5.7

Table 4-3. Looping Functions
Function Description
avg Average of the collected values.
combine Combines all of the values of the metrics of the included
resources into a single metric timeline.
count Number of values collected.
max Maximum of the collected values.
min Minimum of the collected values.
sum Total of the collected values.
Looping Function Formats
All looping functions have four possible formats.
Table 4-4. Looping Function Formats
Format Description
funct(res:met) Checks one level below the indicated resource and acts on the values of the metric for
all of the resource's children.
For example, avg(Tier1;CPUuse) returns the average of the CPUuse metric for all of
the children of the Tier1 resource.
funct(reskind:met) Checks down the resource tree and acts on the values of the metric for all of the
resources of the indicated resource kind that are below the resource to which the super
metric is assigned. The metric might be a specific metric or an attribute kind.
For example, sum(DomCont:BytesReadSec) totals the value of all instances of the
BytesReadSec attributes for all resources of DomCont kind below the resource to
which you assign the super metric.
functN(res:met,n) Similar to funct(res:met), except that it checks down or up the number of levels
indicated by n instead of working on only the immediate children. This behavior is
inclusive.
For example, avgN(App1:CPUuse,3) averages the CPUuse metric for the children,
grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of the App1 resource. If n is negative, the
function checks the resource's parents instead of its children. If n is 1, this format is
the same as funct(res:met).
funct([val1,val2,val3...]) Array format of a looping function. It can include any number of of the following
values, separated by commas.
n
A resource:metric or resource kind:metric pair. The function takes the value of the
specified resource, not its children, unless you include a resource kind. If you use
a resource kind, you must specify a single metric for it, not a metric kind. The
function checks all resources of that type below the resource to which it is assigned
and acts on the value of the specified metric for those resources.
n
A constant.
n
A function or expression that returns a single value, such as
floor($This:AvgTransTime) or 100-(DBServer3:MemoryUsed).
For example, max([$This:CPUavg,Host3:CPUavg,VM:CPUavg]) finds the value of the CPUavg metric for the
resource to which the super metric is assigned, for the resource called Host3, and for all resources of type VM
that are below the resource to which the super metric is assigned in the resource tree.
Although this example uses the same metric in all three res:met pairs, you do not need to use the same metric.
For example, you can have one function take the average of the physical memory used for one attribute, and
the virtual memory used for a second attribute for one or more defined resources.
Chapter 4 Configuring Attribute Packages
VMware, Inc. 47