What you get out of the box with dbWatch

We recommend starting with the default template rather than customizing everything up front. You can select custom jobs at installation, but our best practice is to set the defaults first and adjust later. 

You then define the users for each module, set their display names and any notes, and click Install. That is enough to get the instance into dbWatch and begin populating monitoring. 

Note: You can also use Auto Discovery  and bulk add  to add databases. 

Out-of-the-box Value Starts with Monitoring 

When you select a newly added instance, you may see installed monitoring jobs that have not yet run. That is by design. The jobs run according to schedule so that dbWatch does not create unnecessary load, especially when many systems are added at once. If you want to trigger them immediately, you can right-click and choose ‘Run now.’ 

If you right-click an instance and choose ‘Configure jobs,’ you can see both the jobs that are already installed and many more that are available. This is where the out-of-the-box message becomes especially clear. The default template includes many monitoring jobs that are useful for almost all systems and are part of our best practice setup. 

That does not mean everything is installed by default. Security and compliance jobs, and most maintenance jobs, are not typically installed during this initial setup because users may not be ready for them or may already have other maintenance routines in place.  

You’re not starting from scratch. Begin with the default set, then adjust as you learn about your environment. 

Working with Templates and Parameters 

One detail worth understanding early is how templates behave. 

When you install a template, it automatically installs set jobs. You can remove individual jobs at any time. However, when you remove a job from an active template, the template will auto-install them again when it has a daily check.  

Should you wish to customize, you have several options: deselect the template, which is fine for smaller set-ups, or copy a template you like and then adjust the template, which is better for larger set-ups.  

Some jobs may trigger warnings or alarms based on the default settings. That is why it makes sense to review your systems and adjust parameters where needed. If there are thresholds or settings that do not fit your environment, you can right-click the instance and configure them to better match your own standards. 

Adding Email Integration 

Once the basics are in place, the next step is often email alerting. 

A word of advice: go through your instances first and make sure you are not looking at a sea of warnings before you enable email alerts. Otherwise, you may simply fill your inbox with alarms before you have had a chance to tune the system. 

To enable email, go to ‘Server Extensions’ and configure the email extension. Office 365 setup is covered separately in the wiki, as are standard email and SMS gateway options.  

Here are a few useful settings: 

• The subject prefix helps with filtering.  

• The reminder interval controls how often you will be reminded about an issue.  

• The rule configuration lets you decide which systems, alarm types, recipients, and schedules apply. 

In the example shown below, alerts are limited to production systems during office hours, but the filtering can go much further, including metadata and specific job names. 

This reflects dbWatch’s overall approach: start practical and refine based on your team’s workflow. 

Reports and scheduled output 

Reporting is one of the out-of-the-box capabilities available once systems are in place. You can select an instance, see which reports are available, and generate something like a health check report immediately. You can also create a schedule, so the report is delivered regularly, for example, every Friday afternoon. 

Just know you’ll need to wait about a week for reports with important information because a new system has very little historical data, yet. Over time, you can go further: edit report templates and customize outputs, so you get the exact information you need.