Introduction

Network Monitor status information and events can be logged in three different ways:

To an ASCII text file;
To an MS Access database;
To an MS SQL database (or any other ADO compliant database);

By default, Network Monitor does not log events; you need to switch on this option after installation.
ActiveXperts Network Monitor is shipped with an MS Access database called NetworkMonitor.mdb. In the Logging tab of the Options dialog, you can select this database as the default logging database.
You can also use NetworkMonitor.mdb in the Import wizard of MS SQL to migrate logging to MS SQL. This is explained later in this document.
ActiveXperts provides a trace log when logging to an MS Access, MS SQL or any other ADO compliant database. The trace log helps you to troubleshoot a problem.

Troubleshooting

Logging to an ADO compliant database (including MS Access and MS SQL) is very powerful. However, when logging is not working, it's usually quite difficult to troubleshoot.
ActiveXperts provides a trace log when logging to an MS Access, MS SQL or any other ADO compliant database. Using the trace log, you can see what's happening under the hood of the engine; it will make it easier to troubleshoot a logging problem. The trace log provides you with errors returned by the database components of the operating system, and explanations of the errors.
Especially when migrating from one database to another - for instance from MS Access to MS SQL - the trace log may be a very welcome tool!

By default, tracing is disabled. You can enable tracing in the following way:

Open the registry editor on the server where the ActiveXperts Network Monitor service is running, either by starting REGEDIT.EXE or REGEDT32.EXE;
Open the HK_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\ActiveXperts\Network Monitor\Trace key;
Double-click the Logfile_AdoLogging value;
Enter a filename in the 'Value Data' field. The filename can be a non-existing file.

After setting the registry value, your registry should look like this:

You must restart the ActiveXperts Network Monitor service after you've changed the Logfile_AdoLogging registry setting to apply the new setting to the Network Monitor Engine.
It's recommended to disable tracing after troubleshooting, because the trace log will slow down the performance of the Network Monitor Engine. Just enter an empty string in the Logfile_AdoLogging registry value to disable tracing.

Logging to MS Access

ActiveXperts Network Monitor is shipped with a logging database called NetworkMonitor.mdb. This Access 2000 compatible database file is located in the <install-dir>\logs\ directory. When you switch on logging MS Access logging, all logging will be stored in this database. MDAC 2.5 or higher is required on the server where ActiveXperts Network Monitor is running.

You can refer to an Access database in two ways:

Using an ADO Connection String (recommended);
Using a direct database file.

A connection string is a string version of the initialization properties needed to connect to an ADO compliant database and enables you to easily store connection information. It's recommended to use a connection string. When using a direct database file, ActiveXperts Network Monitor will translate the settings to a connection string internally.
Example connection string for MS Access logging:

DRIVER=Microsoft Access Driver (*.mdb);DBQ=C:\Program Files\ActiveXperts\Network Monitor\Logs\NetworkMonitor.mdb

Logging to MS SQL or any other ADO compliant database

By default, events are logged to an MS Access database. However, if you already have an MS SQL database in your network, you may want to profit of the power and flexibility of MS SQL and store logging information in an MS SQL database.
To make use of MS SQL, you need to do two things:

Migrate the current NetworkMonitor.mdb Access database to MS SQL;
Change the Connection String in the Logging dialog of the ActiveXperts Network Monitor Manager.

Migrating the MS Access logging database is very simple, thanks to MS SQL's Import Wizard. The next section explains how to migrate to MS SQL.

After migration to MS SQL, you must provide a valid connection string, containing the configuration settings of the new MS SQL logging database. An MS SQL connection string has the following syntax:

DRIVER={SQL Server}; Server=<server hostname>; Database=<database name>; UID=<loginname>; PWD=<password>

Where UID and PWD are optional: if login is not required, you can remove UID and PWD from the connection string.

Example connection strings:

DRIVER={SQL Server}; Server=pluto; Database=network monitor; UID=sa; PWD=mypassword
DRIVER={SQL Server}; Server=mssql01.mydomain.dom; Database=network monitor; UID=sa
DRIVER={SQL Server}; Server=192.168.1.104; Database=network monitor

Migrating to MS SQL

Migrating the Logging database from MS Access to MS SQL is made easy thanks to MS SQL's Import Wizard. By providing the NetworkMonitor.mdb file to the Import Wizard of MS SQL, you will have MS SQL logging running within minutes.

The following steps explain how to move from MS Access logging to MS SQL logging:


	Step 1 - Choose the Import and Export Data program from the Start-menu		Step 2 - The Data Transformation Services Import/Export Wizard application is launched. Click Next to continue.


	Step 3 - Set the Data Source field to MS Access. Now, the File name field will be enabled. Enter the a valid location where the NetworkMonitor.mdb is located. The file is located on the server where ActiveXperts Network Monitor is installed. If you want, you can copy the NetworkMonitor.mdb file first to the SQL server. The file is needed for its data structure. Click Next to continue.		Step 4 - Choose a desination database. Click on the Database selection box at the bottom of the dialog and choose New. The Create Database dialog will popup. Provide a name for the new database. In the above dialog, we called this new database Network Monitor. Click Next to continue.


	Step 5 - Choose a destination. Select Microsoft OLE DB Provider for SQL Server as the destination (this is already selected by default), and Select the new Network Monitor database in the Database selection box. Click Next to continue.		Step 6 - Copy Tables. Start copying tables by clicking on the Next button.


	Step 7 - Select ALL source tables and views, and click on Next.		Step 8 - Save, schedule and replicate package. Leave all fields default and click on Next.


	Step 9 - Complete the Wizard. Click on Finish to start the Import.		Step 10 - The Import is finished now. The only thing that needs to be done, is make a change to the design of the Network Monitor database: the primary key of the Events table must be set to autonumbering. You can use the Enterprise Manager to make that change. Select the Enterprise Manager from the Start Menu to launch it.


	Step 11 - Select the Network Monitor database, then select the Events table and go to design mode of the table by selecting the 'Design View' menu from the context popup menu (right-click on the table). Now, select the numID field and set the Identity to Yes. Close all dialogs now (save the changes you made).		Step 12 - In the Network Monitor Manager application, select the Logging tab of the Options dialog. Click on the Settings button and change the Connection string field. Be sure that you include the name of the SQL server in the connection string. For example, if your SQL server is called SQL01 and the logonname of the database is sa with password sa1, the following string would be a valid connection string: DRIVER={SQL Server}; Server=SQL01; Database=network monitor; UID=sa; PWD=sa1.