Introduction to Opsview Observability

What is Opsview Observability? Copied

Opsview Observability is an integration layer that connects Opsview’s comprehensive infrastructure monitoring capabilities with ITRS Analytics Platform, enabling organizations to combine real-time monitoring with advanced analytics, forecasting, and capacity planning in a unified observability solution.

Opsview Observability extends the capabilities of Opsview Monitor by seamlessly forwarding monitoring data to ITRS Analytics. This integration enables organizations to:

• Centralize observability data — consolidate metrics, logs, and events from Opsview-monitored infrastructure into ITRS Analytics for comprehensive analysis.
• Enable advanced analytics — use ITRS Analytics’s analytical capabilities including forecasting, dynamic thresholds, and capacity planning.
• Maintain existing workflows — continue using Opsview for day-to-day monitoring while accessing enhanced insights through ITRS Analytics.
• Scale observability — support hybrid environments with distributed monitoring across on-premises and cloud infrastructure.

Key features Copied

Data collection and export Copied

• Automated data forwarding — continuously exports monitoring metrics, performance data, and state information from Opsview to ITRS Analytics.
• Collection plan management — orchestrator generates and maintains collection plans that define what data to export and how to structure it.
• Multiple data types — supports metrics (gauges, counters), logs, events, entity attributes, and state signals.
• Performance data transformation — converts Opsview performance data into ITRS Analytics-compatible formats with appropriate dimensions and properties.

System components Copied

The Opsview Observability solution consists of three main components:

1. Opsview Orchestrator (opsview-orchestrator)

   • Manages monitoring configuration and collection plans
   • Generates encrypted collection plans containing host, service, and metadata configuration
   • Coordinates data flow between Opsview and the system collectors

2. System Collector (opsview-sys-coll)

   • Runs on Opsview monitoring nodes as a containerized service
   • Reads collection plans and monitoring results from Opsview
   • Processes and transforms data using the ITRS Analytics Data Sender processor
   • Forwards formatted data to ITRS Analytics ingestion endpoints

3. System Server (opsview-sys-svr)

   • Provides registration services for collector instances
   • Manages authentication and connection configuration
   • Distributes ITRS Analytics ingestion credentials and certificates to collectors

Integration with ITRS Analytics Copied

Opsview Observability integrates with multiple ITRS Analytics applications:

• Entity Viewer — real-time monitoring and investigation of entities exported from Opsview.
• Dashboards — custom visualization of Opsview metrics within ITRS Analytics.
• Alerting — advanced signal aggregation and alert rationalization for Opsview-generated alerts.
• Capacity Planner — resource utilization tracking and capacity forecasting based on Opsview monitoring data.
• Dynamic Thresholds — machine learning-based anomaly detection on Opsview metrics.
• Forecaster — predictive analytics for capacity planning and trend analysis.

How Opsview Observability relates to ITRS Analytics Copied

ITRS Analytics serves as the analytical and storage layer for Opsview Observability.

Opsview provides:

• Infrastructure and service monitoring across 4,500+ plugins.
• Business Service Monitoring (BSM) for service health aggregation.
• Real-time alerting and notification management.
• Auto-discovery and configuration management.
• Network topology mapping and analysis.

ITRS Analytics adds:

• Long-term metric storage and historical analysis.
• Predictive forecasting and capacity planning.
• AI-powered dynamic threshold adjustment.
• Cross-system correlation and analytics.
• Advanced visualization and dashboards.
• Alert aggregation and noise reduction.

Data flow architecture Copied

┌─────────────────┐
│  Opsview        │
│  Monitor        │
│  (Monitoring)   │
└────────┬────────┘
         │
         │ Results & Metrics
         ▼
┌─────────────────┐
│  Orchestrator   │
│  (Plans)        │
└────────┬────────┘
         │
         │ Collection Plan
         ▼
┌─────────────────┐
│  System         │
│  Collector      │
│  (Transform)    │
└────────┬────────┘
         │
         │ Formatted Data (gRPC)
         ▼
┌─────────────────┐
│  ITRS           │
│  Analytics      │
│  (Analytics)    │
└─────────────────┘

Key concepts Copied

Collection plans Copied

Collection plans are encrypted configuration files generated by the Opsview Orchestrator that define:

• Which hosts and services to export to ITRS Analytics
• Metadata including host groups, service groups, and hashtags
• Data type mappings and transformation rules
• Filter criteria for selective data export

The system collector monitors collection plan changes and automatically updates its data export configuration.

