SQL SVR KM

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server
Getting Started
Supporting
PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server version 4.3
Oct 2007
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PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server Getting Started
Contents
Chapter 1 Product components and capabilities 15 16 16 17 17 17 17 18 18 18 18 19 19 19 19 20 20 20 24 26 28 30 31 31 33 34 38 38 38 39 40 40 41 41 42 44 46 46
5
Overview and intended audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Discovers SQL Servers automatically. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Provides global channel access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Supports and monitors clustered environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitors cache-hit ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitors page reads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitors free buffers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitors space used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitors blocking locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitors row-level locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitors user connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitors log space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitors files and file groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitors error logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Product components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Applications and icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Icon hierarchy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Menu commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . InfoBoxes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Related publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Where to go from here. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chapter 2 Installing and migrating PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server
Verifying installation requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Preparing for installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Installation prerequisites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Checking for product patches or fixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Determining how you should monitor a cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Determining whether to install locally or remotely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Determining the version of the installation utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Determining the PATROL security levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Determining how to upgrade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Determining the roles that each computer performs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Determining where to install . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Planning for the installation of a language pack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Installing for the first time or upgrading over an existing installation . . . . . . . . . . . .
Contents
Installing a language pack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Upgrading and saving customizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Preparing to upgrade and migrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 Migrating customizations with the PATROL Configuration Manager . . . . . . . . . 51 Migrating customizations manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Creating an installation package of the migrated and merged KM . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 First-time installation using the Distribution Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Importing a CD or customized installation package into Distribution Server . . . 55 Installing with the Distribution Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Installing the online Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Installing the UNIX version of the Help browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Setting environment variables for the browser . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Additional considerations for using online Help for UNIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Uninstalling PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Where to go from here . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 Chapter 3 Configuring PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server 63
Setting up and configuring PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Loading and unloading PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Verifying that the SQL Server is discovered and online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 Configuring a SQL Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Configuring a SQL Server instance without an sa password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Accelerating discovery and reviewing error messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Reviewing the default settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 SQL Server Agent monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Error log monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Database monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Object monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 File and file group monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 Replication monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 User and process monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Parameter defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Setting up PATROL in a clustered environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Determining how you should configure a cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Monitoring a cluster by using a virtual PATROL Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Installing and configuring a cluster with a virtual PATROL Agent . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Monitoring a cluster by using a PATROL Agent on each node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Installing and configuring a node-level cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Reviewing how PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server handles clustering events. . 90 Where to go from here . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Chapter 4 Using PATROL Configuration Manager with PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server 95
Overview of PATROL Configuration Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Saving backups in PATROL Configuration Manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Configuring for PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Modifying PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server instances. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Do not deactivate application classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
6 PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server Getting Started
Do not modify configuration variables that are for internal use only . . . . . . . . . . 99 Modifying an instance and deploying the changes to other instances . . . . . . . . 100 Adding or modifying pconfig variables manually. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Modifying parameters using PATROL Configuration Manager and PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Deactivating parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Changing parameter polling cycles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Changing parameter thresholds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Modifying parameter properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Verifying changes to configuration variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Where to go from here. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Chapter 5 Working with PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server 115 117 117 118 118 119 119 120 120 121 121 122 122 123 123 124 124 124 125 125 127 127 128 129 130 130 131 131 132 133 133 134 134 134 134 135 135
7
Monitoring SQL Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Excluding SQL Servers from monitoring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Starting and stopping the monitoring of a SQL Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Starting and stopping a SQL Server from PATROL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reviewing the status of a SQL Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewing reports about a SQL Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changing the PATROL login account for a server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changing a server instance name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enabling SQL Server instance discovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitoring SQL Server Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enabling the monitoring of the SQL Server Agent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Starting and stopping the SQL Server Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the SQL Server Agent parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitoring the SQL Server Agent job failures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Filtering SQL Server Agent job failures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting up SQL Server Agent jobs for monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitoring error logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enabling the monitoring of error logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting up error log monitoring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewing reports about the error logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reviewing the status of an error log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . About the error log parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitoring databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Starting and stopping the monitoring of databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Checking the consistency of a database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adding the PATROL user to a database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reviewing the status of a database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewing reports about databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitoring files and file groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enabling the monitoring of files and file groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reviewing the status of files and file groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewing reports about files and file groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitoring objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting up the monitoring of objects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reviewing the status of an object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewing reports about objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Contents
Monitoring replication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Enabling the monitoring of replication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Reviewing the status of Subscribers or Published Articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Viewing reports about Subscribers and Published Articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Using SQL commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 Monitoring users and processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 Changing the automatic monitoring of users and processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 Monitoring specific users and processes manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Using parameters to monitor specific users and processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Reviewing the status of a user . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Viewing reports about users and processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Killing a process from PATROL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Creating customized reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Accessing the predefined reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Adding customized reports to the predefined list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Working with parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Viewing parameter data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Activating and deactivating parameters and alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Clearing, snoozing, and blacking out parameter alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 Refreshing parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Creating customized parameter charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Creating and managing parameter charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Accessing the predefined parameter charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Using automatic recovery actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Reviewing the ARA settings and parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Viewing the parameter recovery process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Using the ARA Settings menu commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 Parameters affected in general user monitoring mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 Parameters partially affected in a recovery action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 Viewing SQL information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Viewing SQL commands with SQL Snapshot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Managing the global channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Accessing the Global Channel menu commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Monitoring the Global Channel lock requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Where to go from here . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Appendix A Accessing menu commands, InfoBoxes, and online Help 161
Accessing KM commands and InfoBoxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 Accessing online Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 Appendix B Parameter definitions and defaults 165
Column headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 Abbreviations defined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 Parameter table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
Appendix C Appendix D Index
Consumer-collector parameter dependencies Agent configuration variables
197 203 221
Contents
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Figures
Window showing PATROL icons for an instance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server icon hierarchy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Collector application, parameters, and a graph . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Server application menu in Windows . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 InfoBox for a Server application instance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Computer, SQL Server, and application icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Database application instance icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 SQL Server Instance Setup dialog box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Configure => Get command in PATROL Configuration Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 Parameter recovery process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Figures
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12
Tables
PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server applications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 System requirements for PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 Supported configurations for a clustered environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Choosing an installation procedure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 SQL Server Config Setup authentication mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Supported configurations for a clustered environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 Variables that are for internal use only . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 ARA options, their values, and the value of the araAction variable . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server parameters with fixed thresholds . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Parameters that monitor the SQL Server Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Parameters that monitor the SQL Server and SQL Server Agent error logs . . . . . . 128 Database consistency menu options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Parameters affected in the general monitoring user mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 Parameters partially affected in a recovery action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 Tasks for displaying SQL for processes and users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157 Accessing KM commands and InfoBoxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 Accessing online Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168 Consumer-collector parameter dependencies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 Agent configuration variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 Obsolete variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218
Tables
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Chapter
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16 16 17 17 17 18 18 18 19 19 18 19 19 20 20 20 24 26 28 30 31 31
Product components and capabilities

This chapter presents the following topics: Overview and intended audience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Discovers SQL Servers automatically. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Provides global channel access . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitors cache-hit ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitors page reads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitors free buffers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitors blocking locks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitors user connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitors log space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitors space used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitors row-level locking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitors files and file groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Product components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Product components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Applications and icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Icon hierarchy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Menu commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . InfoBoxes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Related publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Where to go from here. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 1 Product components and capabilities
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Overview and intended audience
Overview and intended audience

The PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server product operates with a PATROL Agent and one or more of the PATROL consoles to monitor Microsoft SQL Server products. PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server contains knowledge in the form of applications, commands, parameters, and recovery actions. PATROL uses this knowledge to monitor, analyze, and manage Microsoft SQL Servers. PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server was created for use by Microsoft SQL Server database administrators, system administrators, and PATROL administrators in the daily administration and management of the Microsft SQL Server products. PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server and PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server Getting Started were created for users who have an understanding of the underlying Microsoft SQL Server products. If you have any questions regarding the operation or management of Microsoft SQL Server, refer to the Microsoft SQL Server manuals and website.
Features
PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server discovers SQL Servers automatically, provides global channel access to SQL Servers, and provides commands that allow you to perform SQL Server administrative functions directly from the PATROL consoles. PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server also helps you to monitor and manage the following key features:
I I I I I I I I I I I I
global channel access clustered environments cache-hit ratio page-reads free buffers space used blocking locks row-level locking user connections log space files and file groups error logs
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Discovers SQL Servers automatically
Discovers SQL Servers automatically

The MSSQL_Server (Server) application automatically discovers the SQL Servers in your environment. This application detects the presence of the SQL Servers and creates an icon for each.
Provides global channel access

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server establishes a global channel to each SQL Server that it discovers in your environment. Through this global channel, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server gathers the information that PATROL uses to monitor those SQL Servers. To help maintain the global channel, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server provides the following features:
I I I I
locks that synchronize access to the global channel automatic close and reopen feature to recover from global channel problems status of the global channel method for resetting the global channel
Supports and monitors clustered environments

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server monitors SQL Servers (see the release notes for specific versions) in a clustered environment. See Setting up PATROL in a clustered environment on page 85 or the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help for more information.
Monitors cache-hit ratio

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server monitors the cache-hit ratio, which provides an important benchmark about data throughput and overall database performance. The cache-hit ratio expresses the relationship between the number of requests for data that are read from cache and the total number of requests for data. A drop in this ratio indicates an increase in the number of requests that the SQL Server must read from the physical disk (I/O) because the pages containing the requested data are not
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Monitors page reads
stored in cache memory. When this ratio drops below a predetermined low, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server triggers alarms and warnings. Once notified, administrators can improve database performance by adjusting the available cache or the amount of physical RAM used by SQL Server to optimize availability and throughput.
Monitors page reads

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server tracks how long it takes a SQL Server to read a page of data from the physical disk into cache memory or from memory to the physical disk. With this information, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server can identify the areas where excessive I/O waits are taking place.
Monitors free buffers

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server monitors the percentage of free buffers (or database pages) available in memory (see the NumberofFreeBuffers parameter). If this number is too low, excessive waits, disk read, and disk write times result. If SQL Servers memory size is greater than physical RAM, paging can occur, which degrades database performance. Administrators can use this information to maintain an optimum number of free buffers for peak database performance, and to keep page faults to a minimum. When demand exceeds availability during normal or subnormal periods of activity, this parameter can also indicate a need for additional resource tuning or an increase in capacity to maintain user productivity.
Monitors space used

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server monitors the percentage of database space used (SpaceUsedPCT) and the megabytes of database space used (SpaceUsedMB). Administrators can use these values to gauge and maintain database space.
Monitors blocking locks

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server monitors the total number of blocking locks. A high number of blocking locks could indicate an increase in the number of processes currently waiting for a specific page or table that is exclusively locked by another process. Using this information, administrators can more accurately develop capacity plans to determine whether additional resources should be allocated to increase database availability and user productivity.
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Monitors row-level locking
Monitors row-level locking

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server monitors row-level locking. The following parameters provide information on row-level locking:
I
RIDLockAvgWaitTime provides the average amount of wait time (in milliseconds) that was caused by row ID lock requests. RIDLockRequestsPerSec provides the number of new row ID locks and lock conversions that the lock manager requested per second. RIDLockRequestWaitPercent provides the percentage of row ID lock requests that required a caller to wait.
Monitors user connections

By tracking the number of user connections to SQL Server, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server provides an important indicator of ongoing demand versus capacity. When the SQL Server is running low on available user connections, the UserConnections parameter goes into an alarm state. Because each connection requires memory, an increase in the number of user connections can coincide with a decrease in performance, which indicates the need to restrict user connections, lower the number of worker threads, or increase memory.
Monitors log space

When the transaction log becomes completely full, SQL Server cannot run because it cannot record modifications to data (update, modify, delete, or add) and, therefore, you cannot dump the transaction log. PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server tracks the percentage of log space that is used with the LogSpaceUsedPCT parameter and the megabytes of log space used with the LogSpaceUsedMB parameter. The values provided by these parameters help you manage transaction log space.
Monitors files and file groups

SQL Server stores data and log files in files and file groups. A database can have one or more file groups, and each file group can have one or more files that are associated with it. PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server can monitor files and file groups, but this feature is turned off by default. For details about this feature, see Monitoring files and file groups on page 133.
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Monitors error logs
Monitors error logs

The MSSQL_SERVER_ERRORLOG (Error Log) application class provides menu commands, parameters, and InfoBox items specifically designed to help you monitor the SQL Server and SQL Server Agent error logs for the error log strings and problems you want to monitor. For details about this feature, see Monitoring error logs on page 124.
Product components
PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server provides functionality in the form of parameters, menu commands, and InfoBoxes that are organized and presented under application classes. Most application classes are represented by icons. The following sections describe each of these functional components of PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server and how they are accessed.
Applications and icons

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server applications fall into the following types:
Application type discovery administrative container functional Description discovers the SQL Servers in your environment and stores the configuration and setup information stores the SQL Server logins contains and organizes the instances and parameters for specific functions uses specific parameters, menu commands, and InfoBox items to provide information about a specific database object
Table 1 contains a short description of each application class and a graphic of the icon that represents each application class. See Icon hierarchy on page 24 for a description of how these icons appear in your interface.
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For more detailed information about the application classes, see the online Help for PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server and Appendix A, Accessing menu commands, InfoBoxes, and online Help. Table 1
Server
PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server applications (Part 1 of 4)

Definition The MSSQL_SERVER (Server) discovery application is the main application class for PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server. This application discovers the SQL Servers in your environment and provides the setup or configuration of PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server and the SQL Server control functions. For more about monitoring SQL Servers, see Monitoring SQL Servers on page 117.
Application name and icon
The MSSQL_SERVER_ADMIN (Administration) administrative application stores a second user ID and password that PATROL uses (This application does not display an to connect to the selected SQL Server. icon.) Administrative The MSSQL_SERVER_LOGIN_MGMT (Login Management) administrative application handles the security modes when you (This application does not display an configure PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server. icon.) Login Management Availability The MSSQL_SERVER_AVAILABILITY (Availability) container application holds the parameters that pertain to the availability of the selected server. For more information about the Availability application parameters, see Appendix B, Parameter definitions and defaults. Cache The MSSQL_SERVER_CACHE (Cache) container application holds the parameters that pertain to the database cache for the selected server. For more information about the Cache application parameters, see Appendix B, Parameter definitions and defaults. Capacity The MSSQL_SERVER_CAPACITY (Capacity) container application holds the parameters that pertain to the capacity of the selected server, such as the number of user connections, the number of locks remaining, and the number of idle processes. For more information about the Capacity application parameters, see Appendix B, Parameter definitions and defaults. Collectors The MSSQL_SERVER_COLLECTORS (Collectors) container application holds the collector and the standard collector parameters that set the values for the majority of the consumer parameters. For more information about the Collectors application parameters, see Appendix B, Parameter definitions and defaults.
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Table 1
Database

Definition The MSSQL_SERVER_DB (Database) functional application provides specific parameters, menu commands, and InfoBox items pertaining to the database that the Database application icon represents. Database monitoring is not activated unless you select automatic database monitoring or a database for monitoring. For more about database monitoring, see Monitoring databases on page 129.
Disk
The MSSQL_SERVER_DISK (Disk) container application holds the parameters that pertain to the disk i/o for the selected server. For more information about the Disk application parameters, see Appendix B, Parameter definitions and defaults.
Error Log
The MSSQL_SERVER_ERROR_LOG (Error Log) functional application provides specific parameters, menu commands, and InfoBox items that pertain to the error log that the instance represents.
SQLErrorLog
Error log monitoring is partially enabled by default. To enable all of the functionality of error log monitoring, see Monitoring error logs on page 124. The MSSQL_SERVER_FILE (File) functional application provides specific parameters, menu commands, and InfoBox items pertaining to the file that it represents. File monitoring is disabled by default. For more information, see Monitoring files and file groups on page 133.
File
Filegroup
The MSSQL_SERVER_FILEGROUP (Filegroup) functional application provides specific parameters, menu commands, and InfoBox items pertaining to the file group that it represents. File group monitoring is disabled by default. For more information, see Monitoring files and file groups on page 133 and the online Help for PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server.
Locks
The MSSQL_SERVER_LOCKS (Locks) container application holds the parameters that pertain to the locks for the selected server. For more information about the Locks application parameters, see Appendix B, Parameter definitions and defaults.
MSSQL_SERVER
The MSSQL_SERVER_SQLSERVER_SETUP (MSSQL_SERVER) container application holds the SQL Server instances discovered on a monitored host.
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Table 1
Network

Definition The MSSQL_SERVER_NETWORK (Network) container application holds the parameters that pertain to the network i/o for the selected server. For more information about the Network application parameters, see Appendix B, Parameter definitions and defaults.
Objects
The MSSQL_SERVER_OBJECTS (Objects) application is a functional application that provides specific parameters and InfoBox items that pertain to the objects (tables and indexes) selected for monitoring.The Objects application icon does not display unless you select objects for monitoring. For more information, see Monitoring objects on page 134 and the online Help for PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server. The MSSQL_SERVER_PERFORMANCE (Performance) application is a container application that holds the parameters that pertain to the performance of the selected server. For more information about the Performance application parameters, see Appendix B, Parameter definitions and defaults.
Performance
Procedure Cache
The MSSQL_SERVER_PROC_CACHE (Procedure Cache) application is a container application that holds the parameters that pertain to procedure cache for the selected server. For more information about the Procedure Cache application parameters, see Appendix B, Parameter definitions and defaults.
Published
The MSSQL_SERVER_PUBLISHED (Published) application is a functional application that provides specific parameters and InfoBox items that pertain to the articles published for replication. Replication monitoring is disabled by default. For more information, see Monitoring replication on page 135 and the online Help for PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server.
Subscribers
The MSSQL_SERVER_SUBSCRIBERS (Subscribers) application is a functional application that provides specific parameters and InfoBox items that pertain to the database servers that subscribe to receive published articles in your SQL Server replication environment. Replication monitoring is disabled by default. For more information, see Monitoring replication on page 135 and the online Help for PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server.
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Icon hierarchy
Table 1

Definition The MSSQL_SERVER_USER_DEF_CNTRS (User-Defined Counters) application is a container application that holds the ten user-defined counters of the selected server. For more information about the User-Defined Counters application parameters, see Appendix B, Parameter definitions and defaults.
Application name and icon User-Defined Counters
Users
The MSSQL_SERVER_USERS (Users) application is a functional application that provides specific parameters, menu commands, and InfoBox items to monitor the SQL Server users or processes. Users application icons do not display unless you select User Instance as a problem alert method in the Configure Auto User Monitoring dialog box, or you manually select specific users or processes for monitoring. For more information, see Monitoring users and processes on page 137 and the online Help for PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server.
Icon hierarchy
Figure 1 displays the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows Server (Developer mode) window.
NOTE
The SQL Server icon looks the same, but it is displayed by itself or with other applications in the PATROL Central Operator Microsoft Windows Edition, PATROL Central Operator Web Edition, and PATROL Console for UNIX.
Figure 1
Window showing PATROL icons for an instance

SQL Server icon
PATROL Agent icon
operating system icons
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Icon hierarchy
PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server provides a hierarchy of icons that groups all Server application icons under the MSSQL_SERVER application icon. When you double-click on a Server application icon, a window opens that contains other applications. Figure 2 displays all of the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server application icons to demonstrate the hierarchy of the applications. Figure 2 PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server icon hierarchy
Server application icon
Published application icon Subscribers application icon
Users application icon
SQLErrorLog
Error Log application icon Database application icons
Objects application icon
File application icon
Filegroup application icon
File application icon
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Parameters
Parameters
A parameter is a command that periodically obtains data on a monitored system resource. Parameter data values are collected, summarized, and stored on the computer where the PATROL Agent resides. The collected parameter information is available for review by a PATROL console. PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server organizes parameters into application classes by function or by the objects that they monitor. PATROL uses several types of parameters and stores parameter history data in a file. See Appendix B, Parameter definitions and defaults, Appendix C, Consumer-collector parameter dependencies,and the online Help for PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server for more information about the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server parameters. For more general information about parameters and their functions, see the PATROL user guide for your console.
Parameter types
PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server uses the following types of parameters:
I
A collector parameter executes commands at regular intervals (poll times) to gather data that it sends to the consumer parameters. Collector parameters do not display the values that they collect, nor do they generate alarms or recovery actions. A standard parameter collects a single value of data as numeric or text and displays that value. Many of the standard parameters used by PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server have collector properties; they execute commands and gather the data that consumer parameters display. A consumer parameter displays a value that was collected by a collector parameter (or a standard parameter with collector properties) and can generate alarms or warnings and recovery actions if those values exceed predefined thresholds. Consumer parameters do not issue commands.
The use of standard parameters with collector properties (standard collectors) and consumer parameters enables PATROL to set an almost unlimited number of parameters with one data retrieval query to the server, creating an extremely efficient and flexible data retrieval system. The Collectors application contains all but two of the standard collectors used by PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server. UserColl is found under the User application and ErrorLog Coll is found under the Error log application. Double-clicking the Collector application icon opens a window that contains all of the standard collector parameters and one standard parameter, CheckConfiguration.
26
Parameters
These standard collectors are represented by an icon that contains a check mark and an X. The check mark is green when the standard collector parameter is in an okay state and the X turns red when the standard collector parameter goes into an alarm state. (See the PATROL user guide for your console for detailed information on alarm states and icons.) These standard collector parameters go into an alarm state if a scheduled collection fails. Double-clicking on a standard collector icon opens a graph or timetable that displays a mark for each collection that the standard collector parameter completed. Standard collector parameters do not display the data that they collect, but display only information about their collections. The data collected by the standard collector parameters is distributed to related consumer parameters. Appendix C, Consumer-collector parameter dependencies,provides a table that cross-references the consumer parameters with the standard collector parameter that sets its value. Disabling a standard collector parameter also disables the consumer parameters that it sets. Figure 3 shows the Collector Application icon, the parameters it contains, and an example of a graph that standard collector parameters use to display collection information. Figure 3 Collector application, parameters, and a graph
Double-clicking the Collector application icon displays the standard collector icons. Double-clicking on one of the standard collectors opens a graph or timetable for that standard collector parameter.
The timetable displays a mark for each data collection cycle that the standard collector parameter completed.
27
Menu commands
Parameter History file

All parameter history data is stored in a single file named param.hist, which is located in the following directory on the computer where the PATROL Agent resides: stored in a single file named param.hist, which is located in the following directory on the computer where the PATROL Agent resides: $PATROL_HOME\log\history\computername\portnumber See the PATROL user guide for your console for detailed information about the parameter history file.
Menu commands
The PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server menu commands allow you to perform the following tasks:
I I I
define and manage PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server manage your SQL Servers from PATROL view reports about your SQL Servers
The Server application class provides the majority of the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server menu commands. The following application classes provide menu commands more specific to the objects that these application classes represent:
I I I I I I
Database Filegroup Error Log Published Subscribers Users
28
Menu commands
Figure 4 shows a Server application icon, the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows Servers menu, and the Server application menu. Right-clicking the Server application icon opens the console menu, and KM Commands is an option available from that menu. You can access the Database, Filegroup, Published, Subscribers, and Users menus from their respective application icons. Figure 4 Server application menu in Windows
Server application icon
console menu
Server application menu
The Server application menu shown in Figure 4 is at the top level of the menu tree hierarchy for the Server application menu. PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help provides further details about menu commands. For information about how to access menu commands and online Help from the various PATROL consoles, see Appendix A, Accessing menu commands, InfoBoxes, and online Help.
29
InfoBoxes
InfoBoxes
PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server uses InfoBoxes to provide attributes specific to the objects in your SQL Servers. InfoBoxes are tables of attributes accessed from the icons that represent parameters and application classes. The PATROL consoles and PATROL Agent populate all of the attributes that appear in the parameter InfoBoxes and some of the attributes, such as icon type or status, that appear in the application InfoBoxes. In each of the application InfoBoxes, the items generated by PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server appear below the items generated by the PATROL console, and they are preceded by a check mark (PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows) or are separated from the console items by a horizontal rule (PATROL Console for UNIX). The PATROL Central Operator consoles differentiate between the items in a similar fashion. Figure 5 is an example of an InfoBox for a Server application instance. Figure 5 InfoBox for a Server application instance
Check marked items
Update button
The attributes that populate the InfoBoxes are gathered and updated periodically. Some of the attributes that appear in the application InfoBoxes remain static (for example, SQL Server Name) and some of the attributes change as your SQL Server environment changes (for example, Blackout End Time). Each InfoBox provides an Update button that you can use to force a refresh of the attributes in that InfoBox. PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help provides further details about the application InfoBoxes. For information about how to access InfoBoxes and online Help, see Appendix A, Accessing menu commands, InfoBoxes, and online Help.
30
Related publications
Related publications
The PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help is installed with the product when you install from the Electronic Product Download (EPD) website. The following publications contain information about installing, migrating, and deploying PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server:
I I I
Distribution Server Getting Started Installation Utility Reference Manual PATROL Configuration Manager User Guide
For more detailed information about the PATROL Agent and consoles, see the documentation CDs provided with your PATROL Agent and console products and the online Help for those products.
Where to go from here

The following table suggests topics that you should read next:
Topic Source of information
how to install and migrate PATROL for Chapter 2, Installing and migrating PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server Microsoft SQL Server on page 33 how to setup and configure PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server how to use PATROL Configuration Manager with PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server to change configuration variables or parameter properties how to use PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server functionality to monitor and manage SQL Servers Chapter 3, Configuring PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, and PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help Chapter 4, Using PATROL Configuration Manager with PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server on page 95 Chapter 5, Working with PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, and PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help
how to access the KM menu commands, Appendix A, Accessing menu commands, InfoBoxes, and online Help InfoBoxes, and online Help definitions and default values for parameters consumer and collector parameter dependencies detailed descriptions of the applications, menu commands, parameters, and InfoBoxes Appendix B, Parameter definitions and defaults Appendix C, Consumer-collector parameter dependencies PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help
PATROL Agent configuration variables Appendix D, Agent configuration variables
31
32
Chapter
2
34 38 39 40 40 41 41 46 46 49 50 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 57 57 59 59 60 60 61
Installing and migrating PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server

2
This chapter presents the following topics: Verifying installation requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Preparing for installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Determining how you should monitor a cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Determining whether to install locally or remotely . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Determining the version of the installation utility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Determining the PATROL security levels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Determining how to upgrade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Planning for the installation of a language pack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Installing for the first time or upgrading over an existing installation . . . . . . . . . . . . Installing a language pack . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Upgrading and saving customizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Preparing to upgrade and migrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Migrating customizations with the PATROL Configuration Manager. . . . . . . . . Migrating customizations manually. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Creating an installation package of the migrated and merged KM. . . . . . . . . . . . First-time installation using the Distribution Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Importing a CD or customized installation package into Distribution Server. . . Installing with the Distribution Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Installing the online Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Installing the UNIX version of the Help browser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting environment variables for the browser. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Additional considerations for using online Help for UNIX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Uninstalling PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To uninstall PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server from a Windows environment To uninstall PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server from a UNIX environment. . . . Where to go from here. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 2
33
Verifying installation requirements

Before installing PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, verify that the target computer meets the minimum installation requirements listed in Table 2.
NOTE
For specific version numbers for the products that are supported by PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, refer to the release notes for the version of PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server that you are using.
Table 2
Resource
System requirements for PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server (Part 1 of 4)

Requirements The Microsoft SQL Servers you want to monitor must have the SQL Server performance objects installed and available to PATROL in order for all of the functions in PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server to operate. Comments If PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server cannot find the SQL Server performance objects, it cannot configure the instance, and it generates the following message: The SQL Server performance objects are not available. If you cannot resolve this issue, refer to your SQL Server manual, see the Microsoft technical information website, or call Microsoft support. PATROL Central consoles are not required, but a PATROL Agent is required for each monitored instance and a PATROL Console for UNIX or PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows is required to initially configure PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server.
SQL Server performance objects
PATROL Agent and consoles
I I
at least one of the following PATROL consoles: PATROL Console for UNIX PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows Servers PATROL Central Operator Microsoft Windows Edition PATROL Central Operator Web Edition PATROL Agent PATROL Console Server
34
Table 2
Resource

Requirements PATROL installation utility PATROL Cluster Configuration Wizard (a component of PATROL for Microsoft Windows Servers) Use the following PATROL products to configure and modify PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server:
I I
Comments See Determining the version of the installation utility on page 40. This product is required if you plan to monitor a clustered SQL Server. For more information, see Setting up PATROL in a clustered environment on page 85. For more information, see Chapter 4, Using PATROL Configuration Manager with PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server.
other PATROL products
PATROL Configuration Manager PATROL Knowledge Module for Event Management You can use this product to distribute PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server throughout your enterprise. Fewer megabytes are required if you are installing only on a Managed System (37 MB), or only on a Console System (21 MB). For more information about the roles that each computer performs, see page 48. Install Netscape Navigator on the computer where the console resides. See Determining the PATROL security levels on page 41. If you do not have a permanent license, contact your BMC Software sales representative or the BMC Software Contract Administration department for licensing information.
Distribution Server
disk space 40 MB are required to install on a computer needed to install that is acting as a Managed System, Common System, and Console System
browser security levels
Netscape Navigator for UNIX and Red Hat Linux platforms. PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server can operate at any of the security levels provided by PATROL You must have a valid demonstration license (typically good for 30 days) or a permanent license to run your PATROL products.
license
installing into a UNIX environment without a browser
You must launch the installation utility from the command line and use the -serveronly command line option.
Chapter 2
35
Table 2
Resource accounts

Requirements PATROL Windows account Comments You must create a dedicated user account before PATROL is installed. Use the following guidelines:
I
Stand-alone workgroup servers must use a local user account. Servers that are trusted members of a domain can use either a local or domain account. The account on a domain controller must be a member of the domain Administrators group. The PATROL account must be a member of the local Administrators group of the computer where the PATROL Agent resides. If you use a domain account, no local account on that computer can have the same name. Do not use a built-in Administrator account.
Warning: If you use a built-in Windows domain or local Administrator account as the PATROL default account, files created by PATROL are owned by the Administrator, and security or file access problems can result. Note: If you are installing PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server in a cluster, verify that the account you are using to install PATROL has local administrator rights on each cluster node.
36
Table 2
Resource

Requirements PATROL UNIX account Comments
I
accounts (continued)
The account .login, .profile, .cshrc, and .kshrc files should not contain any customizations such as aliases, nondefault prompts, or unmask settings other than 022. Do not use the root account. The account must have permission to create directories and write the installation logs to the $HOME and /tmp directories on the computer where you are installing products. The account must have ftp and telnet enabled. The account must have access to a root account on the computer where PATROL is installed. (recommended) Install PATROL on local partitions. If PATROL is installed on NFS-mounted partitions, the root account must have root access permissions on the NFS server.
I I
PATROL requires the following accounts to monitor SQL Server:

I
PATROL automatically uses the appropriate login for each function. PATROL uses the SQL Server or Windows account with system administrator privileges for the following functions:
I I I
a SQL Server login account with system administrator privileges when standard security is selected or a Windows login account with system administrator (sa) privileges when integrated security is selected a SQL Server login account with user privileges
SQL Snapshot configuration DBStructureColl and LongRunningTrans parameters
PATROL uses the SQL Server user account for the following functions:
I I
all other parameters all other menu commands
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37
Preparing for installation
Preparing for installation

BMC Software recommends that you first install PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server on a limited number of development or test computers, and then configure and test PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server before installing it onto production computers.
Installation prerequisites
Before you install, you should complete the following tasks:
I I I I I I I
check for product patches or fixes (see page 38) determine how you should monitor a cluster (see page 39) determine whether to install locally or by using an installable image (see page 40) ensure that you are using the correct version of the installation utility (see page 40) determine the PATROL security level (see page 41) determine which roles your computers perform (see page 42) determine whether to upgrade without saving any customizations or to upgrade and save your customizations (see page 41) plan for the installation of a language pack, if required (see page 46)
Checking for product patches or fixes

Product fixes or patches, which correct problems that are found after a product is released, are usually available through the BMC Software website. BMC Software recommends that you check the web page for your version of the product. If fixes or patches are available for PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server 4.2.30, install the product, and then apply the patch or fix using the installation instructions provided in the technical bulletin or flash that describes the patch or fix.
38
Determining how you should monitor a cluster
Determining how you should monitor a cluster

