Vi3!35!25 U2 Admin Guide

Basic Administration Guide
Update 2 and later for

ESX Server 3.5, ESX Server 3i version 3.5, VirtualCenter 2.5
This document supports the version of each product listed and
supports all subsequent versions until the document is replaced
by a new edition. To check for more recent editions of this
document, see http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.
EN-000029-07
VMware, Inc.
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Palo Alto, CA 94304
www.vmware.com
2 VMware, Inc.
Basic Administration Guide

You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware Web site at:
http://www.vmware.com/support/
The VMware Web site also provides the latest product updates.
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VMware is a registered trademark or trademark of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other
jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective
companies.
VMware, Inc. 3
Contents
AboutThisBook 13
GettingStarted
1 VMwareInfrastructureComponents 19
TwoApproachestoManagingVirtualMachines 20
ComponentsofVMwareInfrastructure 21
VMwareInfrastructureClientInterfaces 24
OptionalVirtualCenterComponents 24
VirtualCenterModules 26
ManagedComponents 26
FunctionalComponents 28
AccessPrivilegesComponents 29
2 UsingthisDocument 31
GettingStarted 32
VirtualMachineManagement 33
SystemAdministration 33
Appendixes 34
3 StartingandStoppingtheVMwareInfrastructureComponents 35
ESXServer 35
VirtualCenterServer 36
VerifyingThatVirtualCenterServerStarted 37
RestartingtheVirtualCenterServer 37
StoppingtheVirtualCenterServer 38
VIClient 38
StartingtheVIClientandLoggingIn 38
StoppingtheVIClientandLoggingOut 39
Basic System Administration
4 VMware, Inc.
VIWebAccess 40
VMwareServiceConsole 41
UsingDHCPfortheServiceConsole 41
ConnectingtotheServiceConsole 42
UsingCommandsontheServiceConsole 42
4 UsingtheVIClient 45
AbouttheVIClient 45
MenuBar 47
PopUpMenus 49
ConsoleMenu 50
NavigationBar 51
InventoryViewTabs 53
GettingStartedTabs 56
UsingtheTutorial 57
Toolbar 57
StatusBar,RecentTasks,andTriggeredAlarms 58
PanelSections 58
SortingandFilteringLists 59
UsingCustomAttributes 61
SelectingandViewingObjects 63
SelectingObjects 63
MonitoringObjects 65
PerformingActionsonObjects 65
ManagingVirtualCenterModules 67
5 SystemConfiguration 69
HostConfigurationforESXServerandVirtualCenter 69
HardwareTab 70
SoftwareTab 71
ESXServerNetworkConfiguration 72
ESXServerStorageConfiguration 72
ViewingSecurityConfigurationInformation 73
ViewingESXServerCommandInformation 74
VirtualCenterConfiguration 74
ConfiguringVirtualCenterCommunication 76
ConfiguringthePortThatVirtualCenterServerUses 77
ConfiguringVirtualCenterCommunicationoveraWebConnection 78
VirtualMachineConfiguration 79
WorkingwithActiveSessions 81
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Contents
AboutSNMPandVMwareInfrastructure 83
AboutMIBFiles 83
VMWAREROOTMIB 84
VMWAREENVMIB 84
VMWAREPRODUCTSMIB 85
VMWARERESOURCESMIB 86
VMWARETCMIB 88
VMWARETRAPSMIB 89
VMWAREVMINFOMIB 90
VMWAREVMKERNELMIB 92
UsingSNMPwithVirtualCenterServer 93
UsingSNMPwithESXServer3 94
ConfiguringtheESXServerAgentfromtheServiceConsole 95
ConfiguringSNMPTrapDestinationsforESXServer3 96
UsingSNMPwithESXServer3i 96
ConfiguringSNMPManagementClientSoftware 97
ConfiguringSNMPSecurityforESXServer3 97
SNMPDiagnostics 98
UsingSNMPwithGuestOperatingSystems 99
SystemLogFiles 99
ViewingSystemLogEntries 99
ExternalSystemLogs 101
ConfiguringSyslogonESXServerHosts 102
ExportingDiagnosticData 103
CollectingLogFiles 104
6 ManagingtheVIClientInventory 107
UnderstandingVIClientObjects 108
AddinganInventoryObject 110
MovingObjectsintheInventory 111
RemovinganInventoryObject 112
WorkingwithFilesintheDatastoreBrowser 113
AboutCopyingVirtualMachineDisks 114
PerforminganInitialDatacenterConsolidation 114
6 VMware, Inc.
VirtualMachineManagement
7 ConsolidatingtheDatacenter 117
AboutDatacenterConsolidation 118
ConsolidationPrerequisites 118
FirstTimeUse 119
AboutConsolidationServices 119
SpecifyingConsolidationSettings 120
FindingPhysicalSystems 120
SpecifyingScope 121
SupplyingSystemlevelAdministratorCredentials 122
ViewingAnalysisResults 122
AbouttheConfidenceMetric 123
ConsolidatingCandidates 123
AboutDiskResizing 124
ViewingConsolidationTasks 125
TroubleshootingConsolidation 125
DisableConsolidation 126
DisabletheCollectorService 126
UninstallGuidedConsolidation 126
8 ManagingHostsinVirtualCenter 127
AboutHosts 128
UnderstandingHostStates 129
AddingaHost 129
ConnectingorDisconnectingaHost 132
ReconnectingHostsAfterChangestotheVirtualCenterSSLCertificate 133
RemovingaHostfromaCluster 133
RemovingaHostfromVirtualCenter 135
MonitoringHostHealthStatus 137
ResettingSensors 138
RefreshingHealthStatusData 138
HostAdvancedConfigurationOptions 138
9 ImportingandExportingVirtualMachines 139
AboutOVF 140
ImportingaVirtualAppliance 140
ExportingaVirtualMachine 141
VMware, Inc. 7
Contents
10 CreatingVirtualMachines 143
UsingtheNewVirtualMachineWizard 144
PerformingAdditionalConfigurationBeforeCompletion 144
CreatingTypicalVirtualMachines 145
CreatingCustomVirtualMachines 148
MappingaSANLUN 153
InstallingaGuestOperatingSystem 154
InstallingandUpgradingVMwareTools 155
DisplayingtheVMwareToolsPropertiesDialogBox 162
VMwareToolsUpgrades 163
CustomVMwareToolsInstallation 165
WYSEMultimediaSupport 165
InstallingWYSEMultimediaSupportwithVMwareTools 166
InstallingWYSEMultimediaSupportaspartofaVMwareTools
Upgrade 166
11 ManagingVirtualMachines 169
ChangingVirtualMachinePowerStates 169
UnderstandingVirtualMachinePowerStates 170
UnderstandingTransitionalPowerStates 172
ManuallyPoweringaVirtualMachineOnandOff 172
UsingSuspendandResume 173
SchedulingaPowerStateChangeforaVirtualMachine 174
AddingandRemovingVirtualMachines 175
AddingExistingVirtualMachinestoVirtualCenter 175
RemovingVirtualMachinesfromVirtualCenter 175
ReturningaVirtualMachineorTemplatetoVirtualCenter 176
StartingandShuttingDownVirtualMachines 177
12 ConfiguringVirtualMachines 179
VirtualMachinePropertiesEditor 179
ChangingtheHardwareConfigurationofaVirtualMachine 180
ChangingVirtualMachineOptions 186
ChangingVirtualMachineResourceSettings 192
CPUResources 192
AdvancedCPUSettings 193
MemoryResources 194
DiskResources 196
8 VMware, Inc.
AddingNewHardware 196
LegacyVirtualMachines 201
UpgradingVirtualHardware 202
13 WorkingwithTemplatesandClones 203
UnderstandingTemplates 203
CreatingTemplates 204
EditingaTemplate 206
DeployingVirtualMachinesfromTemplates 207
DeletingTemplates 209
RegainingTemplates 210
CloningVirtualMachines 210
CreatingaScheduledTasktoCloneaVirtualMachine 212
14 CustomizingGuestOperatingSystems 215
PreparingforGuestCustomization 216
VirtualHardwareRequirementsforGuestCustomization 216
WindowsRequirementsforGuestCustomization 217
LinuxRequirementsforGuestCustomization 218
CustomizingaWindowsGuestOperatingSystem 218
CustomizingaLinuxGuestOperatingSystem 222
UsingtheCustomizationSpecificationWizard 224
UsingtheCloneVirtualMachineWizard 228
CompletingaGuestOperatingSystemCustomization 229
CompletingLinuxGuestOperatingSystemCustomization 229
CompletingWindowsGuestOperatingSystemCustomization 229
15 MigratingVirtualMachines 231
AboutMigration 232
ColdMigration 232
MigratingaSuspendedVirtualMachine 233
MigrationwithVMotion 233
HostConfigurationforVMotion 234
SharedStorage 234
VMotionNetworkingRequirements 235
Formoreinformationonhostnetworkingconfiguration,seetheESXServer
3ConfigurationGuideortheESXServer3iConfigurationGuide. 235
VMware, Inc. 9
Contents
AboutCPUCompatibility 235
AboutCPUFamiliesandFeatureSets 237
AboutEnhancedVMotionCompatibility 238
EVCRequirements 238
CreatinganEVCCluster 239
EnablingEVConanExistingCluster 240
AboutCPUCompatibilityMasks 241
VirtualMachineConfigurationRequirementsforVMotion 242
SwapfileLocationCompatibility 242
MigratingVirtualMachineswithSnapshots 243
UsingtheMigrateVirtualMachineWizard 243
AboutMigrationCompatibilityChecks 246
MigrationwithStorageVMotion 248
StorageVMotionRequirementsandLimitations 248
StorageVMotionRemoteCommandLineSyntax 249
DeterminingthePathtoaVirtualMachineConfigurationFile 250
DeterminingthePathtoaVirtualDiskFile 250
StorageVMotionCommandLineExamples 251
16 UsingSnapshots 253
UnderstandingSnapshots 253
RelationshipBetweenSnapshots 254
SnapshotsandOtherActivityintheVirtualMachine 255
TakingaSnapshot 255
ChangingDiskModetoExcludeVirtualDisksfromSnapshots 256
UsingtheSnapshotManager 257
RestoringaSnapshot 259
ParentSnapshot 259
Revert toSnapshotCommand 260
SystemAdministration
17 ManagingUsers,Groups,Permissions,andRoles 265
AccessElements 266
AccessRules 266
HierarchicalInheritance 267
MultiplePermissionSettings 267
TasksRequiringSettingsonMultipleObjects 268
10 VMware, Inc.
Users 269
Groups 271
Permissions 271
Roles 272
CreatingRoles 275
CloningRoles 276
EditingRoles 277
RemovingRoles 277
RenamingRoles 278
AccessPermissions 278
AssigningAccessPermissions 279
AdjustingtheSearchListinLargeDomains 282
ChangingAccessPermissions 283
RemovingAccessPermissions 284
18 SettingUpandMonitoringPerformanceStatisticsandResource
Maps 285
StatisticsCollection 285
AboutCollectionIntervalsandCollectionLevels 286
CollectionLevelScenarios 288
UsingCollectionLevelsEffectively 289
Howstatisticaldataisstoredinthedatabase 289
ConfiguringStatisticsCollectionIntervals 291
PerformanceCharts 293
ViewingCharts 293
SavingChartDatatoaFile 295
CustomizingChartViews 295
ResourceMaps 297
AboutVMotionResourceMaps 298
MapElementsandIcons 298
ViewingMaps 299
PrintingMaps 300
ExportingMaps 300
19 ManagingTasks,Events,andAlarms 301
ManagingTasks 301
UnderstandingTasks 302
ViewingandPerformingTasks 303
ManagingScheduledTasks 305
ReschedulingaScheduledTask 308
VMware, Inc. 11
Contents
RemovingaScheduledTask 308
CancelingaTask 309
ManagingEvents 311
ViewingAllEventMessages 311
ViewingSelectedEventMessages 313
SortingandFilteringEventMessages 314
ExportingEventMessages 315
ManagingAlarms 316
UnderstandingAlarms 317
PreparingforEmailMessageSMTPAlarmNotification 319
PreparingforSNMPAlarmNotification 320
CreatingAlarms 321
EditingAlarms 326
RemovingAlarms 327
Appendixes
A DefinedPrivileges 331
Alarms 332
Datacenter 333
Datastore 333
Extensions 334
Folders 334
Global 335
HostCIM 337
HostConfiguration 337
HostInventory 339
HostLocalOperations 341
Network 341
Performance 342
Permissions 342
Resource 343
ScheduledTask 344
Sessions 345
Tasks 345
12 VMware, Inc.
VirtualMachineConfiguration 346
VirtualMachineInteraction 348
VirtualMachineInventory 350
VirtualMachineProvisioning 350
VirtualMachineState 352
B InstallingtheMicrosoftSysprepTools 353
C PerformanceChartMetrics 357
CPU 358
VirtualMachine 359
Host 360
ResourcePool 360
Cluster 361
Disk 361
HostandVirtualMachine 361
Memory 362
VirtualMachine 362
Host 364
ResourcePool 366
Cluster 368
ClusterServices 369
Cluster 370
Network 370
HostandVirtualMachine 370
System 371
Index 373
VMware, Inc. 13

Thismanual,BasicSystemAdministration,describeshowtostartandstoptheVMware
InfrastructureClient(VIClient)components,buildyourVMwareInfrastructure
environment,monitorandmanagetheinformationgeneratedaboutthecomponents,
andsetuprolesandpermissionsforusersandgroupsusingtheVMwareInfrastructure
environment.Thismanualalsoprovidesinformationformanaging,creating,and
configuringvirtualmachinesinyourdatacenter.
