---
title: Install & configure NRDOT for MSSQL on Windows RDS: Domain auth
source: https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/opentelemetry/db360/mssql/windows-rds-domain
---

Set up Microsoft SQL Server monitoring using the NRDOT Collector on Windows environments to monitor AWS RDS for SQL Server instances, using Windows Domain authentication. To monitor in a self-hosted environment, refer to [Windows self-hosted instrumentation](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/opentelemetry/db360/mssql/windows-hosted-domain).

To install this through the New Relic UI instead, go to  **[one.newrelic.com](https://one.newrelic.com) > Integrations & Agents > MSSQL (OpenTelemetry)** . Follow the on-screen instructions to set up the integration. This page covers manual installation only.

This page covers Windows Domain authentication. If your environment uses a different authentication method, see [SQL Server Authentication](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/opentelemetry/db360/mssql/windows-rds-sql) or [gMSA](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/opentelemetry/db360/mssql/windows-rds-gmsa).

## Prerequisites [#prerequisites-domain]

Before monitoring your Microsoft SQL Server with NRDOT using Windows Domain Authentication, make sure your environment meets these requirements:

-   A New Relic account with a valid [license key](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/apis/intro-apis/new-relic-api-keys/#ingest-license-key).
-   Network connectivity to the [New Relic OTLP endpoint](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/opentelemetry/best-practices/opentelemetry-otlp) for your region.
-   SQL Server requirements:
    -   SQL Server 2017 or later on Amazon RDS.
    -   RDS master user credentials or credentials for a SQL Server login with the `rds_superuser` role.
    -   RDS Security Group configured to allow connections on port `1433` or a custom port.
    -   SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) or the `sqlcmd` utility.
    -   RDS instance associated with the AWS Active Directory service.
-   Windows Domain Authentication requirements:
    -   A Windows domain environment with Active Directory.
    -   A domain-joined Windows EC2 instance.
    -   RDS SQL Server configured to accept Windows Authentication.
    -   A domain user account for the NRDOT Collector to use.
-   Your RDS SQL Server endpoint URL, which can be found in your AWS RDS Console under Connectivity & security. For more information, refer to [AWS RDS documentation](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/gettingstartedguide/connecting-console.html).

## Install NRDOT Collector [#setup-domain]

Install the NRDOT Collector on a domain-joined EC2 Windows instance or a local Windows machine that is part of the same domain and can connect to your RDS SQL Server instance.

> #### ⚠️ IMPORTANT
>
> For RDS monitoring, install the NRDOT Collector on an EC2 instance in the same VPC as your RDS instance for optimal network connectivity and lower latency.

1.  Download and install the NRDOT Collector using PowerShell:

    ```bash
      [Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol = 'tls12, tls'; $NRDOT_VERSION = (Invoke-RestMethod -Uri "https://api.github.com/repos/newrelic/nrdot-collector-releases/releases/latest").tag_name; $WebClient = New-Object System.Net.WebClient; $WebClient.Headers.Add("User-Agent", "Mozilla/5.0"); $WebClient.DownloadFile("https://github.com/newrelic/nrdot-collector-releases/releases/download/$NRDOT_VERSION/nrdot-collector_${NRDOT_VERSION}_windows_x64.msi", "$env:TEMP\nrdot-collector.msi"); Start-Process msiexec.exe -ArgumentList "/i `"$env:TEMP\nrdot-collector.msi`" /qn /norestart /L*V `"$env:TEMP\nrdot_install.log`"" -Wait; Get-Service nrdot-collector -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    ```

## Create Windows domain login [#create-domain]

Connect to your RDS SQL Server instance using SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) or `sqlcmd` with administrative privileges.

