Over the next few weeks I will be presenting here for your learning SQL Server Auditing, as I learn it.  I have never been called upon to use the auditing features in any production SQL Server environments strangely enough.  I have known about the capabilities but never really been in a position to advocate for or against them.

Let us start our journey with some limitations.  Auditing uses SQL Server resources, albeit less than trace-based auditing.  This may or may not be a big deal depending upon how busy the server is.  Another limitation is the fact that auditing in limited at the instance level.  There is no easy way to manage auditing on multiple servers from a central location.  There is also no built-in reporting for auditing and the data is stored in a file or OS event logs.  You can however, load that data into a database and create your own reports.

Enjoy!