monitoring postgresql database

[lprikockis]

apologies if this is a silly question but I couldn't find a clear answer in the docs or on the forum...

in setting up monitoring for Postgresql (8.1), what database/user should I use in the jdbcURL/user/password fields of the configuration properties screen?

Does this user need to be a superuser to monitor all databases/tables on the server? Or do I need to set up individual configurations for each database I want to monitor on the same server? or am I missing the whole point of how postgresql monitoring is supposed to work????

any info beyond the terse "documentation" on the configuration screen itself would be appreciated.

thanks!

[excowboy]

Hi,

this is not a silly question.

User / password is a global setting for the Postgresql Server. If you want to monitor all DBs you'll need to setup a superuser.
You will definetly need access to the postgres-database and some relevant system tables like
pg_stat_database, pg_class, pg_stat_user_tables and maybe more.

HTH
Mirko

[lprikockis]

ok... that helps... so do I need to specify a specific database to log into and then I'll get results for only that database? or if the hyperic user has the superuser role, can I just specify e.g., template1 and get info on all the db's on that server?

The database I'm looking to monitor has somewhere upwards of 20 databases running on it. Primarily, I want to monitor the overall health of the postgresql instance at a high-level, but it would be nice to be able to drill down and get specific statistics on a particular database as well if needed.

[excowboy]

Sorry mate, the information I provided wasn't that correct.
I had a closer look on the Postgres Plugin. You have to create a Postgres Server within Hyperic HQ for every database you want to monitor manually. You have to setup a JDBC URL, a user and as password for every single database.
Hyperic HQ shows dabase specific performance data for every database like Blocks Read or Commits per Minute.

If you want to monitor the Postgres instance on a high level I advise you to deploy a Process service to monitor CPU usage, memory consumptions and logfiles.
http://support.hyperic.com/display/DOCSHQ30/Process+service

Mirko

> ok... that helps... so do I need to specify a
> specific database to log into and then I'll get
> results for only that database? or if the hyperic
> user has the superuser role, can I just specify e.g.,
> template1 and get info on all the db's on that
> server?
>
> The database I'm looking to monitor has somewhere
> upwards of 20 databases running on it. Primarily, I
> want to monitor the overall health of the postgresql
> instance at a high-level, but it would be nice to be
> able to drill down and get specific statistics on a
> particular database as well if needed.