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Foglight for SQL Server (Cartridge) 7.1.0 - User Guide

Introduction to this Guide Using Foglight for SQL Server
Viewing the Databases Dashboard Overview Dashboard Advisories Dashboard Monitoring Data Replication Monitoring SQL Performance Reviewing Memory Usage Reviewing the Instance Activity Reviewing Database Usage Reviewing the Services Using the HADR Drilldown Using the Logs Drilldown Reviewing Configuration Settings Viewing User-defined Performance Counters and Collections
Monitoring Business Intelligence Services Administering Foglight for SQL Server
Configuration Settings Managing Foglight for SQL Server Agent Settings Reviewing Foglight for SQL Server Alarms Generating Reports Monitoring SQL Server instances on VMware servers
Glossary
A
Access methods Adhoc SQL Plans Alarm Alert Allow updates Anonymous subscription Authentication AutoClose AutoGrow Automatic Discovery AutoShrink B Batch BCP (Bulk Copy Program) Blocking Books Online Bound trees Buffer Buffer cache Buffer pool Bulk copy Bulkinsert Bulk load C Cache CAL Calibration Cardinality Cartridge Chart Checkpoint process Client network utility CLR Compile Connect Connection Connectivity software CPU Usage Cursors D Data access components Data file Data storage engine Database Database object DataFlow DBCC DBID DBO Deadlock Disk queue length Disk transfer time Disk utilization DiskPerf Distributing instance Distributor DMO Drilldown DTC DTS E Error log Event alert Execution contexts Extended stored procedures Extent External procedures F File Filegroup File cache Foglight Agent Manager Foglight Management Server Foreign key Forwarded records Free buffers Free list Free pages Free potential Free space Freespace scans Full text search G GAM Ghosted records Growth increment GUID H Hash buckets Hashing Heap Hit rate Hit ratio Host name Host process I I/O Index Indid Integrated security Intent Locks J Job K Kernel memory Kernel mode Kill L Latch Lazy writer Licensing Lightweight pooling Lock Lock area Lock escalation Lock mode Log Log cache Log writer Logical I/O LRU LSN M Master MaxSize MDAC Metric Misc.normalized trees Model Monitor page file N Named pipes Net library NIC Null O OBID Object plans OLAP OLAP service OLTP Optimizer Optimizer cache osql P Page life expectancy Paging Panel Parse Parser Per seat licensing Per server licensing Performance alert Physical I/O Physical read Physical write PID Pinned Plan Plan cache Potential growth Prepared SQL plans Primary key Privileged mode Procedure cache Procedure plans Process Profiler Publication database Publisher Publisher databases Publishing server Pull subscription Pulse Push subscription Q Query plan R RAID Random I/O Read ahead Recompile Referential integrity Relational data engine Replication procedure plans Role Rollback S sa Schema locks Sequential I/O Session Severity SGAM Shared locks Show advanced options SMP Sort, Hash, Index Area SPID Spike Spinner SQL Agent Mail SQL Mail SQL Plans SQL Server Agent SQL Server authentication SQL Server books online Standard deviation Stolen pages Stored procedure Support service SYSADMIN role T TDS TempDB Temporary tables and table variables Threshold Torn page detection Transaction Trigger Trigger plans Truncate Trusted U UMS Unused space User connection area User mode V Virtual log file VLF W Waitfor Windows authentication mode Working set
Reference
SQL Performance Investigator Metrics
Active Time All SQL Agents CPU Usage All SQL Agents Resident Memory Usage Availability Average Physical I/O Operations Average SQL Response Time Backup Recovery Wait Blocked Lock Requests Checkpoint Pages CLR Wait CPU Usage CPU Wait Cursor Synchronization Wait Database Replication Wait Deferred Task Worker Wait Degree of Parallelism Disk Utilization DTC CPU Usage DTC Resident Memory Usage Distributed Transaction Wait Executions Ended Executions Started External Procedures Wait Full Scans Full Text Search CPU Usage Full Text Search Resident Memory Usage Full Text Search Wait Free Buffer Wait Hosted Components Wait IO Bulk Load Wait IO Completion Wait IO Data Page Wait IO Wait Latch Buffer Wait Latch Wait Latch Savepoint Wait Lazy Writes Lock Wait Lock Bulk Update Wait Lock Exclusive Wait Lock Intent Wait Lock Requests Lock Schema Wait Lock Shared Wait Lock Update Wait Lock Wait Log Buffer Wait Log Flushes Log Other Wait Log Synchronization Wait Log Wait Log Write Wait Memory Wait Network IO Wait Network IPC Wait Network Mirror Wait Network Wait Non SQL Server CPU Usage Non SQL Resident Memory Usage OLAP CPU Usage OLAP Resident Memory Usage OLEDB Provider Full Text Wait Other CPU Usage Other Miscellaneous Wait Other Wait Overall CPU Page Life Expectancy Page Splits Parallel Coordination Wait Physical I/O Physical Memory Used Physical Page Reads Physical Page Writes Probe Scans Plan Cache Hit Rate Range Scans Rec Ended Duration Remote Provider Wait Run Queue Length Samples Service Broker Wait Session Logons Session Logoffs SQL Agent CPU Usage SQL Agent Resident Memory Usage SQL Executions SQL Mail CPU Usage SQL Mail Resident Memory Usage SQL Recompilations SQL Response Time SQL Server Background CPU Usage SQL Server Cache Memory SQL Server Connections Memory SQL Server Connections Summary SQL Server Foreground CPU Usage SQL Server Resident Memory Usage SQL Server Swap Memory Usage Synchronous Task Wait Table Lock Escalation Target Instance Memory Total CPU Usage Total Instance Memory Virtual Memory Used
Rules Collections and Metrics
SQL Server Agent's Default Collections Access Methods Agent Alert List Agent Job List Always On Availability Groups Backup Locations Blocking History Blocking List Buffer Cache List Buffer Manager CLR Assemblies Cluster Summary Configuration Database Index Density Vectors Database Index Details Database Index Fragmentation Info Database Index Histogram Database Index List Database Information Database Properties Database Sessions (Session List) Database Summary Database Tables List Databases Deadlock DTC Information Error Log Error Log List Error Log Scan File Groups File Data Flow Statistics File Groups Files Files Drive Total Files Instance Summary Full Text Catalog InMemory OLTP (XTP) Instance Wait Categories Instance Wait Events Job Messages Latches and Locks Lock Statistics Locks List Log Shipping Log Shipping Error Logical Disks Long Running Session Memory Manager Mirroring Mirroring Performance Counters Missing Indexes Plan Cache Distribution Plan Cache List Replication Agents Replication Agent Session Actions Replication Agent Session Merge Articles Replication Agent Sessions Replication Agent Sessions by Type Replication Available Replication Publications Replication Subscriptions Reporting Services Resource Pool Session Data Session Trace SQL PI Instance Statistics SQL Server Connections Summary SQL Server Global Variables SQL Server Host SQL Server Load SQL Server Services SQL Server Throughput SQL Server Version Info SSIS OS Statistics SSIS Summary Statistics Top SQLs Top SQL Batch Text Top SQL Long Text Top SQL Plan Top SQL Short Text Top SQL Summary Traced SQL PA Usability User-defined Performance Counters User-defined Queries Virtualization XTP Session Transactions Statistics

