Statistic collection intervals determine the frequency at which statistic queries occur, the length of time statistical data is stored in the database, and the type of statistical data that is collected. You can view the collected statistics through the performance charts in the vSphere Client or through command-line monitoring utilities.

Note: Not all interval attributes are configurable.

Prerequisites

Required privilege: Performance.ModifyIntervals

Procedure

  1. In the vSphere Client, navigate to the vCenter Server instance.
  2. Select the Configure tab.
  3. Under Settings, select General.
  4. Click Edit.
  5. To enable or disable a statistics interval, check the box for that interval.
  6. To change a statistics interval attribute value, select a value from the drop-down menu.
    1. In Interval Duration, select the time interval in which statistics data is collected.
    2. In Save For, select for how long the archived statistics are kept in the database.
    3. In Statistics Level, select a new level for collecting statistics.
      The lower the level is, the fewer number of statistic counters are used. Level 4 uses all statistics counters. Use it only for debugging purposes.

      The statistics level must be less than or equal to the statistics level that is set for the preceding statistics interval. This requirement is a vCenter Server dependency.

  7. (Optional) In Database Size, estimate the effect of the statistics settings on the database.
    1. Enter the number of Physical Hosts.
    2. Enter the number of Virtual Machines.
      The estimated space required and number of database rows required are calculated and displayed.
    3. If necessary, make changes to your statistics collection settings.
  8. Click Save.

Example: Relationships Between the Default Settings for Statistics Intervals

  • Samples that are collected every 5 minutes are stored for 1 day.
  • Samples that are collected every 30 minutes are stored for 1 week.
  • Samples that are collected every 2 hours are stored for 1 month.
  • Samples that are collected on 1 day are stored for 1 year.

For all statistics intervals, the default level is 1. It uses the Cluster Services, CPU, Disk, Memory, Network, System, and Virtual Machine Operations counters.