Virtual Platforms - Manager Discovery
vSphere/ESX Hosts
eG Enterprise is capable of automatically discovering the ESX servers in the environment using the eG manager or the eG agent that is monitoring the ESX server. Since both these approaches employ a port-scanning technique to discover ESX servers, they might not be suitable for high-security environments where the firewall has been configured to block traffic to and from specific ports. Likewise, in environments that are spread across multiple sub-nets, discovery performed using the eG manager or the agents could increase the bandwidth consumption. To address these concerns, eG Enterprise provides you with the option to directly connect to one/more VMware vCenter installations in your environment to perform ESX discovery. The additional benefit that accrues in this process is that, when one/more ESX servers discovered using vCenter are managed, then eG Enterprise automatically uses the same vCenter server to collect performance metrics related to the ESX servers. In other words, eG Enterprise auto-configures the tests pertaining to the managed ESX servers with the details of the vCenter server used for their discovery; this way, the solution minimizes the time and effort involved in manual test configuration, and quickly starts collecting metrics from vCenter. Similarly, if the vCenter details need to be modified for any reason, then, you will not be required to manually reconfigure each test for this purpose; changing the configuration of the vCenter server in the DISCOVERY page will automatically update all the tests that have been configured to collect metrics from that vCenter server.
To discover the vSphere/ESX Hosts, select the Virtual Platforms option fron the Settings node of the Discovery tree. Then, choose the vSphere/ESX Hosts option from the choose a virtual platform to discover drop down.
Prior to vCenter creation, you might have to increase the memory settings of the eG manager. This is because, VI APIs are memory intensive, and therefore, the default memory setting of 128 MB for the eG manager might not be sufficient for performing ESX discovery via vCenter. To override this default setting, select the Configure memory settings for discovery option from the What would you like to perform? drop-down list. This will invoke the Virtual Center Memory Settings section.
You can specify any value between 256 MB and 1024 MB in the Memory Range (MB) text box provided in the Virtual Center Memory Settings section, and click the Update button therein.
Next, you can proceed to add a new vCenter. To add a new vCenter server, do the following:
Select the Add new vCenter option from the What action would you like to perform? dropdown.
To add a new vCenter, specify the following in right panel:
Specify the IP or host name of the vCenter in the vCenter Identity text box.
Then, indicate whether the eG manager is to connect to vCenter using SSL or not by selecting the Yes or No option from the Use SSL to connect to vCenter list. By default, this flag is set to Yes.
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 discovering ESX servers using vCenter, eG Enterprise communicates with vCenter via the default ports 80 or 443, depending upon the SSL-enabled status of vCenter. Accordingly, the Web Port parameter is set to 443 by default, if the SSL flag is set to Yes, and displays the default value 80 if the SSL flag is set to No.
In some environments however, the default ports 80 or 443 might not apply. In such a case, in the Web Port text box, specify the exact port at which vCenter in your environment listens.
Typical virtualized environments may consist of multiple vCenter installations, each managing a different set of ESX servers. To enable the eG manager to automatically discover those ESX servers that are managed by the vCenter being added, then set the Discover ESX hosts using this vCenter flag to Yes. If not, then set it to No.
In order to be able to discover ESX servers using a vCenter server, the eG manager needs to connect to vCenter using the credentials of a valid user to vCenter. Provide the user name and password of such a user in the Username to connect to vCenter and Password for the user text boxes. This user typically requires Administrator or Virtual Machine Administrator privileges. However, if you cannot expose the credentials of such a user owing to security constraints, then, you can use the credentials of a user with ‘Read-only’ privileges to vCenter. If such a user pre-exists, then, provide the name and password of that user in the text boxes mentioned above. Otherwise, assign the ‘Read-only’ role to a local/domain user to vCenter, and provide the name and password of this user in the Username to connect to vCenter and Password for the user text boxes.
Confirm the password of the user by retyping it in the Comfirm password for the user text box.
To clear all the configured details, click on the Clear button. To start discovery instead, click on the Update button.
Clicking on Update, which requests you to confirm whether you want to start discovery based on the specifications provided. Click the OK button to begin discovery.
Regardless of the discovery approach used (discovery using an IP range or using vCenter), triggering ESX discovery will lead you straight to the COMPONENTS - MANAGE / UNMANAGE page.
To view the vCenter servers so added, select the View Configured vCenters. Then the list of vCenter servers that have been configured for discovering ESX servers will appear.
To modify a vCenter configuration, select the Modify Configured vCenter option from the What action would you like to perform? dropdown. To modify the vCenter configuration, select the IP/host name of the vCenter to be modified from the vCenter identity (IP or Host name) list. The details of the chosen vCenter will then be displayed against the appropriate fields. You can modify any of the displayed details and update the changes by clicking the Update button.