Configuring Email Notifications

We recommend that you set email notifications for the alarms you are most interested in tracking closely. For example, you may want to be notified by email of any Critical or Fatal situation. Or you may want to be informed whenever a key metric, such as CPU usage, is no longer operating within acceptable boundaries.

You can set up email notifications that are generated when an alarm fires and/or on a defined schedule, as described in the following topics:

•
Configuring an email server
•
Defining Default Email settings
•
Defining email notifications, recipients, and messages
•
Defining variables to contain email recipients
•
Defining scheduled email notifications
Configuring an email server

You need to define the global mail server variables (connection details) to be used for sending email notifications. The setting of the email should be configured in Foglight Administration > Email configuration.

Defining Default Email settings

You can define a default email address to be used by every new agent created in the future, by selecting the Default email button when configuring email notification.

The Email addresses entered are applied to all monitored agents not only for the agents that were selected to enter the Alarm administration.

Enabling or disabling email notifications

You can enable or disable email notifications for all alarms, a category of alarms, or a selected rule. Email notifications are sent only if all the following conditions are met:

•
The alarm email notification setting is enabled for the affected rule.
•
The alarm is triggered by changes in the monitored environment.
•
Alarm notification is enabled at the triggered severity level. See Defining email notifications, recipients, and messages.
To enable or disable email notifications:
1
In the Alarms view, click the Settings tab.
2
Decide on the scope for the change: all alarms, a category of rules, or a selected rule.
3
Complete the steps for the selected scope:
 
Table 65. Enable or disable email notification settings.
Scope
Procedure

All alarms

Click All Alarms. In the Alarms Settings tab, click the Define Email Settings button. Select either Enabled or Disabled from the Alarms notification status list. Click Set.

Category of rules

Click a category. Click the Define Email Settings button. Select either Enabled or Disabled from the Alarms notification status list. Click Set.

Selected rule

Click a rule. In the Alarms Settings tab, click the Define Email Settings tab. Click the link that displays the alarm notification status. Select Enabled or Disabled and click Set.