In your SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS), run the following script to create a login for your gMSA account and grant the necessary permissions. Replace all occurrences of `<YOUR_DOMAIN>\<YOUR_DOMAIN_USER>` with your actual domain and account name.

```sql
USE [master];
GO

CREATE LOGIN [<YOUR_DOMAIN>\<YOUR_DOMAIN_USER>] FROM WINDOWS;
GO

GRANT VIEW ANY DATABASE   TO [<YOUR_DOMAIN>\<YOUR_DOMAIN_USER>];
GRANT VIEW SERVER STATE TO [<YOUR_DOMAIN>\<YOUR_DOMAIN_USER>];
GRANT VIEW ANY DEFINITION TO [<YOUR_DOMAIN>\<YOUR_DOMAIN_USER>];
GO

-- Grant access to all databases (required for query monitoring and tempdb metrics)
DECLARE @name SYSNAME;
DECLARE db_cursor CURSOR READ_ONLY FORWARD_ONLY FOR
  SELECT [name] FROM [master].[sys].[databases]
  WHERE [name] NOT IN ('master','msdb','model','rdsadmin','distribution')
    AND [state] = 0;
OPEN db_cursor;
FETCH NEXT FROM db_cursor INTO @name;
WHILE @@FETCH_STATUS = 0
BEGIN
  BEGIN TRY
    EXEC('USE [' + @name + '];
    IF NOT EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM sys.database_principals WHERE name = ''<YOUR_DOMAIN>\<YOUR_DOMAIN_USER>'')
    BEGIN
      CREATE USER [<YOUR_DOMAIN>\<YOUR_DOMAIN_USER>] FOR LOGIN [<YOUR_DOMAIN>\<YOUR_DOMAIN_USER>];
    END;
    GRANT VIEW DATABASE STATE TO [<YOUR_DOMAIN>\<YOUR_DOMAIN_USER>];');
  END TRY
  BEGIN CATCH
    PRINT 'Error on ' + @name + ': ' + ERROR_MESSAGE();
  END CATCH
  FETCH NEXT FROM db_cursor INTO @name;
END
CLOSE db_cursor;
DEALLOCATE db_cursor;
GO
```

> #### 💡 TIP
>
> To securely manage sensitive information, such as database credentials, store them in [secret management](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/opentelemetry/db360/capabilities/db-apm/#secret-management) tools.

## Run as domain user [#run-domain]

1.  Configure the NRDOT Collector service to run as your domain user using PowerShell. Replace `YOUR_DOMAIN\YOUR_USER_ACCOUNT` with your domain and account name:

    ```bash
    # Configure service to use domain account
    # The space after obj= and password= is required syntax for sc.exe
    sc.exe config "nrdot-collector" obj= "YOUR_DOMAIN\YOUR_USER_ACCOUNT" password= "<YOUR_PASSWORD>"

    # Restart the service
    Restart-Service nrdot-collector
    ```

2.  Validate the service identity:

    ```bash
    Get-WmiObject Win32_Service -Filter "Name='nrdot-collector'" | Select Name, State, StartName
    # Expected: StartName = YOUR_DOMAIN\YOUR_USER_ACCOUNT
    ```

## Configure NRDOT Collector [#configure-domain]

1.  Create a configuration file named `mssql-config.yaml` in PowerShell as an Administrator:

    ```bash
    New-Item -Path "C:\Program Files\nrdot-collector\mssql-config.yaml" -ItemType File
    ```

2.  Add the following configuration to the `mssql-config.yaml` file created in the previous step:

> #### ⚠️ IMPORTANT
>
> Windows Domain Authentication uses integrated security, which uses the same configuration approach as gMSA authentication. Update the `datasource` server value to your RDS endpoint. The NRDOT service will authenticate using the domain account you configured in [Create Windows domain login](#create-domain).

> #### 💡 FULL CONFIGURATION
>
> This configuration focuses on essential database monitoring for your RDS environment. To enable comprehensive monitoring with all available metrics, refer to the [configuration reference](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/opentelemetry/db360/mssql/config-reference/#rds-domain).