Inaddition,thismanualprovidesbriefintroductionstothevarioustasksyoucan
performwithinthesystemaswellascrossreferencestothedocumentationthat
describesallthetasksindetail.
BasicSystemAdministrationcoversbothVMwareESXServer3.5and
VMware ESX Server3i,version3.5.Foreaseofdiscussion,thisbookusesthe
following productnamingconventions:
FortopicsspecifictoESXServer3.5,thisbookusesthetermESXServer3.
FortopicsspecifictoESXServer3iversion3.5,thisbookusestheterm
ESX Server 3i.
Fortopicscommontobothproducts,thisbookusesthetermESXServer.
Whentheidentificationofaspecificreleaseisimportanttoadiscussion,thisbook
referstotheproductbyitsfull,versionedname.
WhenadiscussionappliestoallversionsofESXServerforVMwareInfrastructure3,
thisbookusesthetermESXServer3.x.
About This Book
14 VMware, Inc.

Intended Audience
Theinformationpresentedinthismanualiswrittenforsystemadministratorswhoare
experiencedWindowsorLinuxsystemadministratorsandwhoarefamiliarwith
virtualmachinetechnologyanddatacenteroperations.
Document Feedback
VMwarewelcomesyoursuggestionsforimprovingourdocumentation.Ifyouhave
comments,sendyourfeedbackto:
docfeedback@vmware.com
VMware Infrastructure Documentation
TheVMwareInfrastructuredocumentationconsistsofthecombinedVMware
VirtualCenterandESXServerdocumentationset.
Abbreviations Used in Figures
ThefiguresinthisbookusetheabbreviationslistedinTable 1.
Technical Support and Education Resources
Thefollowingsectionsdescribethetechnicalsupportresourcesavailabletoyou.
To accessthecurrentversionsofthisbookandotherbooks,goto:
http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.
Table 1. Abbreviations
Abbreviation Description
database VirtualCenterdatabase
datastore Storageforthemanagedhost
dsk# Storagediskforthemanagedhost
hostn VirtualCentermanagedhosts
SAN Storageareanetworktypedatastoresharedbetweenmanagedhosts
tmplt Template
user# Userwithaccesspermissions
VC VirtualCenter
VM# Virtualmachinesonamanagedhost
VMware, Inc. 15
About This Book

Online and Telephone Support
Useonlinesupporttosubmittechnicalsupportrequests,viewyourproductand
contractinformation,andregisteryourproducts.Goto:
http://www.vmware.com/support
Customerswithappropriatesupportcontractsshouldusetelephonesupportforthe
fastestresponseonpriority1issues.Goto:
http://www.vmware.com/support/phone_support.html
Support Offerings
FindouthowVMwaresupportofferingscanhelpmeetyourbusinessneeds.Goto:
http://www.vmware.com/support/services
VMware Education Services
VMwarecoursesofferextensivehandsonlabs,casestudyexamples,andcourse
materialsdesignedtobeusedasonthejobreferencetools.Formoreinformationabout
VMwareEducationServices,goto:
http://mylearn1.vmware.com/mgrreg/index.cfm
16 VMware, Inc.

VMware, Inc. 17
Getting Started
18 VMware, Inc.
VMware, Inc. 19
1
ThischapterintroducesVMwareInfrastructurecomponentsandtheoperationsthat
youusewhenmanagingyourvirtualmachinesthroughESXServerorVirtualCenter
Server.
Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:
TwoApproachestoManagingVirtualMachinesonpage 20
ComponentsofVMwareInfrastructureonpage 21
VMwareInfrastructureClientInterfacesonpage 24
OptionalVirtualCenterComponentsonpage 24
VirtualCenterModulesonpage 26
ManagedComponentsonpage 26
FunctionalComponentsonpage 28
AccessPrivilegesComponentsonpage 29
VMware Infrastructure
Components 1
20 VMware, Inc.
Two Approaches to Managing Virtual Machines
VMwareInfrastructureClient(VIClient)isaflexible,configurablesolutionfor
managingyourvirtualmachines.Therearetwoprimarymethodsformanagingyour
virtualmachines:
DirectlythroughanESXServerhost(asingleorstandalonehost)thatcanmanage
onlythosevirtualmachines,andtheirresources,installedonit.
ThroughaVirtualCenterServerthatmanagesmultiplevirtualmachinesandtheir
resourcesdistributedovermanyESXServerhosts.
ThefigurebelowillustratesthecomponentsinanESXServerVirtualInfrastructure.
Figure 1-1. VMware Infrastructure Components with an ESX Server Host
datastore
VM VM VM
VI Client
Host Agent
VI Client
ESX Server host
VMware, Inc. 21
Chapter 1 VMware Infrastructure Components
ThefigurebelowillustratesthecomponentsinaVirtualCenterServerVirtual
Infrastructure.
Figure 1-2. VMware Infrastructure Components with a VirtualCenter Server
Components of VMware Infrastructure
TorunyourVMwareInfrastructureenvironment,youneedthefollowingitems:
ESXServerAvirtualizationplatformusedtocreatethevirtualmachinesasaset
ofconfigurationanddiskfilesthattogetherperformallthefunctionsofaphysical
machine.
ThroughESXServer,yourunthevirtualmachines,installoperatingsystems,run
applications,andconfigurethevirtualmachines.Configurationincludes
identifyingthevirtualmachinesresources,suchasstoragedevices.
Theserverprovidesbootstrapping,management,andotherservicesthatmanage
yourvirtualmachines.
EachESXServerhasaVIClientavailableforyourmanagementuse.Ifyour
ESX ServerisaregisteredhostwiththeVirtualCenterServer,aVIClientthat
accommodatestheVirtualCenterfeaturesisavailable.
VC
database
shared
datastore
datastore
VM VM VM
VirtualCenter
Agent
VirtualCenter
Server
VirtualCenter
License Server
VirtualCenter
Agent
VirtualCenter
Agent
VM VM VM VM VM VM
VI Client VI Client
ESX Server host ESX Server host ESX Server host
VI Client VI Client VI Client
22 VMware, Inc.
VirtualCenterAservicethatactsasacentraladministratorforVMware
ESX Serverhoststhatareconnectedonanetwork.VirtualCenterdirectsactionson
thevirtualmachinesandthevirtualmachinehosts(theESXServerhosts).
VirtualCenterServerTheworkingcoreofVirtualCenter.VirtualCenterServerisa
singleWindowsServiceandisinstalledtorunautomatically.AsaWindows
Service,theVirtualCenterServerrunscontinuouslyinthebackground,
performingitsmonitoringandmanagingactivitiesevenwhennoVIClientsare
connectedandevenifnobodyisloggedontothecomputerwhereitresides.
It musthavenetworkaccesstoallthehostsitmanagesandbeavailablefor
networkaccessfromanymachinewheretheVIClientisrun.
VirtualCenterServercanbeinstalledinaWindowsvirtualmachineonan
ESX Serverhost,allowingittotakeadvantageofthehighavailabilityaffordedby
VMwareHA.SeetheInstallationGuidefordetailsonsettingupthisconfiguration.
VirtualCentermodulesApplicationsthatprovideadditionalfeaturesand
functionalitytoVirtualCenter.Typically,modulesconsistofaservercomponent
andaclientcomponent.Aftertheservercomponentofamoduleisinstalled,itis
registeredwiththeVirtualCenterserverandtheclientcomponentisavailableto
VirtualCenterclientsfordownload(seeManagingVirtualCenterModuleson
page 67).AfteramoduleisinstalledonaVirtualCenterclient,itmightalterthe
interfacebyaddingviews,tabs,toolbarbuttons,ormenuoptionsrelatedtothe
addedfunctionality.
ModulesleveragecoreVirtualCentercapabilities,suchasauthenticationand
permissionmanagement,butcanhavetheirowntypesofevents,tasks,metadata,
andprivileges.
ModulesrequireVirtualCenter,buttheycanbeinstalledanytimeafter
VirtualCenterhasbeeninstalled.ModulesandVirtualCentercanbeupgraded
independentofeachother.
VirtualCenterdatabaseApersistentstorageareaformaintainingstatusofeach
virtualmachine,host,andusermanagedintheVirtualCenterenvironment.
The VirtualCenterdatabasecanberemoteorlocaltotheVirtualCenterServer
machine.
ThedatabaseisinstalledandconfiguredduringVirtualCenterinstallation.
IfyouareaccessingyourESXServerhostdirectlythroughaVIClient,andnot
throughaVirtualCenterServerandassociatedVIClient,youdonotusea
VirtualCenterdatabase.
VMware, Inc. 23
DatastoreThestoragelocationsforthevirtualmachinefilesspecifiedwhen
creatingvirtualmachines.Datastoreshidetheidiosyncrasiesofvariousstorage
options(suchasVMFSvolumesonlocalSCSIdisksoftheserver,theFibreChannel
SANdiskarrays,theiSCSISANdiskarrays,orNetworkAttachedStorage(NAS)
arrays)andprovideauniformmodelforvariousstorageproductsrequiredby
virtualmachines.
VirtualCenteragentOneachmanagedhost,softwarethatcollects,
communicates,andexecutestheactionsreceivedfromtheVirtualCenterServer.
TheVirtualCenteragentisinstalledthefirsttimeanyhostisaddedtothe
VirtualCenterinventory.
HostagentOneachmanagedhost,softwarethatcollects,communicates,and
executestheactionsreceivedthroughtheVIClient.Itisinstalledaspartofthe
ESX Serverinstallation.
VirtualCenterlicenseserverAserverthatstoressoftwarelicensesrequiredfor
mostoperationsinVirtualCenterandESXServer,suchaspoweringonavirtual
machine.
VMwareInfrastructuresupportsmultiplemodesoflicensing.Notallmodesof
licensingrequirealicenseserver.VirtualCenterandfeaturesthatrequire
VirtualCenter,suchasVMwareVMotion,requirealicenseserver.
FormoreinformationonVirtualCenterandESXServer3licensing,seethe
InstallationGuide.FormoreinformationonESXServer3ilicensing,seetheSetup
GuideforyourESXServer3iproduct.
Forcompleteinformationoninstallingthesecomponents,seetheInstallationGuide.
ForcompleteinformationonconfiguringESXServer3,seetheESXServer3
ConfigurationGuide.ForcompleteinformationonconfiguringESXServer3i,seethe
ESXServer3iConfigurationGuide.
24 VMware, Inc.
VMware Infrastructure Client Interfaces
VMwareInfrastructureClientinterfaceoptionsinclude:
VMwareInfrastructureClient(VIClient)Arequiredcomponentandthe
primaryinterfaceforcreating,managing,andmonitoringvirtualmachines,their
resources,andtheirhosts.Italsoprovidesconsoleaccesstovirtualmachines.
VIClientisinstalledonaWindowsmachinewithnetworkaccesstoyour
ESX ServerorVirtualCenterServerinstallation.Theinterfacedisplaysslightly
differentoptionsdependingonwhichtypeofserveryouareconnectedto.
While allVirtualCenteractivitiesareperformedbytheVirtualCenterServer,you
mustusetheVIClienttomonitor,manage,andcontroltheserver.Asingle
VirtualCenterServerorESXServerhostcansupportmultiple,simultaneously
connectedVIClients.
VirtualInfrastructureWebAccess(VIWebAccess)AWebinterfacethrough
whichyoucanperformbasicvirtualmachinemanagementandconfigurationand
getconsoleaccesstovirtualmachines.ItisinstalledwithyourESXServerhost.
SimilartotheVIClient,VIWebAccessworksdirectlywithahostorthrough
VirtualCenter.SeetheVIWebAccessAdministratorsGuideforadditional
information.
VMwareServiceConsoleAcommandlineinterfaceforconfiguringan
ESX Server3host.ForanESXServer3ihost,usetheRemoteCLI.
RemoteCommandLineInterface(RemoteCLI)Acommandlineinterfacefor
configuringanESXServerhost.TheRemoteCLIcanalsobeusedtoperform
StorageVMotionoperationsonbothESXServer3iandESXServer3version3.5
hosts.
Optional VirtualCenter Components
OptionalVirtualCentercomponentsarepackagedandinstalledwiththebaseproduct,
butrequireaseparatelicense.Optionalfeaturesinclude:
VMotionAfeaturethatenablesyoutomoverunningvirtualmachinesfromone
ESXServerhosttoanotherwithoutserviceinterruption.Itrequireslicensingon
boththesourceandtargethost.TheVirtualCenterServercentrallycoordinatesall
VMotionactivities.
VMwareHAAfeaturethatenablesaclusterwithHighAvailability.Ifahostgoes
down,allvirtualmachinesthatwererunningonthehostarepromptlyrestarted
ondifferenthostsinthesamecluster.
VMware, Inc. 25
WhenyouenabletheclusterforHA,youspecifythenumberofhostsyouwould
liketobeabletorecover.Ifyouspecifythenumberofhostfailuresallowedas1,
HAmaintainsenoughcapacityacrosstheclustertotoleratethefailureofonehost.
Allrunningvirtualmachinesonthathostcanberestartedonremaininghosts.By
default,youcannotpoweronavirtualmachineifdoingsoviolatesrequired
failovercapacity.SeeResourceManagementGuideformoreinformation.
VMwareDRSAfeaturethathelpsimproveresourceallocationandpower
consumptionacrossallhostsandresourcepools.VMwareDRScollectsresource
usageinformationforallhostsandvirtualmachinesintheclusterandgives
recommendations(ormigratesvirtualmachines)inoneoftwosituations:
InitialplacementWhenyoufirstpoweronavirtualmachineinthecluster,
DRSeitherplacesthevirtualmachineormakesarecommendation.
