The IDERA Newsfeed is a new way for DBAs and managers to collaborate, share knowledge, and keep close tabs on your most critical SQL Server issues.

In the following list, you can find some basic components that can help you understand more about the terminology used in IDERA Newsfeed:

Activity Timeline

An activity timeline is a chronological graph that displays in the SQLDM Console, at the top of your Most Recent feed as well as on the walls of servers, your SQLDM application, and coworkers. It shows how many stories have been created over time, as well as when stories have caused the most interaction, allowing you to quickly identify the highest and lowest points of activity.

By identifying when activity spikes happened, you can discern when and where you should focus your attention. You can then drill down to the corresponding stories that occurred at specific points in time by selecting suspicious spikes in the timeline.

The activity timeline also lets you easily discover historical patterns, such as a repeating server issue, or return to a past event to see how it was resolved.

Choose whether you want to browse activity by day, month, or year, and then use the forward and backward arrows to scroll through the corresponding timeline.

When you hover over or tap on the activity timeline graph, a horizontal bar displays, pinpointing the exact point in time for which you are seeing activity. To change this point in time, select the bar and move it to the appropriate time.

An application is a tool, such as SQL Diagnostic Manager, that provides alerts and other event information about servers to the IDERA Newsfeed. This information is processed into status updates in your feed and on the wall of your server. To better understand the relationship between an application and its managed servers, learn how the IDERA Newsfeed works.

 In the Newsfeed navigation pane of the SQLDM Console, click Applications .

You can view information about your SQLDM application from the profile of an application or the Applications tab in the IDERA Newsfeed Platform Manager console.

From the info tab of the profile, you can see general information such as:

  • The profile name of the application, which you can use to mention the application in your posts and comments.
  • Who is responsible for administrating this application, the application owner.
  • Who is following this application, the followers.

From the Applications tab in the IDERA Newsfeed Platform Manager console, you can view statistics such as:

  • Date and time of the last published status update, the recent activity.
  • The total number of updates published since install.
  • The number of SQL Server instances monitored by this SQLDM application.

In the Newsfeed navigation pane of the SQLDM Console, click Applications , and then click the name of the SQLDM application whose wall you want to view. You do not have to follow the application to view its wall.

In the Newsfeed navigation pane of the SQLDM Console, click Applications , and then click Follow for each SQLDM application you want to follow.

Some applications, such as SQLDM, provide status updates and system alerts about the health of their components. For example, SQLDM will alert you when it detects an issue that involves the Collection Service or if the Repository was recently offline. Following an application lets you track these status updates from your feed.

Comment

Comments allow you to interact with an active story. Use comments for the following actions:

  • Update the status of a server to provide new troubleshooting data or confirm a previously applied fix.
  • Assign a task to your coworker.
  • Ask your coworkers questions about an application alert.

To add your comment to a story, select Comment in the story summary.

Whenever you click Like in a comment, your coworker is notified giving them  the opportunity to respond.  

A coworker is a teammate, manager, or coworker who has signed up with the IDERA Newsfeed. You can send invitations to anyone inside your SQL Server organization who also uses SQL Diagnostic Manager.

In the Newsfeed navigation pane of the SQLDM Console, click Coworkers .

No. Coworkers can be located in any geographic location, and own servers that you are responsible for monitoring.

You can interact with your coworkers by:

  • Follow coworkers so you can see their posts in your Most Recent feed.
  • Ask your coworker a question by posting on their wall.
  • Comment on posts shared by your coworkers.
  • Reply to comments coworkers have posted on stories.
  • Keep up-to-date when your coworker profile contact information changes.
  • Tag a coworker, mention them in a comment or post.

In the Newsfeed navigation pane of the SQLDM Console, click Coworkers , and then click the name of the coworker whose wall you want to view. You do not have to follow the coworker to view their wall.

In the Newsfeed navigation pane of the SQLDM Console, click Coworkers , and then click Follow for each coworker you want to follow.

