Configuration and Discovery

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The following sections describe how to configure Citrix XenCenter systems and XenServer devices for monitoring by SL1 using the Citrix: Xen PowerPack:

Enabling Performance Metrics for XenServer 6.2.0 and Above

Most performance metrics are disabled by default in Citrix XenServer 6.2.0 and above. Therefore, if you are monitoring XenServer 6.2.0 or above with SL1, you must enable performance metrics on each XenServer host.

Performance metrics are enabled by default in XenServer 6.1.0 and below. No additional steps are required to monitor those devices.

To enable performance metrics in XenServer 6.2.0 and above devices:

  1. Open the XenServer command line interface.

  1. For each XenServer host, enter the following command:

xe-­enable-­all-­plugin­-metrics true

Configuring a Basic/Snippet Credential for XenServer

To use the Dynamic Applications in the Citrix: Xen PowerPack, you must first define a credential in SL1 that enables SL1 to communicate with your XenServer devices and ultimately, your XenCenter system. The Citrix: Xen PowerPack includes an example XenServer credential that you can modify for your own use.

To configure a XenServer credential:

  1. Go to the Credential Management page (Credential Management).

  1. Click the wrench icon () for the Citrix XenServer - Example credential. The Credential Editor modal window appears.

  1. Enter values in the following fields:
  • Credential Name. Enter a name for your XenServer credential.

  • Hostname/IP. Enter the IP address of the XenServer.

    • If you have multiple XenServer devices in a cluster, enter the pool master IP in this field.

    If your XenCenter system experiences a failover and the pool master shifts to another node within the pool, the PowerPack will find a new master and will connect to it during the next polling cycle of the Citrix XenCenter: Discovery Dynamic Application. You do not have to perform any additional actions.

  • Port. Enter "443".
  • Timeout. Enter "5000".
  • Username. Enter the username that SL1 will use to connect to your XenServer.
  • Password. Enter the password for the XenServer username.
  1. Click the Save As button.

Creating a XenCenter Virtual Device

In order to monitor your XenServer devices, you must discover your XenCenter system. Because the XenCenter system does not have an IP address, you cannot discover XenCenter using discovery. Instead, you must create a virtual device that represents the root device for the XenCenter system. A virtual device is a user-defined container that represents a device or service that cannot be discovered by SL1. You can use the virtual device to store information gathered by policies or Dynamic Applications.

To create a virtual device that represents your XenCenter system:

  1. Go to the Device Manager page (Devices > Classic Devices, or Registry > Devices > Device Manager in the classic SL1 user interface).

  1. Click the Actions button, then select Create Virtual Device. The Create Virtual Device modal page appears:

  1. Enter values in the following fields:
  • Device Name. Enter a name for the device. For example, you could enter "XenCenter" in this field.

  • Organization. Select the organization for this device. When you assign an organization to the device, only organization members and users with administrator privileges are allowed to view and edit the device.
  • Device Class. Select Citrix Systems, Inc. | XenCenter.
  • Collector Group. Select the collector group that will monitor the device.
  1. Click the Add button to create the virtual device.

Aligning the Discovery Dynamic Application

To discover your XenCenter server, you must manually align the "Citrix XenCenter: *Discovery" Dynamic Application to the XenCenter virtual device. To do so, perform the following steps:

  1. Go to the Device Manager page (Devices > Classic Devices, or Registry > Devices > Device Manager in the classic SL1 user interface).

  1. Click the wrench icon () for your virtual device.
  2. In the Device Administration panel, click the Collections tab. The Dynamic Application Collections page appears.

  1. Click the Actions button and select Add Dynamic Application from the menu. The Dynamic Application Alignment modal page appears:

  1. Click the Save button to align the Dynamic Application.

Viewing XenServer Component Devices

When the SL1 performs collection for the XenCenter virtual device, SL1 will create component devices that represent each component of your XenCenter system and align other Dynamic Applications to those component devices. Some of the Dynamic Applications aligned to the component devices will also be used to create additional component devices. All component devices appear in the Device Manager page just like devices discovered using the ScienceLogic discovery process.

In addition to the Device Manager page, you can view the XenCenter virtual device 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. The Device Components page displays all root devices and component devices 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 XenCenter virtual device, find the XenCenter virtual 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 your XenCenter system, go to Classic Maps > Device Maps > Components, and select the map from the list in the left NavBar. To learn more about the Component Map page, see the section on Views.