LoadbalancingDRStriestoimproveresourceutilizationacrossthecluster
byperformingautomaticmigrationsofvirtualmachines(VMotion)orby
providingarecommendationforvirtualmachinemigrations.
VMwareDRSincludesexperimentaldistributedpowermanagement(DPM)
capabilities.WhenDPMisenabled,thesystemcomparesclusterandhostlevel
capacitytothedemandsofvirtualmachinesrunninginthecluster.Basedonthe
resultsofthecomparison,DPMrecommends(orautomaticallyimplements)
actionsthatcanreducethepowerconsumptionofthecluster.
VMwareInfrastructureSDKpackageAPIsformanagingvirtualinfrastructure
anddocumentationdescribingthoseAPIs.TheSDKalsoincludesthe
VirtualCenterWebServiceinterface,WebServicesDescriptionLanguage(WSDL),
andexamplefiles.Thisisavailablethroughanexternallink.TodownloadtheSDK
package,seehttp://www.vmware.com/support/developer.
26 VMware, Inc.
VirtualCenter Modules
VirtualCentermodulesextendthecapabilitiesofVirtualCenterbyprovidingadditional
featuresandfunctionality.Somemodulesarepackagedseparatelyfromthebase
productandrequireseparateinstallation.Modulesandthebaseproductcanbe
upgradedindependentlyofeachother.VMwaremodulesinclude:
VMwareUpdateManagerEnablesadministratorstoapplyupdatesandpatches
acrossESXServerhostsandallmanagedvirtualmachines.Thismoduleprovides
theabilitytocreateuserdefinedsecuritybaselineswhichrepresentasetofsecurity
standards.Securityadministratorscancomparehostsandvirtualmachines
againstthesebaselinestoidentifyandremediatesystemsthatarenotin
compliance.
VMwareConverterEnterpriseforVirtualCenterEnablesuserstoconvert
physicalmachines,andvirtualmachinesinavarietyofformats,toESXServer
virtualmachines.ConvertedsystemscanbeimportedintotheVirtualCenter
inventory.
Managed Components
VirtualCentermonitorsandmanagesvariouscomponentsofyourvirtualandphysical
infrastructure.Somecomponentsareavailablefororganizingpotentiallyhundredsof
virtualmachinesandotherobjects.Theycanberenamedtorepresenttheirpurposes;
forexample,theycanbenamedaftercompanydepartmentsorlocationsorfunctions.
Themanagedcomponentsare:
VirtualMachinesandTemplatesAvirtualizedx86personalcomputer
environmentinwhichaguestoperatingsystemandassociatedapplication
softwarecanrun.Multiplevirtualmachinescanoperateonthesamemanagedhost
machineconcurrently.Templatesareadesignatedtypeofvirtualmachine.
HostsTheprimarycomponentuponwhichallvirtualmachinesreside.Ifthe
VMwareInfrastructureClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,allhosts
managedbythatVirtualCenterServerareavailableformanagement.Ifthe
VMwareInfrastructureClientisconnecteddirectlytoanESXServerhost,onlythat
hostisavailableformanagement.
NOTEWhenVirtualCenterreferstoahost,thismeansthephysicalmachineon
whichthevirtualmachinesarerunning.AllvirtualmachineswithintheVMware
InfrastructureenvironmentrunonESXServerorhosts.Thetermhostinthis
manualmeanstheESXServerhostthathasvirtualmachinesonit.
VMware, Inc. 27
ResourcepoolsAstructurethatallowsdelegationofcontrolovertheresources
ofahost.Resourcepoolsareusedtocompartmentalizeallresourcesinacluster.
Youcancreatemultipleresourcepoolsasdirectchildrenofahostorclusterand
configurethem.Thendelegatecontroloverthemtootherindividualsor
organizations.ThemanagedresourcesareCPUandmemoryfromahostorcluster.
Virtualmachinesexecutein,anddrawtheirresourcesfrom,resourcepools.
ClustersAcollectionofESXServerhostswithsharedresourcesandashared
managementinterface.Whenyouaddahosttoacluster,thehostsresources
becomepartoftheclustersresources.Theclustermanagestheresourcesofall
hosts.SeetheResourceManagementGuide.
DatastoresVirtualrepresentationsofcombinationsofunderlyingphysical
storageresourcesinthedatacenter.Thesephysicalstorageresourcescancome
fromthelocalSCSIdiskoftheserver,theFibreChannelSANdiskarrays,theiSCSI
SANdiskarrays,orNetworkAttachedStorage(NAS)arrays.
NetworksNetworksthatconnectvirtualmachinestoeachotherinthevirtual
environmentortothephysicalnetworkoutside.
FoldersContainersusedtogroupobjectsandorganizethemintohierarchies.
Thisisnotonlyconvenientbutalsoprovidesanaturalstructureuponwhichto
applypermissions.
Therearethreetypesoffolders,eachofwhichcancontainotherfolders(ofthe
sametype)andexactlyoneothertypeofobject.Theseobjectsare:
Datacenters
Virtualmachines(whichincludetemplates)
Computeresources(whichincludehostsandclusters)
Thedatacenterfoldersformahierarchydirectlyundertherootnodeandallow
userstogrouptheirdatacentersinanyconvenientway.Withineachdatacenteris
onehierarchyoffolderswithvirtualmachinesandtemplatesandonehierarchyof
folderswithhostsandclusters.
28 VMware, Inc.
DatacentersUnlikeafolder,whichisusedtoorganizeaspecificobjecttype,a
datacenterisanaggregationofallthedifferenttypesofobjectsneededtodowork
invirtualinfrastructure:hosts,virtualmachines,networks,anddatastores.
Withinadatacentertherearefourseparatehierarchies.
Virtualmachines(andtemplates)
Hosts(andclusters)
Networks
Datastores
Becauseitisnotpossibletoputnetworksordatastoresintofolders,theNetworks
andDatastoreshierarchiesarealwaysflatlists
Datacentersactasthenamespaceboundaryfortheseobjects.Youcannothavetwo
objects(forexample,twohosts)withthesamenameinthesamedatacenter,but
youcanhavetwoobjectswiththesamenameindifferentdatacenters.
Functional Components
ThefunctionalcomponentsmonitorandmanagetasksintheVMwareInfrastructure
environment.Thefunctionalcomponentsareavailablethroughanavigationbuttonbar
intheVIClient.Theoptionsare:
InventoryAviewofallthemonitoredobjectsinVirtualCenter.Monitored
objectsincludedatacenters,resourcepools,clusters,networks,datastores,
templates,hosts,andvirtualmachines.
ScheduledtasksAlistofactivitiesandameanstoschedulethoseactivities.
This isavailablethroughVirtualCenterServeronly.
EventsAlistofalltheeventsthatoccurintheVirtualCenterenvironment.
Use theNavigationoptiontodisplayalltheevents.Useanobjectspecificpanelto
displayonlytheeventsrelativetothatobject.
AdminAlistofenvironmentlevelconfigurationoptions.TheAdminoption
providesconfigurationaccesstoRoles,Sessions,Licenses,Diagnostics,and
SystemLogs.WhenconnectedtoanESXServerhost,onlytheRolesoption
appears.
MapsAvisualrepresentationofthestatusandstructureoftheVMware
Infrastructureenvironmentandtherelationshipsbetweenmanagedobjects.
This includeshosts,networks,virtualmachines,anddatastores.Thisisavailable
onlythroughVirtualCenterServer.
VMware, Inc. 29
VariousinformationlistsaregeneratedandtrackedbyyourVMwareInfrastructure
Clientactivity:
TasksTheseactivitiesarescheduledorinitiatedmanually.Tasksgenerateevent
messagesthatindicateanyissuesassociatedwiththetask.
EventsMessagesthatreportVMwareInfrastructureactivity.Eventmessagesare
predefinedintheproduct.
AlarmsSpecificnotificationsthatoccurinresponsetoselectedevents.Some
alarmsaredefinedbyproductdefault.Additionalalarmscanbecreatedand
appliedtoselectedinventoryobjectsorallinventoryobjects.
LogsStoredreferenceinformationrelatedtoselectedeventmessages.Logsare
predefinedintheproduct.Youcanconfigurewhetherselectedlogsaregenerated.
Access Privileges Components
EachuserlogsontoaVirtualCenterServerorahostthroughtheVIClient.Eachuser
isidentifiedtotheserverassomeonewhohasrightsandprivilegestoselectedobjects,
suchasdatacentersandvirtualmachines,withintheVMwareInfrastructure
environment.VirtualCenterServeritselfhasfullrightsandprivilegesonallhostsand
virtualmachineswithintheVMwareInfrastructureenvironment.Theserverpasseson
onlythoseactionsandrequestsfromauserthattheuserhaspermissiontoperform.
TheservergrantsaccesstoeachVMwareInfrastructureClientobject,datacenter,folder,
orvirtualmachine.Todothis,youassignaroleandauser(orgroup)toeachobject.
IndividualpermissionsareassignedthroughtheVIClientbypairingauserandarole
andassigningthispairtoaVMwareInfrastructureClientobject:
UsersandGroupsForVirtualCenter,usersandgroupsarecreatedand
maintainedthroughtheWindowsdomainorActiveDirectorydatabase.Usersand
groupsareregisteredwithVirtualCenter,orcreatedandregisteredwithan
ESX Server,throughtheprocessthatassignsprivileges.
RolesAsetofaccessrightsandprivileges.Thereareselecteddefaultroles.
You canalsocreaterolesandassigncombinationsofprivilegestoeachrole.
30 VMware, Inc.
VMware, Inc. 31
2
BasicSystemAdministrationdescribesthetasksyoumustcompletetoconfigurethe
VMwareInfrastructureClient(VIClient)andvirtualmachines.Beforeusingthe
informationinBasicSystemAdministration,readtheIntroductiontoVMware
Infrastructureforanoverviewofsystemarchitectureandthephysicalandvirtual
devicesthatmakeupaVMwareInfrastructuresystem.
Thischaptersummarizestheinformationcontainedinthismanualonthefollowing
topics:
VMwareInfrastructurecomponents
Administrationtools
Systemconfiguration
Virtualmachinemanagementandconfiguration
Accessandpermissionsmanagement
Systemadministrationandmanagement
Using this Document 2
32 VMware, Inc.
Getting Started
Theintroductorydiscussionspanssevenchaptersanddescribesthesystem
components,systemmanagementtools,andthebasictasksyoumustcompleteto
configureyourVMwareInfrastructureClient.Theintroductorypartcontainsthe
followingchapters:
UsingthisDocumentSummarizesthecontentsofthisguidesothatyoucanfind
theinformationyouneed.
VMwareInfrastructureComponentsIntroducesyoutotheVMware
Infrastructurecomponentsandoperationsyouusewhenmanagingyourvirtual
machinesthroughESXServerorVirtualCenterServer.
StartingandStoppingtheVMwareInfrastructureComponentsDescribeshowto
startandstopeachoftheVMwareInfrastructurecomponents.Thisincludesthe
ESXServer,VirtualCenterServer,VMwareInfrastructureClient,Virtual
InfrastructureWebAccess,VirtualCenterhostagent,VirtualCenterlicenseserver,
andtheVMwareServiceConsole.
UsingtheVIClientDescribesthespecificlayoutandnavigationoftheVIClient.
SystemConfigurationContainsinformationforconfiguringadministration
options,VirtualCenterServersettings,andmanaginghostconfigurationoptions.
Italsoincludessomebasicsystemconfigurationinformation,suchashowto
accessandconfigurelogfilesandsetupSNMP.
ManagingtheVIClientInventoryDescribeshowtoperformtaskswithobjectsin
yourVMwareInfrastructureenvironment.Thisincludesfolders,datacenters,
clusters,resourcepools,networks,anddatastores.Theseobjectsareusedto
manageororganizethemonitoredandmanagedhostsandvirtualmachines.
ManagingHostsinVirtualCenterDescribeshowtoperformmanaged
hostrelatedtasks.
VMware, Inc. 33
Chapter 2 Using this Document
Virtual Machine Management
Thevirtualmachinemanagementdiscussionconsistsofsevenchaptersthatprovidea
basicunderstandingofvirtualmachinesandhowtomanage,configure,andcustomize
them.Thevirtualmachinemanagementpartcontainsthefollowingchapters:
CreatingVirtualMachinesDescribeshowtocreatevirtualmachinesbyusingthe
NewVirtualMachinewizardandbycloningexistingvirtualmachines.
ManagingVirtualMachinesDescribesvirtualmachinetasks,includingaddinga
virtualmachinetoandremovingitfromtheVIClientandpoweringonandoff
virtualmachines.
ConfiguringVirtualMachinesDescribeshowtoeditandconfigureyourexisting
virtualmachines.Italsodiscussesadvancedvirtualmachineconfiguration
options.
UsingSnapshotsExplainshowtocapturetheentirestateofthevirtualmachine
usingthesnapshotsfeature.
WorkingwithTemplatesandClonesDescribescreatingtemplatesandusing
virtualmachinetemplatestocreateandprovisionnewvirtualmachines.
MigratingVirtualMachinesDescribestheprocessofmigratingormovinga
virtualmachinefromonehosttoanother.
CustomizingGuestOperatingSystemsExplainshowtocustomizetheidentity
andnetworksettingsofyourvirtualmachinesguestoperatingsystemsothatitis
readytobeginworkimmediatelyinyourtargetenvironment.
System Administration
Thesystemadministrationpartcontainsthefollowingchapters:
ManagingUsers,Groups,Permissions,andRolesDescribeshowtomanage
accesstoVMwareInfrastructureinventoryobjects.Itexplainshowtoconfigure
users,groups,roles,andpermissions.
