Documentation forServer & Application Monitor
Monitoring your applications and environment is a key capability of Hybrid Cloud Observability and is also available in a standalone module, Server & Application Monitor (SAM). Hybrid Cloud Observability and SAM are built on the self-hosted SolarWinds Platform.

VMware Performance Counter Monitor

This type of SAM component monitor reads VMware performance counter data using the VMware vSphere Web Services API, as included in predefined application monitor templates such as the VMware ESX Host template.

Statistic

The statistic returned is the value of the performance counter data retrieved from the VMware API. You can also set the statistic to be the difference in retrieved values between polling cycles.

The "Count statistic as difference" option is applicable only for monitors whose counter value increases consistently during each polling interval. Examples of when not to use this option include:

  • If values fluctuate frequently between polling intervals, which is typical behavior for many counters.
  • If values consistently decrease from one polling interval to another

If the option is not applicable, negative statistic data values are replaced with zero (0), and the counter monitor show 0 as the statistic data value in widgets; 0 appears on related data charts in the SolarWinds Platform Web Console.

Field descriptions

Description

A default description of the monitor. You can override the default description by adding to or replacing the text, which is automatically saved. The variable to access this field is ${UserDescription}.

Component Type

Identifies the component type as a VMware Performance Counter Monitor.

Enable Component

Determines if the component is enabled. Disabling the component leaves it in the application in a deactivated state that does not impact SAM application availability or status.

Credential for Monitoring

Select a VMware credential that can access the VMware API. This is typically a vCenter/ESX Server administrator-level credential. Click a credential in the list, or use the <Inherit credential from node> option. If the credential you need is not in the credentials list, add it in the SAM Credentials Library.

Read-only credentials are sufficient since VMware objects are only accessed in read-only mode.

Port Number

The default port used to access the VMware API is 443.

Url

The URL used to connect to the VMware API.

Count Statistic as Difference

Changes the statistic to be the difference in query values between polling cycles.

Entity Type

Select the vCenter entity type you want to monitor:

  • Host System: A managed object type that provides access to a virtualization host platform.
  • Virtual Machine: A managed object type for manipulating VMs, including templates that can be repeatedly deployed as new VMs.
  • Resource Pool: A set of physical resources which may be a single host, a subset of a host's resources, or resources spanning multiple hosts. To subdivide resource pools, create child resource pools. To run, a VM must be associated as a child of a resource pool. In a parent/child hierarchy of resource pools and VMs, the root resource pool is the single resource pool without a parent pool.
  • Cluster Compute Resource: Specific to vCenter systems, this entity is only applicable if monitoring a vCenter Server, which is the data object that aggregates the computation resources of its associated Host System objects into a single computation resource for use by VMs. The cluster services such as HA (High Availability), DRS (Distributed Resource Scheduling), and EVC (Enhanced vMotion Compatibility) enhance the usefulness of this single computation resource.

Entity Name

Specify the VMware entity name to monitor, such as VirtualMachine1. For VMs, you can view these values in the VMware console.

If you use the ${VMWARE_ENTITY_NAME} variable in this field, the value resolves to the first available entity on a target host with the desired Entity Type (for example, the first Host System) when the monitor runs.

Group

Specifies the VMware group to which the counter belongs, such as CPU or Memory.

Counter

Specifies the VMware counter to fetch (for example: coreUtilization).

Click Component Monitor Wizard on the SAM Settings page to browse counters available to monitor, including groups, rollup types, and instance names. Then select one of the following component monitors, depending on what you want to monitor:

  • VMware ESX Performance Counter Monitor – monitors performance counters for ESX servers
  • VMware vCenter Performance Counter Monitor – monitors performance counters for vCenter servers

Rollup Type

Specifies the way to roll up the VMware counter data, for example: average, latest, summation, and so forth.

Instance

Specifies the instance to be fetched, for example: 0, 1, 2, and so forth.

Convert Value

Select the "Yes, convert returned value" option to display fields where you can select a common function or enter a custom formula. The Custom Conversion option provides basic arithmetic operators (+, -, *, /), plus built-in mathematical functions for more advanced conversions. See Convert values in data transformations for SAM component monitors.

Statistic Threshold

Specify the threshold that indicates a warning or critical level was breached. You can set a specific value or use logical operators, such as Less than 15 for warning, Less than 5 for critical.

User Notes

Add notes for easy reference. To access this field, using the variable, ${UserNotes}.