XIO Cluster Status Test

An XtremIO Storage Array can include a single X-Brick or a cluster of multiple X-Bricks. A cluster of multiple X-Bricks consists of:

  • Two or four X-Bricks
  • Two InfiniBand Switches

This test auto-discovers the clusters of the target storage array and reports the current health, connection state and uptime. In addition, this test monitors the SSD space utilization of the cluster and helps administrators identify potential space crunch, if any. Also, this test helps administrators to figure out the cluster that is busy processing I/O requests along clusters, detect irregularities in the distribution of I/O load across clusters and thus enables administrators to initiate pre-emptive measures.

Target of the test : An EMC XtremIO Storage array

Agent deploying the test : A remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for each cluster on the EMC XtremIO Storage array being monitored

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameters Description

Test period

How often should the test be executed .

Host

The IP address of the storage array

Port

The port number at which the storage array listens. The default is NULL.

XtremIO User and XtremIO Password

Provide the credentials of a user who has read only privileges to access the XtremIO storage array in the XtremIO User and XtremIO Password text boxes.

Confirm Password

Confirm the password by retyping it here.

XMS IP

This parameter is applicable only for EMC XtremIO 4.x. By default, None will be chosen from this list. If the target EMC XtremIO storage array is within a XMS Management Server that is auto-discovered, then the IP or host name of that XMS Management Server will be displayed in this list. Select that particular XMS IP to configure this test. If you wish to monitor an EMC XtremIO Storage Array that is either not an integral part of the auto-discovered XMS Management Server or a brand new EMC XtremIO Storage Array, choose the Other option. This will enable you to add a new XMS Managament Server. To know how to add a new XMS Management Server, refer to Adding a new XMS.

SSL

The eG agent collects performance metrics by invoking Restful APIs on the target Storage array. Typically, the Restful APIs can be invoked through the HTTP or the HTTPS mode. By default, the eG agent invokes the Restful APIs using the HTTPS mode. This is why, the SSL flag is set to Yes by default. If the target storage array is not SSL-enabled, then the Restful APIs can be accessed through the HTTP mode only. In this case, set the SSL flag to No.

Detailed Diagnosis

To make diagnosis more efficient and accurate, the eG Enterprise embeds an optional detailed diagnostic capability. With this capability, the eG agents can be configured to run detailed, more elaborate tests as and when specific problems are detected. To enable the detailed diagnosis capability of this test for a particular server, choose the On option. To disable the capability, click on the Off option.

The option to selectively enable/disable the detailed diagnosis capability will be available only if the following conditions are fulfilled:

  • The eG manager license should allow the detailed diagnosis capability
  • Both the normal and abnormal frequencies configured for the detailed diagnosis measures should not be 0.
Measurements made by the test
Measurement Description Measurement Unit Interpretation

Cluster uptime since last restart

Indicates the time duration for which this cluster had been up since the last restart.

Hours

 

Cluster health state

Indicates the current health of this cluster.

 

The values reported by this measure and their numeric equivalents are available in the table below:

Measure Value

Numeric Value

Healthy

0

Unknown

1

Note:

This measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate the health of this cluster. However, in the graph, this measure is indicated using the Numeric Values listed in the above table.

Cluster manager connection state

Indicates the current connection state between the XtremIO Management Server (XMS) and this cluster.

MB/Sec

The values reported by this measure and their numeric equivalents are available in the table below:

Measure Value

Numeric Value

Connected

0

Unknown

1

Note:

This measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate the connection state of this cluster. However, in the graph, this measure is indicated using the Numeric Values listed in the above table.

Consistency state

Indicates the detection of data consistency error in this cluster.

 

This measure will report a value Healthy if the data consistency error is determined as non-existant and Unknown otherwise.

The values reported by this measure and their numeric equivalents are available in the table below:

Measure Value

Numeric Value

Healthy

0

Unknown

1

Note:

This measure reports the Measure Values listed in the table above to indicate the detection of data consistency error in this cluster. However, in the graph, this measure is indicated using the Numeric Values listed in the above table.

 

Used user data SSD space

Indicates the percentage of SSD space utilized by this cluster.

Percent

A value close to 100 indicates that the SSDs in the cluster are running out of space.

Free user data SSD space

Indicates the percentage of SSD space that is currently available for use in this cluster.

Percent

A high value is desired for this measure. A sudden/gradual decrease in the value of this measure is an indication for the administrators to either free up space in the SSDs or add additional resources to the cluster.

Reads

Indicates the number of reads made on this cluster per second during the last measurement period.

Reads/sec

Comparing the value of these measures across clusters will clearly indicate which cluster is overloaded - it could also shed light on irregularities in load balancing across the clusters.

Writes

Indicates the number of writes to this cluster during the last measurement period.

Writes/Sec

Data reads

Indicates the rate at which data is read from this cluster during the last measurement period.

MB/Sec

Compare the values of these measures across the clusters to identify the slowest cluster in terms of servicing read and write requests (respectively).

Data written

Indicates the rate at which data is written to this cluster during the last measurement period.

MB/Sec

Average read size

Indicates the average amount of data read from this cluster per I/O operation during the last measurement period.

MB/Op

Compare the values of these measures across the clusters to identify the slowest cluster in terms of servicing read and write requests (respectively).

Average write size

Indicates the average amount of data written to this cluster per I/O operation during the last measurement period.

MB/Op