Nutanix - Prism API Extractor for AHV

• Ensure that the user that is used to connect to the Prism Server has read permissions (Reader role) to access all APIs.
• The ETL uses the Prism Central credentials to connect to each Prism Element when the Prism Central host is configured in the ETL. Ensure that the credentials used to connect to the Prism Central work with individual Prism Element. You can also configure an individual Prism Element. The ETL checks if the entered hostname is for Prism Central or Prism Element. If the ETL identifies that the host is a Prism Central, then the ETL collects all the Elements that are available in the Prism Central. If the ETL identifies that the host is a Prism Element, then the ETL collects the hierarchy and entities of the particular Prism Element.

You must configure the ETL to connect to Nutanix for data collection. ETL configuration includes basic and optional advanced properties. While configuring the basic properties is sufficient, you can optionally configure the advanced properties for additional customization.

A. Configuring the basic properties

Some of the basic properties display default values. You can modify these values if required.

To configure the basic properties:

1. In the BMC Helix Capacity Optimization console, navigate to Administration > ETL & System Tasks, and select ETL tasks.

2. On the ETL tasks page, click Add > Add ETL. The Add ETL page displays the configuration properties. You must configure properties in the following tabs: Run configuration, Entity catalog, and Prism connection parameters.

3. On the Run configuration tab, select Nutanix - Prism API Extractor from the ETL module list. The name of the ETL is displayed in the ETL task name field. You can edit this field to customize the name.
4. Click the Entity catalog tab, and select one of the following options:
   • Shared Entity Catalog: Select if other ETLs access the same entities that are used by the Nutanix - Prism API ETL.
     
     • From the Sharing with Entity Catalog list, select the entity catalog name that is shared between ETLs.
   • Private Entity Catalog: Select if this is the only ETL that extracts data from Nutanix resources.

5. Click the Prism connection parameters tab, and configure the following properties:

   Property	Description
   Prism Server	Enter the name of Prism Central or Prism Element server. The ETL checks if the entered hostname is for Prism Central or Prism Element. If the ETL identifies that the host is a Prism Central, then the ETL collects all the Elements that are available in the Prism Central. If the ETL identifies that the host is a Prism Element, then the ETL collects the hierarchy and entities of the particular Prism Element.
   Prism Username	Enter the username to connect to the server.
   Prism Password	Enter the password.

6. (Optional) Override the default values of properties in the following tabs:

    Run configuration

   Property	Description
   Module selection	Select one of the following options: Based on datasource: This is the default selection. Based on Open ETL template: Select only if you want to collect data that is not supported by BMC Helix Capacity Optimization.
   Module description	A short description of the ETL module.
   Execute in simulation mode	By default, the ETL execution in simulation mode is selected to validate connectivity with the data source, and to ensure that the ETL does not have any configuration issues. In the simulation mode, the ETL does not load data into the database. This option is useful when you want to test a new ETL task. To run the ETL in the production mode, select No. BMC recommends that you run the ETL in the simulation mode after ETL configuration and then run it in the production mode.

    Object relationships

   Property

   Description

   Associate new entities to

   Specify the domain to which you want to add the entities created by the ETL. Select one of the following options: Existing domain: Select an existing domain from the Domain list. If the selected domain is already used by other hierarchy rules, select one of the following Domain conflict options: Enrich domain tree: Select to create a new independent hierarchy rule for adding a new set of entities, relations, or both that are not defined by other ETLs. ETL Migration: Select if the new ETL uses the same set of entities, relations, or both that are already defined by other ETLs. New domain: This option is selected by default. Select a parent domain, and specify a name for your new domain. By default, a new domain with the same ETL name is created for each ETL. When the ETL is created, a new hierarchy rule with the same name of the ETL task is automatically created in the active state. If you specify a different domain for the ETL, the hierarchy rule is updated automatically.

    ETL task properties

   Property	Description
   Task group	Select a task group to classify the ETL.
   Running on scheduler	Select a scheduler for running the ETL. For cloud ETLs, use the scheduler that is preconfigured in Helix. For on-premises ETLs, use the scheduler that runs on the Remote ETL Engine.
   Maximum execution time before warning	Indicates the number of hours, minutes, or days for which the ETL must run before generating warnings or alerts, if any.
   Frequency	Select one of the following frequencies to run the ETL: Predefined: This is the default selection. Select a daily, weekly, or monthly frequency, and then select a time to start the ETL run accordingly. Start timestamp: hour\minute: Select the HH:MM start timestamp to add to the ETL execution running on a Predefined frequency. Custom: Specify a custom frequency, select an appropriate unit of time, and then specify a day and a time to start the ETL run. Custom start timestamp: Select a YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM timestamp to add to the ETL execution running on a Custom frequency.

