XIO Data Protection Groups Test

The XtremIO Storage Array is an all-flash system, based on a scale-out architecture. The system uses building blocks, called X-Bricks, which can be clustered together to grow performance and capacity as required. An X-Brick is the basic building block of an XtremIO array. An X-Brick comprises of 25 SSDs. A data protection group is a set of SSDs that form a redundancy group. Each data protection group has a name, health state, and defined usable SSD space. Each X-Brick contains one data protection group, which is created during the initial configuration. The data protection group cannot be removed. Whenever multiple SSDs fail, administrators are required to assign a new SSD in the data protection group so that the space within the data protection group is maintained and the data loss is kept to a minimum. To achieve superior data protection, enhanced performance of the XtremIO storage array along with a minimal data loss due to SSD failure, it is necessary to continuously monitor the bandwidth utilization and IOPS of the data protection group. The XIO Data Protection Group test helps administrators in this regard!

This test auto-discovers the Data Protection Group of an X-Brick and reports the bandwidth utilization for read/write operations, the rate at which read/write operations are performed and the percentage of free space within the SSDs of the Data Protection Group.

Target of the test : An EMC XtremIO Storage array

Agent deploying the test : A remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for each Data Protection Group on the EMC XtremIO Storage array that is to be monitored.

Configurable parameters for the test

Parameter	Description
Test Period	How often should the test be executed.
Host	The IP address of the storage device for which this test is to be configured.
Port	The port number at which the storage array listens. The default is NULL.
XtremIO User and XtremIO Password	Provide the credentials of a user who has read only privileges to access the XtremIO storage array in the XtremIO User and XtremIO Password text boxes.
Confirm Password	Confirm the password by retyping it here.
XMS IP	This parameter is applicable only for EMC XtremIO 4.x. By default, None will be chosen from this list. If the target EMC XtremIO storage array is within a XMS Management Server that is auto-discovered, then the IP or host name of that XMS Management Server will be displayed in this list. Select that particular XMS IP to configure this test. If you wish to monitor an EMC XtremIO Storage Array that is either not an integral part of the auto-discovered XMS Management Server or a brand new EMC XtremIO Storage Array, choose the Other option. This will enable you to add a new XMS Managament Server. To know how to add a new XMS Management Server, refer to Adding a new XMS.
SSL	The eG agent collects performance metrics by invoking Restful APIs on the target Storage array. Typically, the Restful APIs can be invoked through the HTTP or the HTTPS mode. By default, the eG agent invokes the Restful APIs using the HTTPS mode. This is why, the SSL flag is set to Yes by default. If the target storage array is not SSL-enabled, then the Restful APIs can be accessed through the HTTP mode only. In this case, set the SSL flag to No.
Detailed Diagnosis	To make diagnosis more efficient and accurate, the eG Enterprise 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.

Measurements made by the test

Measurement	Description	Measurement Unit	Interpretation
Read bandwidth	Indicates the rate at which data is read from this data protection group.	MB/Sec	Comparing the value of these measures across the data protection groups will clearly indicate which data protection group is the slowest in I/O processing, and when exactly the slowdown occurred – when reading data? or when writing data?
Write bandwidth	Indicates the rate at which data is written to this data protection group.	MB/Sec
Bandwidth	Indicates the amount of data handled while performing I/O operations per second on this data protection group.	MB/Sec	Compare the value of this measure across the data protection groups to identify the group that is consuming the maximum bandwidth.
Read IOPS	Indicates the rate at which read operations were performed on this data protection group.	IOPS	Ideally, the value of this measure should be high. A steady dip in this measure value could indicate a potential reading bottleneck.
Write IOPS	Indicates the rate at which write operations were performed on this data protection group.	IOPS	Ideally, the value of this measure should be high. A steady dip in this measure value could indicate a potential writing bottleneck.
IOPS	Indicates the rate at which I/O operations were performed on this data protection group.	IOPS	A high value is desired for this measure. Compare the value of this measure across the data protection groups to identify the group that is handling the maximum number of I/O operations.
User data SSD free space	Indicates the percentage of free space available for use in the SSDs of this data protection group.	Percent	A high value is desired for this measure. When an SSD in a data protection group fails, the cluster rebuilds it to restore redundancy. A rebuild reconstructs the data from the failed SSD onto the remaining SSDs in the data protection group, thus restoring redundancy and protection level. A rebuild requires sufficient available space in the remaining SSDs to handle the data protection group's demands. If sufficient free space is not available, a rebuild cannot be performed and the data protection group's performance and resiliency may be degraded.