To delete a particular vCenter, select the Delete Configured vCenter option from the What action would you like to perform? dropdown. Then the list of available vCenter servers appears. Select the vCenter servers to be deleted by selecting the check boxes corresponding to the vCenter configuration. To mark all the listed vCenter servers for deletion simultaneously, simply select the top-most check box in the column of check boxes. To delete the marked vCenter servers, click on the Delete button.
Discovering pSeries Servers via HMC
eG Enterprise is capable of monitoring the AIX LPARs that are operating on IBM pSeries servers using a patent-pending ‘In-N-Out’ monitoring approach. The first step towards implementing this approach is to discover the IBM pSeries servers in the environment. To save administrators the trouble of manually adding each IBM pSeries server to be monitored, the eG management console facilitates the configuration of an HMC (Hardware Management Console) server, using which the IBM pSeries servers can be automatically discovered. To discover the pSeries Servers, select the Virtual Platforms option fron the Settings node of the Discovery tree. Then, choose the pSeries Servers option from the choose a virtual platform to discover drop down.
To add a new HMC server, do the following:
Click on the Add new HMCs option from the What action would you like to perform? dropdown.
In the HARDWARE MANAGEMENT CONSOLE (HMC) DISCOVERY page that then appears in the right panel, specify the IP address of the Hardware management console to be used for the discovery.
Then, mention the Host Name of the Hardware management console.
Next, indicate whether/not the eG manager needs to Use SSL to connect to HMC. To use SSL, set the Use SSL to connect to HMC flag to Yes. Otherwise, set it to No. If more than one HMC server is deployed in your environment, you may want to discover the IBM pSeries servers using one of the HMC servers alone; you may still want to feed the eG manager with the details of the other HMC server, so that it can be used for discovery some time later. This is why, while configuring an HMC server using this page, you need to indicate whether/not the HMC server being configured is to be used for discovery or not. To use the HMC server for discovery, set the Discover pSeries servers using this HMC flag to Yes. Set the flag to No if you do not want to discover pSeries servers using this HMC server.
Provide a valid user name for connecting to the HMC server in the Username to connect to HMC text box.
Specify the Password of the HMC user.
Confirm the password by retyping it in the Confirm password for the user text box.
Finally, click the Update button to save the changes.
A message box will then appear requesting your confirmation to proceed with the discovery. Click the OK button to discover the pSeries servers, or click the Cancel button to cancel discovery.
To view the HMC servers that have been configured, select the View configured HMCs from the What action would you like to perform?. The details of the HMC servers that pre-exist will then appear.
To modify a HMC server configuration, do the following:
Select the Modify Configured HMCs option from the What action would you like to perform? dropdown
Pick the IP address of the Hardware management console to be modified from the right panel. The details of the chosen HMC will then be displayed. Make the required changes, and click the Update button to save them.
To delete a HMC configuration, do the following:
Select on the Delete Configured HMCs option from the What action would you like to perform? dropdown
The details of all existing HMC servers will then be displayed in the right panel. To mark a HMC server for deletion, simply select the check box alongside the details of that HMC. To mark all listed HMC servers for deletion, simply select the check box that precedes the column lable HMC IP.
Finally, click the Delete button to delete the selection.
Discovering RHEV Servers via the RHEV Manager
eG Enterprise embeds the ability to monitor the RHEV servers in an environment and the VMs operating on those servers. The first step to monitoring the RHEV servers is to identify those servers that require monitoring. The eG Enterprise system can auto-discover the RHEV servers in a virtualized environment using the RHEV managers that manage those servers. To enable this auto-discovery, you first need to enable the eG manager to connect to the RHEV manager in the environment. To discover the RHEV Servers, select the Virtual Platforms option from the Settings node of the Discovery tree. Then, choose the RHEV Hypervisor option from the Choose a virtual platform to discover drop down. The procedure for discovery has been detailed below:
First, you need to configure the RHEV manager with which the eG manager should connect for automatically discovering the RHEV servers that require monitoring. click on the Add new RHEV Managers option from the What action would you like to perform? dropdown.
In the right panel, a Red Hat Hypervisor Manager Discovery section appears. To add Specify the following in this section:
RHEV Manager Identify: Specify the IP address/host name of the RHEV manager in your environment. Use SSL to Connect to the RHEV Manager: Set this flag to Yes if the RHEV manager in your environment is SSL-enabled. Otherwise, set this flag to No. Manager Port: If the RHEV manager is SSL-enabled, then 8443 will be displayed here by default. On the other hand, if the manager is not SSL-enabled, the default Manager Port will be 8080. If the RHEV manager in your environment listens on a different SSL or non-SSL port, then make corresponding changes to the default setting. Discover RHEV Hypervisors using this RHEV Manager: If you want to discover RHEV servers in your environment using this RHEV manager, set this flag to Yes. If you only want to use this RHEV manager to obtain the outside view of VMs, set this flag to No. Username to connect to RHEV Manager and Password for user: Specify the credentials (i.e., user name and password) of a user who has been assigned the RHEVMUser role. If no such user pre-exists, then create a special user for this purpose, assign the RHEVMUser role to this user, and provide his/her login credentials here. Confirm password for user: Confirm the password of the RHEVMUser by retyping it here. Domain name for the RHEV manager: Specify the name of the domain to which the RHEV manager belongs. Upon clicking the Update button, a message box requesting your confirmation to proceed with the discovery will then appear. Click the OK button in the message to trigger the discovery. Clicking the Cancel button will save the details of the RHEV manager, but will not start the discovery. In this case, you can use the RHEV manager configuration so saved to perform discovery at a later point in time. This way, you can add the details of multiple RHEV managers to the eG Enterprise system.
To view the details of all the RHEV managers that are added, select the View configured RHEV managers from What action would you like to perform?. The right panel will then change to display the names and other details of the RHEV managers that have been configured.
To modify the details of an RHEV manager, click on the Modify Configured RHEV Managers option from the What action would you like to perform? Dropdown. The right panel will then change to display the Red Hat Hypervisor Manager Discovery section. From the RHEV Manager Identify list, select the IP address of the RHEV manager to be modified. Upon selection of the RHEV manager's IP address, the other parameters in the right panel will be populated with the corresponding details. You can change any of the displayed details to suit your needs. Finally, click the Update button to save the changes.
To delete an RHEV manager, click on the Delete Configured RHEV Managers option from the What action would you like to perform? dropdown. Select the check box corresponding to the RHEV manager to be deleted and click the Delete button to delete it. To delete all the RHEV managers at one shot, select the check box just before the column heading, RHEV Manager IP / Host, and click the Delete button.
Discovering Nutanix Acropolis/Hyper-V VDI/VMWare vSphere VDI/ESX via the Nutanix Prism
The eG manager is capable of automatically discovering the Nutanix environment via the Nutanix Prism. The first step to monitoring the Nutanix environment is to identify the Nutanix Acropolis servers that require monitoring. The eG Enterprise system can auto-discover the Nutanix Acropolis servers in the environment using the Nutanix Prism. To enable this auto-discovery, you first need to enable the eG manager to connect to the Nutanix Prism in the environment. To discover the Nutanix Acropolis servers, select the Virtual Platforms option from the Settings node of the Discovery tree. Then, choose the Nutanix Infrastructure option from the Choose a virtual platform to discover drop down. The procedure for discovery has been detailed below:
First, you need to configure the Nutanix Prism with which the eG manager should connect for automatically discovering the Nutanix Acropolis servers that require monitoring. click on the Add new Nutanix Prism option from the What action would you like to perform? dropdown.
In the right panel, a Nutanix Prism Preferences section appears. To add, specify the following in this section:
Nutanix Prism Identity (IP or Host Name): Specify the IP address/host name of the Nutanix Prism in your environment. Use SSL to Connect to Nutanix Prism: Set this flag to Yes if the Nutanix Prism in your environment is SSL-enabled. Otherwise, set this flag to No. Web Port: If the Nutanix Prism is SSL-enabled, then 9440 will be displayed here by default. On the other hand, if the manager is not SSL-enabled, the default Web Port will be used. If the Nutanix Prism in your environment listens on a different SSL or non-SSL port, then make corresponding changes to the default setting. Discover Hypervisors: The eG manager can discover vSphere, Hyper-V, and Acropolis hosts using the Nutanix Prism. In addition, you can also use the Nutanix Prism to monitor the performance of the Acropolis hosts (not Hyper-V or vSphere hosts) and the VMs operating on it. If you want to use the Prism being added to only discover hypervisors (vSphere, Hyper-V, and Acropolis), then set the Discover hypervisors flag to Yes. On the other hand, if you do not want to use the Prism for discovery, but may want to use it for monitoring an Acropolis server later, then set this flag to No. Username to connect to Nutanix Prism, Password for the user and Confirm password for the user: In order to perform the discovery/monitoring, the eG manager should connect to the Prism as a user who is assigned the Viewer role. Provide the credentials of this user in the Username to connect to Nutanix Prism and Password for the user text boxes. Confirm this password by retyping it in the Confirm password for the user text box. Upon clicking the Update button, a message box requesting your confirmation to proceed with the discovery will then appear. Click the Yes button in the message box to trigger the discovery. Clicking the No button will save the details of the Nutanix Prism, but will not start the discovery. In this case, you can use the Nutanix Prism configuration so saved to perform discovery at a later point in time. This way, you can add the details of multiple Nutanix Prisms to the eG Enterprise system.
