Questions and Answers

From the beginning, AimBetter was designed to be a simple cloud-based SaaS that provides complete visibility over your DB system environment and doesn’t require any resources on your end! It needs only read-access privileges to collect info about what is happening on your servers and has a small footprint that permits us to read System, OS, DB, and Web metrics and transmit the readings over a secure link into our own domain in which advanced analytics are performed. 

By delivering real-time insights and automatic DBA capabilities, AimBetter enables immediate action, ensuring seamless operations, minimized downtime, and improved productivity. Read more on our How We Can Help You page.

The AimBetter Agent resource consumption (CPU/ Memory) is low, not adding an extra load to the servers. It requires about 0.5% CPU and less than 500MB RAM on average.

It can be easily checked using the AimBetter platform to analyze the consumption of the AimBetter Agent service across several companies, as in the following screen.

For MSSQL databases, you can disable modules of the AimBetter Agent to check their impact in the database performance/ CPU usage. Read more here.

No. As long as all of your servers are on the same network and inside the same domain, you only have to install AimBetter agent on one server and it monitors all the others from there. This includes local and remote servers, off-site and cloud-based virtual devices.

No, that’s what’s great about our system! You do not have to be a DBA or IT specialist or someone with technological know-how – the system is easy to use and operate.

Not right now. We support SQL Server and Oracle on Windows OS and Linux servers. We also support cloud-based SQL servers and Oracle on Azure and Amazon RDS. In our immediate roadmap, we have MySql, PostgreSQL, and more. 🙂 Hopefully, as soon as possible!

Right now, we support only RDMS databases – focused on Microsoft SQL Server and Oracle but soon we’ll support MySQL in both Microsoft and Linux servers. Keep our update announcements.

No. While the default is set to one port (1433) you can change that easily in the configuration on installation to any port.

Once your support & package expires, we invite you to contact our sales team for renewal at [email protected] or our local representative. Usually, you’ll be contacted by our team about a month before it expires.

Certainly not! That’s the great part of our service! You benefit from the upgrades happening all the time in our AI software, gaining from the experience obtained by hundreds of our customers.

Certainly, you will only need to contact our sales team at [email protected] or our local representative.

After the purchase, please follow the detailed instructions on our Installation Guide. If needed, you can always purchase an installation support session with our support team or local representative.

Of course, you can add new licenses at any time. There is no limit to the licenses you can purchase.

AimBetter recommendations are based on our proprietary AI that analyzes each query’s plan while it is running, not on DMV.

System monitoring tools such as the common app focus only on system issues. Sometimes, the system issue is a symptom of an SQL issue and not the main problem!!
With AimBetter you will know the root cause of the issue and focus on solving it.

Surveys show that more than half of your DBA’s time and effort goes into troubleshooting – responding to, finding, analyzing, and fixing problems.

This means that the positive activities like upgrades, code improvement, new features, and all the rest get left behind (or you have to employ more DBA people than you actually need).

With AimBetter, you cut the unnecessary activity down to the minimum because we find the problems for you and pinpoint them to the DBA that can fix them immediately.

That’s great – right now! But do you really know what’s going on inside your server all the time? Is the performance only “all right,” or is it optimal?

All systems require regular maintenance – and AimBetter will indicate to you what is happening in real time in a single overview.

It can pick up all the bottlenecks, loops, and stalls, slowing down the whole system. Get better than “OK” – get the very best out of your investment in hardware and software by staying ahead of the curve!

In fact, small companies are the most vulnerable to database problems because they lack the depth of in-house resources to find and fix problems, and the effects of major problems like crashes, missed backups, lost data, blocks, and locks can have a much greater effect on daily operations.

With the cost-effectiveness of AimBetter’s complete platform, you get the equivalent of a full-time “virtual” IT professional and DBA looking over your shoulder watching everything that is happening on-site.

Although AimBetter is a powerful solution, it is very user-friendly and intuitive, with short tutorials to learn it easily.

