
SQL04	2019	15.0.4405	CU29 - current	No action needed

Reference table embedded: SQL 2016 SP3, 2017 up to CU40, 2019 up to CU29, 2022 up to CU17.

Call - every instance

# Analyze every instance, save CSV
'SQL01','SQL02','SQL03','SQL04' |
    Invoke-sqmPatchAnalysis `
        -OutputPath 'C:\Reports\Patch'

# Show only outdated ones
'SQL01','SQL02','SQL03','SQL04' |
    Invoke-sqmPatchAnalysis |
    Where-Object { -not $_.IsLatest }

What the ops manager gets

A tabular patch overview of every instance
Traffic-light status: UpToDate / MinorUpdate / MajorUpdate / Critical
BuildsBehind: the exact number of missed CUs
Recommendation: a directly quotable recommendation
CSV export for a ticketing system or audit report

Configuration comparison

Compare-sqmServerConfiguration

A planned-vs-actual comparison of two instances. Before/after a migration, production vs. test, node 1 vs. node 2 in an AG pair.

# Compare production vs. test
Compare-sqmServerConfiguration `
    -SourceInstance 'SQL01\PROD' `
    -TargetInstance 'SQL02\TEST' `
    -CompareDatabases

# Result: differences only
Setting              SourceValue  TargetValue
MaxMemory            32768        8192       <-- Different
MaxDOP               4            8          <-- Different
Collation            Latin1...    Latin1...  (OK)
CostThreshold        50           25         <-- Different

ℹ Without -CompareDatabases: instance configuration only. With the switch, database-level settings too (owner, recovery model, collation).

Typical use cases

Before a migration

Compare the source and target server - confirm every relevant setting has been carried over.

AG node parity

Both nodes of an AlwaysOn pair need to be configured identically. Deviations are risks.

Post-change verification

After a change request, prove that only the planned values were changed.

Audit: configuration standard

A golden standard server vs. a production instance. Deviations exported as CSV for the auditor.

Daily operations

Reports for day-to-day operations

💾

Disk forecasting

Get-sqmDiskSpaceReport

D:\	68% free
E:\	18% free
F:\	8% — 11 days

Shows the growth rate and "days until full" based on a 30-day history.

📈

Autogrowth analysis

Get-sqmAutoGrowthReport

Flags percentage-based growth, steps that are too small (<64 MB), and unbounded log files as warnings.

🔄

AG health report

Get-sqmAgHealthReport

Finance	SYNC • 0 MB
Reporting	SYNC • 82 MB

Redo queue and send queue per database. Warning thresholds are configurable.

🚧

Blocking report

Get-sqmBlockingReport

Blocking chains with the head blocker, SQL text, wait duration, and affected resources - for immediate diagnosis.

🔐

Certificate expiry

Get-sqmCertificateReport

HADR_Cert	248 days
TDE_Cert	62 days
SB_Cert	EXPIRED

Covers: AlwaysOn / TDE / Service Broker / backup. An ALERTS.csv with critical entries only.

🆔

SPN report

Get-sqmSpnReport

Checks Kerberos SPN registration. Missing SPNs come with ready-to-run setspn.exe commands.

Central archive

Every report. One place.

CentralPath: every report function automatically copies its result to the configured target path - no extra steps.

Configure once

# Set the central archive (once)
Set-sqmConfig `
    -CentralPath '\\fileserver\SQLReports' `
    -OutputPath  'C:\Reports\Local'

# From now on: every function copies automatically
Invoke-sqmInstanceInventory -SqlInstance 'SQL01'
# Result lands in:
#  C:\Reports\Local\InstanceInventory_SQL01_...txt
#  \\fileserver\SQLReports\InstanceInventory_SQL01_...txt

What gets replicated automatically

InstanceInventory DatabaseDoc PatchAnalysis DiskSpaceReport AgHealthReport CertReport SpnReport

ℹ The directory structure on CentralPath stays flat (no subfolders). Filenames include the instance name + date - no collisions across multiple instances.

