Host OS Login For Mini DBA Monitoring

Start Here

Manual Home Installation Getting Started Licensing Servers Connect Database Servers Troubleshoot Connectivity Host OS Login Enable WMI Multi-Engine Settings

Console

Console Overview Enterprise View AI Assistant Execution Plans Alerts Custom Alerts Reports Settings Service Log Connectivity Log Web Log About

PostgreSQL

Overview Connection and Permissions Activity Databases Queries Waits Memory I/O Indexes Deadlocks Server Log Settings Permissions Health Checks Alerts Performance Tuning

MySQL/MariaDB

Overview Connection and Permissions Activity Databases Queries Memory I/O InnoDB Permissions Deadlocks Health Checks Alerts Performance Tuning

Oracle

Overview Connection and Permissions Activity Databases Queries Waits Memory Health Checks Alerts Performance Tuning

Settings And Integrations

Security SQL Options Email Server Alert Recipients Recipient Groups Server Groups Cloud Providers Web Proxy Slack Microsoft Teams PagerDuty Jira Performance Logging AI Provider MCP Server

Host OS login is optional database-server host access that gives Mini DBA operating system metrics in addition to database metrics. Database monitoring still works without it, but CPU, memory, drive capacity, and disk I/O information is richer when Mini DBA can log in to the host.

Where To Configure Host OS Login

Add the database server from Servers.
Open the monitored server from the navigation tree.
Select the permissions or connectivity status area for the server.
Open the OS Login or Cloud Host Login item.
Enter the OS user name.
Choose Password or Private key.
Enter the password, or paste/load the private key and optional passphrase.
Select Connect to test and save the login.

The shared OS login panel is used for PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, and Oracle servers. SQL Server uses SQL Server DMVs for some host information and uses Windows performance/WMI access for additional Windows host counters. See Enable WMI For SQL Server Monitoring for the SQL Server-specific WMI setup.

When Host OS Login Is Worth Configuring

Configure host OS login when database metrics alone do not explain the problem. Query waits can tell you that I/O is slow, but host metrics can show whether a disk is saturated. Database memory views can show pressure inside the engine, but host memory metrics can show whether the operating system is also under pressure. CPU-related database waits can show scheduler contention, but host CPU can show whether the whole machine is busy.

Host OS login is especially useful for self-managed PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB, and Oracle servers on Linux. It is also useful for Windows-based database hosts when WMI and performance counter access are available.

Linux Host Metrics

On Linux, Mini DBA connects by SSH. The account can use password authentication or private key authentication.

Mini DBA uses commands such as:

top -b -n 1
df --type btrfs --type ext4 --type ext3 --type ext2 --type vfat --type iso9660 -BM
iostat -x -m

These commands provide:

Host CPU percentage.
Total, used, and free memory.
File system size, used space, free space, used percentage, and mount point.
Disk reads and writes per second.
Disk read and write throughput in MB/sec.
Average queue length.
Read and write latency.
Disk utilization percentage.

Install the operating system package that provides iostat if disk I/O metrics are missing. On many Linux distributions this is the sysstat package.

Linux Account Requirements

The Linux monitoring account should be able to connect over SSH from the Mini DBA Engine host and run the commands listed above. It usually does not need root privileges. The account should be able to read standard operating system process, memory, file system, and disk statistics.

Recommended setup:

sudo useradd --create-home --shell /bin/bash minidba-os-monitor
sudo passwd minidba-os-monitor

If your security policy prefers SSH keys, add the public key to the user's ~/.ssh/authorized_keys, then use Private key mode in the Mini DBA OS Login panel.

Windows Host Metrics

On Windows, Mini DBA uses WMI and performance counter access where supported.

The account needs suitable access to the target server, normally through:

Performance Monitor Users.
Performance Log Users.
Event Log Readers.
WMI namespace access for root\cimv2.
Firewall rules for Windows Management Instrumentation and required RPC access.
Remote Registry where needed for performance counter discovery.

Windows host access can provide:

Host CPU percentage.
Logical drive free space and used percentage.
Disk reads and writes per second.
Average disk queue length.
Disk timing and utilization counters.

Windows Account Requirements

Use a dedicated Windows account or domain account where possible. Add it to the minimum local groups required by your security policy. In many Windows environments, host metrics require membership in Performance Monitor Users and Performance Log Users, plus WMI namespace permissions for root\cimv2.

If the Windows firewall blocks remote WMI, enable the Windows Management Instrumentation firewall rules. If performance counter discovery fails, confirm Remote Registry and related services are available according to your organization's Windows hardening policy. The detailed SQL Server WMI walkthrough is in Enable WMI For SQL Server Monitoring.

Cloud Host Metrics

For cloud-hosted database services where direct OS login is unavailable, Mini DBA may use cloud provider API access instead. Configure provider credentials in Cloud Provider Settings.

Cloud host metrics can provide host or instance-level CPU, storage, I/O, or service metrics depending on the provider and database service.

What Host OS Login Does Not Do

Host OS login is not used to run database queries, change database configuration, or grant database permissions. It is separate from the database monitoring login. Removing host OS credentials should not stop database-level monitoring, but it can remove host CPU, memory, drive, and disk I/O metrics from the console.

Troubleshooting Host OS Metrics

If Linux CPU or memory is missing, confirm SSH works from the Mini DBA Engine host.
If disk I/O is missing on Linux, confirm iostat is installed and available in the account path.
If drive capacity is missing on Linux, confirm df returns supported file system types.
If Windows counters are missing, confirm WMI and performance counter permissions.
If cloud host metrics are missing, confirm Cloud Provider Settings and provider permissions.

Security Recommendations

Use a dedicated low-privilege OS account for monitoring.
Prefer private key authentication for Linux where your security policy allows it.
Restrict SSH or WMI access to the Mini DBA Engine host.
Rotate credentials through your normal secret-management process.
Do not use root, local administrator, or domain administrator accounts for routine monitoring.

Host OS Login FAQ

Is host OS login required?

No. Mini DBA can monitor database activity, queries, waits, alerts, and health checks without host OS login, assuming the database login has the required database permissions.

Does Mini DBA store the OS password or private key?

When a host OS login test succeeds, Mini DBA stores the credential for the engine so future host metric refreshes can run. Treat engine configuration and data folders as sensitive.

Can I use private key authentication?

Yes. The OS Login panel supports Password and Private key modes. Private key mode supports an optional passphrase.