Monitoring status explained

SQL Monitor displays one of the following statuses on the Configuration > Monitored servers page for each host machine, cluster node or SQL Server instance:

StatusDisplayed whenSuggested action
Monitoring
(Connected)
All monitoring data is being collected successfully.Click Show log and select All events to view all data collection events in the last five minutes.
Monitoring stopped
(Incorrect credentials or insufficient permissions)
SQL Monitor is currently unable to collect monitoring data because the credentials it is using have failed authentication. A Monitoring stopped ([host machine|SQL Server] credentials) alert is also raised.
  • For host machine authentication failures, check that the credentials supplied to log in are valid and have sufficient permissions to collect WMI data and access files.
  • For SQL Server instance authentication failures, check that the user name and password are correct and the login has the required permissions.

    For more information, see: Permissions required to monitor SQL Server.

    After an authorization error, by default SQL Monitor will not attempt to reconnect until you either change the credentials specified in SQL Monitor, or change the account permissions (in this case, you will need to click Retry connection on the Monitored Servers page). This prevents SQL Monitor from sending a potentially large number of failed login messages to your security log, and triggering Intrusion Detection System in the process.

    If the potential impact on your security log will not cause significant problems to your systems, you can change this default setting so that SQL Monitor will automatically attempt reconnection. See: Reconnecting automatically after monitoring stopped.

    Once the correct credentials are entered and authentication is successful, monitoring will resume and the Monitoring stopped ([host machine|SQL Server] credentials) alert will be marked as Ended.

Unreachable
(Cannot connect)

One of the following reasons applies:

  • The host machine or cluster node is not responding to WMI requests; either the machine name is incorrect or there is a network problem. A Machine unreachable alert is also raised, and a SQL Server instance unreachable alert is raised for each instance on the machine.
  • The SQL Server service has been stopped or there is a problem with SQL connectivity. A SQL Server instance unreachable alert is also raised.
  • Check that you have entered the server name correctly, and that your machine is not behind a firewall.
  • Click Show log and check the Exception and Exception message columns displayed in the table of data collection events to determine the specific problem.

    For more information, see: What to try if you hit connection problems.

Connection failed
(Internal SQL Monitor error)

An unknown application error has occurred.

If this problem occurs continuously for 2 minutes, a Monitoring error ([host machine|SQL Server] data collection) alert is also raised.

Please contact Red Gate support with information about your error, including relevant log file details. See: Viewing component information and log files.
Connection failed
(Bad data)

SQL Monitor cannot process some data collected from the host machine or cluster node. Possible reasons are:

Click Show log and refer to the Exception and Exception message columns in the  table of data collection events to determine the specific problem.
Connection failed
(Cannot connect)

One of the following reasons applies:

  • Remote file access is not set up (hidden administrative shares should be enabled).
  • One of the required services (WMI, RPC) is not started.
  • There is a problem with SQL connectivity.

    If this problem occurs continuously for 2 minutes, a Monitoring error ([host machine|SQL Server] data collection) alert is also raised.

SQL Monitor will automatically retry the connection every few minutes. Click Show log and refer to the Exception and Exception message columns in the table of data collection events for information about the type of problem.

For more information, see: What to try if you hit connection problems.

UnlicensedYour evaluation period has expired and the machine, cluster node or SQL Server instance has not yet been licensed.

Enter a serial number or allocate licenses on the Configuration > Licensing page. One license is required for each host machine or cluster node – this will license all SQL Server instances on the machine or node.

For more information, see: Licensing.

SuspendedMonitoring on this machine, cluster node or SQL Server instance has been manually suspended. No data will be collected until you resume monitoring.

Go to the Configuration > Monitored servers page, click the Actions button  at the end of the row and select Resume monitoring.

For more information, see: Managing monitored servers.

Maintenance window
(Alerting suspended)
The host machine or node is currently in a maintenance window. SQL Monitor is still monitoring servers, but alerting is temporarily suspended. Once the maintenance window duration has ended, alerting will resume.

Go to the Configuration > Monitored servers page to check when the current maintenance window is due to end.

For more information, see: Suppressing alerts.

Viewing the connection events log

For some statuses, it is recommended that you check the log for more details. To do this, on the Configuration > Monitored servers page, click Show log for the server or instance experiencing connection problems:

The page contains a table listing recent errors or data collection events that can help you to determine the specific problem.


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Let us know at sqlmonitorfeedback@red-gate.com


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