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Azure SQL Database Monitoring

Requires Opsview Cloud or Opsview Monitor 6
!
Deprecated
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Opsview Supported

Azure SQL Database Monitoring

Deprecated in Opsview Cloud and Opsview Monitor 6.4
This Host template is now contained within the main Azure Opspack.

Azure SQL Database is a cloud database service from Microsoft. SQL Database provides web-facing database functionality as a utility service where you pay only for what you use. Cloud-based database solutions such as SQL Database provide many benefits such as rapid provisioning, cost-effective scalability, high availability, and reduced management overhead.

What You Can Monitor

Opsview Monitor's Azure SQL Opspack helps you diagnose your performance and cost metrics quickly. Opsview Monitor provides cost metrics to manage scalability costs such as dtu limit, used and dwu consumption percent. SQL Performance metrics include the ability to track connections, CPU percent, firewall blocks and more.

Service Checks

Service Check Description
cpu_percent The current amount of CPU resources being consumed.
physical_data_read_percent Average I/O utilization.
log_write_percent Average log utilization.
dtu_consumption_percent Database throughput units utilization.
storage Total disk capacity of the database.
connection_successful Number of succesful database connections.
connection_failed Number of failed database connections.
blocked_by_firewall Number of connections blocked by firewall.
deadlock Current count of deadlocks.
storage_percent Percentage of storage used.
xtp_storage_percent Percentage of In-Memory OLTP storage used.
workers_percent Percentage of workers being used.
sessions_percent Percentage of sessions currently being used.
dtu_limit Database throughput units utilization limit.
dtu_used Database throughput units used.
dwu_limit Data warehouse units utilization limit.
dwu_consumption_percent Data warehouse units utilization.
dwu_used Data warehouse units utilization.

Azure SQL Database Monitoring Prerequisites

The monitoring plugin for this Opspack has been tested with Python 2.7. In order for the Opspack to run, you will need to have some Python packages installed by running the pip python package tool.

If a cryptography error occurs when trying to install the Azure packages, you can run the commands which should fix the problem.

Debian and Ubuntu

sudo apt-get install build-essential libssl-dev libffi-dev python-dev python-pip

CentOS and RHEL

sudo yum install gcc libffi-devel python-devel openssl-devel python-pip

Common

When python-pip is installed, you can then run:

sudo pip install --upgrade pip==9.0.2
sudo pip install --upgrade setuptools
sudo pip install --upgrade requests
sudo pip install nagiosplugin
sudo pip install azure
sudo pip install azure-monitor

Azure SQL Database Monitoring Setup

To monitor you Azure environment, you need to configure it for monitoring

This requires Administrator access on Azure. You need to retrieve the following credentials:

  • Subscription ID
  • Tenant/Directory ID
  • Client/Application ID
  • Secret Key

Step 1: Find Subscription ID

The Subscription ID can be found in the Subscriptions section under the All services section from the Azure dashboard

Azure Find Subscription Step 1

Azure Find Subscription Step 2

Step 2 : Find the Tenant/Directory ID

The Tenant/Directory ID can be found in the Azure Active Directory under the Properties section from the Azure dashboard

Azure Find Directory ID

Step 3: Find the Client/Application ID for your application

You need to create and register your application if you haven't already. Use the following documentation from Microsoft: Create an Azure Active Directory application

The Client/Application ID can be found in Azure Active Directory under the App registrations section from the Azure dashboard

Azure Find Application ID

Step 4: Generate the Secret Key for your application

You will need to create a Secret Key for your application, once this has been created its value will be hidden so save the value during creation

To create the Secret Key, select your application from the list, select the Settings within your application and then select the Keys option

There you can create a new key by adding the description and expiration period and the value will be generated

Azure Create Secret Key

Step 5: Provide access to the subscription you wish to monitor

Navigate to the Subscriptions section and select the Subscription you selected before

In the Subscription to be monitored, click Access Control (IAM)

Then click the Add button, select Monitoring Contributor and select the application

Azure Add Subscription

Azure Add Role

If you are running more than one subscription these steps will need to be done for each one you wish to monitor

Setup and Configuration

To configure and utilize this Opspack, you simply need to add the 'Cloud - Azure - Virtual Machines' Opspack to your Opsview Monitor system

Step 1: Add the Host Template

Ensure the Primary Hostname/IP field value matches the name of your Azure SQL Database (the resource name).

Open the Advanced section at the bottom and change the Host Check Command to Always assumed to be UP.

Azure Add Host Template

Step 2: Add and configure variables required for this host

Add 'AZURE_CREDENTIALS' to the host and set the Resource Group as its variable value, then override the Subscription ID, Client ID, Secret Key and Tenant ID to match the values retrieved earlier.

Add the 'AZURE_EXTRA_PROVIDER' variable and set the variable value to be the name of the Azure SQL Server (the resource name) which hosts the SQL database.

Azure Add Variables
 
Azure Extra Provider

For more information, refer to Opsview Knowledge Center - Adding Variables to Hosts.

Step 3: Apply changes and the system will now be monitored

Note: Both dwu metrics will not be available for non DWU instances.

Azure SQL Service Checks