Install Mini DBA on Windows

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Console

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PostgreSQL

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Settings And Integrations

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Use this page for a Windows service installation of Mini DBA Engine and Mini DBA Console. The usual Windows deployment keeps both components on the same server. See Installation for the Windows-versus-Linux decision and when separate Engine and Console servers are justified.

Before you install

Use a supported Windows Server or Windows workstation managed according to your organisation's policy.
Use an account permitted to install and manage Windows services.
Make sure the Engine host can reach the database servers it will monitor and any required licensing or notification endpoints.
Keep the Engine application-data folder on durable storage and include it in backups.
If Console and Engine are separate, plan a private TCP 8734 path from Console to Engine. Do not expose the Engine service to the public internet.

Install Engine and Console

Download the current Windows installer from Downloads.
Run the installer using an account with the required Windows installation privileges.
Select the Mini DBA Engine and Mini DBA Console components required for the host. For the normal same-server deployment, install both.
Complete the installer and allow the Windows services to start.
Open Start > Mini DBA > Mini DBA Console, or browse to the Console URL configured for the installation. A standard Windows service installation uses http://localhost:5000.
Open Settings, connect the Console to the Engine, verify licensing, then add a test database server.

The current Windows service names are Mini DBA Engine and Mini DBA Console. miniDBA Server is a legacy product name and is not the current Engine service.

Windows application data and logs

The default Windows Engine data folder is:

C:\ProgramData\MiniDBA Engine

Use Start > Mini DBA > Mini DBA Engine Data Folder to open it. This is the operational data location, not the Program Files application directory. Back up the complete folder before upgrades or host rebuilds.

It can contain:

Logs - monitoring history and Engine log data.
conf.xml - Engine configuration.
alerts.db and trig.db - alert state and configuration.
license.xml and, when used during initial activation, activation.key.
ConnectivityLogs, Index Jobs, and migration backup files when present.

The Start menu also has separate Mini DBA Engine Logs and Mini DBA Console Logs shortcuts. They open each component's active logs folder under ProgramData. Do not run a second interactive copy of the Engine executable from Program Files; the Engine is designed to run as a Windows service.

Windows service recovery

The Engine includes a watchdog that can exit the service if it detects an unhealthy internal state. Windows Service Control Manager then restarts it. The Windows installer configures recovery automatically.

If you create or repair an Engine service manually, run the following from an elevated PowerShell prompt after the service exists:

sc.exe failure "Mini DBA Engine" reset= 86400 actions= restart/10000/restart/30000/restart/60000
sc.exe failureflag "Mini DBA Engine" 1

The commands configure restart attempts after 10, 30, and 60 seconds, and reset the failure count after 24 hours.

Upgrading from the legacy Mini DBA server

On its first Windows startup, Mini DBA Engine checks for data from the legacy Mini DBA Server installation under:

C:\ProgramData\miniDBA Server

The migration is copy-and-merge only:

Metrics history under logs\yyyyMMdd\InstanceType\*.db is copied to the matching location under C:\ProgramData\MiniDBA Engine\Logs.
Missing alert definitions, recipients, recipient groups, and memberships from legacy trig.db or triggers.db are added to the current Engine data. Existing current definitions win.
Legacy files are not deleted or changed, and an existing destination history file is never overwritten.
Before trigger data is merged, Mini DBA creates C:\ProgramData\MiniDBA Engine\MigrationBackups\trig.before-legacy-migration.db.
A successful migration records .legacy-minidba-server-migration-v1.complete.json in the current Engine data folder. If migration fails, the Engine continues with its current data and retries at the next startup.

Keep the legacy data folder until you have confirmed that history and trigger settings are available in the new Engine. This preserves a practical rollback path.

Separate Windows servers

If the Engine and Console are on different Windows servers, install the Engine near the monitored databases and place the Console where administrators or the HTTPS reverse proxy can reach it. Permit TCP 8734 from the Console server to the Engine server only. In Console Settings, add the Engine's private endpoint:

net.tcp://engine-vm.private.example:8734/MiniDBAService/tcp

Back up each host's Mini DBA operational data separately. For most installations, retaining both components on one Windows server is simpler and remains the recommended starting point.