Follow a coworker if you want to see their posts and related activity in your feed.

Followers are those coworkers who are following you or the servers you own. In turn, you can follow any coworker, server, or application whose posts and status updates interest you. Following someone or something makes it easy to keep up with recent activity and collaborate on specific issues.

When you choose to follow someone or something, you automatically begin to see their posts and status updates in your Most Recent feed. From the feed, you can easily:

  • Comment on posts and status updates from the people and servers you are following.
  • Like the posts and comments shared by your coworkers.
  • Bookmark stories originated by your coworker or by a server.

Each profile lists who is following that person or that server. You can always view stories, post questions, or post announcements to walls, even though you are not following them. You can choose to follow specific stories without following that coworker or server.

When you sign up with the IDERA Newsfeed, your account is automatically set up to follow your own posts. This inclusion allows you to see your posts in the context of the Most Recent feed, just as your posts will appear to your coworkers.

In the Newsfeed navigation pane of the SQLDM Console, click either Coworkers, Application , or SQL Servers . Then, click Follow located next to the name of the person or server you want to follow.

In the SQLDM Console, navigate to the Newsfeed, and click See All located next to Followers in the right pane. To go to a specific person's wall, click the appropriate thumbnail profile picture.

From the SQLdm Console, navigate to the Newsfeed, and then click See All next to Following in the right pane. To go to a specific wall, click the appropriate thumbnail profile picture.

You can follow specific stories shared by servers you are not following. You can also ignore specific stories shared by the servers you are following.

From the SQLDM Console, navigate to the wall of the server whose story you want to follow, find the story, and then click Follow in the story summary.

Like or Unlike

When you give a like to a post of a coworker you are following shares, it means that this information is important to you and you agree with the idea or the assessment.

To like a story, select Like in the story summary or tap Like on the action menu of the Wall view.

When you like a post, your coworker may be notified of your action, giving them the opportunity to respond. If you want to change your assessment later, you can select or tab Unlike the story.

Mention

You can tag a coworker or server in your post or comment by mentioning that person or thing. Mentioning a coworker lets you notify him or her of a task that needs to be done or a question you have. Mentioning a server lets you point out a problem, or draw correlations between similar events on different servers.

Mention someone or something can also have the following effects:

  • Notifies your coworker that he or she has been mentioned, giving him or her the opportunity to respond.
  • Notifies the owner of the server about your post or comment.
  • Displays the corresponding story when coworkers search for posts or comments about a particular server or person.

To mention a coworker or server, type @ and then the name of the person or the name of the computer . The feed will automatically match the name to available coworkers and servers, refine the match criteria as you type. An available coworker is any person who has a Newsfeed account whereas an available server is any server that is being managed by an application.

You can mention someone or something "inline", in the context of the comment or post you want to make.

My Bookmarks

A bookmark is a story that you consider important and you want to keep track closely as it evolves. Bookmarking helps you perform the following actions:

  • Set specific stories aside for quick and easy access.
  • Create a list of the top servers or issues you want to track today or this week.
  • Keep a permanent copy of the selected story.

When you bookmark a story, it is copied to the Bookmarks view. The IDERA Newsfeed Platform does not groom bookmarked stories. Using bookmarks, you can keep an ongoing, historical record of mission-critical issues and their solutions.

You can bookmark any story displayed in your Most Recent feed or on the wall of a coworker or server you are following.

To copy a story to your Bookmarks view, select Bookmark in the story summary. A copy of the story remains in your feed. Bookmarked stories are not groomed.

You can interact with your Bookmarks view in much the same way you interact with your feed. Your bookmarked stories are listed in chronological order, displaying the most recently updated story first.

You can scroll through your bookmarks, review updates, and add your comments. You can also remove a bookmark from this view by selecting Remove Bookmark in the story summary.