Before you begin installing the product in a clustered environment, decide which of the supported configurations shown in Table 3 you should use to monitor your clustered environment. Table 3 Supported configurations for a clustered environment
Advantage
I
Configuration virtual PATROL Agentuse the PATROL Cluster Configuration Wizard to add the PATROL Agent resource to the cluster group(s) that contains the SQL Servers you want to monitor
Disadvantage You must run a virtual PATROL Agent on each cluster resource group that has a SQL Server to monitor.
No need to configure the SQL Server instances on each cluster node. Instead, you configure PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server on the active nodes (that is, the virtual SQL Server) Parameter history and configuration settings are stored on a shared drive and are, therefore, available after failover the Failover parameter is available in this environment Only SQL Server instances belonging to the same cluster resource group as the virtual PATROL Agent are discovered Only one PATROL Agent runs on each node
PATROL Agentrun independent PATROL Agents on each cluster node
Because PATROL configuration data and parameter history data are not shared between the PATROL Agents on the cluster nodes, the following disadvantages apply:
I
you must configure each SQL Server to which the instance can fail over you cannot view parameter history that was collected on another cluster node
BMC Software recommends that you use the virtual PATROL Agent configuration. If you choose the virtual PATROL Agent configuration, you must install and run a PATROL Agent and PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server on each cluster node, and use the PATROL Cluster Configuration Wizard to create a virtual PATROL Agent resource on each cluster group that contains a SQL Server that you want to monitor. The PATROL Cluster Configuration Wizard defines the PATROL Agent environment variables that make the history data and configuration settings available upon failover. For more information about configuring the PATROL Agent as a resource in a cluster, see Setting up PATROL in a clustered environment on page 85.
Chapter 2 Installing and migrating PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server 39
Determining whether to install locally or remotely
Determining whether to install locally or remotely

You can install products on the computer on which you are running the installation utility (local installation), or you can create an installable image of products so that you can install them at a later time on multiple computers (remote installation functionality). An installable image is a fully configured product image that you can use to install products to multiple computers. With an installable image, you can create one product image with one pass through the installation utility and then use that image to install to remote computers in your environment. If you create an installable image, the computers upon which you install the image must have identical values entered for the following configuration settings:
I I I I I
BMC Software products installation directory account names passwords PATROL Agent port number security options
If you want to specify different settings for different computers, you must either create a separate image for each set of values that you want to implement or edit the variables in the control file for the installable image by using the ctltool. For more information about creating, distributing, and installing installable images, and about using the ctltool, see the PATROL Installation Reference Manual.
Determining the version of the installation utility

The version of the installation utility included on the CD or Electronic Product Download (EPD) image you use to install PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server might differ from a version included on another product CD or from a version that you downloaded from the BMC Software Electronic Product Download (EPD) website. You should use the version of the installation utility that comes with the product that you are installing.
To determine the version of an installation utility 1 Open a command prompt. 2 Navigate to the directory where the installation utility is located. 3 Enter the command that is appropriate for your system:
Setup.exe -v (Windows) setup sh -v (UNIX)
40 PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server Getting Started
Determining the PATROL security levels
Determining the PATROL security levels

PATROL security is installed as part of the agent, console server, and consoles. PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server inherits the security policy from the agent, console server, and console on which it is installed and can operate at any of the PATROL security levels. However, the higher security levels require more overhead, which can affect performance. If this is a concern, you might want to verify which level of security is installed and how it was implemented.
To check the security level of a previously installed agent, console server, or console 1 From the command line, switch to the path on the computer that you want to
check: %BMC_ROOT\..\common\security\bin\OS (Windows) or $BMC_ROOT/../common/security/bin/OS (UNIX)
2 To display the security policy of the current computer, run the following
command:
esstool policy -a
For more information about PATROL security, see the PATROL Security User Guide.
Determining how to upgrade

If you already have a version of PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server installed in your environment, you need to determine whether or not there are any customizations in the installed product that you want to save. Customizations to Knowledge Modules (.km) and PSL (.psl) files are stored in cache, but they are not preserved and incorporated automatically. PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server can include the following customizations:
I I
new Knowledge Modules (.km files) that you created modified PSL code, whether it is embedded in .km or .psl files
Customizations that were applied by using PATROL Configuration Manager or operator overrides created with a PATROL Operator Console (unless you are upgrading from a PATROL console version 3.4.11 or earlier) are saved in the agent configuration database automatically. The customizations take effect automatically. For more information, see Chapter 4, Using PATROL Configuration Manager with PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server.
Chapter 2
41
Determining the roles that each computer performs
Use Table 4 to determine whether you should upgrade and save your customizations or upgrade without saving any customizations, and use the appropriate procedure. Table 4
Situation
I
Choosing an installation procedure

Installation Procedure Installing for the first time or upgrading over an existing installation on page 46
No customizations were made to your previous version of PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server One or more of the following customizations were made to your previous version of PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, but you plan to migrate those customizations manually:
I I
new Knowledge Modules were created PSL code was modified
One or more of the changes or customizations listed above were made by using the PATROL Configuration Manager (in which case, they are saved in the Agent configuration file and applied to the new version automatically). You want to overwrite customizations with the default values of the new version of PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server. The currently installed version of PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server is a version earlier than 2.1.00.
One or more of the following customizations were made to your Upgrading and saving currently installed version of PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server customizations on page 50 and you plan to save those customizations and migrate them to the new version of PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server manually:
I I
new Knowledge Modules were created PSL code was modified First-time installation using the Distribution Server on page 54
If you are using the Distribution Server to install and distribute PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server throughout your environment

The installation utility prompts you to select the roles performed by the computer on which you are installing BMC Software products (the target computer). Before beginning the installation process, review the following definitions of the roles that are presented in the installation utility and decide which of these roles is performed by each computer in your environment.
42
Roles performed by computers in the PATROL architecture

The following roles are performed by computers in the PATROL architecture:
I
Console Systems (also referred to as console computers) host user desktop
applications such as consoles, user interfaces, viewers, and browsers. Select this option if the computer to which you are installing performs any of the following roles: monitors and manages on Windows by using a PATROL Central Operator Microsoft Windows Edition console (PATROL 7.x architecture) monitors and manages on UNIX by using a PATROL Console for UNIX (PATROL 3.x architecture) monitors and manages on Windows by using a PATROL Console for Windows (PATROL 3.x architecture)
I
Managed Systems (also referred to as agent computers) host software that manages
the resources on the computer, such as a PATROL Agent, PATROL Knowledge Modules, and Service Reporting Retrievers. Select this option if the computer to which you are installing will perform any of the following roles: host a PATROL Agent 3.5 (works with both the PATROL 3.x and PATROL 7.x architecture) host KMs and components that contain the knowledge that PATROL uses to monitor the resources on this computer
I
Common Services (new with PATROL 7.x architecture) computer hosts services that
are shared among managed systems and console systems. You can install each of these common services on any computer in the network. Select this option if the computer to which you are installing will perform any of the following roles:
I I I
host the PATROL Central Operator Web Edition (PATROL 7.x) server host the PATROL Console Servers host the RTservers
Chapter 2
43
Determining where to install
Additional information
For more information about the PATROL consoles and PATROL Console Server or RTserver, see the online Help systems for each product and the following documents:
I I I I I I
PATROL Central Operator - Web Edition Getting Started PATROL Central Operator - Microsoft Windows Edition Getting Started PATROL Console Server and RTserver Getting Started PATROL Configuration Manager User Guide PATROL Console for UNIX User Guide PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User Guide - Understanding the Basics of PATROL, Volume 1

Where you install PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server depends on which system roles you have assigned to a computer and which PATROL infrastructure components are installed on that computer. This section explains where to install PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server.
PATROL 3.x
In a PATROL 3.x environment, you must install PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server on the following computers:
I
Computers hosting the PATROL AgentSelect Managed Systems as the System Role in the installation utility when installing PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server. This selection installs the files that run on the PATROL Agent. Computers hosting the PATROL Console for Windows or PATROL Console for UNIXSelect Console Systems as the System Role in the installation utility when installing PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server on computers hosting the PATROL Console for Windows or PATROL Console for UNIX. This selection installs the files required by the console.
44
PATROL 7.x
In a PATROL 7.x environment, you must install PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server on the following computers:
I
Computers hosting the PATROL Console ServerSelect Common Services Systems as the System Role in the installation utility. This selection installs the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server icons, Help files, and resource files that are used by PATROL Central Operator Microsoft Windows Edition and PATROL Central Operator Web Edition.
NOTE
If you do not install PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server on the computer hosting the PATROL Console Server, and select Common Services Systems as the System Role in the installation utility, no PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server icons or Help files will be available for the PATROL Central Operator Microsoft Windows Edition or PATROL Central Operator Web Edition consoles.
Computers hosting PATROL Central Operator Microsoft Windows EditionSelect Console Systems as the System Role in the installation utility. This selection installs PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server files for use by PATROL Central Operator Microsoft Windows Edition. Computers hosting the PATROL AgentSelect Managed Systems as the System Role in the installation utility. This selection installs PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server files that run on the PATROL Agent.
When using PATROL Central Operator Web Edition, install KMs on computers hosting the PATROL Console Server using the Common Services Systems role and computers hosting the PATROL Agent using the Managed Systems role. If you are using older versions of the following components:
I I
PATROL Console Server prior to version 7.2.36 PATROL Central Operator Web Edition prior to version 7.1.10
You must also install PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server on the computer hosting the PATROL Central Operator Web Edition web server using the Common Services Systems role. For more information about the PATROL 7.x architecture, see the PATROL Infrastructure Planning Guide.
Chapter 2
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Planning for the installation of a language pack
Planning for the installation of a language pack

The a language pack provides translations of all messages and user interface elements. Language pack CDs are always installed after the product has been installed. When the Japanese language pack CD is installed, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server operates with a Japanese user interface. There are two requirements you need to consider if you plan to install a language pack:
I
you must install PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server before you can install the language pack for PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server you must make the same selections in the installation windows during both installations
To ensure that you make the same selections during both installations, you might want to note your selections and capture the Review Selections and Start Install window (step 9 on page 49).
Installing for the first time or upgrading over an existing installation

Use Table 4 on page 42 to determine whether you should use this installation procedure or proceed to Upgrading and saving customizations on page 50.
Before you begin

Whether this is a first time installation or an upgrade, take the following actions:
I
create the PATROL default account before installing install (or upgrade, if required) PATROL Agent and console products before installing or upgrading PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server (If you are installing from a CD that contains Agents, consoles, and PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, you can install them at the same time.) install on a limited number of computers in a test environment, test the installation thoroughly, and then install in your production environment
46
If you are upgrading, whether you plan to save your changes or not, take the following actions:
I
move the old PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server to a new directory that is different from PATROL_HOME remove PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server files from PATROL_CACHE
WARNING
You must remove the current PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server files from the PATROL_CACHE directory for the console. If you do not, old product files in PATROL_CACHE are loaded instead of the newly installed files from PATROL_HOME.
To back up the current installation and move files from PATROL_CACHE 1 Shut down any PATROL Agents, consoles, and related services that are currently
running.
2 Ensure that no one is accessing any PATROL files or directories. 3 Perform a full backup of the following directories where PATROL executables and
data are typically stored:
I I
PATROL_HOME for agent and console installation directories PATROL_CACHE for the console working cache
4 Remove all PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server files with the following naming
patterns from PATROL_CACHE\knowledge and PATROL_CACHE\psl:
I I
MSSQL* RA1MSSQL*
To install for the first Time, upgrade without saving customizations, or upgrade and migrate customizations manually 1 From the installation CD or from an electronically downloaded (EPD) installation
image, start the installation utility by running setup.exe (Windows) or setup.sh (UNIX).
2 In the Welcome to the Installation Utility window, click Next. 3 In the Review License Agreement window, review the license agreement, select
Accept, and click Next to continue.
Chapter 2
47
4 In the Select Installation Option window, select one of the following options:
I
To install locally now, select I want to install products on this computer now and click Next to continue. To create an installable image that you can install locally and remotely later, select Create an image to be installed later, enter the directory where you want the installation image stored, and click Next to continue.
To help you determine which of installation options you want to select, see Determining whether to install locally or remotely on page 40.
5 In the Specify Installation Directory window, enter the directory where your
current BMC products are installed, if different from the default, or accept the default and click Next. The PATROL product directory that you specify in step 8 is appended to the path that you enter in this step.
6 In the Select System Roles window, select the roles to indicate the components that
you want to install and click Next. For help in determining which roles to select, see Determining the roles that each computer performs on page 42 and Determining where to install on page 44. For more information about the PATROL consoles, PATROL Console Server, or RTserver, see the online Help systems for those products and the following documents:
I I I
PATROL Console Server and RTserver Getting Started PATROL Console for UNIX User Guide PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User Guide - Understanding the Basics of PATROL, Volume 1
7 In the Select Products and Components to Install window, select PATROL Solutions
for Databases => PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server and click Next.
NOTE
PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server does not provide a QuickStart package.
8 In the Provide the PATROL 3.x Product Directory window, enter the directory in
which you want to install PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server. This product directory is appended to the BMC Products Installation Directory that you entered in step 5.
48
Installing a language pack
9 In the Review Selections and Start Install window, review the selections carefully,
and then, to make changes, click Back or, to start installing, click Start Install. A status window opens that contains current messages, current milestones, and percentage complete.
TIP
Capture the Review Selections and Start Install screen and save it for further reference. If you are planning to install a language pack, you can use this information to make sure that you make the same selections when installing from the language pack CD as you used to install using the product CD. Also, if you are installing PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server on several computers, you can use this information to keep track of the selections that you made for each installation.
10 When the status window reports that the installation is 100% complete, click Next
to view the results window. (Next does not appear until the installation is 100% complete.)
11 In the results window, click View Log to review the details of the installation or
click Exit to close the installation utility.
Installing a language pack

A language pack provides translations of all messages and user interface elements. Language pack CDs are always installed after the product has been installed. For example, when the Japanese language pack CD is installed, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server operates with a Japanese user interface.
NOTE
You must install PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server before you can install a language pack for PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server.
To install a language pack 1 From the language pack CD, run setup.exe. 2 The windows that display during this install are very similar to the windows you
used when installing PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server. For each window, make the same choices in the language pack installation window as you did in the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server installation window.
Chapter 2
49
Upgrading and saving customizations
Upgrading and saving customizations

BMC Software recommends that you migrate customizations that were made to KMs by using PATROL Configuration Manager. For more information about using PATROL Configuration Manager, see Migrating customizations with the PATROL Configuration Manager on page 51 and Chapter 4, Using PATROL Configuration Manager with PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server. If you want to upgrade and save your customizations by migrating your customizations manually, you can use the Installing for the first time or upgrading over an existing installation on page 46 installation instructions. You can also migrate your KM customizations to a new version of the KM and distribute those migrated customizations to PATROL Agents throughout your enterprise by using the Distribution Server.
Preparing to upgrade and migrate

Whether you are upgrading and saving your customizations or simply upgrading, you must first back up the current installation and remove PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server files from PATROL_CACHE.
WARNING
You must remove the current PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server files from the PATROL_CACHE directory for the console. If you do not, old product files in PATROL_CACHE are loaded instead of the newly installed files from PATROL_HOME.
To back up the current installation and move files from PATROL_CACHE 1 Shut down any PATROL Agents, Consoles, and related services. 2 Ensure that no one is accessing any PATROL files or directories. 3 Perform a full backup of the following directories:
I I
PATROL_HOME for agent and console installation directories PATROL_CACHE for the console working cache
50
Migrating customizations with the PATROL Configuration Manager
4 Remove all PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server files with the following naming
patterns from PATROL_CACHE\knowledge and PATROL_CACHE\psl:
I I
MSSQL* RA1MSSQL*
Migrating customizations with the PATROL Configuration Manager

PATROL Configuration Manager allows you to manage customizations to KMs, depending on the type of customization. Before migrating any changes to the KMs, you should review Chapter 4, Using PATROL Configuration Manager with PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server.
I
If you have localized parameters or global parameters that have customized poll times or thresholds, use the AS_CHANGESPRING KM to migrate these customizations into PATROL Configuration Manager rulesets as described in the PATROL Configuration Manager User Guide and in Chapter 4, Using PATROL Configuration Manager with PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server. If you have created custom recovery actions, follow these steps: 1. Ensure that you have made a record of your customizations and have backed up the customized files in the PATROL_HOME and PATROL_CACHE directories. 2. Uninstall the old version of PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server. 3. Install the new version of PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server as described in the section Installing for the first time or upgrading over an existing installation on page 46. 4. Ensure that you have made a record of your custom recovery actions. 5. Use the Recovery Action Event Management commands as described in the PATROL Configuration Manager User Guide to migrate your custom recovery actions to the PATROL Configuration Manager.
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Migrating customizations manually
Migrating customizations manually

Use the following procedures to manually migrate customizations from an earlier version of PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server to the new version.
To migrate customizations manually 1 Move the earlier PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server installation to a new directory
that is different from PATROL_HOME.
2 Identify the customizations in PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server by comparing

the content of the text file of the KM in the current PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server version with the content of the text file for the customized KM that is saved in the PATROL console cache backup directory.
3 Incorporate your customizations to the new PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server by
performing the following steps:
A Restart the PATROL console. B Load the newly installed PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server. C Using a PATROL Developer Console, enter the customizations that you
identified in step 2, one by one.
To migrate customized PATROL Script Language code

Customizations made to PATROL Script Language (PSL) code are not automatically migrated. These customizations may be embedded in .km files or stored in separate .psl files. Migrate these customizations manually, using the following guidelines:
I
If you modified .psl files that were shipped by BMC Software, you must manually re-edit the PSL code in the new KM by using a PATROL Developer Console to reapply your changes. If you modified PSL code embedded in a KM, that code will be overwritten when you install a new version of the product. You must manually edit the new .km files by using a PATROL Developer Console to reapply your changes. If you created a new PSL file (not shipped by BMC Software) outside of a .km file, or if you created new PSL code (not shipped by BMC Software) and embedded it in a KM that was shipped by BMC Software, search your .km, .psl, and .ctg files for terms that you may have used that have since been adopted by BMC Software as PSL keywords. Rename any terms match existing keywords. Reapply your changes by using a PATROL Developer Console.
52
Creating an installation package of the migrated and merged KM
NOTE
If you have customized a PSL library that was compiled with an earlier version of the PSL compiler than the version that was provided with PATROL 3.2.09i, you must manually recompile the library by using a PATROL 3.5 or later compiler.
Creating an installation package of the migrated and merged KM

After you have migrated and merged your customizations, you must create an installation package that can be used with the installation utility to install locally on one computer or with Distribution Server to install remotely on multiple computers.
1 Copy the entire contents of the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server CD to a
temporary directory on a hard drive on a server. You can delete this temporary directory after you have successfully created an installable image.
2 Navigate to the packaged_results directory for the merged package and open the
.ppf file with a text editor. Write down the file name in the first line of the .ppf file. This file name is the name of the directory that you will look for in the Products
directory of the CD image.
3 Rename the packaged_results directory with the file name that you found in the .ppf
file in the previous step.
EXAMPLE
If pksckm/4.2.00/030107-233044 was listed in the first line of the .ppf file, you would use pksckm as the directory name.
4 Copy the renamed directory to the Products directory of the temporary directory
that you used in Step 1. You will be replacing the files there with the merged files that contain your customizations.
5 Copy the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server CD image to the server where you
plan to install PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server.
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First-time installation using the Distribution Server
First-time installation using the Distribution Server

The PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server can be installed locally to a single computer or remotely to multiple computers using the Distribution Server. Details about installing a product across an enterprise to multiple computers by using the Distribution Server are beyond the scope of this book. However, this section does describe how to import the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server product into the Distribution Server. It also provides a high-level overview of the enterprise installation process.
Distribution Server features

You use the Distribution Server to perform remote installations or uninstallations of BMC Software distributed systems products across multiple systems from a central location. With the Distribution Server you can perform the following actions:
I
Install, uninstall, upgrade, and reinstall products on remote systems from one central location. Create collections of products and system groups to distribute multiple products to multiple systems in one distribution. Schedule a distribution for a specific date and time. Maintain multiple product versions to be distributed. View reports to check distribution status, gather distribution data, and diagnosis problems.
To import PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server into the Distribution Server, perform the following tasks: Importing a CD or customized installation package into Distribution Server on page 55.
54
Importing a CD or customized installation package into Distribution Server
Importing a CD or customized installation package into Distribution Server

This task describes how to import components into the Distribution Server for deployment to multiple locations.
Before you begin

I
The customized installation packages that resulted from Creating an installation package of the migrated and merged KM on page 53 must be accessible to the Distribution Server. Ensure that you use Distribution Server version 7.1.01 or later.
To import components in to the Distribution Server 1 Using the Distribution Server Manager, connect to the Distribution Server. 2 In the Distribution Server tab area, click the Components tab. 3 In the list area, click the Import button. 4 Navigate to the location where the components are located and click Next. 5 Select the directory that contains the Products directory (do not select the Products
directory itself). If the components are not accessible on a local drive, you can specify them by using the NFS name and path.
EXAMPLE
Assuming that you copied the CD image into a directory called merged_CD and then, after migrating your customizations and creating a customized installation package, you copied the updated package to the directory containing the CD image, the resultant directory structure would resemble merged_CD\Products\pskchm. You would select the directory merged_CD.
6 Select the check boxes for the components that you want to import and click OK. 7 Click Import to import the selected components.
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Installing with the Distribution Server
Installing with the Distribution Server

Once you have imported the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server into the Distribution Server, you must perform the following tasks within the tool. The tasks can be grouped into three stages.
To set up products 1 Import components into the Distribution Server repository on the Components tab
of the Distribution Manager.
2 Arrange components in collections on the Collections tab of the Distribution

Manager.
3 Configure the collections on the Configurations tab of the Distribution Manager. To set up systems 1 Create accounts in the operating system of the computers to which you want to
distribute PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server.
2 Add accounts and create profiles for the systems on the Systems tab of the
Distribution Manager.
3 Add the systems and install the Distribution Client on the Systems tab of the
Distribution Manager.
4 Arrange systems in system groups on the Systems tab of the Distribution Manager. To distribute products 1 Distribute configurations of collections to system groups on the Distributions tab of
the Distribution Manager.
2 Run reports to review distributions on the Reports tab of the Distribution Manager.
For detailed instructions about how to perform remote installations with the Distribution Server, see the Distribution Server Getting Started Guide.
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Installing the online Help
Installing the online Help

For the PATROL consoles, the online Help for PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server is automatically installed when you install the console KM package to the console. For PATROL Central Operator consoles (either Microsoft Windows Edition or Web Edition), the online Help for PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server is automatically installed when you install the KM package to the console server. If you plan to install the UNIX version of PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server on a PATROL Console for UNIX, you must install the UNIX version of the Help browser separately if it is not already installed.
Installing the UNIX version of the Help browser

The browser that is required for the UNIX version of PATROL Help on PATROL version 3.x is Netscape Navigator version 3.01 through 4.78. However, if you are running a Red Hat Linux platform, you must run Netscape Navigator version 4.x to display the online Help. Currently, PATROL Help does not support Netscape Navigator 6.0. You must install Netscape Navigator on the computer where the PATROL console resides. You can install Netscape anywhere on your UNIX computer as long as the binary is in the path.
Setting environment variables for the browser

The Help browser does not run unless the LANG, PATH, and PATROL_BROWSER environment variables are set properly. The following sections describe these variables.
LANG variable
You must set the UNIX LANG environment variable to C for Netscape Navigator to work properly. Otherwise, you could experience product failures.
Type of shell Bourne Korn C Export command for LANG variable LANG=C export LANG export LANG=C setenv LANG=C
Chapter 2
57
Setting environment variables for the browser
PATH variable
The PATROL user account PATH variable must contain the location of the directory containing the Netscape files. If the directory containing the Netscape files is not in the path, add the directory to the PATROL user account path. This requirement applies only to the PATROL user account on the PATROL console computer.
Type of shell Bourne Korn C Export command for PATH variable PATH=$PATH:/netscape_location export PATH export PATH=$PATH:/netscape_location setenv PATH=$PATH:/netscape_location
PATROL_BROWSER variable
When PATROL starts the Help browser, it uses the command in the PATROL_BROWSER environment variable. By default, the PATROL_BROWSER environment variable contains the following command:
Type of shell Bourne Korn C Export command for PATROL_BROWSER variable PATROL_BROWSER=netscape -display $DISPLAY -install -iconic export LANG export PATROL_BROWSER=netscape -display $DISPLAY -install -iconic setenv PATROL_BROWSER=netscape -display $DISPLAY -install -iconic
To use different arguments, set the value of PATROL_BROWSER to the appropriate string.
EXAMPLE
For Korn shell: export PATROL_BROWSER=/usr/local/bin/netscape -raise
58
Additional considerations for using online Help for UNIX
Additional considerations for using online Help for UNIX

When you select Help from the PATROL console on a UNIX system, it may take a few seconds for the Help browser to launch. Two windows will be displayed. First, the Netscape Navigator window is displayed as an icon, and then a browser window that contains the Help is displayed. In addition, you must be aware of the following restrictions:
I
Netscape Navigator displays warning messages when it is invoked multiple times within the same user account because of its file-locking mechanism. It will, however, continue functioning. By default, when Netscape Navigator starts, it uses a private color map. As a result, you might experience color flashing on your workstation. If so, you can set the value of PATROL_BROWSER so that the colormap option is not specified. However, some subsequent color requests might fail and the online Help will be improperly displayed. The eXceed for Windows NT X Window Server product by Hummingbird Communication Ltd. may not always display the Help files properly.
Consult your Netscape Navigator documentation for specific platform requirements and restrictions.
Uninstalling PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server

You must use the same version of the installation utility that you used to install your current version of PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server to uninstall the product. If you use a different version of the installation program to uninstall, you might remove files needed to perform uninstallation of other BMC Software products. See Determining the version of the installation utility on page 40. For more detailed information about how to uninstall, see the PATROL Installation Reference Manual. Use one of the following procedures to uninstall PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server:
I
To uninstall PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server from a Windows environment on page 60 To uninstall PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server from a UNIX environment on page 60
Chapter 2
59
Uninstalling PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server
NOTE
Before you can uninstall PATROL products, you might need to stop any PATROL processes that are running on the computers where you want to uninstall PATROL.
To uninstall PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server from a Windows environment 1 From the Uninstall directory in your BMC Software product installation directory,
double-click uninstall.exe to launch the installation utility in uninstall mode.
NOTE
As an option, you can launch the installation utility in uninstall mode by choosing Start => Settings => Control Panel => Add/Remove Programs and double-clicking BMC Software Tools in the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box.
2 In the Welcome window, click Next. 3 Select the installation directory from which you want to remove a product, and
click Next.
4 Select the product or products that you want to uninstall, and click Next. 5 Review your selections and click Uninstall.
After the uninstallation is complete, a window is displayed that tells you whether the uninstallation was successful.
To uninstall PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server from a UNIX environment 1 Change to the Uninstall directory in your BMC Software product installation
directory and enter the command ./uninstall.sh to launch the installation utility in uninstall mode.
2 In the Welcome window, click Next. 3 Select the installation directory from which you want to remove a product, and
click Next.
4 Select the product or products that you want to uninstall, and click Next. 5 Review your selections and click Uninstall.
60

Topic how to setup and configure PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server Source of information Chapter 3, Configuring PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, and PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help
how to use PATROL Configuration Manager Chapter 4, Using PATROL Configuration Manager with PATROL for Microsoft SQL with PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server to change configuration variables or parameter Server properties how to use PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server functionality to monitor and manage SQL Servers how to access the KM menu commands, InfoBoxes, and online Help Chapter 5, Working with PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, and PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help Appendix A, Accessing menu commands, InfoBoxes, and online Help
definitions and default values for parameters Appendix B, Parameter definitions and defaults consumer and collector parameter dependencies PATROL Agent configuration variables Appendix C, Consumer-collector parameter dependencies Appendix D, Agent configuration variables
detailed descriptions of the applications, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online menu commands, parameters, and InfoBoxes Help
Chapter 2
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62
Chapter
3
64 64 66 69 72 76 79 69 80 81 81 81 82 82 82 83 84 85 86 87 87 89 89 90 93
Configuring PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server

3
This chapter presents the following topics: Setting up and configuring PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Loading and unloading PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Unloading .km files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Verifying that the SQL Server is discovered and online . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Configuring a SQL Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Configuring a SQL Server instance without an sa password . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Accelerating discovery and reviewing error messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Saving the changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reviewing the default settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SQL Server Agent monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Error log monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Database monitoring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Object monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File and file group monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Replication monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . User and process monitoring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parameter defaults. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting up PATROL in a clustered environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Determining how you should configure a cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitoring a cluster by using a virtual PATROL Agent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Installing and configuring a cluster with a virtual PATROL Agent . . . . . . . . . . . Monitoring a cluster by using a PATROL Agent on each node . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Installing and configuring a node-level cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reviewing how PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server handles clustering events . Where to go from here. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 3 Configuring PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server
63
Setting up and configuring PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server
Setting up and configuring PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server

Once you have completed installation, you must complete the setup steps before you can use PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server to monitor your Microsoft SQL Servers (SQL Servers). This section contains instructions on how to perform the following setup steps:
I I I I I
load the files into the console (and unload unwanted files) verify that the SQL Server is discovered and online configure the SQL Servers accelerate discovery and review the error files save the changes
Loading and unloading PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server

Before you can begin using PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, you must load its .km files into your PATROL console. After you load the files once, you can save your console configuration so that PATROL will automatically load PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server the next time you start your PATROL console. PATROL also provides you with a way to unload any files that you no longer require.
WARNING
PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server requires the presence of all of its .km files to operate successfully. Load the MSSQL_SERVER.kml file and all of the .km files that it provides, and do not delete any of the .km files.
Before you begin

This section assumes that you have completed the following tasks:
I I
started a PATROL console started a PATROL Agent and SQL Server on each computer you want to monitor
64
Before loading PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, consider the following options:
I
If you want PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server to start automatically whenever you open the console, load the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server files and the configuration file for the agent on the computer where the PATROL Agent is installed. If you want to manually load PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server by using the console, load the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server files on the computer where your PATROL console resides.
Loading .km files

Follow the instructions that apply to your console.
To load .km files with PATROL Central Operator Microsoft Windows Edition 1 On the Common Tasks tab of the taskpad, click the Load Knowledge Modules icon.
PATROL Central - Microsoft Windows Edition displays the wizard.
2 Click Next to start the wizard.

The wizard lists each computer on which a PATROL Agent has been installed.
3 Select the check boxes for the computers on which you want to load KMs, and click
Next.
The wizard displays a list of available .kml files for each computer selected in the previous step. The MSSQL_SERVER.kml file is listed once for each computer.
4 Select the check boxes for each MSSQL_SERVER.kml and computer pair that you
want to load.
5 Click Next and click Finish.

PATROL loads PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server on the selected computers.
To load .km files with PATROL Central Operator Web Edition 1 From the Monitored Systems page, click the Load/Unload KMs button.
The Load KMs page opens, listing each computer on which a PATROL Agent has been installed.
2 Select the computers on which you want to load KMs, and click Next.
65
The Load KMs page displays a list of available .km and .kml files. If you selected more than one computer, the only .kml files that are listed are the ones that have been installed on all of the selected computers. If a particular .kml file was installed only on one computer, you must choose that computer by itself to load the file.
3 Select the MSSQL_SERVER.kml file and click Finish.

PATROL loads PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server on the selected computers.
NOTE
If you want to load a .km or .kml file that was not listed in Step 2, ensure that the KM is installed on the appropriate computer and select only that computer in Step 2.
To load .km files with the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows Developer 1 From the PATROL Console for Windows menu bar, choose File => Load KM.
The Load KMs dialog box displays a list of available .kml files.
2 Select the MSSQL_SERVER.kml file, and click Open.

PATROL loads PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server on all of the computers listed under PATROLMainMap.
To load .km files with the PATROL Console for UNIX Developer 1 From the PATROL Console for UNIX menu bar, choose File => Load KM.
The Load KMs dialog box displays a list of available .kml files.
2 Select the MSSQL_SERVER.kml file and click Open.

PATROL loads PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server on all of the computers to which your console is connected.
Unloading .km files

If you no longer want to use an application class, you can unload its .km file so that the application class no longer appears in the console. In some consoles, unloading is referred to as deleting. When you unload or delete a .km file using a console, the file is not deleted from the patrol\knowledge directories on the PATROL console or the PATROL Agent computers.
66
To unload .km files with PATROL Central Operator Microsoft Windows Edition 1 On the Common Tasks tab of the taskpad, click the Unload Knowledge Modules
icon.
2 Click Next to start the wizard.

