You must have one vCenter Server instance for each CapacityIQ instance. If you have vCenter Server Linked
Mode groups in your environment, install a separate instance of CapacityIQ for each vCenter Server system.
The virtual appliance includes the following components as illustrated in
Figure 1-1
.
CapacityIQ
Administrative Server
The CapacityIQ administrative server provides the Administration Portal user
interface for the CapacityIQ system administrator to configure and maintain
the virtual appliance.
CapacityIQ Server
The CapacityIQ server hosts an operating system and the CapacityIQ
application. A monitoring feature called watchdog tracks whether CapacityIQ
processes are operating properly. The watchdog logs exceptions such as
services stopping and starting. Events are posted in the
ciq_watchdog.log
file.
Database Server
The CapacityIQ virtual appliance includes its own PostgreSQL database. The
database server stores data collected from objects managed in vCenter Server.
N
OTE
CapacityIQ does not support storing data in an external database.
Data Collector
The data collector collects inventory and performance data. Configure the data
collector to access vCenter Server through port 443 on vCenter Server.
Each instance of the vSphere Client installed on vCenter Server can use CapacityIQ. CapacityIQ does not
require changes to your vCenter Server setup, such as modifying the logging levels.
Figure 1-1.
CapacityIQ Architecture Components
vCenter
database
vCenter
Server system
CapacityIQ
administrative
server
SSH
Admin Portal HTTP
Admin Portal HTTPS
CapacityIQ HTTP
CapacityIQ HTTPS
SQL
SQL
CapacityIQ
server
data
collector
database
server
CapacityIQ
plug-in
vCenter
License
Server
vCenter
Server
vSphere Client
data
disk
system
disk
vSphere
Client
vSphere
Client
CapacityIQ begins collecting performance data shortly after installation. Updates to performance statistics in
the CapacityIQ database occur using standard vSphere APIs. Data collection remains continuous unless you
stop CapacityIQ.
CapacityIQ begins to populate the dashboard within an hour or so after you install the virtual appliance. To
generate meaningful information in views and reports, wait until you have collected at least three days of
performance data.
vCenter CapacityIQ Installation Guide
8
VMware, Inc.