HP XP Performance Advisor Software User Manual
XPWatch and XPSketch Reference Guide
This guide is designed to help you understand and use the XPWatch and XPSketch tools. It describes the functional
capabilities and operational details of XPWatch and XPSketch, and provides some examples of how to use the
tool.
Part Number: T1789-96098
Sixth edition: June 2010
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Contents
1 Introduction to XPWatch ...................................................................... 9
Overview ................................................................................................................................... 9
XPWatch environment ................................................................................................................ 10
Software environment ......................................................................................................... 10
Hardware environment ........................................................................................................ 10
Functional representation ........................................................................................................... 10
2 Installing XPWatch ........................................................................... 13
Prerequisites ............................................................................................................................. 13
Installing XPWatch .................................................................................................................... 13
Uninstalling XPWatch ................................................................................................................ 16
Components ............................................................................................................................ 16
3 Working with XPWatch menus and commands .................................... 17
Commands .............................................................................................................................. 17
Menus ..................................................................................................................................... 18
Array menu ....................................................................................................................... 19
Host groups ....................................................................................................................... 20
Viewing Host groups .................................................................................................... 20
Selecting Host groups ................................................................................................... 20
Clearing Host groups ................................................................................................... 21
Nickname menu ................................................................................................................. 22
Assigning nicknames .................................................................................................... 23
Renaming nicknames ................................................................................................... 24
Deleting nicknames ...................................................................................................... 24
Port menu .......................................................................................................................... 25
Viewing Port menu ....................................................................................................... 26
Pick LDEVs/RAID Groups selection scheme ............................................................................ 27
Viewing Pick LDEVs/RAID Groups selection scheme ......................................................... 27
RAID Group menu .............................................................................................................. 27
Viewing RAID Group menu ........................................................................................... 29
LDEV menu ........................................................................................................................ 29
Viewing LDEV menu ..................................................................................................... 30
Settings menu .................................................................................................................... 30
Menu settings .............................................................................................................. 30
Performance data collection settings ............................................................................... 31
4 Viewing performance metrics in XPWatch ............................................ 33
Collecting performance metrics ................................................................................................... 33
Understanding performance metrics ............................................................................................ 35
Port performance metrics ..................................................................................................... 35
LDEV performance metrics ................................................................................................... 36
RAID Group performance metrics ......................................................................................... 37
CPU performance metrics .................................................................................................... 37
XPWatch and XPSketch Reference Guide 3
DKC performance metrics .................................................................................................... 38
5 Introduction to XPSketch .................................................................... 39
Overview ................................................................................................................................. 39
6 Installing XPSketch ............................................................................ 41
Supported Windows platforms ................................................................................................... 41
Installing XPSketch .................................................................................................................... 41
7 Viewing performance metrics in XPSketch ............................................ 45
Loading the Comma seperated file .............................................................................................. 45
Setting the Java heap size value ................................................................................................. 46
Viewing performance metrics in XPSketch ..................................................................................... 46
Understanding performance metrics in XPSketch ........................................................................... 48
8 Working with charts in XPSketch ........................................................ 53
Viewing charts ......................................................................................................................... 53
Modifying chart properties ......................................................................................................... 53
Restoring auto range settings on the chart .................................................................................... 54
Saving and printing the chart ..................................................................................................... 54
A XPWatch use case scenarios ............................................................. 55
Scenario 1: Port I/O spike ......................................................................................................... 55
Business case ..................................................................................................................... 55
Objective .......................................................................................................................... 55
Resolution ......................................................................................................................... 55
Results .............................................................................................................................. 55
Scenario 2: Poor application response ......................................................................................... 55
Business case ..................................................................................................................... 55