The wizard lists each computer on which a PATROL Agent has been installed.
3 Select the check boxes for the computers from which you want to unload .km files,
and click Next. The wizard displays a list of application class names (that correspond to .km file names) for each computer selected.
4 Select the check boxes for the .km and computer pair that you want to unload, and
click Next and then click Finish. The console removes the selected .km files from the current management profile.
To unload .km files with PATROL Central Operator Web Edition 1 From the Managed Systems page, click the Load/Unload KMs button.
The Load KMs page opens, listing each computer on which a PATROL Agent has been installed.
2 Select the computers from which you want to unload .km files, and click Next.
The Load KMs page displays a list of .km files. Currently loaded .km files are highlighted in the list.
3 Cancel the selection of the .km files that you want to unload and click Finish.
The console removes the .km files that you specified. These .km files will no longer be in the current management profile.
67
To unload .km files with the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows Developer
Unloading a KM is referred to as deleting a KM in the PATROL Console for Windows.
1 From the KM tab of the tree view, right-click the application class name that you
want to delete and choose Delete from the pop-up menu. The console displays a dialog box that asks if you want to delete the selected application.
2 Click Yes to delete the application class.

The application class is removed from your cache directory and your console session file.
3 Repeat step 1 and step 2 until you have deleted all of the application classes
associated with the KM that you want to delete.
4 From the console menu bar, choose File => Save KM to save your changes.
If you do not save your changes, the .km files will reload the next time you start the console.
To unload .km files with the PATROL Console for UNIX Developer
Unloading a KM is referred to as deleting a KM in the PATROL Console for UNIX.
1 From the PATROL Main window, choose Attributes => Application Classes.
The console displays the List of Application Classes window.
2 Click the name of the application class that you want to delete.
The console highlights the application class name.
3 From the List of Application Classes menu bar, choose Edit => Delete.
The application class is removed from your cache directory and your console session file. The PATROL Console for UNIX removes the application class name from the List of Application Classes.
4 Repeat step 2 and step 3 until you have deleted all of the application classes
associated with the KM that you want to delete.
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Verifying that the SQL Server is discovered and online
5 From the List of Application Classes menu bar, choose File => Save KM to save
your changes. If you do not save your changes, the .km files will reload the next time you start the console.
Saving the changes

Saving the changes that you made to the PATROL console setup ensures that
I
the .km files that you loaded into the PATROL console are reloaded into the console each time that you start the console. the .km files that you unloaded are not reloaded into the PATROL console the next time that you start the console.
To save changes to the PATROL console

In the PATROL console menu bar, choose File => Save KM. The changes that you made to the console when loading and unloading .km file are saved in the console cache file.

This section describes which application icons should appear and where they appear, and which application icons do not appear automatically, and where those applications appear when they are enabled or set up.
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The following PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server application class instance icons appear by default:
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
MSSQL_SERVER MSSQL_SERVER_AVAILABILITY MSSQL_SERVER_CACHE MSSQL_SERVER_CAPACITY MSSQL_SERVER_COLLECTORS MSSQL_SERVER_DB MSSQL_SERVER_DISK MSSQL_SERVER_ERRORLOG MSSQL_SERVER_LOCKS MSSQL_SERVER_NETWORK MSSQL_SERVER_PERFORMANCE MSSQL_SERVER_PROC_CACHE MSSQL_SERVER_SQLSERVER_SETUP MSSQL_SERVER_USER_DEF_CNTRS
The following PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server application class instance icons do not appear by default:
I I I I I I
MSSQL_SERVER_FILE MSSQL_SERVER_FILEGROUP MSSQL_SERVER_PUBLISHED MSSQL_SERVER_SUBSCRIBERS MSSQL_SERVER_OBJECT MSSQL_SERVER_USERS
The following PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server application classes are not represented by icons:
I I
MSSQL_SERVER_ADMIN application MSSQL_SERVER_ LOGIN_MGMT application
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To verify that the objects are discovered 1 Double-click the PatrolMainMap to open the window that contains the
MSSQL_SERVER application instance icon.
2 Double-click on the MSSQL_SERVER application instance icon to open the

window that contains the application icons as shown in Figure 6. Figure 6 Computer, SQL Server, and application icons
Computer icon
MSSQL_SERVER application icon
MSSQL_SERVER_DB application icon
The MSSQL_SERVER_ERRORLOG application icons appear under the MSSQL_SERVER icon when you have enabled error log monitoring. See Error log monitoring on page 81 and Monitoring error logs on page 124. The MSSQL_SERVER_SUBSCRIBERS and MSSQL_SERVER_ PUBLISHED application instance icons appear under the MSSQL_SERVER icon when you have replication defined and enabled. See Replication monitoring on page 82 and Monitoring replication on page 135. The MSSQL_SERVER_USERS application instance icons appear under the MSSQL_SERVER icon when you change the default settings for user monitoring. See User and process monitoring on page 83 and Monitoring users and processes on page 137.
3 Double-click on the MSSQL_SERVER_DB application icon to open a window that

contains a MSSQL_SERVER_DB application instance icon for each database discovered for the SQL Server instance, as shown in Figure 7.
71
Configuring a SQL Server
Figure 7
Database application instance icons
The name of the database the MSSQL_SERVER_DB application instance represents displays under each Database instance icon. The MSSQL_SERVER_FILE and MSSQL_SERVER_FILEGROUP application instance icons appear under the MSSQL_SERVER_DB application instance icon when you enable file and file group monitoring. See File and file group monitoring on page 82 and Monitoring files and file groups on page 133. The MSSQL_SERVER_OBJECT application instance icons appear under the MSSQL_SERVER_DB application icon when you select an object to monitor. See Object monitoring on page 82 and Monitoring objects on page 134. If the appropriate icons do not appear after two to three minutes, right-click the server icon and choose Show System Output Window.

This section describes how to configure a SQL Server by supplying information about it. See Verifying installation requirements on page 34. PATROL records the information provided in the PATROL Agent configuration database. This section contains the following tasks:
I I I I
open the SQL Server Instance Setup dialog box configure the login used by PATROL that has system administrator privileges configure the login used by PATROL that has user privileges verify the accounts and close the dialog box
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Before you begin

These tasks assume that you have completed the following tasks:
I I
loaded PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server verified that the SQL Server instance is discovered and online
To open the SQL Server Instance Setup dialog box

Choose KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => SQL Server Instance Setup from the Server application pop-up menu. The SQL Server Instance Setup dialog box is displayed as shown in Figure 8 on page 74.
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Figure 8
SQL Server Instance Setup dialog box
PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server automatically detects the security mode of the SQL Server and displays only the appropriate radio buttons in the SQL Server Instance dialog box shown in Figure 8.
I
If the SQL Server is configured for integrated security, only the Integrated radio button is displayed. If the SQL Server is configured for standard security, only the Standard radio button is displayed. If the SQL Server is configured for mixed security, both the Standard and the Integrated radio buttons are displayed.
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In the top half of the SQL Server Instance Setup dialog box is where you configure the login that PATROL uses for those functions that require a System Administrator (SA) privilege. In the bottom half of this dialog box, you configure the login that PATROL uses for those functions that require User privileges. For more information, see Verifying installation requirements on page 34.
To configure the login used by PATROL that has system administrator privileges 1 If your SQL Server is configured for mixed security, click either Standard or
Integrated as the security mode to use with this login.
2 Enter the user name for the system administrator (sa) account that PATROL for
Microsoft SQL Server needs to monitor your Microsoft SQL Server installation.
3 Enter and reenter the password for the sa account. NOTE

If you chose Integrated security, you must enter a valid Windows login account (see Figure 8 on page 74).
4 If you chose Integrated security for the sa account:

I
Click Yes in the Grant admin. privilege to this login? field if the Windows login account you entered in Step 3 does not already have the required sa privilege. Click No in the Grant admin. privilege to this login? field if the specified Windows login account you entered in Step 3 already has the sa privilege.
To configure the login used by PATROL that has user privileges 1 If your SQL Server is configured for mixed security, click either Standard or
Integrated in the Security mode to use with this login field.
2 Enter the user name for the PATROL account that PATROL for Microsoft SQL
Server needs to monitor your Microsoft SQL Server installation.
NOTE
If you chose Integrated security, the PATROL account must be a valid Windows login account.
3 Enter and reenter the password for the PATROL account.

Chapter 3 Configuring PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server 75
Configuring a SQL Server instance without an sa password
4 If you chose Integrated security for the sa account:

I
If the specified sa account does not have the system administrator privilege, click Yes in the Grant login to MS SQL Server? field. If the specified sa account already has the system administrator privilege, click No in the Grant login to MS SQL Server? field.
5 To select whether you want PATROL to add a SQL Server login ID for the
PATROL account, click Yes or No in the Add this login to MS SQL Server? field. If you chose Standard security for the PATROL account in Step1, and if you clicked No in Step 5, you must have already added a SQL Server login ID for the PATROL account. If you chose Integrated security for the PATROL account in Step 1, and if you clicked No in Step 4, the PATROL account automatically maps to the default login account that you specified when you configured the SQL Server security options. In addition, PATROL is only able to monitor the databases that use that default login account.
To verify the accounts and close the dialog box 1 To verify whether the accounts are correct, display a confirmation message, and
keep the dialog box open, click Verify.
2 To close the dialog box, click Done.

If the accounts are incorrect, a message is displayed and the dialog box stays open.

You can configure PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server to monitor SQL Server instances without the sa password. The configuration uses the privileged login to add stored procedures and to add the monitoring user to the monitored databases. After the configuration, the sa user name is stored in the pconfig file but the password is not stored in the pconfig file. This configuration sets the value of the /MSSQLServer/SQLServerInstanceName/GENUSERFLAG variable to 1. In the SQL Config Setup dialog box, the top section is used by a SQL Server login or Windows user with SQL Server admin privileges. The bottom section is used by a SQL Server login or Windows user with SQL Server user privileges, who is defined as a monitoring user.
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NOTE
After you execute the KM Commands => KM Admin => SQL Config Set up menu command, the following message is displayed for a limited time in the system output window: close: bad channel number. You can ignore this message.
Table 5 lists the configuration status of the authentication mode used in the SQL Config Setup dialog box. Table 5 SQL Server Config Setup authentication mode
User login mode used by PATROL for Microsoft SQL Admin login mode used by PATROL Server for Microsoft SQL Server Standarda Integratedb Standardc Integrated
a b c d d
configured configured
not supported configured
refers to a SQL Server login refers to a Windows user refers to a SQL Server login with admin privileges refers to a Windows user with SQL Server admin privileges
To configure a SQL Server using the standard security mode for the SQL Server admin and user logins 1 Open the SQL Config Setup dialog box by choosing KM Commands => KM Admin
=> SQL Config Set up.
2 In the Security mode to use with this login check box, select Standard. 3 Enter the SQL Server login name and password of the login who has admin
privileges.
4 In the Login used by Patrol for SQL KM Monitoring section, select Standard. 5 Enter the login name and password to use for general user monitoring.
If the login does not exist in the SQL Server, it will be created.
6 Click Verify.
A confirmation message is shown.
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7 Click DONE to exit.

The selected server instance is configured for the standard security mode for the SQL Server login.
To configure a SQL Server using the integrated security mode for the SQL Server admin and user logins 1 Open the SQL Config Setup dialog box by choosing KM Commands => KM Admin
2 In the Security mode to use with this login check box, select Integrated. 3 Enter the Windows user name and password for the user who has SQL Server
admin privileges.
4 In the Login used by Patrol for SQL KM Monitoring section, select Integrated. 5 Enter the Windows user name and password for the user who has SQL Server user
privileges. If the Windows user has not been registered in the SQL Server, it will be registered.
6 Click Verify.

The selected server instance is configured for the integrated security mode for the Windows user.
To configure a SQL Server using the integrated security mode for the SQL Server admin login and standard security mode for the user login 1 Open the SQL Config Setup dialog box by choosing KM Commands => KM Admin
2 In the Security mode to use with this login check box, select Integrated. 3 Enter the Windows user name and password for the user who has SQL Server
admin privileges.
4 In the Login used by Patrol for SQL KM Monitoring section, select Standard. 5 Enter the login name and password for general user monitoring.
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Accelerating discovery and reviewing error messages
If the login does not exist in the SQL Server, it will be created.
6 Click Verify.

The selected server instance is configured for the standard security mode for the SQL Server login.
To configure a SQL Server using the standard security mode for the SQL Server admin login and integrated security mode for the user login
The combination of using the admin login with standard security mode and the user login with integrated security mode is not supported. If you try to configure the SQL Server instance in this way, the CheckConfiguration parameter goes into an alarm state, and you cannot configure PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server for general user monitoring. If you want to use PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server in this security combination, use the KM Commands => KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => SQL Server Instance Setup menu command to configure PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server. This configuration stores the SQL Server admin login password information in the pconfig file and disables the general user monitoring mode.
Accelerating discovery and reviewing error messages

This section is optional and it assumes that you have the PATROL for Windows KM installed. It describes how you can accelerate discovery, refresh parameters, and review any error messages, if any, from the PATROL console.
To trigger application discovery

From the pop-up menu accessed from the PATROL_NT Agent icon, choose KM Commands => Trigger Agent Activities => Perform Application Discovery. You can also perform this task from the Host icon. Right-click on the Host icon and from the KM Commands, choose the PATROL =>
Force Discovery menu command.
Discovery takes place immediately.
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Reviewing the default settings
To refresh parameters
From the pop-up menu accessed from the Server application instance, choose KM Admin => Refresh Parameters. Within one application discovery cycle (approximately 40 seconds), most of the discovered objects (instances) should change to the online state. The Database application discovery might take longer, based on the number of databases that are monitored.
To review error messages

From the pop-up menu accessed from the computer icon in the PatrolMainMap window, choose Show System Output Window. The system output log displays in the System Output Window. Refer to the PATROL user guide for your operating system for more information.
Reviewing the default settings

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server provides default settings for the following monitoring options and parameters:
I I I I I I I I
SQL Server Agent monitoring(see page 81) error log monitoring (see page 81) database monitoring (see page 81) object monitoring (see page 82) file and file group monitoring (see page 82) replication monitoring (see page 82) user and process monitoring (see page 83) parameter defaults (see page 84)
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SQL Server Agent monitoring
SQL Server Agent monitoring

By default, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server does not automatically monitor the SQL Server Agent. Use the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => Monitoring Setup menu from the Server application pop-up menu to enable the monitoring of the SQL Server Agent. For more information about monitoring the SQL Server Agent, see Monitoring SQL Server Agent on page 121. For step-by-step instructions, see the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help.
Error log monitoring

Error Log application monitoring is disabled by default. Use the KM Commands => KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => Monitoring Setup menu command to enable monitoring of the SQL Server Agent, SQL Server Agent error logs and the SQL Server error logs. Once monitoring is enabled for error logs, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server uses a filter to capture the SQL Server error messages that contain the character strings that you enter by using the Setup Error Log String Monitoring menu command from the Error Log application instance. For more information, see Monitoring error logs on page 124. For step-by-step instructions, see the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help.
Database monitoring
By default, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server automatically monitors all databases and creates a Database application instance for each database that resides on the SQL Server. You can change the default at any time and specify only certain databases to monitor.
NOTE
PATROL does not monitor databases that contain unsupported characters or databases that it cannot access.
Use the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => Set DB Auto Discovery menu command from the Server application pop-up menu to change the default settings for monitoring databases. You can also use this command to exclude databases from monitoring.
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Object monitoring
For more information, see Monitoring databases on page 129. For step-by-step instructions, see the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help.
Object monitoring
By default, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server does not automatically monitor individual database objects (user tables and indexes). You can manually set up individual user tables or indexes to monitor. When you specify a monitored object, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server creates an Object application instance for that object. Use the KM Admin => Object Space Monitor command from the Server application pop-up menu to specify the database objects you want to monitor. For more information, see Monitoring objects on page 134. For step-by-step instructions, see the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help.
File and file group monitoring

By default, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server does not automatically monitor files and file groups. You must enable file and file group monitoring using the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => Monitoring Setup menu from the Server application pop-up menu. For more information, see Monitoring files and file groups on page 133. For stepby-step instructions, refer to the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help.
Replication monitoring
By default, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server does not automatically monitor published articles and SQL Servers that are subscribing to those articles. Subscribers and Published application instances appear only when the following conditions exist:
I I I
You have enabled the monitoring of replication. The SQL Server you are monitoring is configured for replication. The current SQL Server is configured as the distribution server.
NOTE
PATROL does not allow you to create published articles or subscribers. You can create published articles and subscribers from the SQL Server Enterprise Manager sql.
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User and process monitoring
Use the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => Monitoring Setup menu to enable the monitoring of replication. For more information, see Monitoring replication on page 135. For step-by-step instructions, see the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help.
User and process monitoring

By default, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server does not create Users application instances. It does automatically monitor and create reports to let you know when user processes are causing the following problems:
I I
Processes are blocking other processes (blocker processes). Processes are idle.
PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server allows you to select a specific user or process for monitoring, and it then creates a Users application instance for the specific users or processes that you select. You can also change the automatic monitoring setup and exclude specific users from monitoring. To change the default settings for user and process monitoring, use the KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin commands from the Server application pop-up menu. For more information, see Monitoring users and processes on page 137. For stepby-step instructions, refer to the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help.
Blocking and idle processes

A blocking process holds locks and blocks other users for at least the minimum amount of time configured (blocked detection time). The default is three minutes. Blocking processes are reported by the BlockerProcs parameter, which goes into an alarm state and displays information in a task output window (the problem alert methods). An idle process is one that has not been accumulating resources for at least the minimum amount of time configured (idle detection time). The default is 20 minutes. Idle processes are reported by the IdleProcs parameter, which goes into an alarm state and displays information in a task output window. You can change the default blocked detection time or the default idle detection time for all users and the default problem alert methods for all users by choosing the KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin => Configure Auto User Monitoring command from the Server application pop-up menu.
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Parameter defaults
You can change the default blocked detection time or the default idle detection time for an individual user by choosing the Change Local Defaults command from the User application pop-up menu. You can also exclude a user from automatic monitoring of blocked processes or idle processes, respectively, by choosing one of the following commands from the Server application popup menu.
I
KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin => Exclude Specific User from monitoring of Blocked Processes KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin => Exclude Specific User from monitoring of Idle Processes
NOTE
By default, the sa, probe, repl_publisher, and repl_subscriber logins are excluded from the Auto User Monitoring feature.
Parameter defaults
PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server ships all of its parameters in the active mode. The active or inactive setting is just one of many property definition defaults contained in the Parameter Properties dialog box. PATROL also provides default automatic recovery actions for key parameters.
Property definition defaults

Parameter definition defaults include the command type, parameter type, icon type, polling time (scheduling), history retention period, and alarm ranges. To view a table that contains the defaults for all PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server parameters, refer to Appendix B, Parameter definitions and defaultsor refer to the online Help for that parameter. For detailed instructions about changing default values, refer to the PATROL user guide for your console.
Failover parameter alarm shipped inactive

The Failover parameter is shipped with the alarm inactive. To activate this alarm, use the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => Monitoring Setup. For more on the Failover
parameter, see In a clustered environment on page 91.
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Setting up PATROL in a clustered environment
Automated recovery action (ARA) defaults

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server is set up to automatically perform the following actions when any of several key parameters go into a warning or an alarm state:
I I I
execute an external recovery script ara_MSSQL.cmd annotate the parameter warning or alarm trigger an event in the PATROL Event Manager (PEM)
You can change these defaults at any time. For more information about automated recovery actions, see Using automatic recovery actions on page 149.
Setting up PATROL in a clustered environment

You can set up and configure a Microsoft SQL Server cluster for monitoring by PATROL in the following ways:
I I
by using a virtual PATROL Agent by using node-level PATROL Agents
For instructions on how to determine which method you should use and how to set up your Microsoft SQL Server cluster for monitoring, see the following topics:
I I I I I I
Determining how you should configure a cluster on page 86 Monitoring a cluster by using a virtual PATROL Agent on page 87 Installing and configuring a cluster with a virtual PATROL Agent on page 87 Monitoring a cluster by using a PATROL Agent on each node on page 89 Installing and configuring a node-level cluster on page 89 Reviewing how PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server handles clustering events on page 90
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Determining how you should configure a cluster
Determining how you should configure a cluster

Before you begin installing the product in a clustered environment, decide which of the supported configurations shown in Table 6 you should use to monitor your clustered environment. Table 6 Supported configurations for a clustered environment
Advantage
I
Configuration virtual PATROL Agent use the PATROL Cluster Configuration Wizard to add the PATROL Agent resource to the cluster group(s) that contains the SQL Servers you want to monitor
Disadvantage You must run a virtual PATROL Agent on each cluster resource group that has a SQL Server to monitor.
You do not need to configure the SQL Server instances on each cluster node. Instead, you configure PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server on the active nodes (that is, the virtual SQL Server). Parameter history and configuration settings are stored on a shared drive and are, therefore, available after failover. the Failover parameter is available in this environment. Only SQL Server instances belonging to the same cluster resource group as the virtual PATROL Agent are discovered. Only one PATROL Agent runs on each node.
PATROL Agentrun independent PATROL Agents on each cluster node
Because PATROL configuration data and parameter history data are not shared between the PATROL Agents on the cluster nodes, the following disadvantages apply:
I
You must configure each SQL Server to which the instance can fail over. You cannot view parameter history that was collected on another cluster node.
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Monitoring a cluster by using a virtual PATROL Agent
Monitoring a cluster by using a virtual PATROL Agent

BMC recommends that you use a virtual PATROL Agent to monitor your clustered environment. In a virtual PATROL Agent configuration, you install a virtual PATROL Agent as a resource for each cluster group that contains a SQL Server you want to monitor. You install a virtual PATROL Agent using the PATROL Cluster Configuration Wizard, which is a component of the PATROL for Microsoft Windows Servers product (versions 2.1 and higher). The PATROL Cluster Configuration Wizard sets the PATROL Agent environment variables that make the history data and configuration settings available upon failover. If you do not have the PATROL Cluster Configuration Wizard installed, install it from your PATROL for Microsoft Windows Servers CD. If you do not have a product CD, but you have a license for the product and a user name and password provided by your sales representative, you can download PATROL for Microsoft Windows and the PATROL Cluster Configuration Wizard from the BMC Software website at
http://www.bmc.com/ega.
For complete instructions on how to use the PATROL Cluster Configuration Wizard, see the PATROL for Microsoft Windows Servers Clustering Getting Started manual. This manual is available from the PATROL for Microsoft Windows Servers documentation CD or from the BMC Software website: http://www.bmc.com/ega. You will need a license and the user name and password provided to you by your sales representative.
Installing and configuring a cluster with a virtual PATROL Agent

Using the PATROL Cluster Configuration Wizard, you can specify the following properties of a clustered PATROL Agent:
I I I
PATROL Agent resources communication port for the PATROL Agent location to save history and configuration files
In order to configure PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server in a clustered environment you need the PATROL Cluster Configuration Wizard. The PATROL Cluster Configuration Wizard is used to make the PATROL Agent service a clustered resource. This provides the PATROL Agent the ability to failover between nodes while keeping its configuration and history intact.
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Installing and configuring a cluster with a virtual PATROL Agent
To use the PATROL Cluster Configuration Wizard 1 Create a domain PATROL account with local administrator rights on all SQL
Server nodes in the cluster on which PATROL is installed:
2 Using the PATROL account created in step 1, install the following products on
each SQL Server cluster node:
I I I
PATROL Agent PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server PATROL Cluster Configuration Wizard
3 Identify the SQL Server cluster groups into which you want to install a virtual
PATROL Agent. These groups must contain the following resources:
I
physical disk to store history and configuration datapreferably a standard cluster-shared disk. IP addressso that the virtual PATROL Agent can run from any node, even if that node does not own the cluster IP address. network namea name the virtual PATROL Agent uses to refer to the resources PATROL will monitor. Thus, the resources can failover to a node.
4 On each cluster node, run the PATROL Cluster Configuration Wizard. To start the
wizard, use one of the following methods:
I I
from command prompt, type pcc.exe select Start => Programs => BMC PATROL => PATROL Cluster Configuration Wizard.
This process involves adding the virtual PATROL Agent to the Disk Group that contains the Virtual SQL Server default and named instances that is, sql2k, sql2k\db1, sql2k\db2 etc. Each virtual PATROL Agent must be configured with a unique port number. For information about how the PATROL Agent supports an application in a cluster environment and what type of failover tolerance it provides, see the PATROL Agent Reference Manual. See your Microsoft SQL Server documentation for details about SQL Servers, clustering, and failovers.
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Monitoring a cluster by using a PATROL Agent on each node
Monitoring a cluster by using a PATROL Agent on each node

In a PATROL Agent (node-level) configuration, you install a PATROL Agent on each cluster node. These agents run independently and are not part of a cluster resource group. Neither PATROL history data nor configuration settings are accessible by the other nodes in a cluster upon failover. Because PATROL does not share the Agent configuration information between nodes, you must set up and configure each SQL Server instance on the physical PATROL Agents on the cluster nodes to which it can failover. This requires that you fail over each SQL Server to each of the physical PATROL Agents to which it can failover.
NOTE
You might want to perform this setup during regularly scheduled maintenance.
Installing and configuring a node-level cluster

Use this procedure to configure each SQL Server in a clustered environment that you are monitoring using a PATROL Agent at the node-level.
1 Install a PATROL Agent and PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server on each node in
the cluster.
2 Start SQL_SERVER_A on node SERVER_ONE. 3 Connect the PATROL console to node SERVER_ONE. 4 Configure the SQL Server name for SQL_SERVER_A by using the KM Admin =>
Setup/Configure KM => SQL Server Name Used By PATROL command, from the SQL Server application pop-up menu. In the dialog box, enter the SQL server name in the form of <Virtual server name>\SQL_SERVER_A.
5 Configure the username and password entries for SQL_SERVER_A using the KM
Admin => Setup/Configure KM => SQL Server Instance Setup command from the
SQL Server application pop-up menu.
6 Fail over SQL_SERVER_A to the next node in the cluster (SERVER_TWO). (See
your SQL Server cluster administration documentation for instructions on how to fail over the SQL Server.)
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Reviewing how PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server handles clustering events
7 Connect the PATROL console to node SERVER_TWO and repeat steps 4, 5, and 6,
and then repeat the process for all other nodes to which the SQL Server is configured to failover.
8 Repeat steps 1 through 7 for each SQL Server in the cluster.

With this configuration, SQL Server icons display as follows:
I
If a cluster node owns the SQL Server resource group and the SQL Server is running, the SQL Server icon appears in online mode. If a cluster node owns the SQL Server resource group and the SQL Server is not running, the SQL Server icon appears in offline mode. If a cluster node does not own the SQL Server resource group, the SQL Server icon does not appear.
The following topics compare and describe how PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server reacts to a SQL Server going down or coming online when it is not in a clustered environment and when it is in a clustered environment.
If a SQL Server goes down

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server performs differently in a clustered environment than in a non-clustered environment when a SQL Server goes down or is taken offline.
In a non-clustered environment
When a SQL Server goes down in a non-clustered environment, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server performs as follows: 1. PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server discovery determines that the SQL Server is down. 2. The SQLServerStatus parameter (under the MSSQL_SERVER_ AVAILABILITY application) is updated by PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server discovery and goes into alarm.
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3. After 5 seconds, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server puts the SQL Server instance in an offline mode. (The 5-second delay allows the recovery action for the SQLServerStatus parameter to complete.)
In a clustered environment
When a SQL Server resource group fails over from the current SQL Server to another SQL Server in the cluster, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server performs as follows: 1. PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server discovery determines that the current SQL Server is down. 2. If you are using a PATROL Agent to monitor at the node-level, PATROL discovers the other SQL Server during full discovery and creates an instance for that SQL Server in the same way that PATROL discovers and creates an instance for a SQL Server in a non-clustered environment. 3. If you are monitoring a virtual PATROL Agent, the following occurs: A. The virtual PATROL Agent also fails over. Once the virtual PATROL Agent discovers on another node, by default the Failover parameter is set to 1 and is annotated with information about the node that failed. You can configure the Failover parameter to alarm by using the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => Monitoring Setup. If configured to alarm, the Failover parameter is set to 2 when the virtual PATROL Agent discovers on another node. The Failover parameter is only available from SQL Servers that are monitored using a virtual PATROL Agent. B. The SQLServerStatus parameter (under the MSSQL_SERVER_ AVAILABILITY application icon) is updated by PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server discovery and goes into alarm. C. After five seconds, PATROL puts the SQL Server instance in an offline mode. (The five-second delay allows the recovery action for the SQLServerStatus parameter to complete.) D. The SQL Server instance is deleted (only in full discovery).
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If a SQL Server comes online

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server performs differently in a clustered environment than in a non-clustered environment when a SQL Server comes online.
In a non-clustered environment
When a SQL Server comes up or is brought online (it does not fail over from another cluster node), PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server performs as follows: 1. If no application instance exists for this SQL Server, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server creates one. This occurs during full discovery. 2. PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server changes the application instance to an online mode.
In a clustered environment
When a SQL Server fails over from another node in the cluster to the current node in the cluster, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server performs as follows:
I
If you are using a PATROL Agent to monitor at the node-level, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server discovers the SQL Server during full discovery and creates an instance for that SQL Server in the same way that PATROL discovers and creates an instance for a SQL Server in a non-clustered environment. If you are using a virtual PATROL Agent to monitor, the virtual SQL Server instance you are monitoring goes offline and then comes back online. How long this take varies depending on your environment. It can take several minutes. You will not see the hardware failure that caused the failover, but once the failover is complete, you will see the Failover parameter. By default the Failover parameter is set to 1 and is annotated with information about the node that failed. You can configure the Failover parameter to alarm by using the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => Monitoring Setup. If configured to alarm, the Failover parameter is set to 2 when the virtual PATROL Agent discovers on another node. The Failover parameter is available only for SQL Servers that are monitored using a virtual PATROL Agent.
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Now that you have installed and configured PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, you might want to read Chapter 5, Working with PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, for an overview of the parameters, menu commands, and InfoBoxes provided by PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server and how to use those functions to monitor the SQL Servers in your environment. The following table suggests topics that you should read next:
Topic how to use PATROL Configuration Manager with PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server to change configuration variables or parameter properties how to use PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server functionality to monitor and manage SQL Servers Source of information Chapter 4, Using PATROL Configuration Manager with PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server
Chapter 5, Working with PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, and PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help
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Chapter
Using PATROL Configuration Manager with PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server
4
This chapter presents the following topics: Overview of PATROL Configuration Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Saving backups in PATROL Configuration Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Configuring for PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Modifying PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server instances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 Do not deactivate application classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Do not modify configuration variables that are for internal use only . . . . . . . . . . 99 Modifying an instance and deploying the changes to other instances . . . . . . . . 100 Adding or modifying pconfig variables manually. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 Modifying parameters using PATROL Configuration Manager and PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Deactivating parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Changing parameter thresholds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 Changing parameter polling cycles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 Modifying parameter properties. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 Verifying changes to configuration variables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Where to go from here. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
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Overview of PATROL Configuration Manager
Overview of PATROL Configuration Manager

The PATROL Configuration Manager is used by PATROL administrators, system administrators, and database administrators to define rules and rule sets that manage configuration variables for PATROL Agents on multiple hosts. Using the PATROL Configuration Manager to customize the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server product gives you the following advantages:
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You can maintain customizations outside PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, which makes upgrading easier. You can create different rules and rule sets files for each computer or for different purposes, which enables you to create customizations that are specific to a computer or to a group of computers.
This chapter assumes that you have successfully installed and configured the following products:
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PATROL Configuration Manager PATROL Knowledge Module (KM) for Event Management
This chapter also assumes that you know how to operate PATROL Configuration Manager and PATROL KM for Event Management. However, before using PATROL Configuration Manager to change the configuration of PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, BMC Software recommends that you ensure that PATROL Configuration Manager is set up to save or backup the configuration. See Saving backups in PATROL Configuration Manager on page 97. The general requirements for installing PATROL Configuration Manager and the PATROL KM for Event Management are set out in the PATROL Configuration Manager User Guide. For more information about general requirements for PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, see Verifying installation requirements on page 34.
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Saving backups in PATROL Configuration Manager
Saving backups in PATROL Configuration Manager

Before making any changes to PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, BMC Software recommends that you check the configuration settings in PATROL Configuration Manager to ensure that the Save Backup Before Apply archive option is selected. This option is set as the default during configuration of PATROL Configuration Manager, and it appears as an option in other PATROL Configuration Manager dialog boxes as well. Ensure that it remains selected as the backup option.
To select the backup option in PATROL Configuration Manager 1 From the main menu, choose File => Configure to open the Configuration dialog
box.
2 Click the Archives tab to open the Backup Settings. 3 Ensure that Save Backup Before Apply is selected. 4 Click OK to save the settings and close the dialog box.
Configuring for PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server instances

You must configure each PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server instance separately using the Instance Configure menu command. For more information, see Chapter 3, Configuring PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server. You cannot use PATROL Configuration Manager to perform the initial configuration of PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server instances. You can use PATROL Configuration Manager only to modify instances that were previously configured.
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Modifying PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server instances

You can modify an instance by either changing the rules and rulesets in PATROL Configuration Manager or by changing the configuration variables through menu commands in an instance. However, you cannot change the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server configuration variables and application classes that are discussed in the following topics:
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Do not deactivate application classes on page 99 Do not modify configuration variables that are for internal use only on page 99
When you modify an instance by changing the rules and rulesets in PATROL Configuration Manager, no validations are performed, but PATROL Configuration Manager allows you to easily export those changes to many other instances. To take advantage of the validations performed by the KM and the deployment capabilities of PATROL Configuration Manager, BMC Software recommends using the following process for modifying SQL Server instances:
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Make changes in one instance by using the menu commands. Test the changes in that instance to ensure that the changes operate as expected. Export the modified variables to PATROL Configuration Manager, where they are known as rules and rulesets. Deploy the modified variables or rules and rulesets to other instances through the PATROL Configuration Manager.
The following procedure shows you how you can modify SQL Server instances by using this process: Modifying an instance and deploying the changes to other instances on page 100. There are some pconfig variables that do not appear automatically. You must enter these variables manually. Also, if you plan to modify variables manually, see the following procedure: Adding or modifying pconfig variables manually on page 102. Whether you modify an instance by changing rules and rulesets in PATROL Configuration Manager or by changing the configuration variables in an instance, you must use the proper values or the change does not take effect. The following topics provide information about how to change the configuration variables or rules for blackout periods and automatic recovery actions.
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Modifying the blackout configuration variable on page 103 Modifying the automatic recovery action variable on page 103
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For a complete list of the PATROL configuration variables and the strings that they generate, see Appendix D, Agent configuration variables. For more detailed descriptions of the parameters, see the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help.
Do not deactivate application classes

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server requires the presence of all of the application classes. PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server uses the change_state command each time an application is created, and each time the SQL Server is stopped or started. Therefore, ensure that all of the .km files that represent the application classes are loaded and active. You do not have to monitor all application classes, but all application classes must exist in the environment for PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server to operate correctly. For more information on monitoring the application classes, see Applications and icons on page 20, Reviewing the default settings on page 80, Chapter 5, Working with PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server,and the online Help for PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server. For information about loading .km files, Loading .km files on page 65.
Do not modify configuration variables that are for internal use only
Some variables are created for internal use only. These variables are used by PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server and alteration of these variables can harm the operation of PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server. Table 7 lists the configuration variables that are for internal use only, and that you should never delete or modify, whether through PATROL Configuration Manager or manually. If you do modify any of the these variables, you must restart the agent for the changes to take effect. For more infomation about these variables, see the PATROL Agent Reference Manual. Table 7 Variables that are for internal use only (Part 1 of 2) Description
indicates the account information used to execute the OS commands and external executable files indicates the account information used to execute the OS commands and external executable files
Configuration variable
/AgentSetup/MSSQL_SERVER.instance .OSdefaultAccount /AgentSetup/MSSQL_SERVER.instance .OSdefaultAccountAppliesToCmds
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Table 7
Variables that are for internal use only (Part 2 of 2) Description

indicates the account information used to execute the OS commands and external executable files indicates the account information used to execute the OS commands and external executable files indicates the account information used to execute the OS commands and external executable files. indicates the account information used to execute the OS commands and external executable files indicates the account information used to execute the OS commands and external executable files indicates the account information used to execute the OS commands and external executable files
Configuration variable
/AgentSetup/MSSQL_SERVER_ADMIN.instance. defaultAccount /AgentSetup/MSSQL_SERVER_ADMIN.instance. OSdefaultAccount /AgentSetup/MSSQL_SERVER_ADMIN.instance. OSdefaultAccountAppliesToCmds /AgentSetup/MSSQL_SERVER_LOGIN_MGMT. instance.defaultAccount /AgentSetup/MSSQL_SERVER_LOGIN_MGMT. instance.OSdefaultAccount /AgentSetup/MSSQL_SERVER_LOGIN_MGMT. instance.OSdefaultAccountAppliesToCmds
Modifying an instance and deploying the changes to other instances

The following procedures use PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server to modify a SQL Server instance and PATROL Configuration Manager to deploy the modifications to other SQL Server instances.
To modify an instance of SQL Server 1 In a PATROL Developer console, modify the configuration of one instance of SQL
Server using the menu commands provided in PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server until the instance meets all of your specifications.
2 Test the instance over a period of time to ensure that the modified instance
performs to your satisfaction.
3 In PATROL Configuration Manager, right-click the agentHostName that contains

the modified configuration.
4 In the menu for agentHostName, choose Configuration => Get.