7. Click Save.
   The ETL tasks page shows the details of the newly configured Nutanix - Prism API ETL. 

(Optional) B. Configuring the advanced properties

You can configure the advanced properties to change the way the ETL works or to collect additional metrics.

To configure the advanced properties:

1. On the Add ETL page, click Advanced.

2. Configure the following properties:

    Run configuration

   Property	Description
   Run configuration name	Specify the name that you want to assign to this ETL task configuration. The default configuration name is displayed. You can use this name to differentiate between the run configuration settings of ETL tasks.
   Deploy status	Select the deploy status for the ETL task. For example, you can initially select Test and change it to Production after verifying that the ETL run results are as expected.
   Log level	Specify the level of details that you want to include in the ETL log file. Select one of the following options: 1 - Light: Select to add the bare minimum activity logs to the log file. 5 - Medium: Select to add the medium-detailed activity logs to the log file. 10 - Verbose: Select to add detailed activity logs to the log file. Use log level 5 as a general practice. You can select log level 10 for debugging and troubleshooting purposes.
   Datasets	Specify the datasets that you want to add to the ETL run configuration. The ETL collects data of metrics that are associated with these datasets. Click Edit. Select one (click) or more (shift+click) datasets from the Available datasets list and click >> to move them to the Selected datasets list. Click Apply. The ETL collects data of metrics associated with the datasets that are available in the Selected datasets list.

    Collection level

   Property	Description
   Metric profile selection	Select the metric profile that the ETL must use. The ETL collects data for the group of metrics that is defined by the selected metric profile. Use Global metric profile: This is selected by default. All the out-of-the-box ETLs use this profile. Select a custom metric profile: Select the custom profile that you want to use from the Custom metric profile list. This list displays all the custom profiles that you have created. For more information about metric profiles, see Adding and managing metric profiles.
   Levels up to	Specify the metric level that defines the number of metrics that can be imported into the database. The load on the database increases or decreases depending on the selected metric level. To learn more about metric levels, see Aging Class mapping.

    Additional properties

   Property

   Description

   List of properties

   Specify additional properties for the ETL that act as user inputs during run. You can specify these values now or you can do so later by accessing the "You can manually edit ETL properties from this page" link that is displayed for the ETL in the view mode. Click Add. In the etl.additional.prop.n field, specify an additional property. Click Apply. Repeat this task to add more properties. Add the extract.nutanix.perf.metric.interval property to change the data granularity level. Default value is 3600 seconds.

    Loader configuration

   Property	Description
   Empty dataset behavior	Specify the action for the loader if it encounters an empty dataset: Warn: Generate a warning about loading an empty dataset. Ignore: Ignore the empty dataset and continue parsing.
   ETL log file name	The name of the file that contains the ETL run log. The default value is: %BASE/log/%AYEAR%AMONTH%ADAY%AHOUR%MINUTE%TASKID
   Maximum number of rows for CSV output	A numeric value to limit the size of the output files.
   CSV loader output file name	The name of the file that is generated by the CSV loader. The default value is: %BASE/output/%DSNAME%AYEAR%AMONTH%ADAY%AHOUR%ZPROG%DSID%TASKID
   Capacity Optimization loader output file name	The name of the file that is generated by the Capacity Optimization loader. The default value is: %BASE/output/%DSNAME%AYEAR%AMONTH%ADAY%AHOUR%ZPROG%DSID%TASKID
   Detail mode	Specify whether you want to collect raw data in addition to the standard data. Select one of the following options: Standard: Data will be stored in the database in different tables at the following time granularities: Detail (configurable, by default: 5 minutes), Hourly, Daily, and Monthly. Raw also: Data will be stored in the database in different tables at the following time granularities: Raw (as available from the original data source), Detail (configurable, by default: 5 minutes), Hourly, Daily, and Monthly. Raw only: Data will be stored in the database in a table only at Raw granularity (as available from the original data source). For more information, see Accessing data using public views.
   Remove domain suffix from datasource name (Only for systems)	Select True to remove the domain from the data source name. For example, server.domain.com will be saved as server. The default selection is False.
   Leave domain suffix to system name (Only for systems)	Select True to keep the domain in the system name. For example: server.domain.com will be saved as is. The default selection is False.
   Update grouping object definition (Only for systems)	Select True if you want the ETL to update the grouping object definition for a metric that is loaded by the ETL. The default selection is False.
   Skip entity creation (Only for ETL tasks sharing lookup with other tasks)	Select True if you do not want this ETL to create an entity and discard data from its data source for entities not found in Capacity Optimization. It uses one of the other ETLs that share a lookup to create a new entity. The default selection is False.

