Foglight for SQL Server

Transcription

1 Foglight for SQL Server Managing SQL Server Database Systems Getting Started Guide

2 2011 Quest Software, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This guide contains proprietary information protected by copyright. The software described in this guide is furnished under a software license or nondisclosure agreement. This software may be used or copied only in accordance with the terms of the applicable agreement. No part of this guide may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording for any purpose other than the purchaser s personal use without the written permission of Quest Software, Inc. The information in this document is provided in connection with Quest products. No license, express or implied, by estoppel or otherwise, to any intellectual property right is granted by this document or in connection with the sale of Quest products. EXCEPT AS SET FORTH IN QUEST'S TERMS AND CONDITIONS AS SPECIFIED IN THE LICENSE AGREEMENT FOR THIS PRODUCT, QUEST ASSUMES NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER AND DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY WARRANTY RELATING TO ITS PRODUCTS INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL QUEST BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION OR LOSS OF INFORMATION) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS DOCUMENT, EVEN IF QUEST HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. Quest makes no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this document and reserves the right to make changes to specifications and product descriptions at any time without notice. Quest does not make any commitment to update the information contained in this document. If you have any questions regarding your potential use of this material, contact: Quest Software World Headquarters LEGAL Dept 5 Polaris Way Aliso Viejo, CA legal@quest.com Refer to our Web site for regional and international office information. Patents This product includes patent pending technology. Trademarks Quest, Quest Software, the Quest Software logo, Foglight, IntelliProfile, PerformaSure, Spotlight, StealthCollect, TOAD, Tag and Follow, Vintela Single Sign-on for Java, and vfoglight are trademarks and registered trademarks of Quest Software, Inc in the United States of America and other countries. For a complete list of Quest Software s trademarks, please see Other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners. Third Party Contributions Foglight contains some third party components. For a complete list, see the License Credits page in Foglight online help. Getting Started Guide July 2011 Version

3 Managing SQL Server Database Systems Getting Started Guide 3 Table of Contents Introduction to this Guide...4 About Quest Software, Inc Contacting Quest Software... 5 Contacting Quest Support... 5 Installing Foglight for SQL Server...6 Installation Prerequisites... 7 Foglight for SQL Server Permissions... 8 SQL Server SQL Server 2005/ Installing Foglight for SQL Server Installing Foglight for SQL Server and Foglight Management Server Together Installing the Cartridge by Adding it to a Cartridge Inventory of an Existing Foglight Management Server Configuring Foglight for SQL Server...16 Configuring the Connection to StealthCollect Layout of Foglight for SQL Server Dashboard Index...20

4 Introduction to this Guide The Getting Started Guide is a quick guide for the installation and use of, from the planning stage up to the actual monitoring of database instances. This document details first the installation prerequisites, including the required permissions, and then the actual monitoring of database instances. This guide is intended for SQL Server database administrators.

5 Managing SQL Server Database Systems Getting Started Guide 5 Introduction to this Guide About Quest Software, Inc. Quest Software simplifies and reduces the cost of managing IT for more than 100,000 customers worldwide. Our innovative solutions make solving the toughest IT management problems easier, enabling customers to save time and money across physical, virtual and cloud environments. For more information about Quest go to Contacting Quest Software Mail Web site info@quest.com Quest Software, Inc. World Headquarters 5 Polaris Way Aliso Viejo, CA USA Refer to our Web site for regional and international office information. Contacting Quest Support Quest Support is available to customers who have a trial version of a Quest product or who have purchased a Quest product and have a valid maintenance contract. Quest Support provides unlimited 24x7 access to SupportLink, our self-service portal. Visit SupportLink at support.quest.com. From SupportLink, you can do the following: Retrieve thousands of solutions from our online Knowledgebase Download the latest releases and service packs Create, update and review Support cases View the Global Support Guide for a detailed explanation of support programs, online services, contact information, policies and procedures. The guide is available at:

6 1 Installing Foglight for SQL Server Foglight for SQL Server is Quest Software's powerful diagnostic and problem resolution tool for Microsoft SQL Server databases. This Foglight cartridge delivers a global view that provides a visual instance health check, and enables a drill-down style diagnostic workflow to investigate the performance of monitored SQL Server instances and databases. This chapter details the installation of Managing Microsoft SQL Server Database Systems, from the planning stage up to the actual installation.

