PRO-Enabled Management Packs

  • Article

The topics in this section explain the operations of PRO-enabled management packs that support Performance and Resource Optimization (PRO) in System Center 2012 – Virtual Machine Manager (VMM). The VMM monitoring pack includes PRO-enabled management packs that define the base classes that support PRO and provide monitors to optimize the performance of hosts and virtual machines leveraging dynamic memory technology.

  • System Center 2012 Virtual Machine Manager PRO Diagnostics

  • Virtual Machine Manager PRO Library

  • Virtual Machine Manager PRO V2 HyperV Host Performance

  • Virtual Machine Manager PRO V2 Library

All other PRO-enabled management packs are dependent on the System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 PRO Library management pack, version 3.0.6005.0 or later, which is part of the VMM monitoring pack.

Note

The Pro Diagnostics Target class is for internal use only. Do not attempt to use it or create a subclass of it.

The Pro V2 Base class is for internal use only, although its subclasses are available for use. Do not create your own subclass of this base class.

How PRO Works

Performance and Resource Optimization (PRO) is implemented in VMM through specially designed PRO-enabled management packs that define PRO classes and groups, and provide monitors that collect data about virtual machines, hosts, applications, and hardware to identify opportunities to optimize a virtualized environment.

Any Operations Manager alert that targets a PRO class will generate a PRO tip in VMM, which can include a script that performs a remedial action to return the virtualized environment to a healthy state. The remedial action can be implemented automatically or can be manually approved by in VMM.

VMM administrators view and implement PRO tips using the PRO Tips window in the VMM console. PRO tips are closed automatically and dismissed from the PRO Tips window when a monitored object returns to a healthy state.

The VMM administrator enables PRO for individual host groups, host clusters, and PRO-enabled objects, such as private clouds and services. Enabling PRO for a host group or cluster in turn enables PRO for the hosts and virtual machines within it. PRO tips can be implemented automatically or manually, and the VMM administrator can set the monitor and remediate properties of individual PRO monitors. These choices are implemented in the properties of individual host groups, host clusters, and PRO-enabled objects.

Types of PRO Tips

PRO-enabled management packs can define several types of PRO tips:

  • PRO tips for hosts

    PRO tips for hosts can recommend actions, such as migrating a virtual machine, to return a host to a healthy state based on resource usage or other performance and health measures on the host.

  • PRO tips for virtual machines

    PRO tips for virtual machines can recommend actions, such as a configuration update to return a virtual machine to a healthy state, based on resource usage or other performance and health measures in virtual machines.

  • PRO tips for VMM

    PRO tips can target Virtual Machine Manager to resolve issues that affect multiple VMM-managed computers throughout your virtualized environment. For example, a PRO tip that targets VMM might define a remediation action for an overheated blade chassis, for an issue with a distributed application, such as Microsoft Exchange, that is deployed on multiple physical computers, or for an issue with a storage array.

  • PRO tips for VMM Services

    PRO tips can target Virtual Machine Manager services and service tiers to resolve issues that affect service and/or tier instances. For example, a PRO tip that targets a service might define a remediation action for a service tier which initiates a tier scale-out action when the existing tier instances breach a particular performance threshold.

Enabling PRO for a specific host group or host cluster in turn enables PRO for each of the hosts, services, and virtual machines within them. Similarly, enabling PRO for a specific private cloud in turn enables PRO for each of the services and virtual machines within the private cloud. PRO tips can also be enabled for specific services or virtual machines in the PRO Configuration page of the object’s properties dialog box. PRO tips for Virtual Machine Manager are enabled through the PRO Configuration page of the VMM management server properties dialog box.

Tuning PRO Performance Thresholds

The following tables list the performance thresholds and sampling methods for the PRO monitors in the VMM monitoring pack.

Monitor Threshold Calculation Sampling Interval Calculation

Virtual Machine Manager Dynamic Memory VM Pressure

VM current memory / assigned memory

  • Warning Level – 80%

  • Critical Level – 100%

300 sec

Consecutive value of past 3 samples

Virtual Machine Manager Maximum Dynamic Memory Monitor

Sum of virtual machine configured maximum memory values

  • Warning Level – 125%

  • Critical Level – 150%

900 sec

Current sample

You can customize the warning and critical threshold for each PRO monitor in Operations Manager.