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1 Nimsoft Documentation Nimsoft Probes Technical Description VMWare v3.27 Probe Documentation Last Update: 30 December 2010 Copyright , Nimsoft Corporation Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 1

2 Contents VMWare... 3 Prerequisites... 4 VMWare Probe Installation... 4 VMWare Configuration... 5 The VMWare GUI... 8 The Browser (left-side) Pane... 8 The Content (right-side) pane Creating a Resource Adding Monitors to be measured Manually selecting monitors to be measured Using Templates Using Auto Configurations Editing the Monitor Properties Monitors of type value Monitors of type event Note on checkpoint values Error messages Adding a queue and a key to be used by logmon to catch events from VMWare Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 2

3 VMWare This document applies to VMWare version 3.27x. General Business based on Virtualization Technology depends on a high degree of quality and availability. It is therefore of high importance that the availability and performance of the VMWare hosts and virtual machines are as high as possible. This is done by monitoring and managing the components and services to ensure optimal performance. The Nimsoft VMWare monitoring probe has the capability of handling all common monitoring and data collection tasks. The VMWare probe collects and stores data and information from the monitored components through VMWare Virtual Center or by connecting to ESX servers directly at customizable intervals. You can define alarms to be raised and propagated to the Enterprise Console when the specified thresholds are breached. Monitoring capabilities The following components entities may be monitored on Hosts and Virtual Machines: CPU Memory Disk I/O Network I/O Events Datastore Capacity Datastore Free Space Templates Templates are useful tools for defining monitors to apply to various hosts, VMs, or Datastores. After you create a template and define a set of checkpoints belonging to that template, you can just drag and drop the template into the VMWare probe hierarchy where you want to monitor the checkpoints defined for the template. See the section Using Templates for details. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 3

4 NOTE 2 Issue if a Resource pool is moved in the Virtual center. If defining a checkpoint to be monitored on a Resource pool, and this Resource pool later is moved in the Virtual center, occasionally the probe GUI does not display the checkpoint when selecting the Resource pool to which the checkpoint was moved. However, the checkpoint is still active and able to produce QoS and alarm messages. Select the Resource, so that all active checkpoints are listed, and you will find the checkpoint you moved. NOTE 2 Memory setup for the VMWare probe On large installations with many checkpoints, you should modify the memory settings in the probe configuration to optimize probe performance. The settings can be done either in the raw configuration tool for the probe or in the configuration file, and the setting can be done in two sections; janitor and properties/java_options. janitor This section handles housekeeping. One example is checking for overuse of heap memory. If a given limit is reached the process is killed. For example, to set the limit to 150,000 KB in the configuration file, make this entry: <janitor>.. memorylimit = </janitor> properties/java_options The java_options section in properties is used to set java options. Mark that the section does not exist in the.cfx file. For example, to set max heap size to 128 Mbytes, make this entry: <properties> <java_options> Xmx = -Xmx128m </java_options> </properties>. The value you set here must be less than or equal to the value set in the janitor section. NOTE 3 Extended character sets and the VMWare probe For certain Linux platforms you may experience difficulties using native characters (like Norwegian æ, ø and å) in the names when creating a Resource etc. If so, modify the configuration parameters for the probe as follows: 1. Press SHIFT, then right-click the probe in Infrastructure Manager. 2. Select Raw Configure from the context menu. 3. Add the following entry in the properties section: encoding = Cp1252 (Note that the entry is case sensitive). Prerequisites See the release notes for any additional prerequisites for the VMWare probe. VMWare Probe Installation Successful distribution of the probe package (via drag and drop in the Infrastructure Manager) requires that a Java executable (version 1.6 or higher) is available. The probe relies on either the Java package installed with the Nimsoft Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 4

