There is a multitude of data to be mined from within the Microsoft SQL Server system views. This data is used to present information back to the end user of the SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) and all third party management tools that are available for SQL Server Professionals. Be it database backup information, file statistics, indexing information, or one of the thousands of other metrics that the instance maintains, this data is readily available for direct querying and assimilation into your "home-grown" monitoring solutions as well. This tip focuses on that first metric: database backup information.