Mapping types Copied

Opsview Observability supports multiple mapping types to structure data for different ITRS Analytics applications:

• Host and Service Checks with Signals— Standard monitoring data with state signals for real-time monitoring
• Capacity Planner— Resource utilization and capacity metrics formatted for capacity planning analysis
• Dynamic Thresholds— Metric values optimized for machine learning-based anomaly detection

Data dimensions and properties Copied

Monitoring data exported to ITRS Analytics includes:

Dimensions (used for entity identification):

• Host name
• Service name
• Metric name

Properties (metadata and context):

• Opsview severity and state information
• Performance data thresholds (warning, critical)
• Host groups and service groups
• Hashtags for categorization
• Check output and timestamps

Why Opsview Observability is relevant to ITRS Analytics Copied

For organizations using ITRS Analytics, Opsview Observability provides:

Expanded monitoring coverage Copied

• 4,500+ plugins: Access to extensive Nagios-compatible monitoring plugins through Opsview
• 200+ Opspacks: Pre-configured monitoring bundles for common infrastructure components
• Auto-discovery: Automatic detection and configuration of network devices and services
• Multi-protocol support: SNMP, WMI, SSH, REST API, and custom plugin monitoring

Operational efficiency Copied

• Single pane of glass: View Opsview-monitored infrastructure alongside other data sources in ITRS Analytics
• Reduced tool sprawl: Consolidate monitoring and analytics into integrated platforms
• Automated data flow: No manual data export or import processes required
• Consistent metadata: Host groups, hashtags, and service groups synchronized between platforms

Enhanced analytics Copied

• Historical context: Store years of Opsview monitoring data in ITRS Analytics for trend analysis
• Proactive insights: Apply forecasting and capacity planning to Opsview metrics
• Better alert quality: Reduce alert fatigue through ITRS Analytics’s alert aggregation and dynamic thresholds
• Cross-system correlation: Combine Opsview data with metrics from other sources (Geneos, cloud platforms, applications)

Prerequisites Copied

Before implementing Opsview Observability, ensure you have:

• Opsview Monitor: Version 6.0 or later with appropriate licensing
• ITRS Analytics Platform: Version 2.15.0 or later with ingestion endpoints configured
• Docker environment: Docker Engine installed on Opsview monitoring nodes
• Network connectivity: gRPC over HTTP/2 connectivity between Opsview nodes and ITRS Analytics ingestion services
• Certificates and credentials: ITRS Analytics ingestion certificates and authentication credentials

Deployment architecture Copied

Opsview Observability can be deployed in several configurations:

Single Opsview node Copied

For smaller deployments:

• System collector runs on the single Opsview Monitor node
• System server runs on the same node for collector registration
• Direct connection to ITRS Analytics ingestion endpoints

Distributed Opsview cluster Copied

For larger or high-availability deployments:

• System server runs on the Opsview master node
• System collectors run on each Opsview monitoring node (master and distributed collectors)
• Each collector independently forwards data to ITRS Analytics
• Orchestrator on master node manages collection plans across all collectors

Configuration overview Copied

Configuration for Opsview Observability is managed through:

1. Orchestrator configuration: Defines which Opsview objects (hosts, services) should export data
2. Server properties: ITRS Analytics ingestion endpoint details, credentials, and certificates
3. Collector configuration: Processing rules, data transformations, and output mappings

The system uses a template-based configuration approach with support for encrypted secrets management.

Next steps Copied

• Review Use Cases to understand practical applications of Opsview Observability
• Consult the installation documentation for deployment procedures
• Configure collection plans to export relevant monitoring data to ITRS Analytics
• Access ITRS Analytics applications to view and analyze Opsview monitoring data