Logging for Intelligent Operations Management for VMware Cloud Foundation

After you implement the Intelligent Operations Management for VMware Cloud Foundation validated solution, by using VMware or third-party components, collect log data in a central place from the components that are newly-added to or re-configured in your VMware Cloud Foundation environment.

Prerequisites

Verify that VMware Aria Operations for Logs is deployed and operational in a logical environment in VMware Cloud Foundation mode using the corresponding VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle instance.

For validated logging solutions, see VMware Cloud Foundation Validated Solutions.

If VMware Aria Operations for Logs is integrated into your VMware Cloud Foundation system, the native integration to VMware Aria Operations for Logs from VMware Aria Operations provides the ability to send logs for aggregation and analysis.

You can use the installed by default VMware Aria Operations for Logs content pack for VMware Aria Operations for collecting logs from VMware Aria Operations .

When you deploy VMware Aria Operations by using VMware Aria Suite Lifecycle in VMware Cloud Foundation mode, SDDC Manager updates the VMware Aria Operations for Logsliagent.ini file and configures the VMware Aria Operations logging to VMware Aria Operations for Logs through the ingestion API.

Table 1. Design Decision on Logging for Intelligent Operations Management
Decision ID	Design Decision	Design Justification	Design Implication
IOM-VAOPS-LOG-001	Use the VMware Aria Operations for Logs content pack for VMware Aria Operations .	Provides additional granular monitoring on the virtual infrastructure. The content pack for VMware Aria Operations is installed by default in VMware Aria Operations for Logs.	None.
IOM-VAOPS-LOG-002	Configure the VMware Aria Operations for Logs agent for the VMware Aria Operations nodes to forward logs to VMware Aria Operations for Logs in their corresponding VMware Cloud Foundation instance.	Simplifies configuration of log sources in the SDDC that are prepackaged with the VMware Aria Operations for Logs agent.	You must configure the VMware Aria Operations for Logs agent to forward logs to the VMware Aria Operations for Logs VIP.
IOM-VAOPS-LOG-003	Configure VMware Aria Operations to send logs to the VMware Aria Operations for Logs cluster in the corresponding VMware Cloud Foundation instance.	Allows logs from VMware Aria Operations to be forwarded to a VMware Aria Operations for Logs cluster.	None.
IOM-VAOPS-LOG-004	Communicate with the VMware Aria Operations for Logs using the default Ingestion API (cfapi) port `9000`and `ssl=no`.	Supports disaster recovery of VMware Aria Operations in the SDDC. During the failover, the DNS records for VMware Aria Operations for Logs in Region A are updated to redirect to the instance in Region B to ensure the log collection remains operational. The `ssl=no` setting must be used when there is a certificate mismatch post failover.	Transmission traffic for logs is not encrypted.
IOM-VAOPS-LOG-005	Configure a dedicated Photon OS agent group and assign the VMware Aria Operations Cluster and VMware Cloud Proxy appliances FQDNs.	Provides a standardized configuration to all VMware Aria Operations for Logs agents in each of the groups. Defines the VMware Aria Operations for Logs agent configuration for log collection and parsing in the context of the SDDC components, such as specific log directories, files, and formats.	Adds minimal load to the VMware Aria Operations for Logs cluster.