DELL APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure User Guide
- July 20, 2024
- Dell
Table of Contents
DELL APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure
Product Specifications
- Product: Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure
- Nodes: MC (multicloud) nodes
- Software: Dell APEX Cloud Platform Foundation Software
- Integration: Microsoft Windows Admin Center
Product Usage Instructions
Enabling Event Monitoring Feature
- Complete the prerequisites for monitoring Azure Stack HCI features.
- Enable the Event Monitoring for Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure feature by following the instructions in the manual.
- Select the feature name “Event Monitoring for Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure” from the Overview tab to open the workbook.
Data Collection
Once the Event Monitoring feature is enabled, Insights will start collecting data from the following source:
- Data Source: Custom Windows Event Channel
- Data: Microsoft-Windows-Hyper-V-Dell-APEXCP/Admin
Workbook Structure
The workbook for Event Monitoring consists of two tabs:
- Overview Tab: Provides a brief description of the workbook.
- Health Tab: Organized into three sections – Overview, Nodes, and Alerts. Each section visually represents events across the selected cluster with data scoped to the chosen time range.
Health Tab Sections:
- Time Range Drop-down Menu: Allows selecting a specific time range to display events on all MC nodes for that period.
- Overview: Displays tiles showing the number of events by severity (Critical, Warning, Information) for all MC nodes within the selected time range.
FAQ
- What data is collected by the Event Monitoring feature?
- The Event Monitoring feature collects event data from MC nodes and Cloud Platform Manager VM running on a Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure cluster.
Introduction
Event Monitoring for Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure
Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure is a turnkey on-premises infrastructure platform collaboratively engineered between Dell and Microsoft to optimize Azure hybrid cloud operations. This platform empowers organizations to unlock innovation through extensive integrations, automation, and a consistent Azure experience across their IT environments.
On each Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure, cluster nodes are referred to as MC (multicloud) nodes. Additionally, each cluster runs the Dell APEX Cloud Platform Foundation Software in a Cloud Platform Manager VM. This software is responsible for communicating with the underlying infrastructure and integrating automation workflows into Microsoft Windows Admin Center.
You can visualize event and informational event data generated by the MC node hardware and the Cloud Platform Manager VM using an Insights for Azure Stack HCI workbook. You simply need to enable the Event Monitoring for Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure feature.
Follow these steps to enable the Event Monitoring for Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure feature. This feature is only available for Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure:
- You must complete the Prerequisites before you can use Insights for monitoring Azure Stack HCI features.
- Enable the Event Monitoring for Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure feature. For instructions, see Enable monitoring for a feature.
- Select the feature name Event Monitoring for Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure from the Overview tab to open the workbook.
Once Event Monitoring for Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure feature is enabled for a cluster you will have access to the Multi Cluster workbook, which provides the capability to monitor the fleet of clusters where Event Monitoring feature is enabled.
What data is collected
Once you enable the Event Monitoring for Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure feature, Insights starts collecting the following data:
| Data Source | Data |
|---|---|
| Custom Windows Event Channel | Microsoft-Windows-Hyper-V-Dell-APEX- CP/Admin |
The Microsoft-Windows-Hyper-V-Dell-APEX-CP/Admin custom windows event channel collects event data from the MC nodes and Cloud Platform Manager VM running on a Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure cluster.
Single Cluster Workbook
- The workbook for Event Monitoring for Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure consists of two tabs, as described below.
Overview Tab
- This tab provides a brief description of the workbook.
Health Tab
This tab is organized into three sections: Overview, Nodes and Alerts. Each section gives a visual representation that highlights the collective events occurring across the selected Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure cluster. The data displayed in each section will be scoped to the selected time range.
Time Range drop-down menu
- Allows the user to select a specific time range to show the events that occurred on all the MC nodes for the cluster for that period.
Overview
- Displays tiles showing the number of events by severity (Critical, Warning and Information) for all the MC nodes within the selected time range.
