This documentation supports releases of BMC Helix Continuous Optimization up to December 31, 2021. To view the latest version, select the version from the Product version menu.

BMC - TrueSight Capacity Optimization Gateway VIS files parser

Use the BMC - TrueSight Capacity Optimization Gateway VIS files parser to collect performance and configuration data from a Gateway Server instance and transfer it to the BMC Helix Continuous Optimization database. You can also use this parser to collect recovery data from a Gateway VIS files parser server instance.

Note

The BMC - TrueSight Capacity Optimization Gateway VIS files parser is available out-of-the-box. However, you can also create this ETL from the Gateway Manager automatically. To do this, select the Auto create ETLs to populate data from this gateway server option when you add a Gateway Server. For more information, see Adding, removing, and inspecting Gateway Server details.

Collecting data by using the BMC - TrueSight Capacity Optimization Gateway VIS files parser ETL

To collect data by using the BMC - TrueSight Capacity Optimization Gateway VIS files parser ETL, do the following tasks:

I. Complete the preconfiguration tasks.

II. Configure the ETL.

Step I. Complete the preconfiguration tasks

Depending on the option you select while configuring the ETL, ensure that the following requirements are met:

  • For the gateway service option, ensure that the Gateway Server is up and running. 
  • For the file option, ensure that you have a VIS file.

Step II. Configure the ETL

You must configure the ETL to connect to Gateway Server for data collection. ETL configuration includes specifying the 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 basic properties display default values. You can modify these values when required.

To configure the basic properties:

  1. Navigate to Administration ETL & System Tasks, and select ETL tasks.
  2. On the ETL tasks page, click Add > Add ETL under the Last run tab. The Add ETL page displays the configuration properties. You must configure properties in the following tabs: Run configuration, Entity catalog, and VIS file parser configuration.
  3. On the Run configuration tab, complete these steps:
    1. From the ETL module list, select BMC - TrueSight Capacity Optimization Gateway VIS files parser. The name of the ETL is displayed in the ETL task name field. You can edit this field to customize the name.
    2. From the platform list, select the required platform. When you select a platform, the Object relationships tab is displayed.
      • The Import HMC data option is displayed only when you select AIX Power VM/WPAR platform. The default selection for importing HMC data is yes.
    3. Select the type of data that you want to collect. The performance data is always selected. Depending on the selected data types, specific metrics of the associated data set are included.

  4. Click the Entity catalog tab, and select one of the following options:

    • Shared Entity Catalog: Select if the other ETLs access the same entities that are used by this ETL.

      • From the Sharing with Entity Catalog list, select an entity catalog name that is shared between ETLs.
    • Private Entity Catalog: Select if you want to use this ETL independently.
  5. Click the Vis file parser configuration tab, and configure the following properties:

    • Depending on how you want to configure this ETL, select one of the following options to extract data:

      • via gateway service: Extract data by using the gateway service. This is the default selection.
        • Gateway Server: Select a Gateway Server from the list. All gateway servers configured in the Administration > Gateway Manager are displayed in the list.
        • Manager run list: Specify the manager run from the Available manager runs list. You can specify multiple manager runs and separate them by a semicolon. For example, vcenter.msf; Test.msf; vcenter5.1.msf; Test1.msf.
        • Available manager runs: Displays the list of available manager runs for the selected Gateway Server.
      • via file: Extract data by using the CSV file. When you select this option, the File location tab is displayed.

  6. Click the File location tab. Depending on the file location, select one of the following methods to retrieve the CSV file and configure the properties.

    Property Description
    Directory Path of the directory that contains the CSV file.
    File list pattern A regular expression that defines which data files the ETL must read. The default value is (?$<$!done)\$, which indicates that the ETL must read all the files except the files whose name ends with the string "done". For example, my_file_source.done.
    Recurse into subdirs? Select Yes to inspect the subdirectories of the target directories.
    After parse operation
    Select one of the following options to be performed on the imported CSV file:
    • Do nothing: Do nothing after import.
    • Append suffix to parsed file: Append a specified suffix to the imported CSV file. For example, _done or _imported.
    • Archive parsed file in directory: Archive the parsed file in the specified directory. The default directory is %BASE/../repository/imprepository. Also, specify whether you want to compress archived parsed files.
    • Archive bad files in directory: Archive erroneous files in the specified directory. The default directory is %BASE/../repository/imprepository. Also, specify whether you want to compress archived bad files.

