VMware Aria Operations 8.17.1

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Custom Script

You can run custom scripts in the target machine and collect custom data which can then be consumed as a metric.

Prerequisites

  • All the scripts that you run using the custom script, must output a single integer value. If the output is not a single integer value, an error is displayed in the user interface.
  • The custom script uses Telegraf’s
    exec
     plugin to run scripts on a target machine's operating system. In Linux operating systems, a special user called
    arcuser
     with specific privileges, is created for installing the Telegraf agent. As a result, the
    exec
     plugin runs the scripts using that
    arcuser
     user. Ensure that the
    arcuser
     can run the scripts that use the custom script (the
    arcuser
     must have permissions to run the script). For example, the
    arcuser
     created automatically by cloud proxy, does not have privileges to run scripts which are stored under the
    /root
     directory.
  • In Windows operating systems, a system user is used for installing the Telegraf agent. As a result, the
    exec
     plugin runs the scripts using that system user. Ensure that the system user has privileges and can run the custom script.
  • The script must be placed in the
    /opt/vmware
     folder.
  • The environment variable PATH must be set for PowerShell scripts to be executed on the Windows operating system if the user used the
    powershell -File
     prefix. For example,
    "%SYSTEMROOT%\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\"
     in the environment variable PATH variable.

How to Run Custom Scripts

  • From the
    Manage Telegraf Agents
     tab, filter by
    Agent Status
    Agent Running
    .
  • Expand the drop-down arrow against the target machine on which the agent is installed. You see the
    Custom Monitoring
     section.
  • Against the
    Custom Script
     option, click the vertical ellipsis and then click
    Add
    .
  • From the
    Manage Custom Script
     dialog box, you can add and configure the Windows services to be monitored.

Instance Settings

Option
Description
Status
Activate the custom script execution.
Display Name
Add a suitable name for the script. The
*
 is an invalid character and must not be used in the name.
Filepath
Enter the path to the script file on the target machine.
Example:
For Linux machines:
 /opt/vmware/scripts/customscript.py
For Windows machines: 
c:\scripts\customscript.ps1
Prefix
Enter a prefix if necessary.
Example:
For Linux machines: python2.7, /bin/bash, or perl, etc
For Windows machines:
powershell -File
Args
List the arguments in the script.
Timeout
Enter a script execution timeout on the VM.
After you save the script, it appears under
Custom Script
. You can edit or delete scripts by clicking the
Edit
 or
Delete
 options from the vertical ellipsis against the custom script you added. After the scripts have been added and saved, click the drop down arrow against
Custom Script
, to view the list of scripts and their status.
  • The custom script must throw all errors in the format
    ERROR|<Error_message>
     for the error propagation to work. If the script does not throw an error in the given format,
    VMware Aria Operations
     displays an error message
    Unable to parse the error message. Please check the endpoint
     in the user interface. This is by design, until cloud proxy propagates the exact error message.
  • The bash script must start with
    shebang (#!/bin/bash)
    .

All Metrics Tab

When data is collected successfully, you can view the script as a metric for the target machine, in the
All Metrics
 tab. The script metrics are created under an object called
Custom Script
 which is a single object per target machine. All the metrics from the scripts for the target machine are placed under that
Custom Script
 object that contains all the custom scripts you have created. You can view the output for the specific metric. The metric name under the
Scripts
 folder is the display name that the user specifies while creating the script configuration. For example, if you set the display name as
Python script
, then a metric is created with the name
Python script
 if data is collected successfully.

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