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Foglight for SQL Server (Cartridge) 5.9.5.20 - Release Notes

Resolved issues and enhancements

Resolved issues and enhancements

The following is a list of issues addressed and enhancements implemented in this release. 

Defect ID

Resolved Issue

FOGDG-1323

Fixed an issue that the potential email notification string combination is incorrect.

FOGDG-1298

Fixed an issue that failed to load the SQL-Server-Rules.csv by "AbstractRuleManagment".

PIFOG-705

Fixed an issue when accessing PI admin screen, the agents do not appear immediately.

PIFOG-704

Fixed an issue when the authentication type has been changed, the JDBC connection pool did not refresh.

PIFOG-697

Fixed the duplicate instance keys found in the agent ASP.

PIFOG-670

Fixed an issue that the Object Analysis tab in Analyze Plan dashboard cannot display or cannot display object detail.

SSFOG-1684

Fixed an issue that ESAPI  failed to encode and decode the share folder string, which caused the backup free space lost.

SSFOG-1682

Fixed an issue that it would fail to use new user to monitor SQL Server with TLSv1.2 enabled.

SSFOG-1677

Fixed an issue when use lowercase disk character (d:\ ) as the location of the database data file, it would display missing disk utilization data in "Database dashboard".

SSFOG-1675

Fixed an issue that it displayed Error Check Log in the Database > TempDB > File Group.

SSFOG-1672

Fixed an issue that the DBSS_File_11_0_0_0.sql used the wrong data type for Drive column.

SSFOG-1660

Fixed an issue that the related host agent could not be created in SSAS setup wizard.

SSFOG-1656

Fixed an issue that the replication collections retrieve wrong publisher server name from SQL Server 2016 sp2 (CU3).

SSFOG-1625

Fixed an issue while scheduling the report generated by SQL-Sever PI "Top SQL Statements" table - "Export to CSV" button, an error message appeared in FMS log.

SSFOG-797

Fixed an issue that only 24-hour period deadlocks data is visible in Databases.


Known issues

Known issues

The following is a list of issues known to exist at the time of this release.

General Issues

Defect ID

Known Issue

FOGDG-858

DB instance is still synchronized and displayed in FMS federation master even though it is stopped for some reason and not displayed in the FMS federation child.

PIFOG-725

SQL PI related agents are not added to FglAM HA deployment white list by default.
Workarounds: Refer to https://support.quest.com/kb/315130/configure-ha-deployment-whitelist-to-support-fglam-ha.

PIFOG-723 "Context infos" display null in the Comparison Parameter dashboard.

PIFOG-701

Enabling SQL PI is only supported when the SQL PI agent manager is installed on one of the following operating systems:

Operating System

Version

OS Architecture

CentOSTM Linux®

6.x, 7.x

x86-64

Red Hat®
Enterprise Linux

6.x, 7.x

x86-64

SUSE Linux

11,12,13,14

x86-64

Microsoft® Windows®

Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2012, and 2016

x86-64

PIFOG-666

Incomprehensible error message is displayed when using local account without hostname prefix to setup PI Repository.
Workaround: Use hostname\username to setup PI Repository instead of only using username.

PIFOG-431

After DB agent restarts, there will be a 5 minutes data gap in the SQL PI baseline view.

GVFOG-207

An error log showed in FMS log for loading heatmap component in FMS version before 5.9.3.

SSFOG-1727

SQL Server Reporting Services SSRS 2017 and later version are not fully supported.

SSFOG-1685

Agent did not filter virtual disk when query backup location.

SSFOG-1310

When the VMwarePerformance Agent exists, the Disk Latency in SQL Server Overview would always show "-" while enable OS monitoring.

SSFOG-1207

Databases on a secondary replica are read-only, so the grant script cannot create the user in the database. The foglight user may still not be able to read data from these read-only replicas even if the users are synchronized.

Workarounds:
1. If granting permission failed, re-monitor this instance again, then it could monitor successfully.
2. Grant permission manually.

SSFOG-1206

Failed to monitor SQL Server 2005 on premise while using no required permission DB credential.
Workaround: Dowdload the DB_SQL_Server_Grant_Permission_Script from [Components for Download], execute the script at sql server client to grant permission to the new user, then use the new user to monitor SQL server 2005 Instance.