SettingUpandMonitoringPerformanceStatisticsandResourceMapsDescribes
theperformancemonitoringpiecesoftheVMwareInfrastructureClientdata
presentedintheVIClient.ItalsodescribestheVMwareInfrastructureClientMaps
feature.
ManagingTasks,Events,andAlarmsDescribeshowtocreate,configure,anduse
tasks,events,andalarms.
34 VMware, Inc.
Appendixes
BasicSystemAdministrationprovidesthesefourappendixeswithspecialized
informationyoumightfindusefulwhenconfiguringyourVMwareInfrastructure
environment:
DefinedPrivilegesIncludestableswiththepermissionsandrolesthatare
availablewiththeVMwareInfrastructuresystem.
InstallingtheMicrosoftSysprepToolsDescribeshowtoinstalltheMicrosoft
SyspreptoolsonyourVirtualCenterServermachine.InstallingtheSyspreptools
isarequirementifyouplantocustomizeaWindowsguestoperatingsystem.
PerformanceChartMetricsIncludestableswiththemeasurementoptionsfor
eachresourcemonitoredonahost.
VMware, Inc. 35
3
Thischapterincludesinformationonhowtostartandstopeachoneofthemajor
VMwareInfrastructurecomponents,ESXServerandVirtualCenterServer.
ESXServeronpage 35
VirtualCenterServeronpage 36
VIClientonpage 38
VIWebAccessonpage 40
VMwareServiceConsoleonpage 41
ESX Server
WhenyouinstallESXServer,itstartsitselfthroughtheinstallationrebootprocess.
If yourESXServerisshutdown,youmustmanuallyrestartit.
To start your ESX Server
OnthephysicalboxwhereESXServerisinstalled,pressthepowerbuttonuntilthe
poweronsequencebegins.
TheESXServerboots,discoversitsvirtualmachines,andproceedswithitsnormal
ESX Serverfunctions.
Youhavetheoptiontopowerofforrestart(reboot)anyESXServerhostusingthe
VI Client.ESXServer3hostscanalsobepoweredofffromtheserviceconsole.
PoweringoffamanagedhostdisconnectsitfromtheVirtualCenterServerbutdoesnot
removeitfromtheinventory.
Starting and Stopping the
Components 3
36 VMware, Inc.
To reboot or shut down your ESX Server
1 ShutdownallvirtualmachinesrunningontheESXServerhost.
2 IfconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,displaytheinventorysHosts&Clusters
panel.Selecttheappropriaterootfolder(bydefaultlabeledHosts&Clusters)or
subfolder.
3 SelecttheappropriateESXServerintheinventorypanel.
4 Fromthemainorrightclickpopupmenu,chooseRebootorShutDown,as
appropriate.
IfRebootisselected,theESXServershutsdownandreboots.
IfShutDownisselected,theESXServershutsdown.Youmustmanually
powerthesystembackon.
5 Provideareasonfortheshutdown.
Thisinformationisaddedtothelog.
To manually stop an ESX Server 3 host
1 LogintotheESXServerserviceconsole.
SeeConnectingtotheServiceConsoleonpage 42forinformationonaccessing
theserviceconsole.
2 Executetheshutdowncommand.
Forexample:
: shutdown -h now
ESXServer3gracefullyshutsdown.Whenitisfinished,amessageindicatesthat
itissafetopoweroffyoursystem.
3 Pressthepowerbuttonuntilthemachinepowersoff.
VirtualCenter Server
VirtualCentermanagesmultiplehoststhatcancontainmultiplevirtualmachines.
To performanyactivitieswiththeVirtualCenter,youmustusethe
VMware InfrastructureClient.
TheVirtualCenterServerstartswhenyoustarttheWindowsmachineonwhichitis
installed.Italsorestartswhenthismachineisrebooted.
VMware, Inc. 37
Chapter 3 Starting and Stopping the VMware Infrastructure Components
ThefollowingsectionsdiscussstartingandstoppingelementsrelatedtoVirtualCenter:
VerifyingThatVirtualCenterServerStartedonpage 37
RestartingtheVirtualCenterServeronpage 37
StoppingtheVirtualCenterServeronpage 38
Verifying That VirtualCenter Server Started
VirtualCenterisaservice,soproceedtoyourWindowsserviceslistandverifythatthe
servicestarted.
To verify that the VirtualCenter Server is running
1 GototheServicesdisplayforyourversionofWindows.
Forexample,selectControlPanel>AdministrativeTools>Services.Click
VMwareInfrastructureServer.
TheStatuscolumnindicateswhethertheservicestarted.
2 RightclicktheVMwareInfrastructureServerandchooseProperties.Inthe
VMwareVirtualCenterServicesPropertiesdialogbox,clicktheGeneraltaband
viewtheservicestatus.
Restarting the VirtualCenter Server
TheVirtualCenterServerservicestartswhenthemachineonwhichitisinstalledis
booted.IfyouhavemanuallystoppedtheVirtualCenterServerserviceormuststartit
foranyreason,performthestepsbelow.
To restart the VirtualCenter Server through Windows Services
Forexample,selectControlPanel>AdministrativeTools>Services.Click
VMwareInfrastructureServer.
2 RightclickVMwareInfrastructureServer,chooseStart,andwaitforstartupto
complete.
3 ClosethePropertiesdialogbox.
NOTEWhenVirtualCenterisinstalled,allusersinthelocalmachinesAdministrators
groupareassignedtheAdministratorrolewithfullprivilegesintheVirtualCenter
environment.AVirtualCenterAdministratormustsetpermissionsforallother
VirtualCenterusers.SeeAssigningAccessPermissionsonpage 279foradditional
information.
38 VMware, Inc.
Stopping the VirtualCenter Server
TheVirtualCenterServerisaWindowsservice.YoucanusetheWindowsinterfaceto
selecttheserviceandstopit.
YoushouldnothavetostoptheVirtualCenterServer.ItisbestfortheVirtualCenter
Servertohavecontinuousoperation.Continuousoperationensuresthatallmonitoring
andtaskactivitiesareperformedasexpected.
To stop the VirtualCenter Server
Forexample,selectStart>ControlPanel>AdministrativeTools>Services.
Click VMwareVirtualCenterService.
2 RightclicktheVMwareVirtualCenterServer,chooseStop,andwaitforittostop.
3 ClosethePropertiesdialogbox.
VI Client
TheVMwareInfrastructureClientisusedtologintoeitheraVirtualCenterServeror
anESXServerhost.EachserversupportsmultipleVIClientsessions.TheVIClientcan
beinstalledonanymachinethathasnetworkaccesstotheVirtualCenterServeroran
ESXserverhost.
Bydefault,administratorsareallowedtologintoaVirtualCenterServer.
Administratorsherearedefinedtobeeither:
MembersofthelocalAdministratorsgroupiftheVirtualCenterServerisnota
domaincontroller.
MembersofthedomainAdministratorsgroupiftheVirtualCenterServerisa
domaincontroller.
Starting the VI Client and Logging In
TheVIClientistheinterfacetoESXServerhostsandtheVirtualCenterServer.When
youstarttheVIClient,ithasasingleopeningpage.Whenyoulogin,theVIClient
displaysonlythefeaturesandfunctionsthatareappropriatetothetypeofserveryou
loggedonto.
VMware, Inc. 39
To start a VI Client session
1 LogintoyourWindowssystem.
2 ThefirsttimeyoustarttheVIClient,loginastheadministrator.
a Ifthemanagedhostisnotadomaincontroller,loginaseither<local host
name>\<user>or<user>,where<user>isamemberofthelocal
Administratorsgroup.
b Ifthemanagedhostisadomaincontroller,youmustloginas
<domain>\<user>,where<domain>isthedomainnameforwhichthe
managedhostisacontrollerand<user> isamemberofthatdomains
DomainAdministratorsgroup.Thispracticeofrunningonadomain
controllerisnotrecommended.
3 LaunchtheVIClient.
DoubleclickashortcutorchoosetheapplicationthroughStart>Programs>
VMware>VMwareInfrastructureClient.
4 Logintotheserver.
Enterorchoosetheservername,yourusername,andyourpasswordforthat
server.ClickLogintocontinue.
IfthisisthefirsttimeyouhaveloggedontotheVirtualCenterServer,anempty
Inventoryscreenappears.Addadatacenterandhosttobeginmonitoringand
managingyourvirtualmachinesthroughtheVMwareInfrastructureClient.
See ManagingtheVIClientInventoryonpage 107foradditionalinformation.
Stopping the VI Client and Logging Out
WhenyounolongermustvieworaltertheactivitiesthatVirtualCenterisperforming,
logoutoftheVIClient.
To stop a VI Client session
Clicktheclosebox(X)inthecorneroftheVIClientwindow,orchooseFile>Exit.
TheVIClientshutsdown.TheVIClientisloggedofftheserver.Theserver
continuestorunallitsnormalactivitiesinthebackground.Anyscheduledtasks
aresavedandperformedbytheVirtualCenterServer.
NOTEOnlypreviouslytypedserversappearintheServerdropdownmenu.
NOTEClosingaVIClientdoesnotstoptheserver.
40 VMware, Inc.
VI Web Access
VI WebAccessistheWebinterfacethroughwhichyoucanmanageyourvirtual
machines.VI WebAccessisinstalledwhenyouinstallESXServer.AswiththeVIClient,
VIWebAccesscaneitherbeusedtoconnectdirectlytoanESXServerhostorto
VirtualCenter.ThefunctionalityofVI WebAccessisasubsetofVIClientfunctionality.
TheVI WebAccessconsoleprovidesaremotemousekeyboardscreen(MKS)forthe
virtualmachines.Youcaninteractwithaguestoperatingsystemrunninginavirtual
machineandconnectremotelytothevirtualmachinesmouse,keyboard,andscreen.
ForinformationonhowtouseVI WebAccesstoconfigurevirtualmachinesfor
ESX ServerandVirtualCenter,seetheVirtualInfrastructureWebAccessAdministratorsGuide.
VIWebAccessusesaWebinterfaceandaninternetconnectiontoaccessyour
ESX ServerorVirtualCenterServer.
To log in to VI Web Access
1 LaunchyourWebbrowser.
2 EntertheURLofyourESXServerorVirtualCenterServerinstallation:
https://<host or server name>/ui
TheVIWebAccessloginpageappears.
Theloginpagecontainsfieldsforyourusernameandpassword.Thisusername
andpasswordarethesamecredentialsyouwoulduseifyouconnectedusingthe
VIClient.Also,thesamepermissionsareusedtodetermineifausercanviewand
manipulateobjects.VI WebAccessdoesnothaveitsownconceptofusersor
permissions.
VMware, Inc. 41
3 Typeyourusernameandpassword,andclickLogIn.
TheVI WebAccesshomepageappears.
AfteryourusernameandpasswordareauthorizedbyVI WebAccess,theVI Web
Accesshomepageappears.TheVI WebAccesshomepagecontains:
Detailsaboutvirtualmachinesontheservertowhichyouareconnected.
Theoptiontoaccessthedetailspageforavirtualmachinewhereyoufind
informationaboutvirtualdevices,configurationoptions,andasummaryof
recentevents.
To log out of VI Web Access
ClicktheLogOutlinkfoundatthecornerofeverypage.Youarepromptedtoconfirm
thatyouwanttologout.
VMware Service Console
InpreviousversionsofESXServer,theserviceconsolewasoneoftheinterfacesto
ESX Serverhosts.StartingwithESXServer3,manyofthecommandsaredeprecated.
TheserviceconsoleistypicallyusedonlyinconjunctionwithaVMwaretechnical
supportrepresentative.
ESXServer3idoesnothaveaserviceconsole.Someserviceconsolecommandsare
availableforESXServer3ithroughtheRemoteCLI.
TheVMwareInfrastructureSDKisusedforscriptedmanipulationofyourVMware
Infrastructureinstead.TheVMwareInfrastructureClientistheprimaryinterfacetoall
nonscriptedactivities,includingconfiguring,monitoring,andmanagingyourvirtual
machinesandresources.
Using DHCP for the Service Console
TherecommendedsetupistousestaticIPaddressesfortheserviceconsoleofan
ESX Server3host.YoucansetuptheserviceconsoletouseDHCP,ifyourDNSserver
iscapableofmappingtheserviceconsoleshostnametothedynamicallygenerated
IP address.
NOTEIfyouareusinganyremoteclientdevicesthroughVI WebAccess,theyare
disconnectedwhenyoulogout.
42 VMware, Inc.
IfyourDNSservercannotmapthehostsnametoitsDHCPgeneratedIPaddress,you
mustdeterminetheserviceconsolesnumericIPaddressyourself.Anothercaution
againstusingDHCPisthatthenumericIPaddressmightchangeasDHCPleasesrun
outorwhenthesystemisrebooted.Forthisreason,VMwaredoesnotrecommend
usingDHCPfortheserviceconsoleunlessyourDNSservercanhandlethehostname
translation.
Connecting to the Service Console
Whetheryouusetheserviceconsolelocallyorthrougharemoteconnection,youmust
loginusingavalidusernameandpassword.
IfyouhavedirectaccesstothecomputerwhereESXServer3isrunning,youcanlogin
tothephysicalconsoleonthatcomputer.
To log in to the ESX Server 3 service console
PressAltF2togettotheloginscreen.
DependingonthesecuritysettingsforyourESXServer3computer,youmightbeable
toconnectremotelytotheserviceconsoleusingSSHorTelnet.Formoreinformation
onthesecuritysettings,seetheESXServer3ConfigurationGuide.
Using Commands on the Service Console
TheserviceconsolerunsamodifiedversionofLinux,andmanyofthecommands
availableonLinuxorUNIXarealsoavailableontheserviceconsole.Detailedusage
notesformostserviceconsolecommandsareavailableasmanualormanpages.
