Integrating Turbonomic with Instana (public preview)
You can maximize the benefits of Turbonomic and Instana by setting up a two-way integration. To set up the two-way integration, you need to configure Turbonomic to fetch data from Instana, and then configure Instana by using the Turbonomic sensor to receive data (or actions) from Turbonomic. After you install the Instana agent, you must enable the Turbonomic sensor in the agent configuration file. Then, you can view performance-related actions from Turbonomic in the Instana UI.
The Turbonomic sensor polls Turbonomic APIs every 10 minutes to retrieve the executed and recommended actions. The sensor uses a unique key (SnapshotID) to link Instana entities with the corresponding Turbonomic actions.
The sensor needs the Instana automation framework to automate the data retrieval and correlation process.
Supported information
Supported operating systems
The supported operating systems of the Turbonomic sensor are consistent with host agent requirements. For more information, see the supported operating systems section of each host agent installation topic, such as Supported operating systems for Unix.
Supported Turbonomic versions
The Turbonomic sensor supports Turbonomic 8.10.7 and later.
Prerequisites
Before you enable the Turbonomic sensor to set up a two-way integration between Turbonomic and Instana, complete the following steps:
- Add Instana as a target in Turbonomic. For more information, see Adding an Instana Target.
- Enable the Instana automation actions framework for your Instana backend. For more information, see Managing automation.
Configuring
By default, the Turbonomic sensor is disabled. To enable the sensor, update the agent configuration file as shown in the following example:
# Turbonomic Sensor
com.instana.plugin.turbonomic:
enabled: true
host: '<INSERT_TURBONOMIC_SERVER_HERE>' # Turbonomic Server Host or IP address in https://x.x.x.x format
target: '<INSERT_TURBONOMIC_TARGET_NAME>' # Name of the target (Instana Server) as configured in Turbonomic
auth:
username: <INSERT_USERNAME_OF_TURBONOMIC_SERVER_HERE> # User must have administrator, deployer, or automator authority.
password: <INSERT_PASSWORD_OF_TURBONOMIC_SERVER_HERE>
You must have administrator, deployer, or automator authority to be able to use the Turbonomic API to collect actions.
Viewing Turbonomic actions
After you enable the Turbonomic sensor, you can view the executed and recommended actions from Turbonomic in the Instana UI. These actions are aimed at improving the performance of the entities that are monitored by Instana.
Executed actions
You can view the executed actions on any of the following dashboards in the Instana UI:
Application perspective
To view the executed actions on the Application Perspective dashboard, complete the following steps:
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In the sidebar of the Instana UI, select Applications.
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Click an application perspective. On the Summary tab, you can see the actions that are executed by Turbonomic in the Actions swimlane with the application KPIs to indicate the impact of the action on the KPIs.
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Click the action in the Actions swimlane. The Action History dialog is displayed with the details of the executed action.
Infrastructure
To view the executed actions on the Infrastructure dashboard, complete the following steps:
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In the sidebar of the Instana UI, select Infrastructure.
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On the Map tab, click a tower specific to the monitored host.
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Click Open Dashboard. You can see the actions that are executed by or from Turbonomic in the Actions swimlane with the entity KPIs to indicate the impact of the action on the KPIs.
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Click the action in the Actions swimlane. The Action History dialog is displayed with the details of the action.
Automation
To view the executed actions on the Automation page, complete the following steps:
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In the sidebar of the Instana UI, select Automation.
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Click the Action History tab. You can view a list of executed actions.
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Click an executed action from the list to view its details.
Recommended actions
Recommended actions are proposed by Turbonomic for performance improvements on the entities that are monitored by Instana. These actions are retrieved by Instana and correlated against the ongoing incidents.
To view the recommended actions, complete the following steps:
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In the sidebar of the Instana UI, go to Events > Issues.
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Click an issue.
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Click the Recommended Actions tab. You can see all recommended actions with the Incident context.
When you click any recommended action from the list, you're directed to the Entity dashboard in the Turbonomic UI.
Running Turbonomic actions
Recommended actions that are executable by Turbonomic have a Run icon that can be used to send an accept request to the Turbonomic server. To send a request for the Turbonomic server to run an action, complete the following steps:
- Select the Run icon.
- Select the Run Action.
- Select the link to the Action History page.
After Run is selected, a dialog is displayed identifying the Instana agent whose Turbonomic sensor will send the action "accept" request to the Turbonomic server. After Run Action is selected, a dialog is displayed with a link to the Automation page that can be used for monitoring the completion status of the action.
Turbonomic actions whose execution is initiated from Instana are automatically associated with the Issue. Therefore, the Action History tab can also be used to view their status.
Only Instana users with permission to execute automation actions can run Turbonomic actions.