Nodes
- The Nodes section displays a grid showing the health status and other relevant information for each MC node in the cluster.
- The Search bar can be used to filter the information based on a given search term.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Cluster Name | Name of the Cluster |
Node Name
|
Name of the Node
Last Updated
|
Time when node was last contacted
Health Status
|
Health Status reflects the health of each Node for the
selected time range (Critical, Warning, Information, Healthy)
Node State
|
State of the Node (Up, Down, In maintenance, Joining)
Uptime
|
Uptime for the Node
Site
|
Site Details
Domain Group
|
Domain Group
Events
The Events section displays a grid showing information on all the events generated by all MC nodes in the cluster during the selected time range.
| Column | Description |
|---|
Node Name
|
Name of the Node
Severity
|
Severity of the Event (Critical, Warning, Info)
Event Code
|
Code for the Event
Reported Time
|
Time of the Event Reported to the Azure Portal
Event Time
|
Time of the Event
Short Description
|
Short Description for the Event
Component
|
Component on which the Event occurred (Cluster, Node, Connectivity,,,)
Sub Component
|
Sub component on which the Event occurred (CPU, Memory, Disk…)
---|---
Service Tag
|
Service Tag
Knowledgebase
|
KB article link if available
Acknowledged
|
Acknowledgement status of the Event (true, false)
Multi Cluster Workbook
The Multi Cluster workbook for Event Monitoring for Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure consists of four tabs, as described below.
Overview Tab
- This tab provides a brief description of the workbook.
Cluster Health Tab
This tab is organized into two sections: Overview and Cluster. Each section gives a visual representation that highlights the collective events occurring across all the Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure clusters. The data displayed in each section will be scoped to the selected time range, allowing you to focus on the desired timeframe.
| Column | Description |
|---|
Cluster Name
|
Name of the Cluster
Last Updated
|
Time when the Cluster was last contacted
Total Nodes
|
Total Number of nodes in the Cluster
Health Status|
Health Status reflects the health of cluster for the selected time range (Critical, Warning, Information, Healthy)
Note : When using the Health Status, it’s important to keep in mind that the displayed status can show Critical or Warning within the selected time range, even if the event has been cleared by a subsequent Clear info event. This occurs because the workbook provides a snapshot of past events. You need to take into account any subsequent Clear events that may have occurred after the selected time range
Site
|
Site Details
Domain Group
|
Domain Group
Node Health Tab
This tab is organized into two sections: Overview and Node, in this view the cluster can be expanded to view the overview of events on all the nodes within the cluster. Each section gives a visual representation that highlights the collective events occurring across all the Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure cluster. The data displayed in each section will be scoped to the selected time range.
| Column | Description |
|---|
Cluster>Node
|
Name of the Cluster and Node
Last Updated
|
Time when node was last contacted
Health Status
|
Health Status reflects the health of each Node for the selected time range (Critical, Warning, Information, Healthy)
Node State
|
State of the Node (Up, Down, In maintenance, Joining)
Uptime
|
Uptime for the Node
Site
|
Site Details
Domain Group
|
Domain Group
Event Tab
This tab is organized into two sections: Overview and Events, the details about the event can be seen in the event section. Each section gives a visual representation that highlights the collective events occurring across all the Dell APEX Cloud Platform for Microsoft Azure cluster. The data displayed in each section will be scoped to the selected time range.
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Cluster Name | Name of the Cluster |
| Node Name | Name of the Node |
| Severity | Severity of the Event (Critical, Warning, Info) |
| --- | --- |
| Event Code | Code for the Event |
| Reported Time | Time of the Event Reported to the Azure Portal |
| Event Time | Time of the Event |
| Short Description | Short Description for the Event |
| Component | Component on which the Event occurred (Cluster, Node, |
Connectivity,,,)
Sub Component| Sub component on which the Event occurred (CPU, Memory, Disk…)
Service Tag| Service Tag
Knowledgebase| KB article link if available
Acknowledged| Acknowledgement status of the Event (true, false)