Microsoft SQL Server

Plugin: go.d.plugin Module: mssql

Overview

This collector monitors the health and performance of Microsoft SQL Server instances.

It collects metrics from:

• Performance counters (buffer manager, memory manager, SQL statistics)
• Dynamic management views (DMVs) for wait statistics, locks, and sessions
• Per-database transaction and lock statistics
• SQL Server Agent job status (if permissions allow)

It connects to the SQL Server instance via TCP using the go-mssqldb driver and executes queries against:

• sys.dm_os_performance_counters - Performance counter values
• sys.dm_exec_sessions - Connection information
• sys.dm_os_wait_stats - Wait statistics
• sys.dm_tran_locks - Lock information
• sys.dm_io_virtual_file_stats - I/O stall (latency) statistics
• sys.dm_os_process_memory - SQL Server process memory
• sys.dm_os_sys_memory - OS physical memory and page file
• sys.master_files - Database file sizes
• msdb.dbo.sysjobs - SQL Agent job status (optional)

This collector is supported on all platforms.

This collector supports collecting metrics from multiple instances of this integration, including remote instances.

The monitoring user requires the VIEW SERVER STATE permission to access DMVs. For SQL Agent job monitoring, access to the msdb database is required.

Default Behavior

Auto-Detection

By default, it tries to connect to SQL Server on localhost:1433 without authentication. You must configure proper credentials for monitoring.

Limits

The default configuration for this integration does not impose any limits on data collection.

Performance Impact

The collector executes lightweight queries against system views. Most queries complete in milliseconds and have minimal impact on server performance.

Metrics

Metrics grouped by scope.

The scope defines the instance that the metric belongs to. An instance is uniquely identified by a set of labels.

Per Microsoft SQL Server instance

These metrics refer to the entire SQL Server instance.

This scope has no labels.

Metrics:

Metric	Dimensions	Unit	SQL Server 2016+	Azure SQL Database
mssql.user_connections	user	connections	•	•
mssql.session_connections	user, internal	connections	•	•
mssql.blocked_processes	blocked	processes	•	•
mssql.batch_requests	batch	requests/s	•	•
mssql.compilations	compilations	compilations/s	•	•
mssql.recompilations	recompilations	recompilations/s	•	•
mssql.auto_param_attempts	total, safe, failed	attempts/s	•	•
mssql.sql_errors	errors	errors/s	•	•
mssql.buffer_cache_hit_ratio	hit_ratio	percentage	•	•
mssql.buffer_page_life_expectancy	life_expectancy	seconds	•	•
mssql.buffer_page_iops	read, written	pages/s	•	•
mssql.buffer_checkpoint_pages	flushed	pages/s	•	•
mssql.buffer_page_lookups	lookups	lookups/s	•	•
mssql.buffer_lazy_writes	lazy_writes	writes/s	•	•
mssql.memory_total	memory	bytes	•	•
mssql.memory_connection	memory	bytes	•	•
mssql.memory_pending_grants	pending	processes	•	•
mssql.memory_external_benefit	benefit	benefit	•	•
mssql.page_splits	page	splits/s	•	•
mssql.process_memory_resident	resident	bytes	•	•
mssql.process_memory_virtual	virtual	bytes	•	•
mssql.process_memory_utilization	utilization	percentage	•	•
mssql.process_page_faults	page_faults	faults	•	•
mssql.os_memory	used, available	bytes	•	•
mssql.os_pagefile	used, available	bytes	•	•

Per database

These metrics refer to individual databases.

Labels:

Label	Description
database	Database name

Metrics:

Metric	Dimensions	Unit	SQL Server 2016+	Azure SQL Database
mssql.database_active_transactions	active	transactions	•	•
mssql.database_transactions	transactions	transactions/s	•	•
mssql.database_write_transactions	write	transactions/s	•	•
mssql.database_log_flushes	flushes	flushes/s	•	•
mssql.database_log_flushed	flushed	bytes/s	•	•
mssql.database_log_growths	growths	growths	•	•
mssql.database_io_stall	read, write	ms	•	•
mssql.database_data_file_size	size	bytes	•	•
mssql.database_backup_restore_throughput	throughput	bytes/s	•	•
mssql.database_state	online, restoring, recovering, pending, suspect, emergency, offline	state	•	•
mssql.database_read_only	read_only, read_write	status	•	•

Per lock stats

These metrics refer to lock statistics by lock resource type (from performance counters).

