Data Object - PerfInterval

Property of

PerformanceManager, PerformanceStatisticsDescription

Parameter to

CreatePerfInterval, UpdatePerfInterval

Extends

DynamicData

Data Object Description

• For VirtualCenter Server systems, instances of this data object are referred to as “historical intervals” because they control how data collected from the ESX systems will be aggregated and stored in the database.
• For ESX system, this data object is typically referred to simply as the “interval” or “performance interval” because ESX does not aggregate statistical data.

For ESX systems, a single instance of this data object exists. It cannot be modified. It has these properties:

key	samplingPeriod	length	name	level	enabled
1	300	129600	PastDay	null	true

VirtualCenter Server system provides four instances of this data object by default, that apply globally to all system entities.

Example Collection Levels
VirtualCenter Server uses the specifications configured in its historical intervals to collect metrics from the ESX systems that it manages. The quantity of data collected depends on the level settings for the server, and the level associated with a specific counter. Both factors may change from one version of the products to the next. In general, the lower the number, the smaller the amount of data collected. For VirtualCenter Server 2.5, for example, the levels 1 through 4 collected data as follows:

1. Basic counters defined with "average" rollup type for CPU, Memory, Disk, and Network; plus counters for System Uptime, System Heartbeat, and DRS (Distributed Resource Scheduler, tracked in the "clusterServices" group). Does not include counters for devices.
2. Counters defined with "average," "summation," and "latest" rollup types for CPU, Memory, Disk, and Network; plus counters for System Uptime, System Heartbeat, and DRS (clusterServices). Does not include counters for devices.
3. Counters defined with "average," "summmation," and "latest" rollup types for CPU, Memory, Disk, Network, and all devices; plus counters for System Uptime, System Heartbeat, and DRS (clusterServices).
4. All counters defined for all entities and devices, for every rollup type, including “minimum” and “maximum.”

Default properties for the four built-in historical intervals include:

key	samplingPeriod	length	name	level	enabled
1	300	86400	Past day	1	true
2	1800	604800	Past week	1	true
3	7200	2592000	Past month	1	true
4	66400	31536000	Past year	1	true

All values are in seconds. The default setting for vCenter Server is level 1, which retains sampled statistical data as follows:

• 5-minute samples for the past day
• 30-minute samples for the past week
• 2-hour samples for the past month
• 1-day samples for the past year

Data older than a year is purged from the vCenter Server database.

Prior to version 2.5 of the API, this data object could be used in conjunction with the CreatePerfInterval operation, to define new, custom historical intervals. That operation has been deprecated: Adding and deleting objects of this type is no longer supported. However, the default historical intervals can be enabled or disabled, and can be modified within certain limits (with the UpdatePerfInterval operation).

Properties