Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
What are the values this alarm needs to use?
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What actions, if any, should this alarm take when it is triggered? Does it need to
send an email or trigger an SNMP trap?
Work with performance charts.
vCenter Server's detailed performance charts are the key
to unlocking the information necessary to determine why an ESXi host or VM is perform-
ing poorly. The performance charts expose a large number of performance counters across a
variety of resource types, and vCenter Server offers functionality to save customized chart
settings, export performance graphs as graphic i gures or Excel workbooks, and view perfor-
mance charts in a separate window.
Master It
You i nd yourself using the Chart Options link in the Advanced layout of the
Performance tab to set up the same chart over and over again. Is there a way to save your-
self some time and effort so that you don't have to keep re-creating the custom chart?
Solution
Yes. After using the Chart Options dialog box to coni gure the performance
chart to show the desired counters, use the Save Chart Settings button to save these settings
for future use. The next time you need to access these same settings, they will be available
from the Switch To drop-down list on the Advanced view of the Performance tab.
Understanding vCenter Operations Manager.
vCenter Operations Manager adds to the
functionality of vSphere by assisting in both performance monitoring and troubleshooting.
The vC Ops analytics VM collates metrics from hosts and vCenter to calculate badges. The
Web UI VM provides a standalone web interface and also integrates with the vSphere Web
Client.
Master It
All standard vCenter server licenses come with vCenter Operations Manager
Foundation. This version is limited to four main features. What are they?
Solution
The four main features within the Foundation version of vC Ops are Proactive
Smart Alerts, Intelligent Operations Groups, vSphere Health Monitoring, and Self-
Learning Performance Analytics.
Gather performance information using command-line tools.
VMware supplies a few
command-line tools that are useful in gathering performance information. For VMware ESXi
hosts, resxtop provides real-time information about CPU, memory, network, or disk utili-
zation. You should run resxtop from the VMware vMA. Finally, the vm-support tool can
gather performance information that can be played back later using resxtop.
Master It
Know how to run resxtop from the VMware vMA command line.
Solution
Enter the command
vm-support -p -i 10 -d 180
. This creates a resxtop
snapshot, capturing data every 10 seconds, for the duration of 180 seconds.
Monitor CPU, memory, network, and disk usage by ESXi hosts and VMs.
Monitoring
usage of the four key resources—CPU, memory, network, and disk—can be difi cult at
times. Fortunately, the various tools supplied by VMware within vCenter Server can lead
the vSphere administrator to the right solution. In particular, using customized performance
charts can expose the right information that will help a vSphere administrator uncover the
source of performance problems.
Master It
A junior vSphere administrator is trying to resolve a performance problem
with a VM. You've asked this administrator to see if it is a CPU problem, and the junior
