# VMWare vCenter Monitoring VMWare vCenter is the centralized management platform for vSphere environments, providing a single point of control to monitor the availability and performance of virtualized environments in both cloud and on-prem environments. Monitoring VMWare vCenter servers helps ensure availability, maintain performance, and optimize resource utilization. Effective monitoring allows administrators to proactively identify and address potential issues before they impact end-users, such as hardware failures, network bottlenecks, or storage constraints. ### Prerequisites Before configuring a vCenter server for monitoring in IT-Conductor, follow the instructions below. #### Account Requirements 1. Create a new vCenter server monitoring account. 2. Grant the user with at least a Read-Only role. {% hint style="info" %} **Note:** Perform these steps on the vCenter server to be monitored. {% endhint %} ### Configure vCenter Server Monitoring in IT-Conductor To configure vCenter server monitoring in IT-Conductor, follow the instructions below. #### Add New vCenter Server 1. Visit [service.itconductor.com](https://service.itconductor.com/) and enter your login credentials. 2. Navigate to **Dashboards → Administrator** to access the **Administrator's Dashboard**. 3. Locate the **VMware vCenter Servers** actions panel and click the title to access the complete list.

Figure 1: VMWare vCenter Servers Actions Panel in Administrator's Dashboard

4. Click

to start adding a new server instance for monitoring.

Figure 2: VMWare vCenter Servers Actions Panel Page

5. Fill out all the necessary information in the **New vCenter Instance** wizard. Once completed, click

to add the server instance.

Figure 3a: New vCenter Instance Wizard (New vCenter Server Screen)

* **Description** - refers to any relevant information about the server instance being added. * **Organization** - refers to an administrative structure that defines objects with a common goal or purpose. If you previously created an organization, please select it. * **Role -** refers to the environment where the server instance will be used. * **Site** - refers to a logical object that describes a particular area or location, depending on the context in which it is used. * **Gateway** - allows communication between the customer's site network and the IT-Conductor cloud platform. See [Gateway Setup](https://docs.itconductor.com/user-guide/setup/gateway-setup) for more details. * **Scheme** - refers to the communication protocol used to connect to the vCenter server. * **Host** - refers to the hostname or IP address where the vCenter server is deployed. * **Connect Timeout** - refers to the maximum time that IT-Conductor will wait while attempting to connect to the vCenter server. * **Enforce Certificate** - refers to a security setting that requires IT-Conductor to verify the SSL certificate of the vCenter server. 6. Provide the account information in the **New Account** screen and click

to complete the configuration.

Figure 3b: New vCenter Instance Wizard (New Account Screen)

* **Description** - refers to any relevant information about the user account being added. * **Application** - refers to the name given to the server instance being added. * **Person** - refers to the name of the user who is adding the server instance. * **User Name** - refers to the user created aligned with the [Account Requirements](#account-requirements). * **Password** - refers to the password of the previously created user. * **Re-type Password** - refers to the same password provided in the **Password** field. 7. Verify if the server was added to the **VMware vCenter Servers** actions panel and check its status. {% hint style="info" %} **Note:** The status will remain on **Ready** for a few minutes. Refresh the panel if needed. If there are configuration issues, such as incorrect connection parameters or an invalid account, the status will remain **Ready**. Click ![](https://377464071-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FXhp08OmU8050PePmMgDt%2Fuploads%2FgP45IvGAMdSnNh3vMs3J%2Ferrors-log-icon.gif?alt=media\&token=d1beab54-2391-4a94-895c-c4b72c9afe20) to display the logs and troubleshoot. If everything is configured correctly, the status will change to **In Progress.** {% endhint %} 8. Navigate to the service grid and verify if the server was added under the **vCenter Servers** node**.** {% hint style="info" %} **Note:** The server will appear in the service grid within 5-15 minutes. {% endhint %} ### Monitor vCenter Server in IT-Conductor To view the availability and performance metrics of a vCenter server and its hosts, locate the **vCenter Servers** node in the service grid.

Figure 4: vCenter Servers Node View in Service Grid

#### vCenter Server Key Metrics * **Availability** - refers to the operational state and accessibility of the server instance. * **Connection Failures** - refer to the events where attempts to establish a connection are unsuccessful. * **Heartbeat** - refers to the periodic signal sent to the server, enabling real-time detection of server downtime. * **Missing Account** - refers to the absence of a required user account or resource within the server instance. * **Retriever Failures** - refer to the errors or issues encountered during the retrieval process of essential data or information within the server instance. #### VM Hosts Key Metrics * **Power State** - refers to the operational status of the virtual machine (VM) host. * **Guest State** - refers to the status of the operating system running inside the VM host. {% hint style="info" %} **Note:** All metrics will not show data when a server or a host is unavailable. {% endhint %} To access a historical view of each of these metrics, click

and a pop-up chart will be displayed.

Figure 5: Guest State & Power State Monitoring Charts in Service Grid

#### Datastores Datastores are storage containers that provide the underlying storage infrastructure for VM hosts. To see more information about a specific datastore, click

. To access the historical view of its storage utilization, click