Database Monitoring with MAS

Database monitoring is an important task no matter the nature or size of your organization. Keeping tabs on your environment is key to monitoring your data and ensuring smooth operations.

Database monitoring is one of the core duties of a DBA. With that said, there are certain problems and difficulties that accompany this task. However, MAS can help alleviate them and make monitoring easier than ever before!

Common Database Monitoring Issues

Below is a list of common database monitoring issues. It is not exhausting and issues may be unique to certain environments and not others. See below for a list of frequently encountered DBA problems.

Scalability

Most monitoring tools limit DBAs to a fixed set of monitoring capabilities and do not allow users to import their own scripts.

This fixed functionality can cause a lack of collaboration that bogs down IT departments and business as a whole.

Knowledge Gaps

Many DBAs have to support multiple database platforms, yet usually only have professional expertise on one.

Open-source databases in particular present challenges because these databases tend to lack the instrumentation available in commercial databases.

Notifications and Alerts

Most tools and platforms used by DBAs for monitoring do not feature notification capabilities to notify IT staff when an issue arises.

Without notifications, a DBA has to log in to every server to view their monitoring tools.

Support Tools Falling Short

Many tools that monitor databases require a dedicated server and agent software to be installed on every server to be monitored; in other words, set up and installation is complicated.

To put it another way, most tools have a massive footprint as well as high costs.

Additionally, DBAs must support tens or even hundreds of databases. However, most tools only monitored a single database at a time.

The MAS Solution to Database Monitoring

MAS has special features built in to deal with each and every one of the issues listed. This is because MAS was designed to make DBA’s lives easier and to streamline database management throughout organizations.

Scalability

MAS has a capability called a “query wallet”. The query wallet “ingests” and saves users scripts into a user-designed MAS namespace allowing access to your custom scripts across your organization when and wherever you may need them.

Scripts can be SQL or Unix/Linux shell scripts. Once compiled they can be executed from a web interface.

Knowledge Gaps

Having multiple databases should be helpful to your organization, not hold you back!

MAS supports Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle as well as most other popular open-source databases. Plus, built-in monitoring is available for all databases thus allowing a DBA the ability to easily support databases where they may lack familiarity.

Notifications and Alerting

MAS has notification capabilities that can send email alerts to a single user or even a group of users.

MAS alerts users with a notification when a process starts, finishes, or fails.

Tools Falling Short

Unlike other tools, MAS has a small footprint and does not require agent software for installation. Monitoring features are ready to use immediately with little or no configuration. MAS operates with the same processes used for other DBA activities, because of this there is little to no learning curve.

As far as only being able to monitor only one database at a time, MAS solves this issue as well. MAS provides “high scale monitoring”. MAS monitors multiple databases simultaneously using one single-pane of glass.

Learn More

If MAS sounds like something that would benefit you or your organization, we would love to talk and learn more about your environment.

We’re all ears and are here to help organizations and technologists meet and accomplish their goals. To get the conversation going, drop us a line here!