SCVMM Host Clusters Test
SCVMM facilitates the configuration and management of virtualization hosts, clusters, and networking and storage resources used in deploying virtual machines and services of a variety of virtualization platforms - say, Hyper-V, VMware ESXi, and Citrix XenServer.
Where SCVMM is managing numerous clusters, it is bound to be difficult for administrators to understand the composition of each cluster - i.e., the count and details of services, hosts, and VMs managed per cluster. Most importantly, administrators need to track the resource usage per cluster, so that they can accurately determine which resource is a constraint for the performance of which cluster. This way, they can figure out what needs to be done to avert the current/potential resource contention and thus ensure the continuous availability and peak performance of the hosts and VMs in the cluster.
These are the precise challenges that the SCVMM Host Clusters test helps administrators overcome!
This test reports the number and names of services, hosts, and VMs that are in each cluster managed by SCVMM. The powered-on status of each VM is also tracked, and the VMs that are powered-off and/or orphaned are highlighted. Additionally, the test also monitors how each cluster utilizes the CPU, memory, remote and local storage resources that are at their disposal. In the process, the test points you to clusters that do not have enough resources, reveals the precise resource that is contentious, and thus prompts administrators to do whatever is necessary to pre-empt the resource crunch. If VMware vSphere clusters are being managed by SCVMM, then the test also reports whether HA and DRS are enabled on the managed VMware clusters.
Target of the test : SCVMM
Agent deploying the test : An internal agent
Outputs of the test : One set of the results for each cluster managed by SCVMM
Parameter | Description |
---|---|
Test Period |
How often should the test be executed. |
Host |
The IP address of the SCVMM server being monitored |
Port |
The port at which SCVMM listens. The default is 'null'. |
Domain, Username, Password, and Confirm Password |
The eG agent runs PowerShell scripts on SCVMM to pull metrics. To run these scripts, the eG agent requires the permission of an SCVMM administrator with 'read-only' privileges. In order to grant this permission to the eG agent, configure the Username and Password parameters of this test with the credentials of an SCVMM administrator with 'read-only' privileges. Confirm the password by retyping it in the Confirm Password text box. Then, specify the domain to which this user belongs against the Domain text box. |
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:
|
Measurement | Description | Measurement Unit | Interpretation | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Services |
Indicates the number of services in this cluster. |
Number |
|
||||||
Hosts |
Indicates the number of hosts in this cluster. |
Number |
To know which hosts belong to the cluster, use the detailed diagnosis of this measure. |
||||||
Total VMs |
Indicates the number of VMs in this cluster. |
Number |
To know which VMs belong to the cluster, use the detailed diagnosis of this measure. |
||||||
Powered on VMs |
Indicates the number of VMs in this cluster that are powered-on. |
Number |
|
||||||
Powered off VMs |
Indicates the number of VMs in this cluster that are powered off. |
Number |
|
||||||
VMs in other state |
Indicates the number of VMs that are in states other than powered on/off. |
Number |
|
||||||
Orphaned VMs |
Indicates the number of VMs in this cluster that are orphaned. |
Number |
An "orphaned" virtual machine is one that exists in the vCenter Server database but is no longer present in ESX host inventory Virtual machines can become orphaned if a host failover is unsuccessful, or when the virtual machine is unregistered directly on the host. If this situation occurs, move the orphaned virtual machine to another host in the data center on which the virtual machine files are stored. |
||||||
Template VMs |
Indicates the number of template VMs in this cluster. |
Number |
A VM template is a master copy image of a virtual machine that includes VM disks, virtual devices, and settings. A VM template can be used many times over for the purposes of VM cloning. You cannot power on and edit the template once it has been created. |
||||||
Is VMware HA enabled? |
Indicates whether/not high availability is enabled for this VMware cluster. |
|
This measure reports a value only for VMware vSphere clusters. The values that this measure reports and their corresponding numeric values are listed in the table below:
Note: By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate whether HA is enabled or not for a cluster. In the graph of this measure however, the same is indicated using the numeric equivalents only. |
||||||
Is VMware DRS enabled? |
Indicates whether/not DRS is enabled for the cluster. |
|
This measure reports a value only for VMware vSphere clusters. The values that this measure reports and their corresponding numeric values are listed in the table below:
