ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION (Transact-SQL)

Applies to: SQL Server

Modifies global configuration settings for the current server in SQL Server.

Transact-SQL syntax conventions

Syntax

ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION  
SET <optionspec>   
[;]  
  
<optionspec> ::=  
{  
     <process_affinity>  
   | <diagnostic_log>  
   | <failover_cluster_property>  
   | <hadr_cluster_context>  
   | <buffer_pool_extension>  
   | <soft_numa>  
   | <memory_optimized>
   | <hardware_offload>
   | <suspend_for_snapshot_backup>
}  
  
<process_affinity> ::=   
   PROCESS AFFINITY   
   {  
     CPU = { AUTO | <CPU_range_spec> }   
   | NUMANODE = <NUMA_node_range_spec>   
   }  
   <CPU_range_spec> ::=   
      { CPU_ID | CPU_ID  TO CPU_ID } [ ,...n ]   
  
   <NUMA_node_range_spec> ::=   
      { NUMA_node_ID | NUMA_node_ID TO NUMA_node_ID } [ ,...n ]  
  
<diagnostic_log> ::=   
   DIAGNOSTICS LOG   
   {   
     ON    
   | OFF    
   | PATH = { 'os_file_path' | DEFAULT }    
   | MAX_SIZE = { 'log_max_size' MB | DEFAULT }    
   | MAX_FILES = { 'max_file_count' | DEFAULT }    
   }  
  
<failover_cluster_property> ::=   
   FAILOVER CLUSTER PROPERTY <resource_property>  
   <resource_property> ::=  
      {  
        VerboseLogging = { 'logging_detail' | DEFAULT }    
      | SqlDumperDumpFlags = { 'dump_file_type' | DEFAULT }  
      | SqlDumperDumpPath = { 'os_file_path'| DEFAULT }  
      | SqlDumperDumpTimeOut = { 'dump_time-out' | DEFAULT }  
      | FailureConditionLevel = { 'failure_condition_level' | DEFAULT }  
      | HealthCheckTimeout = { 'health_check_time-out' | DEFAULT }  
      }  
  
<hadr_cluster_context> ::=  
   HADR CLUSTER CONTEXT = { 'remote_windows_cluster' | LOCAL }  
  
<buffer_pool_extension>::=  
    BUFFER POOL EXTENSION   
    { ON ( FILENAME = 'os_file_path_and_name' , SIZE = <size_spec> )   
    | OFF }  
  
    <size_spec> ::=  
        { size [ KB | MB | GB ] }  
  
<soft_numa> ::=  
    SOFTNUMA  
    { ON | OFF }  

<memory-optimized> ::=   
   MEMORY_OPTIMIZED   
   {   
     ON 
   | OFF
   | [ TEMPDB_METADATA = { ON [(RESOURCE_POOL='resource_pool_name')] | OFF }
   | [ HYBRID_BUFFER_POOL = { ON | OFF }
   }  

<hardware_offload> ::=
   HARDWARE_OFFLOAD
   {   
     ON 
   | OFF
   }

<suspend_for_snapshot_backup> ::=
    SET SUSPEND_FOR_SNAPSHOT_BACKUP = { ON | OFF } [ ( GROUP = ( <database>,...n) [ , MODE = COPY_ONLY ] ) ]

Note

To view Transact-SQL syntax for SQL Server 2014 (12.x) and earlier versions, see Previous versions documentation.

Arguments

<process_affinity> ::=

PROCESS AFFINITY
Enables hardware threads to be associated with CPUs.

CPU = { AUTO | <CPU_range_spec> }
Distributes SQL Server worker threads to each CPU within the specified range. CPUs outside the specified range won't have assigned threads.

AUTO
Specifies that no thread is assigned a CPU. The operating system can freely move threads among CPUs based on the server workload. This setting is the default and is recommended.

<CPU_range_spec> ::=
Specifies the CPU or range of CPUs to assign threads to.

{ CPU_ID | CPU_ID TO CPU_ID } [ ,...n ]
Is the list of one or more CPUs. CPU IDs begin at 0 and are integer values.