Labels:

Label	Description
resource	Lock resource type (Database, File, Object, Page, Key, Extent, RID, HoBT, etc.)

Metrics:

Metric	Dimensions	Unit	SQL Server 2016+	Azure SQL Database
mssql.lock_stats_deadlocks	deadlocks	deadlocks/s	•	•
mssql.lock_stats_waits	waits	waits/s	•	•
mssql.lock_stats_timeouts	timeouts	timeouts/s	•	•
mssql.lock_stats_requests	requests	requests/s	•	•

Per lock resource

These metrics refer to lock resource types (from sys.dm_tran_locks).

Labels:

Label	Description
resource	Lock resource type (Database, File, Object, Page, Key, etc.)

Metrics:

Metric	Dimensions	Unit	SQL Server 2016+	Azure SQL Database
mssql.locks_by_resource	locks	locks	•	•

Per wait type

These metrics refer to individual wait types (from sys.dm_os_wait_stats).

Labels:

Label	Description
wait_type	Wait type name
wait_category	Wait category (CPU, Lock, Latch, Buffer IO, etc.)

Metrics:

Metric	Dimensions	Unit	SQL Server 2016+	Azure SQL Database
mssql.wait_total_time	duration	ms	•	•
mssql.wait_resource_time	duration	ms	•	•
mssql.wait_signal_time	duration	ms	•	•
mssql.wait_max_time	max_time	ms	•	•
mssql.wait_count	waits	waits/s	•	•

Per job

These metrics refer to SQL Server Agent jobs.

Labels:

Label	Description
job_name	Job name

Metrics:

Metric	Dimensions	Unit	SQL Server 2016+	Azure SQL Database
mssql.job_status	enabled, disabled	status	•	•

Per replication

These metrics refer to SQL Server replication publications.

Labels:

Label	Description
publisher_db	Publisher database name
publication	Publication name

Metrics:

Metric	Dimensions	Unit	SQL Server 2016+	Azure SQL Database
mssql.replication_status	started, succeeded, in_progress, idle, retrying, failed	status	•	•
mssql.replication_warning	expiration, latency, merge_expiration, merge_slow_duration, merge_fast_duration, merge_fast_speed, merge_slow_speed	flags	•	•
mssql.replication_latency	average, best, worst	seconds	•	•
mssql.replication_subscriptions	total, agents_running	subscriptions	•	•

Alerts

There are no alerts configured by default for this integration.

Setup

You can configure the mssql collector in two ways:

Method	Best for	How to
UI	Fast setup without editing files	Go to Nodes → Configure this node → Collectors → Jobs, search for mssql, then click + to add a job.
File	If you prefer configuring via file, or need to automate deployments (e.g., with Ansible)	Edit go.d/mssql.conf and add a job.

important

UI configuration requires paid Netdata Cloud plan.

Prerequisites

Create monitoring user

Create a SQL Server login with VIEW SERVER STATE permission:

-- Create login
CREATE LOGIN netdata_user WITH PASSWORD = 'YourStrongPassword!';

-- Grant VIEW SERVER STATE (required for DMVs)
GRANT VIEW SERVER STATE TO netdata_user;

-- Optional: Grant access to msdb for SQL Agent job monitoring
USE msdb;
CREATE USER netdata_user FOR LOGIN netdata_user;
GRANT SELECT ON dbo.sysjobs TO netdata_user;

-- Optional: Grant access to distribution database for replication monitoring
-- (only if replication is configured)
USE distribution;
CREATE USER netdata_user FOR LOGIN netdata_user;
GRANT SELECT ON dbo.MSreplication_monitordata TO netdata_user;
GRANT SELECT ON dbo.MSpublications TO netdata_user;
GRANT SELECT ON dbo.MSsubscriptions TO netdata_user;

Required permissions:

• VIEW SERVER STATE - Access to dynamic management views

Optional permissions:

• SELECT on msdb.dbo.sysjobs - SQL Agent job status monitoring
• SELECT on distribution.dbo.MSreplication_monitordata - Replication monitoring
• SELECT on distribution.dbo.MSpublications - Publication information
• SELECT on distribution.dbo.MSsubscriptions - Subscription counts

Configuration

Options

The following options can be defined globally: update_every, autodetection_retry.