Objective .......................................................................................................................... 56
Resolution ......................................................................................................................... 56
Results .............................................................................................................................. 56
B Understanding write ratio in XPWatch ................................................. 57
C Relationship between LDEV I/O response time and Write ratio .............. 59
D Comparing LDEV response time metrics in XP Performance Advisor and
XPWatch ............................................................................................ 61
Maximum values of LDEV response time in XP Performance Advisor and XPWatch ............................. 61
Average values of LDEV response time in XP Performance Advisor and XPWatch ............................... 61
Average read response time ................................................................................................ 61
Average write response time ................................................................................................ 61
9 Support and other resources .............................................................. 63
Contacting HP .......................................................................................................................... 63
Subscription service .................................................................................................................. 63
Documentation feedback ........................................................................................................... 63
HP product documentation survey ............................................................................................... 63
Related information ................................................................................................................... 64
4
Document conventions and symbols ............................................................................................. 65
Index ................................................................................................. 67
XPWatch and XPSketch Reference Guide 5
Figures
Working of XPWatch ............................................................................................... 111
XP Performance Advisor logon screen ........................................................................ 142
XP Performance Advisor home screen ........................................................................ 143
Table of Contents screen .......................................................................................... 154
XPWatch commands ............................................................................................... 175
XPWatch version ..................................................................................................... 196
Array menu ............................................................................................................ 197
Available Host Groups ............................................................................................ 208
Available Host Groups: One Host Group selected ....................................................... 219
Available Host Groups: Two Host Groups selected ...................................................... 2110
Clearing a Host Group ............................................................................................ 2211
Nickname menu ..................................................................................................... 2312
Nickname menu: Selecting a host group to assign nickname ........................................ 2313
Nickname menu: Entering new nickname ................................................................... 2414
Nickname menu: Displaying new nickname ............................................................... 2415
Port menu .............................................................................................................. 2616
Pick LDEVs/RAID Groups selection scheme ................................................................. 2717
RAID Group menu .................................................................................................. 2818
LDEV menu ............................................................................................................ 2919
Settings menu ......................................................................................................... 3020
Output screen ......................................................................................................... 3521
XP Performance Advisor Logon screen ........................................................................ 4222
XP Performance Advisor Home screen ........................................................................ 4223
Table of Contents screen .......................................................................................... 4324
Error message ........................................................................................................ 4625
Performance report generated using XPSketch ............................................................. 4726
Multiple graphs plotted for multiple metric selection ..................................................... 4827
Metric available, samples available, and samples displayed ........................................ 4828
6
Tables
XPWatch software environment ................................................................................. 101
XPWatch hardware environment ............................................................................... 102
Navigation options and their functions ....................................................................... 173
Selection options .................................................................................................... 184
Miscellaneous options ............................................................................................. 185
Array menu — fields ............................................................................................... 196
Host Groups — fields .............................................................................................. 207
Port menu — screen fields ........................................................................................ 268
RAID Group menu — screen fields ............................................................................ 289
LDEV menu — screen fields ...................................................................................... 2910
Menu settings ......................................................................................................... 3011
Performance data collection settings .......................................................................... 3112
Port performance metrics .......................................................................................... 3513
LDEV performance metrics ........................................................................................ 3614
RAID Group performance metrics .............................................................................. 3715
CPU performance metrics ......................................................................................... 3716
DKC performance metrics ........................................................................................ 3817
Port performance metrics .......................................................................................... 4918
LDEV performance metrics ........................................................................................ 4919
RAID Group performance metrics .............................................................................. 4920
CPU performance metrics ......................................................................................... 5021
DKC performance metrics ........................................................................................ 5022
Document conventions ............................................................................................. 6523
XPWatch and XPSketch Reference Guide 7
8
1 Introduction to XPWatch
This chapter describes the features of XPWatch and the environment required to run it.
Overview
XPWatch is a command-line interface utility provided with HP StorageWorks XP Performance Advisor.
It is designed for focused troubleshooting and can capture data as frequently as every 10 seconds.
