Agents Administration - Tests
 

Configuration of MsSqlLogFileActTest

Every database created on a Microsoft SQL server is associated with a database file (.mdf) and a log data file (.ldf). All transactions to the database are logged in the log data file. The server will use the logged transactional information to restore the database after a crash, or when a transaction runs into issues and may have to be rolled back.

This test periodically monitors the I/O activity on and the growth in the size of the log file associated with each database. Using the metrics reported by this test, you can proactively detect bottlenecks while reading from or writing to the log file and excessive disk space usage by the log file.

The default parameters associated with this test are as follows:

  • The TEST PERIOD list box helps the user to decide how often this test needs to be executed.

  • In the HOST text box, the host name of the server for which the test is to be configured has to be specified.

  • Specify the PORT at which the HOST listens. By default, this is NULL.

  • If the Microsoft SQL server being monitored is an SSL-enabled server, then set the SSL flag to Yes. If not, then set the SSL flag to No.

  • In the INSTANCE text box, enter the name of a specific Microsoft SQL instance that is to be monitored. The default value of this parameter is "default". To monitor a Microsoft SQL instance named "CFS", enter this as the value of the INSTANCE parameter.

  • If a Microsoft SQL Server 7.0/2000 is monitored, then provide the name of a SQL user with the Sysadmin role in this text box. While monitoring a Microsoft SQL Server 2005/2008/2012, provide the name of a SQL user with the CONNECT SQL, VIEW SERVER STATE, VIEW ANY DEFINITION, VIEW ANY DATABASE, and PUBLIC roles in the USER text box.

  • The password corresponding to the above user has to be entered in the PASSWORD text box.

  • Confirm the password by retyping it in the CONFIRM PASSWORD text box.

  • By default, none is displayed in the DOMAIN text box. If the ‘SQL server and Windows’ authentication has been enabled for the server being monitored, then the DOMAIN can continue to be none. On the other hand, if ‘Windows only’ authentication has been enabled, then, in the DOMAIN text box, specify the Windows domain in which the managed Microsoft SQL server exists. Also, in such a case, the USER name and PASSWORD that you provide should be that of a user authorized to access the monitored SQL server.

  • To exclude specific databases from the monitoring scope of this test, provide a commaseparated list of wait types in the EXCLUDEINFO text box. By default, this is set to none, indicating that the test will monitor all the databases on the Microsoft SQL server.

  • In some Windows networks, NTLM (NT LAN Manager) may be enabled. NTLM is a suite of Microsoft security protocols that provides authentication, integrity, and confidentiality to users. NTLM version 2 ("NTLMv2") was concocted to address the security issues present in NTLM. By default, the ISNTLMV2 flag is set to No, indicating that NTLMv2 is not enabled by default on the target Microsoft SQL host. Set this flag to Yes if NTLMV2 is enabled on the target host.

  • This test reports a set of results for each log file on the target Oracle database server. This means that every log file is a descriptor of this test. By default, while displaying the descriptors of this test, the eG monitoring console does not prefix the log file names with the full path to the log files. This is why, the SHOW LOGFILE PATH flag is set to No by default. If you want the log file names to be prefixed by the full path to the log files, then, set the SHOW LOGFILE PATH flag to Yes.

  • The DD FREQUENCY refers to the frequency with which detailed diagnosis measures are to be generated for this test. For instance, if you set to 1:1, it means that detailed measures will be generated every time this test runs, and also every time the test detects a problem.

  • To make diagnosis more efficient and accurate, eG embeds an optional detailed diagnostic capability. With this capability, the eG agents can be configured to run detailed, more elaborate tests as and when specific problems are detected. To enable the detailed diagnosis capability of this test, by default, for a particular server, choose the On option against DETAILED DIAGNOSIS. To disable the capability, click on the Off option.

    The option to selectively enable/disable the detailed diagnosis capability will be available only if the following conditions are fulfilled:

    • The eG manager license should allow the detailed diagnosis capability

    • Both the bad and normal frequencies configured for the detailed diagnosis measures should not be 0.

  • If the value chosen against ISPASSIVE is YES, then the server under consideration is a passive server in a cluster. No alerts will be generated if the server is not running. Measures will be reported as "Not applicable' by the agent if the server is not up.

  • Once the necessary values have been provided, clicking on the UPDATE button will register the changes made.

When changing the configuration for specific servers, a “*” beside the text box corresponding to the parameter signifies that these values have to be manually configured by the user. The parameter values that require to be configured will typically be prefixed with a “$” or contain a series of “*”. A value of "none" in the parameter value indicates that the corresponding parameter value can be changed if required.