Resulting folder structure (example)

\\fileserver\SQLReports\
  InstanceInventory_SQL01_PROD_2026-05-20.txt
  InstanceInventory_SQL01_PROD_2026-05-20.csv
  InstanceInventory_SQL02_PROD_2026-05-20.txt
  InstanceInventory_SQL03_TEST_2026-05-20.txt
  DatabaseDoc_SQL01_PROD_20260520_2015.html
  DatabaseDoc_SQL01_PROD_20260520_2015.csv
  PatchAnalysis_20260520_2014.csv
  DiskSpaceReport_SQL01_PROD_2026-05-20.txt
  DiskSpaceReport_SQL01_PROD_2026-05-20.csv
  CertReport_SQL01_PROD_20260520_2013.txt
  CertReport_SQL01_PROD_20260520_2013_ALERTS.csv
  AgHealthReport_SQL01_PROD_2026-05-20.txt

✓ Team leads and ops managers have read access to the share - every report is up to date without a DBA lifting a finger.

Scale

Every instance. One call.

Every report function is pipeline-capable. An instance list from a file, database, or AD - sqmSQLTool processes them all in parallel.

# Instance list from a text file
Get-Content 'C:\Config\instances.txt' |
    Invoke-sqmInstanceInventory

# Patch analysis of every production instance
Get-Content 'C:\Config\prod_instances.txt' |
    Invoke-sqmPatchAnalysis `
        -OutputPath '\\fileserver\SQLReports\Patch'

# Only outdated ones, as a table - for a ticket
Get-Content 'C:\Config\prod_instances.txt' |
    Invoke-sqmPatchAnalysis |
    Where-Object { -not $_.IsLatest } |
    Select-Object SqlInstance,PatchStatus,BuildsBehind,Recommendation |
    Format-Table -AutoSize

ℹ -ContinueOnError: an unreachable instance doesn't interrupt the entire run.

Recommended scheduler cadence

Job	Cadence	Command
Inventory	Weekly	`Invoke-sqmInstanceInventory`
DB docs	Weekly	`Export-sqmDatabaseDocumentation`
Patch analysis	Weekly	`Invoke-sqmPatchAnalysis`
Disk forecast	Daily	`Get-sqmDiskSpaceReport`
AG health	Daily	`Get-sqmAgHealthReport`
Certificates	Daily	`Get-sqmCertificateReport`

The simplest setup

Every job can be set up as a SQL Agent job or a Windows Task Scheduler task - configure once, they run fully automatically and save to CentralPath.

Reference

Quick reference

Task	Function	Output
Instance snapshot	`Invoke-sqmInstanceInventory`	TXT + CSV
DB documentation	`Export-sqmDatabaseDocumentation`	HTML + CSV
Patch compliance	`Invoke-sqmPatchAnalysis`	Console + CSV
Config comparison	`Compare-sqmServerConfiguration`	Console
Disk forecast	`Get-sqmDiskSpaceReport`	TXT + CSV
AG health	`Get-sqmAgHealthReport`	TXT + CSV
Certificate expiry	`Get-sqmCertificateReport`	TXT + CSV + ALERTS.csv
Autogrowth check	`Get-sqmAutoGrowthReport`	Console
Blocking analysis	`Get-sqmBlockingReport`	Console + CSV
SPN audit	`Get-sqmSpnReport`	TXT + CSV
Hardware report	`Get-sqmServerHardwareReport`	HTML + CSV + TXT
Central archive	`Set-sqmConfig -CentralPath`	automatic

Key parameters

`-OutputPath`	Target directory for report files
`-ContinueOnError`	Skip errors per instance
`-CompareDatabases`	Compare at the database level too
`-WarnThresholdPct`	Disk-space warning threshold (default: 20%)
`-CriticalThresholdPct`	Critical threshold (default: 10%)
`-WarningThresholdDays`	Certificate warning (default: 90 days)
`-HistoryDays`	Time span for disk growth forecasting

Switching language

# Reports in English
Set-sqmConfig -Language 'en-US'
# Back to German
Set-sqmConfig -Language 'de-DE'

sqmSQLTool - Core module AlwaysOnSetup - AG setup SQLSetupTool - Base install SQLMigration - Database migration DeadlockCollector - Deadlock GUI

Hardware configuration

Get-sqmServerHardwareReport

A detailed hardware report via CIM/WMI — no PowerShell remoting required.

