Default Parameters for VmgBrowsActTest

When a user complains of a virtual desktop slowdown, administrators will have to instantly figure out if that VM is experiencing a resource crunch, and if so, which process/application on the desktop is contributing to it. One of the common reasons for CPU/memory contentions and handle leaks on a virtual desktop is web browsing! If a user to a virtual desktop browses resource-intensive web sites, it is bound to result in over-usage of the resources allocated to that desktop, which in turn degrades the performance of not just that desktop but even the other virtual desktops on that host. While the System Details – OS test can lead administrators to the exact browser application that is consuming the CPU/memory resources of the virtual desktop excessively, it does not provide visibility into the precise websites that were been browsed when the resource contention occurred. This is where the VmgBrowsActTest helps.

For each web browser that is being accessed by a user per virtual desktop, this test reports how every browser uses the allocated CPU, memory, and disk resources and reveals the number and URLs of the web sites that are being accessed using each browser. This way, the test not only points administrators to resource-hungry browsers, but also indicates which web sites were being accessed using that browser.

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

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

• To obtain the ‘inside view’ of performance of the desktops - i.e., to measure the internal performance of the physical desktops - this test uses a light-weight eG VM Agent software deployed on each of the desktops. Accordingly, INSIDE VIEW USING parameter is by default set to eG VM Agent.

• The REPORT POWERED OS is relevant only for those tests that are mapped to the Physical Desktops Details layer. If this flag is set to Yes (which is the default setting), then the 'inside view' tests will report measures for even those physical desktops that do not have any users logged in currently. Such desktops will be identified by their name and not by the username_on_physicalmachinename. On the other hand, if this flag is set to No, then this test will not report measures for those physical desktops to which no users are logged in currently.

• REPORT BY USER flag is set to Yes by default. This implies that the physical machines in environments will always be identified using the login name of the user. In other words, this test will, by default, report measures for every username_on_physicalmachinename.

• IS CLOUD VMs flag is set to Yes by default. This implies that the physical machines in environments will always be identified using the login name of the user. In other words, this test will, by default, report measures for every username_on_physicalmachinename.

• Typically, the detailed diagnosis of the Recent websites measure, if enabled, reveals the URL that is open in each browser tab of a virtual desktop. In large cloud-based VDI environments supporting hundreds of virtual desktops and users on the cloud, collecting and storing the details of every browser tab that a user opens can increase the strain on the eG database. To avoid this, by default, this test does not collect detailed diagnostics for the Recent websites measure. Accordingly, the this flag is set to No by default. You can turn this flag on if you want, by selecting the Yes option. If this is done, then this test will collect detailed metrics for the Recent websites measure.

• The DD FREQUENCY refers to the frequency with which detailed diagnosis measures are to be generated for this test. The default is 1:1. This indicates that, by default, detailed measures will be generated every time this test runs, and also every time the test detects a problem. You can modify this frequency, if you so desire. Also, if you intend to disable the detailed diagnosis capability for this test, you can do so by specifying none against DD FREQUENCY.

• Once the necessary values have been provided, clicking on the UPDATE button will 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.