Configuration and Discovery

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The following sections describe how to configure and discover your Nutanix system for monitoring by SL1 using the Nutanix Base Pack PowerPack in the New User Interface:

You can monitor Prism Elements or Prism Central. You must choose between monitoring Prism Elements or Prism Central as the root device, and then run discovery accordingly. It is recommended that you monitor Prism Central in all cases, unless you have only Prism Elements instances with no Prism Central instances.

Configuring the Nutanix Credentials

To use the Dynamic Applications in the Nutanix: Base PackPowerPack, you must first define a Basic/Snippet credential in SL1. This credential allows SL1 to collect data from your Nutanix system.

NOTE: To use Discovery and Collection as a Nutanix user, the permission settings for that use require identical credentials created at both the PE and PC levels. For PE, you will need the role_cluster_viewer credential. For PC, you will need the role_cluster_admin, role_multicluster_admin, role_user_admin, and role_cluster_viewer credentials.

NOTE: You will need to create a separate credential for each APIC that you want to discover.

NOTE: If you are using an SL1 system prior to version 11.1.0, the new user interface does not include the Duplicate option for sample credential(s). ScienceLogic recommends that you use the classic user interface and the Save As button to create new credentials from sample credentials. This will prevent you from overwriting the sample credential(s).

To configure a Basic/Snippet credential for Nutanix: Base Pack, perform the following steps:

  1. Go to the Credentials page (Manage > Credentials).
  2. Locate the "Nutanix API Example" sample credential, click its Actions icon () and select Duplicate. A copy of the credential appears.
  3. Click the Actions icon () for the "Nutanix API Example copy" credential copy and select Edit. The Edit Credential modal page appears.

  1. Enter values in the following fields:
  • Name. Type a name for the credential.
  • All Organizations. Toggle on (blue) to align the credential to all organizations, or toggle off (gray) and then select one or more specific organizations from the Select the organizations the credential belongs to drop-down field to align the credential with those specific organizations.
  • Hostname/IP. Type %D.
  • Username. Type the username that SL1 will use to connect to the Nutanix system.
  • Password. Type the password for the username you entered.

  1. Click Save & Close.
  2. In the confirmation message, click OK.

Configuring the Nutanix Credentials in the SL1 Classic Interface

To use the Dynamic Applications in the Nutanix Base Pack PowerPack, you must first configure the credential in SL1. This credential allows SL1 to communicate with the Nutanix API. The PowerPack includes the "Nutanix API | Example" credential that you can use as a template.

To configure the Nutanix credential:

  1. Go to the Credential Management page (System > Manage > Credentials).

  1. Locate the Nutanix API | Example credential and click its wrench icon (). The Credential Editor modal page appears:

  1. Enter values in the following fields:

  • Credential Name. Type a new name for your Nutanix credential.
  • Hostname/IP. Type %D.
  • Username. Type the username that SL1 will use to connect to the Nutanix system.
  • Password. Type the password for the username you entered.

You can use the default values for the remaining fields.

  1. Click the Save As button, and then click OK.

Discovering Nutanix Systems

To model and monitor your Nutanix systems, you must run a discovery session to discover your Nutanix systems. The following diagram illustrates the way the discovery process works for Nutanix:

To create and run a discovery session that will discover your Nutanix system, perform the following steps:

  1. Go to the Discovery Control Panel page (System > Manage > Classic Discovery).

  1. Click the Create button to create a new discovery session. The Discovery Session Editor window appears:

  1. Enter values in the following fields:
  • IP Address Discovery List. Type the IP addresses for the Nutanix systems you want to discover.

NOTE: Do not include both Prism Element and Prism Central devices in the IP Address Discovery List field. The Nutanix: Base Pack PowerPack supports discovery of individual Prism Element clusters OR a Prism Central device with multiple Prism Element clusters. It is recommended that customers use only one of these options.

