The Configure Authentication window of the Add Servers wizard allows you to select the authentication credentials SQL Diagnostic Manager uses when collecting performance and statistics information from your SQL Server instances. You can also set encryption to secure the connection.
After selecting a connection type and encryption, click Next to continue.
Access the Add Servers wizard
You can open the Add Servers wizard from the SQL Diagnostic Manager Console menu by selecting 
> Manage Servers and clicking Add in the Manage Servers window.
Select a connection type
SQL Diagnostic Manager provides various options for connecting to your SQL Server instances and supports different types of authentication connections.
Windows Authentication
Windows Authentication is the recommended collection type as SQL Diagnostic Manager uses many SQL trace statements that require a trusted connection. When you choose to use Windows Authentication, the SQLdm Collection Service uses the running account to connect to the SQL Server instance.
In this case, the server name is the only requirement to complete your configuration.
From SQL Diagnostic Manager 12.0, you can monitor across untrusted domains by selecting the Alternative Windows domain/user authorization.
SQL Server authentication
SQL Server Authentication is the typical authentication used for various database systems and requires a username and a password. You can use this type of authentication when using shared servers to access different databases or using a remote computer or connection.
Entra ID authentication
Entra ID authentication is also used with Windows Server applications deployed on domain-joined virtual machines (VMs) for secure management.
You must set up your Azure profile configuration to use this authentication method. To do so, please follow the steps in the Azure profile for the Entra ID Authentication guide.
When a user selects Entra ID Authentication, an Azure Profile must be selected.
Select encryption
SQL Diagnostic Manager allows you to designate encryption methods used to encrypt data between the SQLdm Collection Service and the monitored SQL Server instance:
- Encrypt Connection.
- Trust Server Certificate (Bypass Certificate Validation): Only available after you select Encrypt Connection.