SSFOG-1071

Databases Replication Dashboard does not show all Subscriptions when using multiple distribution databases.

SSFOG-1031

When SQL Server cluster on Linux does fail-over, IC agent may not be auto created when the host name of the node is different with previous node.

SSFOG-976

In the Master server of the federation environment, the values in Message of back up alarm are null.

SSFOG-956

Creating Infrastructure agent automatically after failover occurs on Linux-based SQL Server cluster may fail.

SSFOG-949

If you select either of DB_SQL_Server, DB_SQL_Server_UI, DB_Global_View_UI, SPIRepository* cartridges then click Reset on the Cartridge Inventory dashboard, the upgrade wizard will prompt again.

Workaround: Do the following:

1. Navigate to the Administration > Rules & Notifications > Manage Registry Variables dashboard.

2. Search for "DBSS_Is_Fglams_Required_Upgrade".

3. Change its value to "-1".

SSFOG-948

When monitoring SQL Server 2017 on Linux, an error message will be shown in Logs > SQL Agent Error Logs page.

SSFOG-943

Using CLI to create multiple SQL Server instances with OS monitoring might result in failure to activate some host agents.

Workaround: Either activate those host agents manually on the Agent Status dashboard or re-create those host agents.

SSFOG-844

When using IP address to create a SQL server agent, Disk metric and Host metric will be missing in the Global view.

SSFOG-770

Alarm is not triggered while the error has been collected on the "DBSS - SQL Server Error Log" page.

SSFOG-775

If AD authentication has been used to monitor SQL Server instance, the default option 'Log in to the host using the same account used for monitoring SQL Server' cannot be used to monitor Linux Operating System (OS).

Workaround: Switch to use the option 'Log in to the host using different login credentials', then choose either of the following Linux authentication types: input AD account info, input other Linux account info, or use 'Select from stored credentials...'.

SSFOG-739

Logical Disk metrics of SUSE showing on the SQL Server Overview dashboard is different from its value showing in the Infrastructure dashboard.

SSFOG-736

DBSS_Error_Log_List collection fails if SQL Server 2017 Agent is not running on Linux.

SSFOG-645

It fails to run DBSSSQLAgentErrorLogProcessor processor of DBSS_SQL_Agent_Error_Log collection if the SQL Server Agent Service is not started.

Workaround: Start the SQL Server Agent Service.

SSFOG-551

Due to the metric collection interval, value of Data files, log files, and disk space metrics will be occasionally missing on the Databases > Temdb dashboard.

Workaround: Wait for 3 minutes, then you will see these metrics on the dashboard.

SSFOG-456

If two SQL Server instances running in different hosts but these two hosts have the same short name, these two hosts shows same on the Home page.
Workaround: Contact Quest support to get the scripts for updating the loadGVData function.

SSDB-16097

In case the privilege of OS monitoring is not set to the Local Administrator group on the host being monitored, see the Knowledge Article 215054 available at
https://support.quest.com/kb/215054.

SSDB-15192

SQL BI - Reporting services, integration services and Analysis services are not supported on cluster configuration.

SSDB-14323

The SQL Server Error log collection requires you to use WinShell. Follow the instructions below to configure the correct settings:

SSDB-13479

In environments configured to use Agent Manager in High Availability mode the chosen Agent Manager hosting the SQL PI repository will host watchdog and maintenance agents that cannot participate in the Agent Manager high availability utility.

SSDB-13199

Selecting a batch text in the lock tree may navigate to a non-equal batch in the TSQL Batches dimension.

SSDB-9277

In SQL Server® 2012, when a database is part of an availability group and is currently accessible for connections, when the application intent is set to read only, several collections will fail.

SSDB-9138

Cluster data can be collected only if the xp_cmdshell parameter is configured.

To configure this parameter, run the following commands:

EXEC sp_configure ‘show advanced options’,1
GO
--To update the currently configured value for advanced options.
RECONFIGURE
GO
—- To enable the feature.
EXEC sp_configure ‘xp_cmdshell’, 1
GO
—- To update the currently configured value for this feature.
RECONFIGURE
GO

SSDB-8987, SSDB-7326

On Microsoft® Windows® 2008 R2, a SQL Server version 2012 instance with a name that contains inverted commas (''; (for example:'X641_ENT1') can encounter issues with the retrieval of WMI data. This is by design on the part of Microsoft.