In addition, you can purchase RMS – Remote Managed Services – in which you’ll receive training and support. 

AimBetter knows how to save you time – in this case we will do a snapshot of the server in the current state, and after the server transition we will test the performance of the new server to measure efficiency and improve performance to the highest and optimum level, and to compare past and future situations.

Hosting services are great because they take away your need to invest in infrastructure like servers, storage, and networks and do basic services like backups and restores.

However, they are not SQL/ Oracle database experts and cannot tune your database to keep watch over performance and data integrity. AimBetter does that, providing automatic root-cause analysis and pinpointing the problems in real-time.

AimBetter is not a monitoring tool. It is a Real-Time Problem-Solving platform, keeping the whole engine running properly so that disaster never happens.

Having the right tool is like having proper insurance – you may feel you don’t really need it until you do it. It’s too late by then, and you can have a disaster.

From our hundreds of customers, this situation of not using the AimBetter solution never happened.

Having a good RTPS: Real-Time Problems-Solving solution is like having proper insurance – you may feel you don’t really need it until you actually need it – by then, it’s too late, and you can have a disaster. AimBetter keeps you ahead of the trouble and keeps the whole engine running properly so the disaster never happens, but the money was properly spent because the alternative is much worse.

Our agent access is restricted to the Data layer architecture level only, having no access to the content of the database tables data. Read more here.

Yes, AimBetter has the ISO 27001 certificate. ISO 27001 describes how to manage information security, incorporating the technical and operational requirements of other protocols, such as GDPR. Implementing ISO 27001 allows businesses to meet strict data security expectations and assure their clients that their data is protected.

Sure, we conduct annual Penetration Tests to ensure there are no vulnerabilities that could potentially expose your clients through your systems.

Our systems are protected by Cloudflare and continuously monitored with Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) technology.

Yes, AimBetter follows the policies and regulations outlined by GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).

No, all the transmission of data is one-way from our customers’ servers to our cloud, which guarantees no risk of potential breaches or penetrations.

Windows OS:

•  Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-bit) or later
• Microsoft Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit) or later

Linux OS:

• Ubuntu
• CentOS
• Fedora
• Debian
• Red Hat
• Oracle Linux
• OpenSUSE

SQL Server 2008 (32-bit and 64-bit) or later on the following environments:

• On-premise:
  • Windows OS
  • Linux OS
• Cloud
  • Amazon RDS
  • Azure Database
  • Azure Managed Instance

Oracle SQL 11g or later on the following environments:

• On-premise:
  • Windows OS
  • Linux OS
• Cloud
  • Amazon RDS

Sure, check the Requirements List on our Doc Center.

The installation takes approximately 15 minutes.

Please wait for a few minutes until you get the details you want. Don’t forget to check other folders in your email inbox, because the email may be diverted there at your end (e.g junk folder). If that doesn’t happen you can always contact us at [email protected]

For the AimBetter agent to be able to read your system’s metrics, the agent needs minimal READ-ONLY permission. Check our documentation regarding the creation of a user with minimal permissions.

No, AimBetter agent is a ‘read-only’ function. All information is immediately transmitted over secure connection into our domain, so you do not need to assign any unique resources on your side.

1. Enable port 1434 for UDP packets.
2. Microsoft file sharing SMB: User Datagram Protocol (UDP) ports from 135 through 139 and Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) ports from 135 through 139.
3. Direct-hosted SMB traffic without a network basic input/output system (NetBIOS): port 445 (TCP and UDP).
4. Open your SQL Server’s TCP port (the default is 1433, but make sure to select the actual SQL Server TCP port set in your system if different) and enable the following firewall programs:

Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)

Performance Logs

Alerts.

Sure, in our Docs center, you will find the complete Installation Guide.

Please wait for a few minutes until you get the details you want. Don’t forget to check other folders in your email inbox, because the email may be diverted there at your end (e.g junk folder). If that doesn’t happen you can always contact us at [email protected]

Our recommendation is to manually stop the AimBetter Agent service by a user with admin permissions.