5 Management Server, or on an existing installation of Java with a proper setting of the JAVA_HOME environment variable. See if you decide to install Java independently of the Nimsoft Java package. You will be asked to restart the probe to initialize it. Click the Yes button to proceed. VMWare Configuration Double-click the line representing the probe in the Infrastructure Manager to launch the VMware probe configuration interface. It will initially appear as shown below: An empty Group called Default Group. The QoS node containing some QoS definitions. The Templates node, containing the templates available. Initially only the Sample Template is present. See the section The VMWare GUI for a description of the GUI and the different terms, elements, tool buttons and window panes involved. Note that you must click the Apply button to activate any configuration modifications done. Preparing the probe With the VMWare probe installed, you must next define what to monitor. At a high level there are three steps to this: 1. Connect to the VMWare VirtualCenter. 1. Add monitors (checkpoints). See the description in the section Adding Monitors to be measured. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 5

6 2. Configure the properties for the checkpoints (for example select if they should send QoS data and alarms if the thresholds specified are breached). Connecting to the VMWare VirtualCenter Start by creating a Resource to be used as a connection to the VMWare VirtualCenter, through which the probe collects and stores data and information from the monitored components. Select the Default Group in the left pane. Then click the New Resource tool button (or right-click the Default Group and select New Resource). The Resource dialog appears. Define the computer hosting the VMWare VirtualCenter or ESX Server. See the section Creating a Resource for details. Press the Test button to verify the connection to the host. You should receive a response like the one shown below. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 6

7 The first time you press the Test button after creating your first Resource, you may get an error message if internal processing is incomplete. In that case, wait for at least 20 seconds and press the Test button again. Click the Apply button in the probe GUI to activate the new Resource configuration. The new Resource linking the probe to VMWare VirtualCenter now appears under the Default Group. Adding monitors (checkpoints) As mentioned, the link to the VMWare VirtualCenter is now established, but you have not yet selected any monitors (checkpoints). Add monitors as described in the section Adding Monitors to be measured. Configuring the properties for the monitors Finally you can configure properties (such as monitor name/description, alarms, QoS messages etc.) for the monitors you have chosen to be monitored. This is described in the section Editing the Monitor Properties. When finished, you must click the Apply button in the probe GUI to activate the configuration. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 7

8 The VMWare GUI The window consists of a row of tool buttons and two window panes. In addition, a status bar is located at the bottom of the window, showing GUI probe version information and when the probe was started. The Browser (left-side) Pane The left pane shows the monitoring groups containing the Resources defined and the QoS definitions. Initially the Default Group and the standard QoS definitions appear in the pane. Groups node You can create a new Group by clicking the New Group tool button (or by right-clicking a Group and selecting New Group). Resources A Group contains one or more Resources. On this probe you normally just create one Resource. This Resource is configured as a link to the VMWare VirtualCenter or ESX Server. You can move a Resource from one Group to another, using drag and drop. Note the following icons for the Resource node: Means the connection to the host is OK. Means the host is not available. Means the host is trying to connect. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 8

9 Under the Resource node you will find the following sub-nodes: The Auto Configurations sub-node One or more checkpoints (or templates) can be added to this node, using drag and drop to be used for auto configuring unmonitored devices. See the section Using Auto Configurations for further information. The Auto Monitors sub-node This node lists Auto Monitors, created for previously unmonitored devices, based on the contents added to the Auto Configuration node. See the section Using Auto Configurations for further information. The All Monitors sub-node This node contains the complete list of Monitors for the Resource. This includes Auto Monitors and manually configured Monitors. See the section Using Auto Configurations for further information. The VMWare tree structure: Note the icons representing the VMs in VMWare tree structure: The VM has one or more active checkpoints. The VM has none active checkpoints. The VM is powered on. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 9

