Data Monitoring / SQL Server Availability & Capacity
SQL Server: SQL Agent job failures
A nightly job fails after its first step succeeds. Inspect step-level history, retry behavior and downstream dependencies.
Environment and inputs: SQL Server operational monitoring; availability groups, SQL Agent and host-level metrics depend on edition, service and deployment.
Failure scenario
A nightly job fails after its first step succeeds. Confirm the cause before choosing a fix.
Evidence to collect
Inspect step-level history, retry behavior and downstream dependencies. Record the time, affected scope and a healthy comparison interval.
Fix the confirmed cause
Repair the failing step and verify that a rerun is safe before replaying completed work. Write the expected result first. Change one relevant setting at a time.
Check the result and hand over
Repeat the check for sql agent job failures using the same scope and a representative interval. Check that the symptom is resolved, expected records are present and downstream results are correct. If coverage, correctness or latency worsens, restore the recorded configuration through the agreed rollback process.
Scope and precautions
Prefer read-only access and limit queries to the relevant period or dataset. This example has not been tested on your systems. Test changes in an approved environment. Keep credentials and sensitive data out of shared evidence.