The instance status is displayed in the Job Status Information dialog box. When the PATROL Configuration Manager completes the transfer of the configuration variables from the selected host, the line that represents the host turns green and OK is displayed in the Status field for the host.
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The Configuration => Get command copies the pconfig variables from the instance, converts them into rules, and pastes them into the PATROL Configuration Manager in the following folder:
RuleSets\ChangeSpring\backup\agentHostName\instanceName\date-timestamp
Figure 9 on page 101 shows the Configuration => Get menu command in the left panel of PATROL Configuration Manager and an example of the rules that are displayed in the right panel after the Configuration => Get command finishes importing the configuration variables from the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server instance. Each rule in PATROL Configuration Manager contains a configuration variable or properties for a parameter; a ruleset is the entire set of rules for an instance. Figure 9 Configure => Get command in PATROL Configuration Manager
5 Select and copy all of the rules from the

RuleSets\ChangeSpring\backup\agentHostName\instanceName\date-timestamp
directory (use the one with the most recent timestamp at the bottom of the list).
6 In PATROL Configuration Manager, create a folder in the following directory:

RuleSets\ChangeSpring
7 Highlight the new folder, and Paste the rules.

The rules are given a timestamp and placed into the new folder:
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RuleSets\ChangeSpring\newFolder\timestamp\
8 Drag and drop the new rule set on the agentHostName. 9 Click the Apply Changes icon in the PATROL Configuration Manager menu bar. To deploy the configuration variables for a modified instance to other instances
Now that you have modified the configuration for the original instance, perform the following steps to distribute those same modifications to other instances.
1 Create a new folder under RuleSets\ChangeSpring. 2 Copy and paste the rules you created in To modify an instance of SQL Server on
page 100 into this folder.
3 Right-click the timestamp under this new folder, select Edit > Source from the
menu, and find and replace the SQL Server instance in the source with the name of the next agentHostName to which you want to apply the modified configuration.
4 Drag and drop this rule set on the agentHostName. 5 Click the Apply Changes icon in the PATROL Configuration Manager menu bar. 6 Repeat step 1 through step 4 for each agentHostName to which you want to apply
the modified configuration.
Adding or modifying pconfig variables manually

If you choose not to use menu commands, or if the variables you want to use are not available through menu commands, you can add pconfig variables manually. However, you must enter valid values. The PATROL Configuration Manager does not verify or let you know when you enter an invalid entry. All of the variables and their valid values are listed in Appendix D, Agent configuration variables. The following topics provide the values to enter for the blackout and automatic recovery action variables, and instructions on how to add pconfig variables manually using a PATROL Developer console.
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Modifying the blackout configuration variable

Blackout periods set in PATROL Configuration Manager are not verified. To validate your changes you should set blackout periods for one instance by using the Blackout menu command, then use the output for that modified configuration in PATROL Configuration Manager to apply that blackout period to other instances. See Modifying an instance and deploying the changes to other instances on page 100. When you create a blackout period for an instance using the Blackout menu command from PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, the blackout information is stored in the /MSSQLServer/SQLServerInstance/blackout variable. If you want to modify this variable manually, use the following format: serverName dayOfTheWeek startTime (in seconds after midnight) Duration (in minutes) For example, if you set a server called SQLServer1 for a blackout period that takes place on Monday starting at 1:00 a.m. and lasting for 60 minutes, the following value would be displayed for the /MSSQLServer/SQLServerInstance/blackout variable: SQLServer1 Monday 3600 60. For more information about the blackout feature in PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, see Clearing, snoozing, and blacking out parameter alarms on page 146 and the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help.
Modifying the automatic recovery action variable

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server provides a menu command that changes the variable that modifies the automatic recovery actions performed by a set of key parameters. For a complete list of those parameters and more information on the ARA settings, see Using automatic recovery actions on page 149. The easiest and safest way to change this setting is to use the KM Admin => Setup/Configure => ARA Settings => Set Default Actions menu command to set the value of the variable in one instance, capture the modified configuration of that instance in PATROL Configuration Manager, and deploy the changed configuration, which is referred to as a ruleset in PATROL Configuration Manager, to any other instances to which you want the change applied. See Modifying an instance and deploying the changes to other instances on page 100.
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To calculate the value of the araAction variable manually

If you plan to modify the araAction variable manually, you must first decide which options you want to activate. The ARA variable (and menu settings) activate or deactivate the following options for the parameters that use the ARA settings:
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Execute the ara_MSSQL.cmd script (active by default) Execute net send to specified Windows desktops Execute an SNMP trap (snmptrap command) Create an output file Annotate a parameter warning or alarm (active by default) Trigger an event in PATROL Event Manager (active by default)
Each option is given a value, and the value of the variable is the sum of the values for all of the options that are selected. Table 8 provides you with a list of the options and their values, and the value of the variable when the options marked with an X are selected. Find the row that contains an X below all of the options that you want to activate, and then use the value in the last column of that row as the value for the araAction variable. Table 8 ARA options, their values, and the value of the araAction variable (Part 1 of 3) Execute snmp trap=4 Create Output File=8 Annotate Trigger Parameter Event in alert=16 PEM=32 Value of variable
1 X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Execute Execute ara_MSSQ net L.cmd=1 send=2

X
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Table 8
ARA options, their values, and the value of the araAction variable (Part 2 of 3) Execute snmp trap=4 Create Output File=8 Annotate Trigger Parameter Event in alert=16 PEM=32
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Value of variable
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52
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Table 8
ARA options, their values, and the value of the araAction variable (Part 3 of 3) Execute snmp trap=4
X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X
Create Output File=8
Annotate Trigger Parameter Event in alert=16 PEM=32

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X
Value of variable
53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63
Adding pconfig variables manually

There are some configuration variables that are not automatically available, and they are not activated through a menu command. You must enter these variables manually. You can add a pconfig variable by using a PATROL Developer console.
To add or modify a pconfig variable manually 1 Right-click on the host, and select Development => Agent Configuration. 2 From the main menu, select Edit => Add Variable. The Add Variable dialog box
opens.
3 In the Variable: text box, after /MSSQLServer/, enter the SQL Server Instance
name (if required) and then the variable. The following are examples of completed entries:
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/MSSQLServer/Agent host name/idle_procs_monitoring_enabled /MSSQLServer/AgentHostName\\InstanceName/DBCC_PSS_Disabled /MSSQLServer/SQLServersExcludedFromDiscovery
4 In the Value: text box, enter the value you want to apply to the variable. For
information about valid values, see Appendix D, Agent configuration variables.
5 To save the configuration variable you created, select File => Save.
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Modifying parameters using PATROL Configuration Manager and PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server
For instructions on how to add a variable or rule set using PATROL Configuration Manager, see the PATROL Configuration Manager User Guide.
Trace output file written to the error Log

In some SQL Server configurations, the trace output file is written to the SQL Server error log file. When this occurs, the trace output is also includeded in the recovery action output for the following parameters:
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CpuIdle CpuBusy CpuIoBusy LongRunningTrans
In PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, you can enter a pconfig variable that disables the retrieval of the SQL query text by the recovery actions used by the above parameters. For instructions, see Adding pconfig variables manually on page 106. This pconfig appears as follows: /MSSQLServer/AgentHostName\\InstanceName/DBCC_PSS_Disabled For information about valid values, see Appendix D, Agent configuration variables.
You can modify PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server parameters by using the PATROL Configuration Manager or by using a PATROL Developer console to change the parameter properties in an instance. You can perform the following tasks:
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deactivate paramaters change parameter polling cycles change parameter thresholds modify parameter properties
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However, you are restricted in the modifications that you can make to some PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server parameters. These restrictions are described in the following topics:
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Parameters with their status set in code on page 109 Do not change parameters that have fixed thresholds on page 110
For a complete list of the parameters and their default values, see Appendix B, Parameter definitions and defaults. For more complete descriptions of the parameters, see the online Help for PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server.
Deactivating parameters
To reduce the impact on your system resources and enhance performance, you can deactivate parameters that are not commonly needed. However, before deactivating a consumer parameter, consider the results:
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The icon for the consumer parameter disappears and no data is collected or stored. The collector parameter that sets the deactivated consumer parameter notates the System Output Window with an error each time that collector attempts to send information to the deactivated consumer parameter. Some collector parameters might also set off recovery actions if it cannot find a deactivated consumer parameter.
Instead of disabling consumer parameters, consider the results that occur when you perform one of the following actions:
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Disable only the alarms for a consumer parameter. The collector parameter continues to send data to the consumer parameter, and the consumer parameter continues to provide a view and history for that data. However, no alarms or warnings are displayed and no recovery actions are triggered for that consumer parameter.
Deactivate a collector parameter. The collector parameter stops collecting data for the consumer parameters it sets.
Deactivate monitoring of an application class. No parameters are displayed for an application class that is not set up for monitoring. For information on how to set up monitoring for application classes, see Chapter 5, Working with PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server.
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Parameters with their status set in code

The status of the following parameters are set in the code. These internal status changes overwrite whatever changes are made through PATROL Configuration Manager.
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RowCountEstimate, which is found under Objects application class instances, is deactivated by the ObjectSizeColl collector parameter when the Objects application class instance represents an index. SQLAgentStatus, which is found under Availability application class instances, is set to inactive unless SQL Server Agent monitoring is enabled. SQL Server Agent monitoring is disabled by default. You can switch SQL Server Agent monitoring on and off using the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => Monitoring Setup menu command. DeliveredCmdsPerSec and ReplicationCmdsPerSec are deactivated by the ReplicationColl collector parameter. UserDefCounter1-10 is deactivated by the UserDefCountersColl collector parameter. ErrorLog application parameters are activated and deactivated by the ErrorLogColl collector parameter.
Changing parameter polling cycles

Collector and standard parameters use queries to obtain data from a monitored server or database. The poll time assigned to a collector or standard parameter sets the interval between executions of the query used by the parameter. The default poll times set for collector and standard parameters in PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server are calculated to collect sufficient data to appropriately monitor most systems. If your system requires longer or shorter poll times, you can change poll times, but do so with the following cautions in mind:
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Increasing poll times could cause you to receive notification of problems late. Decreasing poll times increases the resources used by PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, which could lead to performance problems. Poll times must exceed the amount of time it takes to execute the query and allow time for the parameter to parse and distribute the data obtained before it must resend the query. To avoid problems, use Debug to find the Query Execution Time before decreasing a poll time.
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WARNING
Changing the poll time for a standard or collector parameter to an amount of time that is shorter than the amount of time it takes to complete the execution of the query used by that parameter can cause the parameter to go into an infinite loop, or other serious problems.
To find the query execution time

To find out how long it takes a collector or standard parameter to execute a query, turn Debug on for that parameter. When the parameter completes a polling cycle, look at the Debug output and find the Total Execution Time. Execution times can vary, so make sure that you find the longest possible execution time by running Debug on your busiest system during your busiest time.
Changing parameter thresholds

Using the PATROL Configuration Manager, you can change the thresholds for most of the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server parameters. PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server ships with the parameters set at thresholds that are appropriate for those parameters in the average environment. You should make changes to the thresholds in one instance and then test the results in that instance before exporting those changes throughout your entire enterprise.
Do not change parameters that have fixed thresholds

Some PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server consumer parameters have thresholds that are not on a sliding scale, but are fixed at particular values because those values are directly connected to the KM. For example, all parameters that have a Boolean output are created to react only to a setting of 0 or 1. Table 9 provides a list of the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server parameters that have fixed thresholds that you should not modify. For complete descriptions and default values for these parameters, see the online Help. For brief descriptions and default values for parameters, see Appendix B, Parameter definitions and defaults. Table 9 PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server parameters with fixed thresholds Parameters
ARATest Failover SQLServerStatus Collectors ConfigUpdates
Application class
Availability
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Table 9
Error Log
PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server parameters with fixed thresholds Parameters
ErrorLogColl ErrorLogDiskSpaceFreeThreshold ErrorLogSizeThreshold ErrorLogUpdates
Application class
Modifying parameter properties

The following procedure for modifying parameters employs the strengths of the KM and PATROL Configuration Manager:
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Make changes in one instance through the parameter property dialog boxes. Test the instance until satisfied that the changes operate as expected. Export the modified parameter changes to PATROL Configuration Manager. Deploy the modified parameter changes to other instances by using the PATROL Configuration Manager.
This method takes advantage of the validations performed by PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server and gives you the opportunity to verify that the changes perform as expected before deploying those changes throughout your environment.
To modify parameter properties for an instance 1 Navigate to the parameter properties for the parameter you want to change:
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In the PATROL Console for UNIX, click on Attributes and then on Application Classes to open a list of the application classes. Select an application class, then click on Attributes and then on Parameters to open the list of parameters provided by the selected application class.
In the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows, select the KM tree tab and expand the appropriate application class, then click Global and then on Parameters to open the list of parameters provided by the selected application class.
2 Right-click (Windows) or click (UNIX) on the parameter to access the parameter

properties.
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3 To activate or deactivate a parameter, perform one of these actions:

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(Windows) Select the General tab and select or deselect Active. (UNIX) Double-click the parameter and select or deselect Active.
4 To change the interval between polling cycles, perform one of these actions:
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(Windows) Select the Scheduling tab and change the polling time. (UNIX) Click on the parameter and change the polling time.
NOTE
Only collector and standard parameters have polling times. Consumer parameters do not have polling times.
5 To change the alarm thresholds or disable the alarms, perform one of these actions:
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(Windows) Select the Border, Alarm1, and Alarm2 tabs, and make changes. (UNIX) Click on Alarm Ranges, and double-click Border, Alarm1, or Alarm2, and make changes.
6 Save the configuration by selecting File => Save Configuration. 7 Test the changes on the instance to make sure that the changes are working as you
expected.
8 Convert the parameters in the instance to a rule set in PATROL Configuration

Manager. You can convert the parameters in the instance to a rule set in PATROL Configuration Manager by using one of the following menu commands:
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KM Commands => Create Global Parameters => Create Rulesets => Select Knowledge Modules menu command from the AS_CHANGESPRING
application class
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KM Commands => Event Management => Parameter Settings => Status Flags => Set for Instances or Classes menu command from the Host icon.
For more information, see your PATROL Configuration Manager User Guide.
NOTE
The PATROL Configuration Manager rules that represent each parameter contain the _ANYINST_ designation for the instance name. The _ANYINST_ designation allows you to apply these changes to any agent host name without adding a specific agent host name to the rule for each parameter.
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Verifying changes to configuration variables
9 Drag and drop the rule set to any Agent host name where you want the changes
applied.
NOTE
The following rule is created when you move the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server parameters to a rule set in PATROL Configuration Manager: /AS/EVENTSPRING/PARAM_SETTINGS/STATUSFLAGS/ paramSettingsStatusFlag ={ REPLACE = 2 } This rule forces the instance to apply parameter changes as soon as you apply them to an instance or Agent host name. If you do not want the changes to take place immediately, change 2 to 1 or remove this rule and reinitialize the Agent for the instance when you are ready to apply the changes. For more information, see the PATROL Configuration Manager User Guide.
Verifying changes to configuration variables

The ConfigUpdates parameter under the Collectors application class checks for changes to the configuration variables. When a change is detected, this parameter creates an annotation that contains the name of the configuration variable that was changed and information about how it was changed. Validations are performed by the ConfigUpdates parameter to ascertain whether the new configuration variables or parameter changes were successfully applied to the instance.
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If the update is applied to the instance successfully, the ConfigUpdates parameter sets a value to 1 and creates an annotation that includes information on the changes. If the update is not applied to the instance successfully, the ConfigUpdates parameter sets a value of 2 and creates an annotation that includes information on which change was not applied successfully.
WARNING
No validations are performed on the effectiveness or validity of the new configuration variables and parameter property changes. You must verify that the changes perform correctly on each instance where they are applied.
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Before a variable change can take effect, the following events must occur: 1. Discovery or the appropriate parameters must complete the next cycle. 2. The ConfigUpdates parameter must run and discover the new configuration variable(s). 3. Discovery or the appropriate parameter must complete another cycle after ConfigUpdates discovers the new variable. 4. If applicable, the appropriate collector parameter must update the effected consumer parameters. For information about parameter poll times and dependencies see Appendix B, Parameter definitions and defaults, and Appendix C, Consumer-collector parameter dependencies.

For summary information about wpconfig, see the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideCustomizing PATROL, Volume 3. For detailed information about how to use pconfig, see the PATROL Agent Reference Manual. For detailed information about how to use the PATROL Configuration Manager, see the PATROL Configuration Manager User Guide, version 1.4.01 or later. The following table lists other topics in this book: Topic
how to use PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server functionality to monitor and manage SQL Servers
Source of information
Chapter 5, Working with PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, and PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help
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Chapter
5
117 117 118 118 119 119 120 120 121 122 123 123 124 124 124 125 125 127 127 128 129 130 130 131 131 132 133 133 134 134 134
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Working with PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server

5
This chapter presents the following topics: Monitoring SQL Servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Excluding SQL Servers from monitoring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Starting and stopping the monitoring of a SQL Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Starting and stopping a SQL Server from PATROL. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reviewing the status of a SQL Server. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewing reports about a SQL Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changing the PATROL login account for a server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Changing a server instance name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitoring SQL Server Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Starting and stopping the SQL Server Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Using the SQL Server Agent parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitoring the SQL Server Agent job failures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Filtering SQL Server Agent job failures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting up SQL Server Agent jobs for monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitoring error logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enabling the monitoring of error logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Setting up error log monitoring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewing reports about the error logs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reviewing the status of an error log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . About the error log parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitoring databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Starting and stopping the monitoring of databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Checking the consistency of a database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Adding the PATROL user to a database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reviewing the status of a database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewing reports about databases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitoring files and file groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enabling the monitoring of files and file groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Reviewing the status of files and file groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Viewing reports about files and file groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Monitoring objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chapter 5 Working with PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server
Setting up the monitoring of objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134 Reviewing the status of an object. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Viewing reports about objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Monitoring replication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 Enabling the monitoring of replication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Reviewing the status of Subscribers or Published Articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Viewing reports about Subscribers and Published Articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Viewing reports about Subscribers and Published Articles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 Monitoring users and processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 Changing the automatic monitoring of users and processes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 Monitoring specific users and processes manually . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141 Using parameters to monitor specific users and processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Reviewing the status of a user . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Viewing reports about users and processes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Killing a process from PATROL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Creating customized reports. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143 Accessing the predefined reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Adding customized reports to the predefined list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 Working with parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Viewing parameter data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Activating and deactivating parameters and alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145 Clearing, snoozing, and blacking out parameter alarms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 Refreshing parameters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Creating customized parameter charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Creating and managing parameter charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Accessing the predefined parameter charts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Using automatic recovery actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Reviewing the ARA settings and parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 Viewing the parameter recovery process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 Using the ARA Settings menu commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 Parameters affected in general user monitoring mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 Parameters partially affected in a recovery action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 Viewing SQL information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Viewing SQL commands with SQL Snapshot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156 Managing the global channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Accessing the Global Channel menu commands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Monitoring the Global Channel lock requests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Where to go from here . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158
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Monitoring SQL Servers
Monitoring SQL Servers

With the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server product, you can monitor Microsoft SQL Server computers that are running a PATROL Agent. You can perform the following tasks:
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exclude SQL Servers from monitoring start and stop the monitoring of a SQL Server start and stop a SQL Server review the status of a SQL Server view reports and create customized reports about a SQL Server change a SQL Server instance name in PATROL
Excluding SQL Servers from monitoring

Using the /MSSQLServer/SQLServersExcludedFromDiscovery/ pconfig variable, you can exclude from monitoring one or more SQL Servers. This pconfig variable does not appear automatically. You must enter the pconfig variable manually. For instructions on how to add or modify pconfig variables, see Adding or modifying pconfig variables manually on page 102.
To exclude SQL Servers from monitoring 1 Determine the SQL Server or Windows service name of each SQL Server you want
to exclude from monitoring.
TIP
To determine the SQL Server name, use the following query: SELECT @@SERVERNAME To determine the Windows service name, use the following query: "SELECT @@SERVICENAME"
2 Enter the following pconfig variable followed by the names of the SQL Servers that
you want to exclude from monitoring, with a vertical pipe (|) character separating the names of the SQL Servers, as in the following example:
/MSSQLServer/SQLServersExcludedFromDiscovery/
ABC\SQL8_TEST|MSSQLServer|MSSQL$SQL8DATA|ABC\SQL8_PROD
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Starting and stopping the monitoring of a SQL Server
The above example excludes the following SQL Servers:

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SQL Server with SQL Server name ABC\SQL8_TEST SQL Server with Windows service name MSSQLServer SQL Server with Windows service name MSSQL$SQL8DATA SQL Server with SQL Server name ABC\SQL8_PROD
Starting and stopping the monitoring of a SQL Server

To start monitoring a server, you must first configure it. See Configuring a SQL Server on page 72 for step-by-step instructions. To stop viewing a monitored server, you can break the connection between the PATROL console and the server. However, if you preloaded PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server on the agent, PATROL continues to monitor the server even after you break the connection between the server and the PATROL console. To break the connection between the PATROL console and the server, right-click the icon that represents the computer or host and choose the Break Connection (PATROL console) or Disconnect from Managed System (PATROL Central Operator) menu command. To update the connection between PATROL and the server, right-click the icon that represents the computer or host and choose the Update Connection (PATROL console) or Connect to Managed System (PATROL Central Operator) menu command.
Starting and stopping a SQL Server from PATROL

When you shut down a SQL Server, all parameters are automatically changed to a suspended state and PATROL stops monitoring databases, users and processes, objects, and other resources. When you restart a SQL Server, PATROL resumes monitoring databases, users and processes, objects, and other resources. To shut down a monitored SQL Server from PATROL, choose SQL Server Admin => Shutdown SQL Server from the Server application pop-up menu.
WARNING
The Shutdown SQL Server menu option uses the net stop mssqlinstancename command. Using this command causes SQL Server to disconnect all users, stop all processes, and begin a roll back of the queries or transactions that the processes were executing. See your Microsoft SQL Server documentation for more information.
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Reviewing the status of a SQL Server
To restart a monitored SQL Server that you previously shut down, choose the SQL Server Admin => Start SQL Server command from the Server application pop-up menu.
NOTE
If the SQL Server does not start, look at the error log created in SQL Dir/log/ERRORLOG for information about why it would not start. You can also start SQL Server from the command line using the -f startup option.
WARNING
You can also start SQL Server from the command line using the -f startup option. However, only experienced users should attempt to restart the SQL Server using the -f option. This option starts the SQL Server in a minimal configuration mode and enables you to reconfigure the SQL Server. Only experienced users should attempt to reconfigure the SQL Server. See your SQL Server documentation for more information.
Reviewing the status of a SQL Server

You can check the current status of a Microsoft SQL Server by reviewing information in the InfoBox accessed from the Server application icon that represents that server. For more information, see InfoBoxes on page 30. For a description of the InfoBox items, see Application Classes, Icons, and InfoBoxes in the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help.
Viewing reports about a SQL Server

Access reports about the server by selecting Reports from a Server application pop-up menu. There are many reports available from this Reports menu that provide information about all aspects of the SQL Server. The Reports menu also provides the User Customizable Reports menu that enables you to create and combine your own reports. For more information, see Creating customized reports on page 143. The Reports menu also provides a Parameter Charts menu that enables you to create and combine the output from any of the parameters available in PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server. See Working with parameters on page 145.
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Changing the PATROL login account for a server
Changing the PATROL login account for a server

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server provides you with the ability to enter and change the accounts used by PATROL to access and monitor SQL Server. This function also verifies whether the account information is correct or incorrect. When you change the PATROL login account, you also change the account for the CheckConfiguration parameter. If CheckConfiguration cannot validate the account, the parameters that issue SQL queries cannot run and therefore, cannot collect data. You can change the PATROL login account that PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server uses to monitor a SQL Server by using the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => SQL Server Instance Setup menu command in the Server application pop-up menu. For detailed information about the PATROL login account, see Configuring a SQL Server on page 72.
Changing a server instance name

PATROL cannot change the name of a SQL Server, but PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server provides menu commands that do the following:
I
change the label that displays under a Server application icon in PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server change the name that PATROL uses for a SQL Server when PATROL fails to connect to the SQL Server
Changing the icon label

If the name of the SQL Server is too long, you might want to change the name that appears under the icon in PATROL. This does not change the name that PATROL uses for that SQL Server. You can change the icon label by using the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => Change Icon Label menu command under the Server application icon.
Changing the SQL Server name used by PATROL

Changing the name that PATROL uses for a SQL Server enables you to change the SQL Server name to an associated Windows SQL Server service name. The CheckConfiguration parameter directs you to use this feature when PATROL cannot connect to the SQL Server. This is the only time you should use this menu command. You cannot alter the actual name of the SQL Server using this menu command.
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Enabling SQL Server instance discovery
You can change the name that PATROL uses for a SQL Server by using the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => SQL Server Name Used by PATROL menu command under the Server application icon.
Enabling SQL Server instance discovery

To enable SQL Server instance discovery, the MSSQL_SERVER container holds the SQL Server instances discovered on a monitored host. The corresponding application class name for this container is MSSQL_SERVER_SQLSERVER_SETUP. This container enhances the functionality of the SQL Server instance discovery in the following ways:
I I
provides better discovery debugging reduces instance discovery failure
If the SQL Server instances are not discovered after the KM is loaded, you can use the following menu commands to help determine the problem:
I
Set the prediscovery and discovery debug mode for PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server by using the MSSQL_SERVER => KM Commands => SET DEBUG MODE menu command. Debugging helps when the SQL Server instances are not discovered after a KM is loaded. Select the SQL Server instance for which you want to change the SQL Server name used by PATROL by using the MSSQL_SERVER => KM Commands => OSQL.exe path used by PATROL menu command. Select the SQL Server instance for which you want to change the SQL Server name used by PATROL by using the MSSQL_SERVER => KM Commands => Sql server name used by PATROL menu command.
Monitoring SQL Server Agent

By default, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server is not set up to automatically monitor SQL Server Agent. When SQL Server Agent monitoring is enabled, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server reports the up and down status of SQL Server Agent and information about SQL Server Agent jobs and you can view the SQL Server Agent job information. You must have SQL Server Agent monitoring enabled before you can monitor the SQL Server Agent error log. For more information on monitoring the SQL Server Agent error log, see Monitoring error logs on page 124.
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Enabling the monitoring of the SQL Server Agent
From PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server you can perform the following tasks:
I I I I I I
enable the monitoring of the SQL Server Agent start and stop the SQL Server Agent access parameters that monitor the SQL Server Agent monitor the SQL Server Agent job failures filter SQL Server Agent job failures set up the monitoring of SQL Server Agent jobs
Enabling the monitoring of the SQL Server Agent

You can manually enable monitoring of a SQL Server Agent by using the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => Monitoring Setup menu command in the Server application pop-up menu. Once you enable the monitoring of the SQL Server Agent, PATROL activates the
Starting and stopping the SQL Server Agent

When you shut down the SQL Server Agent while monitoring of the SQL Server Agent is turned on, the SQLAgentStatus parameter goes into an alarm state. You can shut down the SQL Server Agent from PATROL by using the SQL Server Admin => Shutdown SQL Server Agent menu command from the Server application pop-up menu.
WARNING
Some Microsoft SQL Server features, such as Replication, cannot operate unless the SQL Server Agent is running.
You can restart the SQL Server Agent that you previously shut down by using the SQL Server Admin => Start SQL Server Agent menu command from the Server application pop-up menu. The Start SQL Server Agent menu command forces the SQL Server to start if it is not already running, and then it starts the SQL Server Agent.
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Using the SQL Server Agent parameters
Using the SQL Server Agent parameters

Table 10 displays information about parameters that collect and report information about SQL Server Agent. Table 10
Parameter SQLServerAgent JobFailures
Parameters that monitor the SQL Server Agent

Description Reports SQL Server Agent job failures. When a job fails, the following events occur:
I
SQLServerAgentJobFailures parameter goes into an alarm state each time a job fails SQLServerAgentJobFailures parameter value increments by 1 each time a job fails information is automatically displayed in a task output window each time a job fails an event is triggered in the PEM each time a job fails
You must manually clear the parameter alarm from a menu item or the PEM. SQLAgentStatus Monitors and reports the up and down status of SQL Server Agent.
Monitoring the SQL Server Agent job failures

