Standalone Monitoring for vCenter VMs

To facilitate simpler virtual asset management, VMs that belong to a VMware vCenter server topology can be automatically added to up.time when that vCenter is added as an Element. The metrics used to monitor these VMs are collected by VMware vSphere. Despite this setup's simplicity, there may be cases where you would like the virtual machine to host the up.time Agent; doing so enables options that are not otherwise available. For example, via the up.time Agent, an Action Profile that performs self-healing steps can be used on a mission-critical VM.

In this type of scenario, you can, from up.time’s configuration perspective, "detach" a VM from the VMware vCenter hierarchy that was originally imported, in order to control it independently of the vCenter server. Once performed, this VM has been "promoted" to receive additional performance data delivered by the up.time Agent, or for Windows systems, via WMI.

Although the topology remains intact on the VMware vSphere side, from up.time’s perspective, the VM is a standalone Element.

If the VMware vCenter Server is configured for additional data collection (the Collect up.time Agent data option, found in Additional Agent or WMI Monitoring section of the VMware vCenter's General Information page, will be enabled), any VM that is part of a VMware vCenter inventory is automatically "promoted" to be independently monitored when either the up.time agent has been installed on it, or it is configured to use WMI for metrics retrieval.

This behavior is controlled by the additional data collection settings for the vCenter, which were first configured (or skipped) when the VMware vCenter server was first added to up.time. These additional data collection settings can be modified at any time, after which up.time will search for appropriate VMs.

The frequency at which up.time checks for agent-enabled VMs is based on the Rescan Time Interval setting, which by default, is every 180 minutes.

Configuring Standalone VM Candidacy Scanning

To configure the method with which up.time scans VMware vCenter server VMs for eligibility for standalone monitoring, do the following:

  1. In the My Infrastructure panel, click the gear icon beside the VMware vCenter server, then in the pop-menu, select View .
  2. On the VMware vCenter Element profile page, ensure the Info tab is selected.
  3. On the main profile page, locate the Additional Agent Monitoring section, then click Edit Settings .

  4. If desired, modify the Rescan Time Interval setting.

    When you change this interval, the previous one will first be completed before adjusting to the new one.

  5. Configure the data collection details with which candidate VMs will be configured to collect metrics:


    1. For the up.time agent, indicate the port on which it is listening, and whether it is securely communicating with up.time using SSL.

    2. For data collection via WMI, indicate the host and domain on which WMI has been implemented, and the username and password required for access.

      If a VM is detected to have both the up.time agent as well as WMI credentials, up.time will always mark the VM for standalone monitoring via the agent.

  6. Click Save .

Modifying Data Collection Details for an Existing Standalone VM

For individual VMs that were scanned and discovered using VMware vCenter standalone VM settings, you can make changes to their data collection method by doing the following:

  1. In the My Infrastructure panel, click the gear icon beside the WMI- or agent-based VM you wish to modify.
  2. In the pop-menu, select View .
  3. On the VM’s profile page, ensure the Info tab is selected.
  4. On the main profile page, in the Data Collection section, click Edit Collection Method.
  5. In the pop-up configuration window, modify the details for the existing data collection method for the VM:
  6. For the up.time agent, indicate the port on which it is listening, and whether it is securely communicating with up.time using SSL.
  7. For data collection via WMI, indicate the host and domain on which WMI has been implemented, and the username and password required for access.
  8. Click Save .
  9. When the pop-up window closes, you can make sure the settings you have provided are correct by clicking the Test button.

Detaching Ignored VMs

Any VM whose parent VMware vSphere object has been marked to be ignored cannot individually be added to the monitored list. (See Managing vCenter Inventories in up.time for more information.) In these cases, any ignored VM that is a candidate for standalone monitoring will be shown with an accompanying Enable Monitoring button, found on the VMware vCenter server’s Info page:

Enabling Standalone Monitoring on Ignored VMs

To remove an ignored VM from up.time’s mirrored inventory of the VMware vCenter server, do the following:

  1. Ensure the up.time agent has been installed on the VM Element, or that up.time is configured to use WMI as a data collection method for Windows-based Elements.
    For more information, see Configuring Global Data Collection Methods.
  2. In the My Infrastructure panel, click the gear icon beside the VMware vCenter server, then in the pop-menu, select View.
  3. On the VMware vCenter Element profile page, ensure the Info tab is selected.
  4. Click Inventory Detail.
  5. On the vCenter Inventory Detail page, from the Ignored Elements list, locate the VM Element you wish to enable for standalone monitoring.
    All VMs that are part of the VMware vCenter server’s inventory that are found to be eligible for standalone monitoring will be listed with a corresponding Enable Monitoring button.

  6. Click Enable Monitoring.

    Enabling standalone monitoring for a VM permanently detaches it from the VMware vCenter server’s configuration in up.time.

  7. Repeat these steps for each VM.

All VMs that have been detached for standalone monitoring will no longer appear in up.time as part of the VMware vCenter server’s inventory, or as a virtual machine, and will instead appear and report as a physical Element.

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