  • SNMP Credentials. Select SNMP Public V2 if applicable.
  • Other Credentials. Select the credential that you configured in the previous section.
  • Discover Non-SNMP. If you are not using an SNMP credential, ensure that this checkbox is selected.
  • Organization. Select your organization.

  1. You can enter values in the other fields on this page, but are not required to and can simply accept the default values. For more information about the other fields on this page, see the Discovery & Credentials section.
  2. Click the Save button and then close the Discovery Session Editor window.
  3. The discovery session you created will appear at the top of the Discovery Control Panel page. Click its lightning-bolt icon () to run the discovery session.
  4. The Discovery Session window will be displayed.
  5. When the Nutanix system is discovered, click its device icon () to view the Device Properties page for the Nutanix system.
  6. After the Nutanix system is discovered, the child components and devices associated with that system will also appear in the Device Manager page.

NOTE: It can take up to 30 minutes for the Dynamic Applications and device class to align.

Verifying Discovery and Dynamic Application Alignment

Verifying Prism Elements Discovery and Dynamic Application Alignment

To verify that SL1 has automatically aligned the correct Prism Elements Dynamic Applications during discovery:

  1. From the Device Properties page for the Nutanix system, click the Collections tab. The Dynamic Application Collections page appears.
  2. The "Nutanix: Prism Element Config & Discovery" Dynamic Application should be displayed in the list of Dynamic Applications aligned to the Nutanix system.

In addition, the "Nutanix: Prism Element Classify Root Device Class" Run Book Action will be triggered to automatically align the correct device class to the discovered root device.

Verifying Prism Central Discovery and Dynamic Application Alignment

To verify that SL1 has automatically aligned the correct Prism Central Dynamic Applications during discovery:

  1. From the Device Properties page for the Nutanix system, click the Collections tab. The Dynamic Application Collections page appears.
  2. The following Dynamic Applications should be displayed in the list of Dynamic Applications aligned to the Nutanix system:
  • Nutanix: Prism Central Config
  • Nutanix: Prism Central Events
  • Nutanix: Prism Elements Discovery

In addition, the "Nutanix: Prism Central Classify Root Device Class" Run Book Action will be triggered to automatically align the correct device class to the discovered root device.

Configuring Virtual Device Alerts for Prism Central Devices

If you have chosen not to model virtual devices, but want to see alerts for those devices, you can configure virtual device alerts to appear on Prism Central devices.

To configure your Prism Central devices to display alerts for virtual devices:

  1. Go to the Dynamic Applications Manager (System > Manage > Dynamic Applications) page.
  2. Find the "Nutanix: Prism Central Events" Dynamic Application and click its wrench icon ().
  3. Click the Thresholds tab, and click the wrench icon () for the "Display Workload VM Alerts" Threshold Object.
  4. In the Threshold Value field, type 1 and then click Save. Alerts for virtual devices will now appear on your Prism Central devices. By default, the Threshold Value is set to 0, and alerts will appear on the VM.

Viewing Nutanix Component Devices

In addition to the Device Manager page (Registry > Devices > Device Manager), you can view the Nutanix system and all associated component devices in the following places in the user interface:

  • The Device View modal page (click the bar-graph icon [] for a device, then click the Topology tab) displays a map of a particular device and all of the devices with which it has parent-child relationships. Double-clicking any of the devices listed reloads the page to make the selected device the primary device:

  • The Device Components page (Registry > Devices > Device Components) displays a list of all root devices and component devices discovered by SL1 in an indented view, so you can easily view the hierarchy and relationships between child devices, parent devices, and root devices. To view the component devices associated with a Nutanix system, find the Nutanix device and click its plus icon (+):

  • The Component Map page (Classic Maps > Device Maps > Components) allows you to view devices by root node and view the relationships between root nodes, parent components, and child components in a map. This makes it easy to visualize and manage root nodes and their components. SL1 automatically updates the Component Map as new component devices are discovered. The platform also updates each map with the latest status and event information. To view the map for a Nutanix system, go to the Component Map page and select the map from the list in the left NavBar. To learn more about the Component Map page, see the section on Views.