The SQLServerAgentJobFailures parameter monitors all SQL Server jobs, and goes into an alarm state whenever any step in a job fails at any point during the job. When the SQLServerAgentJobFailures parameter goes into an alarm state, it automatically creates an output window that contains information about SQL Server Agent job failures. This parameter also generates annotated data points in the parameter graph that provide reports about the job failures. Double-click any annotated data point to open a report in an annotation output window. You can view information about all SQL Server Agent jobs by using the Reports => SQL Server Agent Job Failures menu command from the Server application pop-up menu.
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Filtering SQL Server Agent job failures
Filtering SQL Server Agent job failures

You can exclude certain SQL Server Agent jobs from monitoring. Filtering jobs enables you to monitor only the jobs that are critical and exclude the non-critical job failures. To enable filtering, choose the KM Commands => Exclude SQLAgent Jobs from Monitoring command from the Availability application class.
Setting up SQL Server Agent jobs for monitoring

To receive more precise information about the progress of your SQL Server Agent jobs, set up the jobs using one or more of the following suggestions:
I
Break large jobs down into smaller jobs so that the SQLAgentJobFailures parameter monitors each stage of a job, giving you more accurate information about where and when a job fails (if it fails). Create the SQL Server Agent job in Transact SQL so that no failure occurs for steps that you want to ignore. Create the SQL Server Agent job so that any error that occurs at a strategic step sends a user-defined message to the SQL Server Agent error log, and then include that user-defined message for monitoring by using the KM Admin => Set up Error Log String Monitoring menu command from an Error Log application instance. (How to initiate and use error log monitoring is described in the next topic, Monitoring error logs.)
Monitoring error logs

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server uses a filter to detect user-defined strings in the SQL Server and SQL Server Agent error logs, and a way to monitor those error logs, but this feature is disabled by default. From PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server you can perform the following tasks:
I I I I I
enable the monitoring of error logs set up the monitoring of error logs view reports about the error logs review the status of the error logs use the Error Log parameters to monitor the error logs
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Enabling the monitoring of error logs
Enabling the monitoring of error logs

You can use the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => Monitoring Setup menu command from the Server application pop-up menu to enable error log monitoring. Once you enable the monitoring of error logs, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server creates MSSQL_SERVER_ERRORLOG (Error Log) application instance icons and monitors the error logs that it discovers. PATROL uses the ErrorLogColl standard collector parameter to search your environment and create an Error Log application instance icon for every error log it detects.
Setting up error log monitoring

The Error Log application instances provide menu commands that you can use to manage error log monitoring in the following ways:
I I I I I
enable or disable string monitoring set up how often you want to receive an alert for the same string enter or remove strings from the error log filter add an alarm or warning to the ErrorLogColl parameter turn the ErrorLogSizeThreshold parameter on or off and set the threshold for the error log size turn the ErrorLogFreeDiskSpaceThreshold parameter on or off and set the threshold for the space that is free on the disk that contains the error log
To enable or disable string monitoring

Once you have enabled error log monitoring, and the Error Log application instances appear, you can turn off error log string monitoring by using the KM Admin => Set up Error Log String Monitoring menu command from an Error Log application instance. In the Error Log String Monitoring dialog box, you can check Enable or Disable. This allows you to set up string monitoring, but keep it disabled until you need it, while keeping all other error log monitoring features active.
To change the error log filter

If error log monitoring is enabled, you can enter strings for the error log filter to detect by using the KM Admin => Set up Error Log String Monitoring menu command from an Error Log application instance. The ErrorLogColl searches the error logs for the strings you entered, and whenever one of the entered strings is detected, the ErrorLogUpdates parameter goes into an alarm state and creates an annotation.
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Setting up error log monitoring
TIP
You can use this feature to monitor jobs. Create the SQL Server Agent job so that any error that occurs at a strategic step sends a user-defined message to the SQL Server Agent error log, and then include that user-defined message for monitoring. For more information, see Setting up SQL Server Agent jobs for monitoring on page 124.
The Set up Error Log String Monitoring dialog box also allows you to choose between two modes that determine the number or frequency of alarms and warnings that you receive for each string that you enter. You can choose to receive an alarm or a warning using one of the following modes:
I I
every time every string that you entered is detected once the first time each string that you entered is detected
To set an alert when the ErrorLogColl parameter fails to complete a collection

The ErrorLogColl standard collector parameter collects the data that populates the error log consumer parameters and the Error Log application instance InfoBox items. You can set this parameter to also go into a warning or an alarm state whenever it fails to complete a collection attempt. By default, the ErrorLogColl collector parameter is set to remain in an OK state when a collection fails, but you can change that to a warning or an alarm state by using the KM Admin => Set up Error Log String Monitoring menu command from an Error Log application instance.
To set up threshold monitoring for the error log size

By default, the ErrorLogSize parameter monitors the size of the error log, but you can also enable and configure the ErrorLogSizeThreshold parameter to monitor whether or not the size of the error log exceeds a user-defined threshold. By using the Set up Error Log Size Threshold menu command from an Error Log application instance menu, you can perform the following tasks:
I I I I I
view the current size of the error log enable and disable error log threshold monitoring set the threshold for the size of the error log state the action taken if the size of the error log exceeds the threshold set the ErrorLogSizeThreshold parameter to autoreset
126
Viewing reports about the error logs
To set up threshold monitoring for the amount of free space on the error log disk
By default, the ErrorLogDiskSpaceFree parameter monitors the amount of free space on the disk that contains the error log, but you can also enable and configure the ErrorLogDiskSpaceFreeThreshold parameter to monitor whether or not the amount of free space on the disk falls below a user-defined threshold. By using the Set up Error Log Disk Space Free Threshold menu command from an Error Log application instance menu, you can perform the following tasks:
I I I I I I
view the current amount size of the error log view the current amount of free space on the disk that contains the error log enable and disable the threshold monitoring of the free disk space set the threshold for the amount of free disk space state the action taken if the amount of free disk space falls below the threshold set the ErrorLogFreeDiskSpaceThreshold parameter to autoreset
To exclude the error log strings from monitoring

By using the KM Admin => Exclude Errorlog String from Monitoring command from the SQLERRORLOG application class, you can exclude the error log strings from monitoring.
Viewing reports about the error logs

You can also view the SQL Server error log by choosing the Reports menu from an Error Log application pop-up menu, and one of the following options:
I
Reports => Search Error Log enables you to search the error log for a user-defined
string and to view the results.

I
Reports => Show Latest Error Log Data generates a report that contains the last 10, 20,
50, 100, or 250 lines of the error log.
Reviewing the status of an error log

You can check the status of an error log by reviewing the information in the Error Log application InfoBox. For more information, see InfoBoxes on page 30. For a description of the InfoBox items, see Application Classes, Icons, and InfoBoxes in the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help.
Chapter 5 Working with PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server 127
About the error log parameters
About the error log parameters

Table 11 displays information about the parameters that collect and report information about the SQL Server and SQL Server Agent error logs. Table 11
Parameter ErrorLogColl
Parameters that monitor the SQL Server and SQL Server Agent error logs (Part 1 of 2)
Description Monitors the error log for updates and filters new log entries for the user-defined search strings entered by using the SQL Server Error Log Filter menu command Whenever the ErrorLogColl parameter detects one of the user-defined search strings, it sends information about the detected error to the ErrorLogUpdates parameter. This parameter collects the data for all of the other Error Log application class parameters. You can select to receive a notification if this parameter fails to complete a collection by using the KM Commands => Set up Error Log Collector menu command. See Setting up error log monitoring on page 125.
ErrorLogDiskSpaceFree
Displays in megabytes the amount of free space that is available on the disk that contains the error log.
ErrorLogDiskSpaceFreeThreshold If threshold monitoring is enabled for the amount of space that is free on the disk that contains the error log, this parameter indicates whether or not the amount of free space is below the user-defined threshold value. If threshold monitoring is disabled for the amount of free space on the disk that contains the error log, PATROL does not display an icon for this parameter. You can enable and disable threshold monitoring by using the KM Commands => Set up Error Log Free Disk Space Threshold menu command from an Error Log application instance menu. ErrorLogSizeMB Reports the size in megabytes of the SQL Server error log. By default, the ErrorLogSizeMB parameter does not go into alarm.
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Monitoring databases
Table 11
Parameter
Parameters that monitor the SQL Server and SQL Server Agent error logs (Part 2 of 2)
Description If threshold monitoring is enabled for the error log size, this parameter indicates whether or not the size of the error log is greater than the user-defined threshold value. If threshold monitoring for error log size is disabled, PATROL does not display an icon for this parameter. You can enable and disable threshold monitoring by using the KM Commands => Set up Error Log Size Threshold menu command from an Error Log application instance menu.
ErrorLogSizeThreshold
ErrorLogUpdates
Displays the user-defined error log strings that are detected by the ErrorLogColl parameter. When user-defined error log strings are detected, the following events occur:
I I
This parameter goes into an alarm state. The parameter value increments by 1 each time a user-defined error log string is detected or each time a new user-defined error log string is detected, depending upon the user-defined configuration. SeeSetting up error log monitoring on page 125. The most recent text data written to the error log since the last collection cycle that matches the warning or alarm string filter is displayed in a pop-up window and in an annotation. An event is triggered in the Patrol Event Manager (PEM) for each user-defined error log string detected.
You can also manually view the error log by using the KM Commands => Reports menu command from the Error Log application menu. You must manually clear the parameter alarm by using the KM Commands => Reset Alarms menu command from the Error Log application menu or the PEM.
Monitoring databases
PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server enables you to automatically discover Microsoft SQL Server databases that are not currently monitored, automatically monitor databases, or manually add a database for monitoring.
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Starting and stopping the monitoring of databases
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start and stop the monitoring of databases check the consistency of a database add the PATROL user to a database review the status of a database view reports about databases
Starting and stopping the monitoring of databases

You can have PATROL automatically discover and monitor all databases, or you can manually select databases to monitor. You can perform both of these tasks using the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => Set DB Auto-Discovery menu command from the Server application pop-up menu. This menu command opens the Set Database AutoDiscovery dialog box, where you can turn auto-discovery on or turn auto-discovery off and select the databases you want to monitor from a list. For step-by-step instructions, see the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help.
Checking the consistency of a database

You can check the consistency of a database by using the KM Admin => Database Consistency menu options from the Database application pop-up menu. Table 12 displays the submenus that appear when you select this menu option. Table 12
Allocation Allocation => Checkalloc of DB Allocation => Newalloc Checktable Checktable => Other Table
Database consistency menu options (Part 1 of 2)

Description menu of options that perform consistency checks on indexes, tables, and the database checks the consistency of the internal allocation of the database checks the consistency of the internal allocation of the database menu options that check the internal consistency of data and index pages performs the checktable function on a selected table Requires system administrator (sa) or database administrator (dba) privileges.
Menu command
Checktable => Syslogs
performs the checktable function on all the syslogs Requires sa or dba privileges.
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Adding the PATROL user to a database
Table 12
Database consistency menu options (Part 2 of 2)

Description checks the database for tables or views with no columns, checks the validity of the column data types, and validates the last checkpoint log in syslogs Requires sa or dba privileges.
Menu command Checkcatalog
Checkdb
performs a checktable, that is, it checks the internal consistency of data and index pages, on all tables in the database Requires sa or dba privileges.
Open Transactions
displays information on the oldest active transaction Requires sa or dba privileges.
Showcontig
displays the fragmentation of a selected table or an index
Adding the PATROL user to a database

You can perform this task using the KM Admin => Add PATROL User to Database menu command from the Database application pop-up menu. Microsoft SQL Server does not allow you to add sa as a user of a database; sa is a reserved login name in SQL Server. The Add PATROL User to Database menu command uses sp_adduser to add the PATROL username associated with the instance to the list of user names for the database monitored by this instance. The PATROL username must have system administrator privileges. Under normal circumstances, you do not need this menu command. PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server adds the Patrol user to databases at the time they are discovered so that it can monitor them. Occasionally, upon a restore of a backup database or in some other circumstances, such as moving a database from one SQL server to another, the database does not have the Patrol user. You would use this menu command to add the PATROL user under those circumstances.
Reviewing the status of a database

You can check the status of a database by reviewing the information in the Database application InfoBox. For more information, see InfoBoxes on page 30. For a description of the InfoBox items, see Application Classes, Icons, and InfoBoxes in the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help.
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Viewing reports about databases
Viewing reports about databases

Access database reports from the Server application menu by selecting the following menu commands:
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Reports => Database Help Information =>
Helpdb Info Helprotect Info Helptext Info

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Reports => Database Resources =>
DB File Info DB Options Filegroup Info Space Used

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Reports => Database Users =>
Group/Role Info User Info

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Reports => Device Information =>
Database on Device Info Default Devices Dump Devices

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Reports => User Customizable Reports =>
Open Databases Report Suspect Databases Report Access database reports from the Database application menu by selecting the following menu commands:
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Reports => Database Help Info =>
Help Info Helpdb Info Helpprotect Info Helptext Info
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Monitoring files and file groups
Reports => Database Resources =>
DB File Info DB Options Filegroup Info Space Used

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Reports => Database Users =>
Group/Role Info User Info

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Reports => Other Database Info => Whos Using Databases
Monitoring files and file groups

Files and file groups are by default not automatically monitored by PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server. You must enable file and file group monitoring before PATROL creates File and Filegroup application icons for all of the files and file groups that it discovers and begins to monitor those files and file groups.
NOTE
PATROL only detects and monitors files and file groups for monitored databases. For information about selecting databases for monitoring, see Starting and stopping the monitoring of databases on page 130.
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enable the monitoring of files and file groups check the status of the files and file groups view reports on file groups
Enabling the monitoring of files and file groups

You can use the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => Monitoring Setup menu command from the Server application pop-up menu to enable file and file group monitoring. Once you enable the monitoring of files and file groups, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server creates File and Filegroup application icons and monitors all files and file groups that it discovers. PATROL uses the DbStructureColl standard collector parameter to search your environment and create an MSSQL_SERVER_FILE (File) or MSSQL_SERVER_FILEGROUP (Filegroup) application icon for every monitored file or file group it detects.
Reviewing the status of files and file groups
Reviewing the status of files and file groups

You can check the status of monitored files and file groups by reviewing information in the InfoBox for the File and Filegroup application instances. For more information, see InfoBoxes on page 30. For a description of the InfoBox items, see Application Classes, Icons, and InfoBoxes in the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help.
Viewing reports about files and file groups

Access the following reports by selecting Reports => Database Resources from the Server or Database application pop-up menu:
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DB File Info Filegroup Info
Access the following reports from the Filegroup application pop-up menu:
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Chart File Sizes for Filegroup Chart Space Used for Filegroup DBCC CheckFilegroup
Monitoring objects
By default, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server is not set up to automatically monitor individual database objects (tables and indexes). From PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server you can perform the following tasks:
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set up the monitoring of objects for a particular database review the status of an object set up for monitoring view reports on the objects set up for monitoring
Setting up the monitoring of objects

You can manually select and can monitor tables and indexes for each individual Database application instance. However, you can only monitor up to ten objects, (tables and indexes) on each database.
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Reviewing the status of an object
To set up the monitoring of an object, use the KM Admin => Object Space Monitor from the Server application pop-up menu or the Object Space Monitor menu command from the Database application pop-up menu. For detailed instructions, see the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help.
Reviewing the status of an object

You can check the status of an object by reviewing information in the InfoBox for the Object application instance. For more information, see InfoBoxes on page 30. For a description of the InfoBox items, see Application Classes, Icons, and InfoBoxes in the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help.
Viewing reports about objects

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server provides detailed information about any object for a specific database, including objects that you have selected for monitoring. Choose Reports => Database Information =>Object Information from the Server application pop-up menu.
Monitoring replication
PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server does not automatically monitor the replication process in your environment. When replication monitoring is enabled, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server creates Subscribers application icons for each subscriber to published articles and Published application icons for each published article. Subscribers and Published application icons only appear when the following conditions exist:
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the SQL Server you are monitoring is configured as a distributor for replication (See your SQL Server documentation for more information about configuring your server for replication.) the SQL Server service has been started in the Services dialog box for Windows or Windows NT (See your Windows documentation for more information about the Services dialog box.) you have enabled the monitoring of Replication
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Enabling the monitoring of replication
NOTE
PATROL does not allow you to create published articles or subscribers; you must create published articles and subscribers by using the SQL Server Enterprise Manager or ISQL.
From PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, you can perform the following actions:
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enable the monitoring of Replication review the status of a subscriber or published article instance view reports about published articles, databases, distributors, and subscribers use SQL commands to manage the distributor and the subscriber
Enabling the monitoring of replication

Use the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => Monitoring Setup menu command from the Server application pop-up menu to enable the monitoring of Replication. Once you enable replication monitoring, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server uses the ReplicationColl standard collector parameter to create a Published or Subscribers application icon for every publication or subscriber it detects in the SQL Server.
Reviewing the status of Subscribers or Published Articles

Check the status of a Subscriber by reviewing information in the Subscribers application InfoBox. For more information, see InfoBoxes on page 30. For a description of the InfoBox items, see Application Classes, Icons, and InfoBoxes in the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help. The Published applications do not provide InfoBoxes.
Viewing reports about Subscribers and Published Articles

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server provides reports with detailed information about publications, distributors, subscribers, and articles. The following reports are accessed from the Reports menu in the Published application pop-up menu:
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Using SQL commands
Articles => Articles Article Columns
Publications => For this Database List Publication DBs
Subscriber Info
The following reports are accessed from the Reports menu in the Subscribers application pop-up menu:
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Job Details => From Distributor From Subscriber
Subscriber Status =>
Using SQL commands

The Subscriber application provides menu commands that open a command window to the distributor or the subscriber. Use the following menu commands from the Subscriber application pop up menu:
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SQL Commands => To Distributor SQL Commands => To Subscriber
Monitoring users and processes

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server does not automatically create Users application icons. If you want PATROL to monitor specific users, you must change the default settings for automatic monitoring or manually monitor a specific user or process. PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server automatically monitors processes that are blocking other processes and processes that are idle, and it enables you to manually select and monitor specific processes or users. You can also monitor users and processes using the Users application parameters and review the status of a user or process using the Users application InfoBox. Server and User application menu
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Changing the automatic monitoring of users and processes
commands allow you to view reports about users and processes, and User application menu commands enable you to stop monitoring a user or process, shut down or kill a process from the PATROL console, or view SQL statements for a user or process. From PATROL you can perform the following tasks:
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change the settings for automatic monitoring of users and processes monitor specific users and processes manually user parameters to monitor specific users and processes review the status of a user view reports on users and processes kill a process

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server automatically monitors processes that are blocking other processes and processes that are idle. The MonProbUsers, BlockerProcs, and IdleProcs parameters monitor resources used by processes or users and check for processes that are blocking other processes and idle processes. PATROL provides menu commands that enable you to change the automatic monitoring settings in the following ways:
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turn automatic monitoring off or on change the blocked detection time change the idle detection time enabling and disabling idle and blocked process monitoring change the problem alert method exclude specific users or processes from automatic monitoring
NOTE
By default, the sa, probe, repl_publisher, and repl_subscriber logins and their processes are excluded from the automatic monitoring feature, but you can remove them from the exclusion list at any time.
Turning auto user monitoring off and on

Turning auto user monitoring off stops the MonProbUsers collector parameter from detecting and collecting information about idle or blocking processes, which stops the IdleProcs and BlockerProcs parameters from going into an alarm state.
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You can turn Auto User Monitoring off or on by using the KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin => Configure Auto User Monitoring menu command from the Server application menu.
Changing the blocked detection time

In PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, a blocking process is a process that blocks other users for at least the minimum amount of time configured for blocked detection time. The default blocked detection time is 3 minutes. You can change it at any time. You can change the blocked detection time for all users and processes from the Server application pop-up menu by using the KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin => Configure Auto User Monitoring menu command. You can change the blocked detection time for a specific user or process from the Users application pop-up menu by using the KM Admin => Change Local Defaults => Blocked Detection Time menu command. However, once that user instance is deleted, the blocked detection time for that user or process returns to the amount of time set in the Configure Auto User Monitoring dialog box.
Changing the idle detection time

In PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, an idle process is a process that has not been active for at least the minimum amount of time configured for idle detection time. The default idle detection time is 20 minutes. You can change it at any time for all users and processes or for a specific user or process. You can change the idle detection time for all users and processes from the Server application pop-up menu by using KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin => Configure Auto User Monitoring menu command. You can change the idle detection time for a specific user or process from the Users application pop-up menu by using the KM Admin => Change Local Defaults => Idle Detection Time. However, once that user instance is deleted, the idle detection time for that user or process returns to the amount of time set in the Configure Auto User Monitoring dialog box.
Enabling and disabling blocked process and idle process monitoring

To enable or disable monitoring of blocked or idle processes, you can enter configuration variables for idle and blocked process monitoring through the PATROL Console for Windows or by using PATROL Configuration Manager. For information about how to add pconfig variables, see Adding or modifying pconfig variables manually on page 102.
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For idle processes, the configuration variable should appear as follows:

/MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/idle_procs_monitoring_enabled
Setting the value of this pconfig variable to 0 (zero) disables idle process monitoring. Setting this pconfig variable to any other value enables idle process monitoring. For blocked processes, the configuration variable should appear as follows:
/MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/blocked_procs_monitoring_enabled
Setting the value of this pconfig variable to 0 (zero) disables blocked process monitoring. Setting this pconfig variable to any other value enables blocked process monitoring.
Changing the problem alert method used by the MonProbUsers, BlockerProcs, and IdleProcs parameters
By default, a blocking process or idle process does not create a Users application icon. By default, the BlockerProcs and IdleProcs parameters provide a report if the MonProbUsers collector parameter detects a blocking or idle process. You can change the default so that the MonProbUsers collector parameter generates a Users application icon for each idle process and blocking process it detects. You can change the problem alert method from the Server application pop-up menu by using the KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin => Configure Auto User Monitoring menu command. The recovery actions generated by the MonProbUsers, BlockerProcs, and IdleProcs parameters are also effected by the changes made using the ARA settings menu command. For more information, see Using automatic recovery actions on page 149.
Excluding specific users or processes from monitoring

By default, the sa, probe, repl_publisher, and repl_subscriber logins and their processes are excluded from the automatic monitoring feature, but you can include these logins or exclude other logins from monitoring at any time. You can exclude or include logins from monitoring from the Server application popup menu by using the KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin => Exclude Specific User menu command.
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Monitoring specific users and processes manually
Monitoring specific users and processes manually

By default, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server does not automatically monitor individual users or processes that are not blocking other processes or that are idle. You can, however, manually set up individual users or processes to monitor.
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view a list of process IDs monitor specific user by login name or by process ID stop monitoring a user or process
Viewing a list of process IDs

You can review a list of all users and their process IDs that are currently on the SQL Server by using the KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin => Monitor Specific User => Lookup Process IDs from the Server application pop-up menu.
NOTE
You may want to review this list before you select individual users or processes to monitor.
Monitoring specific users by login name or by process ID

When you select a user to monitor, you can choose whether to monitor each user process individually or all processes together as an aggregate. If you choose to monitor each process individually, PATROL creates a Users application icon for each process. If you choose to monitor all processes as an aggregate, PATROL creates one Users application icon that represents the user. You can select a user to monitor by login name by using the KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin => Monitor Specific User => By Login Name menu command from the Server application pop-up menu. You can select a user process to monitor by process ID by using the KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin => Monitor Specific User => By Process ID (spid) menu command in the Server pop-up menu.
Stopping the monitoring of a user

You can stop monitoring a user or a process that you manually selected for monitoring by using the Stop Monitoring menu command in the Users application pop-up menu.
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Using parameters to monitor specific users and processes
Using parameters to monitor specific users and processes

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server provides a number of parameters that monitor a specific user or a process. Access these parameters by double-clicking the Users application icon that represents the user or process you are monitoring. The UserBlocked and UserIdle parameters go into an alarm state when processes for a monitored user are blocked or idle for a certain amount of time. By default, the UserBlocked and UserIdle parameters for a monitored user inherit the blocked or idle detection times from the SQL Server. Other parameters monitor the CPU usage, I/O, and memory usage of a monitored user or a monitored process.
Reviewing the status of a user

You can check the status of a user by reviewing information in the InfoBox for that Users application instance. For more information, see InfoBoxes on page 30. For a description of the InfoBox items, see Application Classes, Icons, and InfoBoxes in the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help.
Viewing reports about users and processes

The following reports are accessed from the Reports menu in the Server application pop-up menu:
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User Login Info =>
General Login Info NULL Passwords

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User Process Info =>
Active Process(es) for All Processes - Detail All Processes - Resources Blocked Process Listing Resource Hogs Top (n) Active Processes Top (n) Active Users
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Killing a process from PATROL
The following reports are accessed from the SQL Snapshot menu in the Server application pop-up menu:
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Active Processes All Processes Blocked Processes
The following reports are accessed from the User application pop-up menu:
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Reports =>
Blocked Process Listing Process Listing for User

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SQL Snapshot for User
Killing a process from PATROL

WARNING
Killing a process disconnects the user who was using that process and causes a roll back of the query or transaction the process was executing.
You can kill any process by using the SQL Server Admin => Kill Server Process menu command in the Server application pop-up menu. This command kills the process whether you are monitoring that process or not. You can kill the process you are currently monitoring by using the Kill a Process => Kill This Process menu command from the Users application pop-up menu.
NOTE
You cannot use the Kill This Process menu command to kill processes for a particular user that PATROL is monitoring as an aggregate (collectively).
Creating customized reports

Using the Reports => User Customizable Reports menu command from the Server application pop-up menu, you can select from a list of predefined reports and combine reports to create customized reports. You can also add your own reports to this list.
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Accessing the predefined reports
Accessing the predefined reports

The Reports => User Customizable Reports menu from the Server application pop-up menu accesses the Customizable Reports dialog box, which contains the following predefined reports:
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Blocked Processes Report CPU and I/O Usage Report CPU Usage Report Command Queue Length Settings Report Connections Remaining Report Disk I/O Errors Report Locks Types Held Report Locks Remaining Report Locks Info for CPU Users Report Memory Used by Processes Report Memory Usage Report Open Databases Report Process Listing Report sp_who Report Suspect Databases Report
Adding customized reports to the predefined list

You can add your own reports to the predefined list of reports by creating your own transact SQL script that generates the information you want. The script must have a .sql file extension and contain the following line: -- Title=yourReportName The yourReportName variable is the name you want displayed in the list. Once you create the script and test it against SQL Server, copy it into the
%PATROL_HOME%\mssql\sql directory on the PATROL Agent computer. The next time you access the Reports => User Customizable Reports menu, the name of the
report you created appears in the list of reports in the Custom Reports dialog box.
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Working with parameters
Working with parameters

For an overview of the different types of parameter used by PATROL, see Parameters on page 26. For information on how to customize parameters, see the PATROL user guide for your console. For detailed information about working with specific parameters, see the online Help. To view a table of the parameters available in PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server and their default values, see Appendix B, Parameter definitions and defaults. For information about the relationship between the consumer and collector parameters, see Appendix C, Consumer-collector parameter dependencies. From PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server you can perform the following tasks:
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view parameter data activate and deactivate parameters and alarms clear, snooze, and blackout parameter alarms refresh parameters
Viewing parameter data

You can display current parameter data by double-clicking the parameter icon. If a parameter graph generates annotated data points, you can display output by doubleclicking the data point. Parameter history data is stored by the PATROL Agent in compressed binary files. For information about current and historical parameter information, refer to the PATROL user guide for your console. When a parameter goes into a warning or an alarm state, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server usually generates a report automatically and displays the information in a task output window. You can manually view detailed information about a warning or an alarm in the PATROL Event Manager. Each warning and alarm from PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server adds an event to the PATROL Event Manager.
Activating and deactivating parameters and alarms

As shipped, all of the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server parameters are active. To reduce the impact on your system resources and enhance performance, you can deactivate parameters that you do not need.
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Clearing, snoozing, and blacking out parameter alarms
Activating or deactivating a parameter

You can activate or deactivate any parameter by using a Developer console in PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows Servers or PATROL Console for UNIX, as follows:
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(Windows) Right-click the parameter in the KM tree, choose Properties, and then select or deselect Active. (UNIX) Choose the Attributes => Application Classes menu.
Activating the alarm for the Failover parameter

The Failover parameter is shipped in an active state (that is, the parameter gathers information and creates annotated data points), but the alarm for this parameter is not active by default. You can activate the alarm for the Failover parameter by using the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => Monitoring Setup menu command.
NOTE
The Failover parameter is available only when you are monitoring a clustered SQL Server using a virtual PATROL Agent configuration..
For more information, see In a clustered environment on page 91. For complete instructions, see the online Help.
Clearing, snoozing, and blacking out parameter alarms

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server enables you to clear, snooze, or black out parameter alarms.
Clearing an alarm
PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server parameters stop their warning or alarm after you or the recovery actions resolve the problem, with the exception of ErrorLogUpdates and SQLAgentJobFailures. When ErrorLogUpdates or SQLAgentJobFailures goes into an alarm state and you have corrected the problem, you must manually clear the parameter alarm. You can clear a parameter alarm through the PEM or through a menu item. For information about how to clear a parameter alarm from the PATROL Event Manager, see the PATROL user guide for your console.
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Refreshing parameters
To clear the SQLAgentJobFailures parameter alarm from the KM menu, choose KM Admin => Reset Parameter Alarm from the Server application pop-up menu. To clear alarms that occur for the Error Log application parameters, choose Reset Alarms from the Error Log application pop-up menu.
Snoozing a parameter
To stop a parameter icon from flashing an alarm before the problem is resolved, rightclick on the parameter and select Alarm Snooze. The parameter remains in an alarm state.
Adding or deleting parameter black out periods

The Set Alarm Blackout dialog box enables you to select a time period during which the parameters for the selected SQL Server do not go into an alarm or warning state. Use the KM Admin => Set Blackout menu from the Server application pop-up menu to set or delete a black out period for all parameters for a SQL Server.
Refreshing parameters
If you select KM Admin => Refresh Parameters from the KM commands for the Server application, all collecting parameters (collector parameters, standard parameters and standard parameters with collector properties) are forced into an unscheduled collection. If you select Refresh Parameters from the KM commands for the Users, Published, or Subscribers applications, only the collecting parameters associated with the selected application are forced into an unscheduled collection. When you refresh the parameters, all of the requests are placed in the Global Channel queue and are executed one at a time. Once the collection commands execute, the collectors distribute the information gathered to the consumer parameters, and the collecting parameters return to their regularly scheduled poll times.
NOTE
The amount of time it takes for the Refresh Parameters menu command to execute depends on the number of collectors involved and the availability of the Global Channel and CPU. It could take several minutes.
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Creating customized parameter charts
Creating customized parameter charts

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server enables you to create, view, delete, and edit customized parameter charts that combine the output from several parameters, and it provides predefined parameter charts that you can view. See the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help, Appendix B, Parameter definitions and defaults,or Appendix C, Consumer-collector parameter dependenciesfor detailed information about the parameters that these parameter charts contain. See the online Help for step-by-step instructions.
Creating and managing parameter charts

To create custom parameter charts, and to display, edit or delete those custom parameter charts, use the Reports => Parameter Charts => Custom Charts menu command. (You cannot display, edit, or delete predefined parameter charts.)
Accessing the predefined parameter charts

The Reports => Parameter Charts menu from the Server application pop-up menu accesses the following menu commands that open charts that contain output from one or more parameters.
Menu command/parameter chart CPU Busy/Response Time Database Space Used (Percent) Description combines the output from the CpuBusy, ResponseExecTime, and ResponseSqlTime parameters combines the DatabaseSpaceUsedPct parameter output from all of the monitored databases for the selected server combines the output for the DatabaseSpaceUsedMB parameter for all of the monitored databases on the selected server combines the output from the DiskIoWrites, DiskIoReads, and DiskIoErrors parameters combines the output from the LogSpaceUsedPct parameter for all of the monitored databases in the selected server combines the output from the LogSpaceUsedMB parameter for all of the monitored databases in the selected server
Database Space Used (Size)
Disk I/O Log Space Used (Percent)
Log Space Used (Size)
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Using automatic recovery actions
Menu command/parameter chart Network Traffic Performance Summary
Description combines the output from the PacketsReceived, PacketsSent, and PacketErrors parameters combines the output from the ResponseExecTime, ResponseSqlTime, CpuBusy, CpuIobusy, and CacheHitRatio parameters
Using automatic recovery actions

You can use the following methods for adding or changing automatic recovery actions to the parameters in PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server:
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You can access parameter definition dialog boxes and specify PATROL Script Language (PSL) and operating system recovery actions.
NOTE
The PATROL user guide for your operating system describes how to add recovery actions by accessing parameter definition dialog boxes.
You can apply certain automatic recovery actions to certain key parameters using the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => ARA Settings menu in the Server application pop-up menu.
When one of the key parameters goes into an alarm state, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server runs PSL and operating system recovery actions that are specified as part of the parameter property definition. After PSL recovery actions are generated, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server generates other automatic recovery actions that you select through the ARA Settings menu. This automatic recovery action (ARA) function in PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server enables you to customize the automatic recovery actions that occur when any of several key parameters go into alarm. It also enables you to test the recovery and alert notification actions that you set and to enter the names of those who receive a notice when net send is activated. Using the ARA menu commands provided by PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server instead of the PATROL Console for parameter recovery actions provides these benefits:
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You can maintain custom recovery actions outside PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, which makes upgrading easier. You can create different recovery batch files for each computer, which enables you to perform recovery actions that are computer-specific.
Reviewing the ARA settings and parameters
Reviewing the ARA settings and parameters

When you access the ARA menu settings, you can activate or deactivate the following options for the parameters that use the ARA settings:
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Execute the ara_MSSQL.cmd script (active by default) Execute net send to specified Windows desktops Execute an SNMP trap (snmptrap command) Create an output file Annotate a parameter warning or alarm (active by default) Trigger an event in PATROL Event Manager (active by default)
The following key parameters are affected by the ARA functions that you select using the ARA Settings menu:
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ARATest BlockerProcs CacheHitRatio CheckConfiguration CommandQueueLength ConnectionsRemaining CpuBusy CpuIdle CpuIoBusy DatabaseSpaceUsedPct DbSpaceColl DbStructureColl DiskIoErrors ErrorLogColl ErrorLogUpdates Failover
I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I
IdleProcs LocksRemaining LogSpaceColl LogSpaceUsedPct LongRunningTrans MonProbUsers NumBlockedProcesses OpenDbRemaining PacketErrors SpaceUsedPCT (File and Filegroup) SQLAgentJobFailures SQLAgentStatus SQLServerStatus SuspectDatabases UserBlocked UserIdle
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Viewing the parameter recovery process

Figure 10 illustrates the parameter recovery process. Figure 10 Parameter recovery process
Execute PSL and OS recovery actions through parameter property definition
Output to task window
Execute ARA menu settings Execute ara_MSSQL.cmd script send SNMP traps Execute net send Create output file Annotate parameter Trigger event in PATROL Event Manager
Messages to SNMP managers
Message to Windows desktop
Output to %PATROL_TEMP%
Annotation to parameter window
Event created
Using the ARA Script option

This option in the ARA Default Action dialog box performs the recovery action entered by you in the ara_MSSQL.cmd file, which is located in the %PATROL_HOME%\mssql directory on each monitored Microsoft SQL Server computer. PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server is set up to automatically call the ara_MSSQL.cmd file. However, if you have not set up a script, the output from the ara_MSSQL.cmd generates the following message: No recovery action associated with name of parameter. Once you have a script set up, you can inactivate the file at any time through the ARA menu settings. The ara_MSSQL.cmd batch file can perform operating system commands as well as SQL commands using isql. When this batch file is called, PATROL automatically passes the batch file information, such as the name of the alarming instance (for example, database, user, or SQL Server name), the parameter name, the alarm state, and the value of the parameter causing the alert. You can also execute this ara_mssql.cmd script using operating system commands independent from the PATROL console.
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The parameter name generally determines the action steps taken. It is important to note that the actual command executed is located in the ara_MSSQL.cmd file. You can create a different ara_MSSQL.cmd file for each computer that PATROL is monitoring, but the command applies to all of the SQL Servers monitored by that PATROL Agent.
To add a command in the ara_MSSQL.cmd file

In deciding upon a command to enter in the ara_MSSQL.cmd file, keep the following general rules in mind:
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Limit the amount of output generated by the query; PATROL executes the query and reads all rows returned by the query. Use queries with short execution times (the query places an additional load on the SQL Server) Do not enter queries that require system administrator privileges.
NOTE
The ara_MSSQL.cmd file is a Windows command file that executes on the Agent system. It uses the PATROL user login you entered in the SQL Server Instance Setup dialog box.
1 Using a text editor, navigate to and open the ara_MSSQL.cmd file. 2 Read the instructions and information provided in the ara_MSSQL.cmd file. 3 In the ara_MSSQL.cmd file, navigate to the parameter for which you want to create
a recovery action.
4 Delete the following statement under the selected parameter name:

goto NO_RECOVERY_ACTION
5 Under the parameter name, add the command that you want this parameter to
execute whenever it crosses an alarm or warning threshold.
6 Save and close the ara_MSSQL.cmd file.

