App Volumes - Storage Group Test

By default, a number of datastores can be grouped together into a storage group. There are two types of storage groups:

• AppStack storage groups
• Writable volume storage groups.

AppStack storage groups replicate single AppStacks across multiple datastores. Writable volume storage groups distribute writable volumes across datastores.

When using AppStack storage groups, the App Volumes Manager manages the connection to the relevant AppStack, based on location and number of attachments across all the datastores in the group. Writable volume storage groups are used to distribute volumes across datastores for I / O and file distribution. Sometimes, when a user connects to the virtual desktop provisioned through the VMware App Volumes Manager, he/she may experience unexpected delays while the AppStacks and Writable volumes are being attached to the user. This may be due to the lack of storage space in the storage group. To avoid such unexpected delays and to improve the user experience on the VMs/desktops provisioned through the VMware App Volumes Manager, it is essential for the administrators to monitor the space utilization of the storage groups at all times. The App Volumes - Storage Group test helps administrators in this regard!

For each storage group on the target VMware App Volumes Manager, this test reports the number of datastores and the space utilization. Using this test, administrators can figure out potential space crunch (if any) on the storage groups.

Target of the test : A VMware App Volumes Server

gent deploying the test : An internal/remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for each Storage group configured on the target VMware App Volumes Manager being monitored

Configurable parameters for the test

Parameter	Description
Test Period	How often should the test be executed.
Host	The host for which the test is to be configured.
Port	The port at which the specified Host listens to. By default, this is set to 3443.
AppVol User	By default, the eG agent uses the RESTful APIs to collect the metrics from the target VMware App Volumes Manager. To be able to connect to the RESTful API, the eG agent should be configured with the credentials of a user belonging to an active directory group that is vested with the Administrators (Read only) rights. Specify the credentials of such a user in this text box. To know how to assign the Administrators (Read only) role to an active directory group, refer to Enabling the Administrators (Read only) role.
AppVol Password	Specify the password that corresponds to the AppVol User.
Confirm Password	Confirm the password by retyping it here.
WebPort	By default, in most virtualized environments, the VMware App Volumes Manager listens on port 3443 irrespective of being SSL-enabled or not. This implies that while monitoring the target VMware App Volumes Manager , the eG agent, by default, connects to port 3443 of the VMware App Volumes Manager to pull out metrics. Accordingly, the WebPort parameter is set to 3443. In some environments however, the default port 3443 might not apply. In such a case, against the WebPort parameter, you can specify the exact port at which the VMware App Volumes Manager in your environment listens so that the eG agent communicates with that port.
SSL	Set the SSL flag to Yes, if SSL (Secured Socket Layer) is to be used to connect to the target VMware App Volumes Manager, and No if it is not.

Measurements made by the test

Measurement	Description	Measurement Unit	Interpretation
Total datastores	Indicates the total number of datastores in this storage group.	Number
Total storage space	Indicates the amount of space allocated to this storage group.	TB
Used space	Indicates the amount of space that is already utilized by this storage space.	TB	Ideally, the value of this measure should be low. If this value grows close to that of the Total storage space measure, then you may consider adding more storage to the storage group, or free up the space in the storage group by deleting unnecessary data. Comparing the value of this measure across storage groups will help you identify the storage group that is utilizing the maximum amount of storage space.
Free space	Indicates the amount of space that is available for use in this storage space.	TB	A high value is desired for this measure. A sharp/consistent decrease in the value of this measure is an indication for the administrators to add more free space to the storage group before the storage group runs out of free space.
Space utilization	Indicates the percentage of space utilized by this storage space.	Percent	A value close to 100% indicates that the storage group is currently running out of space.