SQL Azure DB Status Test

If a user complaints of problems while accessing a database, the knowledge of the current state of that database and the mode using which users are allowed to access the database will enable administrators to promptly diagnose the reason for such an occurrence. This test auto-discovers all the database instances on the target Microsoft SQL Azure database server and reports the current state of each database instance and the user access mode thereby enabling administrators to easily troubleshoot issues related to database access.

Target of the test : A Microsoft SQL Azure database server

Agent deploying the test : An external/remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for each database instance of the target Microsoft SQL Azure database server being monitored.

Configurable parameters for the test
  1. Test period - How often should the test be executed
  2. Host - The host for which the test is to be configured.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. USER – Provide the name of a SQL user with the view server state role.
  6. password - The password of the specified user.
  7. confirm password - Confirm the password by retyping it
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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).

  12. 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

Status

Indicates the current state of this database instance.

 

The states that can be reported by this measure, the numeric value that corresponds to each state, and a brief description of the state are provided below:

Numeric Value State

Description
0 ONLINE Database is available for access. The primary filegroup is online, although the undo phase of recovery may not have been completed.
1 RESTORING One or more files of the primary filegroup are being restored, or one or more secondary files are being restored offline. The database is unavailable in this case.
2 RECOVERING Database is being recovered. The recovering process is a transient state; the database will automatically become online if the recovery succeeds. If the recovery fails, the database will become suspect. The database is unavailable in this case.
3 RECOVERY_PENDING SQL Server has encountered a resource-related error during recovery. The database is not damaged, but files may be missing or system resource limitations may be preventing it from starting. The database is unavailable. Additional action by the user is required to resolve the error and let the recovery process be completed.
4 SUSPECT At least the primary filegroup is suspect and may be damaged. The database cannot be recovered during startup of SQL Server. The database is unavailable. Additional action by the user is required to resolve the problem.
5 EMERGENCY User has changed the database and set the status to EMERGENCY. The database is in single-user mode and may be repaired or restored. The database is marked READ_ONLY, logging is disabled, and access is limited to members of the sysadmin fixed server role. EMERGENCY is primarily used for troubleshooting purposes. For example, a database marked as suspect can be set to the EMERGENCY state. This could permit the system administrator read-only access to the database. Only members of the sysadmin fixed server role can set a database to the EMERGENCY state.
6 OFFLINE Database is unavailable. A database becomes offline by explicit user action and remains offline until additional user action is taken. For example, the database may be taken offline in order to move a file to a new disk. The database is then brought back online after the move has been completed.

The detailed diagnosis of this measure reports the user access mode of the database, the database recovery model, and the log re-use wait state of the database.

Note:

By default, this measure reports the States listed in the table above to indicate the current status of the database instance. The graph of this measure however, represents the status of the database using the numeric equivalents only i.e., 0 to 6 only.

Is in standby?

Indicates whether/not this database instance is in standby mode.

 

The values reported by this measure and its numeric equivalents are mentioned in the table below:

Measure Value Numeric Value
No 0
Yes 1

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate whether/not the database instance is in standby mode. The graph of this measure however, is represented using the numeric equivalents only i.e., 0 or 1.

Is read only?

Indicates whether/not this database instance is in READ_ONLY mode.

 

The values reported by this measure and its numeric equivalents are mentioned in the table below:

Measure Value Numeric Value
No 0
Yes 1

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate whether/not the database instance is in READ_ONLY mode. The graph of this measure however, is represented using the numeric equivalents only i.e., 0 or 1.

User access mode

Indicates the user access mode to this database instance.

 

The states that can be reported by this measure, the numeric value that corresponds to each state, and a brief description of the state are provided below:

Measure Value Numeric Value
Multi user 1
Single user 2
Restricted user 3

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate the user access mode to this database instance. The graph of this measure however, represents the status of the database using the numeric equivalents only i.e., 1 to 3 only.