In the Newsfeed navigation pane of the SQLDM Console, click Bookmarks .

To remove a story from your Bookmarks view, select Remove Bookmark in the story summary.

A copy of the story remains in your feed until the next grooming job starts.

My Directory

Your directory is a list of all the applications, servers, and coworkers registered with the IDERA Newsfeed. You can use the directory to go directly to the wall of the person or server you are following.

In the SQLDM Console, the directory is integrated into the Newsfeed pane. In SQLDM Mobile, the directory is a unique view. In either interface, you can browse the listings or search for the specific people and things you want to find.

In the Newsfeed navigation pane of the SQLDM Console, click SQL Servers, Coworkers, or Applications.

 My Favorites

Favorites are those people and things you already follow but want easy access to their walls. By marking a coworker or server as a favorite, the IDERA Newsfeed Platform creates a shortcut to that person or thing so that you no longer need to search for them or use your directory to look them up.

In the SQLDM Console,shortcuts to your favorites are listed in Newsfeed navigation pane. In the SQLDM Mobile interface, shortcuts to your favorites are displayed on the SQLDM home page.

Consider limiting your favorites list to important people and servers, such as your team members and the mission-critical instances for which you are responsible.

In the Newsfeed navigation pane of the SQLDM Console, click the appropriate person or thing from your favorites list.

From the Newsfeed navigation pane of the SQLDM Console, click Edit Favorites, and then choose the appropriate action for each person or thing in the list.

 

Your Most Recent feed is a real-time aggregation of stories initiated by the people and things you are following, including the latest interactions and updates. You can access this feed from both the SQLDM Console and SQLDM Mobile.

You can declutter your feed by unfollowing a story that is no longer important to you.

In the SQLDM Console, the Most Recent feed displays a total of 200 stories, from most recent to oldest, in lists of 20 stories at a time. You can interact with a story from within the feed by clicking one of the actions or links available in the story summary.

The story summary provides a succinct synopsis of the story's evolution and activity, including the original post or status update, a count of how many comments and updates have been made so far, as well as links to more information and the actions you can take.

From most stories, you can:

  • Like the story.
  • Expand the comments and updates to see the full history of the story (in SQLDM Mobile, tap the story to see details).
  • Change whether the story is bookmarked (in SQLDM Mobile, this is available from action menu on the Story details view).
  • Comment the post or the story.
  • Delete your comments.

By default, the Most Recent feed lists all of the most recent posts and status updates shared by the people and things you are following. This feed represents the state of your enterprise as of now.

You can filter the Most Recent feed to focus on stories for people, applications, or servers. You can also use the activity timeline to focus the feed on what happened during a particular point in time.

Log in to IDERA Newsfeed from the SQLDM Console. By default, the Most Recent feed displays in the right pane.

My Notifications

Notifications keep you up-to-date on the latest activity initiated by the people and things you follow, even when you are not logged in to the IDERA Newsfeed or SQLDM Mobile.

You can control what information you get and how you get it. Edit your notification settings to choose which activities are important to you and whether you want to receive an email when the SQLDM Mobile & Newsfeed Service sends you the corresponding notification.

To customize which notifications you receive, click Edit Settings in My Notifications view or change your Account Settings.

You receive notifications based on the notification settings you have enabled. By default, the SQLDM Mobile & Newsfeed Service generates notifications for most types of activity. Each time the specified activity happens, the service notifies you in "real time" by updating the My Notifications view and sending you an email.

Note that several notification settings rely on you, or someone else, to interact with a post or status update.

Use My Notifications view to review notifications that have accumulated over the last 7 days. This view summarizes your notifications per type of activity per day. Most notifications will include links to the servers and coworkers who initiated the activity.

In the Newsfeed navigation pane of the SQLDM Console, click Notifications and then click Edit Settings . On My Notification Settings view, enable email notifications.

