Metric Definitions in
VMware Aria Operations for Networks

To display different types of metrics on the user interface,
VMware Aria Operations for Networks
collects data from multiple data sources. Each piece of data collected is called a metric observation or a metric value.
VMware Aria Operations for Networks
displays the following metrics on the user interface:
Metric Type
Description
Data Sources Supporting the Metric
Entity metrics
Entity metrics display information such as resource utilization and performance of entities in your network. They include metrics such as host metrics, VM metrics, datastore metrics, and so on.
To learn more, see Entity Metrics
All data sources added to
VMware Aria Operations for Networks
except ServiceNow, Infoblox, and
VMware Aria Operations for Logs
data sources.
Flow metrics
Flow metrics display the traffic flow data collected from flow-enabled data sources on your network.
The flow data from the data sources is:
  • Derived and aggregated to show different flow metrics such as total bytes, traffic rate, and so on.
  • Aggregated on the tier level to show application tier metrics such as average drop flows, total internet packet, and so on.
To learn more, see Flow Metrics.
  • VMware vCenter
  • NSX Manager
  • Netflow collector
  • Physical flow collector
  • VMware SD-WAN
Health metrics
Health metrics represent the overall health of the
VMware Aria Operations for Networks
instance. These metrics are useful in diagnosing health problems related to the
VMware Aria Operations for Networks
instance.
To learn more, see Health Metrics.
VMware Aria Operations for Networks
Collector and Platform
Latency metrics
Latency metrics display information about the latency of data packets traveling between the following devices:
  • Interface pNIC pairs
  • Interface pairs
These metrics are useful in monitoring the latency of the network to diagnose and troubleshoot performance bottlenecks.
To learn more, see Latency Metrics.
  • NSX-T Manager
  • NSX-V Manager
VM network utilization metrics
The VM network utilization metrics display the performance of the VM based on network utilization. These metrics are critical to track network activity and throughput.
In
VMware Aria Operations for Networks
, these metrics are displayed at 20 second resolution to showcase the peaks and troughs of network utilization.
VM network utilization metrics are displayed at 20 seconds granularity only if you are viewing the metric chart within the last 48 hours.
Beyond 48 hours, the metric resolution is displayed based on the selected time range.
VMware vCenter

Comprehending Metric Data

You can view your metric data at different levels of granularity, based on the time range. For example, you can choose a one day view, which can be useful when troubleshooting. Or, choose a broader time range (for example, 30 days) so that you can see trends over time.
When you view metric data for different time ranges, you see different values indicated in the metric chart. This difference is because
VMware Aria Operations for Networks
displays different resolutions of data for different time ranges.
The default time range of any metric in
VMware Aria Operations for Networks
is 1 day and the resolution is 5 minutes. As the metric resolution becomes coarser, the metric data is down-sampled. That is, the resolution of the data is reduced. This is performed to create better metric graph visualizations by retaining only the important characteristics of the metric.
Time range and metric resolution for entity metrics:
Time Range
Metric Resolution
0 hours – 3.5 days
5 minutes
3.5 days – 15 days
30 minutes
15 days – 60 days
2 hours
Beyond 60 days
8 hours
Time range and metric resolution for flow metrics:
Time Range
Metric Resolution
0 hours - 24 hours (within last 24 hours)
5 minutes
0 hours - 24 hours (beyond last 24 hours)
30 minutes
1 day – 15 days
30 minutes
15 days – 31 days
2 hours
Time range and metric resolution for special VM network utilization metrics:
Time Range
Metric Resolution
0 hours – 6 hours (within last 48 hours)
20 seconds
0 hours – 6 hours (beyond last 48 hours)
5 minutes
6 hours – 3.5 days
5 minutes
3.5 days – 15 days
30 minutes
15 days – 60 days
2 hours
Beyond 60 days
8 hours

Viewing Metric Data

In
VMware Aria Operations for Networks
, the metric data of an entity is displayed as line graph on the metric chart. You can point anywhere on the line graph to get informative tool tips. You can also co-relate multiple entities or two metrics graphs at the same time.
You can modify the time range of a metric by either using the slider or entering in a custom date and time. You can also adjust the time range for each entity within a metric.
You can select different metrics, entities, and time from the drop-down menu that is available in every metric chart. You can also adjust the view to a row view or a column view by using the view button in the top-right corner of the metrics chart. You can also export individual metrics graph in
CSV
format.
Here is an example metrics chart that shows the total flow of traffic in a VMware SD-WAN Edge device.
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Setting the Retention Interval

In
VMware Aria Operations for Networks
, you can choose how long the system retains metric data before automatically deleting it by setting the retention interval for each metric.
To set the retention interval of a metric, navigate to the
Settings
Data Management
page. To learn more, see Configure Data Retention Interval.
The minimum and maximum retention intervals defined by the system is as follows. Based on your business requirement, you can choose an interval between these values.
Metric Type
Resolution
Minimum Retention
Maximum Retention
Entity metrics
5 minutes
1 month
13 months
30 minutes
1 month
13 months
2 hours
1 month
13 months
8 hours
1 month
13 months
Flow metrics
You cannot edit the retention interval of flow metrics on the
VMware Aria Operations for Networks
UI.
5 minute
24 hours
24 hours
30 minutes
1 month
1 month
2 hours
1 month
1 month
Health metrics
5 minutes
1 month
13 months
30 minutes
1 month
13 months
2 hours
1 month
13 months
8 hours
1 month
13 months
VM network utilization metrics
20 second
You cannot edit the retention interval of VM network utilization metrics with 20 seconds resolution on the
VMware Aria Operations for Networks
UI.
2 days
2 days
5 minutes
1 month
13 months
30 minutes
1 month
13 months
2 hours
1 month
13 months
8 hours
1 month
13 months
The retention interval you choose has a direct impact on disk space.
Reducing the log retention period deletes all logs older than the new retention period specified. For example, changing the retention period of the entity metrics from 6 months to 1 month deletes all logs older than a month. Therefore, consider backing up your log files before reducing the retention period.
Increasing the log retention period adds new logs to the collection. Therefore, check the available disk space and consider upgrading your disk space when increasing the log retention period.