Exam Prep for 70-659 Part 9: Managing and Monitoring Virtual Machines
As I wrote in an earlier post, there is no better time to write your exam for 70-659 Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization, than now and particularly before May 31, 2012. So to aid in that endeavour, Joseph Yedid, an IT specialist with Enhansoft in Ottawa, has put together a series of posts focused on getting IT folk ready to pass this exam. Joseph writes his blog at www.josephyedid.com but has allowed me to repost this series here.
Solve performance and resource issues
Performance and Resource Optimization (PRO) is a feature that is activated when you integrate Operations Manager (OpsMgr) and VMM. PRO is designed to allow OpsMgr to monitor the VMM environment should any issues arise, and report back with PRO tips, possible solutions to correct the problem, or indicate a bottle neck was detected.
To enable PRO you will need:
- OpsMgr 2007 SP1 or 2007 R2, VMM 2008 R2
- OpsMgr agents must be deployed to all Windows systems in the VMM managed environment
- The VMM server, library and SSP, if installed, must also be managed by OpsMgr
- ESX hosts are monitored by proxy through VMM
- The VMM management pack for OpsMgr must be installed
- The SQL and IIS management packs for OpsMgr must also be installed
- A cross trust relationship must be configured between OpsMgr and VMM for security. If not, the integration may not function.
- The OpsMgr console must be installed on the VMM server. Note both the OpsMgr and VMM consoles can’t reside on the VMM server at the same time
- PRO can be enabled at three levels: Cluster, Host group, and the VMM server itself
This is a general overview. A more detailed explanation can be found on Technet.
Event triggers are configured in OpsMgr management packs. They launch alerts or PRO tips based on an event. For example, if a host is placed in maintenance mode, an alert will be triggered and alert the VMM admin and vise-versa.
Allocating resources is similar in VMM as in Hyper-V Manager. VMs all have the same resources, CPU, memory, network, and disks. All these resources are configured in the settings of the VMs. This was covered in a previous post.
When it comes to troubleshooting issues one of the first places to look is the Performance Monitor. You can create new collector sets and add counters related to disk, memory or paging. The Resource Monitor is another location to look when troubleshooting is needed. The Resource Monitor lets you get more detailed information as to how resources are being used, what processes are being used and what resources they are using.
Joseph Yedid is an IT specialist working at Enhansoft a company based in Ottawa, Canada, that develops products and services to extend the value of System Center Configuration Manager 2007 (SCCM) and System Center Configuration Manager 2012. He is an avid user of technology and is certified in many areas of Microsoft infrastructure technologies. He is MCTS and MCITP certifed - Windows Server 2008 and Microsoft Vista/Windows 7. Other interests revolve around virtualization technologies, System Center and Private Cloud. Joseph is a member and on the executive of the Ottawa Windows Server User Group.