# Virtual server monitoring Track Microsoft network components in real-time with OpManager. [Server virtualization](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/server-virtualization.html?vsm) has been a rising trend in the IT industry over the past decade and for good reason. Virtual devices are generally more efficient than their physical counterparts. While they might experience occasional performance issues, their advantages outweigh their problems. Consequently, virtual servers are integral components of data centers and server arrays all over the world. ## Role of virtual servers in a network Virtual servers aren't different from physical servers from the perspective of the users. A virtual server acts like an independent physical device; its hypervisor pulls systems resources from the host devices and allocates them to the virtual devices based on their needs. When users request IT services like websites or open web-based applications, the virtual server provides the necessary information or hosts applications. For the most part, customers can't differentiate between physical and virtual servers. For the IT organization, virtual servers offer innumerable advantages. Virtual servers are used as redundancies along with physical servers to ensure that services remain operational in case of an emergency. - [The advantages of virtual devices](#the-advantages-of-virtual-devices) - [Why is monitoring essential for virtual servers?](#why-is-monitoring-essential-for-virtual-servers) - [Virtual server monitoring with OpManager](#virtual-server-monitoring-with-opmanager) ## The advantages of virtual devices ![Virtual devices Monitoring - ManageEngine OpManager](https://cdn.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/images/Advantages-of-virtual-servers.jpg) - **Efficient resource utilization:** Physical servers are designed to accommodate peak network activity periods when more system resources, like CPU and memory, are required. However, these resources are underutilized the majority of the time when networks are operating normally. In contrast, many [VMs](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/virtual-machine-monitoring.html?vsm) share one system, so systems are more efficiently used whether in peak or non-peak network activity periods. - **Ability to take device snapshots:** Snapshots are complete copies of the virtual machine taken at a point of time. You can take snapshots before you perform some operations. In case things go wrong, or if you want a do-over, you can restore your configurations easily. You can also clone your system and migrate it elsewhere. - **Reduced risks due to isolated operations:** Virtual devices are like a sandbox. Whatever you do in the guest system does not affect the host system or any other guests. Whether you want to change system configurations, handle suspicious files, or simply partition network devices to control access, you can perform it hassle-free with VMs. - **Support for diverse OSs and software in one device:** Your organization might offer different services that are best suited to run in different environments. For instance, you might need a [Linux server](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/linux-server-monitoring.html?vsm) for one website, and a Windows server to run a separate software. You can do this from a single device. You can even run very old OSs or software which isn't supported anywhere else. - **Minimal overhead costs:** This is the most obvious advantage of virtual servers. A cluster of virtual servers running in a host device occupies less space, consumes less power, and utilizes fewer resources compared to a server rack. This results in less overhead costs for the organization. ## Why is monitoring essential for virtual servers? Issues with virtual servers can easily frustrate your customers. This is particularly true for VMs handling websites and applications. If left unmonitored, the reputation and revenue of your company are left to chance, which is not recommended. Creating virtual machines is known as "spinning up a VM" and it's a relatively easy task. Deleting them is also easy. Network admins can create snapshots of VMs and tinker with them because the previous version can be restored anytime. But this convenience might cause more harm than good. Let's see some of the problems caused by an overabundance of VMs. **VM sprawl:** This is a commonly encountered problem with virtual servers. The number of useless VMs in a host is too high and they compete for host resources which often results in a drop in performance for the useful virtual servers and the host device. It's difficult to track redundant VMs and they can run for years undetected utilizing valuable disk space, memory, and CPU, leading to [VM sprawl](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/tech-topics/how-to-prevent-vm-sprawl.html?vir-ser-mon). **Single point of failure:** Multiple virtual servers are hosted on a single physical host device in virtualised server clusters. This represents a single point of failure. If the host device goes down, the entire virtual installation is affected, disrupting all critical operations at once. You can guarantee optimal performance from your virtual servers by tracking every VM in your network and monitoring its performance. This is what [network monitoring tools](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/network-monitoring-tools.html?vsm) accomplish. ## Virtual server monitoring with OpManager Virtual server monitoring is an integral part of network monitoring and management. In many organizations, virtual servers run critical services and host websites and applications. When virtual servers run into problems, the potential risks are threefold: 1. They can affect your customer satisfaction. 