Oracle® Enterprise Manager

Description

The System Monitoring Plug-in for Microsoft SQL Server extends Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control to add support for managing Microsoft SQL Server instances. By deploying the plug-in within your Grid Control environment, you gain the following management features:

• Monitor SQL Server instances.

• Supports both SQL Authentication and Windows Integrated Authentication

• Gather configuration data and track configuration changes for SQL Server instances.

• Raise alerts and violations based on thresholds set on monitored metrics and configuration data.

• Provide rich out-of-box reports based on the gathered data.

• Support monitoring by a local or remote Agent. Local Agent is an agent running on the same host as the SQL Server. Remote Agent is an agent running on a host that is different from the host where SQL Server is running.

Versions Supported

This plug-in supports the following versions of products:

• Enterprise Manager Grid Control 10.2.0.3 or higher

• Oracle Management Agent 10.2.0.1 or higher for Windows

• Standard, Enterprise, and Workgroup editions of Microsoft SQL Server 2000, Microsoft SQL Server 2005, and Microsoft SQL Server 2008 as detailed below:

  • Microsoft SQL Server 2000 (32-bit)

  • Microsoft SQL Server 2005 (32-bit)

  • Microsoft SQL Server 2005 (64-bit) running on x64 or Itanium-based servers

  • Microsoft SQL Server 2008 (32-bit)

  • Microsoft SQL Server 2008 (64-bit) running on x64 or Itanium-based servers

• Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Cluster: Active/Active and Active/Passive

Prerequisites

The following prerequisites must be met before you can deploy the plug-in:

• Install the following components of Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control:

  • Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control 10.2.0.3 or higher

  • Oracle Management Agent for Windows 10.2.0.1 or higher

    For 10.2.0.1 Agent, apply the one-off patch for bug #5587980. Refer to My Oracle Support and Oracle bug #5587980 for more information.

    For 10.2.0.2 Agent, apply the one-off patch for bug# 5587980. Refer to My Oracle Support and Oracle bug #5587980 for more information.

    You can install the Agent on the same computer as SQL Server 2000 or SQL Server 2005 and SQL Server 2008 (referred to as local Agent monitoring), or you can install the Agent on a different computer from SQL Server (referred to as remote Agent monitoring).

    If Oracle Enterprise Manager 10.2.0.4 Agent where the plug-in is deployed, resides on a Windows Vista/Windows Server 2008 machine, apply the one-off patch for bug #6596234. Refer to My Oracle Support and Oracle bug #6596234 for more information.

• For the plug-in to establish connection to SQL Server instance using Windows Integrated Authentication mode, when deployed on a 64-bit (X64 or IA64) copy of Enterprise Manager Agent running on 64-bit Windows operating system, do the following:

  • Depending on the JVM version, copy the respective version of sqljdbc_auth.dll to the folder $AgentHome\sysman\jdbcdriver. If the directory does not exist, create it. The file sqljdbc_auth.dll is available as part of Type 4 Microsoft SQL Server 2005 JDBC Driver version 1.2 (after unzipping, you will find three files with same name, that is, auth\x86\sqljdbc_auth.dll, auth\x64\sqljdbc_auth.dll, and auth\ia64\sqljdbc_auth.dll)

    • For X64 version of Enterprise Manager Agent installed on X64 (Xeon or AMD) Windows systems, copy the file auth\x64\sqljdbc_auth.dll to $AgentHome\sysman\jdbcdriver (the dll file should be copied directly under the folder specified. No sub-directories should be created.)

    • For IA64 version of Enterprise Manager Agent installed on IA64 Windows systems, copy the file auth\ia64\sqljdbc_auth.dll to $AgentHome\sysman\jdbcdriver

  Note:

  · No manual step needs to be performed when the plug-in is deployed on 32-bit copy of Enterprise Manager Agent (running on 32-bit or 64-bit Windows).

• The minimum version required in SQL Server 2000 for Windows Integrated Authentication based monitoring is SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 4 or later.

• Local monitoring of Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Cluster requires configuring Grid Control Agents in Windows HA - Failover Cluster Environments, see My Oracle Support note 464191.1.

• Access privileges required for non-admin System user to perform Remote Monitoring of SQL Server instance.

  • For more information, see Configuring Remote Connections to Monitor Targets.

• As part of JDBC URL, either IP Address or host name can be provided. Ensure that the host name can be resolved consistently on the network. Standard TCP tools such as "nslookup" and "traceroute" can be used to verify the host name. Validate using the following commands on Management Agent where plug-in is deployed:

  • nslookup <hostname>

    This returns the IP address and fully qualified host name.

  • nslookup <IP>

    This returns the IP address and fully qualified host name.

