NetApp System Performance Test

Using this test, the overall performance of the NetAapp Unified Storage system can be measured with key measures such as the following:

The average latency for all the operations performed on the system;
The disk throughput of the system;
The network throughput of the system and
The rate at which read and write operations were performed on the system

Target of the test : A NetApp Unified Storage

Agent deploying the test : An external/remote agent

Outputs of the test : One set of results for the NetApp storage system being monitored.

Configurable parameters for the test
Parameters	Description
Test Period	How often should the test be executed.
Host	The host for which the test is to be configured.
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 following privileges: login-http-admin,api-aggr-check-spare-low,api-aggr-list-info,api-aggr-mediascrub-list-info,api-aggr-scrub-list-info,api-cifs-status,api-clone-list-status,api-disk-list-info,api-fcp-adapter-list-info,api-fcp-adapter-stats-list-info,api-fcp-service-status,api-file-get-file-info,api-file-read-file,api-iscsi-connection-list-info,api-iscsi-initiator-list-info,api-iscsi-service-status,api-iscsi-session-list-info,api-iscsi-stats-list-info,api-lun-config-check-alua-conflicts-info,api-lun-config-check-cfmode-info,api-lun-config-check-info,api-lun-config-check-single-image-info,api-lun-list-info,api-nfs-status,api-perf-object-get-instances-iter,api-perf-object-instance-list-info,api-quota-report-iter,api-snapshot-list-info,api-vfiler-list-info,api-volume-list-info-iter*. 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 Privileges Required for Monitoring the NetApp Unified Storage.
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 Unified Storage system, 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 Port	By default, in most environments, NetApp Unified Storage system listens on port 80 (if not SSL-enabled) or on port 443 (if SSL-enabled) only. This implies that while monitoring the NetApp Unified Storage system, the eG agent, by default, connects to port 80 or 443, depending upon the SSL-enabled status of the NetApp Unified Storage system - i.e., if the NetApp Unified Storage system is not SSL-enabled (i.e., if the Use SSL flag above is set to No), then the eG agent connects to the NetApp Unified Storage system using port 80 by default, and if the NetApp Unified Storage system is SSL-enabled (i.e., if the Use SSL flag is set to Yes), then the agent-NetApp Unified Storage system 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 Unified Storage system in your environment listens, so that the eG agent communicates with that port for collecting metrics from the NetApp Unified Storage system.
vFilerName	A vFiler is a virtual storage system you create using MultiStore, which enables you to partition the storage and network resources of a single storage system so that it appears as multiple storage systems on the network. If the NetApp Unified Storage system is partitioned to accommodate a set of vFilers, specify the name of the vFiler that you wish to monitor in the vFilerName text box. In some environments, the NetApp Unified Storage system may not be partitioned at all. In such a case, the NetApp Unified Storage system is monitored as a single vFiler and hence the default value of none is displayed in this text box.
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.
DD Frequency	Refers to the frequency with which detailed diagnosis measures are to be generated for this test. The default is 1:1. This indicates that, by default, detailed measures will be generated every time this test runs, and also every time the test detects a problem. You can modify this frequency, if you so desire. Also, if you intend to disable the detailed diagnosis capability for this test, you can do so by specifying none against DD frequency.
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
Sys avg latency	Indicates the time taken for performing all the operations in the NetApp Unified Storage system.	Milliseconds	A low value is desired for this measure. The responsiveness of the NetApp Unified storage system can be measured with this measure. The detailed diagnosis of this measure indicates the exact cause for the sudden slowdown in responsiveness of the system.
Disk data read	Indicates the rate at which data is read from all the disks of the NetApp Unified Storage system.	KB/Sec	A high value is desired for this measure.
Disk data written	Indicates the rate at which data is written to all the disks of the NetApp Unified Storage system.	KB/Sec	An abnormally high value indicates that the disk is taking too long to store the data which may be due to the disk being full or a processing bottleneck or a network slowdown.
Data received	Indicates the rate at which data is received through the network to the NetApp Unified Storage system.	KB/Sec	A high value is desired for this measure. A low value indicates a processing bottleneck or a network slowdown.
Data sent	Indicates the rate at which data is sent through the network to the NetApp Unified Storage system.	KB/Sec
HTTP operations	Indicates the rate at which HTTP operations were performed on the NetApp Unified Storage system.	Ops/Sec	HTTP operations include management operations. Usually log processing is done using the management web interface of the NetApp Unified Storage system. The value of this measure will increase if there is excessive log processing activity in the management web interface.
Read operations	Indicates the rate at which read operations were performed on the NetApp Unified Storage system.	Ops/Sec
Write operations	Indicates the rate at which write operations were performed to the NetApp Unified Storage system.	Ops/Sec
Raid read latency	Indicates the average time taken for all read operations from WAFL to the RAID of the NetApp Unified Storage system.	Milliseconds	Ideally, the value of this measure should be very low.