7 Managing SQL Server Database Systems Getting Started Guide 7 Chapter 1 Installing Foglight for SQL Server Installation Prerequisites Before starting the installation of Foglight for SQL Server, ensure that the following conditions are met: Having the required permissions; for details, see Foglight for SQL Server Permissions on page 8. Using a supported system and platform. Foglight for SQL Server s system requirements and supported platforms are identical to those of Foglight Management Server. For details, see Foglight System Requirements and Platform Support Guide. Using a Foglight license that allows cartridges to be installed. Ensure that the pre-existing Foglight license that is being used allows cartridge installation. If a license that does not allow cartridge installation is used, the installation wizard cannot proceed beyond the Foglight Management Server License screen, which requires specifying the type of license to be installed. Using an available external database Important The available external database requirement is relevant only if you plan to install a new Foglight Management Server: If you plan to install Foglight Management Server on an external database, ensure that this database is running. The supported external database platforms and versions are as follows: SQL Server Oracle MySQL Preparing in advance a SQL Server user to be used for monitoring the discovered instances. The SQL Server user is created exclusively for monitoring a specific database, and has limited execution capabilities. The details of this SQL Server user are entered in the Connection Details dialog box when running the Database Discovery wizard (see Configuring Foglight for SQL Server on page 16), and this user must be granted the privileges required for monitoring the database. These privileges can be granted only by a user with a SYSADMIN server role. Note In SQL Server 2000, monitoring the selected instances can be carried out only by a user with a SYSADMIN server role, in which case the Grant Privileges phase is unnecessary.

8 Managing SQL Server Database Systems Getting Started Guide 8 Chapter 1 Installing Foglight for SQL Server Foglight for SQL Server Permissions As Foglight for SQL Server is using collections implicated as SQL statements running on the monitored SQL Server instance, this section presents a 3-level permissions implementation, to cover organizational permission limits. Note Applying those permissions to new databases requires implementing the SQL Server model database, which is a template database that uses the database level permissions that are to be used in the newly created databases This section covers the SQL Server versions in the following sections: SQL Server 2000 SQL Server 2005/2008 on page 11 SQL Server 2000 The three permission levels in SQL Server 2000 are as detailed in the following sections. Level 1: read permission for SQL Server 2000 Level 2: Database-specific permission for SQL Server 2000 on page 10 Level 3: sysadmin permission for SQL Server 2000 on page 10 Level 1: Read permission for SQL Server 2000 Read permission level covers the collections found in the following list: Access Methods. Agent Alert List. Agent Job List. Blocking List needs sysadmin rights to view SQL text. Buffer Cache List. Buffer Manager. Cache Manager. Configuration. Database Index List. Database Information. Database Properties. Database Summary. Database Tables List. Error Log Check. Error Log Details.

9 Managing SQL Server Database Systems Getting Started Guide 9 Chapter 1 Installing Foglight for SQL Server Error Log List. File Data Flow Statistics. File Groups. Files. Full Text Catalog. Instance Wait Categories. Instance Wait Events. Job Messages. Latches And Locks. Lock Statistics. Locks List. Log Shipping. Memory Manager. Plan Cache Distribution. Plan Cache List. Replication Available. Response Time. Session List needs sysadmin rights to view SQL text. SQL Server Connections Summary. SQL Server Global Variables. SQL Server Load. SQL Server Version Info. SQL Statistics. Usability. User-Defined Queries this collection enables running queries only against system objects. Granting the selected user with the permission to access each database requires using the sp_grantdbaccess procedure, thereby adding the user as a guest to the database. This procedure is sufficient for all database objects, except the specific objects detailed below, which require additional permissions. Objects that can be accessed only by granting the selected user with the SELECT permission. master.dbo.sysaltfiles. master.dbo.syscacheobjects. master.dbo.sysperfinfo. msdb.dbo.log_shipping_primaries. msdb.dbo.log_shipping_secondaries.

10 Managing SQL Server Database Systems Getting Started Guide 10 Chapter 1 Installing Foglight for SQL Server msdb.dbo.sysalerts. msdb.dbo.sysjobhistory. msdb.dbo.sysjobs. Objects can be accessed only by granting the selected user with the EXECUTE permission. master.dbo.xp_enumerrorlogs. master.dbo.xp_readerrorlog. master.dbo.xp_sqlagent_enum_jobs. Level 2: Database-specific permission for SQL Server 2000 Database-specific permissions allow the selected users to view any data specified on any database, instead of only reading system objects data by using the User-Defined Queries collection. The additional data types, accessible by using database-specific permissions, are detailed below. User data accessible by adding the selected users to the db_datareader database role, thereby allowing them to execute user-defined queries for viewing user table data. Index statistics and fragmentation data accessible by adding the selected users to the db_ddladmin database role on each database, thereby allowing the user to execute the following collections. Database Index Density Vectors. Database Index Details. Database Index Fragmentation Info. The cluster summary is accessible by executing the master.dbo.xp_cmdshell extended procedure. The following statement creates a limited proxy account, to be used by an existing domain (OS) account for executing this extended procedure. Despite having EXECUTE permissions, such an account allows only limited operation range on the Command Line (CMD) utility. EXECUTE master.dbo.xp_sqlagent_proxy_account N'SET', N'<Domain Name>', N'<Domain User>', N'<Password>' Level 3: sysadmin permission for SQL Server 2000 The Sysadmin permission allows the user to access several server-level collections, as detailed in the following list. Blocking List enables viewing SQL text. Configuration Suggestion enables trace and trace querying. Databases enables checking the last active transaction data. Session List enables viewing SQL text. Session Trace enables trace and trace querying. SQL Server Services enables reading registry data. Granting the user with Sysadmin permission requires adding the selected user to the sysadmin server role, thereby allowing the user unlimited privileges.