    Note:

    The hostname provided in the JDBC URL should be a fully qualified name (that is, must include the domain name also).

• (For SQL Server 2000) Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) provider of the SQL Server are installed and enabled. Enable support by running the setup.exe file located in the SQL Server Installation CD. For more information, see Installing and Enabling Windows Management Instrumentation.

  <CD_Drive>/x86/other/wmi

• Windows Management Instrumentation Service is up and running.

• Preferred credentials are set and validated on all Agents where you want to deploy the plug-in. For more information, see Configuring the Management Agent to Deploy the Plug-In.

• (For Agent running on Microsoft Windows) OS privileges for the user (set in the Preferred Credentials for the Agent) must meet the requirements documented in "Setting Credentials for the Job System to Work with Enterprise Manager" in one of the following installation guides:

  • Oracle Database Installation Guide 10g Release 2 (10.2) for Microsoft Windows (32-Bit) — B14316-01

  • Oracle Database Installation Guide 10g Release 2 (10.2) for Microsoft Windows (64-Bit) on Intel Itanium — B14317-02

  • Oracle Database Installation Guide 10g Release 2 (10.2) for Microsoft Windows (x64) — B15681-02

  These guides are listed in the Installation Guides section of the Oracle Database Documentation Library at the following location:

  http://www.oracle.com/pls/db102/homepage

  Note:

  If you do not assign the correct privileges for users, the deployment will fail.

• Enable TCP/IP for the SQL Server instance. For more information, see Enabling and Finding TCP/IP Port Information.

• Enable SQL or Mixed Authentication on the SQL Server instance. For more information, Enabling SQL Authentication or Mixed Authentication.

• Create a suitable DB user with 'sysadmin' fixed server role.

• To monitor the SQL Server instance using non-sysadmin user, create a user with non-syadmin role and provide the following access to it:

  1. Execute this command to give access to the user:

     GRANT VIEW SERVER STATE TO "login name"
     

  2. Provide database access to the user.

  3. Provide SQLAgentOperatorRole fixed database role in msdb to the user.

Configuring the Management Agent to Deploy the Plug-In

To configure the Agent, you must first ensure that the user starting the Agent service belongs to the Local Administrators Group. Also, you must set the preferred credentials on all Agents where you want to deploy the plug-in. To do so, follow the instructions given in the following sections.

Deploying the Plug-in

After you ensure that the prerequisites are met, follow these steps to deploy the plug-in.

1. Download the SQL Server Plug-in archive to your desktop or computer on which the browser is launched. You can download the archive from the Oracle Technology Network (OTN).

2. Log into Enterprise Manager Grid Control as a Super Administrator.

3. Click the Setup link in the upper right corner of the Grid Control Home page, then click the Management Plug-ins link on the left side of the Setup page.

4. Click Import.

5. Click Browse and select the plug-in archive.

6. Click List Archive.

7. Select the plug-in and click OK.

8. Verify that you have set preferred credentials on all Agents where you want to deploy the plug-in.

9. In the Management Plug-ins page, click the icon in the Deploy column for the SQL Server plug-in. The Deploy Management Plug-in wizard appears.

10. Click Add Agents, then select one or more Agents to which you want to deploy the plug-in. The wizard reappears and displays the Agent you selected.

11. Click Next, then click Finish.

    If you see an error message stating that the preferred credential is not set up, go to the Preferences page and add the preferred credentials for the Agent target type.

    If there are no errors, then you will see the following screen:

    Figure 1 Successful Deployment

    
    

12. To check the deployment status, go to Related Links and click the link Deployment Status.

Enabling and Finding TCP/IP Port Information

The following sections provide information you require to enable the TCP/IP port and to find the TCP/IP port for a particular SQL server instance.

Enabling SQL Authentication or Mixed Authentication

Modify the permissions for database authentication so that you enable SQL authentication or mixed authentication, and set sysadmin role for the database user that you are going to use for discovering the target and running jobs.

On the SQL Server, for the user you are going to use for monitoring and running jobs, set the write permissions by following these steps:

1. In the Control Panel, double-click Administrative Tools and then Computer Management. The Computer Management screen appears.

2. In the left panel, go to Services and Applications and select the Microsoft SQL Server and navigate down to Security.

3. Double-click Security, and select Logins.

4. Right-click Logins and click NewLogin. The SQL Server Login Properties-New Login dialog box appears.

5. Click General tab, specify the name for the new login, select SQL Server Authentication and specify a unique password to use when connecting to the server using SQL Authentication.

6. Click Server Roles tab and ensure that sysadmin is selected in the Server Roles section.

7. Click Database Access tab, and ensure that in the Permit in Database Role section, no role is selected for any database.

