Configuration and Discovery

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The following sections describe how to configure VMware NSX resources for monitoring by SL1 using the VMware: NSX PowerPack:

Prerequisites for Monitoring VMware NSX

To configure SL1 to monitor VMware NSX using the VMware: NSX PowerPack, you must first configure an NSX Manager user account to handle RESTful API requests. You will need this account's username and password when creating the Basic/Snippet credential to communicate with the NSX Manager for monitoring.

This API-only user account must be configured in the NSX Manager configuration terminal and have web interface privileges. After you create the user account, perform an API request to give the user account the appropriate role.

Creating a Basic/Snippet Credential

To use the Dynamic Applications in the "VMware: NSX" PowerPack, you must create a Basic/Snippet credential for the NSX Manager. The "VMware: NSX" PowerPack includes an example Basic/Snippet credential that you can edit for use with NSX Manager.

An example Basic/Snippet credential that you can clone for your own use is included in the PowerPack.

To create a Basic/Snippet credential:

  1. Go to the Credentials page (Manage > Credentials).
  2. Locate the "VMware: NSX Credential - Example" credential, then click its Actions icon () and select Duplicate from the drop-down field. The "VMware: NSX Credential - Example copy" credential appears.
  3. Click the Action icon () for the"VMware: NSX Credential - Example copy" credential, then select Edit. The Edit Credential page appears.

    4. Edit the VMware NSX Basic/Snippet credential

  4. Enter values in the following fields:
  • Name. Enter a new name for the credential. This field is required.
  • 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.
  • Timeout. Enter the time, in milliseconds, after which SL1 will stop trying to communicate with the VMware NSX device. The default value is 30000. This field is required.
  • Hostname/IP.Keep the default. The default is "%D".
  • Port. Keep the default port. The default is "443".
  • Username. Enter the username associated with the VMware NSX administrator account.
  • Password. Enter the password associated with the VMware NSX administrator account.
  1. Click Save & Close.

Creating a Basic/Snippet Credential in the SL1 Classic User Interface

To use the Dynamic Applications in the "VMware: NSX" PowerPack in the SL1 classic user interface, you must create a Basic/Snippet credential for the NSX Manager. The "VMware: NSX" PowerPack includes an example Basic/Snippet credential that you can edit for use with NSX Manager.

To modify the template credential, perform the following steps:

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

  1. Click the wrench icon () for the "VMware: NSX Credential - Example" credential. The Credential Editor modal page appears:

  1. Supply values in the following fields:
  • Credential Name. Type a new name for the credential.

  • Hostname/IP. Type "https://%D".
  • Port. Type "443".
  • Timeout(ms). Keep the default value.
  • Username. Type the username of the NSX API-only administrative user.
  • Password. Type the NSX API-only user's password.
  1. Click the Save As button to save your changes as a new credential.

Discovering a VMware NSX Manager

To monitor your VMware NSX system, you must run a discovery session to discover the server on which VMware NSX is installed.

To create and run a discovery session that will discover a VMware NSX appliance:

  1. Go to the Devices page () or the Discovery Sessions page (Devices > Discovery Sessions) and click the Add Devices button.
  2. Click the Unguided Network Discovery Workflow button. Additional information about that requirements for discovery appears in the General Information pane to the right.

    3. RabbitMQ Unguided Network Discovery Workflow

  3. Click Select. The three-step wizard appears starting with the Step 1 Basic Information tab.
  4. Complete the following fields:
  • Discovery Session Name. Type a unique name for this discovery session. This name is displayed in the list of discovery sessions on the Discovery Sessions tab.
  • Description.Optional. Type a short description of the discovery session. You can use the text in this description to search for the discovery session on the Discovery Sessions tab.
  • Select the organization to add discovered devices to. Select the name of the organization to which you want to add the discovered devices.
  1. Click Next. The Step 2 Credential Selection tab of the wizard appears.
  2. On the Credential Selection tab, locate and select the Basic/Snippet credential you created for VMware NSX appliances.
  3. Click Next. The Step 3 Discovery Session Details tab of the wizard appears.
  4. Complete the following fields:
  • List of IP/Hostnames. Type the IP address for the VMware NSX appliance.
  • Which collector will discover these devices?. Required. Select an existing collector to monitor the discovered devices.
  • Run after save. Toggle on (blue) to run this discovery session as soon as you save the session.
  • Advanced options. Click the down arrow () to complete the following fields:
    • Discover Non-SNMP. Toggle on (blue) to enable this setting.
    • Model Devices. Toggle on (blue) to enable this setting.
    • Select Device Template. If you configured a JMX device template, select it here. Otherwise, leave the default selection.
  1. If you enabled the Run after save option, click the Save and Run button. The discovery session will run and the Discovery Logs page will display any relevant log messages. If the discovery session locates and adds any devices, the Discovery Logs page will include a link to the Device Investigator page for the discovered device.
  2. If you did not enable the Run after save option, click the Save and Close button. The Discovery Sessions page (Devices > Discovery Sessions) will display the new discovery session.

Discovering a VMware NSX Manager in the SL1 Classic User Interface

To create and run a discovery session that will discover an NSX Manager, perform the following steps:

  1. Go to the Discovery Control Panel page (System > Manage > Classic Discovery or System > Manage > Discovery in the classic user interface).
  2. Click the Create button to create a new discovery session. The Discovery Session Editor modal page appears:
  1. Enter values in the following fields:
  • IP Address Discovery List. Type the IP address for the NSX Manager.
  • Other Credentials. Select the Basic/Snippet credential you created.
  • Discover Non-SNMP. Select this checkbox.
  1. Optionally, you can enter values in the other fields on this page. For more information about the other fields on this page, see the section on Discovery and Credentials.
  2. Click the Save button and then close the Discovery Session Editor modal page.
  3. The discovery session you created appears at the top of the Discovery Control Panel page. Click its lightning-bolt icon () to run the discovery session.
  4. The Discovery Session window appears. After SL1 discovers the NSX Manager, click its device icon () to view the Device Properties page for the NSX Manager.

Viewing Component Devices

In addition to the Device Manager page (Devices > Classic Devices, or Registry > Devices > Device Manager in the classic SL1 user interface), you can view the VMware NSX Manager 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 (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 the NSX Manager, find the NSX Manager 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. SL1 also updates each map with the latest status and event information. To view the map for NSX devices, 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.