Config options

Group	Option	Description	Default	Required
Collection	update_every	Data collection interval (seconds).	10	no
	autodetection_retry	Autodetection retry interval (seconds). Set 0 to disable.	0	no
Target	dsn	SQL Server DSN (Data Source Name). See DSN syntax.	sqlserver://localhost:1433	yes
	timeout	Query timeout (seconds).	5	no
Virtual Node	vnode	Associates this data collection job with a Virtual Node.		no

via UI

Configure the mssql collector from the Netdata web interface:

1. Go to Nodes.
2. Select the node where you want the mssql data-collection job to run and click the ⚙ (Configure this node). That node will run the data collection.
3. The Collectors → Jobs view opens by default.
4. In the Search box, type mssql (or scroll the list) to locate the mssql collector.
5. Click the + next to the mssql collector to add a new job.
6. Fill in the job fields, then click Test to verify the configuration and Submit to save.
   • Test runs the job with the provided settings and shows whether data can be collected.
   • If it fails, an error message appears with details (for example, connection refused, timeout, or command execution errors), so you can adjust and retest.

via File

The configuration file name for this integration is go.d/mssql.conf.

The file format is YAML. Generally, the structure is:

update_every: 1
autodetection_retry: 0
jobs:
  - name: some_name1
  - name: some_name2

You can edit the configuration file using the edit-config script from the Netdata config directory.

cd /etc/netdata 2>/dev/null || cd /opt/netdata/etc/netdata
sudo ./edit-config go.d/mssql.conf

Examples

Basic configuration

Connect to local SQL Server with SQL authentication.

Config

jobs:
  - name: local
    dsn: "sqlserver://netdata_user:password@localhost:1433"

Windows Authentication

Connect using Windows integrated authentication.

Config

jobs:
  - name: local
    dsn: "sqlserver://localhost:1433?trusted_connection=yes"

Named instance

Connect to a named SQL Server instance.

Config

jobs:
  - name: named_instance
    dsn: "sqlserver://netdata_user:password@localhost/INSTANCENAME"

Remote server

Connect to a remote SQL Server.

Config

jobs:
  - name: remote
    dsn: "sqlserver://netdata_user:[email protected]:1433"

Multi-instance

Note: When you define multiple jobs, their names must be unique.

Monitoring multiple SQL Server instances.

Config

jobs:
  - name: production
    dsn: "sqlserver://netdata_user:password@prod-sql:1433"

  - name: development
    dsn: "sqlserver://netdata_user:password@dev-sql:1433"

Troubleshooting

Debug Mode

Important: Debug mode is not supported for data collection jobs created via the UI using the Dyncfg feature.

To troubleshoot issues with the mssql collector, run the go.d.plugin with the debug option enabled. The output should give you clues as to why the collector isn't working.

• Navigate to the plugins.d directory, usually at /usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d/. If that's not the case on your system, open netdata.conf and look for the plugins setting under [directories].

  cd /usr/libexec/netdata/plugins.d/

• Switch to the netdata user.

  sudo -u netdata -s

• Run the go.d.plugin to debug the collector:

  ./go.d.plugin -d -m mssql

  To debug a specific job:

  ./go.d.plugin -d -m mssql -j jobName

Getting Logs

If you're encountering problems with the mssql collector, follow these steps to retrieve logs and identify potential issues:

• Run the command specific to your system (systemd, non-systemd, or Docker container).
• Examine the output for any warnings or error messages that might indicate issues. These messages should provide clues about the root cause of the problem.

System with systemd

Use the following command to view logs generated since the last Netdata service restart:

journalctl _SYSTEMD_INVOCATION_ID="$(systemctl show --value --property=InvocationID netdata)" --namespace=netdata --grep mssql

System without systemd

Locate the collector log file, typically at /var/log/netdata/collector.log, and use grep to filter for collector's name:

grep mssql /var/log/netdata/collector.log

Note: This method shows logs from all restarts. Focus on the latest entries for troubleshooting current issues.

Docker Container

If your Netdata runs in a Docker container named "netdata" (replace if different), use this command:

docker logs netdata 2>&1 | grep mssql

Connection refused

Ensure SQL Server is running and accepting TCP connections on the configured port. Check that the SQL Server Browser service is running if using named instances.

Login failed

Verify the username and password in the DSN are correct. Ensure SQL Server is configured for mixed mode authentication if using SQL logins.

Permission denied

The monitoring user needs VIEW SERVER STATE permission. Grant it with: GRANT VIEW SERVER STATE TO netdata_user;