CAUTIONDonotusedynamic(DHCP)addressingwhensharingthenetworkadapter
assignedtotheserviceconsolewithvirtualmachines.ESXServer3requiresastatic
IP addressfortheserviceconsolewhensharinganetworkadapter.
NOTEESXServer3idoesnothaveaserviceconsole.However,manyofthefunctions
providedbytheserviceconsoleareavailablethroughtheRemoteCLI.Seethe
Remote CommandLineInterfaceInstallationandReferenceformoreinformationonusing
andinstallingtheRemoteCLI.
VMware, Inc. 43
To view the man page for a particular command
Attheserviceconsolecommandline,typethemancommandfollowedbythenameof
thecommandforwhichyouwanttoseeinformation,forexample:
: man <command>
Foradditionalinformationoncommands,seethefollowingresources:
FormoredetailedinformationonESXServer3relatedcommands,seethe
ESX Server3ConfigurationGuide.
FormoreinformationonLinuxcommands,consultaLinuxreferencebook.
44 VMware, Inc.
VMware, Inc. 45
4
ThischapterdescribesthespecificlayoutandnavigationoftheVIClient.Italso
containsinformationforconfiguringadminoptions,VirtualCenterServersettings,
managinghostconfigurationoptions,andmanagingmodules.
AbouttheVIClientonpage 45
SortingandFilteringListsonpage 59
UsingCustomAttributesonpage 61
SelectingandViewingObjectsonpage 63
ManagingVirtualCenterModulesonpage 67
About the VI Client
TheVMwareInfrastructureClientadaptstotheconnectedserver.WhentheVIClient
isconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,theVIClientdisplaysalltheoptionsavailableto
theVMwareInfrastructureenvironment,basedonthelicensingyouhaveconfigured
andthepermissionsoftheuser.WhentheVIClientisconnectedtoanESXServerhost,
theVIClientdisplaysonlytheoptionsappropriatetosinglehostmanagement.
ThedefaultVMwareInfrastructureClientlayoutisasinglewindowwithamenubar,
anavigationbar,atoolbar,astatusbar,apanelsection,andpopupmenus.
Using the VI Client 4
46 VMware, Inc.
Figure 4-1. VMware Infrastructure Client Layout
TheVIClientareasarecoveredinthefollowingsections:
MenuBaronpage 47
PopUpMenusonpage 49
ConsoleMenuonpage 50
NavigationBaronpage 51
InventoryViewTabsonpage 53
Toolbaronpage 57
StatusBar,RecentTasks,andTriggeredAlarmsonpage 58
PanelSectionsonpage 58
Menus
Main
Toolbar Toolbar Inventory tabs
Status panel Information panel Status bar Inventory panel
Pop-up menu
Console button
VMware, Inc. 47
Chapter 4 Using the VI Client
Menu Bar
Themenubarprovidesaccesstoallcommandsandoperatesinamannerconsistent
withotherWindowsapplications.Thetablesbelowlistallthemenuitemsavailable
fromthesefivemenus.Themenuitemsavailablevarydependinguponwhetherthe
VI ClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServeroranESXServerhost.Themenubar
optionsare:
FileMenuSimilartotheFilemenuinmostapplicationswithtwoexceptions:
AprintmenuitemisnotavailableontheFilemenu.Toprint,usethe
Print ScreenmechanisminWindowstotakeacopyoftheVIClientwindow
orexporttheVirtualCenterdatatoanotherformatandprintfromanother
application.
Asavemenuitemisnotavailable.TheVIClientissimilartoabrowser.
Most usermanipulationsarepersistentinthedisplayoftheVirtualCenterdata.
InTable 41,anasterisk(*)indicatesitemsthatareavailableonlywhenconnected
toVirtualCenterServer.
EditMenuDisplaysmenuitemsrelevanttotheselectedobject.
Table 4-1. File Menu Items
File> New> VirtualMachine|AddHost*|Cluster*|Resource
Pool|Folder*|Datacenter*|Alarm*|Scheduled
Task*|AddPermission
File> Export> ExportEvents*|ExportList|ExportMaps*|
ExportDiagnosticData
File> Report> HostSummary|Performance
File> VirtualAppliance> Import|Export
File> PrintMaps> PrintSettings|PrintPreview|Print
File> Exit
Table 4-2. Edit Menu Items
Edit> Rename|Remove|CustomizationSpecifications|ClientSettings
48 VMware, Inc.
ViewMenuControlswhichpanelsarevisible.Thisprovidesamenuitemfor
selectingoneofthenavigationbuttons.
WhenconnectedtotheVirtualCenterServer,theView>Inventorymenuparsesthe
inventoryobjectviewsintogroups.
InventoryMenuDisplaysmenuitemsrelevanttotheselectedobjectinthe
inventorypanel.
Table 4-3. View Menu Items
View> MainToolbar|Toolbar|StatusBar|Inventory|ScheduledTasks*|Events
|Administration|Maps*|Filtering
Table 4-4. View Menu > Inventory Items
View> Inventory> Hosts&Clusters|VirtualMachines&Templates|
Networks|Datastores
Table 4-5. Inventory Menu Items
Inventory> Datacenter> NewFolder|NewCluster|AddHost|Add
Alarm|AddPermission|Remove|Rename
Inventory> VirtualMachine> PowerOn|PowerOff|Suspend|Reset|
ShutDownGuest|StandbyGuest|Restart
Guest|Snapshot|Migrate|Clone|Clone
toTemplate|ConverttoTemplate|Add
Alarm|AddPermission|OpenConsole|
SendCtrl+Alt+Del|AnswerQuestion|
ReportPerformance|InstallVMwareTools|
UpgradeVMwareTools|EditSettings|
Rename|RemovefromInventory|Delete
fromDisk
Inventory> Templates*> PowerOn|PowerOff|Suspend|Reset|
ShutDownGuest|RestartGuest|Snapshot
|Migrate|Clone|ClonetoTemplate|
ConverttoTemplate|OpenConsole|Sent
Ctrl+Alt+Del|AnswerQuestion|Report
Performance|InstallVMwareTools|Edit
Settings|Rename|RemovefromInventory
|DeletefromDisk
VMware, Inc. 49
AdministrationMenuDisplaysconfigurationoptionsthatapplyacrossthe
VMwareInfrastructureenvironment.
PluginsDisplaysoptionsformanagingVirtualCenterplugins.
HelpMenuDisplaystheonlinehelpoptions,linkstotheVMwareWebsite,and
productversioninformation.
Pop-Up Menus
Popupmenusprovidedirectaccesstomanyofthemenuitems.Popupmenusare
availablefrommostobjectsinboththeinventorypanelandtheinformationpanel.
To view a pop-up menu
RightclicktheselectedobjectorpressShift+F10.
Inventory> Host> NewVirtualMachine|Connect*|
Disconnect*|EnterMaintenanceMode|
ShutDown|Reboot|ReportSummary|
ReportPerformance|AdvancedSettings|
Remove*|RelocateVMFiles
Inventory> Cluster*> AddHost|NewVirtualMachine|New
ResourcePool|EditSettings|Remove|
Rename
Inventory> ResourcePool> NewVirtualMachine|NewResourcePool
|ReportPerformance*|Remove|Rename
Inventory> Datastore*> BrowseDatastore|Rename|Remove|
Refresh
Inventory> Network*> Remove
Inventory> Permission> Add|Delete|Properties
Inventory> Alarm*> Properties|Remove
Inventory> ScheduledTask*> Run|Remove|Properties
Table 4-6. Administration Menu Items
Administration> CustomAttributes*|VirtualCenterManagementSettings*|
Role|Session*|EditMessageoftheDay*|Export
DiagnosticData*|ConsolidationSettings
Table 4-5. Inventory Menu Items (Continued)
50 VMware, Inc.
Console Menu
Theconsoleofapoweredonvirtualmachineisavailablethroughaconnectedserver.
To view the virtual machine console
ClicktheInventoryNavigationbutton,clickapoweredonvirtualmachineinthe
Inventorypanel,andclicktheConsoletabintheInformationpanel.
To pop out the virtual machine console
Clickthepopouticoninthenavigationbar.
AcopyoftheConsolewindowseparatesfromtheVIClient.Additionalmenusappear.
AdditionalmenuitemsareavailablefromthepopoutConsolewindow.
Allconnectionstothevirtualmachineseethesamedisplayinformation.Themessage
lineindicatesifothersareviewingthevirtualmachine.
ThepopoutvirtualmachineConsolehasthefollowingmenuitems.Theembedded
ConsolehassimilarmenuitemsbutdoesnotincludealloftheexternalConsolemenu
items.
Table 4-7. Virtual Machine Pop-Out Console Menu Items
File> Exit
View> AutofitWindow|FitWindowNow|FitGuestNow|FullScreen
VM> PowerOn|PowerOff|Suspend|Reset|ShutDownGuest|RestartGuest
|Snapshot|Migrate|Clone|ClonetoTemplate|ConverttoTemplate|
AddAlarm|AddPermission|SendCtrl+Alt+Del|AnswerQuestion|
ReportPerformance|Install/UpgradeVMwareTools|EditSettings|
Rename|RemovefromInventory|DeletefromDisk
The message line indicates the
number of active connections
to this virtual machine.
Additional Console menu
VMware, Inc. 51
Navigation Bar
Thenavigationbarprovidesshortcutbuttonsthatloadthematchingtoolbarandpanel
intotheVIClientwindow.Thenavigationbarcombinesanddisplaysassociatedtasks
andinformation.Whenabuttonhasbeenselected,itremainsselectedtoindicatethe
currentview.ThebuttonsrepresenttheVIClientfunctionalareas.Dependingupon
whethertheVIClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServeroranESXServerhost,the
listedbuttonsvary.
Eachnavigationbarbuttonhasaprimaryinformationpanelandassociatedtabs.
The Inventorybuttonhasaninventorypanelfromwhichyoucanselectobjects.Each
selectedobjecthasitsownsetofassociatedinformationpaneltabs.Thisinformationis
inoneofthefollowingtwosetsofpanels:
Navigationbarprovidesshortcutstogeneralizedareasofrelatedactivities.Theoptions
areInventoryandAdministration,whentheVIClientisconnectedtoanESXServer
hostoraVirtualCenterServer.WhentheVIClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenter
Serveradditionaloptionsareavailable:ScheduledTasks,Events,Consolidationand
Maps.TheInventorybuttonalsohasadditionaldropdownmenuitems(Hosts&
Clusters,VirtualMachines&Templates,Networks,andDatastores).
Figure 4-2. Navigation bar shortcuts
To view the Inventory button options
ClickthearrowontheInventorynavigationbarbuttontoseetheinventorygroup
options.ChooseView>Inventory>HostsandClusters(orVirtualMachinesand
Templates,Networks,orDatastores.
SeeManagingtheVIClientInventoryonpage 107forinformationonthedifferences
betweentheInventorybuttonviews.
52 VMware, Inc.
InventorybuttonAviewofallthemonitoredobjectsinVirtualCenter.
Monitoredobjectsincludedatacenters,resourcepools,clusters,networks,
datastores,templates,hosts,andvirtualmachines.
TheInventorybuttondisplaysaninventorypanelandaninformationpanel.
The informationpanelcontainsseveraltabs.Thesetoftabsthatisdisplayedvaries
dependingupontheinventoryobjectselectedintheinventorypanel.
TherearefourdifferentInventorybuttonviews:
HostsandClustersdisplaystheinventoryhierarchyofallinventoryobjects
excepttemplates,networks,anddatastores.
VirtualMachinesandTemplatesdisplaysthelistofvirtualmachinesand
templates.
Networksdisplaysthelistofnetworks.
Datastoresdisplaysthelistofdatastores.
AllfouroftheInventoryoptionsaredividedintotwosubpanels,theinventory
panelandtheinformationpanel.ThisInventoryoptiondisplaysalltheobjects
containedwithinVirtualCenter,suchasfolders,datacenters,hosts,clusters,
resourcepoolsandvirtualmachines.WhenconnectedtoanESXServerhostthe
inventoryoptiondisplaysalltheobjectscontainedwithinthehost,suchashost,
resourcepools,andvirtualmachines.Throughselectingobjectsineitherofthetwo
subpanels,youperformandspecifyactions.
Therearefourdifferentinventoryviews.Eachrelatestosomeoftheeightdifferent
inventoryobjects:hosts,clusters,folders,datacenters,virtualmachinesand
templates,resourcepools,networks,anddatastores.
Allfourviewshavethe(single)rootnode.Youcanplacefoldersanddatacenters
belowtherootnode.Belowdatacentersthehierarchyissplitupintonetworks,
datastores,virtualmachineandtemplates,andhosts,clusters,andresourcepools.
ScheduledTasksbuttonAlistofactivitiesandameanstoschedulethose
activities.ThisisavailablethroughVirtualCenterServeronly.
TheScheduledTasksandEventsbuttons,availableonlywhenconnectedtoa
VirtualCenterServer,displayasingleinformationpanel.
EventsbuttonAlistofalltheeventsthatoccurintheVirtualCenterenvironment.
UsetheNavigationoptiontodisplayalltheevents.Useanobjectspecificpanelto
displayonlytheeventsrelativetothatobject.
VMware, Inc. 53
AdminbuttonAlistofenvironmentlevelconfigurationoptions.TheAdmin
optionprovidesconfigurationaccesstoRoles,Sessions,Licenses,Diagnostics,and
SystemLogs.WhenconnectedtoanESXServeronly,theRolesoptionappears.
TheAdminbuttondisplaysasetoftabbedinformationpanels.Selected
configurationoptionsareavailablethroughthesetabs.
