New fling from DRS Dump insight

calendarAug 23, 2017 · 2 min read · fling VMware  ·
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Summary

DRS Dump Insight is a service portal where users can upload drmdump files and it provides a summary of the DRS run, with a breakup of all the possible moves along with the changes in ESX hosts resource consumption before and after DRS run. Users can get answers to questions like:

  • Why did DRS make a certain recommendation?
  • Why is DRS not making any recommendations to balance my cluster?
  • What recommendations did DRS drop due to cost/benefit analysis?
  • Can I get all the recommendations made by DRS?

Once the drmdump file is uploaded, the portal provides a summary of all the possible vMotion choices DRS went through before coming up with the final recommendations. An example summary can be seen in the image below (Figure 1).

Users can get more information about the different types of moves considered, by clicking on the “Show” link next to the type of move that they’re interested in. An example is shown in Figure 2.
The portal also enables users to do What-If analysis on their DRS clusters with options like:

  • Changing DRS Migration Threshold
  • Dropping affinity/anti-affinity rules in the cluster
  • Changing DRS advanced options

Figure 3 is a sample screen shot showing What-If? analysis with migration threshold changed from 3 to 4.

 

Instructions

How to use DRS Dump Insight:

Locating drmdump files:

  • Locate your vCenter Server logs (https://kb.vmware.com/kb/1021804)
  • If you have a vCenter server diagnostic log bundle, locate the “vpxd” directory.
  • Within the “vpxd” (vCenter Server) log folder, when DRS is enabled, you will find a “drmdump” folder.
  • In this folder, you will find one folder for every cluster in your vCenter server (the name of the folder will be the MOID of the corresponding cluster).
  • Within the folders that represent clusters, you will find the drmdump files.

Notes about drmdump files:

  • There will be one drmdump file for every DRS load balancing run with the tag “proposeNonResActions”.
  • By default, DRS runs once every five minutes, so there will be one dump file for every five minutes.
  • This dump file is also generated when DRS is invoked manually from the UI, or when a RefreshRecommendations API call is made.