Monitor with AppInsight for SQL

Identify and troubleshoot performance issues for SQL Server databases and queries with AppInsight for SQL, which provides visibility into over 100 metrics across all monitored SQL servers. Collected metrics include read and write latency, index fragmentation, expensive queries based on CPU time, SQL agent job status with logs, and resource consumption for CPU, memory, and drive space.

AppInsight for SQL is an AppInsight application that you can use to:

• Monitor SQL Server resource consumption, respond to alerts, and monitor expensive queries on a single page.
• Investigate issues and performance trends without hunting through numerous views for SQL servers.

AppInsight for SQL offers a level of detail far beyond what a SQL template can provide, allowing you to monitor virtually every aspect of your SQL instances and databases. It can poll and report metrics without using agents, directly accessing SQL servers using configured access permissions and credentials via SNMP and WMI.

When you assign AppInsight for SQL to a node, an application (also called an "application monitor") based on the AppInsight for SQL template is created on the node. In the SolarWinds Platform Web Console, the default name for the application is "MSSQLSERVER" but can be customized.

When SAM polls for metrics, the standard Node Details view is replaced by the SQL Server Application Summary view that shows all SQL server instances monitored by AppInsight for SQL. To access that view, click My Dashboards > Applications > SQL Server.

On the Application Summary view, click an instance to open its Application Details view. See also Display AppInsight for SQL data in the SolarWinds Platform Web Console

Note the following details about AppInsight for SQL:

• This feature is designed to monitor database instances on servers, not servers.
• Due to the complexity of AppInsight for SQL, allow extra time for configuration when assigning it to nodes. Instances are enabled after the first polling cycle, which may take a few minutes.
• Starting in SAM 2020.2.6, you can disable dynamic AppInsight for SQL components if a known issue (for example, high index fragmentation of a database) generates false-positive alerts and logs. You can also disable components that you don't need, to reduce polling loads. See Edit the AppInsight for SQL template.

To get started with AppInsight for SQL:

• Review AppInsight for SQL requirements and permissions.
• Add AppInsight for SQL to nodes, which can represent: 
  • A named SQL instance, based on a server's Virtual IP (VIP) address, or
  • A SQL cluster, such as those used for SolarWinds High Availability (HA).

Learn more

To learn more about AppInsight for SQL, see:

• AppInsight for SQL and component-based licensing
• AppInsight for SQL requirements and permissions
• Add AppInsight for SQL to nodes
  • Use automation scripts to add AppInsight applications to nodes with the SolarWinds Platform SDK
• Display AppInsight for SQL data in the SolarWinds Platform Web Console
• Add AppInsight for SQL to a named instance
• Use AppInsight for SQL to monitor an active SQL Server cluster
• Edit the AppInsight for SQL template
• Hide databases from AppInsight for SQL in the All Databases widget
• Use the DPA Integration Module with SAM
• Work with AppInsight for SQL alerts
• Increase the number of AppInsight for SQL connections to speed polling

Want an application-centric perspective of database performance? See Integrate SAM with SolarWinds Database Performance Analyzer (DPA.)