More and more businesses are making use of SQL databases in general, and Microsoft’s SQL Server platform in particular, in order to power the various sites, apps and services which are critical to their day to day operations.
As usage rises, it is necessary to be aware of the importance of server monitoring, and also have a familiarity with the issues that can arise if it is overlooked.
To that end, here are a handful of reasons that SQL Server monitoring matters to modern businesses so that you can justify investing in it yourself.
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Preemptive troubleshooting is only possible through persistent monitoring
As noted in an article by SentryOne, SQL Server monitoring “provides the deep analytics necessary to perform root cause analysis of the most challenging performance problems”. Or to put it another way, you can only fix and prevent issues if you are always on the lookout for them.
Plenty of databases perform sub-optimally simply because there is no awareness that complications exist in the first place. Conversely if you monitor an SQL Server instance over time, you will be able to build up a picture of how it should be performing, so that you are in a position to take note when it fails to hit its desired performance metrics.
A business that can preemptively address potentially serious flaws in the way a server is configured can therefore save themselves a lot of time and hassle further down the line. Thus carrying out regular monitoring and maintenance will become second nature, rather than being something that you ignore until some large scale disaster finally erupts.
Automation further eases the strain
The next advantage of SQL Server monitoring tools and solutions available in the modern market is that they empower the organizations and individuals that use them through automation.
Rather than requiring that administrators are constantly vigilant to the smallest signs of trouble, they can provide alerts that indicate any issues with no need for manual scrutiny of things like wait stats and query composition.
For businesses with limited resources, this kind of automation can be transformative, letting you make the most of the resources at your disposal while simultaneously avoiding the need for any compromises in terms of ensuring server uptime, availability and performance consistency.
Accessibility improves collaboration & streamlines problem solving
Following on from the benefits of automation, modern monitoring solutions are also usually accessed through a browser-based interface, which means that anyone with a web-enabled device can access the dashboard and see what is going on from moment to moment.
This is hugely helpful when it comes to collaboration between colleagues in different teams, across different departments and even with third party contractors and support providers who may ultimately need to have access to the nuts and bolts of the server infrastructure.
It also gives administrators flexibility, letting them keep tabs on performance and track evolving issues while they are on the move, rather than requiring them to be tethered to a particular terminal or a set device to achieve this.
Monitoring performance today lets you plan for tomorrow
One of the most important aspects of SQL Server monitoring is that it can not just show you the state of your database as it stands right now, but also give you the information you need to determine how long it will remain an adequate asset for your organization.
Storage monitoring is the most obvious example of this, as you should be able to use your findings here to plan ahead for any future upgrade that will be required to meet the growing needs of your business. However, it can also apply to other hardware assets, security and even the networking, since of course all of these will be put under greater pressure as server usage rises, and at some point an upgrade or a complete migration to a different platform will be a necessity.
This all feeds into the idea that modern businesses cannot afford to get complacent or sit still, but always need to have one eye on the future so that they are prepared to surmount the hurdles that lay in their path, rather than tripping over them.