11 Managing SQL Server Database Systems Getting Started Guide 11 Chapter 1 Installing Foglight for SQL Server SQL Server 2005/2008 The three permission levels in SQL Server 2000 are as detailed in the following sections: Level 1: read permission for SQL Server 2005/2008 Level 2: Database-specific permission for SQL Server 2005/2008 on page 13 Level 3: Sysadmin permission for SQL Server 2005/2008 on page 13 Level 1: Read permission for SQL Server 2005/2008 Read permission level covers the collections found in the following list: Access Methods. Agent Alert List. Agent Job List. Blocking List. Buffer Cache List. Buffer Manager. Cache Manager. Configuration. Database Index Fragmentation Info. Database Index List. Database Information. Database Properties. Database Summary. Database Tables List. Error Log Check. Error Log Details. Error Log List. File Data Flow Statistics. File Groups. Files. Full Text Catalog. Instance Wait Categories. Instance Wait Events. Job Messages. Latches And Locks. Lock Statistics. Locks List.

12 Managing SQL Server Database Systems Getting Started Guide 12 Chapter 1 Installing Foglight for SQL Server Log Shipping. Memory Manager. Plan Cache Distribution. Plan Cache List. Replication Available. Response Time. Session List. SQL Server Connections Summary. SQL Server Global Variables. SQL Server Load. SQL Server Version Info. SQL Statistics. Usability. User-Defined Queries this collection enables running queries only against system objects. Granting the selected user with the permission to access each database requires taking the following steps: 1 Using the CREATE USER statement, thereby adding the user as a guest to the database. 2 Granting the selected user with the VIEW ANY DEFINITION and VIEW SERVER STATE server permission, thereby allowing the user to view any system data. This level affects all collections except for the higher level collections. This procedure is sufficient for all database objects, except the specific objects detailed below, which require additional permissions. Objects that can be accessed only by granting the selected user with the SELECT permission. msdb.dbo.log_shipping_monitor_primary msdb.dbo.log_shipping_monitor_secondary msdb.dbo.log_shipping_primaries msdb.dbo.log_shipping_secondaries msdb.dbo.sysalerts msdb.dbo.syscategories msdb.dbo.sysjobactivity msdb.dbo.sysjobhistory msdb.dbo.sysjobs Objects that can be accessed only by granting the selected user with the EXECUTE permission. master.dbo.xp_enumerrorlogs. master.dbo.xp_readerrorlog.

13 Managing SQL Server Database Systems Getting Started Guide 13 Chapter 1 Installing Foglight for SQL Server Level 2: Database-specific permission for SQL Server 2005/2008 Database-specific permissions allow the selected users to view any data specified on any database, instead of only reading system objects data by using the User-Defined Queries collection. The additional data types, accessible by using database-specific permissions, are detailed below. User data accessible by adding the selected users to the db_datareader database role, thereby allowing them to execute the queries detailed below for viewing user table data. User-Defined Queries Index statistics and fragmentation data accessible by adding the selected users to the db_ddladmin database role on each database, thereby allowing the user to execute the following collections. Database Index Density Vectors. Database Index Details. Database Index Fragmentation Info. Session Trace requires granting the selected user with the ALTER TRACE server permission, which allows for viewing trace data. The cluster summary and configuration suggestions are accessible by executing the master.dbo.xp_cmdshell extended procedure. The following statement creates a limited proxy account, to be used by an existing domain (OS) account for executing this extended procedure. Despite having EXECUTE permissions, such an account allows only limited operation range on the Command Line (CMD) utility. EXECUTE master.dbo.sp_xp_cmdshell_proxy_account N'<Domain Name>\<Domain User>', N'<Password>' Level 3: Sysadmin permission for SQL Server 2005/2008 The Sysadmin permission allows the user to access several server-level collections, as detailed in the following list. Databases enables checking last active transaction data. In future releases of Foglight for SQL Server, the transaction data will be accessed via Dynamic Management View (DMV). Therefore, database collection will require only firstlevel permission. SQL Server Services enables reading registry data. In future releases of Foglight for SQL Server, accessing the registry data will require lowerlevel permission.

