Microsoft has rolled out a new management pack for SQL Server vNext. The company says the release is available in public preview. Customers can download the update and use it now and take advantage of a number of new features. Microsoft is also asking customers to give feedback on services and the build.
System Center Management Pack (Community Technical Preview 1) for SQL Server vNext is available at the download center now. Microsoft says the preview allows users to monitor to discover SQL Server vNext Database Engines. This release is compatible with both Operations Manager 2012 R2 and Operations Manager 2016.
If you are unfamiliar with SQL Server vNext, Microsoft describes it as: “SQL Server vNext represents a major step towards making SQL Server a platform that gives you choices of development languages, data types, on-premises and in the cloud, and across operating systems by bringing the power of SQL Server to Linux, Linux-based Docker containers, and Windows.”
Microsoft adds that the System Center Management Pack was built from the ground up. The build comes with monitoring for configuration, availability, and performance. Thresholds are set up for workflows and knowledge base articles are added to help customers.
The build comes with monitoring for configuration, availability, and performance. Thresholds are set up for workflows and knowledge base articles are added to help customers.
New Features for SQL Server vNext Management Preview
Some of the new features included for the SQL Server vNext preview:
- X-platform opportunities came true: monitor SQL vNext on Linux and SQL vNext on Windows!
- Agentless monitoring is now available along with traditional agent monitoring. The monitoring workload can be transferred to management servers included in the SQL Server vNext Monitoring Pool.
- Usage of scripts is discontinued in favor of .Net Framework modules, which enables more efficient resource usage.
- For getting information on health and performance, SQL Server Dynamic Management Views and Functions are now used instead of WMI calls. This provides better efficiency and connectivity.
The management pack allows monitoring integration for monitoring scenarios. Users are also getting new dashboards, diagrams, and a number of views. Those views include state, performance, and alert views.
