Objective
To provide a centralized page listing the most commonly asked questions related to Optical Prime.
FAQ List
- Where do I upload .siokit files?
- How do I create a PPT or PDF report?
- I am an End User. Why can't I see the data from my collector run?
- How do I get to the support site?
- How do I report problems?
- How often is Optical Prime transmitting information?
- What is the port over which Optical Prime transmits data?
- Do I have to transmit in real time? What if I am unable to connect to the LiveOptics portal?
- What happens if the collector run loses connectivity to the LiveOptics servers?
- The system on which I executed my collector stopped working (logout, reboot, shutdown). What will happen to my collector run.
- A remote server is not accessible after the start of the collector is executed. What happens?
- Does Optical Prime collect data on SMB shares, NFS exports, or object stores?
- I have a mix of File Servers and Block storage. Can I use Optical Prime?
- Are back end--storage array--statistics collected in Optical Prime?
- I am a Dell employee. How do I register for access to the LiveOptics portal?
- I am an End User, Dell Partner, or Dell OEM. How do I register for access to the LiveOptics portal?
- I am a Channel Partner. I've requested to join the LiveOptics ecosystem. How do I know that I am registered?
- I am an End User. I've requested to join the LiveOptics ecosystem. How do I know that I am registered?
- How do I reset the password to my LiveOptics account?
- Does Optical Prime support Mac OS?
- Does LiveOptics have any information resources available to users of the portal?
Detailed FAQ and Answers
1. Where do I upload .siokit or .iokit files?
You can upload .siokit files in the "Upload SIOKIT" area of your portal.
2. How do I create a PPT or PDF report?
How To Create a Report (PDF/PPT) in Optical Prime
3. I am an End User. Why can't I see the data from my collector run?
You need a Dell User or a Channel Partner User to process your report, before you can view the content. If you are unsure of how to request a Dell or Channel Partner User to process your report, please see the tutorial on the LiveOptics Support site, within your portal.
4. How do I get to the support site?
Within your LiveOptics portal, https://app.liveoptics.com or directly at https://support.liveoptics.com.
Any requests for Optical Prime support should be imitated through the LiveOptics Support Site (click here).
6. How often is Optical Prime transmitting information?
Optical Prime is collecting data at frequent intervals on the network, to be kind to the network we compress and transmit collected data to the LiveOptics servers every 5 minutes.
7. What is the port over which Optical Prime transmits data?
Port 443
8. Do I have to transmit in real time? What if I am unable to connect to the LiveOptics portal?
Data streaming through the Optical Prime collector software is the recommended method of transferring your performance data to the LiveOptics servers for analysis. We do understand that there are circumstances where data streaming cannot be used. The Optical Prime software will create a .siokit (Secured IOKIT) file after each collector run has completed. If you are an End User, the .siokit file can be uploaded through the "Upload SIOKIT File" button on your LiveOptics portal Dashboard.
9. What happens if the collector run loses connectivity to the LiveOptics servers?
If your collector loses access to the LiveOptics servers, upon completion of the collection the temporary files will create a .siokit file. Simply click the "Upload .siokit file in your LiveOptics portal, select the path of your .siokit file and submit your siokit. You will be then asked whom you'd like to process your report. Follow the prompts.
10. The system on which I executed my collector stopped working (logout, reboot, shutdown). What will happen to my collector run?
If the collector stops working, there will be no SIOKIT file created nor will the data streaming complete correctly and cause issues with the Optical Prime project. There are two temporary files, beginning with "LiveOptics_Temp", from which we can recover an SIOKIT file that can be uploaded and a LiveOptics project created. Submit a LiveOptics Support ticket (click here) and attach both files so the LiveOptics Support Team can provide the recovered Optical Prime file.
11. A remote server is not accessible after the start of the collector is executed. What happens?
If one or more of the remote servers stop communicating with the Optical Prime software during the duration of the collector run, Optical Prime will restore communication when they come back online. The loss of server(s) will be reflected in the "participation" graph within the report Depending on the duration and scope of servers not reporting during the collector run, you may have to re-run Optical Prime to ensure that the Optical Prime analysis is not missing any important nodes. TO determine if Optical Prime should be re-run, please consult with your sales team or LiveOptics support team for advisement.
12. Does Optical Prime collect data on SMB shares, NFS exports, or object stores
If SMB shares and NFS exports are hosted by a certified host OS, Optical Prime can record the performance metrics; however if either of these protocols is hosted by a storage array or unsupported OS, Optical Prime cannot. Note that NFS exports are supported as datastores in VMWare 4.x and greater, so we can gather metrics through VMWare. SMB shares can be characterized using LiveOptics Dossier.
13. I have a mix of File Servers and Block storage. Can I use LiveOptics?
Yes! Even though we are enhancing Optical Prime to incorporate file-level information, Optical Prime collects valuable performance, capacity and network interface metrics on the physical and virtual hosts. This level of analysis can prove useful to sizing new solutions or assist with troubleshooting existing infrastructure.
14. Are back end--storage array--statistics collected in Optical Prime?
No. Optical Prime collects data at the host level. This can be at the physical host, virtual host, or virtual guest layer.
15. I am a Dell employee. How do I register for access to the LiveOptics portal?
All Dell employees are eligible for LiveOptics portal access. Go to https://app.liveoptics.com, click on the "First Time Dell Employee" link, and provide the requested information. Once the request is submitted, your LiveOptics account is created and you will be able to login to the portal.
16. I am an End User, Dell Partner, or Dell OEM. How do I register for access to the LiveOptics portal?
To request a LiveOptics account to be created, go to https://app.liveoptics.com/Register/stpchatlink and submit your request. The LiveOptics Team will receive your request and create your account within 8 hours.
17. I am a Channel Partner. I've requested to join the LiveOptics ecosystem? How do I know that I am registered?
Once your account has been registered to the LiveOptics portal, you will receive an email invitation to join LiveOptics from either your Dell representative (DellFirst_DellLast@dell.com) or "DPACK@dell.com". In the body of the email, click on the link. You will be re-directed to your LiveOptics portal to complete your registration. Once you've created a password, you're in!
18. I am an End User. I've requested to join the LiveOptics ecosystem? How do I know that I am registered?
Once your account has been registered to the LiveOptics portal, you will receive an email invitation to join LiveOptics from your Dell representative (DellFirst_DellLast@dell.com), your channel partner, or Live Optics. In the body of the email, click on the link. You will be re-directed to your LiveOptics portal to complete your registration. Once you've created a password, you're in!
19. How do I reset the password to my LiveOptics account?
Click the "Forgot my password" link at https://app.liveoptics.com domain and follow the instructions.
20. Does Optical Prime support Mac OS?
Mac OS is not supported by the Optical Prime collector software. Please review the Supported and Unsupported Operating Systems to determine if your OS is supported by LiveOptics. However, Optical Prime has supported Linux since inception. Granted, Mac runs on Unix, but there is little market for Mac. Almost all Mac scripts we have processed have shown exceptionally low performance demand. If you want to supply a brief overview of your customer's environment via a support ticket, we might be able to validate if is worth the effort to run our scripts and then process them manually.
21. Does LiveOptics have any information resources available to users of the portal?
The LiveOptics Team has created an informational series to provide information for the metrics reported within the LiveOptics projects and reports created. The "Understanding Optical Prime Data" series can be located here.
The LiveOptics Team has also setup a YouTube channel that additional informational videos for all LiveOptics Users. The following link will take you to the LiveOptics YouTube channel.
UPDATED: 12/19/17