NUMANODE = <NUMA_node_range_spec>
Assigns threads to all CPUs that belong to the specified NUMA node or range of nodes.

<NUMA_node_range_spec> ::=
Specifies the NUMA node or range of NUMA nodes.

{ NUMA_node_ID | NUMA_node_ID TO NUMA_node_ID } [ ,...n ]
Is the list of one or more NUMA nodes. NUMA node IDs begin at 0 and are integer values.

<diagnostic_log> ::=

Applies to: SQL Server (starting with SQL Server 2012 (11.x)).

DIAGNOSTICS LOG
Starts or stops logging diagnostic data that the sp_server_diagnostics procedure captures. This argument also sets SQLDIAG log configuration parameters such as the log file rollover count, log file size, and file location. For more information, see View and Read Failover Cluster Instance Diagnostics Log.

ON
Starts SQL Server logging diagnostic data in the location specified in the PATH file option. This argument is the default.

OFF
Stops logging diagnostic data.

PATH = { 'os_file_path' | DEFAULT }
Path indicating the location of the diagnostic logs. The default location is <\MSSQL\Log> within the installation folder of the SQL Server failover cluster instance.

MAX_SIZE = { 'log_max_size' MB | DEFAULT }
Maximum size in megabytes to which each diagnostic log can grow. The default is 100 MB.

MAX_FILES = { 'max_file_count' | DEFAULT }
Maximum number of diagnostic log files that can be stored on the computer before they're recycled for new diagnostic logs.

<failover_cluster_property> ::=

Applies to: SQL Server (starting with SQL Server 2012 (11.x)).

FAILOVER CLUSTER PROPERTY
Modifies the SQL Server resource private failover cluster properties.

VERBOSE LOGGING = { 'logging_detail' | DEFAULT }
Sets the logging level for SQL Server Failover Clustering. It can be turned on to provide additional details in the error logs for troubleshooting.

  • 0 - Logging is turned off (default)

  • 1 - Errors only

  • 2 - Errors and warnings

In resource failover scenarios, the SQL Server resource DLL can obtain a dump file before a failover occurs. This applies to both FCI and Availability Group technologies. When the SQL Server resource DLL determines that a SQL Server resource has failed, the SQL Server resource DLL uses the Sqldumper.exe utility to obtain a dump file of the SQL Server process. To make sure that the Sqldumper.exe utility successfully generates the dump file upon resource failover, you must set the following three properties as prerequisites: SqlDumperDumpTimeOut, SqlDumperDumpPath, SqlDumperDumpFlags.

SQLDUMPEREDUMPFLAGS
Determines the type of dump files generated by SQL Server SQLDumper utility. The default setting is 0. Decimal, instead of hexadecimal, values are used for this setting. For mini dump use 288, for mini dump with indirect memory use 296, for filtered dump use 33024. For more information, see SQL Server Dumper Utility Knowledgebase article.

SQLDUMPERDUMPPATH = { 'os_file_path' | DEFAULT }
The location where the SQLDumper utility stores the dump files. For more information, see SQL Server Dumper Utility Knowledgebase article.

SQLDUMPERDUMPTIMEOUT = { 'dump_time-out' | DEFAULT }
The time-out value in milliseconds for the SQLDumper utility to generate a dump if a SQL Server failure occurs. The default value is 0, which means there's no time limit to complete the dump. For more information, see SQL Server Dumper Utility Knowledgebase article.

FAILURECONDITIONLEVEL = { 'failure_condition_level' | DEFAULT }
The conditions under which the SQL Server failover cluster instance should fail over or restart. The default value is 3, which means that the SQL Server resource will fail over or restart on critical server errors. For more information about this and other failure condition levels, see Configure FailureConditionLevel Property Settings.

HEALTHCHECKTIMEOUT = { 'health_check_time-out' | DEFAULT }
The time-out value for how long the SQL Server Database Engine resource DLL should wait for the server health information before it considers the instance of SQL Server as unresponsive. The time-out value is expressed in milliseconds. The default is 60,000 milliseconds (60 seconds).

