Tips & Troubleshooting — Activity Monitor
Permissions
| Task | Typical rights |
|---|---|
| Live metrics, sessions, waits, memory | VIEW SERVER STATE (and related DMV permissions) |
| Read ERRORLOG | Ability to run error-log readers (often sysadmin or equivalent on some editions) |
| Deploy / upgrade monitoring | CREATE on repository DB; create Agent jobs; create XE session if Detailed tracking enabled |
| Kill session | ALTER ANY CONNECTION (or sysadmin) |
| Database Mail alerts | Database Mail configured; profile usable by the Agent service account |
| Query Store tab | VIEW DATABASE STATE (or equivalent) in databases with Query Store ON |
Limitations
- Windows desktop only — no macOS / Linux client; self-contained .NET 8 WPF package.
- Online license activation — first activation and revalidation need reachability to dblense.com; air-gapped activation is not supported.
- Not a full APM / estate SaaS — monitoring is per connected instance from the desktop (plus optional on-instance Agent jobs). There is no hosted multi-tenant backend for metrics.
- SQL Agent required for unattended collectors, continuous alert evaluation, and history purge. Azure SQL Database can use tables/procs with manual Evaluate Now.
- Permissions — live metrics need
VIEW SERVER STATE(and related DMV rights). Deploy/remove monitoring needs object-create and Agent permissions. Kill session needsALTER ANY CONNECTION(or equivalent). - Index / plan depth — some Azure SQL / contained environments restrict index or plan DMVs; results may be partial.
- Email — alert mail uses Database Mail on the SQL instance, not the desktop SMTP stack used by some other DBLense tools.
- Suite — Activity Monitor is sold separately from the current 4-tool Suite.
- Polling cost — aggressive 5-second refresh on busy servers adds load; use longer intervals when appropriate.
Requirements
- Windows 10/11 or Windows Server 2016+
- SQL Server 2016+ or Azure SQL Managed Instance (Azure SQL Database supported with limited Agent features)
VIEW SERVER STATE(and related DMV permissions) for full metrics- SQL Agent + Database Mail for continuous evaluation and email (on-prem / MI)
- Internet access for license activation / updates
Troubleshooting
| Symptom | What to check |
|---|---|
| License activation fails | Internet access to dblense.com, correct Activity Monitor key, and that the key is not expired / revoked |
| Empty charts / grids | Connectivity and that the login can read DMVs (VIEW SERVER STATE) |
| Server Busy dialog | Instance did not respond within the timeout; retry when load is lower or increase patience between refreshes |
| Missing index / plan data | Azure / contained environments may restrict DMVs; check permissions |
| No alerts / inbox empty | Deploy history collection so alert objects and the evaluation job exist; confirm rules are enabled under ALERTS |
| Alerts in UI but no email | Configure Database Mail and set profile + recipients; use Test send |
| UI Health badge shows issues | Instance unreachable, Agent stopped, or collectors stale — open the health panel for detail |
| No Performance tab history | Deploy history collection; open instance after upgrade; wait for 2nd Standard Collection for plan cache deltas |
| Individual (XE) source empty | Enable Detailed query tracking in instance Edit; reconnect; confirm XE session exists; lower min duration if needed |
| Query Store source empty | Enable Query Store on target databases; confirm Collect Query Store is checked on instance |
| Alert config dropdown shows wrong names | Update to latest build; ensure instance has a display name set in registration |
| Cannot edit alert rule cells | Update to latest build; select instance and rule row, then Save Selected Rule after edits |
| Edit says “select a server tile” | Single-click tile to select (do not double-click — that opens the dashboard) |
| Blocking filter shows no rows | No active blocking at refresh time; disable filter to see all sessions |
| Import connections missing passwords | Expected — re-enter secrets after import (export never includes DPAPI passwords) |
| Storage growth chart empty | Enable Storage Sizes collection; wait for Daily/Weekly snapshot job; confirm Storage Retention |
| Query tab has no hashes | Enable Query Store on the database; ensure Collect Query Store + Standard Collection have run |
| Errors tab empty / fails | Confirm permissions to read ERRORLOG; try a shorter Duration; Cancel long reads on huge logs |
| Top Queries chart blank on first open | Update to latest build; switch away and back to Performance, or resize the window to force chart redraw |
More product details: Activity Monitor product page. Need help? Email support@dblense.com.