Database Performance Monitoring

Database Monitoring

While it is of utmost importance to monitor the database server for high availability and peak performance, it is equally important to monitor database performance from the perspective of the business service and end-user community it supports.

Nimsoft Monitoring Solutions (NMS), formerly known as NimBUS, for databases provide database monitoring from a server perspective (monitoring database server integrity), and from the end-user's perspective (monitoring response times for defined SQL queries). The end goal of NMS is to ensure the database is always available and running at peak performance so it does not compromise business productivity and end-user satisfaction.

Primary Features:

• Provides real-time and comprehensive database health check monitoring for Oracle, MS SQL Server, Sybase, DB2, Informix, and more.
• Monitors database availability, performance, and SLA compliance from both a server and end-user perspective
• Web-based status dashboards are available for the CIO, Database Managers, Business Unit Managers, and DBAs
• Historical archive for performance trending and SLA compliance reporting
• Support for cross-platform business environments:
  • Sybase
  • Informix
  • Oracle
  • MS SQL
  • DB2

Additional Features

• Database cluster monitoring
• Monitors database event logs
• Monitors active users
• Centralized and remote monitoring capabilities
• Database resource utilization monitoring and reporting
• Broad alert notification options—SMS, cell, pager, email
• "Profile-based" monitoring definition—unique monitoring defined per database
• Realtime alerting and reporting for dozens of key database performance indicators
• Reads and analyzes database table entries for alert generation and trend reporting

Figure below: The Nimsoft for Database Monitoring Solution, (formerly known as NimBUS), offers comprehensive dashboard views for all database platforms—the example below is for an Oracle database. Similar views are available for Sybase, Informix, MS SQL Server, and DB2 (Click for a larger image.)

Service-centric database monitoring to ensure a high quality end-user experience—To gain an end-user's perspective of database performance, NMS utilizes a SQL response probe to perform any single or multi-line SQL query from any source system to any remote database server.

The probe will break down SQL query response times by network connect time and by each of the SQL query phases that occur on the target database, i.e. connect time, prepare time, record set time, and fetch time. The individual and total response time metrics are monitored for proactive alert generation, and archived for long term trend analysis, problem diagnosis, and SLA compliance reporting.

SQL Query Data Monitoring—In addition to response time monitoring, the SQL response probe will monitor database data values and the number of rows returned from defined SQL queries. This functionality is ideal for proactively monitoring critical data metrics contained in any IT and business database, i.e. inventory quantity, orders shipped, service desk calls, etc.

Early warning alerts can be generated when defined thresholds are violated. Additionally, database data values can be archived in the NMS database for long-term trend analysis and SLA compliance reporting.

Server-centric database monitoring to ensure database server integrity and peak performance—NMS includes a set of specialized and platform-specific database probes (probes can be deployed remotely or server resident). The specialized probes target a wide array of database metrics to ensure status awareness for DBAs and database managers.

As with the service-centric monitoring approach discussed above, the poll values for each database metric will be analyzed for alert generation and can also be automatically forwarded to the NMS historical archive—once there, availability and performance trend reports can be generated. Reports are key to provide insights on database server reliability, resource utilization, and more.

Database Performance and Historical Trend Reporting

NMS provides historical performance reporting—this functionality will provide the necessary visibility to foresee and disrupt trends that may impact database service levels if allowed to persist. Trend reports also provide visibility into database resource consumption—this is key for proactive capacity planning. Database report examples include:

• Transaction rates—reports reveal database efficiency and business productivity
• Database query response times—reports reveal database response times for read and write operations—degrading response times may indicate degrading end-user productivity
• Disk space utilization—reports reveal consumption trends for proactive capacity planning
• CPU utilization—reports reveal utilization trends, ideal for planning additional capacity or for load balancing
• Number of active users—if trends show an increase in active users you may consider purchasing additional user licenses to avoid license limitation issues

Monitoring Databases against Service Level Agreements

NMS provides SLA creation, monitoring, and compliance/breach reporting capabilities. This functionality makes it possible to map database performance metrics into an SLA that defines database service level objectives (SLO). Achieving SLOs is key to ensure the database is able to accommodate desired transaction rates and high volume database queries.

NMS will continuously analyze database performance and perform calculations to determine if the database SLA is safely in compliance. It will also determine if an SLA breach is imminent if a problem condition is allowed to persist. The SLA solution includes a color-coded SLA compliance/breach trend indicator—alerts can be generated when % compliance decreases below a predefined threshold.

Please select a database platform link below to see the full complement of monitored metrics:

NMS requires minimal effort for implementation and training, and will not require extensive ongoing maintenance.

If you would like to request a free trial of Nimsoft, please click here. For free white papers or additional information click here.