PRTG Network Monitor User Manual

Part 6: Ajax Web Interface—Device and Sensor Setup | 8 Sensor Settings

171 VMware Virtual Machine (SOAP) Sensor

6.8.171 VM ware Virtual M achine (SOAP) Sensor

The VMware Virtual Machine (SOAP) sensor monitors a virtual machine on a VMware host server using Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP). It shows CPU (percent) and memory

(absolute) usage, disk read and write speed, read and write latency, and network usage (total, received, and transmitted) of a single virtual machine.

Note: The parent device must be a VMware ESX/ESXi server version 3.5, 4.0, 5.0, 5.1, or 5.5; or a respective Virtual Center server. We recommend using Virtual Center as parent device, because this way PRTG will continue to monitor your virtual machines also when they change the physical host using vMotion.

For this sensor type credentials for VMware servers must be defined for the device you want to use the sensor on. Please make sure you enter a user with sufficient access rights to obtain statics (read-only should work).

Note: This sensor type can have a high impact on the performance of your monitoring system.

Please use it with care! We recommend using not more than 50 sensors, on each probe, of this type of sensor.

Requirement: .NET Framework

This sensor type requires the Microsoft .NET Framework to be installed on the computer running the PRTG probe: Either on the local system (on every node, if on a cluster probe), or on the system running the

remote probe

2050

. If the framework is missing, you cannot create this sensor. Note: You need to install the exact version required (a higher version will usually not work; an exception applies to .NET 3.5 which comprises .NET 2.0 and .NET 3.0). Generally, it is possible to run several .NET Framework versions on the same machine side-by-side. Please install the latest update available for the required version.

Required .NET

version: 4.0 (with latest update).

Settings on VMware Host System

If you set up this sensor on different probes (for example, when using remote probes

2050

or when running a

cluster

81

setup), you might need to change the settings of your VMware host, so it accepts more incoming connections. Otherwise you might get connection timeouts when running plenty of VMware sensors with a short scanning interval.

For details about this setting, please see More section below.

Add Sensor

The Add Sensor dialog appears when adding a new sensor on a device manually

220

. It only shows the setting fields that are imperative for creating the sensor. Therefore, you will not see all setting fields in this dialog. You can change all settings in the sensor's Set t ings tab later.

Note: PRTG requests a full list of all virtual machines configured on the device. Therefore, it may take a few seconds before the dialog is loaded.

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If you select more than one virtual machine, multiple sensors are created at once in the Add

Sensor dialog. The settings you make in this dialog are valid for all of the sensors that are created.

The following settings for this sensor differ in the 'Add Sensor' dialog in comparison to the sensor's settings page:

Virt ual Machine Set t ings

Virtual Machine You see a list of all virtual machines (VMs) available on the host server on this device, including the ones that are not running. All

VMs are listed with name and the OS it is running on. Select the desired items by adding check marks in front of the respective lines. One sensor will be created for each selection. You can also select and deselect all items by using the check box in the table head.

Sensor Settings

On the sensor's details page, click on the Set t ings tab to change settings.

Note: If not set explicitly in a sensor's settings, it will connect to the IP Address or DNS Name defined in the settings of the parent device the sensor is created on.

Basic Sensor Set t ings

Sensor Name

Tags

Priority

Enter a meaningful name to identify the sensor. The name will be shown by default in the device tree and in all alarms.

Enter one or more tags, separated by space or comma. You can use tags to group sensors and use tag-filtered views later on. Tags are not case sensitive. We recommend using the default value. You can add additional tags to it, if you like. Other tags are

automatically inherited

89

from objects further up in the device tree. Those are not visible here.

Select a priority for the sensor. This setting determines where the sensor will be placed in sensor lists. Top priority will be at the top of a list. You can choose from one star (low priority) to five stars

(top priority).

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Virt ual Machine Set t ings

MoID Shows the Managed Object ID (MoID) of the virtual machine. Once a sensor is created this value cannot be changed. It is shown for reference purposes only. If you need to change this, please add the sensor anew.

Handling of "Powered off" VM

Choose how the sensor will react to a virtual machine that is powered off. Please choose between:

·

Ignore "powered off" st at e (default ): The sensor will not change to a Down status if the virtual machine is powered off; it will report zero values instead.

·

Alarm when VM is "powered off": The sensor will change to a

Down

121

status if the virtual machine is powered off. Note: While in Down status, a sensor does not record any data in all of its channels.

Sensor Display

Primary Channel

Chart Type

Stack Unit

Select a channel from the list to define it as the primary channel. In the device tree, the last value of the primary channel will always be displayed underneath the sensor's name. The available options depend on what channels are available for this sensor. Note: You can set another primary channel later by clicking on the pin symbol of a channel in the sensor's overview tab.

Define how different channels will be shown for this sensor.

§ Show channels independent ly (default ): Show an own graph for each channel.

§ St ack channels on t op of each ot her: Stack channels on top of each other to create a multi-channel graph. This will generate an easy-to-read graph which visualizes the different components of your total traffic. Note: This option cannot be used in combination with manual Vertical Axis Scaling (available in the

Sensor Channels Set t ings

1709

settings).

