I tend to use Redgate SQL Monitor when diagnosing hard to find issues or when helping teams to better understand their estates. Sometimes, we run into issues with the network during the installation which is usually down the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) ports. SQL Monitor uses WMI calls to get all the non SQL Server information from Windows, such as disk, network and CPU usage.
It’s not completely obvious if connectivity is the issue and testing via the application can be difficult due to connection time outs and retries etc. Here’s where WMI Tester comes in handy. It’s a free download that doesn’t require an installation or a separate runtime.
- Download the zip from https://www.paessler.com/tools/wmitester
- Unpack the zip and run WMITest.exe or read PaesslerWMITester.pdf for more information.
- For testing, I tend to use an admin account to make sure WMI works, then try the domain account used for SQL Monitor to test that the privileges are correct.
- If it works, you’ll get some results from the default command. If not, you’ll get an error.
If you’re using an admin account and it isn’t working then check the following:
- Check that the services are started on the remote machine
- Remote Procedure Call (RPC) should be running and set to start automatically.
- Check that the ports are open on the local firewall and any in-between.
- Consider using a fixed port for WMI.
Useful links
Redgate help covering port numbers.
Setting Up a Fixed Port for WMI
Data Boffin 