SQL Table Growth Test

Periodic monitoring of the usage of the database is essential to ensure that the database is always adequately sized to handle current and future loads. It is also essential to monitor the size of the tables within a database too. If the growth of any table is uncontrollable, then, other tables in the database may be deprived of space to store critical data. The SQL Table Growth test helps administrators in figuring out the exact tables that have been growing beyond a pre-configured size. Using this test administrators can isolate the tables that have been growing uncontrollably and analyze if those tables need to be resized.

This test monitors the tables on the target Microsoft SQL Database server and reports the count of tables that have been growing beyond a pre-configured size. This test also reveals the maximum size up to which the tables can grow.

This test is disabled by default. To enable the test, go to the enable / disable tests page using the menu sequence : Agents -> Tests -> Enable/Disable, pick Microsoft SQL as the Component type, Performance as the Test type, choose this test from the disabled tests list, and click on the << button to move the test to the ENABLED TESTS list. Finally, click the Update button.

Target of the test : A Microsoft SQL server

Agent deploying the test : An internal agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for the Microsoft SQL server monitored.

Configurable parameters for the test
  1. TEST PERIOD - How often should the test be executed
  2. Host – The IP address of the Microsoft SQL server.
  3. Port - The port number through which the Microsoft SQL server communicates. The default port is 1433.
  4. ssl – If the Microsoft SQL server being monitored is an SSL-enabled server, then set the ssl flag to Yes. If not, then set the ssl flag to No.
  5. instance - In this text box, enter the name of a specific Microsoft SQL instance that is to be monitored. The default value of this parameter is “default”. To monitor a Microsoft SQL instance named “CFS”, enter this as the value of the INSTANCE parameter.

  6. USER – If a Microsoft SQL Server 7.0/2000 is monitored, then provide the name of a SQL user with the Sysadmin role in this text box. While monitoring a Microsoft SQL Server 2005 or above, provide the name of a SQL user with all of the privileges outlined in User Privileges Required for Monitoring Microsoft SQL server.

  7. password - The password of the specified user
  8. confirm password - Confirm the password by retyping it.
  9. domain - By default, none is displayed in the DOMAIN text box. If the ‘SQL server and Windows’ authentication has been enabled for the server being monitored, then the DOMAIN can continue to be none. On the other hand, if ‘Windows only’ authentication has been enabled, then, in the DOMAIN text box, specify the Windows domain in which the managed Microsoft SQL server exists. Also, in such a case, the USER name and PASSWORD that you provide should be that of a user authorized to access the monitored SQL server.
  10. isntlmv2 - In some Windows networks, NTLM (NT LAN Manager) may be enabled. NTLM is a suite of Microsoft security protocols that provides authentication, integrity, and confidentiality to users. NTLM version 2 (“NTLMv2”) was concocted to address the security issues present in NTLM. By default, the isntlmv2 flag is set to No, indicating that NTLMv2 is not enabled by default on the target Microsoft SQL host. Set this flag to Yes if NTLMv2 is enabled on the target host.
  11. ISPASSIVE – If the value chosen is yes, then the Microsoft SQL server under consideration is a passive server in a SQL cluster. No alerts will be generated if the server is not running. Measures will be reported as “Not applicable" by the agent if the server is not up.
  12. TABLE SIZE GB -  Specify the size limit (in GB) for the tables against the TABLE SIZE GB text box beyond which the tables are termed as large tables. The default value is set to none.
  13. EXCLUDE DB - Specify a comma-separated list of databases for which the table growth need not be monitored. The default value is ‘none’.
  14. DD ROW COUNT - By default, the detailed diagnosis of this test, if enabled, will report only the top-10 records. This is why, the DD Row Count parameter is set to 10 by default. If you want to include more or less records in detailed diagnosis, then change the value of this parameter accordingly.
  15. TIMEOUT - Specify the time duration (in seconds) beyond which this test should time out in the TIMEOUT text box. The default is 120 seconds.

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

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

    • The eG manager license should allow the detailed diagnosis capability
    • Both the normal and abnormal frequencies configured for the detailed diagnosis measures should not be 0.
Measurements made by the test
Measurement Description Measurement Unit Interpretation

Large tables count

Indicates the total number of tables that have grown beyond the limit specified against the TABLE GROWTH SIZE parameter.

Number

 

Max table growth size

Indicates the maximum size up to which the tables continued to grow during the last measurement period.

MB

The detailed diagnosis of this measure lists the tables that continued to grow and the size of the tables.

Max table growth

Indicates the maximum growth of a table in terms of percentage.

Percent

Use the detailed diagnosis to figure out the tables that recorded the maximum growth.