OpsCenter basic configurations

The following recommendations are basic configurations that are inherent to a successful deployment of OpsCenter. Regardless of environment, these settings are strongly recommended in production environments.

Use a separate OpsCenter storage cluster

Use a separate storage cluster for OpsCenter data for optimal performance.

By default, OpsCenter stores its data in the OpsCenter keyspace on the DataStax Enterprise (DSE) cluster being monitored. While storing OpsCenter data on the monitored cluster is convenient, in production environments, it is highly recommended to store OpsCenter data on a separate DSE cluster.

Because OpsCenter metrics can consume excessive disk space, configuring a separate storage cluster for metrics and controlling data collection prevents issues with performance or collecting metrics when using the same cluster.

The OpsCenter storage cluster must be sized appropriately to handle the necessary workload. Each node in the monitored DSE cluster writes its metrics data directly to the OpsCenter keyspace on the separate storage cluster. The metrics data is subsequently read by the OpsCenter server to display related graphs in the OpsCenter interface.

For a cluster with one table, each monitored node writes ~340 times per minute to the separate storage cluster to store its granular monitoring data. The number of writes increases by 40 with each additional table.

Therefore, in a cluster with 10 nodes and one table, there would be 3,400 writes per minute to the storage cluster (340 writes × 10 nodes). Adding 10 tables increases the number of writes by 400 per node (40 writes × 10 tables). Adding those additional writes to the original number of writes (400 writes + 340 writes) equates to 740 writes per minute, or 7,400 writes for a cluster with 10 nodes and 10 tables.

These calculations assume that the replication factor remains the same, and that the data is distributed evenly among your partition keys. Increasing the replication factor or distributing data unevenly across partition keys impacts linear scaling.

It is imperative to consider this performance need when designing your deployment, in addition to the overhead for reads and other (less intensive) operations.

At a minimum, DataStax recommends that your separate storage cluster be between three and six nodes for production.

Set the OpsCenter keyspace replication strategy

Use the NetworkToplogy replication strategy for the OpsCenter keyspace.

OpsCenter creates the OpsCenter keyspace with the SimpleStrategy replication strategy (not recommended for production deployments). The OpsCenter keyspace replication factor and strategy should be properly configured based on the configuration of your storage cluster to ensure OpsCenter data is performant and always available.

If configured incorrectly, the following symptoms can surface:

OpsCenter dashboards load slowly.
Metrics render slowly.
OpsCenter freezes intermittently.

DataStax recommends the NetworkTopology replication strategy and a replication factor of two or greater.

The OpsCenter Replication Advisor includes rules that check for these scenarios so that they can be addressed. If these rules are triggered, take the appropriate action to fix the issue before problems arise.

Configure Java heap settings

Tune the Java heap settings for the OpsCenter server and DataStax Agent.

If using the OpsCenter Backup Service or Repair Service, DataStax recommends increasing the default heap settings for the OpsCenter server (to 4 GB) and DataStax Agent (to 2 GB) when running in production. In addition, DataStax recommends adding an additional 1 GB of heap to the OpsCenter server for each additional cluster being monitored.

Use Lifecycle Manager

DataStax strongly recommends using Lifecycle Manager (LCM) to visually install, configure, and manage DSE deployments in a secure and automated manner. LCM simplifies complex tasks such as certificate generation and configuration management.

For deployments that have limited or no access to the external internet, LCM is capable of utilizing a package proxy to install DSE.

Configure DSE Metrics Collector

Configure DSE Metrics Collector for DSE 6.8 clusters to enhance OpsCenter monitoring.

When monitoring clusters that are running DataStax Enterprise (DSE) 6.8 or greater, the DSE Metrics Collector provides the ability to send DSE and OS metrics directly to the centralized monitoring tool of your choice to complement OpsCenter monitoring. Follow the instructions to use DSE Metrics Collector with preconfigured dashboards to display critical metrics that are most important to your organization.