Microsoft SQL Server extension

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  • Extension

Improve the health and performance monitoring of your Microsoft SQL Servers.

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Overview

Monitor Microsoft SQL Server health and performance with Dynatrace extension.

Microsoft SQL Server database monitoring is based on a remote monitoring approach implemented as a Dynatrace ActiveGate extension. The extension queries MS SQL databases for key performance and health metrics, extending your visibility, and allowing Dynatrace Intelligence to provide anomaly detection and problem analysis.

Use cases

  • Understand the impact that resource shortages, locks, or other database issues have on your application by observing the database server itself.
  • Track the health and performance of the Microsoft SQL Server servers.

Requirements

  • Designate an ActiveGate group or groups that will remotely connect to your Microsoft SQL Database server to pull data. All ActiveGates in each group must connect to your Microsoft SQL Database server.
  • A corresponding set of SQL Server types supports each available feature set. For details on the individual permissions that must be granted to the extension user for each feature set, see the Views and tables involved section and the granular permission details for each system view provided below.

Supported systems and involved system views per feature set

default

Supported on:

  • Microsoft SQL Server (all versions)
  • Azure SQL Database
  • Azure SQL Managed Instance
  • Azure Synapse Analytics
  • Analytics Platform System (PDW)

Views and tables involved:

  • sys.dm_os_sys_info
  • sys.dm_os_performance_counters
  • sys.databases
Memory

Supported on:

  • Microsoft SQL Server (all versions)
  • Azure SQL Database
  • Azure SQL Managed Instance
  • Azure Synapse Analytics
  • Analytics Platform System (PDW)

Views and tables involved:

  • sys.dm_os_performance_counters
Locks

Supported on:

  • Microsoft SQL Server (all versions)
  • Azure SQL Database
  • Azure SQL Managed Instance
  • Azure Synapse Analytics
  • Analytics Platform System (PDW)

Views and tables involved:

  • sys.dm_os_performance_counters
Latches

Supported on:

  • Microsoft SQL Server (all versions)
  • Azure SQL Database
  • Azure SQL Managed Instance
  • Azure Synapse Analytics
  • Analytics Platform System (PDW)

Views and tables involved:

  • sys.dm_os_performance_counters
Queries

  • Monitor query performance stats

    Supported on:

    • SQL Server (all versions)

    Involved views and tables:

    • sys.dm_os_performance_counters

  • Monitor top longest queries

    Supported on:

    • SQL Server (2016 and later)
    • Azure SQL Database
    • Azure SQL Managed Instance
    • Azure Synapse Analytics

    Involved views and tables:

    • sys.query_store_runtime_stats
    • sys.query_store_plan
    • sys.query_store_query
    • sys.query_store_query_text
Replication

Supported on:

  • Microsoft SQL Server (all versions)
  • Azure SQL Database
  • Azure SQL Managed Instance
  • Azure Synapse Analytics
  • Analytics Platform System (PDW)

Involved views and tables:

  • sys.dm_os_performance_counters
Sessions

Supported on:

  • Microsoft SQL Server (all versions)
  • Azure SQL Database
  • Azure SQL Managed Instance
  • Azure Synapse Analytics
  • Analytics Platform System (PDW)
  • SQL analytics endpoint in Microsoft Fabric
  • Warehouse in Microsoft Fabric

Involved views and tables:

  • sys.dm_exec_sessions
Transaction logs

Supported on:

  • Microsoft SQL Server (all versions)
  • Azure SQL Database
  • Azure SQL Managed Instance
  • Azure Synapse Analytics
  • Analytics Platform System (PDW)

Involved views and tables:

  • sys.dm_os_performance_counters
Backups

  • Monitor the age of the latest backup and individual backups per database

    Supported on:

    • SQL Server (all versions)
    • Azure SQL Managed Instance

    Involved views and tables:

    • sys.databases
    • msdb.dbo.backupset
    • msdb.dbo.backupmediafamily
    • msdb.dbo.backupmediaset

  • Monitor backup file size per database

    Supported on:

    • SQL Server (all versions)

    Involved views and tables:

    • sys.databases
    • msdb.dbo.backupset
    • msdb.dbo.backupmediafamily
    • msdb.dbo.backupmediaset
    • msdb.dbo.backupfile
    • sys.master_files

