Site Configuration

Site Configuration enables logical partitioning of SQL Sentry Monitoring Services and watched Devices into distinct groups.  This feature enables you to control exactly which SQL Sentry Monitoring Services watch which devices, and can be critical for scenarios where you have multiple servers located at different geographic locations and you want to minimize associated network traffic across the WAN.  This is based on the premise that there is generally more network activity between a SQL Sentry Monitoring Service and many watched devices than there is between a SQL Sentry Monitoring Service and the SQL Sentry database.  See SQL Sentry Enterprise Architecture for a graphical representation.

 

Take the example of a company with offices in Atlanta and Louisville, with five servers at each location.  Using separate “sites” for Atlanta and Louisville, a SQL Sentry Monitoring Service can be installed in Louisville which monitors only the five servers there, and which reports back to the SQL Sentry database in Atlanta. This configuration will result in less network traffic across the WAN link than if the SQL Sentry Monitoring Service in Atlanta watched the Louisville servers.

 

 

Here are the steps to accomplish this example:

 

1. On the Site Configuration node, add a new site called "Atlanta".
2. Select the Atlanta site, then click "Add" for the SQL Sentry Monitoring Service(s) and the 5 Atlanta servers, then click "Save".  (This will effectively prevent any of these servers from being picked up by the SQL Sentry Monitoring Service in Louisville when you install it.)
3. Create a new site called Louisville.
4. Install the new SQL Sentry Monitoring Service on a server in Louisville, and when prompted during setup, connect it to the SQL Sentry database in Atlanta.
5. Wait a minute or so, then click off and back on the Site Configuration node to refresh it.
6. Select the new Louisville site.  The new SQL Sentry Monitoring Service should show up as Available.  Select it and click "Add", then click "Save".
7. In the treeview, set the devices in Louisville that you want the new SQL Sentry Monitoring Service to monitor to "Watched".
8. On the Site Configuration node, select the Louisville site, then highlight the 5 servers in Louisville and click "Add", then click "Save".  At this point the SQL Sentry Monitoring Service in Louisville will start watching the Louisville servers.

 

NOTE: The Default Site acts as a "catchall" for any SQL Sentry Monitoring Services and Devices that are removed from or haven't yet been added to any other sites.  This is the reason you can't remove SQL Sentry Monitoring Services or Devices from the Default Site, since there is nowhere for them to go.

 

Configure a New Site

Select the "New" button. This opens the Add/Edit Site window. Enter the Name and Description for the new site in the fields provided. When finished Click the "OK" button.  The Sites list will include the new site so connections can be added to it.

 

Edit a Site or Its Configuration

To edit an existing site, click on the desired site in the "Sites" list.  If you wish to edit the site properties, click the "Edit" button.  This will open the Add/Edit Site window and expose the site name and description.  When a site is selected, SQL Sentry Monitoring Services and connections can be added or removed from the site.

 

Save Site Configuration

When finished editing a site, click the Save button on the toolbar to commit any unsaved changes.

 

Delete Site Configuration

Select a site from the site list and click the Delete button.  The Delete Site confirmation box appears.

 

To delete the site, Click OK.  This will bring up the Save Changes Box.  Click Yes to confirm the deletion.

 

See also:

Watching Servers Across Domains