<hadr_cluster_context> ::=

Applies to: SQL Server (starting with SQL Server 2012 (11.x)).

HADR CLUSTER CONTEXT = { 'remote_windows_cluster' | LOCAL }
Switches the HADR cluster context of the server instance to the specified Windows Server Failover Cluster (WSFC). The HADR cluster context determines what WSFC manages the metadata for availability replicas hosted by the server instance. Use the SET HADR CLUSTER CONTEXT option only during a cross-cluster migration of Always On availability groups to an instance of SQL Server 2012 SP1 (11.0.3x) or higher version on a new WSFC r.

You can switch the HADR cluster context only from the local WSFC to a remote WSFC. Then, you may choose to switch back from the remote WSFC to the local WSFC. The HADR cluster context can be switched to a remote cluster only when the instance of SQL Server isn't hosting any availability replicas.

A remote HADR cluster context can be switched back to the local cluster at any time. However, the context can't be switched again as long as the server instance is hosting any availability replicas.

To identify the destination cluster, specify one of the following values:

windows_cluster
The network name of a WSFC. You can specify either the short name or the full domain name. To find the target IP address of a short name, ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION uses DNS resolution. In some circumstances, a short name could cause confusion, and DNS could return the wrong IP address. We recommend that you specify the full domain name.

Note

A cross-cluster migration using this setting is no longer supported. To perform a cross-cluster migration, use a Distributed Availability Group or some other method such as log shipping.

LOCAL
The local WSFC.

For more information, see Change the HADR Cluster Context of Server Instance (SQL Server).

<buffer_pool_extension>::=

Applies to: SQL Server (starting with SQL Server 2014 (12.x)).

ON
Enables the buffer pool extension option. This option extends the size of the buffer pool by using nonvolatile storage. Nonvolatile storage such as solid-state drives (SSD) persist clean data pages in the pool. For more information about this feature, see Buffer Pool Extension.The buffer pool extension isn't available in every SQL Server edition. For more information, see Editions and supported features of SQL Server 2022.

FILENAME = 'os_file_path_and_name'
Defines the directory path and name of the buffer pool extension cache file. The file extension must be specified as .BPE. Turn off BUFFER POOL EXTENSION before you modify FILENAME.

SIZE = size [ KB | MB | GB ]
Defines the size of the cache. The default size specification is KB. The minimum size is the size of Max Server Memory. The maximum limit is 32 times the size of Max Server Memory. For more information about Max Server Memory, see sp_configure (Transact-SQL).

Turn off BUFFER POOL EXTENSION before you modify the size of the file. To specify a size that is smaller than the current size, the instance of SQL Server must be restarted to reclaim memory. Otherwise, the specified size must be the same as or larger than the current size.

OFF
Disables the buffer pool extension option. Disable the buffer pool extension option before you modify any associated parameters such as the size or name of the file. When this option is disabled, all related configuration information is removed from the registry.

Warning

Disabling the buffer pool extension might have a negative impact server performance because the buffer pool is significantly reduced in size.

<soft_numa>

Applies to: SQL Server (starting with SQL Server 2016 (13.x)).

ON
Enables automatic partitioning to split large NUMA hardware nodes into smaller NUMA nodes. Changing the running value requires a restart of the database engine.

OFF
Disables automatic software partitioning of large NUMA hardware nodes into smaller NUMA nodes. Changing the running value requires a restart of the database engine.

Warning

There are known issues with the behavior of the ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION statement with the SOFT NUMA option and SQL Server Agent. The following is the recommended sequence of operations:

  1. Stop the instance of SQL Server Agent.
  2. Execute your ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION SOFT NUMA option.
  3. Re-start the SQL Server instance.
  4. Start the instance of SQL Server Agent.

More Information: If you run the ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION with SET SOFTNUMA command before the SQL Server service restarts, then when the SQL Server Agent service stops, it runs a T-SQL RECONFIGURE command that reverts the SOFTNUMA settings back to what they were before the ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION.

<memory_optimized> ::=

Applies to: SQL Server (starting with SQL Server 2019 (15.x)).

