- Is it possible to view historical data beyond 24 hours? Most of the metrics I've seen in Orion only go back 24 hours, but if I need to review an issue from 3-4 days ago is this possible?
Virtually all information collected historically is stored for a minimum of 7 days. Most information is collected and retained for 90-365 days. These values can all be adjusted as necessary to customize the data retention settings to meet your environments needs and organizations policies.
- Does Orion retain historical statistic? For example if I need to see the log or data file growth for a database over the last 3-4 months would this be possible?
Yes. See above. I think the reason you're having difficulty identifying how to access this information in the product, and why you believe the retention period for data is limited to 24 hours is based upon the quick access buttons on chart resources that provide access to 1 hour, 12 hour, and 24 hours of data. To view this chart data in periods beyond 24 hours, simply click the "Export" button, which will take you to the Custom Chart View. Here you can adjust the time period beyond 24 hours.
- Is it possible to mix metrics onto one chart? Example could I add page reads/second, CPU usage, Memory usage, and SQL connection counts into one chart to see if there's a correlation? And can statistics for one or multiple servers or instances be mixed to create a dash board of sorts?
Yes. This is one of the primary uses behind the Multiple Object Chart resource. This has been further enhanced in SAM 6.1 and NPM 10.7 (both currently in beta) with the introduction of the Custom Chart Resource.
