XenServer Monitoring

Skip Prerequisites, Web and LPAR2RRD tabs in case of configuring Virtual Appliance, Docker or a Container

  • LPAR2RRD can be hosted on any Unix or Linux Operating system
  • Perl: arbitrary version coming with the OS with some additional modules, more below
  • Apache or any other Web server
Skip it in case of configuring Virtual Appliance
HW sizing

User creation

  • create lpar2rrd user under root: 
    # useradd -c "LPAR2RRD user" -m lpar2rrd
  • Increase limits for user lpar2rrd and the WEB server user (under root)
    • AIX 
      # chdev -l sys0 -a maxuproc=2000
# chuser  nofiles=32768 data=-1  stack=-1 rss=-1 lpar2rrd
# chuser  data=-1  stack=-1 rss=-1 apache
    • Linux 
      # vi /etc/security/limits.conf

lpar2rrd        hard    stack           -1
lpar2rrd        soft    stack           -1
lpar2rrd        hard    data            -1
lpar2rrd        soft    data            -1
lpar2rrd        hard    nofile          32768 
lpar2rrd        soft    nofile          32768 
lpar2rrd        hard    nproc           5000
lpar2rrd        soft    nproc           5000

apache          hard    stack           -1
apache          soft    stack           -1
apache          hard    data            -1
apache          soft    data            -1
If you have already running STOR2RRD on the same host then skip to Web tab.

Linux RedHat, CentOS

  • RHEL 8: enable the codeready-builder-for-rhel-8-*-rpms repository 
    # ARCH=$( /bin/arch )
# subscription-manager repos --enable "codeready-builder-for-rhel-8-${ARCH}-rpms"
  • CentOS 8: enable the PowerTools repository 
    # yum config-manager --set-enabled PowerTools
or
# dnf config-manager --set-enabled powertools
    You can also just open /etc/yum.repos.d/CentOS-Linux-PowerTools.repo with a text editor and set enabled= to 1 instead of 0

  • RedHat, CentOS: all versions 
    # umask 0022 
# yum install perl rrdtool rrdtool-perl httpd mod_ssl
# yum install epel-release
# yum install perl-TimeDate perl-XML-Simple perl-XML-SAX perl-XML-LibXML perl-Env perl-CGI perl-Data-Dumper perl-LWP-Protocol-https perl-libwww-perl perl-Time-HiRes perl-IO-Tty
# yum install perl-PDF-API2 perl-JSON-XS
# yum install ed bc libxml2 sharutils
    Follow this for installing perl-PDF-API2 on RHEL/CentOS 8
    Note that rrdtool-perl and epel-release (this is necessary only for PDF reporting) might not be in your RedHat base repository especially for RHEL 6.x and olders.
    Install CentOS package instead rrdtool-perl-1.4.8-9.el7.x86_64.rpm and epel-release-7-11.noarch.rpm

Linux Debian, Ubuntu

    # umask 0022 
# apt-get install apache2 perl rrdtool ed bc
# apt-get install librrdp-perl libxml-sax-perl libxml-simple-perl libtimedate-perl libenv-sanctify-perl libcgi-pm-perl libdata-dumper-simple-perl libpdf-api2-perl libxml2-utils
# apt-get install liblwp-protocol-https-perl libcrypt-ssleay-perl libio-socket-ssl-perl libmozilla-ldap-perl libxml-parser-perl libjson-xs-perl

SuSE

    # zypper install rrdtool perl-rrdtool apache2
# zypper install perl-TimeDate perl-XML-Simple perl-XML-SAX perl-XML-LibXML perl-CGI perl-LWP-Protocol-https perl-libwww-perl perl-IO-Tty
# zypper install perl-PDF-API2 perl-JSON-XS
# zypper install ed bc libxml2-2 sharutils

AIX

Solaris

    # /opt/csw/bin/pkgutil -y -i pm_xml_simple pm_libxml_perl pm_xml_sax rrdtool

Troubleshooting

    If you get error durring device connection test or in error log like:
    • Missing LWP::Protocol::https
    • Connection reset by peer
    • SSL negotiation failed
    then follow this docu to fix it
Skip it in case of configuring Virtual Appliance
Optional configuration of authorization in Apache. You can proceed it after Apache access works without authorization prompt as per below cfg.