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11 Resources A Group contains one or more Resources. On this probe you normally just create one Resource. This Resource is configured as a link to the VMWare VirtualCenter. Templates node This node initially contains two default templates: UMP Metrics and VM and Host Template. Templates are a useful tool for defining checkpoints to be monitored to on the various hosts, VMs, and Datastores. You can create templates and define a set of monitors belonging to that template. Drag and drop the template onto the item in the browser pane where you want to monitor the checkpoints defined for the template. To add a Template, click the Create New Template button in the tool bar. To edit or delete a template, click on it to select it, then right-click and choose the action you want from the pop-up menu. The properties for a template are Name and Description. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 11

12 See the section Using Templates for details. QoS node This node contain the standard QoS definitions included with the probe package. These can be selected when editing the monitoring properties for a monitor. To define your own QoS definitions, you right-click the QoS node and select New. Right-clicking in the left pane Right-clicking in the pane opens a pop-up menu with the following menu items: New Resource New Group Edit Delete Rename Refresh Available only when a Group or a Resource is selected. Opens the Resource dialog, enabling you to define a new Resource to be monitored. Available only when a Group or a Resource is selected. Creates a new Group where you may place Resources. The new Group will appear in the pane with the name New Group. Right-click the new Group and select Rename to give the Group a name of your own choice. Available only when a Resource is selected. Lets you edit the properties for the selected Resource. The Content (right-side) pane The contents of the right pane depends on the current selection in the left pane: Resources when a Group is selected in the left pane. Monitors when a Resource is selected in the left pane. Note the following icons: Lets you delete the selected element (Group, Resource or QoS definition). Note that you cannot delete the Default Group, but if you remove all its elements, it will not appear the next time you restart the probe. Lets you delete the selected element (Group or Resource). Note that the Default Group cannot be renamed. Refreshes the window to display the most current measured values for the monitors. Note: When selecting refresh, you will not get updated values until the next time the probe has polled VMWare. This interval is set by the Check Interval set on the properties dialog for the Resource. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 12

13 Monitor (type event or counter), where no value yet is measured (or no event has occurred). Black: Indicates that the monitor is NOT activated for monitoring. That means that the Enable Monitoring option is not set in the properties dialog for the monitor. Green: Indicates that the monitor is activated for monitoring, and the threshold value defined in the properties dialog for the monitor is not exceeded. Other colors: Indicates that the monitor is activated for monitoring, and the threshold value defined in the properties dialog for the monitor is exceeded. The color reflects the message token selected in the properties dialog for the monitor. This icon indicates a VMWare event. QoS definitions when the QoS sub-node is selected in the left-pane. Right-clicking in the pane gives you the following possibilities: When the QoS definitions are listed in the pane: Right-clicking in the list opens a small menu, giving you the possibility to add (New) or delete a QoS definition. When the Resources are listed in the pane: Right-clicking in the list opens a small menu, giving you the following options: o o o o o New Opens the Resource dialog, allowing you to define a new Resource. Edit Opens the Resource dialog for the selected Resource, allowing you to modify the properties. Delete Deletes the selected Resource. Activate Activates the selected Resource. Deactivate Deactivates the selected Resource. When the monitors are listed in the pane: Right-clicking in the list opens a small menu, giving you the following options: o o o Edit Opens the Monitor properties dialog for the selected monitor, allowing you to modify the properties. Delete Deletes the selected monitor. Refresh Refreshes the window to display the most current measured values for the monitors. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 13

14 o Note: When selecting refresh, you will not get updated values until the next time the probe has polled VMWare. This interval is set by the Check Interval set on the properties dialog for the Resource. Monitor Launches the monitor window and starts filling a graph with real time values measured on the selected monitor. The following data appears at the bottom of the graph: Interval: This interval is set to 10 seconds. Each 10 seconds the sample value is read from the probe, which means that the check interval set for the Resource is vital. The value will not change until the next poll from the probe. Samples: The number of samples received since the monitor window was launched. Average: The average value of the samples received since the monitor window was launched. Value: The most recent value received since the monitor window was launched. The color of the indicator next to the number indicates the alarm state of the monitor. E.g. green means that the alarm threshold defined for the monitor is not breached. The tool buttons The configuration tool also contains a row of tool buttons: The General Setup button The New Group button The New Resource button The Message Pool Manager button The Create new Template button. General Setup Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 14