  • Monitoring individual Azure SQL Database backups

    Supported on:

    • Azure SQL Database

    Involved views and tables:

    • sys.db_database_backups
Database files

  • Monitor database file stats

    Supported on:

    • SQL Server (all versions)
    • Azure SQL Managed Instance
    • Analytics Platform System (PDW)

    Involved views and tables:

    • sys.master_files

  • Monitoring the largest database files on Azure SQL Database

    Supported on:

    • Azure SQL Database

    Involved views and tables:

    • sys.database_files

  • Monitoring the largest database files on other SQL Server types

    Supported on:

    • SQL Server (all versions)
    • Azure SQL Managed Instance
    • Analytics Platform System (PDW)

    Involved views and tables:

    • sys.master_files
Always On

Supported on:

  • SQL Server (2016 and later)

Involved views and tables:

  • sys.availability_groups
  • sys.availability_replicas
  • sys.availability_databases_cluster
  • sys.dm_hadr_availability_group_states
  • sys.dm_hadr_availability_replica_states
  • sys.dm_hadr_database_replica_states
Jobs

Supported on:

  • SQL Server (all versions)

Involved views and tables:

  • msdb.dbo.sysjobs
  • msdb.dbo.sysjobsteps
  • msdb.dbo.sysjobhistory
  • msdb.dbo.sysjobservers
  • msdb.dbo.sysjobactivity
  • msdb.dbo.systargetservers
  • msdb.dbo.syscategories

Required permissions:

Specific permissions required per system view

sys.dm_os_sys_info
  • Microsoft SQL Server (2022 and later)
    • VIEW SERVER PERFORMANCE STATE permission.
  • Microsoft SQL Server (up to 2019)
    • VIEW SERVER STATE permission.
  • Azure SQL Database (Basic, S0, S1 service objectives and for databases in elastic pools)
  • Azure SQL Database (All other service objectives)
    • VIEW DATABASE STATE permission on the database; or
    • ##MS_ServerStateReader## server role.
  • Azure SQL Managed Instance
    • VIEW SERVER STATE permission.
sys.dm_os_performance_counters
  • Microsoft SQL Server (2022 and later)
    • VIEW SERVER PERFORMANCE STATE permission.
  • Microsoft SQL Server (up to 2019)
    • VIEW SERVER STATE permission.
  • Azure SQL Database (Basic, S0, S1 service objectives and for databases in elastic pools)
  • Azure SQL Database (All other service objectives)
    • VIEW DATABASE STATE permission on the database; or
    • ##MS_ServerStateReader## server role.
  • Azure SQL Managed Instance
    • VIEW SERVER STATE permission.
sys.databases
  • Azure SQL Database
    • Connect to master database for all databases to be visible.
    • When connecting to a user database, only the current database and the master database are visible.
  • Other supported types of SQL Server
    • To see just the database extension is connected to:
      • No additional permissions are required.
    • To see all ONLINE databases:
      • VIEW ANY DATABASE (default permission for the public role)
    • To see all OFFLINE databases as well:
      • ALTER ANY DATABASE on server level; or
      • CREATE DATABASE permission in the master database.
sys.query_store_runtime_stats
  • All supported types of SQL Server
    • VIEW DATABASE STATE permission.
sys.query_store_plan
  • All supported types of SQL Server
    • VIEW DATABASE STATE permission.
sys.query_store_query
  • All supported types of SQL Server
    • VIEW DATABASE STATE permission.
sys.query_store_query_text
  • All supported types of SQL Server
    • VIEW DATABASE STATE permission.
sys.dm_exec_sessions
  • To see the sessions of the user extension connects with:
    • No additional permissions are required.
  • To see all sessions within the database extension is connected to:
    • VIEW DATABASE STATE permission.
  • To see all sessions on the server:
    • SQL Server (2022 and later)
      • VIEW SERVER PERFORMANCE STATE permission.
    • Microsoft SQL Server (up to 2019)
      • VIEW SERVER STATE permission.
msdb.dbo.backupset
  • Available as read-only to any user with public level access to the instance.
msdb.dbo.backupfile
  • Available as read-only to any user with public level access to the instance.
msdb.dbo.backupmediafamily
  • Available as read-only to any user with public level access to the instance.
msdb.dbo.backupmediaset
  • Available as read-only to any user with public level access to the instance.
sys.master_files
  • All supported types of SQL Server:
    • VIEW ANY DEFINITION; or
    • CREATE DATABASE; or
    • ALTER ANY DATABASE.
sys.database_files
sys.availability_groups
  • All supported types of SQL Server:
    • VIEW ANY DEFINITION permission.
sys.availability_replicas
  • All supported types of SQL Server:
    • VIEW ANY DEFINITION permission.
sys.availability_databases_cluster
  • All supported types of SQL Server:
    • If the user with which extension makes the calls is the owner of the database, no additional permissions are required.
    • Otherwise:
      • VIEW ANY DATABASE; or
      • ALTER ANY DATABASE; or
      • CREATE DATABASE permission in master is required.
sys.dm_hadr_availability_group_states
  • SQL Server (2022 and later)
    • VIEW SERVER PERFORMANCE STATE permission.
  • SQL Server (up to 2019)
    • VIEW SERVER STATE permission.
sys.dm_hadr_availability_replica_states
  • SQL Server (2022 and later)
    • VIEW SERVER PERFORMANCE STATE permission.
  • SQL Server (up to 2019)
    • VIEW SERVER STATE permission.
sys.dm_hadr_database_replica_states
  • SQL Server (2022 and later)
    • VIEW SERVER PERFORMANCE STATE permission.
  • SQL Server (up to 2019)
    • VIEW SERVER STATE permission.
sys.db_database_backups
  • Azure SQL Database (Basic, S0, S1 service objectives and for databases in elastic pools)
  • Azure SQL Database (All other service objectives)
    • VIEW DATABASE STATE permission on the database; or
    • ##MS_ServerStateReader## server role.

