Configuring the continuous polling and collection of data from a VMware environment


This topic describes how to configure the continuous polling and collection of data from a VMware environment by using the VMware - vCenter Extractor Service ETL module.

For more information, see the following sections:


 

 

The following video (2:35) illustrates the process of setting up a VMware - vCenter Extractor Service ETL module.

icon-play.png https://youtu.be/VvA10W4GL2U?list=PLibAMtD70sYEneM-OP7FtO7PrMH-Ce0PL

Before you begin

Before configuring TrueSight Capacity Optimization to continuously poll and collect data from VMware environments:

  • Ensure that you have a user accountwithread-onlyroleto access the vCenter Servers.
  • For environments with firewalls, ensure that you configure the firewall access between VMware vCenter and TrueSight Capacity Optimization ETL Engine server.
  • The ETL Engine server must have access to the URLs of the web services exposed by the vCenter Servers.
  • The ETL Engine uses JRE, which comes embedded with TrueSight Capacity Optimization, and requires special Security considerations for old SSL keys that may have been created with a  key < 1024 bits. For more information, see User credentials for ETL modules..

The hosts, VMs, clusters, resource pools, and datacenter systems used to build performance counters are cached, so that they can be directly used on scheduler/service restart events.

For information on sizing recommendations, see Sizing the vCenter Extractor Service.

Integration steps

To integrate TrueSight Capacity Optimization with the VMware - vCenter Extractor Service, perform the following task:

  1. Navigate to Administration > ETL & SYSTEM TASKS > ETL tasks.

    In the ETL tasks page, click Add > Add ETL under the Last run tab.
    In the Add ETL page, set values for the following properties under each expandable tab.

    Note

    Basic properties are displayed by default in the Add ETL page. These are the most common properties that you can set for an ETL, and it is acceptable to leave the default selections for each as is.

    Basic properties

    Note

    To view or configure Advanced properties, click Advanced. You do not need to set or modify these properties unless you want to change the way the ETL works. These properties are for advanced users and scenarios only.

    Advanced properties

  2. Click Save.

    You return to the Last run tab under the ETL tasks page.

  3. Validate the results in simulation mode: In the ETL tasks table under ETL tasks > Last run, locate your ETL (ETL task name), click run_etl.png to run the ETL.

    After you run the ETL, the Last exit column in the ETL tasks table will display one of the following values:

    • OK: The ETL executed without any error in simulation mode.
    • WARNING: The ETL execution returned some warnings in simulation mode. Check the ETL log.
    • ERROR: The ETL execution returned errors and was unsuccessful. Edit the active Run configuration and try again.
  4. Switch the ETL to production mode: To do this, perform the following task:
    1. In the ETL tasks table under ETL tasks > Last run, click the ETL under the Name column.
    2. In the Run configurations table in the ETL details page, click edit icon.png to edit the active run configuration.
    3. In the Edit run configuration page, navigate to the Run configuration expandable tab and set Execute in simulation mode to No.
    4. Click Save.
  5. Locate the ETL in the ETL tasks table and click run_etl.png to Run it, or schedule an ETL run.

    After you run the ETL, or schedule the ETL for a run, it will extract the data form the source and transfer it to the TrueSight Capacity Optimization database.

 

Tip: For faster searching, add an asterisk to the end of your partial query. Example: cert*