15 Clicking the General Setup button opens the General Setup dialog. Field Description General tab Log-level Sets the level of details written to the log file. Log as little as possible during normal operation, to minimize disk consumption. 0= Fatal errors. 1= Errors. 2= Warnings. 3= Information. 4= Debug info. 5= Debug information, extremely detailed. Enable GUI auto-refresh When this option is selected, the GUI will be refreshed each 30 seconds. This will reflect the most current measured values from the checkpoints and status of the nodes in the tree structure that can be seen when manoeuvring through the Virtual Center browser appearing under Resource node. If not checked, you have to press the F5 button to refresh the GUI. Note: When pressing F5 to refresh, you will not get updated values until the next time the probe has polled VMWare. This interval is set by the Check Interval set on the properties dialog for the Resource. Environment tab Displays the folder containing Java home as defined during the probe installation wizard. Source tab Send IP address as source Use the IP address of the Host or Virtual Machine as the source for QoS metrics and Alarms. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 15

16 Creating a new Group You may create a new Group by clicking the Create New Group button in the menu-bar. The new Group will appear in the pane with the name New Group. Give the Group a name of your choice. Creating a new Resource You can create a Resource by selecting the Group it should belong to (normally Default) and clicking the Create New Resource button in the menu-bar. The Resource dialog will be launched, guiding you through the process of creating a Resource. See the section Creating a Resource for details. Launching the Message Pool Manager The Message Pool Manager can be opened by clicking the Message Pool Manager button in the Tool bar. The alarm messages for each alarm situation are stored in the Message Pool. Use the Message Pool Manager to customize the alarm text and create your own messages. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 16

17 Note that the message text can include variable. If you type a $ character in the Alarm text field, a dialog pops up, offering a set of variables to be chosen: Resource The Resource referred to in the alarm message. Host The host computer where the alarm condition occurs. Port The communication port on the host. Monitor The monitor (checkpoint) referred to in the alarm message. Desc The description of the monitor. Key The monitor key (normally the same as the name of the monitor). Value The value used in the alarm message. Oper The operand to be combined with the value and the threshold in the alarm message. Thr The alarm threshold defined. Unit The unit to be combined with the value in the alarm message (for example Boolean). Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 17

18 Info Event information. Creating a new template You may create a template by clicking the New Template icon in the menu-bar. The template dialog will be launched. Specify a name and a short description of the template. See the section Using Templates for further information. Creating a Resource To create a Resource, click the Create New Resource button in the menu-bar or right-click on a Group and select Create New Resource from the pop-up menu. You can edit the properties for an existing Resource by rightclicking a Resource and selecting Edit from the pop-up menu. Either method brings up the Resource dialog. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 18

19 Field Hostname or IP address Port Active Username Password Group Alarm Max Concurrent Connections Check interval Publish alarms as Test button Description The hostname or IP-address to the VMWare server to monitor. This is the SOAP Connector port for administration. The default is 443, which ensures a secure connection (all communication will be encrypted). Use this option to activate/deactivate monitoring of the Resource. A valid username to be used by the probe to log on the VMWare server. A valid password to be used by the probe to log on the VMWare server. Here you can select which Group you want the Resource to belong to. Normally you just have the Default Group. Select the alarm to be sent if the Resource does not respond. Note that you can edit the message or define your own, using the Message Pool Manager. For VirtualCenter-based Resources, sets the maximum number of connections to be used when requesting hostbased performance data. The check interval defines how often the probe checks the values of the monitors. Note that these intervals must match with performance intervals defined in VirtualCenter. Normally intervals of 5, 60, 360 and 1440 minutes exist in VirtualCenter. If specifying a value that is not defined there, you must tick the Allow the probe to install custom Performance Intervals in VirtualCenter option at the bottom of this dialog. Then this new value will be added as a performance interval in VirtualCenter and thus be a valid check interval for the probe. This option is available for VirtualCenter 1.x or newer. If VMWare is not running on the hub, issue an alarm as indicated. (Option not always present, depending on your configuration.) Press the test button to verify the connection to the host. You should receive a response like the one shown below. The first time you press the Test button after you have created your first Resource, you may receive an error message. In that case, please wait for at least 20 seconds and press the Test button again. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 19