🖥

What gets captured

💻 Operating system	Version, build, uptime, domain
⚙ Processor	Model, socket, cores, clock speed
💾 Memory	Total, free, DIMM details (type, speed)
💿 Drives	Physical (SSD/HDD) + logical with utilization bars
🌐 Network	IP, MAC, DNS, gateway
🗄 SQL Server	Instances, status, startup type (no SQL login needed)
☁ VM detection	Hyper-V, VMware, VirtualBox, KVM/QEMU, physical

Output formats: `-OutputFormat`

HTML (dark theme) CSV (Excel import) TXT (readable) All (all 3)

Examples

# Local server, open HTML in the browser
Get-sqmServerHardwareReport

# Remote server, CSV for Excel
Get-sqmServerHardwareReport `
    -ComputerName "SQL01" `
    -OutputFormat CSV -NoOpen

# Multiple servers, every format
Get-sqmServerHardwareReport `
    -ComputerName "SQL01","SQL02","SQL03" `
    -OutputFormat All -NoOpen

# Pipeline from an AD OU
Get-ADComputer -SearchBase "OU=DB,DC=corp,DC=local" `
    -Filter '*' |
    Select-Object -ExpandProperty Name |
    Get-sqmServerHardwareReport `
        -OutputFormat All -NoOpen

HTML report — preview🖥 Hardware Report — SQL01 — Hyper-V
System
OSWindows Server 2022 Datacenter
RAM64 GB • 12% used
CPUIntel Xeon E5-2690 • 8 / 16 cores
Drives
C:\120 GB • 34% used
D:\2.0 TB • 41% used
L:\500 GB • 78% used
SQL Server
MSSQLSERVERRunning • Automatic

Summary

What your team gains

📋 For the ops manager

✓

Patch compliance at the push of a button

Always available: which instances are out of date, how urgent is the action needed?

✓

No surprises from disk shortages

The forecast gives 10+ days of lead time - enough for capacity planning without middle-of-the-night emergencies.

✓

Audit reports without DBA effort

Certificates, logins, configuration - all current on the share. The auditor helps themselves.

📊 For the team lead

✓

Faster onboarding

New colleagues get the current inventory report - no weeks of getting up to speed.

✓

Automated change verification

Compare-sqmServerConfiguration proves after every change that only the planned values changed.

✓

Migrations prepared safely

A planned-vs-actual comparison before every migration - no more forgotten settings on the target system.

report functions

Inventory, docs, patches, hardware, operations

manual steps after setup

CentralPath + scheduler = fully automatic

instances in parallel

Pipeline - scales to the entire estate

Inventory & Docs

What missing documentation costs

Staff turnover = lost knowledge

Audit: manual research

Incident: no baseline

Growing disk use, unnoticed

Four categories. One module.

Inventory

Database docs

Patch compliance

Operational reports

Invoke-sqmInstanceInventory

What gets captured

Call

Output files

Export-sqmDatabaseDocumentation

Content per database

HTML report layout

Call

Patch level at a glance

Call - every instance

What the ops manager gets

Compare-sqmServerConfiguration

Typical use cases

Reports for day-to-day operations

Disk forecasting

Autogrowth analysis

AG health report

Blocking report

Certificate expiry

SPN report

Every report. One place.

Configure once

What gets replicated automatically

Resulting folder structure (example)

Every instance. One call.

Recommended scheduler cadence

The simplest setup

Quick reference

Key parameters

Switching language

Get-sqmServerHardwareReport

What gets captured

Output formats: -OutputFormat

Examples

HTML report — preview

What your team gains

📋 For the ops manager

📊 For the team lead

Output formats: `-OutputFormat`