This setting is only available if stacked graphs are selected above.

Choose a unit from the list. All channels with this unit will be stacked on top of each other. By default, you cannot exclude single channels from stacking, if they use the selected unit.

However, there is an advanced procedure to do so.

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Inherited Settings

By default, all following settings are inherited from objects higher in the hierarchy and should be changed there, if necessary. Often, best practice is to change them centrally in the

Root

224

group's settings. To change a setting for this object, disable inheritance by clicking on the check mark symbol in front of the respective setting name. You will then see the options described below.

Scanning Int erval

Scanning Interval The scanning interval determines the time the sensor waits between two scans. Select a scanning interval (seconds, minutes, or hours) from the list. You can change the available intervals in

the system administration

1839

.

Schedules, Dependencies, and Maint enance Window

Note: Inheritance for schedules, dependencies, and maintenance windows cannot be interrupted; the according settings from the parent objects will always be active. However, you can define additional settings here. They will be active in parallel to the parent objects' settings.

Schedule Select a schedule from the list. Schedules can be used to monitor for a certain time span (days, hours) throughout the week. With the period list option it is also possible to pause monitoring for a specific time span. You can create new schedules and edit existing ones in the

account settings

1817

. Note: Schedules are generally inherited. New schedules will be added to existing ones, so all schedules are active.

Maintenance Window Specify if you want to set-up a one-time maintenance window.

During a maintenance window this object and all child objects will not be monitored. They will enter a paused state then. Choose between:

§ Not set (monit or cont inuously ): No maintenance window will be set.

§ Set up a one-t ime maint enance window: Pause monitoring within a maintenance window.

Maintenance Begins At This field is only visible if maintenance window is enabled above.

Use the date time picker to enter the start date and time of the maintenance window.

Maintenance End At This field is only visible if maintenance window is enabled above.

Use the date time picker to enter the end date and time of the maintenance window.

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Schedules, Dependencies, and Maint enance Window

Dependency Type

Dependency

Delay (Seconds)

Define a dependency type. Dependencies can be used to pause monitoring for an object depending on the status of another. You can choose between:

§ Use parent : Pause the current sensor if the device it is created on is in a Down status, or if it is paused by another dependency.

§ Select object : Pause the current sensor if the device it is created on is in an Down status, or if it is paused by another dependency. Additionally, pause the current sensor if a specific other object in the device tree is in a Down status, or if it is paused by another dependency. Select below.

§ Mast er object for parent : Make this sensor the master object for its parent device. The sensor will influence the behavior of the device it is created on: If the sensor is in a Down status, the device will be paused. For example, it is a good idea to make a

Ping sensor the master object for its parent device to pause monitoring for all other sensors on the device in case the device cannot even be pinged. Additionally, the sensor will be paused if the parent group of its parent device is in a Down status, or if it is paused by another dependency.

Note: Testing your dependencies is easy! Simply choose Simulat e

Error St at us from the context menu of an object that other objects depend on. A few seconds later all dependent objects should be paused.

This field is only visible if the select object option is enabled above.

Click on the reading-glass symbol and use the

object selector

159 to choose an object on which the current sensor will be dependent on.

Define a time span. After the master object for this dependency comes back to an Up status, monitoring of the depending objects will be additionally delayed by the defined time span. This can help avoid false alarms, for example, after a server restart, by giving systems more time for all services to start up. Please enter an integer value in seconds. Note: This setting is not available if you choose this sensor to be the Mast er object for parent . In this case, please define delays in the parent

Device Set t ings

272

or the

superior

Group Set t ings

253

.

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Access Right s

User Group Access Define which user group(s) will have access to the object you're editing. A table with user groups and right is shown; it contains all user groups from your setup. For each user group you can choose from the following access rights:

§ Inherit ed: Use the settings of the parent object.

§ None: Users in this group cannot see or edit the object. The object does not show up in lists and in the device tree.

Exception: If a child object is visible to the user, the object is visible in the device tree, though not accessible.

§ Read: Users in this group can see the object and review its monitoring results.

§ Writ e: Users in this group can see the object, review its monitoring results, and edit the object's settings. They cannot edit access rights settings.

§ Full: Users in this group can see the object, review its monitoring results, edit the object's settings, and edit access rights settings.

You can create new user groups in the

Sy st em Administ rat ion—

User Groups

1861

settings. To automatically set all objects further down in the hierarchy to inherit this object's access rights, set a check mark for the Revert children's access right s t o inherit ed option.

For more details about access rights, please see section

User

Access Right s

94

.

More

Knowledge Base: How can I increase the connection limit on VMware systems?

§ http://kb.paessler.com/en/topic/30643

Edit Sensor Channels

In order to change display settings, spike filter, and limits, please switch to the sensor's

Overview tab and click on the gear icon of a specific channel. For detailed information, please see

Sensor Channels Set t ings

1709

section.

Notifications

Click on the Not ificat ions tab to change notification triggers. For detailed information, please see

Sensor Not ificat ions Set t ings

1716

section.

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Others

For more general information about settings, please see

Object Set t ings

142

section.

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