Introducing VM Analyzer

It seems like a cliché to talk about how complicated virtual environments are these days, but that doesn’t make it any less true. Managing storage in today’s data center is a lot like playing Tetris but only being able to see the top line of the game board. Working on the symptom in front of you without being able to quickly visualize everything behind it makes getting to the root cause far more difficult and time consuming. The stakes are only getting higher, and as hybrid multicloud becomes the norm, the pieces are increasingly complex.

Twenty years ago, most business-critical applications ran on dedicated servers. Although tremendously inefficient in terms of cost, this approach was in many ways much simpler to troubleshoot. You might not have known what the problem was, but at least you knew where to start looking. The near-ubiquitous adoption of virtualization and shared resources brings consolidation and efficiency, but at the cost of ease and simplicity. With dynamic interdependencies across applications, virtual machines, physical hosts, and storage layers, IT operations teams often find themselves chasing symptoms instead of root causes.

Storage teams in particular struggle because they are often in the dark regarding upstream infrastructure components but are still held responsible for performance issues. Troubleshooting involves multiple teams, multiple vendors' tools, and manual data aggregation, making it difficult to resolve basic questions about usage patterns and bottlenecks. The consequences are delayed problem resolution, missed opportunities for optimization, and an increased risk of system downtime.

There are many ways to display a complex topology, but for the most part these displays are just a pretty picture without the critical context that is needed to get real answers. A topology view is like looking at a paper road map without knowing where you’re going. NetApp^® Data Infrastructure Insights with VM Analyzer is like the GPS app on your phone, guiding you straight to your destination.

VM Analyzer offers a comprehensive solution that eliminates the guesswork by consolidating data across the full stack—logs, metrics, configurations, and topology—into a unified view. This approach enables IT teams to quickly trace issues to their source, recognize correlations across shared infrastructure components, resolve incidents, and shift from reactive to proactive operations.

VM Analyzer reduces the need for "war rooms" by aligning timelines for swift identification of performance and configuration issues across the entire VM data path, eliminating finger pointing and speeding up problem resolution. Enhanced visibility converts raw data into practical insights, encompassing logs, inventory, performance metrics, and configuration modifications. Instant focus switching enables administrators to highlight a problematic infrastructure element, immediately identifying commonality with related componentry.

Beyond just monitoring, VM Analyzer establishes a new benchmark for intelligence in virtual infrastructure, emphasizing achieving business results rather than simply addressing crises.

The immediate value of VM Analyzer is evident in several key areas:

• Faster resolution. Cuts mean time to resolution (MTTR) and shortens incident response times.
• Operational efficiency. Frees teams from “war rooms” and manual triage.
• Reduced risk. Foresee potential outages and performance issues before they escalate.
• Higher service reliability. Helps prevent disruptions to provide a better end-user experience.
• Infrastructure alignment. Helps align infrastructure with business priorities, so that IT investments drive business value.

Managing modern virtual environments requires a comprehensive approach that addresses their complexity and dynamic nature. The VM Analyzer feature of NetApp Data Infrastructure Insights provides the guidance and insights needed to shift from reactive to proactive operations, greatly reducing effort and driving business value. By consolidating data across the full stack, building context-sensitive infrastructure views, and eliminating noise, VM Analyzer increases operational efficiency, reduces risk, and enhances service reliability.

So if you're tired of siloed IT teams having to deal with difficult trouble tickets, or if your staff is juggling multiple tools to solve problems, take a look at VM Analyzer. It's your ultimate cheat code for mastering the complexities of a modern virtual infrastructure.

To experience the benefits of VM Analyzer firsthand, request a personal demo of NetApp Data Infrastructure Insights. Try it out in your own environment free for 30 days, with all features including VM Analyzer.