RAID System Test
The storage processor enables the administrator in serving the purpose of the following:
- creating raid groups
- binding LUNs
- execute CLI commands
- perform read/write operations from external server to SAN
Excessive usage of or heavy I/O load on a single storage processor can cause a marked deterioration in the overall performance of the storage sub-system, as it is indicative of severe deficiencies in the load-balancing algorithm that drives the storage processors. Using the RAID System test, administrators can easily monitor the current state, usage, and load on each of the storage processors on the storage system, quickly detect an overload condition, precisely point to the storage processor that is bearing its brunt, and promptly initiate measures to resolve the issue, so as to ensure the optimal performance of the storage system.
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 processor on the storage system.
Parameter | Description |
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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. |
Measurement | Description | Measurement Unit | Interpretation | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Operational status |
Indicates the current operational state of this storage processor. |
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The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are discussed in the table below:
Note: By default, this measure reports the Measure Values discussed above to indicate the operational state of a storage processor. In the graph of this measure however, operational states are represented using the numeric equivalents only. |
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Detailed operational state |
Describes the current operational state of this storage processor. |
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This measure will be reported only if the API provides a detailed operational state. Typically, the detailed state will describe why the storage processor is in a particular operational state. For instance, if the Operational status measure reports the value Stopping for a storage processor, then this measure will explain why that storage processor is being stopped. The values that this measure can report and their corresponding numeric values are discussed in the table below:
Note: By default, this measure reports the Measure Values discussed above to indicate the detailed operational state of a storage processor. In the graph of this measure however, detailed operational states are represented using the numeric equivalents only. |
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Data transmitted |
Indicates the rate at which data was transmitted by this storage processor. |
MB/Sec |
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IOPS |
Indicates the rate at which I/O operations were performed on this storage processor. |
IOPS |
Compare the value of this measure across storage processors to know which storage processor 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 storage processors. You may then want to take a look at the Reads and Writes measures to understand what to fine-tune – the load-balancing algorithm for read requests or that of the write requests. |
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Reads |
Indicates the rate at which read operations were performed on this storage processor. |
Reads/Sec |
Compare the value of this measure across storage processors to know which storage processor handled the maximum number of read requests and which handled the least. |
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Writes |
Indicates the rate at which write operations were performed on this storage processor. |
Writes/Sec |
Compare the value of this measure across storage processors to know which storage processor handled the maximum number of write requests and which handled the least. |
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Data reads |
Indicates the rate at which data is read from this storage processor. |
MB/Sec |
Compare the value of these measures across storage processors to identify the slowest storage processor in terms of servicing read and write requests (respectively). |
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Data writes |
Indicates the rate at which data is written to this storage processor. |
MB/Sec |
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Average read size |
Indicates the amount of data read from this storage processor per I/O operation |
MB/Op |
Compare the value of these measures across storage processors to identify the slowest storage processor in terms of servicing read and write requests (respectively). |
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Average write size |
Indicates the amount of data written to this storage processor per I/O operation. |
MB/Op |
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Read hit |
Indicates the percentage of read requests that were serviced by the cache of this storage processor. |
Percent |
A high value is desired for this measure. A very low value is a cause for concern, as it indicates that cache usage is very poor; this in turn implies that direct storage processor accesses, which are expensive operations, are high. |
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Write hit |
Indicates the percentage of write requests that were serviced by the cache of this storage processor. |
Percent |
A high value is desired for this measure. A very low value is a cause for concern, as it indicates that cache usage is very poor; this in turn implies that direct storage processor accesses, which are expensive operations, are high. |