Apache download

  • Linux CentOS, RedHat 
    # yum install httpd
  • Linux Debian, Ubuntu 
    # apt-get install httpd

Apache configuration

Apache start / restart

    Command depends on Apache version, one of these should work: 
    # apachectl restart
# /opt/freeware/apache/sbin/apachectl restart
# /etc/init.d/httpd restart
# service apache2 restart
    If you have firewall enabled then enable LPAR2RRD communication by: 
    # firewall-cmd --add-service=http --permanent
# firewall-cmd --add-service=https --permanent
# firewall-cmd --add-port=8162/tcp --permanent

# firewall-cmd --reload

Test web pages

    Point your web browser to http://<your lpar2rrd host>/lpar2rrd/ as soon as you configure LPAR2RRD
    Do not forget to ensure that Apache starts after the OS reboot (there must be a starting script in /etc/rc.... )

Apache configuration per platform and version

  • Linux CentOS, RedHat


    Append at the end of /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf following 
    # vi /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf

AddHandler cgi-script .sh
# DocumentRoot  "/home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/www/"
Alias /lpar2rrd  "/home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/www/"
<Directory "/home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/www/">
    AllowOverride 
    Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
    Require all granted
</Directory>
# CGI-BIN
ScriptAlias /lpar2rrd-cgi/ "/home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd-cgi/"
<Directory "/home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd-cgi">
    AllowOverride 
    SetHandler cgi-script
    Options ExecCGI FollowSymLinks
    Require all granted
</Directory>

  • Linux Debian, Ubuntu : Apache2 (2.4+)


    Enable CGI-BIN and optionally even SSL if it is required 
    # a2enmod cgi
# a2enmod ssl
    Append this at the end of /etc/apache2/apache2.conf 
    # vi /etc/apache2/apache2.conf

AddHandler cgi-script .sh
Alias /lpar2rrd  "/home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/www/"
<Directory "/home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/www/">
    Options Indexes FollowSymLinks 
    Require all granted
</Directory>
# CGI-BIN
ScriptAlias /lpar2rrd-cgi/ "/home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd-cgi/"
<Directory "/home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd-cgi">
    AllowOverride None
    Options +ExecCGI +SymLinksIfOwnerMatch
    Require all granted
    SetHandler cgi-script
</Directory>

  • SuSE

    Append at the end of /etc/apache2/httpd.conf following 
    # vi /etc/apache2/httpd.conf

AddHandler cgi-script .sh
Alias /lpar2rrd  "/home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/www/"
<Directory "/home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/www/">
    Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
    Require all granted
</Directory>
# CGI-BIN
ScriptAlias /lpar2rrd-cgi/ "/home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd-cgi/"
<Directory "/home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd-cgi">
    AllowOverride None
    Options +ExecCGI +SymLinksIfOwnerMatch
    Require all granted
    SetHandler cgi-script
</Directory>

  • Apache 2.4+ generally


    Configure httpd.conf, it might be in different locations (depends of distribution)
    • /etc/httpd/httpd.conf
    • /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
    • /etc/opt/freeware/apache/httpd.conf (AIX)
    • /opt/freeware/etc/httpd/httpd.conf (AIX)
    • /opt/freeware/etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf (AIX)
    • /etc/apache2/apache2.conf

    1. Verify alias_module and cgi_module is loaded (uncommented it, the path can be different) 
      LoadModule alias_module /opt/freeware/lib/httpd/modules/mod_alias.so
LoadModule cgi_module /opt/freeware/lib/httpd/modules/mod_cgi.so
    2. cgi_module could depend on mpm_prefork_module like here.
      Allow it as well (uncomment it) and disable mpm_worker_module, mpm_event_module 
      LoadModule mpm_prefork_module /opt/freeware/lib/httpd/modules/mod_mpm_prefork.so
# LoadModule mpm_worker_module /opt/freeware/lib/httpd/modules/mod_mpm_worker.so
# LoadModule mpm_event_module modules/mod_mpm_event.so
<IfModule mpm_prefork_module>
     LoadModule cgi_module /opt/freeware/lib/httpd/modules/mod_cgi.so
</IfModule>
    3. Append this at the end of httpd.conf 
      AddHandler cgi-script .sh
Alias /lpar2rrd  "/home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/www/"
<Directory "/home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/www/">
    Options Indexes FollowSymLinks 
    Require all granted
</Directory>
# CGI-BIN
ScriptAlias /lpar2rrd-cgi/ "/home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd-cgi/"
<Directory "/home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd-cgi">
    AllowOverride None
    SetHandler cgi-script
    Options ExecCGI FollowSymLinks
    Require all granted
</Directory>
      Sometimes appears necessary to remove "Require all granted" lines in both directives.

  • Apache 1.3 - 2.3


    Configure httpd.conf, it might be in different locations (depends of distribution)
    • /etc/httpd/httpd.conf
    • /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf

    # vi /etc/opt/freeware/apache/httpd.conf

Alias /lpar2rrd  "/home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/www/"
<Directory "/home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/www/">
    Options Indexes FollowSymLinks 
    Order allow,deny
    Allow from all
</Directory>
# CGI-BIN
ScriptAlias /lpar2rrd-cgi/ "/home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd-cgi/"
<Directory "/home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd-cgi">
    AllowOverride None
    Options ExecCGI FollowSymLinks
    Order allow,deny
    Allow from all
</Directory>

  • SELinux changes


    You need to disable the SELinux service protection to be able to utilize basic web services.
    You must do it in case you get "(13)Permission denied:" in Apache error_log.
    You have 2 options:

    • Disable SELinux only for Apache 
      Step 1. Query for the Boolean value you need to change:
# getsebool -a | grep httpd_dis
  httpd_disable_trans --> off

