General Introduction to SQL Server Sensors

For general information and common settings for SQL sensors, please check the manual sections for SQL Server Sensors.

Configuration Tips for Microsoft SQL Sensors

• Identify the MS SQL Server Version you use. If it is SQL Server 2005 then identify the instance name. You can get the instance name from the SQL Server Configuration manger (shown in brackets after the Servername), often this is SQLEXPRESS.
• With earlier SQL Server versions there is by default no instance name. But it is possible to create named instances there as well. In this case either you should know the name as you created the instance or the database admin should be able to tell you the instance name.
• Note: Sometimes you see connection strings like SQLSERVER\SQLINSTANCE in database clients. The first part is the server name that was configured in the 'General steps' section of this document (setting of PRTG Network Monitor's device object). The second part is the instance name mentioned here. Do NEVER enter the string in this form in the instance field of the sensor setup page, only the second part (and without the backslash)
• In SQL Server 2005 there is always an instance name so enter this name located in the previous step now in the 'Instance Name' field of the sensor setup page. With other SQL Server versions you should usually leave this property empty unless you are sure that the instance you want to monitor was created as a 'named instance'
• If your SQL Server runs the instance at a different static port than 1433 you can enter the port number in the 'Port' field of the sensor setup page. If your SQL Server uses the default value of 1433 or is configured for dynamic port setting then leave the 'Port' field empty.
• The 'database' setting is a logical entity on the database server where database objects like tables, users, roles exist. Set the appropriate database that contains the table(s) which are used in the SQL statement of the sensor. Look at a 'databases' folder when browsing through the database objects with an SQL server management tool

Note: There may be restrictions which computers can log on to the sql server, so check the appropriate server settings if you have problems connecting to the server.