This happens because during the update/ deletion process, the AimBetter Agent service must be stopped and the user running this service has restricted permissions to do it by itself.

For more information, please check our technical documentation about Troubleshooting Update issues.

Did you check that the AGENT service of the computer that runs the agent is turned on?
Sometimes it happens that the user with whom the agent connects is not an administrator or in the administrator group. Please check this and if still not working, contact us for help.

For more information, please check our technical documentation about Troubleshooting issues related to the AimBetter Agent service.

There are a few possible causes, so check these things:

1. 1. Are the details of the monitored server correct?
   2. Are all required ports open?
   3. Is there a block in the firewall?
   4. Is the user with whom the system connects in the administrator group?
   5. Is the bounce system on?
   6. Is WMI’s service on?
   7. Is there something blocking WMI out?
   8. Check that all the lights are green on the configuration system, and then exit the app and wait about a minute to allow the data to sync with the system.
   9. If still not working, get our team to help you…our support people can advise you.

For more information, please check our technical documentation about Troubleshooting Installation issues on Windows OS.

This situation means there is a problem accessing the monitored server.

1. Make sure the name entered on the system is the full name of the server or, alternatively, the IP.
2. If the installation is on a local server – you need to enter dot (.) in the server’s name position.
3. Is there a block on the firewall?
4. If the server we want to hop to is remote – is there access to the server?
5. Is the server on the same DOMAIN?
6. For further assistance, check our troubleshooting guide on this issue or get our helpdesk for advice by writing to [email protected].

• This means there is a permissions problem.
  1. Is there a block on the firewall?
  2. Is the WMI port open?

  Open POWERSHELL and type the following line: (In the curly brackets, type the full name of the server or IP address of the server):

  • Get-WMiObject -Class Win32_PerfRawData_PerfOS_System –ComputerName{computername or ip}If errors are seen, they must be followed:
    • If you receive an ‘RPC’ error, there is a firewall problem.
    • If you receive an ‘Access Denied’ error, it means that there are no WMI privileges on the monitored server (there is no firewall blocking).

For further assistance, check our troubleshooting guide on this issue or get our helpdesk for advice by writing to [email protected].

Red light indicates 2 possible states – INSTANCE NAME incorrect or SQL USER is not configured in SYSADMIN group.

Take these simple steps to find and fix …

1. 1. Does the user name and password you entered in the system have access to SQL?
   2. Make sure that the name entered on the system is the exact name of the INSTANCE.
   3. Then check that the user defined as SQL Data Maker is machine-level SYSADMIN – whether a system user is defined, or if it is a user from the SQL.
   4. Is the SQL Server port open?
   5. Are the SQL details correct?
   6. For further assistance, check our troubleshooting guide on this issue or get our helpdesk for advice by writing to [email protected].

First step is to perform a normal controlled exit from the app and then restart it. That should be enough.

If there is no data transmission yet, check the following: .

Does the user with whom we are trying to “execute” the agent have sufficient read and write permissions – that is, does it have enough administrator power privileges inside your domain. To find this, check if the user you have used to install the system is an administrator or member of administrator group?

For more information, please check our technical documentation about Troubleshooting Installation Issues.

AimBetter sets high standards of security. In case you have lost your password, contact our support center and we will generate a new temporary one and email it to your registered address. Be sure to change it immediately.

This is probably due to some Notification settings that should be corrected.

• Is the recipient’s e-mail correct?
• Was the alert scheduled for a specific period? Notice that beyond this period, it is not sent by e-mail.
• Maybe the alert belongs to a level or module not set in the Notification setting? It is possible to choose only alerts related to specific modules to be sent.

For more information, please check our technical documentation about Notification settings.

Yes, we have in our Docs Center a session of Troubleshooting documents. If you still have questions, don’t hesitate to contact our support team at [email protected].