---
title: Linux RDS MSSQL monitoring with NRDOT
source: https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/opentelemetry/database/mssql/linux-rds
---

> #### 💡 PREVIEW
>
> We're still working on this feature, but we'd love for you to try it out!
>
> This feature is currently provided as part of a preview pursuant to our [pre-release policies](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/licenses/license-information/referenced-policies/new-relic-pre-release-policy/).

Get comprehensive insights into your AWS RDS SQL Server performance with database monitoring, query analysis, and system health metrics using the New Relic Distribution of OpenTelemetry (NRDOT) collector.

To install this through the New Relic UI instead, go to  **[one.newrelic.com](https://one.newrelic.com) > Integrations & Agents > MSSQL (OpenTelemetry)** . Follow the on-screen instructions to set up the integration. This page covers the CLI install path only.

> #### 💡 TIP
>
> If you're using SQL Server in a Linux self-hosted environment, refer to [Linux instrumentation for RDS](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/opentelemetry/database/mssql/linux-hosted).

## Prerequisites [#prerequisites]

-   New Relic account with a valid [license key](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/apis/intro-apis/new-relic-api-keys/#ingest-license-key)
-   New Relic [OTLP endpoint](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/opentelemetry/best-practices/opentelemetry-otlp) for your region
-   AWS RDS SQL Server requirements:
    -   AWS RDS SQL Server 2017 or later
    -   RDS master username and password
    -   Security group allowing inbound connections on port `1433` or custom port
-   Linux system requirements:
    -   `sqlcmd` utility installed on your Linux system
    -   Network connectivity to [New Relic OTLP endpoint](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/opentelemetry/best-practices/opentelemetry-otlp)

## Enroll to preview [#enroll]

This integration is available as part of the New Relic public preview program. Contact your Organization Manager to opt in from the [Previews & Trials](https://one.newrelic.com/admin-portal/promotion-management/home) page.

## Install NRDOT Collector [#setup]

Download and install the NRDOT package for your Linux distribution. Replace `<NRDOT_VERSION>` with the latest release tag from the [nrdot-collector-releases](https://github.com/newrelic/nrdot-collector-releases/releases) page.

> #### ⚠️ IMPORTANT
>
> Install the NRDOT Collector on an EC2 instance or local machine with network connectivity to your RDS SQL Server instance. Ensure your security group allows inbound connections on port 1433 (or custom port).

**For Debian/Ubuntu**

-   For AMD64 architecture:

    ```bash
    NRDOT_VERSION=$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/newrelic/nrdot-collector-releases/releases/latest | grep '"tag_name":' | awk -F'"' '{print $4}') && curl -L "https://github.com/newrelic/nrdot-collector-releases/releases/download/${NRDOT_VERSION}/nrdot-collector_${NRDOT_VERSION}_linux_amd64.deb" --output nrdot-collector.deb && sudo dpkg -i nrdot-collector.deb
    ```

-   For ARM64 architecture:

    ```bash
    NRDOT_VERSION=$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/newrelic/nrdot-collector-releases/releases/latest | grep '"tag_name":' | awk -F'"' '{print $4}') && curl -L "https://github.com/newrelic/nrdot-collector-releases/releases/download/${NRDOT_VERSION}/nrdot-collector_${NRDOT_VERSION}_linux_arm64.deb" --output nrdot-collector.deb && sudo dpkg -i nrdot-collector.deb
    ```

**For RHEL/CentOS**

-   For AMD64 architecture:

    ```bash
    NRDOT_VERSION=$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/newrelic/nrdot-collector-releases/releases/latest | grep '"tag_name":' | awk -F'"' '{print $4}') && curl -L "https://github.com/newrelic/nrdot-collector-releases/releases/download/${NRDOT_VERSION}/nrdot-collector_${NRDOT_VERSION}_linux_x86_64.rpm" --output nrdot-collector.rpm && sudo rpm -ivh nrdot-collector.rpm
    ```

-   For ARM64 architecture:

    ```bash
    NRDOT_VERSION=$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/newrelic/nrdot-collector-releases/releases/latest | grep '"tag_name":' | awk -F'"' '{print $4}') && curl -L "https://github.com/newrelic/nrdot-collector-releases/releases/download/${NRDOT_VERSION}/nrdot-collector_${NRDOT_VERSION}_linux_arm64.rpm" --output nrdot-collector.rpm && sudo rpm -ivh nrdot-collector.rpm
    ```

## Create monitoring user [#user]

Run this script as root user to create the `newrelic` monitoring user and grant the necessary permissions for collecting RDS SQL Server metrics.