Workaround: If WMI data is not retrieved, the instance name without the '' should be added in the field Service Name in the Agent Properties dashboard.

SSDB-8949

When editing the properties of the Foglight Agent Manager concentrator (Dashboards > Administration > Agents > Agent Status), the name of the Foglight Agent Managers should be entered in the Downstream FglAMs section exactly as they appear in the topology, under Home > Agents > All agents > <Agent name> > RMI data > Fglam host property.

SSDB-5542

Creating a user-defined collection with more than one SQL in it will not alert the user, however, only the first SQL in the collection will be executed.

SSDB-5248

Editing a user-defined collection results in periodic overlap of data.

SSDB-3061

Changes made in the Global Administrations > Alarms screen are saved when switching to another global administration screen, even if selecting "Yes" in the dialog box that asks whether to exit without saving changes.

SSDB-3039

The DBSS- Deadlock Details alarm is disabled by default.

SSDB-2455

User-defined collection names and fields must be entered in Latin characters (A to Z), without any special symbols.

SSDB-2379

When working with Global View while the screen resolution is set to 1024 by 768 pixels, it is advisable to switch to the browser's full view (F11 toggles between full and normal views in all browsers).

SSDB-2060

On SQL Server 2008, deadlocks on two different databases of the same instance become one chained deadlock.

Workaround: Implement trace flag -T1234

ODB-2984

In the Global Administration > User-defined Collections screen, it is possible to create two collections that bear the same name with a different capitalization (for example: MyCollection and Mycollection); however, the more recently created collection will not appear in the topology, nor will it be displayed on the User-defined Collections panel.

ODB-2829

When running user-defined collections on dynamic tables, deleted items are still kept in the topology. As a result, the number of rows displayed on the user-defined collections table will exceed the configured value for maximum allowed rows.

ODB-1606

Performing an upgrade process on a large environment (more than 50 agents) takes time to complete.

n/a

Need to wait for more than ten minutes between the upgrade of the Foglight Management Server and Foglight for SQL Server.

n/a

In environments configured to monitor SSAS agent only, when upgrading to version 5.9.2.1 or later, the upgrade process will fail.

Workaround: In the Administration > Agents > Agent Status dashboard, click Deploy Agent Package, then follow on-screen instructions to deploy the SSAS package manually.

n/a

Monitoring Analysis services is supported only on Agent Managers running on Windows which must have a version of .NET 3.5 installed.

n/a

If the WMI exception "Format specifier '%s' " is entered in agent log the following workaround is recommended:

Workaround:

For Windows® Vista® and Windows Server 2008 or above: 

According to http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929851, the default dynamic port range for TCP/IP has changed in both versions. The new default start port is 49152 and end port is 65535. Subsequently, monitoring instances that run under these operating systems can be carried out by setting a static (fixed) WMI port in Windows Server.

For more information, see the Knowledge Article 114559 available at https://support.quest.com/kb/114559.

n/a

When Foglight or the Agent Manager are installed on a VM, it is highly recommended to reserve the following:

  • CPU - for a virtual machine the CPU reservation is highly recommended for better performance. The reservation is expressed in MHz.

  • RAM- for a virtual machine the memory reservation is highly recommended for better performance.

n/a

Antivirus exclusions is required for the SQL Server-based SQL PI repository. For more information refer to the Microsoft’s official article https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/309422/choosing-antivirus-software-for-computers-that-run-sql-server.

Execution Plan

Defect ID

Known Issue

SSDB-11283

Execution plan may not be resolved

SSDB-11582

Sometimes, query_hash is changed by SQL Server and generating a plan using the Generate button fails. SQLhash isn't found in XML so the screen displays No operation was found and the execution plan changes are missing.

SSDB-11657

Time range changes are not effecting the execution plan dashboard.

n/a

In the Execution Plan comparison popup, the date of the selected plan is the insert time to the SQL PI repository and not the execution time.

n/a

In the Execution Plan Comparison popup for statement - the estimated plan appears only as the selected plan on the left side. It cannot be selected from the list.

 

 


Third party known issues

The following is a list of third party issues known to exist at the time of this release.

 

Defect ID

Known Issue

WCF-16277

Popup SQL Statement dialog cannot show all SQL text when accessing with Firefox browser using FMS version higher than 5.9.4.

