Monitor a Windows server (Windows hosts of your database connections) by supplying the following connection details to Spotlight.

How to enter / edit connection details

Use a Spotlight Client to enter / edit connection details.

From the Spotlight Client

  1. Click Configure | Connections.
  2. Double click Add new connection.
  3. Fill in the connection details.

Connection details

Address

Specify the IP address, hostname, or URL of the Windows Server.

If the Windows Server is in a different domain to the Spotlight Diagnostic Server host then specify the address as a fully qualified address (for example, machine1.domain.company.corp). The connection may work intermittently if the address is not fully qualified.

Display Name

The display name of the Windows connection. The display name is used in all displays including the connection tree, connection lists, reports, tables, grids and charts, alarms, alarm actions, alarm descriptions, configuration files, template files, Heatmap and drilldowns.

The display name can be up to 255 characters long. Use letters and numbers. Do not use special characters like % and spaces in the display name. The display name is not case sensitive. The display name must be unique; no two Spotlight connections of the Windows connection type can have the same display name.

If you don’t create a display name then Spotlight uses the Windows Server address for display purposes.

Authentication

Specify the authentication for Spotlight to use to connect to the Windows server and retrieve performance data.

Select Use Diagnostic Server credentials to use the Windows user configured to run the Spotlight Diagnostic Server. You are required to select this option for the Windows Server that hosts the Spotlight Diagnostic Server. If you select this option and the Windows Server is remote from the Spotlight Diagnostic Server then ensure the Windows user running the Spotlight Diagnostic Server can access the Windows Server. (By default the Spotlight Diagnostic Server runs under the “Local System” account, which will not have privileges on a remote Windows Server). If you select this option and the Windows Server is in a different domain from the Spotlight Diagnostic Server then ensure the domain the Windows Server is in trusts the domain of the user running the Spotlight Diagnostic Server.

Alternatively, fill in the User and Password fields. Include the Windows domain in the user name. For example, “domain\johnsmith”, instead of “johnsmith”. The account must have the privileges required to retrieve server information, query the registry, and access WMI and performance monitor objects. An account with administrative rights to the Windows server allows this. If this is not feasible in your environment then the following instructions are provided: How to configure WMI with minimum required user permissions.

Retries

Set the number of times Spotlight should attempt to connect to the Windows Server before raising the Connection Failure alarm.

Virtualization details

Connection

If the Windows server is hosted by a virtual server then select the name of the virtual server.

Click Create to add a virtual server to the list. Select from:

VM Name

Select the name of the virtual machine from those hosted by the virtual server.

Alarms template

Select the alarms configuration template to apply to this connection.

Select from any of the Windows configuration templates that you have created through Configure Alarms or select Factory Settings Template to apply the Factory Settings shipped with Spotlight.

Test the connection

On entering / modifying connection details in the Spotlight Client, click Test to test the connection.

Troubleshooting

  • Verify that Spotlight has the correct address of the Windows server and appropriate authentication as documented above.
  • Verify the Windows Server fulfills the requirements of Spotlight.
  • Verify TCP Port 135 is open on the Windows server.
  • Verify the Windows server is in a domain. Spotlight cannot connect to Windows servers in a workgroup.
  • Verify WMI is working and returns data properly. The Spotlight Diagnostic Server uses WMI queries to retrieve performance counter information from the Windows Server. See Troubleshooting WMI.
  • Check the Spotlight Enterprise Release Notes for known issues.
Tags: connection_details