Virtual Planner troubleshooting

Refer to the following sections, depending on which screen you are missing data or seeing exceptions:

• • Data exceptions in the Virtual Planner
  • Analysis exceptions in the Virtual Planner
  • Metrics used by the Virtual Planner

Data exceptions in the Virtual Planner

If the page displays less data than expected after Selecting-data-for-a-virtualization-study, follow the steps given below before beginning a Creating-a-new-virtualization-study:

• Verify that the following data request parameters are correct:
  • Domain
  • Entity filter
  • Time range: Ensure that the time range defaults to last 30 days. If required, update the range using the calendar icon.
• Verify data exists for the systems in the domain/entity filter during the Time Period displayed at the top of the New Study page.
  • View systems and metrics in Workspace to ensure that data exists for the systems.

Viewing data exceptions on the first screen of a study

If data is not displayed after verifying the above details, and No computers available is displayed, click on Consolidate to Virtual or any other study to view the Exceptions section in the first screen.

The Exceptions table shows computers, grouped by platform and exception category, with issues that prevent them from being included in the study. A brief description of the issue is included in the table. Use the platform list to view exceptions for each platform. The most common reason that a computer appears in this table is that there is no collected data for the specified time period.

To view a detailed list of the computers not available for the study, click the magnifying glass icon in the upper right corner. The Computer Exceptions page provides a more detailed list of the requested computers with exceptions.

Some of the common exceptions are listed below:

• No CPU utilization information present for computer(s) within the time period requested: Use the Workspace to find a time range for the system where the metric CPU_UTILMHZ has valid values. Use the calendar icon on the New Study screen to select the new time range
• Benchmark capacity cannot be retrieved: Indicates that Performance Rating Basis specified in Virtual-Planner-Settings is not available for the system. Use the Workspace to view the Reference Benchmark section of the Summary information for the system to identify which benchmark values are defined for the system. If alternate benchmark values are available for the system and are valid for your study, use Settings to change the Performance Rating Basis to the defined benchmark
• No performance rating used information available: Indicates that the absolute amount of CPU used by the guest or partition, expressed in the Performance rating basis specified in Settings, could not be determined. This can be due to the inability to link a guest or partition to a valid virtual host or a host with a Reference Benchmark value matching the Performance Ratings Basis. The latter may be addressed as described under “Benchmark capacity cannot be retrieved”
• No memory configured information available: Indicates the value for the TOTAL_REAL_MEMORY metric is not valid. A valid value must be supplied for this metric. This needs to be done manually, through the Workspace, or by correcting the data population process.

Analysis exceptions in the Virtual Planner

This topics describes some possible exceptions that are generated after selecting the study components.

The Virtual Planner will show analysis exceptions once the user has selected their study components (candidates, targets) and settings (thresholds, new hardware options, etc.) and requested results

• Most error messages identify resource constraints, where the study virtualizations cannot occur due to insufficient capacity in the target environment
  • When resources such as Memory, CPU, Storage, Network, or IO are exceeded, review the following:
    • Threshold value for resource that is set in the Study Profile
    • Beginning utilization of hosts when existing virtual targets are used
  • Ensure that the computer referenced in the message may have been just the system that put the resource over-threshold and may not in itself exceed the target’s capacity.

• Affinity constraints
  • Affinity relationships used in a study may cause the inability to place even though there appears to be sufficient resource.
  • When possible, VP will identify affinity rules as playing a part in the inability to place.

• Any exceptions for hosts supporting logical targets (clusters, pools) will be shown when the user performs the analysis using those targets.
  • The data for those supporting hosts are not read until the user selects the virtual targets they support.
  • The issues must be corrected before the cluster or pool can successfully be used as  a study target.

• Storage analysis may be disabled if insufficient candidate or target storage information is available.
  • A message will indicate storage analysis was disabled in the results summary.

The following table describes the error messages that appear when a threshold is exceeded and recommends remedies by the type of candidate in the study:

Error checking and problem correction for threshold violations

Metrics used by the Virtual Planner

The following table lists the metrics used by the Virtual Planner: