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October 29th, 2013 19:00

How is vCenter data collected for Foglight

I have some questions about how Foglight collects data from vCenter:

  1. I assume Foglight maintains it's own database correct?
  2. Foglight appears to only require a login to vCenter. Is it somehow using vCenter DB data or independantly gathering the data in real time?
  3. We are considering a vCenter rebuild with a new DB. If I had 4 months of Foglight data and started a vCenter rebuild, wIll that 4 months of data remain in tact and just append new data to it. I want to understand what I lose when I rebuild.

Product Information Version:​ ​5.6.7

Foglight​ Build: 5.6.7-201303161805-288890

Forge Version:5.6.7

Forge Build: 5.6.7-201303161805-288890

Forge UI Build: 5.6.7-201303092311-28

171 Posts

October 29th, 2013 22:00

  1. I assume Foglight maintains it's own database correct?
    1. We have our own database, which can be on MySql, MS SQL Server or Oracle
  2. Foglight appears to only require a login to vCenter. Is it somehow using vCenter DB data or independantly gathering the data in real time?
    1. We collect most of the data via the Realtime APIs (which do not hit the database) vs. the Historical APIs (which DO hit the database).  There are seperate calls that technically hit the database for inventory, events and topology, which we have to pull from time to time to know where things are.
  3. We are considering a vCenter rebuild with a new DB. If I had 4 months of Foglight data and started a vCenter rebuild, wIll that 4 months of data remain in tact and just append new data to it. I want to understand what I lose when I rebuild.
    1. It would create a new instance of vCenter, as the UUID on the vCenter itself and all of the VMs would be different.  We rely on the UUID in vCenter for uniqueness and a new install would change that for everything.

171 Posts

October 30th, 2013 12:00

For what we see from customers, it is a semi-common practice to move to a new vCenter vs. upgrade, with majority (albeit small) doing upgrades vs. new installs and migrations.  Unfortunately, any time you disconnect/drop a host and add it back in, it will create all new UUIDs for the VMs/objects, so that is the major pain.  That is just the way vCenter does things

If you install a new host and upgrade an existing DB, it should be fine, as long as the hostname matches the old one.

8 Posts

October 30th, 2013 12:00

Thanks for the information Thomas. With respect to UUID:

  • Rebuilding vCenter is a relatively common practice when changing Windows OS type or vSphere versions. Is this a common issue raised by Foglight end users? If you rely on historical data in your environment it seems like a bit of a kick in the nuts to have to start at 0 days after a new installation . Just wanting to make sure there is no way to avoid this scenerio during rebuild cycles.
  • What about if we were just reloading vCenter but connecting to an existing vCenter DB (which is more common), would the same apply? How would that affect the Foglight data considering you were saying that Foglight has seperate calls that technically hit the database for inventory, events and topology.
  • As far as the VMs, the individual VM UUIDs should not change as a result of a new vCenter build or new DB.
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