Note: By default, this measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate whether DRS is enabled or not for a cluster. In the graph of this measure however, the same is indicated using the numeric equivalents only. |
||||||
Average CPU usage |
Indicates the percentage of CPU utilized by this cluster |
Percent |
Compare the value of this measure across clusters to identify the cluster that is excessively utilizing CPU resources. This cluster may require additional processing power to be able to service incoming requests. In such cases, use the detailed diagnosis of this measure to identify the precise hosts in the cluster that over-utilizing CPU. You can then throw more CPU on that host, or add more hosts to the cluster to enhance its CPU capacity. |
||||||
Total memory |
Indicates the total memory capacity of this cluster. |
GB |
Use the detailed diagnosis of this measure to know how much memory is used by and is left with each host in the cluster. This way, you can identify the hosts that are running out of memory. You can either provide more memory to such hosts or add more hosts to the cluster in order to increase its memory capacity. |
||||||
Total available memory |
Indicates the total amount of memory that is lying unused with this cluster. |
GB |
A high value is desired for this measure. If the value of this measure is very low for a cluster, then you can use the detailed diagnosis of the Total memory measure to know which host in the cluster is not having sufficient free memory. You can either provide more memory to such hosts or add more hosts to the cluster in order to avert any potential memory contention. |
||||||
Total used memory |
Indicates the total amount of memory that is used by this cluster. |
GB |
If the value of this measure is abnormally high for any cluster, then you can use the detailed diagnosis of the Total memory measure to know which host in the cluster is eroding its memory resources. You can either provide more memory to such hosts or add more hosts to the cluster in order to avert any potential memory contention. |
||||||
Memory usage |
Indicates the percentage of memory used by this cluster. |
Percent |
If the value of this measure is 100% or close to it for any cluster, it is a clear indication that the cluster is running out of memory. In such a situation, use the detailed diagnosis of the Total memory measure to know which host in the cluster is eroding its memory resources. You can either provide more memory to such hosts or add more hosts to the cluster in order to avert any potential memory contention. |
||||||
Total remote storage |
Indicates the total capacity of the remote storage of this cluster. |
GB |
Use the detailed diagnosis of this measure to know how much remote storage space is used by and is left with each host in the cluster. This way, you can identify the hosts that are running out of remote storage space. You can add to the remote storage capacity of those specific hosts to avert any potential remote storage space contention. |
||||||
Total available remote storage |
Indicates how much remote storage is still unused by this cluster. |
GB |
A high value is desired for this measure. If the value of this measure is very low for a cluster, then you can use the detailed diagnosis of the Total remote storage measure to know how much remote storage space is used by and is left with each host in the cluster. This way, you can identify the hosts that are running out of remote storage space. You can add to the remote storage capacity of those specific hosts to avert any potential remote storage space contention. |
||||||
Total used remote storage |
Indicates how much remote storage space is currently being used by this cluster. |
GB |
If the value of this measure is abnormally high for any cluster, then you can use the detailed diagnosis of the Total remote storage measure to know how much remote storage space is used by and is left with each host in the cluster. This way, you can identify the hosts that are running out of remote storage space. You can add to the remote storage capacity of those specific hosts to avert any potential remote storage space contention. |
||||||
Remote storage usage |
Indicates what percentage of its total remote storage capacity this cluster is currently using. |
Percent |
If the value of this measure is 100% or close to it for any cluster, it is a clear indication that the cluster is running out of storage space. In such a situation, use the detailed diagnosis of the Total remote storage measure to to know how much remote storage space is used by and is left with each host in the cluster. This way, you can identify the hosts that are running out of remote storage space. You can add to the remote storage capacity of those specific hosts to avert any potential remote storage space contention. |
||||||
Total local storage |
Indicates the total capacity of the local storage of this cluster. |
GB |
Use the detailed diagnosis of this measure to know how much local storage space is used by and is left with each host in the cluster. This way, you can identify the hosts that are running out of local storage space. You can either provide more local storage space to such hosts or add more hosts to the cluster in order to increase its local storage capacity. |
||||||
Total available local storage |
