Monitoring PostgreSQL

Foglight for PostgreSQL brings true, enterprise-class monitoring for PostgreSQL to the industry’s leading cross-platform database management solution. On its own, Foglight for Postgres is a powerful monitoring solution. When used in conjunction with other components from the Foglight suite, it has the ability to provide true end-to-end transaction insight. Response times can be collected for end user sessions and transactions and can be correlated with metrics from the application and database layers as well as the underlying physical and virtual infrastructure. The ability to collect and correlate information across infrastructure layers further increases the value of the solution, making Foglight for PostgreSQL an invaluable part of this industry-leading Application Performance Monitoring (APM) solution.

From high-level server operations to database and table-level statistics, Foglight for PostgreSQL provides real-time monitoring and alerting, offering users real-time insight into the performance and availability of their PostgreSQL environment. The solution leverages the holistic data analysis and presentation that have made Foglight a leading Gartner Magic Quadrant APM solution. The addition of PostgreSQL monitoring to Foglight provides customers with the ability to monitor PostgreSQL availability and performance alongside Oracle, MS-SQL Server, MySQL, DB2/UDB, and Sybase.

Databases can be managed using a common interface, making it the leading cross-platform database management solution on the market today. With the ability to be used as a standalone solution or in conjunction with other solutions available from Quest Software, Foglight for PostgreSQL is a unique solution offering best-in-class monitoring and an unmatched value proposition.

This section covers the following key ares:

Ease of Installation

Installation of the solution is straightforward and can be accomplished in minutes. It can be deployed as an agent-based or agentless solution. The agent-based deployment requires that agent code run locally (on the DB host) whereas the agentless configuration allows the agent to be run remotely from another host.

Once installed, the solution provides granular control of collection intervals and the option to disable collections for entire databases or database child objects for which monitoring is deemed unnecessary. Within minutes, Information, Dashboards, and Expert advice is available, providing a platform that will ensure the heath and availability of PostgreSQL for years to come.

Data Visualization and Reporting

Foglight for PostgreSQL was designed to provide quick access to vital database statistics. Utilizing rich dashboards and robust data analysis, the solution uncovers critical information on server operations, including the background writer, write ahead logs, connections, locks, and replication status. The solution integrates data from Foglight host monitoring and incorporates these metrics into key dashboards, permitting system data to be presented alongside rich database metrics. Dashboards display server health and availability information alongside vital statistics such as resource allocation and system metrics from the host machine.

Database and table-level statistics are exposed through the use of both standard and derived metrics. These metrics include memory hit rates, read rates, tuple modifications, transaction commits/rollbacks, standby server conflicts, disk sizes, and deadlocks. Additional information is provided for databases, tables, and indexes. Function comparisons show frequency of use and execution time statistics. Information displayed in dashboards can be used to create and schedule reports. Operators then have the ability to utilize the data as-is, or define their own dashboards and reports using the built-in drag-and-drop functionality.

Administration and Workflow Automation

For those customers who wish to administer their PostgreSQL environment directly from Foglight, some basic administrative actions are available. With properly assigned permissions, these actions can be taken directly from the Foglight console. Actions can also be triggered as a result of a condition, or grouped together in workflows. Customers who wish to identify and store additional actions may do so on demand.

Capacity Planning and Alerting

The solution incorporates functionality for both trending/capacity planning and alerting. To facilitate capacity planning, a tablespaces dashboard exposes growth trends over time, a breakdown of disk space usage on the host machine, and remaining available space. Alerting is based on a robust set of rules and definitions that are included with the solution. Rules can be triggered based on both static and dynamic thresholds. Dynamic thresholds are triggered when the system detects a deviation from normal behavior patterns. The system will automatically create a baseline for usage and alert on environmental anomalies.

Paying Dividends

With feature-rich out-of-the-box dashboards and rules, PostgreSQL for Foglight provides unparalleled insight into your PostgreSQL infrastructure and offers immediate benefits to DBAs and Administrators. Over time, the solution continues to pay dividends by offering historical trend analysis, scheduled reporting, alert management, and the ability to create user-defined dashboards. Combined, these features bring great insight into database and application availability and ensure improved access to mission-critical data.

Foglight for PostgreSQL Requirements

Foglight for PostgreSQL is compatible with PostgreSQL version 9.1+ and managed database service versions using an equivalent or greater version, such as AWS Aurora/RDS and Microsoft Azure. However, some data may be missing from versions prior to 9.2, most notably I/O timing metric statistics, which are unavailable in those versions. The agent may be run on a FglAM that is either local or remote to the PostgreSQL server. More information on configuring the PostgreSQL server for monitoring can be found in the PostgreSQL Server Pre-Configuration section of the Foglight for PostgreSQL cartridge guide.