RAID Ports Test

Storage ports help the storage processors receive and process I/O requests. By periodically checking port status and measuring the I/O load on the ports, you can identify overloaded ports and thus proactively detect potential/existing load-balancing irregularities and/or processing bottlenecks with the ports. The RAID Ports test facilitates this port check. For every port configured for the storage processors supported by the storage system, this test reports the port state, the I/O load on the ports, and the processing ability of the ports. In the process, the test not only points administrators to overloaded ports, but also puts a finger on ports that are slow when processing I/O requests.

Target of the test : An SMI-S compliant storage device

Agent deploying the test : A remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for each storage port on the storage system.

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameter Description

Test period

How often should the test be executed

Host

The IP address of the storage device.

Port

The port number at which the storage device listens to. By default, this is NULL.

User and Password

Specify the credentials of a user who has the right to execute API commands on the storage device and pull out metrics. The exact role that is to be assigned to such a user will differ from one device to another – for instance, when monitoring 3PAR, you will have to provide the credentials of a user who has been assigned the Monitor role, here. 

Confirm Password

Confirm the password by retyping it here.

SSL

Set this flag to Yes, if the storage device being monitored is SSL-enabled.

IsEmbedded

If this flag is set to True, it indicates that the SMI-S provider is embedded on the storage platform. On the other hand, if this flag is set to False, it indicates that the SMI-S provider has been implemented as a proxy.

SerialNumber

If the SMI-S provider has been implemented as a proxy, then such a provider can be configured to manage multiple storage devices. This is why, if the IsEmbedded flag is set to False, you will have to explicitly specify which storage system you want the eG agent to monitor. Since each storage system is uniquely identified by a SerialNumber, specify the same here. The format of this number and where you can find it will differ from one storage system to another. You are hence advised to contact the storage administrator to know what to enter against SerialNumber. For example, the serial number for an EMC CLARiiON device will be of the format, FCNMM094900059.

NameSpace

Specify the namespace that uniquely identifies the profiles specific to the provider in use.

Measurements made by the test
Measurement Description Measurement Unit Interpretation

Health state

Indicates how healthy this port currently is.

 

The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are discussed in the table below:

Numeric Value Measure Value
0 OK
1 Unknown
2 Degraded/Warning
3 Minor failure
4 Major failure
5 Critical failure
6 Non-recoverable error

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values discussed above to indicate the state of a port. In the graph of this measure however, states are represented using the numeric equivalents only.

Operational status

Indicates the current operational state of this port.

 

The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are discussed in the table below:

Numeric Value Measure Value
0 OK
1 In Service
2 Power Mode
3 Completed
4 Starting
5 Dormant
6 Other
7 Unknown
8 Stopping
9 Stressed
10 Stopped
11 Supporting Entity in Error
12 Degraded or Predicted Failure
13 Predictive Failure
14 Lost Communication
15 No Contact
16 Aborted
17 Error
18 Non-Recoverable Error

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values discussed above to indicate the operational state of a port. In the graph of this measure however, operational states are represented using the numeric equivalents only.

Detailed operational state

Describes the current operational state of this port.

 

This measure will be reported only if the API provides a detailed operational state.

Typically, the detailed state will describe why the port is in a particular operational state. For instance, if the Operational status measure reports the value Stopping for a port, then this measure will explain why that port is being stopped.

The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are discussed in the table below:

Numeric Value Measure Value
0 Online
1 Success
2 Power Saving Mode
3 Write Protected
4 Write Disabled
5 Not Ready
6 Removed
7 Rebooting
8 Offline
9 Failure

Note:

By default, this measure reports the Measure Values discussed above to indicate the detailed operational state of a port. In the graph of this measure however, detailed operational states are represented using the numeric equivalents only.

Data transmitted

Indicates the rate at which data was transmitted by this port.

MB/Sec

 

IOPS

Indicates the rate at which I/O operations were performed on this port.

IOPS

Compare the value of this measure across ports to know which port handled the maximum number of I/O requests and which handled the least. If the gap between the two is very high, then it indicates serious irregularities in load-balancing across ports.