Customize Metrics Collection in Windows HPC Server 2008

Article
05/02/2012

Applies To: Windows HPC Server 2008

In Windows® HPC Server 2008, you can modify or remove existing performance metrics or add new metrics to the metric collection that is available for monitoring the nodes in your cluster. The metrics in the collection are available in HPC Cluster Manager in the node List and Heat Map views, and in the node Performance Charts. You can also view node metrics by using the HPC PowerShell cmdlet Get-HpcMetricValue.

You can change or add a new metric in two steps:

Create an XML file that describes the metric to add or overwrite
Import the XML file by using the HPC PowerShell cmdlet Import-HpcMetric

As an example, this topic describes how to add a new metric that displays CPU idle time. The topic includes an additional step for displaying the new metric in the node Heat Map view.

Note

To see more examples of XML metrics descriptions, you can export an XML file that contains the current heat map metrics. In HPC PowerShell, run the cmdlet Export-HpcMetric.

Example: Add a metric that displays CPU idle time

Step 1: Create an XML file that describes a metric for CPU idle time

Log on to your head node as a user with Administrator privileges.
Open Notepad:

Click Start, point to All Programs, click Accessories, click Notepad.

Copy and paste the following XML code into the new document:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Metrics xmlns:xsi="https://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" 
         xmlns:xsd="https://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema"
         xmlns="https://schemas.microsoft.com/HpcMetricsFileFormat/2007/12">
     <PerformanceCounterMetric
          Name="CPUIdleTime"
          DisplayName="CPU Idle Time (%)"
          SampleRate="Second"
          StoreRate="Minute"
          Description="Percentage CPU Idle Time"
          MetricTarget="ComputeNode"
          Minimum="0"
          Maximum="100"
          Category="Processor"
          Counter="% Idle Time"
          Instance="_Total"/>
</Metrics>

Save the document as C:\Users\user_name\Documents\MyNewMetric.xml, where user_name is your user name.

Step 2: Import the metric that you described in MyNewMetric.xml

Run HPC PowerShell as an administrator:

Click Start, point to All Programs, click Microsoft HPC Pack, right-click HPC PowerShell, and click Run as administrator.
Import the new metric by typing the following command:

Import-HPCMetric –path C:\Users\user_name\Documents\MyNewMetric.xml
Verify that the new metric, CPUIdleTime, appears in the metric collection. Type the following command to see the list of metrics:

Get-HPCMetric
View the current CPUIdleTime values for the nodes on you cluster by typing the following command:

Get-HPCMetricValue –name CPUIdleTime

Step 3: Display “CPU Idle Time (%)” in the node Heat Map view

Open HPC Cluster Manager:

Click Start, point to All Programs, click Microsoft HPC Pack, and click HPC Cluster Manager.
Go to the node Heat Map view:

In Node Management, in the view pane, click Heat Map.
The Heat Map displays a maximum of three metrics at a time. If you already have three metrics displayed, remove one of them before continuing to the next step.
In the Metric drop-down list, select CPU Idle Time (%), then click Add to heat map. The Heat Map now displays the new metric.

Additional references

View metrics values for cluster nodes:

Modify or view the metrics definitions:

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