Compatibility information

Supported types of SQL Server

Supported types of Microsoft SQL Server

  • Microsoft SQL Server (editions: Enterprise, Standard, Developer, Web, Express) on Windows servers
  • Azure SQL Database
  • Azure SQL Managed Instance

The extension is reported to work with other types of SQL Server, such as AWS RDS or SQL Server on Linux, but they're not officially supported.

Supported types of HA or replication

  • Always On

Other types of replication and HA monitoring, including the publisher/subscriber model, are not supported yet.

Supported versions of SQL Server

This extension supports any version of SQL Server with active extended support by Microsoft. See the official Microsoft documentation about lifecycle dates for SQL Server.

Simultaneous use of different versions of extension

  • Running two or more different versions of the extension against the same SQL Server is not supported.
  • Running different major versions (for example, version 1 and version 2) of the extension on the same tenant is highly discouraged and is not supported. This breaks the topology model.

Compatibility with OneAgent

  • In order for SQL Server Instance entity to be linked to the Host entity, they must share the same IP address. If the monitoring configuration for SQL Server is configured with a different IP address, the two instances will not be linked with each other.

Activation and setup

Follow these steps to configure your device for Microsoft SQL Server database monitoring.

Add DB instance

  1. Go to Dynatrace Hub Hub.

  2. Select and install Microsoft SQL Server extension. This enables the extension in your monitoring environment.

    • Required permission: Change monitoring settings

  3. Select Add DB Instance in the Databases Databases. This opens the Add DB Instance wizard.

  4. Select Microsoft SQL Server section in the wizard.

Select hosting type

Select a hosting type from the options. This choice determines which script generates the necessary database objects later in the process.

  1. From the Add DB Instance wizard, select the host type that matches your requirement.
  2. Select Next.

Select ActiveGate group

  1. Select the ActiveGate group to determine which ActiveGates will run the extension.
  2. Select Next step.

Create a connection

Set up the connection to your database instance. Provide the required credentials directly in the wizard or use secure alternatives:

  1. Name the connection, so you can identify it later.
  2. Add the details in the Configure connection section.
    1. Select connection. Use Select from existing hosts or Enter manually to add connection details.
    2. Add Database name
  3. Provide the Authenticate credentials for the dynatrace monitoring user you have created directly or use secure alternatives.
    • Basic credentials: Authentication details passed to Dynatrace when activating monitoring configuration are masked to prevent them from being retrieved.
    • Credential vault: Use vault credentials to securely store and retrieve database credentials.
    • You can enable SSL to establish a secure connection for your configuration.
  4. Select Next.

