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Datastore Overview Report
Using this report, the following can be ascertained:
To generate this report, do the following:
Select the Datastore Overview option by following the menu sequence: REPORTS BY FUNCTION -> Domain-specific Reports -> Virtual Applications / Desktops -> Virtualization -> Datastores.
Using this report, you can engage in a time-based performance analysis of those datastores that are used by specific ESX servers, the datastores that are managed by one/more vCenter servers, or those datastores that are associated with all the ESX servers/vCenter servers within a particular zone/segment/service. Indicate your choice by picking the one of the following options from the Analyze by list.
The speed with which a report is generated depends primarily on the report Timeline. While a Timeline that varies between a couple of days to a week enables the eG Enterprise system to quickly retrieve the required data, timelines that span multiple weeks/months could slow-down the data retrieval and report generation process to a considerable extent, owing to the volume of data involved. In order to ensure quick and easy access to reports, eG Enterprise provides you the option of enabling data retrieval from the Trend information in the database, instead of the Detailed test information that is used by default for report generation. The Detailed test information based comprises of multiple measurement records for a test - one or more each for every test execution. Whereas, the Trend information includes only hourly, daily, and monthly summary computations for a test performed on a continuous basis. For instance, during a period of 1 hour, a test that runs every 5 minutes inserts atleast 12 records into the Detailed test information base. On the other hand, the Trend information base would consist of only 1 record for the same 1 hour period. Fewer the number of records, query execution becomes much quicker, and data retrieval faster. To use the trend data for report generation, you will have to select the Trend option from the Show Data field in Figure 1. By default, the Detailed option is selected in Figure 1 indicating that the report data is retrieved from the detailed test information in the database. If need be, you can also ensure that all reports always use the Detailed test tables alone by hiding the Show Data field from the reporter interface. To achieve this, do the following:
From the GENERAL SETTINGS page that then appears, if you set the Compute average/sum of metrics while trending flag to No, then the Show Data field will not appear in the reporter interface; this denies users access to the Trend option, and thus ensures that reports are always generated using the Detailed tables.
Note:
The usage of Detailed test tables for generating reports, especially those that span weeks, increases the stress on the eG database, thus resulting in undue delays in report generation. In order to ensure that the database is not choked by such voluminous data requests, you can configure eG Enterprise to automatically "force" the use of the Trend option if the Timeline of a report exceeds a pre-configured duration. To specify this time boundary, do the following:
Then, specify the Timeline for the graph. You can either provide a fixed time line such as 1 hour, 2 days, etc., or select the Any option from the list to provide a From and To date/time for report generation.
Note:
For every user registered with the eG Enterprise system, the administrator can indicate the maximum timeline for which that user can generate a report. Once the maximum timeline is set for a user, then, whenever that user logs into eG Reporter and attempts to generate a report, the Timeline list box in the report page will display options according to the maximum timeline setting of that user. For instance, if a user can generate a report for a maximum period of 3 days only, then 3 days will be the highest option displayed in the Timeline list - i.e., 3 days will be the last option in the fixed Timeline list. Similarly, if the user chooses the Any option from the Timeline list and proceeds to provide a start date and end date for report generation using the From and To specifications, eG Enterprise will first check if the user's Timeline specification conforms to his/her maximum timeline setting. If not, report generation will fail. For instance, for a user who is allowed to generate reports spanning over a maximum period of 3 days only, the difference between the From and To dates should never be over 3 days. If it is, then, upon clicking the Run Report button a message box will appear, prompting the user to change the From and To specification.
In addition to the settings discussed above, this report comes with a set of default specifications. These settings are hidden by default. If you do not want to disturb these default settings, then you can proceed to generate the report by clicking the Run Report button soon after you pick a Component. However, if you want to view and then alter these settings (if required), click on the button. The default settings will then appear in the MORE OPTIONS drop down window (see Figure 2). The steps below discuss each of these settings and how they can be customized.
