Collecting and Viewing Utilization Data

Certain VM Manager views include utilization meters (bar graphs) that display current utilization data for a resource. For example, the VM Host Virtual Machines tab includes several utilization meters for each virtual machine listed, as shown in Figure 3-28. When using VM Manager through VSE Management Software under HP SIM, you can click a meter to view a more detailed historical data report provided by HP Capacity Advisor. These meters are visible when using VM Manager with HP SMH, but you cannot click them to obtain a Capacity Advisor report.

Figure 3-28 Utilization Meters Displayed by the VM Host Virtual Machines Tab

When using VM Manager through VSE Management Software under HP SIM, you can cause Capacity Advisor to collect and display historical utilization data for a VM Host or selected virtual machines.

Details about using VM Manager to collect and view utilization data are included in the following sections:

Enabling Collection of Utilization Data

Utilization meters display utilization data retrieved by the WBEM Utilization provider. WBEM providers are included with the VSE Management Software and must be installed on the VM Host and each virtual machine. For more information, see “System and Software Requirements”.

When using VM Manager through HP SMH, viewing utilization meter data specific to virtual machines requires certain WBEM credentials to be set. If such credentials are not set, the meters are dimmed. For more information, see “Setting WBEM Credentials in HP SMH”. Meters for the VM Host and host resources are still available if the VM Host's WBEM Utilization provider is running.

When using VM Manager with VSE Management Software, you can enable collection of utilization data from systems licensed for HP Capacity Advisor. Select the ToolsCollect Capacity Advisor Data menu item from the VM Manager menu bar. This menu item is not available when using VM Manager through HP SMH.

Data is collected by WBEM Utilization providers on the licensed systems and stored on the Central Management Server. Data collection is done on individual systems. Results from stdout and stderr are saved to the HP SIM Tasks Results log. Capacity Advisor uses the collected data to calculate the utilization of CPU and memory on targeted systems. You can collect data for:

All systems licensed to use Capacity Advisor
Specific selected systems licensed to use Capacity Advisor

To view the collected data, use the ViewCapacity Advisor Data... menu item, as described in “Viewing Utilization Data”.

For information on Capacity Advisor, including prerequisites for using Capacity Advisor features, see HP Capacity Advisor Version 4.1 User's Guide.

Viewing Utilization Data

VM Manager provides the following options for viewing utilization data. These assume the prerequisites discussed in “Enabling Collection of Utilization Data” have been met.

Utilization meters provided by VM Manager tabs. Table 3-8 lists the meters provided by VM Manager tabs. Utilization meters display current utilization data for the associated resource. The utilization information is a 5-minute average that is calculated and updated on 5-minute boundaries. If the utilization cannot be displayed, the utilization meter is dimmed. A label next to the meter indicates the probable cause. For information about these labels, see “Utilization Meter Status/Error Information”.

CPU and memory utilization are expressed as a percentage. Network and storage meters display I/O data in terms of throughput (for example, megabytes per second). Storage meters are labeled as “Disk I/O” but provide utilization data for any supported devices (DVDs and tape devices as well as disks). If a network or storage I/O meter is in a device box on a Network or Storage tab, the data is specific to the device, whether it is a virtual device in a virtual machine or a physical device on the VM Host; if the meter is in a virtual machine box, the data is an aggregate, registering the total throughput for all virtual devices on the virtual machine.

Table 3-8 Utilization Meters Available on VM Manager Tabs

VM Manager Tab

Utilization Metrics

CPU (%)

Memory (%)

Network I/O (throughput)

Storage I/O (throughput)

VM Host General

VM Host only

VM Host Virtual Machines

VM Host CPU utilization per VM

VM vCPU utilization

Per VM only

VM Host Network

VM Host (Physical Network Interfaces column)

VM (Virtual Network Interfaces column)

VM Host Storage

VM Host (Physical Storage column)

VM (Virtual Storage column)

VM Properties General

VM CPU utilization

VM Host CPU utilization per VM

VM only

VM Properties Network

VM Host (Physical Network Interfaces column)

VM (Virtual Network Interfaces column)

