Integrating with VMware vROps

As a tenant administrator, perform the following steps to configure a connection with VMware vROps, verify the connection, and view the collected data in various BMC Helix applications.

Supported versions

This connector supports version 8.5.0 of VMware vROps for data collection.

Task 1: To plan for the connection

• Depending on the location of the third-party product (SaaS, on-premises), choose one or more BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations deployment modes and review the corresponding port requirements. For information about various deployment modes and port requirements, see Deployment-scenarios.
• Based on the deployment mode, use the BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations SaaS deployment or the BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations on-premises gateway or both. For more information about the gateway, see Deploying-the-BMC-Helix-Intelligent-Integrations-on-premises-gateway.

• The on-premises gateway must be able to reach the third-party product on the required port (default is 443).

• (Applicable for 

  BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations

   for 24.1.02 and later versions) To collect topology data from third-party by using BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations , BMC Helix Discovery must already contain the third -party entities. When entities will be collected by BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations later after configuring the connection, the existing entities in BMC Helix Discovery are updated with external_id and any other additional attributes.

In the preceding list, third-party product refers to VMware vROps.

Task 2: To configure the connection with VMware vROps

1. Depending on the deployment mode, perform one of the following steps to access BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations:
   • BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations SaaS – Log on to BMC Helix Portal, and click Launch on BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations.
   • BMC Helix Intelligent Integrationson-premises gateway – Use the following URL to access BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations:
     https://<hostName>:<portNumber>/swpui
2. On the CONNECTORS tab, click in the SOURCES panel.

3. Click 

   VMware vROps

   .

4. Specify the following details for the source connection:

   1. Specify a unique instance name. 

      Best practice
      We recommend that you specify the instance name in the following format: 

      <sourceType>_<sourceControllerServerName>_<InstanceQualifier>

      The instance qualifier helps you to distinguish the multiple instances configured from the same source server. For example, you can name your instances as vROps_Host_PROD, vROps_Host_TEST, and so on.

      
      

   2. Specify the VMware vROps host name and port number (default value is 443).

   3. Make sure that the HTTPS check box is selected to indicate that you plan to use an https connection to the VMware vROps host.

      Warning

      We recommend that you do not select the Allow Unsigned Certificate option in a production environment.  You might want to select this option to allow unsigned certificates in a test environment. See the VMware vROps documentation to learn how to install SSL certificates.

   4. Specify the number of maximum concurrent REST API requests that should be executed during a collection schedule (de fault value is 5).
   5. Specify the user name and password. Make sure that the specified user can access the VMware vROps REST API.

   6. Specify the auth source name to authenticate users for accessing the VMware vROps REST API.
      The value in this field must match the auth source name that you specify when logging into the VMware vROps UI. For example, if the auth source name for an LDAP user for logging into VMware vROps is qa1.pun-vrops.abc.com, enter qa1.pun-vrops.abc.com.

      Important

      If you are using a local auth source, leave this field blank.

   7. Specify the time in seconds, after which no attempt should be made to establish a connection (default value is 30).
   8. Click Proxy and specify if you want to configure a proxy server. If yes, specify the host name and port number (default value is 8888).
      
      
5. Click VALIDATE AND CREATE.
   The specified connection details are validated, and the corresponding source connection is created in the Source Connection list.

6. Select the source connection that you created from the list if it is not selected already.

   Important

   The destination host connection is created and configured automatically for each tenant when the source connection is created.

7. Ensure that the options for the datatypes for which you want to collect data are selected.

8. Click a data type and specify the configuration parameters in the Collectors section as described in the following table:
   

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9. Click CREATE COLLECTORS to create the required collector streams for the selected data types.

10. Click a data type and specify the configuration parameters in the Distributors section as described in the following table:

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11. Click CREATE DISTRIBUTORS to create the required distributor streams for the selected data types.

12. Click one of the following buttons:

    • SAVE STREAM: Click this button if you want to edit the integration details before creating the instance. After you save the stream, the connector that you just created is listed in the SOURCES panel. Move the slider to the right to start the data stream.
    • SAVE AND START STREAM: Click this button if you want to save the integration details and start receiving data immediately.

