Configuring Dell OpenManage IT Assistant 8.0 to Monitor SNMP Traps Generated by VMware ESX Server

Transcription

1 Configuring Dell OpenManage IT Assistant 8.0 to Monitor SNMP Traps Generated by VMware ESX Server Amresh Singh Dell Virtualization Solutions Engineering January 2007 Dell Inc. 1

2 Contents INTRODUCTION... 3 BACKGROUND... 3 DELL OPENMANAGE IT ASSISTANT... 3 SNMP... 4 MIBS... 4 TRAPS... 4 USING ALERTS IN IT ASSISTANT VMWARE ESX SERVER SPECIFIC TRAPS... 4 ALERT CATEGORIES AND SOURCES IN IT ASSISTANT... 5 Predefined Alert Categories... 5 ADDING A NEW SNMP ALERT SOURCE DEFINITION... 6 IMPORTING BULK SNMP EVENT SOURCES... 8 Format of Entries in the Text File... 9 Rules for Creating the Text File... 9 CONFIGURING IT ASSISTANT 8.0 FOR VMWARE ESX SERVER Dell Inc. 2

3 Introduction This paper talks about configuring Dell OpenManage IT Assistant Version 8.0 to recognize and monitor SNMP traps generated by VMware ESX Server software. This is achieved by integrating VMware SNMP MIBs with IT Assistant. The VMware ESX Server software provides a set of MIBs which can be used to monitor alerts and can be integrated with different management software. Dell OpenManage IT Assistant is a management software for managing Dell enterprise products. VMware ESX Server can be configured to send SNMP traps based on particular events, such as powering on and powering off a virtual machine. In IT Assistant Version 8.0, ESX Server hosts are discovered but alerts/events generated by the virtual machines are not recognized. By default, all alerts generated by ESX Servers are classified as Unknown. Consequently, the filter does not work and no notification is sent. This paper provides steps to configure IT Assistant to recognize the alerts generated by ESX Servers. Background This section describes the core subjects of the ensuing discussion such as systems management software, SNMP, MIBs, and traps. Dell OpenManage IT Assistant IT Assistant is a comprehensive, standards-based console for managing all Dell servers, storage, tape libraries, network switches, printers, and clients systems. IT Assistant uses standard protocols such as SNMP, CIM, and IPMI to communicate with the managed nodes. Among many features, IT Assistant offers administrators the following: Web-based, one-view console for Dell systems with red, yellow and green status indication Captures events and alerts generated by Dell servers running Dell OpenManage Server Administrator Dell Inc. 3

4 Configures actions based on events and alerts Monitors server performance statistics such as CPU, memory, I/O, etc. SNMP The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is an application layer protocol that facilitates the exchange of management information between network devices. MIBs A Management Information Base (MIB) is a collection of managed information that is organized hierarchically. Managed entities are called managed objects and are identified by object identifiers. Network management protocols such as SNMP use MIBs to retrieve managed information about managed nodes. The managed information is then transmitted to management applications through SNMP. Traps SNMP traps are used by managed nodes/devices to asynchronously report events to the management software. When certain types of events occur, the managed device sends a trap to the management software. Using Alerts in IT Assistant 8.0 VMware ESX Server Specific Traps Table 1 lists the traps defined in the VMware ESX Server MIB that ESX Server triggers, which can be imported into IT Assistant. Table 1: VMware ESX Server Specific Traps TRAP TYPE vmpoweredon vmpoweredoff TRAP DEFINITION This trap is sent when a virtual machine is powered ON from a suspended or a powered off state. This trap is sent when a virtual machine is powered OFF. Dell Inc. 4

5 vmhblost vmhbdetected vmsuspended This trap is sent when an ESX Server host detects a loss in guest heartbeat. This trap is sent when an ESX Server host detects or regains the guest heartbeat. This trap is sent when a virtual machine is suspended. Alert Categories and Sources in IT Assistant IT Assistant has many alert categories and sources that are predefined and pre-populated for Dell management agents. Alert categories are organizational levels of the Alert Categories tree. Alert sources are the lowest-level leaves of the Alert Categories tree that define the specifics about the alert categories that you want to monitor. To monitor the alert categories and sources, you must apply an alert action filter to the alert source or to its parent category. Predefined Alert Categories IT Assistant provides some predefined alert categories under which most of the SNMP event sources fall. Table 2 lists the predefined alert categories. Table 2: Predefined Alert Categories in IT Assistant ALERT CATEGORIES Environmental Processor General Redundancy Security Keyboard-Video-Mouse (KVM) Storage Enclosure Memory Storage Peripheral Network Storage Software Other System Events Performance Monitoring Tape Physical Disk Unknown Power Virtual Disk Printers In case the SNMP event source fails to fall under any of these categories, the administrator can create a new category; for example, the category vmware can be created for VMware virtual machine traps as shown in Figure 1. Dell Inc. 5