20 Adding Monitors to be measured There are three different ways to enable monitors to be measured on VMs, hosts, and Datastores: Manually selecting the monitors Using templates Using Auto Configurations This is done by maneuvering through the VirtualCenter browser appearing under Resource node. Selecting a folder in the treestructure, the monitors found will be listed in the right pane of the probe GUI, enabling you to select the ones you want to monitor. See also the section Manually selecting monitors to be measured. Templates, introduced in probe version 2.0, is a useful tool for defining monitors to be measured. See the section Using Templates for further information. Auto Configuration, introduced in probe version 2.5.x, is a new and powerful method for automatically adding monitors to be measured. Auto Monitors will be created for devices that are currently NOT monitored, and only for VMs and hosts that are powered on. Example: When new VMs are created on the VMWare server, the Auto Configuration feature will, if configured, create Auto Monitor(s) for the new VMs and automatically start monitoring them. See the section Using Auto Configurations for further information. Manually selecting monitors to be measured To select a monitor to be measured for a Resource, select the Resource in the left pane and navigate through the Virtual Center browser appearing under Resource node. Selecting a folder in this tree-structure, the monitors found will be listed in the right pane of the probe GUI, enabling you to select the ones you want to monitor. Note that you may also add monitors to be measured, using templates (see the section Using Templates). Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 20

21 Select the All Monitors node to list all monitors currently being measured in the right pane. Note that you can also select/deselect monitors here. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 21

22 Enabling the monitors for QoS and Alarming You can now see the current values for the monitors in the Values column in the monitor list of the GUI. To enable the probe to send QoS data and/or send alarms on threshold breaches, you have to modify the properties for each of the monitors. This is done by double-clicking a monitor (or right-clicking and selecting Edit), which brings up the monitor s properties dialog. See the section Using Templates for details. Using Templates Templates, introduced in probe version 2.0, are useful tools for defining monitors to be measured on the various hosts or VMs: The Templates node in the left pane initially contains one template called Sample Template. You may create templates and define a set of monitors belonging to that template. These templates can be applied to a host, VM, Datastore, or Resource pool by dragging and dropping the template onto the appropriate item in the browser pane, where you want to measure the monitors defined for the template. You may also drop a template on a Resource in the tree structure, and the template will be assigned all VMs under that Resource. Creating a template Right-click the Templates node in the left window pane and select New. Note that you may also edit an existing template by selecting one of the templates defined (found by expanding the Templates node and selecting Edit). Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 22

23 The Template Properties dialog appears, letting you specify a Name and a Description for the new template. Adding monitors to the template Drag checkpoints from the right pane and drop on the template in the left pane: Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 23

24 You may now edit the properties for the monitors under the template as described in the section Editing the Monitor Properties. Applying a template to a host, VM, or Datastore Drag and drop the template onto the host, VM, Datastore, or Resource pool where you want to monitor the checkpoints defined for the template. Note that you may also drop the template on a node containing multiple subordinate objects. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 24

25 You will then be asked if you want to apply the template to all objects under the node. You can also drop a template on a Resource in the tree structure, and the template will be assigned all objects under that Resource structure: Using Auto Configurations Auto Configuration is a powerful method for automatically adding monitors to be measured. Auto Monitors will be created for devices that are currently NOT monitored, and only for VMs, hosts, and Datastores that are powered on. Example: When new VMs are created on the VMWare server, the Auto Configuration feature will, if configured, create Auto Monitor(s) for the new VMs and automatically start monitoring them. The Auto Configuration feature consists of two sub-nodes located under the Resource node in the left pane: Auto Configurations One or more checkpoints (or templates) can be added to this node, using drag and drop. When this is done, you must click the Apply button and restart the probe to activate the changes. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 25

