Effective monitoring is critical to maintaining system uptime, maximizing performance, and minimizing any disruptions that could impact business operations. But for advanced technologies, setting up effective monitoring can be time-consuming, requiring deep system knowledge and complex dashboard configurations.
For people who are using Amazon FSx for NetApp ONTAP (FSx for ONTAP), is there any way to simplify the monitoring process for AWS-based data? There is now.
Let me introduce you to the Amazon CloudWatch dashboard for FSx for ONTAPーan automated Amazon CloudWatch dashboard that simplifies monitoring FSx for ONTAP file systems. This pre-configured dashboard integrates critical insights for FSx for ONTAP directly into a single view, making it easier to track performance and detect issues in real time, all from within the AWS console.
Let’s start with what we’re going to cover:
- Exploring the monitoring options for FSx for ONTAP on AWS
- Introducing the AWS CloudWatch dashboard for FSx for ONTAP
- Dashboard walkthrough
- Template explained
- Step-by-step guide: Deploying the AWS CloudWatch Dashboard for FSx for ONTAP
- Pre-requisites
- Step 1: Download the template
- Step 2: Deploy the CloudFormation stack
- What’s next?
Exploring the monitoring options for FSx for ONTAP on AWS
FSx for ONTAP is an AWS service that brings NetApp® ONTAP® storage efficiencies and data management capabilities to the AWS Cloud. Since the main role of the service is to provide file storage solutions for demanding business applications, the ability to monitor these FSx for ONTAP file systems efficiently is essential for data reliability, availability, and maintaining business continuity.
Until now, there have been two options for monitoring FSx for ONTAP on AWS, each with its own level of customizability and ease of use:
- AWS-native monitoring with Amazon CloudWatch: With CloudWatch, you can view essential metrics and configure alarms for FSx for ONTAP systems directly within the AWS environment. It’s a user-friendly approach but it offers limited customization for those advanced users who want deeper insights.
- NetApp-native monitoring solutions: NetApp provides several monitoring tools tailored to ONTAP, including the built-in Event Management System (EMS), NetApp Data Infrastructure Insights (previously Cloud Insights), and NetApp Harvest (combined with Grafana). These tools offer greater customization and detailed performance metrics, but they require a high level of configuration and expert knowledge.
While these solutions can be combined for more comprehensive monitoring, setting up and managing custom solutions can be time-consuming and technically demanding.
The new AWS CloudWatch dashboard for FSx for ONTAP simplifies this, consolidating critical metrics into one CloudWatch dashboard and providing automated, out-of-the-box visibility typically available only through command-line tools or specialized NetApp applications.
Introducing the AWS CloudWatch dashboard for FSx for ONTAP
The Amazon CloudWatch dashboard for FSx for ONTAP is designed to streamline and automate FSx for ONTAP monitoring in AWS.
With this dashboard , FSx for ONTAP users gain access to critical metrics, real-time alerts, and a centralized view of AWS and NetApp best practices.
Dashboard walkthrough
The dashboard provides a comprehensive view of your FSx for ONTAP file systems, segmented into four primary sections:
1. Metrics overview of all FSx systems in the region
Displays overview metrics of all the FSx for ONTAP systems in a region and their respective performance indicators, including latency, throughput, and IOPS, to give a high-level view of the system health. These indicators help track overall performance trends and quickly identify potential issues.
2. Metrics by individual FSx for ONTAP Systems
Offers a deeper look into each FSx for ONTAP file system’s performance, highlighting usage and any anomalies. This granular view helps administrators identify and troubleshoot file system-specific issues, including monitoring the health of SnapMirror® relationships.
3. Metrics by volume ID
Tracks data at the volume level, providing metrics such as space utilization and read/write operations for each volume. Volume-level insights allow for detailed tracking of resource allocation and usage patterns, helping to optimize storage efficiency.
4. Alerts
Pre-defined alerts allow administrators to receive notifications when specified thresholds are reached. These alerts are critical in preventing disruptions, as they enable quick action when performance dips or when system health degrades.
The dashboard can identify FSx for ONTAP systems and volumes automatically, minimizing manual setup and maintenance. Also, metrics are updated every minute, so your FSx for ONTAP metrics are continuously refreshed and up to date.