Indicates how much local storage is still unused by this cluster. |
GB |
A high value is desired for this measure. If the value of this measure is very low for a cluster, then you can use the detailed diagnosis of the Total local storage measure to know which host in the cluster is not having sufficient local storage space. You can either provide additional storage to such hosts or add more hosts to the cluster in order to avert any potential storage resource contention. |
||||||
Total used local storage |
Indicates how much local storage space is currently being used by this cluster. |
GB |
If the value of this measure is abnormally high for any cluster, then you can use the detailed diagnosis of the Total local storage measure to know which host in the cluster is eroding local storage resources. You can either provide more local storage space to such hosts or add more hosts to the cluster in order to avert any potential space contention. |
||||||
Local storage usage |
Indicates what percentage of its total local storage capacity this cluster is currently using. |
Percent |
If the value of this measure is 100% or close to it for any cluster, it is a clear indication that the cluster is running out of local storage space. In such a situation, use the detailed diagnosis of the Total local storage measure to know which host in the cluster is eroding its local storage space. You can either provide more local storage space to such hosts or add more hosts to the cluster in order to avert any potential storage space contention. |
||||||
Total storage |
Indicates the total storage capacity of cluster. |
GB |
Use the detailed diagnosis of this measure to know how much storage space is used by and is left with each host in the cluster. This way, you can identify the hosts that are running out of storage space. You can either provide more storage space to such hosts or add more hosts to the cluster in order to increase its storage capacity. |
||||||
Total available storage |
Indicates how much storage is still unused by this cluster. |
GB |
A high value is desired for this measure. If the value of this measure is very low for a cluster, then you can use the detailed diagnosis of the Total storage measure to know which host in the cluster is not having sufficient storage space. You can either provide additional storage to such hosts or add more hosts to the cluster in order to avert any potential storage resource contention. |
||||||
Total used storage |
Indicates how much storage space is currently being used by this cluster. |
GB |
If the value of this measure is abnormally high for any cluster, then you can use the detailed diagnosis of the Total storage measure to know which host in the cluster is eroding storage resources. You can either provide more storage space to such hosts or add more hosts to the cluster in order to avert any potential space contention. |
||||||
Storage usage |
Indicates what percentage of its total storage capacity this cluster is currently using. |
Percent |
If the value of this measure is 100% or close to it for any cluster, it is a clear indication that the cluster is running out of storage space. In such a situation, use the detailed diagnosis of the Total storage measure to know which host in the cluster is eroding its storage space. You can either provide more storage space to such hosts or add more hosts to the cluster in order to avert any potential storage space contention. |
Use the detailed diagnosis of the Hosts measure to identify the hosts that belong to the cluster.
Figure 1 : The detailed diagnosis of the Hosts measure reported by the SCVMM Host Clusters test
Use the detailed diagnosis of the Total VMs measure to know which VMs are running on the hosts in the cluster.
Figure 2 : The detailed diagnosis of the Total VMs measure
With the help of the detailed diagnosis of the Average CPU usage measure, you can identify the hosts in a cluster that are over-utilizing the cluster's CPU resources.
Figure 3 : The detailed diagnosis of the Average CPU usage measure
Use the detailed diagnosis of the Total memory measure to know how much memory is used by and is left with each host in the cluster. This way, you can identify the hosts that are running out of memory.
Figure 4 : The detailed diagnosis of the Total memory measure reported by the SCVMM Host Clusters test
Use the detailed diagnosis of the Total remote storage measure to know how much remote storage space is used by and is left with each host in the cluster. This way, you can identify the hosts that are running out of remote storage space.
Figure 5 : The detailed diagnosis of the Total remote storage measure
Use the detailed diagnosis of the Total local storage measure to know how much local storage space is used by and is left with each host in the cluster. This way, you can identify the hosts that are running out of local storage space.
Figure 6 : The detailed diagnosis of the Total local storage measure
Use the detailed diagnosis of the Total storage measure to know how much storage space is used by and is left with each host in the cluster. This way, you can identify the hosts that are running out of storage space.
Figure 7 : The detailed diagnosis of the Total storage measure