Install instance

  1. Add manual configurations based on the monitoring requirements.
  2. Select Create DB instance monitoring.

You can enable log monitoring to activate extension status logs. It allows monitoring of the longest running queries and the largest database files.

Details

Licensing and cost

DDUs are consumed at 0.001 DDU from your available quota for each ingested data point. Each enabled feature set increases DDU consumption. The "default" feature set cannot be turned off.

DDU consumption for each metric (per hour) is calculated as follows: number of unique associated entities * retrieval frequency per hour * 0.001 DDUs per data point

Example:

  • Metric: sql-server.databases.backup.size
  • Associated entity: SQL Server Database
  • Number of unique associated entities:
    • Let's assume we monitor 2 instances with 20 databases in each.
    • Therefore, there are 2 (SQL Server Instances) * 20 (SQL Server Databases in each) = 40 unique databases in total.
  • Retrieval frequency per hour: 60 (metric is retrieved every minute).
  • Total DDU consumption for this metric over the environment (per hour): 40 * 60 * 0.001 = 2.4 DDUs.
  • Total DDU consumption for this metric over the environment (per year): 2.4 * 24 * 365 = 21,024 DDUs.

Breaking changes

  • v2.7.0:
    • If you're not on ActiveGate 1.303 and newer, your monitoring configurations will error upon running.
  • v2.0.0:
    • All monitoring configurations need to be recreated because of a change in feature sets.
    • The instance dimension now only contains the name of the actual named instance or MSSQLSERVER by default.
    • The hoursSinceBackup metric is removed and replaced by sql-server.databases.backup.age.
  • v1.2.0:
    • When updating monitoring configurations to version 1.2.0+, feature sets need to be enabled for the monitoring to continue.

DQL and Logs

Top queries

How to enable?

You can enable a collection of top queries ordered by total duration using the Queries feature set.

Prerequisites
  • Query Store must be enabled on the SQL Server instance.
  • The database from which queries are collected is determined by:
    • Explicit database name specified in the endpoint for monitoring configuration; or
    • Default database configured for the connected user.
How often is the information updated?

Top queries are fetched by the extension every 5 minutes.

How to list top queries?

The following query, when executed in Logs and Events, displays top queries as observed within the most recent 5-minute timeframe using DQL:

fetch logs, from:now()-60m
| filter matchesValue(dt.extension.name, "com.dynatrace.extension.sql-server")
| filter matchesValue(event.group, "longest_queries")
| fields total_duration, avg_duration, content, server, instance, num_executions, query_plan
| sort asDouble(total_duration) desc

Description of fields:

  • total_duration field represents a sum of all executions of this query over the given 5-minute timeframe in seconds.
  • avg_duration represents the average execution time of this query of the given 5-minute timeframe in seconds.
  • content field contains the SQL text of the query.

On Managed tenants: log records can be retrieved by filtering logs using two attributes:

  • dt.extension.name: com.dynatrace.extension.sql-server; and
  • event.group: longest_queries.

Largest files

How to enable?

You can enable collection of the largest database files by size using the Database files feature set.

How often is the information updated?

Top database files by size are fetched by the extension every 5 minutes.

How to list the largest database files by size?

The following query, when executed in Logs and Events, displays the largest database files as observed within the most recent 5-minute timeframe by size using DQL:

fetch logs, from:now()-5m
| filter matchesValue(dt.extension.name, "com.dynatrace.extension.sql-server")
| filter matchesValue(event.group, "largest_files")
| fields content, file_size, file_type_desc, file_state_desc, database, server, instance, file_used_space, file_empty_space
| sort asDouble(file_size) desc

Description of fields:

  • content field represents the physical name of the file as handled by the host OS.
  • file_size is reported in KB.
  • file_used_space is reported in KB and represents the amount of space occupied by allocated pages within a specific file.
  • file_empty_space is reported in KB and represents the amount of space that is still empty within a specific file.

On Managed tenants: log records can be retrieved by filtering logs using two attributes:

  • dt.extension.name: com.dynatrace.extension.sql-server; and
  • event.group: largest_files.

Current jobs

How to enable?

You can enable monitoring of current jobs using the Jobs feature set.

How often is the information updated?

Current jobs are fetched by the extension every 5 minutes.

How to list current jobs?

