XIO Initiator Groups Test

Initiators can be managed by assigning them to an Initiator Group. If too many initiators are available in an EMC XtremIO cluster, then individual monitoring of each initiator becomes difficult for the administrators. To avoid such inconvenience but at the same time monitor the I/O processing of the initiators without any lag, administrators can use the XIO Initiator Groups test. This test auto discovers the initiator groups of the target storage array and helps administrators to figure out the initiator group that is busy processing I/O requests, detect irregularities in the distribution of I/O load across the initiator groups and thus enables administrators to initiate pre-emptive measures.

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 initiator group of the target EMC XtremIO being 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.

Measurements made by the test
Measurement	Description	Measurement Unit	Interpretation
Bandwidth	Indicates the total amount of data utilized for performing I/O operations per second on this initiator group.	MB/Sec
Read bandwidth	Indicates the amount of data utilized for performing read I/O operations per second on this initiator group.	MB/Sec	High values for these measures indicate high bandwidth usage by this initiator group folder. By comparing the values of these measures across the initiator group, you can isolate those initiator group that consume bandwidth excessively, and also understand which operation consumed too much of bandwidth – is it reading? or writing?
Write bandwidth	Indicates the amount of data utilized for performing write I/O operations per second on this initiator group.	MB/Sec
IOPS	Indicates the rate at which I/O operations were performed on this initiator group.	IOPS	Compare the value of this measure across the initiator group to know which initiator group is handling the maximum number of I/O operations.
Read IOPS	Indicates the rate at which read operations were performed on this initiator group.	IOPS
Write IOPS	Indicates the rate at which write operations were performed on this initiator group.	IOPS	A high value is desired for this measure. A low value for this measure may indicate a poor throughput thus resulting in a decrease in the free space of the initiator group and the overall performance.
Reads	Indicates the number of read operations performed on this initiator group per second during the last measurement period.	Reads/Sec	Compare the value of this measure across initiator groups to know which initiator group is handling the maximum number of read requests.
Writes	Indicates the number of write operations performed on this initiator group per second during the last measurement period.	Writes/Sec	Ideally, the value of this measure should be high. A steady dip in this measure value could indicate a potential writing bottleneck. By comparing the value of this measure across the initiator group folders, you can quickly identify the initiator group folder which is the slowest in processing write requests.
Data reads	Indicates the rate at which data was read from this initiator group during the last measurement period.	MB/Sec	Compare the values of these measures across the initiator groups to identify the slowest initiator group in terms of servicing read and write requests (respectively).
Data written	Indicates the rate at which data was written to this initiator group during the last measurement period.	MB/Sec
Average read size	Indicates the amount of data read from this initiator group per I/O operation during the last measurement period.	MB/Op	Compare the values of these measures across the initiator groups to identify the slowest initiator group in terms of servicing read and write requests (respectively).
Average write size	Indicates the amount of data written to this initiator group per I/O operation during the last measurement period.	MB/Op