PerformanceTuning•Chapter13 587 Management Data Warehouse The Management Data Warehouse (MDW) is the relational database used to store the data collected from the monitored servers (data collection targets). The MDW is just a normal relational database hosted on SQL Server 2008 that needs to be configured by the Administrator before data collection can begin. The MDW can be used to capture data from the same instance, or from remote instances. In many deployment scenarios, it is intended that MDW is used as an enterprisewide repository for system and custom collection sets from many target servers. The management reports are produced using the data stored in the MDW. Configuring MDW The MDW must be set up prior to data collection being configured since the MDW must be supplied as the target for data collection. To launch the MDW configuration wizard within Management Studio, within the Management folder, right-click Data Collection and choose Configure Management Data Warehouse as shown in Figure 13.8. Figure 13.8 Launch the Wizard to Configure Management Data Warehouse 588 Chapter13•PerformanceTuning Launching the configuration wizard, the first screen displays a Welcome notice. Click Next to continue, as shown in Figure 13.9. Figure 13.9 Welcome Screen for Data Management Warehouse The next step in the wizard is to select either to Create or upgrade a MDW or to Set up data collection. Since data collection requires an MDW, it should be set up first. As shown in Figure 13.10, verify Configure or upgrade a management data warehouse, then click Next. PerformanceTuning•Chapter13 589 Next, the wizard requests details of the database to be used as the MDW. In most cases, we’ll need to create a new database to use for this purpose; otherwise, choose an existing database from the drop-down list. Click the New button to create a new database (shown in Figure 13.11). Figure 13.10 Select Configure or Upgrade an MDW to Set Up the MDW 590 Chapter13•PerformanceTuning Configure the new database by entering a database name and configuring the locations for data and log files, if necessary (see Figure 13.12). It’s worth mentioning that by default the MDW creates the new database in SIMPLE recovery mode, meaning transaction log management is not necessary. Administrators requiring point-in-time recovery for the MDW should change the database to FULL recovery mode and take regular transaction log backups. Figure 13.11 Configure the Database to Use as MDW PerformanceTuning•Chapter13 591 The next step in the MDW process is security configuration, where it is possible to map database users to MDW roles (see Figure 13.13). Figure 13.12 Configure the Name and Location for the MDW Database . 587 Management Data Warehouse The Management Data Warehouse (MDW) is the relational database used to store the data collected from the monitored servers (data collection targets). The MDW is just a normal. relational database hosted on SQL Server 2008 that needs to be configured by the Administrator before data collection can begin. The MDW can be used to capture data from the same instance, or from. many target servers. The management reports are produced using the data stored in the MDW. Configuring MDW The MDW must be set up prior to data collection being configured since the MDW must