Metric and Supermetric Symptoms Definition Workspace

You define metric and super metric symptoms, which are based on collected operational or performance values, so that you can create one or more of the symptoms that you can add to an alert definition in vRealize Operations . When a symptom is triggered, you use the symptoms to evaluate alerts or troubleshoot other problems.

How Metric Symptom Definitions Work

A metric or super metric symptom is triggered when a metric is compared to the configured static or dynamic thresholds, and the symptom condition is evaluated as true. If the symptom is based on a static threshold, the metric is compared based on the configured operator and the provided numeric value. If the symptom is based on a dynamic threshold, the metric is compared based on whether the current value is above, below, or abnormal compared to the calculated trend value.

Where You Find the Metric Symptom Definition Workspace

To define symptoms based on metrics or super metrics, from the left menu, click Configure > Alerts, and then in the right pane, click Symptom Definitions > Metric / Property. Click Add to define a metric-based symptom in the workspace.

You can also define symptoms as you are defining alerts in the Alert Definition Workspace.

Table 1. Symptoms Workspace Options for Metrics and Super Metrics

Option	Description
Metric Explorer	Components that you use to locate your metrics or super metrics for which you are creating symptoms.
Base Object Type	Object against which the symptom is evaluated. Based on the select object type, the list of available metrics displays only the metrics applicable to the object type.
Select Specific Object	If a metric or supermetric is not listed in the common metric or supermetric list, based on the selected based object type, use Select Resource to inspect the metrics or supermetrics of a selected object so that you can locate the property that you must use to create the symptom. Even though you select a metric or supermetric for a specific object, the symptom definition is applicable to all objects with that metric or supermetric in your environment.
Search	Use a word search to limit the number of items that appear in the list.
Metric list	List of metrics for the selected base object type.
Symptom definition workspace	Click and drag the metric to the left pane. You can define symptoms based on static or dynamic thresholds.
Threshold	Determines if the symptom is static or dynamic. Static thresholds are fixed values that trigger symptoms as true. You can configure one threshold for each symptom. You can also create multiple symptoms for multiple thresholds. For example, configure one symptom where the CPU use is greater than 90 percent and another where the CPU usage is less than 40 percent. Each is a separate symptom and can be added individually to an alert definition. Dynamic thresholds are based on vRealize Operations trended data where the triggering value is determined through the analytics. If the current value of the metric or super metric does not fall in the trended range, the symptom is triggered.
Static Threshold configuration options	If you select Static Threshold, configure the options for this threshold type. Operator. Determines how the value you specify in the value text box is compared to the current value of the metric or super metric when the symptom is evaluated. Value. Value that is the triggering threshold. Criticality level. Severity of the symptom when it is triggered. Symptom name. Name of the symptom as it appears in the symptom list when configuring an alert definition, as it appears when the alert is generated, and when viewing triggered symptoms. Wait Cycle. The trigger condition should remain true for this number of collection cycles before the symptom is triggered. The default value is 1, which means that the symptom is triggered in the same collection cycle when the condition became true. Cancel Cycle. The symptom is canceled after the trigger condition is false for this number of collection cycles after which the symptom is cancelled. The default value is 1, which means that the symptom is canceled in the same cycle when the condition becomes false. Evaluate on instanced metrics. Select this check box so that the system evaluates the object level symptom as well as the instance level symptom. For example, for CPU usage, when the check box is not selected, the symptom is triggered based on the object's CPU usage. However, if you select the check box, the system also evaluates CPU usage of each of the cores. If any of the cores is found to be crossing the threshold, the symptom is triggered. Exclude the following instances of the metric. To exclude specific instanced metrics from the symptom, drag the metric instances from the left pane. If you cannot locate the metric instance you want to exclude, you can search for it in another object that uses the metric by clicking Select Specific Object next to the search box.
Dynamic Threshold configuration options	If you select Dynamic Threshold, configure the options for this threshold type. Threshold trend. Relationship of the current value to trended range based on the following options: Above. If current value is above trended range, the symptom is triggered. Below. If the current value is below the trended range, the symptom is triggered. Abnormal. If the current value is either above or below the trended range, the symptom is triggered. Criticality level. Severity of the symptom when it is triggered. Symtom name. Name of the symptom as it appears in the symptom list when configuring an alert definition, as it appears when the alert is generated, and viewing triggered symptoms. Evaluate on instanced metrics. Select this check box so that the system evaluates the object level symptom as well as the instance level symptom. For example, for CPU usage, when the check box is not selected, the symptom is triggered based on the object's CPU usage. However, if you select the check box, the system also evaluates CPU usage of each of the cores. If any of the cores is found to be crossing the threshold, the symptom is triggered. Exclude the following instances of the metric. To exclude specific instanced metrics from the symptom, drag the metric instances from the left pane. If you cannot locate the metric instance you want to exclude, you can search for it in another object that uses the metric by clicking Select Object next to the Metrics field.