eG Monitoring
 

Measures reported by ScvmmHostCluTest

SCVMM facilitates the configuration and management of virtualization hosts, clusters, and networking and storage resources used in deploying virtual machines and services of a variety of virtualization platforms - say, Hyper-V, VMware ESXi, and Citrix XenServer.

Where SCVMM is managing numerous clusters, it is bound to be difficult for administrators to understand the composition of each cluster - i.e., the count and details of services, hosts, and VMs managed per cluster. Most importantly, administrators need to track the resource usage per cluster, so that they can accurately determine which resource is a constraint for the performance of which cluster. This way, they can figure out what needs to be done to avert the current/potential resource contention and thus ensure the continuous availability and peak performance of the hosts and VMs in the cluster.

These are the precise challenges that the ScvmmHostCluTest test helps administrators overcome!

This test reports the number and names of services, hosts, and VMs that are in each cluster managed by SCVMM. The powered-on status of each VM is also tracked, and the VMs that are powered-off and/or orphaned are highlighted. Additionally, the test also monitors how each cluster utilizes the CPU, memory, remote and local storage resources that are at their disposal. In the process, the test points you to clusters that do not have enough resources, reveals the precise resource that is contentious, and thus prompts administrators to do whatever is necessary to pre-empt the resource crunch. If VMware vSphere clusters are being managed by SCVMM, then the test also reports whether HA and DRS are enabled on the managed VMware clusters.

Outputs of the test: One set of the results for each cluster managed by SCVMM

Descriptor:Cluster

The measures made by this test are as follows:

Measurement Description Measurement Unit Interpretation
Services Indicates the number of services in this cluster. Number

 

Hosts Indicates the number of hosts in this cluster. Number

To know which hosts belong to the cluster, use the detailed diagnosis of this measure.

Total_vms Indicates the number of VMs in this cluster. Number

To know which VMs belong to the cluster, use the detailed diagnosis of this measure.

Powered_on_vms Indicates the number of VMs in this cluster that are powered-on. Number

 

Powered_off_vms Indicates the number of VMs in this cluster that are powered off. Number

 

Other_state_vms Indicates the number of VMs that are in states other than powered on/off. Number

 

Orphaned_VMs Indicates the number of VMs in this cluster that are orphaned. Number

An “orphaned” virtual machine is one that exists in the vCenter Server database but is no longer present in ESX host inventory.

Virtual machines can become orphaned if a host failover is unsuccessful, or when the virtual machine is unregistered directly on the host. If this situation occurs, move the orphaned virtual machine to another host in the data center on which the virtual machine files are stored.

Template_VMs Indicates the number of template VMs in this cluster. Number

A VM template is a master copy image of a virtual machine that includes VM disks, virtual devices, and settings. A VM template can be used many times over for the purposes of VM cloning. You cannot power on and edit the template once it has been created.

Is_vmware_ha_enabled Indicates whether/not high availability is enabled for this VMware cluster.  

This measure reports a value only for VMware vSphere clusters.

The values that this measure reports and their corresponding numeric values are listed in the table below:

Measure Value Numeric Value
Yes 1
No 0

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate whether HA is enabled or not for a cluster. In the graph of this measure however, the same is indicated using the numeric equivalents only.

Is_vmware_drs_enabled Indicates whether/not DRS is enabled for the cluster.  

This measure reports a value only for VMware vSphere clusters.

The values that this measure reports and their corresponding numeric values are listed in the table below:

Measure Value Numeric Value
Yes 1
No 0

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate whether DRS is enabled or not for a cluster. In the graph of this measure however, the same is indicated using the numeric equivalents only.

Cpu_usage Indicates the percentage of CPU utilized by this cluster Percent

Compare the value of this measure across clusters to identify the cluster that is excessively utilizing CPU resources. This cluster may require additional processing power to be able to service incoming requests.

In such cases, use the detailed diagnosis of this measure to identify the precise hosts in the cluster that over-utilizing CPU. You can then throw more CPU on that host, or add more hosts to the cluster to enhance its CPU capacity.

Total_memory Indicates the total memory capacity of this cluster. GB

Use the detailed diagnosis of this measure to know how much memory is used by and is left with each host in the cluster. This way, you can identify the hosts that are running out of memory. You can either provide more memory to such hosts or add more hosts to the cluster in order to increase its memory capacity.

Available_memory Indicates the total amount of memory that is lying unused with this cluster. GB

A high value is desired for this measure. If the value of this measure is very low for a cluster, then you can use the detailed diagnosis of the Total memory measure to know which host in the cluster is not having sufficient free memory. You can either provide more memory to such hosts or add more hosts to the cluster in order to avert any potential memory contention.

Used_memory Indicates the total amount of memory that is used by this cluster. GB

If the value of this measure is abnormally high for any cluster, then you can use the detailed diagnosis of the Total memory measure to know which host in the cluster is eroding its memory resources. You can either provide more memory to such hosts or add more hosts to the cluster in order to avert any potential memory contention.

