Citrix Xen PowerPack Release Notes, version 102

Version 102 of the Citrix: Xen PowerPack adds the ability to monitor XenCenter 7.x releases. This version also includes updates to several Dynamic Applications and alerts, among other changes.

  • Minimum Required SL1 Version: 8.7.0

Before You Install or Upgrade

Ensure that you are running version 8.7.0 or later of SL1 before installing "Citrix: XenPowerPack version 102.

For details on upgrading SL1, see the relevant SL1 Platform Release Notes.

Installation Process

If you are installing the PowerPack for the first time (that is, if you have never installed the PowerPack before), perform the following steps:

To install this PowerPack:

  1. Familiarize yourself with the Known Issues for this release.
  2. See the Before You Install or Upgrade section. If you have not done so already, upgrade your system to the 8.7.0 or later release.
  3. Download the "Citrix: Xen" version 102PowerPack from the Support Site to a local computer.
  4. Go to the PowerPack Manager page (System > Manage > PowerPacks). Click the Actions menu and choose Import PowerPack. When prompted, import "Citrix: Xen" version 102.
  5. Click the Install button. For details on installing PowerPacks, see the chapter on Installing a PowerPack in the PowerPacks manual.

Upgrade Process

To upgrade from a previous version of the PowerPack, perform the following steps:

Due to the changes in the "Citrix XenCenter: VM Discovery" Dynamic Application, you must delete any existing virtual machine (VM) component devices prior to upgrading the PowerPack. You must also unselect the Preserve Hostname checkbox on the Device Properties page (Registry > Devices > wrench icon) for every new VM component that is created to ensure that any VM name changes in XenServer are reflected in the GUID in SL1. These steps are included in the following upgrade instructions.

By default, installing a new version of a PowerPack will overwrite all content in that PowerPack that has already been installed on the target system. You can use the Enable Selective PowerPack Field Protection setting in the Behavior Settings page (System > Settings > Behavior) to prevent the new version of the PowerPack from overwriting local changes for some commonly customized fields.

  1. See the Before You Install or Upgrade section. If you have not done so already, upgrade your system to the minimum required platform version or later release.
  2. To ensure that VM components are not re-discovered before upgrading the PowerPack, go to the Device Manager page (Registry > Devices > Device Manager) and type "XenServer Host" in the Device Class | Sub-class column filter. Select all of the XenServer Host devices. In the Select Action menu in the bottom-right corner, select Disabled (under Change Collection State) and then click Go.
  3. On the Device Manager page, type "XenServer VM" in the Device Class | Sub-class column filter. Select all of the XenServer VM devices. In the Select Action menu, select Delete Selected Devices (under Administration) and then click Go.
  4. Go to the Dynamic Applications Manager page (System > Manage > Applications) and type "Citrix XenCenter: VM Discovery" in the Dynamic Application Name column filter. Click the wrench icon () for the "Citrix: XenCenter: VM Discovery" Dynamic Application. The Dynamic Applications Properties Editor page appears.
  5. Click the Collections tab. On the Dynamic Applications | Collections Objects page, depending on the version of the PowerPack from which you are upgrading, either one or two GUID objects appear in the Collection Object Registry pane. Select the checkboxes for all GUIDs that appear in the list. In the Select Action menu in the bottom-right corner, select Delete Objects (under Administration) and then click Go.
  6. From the Support Site, download Version 102 of the Citrix: Xen PowerPack to a local computer.
  7. Go to the PowerPack Manager page (System > Manage > PowerPacks). Click the Actions menu and choose Import PowerPack. Import Version 102 of the Citrix: Xen PowerPack. For details on importing PowerPacks, see the chapter on Installing a PowerPack in the PowerPacks manual.
  8. Click the Install button. For details on installing PowerPacks, see the chapter on Installing a PowerPack in the PowerPacks manual.
  9. To re-enable collection on the XenServer Host devices, go to the Device Manager page (Registry > Devices > Device Manager) and type "XenServer Host" in the Device Class | Sub-class column filter. Select all of the XenServer Host devices. In the Select Action menu in the bottom-right corner, select Active (under Change Collection State) and then click Go.
  10. After the XenServer VM component devices are re-discovered, go to the Device Properties page (Registry > Devices > wrench icon) for every new VM component device and unselect the Preserve Hostname checkbox.

