Agents Administration - Tests
 

Default Parameters for AlibabaServBillTest

One of the key reasons for an increase in cloud spend is cloud waste. Cloud waste is the result of resources being launched without consideration of the cost, and then left running when they are not required. By enabling administrators to review the cost of each service, this test reveals if the cloud account holder is paying for services that they are not actually utilizing; in short, the test reveals if cloud waste is contributing to the increase in cloud spend. This way, the test helps administrators to figure out which services they should stop subscribing to, so the monthly spend drops.

This page depicts the default parameters that need to be configured for the AlibabaServBillTest test.

  • The TEST PERIOD list box helps the user to decide how often this test needs to be executed.

  • This test makes REST API requests to the Alibaba cloud to pull the metrics. For this purpose, the test needs to be configured with an ACCESSKEY PAIR. An ACCESSKEY PAIR is typically used to call an operation of an Alibaba Cloud service. It is also used to initiate an API request or use a cloud service SDK to manager cloud resources. An ACCESSKEY PAIR is characterized by an ACCESSKEY ID and an ACCESSKEY SECRET. The AccessKey ID is used to identify a user/cloud account. The AccessKey Secret is used to verify a user/cloud account.

    The first step to configuring the eG agent with an ACCESSKEY PAIR is to create an ACCESSKEY PAIR for the target cloud acount. To achieve this, follow the steps below:

    1. Log on to the RAM console by using an Alibaba Cloud account.

    2. In the left-side navigation pane, click USERS under IDENTITIES.

    3. On the USERS page, click the username of the RAM user for which you want to create an AccessKey pair in the USER LOGON NAME/DISPLAY NAME column.

    4. On the page that appears, click Create AccessKey in the User AccessKeys section.

      5. Note:

      You must enter a verification code if you create an AccessKey pair for the first time.

    5. Click Close.

      6. Note:

      • The AccessKey secret is displayed only when you create an AccessKey pair.

      • If the AccessKey pair is leaked or lost, you must create a new one. You can create a maximum of two AccessKey pairs.

    6. Make note of the AccessKey ID and AccessKey secret, once they are displayed.

    7. Then, configure the ALIBABA ACCESS KEY parameter of the test with the ACCESSKEY ID, and the ALIBABA SECRET KEY parameter with the ACCESSKEY SECRET you made note of.

    If you failed to make note of the ACCESSKEY ID and ACCESSKEY SECRET at the time of creating the ACCESSKEY PAIR, then you can obtain the same at a later point in time. Similarly, if an ACCESSKEY PAIR pre-exists for the target cloud account, then you do not have to create another one. Instead, you can obtain the ACCESSKEY ID and ACCESSKEY SECRET of the existing ACCESSKEY PAIR and configure the eG agent with the same. For this, follow the steps below:

    1. Use an Alibaba Cloud account to log on to the Alibaba Cloud Management console.

    2. Move the pointer over the profile picture in the upper-right corner, and click AccessKey.

    3. In the Security Tips message that appears, click Continue to manage AccessKey. AccessKey ID and AccessKey Secret are displayed.

    4. Make note of the displayed ID and secret.

    5. Then, configure the ALIBABA ACCESS KEY parameter of the test with the ACCESSKEY ID, and the ALIBABA SECRET KEY parameter with the ACCESSKEY SECRET you made note of.

  • To make diagnosis more efficient and accurate, the eG suite embeds an optional detailed diagnostic capability. With this capability, the eG agents can be configured to run detailed, more elaborate tests as and when specific problems are detected. To enable the DETAILED DIAGNOSIS capability of this test for a particular server, choose the On option. To disable the capability, click on the Off option.

    The option to selectively enable/disable the detailed diagnosis capability will be available only if the following conditions are fulfilled:

    • The eG manager license should allow the detailed diagnosis capability.

    • Both the normal and abnormal frequencies configured for the detailed diagnosis measures should not be 0.

  • Once the above value is provided, click on the UPDATE button to register the changes made.

When changing default configurations of tests, the values with “$” indicate variables that will be replaced by the eG system according to the specific server being managed - for instance, $hostName is the host/nickname of the target host, $port is the port number of the server being monitored. E.g., for a server xyz:80, $hostName will be changed automatically by the eG manager to “xyz*” and $port will be changed to “80” when configuring a test.