> #### 💡 TIP
>
> -   The `logs` pipeline doesn't carry collector debug or internal agent logs. It transmits SQL Server query telemetry, including query text, execution plans, and sample data. The `nrsqlserver` receiver captures this telemetry through `db.server.query_sample`, `db.server.top_query`, `db.server.query_plan`, and `db.server.top_procedure` events emitted as OpenTelemetry log records.
>
> -   The `db.server.top_procedure` event requires SQL Server 2017 CU3 or later, which introduced support for `sys.dm_exec_procedure_stats.total_spills`. On earlier versions, this event doesn't emit data and logs an error. Other events remain unaffected.
>     Accessing `sys.dm_exec_procedure_stats` requires `VIEW SERVER STATE` (or `VIEW SERVER PERFORMANCE STATE`, depending on the SQL Server version). Additionally, `VIEW ANY DEFINITION` is required for `OBJECT_NAME` and `OBJECT_SCHEMA_NAME` to resolve correctly across all user databases, and `CONNECT SQL` is needed to set up initial sessions. The account you configured in [Create Windows domain login](#create-domain) already has all 3 permissions.

## Update Windows Service Registry [#update-registry-domain]

1.  Update the Windows Service Registry to use the new `mssql-config.yaml` file using one of the following methods:

    -   **For PowerShell:** Run the following command as Administrator:

        ```bash
        Set-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\nrdot-collector" -Name "ImagePath" -Value '"C:\Program Files\nrdot-collector\nrdot-collector.exe" --config "C:\Program Files\nrdot-collector\mssql-config.yaml"'
        ```

    -   **For Command Prompt:** If PowerShell isn't available, use Command Prompt instead and run the following command as Administrator:

        ```bash
        sc config "nrdot-collector" binPath= "\"C:\Program Files\nrdot-collector\nrdot-collector.exe\" --config \"C:\Program Files\nrdot-collector\mssql-config.yaml\""
        ```
2.  Validate the NRDOT Collector configuration to ensure it's correctly formatted and will work properly:
    ```bash
    & "C:\Program Files\nrdot-collector\nrdot-collector.exe" validate --config="C:\Program Files\nrdot-collector\mssql-config.yaml"
    ```

> #### 💡 TIP
>
> To correlate your application performance with database operations, you can set up database service identification. For more information, refer to [database service identification setup guide](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/opentelemetry/db360/capabilities/db-apm).

## Restart NRDOT Collector [#restart-domain]

After updating your configuration, restart the NRDOT Collector service:

```bash
net stop nrdot-collector
net start nrdot-collector
```

Verify the service is running under the domain account by checking Windows Services (`services.msc`). The `Log On As` column should show your domain account. For example, `CORP\SQLMonitor`.

## Find and use your data [#find-domain]

Once your data is being collected, you can access comprehensive SQL Server database monitoring through the New Relic UI.

To find your SQL Server database entity in New Relic:

1.  Go to **<https://one.newrelic.com> > All Capabilities > Databases**.
2.  From the **Entity type** dropdown, select **MSSQL instance**, then click **Apply**.
3.  Select your SQL Server database from the list of entities.

    After setting up SQL Server monitoring with NRDOT, you can:

    -   [Create custom dashboards](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/query-your-data/explore-query-data/dashboards/introduction-dashboards/) to visualize your database metrics
    -   [Set up alerts](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/alerts/create-alert/create-alert-condition/alert-conditions/) for critical database performance thresholds
    -   [Explore your data](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/query-your-data/explore-query-data/browse-data/introduction-data-explorer/) using New Relic query capabilities

## Related documentation [#related-docs]

[Set up APM-database correlation](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/opentelemetry/db360/capabilities/db-apm)

Learn how to correlate your application performance with database operations in New Relic.

[Troubleshooting](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/opentelemetry/db360/mssql/troubleshooting)

Learn how to troubleshoot your MSSQL Windows monitoring setup in New Relic.

[Metrics reference](https://docs.newrelic.com/docs/opentelemetry/db360/mssql/metrics-reference)

Learn about the available metrics collected by the NRDOT Collector.