    ImportantFor a data stream, the Run Latency (max/avg), Items (Avg per Run), and Last Run Status columns on the Streams page might show the status as No Runs during the data collection process. After completion of the process, these columns are updated with an appropriate status.

    
    For more information about data streams, see Starting-or-stopping-data-streams.

Task 3: To verify the connection

In BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations , on the SOURCES panel, confirm that the data streams for the integration you created are running. Data streaming is indicated by moving colored arrows.

• A moving dark blue arrow () indicates that the event stream is running. Event data will be pushed according to the configured Collection Schedule interval.
• A moving red arrow () indicates that the metric stream is running. Metric data will be pushed according to the configured Collection Schedule interval.
• A moving light blue arrow () indicates the topology stream is running. Topology data will be pushed according to the configured Collection Schedule interval.

To view data in BMC Helix applications

To view events in BMC Helix Operations Management

1. In BMC Helix Operations Management, select Monitoring > Events.
2. Filter the events by the VropsAlert class.
   

Incoming events from VMware vROps are processed in BMC Helix Operations Management through a set of deduplication rules to determine whether the incoming event is a duplicate event or a new event. For more information, see Event-deduplication-suppression-and-closure-for-reducing-event-noise.

For information about events, see Monitoring and managing events..

To view metrics in BMC Helix Operations Management

1. In BMC Helix Operations Management, select Monitoring > Devices.
2. Click the links for the required device.

3. On the Monitors tab, click the required monitor.
   The Performance Overview tab shows the metrics graph.
   
   For information about metrics, see Viewing collected data. 

BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations identifies all the VMware vROps KPI metrics. All the KPI metrics are prefixed with KPI in BMC Helix Operations Management. You can use these metrics for baselining.

To view the topology data in BMC Helix Discovery

In BMC Helix Discovery, select Explore > Data, and click <count> Import Records in the Miscellaneous section. The Import Record List page shows the CI records received from VMware vROps. For information about records, see Managing your IT infrastructure.

To view services and situations in BMC Helix AIOps

Before you view services and situations in BMC Helix AIOps, create a Business Service model in BMC Helix Discovery. For information about creating models, see Managing models..

In BMC Helix AIOps, on the Overview page, view the services and situations for the event and topology data received from VMware vROps.

Marking devices for deletion in BMC Helix Operations Management

If the devices in BMC Helix Operations Management are not collecting any metrics data for a particular time period, you can mark them for deletion by using the shouldSupportTopologyLifecycle and itemExpiryDuration parameters.

For example, if you want to mark devices for deletion that do not collect any metrics data in 5 hours in BMC Helix Operations Management, set the shouldSupportTopologyLifecycle parameter to true and set the value of itemExpiryDuration parameter to 5 hours.

To mark the devices for deletion:

1. Click Configure Mediator adjacent to VMware vROps.
2. Expand the VMWARE VROPS METRICS section.
3. Click COLLECTOR CONFIGURATION.
4. Enable the Edit JSON option to view the collection configuration parameters in JSON format.
   
5. Set the value of the shouldSupportTopologyLifecycle parameter to true and then click SAVE.
   By default, the value is set to false.
6. Click DISTRIBUTER CONFIGURATION.
7. Enable the Edit JSON option to view the distributer configuration parameters in JSON format.
   

8. Edit the itemExpiryDuration parameter as shown in the following example: 
   

   "itemExpiryDuration":{
   "unit": "HOURS"
   "value": 5
   }

   • The valid values for unit are SECONDS, MINUTES, HOURS, and DAYS.
   • The default value for itemExpiryDuration is 30 days and minimum value is 1 hour.
   • If itemExpiryDuration is set to less than 1 hour, BMC Helix Intelligent Integrations considers the value to be 1 hour.
9. Click SAVE to save the settings. 
10. Click SAVE & CLOSE.

Mapping between VMware vROps and BMC Helix Operations Management

The following table shows the mapping between VMware vROps and BMC Helix Operations Management: