VMware vCenter AppSpeed User’s Guide AppSpeed 1.2 This document supports the version of each product listed and supports all subsequent versions until the document is replaced by a new edition. To check for more recent editions of this document, see http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.
VMware vCenter AppSpeed User’s Guide You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware Web site at: http://www.vmware.com/support/ The VMware Web site also provides the latest product updates. If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to: docfeedback@vmware.com Copyright © 2009 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and international copyright and intellectual property laws.
Contents About This Book 5 1 AppSpeed Overview 7 Accessing the AppSpeed User Interface 7 2 Viewing Performance Data 9 AppSpeed Views 9 Select an Object 9 Select a View 9 Define the Time Frame and Format for Data Collection 10 View Real‐Time Metrics 10 View Data with Performance Tables 10 Performance Charts and Graphs 11 Export Performance Data 12 Viewing Summary Data for Applications and Servers 13 View States 13 State‐Related Parameters 13 View Unmapped Traffic 14 Viewing Application Data 14 View Appli
VMware vCenter AppSpeed User’s Guide Managing SSL Keys 29 Add an SSL Key 29 Update an SSL Key 29 Extract SSL Files 30 Managing AppSpeed Licenses 31 Add a License 31 View License Details 31 Remove a License 31 Accessing Technical Support 32 Event Log 32 Snapshots 32 5 Event Management 33 SLA States 33 Configuring SLA Thresholds 33 View Thresholds and Monitoring Settings 34 SLA Monitoring 34 Set Thresholds 35 Configuring Email Notifications 36 Viewing Events 37 View Events List 37 View Event Details 38 Dele
About This Book This book, the VMware vCenter AppSpeed User’s Guide, describes the user interface for the VMware vCenter AppSpeed™ virtual machine and plug‐in. Intended Audience This book is intended for IT administrators who use AppSpeed to monitor the performance, usage, and dependencies of multi‐tier applications running across both virtual and physical infrastructure. This document is written to support the VMware vCenter AppSpeed plug‐in, running on a vSphere Server.
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1 AppSpeed Overview 1 VMware vCenter AppSpeed provides performance management and service‐level reporting for applications running within virtual appliances. AppSpeed analyzes the traffic that flows between end users, Web applications, and back‐end servers. This analysis provides visibility into multitier applications. The analysis enables you to rapidly identify performance problems that originate from inadequate resource allocation and application problems.
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2 Viewing Performance Data 2 This chapter describes how to display performance data for applications, servers, and transactions in the Analysis module and outlines the types of data presented in each of the predefined views.
VMware vCenter AppSpeed User’s Guide Define the Time Frame and Format for Data Collection You can define the time frame for which performance data is displayed. You can also define that the data output be displayed in a specific time format, such as daily or hourly. Define the Time Frame You can specify the start and end times and dates, or you can select a predefined time frame, such as the previous month.
Chapter 2 Viewing Performance Data You can perform a variety of actions on the tabular display data: View data on the chart for specific applications, servers, or transactions. Navigate a specific application, server, or transaction to view additional data. Sort data in the table and rearrange the order of the columns. Search for specific applications or servers. Highlight the data for a specific object on the corresponding graph, by selecting its row in the table.
VMware vCenter AppSpeed User’s Guide Table 2-1. Charts and Graph Types (Continued) Chart/Graph Type Description Latency vs. Baseline Shows the average usage and latency for either applications or servers, with the corresponding baseline. This information is available in the Applications and Servers views only. Throughput Breakdown of Servers Reports the analysis of throughput for servers for the selected application.
Chapter 2 Viewing Performance Data Export the graph data as a CSV file 1 In the graph display pane, click the CSV icon. 2 Name the file, ensuring that the CSV extension is included in the file name. 3 Select the location in which you want to save the file, and click Save. Viewing Summary Data for Applications and Servers You can view summary performance data for all of the applications and servers on the network in one of several predefined views.
VMware vCenter AppSpeed User’s Guide View Unmapped Traffic You can view the unmapped servers and transactions detected on the network. Unmapped objects are not yet mapped to specific applications. The number of unmapped objects typically decreases as AppSpeed maps the environment. To view unmapped traffic on HTTP sites that incorporate SSL protection, you must configure the SSL keys for each endpoint where AppSpeed detects SSL traffic. See “Managing SSL Keys” on page 29.
Chapter 2 Viewing Performance Data View Application Properties You can view the general properties of the selected application, including its name and application roots. View the application properties On the page selection bar, click Properties. Edit Application Properties You can edit the name of an application. To edit other application properties, see “Manually Editing Topology Maps” on page 23. Edit the application name 1 On the page selection bar, click Properties.
