<%NUMBERING1%>.<%NUMBERING2%>.<%NUMBERING3%> PRTG Manual: Monitoring Databases
Monitoring your databases enables you to ensure that, on the one hand, database queries are processed in time, and, on the other hand, that the database itself performs within the defined parameters. Furthermore, database monitoring with PRTG makes it possible to be alerted via a corresponding sensor status if database queries return an unexpected result value.
PRTG comes with built-in native sensors for the most common databases:
- Microsoft SQL servers
- MySQL servers
- Oracle SQL servers
However, it is possible to monitor many other database servers. For this concern, PRTG uses the ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) interface in combination with the PowerShell scripting language.
There are two types of database sensors:
- Sensors monitoring databases directly: They monitor from the user perspective, sending a request to the database server and receiving values. These values can optionally be compared to the expected values to ensure they match.
- Sensors monitoring database performance: They have a more abstract view on database servers and monitor performance counters via Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI).
Sensors Monitoring Databases Directly
PRTG provides several sensors which can "look into" the content of databases. Sensors of this type connect to the database server and show the response time. In addition, these sensors can read out the number of records and a value, depending on an SQL query.
The following sensors are available for this kind of monitoring:
- Microsoft SQL Sensor: can monitor Microsoft SQL servers (MSDE, SQL Server 7, 2000, 2005, 2008, and 2012).
- MySQL Sensor: can monitor MySQL servers (3.23, 4.0, 4.1, 5.0, and 5.1)
- Oracle SQL Sensor: can monitor Oracle SQL servers (7.3, 8.0, 8i, 9i, 10g, and 11g). Note: You have to provide all necessary information manually, in contrast to the other SQL sensors listed above.
- ADO SQL Sensor: can monitor almost all available database servers, as well as data files via an ActiveX Data Objects (ADO) connection and a PowerShell script.
For these sensors you can define a valid SQL statement that will be sent to the database server. With every scanning interval, the sensor will execute the query against the database and a corresponding value will be returned. You can indicate in the sensor settings whether you want to post-process this result and specify the intended sensor behavior for the received value ("Warning" status, "Down" status).
Sensors Monitoring Database Performance
Performance sensors for database servers have a more "abstract" view on databases and regard performance "from the outside". They do not read out any values of the database, neither do they send SQL queries to databases. This sensor type is only available for Microsoft SQL servers.
These sensors monitor Microsoft SQL servers' performance via Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI). You can manually set up different performance counters for your server instances, for example, general statistics, access methods, buffer and memory manager, locks, and SQL statistics.
Microsoft SQL Server performance sensors are available for Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and 2012:
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