Collecting data from managed machines

Once we are done adding and configuring virtual environments, we can start collecting data, which can be further used to check compliance, create necessary machine groups, export reports, and so on.

We need to collect data from virtual environments as well as from all the machines that we plan to manage, that is, Windows or Linux servers.

Getting ready

All the servers we want to manage should be added to the VCM console, either by following earlier recipes for virtual infrastructures or by installing agents by following the recipes in this chapter.

How to do it...

We will split this recipe into two sections:

• Collecting data from virtual infrastructures
• Collecting data from managed machines

Collecting data from virtual infrastructures

To collect all data off a vCenter, vShield Manager, or vCD instance, follow these steps:

1. Log in to VCM and follow the steps to collect virtual infrastructure data.
2. You can be anywhere in the VCM console; make sure the machine group is All Machines (to understand more about machine groups, have a look at the Creating machine groups recipe), and click on Collect in the top-left corner.
3. This will launch a wizard; select Machine Data under Collection Type.
4. Select the machines you want to collect data from, in this case, any or all of vCenter, vShield, and vCloud servers. Select them and make sure they are on the right-hand side, and then click on Next.
5. Select Select Data Types to collect from these machines.
   
6. Under Data Types, tick each checkbox underneath Virtualization:
   
7. Make sure there are no conflicts, and click on Finish.
8. Click on Jobs in the left-hand corner of the VCM console.
9. Make sure the job to collect the data has completed successfully.

Collecting data from managed machines

In this subsection, we will collect data from managed machines, such as Windows and Linux servers. Follow these steps:

1. Log in to VCM and follow the steps to collect virtual infrastructure data.
2. You can be anywhere in the VCM console; make sure the machine group is All Machines (to understand more about machine groups, have a look at the Creating machine groups recipe) and click on Collect in the top-left corner.
3. This will launch a wizard; select Machine Data under Collection Type.
4. On the next page, select the machine/machines whose data you want to collect. The machines must be on the right-hand side.
5. You have two options for deciding how data will be collected: based on the data type or based on the collection filter set.

   Note

   Note: If you select data type then you are presented with options to select from various entities of the OS such as accounts, account policies, disk space, device drives, and so on that are relevant to the OS of the machine we selected. If you select filter sets, VCM has precreated sets of filters, which can be used to collect data from the managed machine. The filter sets can be created manually, while installing VCM, or when you import any compliance template.

   
6. Depending upon what you select, the next page will differ.
7. For the Data Types window, select individual data types or select all of them.
   
8. For the Filter Sets window, select the appropriate filter set to collect the data.
   
9. Make sure there are no conflicts, and close the wizard. It will start a collection job, and VCM will go to the specified machines and collect details either according to data types or selected filter sets.

How it works...

In the previous recipes, we added vCenter, vCD, and vShield Manager; now, we need the data to import into all those elements. By performing a collection, we are adding the details available on those systems to VCM so that we can have a single interface where we can see all the details.

The details fetched from those systems have been mentioned in the earlier recipes. When VCM performs a collection operation, it goes into each application's database, pulls all the relevant information, and then places it in its own database. For example, when we perform a vCenter collection, it collects details about all the VMs, ESXi hosts, their versions, snapshot details for VMs, VM configuration, and so on. All the data is presented in the VCM console under Console | Virtual Environments.

In case of vCD, VCM fetches information about the vApps, VMs, catalogs, local users, groups, and so on.

This information can then be exported via reports, used for compliance checks. This can also be used in creating dynamic filters for creating machine groups.

Details captured from managed machines such as Windows and Linux servers will be used in analyzing their current compliance and patch status.

There's more...

Have a look at the following article by VMware if you want details about filter sets:

https://www.vmware.com/support/vcm/doc/help/vcm581/Content/Core_CS/AdminSettingsCollFltr.htm