Commvault

Console Tools - CommCell® Console

Owned by Carl Brault (Unlicensed)
Last updated: Nov 30, 2021 by tdopko@commvault.com (Unlicensed)
9 min read

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Monitoring Overview

Commvault® software provides valuable monitoring resources that are accessible from the CommCell® console, Commvault Command CenterTM, and Web console. These resources allow administrators to have a complete view of the entire CommCell environment at their fingertips.

The CommCell® console monitoring resources:

  • Storage usage views
  • Resource status views
  • Job Controller
  • Event Viewer
  • Alerts
  • Reports




Storage Usage Views

Storage views determine how much disk capacity is being used by protected data. The Deduplication Engine view, determines how much capacity is used based on all storage policies associated with the engine.

Disk Library Summary View

The disk library summary view is accessed in the Storage Resource section. When the library is clicked, the mount paths are displayed in the summary window. Information including the status of mount paths, the total disk capacity, and the free space is provided.




To view mount path status

1 - Expand Libraries | Click the disk library.

2 - The display window shows the status of mount paths, such as ready or offline including capacity and free space.

3 - Export information to a report in a PDF, XLS or MHTML format. Insert shows sample view of output.



4 - Click to expand graphical view of mount path usage.

5 - Displays the capacity of each mount path and free space.



6 - Click to expand graphical view of data written by policy copies.

7 - The image shows details of content by Policy copy set.

8 - To display additional details of the protected jobs , click on a section of the pie chart.


Disk Usage Tab of a Disk Library

The Disk Usage tab of a disk library properties provide information about space usage and deduplication performances.


The Disk Usage tab information is divided in three sections:

  • Disk Space Utilization – Provides information on space consumed and space left.
  • Disk Space Savings – Provides the total amount of application data that is protected for all backups, compared to the amount of data that is physically written in the library. By this information, the performance of deduplication is illustrated. It also provides the amount of data that is non-deduplicated.
  • Average Daily Disk Consumption – Gives the daily average of space consumption and compares it to the daily average of space released by aging obsolete data. If more space is consumed daily than released, the library will fill up at some point. Based on these metrics, this section estimates and displays the expected date on which the library will be filled.




To view disk library properties

1 - Expand Storage Resources | Libraries | Right-click the library | Select Properties from the menu.

2 - On the Disk Usage tab, this section displays current space usage.

3 - This section displays deduplication efficiency in the storage location.

4 - Shows daily average for new space consumption and data aging space freeing up.


Engine Views

The Deduplication Engine view, under Storage Resources in the CommCell browser® provides information about the Deduplication Engine performance. Information such as the amount of data protected vs. the amount of data written, the number of unique blocks in the deduplication store, the amount of records pending deletion and the average query and insert (Q&I) time are important to properly monitor deduplication health of a CommCell® environment.

Key points to deduplication monitoring:

  • A Deduplication Database (DDB) with an average Q&I time over 2000 microseconds should be investigated as it may be indicative of performance issues which could impact backup jobs, auxiliary copy jobs and data aging.
  • A DDB or DDB partition getting close to 750,000,000 unique blocks may represent a partition reaching its capacity. Overtime, the DDB partition performances will degrade, impacting all deduplicated operations. If a DDB is near this limit, a call should be placed with support to ensure performances are adequate.
  • A DDB with an excessive number pending delete records that increases each day may be indicative of either an underperforming DDB, or an operation window blackout period not providing enough time for the DDB to purge obsolete records.




To validate deduplication database performances

1 - Expand Storage Resources | Deduplication Engines | Select and expand a Deduplication policy | Expand the DDB display and click on a ddb partition.

2 - The Properties section displays information about the DDB partition including information on the last DDB backup time.

3 - Displays the response time of the database for queries and inserts.

4 - Click to export DDB partition information. Details can be exported to PDF, XLS and MHTML formats.

5 - Additional information of the deduplication partition including graphs and statistics can be viewed in the details pane.



6 - Details of the deduplication engine including graphs and statistics can be viewed in the details pane.

7 - Graph displays unique and  secondary blocks. Includes pending delete records.

8 - Options to adjust view of graph.



Device Status View

The Resource status view displays readiness status for storage components within the CommCell® environment.

Resource status view is used for the following:

  • MediaAgent status – online or offline (pause)
  • Library status – online or offline (pause)
  • Tape Drive status – online, offline, and jobs currently running and tape barcode label




To view storage resource status

1 - Expand Storage Resources | click Libraries to expand container.