MapsbuttonAvisualrepresentationofthestatusandstructureoftheVMware
Infrastructureenvironment.Thisincludeshosts,networks,virtualmachines,and
datastores.ThisisavailablethroughVirtualCenterServeronly.
TheMapsbutton,availableonlywhenconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,
displaysaninventorypanelandatopologypanel.
ConsolidationAmeanstoconsolidateyourdatacenterandbuildyour
VirtualCenterinventorybyimportingphysicalsystemsasvirtualmachines.
Guidedconsolidationoffersaquick,automatedwayofpopulatinganewvirtual
environment.Fordetails,seeConsolidatingtheDatacenteronpage 117.
To change the look of the navigation bar
Rightclickthenavigationbarandchoosetheappropriateoption.
Inventory View Tabs
Youcanaccessthegeneraldisplayofdataandactivitythroughtheinformationpanel
oftheVIClientwindow.Theinformationpanelisthevisualcenterofyourmonitoring
activities.Throughtheinformationpanel,youcanviewstatus,resourceusage,and
performanceinformationaboutyourhosts,virtualmachines,anddatacenters.Inthe
informationpanel,youcanalsoviewscheduledtasks,availabletemplates,andalistof
events.
WhentheVIClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServeraMapsoptionisalso
available.SeeSettingUpandMonitoringPerformanceStatisticsandResourceMaps
onpage 285forinformationontheMapsfeature.
Whenanobjectisremovedfromtheinventory,itslogandeventhistoryremainsuntil
purgedthroughtheagingprocesses.Dataiskeptforaspecifiedwindowoftime.Asthe
timewindowshifts,olderdataispurged.
AdmintabsAsubsetoftheAdminbutton.TheAdmintabsareasetofpanels
thatdisplayconfigurationorientedinformationpertainingtotheservethatthe
VI Clientisconnectedto.ThetaboptionsareRolesandSystemLogs.Whenthe
VI ClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,aSessionsandLicensestabisalso
available.
54 VMware, Inc.
InventorytabsAsubsetoftheInventorybutton.TheInventorytabsareasetof
panelsthatdisplaytaskorientedinformationpertainingtotheselectedinventory
object.Eachinventoryobjecthasitsownsetoftabs.Thetaboptionsare:Getting
Started,Summary,Datacenters,VirtualMachines,Hosts,DRSRecommendations,
ResourceAllocation,Performance,Configuration,Tasks&Events,Alarms,
Console,Permissions,andMaps.
WhenyouclicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar,aninformationpanel
appearsontherightsideofthescreen.Whenyouselectanobject(host,virtual
machine,folder,datacenter,cluster,resourcepool)fromtheinventorypanel,the
informationpaneldisplaystabscorrespondingtotheselectedobject.Thisdata
remainsuntilyouclickanotherInventorybutton.
Table 48liststheavailablepanelsandtheirsourcemapping.
NOTEYoucanuseeitherthenavigationbarortheinformationpaneltabstoview
eventsinformation.
Table 4-8. Inventory View Tabs
Panel Name
Client
Connected To
Button, Tab, or
Toggle Description
Admin ESXServer
VirtualCenter
navigationbar
button
Listsselectedconfigurationoptionsand
information.
Alarms VirtualCenter inventorypanel
tab
Liststheconfiguredalarmsforthe
selectedobject.
Alarms VirtualCenter togglebutton Liststhetriggeredalarmsfortheselected
object.
Configuration ESXServer
VirtualCenter
inventorypanel
tab
Providesaccesstoconfiguringthe
selectedhost.
Console ESXServer
VirtualCenter
inventorypanel
tab
Displaysaremoteconsoletointeract
directlywiththevirtualmachine.
Throughtheremoteconsoleyoucantake
selectedactionsuponthevirtual
machine.
Datacenters VirtualCenter inventorypanel
tab
Liststhedatacentersorganizedunderthe
selectedfolder.
Datastores VirtualCenter navigationbar
button:Datastores
Providesaccessformanagingdatastores.
Events ESXServer inventorypanel
tab
Liststheeventmessagesthatreporton
thestatusoftheselectedobject.
VMware, Inc. 55
GettingStarted VirtualCenter inventorypanel
tab
Providesinformationaboutthetypeof
objectselectedandlinkstoactionsyou
canperformonthatobject.SeeGetting
StartedTabsonpage 56.
Hosts VirtualCenter inventorypanel
tab
Liststhehostsassignedtotheselected
inventoryobject.
Inventory VirtualCenter
ESXServer
navigationbar
button:Hosts&
Clusters
Providesaccessformanagingallthe
inventoryobjects.
Licenses VirtualCenter adminpaneltab Liststhelicensesconfiguredinthe
licenseserver.
Maps VirtualCenter navigationbar
button
Displaysrelationshipsbetweenthe
selectedinventoryobjects.
DRS
Recommendations
VirtualCenter inventorypanel
tab
Liststhemigrationssuggestedor
completedfortheselectedcluster,and
listssuggestedorcompletedpower
managementsuggestions.
Networks VirtualCenter navigationbar
button:Networks
Providesaccessformanagingnetworks.
Performance ESXServer
VirtualCenter
inventorypanel
tab
Displaystheperformancechartsforthe
selectedhostorvirtualmachine
resources.Thechartsfordatacentersand
hostsdisplaycombinedchartsthatshow
theusageofeachresource.
Permissions ESXServer
VirtualCenter
inventorypanel
tab
Liststheusersandgroupsthathave
permissionsontheselectedobjectandat
whatlevelthepermissionwasassigned.
ResourceAllocation ESXServer
VirtualCenter
inventorypanel
tab
Liststhedistributionoftheselected
hostsresources:CPU,memory.
Roles ESXServer
VirtualCenter
adminpaneltab Providesaccessforconfiguringuser
roles.
ScheduledTasks VirtualCenter navigationbar
button
Providesaccessforcreatingand
managingscheduledtasks.
Sessions VirtualCenter adminpaneltab ListstheVIClientsessionsconnectedto
theVirtualCenterServer.
Summary ESXServer
VirtualCenter
inventorypanel
tab
Displaysacollectionofdataforthe
selectedobject.
Table 4-8. Inventory View Tabs (Continued)
Panel Name
Client
Connected To
Button, Tab, or
Toggle Description
56 VMware, Inc.
Getting Started Tabs
GettingStartedtabsareavailableforeachtypeofinventoryobject.Theyprovidea
descriptionofthetypeofobjectselected,shortcutstoactionsyoucanperformonthat
object,andlinkstosectionsoftheTutorial(seeUsingtheTutorialonpage 57)that
pertaintothattypeofobject.
InthecasewhereVirtualCenterisnewlyinstalledandnoinventoryobjectshavebeen
added,theGettingStartedtabsguideyouthroughthestepsofaddingitemstothe
inventoryandsettingupthevirtualenvironment.
TodisableGettingStartedtabs:
ClicktheCloseTablinktodisableGettingStartedtabsforthetypeofobject
selected.
SelectEdit>ClientSettingsandclickRemoveAllTabstodisableGettingStarted
tabsforallinventoryobjects.
TorestoreGettingStartedtabs:
SelectEdit>ClientSettingsandclickRestoreAllTabstorestoreGettingStartedtabs
forallinventoryobjects.
SystemLogs ESXServer
VirtualCenter
adminpaneltab Listsselectedlogfilesfortheservers.
Tasks VirtualCenter togglebutton Liststherecenttasksfortheselected
object.
Tasks&Events VirtualCenter inventorypanel
tab
Liststhetaskscompletedandtheevent
messagesthatreportonthestatusofthe
selectedobject.
Templates VirtualCenter navigationbar
button:Virtual
Machines&
Templates
Providesaccessformanagingtemplates.
VirtualMachines ESXServer
VirtualCenter
inventorypanel
tab
Liststhevirtualmachinesassignedtothe
selecteddatacenterorhostandgroup.To
access,clicktheVirtualMachinestaband
thevirtualmachinesinthegroupare
displayed.
Table 4-8. Inventory View Tabs (Continued)
Panel Name
Client
Connected To
Button, Tab, or
Toggle Description
VMware, Inc. 57
Using the Tutorial
Thetutorialprovidesanintroductiontovirtualization.Itisdesignedtohelpnewusers
understandthebasicconceptsofvirtualizationandtorecognizethecomponentsthat
compriseavirtualenvironment.
GettingStartedtabscontainlinkstotutorialpages.Thetutorialisalsoaccessible
throughtheHelpmenu(Help>Tutorial).
Toolbar
Thetoolbarprovidesbuttonsforthemostcommonlyusedactions.
To view or hide a toolbar
ChooseView>MainToolbartotogglethedisplayofthemaintoolbar.
ChooseView>Toolbartotogglethedisplayofthetoolbar.
Differenttoolbarbuttonsaredisplayeddependingonthenavigationtaskand
inventoryobjectselected.Sometoolbaroptionsmightbedimmeddependingonthe
objectselected.
To change the look of the toolbar
Rightclickthetoolbarandchoosetheappropriateoption.
58 VMware, Inc.
Status Bar, Recent Tasks, and Triggered Alarms
Thestatusbarappearsatthebottomofthewindow.Itcontainsiconstoviewtriggered
alarmsorrecenttasks.TheTasksbuttondisplaysanycurrentlyrunningorrecently
completedactivetasks.Includedisaprogressbarindicatingthepercentagecomplete
ofeachtask.Therecenttasksandthetriggeredalarmpanelsdisplayacrossthebottom
oftheVIClientwindow.
To hide or view the status bar
ChooseView>Statusbar.
To hide or view recent tasks or triggered alarms
ClicktheTasksorAlarmsiconsinthestatusbar.
Panel Sections
InthebodyoftheVIClientpageisapanelsection.Inmostviews,thereisaleftanda
rightpanel:theinventorypanelandtheinformationpanel.Thesepanelscanberesized.
InventorypanelDisplaysahierarchicallistofVMwareInfrastructureobjects
whentheInventoryorMapsbuttonisselectedfromthenavigationbar.
InformationpanelsDisplaylistsandcharts.Dependingonthenavigation
buttonorInventorybuttonitemselected,theinformationpanelisdividedinto
tabbedelements.
To select an object
Singleclicktheappropriateobjectineithertheinventorypanelorontheinformation
panel.
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To close or open a panel
Clickthearrowinthepanelmenubar.
Whenthepanelishidden,thepanelmenubarisastripalongthesideoftheVIClient
window.
To resize a panel
Clickaresizingpanelsideanddragittoanappropriatesize.
YourchoicesforthepanelsarepersistentacrossVIClientsessions.Ifyourunmultiple
VIClientsessionsusingdifferentusernames,thesettingsfromthelastsessiontoquit
determinethevaluesforthenextVIClientsession.
Sorting and Filtering Lists
SortanylistintheVIClientbyclickingthecolumnlabelheading.Atriangleinthe
columnheadshowsthesortorderasascendingordescending.
Youcanalsofilteralist,sortingandincludingonlyselecteditems.Afilterissortedby
akeyword.Choosethecolumnsyouwanttoincludeinthesearchforthekeyword.
To sort a list
Clickacolumnheadingtosortthelistbyentriesinthatcolumn.Thecurrentselection
doesnotchange.
To change between ascending and descending order
Clickthetriangleinthecolumnheading.
To choose items in a list
Clickanindividualitem.PressShiftclickorCtrlclicktochoosemultipleitems.All
listscanbesorted.
To view or remove columns in a list
Rightclickthecolumnheaderandchoosethecolumnnamefromthelist.
60 VMware, Inc.
To filter the list view
1 Clickthearrowtoviewalistofattributesfromwhichtochoose.Typetextdirectly
intothefilteringfieldtospecifysearchcriteria.
TheFilterfielddoesnotsupportbooleanexpressionsorspecialcharactersandis
notcasesensitive.
2 ClickOKtodisplayonlythosevirtualmachinesthatmatchthecriteria.ClickClear
tochangethefilter.
Thelistisupdatedbasedonwhetherfilteringisonoroff.Forexample,ifyouareinthe
VirtualMachinestab,youhavefilteredthelist,andthefilteredtextispoweredon,
youseealistonlyofvirtualmachineswhosestateissettopoweredon.Ifthestateof
anyofthesevirtualmachineschangestosomethingelse,theyareremovedfromthelist.
Newvirtualmachinesthatareaddedarealsobeingfiltered.Filteringispersistentfor
theusersession.
To remove a filter
ClickClear,ordeletetheentryinofthefilteringfieldandclickOK.
TheVIClientdisplaysthefulllistofavailableitems.
To choose columns to search for the filtering keyword
Rightclickinthecontainsfield,andselectordeselecttheappropriatecolumnnames.
Filteringisinclusive,notexclusive.Ifthekeywordisfoundinanyoftheselected
columns,thelineitemisincludedinthelist.
To export a list
1 Selectthelisttoexport.
2 ChooseFile>Export>ExportList.
3 Typeafilename,selectafiletypeinthedialogbox,andclickSave.
Afileisstoredinthespecifiedfilename,filetype,andlocation.
NOTEThereisaonesecondintervalbetweenkeystrokes.Ifyoutypeinthetextand
waitforonesecond,thesearchstartsautomatically.YoudonthavetoclickOKorEnter.
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Using Custom Attributes
Attributesaretheresourcesthataremonitoredandmanagedforallthemanagedhosts
andvirtualmachinesinyourVMwareInfrastructureenvironment.Attributesstatus
andstatesappearonthevariousinventorypanels.
Customattributescanbeusedtoassociateuserspecificmetainformationwithvirtual
machinesandmanagedhosts.Afteryoucreatetheattributes,setthevalueforthe
attributeoneachvirtualmachineormanagedhost,asappropriate.Thisvalueisstored
withVirtualCenterandnotwiththevirtualmachineormanagedhost.Thenusethe
newattributetofilterinformationaboutyourvirtualmachinesandmanagedhosts.
