Part 14: Can I deploy vROps Cluster Nodes Across Two Sites?

YOU CAN, BUT YOU MAY NOT!!

This might be the weirdest way to begin a blog post but I wanted to put this word out, loud and clear! Since the release of vRealize Operations 6.0, we all know that vROps can be deployed in a cluster architecture with multiple nodes which bring in resiliency and scalability to the solutions by just adding a node to an existing cluster. I have discussed this architecture and the benefits of the same in an article before. 

In that article I have also highlighted that you should deploy vRealize Operations Manager Cluster within the same site as that is the requirement for deploying the solution. Since then, their have been a number of occasions when I have been asked this question as people want to use the cluster architecture to their advantage and deploy the solution across sites to ensure that the cluster is alive even if one of the sites completely fails.

This across site cluster deployment will not work if it is more than a 2 NODE cluster, because vROps nodes randomly distribute data to the nodes in the cluster while storing a copy of the same in some other node, there is no way that those nodes will always be in different sites always (you cannot control that). Hence imagine you have a 4 node cluster and the N1 and N2 are in Site A while N3 and N4 are in Site B. A metric collected by N1 can be replicated as a copy on N2, N3 or N4 and you do not have any control over it, hence if a metric is copied to N2 and the Site A fails, then you will lose that data, hence this solution cannot be a across site solution.

Part 13: The Power of Alert Definitions in vRealize Operations Manager 6.0!

With the release of vRealize Operations Manager 6.0, I have started this series which gives you a scoop on how does this new release looks like and works. In my humble opinion this release of the product is way more mature from the previous release as it gives you a plethora of options around capacity and performance management which were not available with the previous release.

While the traditional monitoring softwares look at Key Performance Indicators and always work with the defined thresholds, vCenter Operations Manager (previous release) gave a new meaning to the world of monitoring by using the concept of Super-Metrics. In simpler terms, a supermetric is a value which is derived by using a mathematical operations on one or more metrics which are collected by vCOps/vROps. This results into a value on the basis of which it becomes easier to take decisions. These decisions can be around troubleshooting performance issues, capacity augmentation or capacity reclamation. 

The return of the One Click Cluster Capacity Dashboard on vROps 6.0

Let me begin this post by thanking all the readers of vXpress who voted this year during the TopvBlog2015 survey. I am happy to share that your support and encouragement has helped vXpress retain a spot in the Top 50 Virtualization blogs in the year 2015 as well by being ranked as number 38 in the world. Here are the full results of this years ballot.  I will continue to share my experiences through this blog and I hope that the quality and the quantity of the content increases this year as compared to the previous year.

On this note, I should share that in March 2014, I wrote a post on creating a one-click cluster capacity dashboard in vCOps. I must say that the response I got on that post was enormous and that dashboard was replicated in hundreds of vCOps installations across the globe. Since the release of vRealize Operations Manager, I have received an over-whelming amount of requests to re-create the one click cluster capacity dashboard on vROps 6.0. I should mention here that the dashboard which I created with vCOps 5.x would not work with vROps 6.0, since a number of metrics have changed in vROps 6.0 and the one which remain are also laid in a different pattern within the database. 

vCenter 6.0 Installation : Detecting Client Integration Plugin Timed Out Error!

This is a quick and a simple note to inform you about an issue which could eat up your precious time while deploying vCenter 6.0 or upgrading to vCenter 6.0 from a previous release within an available upgrade path.

I have vCenter 5.5 u2 running in my lab as vCenter Server Virtual Appliance (VCSA). The plan was to upgrade to the new and shiny vCenter 6.0 virtual appliance. If you have not looked into the documentation yet, then I must inform you that the process of upgrade requires you to install the Client Integration Plugin. I will not re-invent the wheel as Vladan Seget has already written a detailed article as to how you can do this upgrade here.

While I was trying to do this upgrade, I ran into an issue where after installing the Integration Client, the upgrade requires you to launch a webpage which is called VCSA-SETUP.HTML located in the setup folder which you extract from the ISO of vCenter 6.0. As soon as you launch this webpage, you are suppose to get a screen which allows you to either install a new VCSA appliance or upgrade the existing version running in your environments.

Top vBlog 2015 Voting Open - Payback Time!

Time of the year when Eric Siebert of vsphere-land.com fame opens up the Top Virtualization Blog voting on his portal. Needless to say that each blogger listed in this ballot has spent hours of his personal time to give you content which has helped you in some way or form. Today, it's the payback time. Your vote is how you can appreciate the work these bloggers have done and the good thing is that it takes just about 2 minutes to caste it.

I have done my bit by voting for my favourite blogs which have helped me come out of difficult situations while implementing VMware products, helped me with my certification stints, gave me a scoop of how things work behind the scenes and most importantly help me understand how products come together to make a solution and how a solution helps solve business issues. In essence it has helped me develop as a Techie and as a Professional. 

Once again thank you to everyone who is in my TOP 10 LIST.