Microsoft SQL Server

The Microsoft SQL Server source collects metrics and logs from a SQL Server instance running on Windows. Metrics are scraped from the local instance with the OpenTelemetry sqlserver receiver, which reads Windows performance counters and Dynamic Management Views. Logs are collected from the SQL Server error log through a Bindplane log plugin. Each signal can be enabled independently with the Choose Telemetry Type control.

Supported Telemetry Types

Platform	Metrics	Logs	Traces
Windows	✓	✓

Prerequisites

This source runs on a collector installed on the Windows host where SQL Server is running.

• Run the collector as administrator. The sqlserver receiver reads Windows performance counters. The collector process must run with administrator privileges to access all counters used for metrics.
• Monitoring login for direct connection. When the receiver connects directly to the instance, the login must hold at least one of CREATE DATABASE, ALTER ANY DATABASE, or VIEW ANY DATABASE, plus server state viewing rights: VIEW SERVER STATE on SQL Server prior to 2022, or VIEW SERVER PERFORMANCE STATE on SQL Server 2022 and later. Use a dedicated least-privilege monitoring login rather than a high-privilege account. See GRANT Server Permissions (Transact-SQL) for the grant syntax.
• Error log access for logs. To collect logs, the collector must have read access to the SQL Server error log on the host.

Configuration

General

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
Choose Telemetry Type	Telemetry Selector	No	["Logs", "Metrics"]	Which signals this source collects. Valid values: Logs, Metrics.

Logs

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
Start At	Enum: beginning, end	No	end	Start reading logs from beginning or end. Relevant when Choose Telemetry Type includes Logs. Advanced.
Parse	Boolean	No	true	Parses the log fields into structured data. Relevant when Choose Telemetry Type includes Logs. Advanced.

Metrics

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
Metric Filtering	Metrics	No	(empty)	Selects which metrics to disable. Disabled metrics are not collected. Relevant when Choose Telemetry Type includes Metrics. Advanced.
Collection Interval	Integer	No	60	How often (seconds) to scrape for metrics. Relevant when Choose Telemetry Type includes Metrics. Advanced.

Available metric categories for Metric Filtering: Batch, Lock, Page, Transaction, and User. Each category groups the related sqlserver.* metrics that can be toggled off.

Examples

Collect metrics and logs from the local instance

This source collects both signals with the defaults: it scrapes metrics every 60 seconds and reads the error log from the end.

apiVersion: bindplane.observiq.com/v1
kind: Source
metadata:
  name: microsoft-sql-server
spec:
  type: sqlserver
  parameters:
    - name: telemetry_types
      value:
        - Logs
        - Metrics
    - name: start_at
      value: end
    - name: parse
      value: true
    - name: collection_interval
      value: 60

Metrics only with a longer interval

To collect metrics alone and reduce scrape frequency, enable only Metrics and raise the collection interval.

apiVersion: bindplane.observiq.com/v1
kind: Source
metadata:
  name: microsoft-sql-server
spec:
  type: sqlserver
  parameters:
    - name: telemetry_types
      value:
        - Metrics
    - name: collection_interval
      value: 300

Configuration Tips

• Set Start At to beginning for a one-time backfill of existing error log entries; leave it at end to collect only new entries going forward.
• Use Metric Filtering to disable metric categories you do not need (for example Batch or Lock) to reduce metric volume.
• Raise Collection Interval on busy hosts where 60-second scraping adds noticeable load.

Troubleshooting

Metrics are missing or performance counters are empty

Symptoms: no sqlserver.* metrics appear, or only a subset are reported.

Solutions:

1. Confirm the collector process runs as administrator. Windows performance counters require administrator privileges.
2. Verify the monitoring login holds VIEW SERVER STATE (or VIEW SERVER PERFORMANCE STATE on SQL Server 2022+) in addition to one of CREATE DATABASE, ALTER ANY DATABASE, or VIEW ANY DATABASE.

Authentication or permission errors

Symptoms: the receiver logs permission-denied errors against Dynamic Management Views.

Solutions:

1. Re-check the monitoring login's grants against the Prerequisites list.
2. On SQL Server 2022 and later, grant VIEW SERVER PERFORMANCE STATE; VIEW SERVER STATE alone is not sufficient for the performance DMVs.

No logs are collected

Symptoms: metrics arrive but no log records appear.

Solutions:

1. Confirm Choose Telemetry Type includes Logs.
2. Verify the collector has read access to the SQL Server error log on the host, and that Start At is set appropriately for the entries you expect.

Standalone Source

apiVersion: bindplane.observiq.com/v1
kind: Source
metadata:
  name: microsoft-sql-server
spec:
  type: sqlserver
  parameters:
    - name: telemetry_types
      value:
        - Logs
        - Metrics
    - name: start_at
      value: end
    - name: parse
      value: true
    - name: collection_interval
      value: 60

Related Resources

• GRANT Server Permissions (Transact-SQL) — Microsoft Learn
• sqlserverreceiver — OpenTelemetry Collector Contrib