Werk #15842: Enhanced MS SQL Server monitoring

With this release MS SQL Server is monitored using new plugin and new GUI.

The old plugin is still supported but are considered deprecated.

Key Enhancements out-of-the-box:

• Configuration flexibility: The plugin can be configured through a YAML config file for any edition and/or a graphical user interface (GUI) for enterprise edition or better.
• Cross platform: The plugin can be deployed on Linux and Windows.
• Enhanced monitoring capabilities: Supports monitoring of remote databases on both Linux and Windows hosts, in addition to local monitoring on Windows hosts.
• Customizable monitoring sections: Sections are now selectable and configurable
• Customizable SQL statements: you may change SQL statement either manually(place file in mssql sub directory in config dir) or using Custom files rule in GUI.
• Multi-instance support: Enables the selection of different instances for monitoring. Every instance can be configured separately
• Multi-host support: possible to monitor databases on various hosts using one deployed plugin.
• Security enhancements: Limited support for certificates is now available.
• Asynchronous operation: Any section with exception instances can be set up for asynchronous operation.
• Piggyback: It's possible to direct the output of a plugin to a different host, rather than to the host that retrieves the data.
• Other improvements:
  • Automatic detection of instances is possible for any Windows host, local and remote, depending on SQL Server Setup.
  • Full logging support including rotation and file limits
  • Limit for maximal connection counts
  • Cache time and timeout can be configured too

With regard to the old plug-in, there are also a few restrictions at the moment: - The database instances must be accessible via TCP/IP. - If several databases are running on a system, each using their own IP addresses, these must be explicitly specified in the configuration of the agent plug-in, as the addresses and ports are currently not yet found automatically.

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