2. They can overtax other network components and indirectly affect their performance. 3. They represent a single point of failure that can take down multiple services at once. A comprehensive [network monitor](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/network-monitor.html?vsm) like ManageEngine OpManager goes a long way to safeguard virtual server performance. OpManager can monitor key network components like switches, routers, servers, and wireless devices along with virtual servers. With this solution, you only need one tool to monitor your whole network. OpManager can also scale up to monitor thousands of devices effortlessly, ensuring constant and continuous monitoring of your network infrastructure. Here are some of the reasons why OpManager is ideal for monitoring your virtual servers: - [Gain complete visibility into your virtual devices](#gain-complete-visibility-into-your-virtual-devices) - [Track server performance](#track-server-performance) - [Identify faults and resolve them instantly](#identify-faults-and-resolve-them-instantly) - [Visualize virtualized environments](#visualize-virtualized-environments) ## Gain complete visibility into your virtual devices ### OpManager has a well-ordered virtual inventory ![Virtual inventory - ManageEngine OpManager](https://cdn.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/images/virtual-inventory-compressed.png) OpManager lists the virtual hosts and guest devices in your network in a virtual device inventory so you can see the number of devices occupying your network. The devices are categorized based on their software: like [VMware](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/vmware-esxi-monitoring-tools.html?vsm), [Nutanix](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/nutanix-monitoring.html?vsm), [Hyper-V](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/hyperv-monitoring.html?vsm), and [Citrix Xen](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/citrix-xenserver-monitoring.html?vsm). The guest servers and the software running in them are also listed along with the alarms generated by them. This helps you monitor VMs separately and deal with their issues. ### You can drill down into virtual clusters for comprehensive visibility ![Virtual visualization - ManageEngine OpManager](https://cdn.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/images/Virtual-snapshot-2-compressed.png) OpManager enables you to access relevant information about virtual devices inhabiting a host from the same place. Each of the guests and the hosts have separate device snapshot pages where vital information about them is listed. You can access the guest devices from the host and start or pause monitoring from there. OpManager also lists disks and data stores used by the VMs. ### Receive granular reports on your virtualized servers ![Virtual reporting - ManageEngine OpManager](https://cdn.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/images/Virtual-reports-1-compressed.png) Reports enable you to analyze previous data and gain useful insights from them. This is vital to plan for future actions. OpManager has a dedicated virtual server tab that includes reports for idle VMs, VMs by CPU utilization, VMs by memory utilization, and more. OpManager also has general reports for device availability, health, and performance. If your requirements are different, you can create [custom reports](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/network-performance-reporting.html?vsm#custom-reports). ## Track server performance ### Availability OpManager alerts you when a particular virtual server isn't responsive or down. These alerts help you minimize downtime for your services and bring the servers back up in case they do go down. The percentage availability of the virtual server is displayed along with an availability timeline that provides deeper insight into when the server was down. ### Performance monitors Server performance monitors are based on [CPU, memory, disk space](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/cpu-memory-disk.html?vsm), and traffic metrics. They provide you with a complete picture of the hardware health of a virtual server. Virtual servers might not have hardware strictly speaking, but they can simulate hardware performance and operate on top of the host hardware. You can associate performance metrics to both host and guest devices to track performance. ### Services and processes You can monitor services like HTTP, LDAP, and SMTP and be notified when they go down. For Windows servers, MySQL, FTP, and IIS monitoring is included along with syslog and event log monitoring. OpManager can also monitor processes running inside your virtual server. You can view top processes by CPU utilization and memory and remotely kill faulty processes. ### Custom scripts and URLs If you want to check the availability of a particular website from your virtual servers, you can add a [URL monitor](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/url-monitoring.html?vsm) to the server. The monitor accesses the website and searches for specific content set by you. In case the website isn't reachable, you are alerted. Similarly, you can also run custom scripts. ## Identify faults and resolve them instantly ### Prevent false positives and alert floods The last thing you need during a crisis is a barrage of alerts generated due to poorly optimized thresholds and duplicate alarms. The [adaptive thresholds](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/adaptive-thresholds.html?vsm) feature in OpManager learns your network performance and automatically sets thresholds on an hourly basis to reflect actual network activity. This ensures that the alerts you receive are actual events that need your attention rather than false positives. ### Identify the root cause of an event ![Virtual server fault management - ManageEngine OpManager](https://cdn.