3. Click Save.
   The ETL tasks page shows the details of the newly configured Nutanix - Prism API ETL. 

After you configure the ETL, you can run it to collect data. You can run the ETL in the following modes:

A. Simulation mode: Only validates connection to the data source, does not collect data. Use this mode when you want to run the ETL for the first time or after you make any changes to the ETL configuration.

B. Production mode: Collects data from the data source.

A. Running the ETL in the simulation mode

To run the ETL in the simulation mode:

1. In the Helix Capacity Optimization Console, navigate to Administration > ETL & System Tasks, and select ETL tasks.
2. On the ETL tasks page, click the ETL. The ETL details are displayed.
   
3. In the Run configurations table, click Edit  to modify the ETL configuration settings.
4. On the Run configuration tab, ensure that the Execute in simulation mode option is set to Yes, and click Save.
5. Click Run active configuration. A confirmation message about the ETL run job submission is displayed.
6. On the ETL tasks page, check the ETL run status in the Last exit column.
   OK Indicates that the ETL ran without any error. You are ready to run the ETL in the production mode.
7.  If the ETL run status is Warning, Error, or Failed:
   1. On the ETL tasks page, clickin the last column of the ETL name row.
   2. Check the log and reconfigure the ETL if required.
   3. Run the ETL again.
   4. Repeat these steps until the ETL run status changes to OK.

B. Running the ETL in the production mode

You can run the ETL manually when required or schedule it to run at a specified time.

Running the ETL manually

1. On the ETL tasks page, click the ETL. The ETL details are displayed.
2. In the Run configurations table, click Edit  to modify the ETL configuration settings. The Edit run configuration page is displayed.
3. On the Run configuration tab, select No for the Execute in simulation mode option, and click Save.
4. To run the ETL immediately, click Run active configuration. A confirmation message about the ETL run job submission is displayed.
   When the ETL runs, it collects data from the source and transfers it to the BMC Helix Capacity Optimization database.

Scheduling the ETL run

By default, the ETL is scheduled to run daily. You can customize this schedule by changing the frequency and period of running the ETL.

To configure the ETL run schedule:

1. On the ETL tasks page, click the ETL, and click Edit. The ETL details are displayed.
   

2. On the Edit task page, do the following, and click Save:

   • Specify a unique name and description for the ETL task.
   • In the Maximum execution time before warning field, specify the duration for which the ETL must run before generating warnings or alerts, if any.
   • Select a predefined or custom frequency for starting the ETL run. The default selection is Predefined.
   • Select the task group and the scheduler to which you want to assign the ETL task.

3. Click Schedule. A message confirming the scheduling job submission is displayed.
   When the ETL runs as scheduled, it collects data from the source and transfers it to the BMC Helix Capacity Optimization database.

Verify that the ETL ran successfully and the Nutanix data is refreshed in the WorkSpace.

To verify whether the ETL ran successfully:

1. In the Helix Capacity Optimization Console, click Administration > ETL and System Tasks > ETL tasks.
2. In the Last exec time column corresponding to the ETL name, verify that the current date and time are displayed.
3. In the Last exit column corresponding to the ETL name, verify that the status is OK.
   In case of WARNING or ERROR, click in the last column of the ETL name row to review the log files.

To verify that the data is refreshed:

1. In the BMC Helix Capacity Optimization console, click Workspace.
2. Expand (Domain name) > Systems > Nutanix Cluster name.
3. In the left pane, verify that the hierarchy displays your storage pools, virtual hosts, and virtual machines.
4. Click an instance, and click the Metrics tab in the right pane.
5. Check if the Last Activity column in the Configuration data and Performance metrics tables displays the current date.

The following image shows sample metrics data. To learn more about these metrics and other related concepts, see Entities, lookup information, metrics, and API calls for Nutanix - Prism API Extractor.