VMware vCenter Operations Manager Administrator’s Guide
VMware vCenter Operations Manager
Enterprise Adapter Guide
vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise 1.0
This document supports the version of each product listed and
supports all subsequent versions until the document is replaced
by a new edition. To check for more recent editions of this
document, see http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.
EN-000930-01
VMware vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise Adapter Guide
You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware Web site at:
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Contents
VMware vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise Adapter Guide 5
Updated Information 7
Understanding Adapters 9
1
How Adapters Collect and Process Data 9
Types of Data that Adapters Collect 10
Adapter Architecture 11
Installing and Configuring Adapters 13
2
Install an Adapter in vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise Standalone 13
Install an Adapter in a vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise vApp 14
Add an Adapter Instance 15
Modifying Adapter Configuration Files 16
Troubleshooting Adapters 17
3
General Troubleshooting Steps 17
View Collection Information 17
Viewing System Log Files 19
Available Adapters 21
4
Default Adapters 21
Product Adapters 22
Generic Adapters 27
Field Adapters 29
Index 31
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VMware vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise Adapter Guide
The VMware vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise Adapter Guide provides information about how
vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise uses adapters to consume data from the enterprise. It also provides a
summary of the currently available adapters.
Intended Audience
This information is intended for anyone who wants to install and configure adapters for
vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise.
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Updated Information
The VMware vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise Adapter Guide is updated with each release of the product
or when necessary.
This table provides the update history of the VMware vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise Adapter Guide.
Revision Description
EN-000930-01 Provided more detailed instructions in “Install an Adapter in vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise
Standalone,” on page 13 and “Install an Adapter in a vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise vApp,” on
page 14.
EN-000930-00 Initial release.
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Understanding Adapters 1
A key feature of vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise is its ability to consume data from across the
enterprise. vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise uses adapters to collect data from a variety of data sources,
including specific third-party products.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n
“How Adapters Collect and Process Data,” on page 9
n
“Types of Data that Adapters Collect,” on page 10
n
“Adapter Architecture,” on page 11
How Adapters Collect and Process Data
Adapters work with the vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise Collector to collect and process data.
The Collector acts as a gateway between vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise and its adapters. The adapters
connect to and collect data from data sources, transform the data into a format that
vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise can consume, and pass the data to the Collector for final processing.
Depending on the data source and the adapter implementation, an adapter might collect data by making API
calls, using a command-line interface, or sending database queries. Some adapters collect data for each resource
independently and other adapters extract data for all resources based on a specified time range.
vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise uses embedded adapters and external adapters. Embedded adapters
are the most common type of adapter implementation.
Embedded Adapters
An embedded adapter is a Java component that runs as a plug-in in the Collector. Embedded adapters actively
connect to a data source and pull values from it.
Advantages of embedded adapters include better maintainability, control, and visibility into the management
of the adapter and the data that it collects. Embedded adapters also use common functions, such as job
scheduling, that are already part of the Collector.
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Embedded adapters create resources through manual or auto-discovery. A particular embedded adapter might
support one or both resource creation methods.
Manual discovery
Auto-discovery
You configure and manage embedded adapters in the user interface.
You send a request to the data source to return all available resources and select
the resources to add. This method is often referred to as discovering resources
or the discovery process.
The data collection process discovers new resources and creates the resources
for you. You do not need to manually add new resources.
External Adapters
External adapters push data from outside sources. The key advantage of an external adapter is flexibility in
how the adapter is created and deployed.
External adapters use vCenter Operations Manager OpenAPI to send information. OpenAPI has a simple form,
which accepts data through an HTTP request, and an advanced form, which uses Java RMI.
External adapters use auto-discovery to create resources. With auto-discovery, the data collection process
discovers new resources and creates the resources for you. You do not need to manually add new resources.
You configure and manage external adapters outside of the user interface.
Types of Data that Adapters Collect
Adapters typically collect metrics, resource relationships, and change events from an external data source. Not
all adapters can collect all types of data.
n
A metric is an instance of an attribute for a particular resource. For each metric,
vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise collects and stores multiple instances over time. Each piece of
data is called a metric observation or value.
n
Resource relationships describe how resources are related to each other. For example, one resource might
be a child resource and another resource might be a parent resource.
n
A change event is any change to the environment, such as a system reboot.
vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise stores metrics in the File System Database (FSDB).
vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise Standalone can store change events in a Microsoft SQL or Oracle
database. The vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise vApp stores change events in a PostgreSQL database.
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