The following query, when executed in Logs and Events, displays current jobs as observed within the most recent 5-minute timeframe using DQL:

fetch logs, from:now()-5m
| filter matchesValue(dt.extension.name, "com.dynatrace.extension.sql-server")
| filter matchesValue(event.group, "current_jobs")
| fields job_name, job_status, content, enabled, last_run_outcome, duration, instance, server, start_execution_date, stop_execution_date, job_category, category_name
| sort asDouble(duration) desc

Description of fields:

  • content field represents the last execution outcome message.
  • job_status and last_run_outcome are identical, except for two situations:
    • When the job was not executed yet, the job_status equals Idle.
    • When the job is currently being executed, the job_status equals In Progress.
  • duration represents complete job duration in seconds after execution is finished.
  • category_id represents the category id of the job.
  • category_name represents the Name assigned to the category id.

On Managed tenants: log records can be retrieved by filtering logs using 2 attributes

  • dt.extension.name: com.dynatrace.extension.sql-server; and
  • event.group: current_jobs.

Failed jobs

How to enable?

Monitoring of failed jobs can be enabled using the Jobs feature set.

How often is the information updated?

Failed jobs are fetched by extension every 5 minutes.

How to list failed jobs?

The query below, when executed in Logs and Events, displays failed jobs, as observed within the most recent 5-minute timeframe, using DQL:

fetch logs, from:now()-5m
| filter matchesValue(dt.extension.name, "com.dynatrace.extension.sql-server")
| filter matchesValue(event.group, "failed_jobs")
| fields job_name, step_name, outcome, content, duration, instance, server, sql_severity, retries_attempted, start_execution_date, stop_execution_date
| sort stop_execution_date desc

Description of fields:

  • content field represents the message of the last executed step and usually contains the error.
  • outcome represents the final job status message as composed by SQL Server Agent.
  • duration represents the complete job duration in seconds after execution is finished.

On Managed tenants: log records can be retrieved by filtering logs using two attributes:

  • dt.extension.name: com.dynatrace.extension.sql-server; and
  • event.group: failed_jobs.

Feature Sets

default

  • sql-server.memory.target
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.memory.physical
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.databases.state
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Database
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Databases in environment * 60
  • sql-server.uptime
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 12 times per hour (every 5 minutes)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 12
  • sql-server.databases.transactions.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Database
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Databases in environment * 60
  • sql-server.memory.total
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.cpu.kernelTime.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.general.userConnections
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.general.processesBlocked
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.general.logins.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.cpu.userTime.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.memory.virtual
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.host.cpus
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Host
    • Frequency: 12 times per hour (every 5 minutes)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Hosts in environment * 12

Always On

  • sql-server.always-on.ag.secondaryRecoveryHealth
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Availability Group
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Availability Groups in environment * 60
  • sql-server.always-on.ag.primaryRecoveryHealth
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Availability Group
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Availability Groups in environment * 60
  • sql-server.always-on.ar.failoverMode
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Availability Replica
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Availability Replicas in environment * 60
  • sql-server.always-on.ag.synchronizationHealth
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Availability Group
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Availability Groups in environment * 60
  • sql-server.always-on.ar.operationalState
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Availability Replica
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Availability Replicas in environment * 60
  • sql-server.always-on.ar.connectedState
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Availability Replica
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Availability Replicas in environment * 60
  • sql-server.always-on.db.filestreamSendRate
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Availability Database
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Availability Databases in environment * 60
  • sql-server.always-on.db.state
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Availability Database
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Availability Databases in environment * 60
  • sql-server.always-on.db.synchronizationHealth
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Availability Database
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Availability Databases in environment * 60
  • sql-server.always-on.db.logSendQueueSize
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Availability Database
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Availability Databases in environment * 60
  • sql-server.always-on.ar.role
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Availability Replica
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Availability Replicas in environment * 60
  • sql-server.always-on.db.synchronizationState
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Availability Database
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Availability Databases in environment * 60
  • sql-server.always-on.db.redoRate
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Availability Database
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Availability Databases in environment * 60
  • sql-server.always-on.db.redoQueueSize
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Availability Database
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Availability Databases in environment * 60
  • sql-server.always-on.ar.synchronizationHealth
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Availability Replica
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Availability Replicas in environment * 60
  • sql-server.always-on.db.logSendRate
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Availability Database
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Availability Databases in environment * 60
  • sql-server.always-on.ar.availabilityMode
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Availability Replica
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Availability Replicas in environment * 60
  • sql-server.always-on.ag.automatedBackupPreference
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Availability Group
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Availability Groups in environment * 60
  • sql-server.always-on.ar.isLocal
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Availability Replica
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Availability Replicas in environment * 60
  • sql-server.always-on.ar.recoveryHealth
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Availability Replica
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Availability Replicas in environment * 60

