P21 - Monitor SQL Server 2022 with PRTG (Setup & SQL Service Sensors)

PRTG P21 – How to Monitor SQL Server 2022 with PRTG (Setup & SQL Service Sensors)

In production environments, SQL Server is one of the most critical infrastructure components. If SQL stops running, applications fail immediately — from ERP systems to internal tools like Snipe-IT.

In this tutorial, you will learn how to properly Monitor SQL Server 2022 with PRTG, including:

Creating a secure monitoring login
Granting minimum required permissions
Monitoring SQL services using SSH Script Advanced
Detecting SQL Agent failures
Setting proper alert thresholds

The goal is simple: detect SQL service failures before users report system downtime.

🛠 Step 1 – Create Monitoring User for SQL Server

We will create a dedicated monitoring account with minimum privileges.

Create Admin User for Initial Configuration

SQL Server admin:

User: admin_sql
Pass: Abc@1234

View SQL Version

sqlcmd -S localhost -U admin_sql -P ‘Abc@1234’ -C

SELECT @@VERSION;
GO

Create Monitoring Login

💻

filename.bash

sqlcmd -S localhost -U admin_sql -P 'Abc@1234' -C
SELECT @@VERSION;
GO

USE master;
GO
CREATE LOGIN prtg_sql WITH PASSWORD = 'StrongPassword!';
GRANT VIEW SERVER STATE TO prtg_sql;
GRANT VIEW ANY DATABASE TO prtg_sql;
GO

This configuration is enough to:

• Read performance
• Do not destroy DB
• VIEW SERVER STATE → enough for all databases

The monitoring account cannot modify or delete databases, ensuring security.

🖥 Step 2 – Add Device in PRTG and Configure Credentials

Add the SQL Server host into PRTG.

Enable SSH

Make sure SSH is enabled on the SQL Server host (Linux-based SQL Server).

PRTG will use SSH Script Advanced to monitor services.

Enable SQL Credential

Inside PRTG device settings:

User: prtg_sql
Pass: StrongPassword!

This allows PRTG to query SQL performance safely.

📡 Step 3 – Add Sensors

We now configure service monitoring.

🟢 #1 SQL Service Monitoring

👉 Use SSH Script Advanced

Monitor services:

• MSSQLSERVER: mssql-server
• SQLSERVERAGENT (if using job /backup): mssql-server-agent

📌 Why This Is Critical

• SQL fails → Snipe-IT crashes
• SQL Agent fails → backup doesn’t run

Monitoring both services ensures:

Database availability
Scheduled job execution
Backup integrity

Command to Check Service Status

systemctl is-active mssql-server
systemctl is-active mssql-server-agent

🧩 Step 1 – Create the Monitoring Script

Create a folder for PRTG scripts:

sudo mkdir -p /var/prtg/scriptsxml

Create the script file:

sudo nano /var/prtg/scriptsxml/check_mssql_services.sh

Script Content

💻

filename.bash

#!/bin/bash

FAILED=0
FAILED_LIST=""

# Default values
SQL_STATUS=1
AGENT_STATUS=2   # 2 = not installed

# Check SQL Server
if systemctl list-unit-files | grep -q "^mssql-server"; then
  if systemctl is-active --quiet mssql-server; then
    SQL_STATUS=0
  else
    SQL_STATUS=1
    FAILED=$((FAILED+1))
    FAILED_LIST="$FAILED_LIST mssql-server"
  fi
else
  SQL_STATUS=2
fi

# Check SQL Server Agent
if systemctl list-unit-files | grep -q "^mssql-server-agent"; then
  if systemctl is-active --quiet mssql-server-agent; then
    AGENT_STATUS=0
  else
    AGENT_STATUS=1
    FAILED=$((FAILED+1))
    FAILED_LIST="$FAILED_LIST mssql-server-agent"
  fi
else
  AGENT_STATUS=2
fi

# Message
if [ "$FAILED" -eq 0 ]; then
  MSG="SQL services are running"
else
  MSG="Service down:$FAILED_LIST"
fi

cat <<EOF
<prtg>
  <result>
    <channel>SQL Server Service</channel>
    <value>$SQL_STATUS</value>
    <unit>Custom</unit>
    <valuelookup>prtg.standardlookups.yesno.stateyesok</valuelookup>
  </result>

  <result>
    <channel>SQL Server Agent</channel>
    <value>$AGENT_STATUS</value>
    <unit>Custom</unit>
    <valuelookup>prtg.standardlookups.yesno.stateyesok</valuelookup>
  </result>

  <text>$MSG</text>
</prtg>
EOF

exit 0

🔐 Access Control and Testing

Grant execution permission:

sudo chmod +x /var/prtg/scriptsxml/check_mssql_services.sh

Test manually:

sudo /var/prtg/scriptsxml/check_mssql_services.sh

🔍 Meaning of Each Channel

Channel	Value	Meaning
SQL Server Service	0	OK
SQL Server Service	1	DOWN
SQL Server Agent	0	OK
SQL Server Agent	1	DOWN
SQL Server Agent	2	Agent does not exist

This logic ensures accurate monitoring without false alarms.

🖥 Step 2 – Add Sensor in PRTG

Add a new sensor:

Type: SSH Script Advanced
Script: check_mssql_services.sh

PRTG will automatically read XML output and create channels.

🚨 Step 3 – Set Alarm Threshold

Configure alert thresholds carefully.

If SQL Agent is enabled:

Set threshold to trigger when value > 0.5

If SQL Agent is not enabled and not monitored:

Set threshold to 3

This prevents unnecessary alerts in environments without SQL Agent.

🎯 Why This Monitoring Design Works

When you properly Monitor SQL Server, you must detect:

SQL service failure
Agent failure
Backup interruption
Application crash risk

This approach provides:

Lightweight monitoring
Clear service state visibility
Immediate failure detection
Minimal resource usage

Instead of monitoring every internal metric, this focuses on what truly matters: service availability.

🚀 Final Thoughts

To effectively Monitor SQL Server 2022 with PRTG, you need:

Secure monitoring login
Minimum required permissions
SSH Script Advanced service monitoring
Proper threshold configuration

With this setup, your SQL Server monitoring becomes:

Secure
Efficient
Production-ready
Enterprise-grade

You now have a reliable method to detect SQL service failures before they impact your applications.

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