Used_memory_pct Indicates the percentage of memory used by this cluster. Percent

If the value of this measure is 100% or close to it for any cluster, it is a clear indication that the cluster is running out of memory. In such a situation, use the detailed diagnosis of the Total memory measure to know which host in the cluster is eroding its memory resources. You can either provide more memory to such hosts or add more hosts to the cluster in order to avert any potential memory contention.

Remote_storage_total Indicates the total capacity of the remote storage of this cluster. GB

Use the detailed diagnosis of this measure to know how much remote storage space is used by and is left with each host in the cluster. This way, you can identify the hosts that are running out of remote storage space. You can add to the remote storage capacity of those specific hosts to avert any potential remote storage space contention.

Available_remote_storage Indicates how much remote storage is still unused by this cluster. GB

A high value is desired for this measure. If the value of this measure is very low for a cluster, then you can use the detailed diagnosis of the Total remote storage measure to know how much remote storage space is used by and is left with each host in the cluster. This way, you can identify the hosts that are running out of remote storage space. You can add to the remote storage capacity of those specific hosts to avert any potential remote storage space contention.

Used_remote_storage Indicates how much remote storage space is currently being used by this cluster. GB

If the value of this measure is abnormally high for any cluster, then you can use the detailed diagnosis of the Total remote storage measure to know how much remote storage space is used by and is left with each host in the cluster. This way, you can identify the hosts that are running out of remote storage space. You can add to the remote storage capacity of those specific hosts to avert any potential remote storage space contention.

Used_remote_pct Indicates what percentage of its total remote storage capacity this cluster is currently using. Percent

If the value of this measure is 100% or close to it for any cluster, it is a clear indication that the cluster is running out of storage space. In such a situation, use the detailed diagnosis of the Total remote storage measure to to know how much remote storage space is used by and is left with each host in the cluster. This way, you can identify the hosts that are running out of remote storage space. You can add to the remote storage capacity of those specific hosts to avert any potential remote storage space contention.

Total_local_storage Indicates the total capacity of the local storage of this cluster. GB

Use the detailed diagnosis of this measure to know how much local storage space is used by and is left with each host in the cluster. This way, you can identify the hosts that are running out of local storage space. You can either provide more local storage space to such hosts or add more hosts to the cluster in order to increase its local storage capacity.

Available_local_storage Indicates how much local storage is still unused by this cluster. GB

A high value is desired for this measure. If the value of this measure is very low for a cluster, then you can use the detailed diagnosis of the Total local storage measure to know which host in the cluster is not having sufficient local storage space. You can either provide additional storage to such hosts or add more hosts to the cluster in order to avert any potential storage resource contention.

Used_local_storage Indicates how much local storage space is currently being used by this cluster. GB

If the value of this measure is abnormally high for any cluster, then you can use the detailed diagnosis of the Total local storage measure to know which host in the cluster is eroding local storage resources. You can either provide more local storage space to such hosts or add more hosts to the cluster in order to avert any potential space contention.

Used_local_pct Indicates what percentage of its total local storage capacity this cluster is currently using. Percent

If the value of this measure is 100% or close to it for any cluster, it is a clear indication that the cluster is running out of local storage space. In such a situation, use the detailed diagnosis of the Total local storage measure to know which host in the cluster is eroding its local storage space. You can either provide more local storage space to such hosts or add more hosts to the cluster in order to avert any potential storage space contention.

Total_storage_capacity Indicates the total storage capacity of cluster. GB

Use the detailed diagnosis of this measure to know how much storage space is used by and is left with each host in the cluster. This way, you can identify the hosts that are running out of storage space. You can either provide more storage space to such hosts or add more hosts to the cluster in order to increase its storage capacity.

Available_storage Indicates how much storage is still unused by this cluster. GB

A high value is desired for this measure. If the value of this measure is very low for a cluster, then you can use the detailed diagnosis of the Total storage measure to know which host in the cluster is not having sufficient storage space. You can either provide additional storage to such hosts or add more hosts to the cluster in order to avert any potential storage resource contention.

Used_storage_capacity Indicates how much storage space is currently being used by this cluster. GB

If the value of this measure is abnormally high for any cluster, then you can use the detailed diagnosis of the Total storage measure to know which host in the cluster is eroding storage resources. You can either provide more storage space to such hosts or add more hosts to the cluster in order to avert any potential space contention.

Used_storage_pct Indicates what percentage of its total storage capacity this cluster is currently using. Percent

If the value of this measure is 100% or close to it for any cluster, it is a clear indication that the cluster is running out of storage space. In such a situation, use the detailed diagnosis of the Total storage measure to know which host in the cluster is eroding its storage space. You can either provide more storage space to such hosts or add more hosts to the cluster in order to avert any potential storage space contention.