Backups

  • sql-server.databases.backup.age
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Database
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Databases in environment * 60
  • sql-server.databases.backup.size
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Database
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Databases in environment * 60

Database files

  • sql-server.databases.file.emptySpace
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Database
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Databases in environment * 60
  • sql-server.databases.file.size
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Database
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Databases in environment * 60
  • sql-server.databases.file.usedSpace
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Database
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Databases in environment * 60
  • largest_files
    • Associated Entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 12 times per hour (Every 5 minutes)
    • Data points per hour: Up to 100 (num of files) * 12 * avg log size

Latches

  • sql-server.latches.waits.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.latches.averageWaitTime.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60

Locks

  • sql-server.locks.timeouts.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.locks.waits.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.locks.waitTime.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.locks.deadlocks.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60

Memory

  • sql-server.buffers.checkpointPages.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.memory.grantsOutstanding
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.memory.connection
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.buffers.pageWrites.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.buffers.pageLifeExpectancy
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.memory.grantsPending
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.buffers.cacheHitRatio
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.buffers.freeListStalls.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.buffers.pageReads.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60

Queries

  • sql-server.sql.recompilations.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.sql.compilations.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.sql.batchRequests.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • longest_queries
    • Associated Entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 12 times per hour (Every 5 minutes)
    • Data points per hour: Up to 100 (num of queries) * 12 * avg log size
  • instance_locks_wait_time_type
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60

Replication

  • sql-server.replica.bytesSentToTransport.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.replica.sends.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.replica.sendsToTransport.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.replica.bytesReceived.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.replica.bytesSent.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.replica.resentMessages.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60
  • sql-server.replica.receives.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60

Sessions

  • sql-server.sessions
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Instances in environment * 60

Transaction logs

  • sql-server.databases.log.flushWaits.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Database
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Databases in environment * 60
  • sql-server.databases.log.filesUsedSize
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Database
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Databases in environment * 60
  • sql-server.databases.log.growths.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Database
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Databases in environment * 60
  • sql-server.databases.log.truncations.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Database
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Databases in environment * 60
  • sql-server.databases.log.shrinks.count
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Database
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Databases in environment * 60
  • sql-server.databases.log.filesSize
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Database
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Databases in environment * 60
  • sql-server.databases.log.percentUsed
    • Associated entity: SQL Server Database
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: number of SQL Server Databases in environment * 60

Jobs

  • current_jobs
    • Associated Entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 12 times per hour (Every 5 minutes)
    • Data points per hour: Number of currently enabled jobs * 12 * avg log size
  • failed_jobs
    • Associated Entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 12 times per hour (Every 5 minutes)
    • Data points per hour: top 100 failed jobs * 12 * avg log size

Locks and waits

  • all_requests

    • Associated Entity: SQL Server Instance
    • Frequency: 60 times per hour (Every 1 minute)
    • Data points per hour: avg Number of active requests * 60 * avg log size

  • note on current_jobs, failed_jobs, longest_queries, all_requests, and largest_files: These metrics are based on Log data. As every environment is different, the calculation needs to be estimated on the client side. Then calculate the data size ingested. Currently, 100 DDUs are consumed per GB ingested. See the DDU consumption model for Log Management and Analytics in the documentation. If you're on Log Monitoring Classic, each log record (line, message, entry) deducts 0.005 DDU from your available quota. See the DDUs for Log Monitoring Classic in the documentation.

Limitations

Aggregated metrics for database files

The two metrics below

  • sql-server.databases.file.usedSpace
  • sql-server.databases.file.emptySpace

are only reported for the database the extension is currently connected to. This is due to sys.allocation_units only containing information about used pages of the database that are currently used inside the connection.

Top busiest queries

  • Top queries are only collected for a single database.
  • Top queries cannot be collected for the master database (limitation of SQL Server itself).