Step 2. Disable the SELinux protection:
# setsebool -P httpd_disable_trans=1

Step 3. Verify that the Boolean has changed:
# getsebool -a | grep httpd_dis
  httpd_disable_trans --> on
    • Globally disable SELinux 
      # setenforce Permissive
# vi /etc/sysconfig/selinux
  SELINUX=disabled
XenServer and Citrix Hypervisor are supported

XenServer monitoring schema

Implementation is agent less, data sources:
  • performance data: XCP RRDD over XAPI (HTTP/HTTPS)
  • configuration data: OS commands via SSH

XenServer host connectivity

    Allow access from the LPAR2RRD host to all XenServer hosts ports 443 (HTTPS) and 22 (SSH)
    You might verify it manually like this for each host: 
    $ perl /home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/bin/conntest.pl 192.168.1.1 443
  Connection to "192.168.1.1" on port "443" is ok
$ perl /home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/bin/conntest.pl 192.168.1.1 22
  Connection to "192.168.1.1" on port "22" is ok

Users access

Create user account (preferably lpar2rrd) on each XenServer host.
  • The user account on your XenServer host must be allowed to read data from commands such as xe …-data-source-query
    The account should be assigned at least the Pool Admin role in XenServer's Role Based Access Control (RBAC).
    • If your setup has RBAC configured, create user account lpar2rrd and assign it the Pool Admin role.
    • If you are using XenServer Free edition or do not have RBAC configured, only root user has necessary privileges.

  • Exchange ssh-keys to all XenServer hosts.
    Run this on LPAR2RRD server for each host: 
    # su - lpar2rrd
$ ssh-copy-id xen-host1
  lpar2rrd@xen-host1's password: 

  Number of key(s) added: 1
  Now try logging into the machine, with:   "ssh 'xen-host1'"

$ ssh xen-host1
 xen-host1 $

Attach XenServer hosts

  • All is configured from the UI.
    XEN configuration

    XEN configuration1

  • Assure you have a cron jobs for XenServer in place (upgrade script might do it automatically)
    Skip it on the Virtual Appliance, it is already there. 
    $ crontab -l | grep "load_xenserver.sh"
$
    Add it if it does not exist like above 
    $ crontab -e

# XenServer support
0,20,40 * * * *  /home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/load_xenserver.sh > /home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/load_xenserver.out 2>&1
  • Wait 30 minutes and then go to the web UI: http://<your web server>/lpar2rrd/
    Use Ctrl-F5 to refresh the web browser cache.


Skip it in case of configuring Virtual Appliance

Install LPAR2RRD server

  • Download the latest LPAR2RRD server
    Upgrade your already running LPAR2RRD instance.

  • Install it: 
    # su - lpar2rrd
$ tar xvf lpar2rrd-7.XX.tar
$ cd lpar2rrd-7.XX
$ ./install.sh
$ cd /home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd
  • Schedule to run it from lpar2rrd crontab (it might already exist there)
    $ crontab -l | grep load.sh
$
    Add if it does not exist as above 
    $ crontab -e

# LPAR2RRD UI
0 * * * * /home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/load.sh > /home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/load.out 2>&1
    Assure there is just one such entry in crontab.

  • You might need to add lpar2rrd user into /var/adm/cron/cron.allow (/etc/cron.allow on CentOS 8) if crontab command fails
    Allow it for lpar2rrd user as root user. 
    # echo "lpar2rrd" >> /var/adm/cron/cron.allow
  • Assure you have a cron jobs for XenServer in place (upgrade script might do it automatically) Skip it on the Virtual Appliance, it is already there. 
    $ crontab -l | grep "load_xenserver.sh"
$
    Add it if it does not exist like above 
    $ crontab -e

# XenServer support
0,20,40 * * * *  /home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/load_xenserver.sh > /home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/load_xenserver.out 2>&1
  • Initial start from cmd line: 
    $ cd /home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd
$ ./load.sh
  • Go to the web UI: http://<your web server>/lpar2rrd/
    Use Ctrl-F5 to refresh the web browser cache.

Troubleshooting

  • If you have any problems with the UI then check:
    (note that the path to Apache logs might be different, search apache logs in /var) 
    tail /var/log/httpd/error_log             # Apache error log
tail /var/log/httpd/access_log            # Apache access log
tail /var/tmp/lpar2rrd-realt-error.log    # STOR2RRD CGI-BIN log
tail /var/tmp/systemd-private*/tmp/lpar2rrd-realt-error.log # STOR2RRD CGI-BIN log when Linux has enabled private temp
  • Test of CGI-BIN setup 
    umask 022
cd /home/lpar2rrd/lpar2rrd/
cp bin/test-healthcheck-cgi.sh lpar2rrd-cgi/
    go to the web browser: http://<your web server>/lpar2rrd/test.html
    You should see your Apache, LPAR2RRD, and Operating System variables, if not, then check Apache logs for connected errors