Monitor Clariion Performance

Analyzer is the product for the CLARiiON to monitor performance.

For the CX line, you could purchase navipshere enterprise and get Analyzer included.

I'm not sure if they changed this for the CX3.  I know the CX4 it's a separate product now and you can't get it at the super-discoutned price by upgrading from navi Departmental to Navi Enterprise.

You can check some basic performance statistics by enabling statistics logging.  It will tell you a little bit about what the CLARiiON is doing at that point in time, but won't give any historical information.

I have no idea what Navisphere would cost on a cx3-10, but that is their lowest end of the CX3 line, so it might be somewhat inexpensive.

Thanks!  Since the customer will ask, I will also - What, if any, risks are there in enabling the statistics logging?

Thanks for that info.  How does one go about getting naviseccli?

naviseccli can be downloaded from powerlink under software -> Navisphere Server Software

Statistics logging does create some overhead on your storage system.  It's not much.  If you're utilizing your storage system enough that enabling statistics logging is going to make a difference, then you'd probably already notice other performance issues.

I've never seen statistics logging hurt anything, so i always enable it on all of my arrays. I also keep analyzer running on all of my storage systems.

So, if I log in to Powerlink using the customer's account and do not see the option to download Navisphere Server Software, does that mean they would need to purchase something additional to use this?

First enable stats logging. On a CX300/500/700 this would typically cost about 3% performance and my guess is that on the CX3 and CX4 this is less than that (can anyone confirm this ?). For the rest there's no risk.

The cheapest way to incidently monitor performance is simply get the properties of the SP or LUN's and go to the stats page, but that's "realtime". If you want some history, Navisphere Analyzer is the way to go.

If you don't have access to Navisphere Server Software send an email to

powerlink@emc.com with your site ID and request it.

On PowerLink you can go to the specific site for CX4 and get the information about how to download software. The customer must register the software on PowerLink first in order to download updates or the software

https://support.emc.com/products/CLARiiONCX4

This is the location for the Navisphere CLI software:

Home >                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Support >                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Software Downloads and Licensing >                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Downloads J-O >                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Navisphere Server Software - this should list the different versions of CLI

For using Analyzer you can read the On-Line Help from Navisphere. Below is a short explaination about Analyzer and release 24 and higher - from KnowledgeBase article emc163368 - also see emc218359 for a complete listing of all support articles about Analyzer:

Starting in Release 24, Navisphere Analyzer is always installed in a basic  configuration. This is to allow service personnel to determine performance  problems without needing to install the Analyzer license or the Transient  Enabler. To determine if your array is using the licensed version, right click  on the array icon and Navisphere and select Properties. On the Properties page,  select the Software tab - if you have installed the licensed enabler for  Analyzer you should see Navisphere Analyzer listed.

If the array does not have the licensed Analyzer installed, the archive files  will be encrypted (.NAZ) and you will not be able to use the Real Time  monitoring function. When Analyzer is Enabled (licensed), the archive files will  be unencrypted (.NAR) and the Real-Time monitor is available (monitoring must be  started for Real-Time monitoring to work).

In the unlicensed version you can change the length of time that Analyzer  will run (set the Stop After from 1-7 days) or the Archive Interval (the default  is 120 seconds which means that the archive will hold about 5 hours of data). By  changing the Archive Interval you can collect data over a long period of time  (if the Archive Interval is set to 600 seconds the archive will hold about 26  hours of data) or a short period of time (Interval set to 60 seconds will create  an archive every 2.5 hours). The shorter interval will yield better data  (shorter time between data points) but impose more overhead on the array. The  longer interval is good for look at a full 24 hours of performance data.

In order for Analyzer to begin collecting archive data, you must "START" the  data logger from the Tools/Analyzer/Data  Logging screen. Unlike Release 19 where you just needed to  enable "Statistics Logging"  to start collecting performance data, you  must start the logger in Release 24 or later.

1. Go to the Analyzer/Data Logging screen, ensure that the correct array is  selected in the drop-down box at the top of the screen then select the Archive  Interval to best capture the time frame in question - use 60 second intervals  (2.5 hours of data) to collect the most detail or 120 seconds to collect a  longer time frame (5 hours of data).
    
2. Set Periodic Archiving if you need to run in automatic mode - good for  collecting over-night or over a number of days.
    
3. Select the Stop After button and select a number of days if you want  Analyzer to stop collecting after a certain number of days.
    
4. Click the Start button to start Analyzer.
    
5. When you have collected sufficient archives, then go to the  Tools/Analyzer/Archive/Retrieve screen (make sure you select the correct array).  There you should see all the archives currently stored on the array (there is a  button to switch between SPA and SPB - support will need the archives from both  storage processors). Select the archives that cover the time of the issue and  download to your workstation. From there you should upload the files to the  support case through Powerlink if these are needed for a performance  case.

See the Navisphere Online Help for additional information about using  Analyzer.