Online MSDN article "Execute Statements Against Multiple Servers Simultaneously (SQL Server Management Studio)" (SQL Server 2012) states:
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"Note
Before you execute the following procedures, create a Central Management Server and server groups. For more information, see Create a Central Management Server and Server Group (SQL Server Management Studio) "
Though, I removed any CMS (Central Management Server) instance and still getting the same results over multiple SQL Servers on 2 differing machines
Seems like I am failing to find in online MSDN the illustration of the sense (or points) of an SQL Server Central Management Server.
Can you provide me with some?
Best Answer
The main difference between Registered Servers and Central Management Servers is where the server list is stored, and who it can be used by. There's no functional difference in multi-server queries -- at that point, the query window is connected to servers, regardless of which of the two features you used to get there.
It's unclear why that text is a warning in the documentation; I think it's just an advisory that you need to set up a server list before following any of the instructions (or they'd have to fork the instructions for Registered Servers vs. CMS). I think it should include language that indicates using Registered Servers (aka local server groups) is also a possibility, but I can see why they did what they did to simplify the instructions.
If you're interested in learning more about this topic, I have a two-part video series on my blog that you may like: Part 1, Part 2