Using Foglight for SQL Database

Foglight for SQL Server monitors the SQL Server database activity by connecting to and querying the SQL Server database. The agents provided monitor the SQL Server database system. The dashboards included with the cartridge provide a visual representation of the status of the major components of the SQL Server agents. They allow you to determine any potential bottleneck in database performance.

This section covers the following key areas:

Viewing the Databases Dashboard

This section describes the various components of the Databases dashboard. For more information, refer to Viewing Databases Dashboard.

Foglight for SQL Server Menu and Views

The Foglight for SQL Server menu provides access to detailed views you can access using the menu.

Breakdown and Baseline Chart Formats

Several charts can display information in either of the following formats:

  • Baseline format — where a selected individual metric is displayed as a single line.
  • Breakdown format — a representation of actual activity of a metric or a set of metrics, compared with the typical behavior of these metrics for the selected time range. A breakdown display can also present a single metric divided by various components (for example, space utilization divided by the various components that occupy this space).

Dashboard Menu

The Foglight for SQL Server Overview page provides the following menu buttons:

Name Description
Overview Opens the overview dashboard that provides a broad view of the instance’s health and performance. It also includes the Advisories tab that guides you through problem-resolution strategies and delivers a step-by-step action plan for maximizing database performance.
SQL PI Opens the SQL Performance History dashboard, which displays SQL performance-related data including History View, Top activity, and locking information and provides advanced tools such as highlights, Change Tracking, and Compare.
Memory Provides a summary of memory usage, as well as detailed Buffer cache and Memory cache usage.
Activity Provides several views to check current and historical activity across multiple vectors, such as sessions, I/O and file activity, blocking, deadlocks, and more.
Databases Provides usage size and status statistics about databases, files, and disks.
Services Displays the current status and historical performance of each SQL Server support service, and track agent jobs
HADR Displays the monitoring information regarding the disaster-recovering solutions provided by SQL Server: Log Shipping, Cluster, Mirroring, and Availability Group (Always On).
Logs Allows you to inspect the SQL Server error log and agent log.
Configuration Opens the Configuration dashboard where you can view the value of all SQL Server configuration metrics.
User-defined Allows you to define your own collection of data to be saved in the Foglight Cloud repository.