The next time the selected parameter goes into an alarm or warning state, the command you created should execute. If it does not, review the following conditions:
I
check the syntax in your command make sure the parameter you selected is configured to perform recovery actions and has alarm ranges and alarm actions enabled.
152
Activating the net send option

If you activate the net send command, the ARA function builds a small message describing the problem and sends this message to each name listed in the ARA_SENDTO PATROL Agent configuration variable. The receiving computers see a Microsoft SQL Server message on the desktop.
NOTE
To receive messages through net send, each receiving computer must have the Windows Messenger service started.
Activating the SNMP trap option

If you activate the SNMP trap option when you issue the net send command, the ara_MSSQL( ) function sends the message to all registered SNMP managers. For information about registering SNMP managers to receive traps, see the PATROL Agent Reference Manual section about the configuration variable snmp/p1V1m_list.
Activating the output file option

If you activate the output file option, the recovery action text is sent to the %PATROL_TEMP% directory. The following file naming convention is automatically used: SQL_Server_name-parameter_name.out
Activating the annotate parameter option

If you activate the annotate parameter option, the recovery action text is sent to the parameter annotation window for that parameter warning or alarm.
Activating the event trigger option

If you activate the event trigger option, the parameter warning or alarm generates an event in the PATROL Event Manager with the recovery action text. For information about accessing the PATROL Event Manager, see the PATROL User Guide for your console.
153
Using the ARA Settings menu commands
Using the ARA Settings menu commands

Using the ARA Settings menu commands, you can customize automated recovery actions for all parameters of a monitored SQL Server. You can also test current automated recovery actions.
To change the ARA settings

To change the automated recovery actions that PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server performs when the parameters connected to the ARA function go into a warning or an alarm state, choose KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => ARA Settings => Set Default Actions from the Server application pop-up menu.
To change or add to the Windows message recipients

To customize the list of Windows message recipients who receive a net send message whenever one of the ARA parameters goes into an alert state, you must
I
select the net send automated recovery option using KM Admin => Setup/Configure
KM => ARA Settings => Set Default Actions
make sure that each of the recipients you enter has the Microsoft SQL Server Messenger service started choose KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => ARA Settings => Set Send To Names from the Server application pop-up menu, and enter the names.
To test current ARA settings

To test current ARA settings use the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => ARA Settings => ARA Test menu command from the Server application pop-up menu. This test causes the ARATest parameter to go into an alarm state so that you can verify that the automated recovery actions perform correctly. This test also resets the ARATest parameter back to an OK state.
154
Parameters affected in general user monitoring mode
Parameters affected in general user monitoring mode

If PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server is running in general monitoring user mode, you cannot obtain the values of certain parameters because that action requires the admin privilege. However, the status of these parameters remains online. Table 13 lists the parameters. Table 13
Collectors Procedure Cache
Parameters affected in the general monitoring user mode

Parameter LongRunningTrans LongRunningTransColl PCProcBuffersUsedPct PCProcBuffersActivePct PCProcCacheActivePct PCProcCacheUsedPct ProcedureCacheColl
Application class
Parameters partially affected in a recovery action

The parameters listed in Table 14 require admin privileges to run a DBCC command to populate the SQL statement of the report created in a recovery action. If PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server is running in general user mode, the DBCC command cannot run. BMC recommends that you disable the DBCC command by setting the value of the
/MSSQLServer/AgentHostName\\InstanceName/DBCC_PSS_Disabled pconfig variable to
1. The DBCC_PSS_Disabled pconfig variable is not configured by default in the configuration settings. You must manually add the variable in the configuration settings and set the value to 1. If the value of the DBCC_PSS_Disabled pconfig variable is not set to 1, the report shows a blank SQL statement. Table 14 Parameters partially affected in a recovery action
Parameter BlockerProcs CpuIdle CpuIoBusy Database LongRunningTrans
Application class Availability Performance
155
Viewing SQL information
Viewing SQL information

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server enables you to view and obtain information about SQL commands using the SQL Snapshot utility. SQL Snapshot enables you to display the last SQL statement sent by a client process. This feature enables you to examine the SQL statements that a problem process is currently executing.
Viewing SQL commands with SQL Snapshot

SQL Snapshot enables you to view the last SQL statement sent by a SQL Server client process. SQL Snapshot uses DBCC INPUT BUFFER and can only display the first 255 bytes of the SQL statement. SQL Snapshot displays the last SQL statement for a process under the following conditions:
I
Whenever the client process executes a stored procedure or trigger, SQL Snapshot displays the name of the stored procedure or trigger and the text of the line that is currently executing within the stored procedure or trigger. Whenever a process causes one of the following parameters to go into an alarm state, the recovery action report also lists the last SQL statement that the process used. BlockerProcs CpuBusy CpuIoBusy IdleProcs
Whenever you select one of the following submenu commands in the SQL Snapshot menu, SQL Snapshot displays a report containing the last SQL statements generated by the processes described by the submenu command. Active Processes All Processes Blocked Processes
Setting up SQL Snapshot

To use SQL Snapshot, you must specify a SQL Server account with System Administrator privilege. Normally, you specify these accounts when you set up PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server, but you may need to verify or change the accounts.
156
Viewing SQL commands with SQL Snapshot
To verify and change PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server accounts that SQL Snapshot uses, use the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => SQL Server Instance Setup menu command in the Server application pop-up menu.
Using SQL Snapshot

Table 15 on page 157 displays a list of tasks for displaying SQL for selected users and processes that you can perform using a PATROL Operator Console or a PATROL Developer Console. You can display SQL statements for all or selected user processes, for blocked and blocking processes, and for a particular user.
WARNING
Do not attempt to display all SQL statements for all users and processes unless you have the appropriate resources. If you have a large number of users or processes, using the SQL Snapshot => All Processes menu command can use a significant amount of resources and execute for a long time.
Table 15
Task
Tasks for displaying SQL for processes and users

Menu command
To display the last SQL statement use the SQL Snapshot => All Processes menu command for all users and all processes in the Server application pop-up menu Warning: Do not use this menu command unless you have the appropriate resources. If you have a large number of users or processes, this menu command can use a significant amount of resources and take a long time. To display SQL statements for blocked processes To display SQL statements for a currently active user To display SQL statements for a specific user or process use the SQL Snapshot => Blocked Processes menu command in the Server application pop-up menu use the SQL Snapshot => Active Processes menu command in the Server application pop-up menu use the SQL Snapshot for User menu command in the User application pop-up menu
157
Managing the global channel
Managing the global channel

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server establishes a global channel to each SQL Server instance detected. PATROL uses this global channel to gather the information it needs to monitor the SQL Server instances. PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server provides menu commands that perform the following tasks:
I I
access information on the status of the global channel reset the global channel
Accessing the Global Channel menu commands

To access the global channel menu commands, choose KM Admin => Global Channel Info or Global Channel Reset from a Server application pop-up menu. For step-by-step instructions, see the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help.
Monitoring the Global Channel lock requests

To monitor the global channel, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server provides the GlobalChannelLockErrors parameter, which goes into an alert state when five or more global channel lock requests have not been granted. For more information, see the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help and Appendix B, Parameter definitions and defaults.

Topic Source of Information
how to access the KM menu commands, Appendix A, Accessing menu commands, InfoBoxes, and online Help InfoBoxes, and online Help definitions and default values for parameters consumer and collector parameter dependencies Appendix B, Parameter definitions and defaults Appendix C, Consumer-collector parameter dependencies
158
Topic detailed descriptions of the applications, menu commands, parameters, and InfoBoxes
Source of Information PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help
159
160
Appendix
Accessing menu commands, InfoBoxes, and online Help

A
BMC Software offers several PATROL consoles from which you can view a PATROL Knowledge Module (KM). Because of the different environments in which these consoles run, each one uses a different method to display and access information in the KM. This appendix provides instructions for accessing the KM menu commands and InfoBoxes. It also provides instructions for accessing the online Help. See the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help for more detailed information about navigation in the PATROL Consoles. In this appendix, the following topics are discussed: Accessing KM commands and InfoBoxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 Accessing online Help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Appendix A
161
Accessing KM commands and InfoBoxes

Table 16 provides information about how to access KM commands and InfoBoxes from the various PATROL consoles. Table 16
Console PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows Servers

Menu commands In either the Desktop tree tab or the work area, right-click a computer or application icon and choose KM Commands from the pop-up menu. In the work area, right-click a computer or application icon to display a pop-up menu that contains KM-specific commands. InfoBoxes In either the Desktop tree tab or the work area, right-click a computer, application class, or parameter icon and choose InfoBox from the pop-up menu. With the middle mouse button, click an application class or parameter icon.
PATROL Console for UNIX
PATROL Central Operator Windows Edition
In the navigation pane, right-click a In the navigation pane, right-click a PATROL object and choose managed system or application InfoBox from the pop-up menu. icon and choose Knowledge Module Commands from the pop-up menu. In the tree view area, right-click an In the tree view area, right-click a PATROL object and choose application icon and choose Infobox from the pop-up menu. Knowledge Module Commands from the pop-up menu.
PATROL Central Operator Web Edition
For more information about menu commands and InfoBoxes, see Product components on page 20.
162
Accessing online Help

Table 17 provides information about how to access Help from each console.
NOTE
If you are trying to access Help from a UNIX console, see the PATROL Installation Reference Manual for specific instructions about installing and setting up a browser in the UNIX environment.
Table 17
Console

To access product help From the console menu bar, choose Help => Help Topics => PATROL Knowledge Modules. To access application class help Double-click an application class in the KM tab of the console. From the Application Properties dialog box, click the Help tab. Then click Show Help. To access parameter help
I
PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows Servers
Right-click a parameter icon and choose Help On from the pop-up menu. Double-click a parameter icon; click the ? icon or Help button in the parameter display window. Double-click a parameter in the KM tab of the console; from the properties dialog box, click the Help tab; then click Show Help.
PATROL Console for UNIX
From the console menu bar, choose Help On => Knowledge Modules.
Choose Attributes => Application Classes and double-click the application name. Click Show Help in the Application Definition dialog box. In the Operator tab of the navigation pane, select an application icon and press F1.
Right-click a parameter icon and click Help On.
PATROL Central Operator Windows Edition
From the console menu bar, choose Help => Help Topics. In the Contents tab, click the name of your product.
In the Operator tab of the navigation pane, select a parameter icon and press F1.
PATROL Central Operator Web Edition
In the upper right corner of In the tree view, right-click In the tree view, right-click an application class and a parameter and choose PATROL Central, click Help. Help and choose PATROL choose Help. KM Help.
Appendix A
163
164
Appendix
Parameter definitions and defaults

This appendix contains a definition and default values for each parameter used in PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server. For more information about individual parameters, refer to the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help. For information about the dependencies between standard collector and consumer parameters, see Appendix C, Consumer-collector parameter dependencies. In this appendix, the following topics are discussed: Column headings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Abbreviations defined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Parameter table. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Availability Application Class. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cache Application Class. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Capacity Application Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Collectors Application Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Database Application Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Disk Application Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Error Log Application Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . File Application Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Filegroup Application Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Locks Application Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Network Application Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Objects Application Class. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Performance Application Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Procedure Cache Application Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Published Application Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Subscribers Application Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . UserDefined Counters Application Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Users Application Class . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 167 168 168 170 171 173 177 179 180 181 182 183 188 188 189 192 193 193 194 194
Appendix B
165
Column headings
Column headings
The column headings used in Table 18 on page 168 are defined as follows:
Parameter states the parameter name and describes the parameters function; for consumer parameters, lists the collector parameters that gather the data displayed by this parameter indicates whether the parameter is active or inactive by default indicates the parameter type: standard (Std) gathers and displays a single data value; collector (Coll) gathers multiple data values but has no display capabilities; consumer (Con) displays values gathered by collector or standard parameters. Some standard parameters have collector properties. defines the default range for the parameter; can be set so that values that fall outside this range trigger warnings, alarms, or recovery actions specifies the thresholds for the first-level alarm specifies the thresholds for the second-level alarm specifies how frequently the parameter runs and collects data (polling cycle); not applicable to consumer parameters specifies whether the parameter is represented as a graph, gauge, text box, stoplight (signal), or Boolean state specifies the unit of measure in which the parameter output is expressed, such as a percentage, a number, or bytes
Active at installation Parameter type
Border range Alarm1 range Alarm2 range Scheduling (poll time) Icon style Unit
166
Abbreviations defined
Abbreviations defined
The following abbreviations are used in Table 18 on page 168:
bool coll con disc GB hr KB MB MHz min msec N NA nsec sec std TB undef warn Y Boolean; shows a state, such as on or off, OK or not OK collector parameter consumer parameter discovery; refers to the PATROL discovery process gigabyte or gigabytes hour or hours kilobyte or kilobytes megabyte or megabytes megahertz minute or minutes millisecond or milliseconds no; parameter is inactive after KM is installed not applicable; a value cannot be set nanosecond or nanoseconds second or seconds standard parameter terabyte or terabytes undefined; a value can be set, but no default is provided warning; type of alert yes; parameter is active after KM is installed
Appendix B
167
Parameter table
Parameter table
Table 18 contains a short definition and all of the default values for each parameter in PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server. The parameters are grouped alphabetically by application class. Table 18 PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server parameters (Part 1 of 28)
Active at installation Scheduling (poll time) Parameter type Icon style
Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter Availability Application Class

ARATest Allows testing of automated recovery actions without triggering false alarms on the parameters you are monitoring. You can set automated recovery actions by using the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => ARA Settings menu command. You can test that setting through the ARA Settings => ARA Test menu command. Collector: none BlockerProcs Provides information about processes that are holding locks and blocking other processes longer than the time period set by using the Configure Auto User Monitoring menu command (120 seconds by default). This parameter does not monitor logons that you excluded by using the KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin => Exclude Specific User menu command. Collector: MonProbUsers ConnectionsAvailable Tests to see if PATROL can connect to the database with an OSQL connection.
con
<0, >100 warn
0-50 OK
50100 alarm
NA
graph
test results
con
undef
1100 alarm
undef
set by coll
graph
number of processes
con
undef
11 alarm undef
NA
graph
user connections remaining
168
Unit
Parameter table
Table 18
PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server parameters (Part 2 of 28)

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter
Failover Appears only when the instance is running on a virtual PATROL Agent in a cluster. Creates an annotation that contains information about a failover whenever a failover occurs. The alarm for this parameter is disabled by default; you can enable the alarm by using the Monitoring Setup menu command. If a failover is detected and the alarm is disabled, the value is set to 1; if a failover is detected and the alarm is enabled, the value is set to 2. Collector: MSSQL_SERVER.km discovery NumBlockedProcesses Monitors the number of processes that are blocked. Collector: ProcessColl SQLAgentJobFailures Monitors the completion status of the jobs that the SQL Server Agent runs. These jobs usually include scheduled backup and maintenance procedures. You can clear the alarm by using the Reset Parameter Alarm menu command.
con
undef
11 OK
22 alarm set by coll
graph
1 or 2
con
<0, >15 alarm
undef
undef
set by coll
gauge number of processes
std
<0, >0 alarm
undef
undef
15 min
graph
number of failed jobs
Appendix B
Unit 169
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter
SQLAgentStatus Monitors the up and down status of the SQL Server Agent when SQL Server Agent monitoring is enabled. It is disabled by default. You can switch SQL Server Agent monitoring on and off by using the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => Monitoring Setup menu command. SQLServerStatus Tracks the status of the SQL Server. If parameter history collection is enabled, then statistics on the availability of the SQL Server are collected over long periods. If SQL Server goes off line, and it was not shut down from within PATROL, then SQLServerStatus goes into an alarm state. Collector: MSSQL_SERVER.km (SQL Server discovery) SuspectDatabases Determines which databases, if any, are marked as suspect (corrupt) by the SQL Server. This parameter only monitors databases that are setup for monitoring. However, when it goes into an alarm state, this parameter generates a report that lists all suspect databases, including those that are not monitored.
std
undef
11 alarm
undef
5 min
bool
none
con
undef
11 alarm
undef
NA
bool
none
std
undef
11 alarm
undef
4 hr
bool
none
Cache Application Class

BufferCacheHitRatio Displays the ratio of cache hits to cache lookups. Collector: SQLServerColl Y con undef undef undef NA graph ratio of cache hits to lookups
170
Unit
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter
NumberOfFreeBuffers Displays the number of cache buffers that are in the free buffer pool. Collector: SQLServerColl PageLifeExpectancy Displays the number of seconds a page stays in the buffer pool without any reference. For Online Transaction Processing (OLTP), the value of an average page life expectancy is 300 seconds. A parameter value of less than 300 seconds might indicate one of the following conditions:
I I I
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
number of free buffers
con
undef
0-300
undef
NA
graph
seconds
memory pressure missing indexes cache flush
Collector: SQLServerColl
Capacity Application Class

ConnectionsRemaining Monitors the number of user connections available for use on the SQL Server and goes into an alarm state when the number falls below the alarm thresholds. This parameter uses the MASTER .. SYSCURCONFIGS table to determine the maximum number of user connections that are allowed and the SQL Server General Statistics counter, User Connections, to calculate the number of connections remaining. Collector: CurConfigsColl Y con undef 02 alarm 34 warn set by coll graph number of available connections
Appendix B
Unit 171
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter
IdleProcs Provides information about processes that are idle longer than the amount of time set by using the Configure Auto User Monitoring menu command (20 minutes by default). This parameter does not monitor processes that you excluded from monitoring by using the KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin => Exclude Specific User menu command. Collector: MonProbUsers LocksRemaining Monitors the number of locks that are available for use, as defined in the MASTER .. SYSCURCONFIGS table. This parameter does not display if the SQL Server is set to dynamically configure lock resources, which is the default configuration. Collector: CurConfigsColl NumProcesses Tracks the number of SQL Server processes. This value is derived from the total number of rows in the MASTER .. SYSPROCESSES table. Collector: ProcessColl UserConnections Displays the number of user connections. Collector: SQLServerColl
con
undef
1100 alarm
undef
set by coll
graph
number of idle processes
con
undef
150 alarm
5175 warn
set by coll
graph
number of available locks
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
number of processes
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
number of connections
172
Unit
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter Collectors Application Class

CheckConfiguration Ensures that the PATROL Agent default account exists and that it has SQL Server administrator privileges; installs the sp_patrol_ monitor and sp_patrol_user stored procedures in the SQL Server master database; ensures that the SQL Server performance counters are available to PATROL; gathers data on the availability of the global channel; and, upon a global channel failure, attempts to reconnect to the global channel. Other parameters check the status of this parameter before executing, and parameters collecting data report any global channel lock timeouts to this parameter.
std
<0, >0 alarm
undef
undef
5 min
bool
none
ConfigUpdates
Checks for changes to the PATROL Configuration Variables. When a change is detected, this parameter creates an annotation that contains the name of the configuration variable that was changed and information about how it was changed. CurConfigsColl Gathers information from the SQL Server MASTER .. SYSCURCONFIGS table pertaining to SQL Server configuration.
std
undef
undef
undef
55 min
text
none
std
<0, >0 alarm
undef
undef
15 min
bool
none
Appendix B
Unit 173
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter
DbSpaceColl Collects information about files and file groups. It uses sp_spaceused to calculate the space available, based on the settings for the database; for example, maxsize or current size plus x percent. For more information, see the online Help. Warning: This parameter does not function correctly when the db file is mapped to a shared drive by using a universal naming convention (UNC) format. DbStructureColl Collects information about monitored databases. Creates and destroys file and file group instances. Note: This parameter does not discover or monitor databases with names that contain characters other than AZ, az, 09, and underscore (_). GlobalVarsColl Collects various SQL Server statistics using SQL Server global variables (for example, @@CPU_BUSY), then calculates the change in the value of these global variables between poll cycles. For more details, see the online Help. LocksColl Collects information about all the locks that are within SQL Server. This collector uses the SQL Server Locks performance counters to calculate the wait times and number of requests for locks by database, table, extent, page, row I.D., or key for instances of SQL Server.
std
<0, >0 alarm
undef
undef
34 min
bool
none
std
<0, >0 alarm
undef
undef
5 min
bool
none
std
<0, >0 alarm
undef
undef
5 min
bool
none
std
<0, >0 alarm
undef
undef
15 min
bool
none
174
Unit
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter
LogSpaceColl Collects information about the amount of log space used by the databases that PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server is monitoring. This parameter makes calculations based on DBCC SQLPERF (LOGSPACE) and takes into account the autogrow settings. For more details, see the online Help. LongRunningTransColl Monitors the oldest open transaction. Long-running transactions are those transactions that are open for longer than one poll cycle of this parameter (the default poll cycle is 10 minutes). System Administrator or Database Administrator privileges are required for proper execution of this parameter. MonProbUsers Collects information about processes that are blocking other processes (blocker processes) and processes that are idle. To determine the amount of time configured for blocker or idle processes, see KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin. This parameter does not monitor logins that you excluded from monitoring by using the KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin => Exclude Specific User menu command. ObjectSizeColl Collects information about and monitors the size of database objects, and creates and destroys the Objects application instances.
std
<0, >0 alarm
undef
undef
24 min
bool
none
std
<0, >0 alarm
undef
undef
10 min
bool
none
std
<0, >0 alarm
undef
undef
5 min 30 sec
bool
none
std
<0, >0 alarm
undef
undef
4 hr
bool
none
Appendix B
Unit 175
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter
ProcedureCacheColl Collects information about the SQL Server procedure cache. To calculate the values for the procedure cache consumer parameters, this parameter uses the SQL Server DBCC PROCCACHE command for SQL Server. ProcessColl Collects information about the status and number of processes that are running on the SQL Server. ReplicationColl Collects information about transactions that are delivered from the transaction log of the publication database to the distribution database and transactions that are delivered from the distribution database to the destination database; gathers information about all servers subscribing to published articles; and creates and destroys the Published and Subscribers application instances. ResponseColl Measures the amount of time it takes to connect to the SQL Server, execute a simple query, and return a response by executing and then monitoring the progress of a sample SQL statement. For more information, see the online Help. SQLServerColl Collects statistics about SQL Server performance. UserDefinedCountersColl Collects information from User Settable object for SQL Server.
std
<0, >0 alarm
undef
undef
15 min
bool
none
std
<0, >0 alarm
undef
undef
5 min
bool
none
std
<0, >0 alarm
undef
undef
10 min
bool
none
std
<0, >0 alarm
undef
undef
10 min
bool
none
std
<0, >0 alarm
undef
undef
5 min
bool
none
std
<0, >0 alarm
undef
undef
15 min
bool
none
176
Unit
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter Database Application Class

DatabaseSpaceUsedMB Displays (in megabytes) the amount of used space (the size of the database device or files minus the unallocated space within the database). If the /MSSQLServer/A_DBSPMB_ENA BLED pconfig variable is set to 1, the DBCC showfilestats command (instead of sp_spaceused) is used for space calculation. Note: The DBCC showfilestats command is undocumented. Collector: DbSpaceColl DatabaseSpaceUsedPct Monitors the percentage of available space that is used (the space used divided by the sum of the database size, plus any free disk space for autogrow files or the maxsize set). Note: The values for this parameter do not match the values provided by the Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise Manager because the KM takes into account autogrow settings and free disk space. Collector: DbSpaceColl LogSpaceUsedMB Displays (in megabytes) the amount of transaction log space that is used. Collector: LogSpaceColl
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
MB of database space used
con
<0, >100 warn
8595 warn
95100 alarm
set by coll
graph
percentage of database space used
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
MB of transaction log space used
Appendix B
Unit 177
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter
LogSpaceUsedPct Displays the percentage of the transaction log that is used. Note: The values for this parameter do not match the values that are provided by the Microsoft SQL Server Enterprise Manager because the KM takes into account autogrow settings and free disk space. Collector: LogSpaceColl LongRunningTrans Displays information about the oldest long-running transaction. Long-running transactions are transactions that are open for longer than one poll of the LongRunningTransColl standard collector parameter. Collector: LongRunningTransColl NumCurrentLocks This parameter displays the number of locks granted for the database. Collector: LocksColl NumCurrentUsers This parameter displays the number of User Processes granted for the database. Collector: ProcessColl
con
<0, >100 alarm
7080 warn
80100 alarm
set by coll
graph
percentage of transaction log space used
con
undef
11 alarm
undef
set by coll
bool
none
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
number of locks
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
number of Processes
178
Unit
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter Disk Application Class

DiskIoErrors Monitors the number of disk errors that SQL Server encounters while reading and writing to disk. This value represents the number of errors that occurred between polls of the @@TOTAL_ERRORS global variable. Collector: GlobalVarsColl DiskIoReads Monitors the number of disk reads that SQL Server performs between polls of the @@TOTAL_READ global variable. Collector: GlobalVarsColl DiskIoWrites Monitors the number of disk writes that SQL Server performs between polls of the @@TOTAL_WRITE global variable. Collector: GlobalVarsColl LazyWritesPerSec Displays the number of pages that lazywriter flushes to disk per second. The size of a page is 8 KB. Collector: SQLServerColl OutstandingReads Displays the number of physical reads that are pending. Collector: SQLServerColl OutstandingWrites Displays the number of physical writes that are pending. Collector: SQLServerColl
con
<0, >0 alarm
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
number of disk I/O errors
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
number of disk I/O reads
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
number of disk I/O writes
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
number of pages flushed to disk per sec
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
number of pending reads
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
number of pending writes
Appendix B
Unit 179
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter Error Log Application Class

ErrorLogColl Monitors the SQL Server and SQL Server Agent error logs for updates, filters new log entries for the user-defined search strings, and sends information about any user-defined search strings that it detects to the ErrorLogUpdates parameter. ErrorLogDiskSpaceFree Displays, in megabytes (MB), the amount of free space on the disk drive where the error log file is located. Collector: ErrorLogColl
coll
undef
2-2 warn
3-3 alarm 10 min
graph
none
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
MB of free space on disk drive
ErrorLogDiskSpaceFreeThreshold Y Monitors whether the amount of space that is free on the disk where the error log resides is below the user-defined threshold.
con
undef
2-2 warn
3-3 alarm set by coll
graph
none
Note: These alarm values cannot be changed; they are hard-coded flags that work in conjunction with the Error Log Free Disk Space menu command.
Collector: ErrorLogColl ErrorLogSizeMB Displays, in megabytes (MB), the size of the error log file. Collector: ErrorLogColl Y con undef undef undef set by coll graph MB of space in error log file
180
Unit
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter
ErrorLogSizeThreshold User-defined threshold for the ErrorLogSizeMB parameter.
con
undef
2-2
3-3
set by coll
graph
none
Note: These alarm values cannot be changed; they are hard-coded flags that work in conjunction with the Error Log Size Monitoring menu command.
Collector: ErrorLogColl ErrorLogUpdates Monitors the SQL Server error log for updates. This parameter goes into an alarm state if the updated error log text contains one of the strings entered using the KM Admin => Set up Error Log String Monitoring menu command from an Error Log application class instance. Collector: ErrorLogColl Y con undef 2-2 warn 3-3 alarm set by coll graph none
File Application Class

FileSizeMB Displays (in megabytes) the size of the database file. This value is obtained from the sysfiles table. Collector: DbSpaceColl SpaceUsedMB Displays (in megabytes) the amount of file space that is used by the database file. Collector: DbSpaceColl Y con undef undef undef set by coll graph used space in MB Y con undef undef undef set by coll graph size of file in MB
Appendix B
Unit 181
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter
SpaceUsedPCT Displays the percentage of the database file that is full. When this value is calculated, account autogrow settings and free disk space are taken into account. Collector: DbSpaceColl
con
undef
8090 warn
90100 alarm
set by coll
graph
percentage of file space used
Filegroup Application Class

SpaceUsedMB Displays (in megabytes) the amount of the file group space that is used. Collector: DbSpaceColl SpaceUsedPCT Displays the percentage of the database file group that is full. When this value is calculated, autogrow settings and free disk space are taken into account. Collector: DbSpaceColl Y con undef 8090 warn 90100 alarm set by coll graph percentage of space used Y con undef undef undef set by coll graph used file group space in MB
182
Unit
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter Locks Application Class

