Troubleshooting PostgreSQL NRDOT monitoring

Troubleshoot common issues you may encounter when monitoring your PostgreSQL with the NRDOT Collector.

Test connectivity

Test network connectivity to PostgreSQL

bash

$psql --host=<YOUR_DB_HOST> --port=<YOUR_DB_PORT> --username=<YOUR_DB_USERNAME> --dbname=<YOUR_DATABASE_NAME> --command 'SELECT 1;'

A successful connection and result confirm the monitoring user, host, and port are reachable before troubleshooting the collector itself.

Test OTLP endpoint connectivity

Verify the NRDOT Collector can reach the New Relic OTLP endpoint:

bash

$curl -v <YOUR_NEWRELIC_OTLP_ENDPOINT>

Common symptoms

Symptom	Likely cause
No `db.server.query_sample` / `db.server.top_query` events	The `events` block not enabled in the receiver config (both are off by default)
`db.server.top_query` events missing entirely	`pg_stat_statements` extension not created in that database
`db.server.query_sample` missing blocking-session detail	Monitoring user lacks `pg_monitor`
Long queries truncated in `db.server.query_sample`	Default `track_activity_query_size` (1024 bytes); raise it, see Compatibility and prerequisites
`postgresql.function.calls` always empty, or dashboard "Function Calls/min" widget empty	`track_functions` not set to `pl` or `all` in `postgresql.conf`
Several dashboard widgets empty despite metrics flowing	Those metrics are disabled by default; see Metrics reference
`db.query.comment_tags.nr_service_guid` always empty	`allowed_comment_keys: [nr_service_guid]` not set on `query_sample_collection` / `top_query_collection`; empty by default
Table/index/function metrics missing for some tables	Monitoring user lacks `SELECT` on those tables/schemas; `pg_monitor` grants stat-visibility, not object-level `SELECT`
`postgresql.wal.lag` / `.wal.age` missing	Requires WAL enabled with at least one connected replica; silently omitted on standalone/source-only instances, not zeroed
PostgreSQL entity doesn't appear, or app→PostgreSQL relationship doesn't resolve in Entity Explorer	`server.address`/`server.port` not present on the resource; the receiver alone doesn't emit these under the default (legacy) resource model

Data not appearing in New Relic

To check for rate-limit related issues, run:
```
SELECT * FROM NrIntegrationError
```
If data still isn't flowing, check whether there are any drop rules set on your Metric and Log events. See Drop log data with drop filter rules and Pipeline control.

Instrumentation in self-hosted environments

Learn how to set up PostgreSQL monitoring in self-hosted environments with New Relic.

Instrumentation in RDS environments

Learn how to set up PostgreSQL monitoring in RDS environments with New Relic.

Metrics reference

Learn about the available metrics collected by the NRDOT Collector.