The following guide will show you how to monitor a website, monitor IP addresses and URLS, and monitor a URL with ports using vRealize Operations Manager EPOPs agent.

How to Monitor a Website

In this example we will monitor a URL remotely.  The agent does not need to be installed on the remote site we want to monitor, however a monitoring server that has the agent installed is required.

1. Click on Environment > Remote Checks
2. Select Actions > Monitor this Object Remotely
3. Fill in the following
   1. Enter a Display Name
   2. Select the Agent for a monitoring server (this can be different than the server we want to monitor)
   3. Change the Check Method to HTTP Check
   4. Type in the URL
   5. Click on OK when completed
4. It is now ready to be added to a Scoreboard widget

   

5. Once configured it should look like the following

   

How to monitor if a Server is down via ICMP

In this example we will monitor ICMP to check if a Server is down.

1. Click on Environment > Remote Checks
2. Select Actions > Monitor this Object Remotely
3. Fill in the following
   1. Enter a Display Name
   2. Select the Agent for a monitoring server (this can be different than the server we want to monitor)
   3. Change the Check Method to ICMP Check
   4. Type in the Hostname (this is the server we want to monitor, this server must have the EP agent installed)
   5. Change the Collection Interval to 1 Minute
   6. Click on OK when completed
4. It is now ready to be added to a Scoreboard widget
5. Once configured it should look like the following

   

How to Monitor a URL with a Port using TCP

In this example we will monitor the vSphere 5 Web Client that uses port number 9443. The agent does not need to be installed on the remote site we want to monitor, however a monitoring server that has the agent installed is required.

1. Click on Environment > Remote Checks
2. Select Actions > Monitor this Object Remotely
3. Fill in the following
   1. Enter a Display Name
   2. Select a server with an Agent installed (does not have to be the same server)
   3. Change the Check Method to TCP Check
   4. Type in the Hostname
   5. Type in the Port Number
   6. Click on OK when completed

4. It is now ready to be added to a Scoreboard widget

vRealize Operation Manager EPOPs adapter allows you to monitor application level processes such as Webpages, Services, Databases, etc. Instructions on how to monitor URLS, services, and databases can be found on this site. However creating it is easy but there isn’t a delete button anywhere to be found. This guide will show you how to delete any agents and remove any of the custom monitoring you have created using the EPOPs adapter.

1. Go to Environments > EP Ops Adapter and locate the name of the EP Ops object you want to delete. In this example we chose a HTTP Check that we custom created. Note the name of the object.

    

2. Click on Administration > Inventory Explorer

    

3. Type in the name of the Object in the search bar, highlight the object that was found and then click on the to delete the object permanently

    

4. Click on Yes on the prompt to delete it permanently

   

    

5. Go back to Environments to verify that it is now deleted.

    

6. This process works for any EP Ops object including agents, Windows Services, etc.

In my earlier post I have written how to monitor Window Services and Processes. Monitoring SQL Databases are just as important in my opinion. This guide covers where to download the SQL plugin, how to install the plugin, how to monitor SQL database, and then how to add it to a dashboard.

How to Install SQL End-Point Plugins

In this example we will install a SQL Plugin to allow us to monitor SQL. The SQL server must have the EP Ops Agent installed.

1. Download the EPO Adapter for SQL Server on Solution Exchange here
2. Click on Administration à Solutions à
   
3. Click on Browse
4. Browse for the EPOP Plugin and click on Open
   
5. Check both check boxes and then click on Upload
6. Wait till it is fully uploaded and click on Next
7. Accept the License agreement and click on Next
8. Wait till the installation is complete and then click on Finish
9. Go to Content à Plug-ins and verify that the plugin is installed and Online

How to Monitor SQL Databases

In this example we will monitor the SQL Database for availability.

1. Click on Environment à All Objects
2. Expand MSSQL and MSSQL Database, make sure you see SQL Instances and SQL Databases
3. The bottom example shows how to monitor a single database using a Scoreboard widget
4. The scoreboard should look like below

The release of VMware vRealize Operation Manager 6.1 introduced End-Point Operations (EPOps) Agents that allow you to monitor services, processes, URLs, etc.  You can also expand this by adding additional EPO adapters to monitor SQL, Active Directory, vCenter, and more.  Below are shortcuts to the EPO packs.

EPO – Active Directory

• Solution Exchange Page
• v1.0 User Guide
• v1.0 Release Notes

EPO – Apache Tomcat

• Solution Exchange Page
• v1.0 User Guide

EPO – vCenter Self-Monitoring

• Solution Exchange Page
• v1.1 User Guide
• v1.1 Release Notes

EPO – MS SQL Server

• Solution Exchange Page
• v1.0 User Guide
• v1.0 Release Notes

EPO – PostgreSQL

• Solution Exchange Page
• v1.0 User Guide

In this example we will monitor a process such as command prompt. Note the EPO agent must be installed on the server before you can begin this process.

1. First we will need to get the process name. Login to the server and run command prompt

   

    

2. Start Task Manager so we can get the name of the process

   

    

3. Click on Process and notice the name of the Command Prompt process (cmd.exe)

   

    

4. Login to vROPs and click on Environment > Operation Systems

   

    

5. Select the following
   1. Expand Operation Systems World > Windows > and select your device
   2. Click on Actions
   3. Click on Monitor OS Object
   4. Click on Monitor Processes

      

       

6. Input the following
   1. Enter a display name
   2. Type in Exe.Name.ct=cmd.exe in the process.query field
   3. Click on OK

      

       

   4. It is now ready to be added to a scoreboard

The following steps will allow you to monitor any Window Service using the built-in EPO adapter in vROPs 6.1. The EPO agent must be previously installed and communication with vROPs.

1. Login to vROPs and click on Environment > Operation Systems

   

    

2. Select the following
   1. Expand Operation Systems World > Windows  and select your device
   2. Click on Actions
   3. Click on Monitor OS Object
   4. Click on Monitor Windows Service

      

       

3. Logon to your Windows Server and find the Service name of the service you want to monitor

   

    

4. Enter the display name and the service name and click on OK

   

    

5. Expand your machine and you should now see your monitored service. Highlight the service and click on Troubleshooting > All Metrics > Resource Availability to see if any data is collected

    

6. It is now ready to be added to a scoreboard
   1. Select Adapter types > EP Ops Adapter
   2. Look for the service we created and select it
   3. Expand Availability and select Resource Availability and click on Save

      

       

7. You should now see a nice scoreboard like below.

   

Below are instructions on how to install and configure the End Point Operations Agent on a Windows Server.

1. Go to VMware.com and download the endpoint agents under vRealize Operation Manager 6.1 download

   

1. Console to the server you want to monitor and Run the installer as administrator

   

    

2. Click on Next

   

    

3. Enter the vROPS server address and click on Next

   

4. The next step requires a Certificate thumbprint. Open a browser a and go to https://{FQDN-vROPS}/admin and log in as admin

    

5. Click on the certificate icon in the top right corner

   

    

6. Copy the thumbprint

   Note: Unless you replaced the original certificate with a custom certificate, the second thumbprint in the list is the correct one. If you did upload a custom certificate, the first thumbprint in the list is the correct one.
   

    

7. Now go back to our setup page and paste the thumbprint and click on Next

   

    

8. Login as Admin and click on Next

   

    

9. Click on Next

   

    

10. Click on Next and let the install start and complete

    

     

11. Check to make sure the service is Started