Requirements for monitoring a database instance running in a VM cluster

If you are using DPA to monitor a database instance that runs in a virtual machine (VM) cluster, a user with at least read-only permissions is required on the hosts and VMs that will be monitored. The monitored hosts and VMs include all of the following:

• The VMs that monitored database instances are running on.
• All hosts that those VMs could potentially run on (for example, all hosts in a DRS cluster).
• Other VMs on those hosts.

SolarWinds recommends giving the user read-only permissions on the entire vCenter Server or ESX/ESXi host so that DPA can dynamically monitor any entity as system changes take place.

Create a user on the vCenter Server or the ESX/ESXi host

Before you can assign user permissions, you must create the user:

• vCenter Server user: Authorized users for vCenter Server are those included in the Windows domain list referenced by vCenter Server or local Windows users on the vCenter Server system. To edit the user list or change user passwords, use the tools you use to manage your Windows domain or Active Directory.

• ESX/ESXi host user: Log in to an ESX/ESXi host as root using the vSphere Client. Then use the Users and Groups tab to add users, remove users, change passwords, set group membership, and assign the required permissions.

Assign user permissions to inventory objects

Use the vSphere Client to assign user permissions to inventory objects, such as the vCenter server, data center, host, or folder. Requirements and best practices:

• You must have modify permission on an object to be able to assign permissions to that object.
• SolarWinds recommends selecting the entire vCenter Server or ESX/ESXi host and assigning permissions to it.
• Make sure that the Propagate to Child Objects option is selected. This ensures that when new objects are inserted in to the inventory hierarchy, they inherit the required permissions.