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VMware ESX

Overview​

VMWare is a software company based in the USA. VMWare provides cloud computing and virtualization software and services.

The Centreon Plugins and Plugin Packs rely on the Centreon VMWare Connector to request the vCenter API.

Plugin-Pack Assets​

Monitored Objects​

  • ESX or ESXi

Discovery rules​

Rule nameDescription
Virt-VMWare2-Esx-HostDiscoveryDiscover VMWare ESX linked to a vcenter or ESXi

Monitored Metrics​

Metric nameDescriptionUnit
host.cpu.utilization.percentageTotal CPU usage in percentage%
host.cpu.utilization.mhzTotal CPU usage in MHzMHz
core#host.core.cpu.utilization.percentageCPU usage per core in percentage%

Prerequisites​

Centreon VMWare Connector​

For the VMWare monitoring, Centreon use daemon to connect and request the vCenter.

Install this daemon on each needed poller:

yum install centreon-plugin-Virtualization-VMWare-daemon

To configure the access to your infrastructure, edit the "/etc/centreon/centreon_vmware.pm" configuration file:

%centreon_vmware_config = (
    vsphere_server => {
        default => {
            url => 'https://<ip_hostname>/sdk',
            username => '<username>',
            password => '<password>'
        }
    }
);

1;

Make sure to replace variables with needed information:

  • ip_hostname: IP address or hostname of the vCenter or ESX (if standalone),
  • username: username with at least "read only" access to the vCenter or ESX (you can use domain user),
  • password: password of the username.

You can configure multiple vCenter or ESXi connections using this structure:

%centreon_vmware_config = (
    vsphere_server => {
        'my_first_vcenter' => {
            url => 'https://<ip_hostname>/sdk',
            username => '<username>',
            password => '<password>'
        },
        'my_other_vcenter' => {
            url => 'https://<ip_hostname>/sdk',
            username => '<DOMAIN>\<username>',
            password => '<password>'
        },
    },
    port => 5700
);

1;

Each entry is called a container.

You can also define the "port" attribute to change the listening port.

Then start the daemon and make sure it is configured to start at server boot:

systemctl start centreon_vmware
systemctl enable centreon_vmware

Make sure that the daemon configuration works fine by looking for errors in /var/log/centreon/centreon_vmware.log.

Tags and Custom Attributes​

To discover Tags and Custom Attributes, you must use version 3.2.5 of centreon-vmware-daemon and add --tags in the discovery extra options. Go to page Configuration > Hosts > Discovery, and at the 3rd step (Define discovery parameters), in section Additional parameters, in the Extra Options field, enter --tags.

Network flows​

The Poller with the Centreon VMware Connector installed needs to access the vCenter on TCP/443 HTTPS.

The Pollers that request the Centreon VMWare Connector host need to access the Centreon VMWare Connector host on TCP/5700.

Installation​

  1. Install the Vmware2 Connector Centreon Plugin on every Poller expected to monitor the devices: 
yum install centreon-plugin-Virtualization-Vmware2-Connector-Plugin
  1. Install the 'Vmware ESX' Centreon Plugin-Pack on the "Configuration > Plugin packs > Manager" page

Configuration​

  • Log into Centreon and add a new Host through "Configuration > Hosts".
  • Apply the relevant Host Template "Virt-VMWare2-ESX-custom", and configure the mandatory Macros:
MandatoryNameDescription
XCENTREONVMWARECONTAINERName of your container in the file centreon_vmware.pm
XCENTREONVMWAREHOSTThe Centreon server that launches the connection
XCENTREONVMWAREPORTBy default: 5700
XESXNAMEName of the ESX (defined in your VMWare infrastructure)
CENTREONVMWAREEXTRAOPTIONSCustomize it with your own if needed

FAQ​

How do I run my plugin through the CLI and what do the main parameters stand for ?​

Once you've installed the plugin, you can test it logging with centreon-engine user:

/usr/lib/centreon/plugins//centreon_vmware_connector_client.pl \
    --plugin=apps::vmware::connector::plugin \
    --mode=cpu-host \
    --custommode=connector \
    --connector-hostname='localhost' \
    --connector-port='5700' \
    --container='vcenter01' \
    --esx-hostname='SRV-ESX-TLS' \
    --unknown-status='%{status} !~ /^connected$/i' \
    --warning-status='' \
    --critical-status='' \
    --warning-total-cpu='80' \
    --critical-total-cpu='90' \
    --warning-total-cpu-mhz='' \
    --critical-total-cpu-mhz='' \
    --warning-cpu='' \
    --critical-cpu=''

Expected command output is shown below:

OK: Host 'SRV-ESX-TLS' : status connected - cpu total average : 48.63 %, 14592.00 MHz - All CPUs are ok |
'cpu_total'=48.63%;;;0;100 'cpu_total_MHz'=14592.00MHz;;;0;30000 'cpu_0'=13.95%;;;0;100 'cpu_1'=12.01%;;;0;100
'cpu_2'=24.58%;;;0;100 'cpu_3'=24.55%;;;0;100 'cpu_4'=26.72%;;;0;100 'cpu_5'=24.38%;;;0;100 'cpu_6'=24.23%;;;0;100
'cpu_7'=26.37%;;;0;100 'cpu_8'=27.71%;;;0;100 'cpu_9'=26.16%;;;0;100

This command above checks the CPU Usage (--plugin=apps::vmware::connector::plugin --mode=cpu-host) of the ESX SRV-ESX-TLS (--esx-hostname='SRV-ESX-TLS'). It connects to the VMWare daemon on localhost (--connector-hostname='localhost') on the port 5700 (--connector-port='5700'). Then the command requests the container vcenter01 (--container='vcenter01') because the ESX SRV-ESX-TLS is managed by vcenter01.

It will trigger a WARNING alarm if the CPU Usage is above 80% (--warning-total-cpu='80') and a CRITICAL alarm if the CPU Usage is above 90% (--critical-total-cpu='90').

All available modes with the plugin can be displayed with: 

/usr/lib/centreon/plugins/./centreon_vmware_connector_client.pl \
    --plugin=apps::vmware::connector::plugin \
    --list-mode

The available options for a mode can be displayed using the --help parameter: 

/usr/lib/centreon/plugins/./centreon_vmware_connector_client.pl \
    --plugin=apps::vmware::connector::plugin \
    --mode=cpu-host \
    --help

Why do I get the following error:​

UNKNOWN: Unknown container name 'default' |​

This error message means that the container invoked in the command doesn't exist in your VMWare connector configuration. Check your macro CENTREONVMWARECONTAINER on your host or check the file /etc/centreon/centreon_vmware.pm

UNKNOWN: Container connection problem |​

This error message means that you have a issue with the credentials provided for your Container. Check your credentials in /etc/centreon/centreon_vmware.pm. You can also take a look into the log for more information: /var/log/centreon/centreon_vmware.log

UNKNOWN: Cannot get value for counters (Maybe, object(s) cannot be reached: disconnected, not running, time not synced (see time-host mode),...) |​

This error message means that you the plugin cannot get value for some counters. Most of the time it caused by a time shift between the Centreon Servers and the VMWare Infrastructure. Check the synchronization with the mode time-host.

UNKNOWN: Cannot get counter 'net.received.average' for the sampling period '300' (counter level: 2, sampling level: 1)​

Some counters like 'mem.state.latest' and 'net.received.average' are only available with a sampling level at 2. You can configure the level sampling in the vCenter console for these counters. You can also configure the macro SERVICEEXTRAOPTIONS on the services where you catched this error with the option --sampling-period='20'.