XPWatch monitors the performance of the following:
• Ports
• Client-Host Interface Processor (CHIP) or Channel Adapter (CHA)
• Array Control Processors (ACPs) or Disk Adapters (DKAs)
• RAID Groups
• Logical Devices (LDEVs) of XP Arrays
XPWatch can be used to troubleshoot performance issues, such as:
• Hot spots within the Array (hard disk drives or RAID Groups that are over utilized compared to
the rest of the array)
• Front-end congestion (micro processors (mp) ports)
• Back-end issues
• Cache/Shared Memory issues, usage, contention and so on
• Determining true I/O throughput (from the mp port to the hard disk drive)
• Port I/O spikes
• Poor application response
The performance metrics are displayed on the console of the host system. The output data is stored
in a comma separated file (.csv). The .csv file can be loaded in XPSketch to obtain a visual
representation of the output data.
XPWatch offers the following features:
• Focused troubleshooting
• Real-time performance data monitoring and collection for time intervals as low as 10 seconds
• Ability to split data in desired intervals and store them in different files
• Customizable menu size
• Nicknames can be provided to the host groups for easy identification
• Command-line tool with easy-to-use selection menu
• Configuration changes that are reflected with every fresh run
• Small footprint and easy to execute, does not require any special installation
For more information on installing the XP Performance Advisor, see the HP Storage Works XP PA
Installation Guide.
XPWatch and XPSketch Reference Guide 9
XPWatch environment
This section describes the software and hardware environment required to run XPWatch.
Software environment
Table 1 lists the XPWatch software environment.
Table 1 XPWatch software environment
Operating system
• Microsoft Windows 2003 Second Edition
• Windows 2003 EE SP1/SP2 [IA 32 bit]
• HP-UX
• HP-UX 11.11 32 bit
• HP-UX 11.23 PA RISC
• HP-UX 11.23 IA 64 bit
• HP-UX 11.31 PI PA RISC
• HP-UX 11.31 PI IA 64 bit
• AIX 5.3 and later
• Microsoft Windows 64 bit ( x64 and IA64)
• Solaris (SPARC)
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux (x32 and x64)
• SuSE Linux Enterprise Server (x32 and x64)
• VMware
Hardware environment
Table 2 lists the XPWatch hardware environment.
Table 2 XPWatch hardware environment
Functional representation
Figure 1 shows the functional representation of XPWatch.
XP Performance Advisor host agent 3.4 and later.Host agent
XP24000/XP20000/XP12000/XP10000/SVS200/XP1024/XP128Array types
Introduction to XPWatch10
Figure 1 Working of XPWatch
.
XPWatch functions as follows:
1. On starting XPWatch, the Array menu appears.
2. Selecting the desired array displays the list of host groups connected to it.
3. Selecting one or more host groups displays the list of ports connected to them.
4. Selecting the required ports displays the Pick LDEVs/RAID Groups Selection Scheme.
This scheme offers the following options:
• Filter LDEVs by RAID Groups
If you select this option, the RAID Groups menu appears. Select one or more RAID Groups
to view the LDEV menu. The LDEV menu lists all the LDEVs within the selected RAID Groups.
Select the required LDEV to collect and view the performance data.
• Filter RAID Groups by LDEVs
If you select this option, the LDEV menu appears. Select one or more LDEVs to view the RAID
Group menu. The RAID Group menu lists all the RAID Groups within the selected LDEVs. Select
the required RAID Groups to collect and view performance data.
• Manually Add RAID Groups and LDEVs Without Filtering
XPWatch and XPSketch Reference Guide 11
If you select this option, all the available LDEVs and RAID Groups are displayed. Select the
desired RAID Groups and LDEVs to collect and view their performance data.
• Skip and Start Collecting
If you select this option, XPWatch skips the LDEV and RAID Group menus, and displays the
port performance data and CPU performance data of all the ports connected to the selected
array.
5. The output appears on the screen, which can be saved in .csv format.
Introduction to XPWatch12
2 Installing XPWatch
This section describes installing and uninstalling XPWatch. It also describes the various components
of XPWatch.
Prerequisites
The following are the prerequisites to install XPWatch:
• The XP Performance Advisor host agent (version 3.4 and above) must be installed on your host
system.