If younolongerneedthecustomattribute,removeit.Acustomattributeisalwaysa
string.
Forexample,supposeyouhaveasetofproductsandyouwanttosortthembysales
representative.Createacustomattributeforsalespersonname,Name.Addthecustom
attribute,Name,columntooneofthelistviews.Addtheappropriatenametoeach
productentry.ClickthecolumntitleNametosortalphabetically.
ThecustomattributesfeatureisavailableonlywhenconnectedtoaVirtualCenter
Server.
To add a custom attribute
1 ChooseAdministration>CustomAttributes.
ThisoptionisnotavailablewhenconnectedonlytoanESXServer.
2 AddacustomattributeandclickAdd.
Theattributeisaddedtothelistofvirtualmachinecharacteristics.
62 VMware, Inc.
3 Tochangetheattributename,clickintheNamefieldandtypethenameyouwant
toassigntotheattribute.
4 Enterthevaluesforthecustomattribute.
a Selecttheobject(onelevelupthehierarchy)thatcontainstheobjectstowhich
youwanttoapplytheattribute.
Forexample,ifyouwanttoenterattributevaluesformanagedhosts,selectthe
datacenterandtheHoststabforalistofhosts.
b Foreachmanagedhostorvirtualmachine,clickthenewattributescolumn.
Intheinformationpanel,thenewattributeisaddedtotheheader.
c Typetheattributevaluethatisappropriateforeachmanagedhostorvirtual
machine.
Youcanalsoeditcustomattributesandaddannotationsforavirtualmachineorhost
fromtheSummarytabfortheobject.Annotationscanbeusedtoprovideadditional
descriptivetextorcommentsforanobject.
To edit custom attributes and annotations for a virtual machine or host
1 Selectthevirtualmachineorhostintheinventory.
2 ClicktheSummarytabforthevirtualmachineorhost.
3 IntheAnnotationsbox,clicktheEditlink.
TheEditCustomAttributesdialogboxisdisplayed.
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4 Toaddanattribute:
a ClickAdd.
b IntheNametextbox,typethenameoftheattribute.
c IntheTypedropdownlist,selecttheattributetype:VirtualMachine,Host,
orGlobal.
d IntheValuetextbox,typethevalueyouwanttogivetotheattributeforthe
currentlyselectedobject.
e ClickOK.
Afteryouhavedefinedanattributeonasinglevirtualmachineorhost,itis
availabletoallobjectsofthattypeintheinventory.However,thevalueyou
specifyisappliedonlytothecurrentlyselectedobject.
5 Toeditthevalueofanattributethathasalreadybeendefined,doubleclickthe
Valuefieldforthatattributeandenterthenewvalue.
6 Toaddannotations,entertextintheNotestextbox.
7 ClickOKtosaveyourchanges.
Selecting and Viewing Objects
ThissectiondescribescommonWindowsproceduresthataffecttheVMware
InfrastructureClient.Navigationtopicsarediscussedinthefollowingsections:
SelectingObjectsonpage 63
MonitoringObjectsonpage 65
PerformingActionsonObjectsonpage 65
Selecting Objects
VirtualCenterobjectsaredatacenters,networks,datastores,resourcepools,clusters,
hosts,andvirtualmachines.Selectinganobjectdoesthefollowing:
Allowsyoutoviewthestatusoftheobject.
Enablesthemenussoyoucanchooseactionstotakeontheobject.
64 VMware, Inc.
To select an object
1 ClicktheappropriatenavigationbaroptionsuchasInventory,ScheduledTasks,
Events,Admin,orMaps.
2 IfyouselectInventory,browsethroughthehierarchyintheinventorypaneluntil
youseetheiconforanobject.Clickit.
Whenanobjectisselected,theobjectlabelintheinventorypanelbackfillsandthe
informationpanelupdatesitsdisplaytoreflectthedatafortheselectedobject.
To view an object menu
Selecttheappropriateobjectandchoosetheappropriateactionfromthemenubar.
Alternatively,rightclicktheobject.
Apopupmenuwiththeobjectsavailableactionsappears.
Foreachtypeofobject,suchasdatacenter,host,orvirtualmachine,acorrespondingset
oftabsappearsintheinformationpanel.Forexample:
Ifyouselectamanagedhostintheinventorypanelwhileconnectedto
VirtualCenter,theinformationpaneldisplaysSummary,VirtualMachines,
ResourceAllocation,Performance,Configuration,Tasks&Events,Alarms,
Permissions,andMapstabs.
IfyouselecttheinventorypanelwhileconnectedtoanESXServer,theinformation
paneldisplaysSummary,VirtualMachines,ResourceAllocation,Performance,
Configuration,Users&Groups,SystemLogs,EventsandPermissionstabs.
Ifyouselectadatacenter,theinformationpaneldisplaysVirtualMachines,Hosts,
Tasks&Events,Alarms,Permissions,andMapstabs.
Theinventorypanelandinformationpanelshareasingleselectionlist.Selectingan
objectinonepaneldeselectsanyotherobjectintheotherpanel.
Menuactions,fromeitherthemenubarorapopupmenu,applytothecurrently
selectedobject.Ifnoobjectisselected,nomenuactionsareavailable.Apopupmenu
canappearonlyforaselectedobject.SeePopUpMenusonpage 49foradditional
informationonthepopupmenuoptions.
To change the name of an object
SelectanitemandpressF2orclickthetextoftheselecteditem.Typethenewname.
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Monitoring Objects
VIClientmonitorsVirtualCenterorESXServeractivities.Forahosttobemonitoredby
VirtualCenter,itmustberegisteredwiththeVirtualCenterServer.SeeAddingaHost
onpage 129forinformationonaddingobjectstoyourVirtualCenterServer.Ifan
ESX ServerhostisnotregisteredwithaVirtualCenterServer,youcanconnecttothe
hostdirectly,alsousingtheVIClient.
To check the status of an object
1 StarttheVIClient.
2 Clicktheappropriatebuttoninthenavigationbar.
IfyouclicktheInventoryorMapsbutton,navigatethroughtheinventory
panelliststoviewindividualobjectssuchashosts,datacenters,andvirtual
machines.
IfyouclicktheScheduledTasks,Events,orAdminbutton,theinformation
paneldisplaysthescheduledtasks,events,oradministrativewizard
appropriatetothechoice.
3 Clicktheobjecttoviewit.
Whenyouselectanobject,theobjectlabelintheinventorypanelisshowninblue
andtheinformationpanelupdatesitsdisplaytoreflecttheobjectsdata.
4 Clicktheappropriatetabintheinformationpanel.
Thedatacorrespondingtotheobjectandtabselectedisshown.Clickthroughthe
tabstoviewtheinformationabouttheobject,asneeded.
Performing Actions on Objects
ThissectiondescribesonlythebasicprocessforperformingtasksintheVMware
InfrastructureClient.Thissectiondoesnotdescribespecificsettingsandconditions.
Seethechapterorbookspecifictothetaskyouwanttoperformforadditional
information.
Toviewanobject,youmusthavethenecessarypermissionassignedforthatobject.
The typeofactionyoucantakeonanobjectdependsuponthespecificprivileges
assignedtoyourusernameandgroup.
66 VMware, Inc.
TherearethreemethodsfortakingactionsuponobjectsinVirtualCenter:
SelectingtheactionfromthemenubaratthetopoftheVirtualCenterwindow.
See MenuBaronpage 47.
Selectingtheactionfromtheobjectspopupmenuorbutton.Theprocedurelisted
belowdescribeshowtochoosetheactionfromtheobjectmenuorbutton.
SchedulingtheactionthroughtheScheduledTaskspanel.SeeManaging
ScheduledTasksonpage 305toinformationonschedulingtasks.
To perform an action on a VMware Infrastructure object
1 StarttheVMwareInfrastructureClient.
2 Connecttotheappropriateserver.
3 Toselectanobjectyouwanttovieworuponwhichyouwanttoperformanaction,
selecttheappropriateinventoryview,browsethroughthehierarchyinthe
inventorypaneluntilyouseeitsicon,andclickit.
Anobjectcanbeselectedintheinventorypanelortheinformationpanel.
Iftheobjectisnotintheview:
Verifyyouareloggedontothecorrectserver.
AddthehosttoVirtualCentercontrol,ifneeded.SeeManagingHostsin
VirtualCenteronpage 127forinformation.
4 Afteranobjectisselected:
Chooseamenuitemfromthemainmenu.
Rightclicktheobjectandchoosefromthepopupmenu.
5 Followtheprompts.
Dependingontheactionyouselected,eithertheviewintheinformationpanelchanges
orawizardpromptsyouforinformationtocompletethetransaction.
VMware, Inc. 67
Managing VirtualCenter Modules
Aftertheservercomponentofamoduleisinstalledandregisteredwiththe
VirtualCenterserver,itsclientcomponentisavailabletoVirtualCenterclients.
Client componentinstallationandenablementaremanagedthroughthePlugin
Managerdialogbox(Plugins>ManagePlugins).ThePluginManagerenablesusersto
dothefollowing:
Viewavailablemodulesthatarenotcurrentlyinstalledontheclient.
Viewinstalledmodules.
Downloadandinstallavailablemodules.
Enableanddisableinstalledmodules.
To open the Manage Plugins dialog box:
1 LaunchtheVirtualCenterclientandlogintoaVirtualCenterserver.
2 SelectPlugins>ManagePlugins.
TheAvailabletabdisplaysmodulesthatareavailabletobeinstalled.TheInstalledtab
displayscurrentlyinstalledmodules.
To install modules:
1 SelecttheAvailabletabinthePluginManagerdialogbox.
2 ClickDownloadandInstallforthemoduleyouwant.
3 Followthepromptsintheinstallationwizard.
4 Afterinstallationiscomplete,verifythatthemoduleislistedundertheInstalled
tabandthatitisenabled.
To disable and enable modules:
1 SelecttheInstalledtabinthePluginManagerdialogbox.
2 SelectEnabletoenableamodule,ordeselectEnabletodisableit.
Disablingamoduleindoesnotremoveitfromtheclient.Youmustuninstallthe
moduletoremoveit.
To remove modules:
ModulescanberemovedthroughtheoperatingsystemsAdd/RemovePrograms
controlpanel.Consultyouroperatingsystemsdocumentationforinstructionsonhow
tousetheAdd/RemoveProgramscontrolpanel.
68 VMware, Inc.
VMware, Inc. 69
5
Thischapterincludesbasicsystemconfigurationinformation,suchashowtoaccess
andconfigurelogfiles,configurefirewalls,andsetupSNMP.Sometopicshave
extensiveinformationdiscussedinseparatechaptersorbooks.Wherethisoccurs,
referencesareprovided.
Someofthetopicsinthischapteraretypicallyonetimeconfigurationtasks,thoughthe
settingscanbealteredwhenneeded.
HostConfigurationforESXServerandVirtualCenteronpage 69
VirtualCenterConfigurationonpage 74
ConfiguringVirtualCenterCommunicationonpage 76
VirtualMachineConfigurationonpage 79
WorkingwithActiveSessionsonpage 81
AboutSNMPandVMwareInfrastructureonpage 83
SystemLogFilesonpage 99
Host Configuration for ESX Server and VirtualCenter
ESXServerhostsareconfiguredandmanagedthroughtheVMwareInfrastructure
Client.SomehostrelatedconfigurationisspecifictoVirtualCenter.Otherhost
configurationappliestostandalonehostsaswellasVirtualCenterregisteredhosts.
System Configuration 5
70 VMware, Inc.
TheESXServer3ConfigurationGuidedescribesthetasksyoumustcompleteto
configureESXServer3hostnetworking,storage,andsecurity.TheESXServer3i
ConfigurationGuidedescribesthesetasksforanESXServer3ihost.Inaddition,these
guidesprovideoverviews,recommendations,andconceptualdiscussionstohelpyou
understandthesetasks.TheyexplainhowtodeployanESXServerhosttomeetyour
needs.BeforeusingtheinformationintheESXServer3ConfigurationGuideorthe
ESX Server3iConfigurationGuide,readtheIntroductiontoVMwareInfrastructureforan
overviewofsystemarchitectureandthephysicalandvirtualdevicesthatmakeupa
VMwareInfrastructuresystem.
Thissectionsummarizesthehostconfigurationoptionsandthecontentsofthe
ESX Server3ConfigurationGuideandESXServer3iConfigurationGuidesothatyoucan
findtheinformationyouneed.
SelectahostandtheConfigurationtabforthehost.Theconfigurationtabdisplaysall
oftheconfigurationoptionsavailable.
Hardware Tab
Thehardwaretabdisplaysthefollowingconfigurationoptions:
HealthStatus(ESXServer3ionly)Displaysthestatusofhardwarecomponents
suchasprocessors,memory,andstorage.(SEEUPDATE)
ProcessorsDisplaysthehostsprocessorinformationsuchastype,speed,
manufacturer.Thepropertiesdialogboxallowsyoutoenableordisable
Hyperthreading.
MemoryDisplaysthehostsmemoryconfiguration,includingtotalmemory
available,amountsforthehostssystem,amountsforthevirtualmachines,and
amountsfortheESXServer3serviceconsole.OnanESXServer3host,the
propertiesdialogboxallowsyoutosettheamountdedicatedtotheserviceconsole.
Storage(SCSI,SAN,NFS)Displaysthestoragevolumesconfiguredforthehost
anddetailsabouteachstoragedevice.Thisincludesvolumelabels,filesystem
type,blocksize,extents,andcapacity.TheRefresh,Remove,AddStorage,and
Propertiesdialogboxesallowyoutochangevolumeproperties,addextents,
managepaths,adddiskorLUNdatastores,andaddnetworkfilesystem(NFS)
datastores.