VMware vCenter AppSpeed User’s Guide View Full Transaction Name The full name of a transaction is often truncated because of space restrictions in the name field. You can display the full name on the transaction’s Properties page. View full transaction names 1 Double‐click a transaction. 2 Click Properties on the page selection bar. The full name appears in the Description field. For example, a URL appears for an HTTP transaction, and a database query appears for a database transaction.
Chapter 2 Viewing Performance Data Indicators by View The type of object selected in the AppSpeed Inventory tree determines the available views and the performance indicators included in each view. Performance Indicators in Applications and Servers Views Table 2‐4 lists the performance indicators included in the views available when Applications and Servers is selected on the AppSpeed Inventory tree. NOTE A plus sign (+) indicates that the performance indicator appears in the view. Table 2-4.
VMware vCenter AppSpeed User’s Guide Table 2-5. Performance Indicators in Application Views (Continued) View Name Usage vs. Latency Slowest Transact. Total Hits + + Average Throughput + + Perf. Indicator Throughput Latency Latency Latency vs. Most Used Usage Over Breakdown Over Time Breakdown Baseline Transact. Time of Servers + + Total Throughput + + + + + + + + + Latency Distrib.
Chapter 2 Viewing Performance Data Table 2-6. Performance Indicators in Server Views (Continued) View Name Performance Indicator Usage vs. Latency Applications Latency Latency Breakdown Network (RTT) + Network Overhead + Applications Usage Applications Availability Performance Indicators in Transaction Views Table 2‐7 lists the performance indicators included in the views that are available when a transaction is selected in the AppSpeed Inventory tree.
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3 Working with the Topology Map 3 The topology map shows the relationships between the applications and servers detected on the network, and the dependencies between applications. This chapter includes the following topics: “Displaying the Topology Map” on page 21 “Topology Map Legend” on page 22 “Manually Editing Topology Maps” on page 23 “Scalability” on page 25 Displaying the Topology Map You can view the default map by selecting the Topology Map module.
VMware vCenter AppSpeed User’s Guide Topology Map Legend The topology map includes application and server objects. The following object types are represented on the topology map: Application Server Hold your pointer over an object to display its application type or server IP address. The SLA state of each application is indicated by an additional icon: Warning Above SLA Not available State is OK Lines indicate the relationships between applications and servers, based on the selected map view.
Chapter 3 Working with the Topology Map Locate an Object on the Map You can search for an object on the topology map. Locate an object on the map Type the name of the object (or part of the name) in the text box and click the magnifying glass icon. The first matching object that is detected is selected on the map. To locate the next object that matches the name, click Next.
VMware vCenter AppSpeed User’s Guide 4 Select the base application into which you want to merge other applications. This base application retains all of its historical monitoring data and configuration. 5 (Optional) Name the new merged objects application. 6 Click Merge. Remap Applications Remapping an application is useful if the application structure has significantly changed. Remapping an application it deletes it.
Chapter 3 Working with the Topology Map Scalability AppSpeed is a real‐time application performance tool that collects, analyzes, and stores substantial volumes of data per second.
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4 AppSpeed Administration 4 You can perform various administrative functions in AppSpeed, including installing and deploying probes, configuring SSL keys and mail notification settings, adding or editing AppSpeed license keys, editing topology objects, and creating and viewing support information.
VMware vCenter AppSpeed User’s Guide Deploy an AppSpeed Probe You can install a probe on one host at a time, or you can install a probe on multiple hosts at the same time. When you install a probe in AppSpeed, distributed vSwitches do not appear in the Probe Installation window. To monitor these switches, you must manually configure the AppSpeed probe. See the VMware vCenter AppSpeed Installation Guide.
Chapter 4 AppSpeed Administration Delete Probes If you do not want to monitor the traffic on a specific host, you can remove the probes from that host. Delete probes from hosts 1 In the Probes Management window, select the check boxes for one or more probes on one or multiple hosts, and click Delete Probe. 2 Click OK to confirm. The probe is removed from the selected hosts only.
VMware vCenter AppSpeed User’s Guide Extract SSL Files You can extract the SSL files from the Web server to obtain the SSL keys. The procedure varies according to the type of Web server. Extract SSL Files from an Apache Server You can extract the SSL files from an Apache server. Extract SSL files from an Apache Server 1 In the Apache conf directory, open the http.conf file. The filename is either /etc/httpd/conf.d/ssl.conf or /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf.
Chapter 4 AppSpeed Administration Managing AppSpeed Licenses You must have an AppSpeed license to monitor traffic. If you have multiple AppSpeed Servers, each server requires a license. View existing licenses Click the Administration tab, and in the Management Tools pane click Licensing. The total number of licensed processors, all licenses combined, and the number of monitored processors are displayed at the top of the page. The table displays details for existing licenses.