• The host must have a command device connected to the array to collect information from the array.
• You need to enable Logical Unit Number (LUN) security on the port of the required array to de-
termine the Host Group paths in XPWatch.
• You should have selected XPWatch bits during XP Performance Advisor installation. For more in-
formation, see the HP StorageWorks XP Performance Advisor Installation Guide.
Installing XPWatch
To install XPWatch, perform the following steps:
1. Open a web browser.
2. In the browser address line, enter your server name followed by /pa. For example, http(s):/
/[server name]/pa.
You can also access XP Performance Advisor over a secure connection: https://[server
name].[domain name]/pa.
If the DNS server cannot locate the management station and open the default XP Performance
Advisor applet, type http(s)://[IP address]/pa.
NOTE:
The XP Performance Advisor URL is case-sensitive.
The XP Performance Advisor logon screen appears.
Figure 2 shows the XP Performance Advisor logon screen.
XPWatch and XPSketch Reference Guide 13
Figure 2 XP Performance Advisor logon screen
.
3. Enter your User Name and Password and click Sign In. The XP Performance Advisor Home screen
appears.
Figure 3 shows the XP Performance Advisor Home screen.
Figure 3 XP Performance Advisor home screen
.
4. On the Header menu, select Support. The screen displaying Table of Contents appears.
Figure 4 shows the Table of Contents screen.
Installing XPWatch14
Figure 4 Table of Contents screen
.
5. From the Tools menu, select XPWatch from respective operating system to download the XPWatch
zip file specific to your operating system.
6. Extract the contents of the zip file to a location on your system. The XPWatch.exe and wa-
gent.exe files are extracted.
7. Double-click XPWatch.exe to run XPWatch. You can also run XPWatch using the command
prompt.
For example, c:\XPWatchTool\XPWatch.exe
where, XPWatchTool is the folder containing the XPWatch.exe file.
In your command-prompt window, ensure that you point to the directory where XPWatch is in-
stalled.
NOTE:
• The XPWatch bits are available in the Tools folder on XP Performance Advisor Installation
disk 2.
• At any given point, you can close XPWatch by pressing Ctrl+C.
XPWatch and XPSketch Reference Guide 15
Uninstalling XPWatch
To remove XPWatch, delete the folder containing the XPWatch.exe file.
Components
The software components of XPWatch are:
• XPWatch.exe— is an executable file used to launch the XPWatch tool.
• wagent.exe — is an executable file required to operate XPWatch.
• trace.txt — stores information about the execution cycle of XPWatch when the debug mode
is enabled.
• settings.ini — this file contains the default or customized menu settings. It is generated after
the first use of XPWatch.
• .csv file— is the output file that saves performance data.
The output file naming convention is: selected array-dd-mmm-yyyy- hh.min.sec.milliseconds.
For example, 10055-23-OCT-2008-12.40.46.151.csv is the output file name,
where:
• 10055 is the selected array.
• 23-OCT-2008 is the file creation date.
• 12.40.46.151 is the file creation time in (12 hrs, 40 min, 46 sec and 151 milliseconds).
NOTE:
All the above-mentioned software components are saved in one folder.
Installing XPWatch16
3 Working with XPWatch menus and commands
This section describes how to use the different commands, menus, and interfaces of XPWatch.
Commands
The XPWatch commands enable you to perform the following tasks:
• Navigate through menus using the Navigation Options.
• Select items, such as ports, host groups, RAID Groups, and LDEVs using the Selection Options.
• Modify the settings using the Miscellaneous Options.
Figure 5 shows the XPWatch commands.
Figure 5 XPWatch commands
.
NOTE:
The Host Groups screen displays all the available navigation options, selection options, and
miscellaneous options. All the other screens have their related options displayed.
Table 3 lists the Navigation options available in the XPWatch interface and their functions.