    Note

    You can configure automatic cleaning of parsed files using the Filesystem cleaner task. For more information, see Configuring the FileSystem Cleaner task.

    Property Description
    Network Share Path Path of the shared folder. For example, //hostname/sharedfolder.
    Subdirectory (Optional) Specify a subdirectory within a mount point.
    File list pattern A regular expression that defines which data files the ETL must read. The default value is (?$<$!done)\$, which indicates that the ETL must read all the files except the files whose name ends with the string "done". For example, my_file_source.done.
    Recurse into subdirs? Select Yes to inspect the subdirectories of the target directories.
    After parse operation
    Depending on what to do after the CSV file is imported, select one of the following options:
    • Do nothing: Do nothing after import.
    • Append suffix to parsed file: Append a specified suffix to the imported CSV file. For example, _done or _imported.
    • Archive parsed file in directory: Archive the parsed file in the specified directory. The default directory is %BASE/../repository/imprepository. Also, specify whether you want to compress archived parsed files.
    • Archive bad files in directory: Archive erroneous files in the specified directory. The default directory is %BASE/../repository/imprepository. Also, specify whether you want to compress archived bad files.

    Note

    You can configure automatic cleaning of parsed files using the Filesystem cleaner task. For more information, see Configuring the FileSystem Cleaner task.

    Username Enter the user name to connect to the file location server.
    Password required Select Yes or No.
    Password Enter the password to connect to the file location server. Applicable if you selected Yes for Password required.

    Property Description
    Directory Path of the directory that contains the CSV file.
    File list pattern A regular expression that defines which data files the ETL must read. The default value is (?$<$!done)\$, which indicates that the ETL must read all the files except the files whose name ends with the string "done". For example, my_file_source.done.
    Recurse into subdirs? Select Yes to inspect the subdirectories of the target directories.
    After parse operation
    Depending on what to do after the CSV file is imported, select one of the following options:
    • Do nothing: Do nothing after import.
    • Append suffix to parsed file: Append a specified suffix to the imported CSV file. For example, _done or _imported.
    • Archive parsed file in directory: Archive the parsed file in the specified directory. The default directory is %BASE/../repository/imprepository. Also, specify whether you want to compress archived parsed files.
    • Archive bad files in directory: Archive erroneous files in the specified directory. The default directory is %BASE/../repository/imprepository. Also, specify whether you want to compress archived bad files.

    Note

    You can configure automatic cleaning of parsed files using the Filesystem cleaner task. For more information, see Configuring the FileSystem Cleaner task.

    Remote host Enter the host name or IP address of the remote host to connect to.
    Username Enter the user name to connect to the file location server.
    Password required Select Yes or No.
    Password Enter the password to connect to the file location server. Applicable if you selected Yes for Password required.

    Property Description
    Directory Path of the directory that contains the CSV file.
    Files to copy (with wildcards) Specify the files that you want to copy to the database.
    File list pattern A regular expression that defines which data files the ETL must read. The default value is (?$<$!done)\$, which indicates that the ETL must read all the files except the files whose name ends with the string "done". For example, my_file_source.done.
    Recurse into subdirs? Select Yes to inspect the subdirectories of the target directories.
    After parse operation
    Depending on what to do after the CSV file is imported, select one of the following options:
    • Do nothing: Do nothing after import.
    • Append suffix to parsed file: Append a specified suffix to the imported CSV file. For example, _done or _imported.
    • Archive parsed file in directory: Archive the parsed file in the specified directory. The default directory is %BASE/../repository/imprepository. Also, specify whether you want to compress archived parsed files.
    • Archive bad files in directory: Archive erroneous files in the specified directory. The default directory is %BASE/../repository/imprepository. Also, specify whether you want to compress archived bad files.

