The event database stores information about VMware Horizon events as records in a database rather than in a log file.

You configure an event database after installing a Connection Server instance. You need to configure only one host in a Connection Server group. The remaining hosts in the group are configured automatically.

Note: The security of the database connection between the Connection Server instance and an external database is the responsibility of the administrator, although event traffic is limited to information about the health of the VMware Horizon environment. If you want to take extra precautions, you can secure this channel through IPSec or other means, or you can deploy the database locally on the Connection Server computer.

You can use Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, or PostgreSQL database reporting tools to examine events in the database tables. For more information, see the Horizon Administration document.

You can also generate VMware Horizon events in Syslog format so that the event data can be accessible to third-party analytics software. You use the vdmadmin command with the -I option to record VMware Horizon event messages in Syslog format in event log files. See "Generating VMware Horizon Event Log Messages in Syslog Format Using the -I Option" in the Horizon Administration document.

Prerequisites

You need the following information to configure an event database:

  • The DNS name or IP address of the database server.
  • The type of database server: Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, or PostgreSQL.
  • The port number that is used to access the database server. The default is 1521 for Oracle and 1433 for SQL Server. For SQL Server, if the database server is a named instance or if you use SQL Server Express, you might need to determine the port number. See the Microsoft KB article about connecting to a named instance of SQL Server, at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/265808.
  • The name of the event database that you created on the database server. See Add a Database and Database User for VMware Horizon Events in Horizon Console.

    For an Oracle 12c or 11g database, you must use the Oracle System Identifier (SID) as the database name when you configure the event database in Horizon Console.

  • The username and password of the user you created for this database. See Add a Database and Database User for VMware Horizon Events in Horizon Console.

    For SQL Server, use SQL Server Authentication for this user. Do not use the Integrated Windows Authentication security model method of authentication.

  • A prefix for the tables in the event database, for example, VE_. The prefix enables the database to be shared among VMware Horizon installations.
    Note: You must enter characters that are valid for the database software you are using. The syntax of the prefix is not checked when you complete the dialog box. If you enter characters that are not valid for the database software you are using, an error occurs when Connection Server attempts to connect to the database server. The log file indicates all errors, including this error and any others returned from the database server if the database name is invalid.

Procedure

  1. In Horizon Console, select Settings > Event Configuration.
  2. In the Event Database section, click Edit, enter the information in the fields provided, and click OK.
    To clear the event database information, click Clear.
  3. (Optional) In the Event Settings window, click Edit, change the length of time to show events and the number of days to classify events as new, and click OK.
    These settings pertain to the length of time the events are listed in the Horizon Console interface. After this time, the events are only available in the historical database tables.
    Note: Timing profiler data is removed from all database tables, so it is not available in historical tables.
    Commands for activating and deactivating the timing profiler are as follows.
    • To activate the timing profiler on a Connection Server instance that does not use a management port: 
      vdmadmin -I -timingProfiler -enable
    • To activate the timing profiler on a Connection Server instance that uses a management port: 
      vdmadmin -I -timingProfiler -enable -server {ip/server}
    • To deactivate the timing profiler on a Connection Server instance: 
      vdmadmin -I -timingProfiler -disable
  4. Select Monitoring > Events to verify that the connection to the event database is successful.
    If the connection is unsuccessful, an error message appears. If you are using SQL Express or if you are using a named instance of SQL Server, you might need to determine the correct port number, as mentioned in the prerequisites.