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/images/RCA-compressed.png) It's necessary to correlate the data obtained from multiple sources to track down the actual cause of an outage. When an outage occurs, you don't want to waste valuable time checking the data from each device you suspect of developing the issue. Root cause analysis profiles speed up this process by listing data from up to 20 entities in a window. You can correlate them side by side to efficiently track down the root cause. ### Automate basic troubleshooting tasks ![Workflow automation - ManageEngine OpManager](https://cdn.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/images/Workflow-device-reachable.png) Fault resolution is quicker and more efficient when you can automate routine and repeatable tasks. This reduces the mean time to repair and frees you up to perform more pressing tasks. OpManager's automated [Workflows](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/it-workflow-automation.html?vsm) accomplish exactly this. Workflows can be created to automate tasks like restarting unresponsive services, clearing alerts, and running custom scripts. ### Get notified of events happening across your network You must be aware of the alerts generated by your network monitoring tool. Alerts left unchecked serve no purpose. OpManager can push [alerts](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/network-monitoring-alerts.html?vsm) as notifications to you wherever you are, bringing you into the loop and speeding up fault resolution. Notifications can be sent via emails, SMS, Slack, webhooks, and more. Moreover, OpManager has an alarm escalation feature that pushes unacknowledged alarms up the chain of command. ## Visualize virtualized environments ![Virtual visualization - ManageEngine OpManager](https://cdn.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/images/Virtual-topology-VMware-compressed.png) Virtual topology maps in OpManager are useful tools as they enable you to [visualize](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/network-visualization.html?vsm) an otherwise unseen network. Virtual topology maps are plotted with the relationships between the virtual devices and the information flow in mind. You can understand which servers share a host, how many services are dependent on a device, and more. Any issues with virtual servers often can go unnoticed and can impact your entire network. You must use an effective monitoring tool to monitor and manage them. OpManager is one of the best solutions available, as evidenced by over one million IT admins who use it to keep their networks safe. ## Discover more on Virtual server monitoring ### Featured - [Virtualization best practices](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/virtualization-best-practices.html?vsm) - [Virtual machine monitoring](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/virtual-machine-monitoring.html?vsm) - [VMware ESXi monitoring](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/vmware-esxi-monitoring-tools.html?vsm) ### Quick links - [Blogs](https://blogs.manageengine.com?vsm) - [E-books](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/ebooks.html?vsm) - [Videos](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/videos.html?vsm) - [Case studies](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/customer-recommends.html?vsm) - [Awards and Recognitions](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/network-software-review.html?vsm) - [Achieve proactive VM performance management](https://blogs.manageengine.com/network/opmanager/2023/12/12/achieve-proactive-vm-performance-management-with-opmanager.html?vsm) - [Network monitoring: The must-haves](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/server-virtualization-management-best-practices.html?vsm) - [Virtual server reports](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/help/virtual-server-reports.html?vsm%20) ## Related Products - [Network Monitoring](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring/?relPrd) - [Bandwidth Monitoring & Traffic Analysis](https://www.manageengine.com/products/netflow/?relPrd) - [Network Configuration Management](https://www.manageengine.com/network-configuration-manager/?relPrd) - [Switch Port & IP Address Management](https://www.manageengine.com/products/oputils/?relPrd) - [Firewall Management](https://www.manageengine.com/products/firewall/?relPrd) - [Network Monitoring Software for MSPs](https://www.manageengine.com/network-monitoring-msp/?relPrd) - [IT Operations Management](https://www.manageengine.com/it-operations-management/) - [Application Performance Monitoring](https://www.manageengine.com/products/applications_manager/?relPrd)