    Note

    You can configure automatic cleaning of parsed files using the Filesystem cleaner task. For more information, see Configuring the FileSystem Cleaner task.

    Remote host Enter the name or IP address of the remote host to connect to.
    Username Enter the user name to connect to the file location server.
    Password required Select Yes or No.
    Password Enter the password to connect to the file location server. Applicable if you selected Yes for Password required.

    Property Description
    Directory Path of the directory that contains the CSV file.
    File list pattern A regular expression that defines which data files the ETL must read. The default value is (?$<$!done)\$, which indicates that the ETL must read all the files except the files whose name ends with the string "done". For example, my_file_source.done.
    Recurse into subdirs? Select Yes to inspect the subdirectories of the target directories.
    After parse operation
    Depending on what to do after the CSV file is imported, select one of the following options:
    • Do nothing: Do nothing after import.
    • Append suffix to parsed file: Append a specified suffix to the imported CSV file. For example, _done or _imported.
    • Archive parsed file in directory: Archive the parsed file in the specified directory. The default directory is %BASE/../repository/imprepository. Also, specify whether you want to compress archived parsed files.
    • Archive bad files in directory: Archive erroneous files in the specified directory. The default directory is %BASE/../repository/imprepository. Also, specify whether you want to compress archived bad files.

    Note

    You can configure automatic cleaning of parsed files using the Filesystem cleaner task. For more information, see Configuring the FileSystem Cleaner task.

    Remote host Enter the host name or IP address of the remote host to connect to.
    Username Enter the user name to connect to the file location server.
    Password required Select Yes or No.
    Password Enter the password to connect to the file location server. Applicable if you selected Yes for Password required.

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

    PropertyDescription
    Execute in simulation modeBy 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.

    PropertyDescription
    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:

    • New domain: This option is selected by default. Select a parent domain, and specify a name for your new domain.
    • Existing domain: Select an existing domain from the Domain list. 

    By default, a new domain with the same ETL name is created for each ETL. 

    PropertyDescription
    Task groupSelect a task group to classify the ETL.
    Running on schedulerSelect 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 warningIndicates 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.

  8. Click Save.
    The ETL tasks page shows the details of the newly configured BMC - TrueSight Capacity Optimization Gateway VIS files parser ETL.

(Optional) B. Configuring the advanced properties

You can configure the advanced properties to change the way the ETL works.

To configure the advanced properties:

  1. On the Add ETL page, click Advanced.
  2. Configure the following properties:

    PropertyDescription
    Run configuration nameSpecify 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 statusSelect 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 levelSpecify 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

    Depending on the selected data types and platforms, the associated datasets are shown.

    You can select the datasets that you want to add to the ETL run configuration.

    1. Click Edit.
    2. Select one (click) or more (shift+click) datasets from the Available datasets list and click >> to move them to the Selected datasets list.
    3. Click Apply.

    The ETL collects data of metrics associated with the datasets that are available in the Selected datasets list.

    Data type

    The data types are associated with different data sets. By default, data sets associated with the performance data are included.

    Select additional data types for which you want to collect data:

    Data typeAssociated datasets

    Detail disk/network data

    [4] SYSDSK - System Disks counters

    [5] SYSNET - System NIC counters
    [110] SYSSEA - System Network Adapter counters

    Workload data

    [100] PROCDET - Process level detailed metrics

    Command statistics

    [3] SYSPROC - System Processes counter

    User statistics

    [101] SYSUSR - User level detailed metrics

    Depending on the selected data type, specific metrics of the associated data set are included. For information about the metrics associated with the data sets, see Entity relationship, metrics and lookup information for BMC - TrueSight Capacity Optimization Gateway VIS files parser.

    Enable platform filteringSpecify whether you want to enable platform filtering. The default selection is Yes.
    Default last counterSet the default last counter in dd/mm/yyy hh:mm:ss format.

