HCP Nodes Test

Hitachi Content Platform runs on networked redundant array of independent nodes (RAIN) or SAN-attached array of independent nodes (SAIN). SAN stands for storage area network. RAIN systems use the internal storage in each node. SAIN systems use the storage in Fibre Channel SAN arrays.

Each node in Hitachi Content Platform is configured with CPUs, Dynamic RAM, Network Interface cards,etc., and they are identified through the respective IP addresses. This test monitors the storage space utilized by each node and turns administrator attention to nodes that are running out of space. Additionally, the test also alerts administrators if any node is unavailable or if the NIC card on any node fails. Moreover, sudden/unscheduled reboots of a node are also brought to the notice of administrators. This way, the node sheds light on real/potential problems on nodes, thereby enabling administrators to swiftly resolve them, and ensure the high availability of the storage system.

Target of the test : Hitachi Content Platform

Agent deploying the test : A remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for each Node of the target Hitachi Content Platform.

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameter Description

Test period

How often should the test be executed.

Host

The IP address of the target switch that is being monitored.

SNMPPort

The port at which the monitored target exposes its SNMP MIB; the default is 161.

SNMPVersion

By default, the eG agent supports SNMP version 1. Accordingly, the default selection in the SNMPversion list is v1. However, if a different SNMP framework is in use in your environment, say SNMP v2 or v3, then select the corresponding option from this list.

SNMPCommunity

The SNMP community name that the test uses to communicate with the switch. This parameter is specific to SNMP v1 and v2 only. Therefore, if the SNMPVersion chosen is v3, then this parameter will not appear.

Username

This parameter appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPVersion. SNMP version 3 (SNMPv3) is an extensible SNMP Framework which supplements the SNMPv2 Framework, by additionally supporting message security, access control, and remote SNMP configuration capabilities. To extract performance statistics from the MIB using the highly secure SNMP v3 protocol, the eG agent has to be configured with the required access privileges – in other words, the eG agent should connect to the MIB using the credentials of a user with access permissions to be MIB. Therefore, specify the name of such a user against this parameter.

AuthPass

Specify the password that corresponds to the above-mentioned Username. This parameter once again appears only if the SNMPversion selected is v3.

Confirm Password

Confirm the AuthPass by retyping it here.

AuthType

This parameter too appears only if v3 is selected as the SNMPversion. From the AuthType list box, choose the authentication algorithm using which SNMP v3 converts the specified username and password into a 32-bit format to ensure security of SNMP transactions. You can choose between the following options:

  • MD5 - Message Digest Algorithm
  • SHA - Secure Hash Algorithm
  • SHA224 - Secure Hash Algorithm 224 bit
  • SHA256 - Secure Hash Algorithm 256 bit
  • SHA384 - Secure Hash Algorithm 384 bit
  • SHA512 - Secure Hash Algorithm 512 bit

EncryptFlag

This flag appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPVersion. By default, the eG agent does not encrypt SNMP requests. Accordingly, the this flag is set to No by default. To ensure that SNMP requests sent by the eG agent are encrypted, select the Yes option.

EncryptType

If the EncryptFlag is set to Yes, then you will have to mention the encryption type by selecting an option from the EncryptType list. SNMP v3 supports the following encryption types:

  • DES - Data Encryption Standard
  • 3DES - Triple Data Encryption Standard
  • AES - Advanced Encryption Standard
  • AES128 - Advanced Encryption Standard 128 bit
  • AES192 - Advanced Encryption Standard 192 bit
  • AES256 - Advanced Encryption Standard 256 bit

EncryptPassword

Specify the encryption password here.

Confirm Password

Confirm the encryption password by retyping it here.

Timeout

Specify the duration (in seconds) within which the SNMP query executed by this test should time out in this text box. The default is 10 seconds.

Data Over TCP

By default, in an IT environment, all data transmission occurs over UDP. Some environments however, may be specifically configured to offload a fraction of the data traffic – for instance, certain types of data traffic or traffic pertaining to specific components – to other protocols like TCP, so as to prevent UDP overloads. In such environments, you can instruct the eG agent to conduct the SNMP data traffic related to the monitored target over TCP (and not UDP). For this, set this flag to Yes. By default, this flag is set to No.

EngineID

This parameter appears only when v3 is selected as the SNMPVersion. Sometimes, the test may not report metrics when AES192 or AES256 is chosen as the Encryption type. To ensure that the test report metrics consistently, administrators need to set this flag to Yes. By default, this parameter is set to No.

Measurements made by the test
Measurement Description Measurement Unit Interpretation

Node status

Indicates whether/not this node is available.

 

The values reported by this measure and its numeric equivalents are mentioned in the table below:

Measure Value

 Numeric Value
Unavailable 0
Available 1

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate if this node is available.

Is NIC failure ?

Indicates whether/not Network Interface Card in this node has failed.

 

The values reported by this measure and its numeric equivalents are mentioned in the table below:

Measure Value

 Numeric Value
Yes 1
No 2

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate if the Network Interface Card in this node has failed. In the graph of this measure however, the same is represented using the corresponding numeric equivalents only.

SAN path status

Indicates the current storage area network path status for this node.

 

The values reported by this measure and its numeric equivalents are mentioned in the table below:

Measure Value

 Numeric Value
RAIN 1
SANWithoutMultipath 2
SANGood 3
SANDegradedToOne 4

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate the current storage area network path status for this node. In the graph of this measure however, the same is represented using the corresponding numeric equivalents only.

Node used space

Indicates space used in this node.

GB

A low value is desired for this measure.

Node free space

Indicates free space in this node.

GB

A high value is desired for this measure.

Node total space

Indicates total space in this node.

GB

 

Node space usage

Indicates percentage of space used in this node.

Percent

A low value is desired for this measure.

Node space free

Indicates percentage of free space in this node.

Percent

A high value is desired for this measure.

Total uptime of the node

Indicates the time since the last reboot of this node.

Minutes

A high value is desired for this measure.

Has the node been rebooted?

Indicates whether/not this node is rebooted.

 

The values reported by this measure and its numeric equivalents are mentioned in the table below:

Measure Value

 Numeric Value
No 0
Rebooted 1

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate if this node is rebooted.