Azure SQL Database Uptime Test

In most production environments, it is essential to monitor the uptime of critical databases in the infrastructure. By tracking the uptime of a database, administrators can determine what percentage of timethat database has been up. Comparing this value with service level targets, administrators can determine the most trouble-prone areas of the infrastructure.

In some environments, administrators may schedule periodic reboots of their database. By knowing that a specific database has been up for an unusually long time, an administrator may come to know that the scheduled reboot task is not working on a database.

This Azure SQL Database Uptime test monitors the uptime of the target Microsoft Azure SQL database.

Target of the test : A Microsoft Azure SQL database

Agent deploying the test : A remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for the Azure SQL database that is conigured for monitoring

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameters	Description
Test Period	How often should the test be executed.
Host	The host for which the test is to be configured.
Port	The port at which the specified Host listens.
Database Name	Specify the name of the Azure SQL database that is to be monitored.
User Name and Password	Against the User Name and Password parameters, specify the credentials of the user who is vested with DBOWNER rights to the configured Database Name.
Confirm Password	Confirm the specified Password by retyping it here.
SSL	If the Azure SQL database service being monitored is SSL-enabled, then set the SSL flag to Yes. If not, then set the SSL flag to No.
Domain	By default, none is displayed in this text box. If the ‘SQL server and Windows’ authentication has been enabled for the Azure SQL database being monitored, then the Domain parameter 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 monitored database exists. Also, in such a case, the User Name and Password that you provide should be that of a 'domain user' with DBOWNER rights to the configured Database Name.
IS NTLMv2	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, this flag is set to No, indicating that NTLMv2 is not enabled by default for the target Microsoft Azure SQL database. Set this flag to Yes if NTLMv2 is enabled for the target database.
ReportManagerTime	By default, this flag is set to Yes, indicating that, by default, the detailed diagnosis of this test, if enabled, will report the shutdown and reboot times of the device in the manager’s time zone. If this flag is set to No, then the shutdown and reboot times are shown in the time zone of the system where the agent is running(i.e., the system being managed for agent-based monitoring, and the system on which the remote agent is running - for agentless monitoring).
DD Frequency	Refers to the frequency with which detailed diagnosis measures are to be generated for this test. The default is 1:1. This indicates that, by default, detailed measures will be generated every time the test runs, and also every time the test detects a problem. You can modify this frequency, if you so desire. Also, if you intend to disable the detailed diagnosis capability for this test, you can do so by specifying none against DD Frequency.
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
Has SQL database been restarted?	Indicates whether the database has been rebooted during the last measurement period or not.	Boolean	If the value of this measure is Yes, it means that the database was rebooted during the last measurement period. By checking the time periods when this metric changes from No to Yes, an administrator can determine the times when this database was rebooted. The Detailed Diagnosis of this measure, if enabled, lists the TIME, SHUTDOWN DATE, RESTART DATE, SHUTDOWN DURATION, and IS MAINTENANCE.
Uptime since last measure	Indicates the time period that the database has been up since the last time this test ran.	Secs	If the database has not been rebooted during the last measurement period and the agent has been running continuously, this value will be equal to the measurement period. If the database was rebooted during the last measurement period, this value will be less than the measurement period of the test. For example, if the measurement period is 300 secs, and if the database was rebooted 120 secs back, this metric will report a value of 120 seconds. The accuracy of this metric is dependent on the measurement period – the smaller the measurement period, greater the accuracy.
Uptime	Indicates the total time that the database has been up since its last reboot.		This measure displays the number of years, months, days, hours, minutes and seconds since the last reboot. Administrators may wish to be alerted if the database has been running without a reboot for a very long period. Setting a threshold for this metric allows administrators to determine such conditions.