Azure backups

Azure backups are monitored by querying the sys.db_database_backups view, which is currently available for all Azure SQL Database service tiers except Hyperscaler.

Always On

To obtain information about every replica in a given availability group, connect the extension to the server instance that is hosting the primary replica. When connected to a server instance that is hosting a secondary replica of an availability group, the extension returns only local information for the availability group.

When connected to a secondary replica, the extension retrieves the states of every secondary database on the server instance. On the primary replica, the extension returns data for each primary database and for the corresponding secondary database.

Depending on the action and higher-level states, database-state information may be unavailable or out of date. Furthermore, the values have only local relevance. See limitations of sys.dm_hadr_database_replica_states.

When a database is added to an availability group, the primary database is automatically joined to the group. Secondary databases must be manually prepared on each secondary replica before they can be joined to the availability group.

If the local server instance cannot communicate with the WSFC failover cluster (for example, because the cluster is down or quorum has been lost), only rows for local availability replicas are returned. These rows contain only the columns of data that are cached locally in metadata.

FAQ

How does the extension affect the target database?
  • The extension only executes SELECT queries to obtain monitoring data. The database is never modified or locked.
  • The extension only queries sys.* system views and msdb database (when applicable). User databases and objects are never affected.
  • All executed queries are static and are cached within the target database after their first execution.
  • Even with all feature sets enabled, the effect the extension has on each target database is negligible.
How to size ActiveGates for this extension?
  • Each monitoring configuration is automatically assigned to an ActiveGate within the assigned ActiveGate group.
  • All of the endpoints within a single monitoring configuration are executed on a single ActiveGate.
  • Failover migration of the monitoring configuration is automatically performed when an ActiveGate is brought down. Migration is only performed within a single ActiveGate group.
  • Each monitoring configuration can handle hundreds of active endpoints simultaneously on a single ActiveGate with 2vCPU and 4GiB RAM.
  • The number of monitoring configurations that can be created is limited. It is much more performance and resource-efficient to have many endpoints inside a monitoring configuration instead of creating too many monitoring configurations.
Are there any special considerations when monitoring Always On clusters?
  • It is recommended to create two distinct monitoring configurations when monitoring an Always On cluster:
    • First monitoring configuration with only the "Always On" feature set enabled and connected exclusively to primary replicas within the cluster.
    • Second monitoring configuration with every feature set enabled except for "Always On" (disabled within the second monitoring configuration), with a connection to all instances within the cluster.
    • This configuration will ensure that full infrastructure observability is enabled for every instance within the cluster while the data related to Always On is reliably collected from the primary replicas.
  • It is recommended to create a separate monitoring configuration to monitor Always On clusters and only create endpoints for primary replicas. Due to the built-in limitations of Always On, the secondary replicas do not have complete information about the entire Always On cluster they belong to.
  • Connecting to both the primary and secondary replica in the same Always On cluster while having the "Always On" feature set enabled for both of them will result in duplicate metrics as well as distorted monitoring, and is highly discouraged.
What authentication schemas are supported?
  • The following authentication types are supported
    • Basic authentication
    • Kerberos
    • NTLM
Are self-signed SSL certificates and PKCS12 truststores supported?
  • Yes, certificates signed with a non-public signing chain must be added to a truststore.
  • When an encryption certificate is generated using a non-publicly verifiable certificate authority, that CA must be made known to the ActiveGate.
  • For a step-by-step guide, see instructions on adding a truststore.
What is the Endpoint Metadata field for?
  • When you add text into this field, each SQL Server instance created by that monitoring configuration has their properties section modified to have this information added to the entity.
How do I add custom intervals?
  • The two fields query interval and heavy query interval, have been added. If you want the 1-minute queries to run at intervals greater than 1 minute. For example, every 10 minutes, you can enter the number 10 in this box.
  • The heavy query interval input box functions the same. Except you're changing the frequency of queries that run every 5 minutes.
  • For more details, the description under each input box explains which queries are affected.
How do I view my Locks and Waits?
  • Enable the Locks and waits feature set. If you're on SaaS, you'll have a new Dashboard to view this data in an organized single pane of glass. If you're on Managed, you'll have the logs ingested, and you can view requests with locks or waits.

Troubleshooting

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Related tags
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