FOGDG-650

The Foglight Agent Manager (FglAM) failed to restart when upgrading DB Cartridge, which is due to "Could not obtain a deployment lock" error.

Workaround: Perform the procedure described in the Knowledge Article 266110.

n/a

WMI-related issue

Problem: WMI support is affected by the firewall

Workaround: For Windows versions prior to Windows 2008/Vista, use the following steps:

  1. Open TCP port: 135.
    WMI by default uses the port range 1024 to 5000.

  2. Open up a range of ports above port 5000.
    Port numbers below 5000 may already be in use by other applications and could cause conflicts with your DCOM applications. It is recommended to have at least 100 ports opened, as several system services rely on these RPC ports to communicate with each other.

  3. Add the registry key, including additional ports.

    • Use the RPCCfg.exe (Windows Resource Kits) by running: rpccfg.exe -pe 5009-5009 -d 0

    • Manually add the registry keys under: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Rpc\Internet

For Windows Vista® and Windows Server 2008:

According to Microsoft® http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929851, the default dynamic port range for TCP/IP has changed in these versions. The new default start port is 49152 and end port is 65535.

Subsequently, monitoring instances that run under these operation systems can be carried out by using either of the following options:

  • Configure the firewalls to allow traffic between servers in the dynamic port range of 49152 through 65535 (less secure).

  • Limit the port range that is used in each monitored server.

n/a

As a result of the change introduced in Java 6 update 29 to how data is sent to databases, users may experience connection failures when using the Microsoft JDBC Driver for SQL Server® to connect to SQL Server. This interoperability enhancement is available in the following SQL Server versions:

  • SQL Server 2012 Production version and later

  • SQL Server 2008 Service Pack 3 Cumulative Update 4

  • SQL Server 2008R2 Service Pack 1 Cumulative Update 6

  • SQL Server 2008R2 Service Pack 2

n/a

Third Party Limitations

Monitoring an SQL Server instance that resides on a Windows 2008R2 or higher requires a workaround as follows:

  1. Browse to https://support.quest.com/ and log in

  2. Perform solution https://support.quest.com/kb/SOL65870

n/a

Some base values are not updated when using the Win32_PerfRawData_PerfDisk_LogicalDisk WMI class to calculate performance data in Windows Vista or in Windows Server 2008, because this class does not contain the PercentDiskTime_Base metric.

Workaround: A hotfix is available on Microsoft site, http://support.microsoft.com/kb/961435/en-us.

n/a

Due to a known Microsoft issue (https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3036328), on SQL Server instances version 2014 the SQL text presented may be truncated.

n/a

SQL's and execution plans may not be collected on SQL Server 2014 as a result of a Microsoft bug

"The values of column query_hash and query_plan_hash are NULL for DMV sys.dm_exec_requests in SQL Server 2014"  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2953592

n/a

The Foglight Time Bar Chart click event does not work with Chrome version 40.x.x.x and 39.x.x.x. https://code.google.com/p/chromium/issues/detail?id=428308

n/a

The Windows System Center Endpoint Protection (SCEP) tool and Anti-Virus Protection tools installed on Windows® may negatively impact CPU and system performance of machines running Foglight, Foglight  Agent Manager, and the SQL PI repository.
To reduce resource consumption it is highly recommended that you exclude the following directory from being scanned by the protection tools:

  • <installation directory>:\Quest\<FoglightAgentManager>

n/a

Anti-virus software may negatively impact the CPU and system performance of machines running Foglight. To reduce resource consumption, it is highly recommended to exclude the relevant directory, processes, and executables from being scanned by the anti-virus software. For detailed information, refer to the "Configuring anti-virus exclusion settings" in Installing Foglight on Windows with an Embedded PostgreSQL Database.

 

Workaround for all missing WMI metric cases

In some cases, running the command: %windir%\system32\wbem\wmiadap.exe /f in Windows' command-line (CMD) may solve the problem of missing WMI classes. This command parses all the performance libraries on the system and refreshes the Performance Counter Classes. For further details, see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa394528%28VS.85%29.aspx

 


Upgrade and compatibility

Upgrade and compatibility

A direct upgrade to Foglight For SQL Server 5.9.5.20 is only available from version 5.7.5.x or above. Customers that are running 5.7.x of the product must first upgrade to version 5.7.5.x and then upgrade to version 5.9.5.20. A direct upgrade to Foglight for SQL Server 5.7.x is only available from version 5.5.8 or later. Customers that are running earlier versions of the product must first upgrade to version 5.5.8 and then upgrade to version 5.7.x.

For example, if your Foglight for SQL Server is version 5.5.8 and you are going to upgrade to version 5.9.5.20, the upgrade path will be 5.5.8 > 5.7.x > 5.7.5.x (or above) > 5.9.5.20.

 

Foglight for SQL Server 5.9.5.20 requires:

  • Management Server version 5.9.2, 5.9.3, 5.9.4, 5.9.5, or 5.9.7
  • Agent Manager version 5.9.2, 5.9.3, 5.9.4, 5.9.5, or 5.9.7

To upgrade Foglight for SQL Server:

  • Install version 5.9.5.20 of the cartridge as you would install a new Foglight for SQL Server cartridge. Do not delete the older version of the .car file. Install version 5.9.5.20 over the older version.
    For cartridge installation instructions, see the Foglight for Databases Deployment Guide.

Once you have upgraded the cartridge, to deploy the agent package, navigate to the Global View dashboard and follow the upgrade wizard instructions. For a procedure describing how to deploy the agent package, see the Foglight for Databases Deployment Guide.

Notes:

  • Foglight for SQL Server does not support the upgrade method of placing the new version in the folder <foglight_home>/upgrade/cartridge/.
  • Starting from version 5.9.5.20, Infobright is no longer supported. It is necessary to move existing agents to the SQL Server-based PI repository. We have provided a data migration utility for customers who want to keep their historical performance data. For more information, refer to How to migrate database agents to a SQL Server-based PI repository.
  • Foglight for SQL Server 5.9.5.20 is compatible with Foglight 5.9.7, however, it cannot run on Foglight 5.9.7 with FIPS-compliant mode enabled.

Important: If you are upgrading to the current version of Foglight for SQL Server in a Federation architecture, the upgrade should be applied first to the Federated Children and then to the Federation Master. If the Federation Master is upgraded first, it will display incorrect information regarding the number of instances being monitored in the Status Summary section.

 

The following Foglight product versions and platforms are compatible with this release.

Product Name

Product Version

Platform

Foglight Management Server

5.9.2

5.9.3

5.9.4

5.9.5

5.9.7

All platforms supported by these versions of the Foglight Management Server

Foglight Agent Manager

Note: The monitoring agents available in this version of Foglight for SQL Server support the Agent Manager HA failover mode, except for the Agent Manager monitoring SQL PI agents. For more information about this mode, see the Agent Manager Guide.

5.9.2

5.9.3

5.9.4

5.9.5

5.9.7

All platforms supported by these versions of the Foglight Agent Manager

 


System requirements

System requirements

Before installing Foglight for SQL Server, ensure that your system meets the hardware and software requirements detailed in Foglight System Requirements and Platform Support Guide. Customers running large deployments (more than 20 agents) should consult the Foglight for Databases Deployment Guide.

Required privileges

For information on the required privileges, refer to the Foglight for Databases Deployment Guide.

Supported Platforms

Foglight for SQL Server supports monitoring the following platforms:

  • Supported SQL Server versions:
    • SQL Server 2005 through 2019
    • SQL Server 2017, 2019 for Linux
    • SQL Server 2012, 2014, 2016, 2017 on Amazon RDS
    • SQL Server Azure managed instance
  • Supported Operating Systems:
    • All Operating Systems supported by Microsoft® SQL Server

 

Notes:

  • Foglight for SQL Server also supports the Express and Developer editions of Microsoft® SQL Server.
  • Virtualization monitoring requires installing the VMware tools service on the monitored VM.
  • SQL Server on AWS VM (IaaS) is supported and can be monitored as long as the Instance port is opened and the OS is configured as described in: Configuring Windows Remote Management (WinRM)
  • For the Amazon RDS SQL Server, only Standard and Enterprise version are supported.

Final Browser Support Notice

Support for Microsoft® Internet Explorer® 8, 9, and 10 has been discontinued in this Foglight release.

Microsoft ended the support for these browsers on January 12, 2016. For more information, visit https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle?p1=13418.

 


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