I threw together a SProc for returning useful information about long running operations for SQL Server 2005+ and thought I’d share it. The procedure uses the dynamic management objects, dm_exec_requests, dm_exec_connections, dm_exec_sessions, and dm_exec_sql_text to tell you how much longer you may have to wait on processes that SQL Server categorizes as “long running”. Typically I use this SP to find out how much longer a backup or a restore process is going to take. And it’s usually within a few minutes of being correct, so it’s worlds better than starting a restore on a SQL 2000 box and just telling everyone it will be done when it’s done and there’s little way to tell other than experience. 
Download the code:
Let me know what you think…
-Patrick