Skip to Main Content
Cloud Management and AIOps


This is an IBM Automation portal for Cloud Management, Technology Cost Management, Network Automation and AIOps products. To view all of your ideas submitted to IBM, create and manage groups of Ideas, or create an idea explicitly set to be either visible by all (public) or visible only to you and IBM (private), use the IBM Unified Ideas Portal (https://ideas.ibm.com).

Shape the future of IBM!

We invite you to shape the future of IBM, including product roadmaps, by submitting ideas that matter to you the most. Here's how it works:

Search existing ideas

Start by searching and reviewing ideas and requests to enhance a product or service. Take a look at ideas others have posted, and add a comment, vote, or subscribe to updates on them if they matter to you. If you can't find what you are looking for,

Post your ideas
  1. Post an idea.

  2. Get feedback from the IBM team and other customers to refine your idea.

  3. Follow the idea through the IBM Ideas process.

Specific links you will want to bookmark for future use

Welcome to the IBM Ideas Portal (https://www.ibm.com/ideas) - Use this site to find out additional information and details about the IBM Ideas process and statuses.

IBM Unified Ideas Portal (https://ideas.ibm.com) - Use this site to view all of your ideas, create new ideas for any IBM product, or search for ideas across all of IBM.

ideasibm@us.ibm.com - Use this email to suggest enhancements to the Ideas process or request help from IBM for submitting your Ideas.

Status Submitted
Workspace Instana
Categories Sensor
Created by Guest
Created on Sep 25, 2025

Support MSSQL Local Windows Authentication with FQDN-based Certificates

Description: Today the Instana MSSQL sensor in local mode with Windows Authentication validates the server certificate against the machine’s hostname. This fails in environments where SQL Server is configured to issue certificates that contain only the FQDN (for security and compliance reasons).

 

Additional Details:

 

Problem:

When the certificate CN/SAN contains only the FQDN, but the Instana MSSQL local sensor uses the short hostname, the TLS handshake fails with a hostname validation error. 

Customers cannot use local Windows Authentication in these environments, even though the Instana agent is running on the same host as SQL Server.

The current workaround is to use remote monitoring and configure each SQL Server instance explicitly with its FQDN. However, this requires large-scale agent configuration changes and is not practical for customers rolling out Observability as a Service across hundreds or thousands of MSSQL instances.

Example: 

Hostname: server01

Domain customer.local

--> FQDN: server01.customer.local

The MSSQL Sensor will only allow authentication for a certificate signed with "server01", not "server01.customer.local".

Request:

Enhance the Instana MSSQL sensor to support FQDN validation for local Windows Authentication connections, so that:

The agent can connect locally with Windows Auth while validating against the FQDN in the certificate.

Customers do not need to switch to remote mode or manage individual MSSQL instance configurations.

Idea priority Urgent