14 Managing SQL Server Database Systems Getting Started Guide 14 Chapter 1 Installing Foglight for SQL Server Installing Foglight for SQL Server Foglight for SQL Server runs on the Foglight Management Server, which is its operation framework. Therefore, Foglight Management Server must be installed before installing the cartridge. The installation of Foglight for SQL Server can be carried out using either of the following scenarios: Installing both Foglight for SQL Server and Foglight Management Server. For details, see Installing Foglight for SQL Server and Foglight Management Server Together on page 14. Installing Foglight for SQL Server as a cartridge from within an existing Foglight Management Server. For details, see Installing the Cartridge by Adding it to a Cartridge Inventory of an Existing Foglight Management Server on page 14. Installing Foglight for SQL Server and Foglight Management Server Together Starting from version 5.5.8, a single executable file allows installing Foglight Management Server together with Managing Microsoft SQL Server Database Systems. To run the combined installation file: 1 Copy the installation file appropriate to the operating system and the bit level (32-bit or 64- bit) to a temporary directory on the requested host. Note The combined installation file is named using the following convention: Foglight- <version_number>_install_<operating system>-<instruction set><bit level>_sql_server<.exe/.bin> For example: Foglight-5_5_8-install_windows-ia32_SQL_Server.exe or Foglight-5_5_8- install_solaris-sparc64_sql_server.bin 2 If planning to use an external database for the Foglight Management Server Installation, ensure that this database is running. 3 Follow the on-screen installation instructions. Installing the Cartridge by Adding it to a Cartridge Inventory of an Existing Foglight Management Server To install Foglight for SQL Server as a cartridge: 1 Copy the cartridge s car file (DB_SQL_Server-VersionNumber.car; for example, DB_SQL_Server-5_5_8_127.car), which is included in the installation media, to your local computer. 2 Log in to the Foglight browser interface. 3 In the browser interface, on the navigation panel, click Dashboards > Administration > Cartridges > Cartridge Inventory. 4 On the Cartridge Inventory dashboard, click Browse to find the car file on your local computer. 5 Click Install Cartridge.

15 2 Configuring Foglight for SQL Server After successful installation of Foglight for SQL Server, when entering the Foglight Management Server, no instances are displayed. The Foglight for SQL Server agent (DB_SQL_Server) allows monitoring the database performance on each server where the application is installed. The automatic discovery agent (DB_Auto_Discovery_SQL_Server) allows automatic discovery of existing and running instances, which you can then configure for Foglight monitoring. The automatic discovery is carried out via the Database Discovery wizard. To discover database instances, when no instance is monitored: 1 On the navigation panel, click Homes > Databases. A blank screen appears, with a message indicating that the Database Discovery wizard should be used for setting up the monitored environment. 2 Click the Discover more databases link at the upper right corner of the Databases view. 3 Select SQL Server as the database type to configure. 4 Select the option Discover database instances and click Next. Note If your monitored environment is utilizing Performance Analysis StealthCollect technology, the other operation that can be selected via this screen, namely: configuring the connection to StealthCollect, should be carried after the instance discovery is completed. For further details, see Configuring the Connection to StealthCollect on page Select the Foglight Agent Manager (FglAM) to be used for monitoring the discovered instances, and click Next. 6 Select the requested method for discovering database instances: Discovering instances by hosts the most efficient search method for discovering instances over a specified, usually small number of hosts. Use the semicolon-delimited list of the hosts to be scanned. Adding a single instance manually the quickest, most efficient way to add a database instance for monitoring. Use the field provided to specify the instance details in the HOST\INSTANCE syntax. Discovering instances in the network by IP range the recommended search method for discovering database instances on a large number of hosts, thereby saving the need to specify the host names and ports.