26 Auto Monitors The probe will search through the VirtualCenter tree-structure for VMs and hosts. Auto Monitors, representing the monitor(s) or template(s) added under the Auto Configuration node will be created (and listed under the Auto Monitor node, see below) for devices that are currently NOT monitored. NOTE Be careful to avoid adding many monitors or templates to the Auto Configurations node if you have a large number of VMs, as this may result in a very large number of Auto Monitors (see below). This node lists Auto Monitors, created for previously unmonitored devices, based on the contents added to the Auto Configuration node. The Auto Monitors will only be created for devices that are currently NOT monitored. Adding a template to the Auto Configurations node You can add a template (see the Using Templates section to learn more about templates) by selecting the Templates node in the left pane. All available templates will be listed in the right pane. Add a template to the Auto Configurations node by dragging the template from the list and dropping it on the Auto Configurations node in the browser pane. Click the Auto Configurations node and verify that the template was successfully added. As always, you must click the Apply button and restart the probe to activate the configuration. Adding a monitor to the Auto Configurations node You can add a monitor to the Auto Configurations node, using drag and drop. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 26

27 Monitors can be listed in the right pane by selecting the Resource in the left pane and navigating through the Virtual Center browser appearing under Resource node. Select a folder in this tree-structure to list its monitors in the right pane. Note that you can also list all checkpoints currently monitored, if any, in the right pane by selecting the Resource node. Add the monitor to the Auto Configurations node by dragging the monitor, dropping it on the Auto Configurations node. Click the Auto Configurations node and verify that the monitor was successfully added. As always, you must also click the Apply button and restart the probe to activate the configuration Exploring the contents of the Auto Configurations node To verify that the monitors and /or templates were successfully added, click the Auto Configurations node in the left pane. To edit the properties for the template or monitor, right-click in the list and select the Edit menu-item. See the section Editing the Monitor Properties for detailed information. To delete the template or monitor from the list, right-click in the list and select the Delete menu-item. As always, you must click the Apply button and restart the probe to activate changes to the Auto Configuration feature. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 27

28 Checking the Auto Monitors node When templates and/or monitors have been added to the Auto Configurations node, you must click the Apply button and restart the probe to activate the Auto Configuration feature. The probe then searches through the Virtual Center browser for hosts, VMs, and Datastores. For each one that is currently NOT monitored, an Auto Monitor is created for each of the templates and/or monitors listed under the Auto Configurations node. Example: Suppose you have three monitors under the Auto Configurations node; one host related monitor and two VM related monitors. This will result in one Auto Monitor created for each host found and two Auto Monitors for each VM found, provided that these devices are currently not monitored, and that the devices are powered on. All Auto Monitors created will be listed under the Auto Monitors node. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 28

29 Editing the Monitor Properties To edit the properties for a monitor, right-click it in the window and select the Edit menu-item. As always, you must click the Apply button to activate the new configuration. Note that monitors of type value (see the Type column when monitors are listed in the right pane) have a property dialog that is different from the property dialog for monitors of type event. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 29

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31 Monitors of type value Field Description Name Key Description Value Definition This is the name of the monitor. The name will be inserted into this field when the monitor is fetched from the VirtualCenter, but you are allowed to modify the name. This is a read-only field, describing the monitor key. This is a description of the monitor. This description will be inserted into this field when the monitor is fetched from the VirtualCenter, but you are allowed to modify it. This drop-down list lets you select which value to be used, both for alarming and QoS: You have the following options: The current value, meaning that the most current value measured will be used. The delta value (current previous). This means that the delta value calculated from the current and the previous measured sample will be used. Delta per second. This means that the delta value Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 31