6 Figure 1: Alert Category for VMware Virtual Machines Once the alert category is created and the alert source definitions are properly defined, the administrator can create a filter for all the alerts of a specific severity or category and associate an action (e.g. notification) with them. Therefore, it is necessary for the administrator to ensure that all the alert/snmp sources of interest have definitions in IT Assistant. Adding a New SNMP Alert Source Definition IT Assistant user interface provides the option of adding a new SNMP alert source definition to the database. This is restricted to adding one event item at a time. See Figure 2. Dell Inc. 6

7 Figure 2: Adding a New SNMP Alert Source Definition Once an SNMP alert source definition is added to the IT Assistant database, IT Assistant recognizes the particular alert/trap coming from any managed node. IT Assistant displays meaningful information under the Category and Source columns along with the other details on the Alert Logs page. See Figure 3. Dell Inc. 7

8 Figure 3: Virtual Machine Alerts Recognized With Proper Category and Source Importing Bulk SNMP Event Sources IT Assistant Version 8.0 provides the ImportEventSources utility that allows users to import multiple alerts into IT Assistant in one shot. Users cannot directly import the MIB file that includes the definitions of the alerts into the IT Assistant database; rather, users must use a format recognized by IT Assistant to include the definition of the alerts. Users are required to create a file in the format described below and save it as a.txt file. Dell Inc. 8

9 Format of Entries in the Text File <EventCategoryName> <EventSourceName> <Severity> <Format String> <SNMPEnterpriseOID> <SNMPGenericTrapID> <SNMPSpecifi ctrapid> <EventPackageName> Rules for Creating the Text File 1. Each SNMP event source entry should be in a single line. 2. Accepted severity strings are: Unknown, Information, OK, Warning, and Critical. 3. All strings are case insensitive. 4. Use # at the start of any line to comment it in the text file. Figure 4: ImportEventSources Utility Table 3: Text File Containing VMware Alerts vmware vmpoweredon OK This trap is sent when a virtual machine is powered ON from a suspended or a powered off state vmware vmpoweredoff OK This trap is sent when a virtual machine is powered OFF vmware vmhblost OK This trap is sent when a virtual machine detects a loss in guest heartbeat vmware vmhbdetected OK This trap is sent when a virtual machine detects or regains the guest heartbeat vmware vmsuspended OK This trap is sent when a virtual machine is suspended Dell Inc. 9

10 Configuring IT Assistant 8.0 for VMware ESX Server Follow the steps given below to create a new alert category and alert source definitions in IT Assistant to recognize alerts from VMware ESX Server: 1. Start IT Assistant and click Alerts Categories/Sources. 2. Right-click the Alert Categories tree on the left pane and click New Alert Category. The New alert category dialog appears. 3. Enter the name of the alert category that you want to create and click OK. The newly created alert category appears on the Alert Categories tree on the left pane as shown in Figure Right-click the newly created alert category and click New SNMP Alert Source. The SNMP Alert Source Definition dialog appears as shown in Figure Enter details such as Alert Source Name, Format String, Enterprise OID, Generic Trap ID, Specific Trap ID, and Severity in the required fields and click OK. The newly created SNMP alert source definition appears under the specified alert category. 6. To create alert categories and SNMP alert source definitions in bulk, do the following: a. Import VMware SNMP traps into IT Assistant by converting it into IT Assistant format and using the ImportEventSources utility. Create the text file as shown in Table 3. b. Run the following command on the IT Assistant Server (see Figure 4): ImportEventSources <path\filename of the text file>. Dell Inc. 10

11 DISCLAIMER: This white paper is for informational purposes only, and may contain typographical errors and technical inaccuracies. The content is provided as is, without express or implied warranties of any kind. Information in this document is subject to change without notice Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden. Trademarks used in this text: Dell, the DELL logo, OpenManage, and PowerEdge are trademarks of Dell Inc.; VMware is a registered trademark and ESX Server is a trademark of VMware, Inc. Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own. Dell Inc. 11