Installing and Enabling Windows Management Instrumentation

(For SQL Server 2000) Install and enable Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) provider of the SQL Server. Enable support by running the setup.exe file located in the SQL Server Installation CD:

<CD_Drive>/x86/other/wmi

Modifying Permissions

Modify Windows Management Instrumentation Control permissions, registry permissions, and DCOM remote access permissions as described in the section Modifying Permissions in the Enterprise Manager System Monitoring Plug-in Troubleshooting Guide available at the following location:

http://www.oracle.com/technology/documentation/oem.html

Adding Instances for Monitoring

Follow these steps to add the plug-in target to Grid Control for central monitoring and management:

1. From the Agent home page where the plug-in was deployed, select the Microsoft SQL Server target type from the Add drop-down list, then click Go. The Add Microsoft SQL Server page appears.

   Note:

   If you are performing a local monitoring of Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Cluster, then the Agent home page will be the Virtual Agent Service home page.

2. Provide the following information for the properties:

   • Name — Unique target name across all the Grid Control targets, such as SqlServer2k_Hostname. This is the display name in the Grid Control. It represents this SQL Server target across all user interfaces within Grid Control.

   • JDBC URL — URL for JDBC.

     For example,

     jdbc:sqlserver://<host>:<port> 
     

     Note:

     You can specify either IP Address or host name. However, ensure that the host name can be resolved consistently on the network. Standard TCP tools such as "nslookup" and "traceroute" can be used to verify the host name. Also, if you are monitoring a Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Cluster, then specify the IP address or host name of the virtual SQL Server of the cluster.

   • JDBC Driver — (Optional) Microsoft SQL Server 2005 JDBC driver class name.

     For example,

     com.microsoft.sqlserver.jdbc.SQLServerDriver
     

   • Database Username (Required for SQL Authentication) — Valid user for the database in sysadmin fixed server role.

   • Password for the Database User (Required for SQL Authentication) — Corresponding password for the database user

   • System Username (Needed when SQLServer is at remote location) — Valid host user name. Required only for remote Agent monitoring. For more information, see Configuring Remote Connections to Monitor Targets.

   • System Password (Needed when SQLServer is at remote location) — Password for the Username. Required only for remote Agent monitoring.

   • Connect Using Windows Integrated Authentication (Yes/No) — Yes for Windows Integrated Authentication, No for SQL Authentication

   • Role — (Optional)

3. Click Test Connection to make sure the parameters you entered are correct.

4. For Oracle Management Service version 10g Release 3 (10.2.0.3) or lower, reenter the encrypted parameters from step 2 if the connection test was successful, then click OK.

   Note:

   For Oracle Management Service 10g Release 3 (10.2.0.3), if you do not reenter the encrypted parameters (Database Username, Password for the Database User, System Username, System Password) before clicking OK, you might encounter an error informing you that the login failed.

   Figure 2 Add Microsoft SQL Server

   
   

After you deploy and configure the plug-in to monitor one or more targets in the environment, you can customize the monitoring settings of the plug-in. This alters the collection intervals and threshold settings of the metrics to meet the particular needs of your environment. If you decide to disable one or more metric collections, this could impact the reports that the metric is a part of.

Verifying and Validating the Plug-in

After waiting a few minutes for the plug-in to start collecting data, use the following steps to verify and validate that Enterprise Manager is properly monitoring the plug-in target:

1. Click the SQL Server target link from the Agent home page Monitored Targets table.

   The Microsoft SQL Server home page appears.

   Figure 3 Microsoft SQL Server Home Page

   
   

2. Verify that no metric collection errors are reported in the Metrics table.

3. Ensure that reports can be seen and no errors are reported by clicking the Reports property page.

4. Ensure that configuration data can be seen by clicking the View Configuration link in the Configuration section. If configuration data does not immediately appear, click Refresh in the View Configuration page.

Upgrading the Plug-in

Follow these steps to upgrade the plug-in:

1. Download the SQL Server Plug-in archive to your desktop or computer on which the browser is launched. You can download the archive from the Oracle Technology Network (OTN).

2. Log into Enterprise Manager Grid Control as a Super Administrator.

3. Click the Setup link in the upper right corner of the Grid Control Home page, then click the Management Plug-ins link on the left side of the Setup page.

4. Click Import.

5. Click Browse and select the plug-in archive that you have downloaded for upgrading.

6. Click List Archive.

7. Select the plug-in and click OK.

8. Verify that preferred credentials are set on all Agents to which you want to deploy the plug-in.

9. Blackout the Microsoft SQL Server targets for agents to which you want to deploy higher version of the plug-in. Ensure that you select immediate blackout.

