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Introduction

PlateSpin Power Recon allows you to import data from the HP Reporter for analysis.
This reduces redundant efforts of monitoring servers again, which are already monitored by other Monitoring products like HP Reporter.

Metrics collected by HP Reporter are different from metrics needed by Recon. We need to convert these HP Reporter collected metrics using formulas, so that Recon can use them for analysis.

System Requirements

1. Two Windows Server 2003 32-bit devices
2. SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 (SLES 10)

Perform the following the tasks to connect Recon to a HP Reporter:

• Installing the Recon Server
• Installing the HP Reporter
• Installing the HP Performance Agent
• Configuring the HP Reporter

Installing the Recon Server

1. Install the Recon Server software on a Windows 2003 Server,.
   Steps for Installing Recon:
   1. Download and Install SQL 2005 database.
   2. Download and Install 3.5 .NET framework.
   3. Download PlateSpin recon exe from www.platespin.com
   4. Double click the exe and extract the files.
   5. Select Install Server from Launcher
   6. Give Database details and finish
   7. Install client from Launcher
   8. Get License from Novell and activate it.

Installing the HP Reporter

Install HP Reporter on a Windows 2003 Server:

Steps for Installing HP Reporter:

1. Download and Install SQL 2005 database with mixed mode authentication.
2. Download the HP Reporter 3.80 software for Windows from the HP Web Site. (https://h10078.www1.hp.com/cda/hpdc/display/main/s...).
3. Extract the iso and install the exe.

Installing the HP Performance Agent

Install HP Performance Agent on SLES 10.

Steps for Installing HP Performance Agent:

1. Download HP Performance Agent for Linux.
   (https://h10078.www1.hp.com/cda/hpdc/display/main/secure/download_bin.jsp?zn=bto&cp=54_4012_100__)
2. Mount the iso and run ‘ovpa.install ‘ to install software.

Configure HP Reporter to enable required metrics

1. Launch the HP Reporter.
   
   1. Select Discovery Area under Reporter Administrator tree.
   2. Right click the Discovery Area, then click Add New System
   

   Click to view.

   3. Give Hostname or IP as System Name in add single system dialog and click OK.
2. Expand Discovered Systems under Reporter Administrator tree and make sure added agent machine is displayed under Linux group tree.
3. Manually configure the following metrics required for Recon.

We need following HP reporter metrics for connecting Recon to HP Reporter:

Click to view.

Configuring above metrics in HP reporter

GLOBAL

Select Metric List object in tree - Double Click the Global metric list - GLOBAL Metric list will be displayed in right Pane - Expand 'CODA' and 'SCOPE' data source in candidate metrics and drag all following metrics to selected metrics tab and save changes.

GBL_CPU_TOTAL_UTIL,GBL_MEM_UTIL,GBL_MEM_FREE,GBL_DISK_PHYS_BYTE_RATE,GBL_MEM_PHYS

Click to view.

DISK

Step 1: Select Metric List object in tree -right click - Add Metric List- Give Name as "DISK", Select 'DISK' as class from drop down.

Step 2: Expand 'CODA' and 'SCOPE' data source in candidate metrics and drag all following metrics to selected metrics tab - OK

BYDSK_PHYS_READ_BYTE_RATE

Click to view.

CPU

Step 1: Select Metric List object in tree -right click - Add Metric List- Give Name as "CPU", Select 'CPU' as class from drop down

Step 2: Expand 'CODA' and 'SCOPE' data source in candidate metrics and drag all following metrics to selected metrics tab - OK

BYCPU_CPU_TOTAL_UTIL

NETIF

Step 1: Select Metric List object in tree -right click - Add Metric List- Give Name as "NETIF", Select 'NETIF' as class from drop down

Step 2: Expand 'CODA' and 'SCOPE' data source in candidate metrics and drag all following metrics to selected metrics tab - OK

BYNETIF_OUT_BYTE_RATE, BYNETIF_IN_BYTE_RATE

Steps to enable metric lists to managed agent:

Step 1: Select Discovered Systems under Reporter Administrator tree -> Select the discovered Machine. Select Metric List object in tree -> Drag DISK,CPU, NETIF metric lists from Left pane and drop them to metric list under discovered Linux machine in right pane.

Click to view.

Step 2: Restart Reporter Service and SQL Service.

Step 3: Login to HP Reporter SQL Server Database through management studio and make sure all the above metrics are listed under respective metric list class tables. (E.g.: Expand reporter database- db0.GLOBAL-open table- check for respective metrics)

Steps to connect Recon to HP Reporter:

Step 1: Launch Recon Client – right click on Data Center Explorer - Add Site

Step 2: Give Name and site type as ‘Remote’.

Step 3: Give following Database connection settings in settings tab:

Database connection settings 
Server Name: ‘HP Reporter SQL Database server IP’\OVOPS. 
Data Base Name: reporter 
Database Type: SQL server 2005 
Database Credentials: Create new credential with user "sa" with HP Reporter SQL server password.

Click to view.

Step 4: Give following Counter values in Counters tab:

Counters:  (Copy following values to respective counters)
CPU(% Used) = GLOBAL.GBL_CPU_TOTAL_UTIL 
Memory(Available Bytes) = GLOBAL.(GBL_MEM_PHYS*(100-GBL_MEM_UTIL))*1024*1024*1024/100 
Disk IO(bytes/s) = GLOBAL.GBL_DISK_PHYS_BYTE_RATE 
Network IO(bytes/s) = NETIF.(BYNETIF_OUT_BYTE_RATE + BYNETIF_IN_BYTE_RATE) 
Step 5: Select ‘CPM Counters’ radio button.

Step 6: Test Settings.

Step 7: Press OK .

Click to view.

Step 8: Select created site in Data Center Explorer – right click - Import Machines- select machine in tree - give credentials to inventory.

Step 9: Select site- right click - Synch data - select date – press ok

Now we have imported required metric data from HP Reporter to Recon Database. We can run analysis reports on this imported data and perform workload Consolidation and Protection planning. CPM Plans and Forecasting requires at least 3 months of monitored data for better results. This importing reduces redundant effort for monitoring all servers for 3 months, since those servers are already monitored by server monitoring products like HP Reporter.

Acknowledgments

Reviewers:
Lakshmi R - Technical writer, Novell, Inc.

Disclaimer: As with everything else at Cool Solutions, this content is definitely not supported by Novell (so don't even think of calling Support if you try something and it blows up).

It was contributed by a community member and is published "as is." It seems to have worked for at least one person, and might work for you. But please be sure to test, test, test before you do anything drastic with it.