Supported Versions
REST API version using 6.4

Introduction

VMware NSX-V is a software-defined networking solution built around the VMware vSphere ecosystem and includes the requirements that you would expect in VMware vSphere such as having a vCenter Server and ESXi hosts. This product depends on VMware vSphere and connection with vCenter. Once NSX-V pairs with vCenter, the integration with vSphere is seamless.

NSX-V Main Components:

The primary components of VMware NSX-V are:

  • NSX-V Manager
  • NSX-V Controller
  • NSX-V Edge
  • Logical Switch
  • Transport Zone

NSX-V Manager: It provides the graphical user interface (GUI) and the REST APIs for creating, configuring, and monitoring NSX components, such as controllers, logical switches, and edge services gateways.

NSX-V Controller: It is an advanced distributed state management system that provides control plane functions for NSX logical switching and routing functions.

NSX-V Edges: The services gateway gives you access to all NSX Edge services such as firewall, NAT, DHCP, VPN, load balancing, and high availability. You can install multiple Edge services gateway virtual appliances in a datacenter. Each Edge service gateway virtual appliance can have a total of ten uplink and internal network interfaces.

Logical Switch: An NSX Data Center for vSphere logical switch reproduces switching functionality (unicast, multicast, broadcast) in a virtual environment completely decoupled from underlying hardware. Logical switches are similar to VLANs, in that they provide network connections to which you can attach virtual machines.

Transport Zone: A transport zone defines a collection of hosts that can communicate with each other across a physical network infrastructure.

Pre-requisites

  • OpsRamp Classic Gateway 12.0.1 and above.

Hierarchy of VMware NSX V resources

      • NSX-V Manager
              • NSX-V Controller
                      • NSX-V Controller Cluster
                      • NSX-V Controller DataStore
                      • NSX-V Controller Virtual Machine
                      • NSX-V Transport Zone
                      • NSX-V Edge
                              • NSX-V Edge Firewall
                              • NSX-V Edge VNIC
              • NSX-V Logical Switches

Default monitoring configurations

VMware NSX-V have default Global Device Management Policies, Global Templates, Global Monitors and Global metrics in OpsRamp. Users can customize these default monitoring configurations as per their business use cases by cloning respective global templates and global Device Management Policies. OpsRamp recommends doing this activity before installing the application to avoid noise alerts and data.

  1. Default Global Device Management Policy

    OpsRamp has a Global Device Management Policy for each Native Type of VMware NSX-V. You can find these Device Management Policies at Setup -> Resources -> Device Management Policies -> Search with suggested names in global scope. Each Device Management Policy follows below naming convention:

    {appName nativeType - version}

    Ex: vmware-nsx-v NSX-V Edge Firewall - 2 (i.e, appName = vmware-nsx-v, nativeType = NSX-V Edge Firewall, version = 2)

  2. Default Global Templates available

    OpsRamp has a Global template for each Native Type of VMware NSX-V. You can find these templates at Setup -> Monitoring -> Templates -> Search with suggested names in global scope. Each template follows below naming convention:

    {appName nativeType 'Template' - version}

    Ex: vmware-nsx-v NSX-V Manager Template - 2(i.e, appName = vmware-nsx-v, nativeType = NSX-V Manager , version = 2)

  3. Default Global Monitors available

    OpsRamp has a Global Monitors for each Native Type which has monitoring support. You can find those monitors at Setup -> Monitoring -> Monitors -> Search with suggested names in global scope. Each Monitors follows below naming convention:

    {monitorKey appName nativeType - version}

    Ex: NSX-V Manager Monitor vmware-nsx-v NSX-V Manager 2(i.e, monitorKey = NSX-V Manager Monitor, appName = vmware-nsx-v, nativeType = NSX-V Manager, version = 2)

Configure and install the integration

  1. From All Clients, select a client
  2. Go to Setup > Integrations and Apps.
  3. Click Manage Apps.
    Notes:
    • If there are already installed applications, it will redirect to the INSTALLED APPS page, where all the installed applications are displayed.
    • If there are no installed applications, it will navigate to the ADD APP page.
  1. Click + ADD on the INSTALLED INTEGRATIONS page. The AVAILABLE INTEGRATIONS AND APPS page displays all the available applications along with the newly created application with the version.
    Note: You can even search for the application using the search option available. Also you can use the All Categories option to search.
  1. Click ADD in the VMware NSX-V application.
  2. In the Configurations page, click + ADD. The Add Configuration page appears.
  3. Enter the below mentioned BASIC INFORMATION:
FunctionalityDescription
NameEnter the name for the configuration.
NSX-V Manager IP Address/Host NameHost name or the IP address provided for the NSX-V.
Resource Instance NameEnter the resource instance name
PortAPI Port information
Note: By default 443 is added.
CredentialsSelect the credentials from the drop-down list.
Note: Click + Add to create a credential.

