What’s the issue?
SQL Server Agent can alert on critical errors, but these alerts are not configured by default. Severity 19-25 covers fatal errors ranging from resource failures to hardware issues and data corruption. Errors 823 (I/O request failure), 824 (logical consistency error), and 825 (read retry required) specifically indicate storage subsystem problems.
Why is this a problem?
These errors are the earliest warning signs of corruption and hardware failure. Error 825 especially — a read that only succeeded on retry — gives you a window to act before full corruption hits. Without alerts, these events sit quietly in the error log, often unnoticed until corruption has spread into backups.
What should you do about this?
Ensure SQL Server Agent runs automatically. Create alerts for severities 19-25 and errors 823, 824, and 825, and consider using SQL Mail or some application that reads the SQL Error to notify you when these alerts occur. Script the configuration with sp_add_alert and sp_add_notification so it can be deployed consistently across all instances and added to your standard server build.
Read more…
SQL Server Health Check Worst Offenders – SQL Server Consulting – Straight Path Solutions