32 Field Description calculated from the samples measured within a second will be used. The average value of the last and current sample: (current + previous) / 2. Active Enable Monitoring Alarms Operator This activates the monitoring of the probe. Selecting this option activates the monitoring. Note that the monitor will also be selected in the list of monitors in the right window pane when this option is selected, and that you can enable/disable monitoring of the checkpoint from that list. This tab describes the alarm properties for the monitor. You can define both a high and a low threshold. Initially the high threshold is set to a default value (or the current value. Set this value to match your needs. The low threshold is initially disabled. If you want to use it, you must select another operator than disabled from the list and configure it to match your needs. Select from the drop-down list the operator to be used when setting the alarm threshold for the measured value. Example: => 90 means alarm condition if the measured value is above 90. = 90 means alarm condition if the measured value is exact 90. Threshold Unit Message Token Post/Attach with subject - WMWARE The alarm threshold value. An alarm message will be sent if this threshold is exceeded. This field specifies the unit of the monitored value. (for example %, Mbytes etc.). The field is read-only. Select the alarm message to be issued if the specified threshold value is breached. These messages are kept in the message pool. The messages can be modified in the Message Pool Manager. Checking this option, alarm messages for the checkpoints will be attached/posted with subject VMWARE. Advanced Publish alarm as VMWARE message Publish Quality of Service QoS Name Checking this option, the alarm messages for the checkpoints will be attached/posted as a VMWARE message. Select this option if you want QoS messages to be issued on the monitor. Select the name to be used on the QoS message issued. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 32

33 Monitors of type event Field Name Key Description Subscribe Operator Description This is the name of the monitor. The name will be inserted into this field when the monitor is fetched from the VirtualCenter, but you are allowed to modify the name. This is a read-only field, describing the monitor key. This is a description of the monitor. This description will be inserted into this field when the monitor is fetched from the VirtualCenter, but you are allowed to modify it. Selecting this option, an alarm will be sent when this event has been triggered. Select the operator to be used when setting the alarm threshold for the event. This threshold refers to the event s severity level in VirtualCenter. Example: => 1 means alarm condition if the event is triggered, and the severity level in VirtualCenter is equal to or higher than 1 (Warning). Severity Message Token The threshold severity level for the event in VirtualCenter. Select the alarm message to be issued if the specified threshold value is breached. These messages are kept in the message pool. The messages can be modified in the Message Pool Manager. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 33

34 Publish alarm as VMWARE message Checking this option, the event messages for the checkpoints will be attached/posted as a VMWARE message. Note on checkpoint values Some of the checkpoint values received from VMWare will be converted by the probe. For Hosts: Memory checkpoints: VMWare reports memory-related checkpoints as Megabytes (MB). The VMWare probe will convert these values to percent values (% of MemorySize). The total memory size for a host can be found by selecting the host in the left pane. MemorySize in the right pane will then display the total memory available in MB. In the example below, the total memory available is 8191 MB. Selecting the Memory sub-node in the left pane, you will see that the probe displays the measured value for the Memory Consumed checkpoint as 79,177 percent. This means that 79,177 % of the total memory available on the host is used. With 8191 MB total memory, % means (8191*79,177/100) = 6485 MB memory consumed. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 34

35 CPU checkpoints VMWare reports some CPU-related checkpoints as Milliseconds (where milliseconds is the maximum value) and others as Megahertz (MHz). The VMWare probe will convert these values to: Milliseconds are converted to % of available, which means percent of milliseconds. E.g. CPU used (% of available) = means (20000 Ms*47.86/100)= 9572 Ms. Megahertz are converted to % of MHz*NumCpuCores, which means percent of (number of CPUs* CPU clock). For VMs: Memory checkpoints: VMWare reports memory-related checkpoints as Megabytes (MB). The VMWare probe will convert these values to percent values (% of Memory). The total memory size for a VM can be found by selecting the VM in the left pane. Memory in the right pane will then display the total memory available in MB. In the example below, the total memory available is 256 MB. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 35