Notes:

  • By default the Is Secure checkbox is selected.
  • Select App Failure Notifications: if turned on, you will be notified in case of an application failure that is, Connectivity Exception, Authentication Exception.
  1. Select the below mentioned CUSTOM ATTRIBUTES:
FunctionalityDescription
Custom AttributeSelect the custom attribute from the drop down list box.
ValueSelect the value from the drop down list box.

Note: The custom attribute that you add here will be assigned to all the resources that are created by the integration. You can add a maximum of five custom attributes (key and value pair).

  1. In the RESOURCE TYPE section, select:
    • ALL: All the existing and future resources will be discovered.
    • SELECT: You can select one or multiple resources to be discovered.
  2. In the DISCOVERY SCHEDULE section, select Recurrence Pattern to add one of the following patterns:
    • Minutes
    • Hourly
    • Daily
    • Weekly
    • Monthly
  3. Click ADD.
  1. Now the configuration is saved and displayed on the configurations page after you save it. Note: From the same page, you may Edit and Remove the created configuration.
  2. Click NEXT.
  3. In the Installation page, select an existing registered gateway profile, and click FINISH.

The application is now installed and displayed on the Installed Integration page. Use the search field to find the installed application.

Modify the Configuration

View the VMware NSX-V details

The discovered resource(s) are displayed in Infrastructure > Resources. You can navigate to the Attributes tab to view the discovery details, and the Metrics tab to view the metric details for VMware NSX-V.

Resource Filter Input Keys

VMware NSX V application Resources are filtered and discovered based on below keys.

Resource TypeResource Type
All TypesresourceName
hostName
aliasName
dnsName
ipAddress
macAddress
os
make
model
serialNumber
NSX-V Managercapacity
majorVersion
metricKey
ntpServer
patchVersion
totalMemory
totalNoOfCPUs
totalStorage
NSX-V ControllermetricKey
version
NSX-V EdgedatacenterName
Edge Type
metricKey
Number of Application Profiles
Number of Pool Members
Number of Pools
numberOfConnectedVnics
numberOfDeployedVms
Number of Application Profiles
Load Balancer : Enabled
Number of virtualServer
NSX-V Edge FirewallmetricKey
Number of firewallRules
NSX-V Edge VNICmetricKey
NSX-V Controller Virtual MachinenodeId
objectTypeName
vsmUuid
NSX-V Controller ClusternodeId
objectTypeName
vsmUuid
NSX-V Controller DataStorenodeId
objectTypeName
vsmUuid
NSX-V Transport ZonemetricKey
NSX-V Logical SwitchesmetricKey

Supported Alert Custom Macros

Customize the alert subject and description with below macros then it will generate alert based on customisation.
Supported macros keys:

