Aggregate Space Test

For an aggregate to perform effectively, there must be adequate free space in the aggregate. Periodical monitoring of the aggregates for the space usage of each of the aggregates is mandatory to identify probable space contentions which may indirectly slowdown the performance of the aggregates. This is why you need the Aggregate Space test! This test auto-discovers the aggregates in the NetApp Cluster and reports the space utilization of each aggregate.

Target of the test : A NetApp Cluster

Agent deploying the test : An external/remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for each aggregate on the NetApp Cluster 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 controller cluster.

Port

Specify the port at which the specified host listens in the Port text box. By default, this is NULL.

User

Here, specify the name of the user who possesses the readonly role. If such a user does not pre-exist, then, you can create a special user for this purpose using the steps detailed in Creating a New User with the Role Required for Monitoring the NetApp Cluster.

Password

Specify the password that corresponds to the above-mentioned User.

Confirm Password

Confirm the Password by retyping it here.

Authentication Mechanism

In order to collect metrics from the NetApp Cluster, the eG agent connects to the ONTAP management APIs over HTTP or HTTPS. By default, this connection is authenticated using the LOGIN_PASSWORD authentication mechanism. This is why, LOGIN_PASSWORD is displayed as the default Authentication Mechanism.

Use SSL

Set the Use SSL flag to Yes, if SSL (Secured Socket Layer) is to be used to connect to the NetApp Unified Storage System, and No if it is not.

API Report

By default, in most environments, NetApp Cluster listens on port 80 (if not SSL-enabled) or on port 443 (if SSL-enabled) only. This implies that while monitoring the NetApp Cluster, the eG agent, by default, connects to port 80 or 443, depending upon the SSL-enabled status of the NetApp Cluster - i.e., if the NetApp Cluster is not SSL-enabled (i.e., if the Use SSL flag above is set to No), then the eG agent connects to the NetApp Cluster using port 80 by default, and if the NetApp Cluster is SSL-enabled (i.e., if the Use SSL flag is set to Yes), then the agent-NetApp Cluster communication occurs via port 443 by default. Accordingly, the API Port parameter is set to default by default.

In some environments however, the default ports 80 or 443 might not apply. In such a case, against the API Port parameter, you can specify the exact port at which the NetApp Cluster in your environment listens, so that the eG agent communicates with that port for collecting metrics from the NetApp Cluster.

Exclude Aggregates

If you wish to exclude certain aggregates from the scope of monitoring, specify a list of comma-separated aggregates in this text box. By default, none will be displayed here.

Records Per Call

The eG agent by default, executes the API commands in order to query the aggregates in the target environment. In critical infrastructures spanning large number of aggregates, a single execution by the eG agent may query(or download) a sizeable amount of monitoring data, thereby adding to the cluster load. To avoid this, you can tweak the Records Per Call parameter to enable the eG agent to obtain monitoring data iteratively in chunks instead of retrieving the entire amount of monitoring data in a single go. Say for example, the eG agent is required to query 1000 aggregates, then specifying the value 100 in this text box will enable the eG agent to query 100 aggregates at a time for 10 times to obtain monitoring data from all the aggregates. By default, the value of this parameter is 10.

Timeout

Specify the duration (in seconds) beyond which the test will timeout if no response is received from the device. The default is 120 seconds.

Measurements made by the test
Measurement Description Measurement Unit Interpretation

Total space

Indicates the total size of this aggregate.

GB

The size of this aggregate excludes the WAFL reserve and the aggregate snapshot reserve. This measure will report a value of 0 if the state of the aggregate is Restricted or Offline.

Available space

Indicates the amount of space that is currently available for use in this aggregate.

GB

A very low value for this measure indicates that the aggeragate is currently running out of space.

Max used space

Indicates the maximum amount of space that is used in this aggregate since the start of the NetApp Cluster.

GB

If the value of this measure is close to that of the Total space measure, it indicates potential space crunch in the aggregate. Administrators may increase the size of the aggregate so that the space utilization of the aggregate is optimal.

Percentage max used space

Indicates the maximum percentage of space that is used in this aggregate since the start of the NetApp Cluster.

Percent

A value close to 100 for this measure is a cause for concern.