    PropertyDescription
    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 Adding and managing metric profiles.

    PropertyDescription
    Split hierarchy by platform

    Select Yes to create subdomains with platform name under the selected destination domain. Systems are split by platform and added to the respective subdomains.

    The default selection is No.

    Data recovery modeIf the ETL fails to import data accurately, you can run it again with this mode enabled to import data for the failed period. By default, this property is set to False. The latest entity relationship is preserved in the workspace.   Specify whether you want to delete the recovered local files.
    Extractor modeDepending on the option you selected, configure the following additional properties:
      • via gateway service
        • Wait configured manager run completion: Select Yes to wait till the configured manager run is complete.
        • Manager run name match: Select whether the included manager runs are based on an exact match or a substring match. 
        • Archive parsed file in directory: Archive the parsed file in the specified directory. Also, specify whether you want to compress archived parsed files.
      • via file
        • Manager run list: Click Add to add the manager run list.
        • Disable node check: Select Yes to disable the node check.
    PropertyDescription
    Subdirectories to exclude (separated by ';' ) (Applicable when you select the Local directory option)Names of subdirectories to exclude from parsing.
    Input file external validator (Applicable when you select either Local directory, Windows share, or FTP option)Specify whether you want to validate the file externally, and specify the validation script to validate the input file. The default selection is No external validation.

    PropertyDescription
    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.

    1. Click Add.
    2. In the etl.additional.prop.n field, specify an additional property.
    3. Click Apply.
      Repeat this task to add more properties.

    PropertyDescription
    Empty dataset behaviorSpecify 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 nameThe 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 outputA numeric value to limit the size of the output files.
    CSV loader output file nameThe 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

    Continuous Optimization loader output file name

    The name of the file that is generated by the Continuous Optimization loader. The default value is: %BASE/output/%DSNAME%AYEAR%AMONTH%ADAY%AHOUR%ZPROG%DSID%TASKID

    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.
    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 Continuous Optimization. It uses one of the other ETLs that share a lookup to create a new entity. The default selection is False.

    PropertyDescription
    Hour maskSpecify a value to run the task only during particular hours within a day. For example, 0 – 23 or 1, 3, 5 – 12.
    Day of week maskSelect the days so that the task can be run only on the selected days of the week. To avoid setting this filter, do not select any option for this field.
    Day of month maskSpecify a value to run the task only on the selected days of a month. For example, 5, 9, 18, 27 – 31.
    Apply mask validationSelect False to temporarily turn off the mask validation without removing any values. The default selection is True.
    Execute after timeSpecify a value in the hours:minutes format (for example, 05:00 or 16:00) to wait before the task is run. The task run begins only after the specified time is elapsed.
    EnqueueableSpecify whether you want to ignore the next run command or run it after the current task. Select one of the following options:
    • False: Ignores the next run command when a particular task is already running. This is the default selection.
    • True: Starts the next run command immediately after the current running task is completed.

  3. Click Save.
    The ETL tasks page shows the details of the newly configured BMC - TrueSight Capacity Optimization Gateway VIS files parser ETL.

Step III. Run the 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. To run the ETL in the simulation mode

To run the ETL in the simulation mode:

  1. 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. To run the ETL in the production mode

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

To run 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 Continuous Optimization database.

To schedule the ETL run in the production mode

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 task. 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 Continuous Optimization database.

Step IV. Verify data collection

Verify that the ETL ran successfully and check whether the BMC - TrueSight Capacity Optimization Gateway VIS files parser is refreshed in the Workspace.

To verify whether the ETL ran successfully

  1. 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 BMC - TrueSight Capacity Optimization Gateway VIS files parser data is refreshed:

  1. In the Workspace tab, expand BMC -TrueSight Capacity Optimization Gateway VIS file parser > Systems.
  2. In the left pane, verify that the hierarchy displays the required instances.
  3. Click any of the instances, and click the Metrics tab in the right pane.
  4. Check if the Last Activity column in the Configuration data and Performance metrics tables displays the current date.


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