BMC - TrueSight Capacity Optimization Gateway VIS files parser

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.

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.
     If you are collecting business services data, we recommend that you select Shared Entity Catalog to avoid duplication of entities.
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.
   
   

   • Local directory
   • Windows share
   • FTP
   • SCP
   • SFTP

   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:

   The [confluence_table-plus] macro is a standalone macro and it cannot be used inline. Click on this message for details.
   This macro generates standalone content. As a consequence you need to make sure to use a syntax that separates your macro from the content before and after it so that it's on a line by itself. For example in XWiki Syntax 2.0+ this means having 2 newline characters (a.k.a line breaks) separating your macro from the content before and after it.*Scheduler compatible with this ETL: Remote ETL Engine.

8. Click Save.
9. 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:

   The [expand] macro is a standalone macro and it cannot be used inline. Click on this message for details.
   This macro generates standalone content. As a consequence you need to make sure to use a syntax that separates your macro from the content before and after it so that it's on a line by itself. For example in XWiki Syntax 2.0+ this means having 2 newline characters (a.k.a line breaks) separating your macro from the content before and after it.

   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 Adding-and-managing-metric-profiles.

   Vis file parser configuration

   Property	Description
   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. UDR data must be processed with ETLs sharing the same entity catalog for the object relationships to be imported correctly and represented in the workspace and views.
   Data recovery mode	If 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 mode	Depending 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.

   File location

   Property	Description
   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.

   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.

   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.
   Maximum number of rows for CSV output	A numeric value to limit the size of the output files.
   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 . It uses one of the other ETLs that share a lookup to create a new entity. The default selection is False.

   Scheduling options

   Property	Description
   Hour mask	Specify 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 mask	Select 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 mask	Specify a value to run the task only on the selected days of a month. For example, 5, 9, 18, 27 – 31.
   Apply mask validation	Select False to temporarily turn off the mask validation without removing any values. The default selection is True.
   Execute after time	Specify 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.
   Enqueueable	Specify 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.

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 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.

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.

The following image shows sample metrics data. To learn more about these metrics and other related concepts, see Entity-relationship-metrics-and-lookup-information-for-BMC-TrueSight-Capacity-Optimization-Gateway-VIS-files-parser.