4
Click Save changes.
Defining email notifications, recipients, and messages

You control who receives email messages, the subject line, and some text in the body of the email. The body of the email always contains information about the alarm. This information is not editable. You can also control whether an email is sent based on severity levels. You can set different distribution lists for different rules and different severity levels, or set the same notification policy for all rules.

To configure email notifications:
1
In the Alarms view, click the Settings tab.
2
Decide on the scope for the change: all alarms, a category of rules, or a selected rule.
3
Complete the steps for the selected scope:
 
Table 66. Configure email notification settings:
Scope
Procedure

All alarms

Click All Alarms. In the Alarms Settings tab, click the Define email settings button. Continue to Step 4.

Category of rules

Click a category. Click the Define email settings button. Continue to Step 4.

Selected rule

Click a rule. Click the Define email settings tab.

•
To change the severity level that warrants an email notification, click the link that displays the severities. Select the desired level of severity and click Set.
•
To configure email recipients and the message, select the tab for a severity level, and click Edit. Skip to Step 5.
4
If you selected All Alarms or a category, in the Email Notification Settings dialog box, do one of the following:
•
To change the severity levels that warrant an email notification, from the Messages will be enabled for severities box, select the desired levels of severity.
•
To configure the same email recipients and message for all severity levels, click Configure mail recipients for all Severities and then click All severities.
•
To configure different email recipients and messages for each of the severity levels, click Configure mail recipients for the following options and then click a severity level.
5
In the Message Settings dialog box, configure the email recipients and message.
•
To — Type the addresses of the people who need to take action when this alarm triggers.
•
CC — Type the addresses of the people who want to be notified when the alarm triggers.
* 
NOTE: If a mail server is not found, you are prompted to configure a mail server. For instructions, see Configuring an email server .
You can use registry variables in place of email addresses. Type the variable name between two hash (#) symbols, for example: #EmailTeamName#. For more information, see Defining variables to contain email recipients .
•
Subject — Optional. Edit the text of the subject line to better suit your environment. Avoid editing the variables, which are identified with the @ symbol.
•
Body Prefix — Optional. Add text that should appear above the alarm information in the body of the email.
Figure 32. Message Settings
6
Click Set to save the message configuration and close the dialog box.
7
If the Edit Notification Settings dialog box is open, click Set.
8
Click Save changes.
Defining variables to contain email recipients

You can create registry variables that contain one or more email addresses and (optionally) their scheduled notifications, and use these registry variables when defining email notifications. This procedure describes how to create a registry value. For schedules, see Defining scheduled email notifications.

To create a registry variable:
1
On the navigation panel, under Dashboards, click Administration > Rules & Notifications > Manage Registry Variables.
2
Click Add.
The New Registry Variable Wizard opens.
3
Select the registry variable type String, and click Next.
4
In the Name field, enter a name, for example: EmailTeamName
Optional — Add a description.
5
Click Next.
6
Select Static Value.
7
In the Enter desired value box, enter one or more email addresses (separated by commas).
* 
NOTE: Email groups are not permitted.
8
Click Finish.
The Edit Registry Variable dashboard displays the newly created registry variable.
To use a registry variable in email notifications, type the variable name between two hash (#) symbols, for example: #EmailTeamName#. For more information, see Defining email notifications, recipients, and messages .
Defining scheduled email notifications

If someone wants to receive an email about an alarm on a regular basis, such as once a day, you use a registry variable schedule to set up the notification.

To schedule the sending of email notifications for a registry variable:
1
If you are continuing from Defining variables to contain email recipients, the registry variable is already open for editing in the Edit Registry Variable dashboard.
* 
TIP: To edit a different variable, navigate to the Administration > Rules & Notifications > Manage Registry Variables dashboard, click the variable name, and select View and Edit Details.
2
In the Performance Calendars List table, click Add.
The Performance Calendar Wizard opens.
3
Select a schedule, for example: End of Day
4
Click Next.
5
Select Static Value.
6
In the Enter desired value box, enter one or more email addresses (separated by commas) that should received email notifications based on the schedule.
* 
TIP: The addresses may the same as or different from those assigned to the registry variable.
7
Click Finish.
The Edit Registry Variable dashboard displays the newly created schedule. If desired, repeat to add other schedules.

Cloning Agent Settings

You may want an agent to have the same settings as another agent. For example, if you add new agents, you may want them to use the same settings as an existing agent. In this case, you can clone the settings from one agent to other agents. This process does not link the agents; in the future if you update the source agent, you also need to update the target agents.

This procedure walks you through selecting the source agent from the Databases dashboard. However, you can also open the Administration dashboard with multiple agents selected. In this case, you select the source agent in Clone Alarm-related Settings to Other Agents dialog box.