Figure 2 : The default settings for generating the Datastore Overview report
If the timeline specified for the report needs to exclude the data collected during the Weekends, then set Exclude weekends to Yes. If not, select No.
Note:
By default, the weekend constitutes Saturday and Sunday. To override this default setting, do the following:
In large environments, reports generated using months of data can take a long time to complete. Administrators now have the option of generating reports on-line or in the background. When a report is scheduled for background generation, administrators can proceed with their other monitoring, diagnosis, and reporting tasks, while the eG manager is processing the report. This saves the administrator valuable time. To schedule background processing of a report, you can either select the Background Save - PDF option or the Background Save - CSV option from the Report Generation list. In this case, a Report Name text box will appear, where you would have to provide the name with which the report is to be saved in the background. To process reports in the foreground, select the Foreground Generation - HTML option from this list.
Note:
If the Report Type is Graph and the Report Generation mode is Foreground Generation - html, then, clicking on the Run Report button will reveal Figure 3.
Figure 3 comprises of the following:
A distribution pie chart that depicts the number of datastores associated with the chosen component-type that are in different distribution ranges. The distribution ranges are obtained by applying the first of the configured functions on the chosen Measure. For instance, assume that Physical disk space usage is the chosen Measure. Say that you have configured to display the Avg and Max of this measure in a Data report. Typically, both these configured values will appear only in the Data report. In the case of a Graph report however, the first of the two functions - i.e., Avg of Physical disk space usage - alone is calculated for every datastore mapped to the chosen component-type. The resulting pie chart enables administrators to deduce, at a glance, the number of datastores where the chosen performance metric has fared well and/or badly. Clicking on a particular slice in the pie chart lists the datastores that fall within the value range represented by that slice (see Figure 4). Against every datastore, the actual values for each of the configured functions (both Avg and Max, in our example) will be displayed. A vCenter-level Summary of the chosen Measure will also be available.
Figure 4 : The physical servers that fall within the usage range clicked on
If the Report Type is Data, then the resulting report will include a table listing all the datastores that were used during the specified Timeline, the number of VMs using each datastore, followed by a wide range of pre-configured and user-configured metrics revealing how effectively each datastore was utilized during the given period. If multiple functions (e.g., Avg, Current, Percent, etc.) have been configured to be applied on a measure, then the report will include a column for every configured function. With the help of this data, you can accurately identify datastores that were down during the stated period, datastores that ran / were running out of space, and the vCenters/ESX servers/VMs that were affected by such anomalies. You can zoom into the performance of a particular component by clicking on the corresponding link in the report - this will invoke a Server Report of that component, which reveals the overall health of the component. In addition, the Datastorage Report embeds a Percent change column, which indicates whether the overall datastore usage was optimal or erratic during the designated period. Sudden and significant spikes in datastore usage could cause the Percent change to increase.
Figure 5 : The Data report for Data Storage
Figure 6 : Clicking on a 'Server' in the Data Storage Report
On the other hand, if the Background Save - PDF option is chosen from the Report Generation list, then clicking on the Run Report button will not generate the report and display it in this page for your benefit. Instead, a message indicating that the report is being processed in the background will appear. This will be accompanied by a link that will lead you to the page that lists all the reports that are being processed in the background, and their current status. If background report generation fails for a report, you can regenerate that report using this page, or can even delete that report if need be. On the other hand, if background processing successfully completes for your report, then, you can view a PDF of the report by clicking on the icon in that page.
A default set of measures are pre-configured for the Overview report in the [VIRTUAL_DATASTORE] section of the eg_report.ini file (in the <EG_INSTALL_DIR>\manager\config directory); these default measures are Server, Datastore, Datastore availability, Total capacity, Used space, Free space, Percent usage, Percent Change. You can, if you so desire, add more default measures to the [VIRTUAL_DATASTORE] section in the format:
Default:<InternalTest>:<InternalMeasure>#<DisplayName>=<Comma-separated list of functions>.