SQL Diagnostic Manager allows you to monitor your clustered SQL Server environment including alerts when a failover occurs and when the preferred active cluster node changes.
An important way to track clustering events using SQL Diagnostic Manager is through the usage of cluster alerts.
Cluster Failover Alert
By default, this alert is enabled and set to Critical. When a failover occurs, SQL Diagnostic Manager generates an alert and then performs one of the following actions:
- Clears after 12 hours if no additional alerts are generated on the cluster.
- Generates an additional alert if another cluster failover occurs.
- Clears instantly when manually cleared.
Cluster Active Node Alert
The preferred node. You can change this setting on the Cluster Settings tab of the Monitored SQL Server Properties dialog box. The Cluster Active Node is triggered when SQL Diagnostic Manager detects that a clustered SQL Server instance is running on a node other than the configured preferred node.
Best practices for using the Cluster Alerts
Choose the alert that best reflects your environment and setup notifications for it. Disable the other alert if it is not necessary.