ON
Enables all instance-level features that are part of the In-Memory Database feature family. This currently includes memory-optimized tempdb metadata and hybrid buffer pool. Requires a restart to take effect.

OFF
Disables all instance-level features that are part of the In-Memory Database feature family. Requires a restart to take effect.

TEMPDB_METADATA = ON | OFF
Enables or disables memory-optimized tempdb metadata only. Requires a restart to take effect.

RESOURCE_POOL='resource_pool_name'
When combined with TEMPDB_METADATA = ON, specifies the user-defined resource pool that should be used for tempdb. If not specified, tempdb will use the default pool. The pool must already exist. If the pool is not available when the service is restarted, tempdb will use the default pool.

HYBRID_BUFFER_POOL = ON | OFF
Enables or disables hybrid buffer pool at the instance level. Requires a restart to take effect.

<hardware_offload> ::=

Applies to: SQL Server (starting with SQL Server 2022 (16.x)).

ON
Enables the use of integrated acceleration and offloading for the instance. Requires restart.

OFF
Disables all instance-level use of integrated acceleration and offloading. Requires a restart to take effect.

For more information, see Integrated acceleration and offloading.

<suspend_for_snapshot_backup> ::=

Applies to: SQL Server (Starting with SQL Server 2022 (16.x))

Suspends databases for snapshot backup. May define a group of one or more databases. May designate copy only mode.

SET SUSPEND_FOR_SNAPSHOT_BACKUP = { ON | OFF }

Suspends, or un-suspends databases. Default OFF.

GROUP = ( <database>,...n)

Optional. Defines a group of one or more databases to suspend. If not specified, the setting applies to all databases.

MODE = COPY_ONLY

Optional. Uses COPY_ONLY mode for all database backups.

General Remarks

This statement doesn't require a restart of SQL Server, unless explicitly stated otherwise. If it's a SQL Server failover cluster instance, it doesn't require a restart of the SQL Server cluster resource.

Limitations and Restrictions

This statement doesn't support DDL triggers.

Permissions

Requires:

  • ALTER SETTINGS permissions for the process affinity option.
  • ALTER SETTINGS and VIEW SERVER STATE permissions for the diagnostic log and failover cluster property options.
  • CONTROL SERVER permission for the HADR cluster context option.
  • ALTER SERVER STATE permission for the buffer pool extension option.

The SQL Server Database Engine resource DLL runs under the Local System account. As such, the Local System account must have read and write access to the specified path in the Diagnostic Log option.

Examples

Category Featured syntax elements
Setting process affinity CPU • NUMANODE • AUTO
Setting diagnostic log options ON • OFF • PATH • MAX_SIZE
Setting failover cluster properties HealthCheckTimeout
Changing the cluster context of an availability replica ' windows_cluster '
Setting the buffer pool extension BUFFER POOL EXTENSION
Setting In-Memory Database options MEMORY_OPTIMIZED

Setting process affinity

The examples in this section show how to set process affinity to CPUs and NUMA nodes. The examples assume that the server contains 256 CPUs that are arranged into four groups of 16 NUMA nodes each. Threads aren't assigned to any NUMA node or CPU.

  • Group 0: NUMA nodes 0 through 3, CPUs 0 to 63
  • Group 1: NUMA nodes 4 through 7, CPUs 64 to 127
  • Group 2: NUMA nodes 8 through 12, CPUs 128 to 191
  • Group 3: NUMA nodes 13 through 16, CPUs 192 to 255

A. Setting affinity to all CPUs in groups 0 and 2

The following example sets affinity to all the CPUs in groups 0 and 2.

ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION   
SET PROCESS AFFINITY CPU=0 TO 63, 128 TO 191;  

B. Setting affinity to all CPUs in NUMA nodes 0 and 7

The following example sets the CPU affinity to nodes 0 and 7 only.

ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION   
SET PROCESS AFFINITY NUMANODE=0, 7;  

C. Setting affinity to CPUs 60 through 200

The following example sets affinity to CPUs 60 through 200.

ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION   
SET PROCESS AFFINITY CPU=60 TO 200;  

D. Setting affinity to CPU 0 on a system that has two CPUs

The following example sets the affinity to CPU=0 on a computer that has two CPUs. Before the following statement is executed, the internal affinity bitmask is 00.

ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION SET PROCESS AFFINITY CPU=0;  

E. Setting affinity to AUTO

The following example sets affinity to AUTO.

ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION  
SET PROCESS AFFINITY CPU=AUTO;  

Setting diagnostic log options

Applies to: SQL Server (starting with SQL Server 2012 (11.x)).

The examples in this section show how to set the values for the diagnostic log option.

A. Starting diagnostic logging

The following example starts the logging of diagnostic data.

ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION SET DIAGNOSTICS LOG ON;  

B. Stopping diagnostic logging

The following example stops the logging of diagnostic data.

ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION SET DIAGNOSTICS LOG OFF;  

C. Specifying the location of the diagnostic logs

The following example sets the location of the diagnostic logs to the specified file path.

ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION  
SET DIAGNOSTICS LOG PATH = 'C:\logs';  

D. Specifying the maximum size of each diagnostic log

The following example set the maximum size of each diagnostic log to 10 megabytes.

ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION   
SET DIAGNOSTICS LOG MAX_SIZE = 10 MB;  

Setting failover cluster properties

Applies to: SQL Server (starting with SQL Server 2012 (11.x)).

The following example illustrates setting the values of the SQL Server failover cluster resource properties.

A. Specifying the value for the HealthCheckTimeout property

The following example sets the HealthCheckTimeout option to 15,000 milliseconds (15 seconds).

ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION   
SET FAILOVER CLUSTER PROPERTY HealthCheckTimeout = 15000;  

B. Changing the cluster context of an availability replica

The following example changes the HADR cluster context of the instance of SQL Server. To specify the destination WSFC cluster, clus01, the example specifies the full cluster object name, clus01.xyz.com.

ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION SET HADR CLUSTER CONTEXT = 'clus01.xyz.com';  

Setting Buffer Pool Extension Options

A. Setting the buffer pool extension option

Applies to: SQL Server (starting with SQL Server 2014 (12.x)).

The following example enables the buffer pool extension option and specifies a file name and size.

ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION   
SET BUFFER POOL EXTENSION ON  
    (FILENAME = 'F:\SSDCACHE\Example.BPE', SIZE = 50 GB);  

B. Modifying buffer pool extension parameters

The following example modifies the size of a buffer pool extension file. The buffer pool extension option must be disabled before any of the parameters are modified.

ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION   
SET BUFFER POOL EXTENSION OFF;  
GO  
EXEC sp_configure 'max server memory (MB)', 12000;  
GO  
RECONFIGURE;  
GO  
ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION  
SET BUFFER POOL EXTENSION ON  
    (FILENAME = 'F:\SSDCACHE\Example.BPE', SIZE = 60 GB);  
GO   

Setting In-Memory Database Options

Applies to: SQL Server (starting with SQL Server 2019 (15.x)).

A. Enable all In-Memory Database features with default options

ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION SET MEMORY_OPTIMIZED ON;
GO

B. Enable memory-optimized tempdb metadata using the default resource pool

ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION SET MEMORY_OPTIMIZED TEMPDB_METADATA = ON;
GO

C. Enable memory-optimized tempdb metadata with a user-defined resource pool

ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION SET MEMORY_OPTIMIZED TEMPDB_METADATA = ON (RESOURCE_POOL = 'pool_name');
GO

D. Enable hybrid buffer pool

ALTER SERVER CONFIGURATION SET MEMORY_OPTIMIZED HYBRID_BUFFER_POOL = ON;
GO

See Also

Soft-NUMA (SQL Server)
Change the HADR Cluster Context of Server Instance (SQL Server)
sys.dm_os_schedulers (Transact-SQL)
sys.dm_os_memory_nodes (Transact-SQL)
sys.dm_os_buffer_pool_extension_configuration (Transact-SQL)
Buffer Pool Extension