VMware VM

Overview

VMware is an software compagny based in USA. VMware provides cloud computing and virtualization software and services.

The Centreon Plugin and Monitoring Connectors rely on the Centreon VMWare Connector to request the vCenter SDK.

Monitoring Connector Assets

Monitored Objects

• Virtual Machine

Discovery Rules

Hosts

Rule name	Description
Virt-VMWare2-VM-HostDiscovery	Discover the VMs bound to a vCenter or ESXi

Collected Metrics

In addition to modes and metrics described here, it is also possible to monitor the following indicators:

• VM-Cpu: Advanced monitoring of the CPU (CPU ready)
• VM-Datastores-Iops: VM Iops usage on the Datastore
• VM-Swap: VM swap usage
• VM-Device: Check VM's devices status (e.g. VirtualCdrom)

Vm-Tools

Metric name	Description	Unit
status	Status of the VMware Tools (installed, running and up-to-date)

Vm-Thinprovisioning

Metric name	Description	Unit
status	Status of the Thinprovisoning virtualdisks

Vm-Status

Metric name	Description	Unit
status	Overall status of the VM

Vm-Snapshot

Metric name	Description	Unit
vm.snapshots.warning.current.count	Number of VM's snapshot older than 3 days (default threshold)	Count
vm.snapshots.critical.current.count	Number of VM's snapshot older than 5 days (default threshold)	Count

Vm-Limit

Metric name	Description	Unit
vm.limit.cpu.alerts.count	Alerts on CPU limit	Count
vm.limit.memory.alerts.count	Alerts on Memory limit	Count
vm.limit.disk.alerts.count	Alerts on Disk limit	Count

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 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
• add --tags in the additional discovery options: go to the Configuration > Hosts > Discovery page, and to the 3rd step (Set discovery parameters), in the section Additional parameters, in the Additional options field, type --tags.

Network flows

The Poller with the Centreon VMware Connector installed need to access in TCP/443 HTTPS to the Vcenter.

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

Installation

Online License

1. Install the Vmware2 Connector Centreon Plugin on every poller expected to monitor the devices:

yum install centreon-plugin-Virtualization-Vmware2-Connector-Plugin

2. Install the 'Vmware VM' Centreon Monitoring Connector on the Configuration > Monitoring Connectors Manager page

Offline License

1. Install the Vmware VM Centreon Plugin on every poller expected to monitor the devices:

yum install centreon-plugin-Virtualization-Vmware2-Connector-Plugin

2. Install the Centreon Monitoring Connector RPM:

yum install centreon-pack-virtualization-vmware2-vm

3. Install the 'Vmware VM' Centreon Monitoring Connector on the Configuration > Monitoring Connectors Manager page

Configuration

• Log into Centreon and add a new Host through "Configuration > Hosts".
• Apply the relevant Host Template "VVirt-VMWare2-Vm-custom", and configure the mandatory Macros:

Mandatory	Name	Description
X	CENTREONVMWARECONTAINER	Name of your container in the file centreon_vmware.pm
X	CENTREONVMWAREHOST	The Centreon server that launches the connection
X	CENTREONVMWAREPORT	By default: 5700
X	VMNAME	Name of the VM (defined in your VMWare infrastructure)
	VMUUID	Specify The VM UUID
	VMWAREEXTRAOPTIONS	Customize 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=tools-vm
    --custommode=connector
    --connector-hostname='localhost'
    --connector-port='5700'
    --container='vcenter01'
    --vm-hostname='SRV-LIN-TLS'
    --filter-uuid=''
    --tools-notinstalled-status='critical'
    --tools-notrunning-status='critical'
    --tools-notup2date-status='warning'

Expected command output is shown below:

OK: VMTools are OK

This command above checks the status of the VMTools (--plugin=apps::vmware::connector::plugin --mode=tools-vm) of the VM SRV-LIN-TLS (--vm-hostname='SRV-LIN-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 VM SRV-LIN-TLS is managed by vcenter01.

It will trigger :

• WARNING alarm if the VMTools are not up-to-date (--tools-notup2date-status='warning')
• CRITICAL alarm if the VMTools are not running or installed (--tools-notinstalled-status='critical' --tools-notrunning-status='critical')

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=tools-vm  \
    --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: Cannot get response (timeout received)

This error message means that the Plugin didn't get a response off the VMWare Daemon. Check your connection parameters and the macros CENTREONVMWAREHOST and CENTREONVMWAREPORT.

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 find 'VirtualMachine' object |

This error message means that the Plugin didn't find the Virtual Machine. Check the Virtual Machine name in the macro HOSTVMNAME, it's must fit the name defined in your VMWare infrastructure.