To view the details of all the Nutanix Prisms that are added, select the View configured Nutanix Prisms from What action would you like to perform? dropdown. The right panel will then change to display the names and other details of the Nutanix Prisms that have been configured.
To modify the details of a Nutanix Prism, click on the Modify Configured Nutanix Prisms option from the What action would you like to perform? dropdown. The right panel will then change to display the Nutanix Prism Preferences section. From the Nutanix Prism Identity list, select the IP address of the Nutanix Prism to be modified. Upon selection of the Nutanix Prism's IP address, the other parameters in the right panel will be populated with the corresponding details. You can change any of the displayed details to suit your needs. Finally, click the Update button to save the changes.
To delete a Nutanix Prism, click on the Delete Configured Nutanix Prisms option from the What action would you like to perform? dropdown. Select the check box corresponding to the Nutanix Prism to be deleted and click the Delete button to delete it. To delete all the Nutanix Prisms at one shot, select the check box just before the column heading, Nutanix Prism IP / Host, and click the Delete button.
Discovering Citrix XenApp servers and Citrix XenServer VDI via the Citrix XenServer
The eG manager is capable of automatically discovering the Citrix XenApp servers and Citrix XenServer VDI via the Citrix XenServer. To start discovery, select the Virtual Platforms option from the Settings node of the Discovery tree. Then, choose the Citrix XenServers option from the Choose a virtual platform to discover drop down. The procedure for discovery has been detailed below:
First, you need to configure the Citrix XenServer with which the eG manager should connect for automatically discovering the servers that require monitoring. click on the Add new Citrix XenServer option from the What action would you like to perform? dropdown.
In the right panel, a Citrix XenServer Preferences section appears. To add, specify the following in this section:
Citrix XenServer Identity (IP or Host Name): Specify the IP address/host name of the Citrix XenServer in your environment. Use SSL to Connect to Citrix XenServer: Set this flag to Yes if the Citrix XenServer in your environment is SSL-enabled. Otherwise, set this flag to No. Manager Port: If the Nutanix Prism is SSL-enabled, then 80 will be displayed here by default. On the other hand, if the manager is not SSL-enabled, the default Manager Port will be used. If the Citrix XenServer in your environment listens on a different SSL or non-SSL port, then make corresponding changes to the default setting. Discover Citrix XenServers: If you want to discover the Citrix XenApp servers and Citrix XenServer VDI in your environment using this Citrix XenServer, set this flag to Yes. If you only want to use this Citrix XenServer to obtain the outside view of VMs, set this flag to No. Username to connect to Citrix XenServer, Password for the user and Confirm password for the user: In order to perform the discovery/monitoring, the eG manager should connect to the Citrix XenServer as a user. Provide the credentials of this user in the Username to connect to Citrix XenServer and Password for the user text boxes. Confirm this password by retyping it in the Confirm password for the user text box. Upon clicking the Update button, a message box requesting your confirmation to proceed with the discovery will then appear. Click the Yes button in the message box to trigger the discovery. Clicking the No button will save the details of the Citrix XenServer, but will not start the discovery. In this case, you can use the Citrix XenServer configuration so saved to perform discovery at a later point in time. This way, you can add the details of multiple Citrix XenServers to the eG Enterprise system.
To view the details of all the Citrix XenServers that are added, select the View configured Citrix XenServers from What action would you like to perform? dropdown. The right panel will then change to display the names and other details of the Citrix XenServers that have been configured.
To modify the details of a Citrix XenServer, click on the Modify Configured Citrix XenServers option from the What action would you like to perform? dropdown. The right panel will then change to display the Citrix XenServers section. From the Citrix XenServer Identity list, select the IP address of the Citrix XenServer to be modified. Upon selection of the Citrix XenServer's IP address, the other parameters in the right panel will be populated with the corresponding details. You can change any of the displayed details to suit your needs. Finally, click the Update button to save the changes.
To delete a Citrix XenServer, click on the Delete Configured Citrix XenServers option from the What action would you like to perform? dropdown. Select the check box corresponding to the Citrix XenServer to be deleted and click the Delete button to delete it. To delete all the Citrix XenServers at one shot, select the check box just before the column heading, Citrix XenServer IP / Host, and click the Delete button.
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