vCenter Sessions Test
This test monitors the user sessions to the vCenter, and reports new logins and sessions logging out.
Target of the test : A VMware vCenter server
Agent deploying the test : An internal agent
Outputs of the test : One set of results for the vCenter server being monitored.
Parameter | Description |
---|---|
Test Period |
How often should the test be executed. |
Host |
The host for which this test is to be configured. |
Port |
Refers to the port at which the specified host listens to. |
Using |
The Using parameter determines whether this test should be monitored using the web services API or CLI (command line interface). If you are monitoring vCenter in an agentless manner, then you might want to execute this test using the web services API, as this approach supports both agent-based and agentless monitoring modes. In such a case therefore, select Web services API from the Using list box. If the Web services API option is chosen, then ensure that the Virtual Center Server Home parameter is set to none. Also, make sure that the VC User and VC Password parameters represent the user name and password to connect to the vCenter server. By default, Web Services API is selected from the Using list. The command line interface is typically preferred, if vCenter is monitored in an agent-based manner. In such a case therefore, select Command Line Interface from the Using list. If this option is chosen, then ensure that the VirtualCenter License File, Virtual Center Server Home and ReReadLicense parameters are configured with valid values, and the VC User and VC Password parameters are set to None. Note: vCenter 4.0 does not support the command line interface; therefore, set the using parameter to Web services API while monitoring vCenter 4.0. |
VC User and VC Password |
To connect to vCenter and extract metrics from it, this test should be configured with the name and password of a user with Administrator or Virtual Machine Administrator privileges to vCenter. However, if, owing to security constraints, you are not able to use the credentials of such users for test configuration, then you can configure this test with the credentials of a user with Read-only rights to vCenter. For this purpose, you can assign the ‘Read-only’ role to a local/domain user to vCenter, and then specify name and password of this user against the VC User and VC Password text boxes. The steps for assigning this role to a user on vCenter have been detailed in vCenter servers terminate user sessions based on timeout periods. The default timeout period is 30 mins. When you stop an agent, sessions currently in use by the agent will remain open for this timeout period until vCenter times out the session. If the agent is restarted within the timeout period, it will open a new set of sessions. If you want the eG agent to close already existing sessions on vCenter before it opens new sessions, then, instead of the ‘Read-only’ user, you can optionally configure the VC User and VC Password parameters with the credentials of a user with permissions to View and Stop Sessions on vCenter. For this purpose, you can create a special role on vCenter, grant the View and Stop Sessions privilege (prior to vCenter 4.1, this was called the View and Terminate Sessions privilege) to this role, and then assign the new role to a local/domain user to vCenter. The steps for assigning this role to a user on vCenter have been detailed in |
Confirm Password |
Confirm the password by retyping it in this text box. |
SSL |
By default, the vCenter server is SSL-enabled. Accordingly, the SSL flag is set to Yes by default. This indicates that the eG agent will communicate with the vCenter server via HTTPS by default. |
Webport |
By default, in most virtualized environments, vCenter listens on port 80 (if not SSL-enabeld) or on port 443 (if SSL-enabled) only. This implies that while monitoring vCenter, the eG agent, by default, connects to port 80 or 443, depending upon the SSL-enabled status of vCenter – i.e., if vCenter is not SSL-enabled (i.e., if the SSL flag above is set to No), then the eG agent connects to vCenter using port 80 by default, and if vCenter is SSL-enabled (i.e., if the SSL flag is set to Yes), then the agent-vCenter communication occurs via port 443 by default. Accordingly, the Webport parameter is set to default by default. In some environments however, the default ports 80 or 443 might not apply. In such a case, against the Webport parameter, you can specify the exact port at which vCenter in your environment listens, so that the eG agent communicates with that port for collecting metrics from vCenter. |
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 |
---|---|---|---|
Current sessions to VC |
Indicates the total number of logins to vCenter. |
Number |
Use the detailed diagnosis of this measure to know the details of the current sessions. |
New logins to VC |
Indicates the number of new logins to vCenter. |
Number |
|
Percent new logins |
Indicates the percentage of current sessions that logged in during the last measurement period. |
Percent |
|
Sessions logging out |
Indicates the number of sessions that logged out. |
Number |
If all the current sessions suddenly log out, it indicates a problem condition that requires investigation. The detailed diagnosis of this measure, if enabled, reveals the details of the sessions that logged out. |
The detailed diagnosis of the Sessions logging out measure reveals the users who initiated the sessions, the time of login, and the duration of the sessions.
Figure 1 : The detailed diagnosis of the Sessions logging out measure
The detailed diagnosis of the Current sessions measure reveals the details of these sessions.
Figure 2 : The detailed diagnosis of the Current sessions measure