What is vCloud Usage Meter and how does it work?
Usage Meter is a free tool part of the VMware Partner Connect Program (previously VMware Cloud Provider Program) that captures the usage of VMware products installed on-prem.
It is installed as a virtual appliance in the provider’s data center through vSphere. It connects to the VMware products used by the provider and starts collecting usage data every 1 hour.
The collected data is then received by a cloud service that aggregates the data and this data goes to the provider’s Monthly Billing Order (MBO) in the VMware Commerce Portal at the end of each month.
The aggregated usage data can also be tracked in Cloud Partner Navigator as it gets updated every 24 hours, which helps providers have an overview of the VMware product usage of their cloud offering.
Why do you need to monitor the Usage Meter instance for errors?
As Usage Meter is an integral part of the metering and reporting of the VMware products part of the VMware Partner Connect program, any error that may occur with it must be carefully monitored and duly resolved.
The metering issues that Usage Meter detects can lead to incomplete metering data. If you as a provider have a reporting month with usage data that differs drastically from a previous period, then you might get contacted by your aggregator or the VMware compliance team.
What are the issues being reported?
Usage Meter sends notifications in the following cases:
- Change in the status of the Usage Meter – When the appliance changes its status from online to offline.
- When the Usage Meter instance is not registered with a contract in the VMware Commerce Portal.
- If there are no products added for metering in the Usage Meter web application.
- If there is an issue with a metered product and the appliance cannot collect usage data in the past 24 hours.
How to check for Usage Meter Errors?
Usage Meter notifies providers for issues with the metering in the following ways:
- Usage Meter web application -> Notifications
Go to Usage Meter web application, and under Notifications, you will see all notifications returned by Usage Meter. If you want to track the notifications related to a particular metered VMware product, go to the page of that product, select the product, and click Notifications. The notifications related to that product will appear. The Read circle on a notification means that usage data collection was unsuccessful for the past 24 hours for a particular VMware product. The green circle means that usage collection has been made for a product for the past 24 hours.
- Mail Notifications
Usage Meter sends notifications every 24 hours to the emails of people who have been added to the provider’s org and have at least Provider Billing User user permissions. These user permissions allow you to not only view usage data but also receive notifications for issues with the Usage Meter. The emails are received in case there is a change in the Usage Meter status, there is a change with a product or Usage Meter cannot collect usage data.
- Cloud Partner Navigator -> Usage & Commerce -> Usage Meter Operation
If you are not sure if your usage meter is sending usage data to vCloud Usage Insight, then you can check that in Cloud Partner Navigator. To do so, go to Cloud Partner Navigator, Usage & Commerce, Usage Operation. There, select the Usage Meter which status you want to check. Next to it, there is a three-arrow menu, expand it to see the Usage Meter status. Under Last Upload, you will see when the cloud service last received usage data from that Usage Meter.
- Syslog Server capturing Usage Meter logs
Alternatively, configure a Syslog server to capture Usage Meter logs. How to do this, learn from here.
Cadence of the Usage Meter mail notifications
Every 24 hours if an issue is detected, e.g., no added products for metering, usage data not being collected for a product by Usage Meter, etc. If at least one issue is detected that affects the usage data collection, then an email notification is sent to the emails of the users added to the provider org in Cloud Partner Navigator. If you have at least a Provider Billing User role, then you will receive notifications for issues with your Usage Meter.
How to get notified for errors with your Usage Meter
To receive notifications from your Usage Meter to your email, you should have been added to the users able to access your provider organization in Cloud Partner Navigator. The role that you should have to receive Usage Meter notifications is at least Provider Billing User role.
You can also set up VMware Log Insight or any other Syslog server to receive the Usage Meter logs and to monitor any issues that may occur with Usage Meter.
How to stop receiving notifications from Usage Meter
Currently, notifications can only be stopped for a user if that user is removed from the list of users able to access the provider org in Cloud Partner Navigator .
After removing that user from the Cloud Partner Navigator organization, they will not receive Usage Meter notifications from that point on but won’t also be able to access that organization in Cloud Partner Navigator.
It is recommended that you use a designated email address for Usage Meter notifications that does not belong to a particular employee.
How to resolve Usage Meter Errors
Mail notifications received from Usage Meter include in their body a resolution to the detected problem. Read the resolution and execute the steps from the KB article provided in the message.
What to do if the issue persists?
File a support request with the GSS team. How to do this, read the following KB article.
Have more questions?
Contact us on Slack or email: usagemeter@vmware.com