Template explained
The CloudFormation template automatically creates several underlying AWS resources that support the functionality of the CloudWatch dashboard for FSx for ONTAP:
- CloudWatch dashboard: Provides a centralized view of key FSx for ONTAP metrics and performance insights, enabling proactive monitoring and management directly within the AWS console.
- AWS Lambda: Manages data collection, alarm creation, and processing tasks to keep the dashboard updated.
- Amazon EventBridge: Handles event scheduling and management, for regular metric updates.
- AWS Secrets Manager: Secures and stores credentials for FSx for ONTAP file systems to retrieve information about SnapMirror, the NetApp data replication technology. This is only required if SnapMirror is used.
Note that SnapMirror relationship health monitoring is not available within the AWS console!
Additionally, the template establishes connections for necessary AWS resources like Secrets Manager, CloudWatch, and other FSx services, creating these endpoints if they do not already exist.
Step-by-step guide: Deploying the AWS CloudWatch Dashboard for FSx for ONTAP
Deploying the AWS CloudWatch Dashboard for FSx for ONTAP through CloudFormation is a straightforward, no-code process. In just two steps, you can implement an advanced FSx for ONTAP monitoring dashboard that refreshes automatically.
Important note: The dashboard is deployed on a regional basis due to AWS Lambda constraints. For multi-Region FSx for ONTAP environments, you’ll need to repeat the deployment in each Region.
Pre-requisites
To get started with the template, you’ll need the following:
- Relevant AWS account permissions
- (Optional) A secret in Secrets Manager with key-value pairs for FSx for ONTAP file system IDs and passwords
Find additional details on prerequisites in the template documentation.
Step 1: Download the template
The CloudFormation template is hosted on the NetApp GitHub repository. You can download the template directly here.
Alternatively, users of NetApp® BlueXP™ can find the template through the workload factory interface. You can access workload factory in two ways:
- From the workload factory console, select the ? icon at the top right corner to access the Help menu. Then click on the Monitoring Github repository item.
- From the BlueXP console, you can select Workloads from the left navigation panel and then choose Home to be redirected to the view below.
Select the burger menu (☰) at the top right corner, and then click on the “Monitoring GitHub repository” item.
With both options, next you will see the FSx-ONTAP-samples-scripts/Monitoring folder in GitHub opened in a new browser window- from the project root, select the CloudWatch-FSx directory to find the cloudformation_template.json template.
Step 2: Deploy the CloudFormation stack
You can deploy the downloaded CloudFormation JSON template from UI or API. For this example, we’ll explore the UI flow.
From the AWS CloudFormation console:
- Select the AWS region to create the stack in by navigating to the menu along the top of the console.
- Go to the Stacks page. On that page, select “Create stack” in the upper right side, then choose the “with new resources (standard) ” option.
- You’ll now be on the Create stack page. Follow the steps to apply the template with the following details:
- Specify Template: In this section you should select “Upload a template file.” Then go down to the “Choose file” button and import the cloudformation_template.json file.
- Identify resources: In this section, configure the stack name and parameters.
- Specify Template: In this section you should select “Upload a template file.” Then go down to the “Choose file” button and import the cloudformation_template.json file.
Specifically, the template requires you to specify the following parameters:
- VPC and subnet settings will define where the Lambda function will run. Make sure that both of these resources have connectivity to all target file systems.
- FSx for ONTAP credentials are optional and only necessary if monitoring SnapMirror relationships.
You can then complete the CloudFormation creation by optionally configuring stack options following your organization's best practices. Review the plan to make sure everything looks correct, then click the “Submit” button.
Important Notes:
- While the dashboard automatically updates as new FSx for ONTAP file systems are detected or old FSx for ONTAP file systems are deleted, note that Secret Manager credentials must be updated manually.
- Deleting the CloudFormation stack removes all resources except CloudWatch alarms, which will need to be deleted manually.
What’s next?
With the AWS CloudWatch Dashboard for FSx for ONTAP, cloud architects and IT administrators gain a powerful tool for monitoring FSx for ONTAP file systems efficiently and in real-time. The dashboard reduces the setup effort, automatically refreshes, provides advanced ONTAP-native monitoring capabilities, and integrates seamlessly with CloudWatch-supported third-party tools, such as New Relic, to offer even greater flexibility.
Try out the AWS CloudWatch Dashboard for FSx for ONTAP today to streamline your file system monitoring and keep your data management efficient and responsive.