2 - Displays the status of all libraries.



3 - Clicking a tape library MasterPool displays the status of all tape drives.

4 - Clicking a disk library displays the status of all its mount paths.



Job Controller

The Job Controller in the CommCell® console is used to manage all active jobs within the CommCell® environment. Regardless of which method is used to initiate a job (schedule, on demand or script), the job will appear in the Job Controller. The Job Controller is the most effective tool within the CommCell® console for managing and troubleshooting active jobs.

Job Details

Right-click job | Details or double-click job

Details for specific jobs are used to provide information on job status, data path, media usage or job errors.

 



To view job details

1 - Right-click on job and select Detail or double-click on job.

2 - Details for job can be viewed including general information, progress, streams and media usage.



Event Viewer

The Event Viewer window displays events reported based on conditions within the CommCell® environment. By default, the event viewer displays the most recent 200 events. This number can be increased up to 1,000. The event log maintains up to 10,000 events or 7 days of events. These default settings can be modified.

Filter the Event Viewer

Double-down arrow | Filter | Select field down-arrow and select the appropriate filter

The Event Viewer can be filtered based on the available fields. Although some filters, such as 'Date' does not have a practical application, other fields such as 'Computer,' 'Program' or 'Event code' can be used to quickly locate specific events.




To set Event Viewer filters

1 - Click double-down arrows (chevron) to expand Event Viewer menu.

2 - Select filter to enable Event Viewer filtering.

3 - Filter fields using the drop-down arrow and define filter criteria.


Search Event Log

Right-click in Event Viewer | Search Events

Although only 200 to 1,000 events are displayed in the event viewer, the entire event log can be searched from the event viewer. The default total number of events retained is 10,000.

When right-clicking anywhere in the event viewer, select the option to search events. Events are searched by time range, severity and job ID. If common searches are frequently conducted, the search criteria can be saved as a query and run at any time.




To search event log

1 - Right-click | select search events from menu

2 - Define search criteria to display all relevant events in the event log.

3 - Check to save the query to run it as needed.

4 - Once search criteria is entered click OK to view results.


Set Event Log Retention

From the Home tab | Click Control Panel | Configure | System

By default, the event log retains 10,000 events or 7 days of events. When the event logs reach their upper limit, the oldest events are pruned from the event logs.




To set event log retention

1 - Toolbar home menu | control panel.

2 - In CommCell category click system.

3 - Event retention criteria settings for number and age of events.

4 - CommServe database volume free space checks.

5 - Click OK to save changes, else click cancel.



Metrics Reporting

Metrics Reporting is a tool that monitors and reports on the health of the CommCell® environment and stores the information either in a private Metrics Reporting server, or on Commvault® Cloud metrics services. Once the information is stored, a broad range of reports and dashboards are available through a portal to help an administrator monitor the CommCell® environment.

Configure Metrics Reporting

To use the private server, the Metrics Reporting component must be selected when installing the CommServe® server. Enabling the 'private' or 'cloud' Metrics Reporting is achieved from the Control Panel.




To enable private metrics reporting

1 - From the Home menu | Control Panel.

2 - Choose Private Metrics Reporting.

3 - Collects information about the wellness of the CommCell® environment.

4 - Collects information about job success, client size and errors.

5 - Collects information about CommCell settings.

6 - Collects information about data sizes used for billing.

7 - Manually initiates the upload of information to the Metrics server.



To enable cloud metrics reporting

1 - From the Home menu | Click Control Panel.

2 - Choose Cloud Metrics Reporting.

3 - Collects information about the wellness of the CommCell® environment.

4 - Collects information about job success, client size and errors.

5 - Collects information required to create the pre-upgrade report.

6 - Collects log files to help troubleshooting by Support Team.

7 - Manually initiates the upload of information to the cloud Metrics services.



8 - Additional configuration settings to include time of data collection, upload frequency and Client computer groups to monitor.

9 - Advanced setting to upload Audit and other information for chargeback and billing.

10 - Click OK to apply settings and close window.



CommCell® Health Status Dashboard

When metrics reporting is configured and information has been uploaded, a health status dashboard is available for the CommCell® environment. It provides a wide range of information on the health of the environment. Many sections can be clicked to drill-down to more detailed information.




To view the CommCell® Health Status Dashboard

1 - Displays information on the health status of the CommCell®. To access, open a supported browser and use the URL - http://cloud.commvault.com.


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