A quick glance behind, and ahead
Last time, we introduced the Error Log Search module.
This time we’ll look at the Wait Statistics module, and cover some frequently asked questions about Minion Enterprise.
The Wait Statistics Module
The Index Stats module collects detailed index information into the Minion Enterprise repository. It gets all data from sys.indexes on your managed servers; plus, the list of indexed columns (and included columns); and more. This allows you to perform detailed, enterprise-wide index analysis.
The Wait Statistics module collects key wait statistics from each managed server, saving them to the Collector.WaitStats table.
The Collector.WaitStatsCurrent view shows the latest collection of wait stats data (from sys.dm_os_wait_stats), including the percentage of the WaitType for each collection period.
What can we do with this? Use the PercenResourceWaitTime column in Collector.WaitStats (or the Collector.WaitStatsCurrent view) to see the percentage of the WaitType for each collection period. You can use this column as a basis for your custom alerts. If a performance condition arises, a specific waitType is likely to increase in percentage from one collection to the next, so look for those increases.
Objects in the Wait Statistics Module
Tables
- Collector.WaitStats – Holds the collected wait stats data pulled back from each server.
Views
- Collector.WaitStatsCurrent – Provides the most recent collection of wait statistics results.
- Collector.WaitStatsPrevious – Provides the next-to-most recent collection of wait statistics results.
ME Frequently Asked Questions
How is Minion Enterprise licensed?
Unlike other repository products, the ME repository is free. Licensing is only for each managed instance of SQL Server or for each Windows server you manage.
Why doesn’t ME have a GUI?
In short, GUIs slow you down. ME was specifically designed to be as fast as possible and to help you manage your entire environment. And you simply can’t do stuff like that in a GUI. Developing a GUI for ME would greatly slow you down.
What’s required to install ME on each managed server?
Nothing at all. Minion Enterprise does not install any objects on managed servers.
What is the benefit of managing a Windows server that doesn’t have SQL Server installed?
The short answer is: operating system data, drive space, drive shares, and service properties.
For Windows servers, Minion Enterprise collects operating system data in the Collector.ServersOSDetail table. This table includes some really useful data, including:
- Windows version
- Install date
- Last boot up date
- Free physical memory
- Free space in paging files
- Total virtual memory size
- OS architecture
- Serial number
- System directory
Drive Space: ME also collects disk space information in the Collector.DriveSpace table, and alerts on low disk space.  For these alerts, you can change fine grained exceptions and deferments. Note that Minion Enterprise collects data for mount points in addition to drive letters.
Drive shares: ME collects information about shared drives – including name, path, user limit, state, and access data.
Service properties: The ME Service Properties module collects information about service properties, including the startup account, service status, and the start mode. Minion Enterprise alerts on stopped SQL services as part of this module, but you can easily set up custom alerts on other services. You can also use this information to assess the impact of an account password change.
Can I write my own custom modules?
Yes. You can most certainly develop your own processes and fold them into our repository. You can write your own alerts, views, stored procedures, etc and look at the data and report on it any way you like. And if you want to write your own collections, then you’re welcome to do so.
If there’s something you can’t do, and you think should be part of the product, write us at https://minionware.desk.com/.
Wait Stats and FAQ…done! Write us with questions and comments any time at https://minionware.desk.com/, and get more information on our Minion Enterprise YouTube playlist.
Next time we’ll talk about the Databases module.