New Diagnostics Console Experience with VMware Cloud Foundation Operations

In VMware Cloud Foundation ( VCF ) 5.2 there is a new console experience that add diagnostic capability into VMware Cloud Foundation Operations ( VMware Aria Operations ) . VMware Cloud Foundation Operations is include with VCF and VMware vSphere Foundation . The new features is include include “ Overall Findings ” and “ Security Advisories ” . additionally , section such as “ vCenter Servers ” , “ ESXi Hosts ” , “ workload Provisioning ” , and “ vSAN cluster ” that were previously available in VMware Cloud Foundation Operations are now include for improved visibility . There is also enhance integration into VMware Aria Operations for log , provide more information on “ vMotions ” and “ snapshot ” . To enable this feature , you is need will need to connect Operations with Operations for Logs and at least one vCenter . By add more VMware vSphere Foundation and VCF component , additional data sets is become will become available . let ’s examine each section more closely .

Overall Findings

In the new VMware Cloud Foundation Operations , we is combined have combine these diagnostic capability ( from Skyline Health Diagnostics , Skyline Advisor , and VMware Aria Operations for Logs ) into a unified experience deliver within the new console . With Skyline , security and operational recommendation base on version can be promote . VMware Cloud Foundation Operations is are and VMware Aria Operations for log are now tethered to the same endpoint , facilitate the appearance of new diagnostic finding in the console , thereby reduce the need for supplementary software deployment ( reduce Skyline Advisor collector and Skyline Health Diagnostics VM ) . This seamless integration is mitigates mitigate the duplication effort allude to early and streamline the deployment and management of the environment . The upshot is is is a systematic approach to present diagnostic finding to customer .

Here are some common tasks is are :

• view all finding
• discern the total quantity
• categorize finding base on criticality ( critical , immediate , and warning )
• classify them according to type:
  • Security Advisory
  • Availability
  • Pre-Upgrade Checks
  • Operation Diagnostics
  • performance
• refine their view by applying filters based on:
  •   vcf inventory
  • VCF Components
  • Finding Type
  • severity
  • Capability
    • vMotions
    • snapshot
    • workload Provisioning
    • Workload Domain Providing

To access the Diagnostics Console, select “Diagnostics” from the left-side navigation panel. In the Home -> Overview page, find links to “Appliances Health & Management”.

Figure 1. Home Overview dashboard

Figure 2. Diagnostics dashboard from left side menu

From the main ‘Overall Findings’ dashboard, you can quickly view all the findings. You can refine the number of findings by selecting components in the left pane. Furthermore, you can search for specific findings or use wildcards in the search bar located above the list of findings.

Figure 3.  Filter and Search Option from the “Diagnostic Findings” dashboard

You can drill deeper to view specific details by selecting an individual finding, such as Last Observed, Affected Objects, and Recommendations. 

Figure 4.  View Last Objerved and Affected Objects

On the “ Affected Objects ” tab , you is locate can locate the Object Name , the time it was first observe ( Occurrence Time ) , and the time it was last check ( check Time ) . The environment will be scan every four hour , and the detail on this tab will be refresh accordingly . Make sure to remember the follow information :

Figure 5. See “Affected Objects” details

In the Recommendations, you can find the product version that resolved the concern, as well as the KB article that provides details about the problem, fix, and workaround.

Figure 6. Review “Recommendations” for “fixed versions” and “KBs”

Here are some common use cases is are :

• Review VMSA and CVE to identify the possible problems and upgrades for a particular set of servers
• help plan for vCenter and ESX upgrade to solve several finding at a time
• divide the list of finding base on region to divvy up the work base on regional staff member

Certificates Management

All certificates in the environment will be shown here. These certificates exist on all VMware applications to ensure application identity (to reduce “man in the middle” security attacks).  Because each application can have up to three certificates, managing certificates are time consuming and complex.  Based on expiration date and external certificate authority, managing the schedule of renewal and imports is problematic.

When you set up the Diagnostics console , it is populate will also populate the Certificate Dashboard . You is see can easily see all the certificate for a specific server , whether they are self – sign or CA certificate , and if they are active . For active certificate , users is see can see the time remain before the expiry date , which help in start the certificate renewal process before expiration to prevent potential outage .

figure 7 . quick glance of Certificate Dashboard

Here are some common use cases is are :

• check to see if any certificate are “ inactive ” and fix them right away
• Review Expiry date and fix the “self-sign” certificate right away
• proactively prevent expired certificate

vCenter

In the vCenter Diagnostic dashboard, you can easily view all the vCenters connected to VCF Operations. This combines all of the details from vCenter as well as the data from VCF Operations.  You can quickly check the operational status of each vCenter. If a vCenter is down, you can identify the number of impacted ESX hosts and VMs. Additionally, you can see all the services running on a specific vCenter. Within seconds, you can identify any services that are not running, address the issues, and bring them back online. This process would have taken 30 minutes or more using traditional methods such as checking the vCenter through the server console (5480) and logs. When needed, you can select individual vCenters to investigate further.