16 Managing SQL Server Database Systems Getting Started Guide 17 Chapter 2 Configuring Foglight for SQL Server Importing SQL Server connections definitions from a user-created file this method requires advanced creation of a CSV file that specifies the instances to be monitored. Note 7 Click Next. When importing many instances, the recommended convention is host name-instance name(port). For example: if the host, instance and port names are brkfsx06, and 2004, respectively, the agent should be assigned the name brkfsx (2004). 8 In the Instance Connectivity Settings screen that appears now, add the instances via either of the following methods: Manual addition via the Add instance button if this option was selected in the previous screen Discovery via the Start discovery button for all other options 9 Select the database instances that you want to monitor. 10 Specify the credentials of the selected database instances, both Operating System login and Database login. 11 Verify the requested instances connectivity. 12 Start monitoring the selected instances. Configuring the Connection to StealthCollect If Performance Analysis is installed, it is possible to benefit from using the StealthCollect technology (a Quest technology designed to collect SQL statements and performance indicators from SQL Server databases and host operating systems without imposing overhead on the target database itself). To configure StealthCollect connection: 1 In the Specify Operation screen (the first screen of the database discovery wizard), select the option Configure StealthCollect connection. 2 Click Next. A progress bar appears, while the wizard loads the instances for which StealthCollect can be configured, which can be either of the following: The newly monitored instances that had just been discovered (if configuring the connection to StealthCollect is carried out as the last stage of the database discovery wizard); or All of the currently monitored Foglight for SQL Server instances (if the connection to StealthCollect is selected from the Specify Operation screen). After the loading process is complete, the Connection to StealthCollect screen appears, displaying all of the newly monitored or currently monitored instances. Important If one or more of the currently monitored instances have already been configured to connect with StealthCollect, this configuration is indicated in the SC column. Ensure not selecting such instances.

17 Managing SQL Server Database Systems Getting Started Guide 18 Chapter 2 Configuring Foglight for SQL Server 3 Select the check boxes near the instances that are to be connected to StealthCollect. By default, the connection to StealthCollect is carried out via port To search for StealthCollect on this port, click Detect StealthCollect. To configure connection to StealthCollect via another port, click the link Click to change and use the Set StealthCollect Ports dialog box to type the numbers of the requested ports. 4 If StealthCollect was not detected in some of the selected agents, as indicated in the Status column, ensure that these agents indeed have StealthCollect installed and running, in which case try to set another StealthCollect port; otherwise clear the check box near these agents. 5 Click Enable StealthCollect. The progress bar Updating StealthCollect Details in Agents appears. At the end of the update process, the StealthCollect column indicates that the agent is configured for connection with StealthCollect. Note For further details regarding the Databases dashboard and the various drilldowns used for monitoring SQL Server instances, see chapter The Foglight for SQL Server Instance Homepage in the Managing SQL Server Database Systems User Guide.

18 Managing SQL Server Database Systems Getting Started Guide 19 Chapter 2 Configuring Foglight for SQL Server Layout of Foglight for SQL Server Dashboard The following diagram shows the available Foglight for SQL Server dashboard navigation paths. For details on using the SQL Server dashboard, see the Managing SQL Server Database Systems User Guide.

19 Managing SQL Server Database Systems Getting Started Guide 20 Index C configuration drilldown panels SQL Server configuration 19 D databases drilldown databases chart 19 databases details 19 E error log drilldown panels Foglight agent error logs 19 SQL agent error logs 19 SQL Server error logs 19 F Foglight for SQL Server agent 16 Foglight for SQL Server dashboard navigation paths dashboard drilldowns 19 configuration 19 databases 19 error log 19 memory 19 SQL activity 19 support services 19 user metrics 19 global administration view 19 Foglight license using a license that allows cartridges to be installed 7 M memory drilldown panels buffer cache 19 procedure cache 19 summary 19 methods for discovering database instances adding a single instance manually 16 searching by host name 16 R read permission for SQL Server 2000 affected collections access methods 8 agent alert list 8 agent job list 8 blocking list 8 buffer cache list 8 buffer manager 8 cache manager 8 configuration 8 database index list 8 database information 8 database properties 8 database summary 8 database tables list 8 error log check 8 error log details 8 error log list 9 file data flow statistics 9 file groups 9 files 9 full text catalog 9 instance wait events 9 job messages 9 latches and locks 9 lock statistics 9 locks list 9 log shipping 9 memory manager 9 plan cache distribution 9 plan cache list 9 replication available 9 response time 9 session list 9

20 Managing SQL Server Database Systems Getting Started Guide 21 Index SQL Server connections summary 9 SQL Server global variables 9 SQL Server load 9 SQL Server version info 9 SQL statistics 9 usability 9 user-defined queries 9 S SQL activity drilldown panels blocking 19 IO by file 19 locks 19 sessions 19 SQL IO activity 19 SQL summary 19 wait statistics 19 SQL Server agent discovering existing and running agents 16 support 5 support services drilldown panels cluster services 19 DTC 19 full text search 19 log shipping 19 mirroring 19 service status 19 SQL agent alerts 19 SQL agent jobs 19 T technical support 5 U user metrics drilldown panels user-defined performance counters 19 user-defined SQL metrics 19