Table 3 Navigation options and their functions
Command
FunctionOption
To view the previous menu.Backb
XPWatch and XPSketch Reference Guide 17
Command
FunctionOption
To view the next menu.
Continuec
NOTE:
Enter c and not C.
Next pagen
Previous pagep
Exite
To view the next set of items, such as host groups, ports, RAID
Groups, and LDEVs.
To view set of items, such as host groups, ports, RAID groups,
and LDEVs displayed on the previous page.
To close XPWatch.
NOTE:
You can also use Ctrl+C to close XPWatch.
Table 4 lists the Selection options available in the XPWatch interface and their functions.
Table 4 Selection options
FunctionOptionCommand
To select all items in a given menu.Select Alla
Select Noner
To clear all the selected items in a given
menu.
Table 5 lists the Miscellaneous options available in the XPWatch interface and their functions.
Table 5 Miscellaneous options
FunctionOptionCommand
Menus
To change the settings of XPWatch.Settingss
To view the Nickname menu.Nickname Menux
NOTE:
XPWatch commands are case-sensitive.
XPWatch enables you to monitor and customize performance data of ports, RAID groups, and LDEVs
through different menus. They are:
• Array menu
• Host groups
• Nickname menu
• Port menu
• Pick LDEVs/RAID Groups selection scheme
• RAID Group menu
Working with XPWatch menus and commands18
• LDEV menu
• Settings menu
Array menu
The Array menu appears after you start XPWatch. This menu lists all the arrays that are connected to
the host.
The Array menu also displays the XPWatch version. You can also view the XPWatch version using
the following command in the command prompt:
XPWatch.exe -v
Figure 6 shows the screen that displays the XPWatch version.
Figure 6 XPWatch version
.
To select an array, enter the number (Num) corresponding to it. For example, to select the 10055
array, enter 1.
NOTE:
You can select only one array at a time.
Figure 7 shows the Array menu.
Figure 7 Array menu
.
Table 6 lists the fields of the Array menu.
Table 6 Array menu — fields
DescriptionScreen field
Selection numberNum
Serial number of the arraySerial
Type of the arrayType
XPWatch and XPSketch Reference Guide 19
Host groups
The Host Groups screen lists the available host groups that are connected to the selected array. This
screen also displays all the available Navigation, Selection, and Miscellaneous options.
Figure 8 shows the Available Host Groups.
Figure 8 Available Host Groups
.
Table 7 lists the fields in the Host Groups.
Table 7 Host Groups — fields
Host World Wide Name
Ports
Viewing Host groups
To view the host groups connected to an array, perform the following steps:
1. Start XPWatch. The Array menu appears.
2. Select the array whose performance you want to monitor and press the Enter key. The list of host
groups connected to the array is displayed.
Selecting Host groups
DescriptionScreen field
Selection numberNum
User-friendly names given to the hosts.Nickname
Displays the identification number (WWN) of the Host
Bus Adapter (HBA), which the host uses to establish
communication with the array.
The port used by the array to communicate with the
host.
Select the host whose performance data you want to monitor.
To select a host group, enter the number corresponding to it. For example, to select 50060b00002fd4fa
and 50060b00002d24b4 host groups (see figure Available Host Groups), perform the following
steps:
Working with XPWatch menus and commands20
1. Enter 2 and press the Enter key.
The 50060b00002fd4fa host group is selected as shown in the following figure.
NOTE:
The selected host group is highlighted in green.
Figure 9 shows one host group selected from the list of available host groups.
Figure 9 Available Host Groups: One Host Group selected
.
2. Enter 3 and press the Enter key.
The 50060b00002d24b4 host group is selected.
Figure 10 shows two host groups selected from the list of available host groups.
Figure 10 Available Host Groups: Two Host Groups selected
.
Clearing Host groups
To clear a selected host group, enter its corresponding number.
For example, to clear the 50060b00002d24b4 host group, enter 3 and press the Enter key.
The 50060b00002d24b4 host group is cleared.
XPWatch and XPSketch Reference Guide 21
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