HP P2000 VDisks Test

A vdisk with a processing bottleneck will not be able to process user requests for data quickly, thereby causing prolonged delays in data access for users. Similarly, a vdisk that is overloaded will not be able to perform at peak capacity, thus affecting the user experience with the storage system. Administrators hence have to continuously track the load on and the processing speed of each of the vdisks, so that potential overload conditions and probable processing delays can be detected proactively and pre-emptively treated. The HP P2000 VDisks test helps administrators with this. This test monitors the level of traffic on each vdisk on a HP P2000 SAN storage system, and helps isolate irregularities in load balancing across the vdisks. Alongside, the test also helps identify which vdisk is experiencing processing bottlenecks (if any), so that the bottleneck is cleared before users complain of slowdowns.

Target of the test : A HP P2000 SAN storage system

Agent deploying the test : A remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for each Vdisk being monitored

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameter	Description
Test period	How often should the test be executed .
Host	The host for which the test is to be configured. Since the storage device is managed using the IP address of its storage controller, the same will be displayed as host. In case of a dual-controller configuration, the IP address of the primary controller will be displayed here.
Port	The port number at which the specified host listens. By default, this is NULL.
Additional Controller IP	By default, this test always connects to the Host to collect metrics. If the Host is unavailable, then the test will not be able to execute. This is because, the Additional Controller IP is set to none by default. If the monitored storage device has two controllers, then you can configure the test to connect to an alternate controller, if the host is unreachable. For this purpose, specify the IP address of the alternate controller in the Additional Controller IP text box.
User and Password	In order to monitor a HP P2000 SAN storage system, the eG agent has to be configured with the credentials of a user who has been assigned the Monitor role. Specify the login credentials of such a user in the User and Password text boxes. To know how to create such a user, refer to Pre-requisites for monitoring the HP P2000 SAN storage system.
Confirm Password	Confirm the password by retyping it here.
ServicePort	The Management Controller of the HP P2000 storage system provides access for monitoring and management via the HTTP and HTTPS protocols for XML API request/response semantics. To enable the eG agent to access the management controller, invoke the XML API commands, and collect the required metrics, you need to specify the service port on the controller that listens for HTTP/HTTPS requests for XML API semantics. By default, this is port 80.
Timeout	Specify the time duration for which this test should wait for a response from the storage system in the Timeout text box. By default, this is 60 seconds.
SSL	By default, HP P2000 SAN system is not SSL-enabled. This is why, this flag is set to False by default. If it is SSL-enabled, then change this flag to True.
Authentication Type	By default, MD5 is chosen from this list indicating that the eG agent uses MD5 authentication algorithm to monitor the target HP P2000 SAN Storage system. However, if you wish to monitor HP MSA 2060 FC Storage system using the HP P2000 SAN monitoring model offered by eG Enterprise, then, choose SHA256 from this list. This indicates that the eG agent uses SHA256 authentication algorithm to collect metrics from the HP MSA 2060 FC Storage system.

Measurements made by the test
Measurement	Description	Measurement Unit	Interpretation
Data transmitted	Indicates the rate at which data is transmitted through this vdisk during the last measurement period.	MB/Sec	This is a good indicator of the load on the vdisk. You can compare the value of this measure across vDisks to figure out whether the load has been distributed uniformly across all vdisks or a few vdisks are overloaded. In case of the latter, you may have to fine-tune the load-balancing algorithm used.
IOPS	Indicates the rate at which the I/O operations were performed by this vdisk during the last measurement period.	IOPS	This measure serves as a good indicator of the I/O processing ability of the vDisk. A consistent drop in this value is hence a cause for concern, as it indicates a processing slowdown.
Reads	Indicates the rate at which the read operations were performed on this vdisk during the last measurement period.	Reads/Sec	Ideally, the value of these measures should be high. A steady dip in these values could indicate a potential processing bottleneck that will have to be cleared immediately to ensure the normal transaction of business.
Writes	Indicates the rate at which the write operations were performed on this vdisk during the last measurement period.	Writes/Sec
Data reads	Indicates the rate at which the data was read from this vdisk during the last measurement period.	MB/Sec	Comparing the value of these measures across the vdisks will clearly indicate which vdisk is the slowest in terms of reading and writing. This way, you can quickly identify the vdisk that is experiencing a processing bottleneck.
Data writes	Indicates the rate at which the data was written from this vdisk during the last measurement period.	MB/Sec