How to delete a collector?

[JCOEN]

I deployed a few remote collectors to evaluate some things when compared to just using the vApp. I've decided to stick with a vApp only implementation of vCOps and have retargeted the different vCenters back to the vApp. I now have the standard 'vCenter Operations Standard Server' collector, which all vCenters point to, but I also have a number of other 'vCenter Operations Standard Server' collectors that were added while I was testing remote collectors. How do I remove permanently remove them from vCOps?  Screenshot attached. Running vCOps 5.8.1.

-Josh

[mark_j]

Have you tried deleting the Collector resources using the Custom UI?

[JCOEN]

I did. Unfortunately they don't show up as a resource.

[mark_j]

Since the resource has already been deleted, you'll need to run a Postgres query to remove the collector from the Analytics VM's alivevm db.

The same guidance to configure the collector will include the exact syntax for removing it from the db.

[DanielOprea]

Hi,

Look to this book:

http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vcops-enterprise5-admin-guide.pdf

Delete Old Data in the File System Database

By default, vCenter Operations Manager keeps the data that it collects in its file system database (FSDB)

indefinitely. You can configure vCenter Operations Manager to remove old data by modifying properties in

the advanced.properties file.

IMPORTANT Always make a backup copy of the advanced.properties file. Changes you make to the file might

cause errors that can adversely affect vCenter Operations Manager operations.

VMware vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise Administration Guide

96 VMware, Inc.Prerequisites

Become familiar with how to start and stop the Analytics service. See “Start or StopvCenter Operations

Manager Services,” on page 91.

Procedure

1 Make a backup copy of the advanced.properties file in the vcenter_ops\user\conf\analytics directory

on the vCenter Operations Manager server.

2 Open the original advanced.properties file and find the following lines.

#Old Data Cleaner Execution frequency. Default is 0(Off) days

oldDataCleanerExecutionFrequency=0

#old date range. Default is 900 days

oldDataCleanerDateRange=900

Lines that start with # are comments.

3 Change oldDataCleanerExecutionFrequency to how often, in days, to erase old data.

For example, set oldDataCleanerExecutionFrequency to 7 to erase old data once a week. A value of 0, the

default, causes old data not to be erased.

4 Change oldDataCleanerDateRange to how often old data must be before it is erased.

The default setting erases data that is 900 or more days old.

5 Save your changes and close the advanced.properties file.

6 Restart the Analytics service.

vCenter Operations Manager deletes old data for the first time when the frequency you entered elapses. For

example, if you set the frequency to 7, the first data purge occurs one week later.

[JCOEN]

Mark,

The collector itself doesn't seem to be a resource. Here's the process I used to get it added.

- install windows box

- install standalone vCOps

- configure standalone to point to UI/Analytics VM

At this point the remote collector shows up as a new collector on the vCOps UI. No query or anything was ran manually against the database to add the collectors in. I'm unable to manually uninstall the standalone version of the vCOps from the remote collector as the machine(s) no longer exist, and I'm not sure that would remove it from the vApp even if I could.

Given the above, I don't have any guidance (query-wise) on how to remove them from the db.

[mark_j]

Daniel, that has nothing to do with remote collectors. That document you cite is years old and legacy.

[mark_j]

Remote collectors aren't really documented for a reason right now.. they're only to be done in certain circumstances and with GSS support. They can pose a security hole that a customer would need to fully understand, as the the firewall get holes poked to allow connectivity proper between components.

That being said, there are some use cases for it in large enterprises and those with specific security concerns. If you are doing this, GSS should to be in the loop in terms of getting you configured (as of 5.8.1) to ensure a proper configuration and complete clean-up. I recommend opening up a SR with GSS and they'll be able to take care of you pretty quickly.

[JCOEN]

I'll contact GSS to get them removed. Thanks, Mark.