10. In the Management Plug-ins page, click the icon in the Deploy column for the SQL Server plug-in. The Deploy Management Plug-in wizard appears.

11. Click Add Agents, then select one or more Agents to which you want to deploy the plug-in. The wizard reappears and displays the Agent you selected.

12. Click Next, then click Finish.

    If you see an error message stating that the preferred credential is not set up, go to the Preferences page and add the preferred credentials for the Agent target type.

13. Remove blackout for the targets (required only if Step 9 applies).

Undeploying the Plug-in

Follow these steps to undeploy the plug-in from an Agent:

1. Log in to Enterprise Manager Grid Control as a Super Administrator.

2. Select the Targets tab, then the All Targets subtab. The All Targets page appears.

3. Select the Microsoft SQL Server Plug-in target and click Remove. You must do this step for all targets of the specific version of the plug-in.

4. Make sure that the preferred credentials are set on the Agents where the plug-in is deployed.

5. Click the Setup link in the upper right corner of the All Targets page, then click the Management Plug-ins link on the left side of the Setup page. The Management Plug-ins page appears.

6. Click the icon in the Undeploy column for the Microsoft SQL Server Plug-in. The Undeploy Management Plug-in page appears.

7. Check all the Agents that are currently deployed with the Microsoft SQL Server Plug-in and click OK.

   You must undeploy the plug-in from every Agent in the system to completely remove it from the enterprise.

8. Select the Microsoft SQL Server Plug-in on the Management Plug-in page and click Delete.

Configuring Connections

This section provides details about configuring connections for monitoring targets and executing jobs.

Creating and Editing Jobs

To create and edit jobs, follow these steps:

1. In Grid Control, click the Jobs tab. Grid Control displays the Job Activity page.

2. Select a job type from the Create Job menu and click Go.

   You can select one of these:

   • Microsoft SQL Server and/or SQL Agent Start

   • Microsoft SQL Server and/or SQL Agent Stop

   • Microsoft SQL Server Pause or Resume

   Note:

   If you want to edit a job, then select an existing job from the list and click Edit.

3. In the General tab of the Create <Job Type> Job page, provide a name for the job and add the individual targets or one composite target such as a Group.

   Note:

   If you are editing a job, then modify the job name and the selected targets.

4. In the Parameters tab of the Create <Job Type> Job page, from the Options menu, select an appropriate option to make the job function accordingly when it starts.

   You can select one of these options:

   Table 1 Job Parameters Options

   Job Type	Available Options
   Microsoft SQL Server and/or SQL Agent Start	Start SQL Server and SQL Server Agent services (You will select this option when both, SQL Server and SQL Server Agent, are stopped or when SQL Server is running but the SQL Server Agent is stopped) Start SQL Server service (You will select this option when both, SQL Server and SQL Server Agent, are stopped and if you want to start only the SQL Sever)
   Microsoft SQL Server and/or SQL Agent Stop	Stop SQL Server and SQL Server Agent services (You will select this option when both, SQL Server and SQL Server Agent, are running, when SQL Server is paused but the SQL Server Agent is running, when SQL Server is running/paused but the SQL Server Agent is stopped) Stop SQL Server Agent service (You will select this option when you want to stop a running SQL Server Agent)
   Microsoft SQL Server Pause or Resume	Pause SQL Server service (You will select this option when you want to pause a running SQL Server) Resume SQL Server service (You will select this option when you want to resume a paused SQL Server)

   
   

   Grid Control starts the SQL server and agent services according to the selection made.

   Note:

   If you are editing a job, then modify the options for that job.

5. In the Credentials tab of the Create <Job Type> Job page, select an appropriate option for credentials.

   You can choose to use the preferred credentials that are already set or override the preferred credentials with new credentials. In either case, you need to provide the credentials for agent host and database host.

   To set the preferred credentials, click Preferences at the top-right corner of the Grid Control console. From the left-vertical navigation bar, click Preferred Credentials. Grid Control displays the Preferred Credentials page. On this page, you can set the preferred credentials

   Note:

   If you are editing a job, then modify the credentials set for that job.

6. In the Schedule tab of the Create <Job Type> Job page, schedule the job.

   Note:

   If you are editing a job, then modify the schedule prepared for that job.

7. In the Access tab of the Create <Job Type> Job page, define or modify the access you want other users to have to this job.

   Note:

   If you want to edit, then modify the access levels for that job.

8. Click Submit to create the job.

Troubleshooting the Plug-In

To resolve various issues that you might encounter while using the plug-in, see the Oracle Enterprise Manager System Monitoring Plug-in Troubleshooting Guide available at the following URL:

http://www.oracle.com/technology/documentation/oem.html

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