{"id":2463,"date":"2026-10-29T09:36:12","date_gmt":"2026-10-29T08:36:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thomas-kopton.de\/vblog\/?p=2463"},"modified":"2026-10-29T09:59:07","modified_gmt":"2026-10-29T08:59:07","slug":"vmware-vcf-operations-super-metrics-from-0-to-hero-part-1-anatomy-of-a-formula","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thomas-kopton.de\/vblog\/?p=2463","title":{"rendered":"VMware VCF Operations Super Metrics from 0 to Hero \u2013 Part 1: Anatomy of a Formula"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

VMware VCF Operations<\/mark> <\/strong>collects thousands of metrics out of the box, and for most day-to-day questions they are all you need. Sooner or later, though, every environment has questions the built-in metrics weren\u2019t designed to answer. A KPI that combines metrics from different objects or even different adapters. A value calculated for a scope that only exists in your organization, like an application, a tenant or a service tier. A company-specific threshold or score that turns raw numbers into \u201cgood\u201d, \u201cwatch\u201d and \u201cact\u201d. Or simply a metric at a level of the hierarchy where none is collected. That is where VCF Operations Super Metrics<\/mark> come in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Super Metrics are one of the most powerful features in VCF Operations, and at the same time probably one of the most underused. The syntax looks scary at first, and many people stop at copying a formula from a forum post without really knowing why it works. This series fixes that. In five parts we go from your very first formula to KPIs that drive alerts and dashboards:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Part 1 – Anatomy of a Formula<\/strong> <\/mark>(this post): what a super metric is, the four steps from formula to data, resource entries, this, metric keys, depth and the editor. We build our first super metric on a VM.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Part 2 – Looping Functions and Depth<\/mark><\/strong>: how one object aggregates many with sum<\/code>, avg<\/code>, min<\/code>, max<\/code> and count<\/code>, and how depth<\/code> makes one formula work on cluster, datacenter and vCenter. We build the “worst VM CPU ready” and the “vCPU to pCore” ratio.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Part 3 – Filtering and Logic<\/mark><\/strong>: the WHERE<\/code> clause, filtering on metrics, string operators and conditional expressions. We fix the ratio to count only powered-on VMs and build a 0\/1\/2 status code.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Part 4 – Hero Patterns<\/mark><\/strong>: aliasing, safe division and custom groups, plus the habits that keep super metrics fast and maintainable at scale. We build a cluster host CPU balance index.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Part 5 – Putting Super Metrics to Work<\/mark><\/strong>: symptoms and alerts, a KPI dashboard, version control with Git, and the six things to check when a value looks wrong.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The series is based on a hands-on workshop, so every part comes with examples you can build in your own environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    What is a Super Metric?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    A super metric is a formula that combines one or more metrics from one or more objects using math, aggregation and logic. VCF Operations computes it every collection cycle and stores the result like any other metric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    That last part is the important one. Once it is computed, a super metric is just a metric. You can chart it, put it in a view or a report, show it on a dashboard and alert on it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The lifecycle: four steps before you see data<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The most common question I get about super metrics is \u201cWhy does mine show no data?\u201d In nine out of ten cases, one of these four steps is missing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    1. Validate<\/strong> the formula.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    2. Preview<\/strong> it against a real object to check the result.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    3. Assign<\/strong> it to the object type(s) it should be computed on.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    4. Activate<\/strong> it in the policy that applies to those objects.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Two things to keep in mind. First, activate the super metric in the policy that covers the relevant objects, not the base policy for everything. Second, there is no backfill: values are collected from the moment of activation. If you need a KPI for next quarter\u2019s review, create it today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/a>
      Figure 01: Super Metric using the WHERE clause.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Anatomy of a formula<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Every value in a super metric comes from a resource entry<\/strong>, the part in ${\u2026}<\/code>. Here are the two forms you will use all the time:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      avg(${adaptertype=VMWARE, objecttype=VirtualMachine, metric=cpu|usage_average, depth=2})<\/code>

      ${this, metric=mem|guest_provisioned} \/ 1048576<\/code><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Let\u2019s take them apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n