VM Properties Storage

VM Host (Physical Storage column)

VM (Virtual Storage column)

Vswitch Properties Network

VM Host (Physical Network Interfaces column)

VM (Virtual Network Interfaces column)




	NOTE: Data reported by certain VM Manager CPU utilization meters might vary from the data collected by Capacity Advisor as displayed in the Profile Viewer and historical utilization reports. The data from VM Manager meters is reliable for most purposes. For capacity planning, refer to the data collected by the Capacity Advisor Profile Viewer and historical utilization reports. For more information about how Capacity Advisor data might vary from VM Manager data, see the section entitled “Data Handling for Virtual Machines” in Chapter 3 of the HP Capacity Advisor Version 4.1 User's Guide.

When using VM Manager through VSE Management Software under HP SIM, you can click a utilization meter to view a more detailed historical data report provided by HP Capacity Advisor.
When using VM Manager through VSE Management Software under HP SIM, you can use the ViewCapacity Advisor Data... menu item to view a snapshot of recent utilization data collected by HP Capacity Advisor. First, you must enable collection of data by using the ToolsCollect Capacity Advisor Data menu item, as described in “Enabling Collection of Utilization Data”. (If you use the ViewCapacity Advisor Data... menu item without having enabled data collection, no data is displayed; however, the screen includes a link to the Collect Capacity Advisor Data facility so that you can begin collecting data to view.)
Figure 3-29 shows a view of the data collected for a VM Host:
Figure 3-29 View Capacity Advisor Data Screen
The data collection view is provided by the Capacity Advisor Profile Viewer. The Profile Viewer displays historical utilization data along with additional information you provide. The Profile Viewer also enables you to examine different time intervals and different categories of data. In the Capacity Advisor graphs, you can view utilization data for both CPUs and memory. You can also view network and disk bandwidth utilization (throughput) for whole OS profiles. For more information about the Capacity Advisor Profile Viewer, see the HP Capacity Advisor Version 4.1 User's Guide or the Capacity Advisor Profile Viewer Screen help topic.
When you click the ViewCapacity Advisor Data... menu item without any virtual machines selected on the current tab, the screen shows utilization data pertaining to the VM Host.
The data provided by the ViewCapacity Advisor Data... menu item is similar to what is provided by clicking on a utilization meter. However, clicking on a meter presets certain parameters, such as what type of utilization metric to display and for which system (VM Host or a particular virtual machine, for example). Nevertheless, you can change parameters once the screen comes up.
When using VM Manager through VSE Management Software under HP SIM, you can use the ToolsCapacity Advisor Historic Report menu item to create a comprehensive report that collects and analyzes data over specified time periods from specified sources, as described in “Creating a Historical Utilization Data Report”. The report can be browsed and saved.

Creating a Historical Utilization Data Report

To use HP Capacity Advisor to create a historical utilization report that includes data for the target workloads, systems, complexes, or scenarios you specify, select the ToolsCapacity Advisor Historic Report menu item from the VM Manager menu bar. This menu item is available only when you use VM Manager with VSE Management Software through HP SIM; it is not available when using VM Manager through HP SMH. Before creating a report, you must have collected data on the systems of interest (see “Enabling Collection of Utilization Data”).

HP Capacity Advisor reports provide information about utilization and allocation data that have been collected and analyzed. This facility gives you the flexibility of analyzing and showing data collected over specified time periods. A wizard allows you to set a variety of parameters to determine the time periods and systems for data collection and analysis. The report can be browsed (the screen is presented in a new browser window) and saved. In contrast, the ViewCapacity Advisor Data... menu item gives a snapshot of utilization that's more limited to the current, most recent time period.

Capacity Advisor collects data for the following resources or targets: systems, workloads, complexes, and scenarios. For these targets, Capacity Advisor provides utilization information in the following reports:

System Utilization Report
Workload Utilization Report
Complex Utilization Report
Scenario Utilization Report

Collecting and Viewing Utilization Data

Technical documentation

» Table of Contents

» Glossary

» Index

Enabling Collection of Utilization Data

Viewing Utilization Data

Creating a Historical Utilization Data Report