By default, the SQLDM Mobile & Newsfeed Service is configured to send you email notifications. If you are not receiving notifications when you think you should, verify the  IDERA Newsfeed Platform configuration.

In the Newsfeed navigation pane of the SQLDM Console, click Notifications .

Depending on your SQLDM alert configuration and your IDERA Newsfeed notification settings, you may receive more than one email that notifies you about a server alert. To avoid duplicate emails about the same alert notification, change one of these settings:

  • Disable all email notifications.
  • Deselect the Posts a status update for something you own notification setting for application activity.
  • Modify the Send an email to Alert Response setting in SQLDM by either disabling this action or changing the target recipients.

Post

A post is an announcement or status update that is shared by a coworker, or shared by you about a coworker or server. All posts shared by coworkers you follow are displayed in chronological order, from most recent to oldest, in your Most Recent feed.

You can like, bookmark, or comment on any post in your feed. This interaction is considered activity. When a post has activity, it becomes a story that has a specific beginning (the original post) and end (the resolution). Previous stories and their activity can be tracked using the activity timeline available at the top of your feed and the wall of the coworker.

Profiles

Each profile consists of a wall and an information page, providing a centralized location that displays all the data about a specific person or thing.

Each server, application, and coworkers has a profile. From their profiles, you can:

  • See who owns a particular server or application.
  • Change the profile settings for an application or server.
  • Look up an email address or a mobile phone number.
  • Verify the name of an application.

An application profile consists of its wall and an information page, providing a centralized location that displays all the data about a specific application.

The application profile lets you:

  • See who owns this application.
  • Review stories and status updates posted to its wall.
  • Change the profile settings for the application.
  • Verify the name and owner of an application.

A coworker profile consists of its and an information page, providing a centralized location that displays all the data about a specific person with whom you work.

The coworker profile lets you:

  • Review stories posted to his or her wall.
  • Verify contact information, such as email addresses and phone numbers.
  • Look up the coworker's profile name so you can mention him or her when using SQLDM Mobile.

Your profile consists of your wall and an information page, providing a centralized location that displays all the data about you.

Your profile lets you:

  • Review stories that you and your coworkers have posted on your wall.
  • Change your profile picture.
  • Update your contact information, such your mobile phone number.
  • Update your company information.

To update other data, such as your email address or the profile name that coworkers use to mention you in SQLDM Mobile, change your account settings.

Server Profile

A server profile consists of its wall  and an information page, providing a centralized location that displays all the data about a specific server.

The server profile lets you:

  • See who owns this server.
  • Review stories and status updates posted to its wall.
  • Change the profile settings for the server.
  • Verify the name of the server and owner.
  • Check virtual machine properties (when applicable — this data is available in the SQLDM Console Newsfeed pane and in SQLDM Mobile on tablet devices).

A server is a SQL Server instance that is monitored by a SQL Diagnostic Manager (SQLDM) application.

In the Newsfeed navigation pane of the SQLDM Console, click SQL Servers.

No. Servers can be located in any geographic location. Within the IDERA Newsfeed or SQLDM Mobile, you can access any server that you would normally be able to monitor using the SQLDM Console.

You can interact with your monitored servers by:

  • Following servers so you can see their status updates in your Most Recent feed.
  • Announcing (un)scheduled maintenance activities on the wall of the server so that coworkers know when the server will be unavailable.
  • Commenting on server status updates to share your latest findings about an issue.
  • Marking the server as a favorite so you can easily and quickly access it.
  • Keeping up-to-date when the profile information of a server changes 
  • Tagging a server by mentioning it in a comment.

In the Newsfeed navigation pane of the SQLDM Console, click SQL Servers , and then click the name of the SQL Server instance whose wall you want to view. You do not have to follow the server to view its wall.

In the Newsfeed navigation pane of the SQLDM Console, click SQL Servers , and then click Follow for each SQL Server instance you want to follow.