To clone alarm-related settings:
1
On the Databases dashboard, select the check box for the agent with the settings you want to clone.
2
Click Settings and then Administration.
3
In the Administration dashboard, click Alarms.
4
Click Set configuration on selected agents.
The Clone Alarm Settings cross Agents dialog box opens.
5
In the Select the source agent drop-down list, you should see the agent you selected.
6
In the Select the target agents table, select the check boxes for agents that should inherit settings from the source agent.
7
Click Apply.
8
When prompted for confirmation, click Yes.

Reviewing Rule Definitions

If you want to review the conditions of a rule, open the rule in the Rule Management dashboard.

* 
IMPORTANT: Avoid editing Foglight for SQL Server rules in the Rule Management dashboard. These rules may be modified during regular software updates and your edits will be lost. Always use the alarm templates to modify rules.

You can create user-defined rules from the Rule Management dashboard. If you want to modify a rule, we recommend copying the rule and creating a user-defined rule. User-defined rules need to be managed from the Rule Management dashboard; these rules are not displayed in the Alarms view of the Databases Administration dashboard. For help creating rules, open the online help from the Rule Management dashboard.

To open the Rule Management dashboard:
1
On the navigation panel, under Homes, click Administration.
2
In the Administration dashboard, click Rules.
3
Type DBSS in the Search field to see the list of predefined rules for SQL Server databases.
The Foglight for SQL Server rules are displayed. From here, you can review threshold values, alarm counts, and descriptions.
4
To see the full rule definition, click a rule and then click View and Edit.
5
In the Rule Detail dialog box, click Rule Editor.
6
When you are done your review, click Rule Management in the bread crumbs to return to the dialog box.
7
Click Cancel to avoid changing the rule unintentionally.

Defining Data Collection and Storage Options

The Foglight for SQL Server’s agent collects and stores data at all times, even when the browser window that displays the data is not active. Use the Collection Frequencies view to specify:

•
Which collections are sampled and stored
•
The data collection values when sampling is carried out in offline, online, and real-time frequency modes
•
The collection frequency
When a user is currently focusing on a screen, the sampling frequency for all of the collections associated with this screen switches to Real-Time. The collection frequency determines the sampling frequencies of the other collections (that is, collections that are not running in Real-Time mode).
The available collection frequencies are as follows:
•
Low — all collections are running in Offline mode, regardless of whether a client is connected.
•
Normal — the collections' running mode (Online/Offline/Real-time) adjusts dynamically to the client's connection status (disconnected/connected/focusing on a screen).
•
High — all collections are running in Online mode, regardless of whether a client is connected.
•
The Query timeout for on-demand collections.
This setting defines the number of seconds that a query for on-demand collections can run before it times out.
On-demand collections are collections whose data is retrieved not by predefined time intervals but upon entering a screen or clicking a button.
The default setting of this parameter is 60 seconds, but it can be modified by clicking the number that indicates the parameter’s value in the field Query timeout for on-demand collections:.
* 
NOTE: This section displays only SQL Server-related collections. For details about Windows-related collections, see Configuring Performance Counters .
Table 67. The Collections table includes the following columns:
 
Column
Description
Collection Enabled

Indicates whether the selected collections are sampled and stored.

Collection Name

The name of the collection. This list is sorted in an alphabetical order.

Offline Frequency (Sec)

Allows defining the collection interval, in seconds, in offline mode (for example, 300).

Offline frequency refers to the longest interval possible for sampling the monitored instance.

Online Frequency (Sec)

Allows defining the collection interval, in seconds, in online mode (for example, 60).

Real-time Frequency (Sec)

Allows defining the collection interval, in seconds, in real-time mode (for example, 20).

Only one collection can be sampled at real-time frequency in any given moment.

Query Timeout (Sec)

The amount of time, in seconds, that elapses before the query times out.

* 
IMPORTANT: When the browser window that displays Foglight for SQL Server is active, the collection frequency mode in the active screen (for example: the Indexes pane in the Databases drilldown) switches to the fastest frequency possible - once every 20 seconds.
To modify the values of a specific collection:
1
Select the collection’s row in the table.
2
Click Edit.
The Edit the Collection dialog box appears.
3
Select whether to enable the collection and storage of the selected collection.
4
Set the collection interval, in seconds, in offline frequency mode (if available).
5
Set the collection interval, in seconds, in online frequency mode (if available).
6
Set the collection interval, in seconds, in real-time frequency mode.
7
Set the query timeout, in seconds.
8
Click Set to apply these settings or Cancel to reject them.
9
If no more editing is necessary, save the changes before switching to another screen. For details, see Reviewing the Administration Settings .
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