36 Selecting the Memory sub-node in the left pane, you will see that the probe displays the measured value for the Memory Consumed checkpoint as 17,93 percent of memory. This means that 17,93 % of the total memory available on the VM is used. With 256 MB total memory, 17,93 % means (256*17,93/100) = 45,9 MB memory used. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 36

37 CPU checkpoints VMWare reports some CPU-related checkpoints as Milliseconds (where milliseconds is the maximum value) and others as Megahertz (MHz). The VMWare probe will convert these values to: Milliseconds are converted to % of available, which means percent of milliseconds. E.g. CPU used (% of available) = means milliseconds * 47.86/100 = 9572 Ms. On VMWare it is possible to set a maximum limit in MHz available for each VM. If such a limit is specified, the checkpoint CPU usage in MHz is reported as % of limit. This limit can be checked by selecting the VM node in the left pane and see what is displayed as limit in the right pane. -1 means no limit, otherwise the limit specified (e.g. 256 (Mb) will be displayed. If a limit of 256 Mb is specified, a CPU usage of 50 % means that 128 Mb is used. Error messages When you have defined a Resource and click the Test button (or click OK + Apply), you might get an error message if any of the values entered are wrong. The error message will be written to the log (and in a separate dialog if the Test button was used). Den siste versjon av proben vil nå skrive ut en linje på error level FATAL (0) + eventuelt en stack trace dersom error level > 0 er brukt. Error message examples: apr 20 09:50:31:891 [Thread-24] vmware: Connection problem:login failed due to a bad username or password. Explanation: The user name or password is wrong. apr 20 09:54:53:183 [Thread-10] vmware: Connection problem:(1500), Not able to get certificate, reason: java.net.connectexception: Connection refused. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 37

38 Explanation: The probe does not find a valid certificate behind the host/port specified. Probably the combination host / port is wrong. apr 20 09:55:02:826 [Thread-10] vmware: Connection problem:java.net.connectexception: Connection refused: connect. Explanation: The host / port specified does not exist (is not open). jun 25 11:34:57:194 [Thread-1] vmware: (1500) Connection problem, reason: com.sun.org.apache.xerces.internal.impl.io.malformedbytesequenceexception: Invalid byte 1 of 1-byte UTF-8 sequence Explanation: This error message occurs after a restart of the VirtualCenter (VC) server if native characters (like Norwegian æ, ø and å) are used in a name (folder name, Resource pool name, VM name, host name, etc. ) in the VC. After a VC server restart, the native characters will be shown as in the VC GUI. Please remove the native character(s).. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 38

39 Adding a queue and a key to be used by logmon to catch events from VMWare It is possible to configure the logmon probe to catch events and alarms from VMWare. Then you must first create a new queue in the HUB and add a new key in the VMWare configuration file. When this is done, you must create a profile in logmon that checks the queue file for the queue created. Using the queue in the example below, the file will be named Logmon_Vmware.sds. This queue file is located under the Nimsoft/Hub/Q directory. 1. Open the HUB GUI and create a new queue as shown on the figure below: 2. Open the Raw configuration tool for the VMWARE probe by SHIFT + right-clicking the probe in Infrastructure Manager, selecting Raw Configure. In section Setup, add the following key. 3. Use the Infrastructure Manager to restart the VMWARE probe. 1. Open the VMWare GUI and check the setup/environment tab to verify that post to subject field looks like shown on the figure below. Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 39

40 4. 2. Open the properties dialog for each of the checkpoints that you want to send alarm messages/events to the queue you just created. Check the option Post/Attach to subject VMWARE. -Document End- Nimsoft Documentation: VMWare v3.27x 40