Podman Containers Status Test

In environments where hundreds of containers are launched simultaneously on a day-to-day basis, administrators may actually want to keep track on the containers that are currently running/stopped/removed etc. This will help them identify those containers that were sparsely used and those that crashed recently. By turning the spot-light on such analysis, administrators can optimize the containers thereby improving the overall performance of the target container engine. The Podman Containers Status test helps administrators in this regard!

This test reports the total count of containers launched using the target Podman container engine. In addition, this test reports the count of containers that are currently running/added/removed/paused. This test also sheds light on those containers that were not started for a long time and those containers that were running for a longer duration. The detailed diagnosis of this test helps administrators figure out the exact name of the containers that are running/added/removed/paused.

Target of the test : A Podman Container Engine

Agent deploying the test : An internal agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for the target Podman Container Engine being monitored.

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameter	Description
Test Period	How often should the test be executed.
Host	The IP address of the host for which this test is to be configured.
Port	The port number at which the specified host listens. The default is 2375.
Use SUDO	By default, this flag is set to No. This indicates that, by default, this test will report the metrics of this test by executing the crictl command. However, in some highly secure environments, the eG agent install user may not have the permissions to execute this command directly. In such cases, do the following: Edit the SUDOERS file on the target host and append an entry of the following format to it: <eG_agent_install_user> ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD:<Command> For instance, if the eG agent install user is eguser, then the entries in the sudoers file should be: eguser ALL=(ALL) NOPASSWD: crictl Finally, save the file. Then, when configuring the test using the eG admin interface, set this parameter to Yes. This will enable the eG agent to execute the sudo crictl command and retrieve the relevant metrics for this test.
Show Total Containers in DD	By default, this flag is set to No indicating that by default, the test does not generate detailed measures for the Total containers measure, so as to conserve storage space. However, if you want the test to generate and store detailed measures for the Total containers measure, set this flag to Yes.
Show Stopped Containers in DD	By default, this flag is set to No indicating that by default, the test does not generate detailed measures for the Exited containers measure, so as to conserve storage space. However, if you want the test to generate and store detailed measures for the Exited containers measure, set this flag to Yes.
Size Limit in MB	By default, the disk space utilized by each container may vary according to the size of the container. Sometimes, the containers may be over-utilizing the disk space which when left unnoticed may hamper the creation of new containers. To figure out such containers, you can specify a disk space limit beyond which the containers can be termed as large sized container. For example, if you wish to monitor the number of containers that are utilizing disk space above 50 MB, then specify 50 against this text box.
Time Limit in Weeks	For this test to report the numerical statistics of the containers that were not started/running, set a valid value against this parameter. For example, if you wish to report the containers that were not started for more than 5 weeks, then set 5 against this text box. By default, this parameter is set to 4 indicating that this test will report the containers that were not started for more than 4 weeks.
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.
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
Total containers	Indicates the total number of containers in this server.	Number
Running containers	Indicates the number of containers that are in Running state.	Number	A high value of this measure indicates that more number of containers are in running state as a result more number of applications can be accessed actively. To know which containers are currently running, use the detailed diagnosis capability of this measure.
Stopped containers	Indicates the number of containers that are currently not running in this server.	Number	To know more about the containers that are currently not running, use the detailed diagnosis capability of this measure (if enabled).
Added containers	Indicates the number of containers that were created during the last measurement period.	Number	The detailed diagnosis of this measure lists the names of the containers that were created.
Removed containers	Indicates the number of containers that were removed from this server during the last measurement period.	Number	The detailed diagnosis of this measure lists the containers that were removed. If too many containers are removed, then the users may not be able to access the hosted applications thus leading to a performance bottleneck of the Podman server. Administrators are therefore required to keep a check on the containers that are removed from the Podman server.
Large size containers	Indicates the number of containers that were using more disk space than the limit configured against the Size Limit in MB parameter.	Number	A low value is desired for this measure. The detailed diagnosis of this measure lists the names of the containers that are over-utilizing the disk space.
Containers not started for long time	Indicates the number of containers that were not running for more than the configured Time Limit in Weeks.	Number	Ideally, the value of this measure should be low. The detailed diagnosis of this measure lists the containers that are not running for longer time.
Paused containers	Indicates the number of containers that were paused during the last measurement period.	Number