Features

This release includes the following features:

  • Dynamic Applications that enable the ScienceLogic platform to discover, model, and monitor Citrix XenServer devices
  • Event policies that are triggered when Citrix XenServer devices meet certain status criteria
  • Device classes for each type of Citrix XenServer device monitored
  • Device Dashboards for Citrix XenCenter Hosts, Networks, Storage Resources, and Virtual Machines
  • A widget for use in Device Dashboards
  • An example Basic/Snippet credential for discovering Citrix XenServer devices

Enhancements and Issues Addressed

The following enhancements and addressed issues are included this release of the "Citrix: Xen" PowerPack:

  • The PowerPack now supports XenCenter 7.x releases.
  • The "Citrix XenCenter: Storage Metric Performance" Dynamic Application now aligns discovered devices to a shared storage host.
  • The log messages, formula editor, and policy descriptions in the "Citrix XenCenter: Storage Metrics Performance" Dynamic Application were updated to meet content development standards.
  • Collection and Presentation Object labels have been updated in the following Dynamic Applications:
  • Citrix XenCenter: Host Metrics Performance
  • Citrix XenCenter: Storage Metrics Performance
  • Citrix XenCenter: VM Metrics Performance
  • Citrix XenCenter: Pool Metrics
  • Citrix XenCenter: Network Metrics Performance
  • Data Unit fields have been modified for the following Dynamic Applications:
  • Citrix XenCenter: Storage Metrics Performance
  • Citix XenCenter: Host Metrics Performance
  • Citrix XenCenter: Network Metrics Performance
  • Citrix XenCenter: Pool Metrics
  • Citrix XenCenter: VM Metrics Performance
  • Descriptions for Collection Objects are now populated in the following Dynamic Applications:
  • Citrix XenCenter: Host Config
  • Citrix XenCenter: Host Licensed Features Config
  • Citrix XenCenter: Host Metrics Performance
  • Citrix XenCenter: Hosts (Pool) Discovery
  • Citrix XenCenter: Hosts (Stand-Alone) Discovery
  • Citrix XenCenter: Collection Core Config
  • Citrix XenCenter: Collection Metrics Config
  • Citrix XenCenter: Network Metrics Performance
  • Citrix XenCenter: Pool Metrics
  • Citrix XenCenter: VM Metrics Performance
  • Citrix XenCenter: Storage Metrics Performance
  • Virtual machines that are offline during discovery are now aligned under a "VMs Unattached" device component. When the virtual machine is turned on, they will be realigned to their hosts.
  • Alert notifications for invalid credentials and invalid IP addresses now have a severity of "Major".
  • The Device Class license tiers were updated as follows:
Device Class Description Device Class Tier
Citrix Systems, Inc. XenCenter 1
Citrix Systems, Inc. XenServer Control Domain 1
Citrix Systems, Inc. XenServer Host 5
Citrix Systems, Inc. XenServer Network 1
Citrix Systems, Inc. XenServer Networks 1
Citrix Systems, Inc. XenServer Pool 4
Citrix Systems, Inc. XenServer Storage 1
Citrix Systems, Inc. XenServer VM 4

Known Issues

The following known issues affect version 102 of the Citrix: Xen PowerPack:

  • There is a known issue in XenCenter that may cause a mismatch in the control domain size with the Windows UI if it has been recently changed. The value in SL1 is the correct the domain size. You can double check the correct value by using PuTTY or a similar application to SSH into the Xen server and running the following command

    ./opt/xensource/libexec/xen-cmdline --get-xen dom0_mem

    NOTE: SL1 may round this value slightly.

  • There is a known issue that is causing a discrepancy between the units of measurement for metrics that are collected by some performance Dynamic Applications and the graphs that display those metrics.