dbWatch FAQ
Why dbWatch
Q: My monitoring system already has a database monitoring function, why do I need dbWatch?
A: All major monitoring systems include some level of database monitoring, but they usually do this remotely, i.e. by executing SQL from some client. This causes increased network traffic and often noticeable latency in addition to increased load on the server since queries are seldom reused (i.e. parameterized). With dbWatch the queries reside on the monitored database and are re-used, making the invocation a very minor task. Finally dbWatch supplies monitoring mechanisms that can be extended to monitor and report on your business data as well as the databases core performance tables.
Q: I need to monitor my network and non-database servers, can dbWatch do this?
A: dbWatch is specialized on the database layer of your infrastructure and does not itself facilitate monitoring of network traffic, operating system etc. On the other hand dbWatch can easily integrate with any general monitoring system through its extensions mechanism. BigBrother is free open-source framework you can try out in conjunction with dbWatch.
Q: I am monitoring databases that reside on servers with very slow network connections, can dbWatch monitor these?
A: Yes, dbWatch has successfully operated on all types of networks, including over connections with 36600 modems and satellite. One of the major benefits of the dbWatch architecture is that the database monitoring tasks reside on the monitored instance implying almost no network traffic to invoke these, both the SQL call information and results stay on the database side implying almost no network traffic. The only time when bandwidth can be an issue is during report retrieval since the report data is transferred from the database to the dbWatch Server.
Q: I have monitoring scripts that I run on my databases, can I use these with dbWatch?
A: Yes, we are fully aware that most database monitoring is today done by highly competent DBAs who have developed their own queries and reports. You can integrate these into dbWatch either by converting them to dbWatch Tasks/Checks or by creating a Task/Check that invokes the original queries/procedures.
Usage/Deployment
Q: What are the hardware requirements of dbWatch?
A: dbWatch is a very compact software application consisting of three components: dbWatch Engine, dbWatch Server and dbWatch Monitor. The dbWatch Engine exists as a schema in the monitored databases and has no explicit hardware requirements except compatibility with the database. dbWatch Server and Monitor are standalone applications that can run on the same machine or as a Server/Client mode and requires no more than a standard computer to run, 256Mhz and 256 Mb RAM, recommended diskspace is 50 MB on installation.
Q: What OS can dbWatch run on?
A: dbWatch can run an any OS with a Java Virtual Machine. The Java Virtual Machine (JVM) is included in the downloaded package, you don t need to install or relate to the JVM.
Q: Can I make my own Tasks & Checks?
A: Yes. Tasks & Checks are created and edited through the Tasks Editor, included in dbWatch.
Q: What databases does dbWatch monitor?
A: Currently dbWatch can monitor Oracle database (8i and upwards), MS SQLServer (2000-2008), MySQL (5.0 and upwards) and PostgreSQL (8.2 and upwards). We intend to cover Sybase and Ingres in the near future.
Q: Can dbWatch monitor MySql databases?
A: Yes, MySQL is supported from dbWatch 8.0 onwards (version 5.0 and onwards).
Q: I need to move my dbWatch Server to another machine, what do I do?
A: The easiest way to achieve this is to use the dbWatch installer on the new machine and connect to the database, but not re-install the dbWatch Engines. Remember that all data, tasks and checks are located on the monitored instances, not on the dbWatch Server.
Q: How much history does dbWatch keep?
A: The amont of historic data kept varies with the individual task/check (usually configurable). The total memory used by the entire dbWatch schema will seldom exceed 10MB.
Q: Oracle Alert logs, how are they monitored?
A: The alert log is monitored by the dbWatch check "Alert log check". The check uses the Oracle utl_file package to open and read the alert log file on the OS level. By default the check runs every 10 minues (configurable), reads through the new lines in the log and looks for ORA-messages.
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