Follow a server if you want to see its status updates and related activity in your feed. To get notified about specific alerts and events concerning the server, assign yourself as the server owner.

Status Updates

A status update is an event, alert, or other message published by an application for a server it is managing. All status updates published by applications about servers you follow are displayed in chronological order, from most recent to oldest, in your Most Recent feed. As more information about the event or alert is collected, the application updates the original status.

You can bookmark or comment on any status update in your feed. This interaction is considered activity. When a status update has activity, it becomes a story. Previous stories and their activity can be tracked using the activity timeline available at the top of your feed.

Story

A story is a post or status update that is experiencing activity. Stories track the life cycle of a post, from its origin to the last activity. For example, when a coworker has commented on a post, or a server has a new status update about the same alert, those activities are added to the story and displayed in chronological order under the original post. As this activity continues, the story is updated to reflect its current state.

Stories display both in your Most Recent feed and on the corresponding server and coworker walls. In your feed, you will see only those stories originated by the applications, coworkers, and servers you are following. You can also choose to follow specific stories shared on the walls of coworkers and monitored servers you are not following.

You can like, comment on, or bookmark any post or server status update.

Over time, stories are groomed from the SQLDM Mobile Repository. You can configure the age limit at which to groom old stories.

Walls

Walls display chronological lists, from most recent to oldest, of shared posts and status updates.

Each server, application, and coworker has a wall. From their walls, you can:

  • Share an announcement or ask a question.
  • Find a specific story.
  • Track activity bursts along the Activity Timeline.
  • Follow or unfollow this person or thing.
  • Add this person or thing to your favorites.
  • See who is following this person or thing.
  • See who and what your coworkers are following.
  • Use Helpful Links to complete your profile or follow coworkers.

An application wall shows the activity for a specific application. Use the wall to scroll through a chronological list of status updates, from most recent to oldest, that have been shared by this application. You can also use the wall to communicate to anyone following the application.

The application wall lets you:

  • Share an announcement or ask a question about this application.
  • Find a specific story initiated by the application or someone following the application.
  • Track bursts of application activity along the Activity Timeline.
  • Follow or unfollow this application.
  • Add this application to your favorites.
  • See who is following this application.
  • Use Helpful Links to complete other tasks.

A coworker wall shows the activity for a specific coworker. Use the wall to scroll through a chronological list of posts, from most recent to oldest, that have been shared by this person. You can also use the wall to communicate to anyone following this person.

The coworker wall lets you:

  • Share an announcement or ask a question about this person.
  • Follow or unfollow this person.
  • Follow a story this person shared.
  • Find a specific story shared by a specific person.
  • Track bursts of activity about this person along the Activity Timeline.
  • Add this person to your favorites.
  • See who is following this person.
  • See who and what this person follows.
  • Use Helpful Links to invite other coworkers to join the conversation.

Your wall shows the activity initiated by you. Use the wall to scroll through a chronological list of posts, from most recent to oldest, that have been shared by you and anyone who has posted to your wall. You can also use the wall to communicate to anyone following you.

Your wall lets you:

  • Share an announcement or ask a question of your followers.
  • Find a specific story initiated by you or a coworker who posted to your wall.
  • Track your activity bursts along the Activity Timeline.
  • See who is following you.
  • Review who and what you are following.
  • Use Helpful Links to invite other coworkers to join the conversation.

A server wall shows the activity for a specific server. Use the wall to scroll through a chronological list of status updates, from most recent to oldest, that have been shared by this server. You can also use the wall to communicate to anyone following the server.

The server wall lets you:

  • Share an announcement or ask a question about this server.
  • Find a specific story shared by the server or someone following the server.
  • Follow or unfollow this server.
  • Follow a story this server initiated.
  • Unfollow a story, removing it from your Most Recent feed.
  • Track bursts of server activity along the Activity Timeline.
  • Add this server to your favorites.
  • See who is following this server.
  • Use Helpful Links to complete other tasks.

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