Documentation forSQL Sentry

SQL Sentry Portal Distributed Databases

Distributed SQL Sentry Databases

SQL Sentry Portal allows you to connect to distributed SQL Sentry databases to create a unified view across multiple SQL Sentry environments using a single SQL Sentry Portal service.

SQL Sentry database servers show on the sidebar menu with a server icon at the top of the drop-down hierarchy. In the example below there are two SQL Sentry database servers (SquadB-Dev and SQUADB-STABLE2.SQL Sentry), each representing a different monitoring environment.

Implementation Example

SQL Sentry Portal Implementation example

Note:  The example above shows an EPI installation. If you are not using the EPI version, it is the same, but does not contain the EPI controller service or client bootstrapper.
Additional Information: See the SQL Sentry Components and Architecture article to learn more about the components in the example.

Using Distributed Databases

How are security settings used for distributed databases?

Access is at the SQL Sentry database level. A user must meet the security requirements as described in the SQL Sentry Portal User Access Requirements section of the Portal Configuration article for each SQL Sentry database they need to access. SQL Sentry Portal users will only see the SQL Sentry environments listed for the SQL Sentry database servers where they meet those security requirements.

Do all SQL Sentry databases need to be the same version?

Unsupported: SQL Sentry Portal does not officially support adding SQL Sentry databases with different versions.

SQL Sentry Portal does not prevent you from adding SQL Sentry databases that are on different versions, but you may encounter errors or unexpected issues with this setup. It is strongly recommended that all SQL Sentry databases are on the same version for the best experience.

Are dashboards applied across databases?

Dashboards are per SQL Sentry database. Any custom dashboards that you have added are at the SQL Sentry database level and will not appear for other SQL Sentry databases when using distributed databases.

How is the EHO score displayed?

The Environment Health Overview score displays for a single SQL Sentry database at a time. Select the SQL Sentry database at the top level (server icon) to view an overall EHO score for that environment.

How are the alerts displayed?

The alerts are displayed for the last SQL Sentry database environment that you selected.

Configuration

Installation

Install SQL Sentry Portal on a machine that can reach all SQL Sentry databases that you want to add to this view. Only one SQL Sentry Portal service is needed per SQL Sentry Portal URL for multiple SQL Sentry databases.

Adding Distributed Databases

Distributed databases are configured in the Portal Configuration Utility (PCU). All SQL Sentry databases added to this SQL Sentry Portal service will be visible at the same SQL Sentry Portal URL.

  1. Open the PCU and select the New button.
    SQL Sentry Portal Configuration Utility
  2. Enter a friendly name for the New Repository Name, then select Confirm.
    SQL Sentry Portal Add new Connection window
  3. Enter the connection information for the SQL Sentry database in this additional environment, then select Verify Connection. The connection information in the PCU is per database.
    SQL Sentry Portal Configuration Utility Verify Connection

    Success: Your SQL Sentry Portal is now configured to use distributed databases. Repeat this process to add additional SQL Sentry databases to your view.

    SQL Sentry Portal Configuration Utility Complete

Deleting Distributed Databases

  1. Open the PCU.
  2. Select the distributed database environment to delete from this SQL Sentry Portal view, then select Delete.
  3. Select Yes on the Remove Connection window to confirm that you are sure you want to remove this connection.