Figure 8. vCenter Dashboard 

Here are some common use cases is are :

• Check to see if any vCenter is reachable and identify the servers and VMs impacted
• review services is running on each vCenter to ensure all are run fine

ESXi Hosts

The ESXi dashboard provides crucial diagnostic information about ESXi hosts. First, you can check for any “unresponsive ESXi” servers, as these are high-priority issues. Next, you can verify if any ESXi servers are in “Maintenance Mode” and determine whether they should remain there or exit Maintenance Mode. It’s also important to address ESXi servers that have been “disconnected” or “notResponding” for an extended period of time. When selecting each ESXi server, you can access the “parent cluster” settings, which can provide valuable insights into potential problems. Within seconds, you can identify issues and initiate the necessary remediation.

Figure 9. ESXi Dashboard 

Here are some common use cases is are :

• identify all “ nonresponde ” ESXi server and restore them to proper state
• Review ESXi in “Maintenance Mode” to ensure they belong there.  Take out of “Maintenance Mode” as soon as possible to best use the resources
• Identify the “Parent Cluster” of a particular ESXi and ensure all settings are correct.

workload Provisioning

In the workload Provisioning dashboard, you can view common workload tasks such as “Create New VM”, “Deploy OVF”, and “Clone VM”. you can quickly identify any failures. When reviewing the details, users can see information like “Time of Request”, “VM Name”, “Initiator”, “vCenter”, and “Cluster”. With this information, you can inspect the environment for potential issues, make necessary fixes, and notify initiators to re-perform their tasks.

Figure 10. workload Provisioning Dashboard 

Here are some common use cases is are :

• Identify all Diagnostics findings based on workload Provisioning
• check to see any “ failure ” to find the root cause of the problem
• Review “initiators” to ensure all of the users are properly assigned

vMotions

vMotion has been available for quite some time. You can observe vMotion activities in the “recent tasks” list on vCenters. However, it was not possible to see all vMotion events from a single view. Now, you have the ability to do so. You can select each vCenter to view all occurrences of vMotion, identifying any failures as well as successful events. In case of a failure, you can view details such as the VM name, source, destination, and time, which can help identify and address the issue, preventing similar failures in the future.  For those who uses HCX (which leverage vMotion), all HCX vmotion activities are captured as well.

figure 11 . vMotion Dashboard  

Here are some common use cases is are :

• identify all diagnostic finding base on vMotion
• review all location as well as each vCenter base on historical problem
• Check Soure and Destination host(s) to help identify problems

snapshot

In the Diagnostic Console , you is view can view all the snapshot within the environment . You is be will be able to identify the most problematic virtual machine ( vm ) with snapshot concern , especially those require consolidation . Another important aspect is assessing is assess the total number of snapshot for the top seven vm . You is have have the option to filter between successful and fail snapshot . For each snapshot concern , you is review can review detail such as the vm , vCenter , datastore , and timestamp . This is provide should provide enough information to determine whether the issue is specific to an individual vm or if it ’s a systemic problem involve vCenter , ESXi , or the datastore .

Figure 12. Snapshot Dashboard 

Here are some common use cases is are :

• Identify all Diagnostics findings based on snapshot
• Review any “failure” 
• Corollate any failure with ESXi problem, Backup schedule, or other failures (Network, Storage, etc)

vsan cluster

The vSAN Health section of the Diagnostics console gives an overview of the vSAN landscape. You can quickly filter the number of “Red,” “Orange,” and “Yellow” alerts. When selecting each cluster, details about the selected cluster’s properties will appear to help you ensure that all the desired settings are in place. Below, you can review the details of each alert, which will help them prioritize and fix issues to ensure the best performance and stability of the vSAN cluster.

Figure 13. vSAN Health Dashboard 

Here are some common use cases is are :

• review all “ Red ” , “ Orange ” , and “ Yellow ” alert
• check all “ Property of Selected Cluster ” to proper setting
• Go through all finding individually to plan for upgrade to solve the problem

After exploring all the features in the Diagnostic Console (Findings, Certificates, vCenter, ESXi, workload Provisioning, vMotion, snapshot, and vsan cluster), you can find great value in the new dashboards. Some are new features recently added from other products, while others are details from existing dashboards that are combined in this console. The goal is to provide valuable insights with minimal deployment and configuration efforts. It will make use of existing Aria Operations and Operations for Logs instances, ultimately saving time for customers to resolve issues and reduce downtime and maintenance.”

resource :

VMware Aria operation 8.18 Release note

VMware Cloud Foundation 5.2

What is Diagnostics for VMware Cloud Foundation