                                ${resource.name}

                                ${resource.ip}

                                ${resource.mac}

                                ${resource.aliasname}

                                ${resource.os}

                                ${resource.type}

                                ${resource.dnsname}

                                ${resource.alternateip}

                                ${resource.make}

                                ${resource.model}

                                ${resource.serialnumber}

                                ${resource.systemId}

                                ${parent.resource.name}

                                ${Custome Attributes in the resource}

Supported metrics for NSX-V

Metric NameMetric Display NameUnitsDescription
nsxv_manager_UsedCPUCapacityNSXV Manager Used CPU CapacityMHzThe amount of used CPU capacity on the VMware NSX Manager.
nsxv_manager_FreeCPUCapacityNSXV Manager Free CPU CapacityMHzThe amount of free CPU capacity on the VMware NSX Manager.
nsxv_manager_CPUUtilizationNSXV Manager CPU Capacity Utilization%The percentage of CPU capacity utilization on the VMware NSX Manager
nsxv_manager_CPUUsageIndicatorNSXV Manager CPU Usage IndicatorThe CPU utilization status on the VMware NSX Manager. Possible values: 0-Low, 1-High
nsxv_manager_UsedMemoryNSXV Manager Used MemoryMBThe amount of used memory on the VMware NSX Manager
nsxv_manager_FreeMemoryNSXV Manager Free MemoryMBThe amount of free memory on the VMware NSX Manager
nsxv_manager_MemoryUtilizationNSXV Manager Memory Utilization%The percentage of memory utilization on the VMware NSX Manager
nsxv_manager_UsedStorageNSXV Manager Used StorageGBThe amount of used storage on the VMware NSX Manager
nsxv_manager_FreeStorageNSXV Manager Free StorageGBThe amount of free storage on the VMware NSX Manager
nsxv_manager_StorageUtilizationNSXV Manager Storage Utilization%The percentage of storage utilization on the VMware NSX Manager
nsxv_manager_UpTimeNSXV Manager UpTimehThe appliance uptime.
nsxv_manager_ServerServiceStatusNSXV Edge VNIC Enable Send RedirectsThe status of services running on the VMware NSX Manager. Possible Values: 0-NOT_RUNNING, 1-RUNNING
nsxv_manager_VCenterConnectedNSXV Manager VCenter ConnectedThe vCenter Server connection status. Possible values: 0-False, 1-True
nsxv_controller_StatusNSXV Controller StatusThe status of the VMware NSX controller. Possible Values: 0-NOT_RUNNING, 1-RUNNING
nsxv_edge_EdgeStatusNSXV Edge EdgeStatusThe status of the edge. Possible Values: 1-GREEN, 2-YELLOW, 3-RED, 4-GREY
nsxv_edge_StateNSXV Edge StateThe state of the gateway. Possible Values: 1-Deployed
nsxv_edgeFirewall_TCPTimeoutCloseNSXV Edge Firewall TCP Timeout ClosesThe Edge Firewall configuration for TCP timeout to close.
nsxv_edgeFirewall_UDPTimeOutNSXV Edge Firewall UDP TimeoutsThe Edge Firewall configuration for UDP timeout.
nsxv_edgeFirewall_ICMPTimeOutNSXV Edge Firewall ICMP TimeoutsThe Edge Firewall configuration for ICMP timeout.
nsxv_edgeFirewall_ICMP6TimeOutNSXV Edge Firewall ICMP6 TimeoutsThe Edge Firewall configuration for ICMP6 timeout.
nsxv_edgeFirewall_IPGenericTimeOutNSXV Edge Firewall IP Genreric TimeoutsThe Edge Firewall configuration for IP generic timeout.
nsxv_edgeFirewall_TCPTimeoutOpenNSXV Edge Firewall TCP Timeout OpensThe Edge Firewall configuration for TCP timeout to open.
nsxv_edgeFirewall_TCPAllowOutofWindowPacketsNSXV Edge Firewall TCP Allow Out Of Window PacketsThe Edge Firewall configuration for TCP allows out of window packet status. Possible values: 0-False, 1-True.
nsxv_edgeFirewall_TCPPickOngoingConnectionsNSXV Edge Firewall TCP Pick Ongoing ConnectionsThe Edge Firewall configuration for TCP picks up ongoing connection status. Possible values: 0-False, 1-True.
nsxv_edgeFirewall_TCPSendResetForClosedVsePortsNSXV Edge Firewall TCP Send Reset For Closed Vse PortsThe Edge Firewall configuration for TCP sends reset for closed VSE ports status. Possible values: 0-False, 1-True.
nsxv_edgeVnic_EnableSendRedirectsNSXV Edge VNIC Enable Send RedirectsEnable state of redirects on VNIC. Possible values: 0-False, 1-True.
nsxv_edgeVnic_IsConnectedNSXV Edge VNIC Is ConnectedThe connection state of the VNIC. Possible values: 0-False, 1-True.
nsxv_edgeVnic_EnableProxyArpNSXV Edge VNIC Enable Proxy ArpEnabled state of proxy ARP on VNIC. Possible values: 0-False, 1-True.
nsxv_edgeVnic_MTUNSXV Edge VNIC MTUcountThe MTU on the VNIC.

Risks, Limitations & Assumptions

  • The metric can be used to monitor NSX-V resources and can generate alerts based on the threshold values.
  • Application can handle Critical/Recovery failure alert notifications for below two cases when user enables App Failure Notifications in configuration
    • Connectivity Exception
    • Authentication Exception
  • Application will not send any duplicate/repeat failure alert notification until the already existing critical alert is recovered.
  • Application cannot control monitoring pause/resume actions based on above alerts. Metrics can be used to monitor VMware NSX-V resources and can generate alerts based on the threshold values.
  • OpsRamp has provided 443 as default Port value for processing NSX-V Rest APIs. Users can modify this value from the application configuration page at any point of time if required.
  • Component level thresholds can be configured on each resource level.
  • No support of showing activity log and applied time.
  • No support for the option to get Latest snapshot metric.

VMware NSX-T