Configuring the SQLServerAgent Service
SQLServerAgent is a Microsoft® Windows NT® 4.0 or Windows® 2000 service that executes jobs, monitors Microsoft SQL Server™, and fires alerts. SQLServerAgent is the service that allows you to automate some administrative tasks. As such, you must start the SQLServerAgent service before your local or multiserver administrative tasks can run automatically. SQL Server Agent is also supported on the Microsoft Windows 98 operating system, but SQL Server Agent cannot be used with Windows Authentication when run on Windows 98.
You can specify some configuration options for SQL Server Agent during SQL Server installation. The full set of configuration options is available from within SQL Server Enterprise Manager only.
Note You can click SQL Server Agent in the console tree of SQL Server Enterprise Manager to administer jobs, operators, alerts, and the SQL Server Agent service.