DatabaseLockAvgWaitTime Displays (in milliseconds) the average amount of wait time caused by database lock requests. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the SQL Server Lock Waits/sec and Average Wait Time (ms) performance counters for the database instance. Collector: LocksColl DatabaseLockRequestsPerSec Displays the number of new database locks and lock conversions that lock manager requested per second. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the Lock Requests/sec performance counter for the database instance. Collector: LocksColl
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
wait time in msec
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
number of lock requests per sec
DatabaseLockRequestWaitPercent Y Displays the percentage of database lock requests that required a caller to wait. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the Lock Requests/sec and Lock Waits/sec performance counters for the database instance. Collector: LocksColl ExtentLockAvgWaitTime Displays (in milliseconds) the average amount of wait time that was caused by extent lock requests. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the SQL Server Lock Waits/sec and Average Wait Time (ms) performance counters for the extent instance. Collector: LocksColl Y
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
percentage of database locks per sec that had to wait
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
average wait time in msec
Appendix B
Unit 183
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter
ExtentLockRequestsPerSec Displays the number of new extent locks and lock conversions that the lock manager requested per second. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the SQL Server Lock Requests/sec performance counter for the extent instance. Collector: LocksColl ExtentLockRequestWaitPercent Displays the percentage of new extent lock requests per second that required a caller to wait. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the SQL Server Lock Waits/sec and Lock Requests/sec performance counters for the extent instance. Collector: LocksColl KeyLockAvgWaitTime Displays (in milliseconds) the average amount of wait time that was caused by key lock requests. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the SQL Server Lock Waits/sec and Average Wait Time (ms) performance counters for the key instance. Collector: LocksColl KeyLockRequestsPerSec Displays the number of new key locks and lock conversions that the lock manager requested per second. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the SQL Server Lock Requests/sec performance counter for the key instance. Collector: LocksColl
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
percentage of new extent lock requests per sec that had to wait
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
number of new lock requests per sec
184
Unit
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter
KeyLockRequestWaitPercent Displays the percentage of key lock requests that required a caller to wait. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the SQL Server Lock Waits/sec and Lock Requests/sec performance counters for the key instance. Collector: LocksColl LockRequestsPerSec Displays the number of all locks and lock conversions that the lock manager requested per second. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the SQL Server Lock Requests/sec performance counter. Collector: LocksColl LockRequestWaitPercent Displays the percentage of all lock requests that required a caller to wait. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the SQL Server Lock Waits/sec and Lock Requests/sec performance counters. Collector: LocksColl PageLockAvgWaitTime Displays (in milliseconds) the average amount of wait time that was caused by page lock requests. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the SQL Server Lock Waits/sec and Average Wait Time (ms) performance counters for the page instance. Collector: LocksColl
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
percentage of key lock requests per sec that had to wait
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
percentage of lock requests per sec that had to wait
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
Appendix B
Unit 185
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter
PageLockRequestsPerSec Displays the number of new page locks and lock conversions that the lock manager requested per second. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the SQL Server Lock Requests/sec performance counter for the page instance. Collector: LocksColl PageLockRequestWaitPercent Displays the percentage of page lock requests that required a caller to wait. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the SQL Server Lock Waits/sec and Lock Requests/sec performance counters for the page instance. Collector: LocksColl RIDLockAvgWaitTime Displays (in milliseconds) the average amount of wait time that was caused by row ID lock requests. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the SQL Server Locks Waits/sec and Average Wait Time (ms) performance counters. Collector: LocksColl
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
number of new page lock requests per sec
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
percentage of lock requests per sec that had to wait
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
186
Unit
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter
RIDLockRequestsPerSec Displays the number of new row ID locks and lock conversions that the lock manager requested per second. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the SQL Server Locks Requests/sec performance counter. Collector: LocksColl RIDLockRequestWaitPercent Displays the percentage of row ID lock requests that required a caller to wait. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the SQL Server Locks Waits/sec and Lock Requests/sec performance counters. Collector: LocksColl TableLockAvgWaitTime Displays (in milliseconds) the average amount of wait time that was caused by table lock requests. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the SQL Server Locks Waits/sec and Average Wait Time (ms) performance counters. Collector: LocksColl TableLockRequestsPerSec Displays the number of new table locks and lock conversions that the lock manager requested per second. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the SQL Server Lock Requests/sec performance counter. Collector: LocksColl
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
number of row ID lock requests per sec
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
percentage of row ID lock requests per sec that had to wait
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
number of new table lock requests per sec
Appendix B
Unit 187
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter
TableLockRequestWaitPercent Displays the percentage of table lock requests that required a caller to wait. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the SQL Server Lock Waits/sec and Lock Requests/secperformance counters. Collector: LocksColl
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
percentage of table lock requests per sec that had to wait
Network Application Class

PacketErrors Monitors the number of packet errors that SQL Server encounters while reading and writing network packets. This value represents the number of errors that occur between polls of the @@PACKET_ERRORS global variable. Collector: GlobalVarsColl PacketsReceived Monitors the number of network packets that SQL Server receives between polls of the @@PACK_ RECEIVED global variable. Collector: GlobalVarsColl PacketsSent Monitors the number of network packets that SQL Server sends between polls of the @@PACK_SENT global variable. Collector: GlobalVarsColl Y con undef undef undef set by coll graph number of packets sent Y con undef undef undef set by coll graph number of packets received Y con <0, >99 alarm undef undef set by coll graph number of packet errors
Objects Application Class

ObjectDataSizeMB Displays (in megabytes) the total amount of space that is used by data in the table or index which you are monitoring. Collector: ObjectSizeColl Y con undef undef undef set by coll graph MB of space used by data
188
Unit
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter
ObjectReservedSizeMB Displays (in megabytes) the total amount of space that is reserved for use by the table or index which you are monitoring, including space for data and system information and space not used. Collector: ObjectSizeColl RowCountEstimate Provides an estimate of the number of rows in a table. This parameter is not available when the monitored object is an index. Collector: ObjectSizeColl
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
MB of space used
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
number of rows in table
Performance Application Class

AvgLatchWaitTime Displays the average wait time (in milliseconds) for latch requests that had to wait. Collector: SQLServerColl CacheHitRatio Displays the percentage of requests for data that the SQL Server can satisfy from memory (data cache) rather than reading the data from a disk. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the SQL Server:Buffer Manager => Buffer Cache Hit Ratio performance counter for SQL Server. For recommendations, see the online Help. Collector: SQLServerColl Y con <0, >100 alarm 050 alarm after two times 5070 warn after two times set by coll graph percentage of time a request is found in cache Y con undef undef undef NA graph milliseconds
Appendix B
Unit 189
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter
CpuBusy Monitors the percentage of time that the SQL Server is busy between polls of the @@CPU_BUSY global variable. Collector: GlobalVarsColl CpuIdle Monitors the percentage of time that SQL Server is idle between polls of the @@IDLE global variable. Collector: GlobalVarsColl CpuIoBusy Monitors the percentage of time that SQL Server performs input and output operations between polls of the @@IO_BUSY global variable. Collector: GlobalVarsColl DeadlocksPerSec Displays the number of lock requests per second that resulted in a deadlock. Collector: SQLServerColl FullScansPerSec Displays the number of unrestricted full scans per second. Collector: SQLServerColl
con
<0, >100 alarm
9095 warn
95100 alarm
set by coll
graph
percentage of time the SQL Server was busy
con
<0, >100 alarm
05 alarm
610 warn
set by coll
graph
percentage of time the SQL Server was idle
con
<0, >100 warn
3040 warn
40100 alarm
set by coll
graph
percentage of time the SQL Server performed I/O operations number of lock requests
con
undef
undef
undef
NA
graph
con
undef
undef
undef
NA
graph
number
190
Unit
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter
ResponseExecTime Provides the total operating response time (in milliseconds). The value of this parameter includes the time it takes a sample SQL statement to connect to SQL Server, execute a simple query, and return a response. See ResponseColl for information on how to change the sample SQL statement. Collector: ResponseColl ResponseSqlTime Provides the amount of time (in milliseconds) that it takes SQL Server to execute a simple query when a sample SQL statement is executed. This parameter is formed by subtracting the connect and disconnect times from the information that is gathered by ResponseColl, leaving only the amount of time that SQL Server took to execute the query. Collector: ResponseColl TransactionsPerSec Displays the number of Transact-SQL command batches that are executed per second. This number is affected by all constraints, such as, I/O, number of users, cache size, and complexity of the requests. PATROL uses the SQL Statistics => Bath Requests/sec performance counter to calculate the value of this parameter. Collector: SQLServerColl
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
operating response time in msec
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
SQL response time in msec
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
number of tsql batches executed per sec
Appendix B
Unit 191
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter
Procedure Cache Application Class PCProcBuffersActivePct Monitors the percentage of procedure buffers that are actively used. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the DBCC PROCCACHE command for SQL Server. Collector: ProcedureCacheColl PCProcBuffersUsedPct Monitors the percentage of procedure buffers in the procedure cache that are used. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the DBCC PROCCACHE command for SQL Server. Collector: ProcedureCacheColl PCProcCacheActivePct Monitors the percentage of procedure cache that is active. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the DBCC PROCCACHE command for SQL Server. Collector: ProcedureCacheColl PCProcCacheUsedPct Monitors the percentage of procedure cache that is used. To calculate this value, PATROL uses the DBCC PROCCACHE command for SQL Server. Collector: ProcedureCacheColl
con
<0, >100 OK
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
percentage of buffers actively used
con
<0, >100 OK
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
percentage of buffers used
con
<0, >100 OK
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
percentage of active cache
con
<0, >100 OK
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
percentage of used cache
192
Unit
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter Published Application Class

ReplicatedCmdsPerSec Displays the number of replication commands that were read out of the transaction log of the publication database and delivered to the distribution database per second. Collector: ReplicationColl ReplicatedTransPerSec Displays the number of transactions that were read out of the transaction log for the publication database and delivered to the distribution database per second. Collector: ReplicationColl
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
number of commands per sec
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
number of replicated transactions read per sec
Subscribers Application Class DelieveredCmdsPerSec

Displays the number of delivered commands per second in the distribution database. This value is calculated by using the Delivered Cmds/sec performance counter under the SQLServer:Replication Dist. object. Collector: ReplicationColl DeliveredTransPerSec Displays the number of transactions delivered per second. Collector: ReplicationColl DeliveryLatency Displays the number of milliseconds that a transaction remains in the distribution database before it is delivered to the subscription server. Collector: ReplicationColl Y con undef undef undef set by coll graph number of milliseconds transactions remain in distribution database Y con undef undef undef set by coll graph number of transactions delivered per sec Y con undef undef undef set by coll graph delivered commands per second
Appendix B
Unit 193
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter
UserDefCounter110 Displays the user-defined Windows performance counters 1 through 10 that SQL Server sets. Collector: UserDefinedCountersColl
UserDefined Counters Application Class

Y con undef undef undef set by coll graph number of CPU computer ticks
Users Application Class

UserBlocked Gives a warning if one user process is blocked longer than the blocked detection time. Goes into alarm when two or more user processes are blocked longer than the blocked detection time. Change the blocked detection time for all SQL Server user processes by using the KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin => Configure Auto User Monitoring menu command. Change the blocked detection time for the selected user process through the Change Local Defaults menu command. Collector: UserColl UserColl Collects data for the Users application class; sets all values for user and process parameters within the User application class. UserCpu Displays the CPU time that a user connection and checkpoint process used since the last poll of the UserColl parameter. Collector: UserColl Y con undef undef undef set by coll graph number of CPU computer ticks Y std undef undef undef 10 min bool none Y con undef 11 warn 22 alarm set by coll none none
194
Unit
Parameter table
Table 18

Alarm1 range
Alarm2 range
Border range
Parameter
UserIdle Generates a warning if one user process remains idle longer than the idle detection time. Change the idle detection time for all SQL Server user processes by using the KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin => Configure Auto User Monitoring menu command under a Server application. Change the idle detection time for the selected user process by using the Change Local Defaults menu command under a User application. Collector: UserColl UserIo Displays the number of disk reads and writes for the user connection that you are monitoring. Collector: UserColl UserMemUsage Displays the amount of memory (in in 8 KB pages) allocated to a user connection. Collector: UserColl UserTotCpu Displays the cumulative CPU time for a user connection and checkpoint process. Collector: UserColl UserTotIo Displays the cumulative total number of disk reads and writes for the current statement. Collector: UserColl
con
undef
11 warn
undef
set by coll
none
none
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
number of disk reads and writes
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
number of pages of allocated memory
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
CPU time ticks
con
undef
undef
undef
set by coll
graph
disk reads and writes
Appendix B
Unit 195
Parameter table
196
Appendix
Consumer-collector parameter dependencies

C
Consumer parameters depend on a collector parameter, or a standard parameter used as a collector, to set their values or to collect information. Disabling a standard collector parameter also disables the consumer parameters that it sets. (All of the collectors used by PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server are standard parameters with collector properties.) Table 19 on page 198 lists the consumer parameters alphabetically in the first vertical column and the standard collector parameters alphabetically across the top of the table. Each consumer parameter is cross-referenced with the standard collector parameter that sets its value. The standard parameters that set only their own values and the consumer parameters that are set by something other than a collector or standard parameter are listed with the consumer parameters. For more information about parameters, see Appendix B, Parameter definitions and defaults,and the PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server online Help.
Appendix C
197
Table 19
Consumer-collector parameter dependencies (Part 1 of 4)

UserDefinedCountersColl
15
LongRunningTransColl
ProcedureCacheColl
DbStructureColl
ReplicationColl
CurConfigsColl
GlobalVarsColl
MonProbUsers
ObjectSizeColl
SQLServerColl
5
LogSpaceColl
ResponseColl
DbSpaceColl
ErrorLogColl
ProcessColl
LocksColl
Collector
Consumer
Collector Poll Time (in minutes)
55
34
10
15
24
10
5.5 240
15
10
10
10
ARATest (set by ARA Test menu command) AvgLatchWaitTime BlockerProcs BufferCacheHitRatio CacheHitRatio CheckConfiguration (standard parameter; poll time 5 minutes)
x x x x
ConfigUpdates (standard parameter, poll time 55 minutes)

ConnectionsRemaining CpuBusy CpuIdle CpuIoBusy DatabaseLockAvgWaitTime DatabaseLockRequestsPerSec DatabaseLockRequestWait Percent DatabaseSpaceUsedMB DatabaseSpaceUsedPCT DeadlocksPerSec DeliveredCmdsPerSec DeliveredTransPerSec DeliveryLatency DiskIoErrors DiskIoReads DiskIoWrites ErrorLogDiskSpaceFree ErrorLogDiskSpaceFreeThreshold ErrorLogSizeMB
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
198
UserColl
Table 19

15
ProcedureCacheColl
DbStructureColl
ReplicationColl
CurConfigsColl
GlobalVarsColl
MonProbUsers
ObjectSizeColl
SQLServerColl
5
LogSpaceColl
ResponseColl
DbSpaceColl
ErrorLogColl
ProcessColl
LocksColl
Collector
Consumer
Collector Poll Time (in minutes) ErrorLogSizeThreshold ErrorLogUpdates ExtentLockAvgWaitTime ExtentLockRequestsPerSec
55
34
10
15
24
10
5.5 240
15
10
10
10
x x x x x
ExtentLockRequestWaitPercent Failover (set by MSSQL_ SERVER.km discovery) FileSizeMB FullScansPerSec IdleProcs KeyLockAvgWaitTime KeyLockRequestsPerSec KeyLockRequestWaitPercent LazyWritesPerSec LockRequestsPerSec LockRequestWaitPercent LocksRemaining LogSpaceUsedMB LogSpaceUsedPct LongRunningTrans NumberOfFreeBuffers NumBlockedProcesses NumProcesses NumCurrentUsers NumCurrentLocks ObjectDataSizeMB ObjectReservedSizeMB OutstandingReads OutstandingWrites PacketErrors
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
Appendix C
UserColl
199
Table 19

15
ProcedureCacheColl
DbStructureColl
ReplicationColl
CurConfigsColl
GlobalVarsColl
MonProbUsers
ObjectSizeColl
SQLServerColl
5
LogSpaceColl
ResponseColl
DbSpaceColl
ErrorLogColl
ProcessColl
LocksColl
Collector
Consumer
Collector Poll Time (in minutes) PacketsReceived PacketsSent PageLifeExpectancy PageLockAvgWaitTime PageLockRequestsPerSec PageLockRequestWaitPercent PCProcBuffersActivePct PCProcBuffersUsedPct PCProcCachActivePct PCProcCacheUsedPct ReplicatedCmdsPerSec ReplicatedTransPerSec ResponseExecTime ResponseSQLTime RIDLockAvgWaitTime RIDLockRequestsPerSec RIDLockRequestWaitPercent RowCountEstimate SpaceUsedMB (file) SpaceUsedPCT (file) SpaceUsedMB (filegroup) SpaceUsedPCT (filegroup)
55
34
10
15
24
10
5.5 240
15
10
10
10
x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x
SQLAgentJobFailures (standard parameter; poll time 15 minutes) SQLAgentStatus (standard parameter; poll time 5 minutes) SQLServerStatus (set by discovery) SuspectDatabases (standard parameter; poll time 240 minutes) TableLockAvgWaitTime
200
UserColl
Table 19

15
ProcedureCacheColl
DbStructureColl
ReplicationColl
CurConfigsColl
GlobalVarsColl
MonProbUsers
ObjectSizeColl
SQLServerColl
5
LogSpaceColl
ResponseColl
DbSpaceColl
ErrorLogColl
ProcessColl
LocksColl
Collector
Consumer
Collector Poll Time (in minutes) TableLockRequestsPerSec TableLockRequestWaitPercent TransactionsPerSec UserBlocked UserConnections UserCpu UserDefCounter1-10 UserIdle UserIo UserMemUsage UserTotCpu UserTotIo
55
34
10
15
24
10
5.5 240
15
10
10
10
x x x x x x x x x x x x
Appendix C
UserColl
201
202
Appendix
Agent configuration variables

The configuration variables described in this section are PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server variables that are set in the PATROL Agent. For information about how to modify these variables, see Chapter 4, Using PATROL Configuration Manager with PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server. For more detailed information, see the following BMC Software documentation products:
I
For summary information about wpconfig, see the PATROL Console for Microsoft Windows User GuideCustomizing PATROL, Volume 3. For detailed information about how to use pconfig, see the PATROL Agent Reference Manual. For detailed information about how to use the PATROL Configuration Manager, see the PATROL Configuration Manager User Guide, version 1.4.01 or later.
This section also lists variables that were formerly used by PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server but are now obsolete.
WARNING
When you use the wpconfig utility or PATROL Configuration Manager to remove variables, add new variables, or modify existing variables, no validations are performed.
This appendix provides information about the following variables:

I I
Agent configuration variables (Table 20 on page 204) Obsolete variables (Table 21 on page 218)
Appendix D
203
Table 20
Variable
Agent configuration variables (Part 1 of 15)

Description If this variable is modified, you must restart the Agent. indicates the account information used to execute the OS commands and external executable files. See the PATROL Agent Reference Manual for more information. If this variable is modified, you must restart the Agent. indicates the account information used to execute the OS commands and external executable files. See the PATROL Agent Reference Manual for more information. If this variable is modified, you must restart the Agent. indicates the account information used to execute the OS commands and external executable files. See the PATROL Agent Reference Manual for more information. If this variable is modified, you must restart the Agent. indicates the account information used to execute the OS commands and external executable files. See the PATROL Agent Reference Manual for more information. If this variable is modified, you must restart the Agent. indicates the account information used to execute the OS commands and external executable files. See the PATROL Agent Reference Manual for more information. If this variable is modified, you must restart the Agent. indicates the account information used to execute the OS commands and external executable files. See the PATROL Agent Reference Manual for more information.
Click /AgentSetup/MSSQL_SERVER.AgentHostName to display the following variables: /AgentSetup/ MSSQL_SERVER.AgentHostName. OSdefaultAccount
/AgentSetup/ MSSQL_SERVER.AgentHostName. OSdefaultAccountAppliesToCmds
/AgentSetup/ MSSQL_SERVER_ADMIN.AgentHostName. defaultAccount
/AgentSetup/ MSSQL_SERVER_ADMIN.AgentHostName. OSdefaultAccount
/AgentSetup/ MSSQL_SERVER_ADMIN.AgentHostName. OSdefaultAccountAppliesToCmds
/AgentSetup/ MSSQL_SERVER_LOGIN_MGMT. AgentHostName. defaultAccount
204
Table 20
Variable

Description If this variable is modified, you must restart the Agent. indicates the account information used to execute the OS commands and external executable files. See the PATROL Agent Reference Manual for more information. If this variable is modified, you must restart the Agent. indicates the account information used to execute the OS commands and external executable files. See the PATROL Agent Reference Manual for more information. Changes to this variable are detected by the ConfigUpdates parameter. flag indicating whether DEBUG is turned on during discovery
I I
/AgentSetup/ MSSQL_SERVER_LOGIN_MGMT .AgentHostName. OSdefaultAccount /AgentSetup/ MSSQL_SERVER_LOGIN_MGMT. AgentHostName. OSdefaultAccountAppliesToCmds Click /MSSQLServer to display the following variables: /MSSQLServer/ DEBUG_DISC_STAT
0 = DEBUG is turned off during discovery 1 = DEBUG is turned on during discovery
To create or modify this variable, use the KM Admin => DEBUG menu command from the Server, User, or Database application. /MSSQLServer/ DEBUG_PRE_DISC_STAT flag indicating whether DEBUG is turned on during pre-discovery
I I
Changes to this variable are detected by the ConfigUpdates parameter.
0 = DEBUG is turned off during prediscovery 1 = DEBUG is turned on during prediscovery
To create or modify this variable, use the KM Admin => DEBUG menu command from the Server, User, or Database application.
Appendix D
205
Table 20
Variable

Description lists the SQL Servers excluded from discovery You must enter this variable manually. It does not appear otherwise. Enter the pconfig variable followed by the names of the SQL Servers that you want to exclude from monitoring, with a vertical pipe (|) character separating the names of the SQL Servers, as in the following example: SQL8_TEST|MSSQLServer This example excludes the following SQL Servers:
I
/MSSQLServer/ SQLServersExcludedFromDiscovery
with the SQL Server name "ABC\SQL8_TEST", where ABC is the host name with the Windows service name "MSSQLServer" for SQL Server with a default instance name
/MSSQLServer/SQLServerInstanceName/ ExcludedDbs
stores the list of databases excluded from monitoring when Auto Discovery is set on To create or modify this variable, use the KM Commands => KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => Set DB Auto-Discovery command.
/MSSQLServer/SQLServerInstanceName/ SQLERRORLOG/ EXCLUDED_ERRORLOG_STRINGS
stores the list of strings to be excluded from monitoring To create or modify this variable, use the KM Admin => Exclude Errorlog String from Monitoring command from the SQLERRORLOG application class. stores the list of SQLServer logins SQLAgent jobs owned by these logins are excluded from monitoring. To create or modify this variable, use the KM Admin => Exclude SQLAgent jobs from monitoring command from the Availability application class.
/MSSQLServer/SQLServerInstanceName/ ExcludedLogins
206
Table 20
Variable

Description This variable is not present by default. If it is set to 1, the command DBCC showfilestats is used for space calculation instead of sp_spaceused. Note: The DBCC showfilestats command is undocumented.
/MSSQLServer/A_DBSPMB_ENABLED
/MSSQLServer/ SQLServerInstanceName/ UserExListBlocked /MSSQLServer/ SQLServerInstanceName/ UserExListIdle
This pconfig variable contains the list of Users excluded from monitoring of blocked processes. This pconfig variable contains the list of Users excluded from monitoring of idle processes.
/MSSQLServer/ SQLServerInstanceName/ blocked_waittime The processes having waittime greater than this variable are considered for the parameter NumBlockedProcesses. The default value of this pconfig variable is 100 ms. /MSSQLServer/SQLServerInstanceName/ JobStepFailFlag However, PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server ignores a job step failure if the Quit with success option is set for that job step. The default value is 0, meaning PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server addresses a job step failure as a job failure even if the Quit with success option is set. /MSSQLServer/SQLServerInstanceName/ ExcludedJobCategories To create or modify this variable, use the KM Commands => Exclude SqlAgent jobs by Job Category command from the Availability application class. /MSSQLServer/SQLServerInstanceName/ ExcludedSQLServerJobNames To create or modify this variable, use the KM Commands => Exclude SqlAgent jobs by JobNames command from the Availability application class. stores the list of SQLServer Agent job names that are excluded from monitoring stores the list of SQLServer Agent job categories that are excluded from monitoring checks a job step failure if the value of this variable is set to 1
Appendix D
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Table 20
Variable

Description determines whether PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server is configured for general user monitoring The value of GENUSERFLAG must be one character long.
I
/MSSQLServer/SQLServerInstanceName/ GENUSERFLAG
If the value is 0, the product is configured for sa user monitoring. If the value is 1, the product is configured for general user monitoring. If the value is null, or other than 1 or 0, the product is not configured for general user monitoring.
To create or modify this variable, use the KM Commands => KM Admin => SQL Config Set up command. /AgentSetup/ VirtualServerName stores the virtual server name This variable is required for Veritas cluster discovery. When running SQL Server on a Veritas cluster, set the virtual server name in this variable. /AgentSetup/VirtualServerName should be the same as the virtual server name assigned to the PATROL_VIRTUALNAME_port. This name is case sensitive. /AgentSetup/ Veritas_sql_server_group stores the SQL Server group name This variable is required for Veritas cluster discovery. When running SQL Server on a Veritas cluster, set the SQL Server group name in this variable. /AgentSetup/Veritas_sql_server_group should be the same as the SQL Server group name. /AgentSetup/ isVeritasCluster stores information about the Veritas cluster This variable is required for Veritas cluster discovery. When running SQL Server on a Veritas cluster, the value for this variable must be equal to 1.
208
Table 20
Variable

Description Changes to this variable are detected by the ConfigUpdates parameter. flag indicating whether or not a user instance is created for users or sessions that are blocking other sessions
I I
Click /MSSQL_SERVER/AgentHostName to display the following variables: /MSSQL_SERVER/AgentHostName/ BlockAutoLaunch
Yes = user instances are created No = user instances are not created
To create or modify this variable, use the KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin => Configure Auto User Monitoring menu command from the Server application. For more information, see Monitoring users and processes on page 137. /MSSQL_SERVER/AgentHostName/ BlockedTime indicates the amount of time a process can block another process before raising an alarm The value for this variable is the amount of time in seconds entered as the blocked detection time. The default is 180 seconds. To create or modify this variable, use the KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin => Configure Auto User Monitoring menu command from the Server application. For more information, see Monitoring users and processes on page 137. /MSSQLServer/AgentHostName\\InstanceName/DBCC If this variable is modified, you must restart the _PSS_Disabled Agent. You must enter this variable manually, it does not appear automatically. turns off SQL Snapshot (DBCC output with trace)
I
1 disables the retrieval of the SQL query text by the recovery actions. any value other than 1 enables the retrieval of the SQL query text.
Appendix D
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Table 20
Variable

Description Changes to this variable are detected by the ConfigUpdates parameter. flag indicating whether or not a user instance is created for users or sessions that are idle
I I
/MSSQL_SERVER/AgentHostName/ IdleAutoLaunch
0 = user instance is not created 1 = user instance is created
To create or modify this variable, use the KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin => Configure Auto User Monitoring menu command from the Server application. For more information, see Monitoring users and processes on page 137. /MSSQL_Server/AgentHostName/ idle_procs_monitoring_enabled disables and enables idle process monitoring You must enter this variable manually. It does not appear automatically.
I I
0 disables idle process monitoring any value other than 0 enables idle process monitoring
/MSSQL_Server/AgentHostName/ blocked_procs_monitoring_enabled
disables and enables blocked process mopnitoring You must enter this variable manually. It does not appear automatically.
I I
0 disables blocked process monitoring any value other than 0 enables blocked process monitoring
/MSSQL_SERVER/AgentHostName/ StoppedTime
Changes to this variable are detected by the ConfigUpdates parameter. indicates the idle detection time The value for this variable is the amount of time in seconds entered as the idle detection time. The default is 20 minutes which displays as 1200 seconds. To create or modify this variable, use the KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin => Configure Auto User Monitoring menu command from the Server application. For more information, see Monitoring users and processes on page 137.
210
Table 20
Variable

Description Changes to this variable are detected by the ConfigUpdates parameter. flag indicating whether or not a user instance is created for users or sessions that are idle
I I
/MSSQL_SERVER/AgentHostName/ UserActive
1 = a user instance is created 0 = a user instance is not created
To create or modify this variable, use the KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin => Configure Auto User Monitoring menu command from the Server application. For more information, see Monitoring users and processes on page 137. Click /MSSQLServer to display the following variables: /charts/AgentHostName/name of chart Changes to this variable are detected by the ConfigUpdates parameter. lists the parameters included in a user-defined parameter charts The value of this parameter is a list of parameter names separated by a new line character. To create or modify this variable, use the KM Admin => Reports => Parameter Charts => Custom Charts menu command from the Server application. For more information, see Creating customized parameter charts on page 148. Click /MSSQLServer/AgentHostName to display the following variables: /MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ araAction indicates the automatic recovery actions selected in the ARA Default Actions dialog box See Modifying the automatic recovery action variable on page 103 for the values this variable uses. See also Using automatic recovery actions on page 149. To create or modify this variable, use the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => ARA Settings => Set Default Actions menu command from the Server application. Changes to this variable are detected by the ConfigUpdates parameter.
Appendix D
211
Table 20
Variable

Description Changes to this variable are detected by the ConfigUpdates parameter. lists the computer names and IP addresses to which you want the araSendTo option to send a message whenever one of several key parameters goes into an alert state Computer names and IP addresses are separated by a new line character. To create or modify this variable, use the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => ARA Settings => Set Send To Names menu command from the Server application. For more information, see Using automatic recovery actions on page 149.
/MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ araSendTo
/MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ blackout
Changes to this variable are detected by the ConfigUpdates parameter. indicates the time periods (blackout periods) when the PATROL Agent does not set off any parameter alarms for the instance Values are expressed as follows:
I I I I
<server_name> <day of the week> <starting time in seconds after midnight> <duration expressed in minutes>
For example, if you set a blackout period on a server called SQLServer1 for Monday, starting at 1:00 a.m. for a duration of 60 minutes, the following value would displays: SQLServer1 Mon 3600 60 Blackout periods are separated by a new line character. To create or modify this variable, use the KM Admin => Set Blackout menu command from the Server application. For more information, see Modifying the blackout configuration variable on page 103 and Clearing, snoozing, and blacking out parameter alarms on page 146.
212
Table 20
Variable

Description Changes to this variable are detected by the ConfigUpdates parameter. flag indicating whether auto discovery for user monitoring is on or off
I I
/MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ DBAutoDisc
0 = auto discovery is off 1 = auto discovery is on
To create or modify this variable, use the KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin => Set DB Auto-Discovery menu command from the Server application. For more information, see Monitoring databases on page 129. /MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ dbInstances lists the databases that you selected to monitor in the DB Autodiscovery dialog box Database names are separated by a new line character. To create or modify this variable, use the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => Set DB Auto-Discovery menu command from the Server application. For more information, see Monitoring databases on page 129. /MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ ERROR_LOG_DATA_COLLECTION_ACTION
I I I I
indicates the action the ErrorLogColl parameter takes when a data collection problem occurs 1 = remains in an OK state 2 = goes into a warning state 3 = goes into an alarm state any other value or null = remains in OK state
/MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ ERROR_LOG_DATA_COLLECTION_AUTORESET
indicates whether the ErrorLogColl parametter is automatically reset to OK when it goes into an alarm or warning state
I I I
0 = does not automatically reset 1 = automatically resets null or any value other than 0 or 1 = does not automatically reset
/MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ ERROR_LOG_WARN_STRING
list of the error log strings configured to set off a warning
Appendix D
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Table 20
Variable

Description list of the error log strings configured to set off an alarm indicates whether the ErrorLogSizeThreshold parameter is set to OK, warn, or alarm if error log file size threshold monitoring is active and the error log file crosses the user-defined threshold
I I I I
/MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ ERROR_LOG_ALARM_STRING /MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ ERROR_LOG_FILE_SIZE_THRESHOLD_ACTION
1 = OK 2 = warn 3 = alarm null or any value other than 1, 2, or 3 = threshold monitoring is disabled and the ErrorLogSizeThreshold parameter is not displayed
/MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ ERROR_LOG_FILE_SIZE_THRESHOLD_AMOUNT
indicates the error log size threshold in megabytes

