Installation guide

C H A P T E R 7 Using SNMP with ESX Server
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Information about the Virtual Machines
SNMP get variables allow you to monitor a number of items about particular virtual
machines running on the computer. Some of the key types of information available
are:
• The path to the virtual machine’s configuration file
• The guest operating system running on the virtual machine
• The amount of memory the virtual machine is configured to use
• The state of the virtual machine’s power switch — on or off
• The state of the guest operating system — on or off (running or not running)
• What disk adapters are seen by the virtual machine
• What network adapters are seen by the virtual machine
• What floppy disk drives are seen by the virtual machine
• The state of the floppy drive — connected or disconnected
• What CD-ROM drives are seen by the virtual machine
• The state of the CD-ROM drive — connected or disconnected
Note: SNMP information is provided for virtual machines if their configuration files
are stored locally on the ESX Server computer. If the configuration files are stored on
an NFS-mounted drive, information for the virtual machines does not appear in the
SNMP tables.
SNMP Traps
Four SNMP traps notify you of critical events in particular virtual machines. The
affected virtual machine is identified by ID number and configuration file path. The
traps notify you
• When a virtual machine is powered on
• When a virtual machine is powered off
• When the virtual machine detects a loss of heartbeat in the guest operating
system
• When the virtual machine detects that the guest operating system’s heartbeat
has started or resumed
Note: VMware Tools must be installed in the guest operating system to support the
traps that detect loss and resumption of the guest’s heartbeat.
Note: Traps are not generated immediately when virtual machines are registered
using the VMware Management Interface. To enable trap generation, you must restart