VMware vCenter AppSpeed User’s Guide Accessing Technical Support The Support view under Management Tools displays snapshots and an event log that you can download and send to VMware technical support to enable swifter resolutions to problems you encounter with AppSpeed. Event Log The event log is a text file that includes information that can be used to analyze problems. Download the event log Click the Click here link. The event log is downloaded.
5 Event Management 5 You can monitor Service Level Agreement (SLA) compliance based on the performance of applications and transactions. AppSpeed monitors these latency and error thresholds for transactions. When a threshold is exceeded for a sustained period, AppSpeed generates an event. You can manually monitor events or you can configure AppSpeed to send email notifications whenever an event is generated.
VMware vCenter AppSpeed User’s Guide View Thresholds and Monitoring Settings You can view the thresholds and SLA monitoring settings. View threshold and monitoring settings 1 In an application view, click Threshold Settings on the page selection bar. 2 If SLA Monitoring is enabled, you can view the monitored transactions. A separate entry appears for each transaction, including: Modified: If a change has been made in the settings for the transaction but not applied, a flag icon appears.
Chapter 5 Event Management Enable or Disable SLA Monitoring of Transactions You can enable or disable SLA monitoring for specific transactions. To monitor a transaction, SLA monitoring must be enabled for the application to which it belongs. Disabling SLA monitoring of a transaction does not remove any saved threshold settings, however the transaction is no longer monitored for changes in performance levels based on those thresholds.
VMware vCenter AppSpeed User’s Guide Implement AppSpeed suggested values for all thresholds 1 On the Threshold Settings page for the application, click Suggest for All on the toolbar. A progress bar appears while the process is performed, which might take several minutes. When the process is complete, the calculated values overwrite any previously set values in the Threshold Settings table. A flag icon next to the transaction name indicates that it is overwritten but not yet applied.
Chapter 5 Event Management Remove an email address from the notifications list 1 In the Management Tools pane of the Administration module, click Mail Notification Settings. 2 In the Recipient addresses list, select the email address to remove and click Remove. 3 Click Apply. Enable or Disable Event Notifications Disabling event notifications allows you to suspend email notifications, without affecting the notification configuration settings.
VMware vCenter AppSpeed User’s Guide View Event Details You can view the details of a single event, including the key performance indicators of the object for which the event was generated. This information includes the time when the event occurred and performance indicators. For a description of the performance indicators, see “Performance Indicators” on page 16. View event details On the Events List page, double‐click the event. When applicable, links to calculated actions appear in the Next Steps pane.
6 Troubleshooting Errors While Using AppSpeed 6 If you encounter problems when you use AppSpeed, use this troubleshooting information resolve the problem. Virtual Machine is Not Visible in the Inventory Problem A virtual machine is not in the AppSpeed Inventory tree. Cause The virtual machine is not mapped because of low traffic volume. Solution 1 In the Analysis module, select Applications and Servers in the Inventory tree. 2 Click Unmapped Traffic on the page selection bar.
VMware vCenter AppSpeed User’s Guide Application is Not Visible in the AppSpeed User Interface Problem The application does not appear in the AppSpeed user interface. Solution 1 In the Analysis module, select Applications and Servers in the Inventory tree. 2 Select Unmapped Traffic on the page selection bar. 3 Click the Servers tab and search for the server that runs the application under the relevant protocol. A low number of hits indicates that the application is not yet mapped.
Index A E access AppSpeed 7 Analysis module define time frame 9 Inventory tree 9 view charts and graphs 11 Analysis views, select 9 analyze objects 22 Application Focused view 21 Application views components 14 performance indicators 17 applications delete 24 edit properties 15 enable or disable monitoring 34 merge 23 remap 24 SLA state 33 split 23 states 13 undo delete 24 view details 14 view properties 15 Applications and Servers views 13 Applications and Servers views, performance indicators 17 AppSpe
VMware vCenter AppSpeed User’s Guide M mail notifications, See notifications Map module, See topology map Microsoft IIS 6.0 server 30 Microsoft IIS 7.
Index topology map adjust zoom to fit content 22 Application Focused view 21 dependencies 22 display 21 editing 23 legend 22 locate objects 23 object icons 22 overview map 22 Server Focused view 21 total errors 16 total hits 16 total throughput 16 Transaction views, performance indicators 19 transactions set thresholds 35 SLA state 33 unmapped 14 troubleshooting 39 U unmapped traffic parameters 14 view 14 Unmonitor All thresholds 35 V view data applications and servers 13 unmapped traffic 14 views, See A
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