Check the connection details using the Spotlight Configuration Tool
Open the Configuration Tool. You will find the Configuration Tool on the desktop of the computer where Spotlight Cloud is installed. Double click the desktop icon.
SQL Server address
Check the address is a valid server name, server instance name or IP address.
For a Microsoft Cluster Server (MSCS) use the virtual name of the cluster.
Authentication
The connection will fail if the account permissions are insufficient to allow Spotlight to collect the data it needs.
When Use Diagnostic Server credentials is selected then the account running the Spotlight Diagnostic Server is used to connect to the SQL Server. Ensure this account is trusted by the SQL Server.
When filling in the User and Password fields, ensure the database user has sufficient account permissions to retrieve performance data from the SQL Server instance and host by WMI. Typically the account will be a member of the sysadmin server role. It could be a SQL Server login (such as ‘sa’). Alternatively an account can be configured with the necessary privileges as documented in the online help.
Connection
Verify the SQL Server host is in a domain. Spotlight cannot monitor a SQL Server database when the Windows host is in a workgroup.
WMI Operability
Verify WMI is working and returns data properly. If WMI queries fail then a Windows Connection Failure alarm is raised on the third successive failed attempt, not on every failed attempt.
Verify TCP port 135 is open on the Windows server host.
UDP port 1434
If the SQL Server instance is hosted on a Windows server and UDP port 1434 is closed then the port number must be included in the address used to connect Spotlight to the SQL Server instance.
Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC)
You may need to upgrade Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) on the Spotlight Diagnostic Server host. More information is available from the Microsoft Download Center (search for MDAC).
SQL Server availability
Verify the SQL Server instance is available and accessible over the network.
The alarm will clear automatically if the error is due to the service being down or network problems and the error condition goes away.