1.  Create a file named as `nr-grant-permission-rds.sql`.

2.  Paste the following SQL script to create the `newrelic` monitoring user and replace `<YOUR_PASSWORD>` with your desired password:

    ```sql
    USE [master];
    GO
    CREATE LOGIN [newrelic] WITH PASSWORD = '<YOUR_PASSWORD>';
    GO
    -- Instance-level permissions
    GRANT VIEW SERVER STATE TO [newrelic];
    GRANT VIEW ANY DEFINITION TO [newrelic];
    GRANT VIEW ANY DATABASE TO [newrelic];
    GO
    -- Grant read access privileges to all user databases
    DECLARE @name SYSNAME;
    DECLARE db_cursor CURSOR READ_ONLY FORWARD_ONLY FOR
    SELECT [name]
    FROM [master].[sys].[databases]
    WHERE [name] NOT IN ('master', 'msdb', 'model', 'rdsadmin', 'distribution')
    AND [state] = 0; -- Only online databases
    OPEN db_cursor;
    FETCH NEXT FROM db_cursor INTO @name;
    WHILE @@FETCH_STATUS = 0
    BEGIN
      BEGIN TRY
        EXEC('USE [' + @name + '];
          IF NOT EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM sys.database_principals WHERE name = ''newrelic'')
          BEGIN
            CREATE USER [newrelic] FOR LOGIN [newrelic];
          END;
          GRANT VIEW DATABASE STATE TO [newrelic];');
      END TRY
      BEGIN CATCH
        PRINT 'Error on ' + @name + ': ' + ERROR_MESSAGE();
      END CATCH
      FETCH NEXT FROM db_cursor INTO @name;
    END
    CLOSE db_cursor;
    DEALLOCATE db_cursor;
    GO
    ```

3.  Execute the script using `sqlcmd`. Replace `<YOUR-RDS-ENDPOINT>` with your RDS endpoint and `<YOUR_MASTER_PASSWORD>` with your master password:

    ```bash
    sqlcmd -S <YOUR-RDS-ENDPOINT> -U <YOUR_MASTER_USER> -P '<YOUR_MASTER_PASSWORD>' -C -i nr-grant-permission-rds.sql
    ```

4.  _(Optional)_ Verify the user is created successfully with the correct permissions:

    ```bash
    sqlcmd -S <YOUR-RDS-ENDPOINT> -U <YOUR_MASTER_USER> -P '<YOUR_MASTER_PASSWORD>' -C -Q "SELECT sp.name AS [User], p.permission_name AS [Permission_Granted] FROM sys.server_permissions p JOIN sys.server_principals sp ON p.grantee_principal_id = sp.principal_id WHERE sp.name = 'newrelic';"
    ```

    > #### 💡 TIP
    >
    > -   Use your RDS master username and password to execute these commands. The script automatically excludes the `rdsadmin` database which is reserved by AWS.
    > -   To securely manage sensitive information, such as database credentials store them in [secret management](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/opentelemetry/database/capabilities/db-apm/#secret-management) tools.

## Configure NRDOT Collector [#configure-collector]

Choose your configuration option based on your monitoring requirements:

1.  Create a configuration file named as `mssql-config.yaml`:

    ```bash
    sudo nano /etc/nrdot-collector/mssql-config.yaml
    ```

2.  Add the following configuration to the `mssql-config.yaml` file created in the previous step:

    > #### 💡 FULL CONFIGURATION
    >
    > This configuration focuses on essential database monitoring for your RDS environment. To enable comprehensive monitoring with all available metrics, refer to the [configuration reference](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/opentelemetry/database/mssql/config-reference/#rds-full).

## Update NRDOT Collector configuration [#update]

After configuring your YAML file with the interactive inputs above, complete the NRDOT Collector setup:

1.  Edit the service configuration file using the following command:

    ```bash
    sudo nano /etc/nrdot-collector/nrdot-collector.conf
    ```

2.  Update the configuration path to point to your new `mssql-config.yaml` file:

    ```bash
    OTELCOL_CONFIG="/etc/nrdot-collector/mssql-config.yaml"
    ```

3.  (Optional) Validate the NRDOT Collector configuration:

    ```bash
    sudo /usr/bin/nrdot-collector validate --config=/etc/nrdot-collector/mssql-config.yaml
    ```

    > #### 💡 TIP
    >
    > To correlate your application performance with database operations, you can set up database service identification. For more information, refer to [database service identification setup guide](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/opentelemetry/database/capabilities/db-apm).

## Restart NRDOT Collector [#restart]

After updating your configuration, restart the NRDOT Collector service:

```bash
sudo systemctl restart nrdot-collector
```

> #### 💡 TIP
>
> Always restart the NRDOT Collector service after making configuration changes to ensure the new settings take effect.

## Find and use your data [#find]

Once your data is being collected, you can access comprehensive SQL Server database monitoring through New Relic UI.

To find your SQL Server database entity in New Relic:

1.  Go to **[one.newrelic.com](https://one.newrelic.com) > All capabilities > Databases**.
2.  From the **Entity type** dropdown, select **MSSQL instance**, then click **Apply**.
3.  Select your SQL Server database from the list of entities.

    After setting up SQL Server monitoring with NRDOT, you can:

    -   [Create custom dashboards](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/query-your-data/explore-query-data/dashboards/introduction-dashboards/) to visualize your database metrics
    -   [Set up alerts](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/alerts/create-alert/create-alert-condition/alert-conditions/) for critical database performance thresholds
    -   [Explore your data](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/query-your-data/explore-query-data/browse-data/introduction-data-explorer/) using New Relic query capabilities

## Related documentation [#related-docs]

[Set up APM-database correlation](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/opentelemetry/database/capabilities/db-apm)

Learn how to correlate your application performance with database operations in New Relic.

[Troubleshooting](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/opentelemetry/database/mssql/troubleshooting)

Learn how to troubleshoot your MSSQL Linux RDS monitoring setup in New Relic.

[Metrics reference](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/opentelemetry/database/mssql/metrics-reference)

Learn about the available metrics collected by the NRDOT Collector.