I I
0, null, or any value other than 1 = error log threshold monitoring is disabled a number greater than 0 = error log size threshold in megabytes
indicates whether the ErrorLogsSizeThreshold parametter is automatically reset to OK when it ERROR_LOG_FILE_SIZE_THRESHOLD_AUTORESET goes into an alarm or warning state /MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/
I I I
/MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ ERROR_LOG_SHOW_FILE_SIZE_IN_MB
indicates whether file size is displayed in megabytes (MB) or kilobytes (KB)

I I I
0 = KB 1 = MB null or any value other than 0 or 1 = MB
/MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ ERROR_LOG_FILE_SIZE_THRESHOLD_ MONITORING
indictes whether threshold monitoring is active for the size of the error log file
I I I
0 = not active (ErrorLogSizeThreshold parameter is not displayed) 1 = active (ErrorLogSizeThreshold parameter is displayed) null or any value other than 0 or 1 = not active
214
Table 20
Variable

Description indicates the action taken if the ErrorLogFreeDiskSpaceThreshold is crossed
I I I I
/MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ ERROR_LOG_FREE_DISK_SPACE_THRESHOLD_ ACTION
1 = OK 2 = warn 3 = alarm null or any value other than 1, 2, or 3 = threshold monitoring is disabled and the ErrorLogSizeThreshold parameter is not displayed
/MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ ERROR_LOG_FREE_DISK_SPACE_THRESHOLD_ AUTORESET
indicates whether the ErrorLogDiskSpaceFreeThreshold parameter is automatically reset to OK when it goes into an alarm or warning state
I I I
/MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ ERROR_LOG_FREE_DISK_SPACE_THRESHOLD_MB
indicates the error log disk space free threshold in megabytes

I I
0, null, or any value other than 1 = error log threshold monitoring is disabled A number greater than 0 = error log disk space free threshold in megabytes
/MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ ERROR_LOG_FREE_DISK_SPACE_THRESHOLD_MB
indicates the error log disk space free threshold in megabytes

I I
0, null, or any value other than 1 = error log threshold monitoring is disabled A number greater than 0 = error log disk space free threshold in megabytes
/MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ ERROR_LOG_FREE_DISK_SPACE_THRESHOLD_ MONITORING
indictes whether threshold monitoring is active for the amount of free space on the disk where the error log resides
I
I I
0 = not active (ErrorLogDiskSpaceFreeThreshold parameter is not displayed) 1 = active (ErrorLogDiskSpaceFreeThreshold parameter is displayed) null or any value other than 0 or 1 = not active
Appendix D
215
Table 20
Variable

Description indicates whether the ErrorLogUpdates parameter generates a warning or an alarm only the first time each user-defined string is detected or every time a a user-defined string is detected, no matter how often the same strings are detected
I I I
/MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ ERROR_LOG_GENERAL_ALARM_WARNING_ EVERY_TIME
0 = only the first time 1 = every time null or any value other than 0 or 1 = only the first time
/MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ ERROR_LOG_STRING_MONITORING
indicates whether the ErrorLogUpdates parameter monitors the error log for updated strings
I I I
0 = does not monitor 1 = monitors null or any value other than 0 or 1 = does not monitor
Regardless of this setting, the ErrorLogUpdates parameter is displayed. /MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ filegroup_monitoring_on_off flag indicating whether filegroup and file monitoring is on or off
I I
0 = filegroup and file monitoring are off 1 = filegroup and file monitoring are on
To create or modify this variable, use the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => Monitoring Setup menu command from the Server application. For more information, see Monitoring files and file groups on page 133. /MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ IconLabel lists the name that displays beneath the instance icon To create or modify this variable, use the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => Change Icon Label menu command. For more information, see Changing a server instance name on page 120. Changes to this variable are detected by the ConfigUpdates parameter.
216
Table 20
Variable

Description Changes to this variable are detected by the ConfigUpdates parameter. lists the processes you selected for exclusion from long running process monitoring To create or modify this variable use the KM Admin =>
/MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ long_running_process_exclude_list
/MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ object_monitor
Changes to this variable are detected by the ConfigUpdates parameter. lists the objects selected for monitoring To create or modify this variable, use the KM Admin => Object Space Monitor menu command. For more information, see Monitoring objects on page 134.
/MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ replication_monitoring_on_off
Changes to this variable are detected by the ConfigUpdates parameter. flag indicating whether replication monitoring is on or off
I I
0 = replication monitoring is off 1 = replication monitoring is on
To create or modify this variable, use the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => Monitoring Setup. For more information, see Monitoring replication on page 135. /MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ SQL_Server_Agent_monitoring_on_off flag indicating whether SQL Server Agent monitoring is on or off
I I
0 = SQL Server Agent monitoring is off 1 = SQL Server Agent monitoring is on
To create or modify this variable, use the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => Monitoring Setup menu command. For more information, see Creating customized reports on page 143. /MSSQLServer/MSSQL$ service name/ UserDefinedOSQLPath used to discover the SQL Server If this variable is modified, you must restart the Agent.
Appendix D
217
Table 20
Variable

Description If this variable is modified, you must restart the Agent. lists the names entered for use by PATROL for a SQL Server instance To create or modify this variable, use the KM Admin => Setup/Configure KM => SQL Server Name Used by PATROL menu command. For more information, see Changing a server instance name on page 120.
/MSSQLServer/MSSQL$ AgentHostName/ UserDefinedSQLServerName
/MSSQLServer/AgentHostName/ UserExList
Changes to this variable are detected by the ConfigUpdates parameter. lists the names of the users that are excluded from blocked or idle monitoring User names are separated by a new line character. To create or modify this variable, use the KM Admin => User Monitoring Admin => Exclude Specific User menu command. For more information, see Monitoring users and processes on page 137.
Table 21 lists the variables that are no longer used by PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server: Table 21 Obsolete variables (Part 1 of 2)
Variable name /MSSQLServer/serverInstance/dsquery /MSSQLServer/serverInstance/column_separator /MSSQLServer/serverInstance/DefaultDomain /MSSQLServer/serverInstance/errorlog /MSSQLServer/serverInstance/home /MSSQLServer/serverInstance/masterdb /MSSQLServer/serverInstance/RunawayCPUTime /MSSQLServer/serverInstance/security /MSSQLServer/serverInstance/server /MSSQLServer/serverInstance/SQL_Executive_errorlog /MSSQLServer/serverInstance/version /MSSQLServer/serverInstance/DTC_monitoring_on_off /MSSQLServer/serverInstance/SQLViewer/FullFilePath 218 PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server Getting Started
Table 21
Obsolete variables (Part 2 of 2)
Variable name /MSSQLServer/serverInstance/FilterIncl /MSSQLServer/serverInstance/FilterExcl
Appendix D
219
220
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Index
A
accessing data 17 accounts NULL passwords report 142 PATROL login 75 Active Processes menu command 157 Active Processes report 156 adding reports 144 Administration application 21 affected parameters general monitoring user mode 155 recovery action 155 agent, PATROL configuration information 89 installing a KM to 43 set up variables 203 alarm state 27 alert notification actions 149 All Process report 156 All Processes menu command 157 annotate parameters 153 annotated data points 145 applications administrative 20 appear by default 70 Availability 21 Cache 21 Capacity 21 Collectors 21 container 20 Database 22 descriptions 20 discovery 20 Disk 22 do not appear 70 Error Log 20, 22 File 22 Filegroup 22 functional 20 icons 20 list of 20 Locks 22 login management 21 MSSQL_SERVER_ADMIN 21 MSSQL_SERVER_AVAILABILITY 21 MSSQL_SERVER_CACHE 21 MSSQL_SERVER_CAPACITY 21 MSSQL_SERVER_COLLECTORS 21 MSSQL_SERVER_DATABASE 22 MSSQL_SERVER_DISK 22 MSSQL_SERVER_ERRORLOG 20 MSSQL_SERVER_LOCKS 22 MSSQL_SERVER_LOGIN_MGMT 21 MSSQL_SERVER_NETWORK 23 MSSQL_SERVER_OBJECTS 23 MSSQL_SERVER_PERFORMANCE 23 MSSQL_SERVER_PROC_CACHE 23 MSSQL_SERVER_PUBLISHED 23 MSSQL_SERVER_SUBSCRIBERS 23 MSSQL_SERVER_USER_DEF_CNTRS 24 MSSQL_SERVER_USERS 24 Network 23 Objects 23 Performance 23 Procedure Cache 23 Published 23 Server 21 Subscribers 23 User-Defined Counters 24 Users 24 without icons 70 ARA function annotate parameters 153 benefits of use 149 modifying 104 output file 153 parameter recovery process 151 recovery script 151 send messages 154 settings 150 testing 154 trigger PEM events 153 variable value 104 Windows message 154 ARA Settings menu command 103, 149, 150, 154 ARA Test menu command 154 ARA. See ARA function ara_MSSQL( ) function 153 ara_MSSQL.cmd script 85, 104, 150, 151 ARA_SENDTO variable 153 ARATest parameter 168 archiving configuration settings 97
Index
221
AS_CHANGESPRING.kml 51 automated recovery actions 85 automatic recovery actions. See ARA function Availability application description 21 icon 21 parameters 168 AvgLatchWaitTime parameter 189 installation requirements 39, 86 monitoring 39, 86 monitoring choices 39, 86 nodes 39, 89 PATROL Agent resource 39, 86 resource group 39, 86 set up 89 shared drive 39, 86 SQL Server status 90 collection commands 109 collection failure 27 collector parameters 26 Collectors application description 21, 26 icon 21 parameters 173 colormap option 59 command line options, -serveronly option 35 Command Queue Length Settings Report 144 computer icon 71 ConfigUpdates parameter 113, 173 configuration clustered servers 89 deploying 98 file, PATROL Agent 65 for clusters 39, 86 for remote installation 40 login for PATROL 75 modifying 100 PATROL Configuration Manager 97 SQL Servers 72 variables 203 Connect to Managed System menu command 118 Connections Remaining Report 144 ConnectionsAvailable parameter 168 ConnectionsRemaining parameter 171 console systems overview 43 console systems, overview 43 console, installing a KM to 43 consumer parameters 26 CPU and I/O Report 144 CPU Busy/Response Time parameter chart 148 CPU reports 144 CPU Usage Report 144 CpuBusy parameter 156, 190 CpuIdle parameter 190 CpuIoBusy parameter 156, 190 creating an installable image 40 parameter charts 148 recovery actions 151 reports 119, 144 virtual PATROL Agent 39 ctltool 40 CurConfigsColl parameter 173 Custom Charts menu command 148
B
backing up installation 47, 50 batch file for recovery actions 151 Blackout menu command 103 blackout periods, validating 103 blackout variable 103 blocked detection time 83, 142 blocked processes 83, 139, 142 Blocked Processes menu command 157 Blocked Processes Report 144, 156 BlockerProcs parameter 83, 156, 168 blocking locks 18 blocking processes definition 83, 139 detection time 139 problem alert method 139 BMC Software, contacting 2 Bourne shell 57 Break Connection menu command 118 browser requirements 35 BufferCacheHitRatio parameter 170 buffers 18
C
C shell 57 Cache application description 21 icon 21 parameters 170 CacheHitRatio parameter 17, 189 can 124 Capacity application description 21 icon 21 parameters 171 Change Icon Label menu command 120 CheckConfiguration parameter 120, 173 clearing parameter alarms 146 clusters configurations 39 configuring 39, 86 history data 39, 86 in offline mode 90 in online mode 90
222
custom reports 143, 144 Custom Reports dialog box 144 customer support 3 Customizable Reports dialog box 144 customizations, migrating 52 customized PSL, migrating 52 subscriber monitoring 82, 135 user monitoring 83 user problem alert method 140 deleting old versions 47, 50 DeliveredCmdsPerSec parameter 193 DeliveredTransPerSec parameter 193 DeliveryLatency parameter 193 Device Information menu command 132 Disconnect from Managed System menu command 118 discovery accelerating 79 automatic 17 databases, automatic 129 databases, manual 129 servers 17 SQL Server 69 Disk application description 22 icon 22 parameters 179 Disk I/O parameter chart 148 disk space requirements 35 DiskIoErrors parameter 179 DiskIoReads parameter 179 DiskIoWrites parameter 179 documentation, related 31
D
data history 28 data retrieval parameters 26 summary 26 Database application description 22 icon 22, 25 InfoBox 131 parameters 177 Database Information menu command 132 database pages 18 Database Resources menu command 132 Database Space Used (Percent) parameter chart 148 Database Space Used (Size) parameter chart 148 Database Users menu command 132 DatabaseLockAvgWaitTime parameter 183 DatabaseLockRequestsPerSec parameter 183 DatabaseLockRequestWaitPercent parameter 183 databases automatic discovery 129 discovering 129 InfoBox 131 manual discovery 129 monitoring 81, 129 monitoring objects 134 object monitoring defaults 82, 134 space used 18 status 131 stop monitoring 118 DatabaseSpaceUsedMB parameter 177 DatabaseSpaceUsedPct parameter 177 DBCC INPUT BUFFER statement 156 DbSpaceColl parameter 174 DbStructureColl parameter 174 DeadlocksPerSec parameter 190 debug, finding query execution time 110 default values for parameters 165 defaults blocked detection time 83, 139, 142 database monitoring 81 idle detection time 83, 142 object monitoring 82, 134 parameter, automated recovery 85 parameter, property definition 84 process monitoring 83 published articles monitoring 82, 135 SQL Server Agent monitoring 81
E
environment variables for browser 57 LANG 57 PATH 57, 58 PATROL_BROWSER 58 setting for browser 57 error log filter 125 parameters 146 reports 127 string monitoring 125 trigger 123 trigger PEM events 129 viewing 119, 127 Error Log application description 22 icon 22 parameters 128, 180 error logs 20 error messages, reviewing 80 ErrorLogColl parameter 125, 128 ErrorLogDiskSpaceFree parameter 127 ErrorLogDiskSpaceFreeThreshold parameter 127 ErrorLogSize parameter 126 ErrorLogSizeThreshold parameter 126 ErrorLogUpdates parameter 129, 146, 181 eXceed 59
Index
223
Exclude Errorlog String from Monitoring menu command 127 ExtentLockAvgWaitTime parameter 183 ExtentLockRequestsPerSec parameter 184 ExtentLockRequestWaitPercent parameter 184
G
Get configuration menu command 100 global channel lock requests 158 maintaining 17 managing 158 monitoring 158 overview 17, 158 Global Channel Info menu command 158 Global Channel Reset menu command 158 GlobalVarsColl parameter 174
F
-f startup 119 failover from another node 92 history data 39, 86 monitoring 39, 84, 86 node-level monitoring 89 PATROL Agent 91 settings 39 to another node 91 Failover parameter activating alarm 84, 146 behavior 92 configuring 91 default values 169 description 169 virtual PATROL Agent 39, 86 features, list of 16 File application description 22 icon 22, 25 InfoBox 134 monitoring 125, 133 reports 134 File Application Class parameters 181 file group monitoring 72, 133 file monitoring 72, 133 Filegroup application description 22 icon 22, 25 InfoBox 134 monitoring 125, 133 parameters 182 reports 134 filegroups 19 files ARA function output 153 ara_MSSQL.cmd 151 loading 64 param.hist 28 FileSizeMB parameter 181 first time installation 46 Force Discovery menu command 79 free buffers, monitoring 18 FullScansPerSec parameter 190 functions, ara_MSSQL( ) 153
H
hierarchy of application icons 25 history data 39, 86, 145 history files 28
I
I/O waits 18 icons alarm state 27 hierarchy 25 in a cluster 90 types of 20 idle detection time 83, 142 idle processes 83 IdleProcs parameter 83, 156, 172 index monitoring 134 InfoBox accessing 119 database 131 SQL Server 119 user 134, 142 installable image configuration 40 creating 40 ctltool 40 installation backing up 47, 50 choosing a target computers 42 clearing cache 47, 50 for the first time 46 in a cluster 39, 86 in UNIX 35 local 40 online Help 57 preparing for 38 remote 40 removing old files 47, 50 system requirements 34 utility 40 integrated security mode 75
224
K
KeyLockAvgWaitTime parameter 184 KeyLockRequestsPerSec parameter 184 KeyLockRequestWaitPercent parameter 185 Kill Server Process menu command 143 Kill This Process menu command 143 KM 124 KM customizations, migrating 52 km files loading automatically 65 loading manually 65 Korn shell 57
L
LANG environment variable 57 LazyWritesPerSec parameter 179 license requirements 35 loading files 64 lock reports 144 LockRequestsPerSec parameter 185 LockRequestWaitPercent parameter 185 locks blocking 18 global channel 158 row-level 19 Locks application description 22 icon 22 parameters 183 Locks Info for CPU Users Report 144 Locks Remaining Report 144 Locks Types Held Report 144 LocksColl parameter 174 LocksRemaining parameter 172 Log Space Used (Percent) parameter chart 148 Log Space Used (Size) parameter chart 148 log, transaction 19 Login Management application 21 LogSpaceColl parameter 175 LogSpaceUsedMB parameter 19, 177 LogSpaceUsedPCT parameter 19 LogSpaceUsedPct parameter 178 LongRunningTrans parameter 178 LongRunningTransColl parameter 175 Lookup Process IDs menu command 141
M
managed systems, overview 43 manual migration 52 memory reports 144 Memory Usage Report 144 migration
back up before 47 backing up before 50 customized PSL 52 of customizations manually 52 mixed security mode 75 modifying instances 98 Monitor Specific User menu command 141 monitoring blocking locks 18 blocking processes 83 buffers 18 cache-hit-ratio 17 cluster 39, 86 databases 129 defaults 81, 82, 121, 135 enabling 125, 133 error log strings 20 error logs 20, 81, 124 failover 39, 84, 86 file groups 72, 133 files 72, 133 global channel 158 I/O waits 18 idle processes 83 objects 82, 134 page reads 18 processes 83, 137, 143 replication 71 row-level locking 19 space used 18 SQL Server Agent 121 SQL Server Agent error log 121 SQL Server Agent job failures 123 SQL Server Agent jobs 122 SQL Servers 117 SQL statements 156 strings 125 subscribers 82, 135 transaction log 19 user connections 19 users 83, 137 Monitoring Setup menu command 125, 133 MonProbUsers parameter 175 MSSQL_SERVER application description 21 discovery 17, 70 icon 21, 70, 71 MSSQL_SERVER_ADMIN application description 21 discovery 70 icon 21, 70 MSSQL_SERVER_AVAILABILITY application description 21 discovery 70 icon 21, 70 MSSQL_SERVER_CACHE application description 21
Index
225
discovery 70 icon 21, 70 MSSQL_SERVER_CAPACITY application description 21 discovery 70 icon 21, 70 MSSQL_SERVER_COLLECTORS application description 21 discovery 70 icon 21, 70 MSSQL_SERVER_DATABASE application description 22 icon 22 MSSQL_SERVER_DB application discovery 70 icon 70, 71 instances 72 MSSQL_SERVER_DISK application description 22 discovery 70 icon 22, 70 MSSQL_SERVER_ERROR_LOG application description 22 icon 22 MSSQL_SERVER_ERRORLOG application discovery 70 icon 70, 71 monitoring 81 overview 20 MSSQL_SERVER_FILE application discovery 70 icon 70, 72 MSSQL_SERVER_FILEGROUP application discovery 70 icon 70, 72 MSSQL_SERVER_LOCKS application description 22 discovery 70 icon 22, 70 MSSQL_SERVER_LOGIN_MGMT application 21 discovery 70 icon 70 MSSQL_SERVER_NETWORK application description 23 discovery 70 icon 23, 70 MSSQL_SERVER_OBJECT application discovery 70 icon 70 MSSQL_SERVER_OBJECTS application description 23 icon 23 MSSQL_SERVER_PERFORMANCE application description 23 discovery 70 icon 23, 70 MSSQL_SERVER_PROC_CACHE application description 23 discovery 70 icon 23, 70 MSSQL_SERVER_PUBLISHED application description 23 discovery 70 icon 23, 70, 71 MSSQL_SERVER_SQLSERVER_SETUP application discovery 70 icon 70 MSSQL_SERVER_SUBSCRIBERS application description 23 discovery 70 icon 23, 70, 71 MSSQL_SERVER_USER_DEF_CNTRS application description 24 discovery 70 icon 24, 70 MSSQL_SERVER_USERS application description 24 discovery 70 icon 24, 70, 71
N
net send command 104, 150, 153 Netscape Navigator 35, 57 Network application description 23 icon 23 parameters 188 Network Traffic parameter chart 149 node-level agent 89 NumberofFreeBuffers 18 NumberOfFreeBuffers parameter 171 NumBlockedProcesses parameter 169 NumCurrentLocks 178 NumCurrentUsers 178 NumProcesses parameter 172
O
Object Information menu command 135 object monitoring 134 Object Space Monitor menu command 135 ObjectDataSizeMB parameter 188 ObjectReservedSizeMB parameter 189 objects monitoring defaults 82 status 135 stop monitoring 118 Objects application 135 description 23 icon 23, 25 parameters 188
226
ObjectSizeColl parameter 175 online Help installing 43, 57 navigating to 163 Open Databases Report 144 operating system recovery actions 149 OutstandingReads parameter 179 OutstandingWrites parameter 179 snoozing 147 SQL Server Agent 123 SQL Server Agent (SQL Executive) 123 SQLExecJobFailures 146 standard 26 storing data 26 suspended 118 users 138 with automatic recovery actions 150 with fixed thresholds 110 with status set in code 109 parameters affected general monitoring user mode 155 recovery action 155 partially 155 PATH variable 58 PATROL Agent cluster resource 39, 86 configuration file 65 configuration variables 153, 203 installing a KM to 43 node-level 89 node-level cluster 39, 86 parameter data, storing 26 virtual 39, 86, 88 PATROL Central Operator - Web Edition 43 PATROL Cluster Configuration Wizard 39, 86 PATROL Configuration Manager archiving 97 ConfigUpdates parameter 173 detecting changes 173 modifying instances 98 overview 96 removing instances 98 requirements 96 PATROL Console installing a KM to 43 loading KM 65 Netscape Navigator and 57 parameter data, reviewing 26 PATROL Event Manager (PEM) 104, 123, 129, 145, 150 PATROL KM for Event Management 96 PATROL login account 75, 120 PATROL Script Language (PSL) 149 PATROL security 41 PATROL_BROWSER variable 58 PATROL_CACHE 47, 50 PATROL_HOME 47, 50 PatrolMainMap 71 pcc.exe 88 PCProcBuffersActivePct parameter 192 PCProcBuffersUsedPct parameter 192 PCProcCacheActivePct parameter 192 PCProcCacheUsedPct parameter 192 PEM 123 PEM (PATROL Event Manager) 123, 129, 145 perfmon 34
P
PacketErrors parameter 188 PacketsReceived parameter 188 PacketsSent parameter 188 page reads 18 PageLifeExpectancy parameter 171 PageLockAvgWaitTime parameter 185 PageLockRequestsPerSec parameter 186 PageLockRequestWaitPercent parameter 186 pages, monitoring 18 param.hist file 28 Parameter Charts menu command 119, 148 parameter properties, changing 111 parameters activating recovery actions 104, 150 annotate 153 BlockerProcs 83 changing poll times 109 changing thresholds 110 clearing alarms 146 collector 26 collector-consumer dependencies 197 ConfigUpdates 113 consumer 26 creating charts 148 data retrieval 26 deactivating 108 deactivating recovery actions 104, 150 default values 165 defaults, automated recovery actions 85 defaults, definition 84 definition dialog boxes 149 definitions 165 error log 146 ErrorLogUpdates 146 history data 28, 39, 86 history file 28 IdleProcs 83 modifying 111 overview of 26 PEM events 123, 129, 153 processes 138 property definitions 149 recovery actions 149 refreshing 80 reviewing data 26
Index
227
Perform Application Discovery menu command 79 Performance application description 23 icon 23 parameters 189 performance objects 34 Performance Summary parameter chart 149 physical PATROL Agents 89 planning for installation 38 poll times 109 polling cycles 109 preparing for installation 38 problem alert method 140 Procedure Cache application description 23 icon 23 parameters 192 ProcedureCacheColl parameter 176 Process Listing Report 144 ProcessColl parameter 176 processes automatic monitoring 83 blocked 83, 139, 142 blocked detection time 139 blocking 139 display blocked 142 idle 83 idle detection time 83 manual monitoring 141 monitoring 137 monitoring defaults 83 most active 142 problem alert method 140 reports 143 resource usage 142 reviewing list IDs 141 stop monitoring 118, 141 product support 3 property definitions for parameters 149 PSL, migrating 52 publications, related 31 Published application description 23 icon 23, 25 parameters 193 reports 136 published articles monitoring defaults 82, 135 reports 136
R
recovery actions activating 104, 150 adding 149 batch file 151 changing 149 deactivating 104, 150 isql 151 operating system 149 parameters 150 PSL 149 queries 152 report 156 Red Hat Linux 35 Refresh Parameters menu command 80 refreshing parameters 80 related publications 31 remote installation 40 ReplicatedCommandsPerSec parameter 193 ReplicatedTransPerSec parameter 193 replication monitoring 71 ReplicationColl parameter 176 reports active processes 156 active processes by login 142 all processes 156 Blocked Process List 142, 143 Blocked Processes 144 blocked processes 144, 156 Command Queue 144 Command Queue Length Settings 144 connections 144 Connections Remaining 144 CPU 144 CPU and I/O 144 CPU usage 144 creating 119 creating custom 143, 144 customized 143 database information 132 Disk I/O Errors 144 error log 127 I/O 144 locks 144 Locks Info for CPU Users 144 Locks Remaining 144 Locks Types Held 144 Memory Usage 144 memory use 144 most active processes 142 NULL passwords 142 Open Databases 144 process detail information 142 Process Listing 144 process listing for user 143 process resource hogs 142
Q
query execution time 110
228
process resource usage 142 processes 142 Published application 136 published articles 136 sp_who 144 subscribers 137 Suspect Databases 144 suspect databases 144 user login information 142 users 142 requirements browser 35 disk space 35 installation 34 system 34 resource group 39, 86, 90 ResponseColl parameter 176 ResponseExecTime parameter 191 ResponseSqlTime parameter 191 restart a monitored server 119 restarting SQL Server 119 retrieving data 26 RIDLockAvgWaitTime parameter 19, 186 RIDLockRequestsPerSec parameter 19, 187 RIDLockRequestWaitPercent parameter 19, 187 RowCountEstimate parameter 109, 189 row-level locking 19 rules and rule sets converting from variables 101 examples displayed 101 timestamp 101 setting up the product 64 setting variables for browser 57 setup steps accelerating discovery 79 configuring a SQL Server 72 loading the files 64 saving changes 69 verifying SQL Server is discovered 69 shared drive for cluster 39, 86 shells Bourne 57 C 57 Korn 57 Show Latest Error Log Data report 127 Show System Output Window menu command 80 Shutdown SQL Server Agent menu command 122 Shutdown SQL Server menu command 118 shutting down a server 118 SNMP trap 104, 150, 153 snmp/p1V1m_list variable 153 snoozing a parameter 147 sp_who Report 144 SpaceUsedMB parameter 18, 181, 182 SpaceUsedPCT parameter 18, 182 SQL 123, 156 SQL commands via isql 151 SQL Performance Objects 34 SQL Server change label for instance 120 change name of 120 configuring 72 database reports 132 discovery 17, 69 -f startup 119 failing over 91, 92 icon 71 InfoBox 119 monitoring 117 PATROL login 75 performance objects 34 published and subscriber defaults 82, 135 restarting 119 start monitoring 118 starting 119 status 119 stop monitoring 118 user monitoring 137 user monitoring reports 142 SQL Server Agent defaults 81, 121 error log 121 job 123 jobs 122 monitoring 121 monitoring defaults 81, 121 parameters 123 SQL Server Agent (SQL Executive) parameters 123
S
Save KM menu command 69 saving changes 69 Search Error Log report 127 security levels overview 41 requirements 35 security modes 21, 75 Server application description 21 icon 21, 25 reports 142 -serveronly command line option 35 servers, discovery of 17 Set Database Auto-Discovery menu command 130 Set Default Actions menu command 154 Set Send To Names menu command 154 Set up Error Log Disk Space Free Threshold menu command 127 Set up Error Log Size Threshold menu command 126 Set up Error Log String Monitoring menu command 125 setting up clusters 89 setting up SQL Snapshot 156
Index
229
SQL Server Instance Setup dialog box 73 SQL Server Instance Setup menu command 73, 120, 157 SQL Server Name Used by PATROL menu command 121 SQL Snapshot 156 SQL Snapshot for User menu command 157 SQL Snapshot menu command 143, 156 SQL statements displaying 157 monitoring 156 SQLAgentJobFailures parameter 123, 169 SQLAgentStatus parameter 109, 123, 170 SQLExecJobFailures parameter 146 SQLServerAgentJobFailures parameter 123 SQLServerColl parameter 176 SQLServerStatus parameter 90, 170 standard collector parameter 197 standard collectors 26, 27 standard parameters 26 standard security mode 75 start monitoring a server 118 Start SQL Server Agent menu command 122 Start SQL Server menu command 119 stop monitoring process 141 server 118 user 141 Stop Monitoring menu command 141 stored procedures, viewing 156 storing parameter data 26 subscribers monitoring defaults 82, 135 status 136 Subscribers application description 23 icon 23, 25 InfoBox 136 parameters 193 reports 137 support, customer 3 Suspect Databases Report 144 SuspectDatabases parameter 170 System Output Window 72 system requirements 34 system roles console systems 43 managed systems 43 overview of target computers 42 tasks 157 technical support 3 testing recovery actions 154 thresholds, changing for parameters 110 transaction log 19 TransactionsPerSec parameter 191 triggers, viewing 156
U
Update Connection menu command 118 upgrading backing up before 47, 50 choosing a procedure 42 user account 58 User application icon 25 reports 143 User Customizable Reports menu command 119, 132, 143, 144 UserBlocked parameter 142, 194 UserColl parameter 194 UserConnections parameter 19, 172 UserCpu parameter 194 UserDefCounter110 parameter 194 User-Defined Counters application description 24 icon 24 parameters 194 UserDefinedCountersColl parameter 176 UserIdle parameter 142, 195 UserIo parameter 195 UserMemUsage parameter 195 users InfoBox 134 manual monitoring 141 monitoring 137 most active 142 resource usage 142 reviewing list of IDs 141 status 134, 142 stop monitoring 118, 141 Users application description 24 icon 24 InfoBox 142 monitoring 137 parameters 194 UserTotCpu parameter 195 UserTotIo parameter 195 using recovery actions 151
T
table monitoring 134 TableLockAvgWaitTime parameter 187 TableLockRequestsPerSec parameter 187 TableLockRequestWaitPercent parameter 188 target computers 42 task output window 123
V
variable for PATROL_BROWSER 58
230
variables agent set up 203 deploying to new host 102 descriptions 203 for internal use only 99 PATROL Agent 203 PATROL Agent, ARA_SENDTO 153 PATROL Agent, snmp/p1V1m_list 153 setting up 203 virtual PATROL Agent configuring 39, 86 creating 88 fails over 91
W
Windows message recipients 154 wpconfig utility 203
Index
231
232
Notes
*85509* *85509* *85509* *85509*

*85509*

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PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server

Contacting BMC Software

United States and Canada

Outside United States and Canada

Copyright 2007 BMC Software, Inc.

Restricted rights legend

Support by telephone or e-mail

Before contacting BMC

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server Getting Started

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server Getting Started

Appendix C Appendix D Index

Consumer-collector parameter dependencies Agent configuration variables

197 203 221

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server Getting Started

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server Getting Started

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server Getting Started

Product components and capabilities

Chapter 1 Product components and capabilities

Overview and intended audience

Overview and intended audience

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server Getting Started

Discovers SQL Servers automatically

Discovers SQL Servers automatically

Provides global channel access

Supports and monitors clustered environments

Monitors cache-hit ratio

Chapter 1 Product components and capabilities

Monitors page reads

Monitors page reads

Monitors free buffers

Monitors space used

Monitors blocking locks

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server Getting Started

Monitors row-level locking

Monitors row-level locking

Monitors user connections

Monitors log space

Monitors files and file groups

Chapter 1 Product components and capabilities

Monitors error logs

Monitors error logs

Applications and icons

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server Getting Started

Applications and icons

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server applications (Part 1 of 4)

Application name and icon

Chapter 1 Product components and capabilities

Applications and icons

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server applications (Part 2 of 4)

Application name and icon

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server Getting Started

Applications and icons

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server applications (Part 3 of 4)

Application name and icon

Chapter 1 Product components and capabilities

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server applications (Part 4 of 4)

Application name and icon User-Defined Counters

Window showing PATROL icons for an instance

PATROL Agent icon

operating system icons

PATROL for Microsoft SQL Server Getting Started

Server application icon

Published application icon Subscribers application icon

Users application icon