NetworkingDisplayscurrentnetworksattachedtothehost.TheRefresh,Add
Networking,Remove,andPropertiesdialogboxesallowyoutoconfigureports
andnetworkadapters,anddefineconnectiontypestothehostsvirtualmachines
andVMkernel.OnanESXServer3host,youcanalsodefineconnectionstothe
serviceconsole.
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Chapter 5 System Configuration
StorageAdaptersDisplaysstorageadapterconfiguration,suchasdevicetype,
SANidentification,LUNidentification,path,andcapacity.TheRescan,Hide
LUNs,andPropertiesdialogboxesallowyoutoscanfornewstoragedevicesor
VMFSvolumes,hidetheLUNinformationforeachselectedstorageadapter,and
viewVMotionconfigurationstatus.
NetworkAdaptersDisplaysnetworkadapterinformation,includingdevice
type,speed,vSwitch,andnetworkidentification.
Software Tab
Thesoftwaretabdisplaysthefollowingconfigurationoptions:
LicensedFeaturesDisplaysthecurrentstatusoflicensingforthecurrently
selectedhost.Thisincludeslicensesources,licensetype,andlicensingforaddons
suchasVMotionorHA.TheEditdialogboxesallowyoutospecifylicensesource,
licensetypes,andlicensingforadditionalfeatures.
TimeConfigurationAllowsyoutosetthetimeontheESXServerhostand
configureNTPservices.
DNSandRoutingDisplaysDNSandroutinginformation.Thisincludeshost
nameanddomain,DNSserversconnectedtothehost,searchdomains,anddefault
gateways.ThePropertiesdialogboxallowsyoutospecifytheseidentification
items.
VirtualMachineStartup/ShutdownDisplaysalistofvirtualmachinesonthe
hostandtheirstartuporshutdownstatus.ThePropertiesdialogboxallowsyouto
configurewhentopoweronandpoweroffeachresidentvirtualmachine.Options
includestartingorstoppingatselectedtimesrelativetothehostpoweringoffor
poweringon.
VirtualMachineSwapfileLocationAllowsyoutoselectthedefaultswapfile
locationforvirtualmachineslocatedonthishost.Youcanchoosetostorevirtual
machineswapfileswiththeothervirtualmachinefiles,ortoplacetheswapfileson
aseparatedatastore.Youcanoverridethisdefaultsettingforindividualvirtual
machinesbyeditingthevirtualmachinesettings.SeeChangingVirtualMachine
Optionsonpage 186.
SecurityProfileDisplaysthefirewallinformationforincomingandoutgoing
connections.ThePropertiesdialogboxallowsyoutodefineremoteaccess
conditions.ThisincludesSecureShell,SNMP,andseveralassociatedclients,
servers,andagentincomingandoutgoingcommunicationportsandprotocols.
MostservicesarenotavailableonESXServer3ihosts.
72 VMware, Inc.
SystemResourceAllocationDisplaysthehostsresourceallocationsettings.
This includesmemoryandCPUusage.TheEditdialogboxesallowyouto
configureamountsofCPUsharesandmemorysharesarereservedforhostuse.
TheSimple/Advancedtoggleddialogboxallowsyoutoconfigurethehosts
resourcepoolsCPUandmemoryreservedsharesforselectedhostfunctions.
SeetheResourceManagementGuideforcompleteinformationonconfiguringand
usingyourvirtualmachineresources.
AdvancedSettingsDisplaysalistofsettingsthatVMwarerecommendsyouuse
onlywhendirectedtobyVMwaretechnicalsupport.
ESX Server Network Configuration
ThenetworkingchaptersoftheESXServer3ConfigurationGuideandtheESXServer3i
ConfigurationGuideprovideyouwithaconceptualunderstandingofphysicaland
virtualnetworkconcepts,adescriptionofthebasictasksyoumustcompleteto
configureyourESXServerhostsnetworkconnections,andadiscussionofadvanced
networkingtopicsandtasks.Thenetworkingsectioncontainsthefollowingchapters:
NetworkingIntroducesyoutonetworkconceptsandguidesyouthroughthe
mostcommontasksyoumustcompletewhensettingupthenetworkforthe
ESX Serverhost.
AdvancedNetworkingCoversadvancednetworkingtaskssuchassettingup
MACaddresses,editingvirtualswitchesandports,andDNSrouting.Inaddition,
itprovidestipsonmakingyournetworkconfigurationmoreefficient.
NetworkingScenariosandTroubleshooting(IntheESXServer3Configuration
Guideonly)Describescommonnetworkingconfigurationandtroubleshooting
scenarios.
ESX Server Storage Configuration
TheESXServerstoragechaptersoftheESXServer3ConfigurationGuideandthe
ESX Server3iConfigurationGuideprovideyouwithabasicunderstandingofstorage,a
descriptionofthebasictasksyouperformtoconfigureandmanageyourESXServer
hostsstorage,andadiscussionofhowtosetuprawdevicemapping.Thestorage
sectioncontainsthefollowingchapters:
IntroductiontoStorageIntroducesyoutothetypesofstorageyoucanconfigure
fortheESXServerhost.
ConfiguringStorageExplainshowtoconfigurelocalSCSIstorage,Fibre
Channelstorage,andiSCSIstorage.ItalsoaddressesVMFSstorageand
networkattachedstorage.
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ManagingStorageExplainshowtomanageexistingdatastoresandthefile
systemsthatcomprisedatastores.
RawDeviceMappingDiscussesrawdevicemapping,howtoconfigurethistype
ofstorage,andhowtomanagerawdevicemappingsbysettingupmultipathing,
failover,andsoforth.
Viewing Security Configuration Information
TheESXServersecuritychaptersoftheESXServer3ConfigurationGuideandESXServer3i
ConfigurationGuidediscusssafeguardsVMwarehasbuiltintoESXServerandmeasures
youcantaketoprotectyourESXServerhostfromsecuritythreats.Thesemeasures
includeusingfirewalls,leveragingthesecurityfeaturesofvirtualswitches,andsetting
upuserauthenticationandpermissions.Thesecuritysectioncontainsthefollowing
chapters:
SecurityforESXServerSystemsIntroducesyoutotheESXServerfeaturesthat
helpyouensureasecureenvironmentforyourdataandgivesyouanoverviewof
systemdesignasitrelatestosecurity.
SecuringanESXServerConfigurationExplainshowtoconfigurefirewallports
forESXServerhostsandVMwareVirtualCenter,howtousevirtualswitchesand
VLANstoensurenetworkisolationforvirtualmachines,andhowtosecureiSCSI
storage.
AuthenticationandUserManagementDiscusseshowtosetupusers,groups,
permissions,androlestocontrolaccesstoESXServerhostsandVirtualCenter.
It alsodiscussesencryptionanddelegateusers.
ServiceConsoleSecurity(IntheESXServer3ConfigurationGuideonly)Discusses
thesecurityfeaturesbuiltintotheserviceconsoleandshowsyouhowtoconfigure
thesefeatures.
SecurityDeploymentsandRecommendationsProvidessomesample
deploymentstogiveyouanideaoftheissuesyoumustconsiderwhensettingup
yourownESXServerdeployment.Thischapteralsotellsyouaboutactionsyou
cantaketofurthersecurevirtualmachines.
74 VMware, Inc.
Viewing ESX Server Command Information
TheESXServer3ConfigurationGuideandESXServer3iConfigurationGuideinclude
appendixesthatprovidespecializedinformationyoumightfindusefulwhen
configuringanESXServerhost:
ESXServerTechnicalSupportCommands(IntheESXServer3Configuration
Guideonly)CoverstheESXServer3configurationcommandsthatcanbeissued
throughacommandlineshellsuchasSSH.Whilethesecommandsareavailable
foryouruse,youshouldnotconsiderthemanAPIuponwhichyoucanbuild
scripts.ThesecommandsaresubjecttochangeandVMwaredoesnotsupport
applicationsandscriptsthatrelyonESXServer3configurationcommands.
This appendixprovidesyouwithVMwareInfrastructureClientequivalentsfor
thesecommands.
UsingvmkfstoolsCoversthevmkfstoolsutility,whichyoucanusetoperform
managementandmigrationtasksforvirtualdisksandVMFSvolumes.
VirtualCenter Configuration
Setsofpropertiesandsettingsdialogboxesmakeadjustmentstothecorresponding
VirtualCenterenvironment.
To view the VMware VirtualCenter Configuration
SelectAdministration>VirtualCenterManagementServerConfiguration.
ChangestothissettingapplytothecurrentVirtualCenterServeronly.Ifyoulogout
andlogintoanotherVirtualCenterServer,thesettingsarespecifictothatVirtualCenter
Server.
Thedialogboxtabsdisplayandallowyoutoconfigure:
LicenseServerSpecifythelicenseserverandwhetherahostlicenseserveris
supersededwhenthehostisaddedtotheVirtualCenterinventory.Specifythe
VirtualCenterServerlicenseedition.
SeetheInstallationGuideforESXServer3,ortheSetupGuideforyourESXServer3i
productformoreinformationonlicenseconfiguration.
StatisticsSpecifythecollectionintervals,statisticscollectionthreadlimit,and
statisticscollectionlevel.Specifiesthenumberofthreadsusedforcollecting
performancestatisticsfrommanagedhosts.
Specifiesthelevelofdetailforperformancestatisticscollection.Legalvaluesare
minimal,typical,andfull.Thedefaultisfull.
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Specifieshowoften,inseconds,VirtualCenterchecksifanyscheduledtasksare
readytobeexecutedoralarmsshouldbetriggered.Thedefaultis5seconds.
VerifiesthatallusersandgroupsknowntoVirtualCentercurrentlyexistin
Windows.Forexample,ifuserSmithisassignedpermissionsandinthedomain
theusersnameissubsequentlychangedtoSmith2,VirtualCenterconcludesthat
Smithnolongerexistsandremovespermissionsforthatuser.
SeeAboutCollectionIntervalsandCollectionLevelsonpage 286.
RuntimeSettingsViewtheuniqueruntimesettingsfortheVirtualCenter
installation.ThisincludestheVirtualCenteruniqueIDnumberandthe
VirtualCenterTCP/IPportnumber.
GeneratesuniqueMACaddressesandUUIDsforvirtualmachines.Insomecases,
itispossibletohavemorethanoneVirtualCenterrunninginthesamecompany.
EachoftheseVirtualCenterServersmusthaveitsownuniqueidentification.
By default,anIDvalueisgeneratedrandomly.However,thisvalueiseditable.
The onlyrequirementisthatitbeauniquenumberfrom0to63.
SpecifiestheportthroughwhichaVirtualCenterclientsendsdatatothe
VirtualCenterServer.
SeeConfiguringVirtualCenterCommunicationonpage 76.
ActiveDirectorySpecifytheactivedirectorytimeout,maximumnumberofusers
andgroupstodisplayintheAddPermissionsdialogbox,andthefrequencyfor
performingasynchronizationandvalidationofVirtualCentersknownusersand
groups.
SpecifiesthemaximumnumberofusersandgroupstheVirtualCenterstoresfrom
theselecteddomain.Tospecifynomaximumlimit,enterzero(0).
Specifies,inseconds,themaximumtimeVirtualCenterallowsthesearchtorunon
theselecteddomain.Searchingverylargedomainscantakeaverylongtime.
This valuemustbegreaterthanzero(0).
SeeChapter 17,ManagingUsers,Groups,Permissions,andRoles,onpage 265.
MailSpecifytheSMTPserverandmailaccount.
SeeManagingEventsonpage 311.
SNMPSpecifytheSNMPreceiverURLs,ports,andcommunitystrings.
SeeAboutSNMPandVMwareInfrastructureonpage 83.
76 VMware, Inc.
WebServiceSpecifytheHTTPandHTTPSportsfortheWebServicetouse.
You canalsospecifywhetheryouwanttomaintaincompatibilitywiththe
VirtualCenter1.xversionoftheSDKWebService.
SeeConfiguringVirtualCenterCommunicationonpage 76.
TimeoutSettingsSpecifytheVIClientconnectiontimeoutvaluesfornormal
operationsandlongoperations.Timeoutnormalspecifieshowlong,inseconds,
theVirtualCenterclientwaitsforaresponsefromtheVirtualCenterServerbefore
timingout.Thedefaultis30seconds.Timeoutlongspecifieshowlong,inseconds,
theVirtualCenterclientwaitsforaresponsefromtheVirtualCenterServerforlong
operations.Thedefaultis120seconds.
SeeStartingtheVIClientandLoggingInonpage 38.
LoggingOptionsSpecifythedegreeofdetailandextentoflogscollectedduring
normalVirtualCenteroperations.Specifiesverboseloggingwhensetto1.Usedfor
advanceddebuggingandtroubleshooting.Usethisfieldonlywhendirectedby
VMwaretechnicalsupport.
SeeSystemLogFilesonpage 99.
DatabaseSpecifythepasswordrequiredtoaccesstheVirtualCenterdatabase
andthemaximumnumberofdatabaseconnectionstobecreated.
SSLSpecifywhetheryouwanttheVirtualCenterserverandVirtualCenterclients
toverifytheSSLcertificatesoftheremotehostwhenestablishingremote
connections.VMwarerecommendsenablingtheCheckhostcertificatesoption.
AdvancedSettingsSpecifyadvancedsettings.Itishighlyrecommendedthat
youdonotchangethesesettingswithoutcontactingVMwaretechnicalsupport.
Configuring VirtualCenter Communication
TheVirtualCenterServerandESXServerreceivesdatatransmissionsfromtheVIClient
onport902.EnsurethisisproperlyconfiguredpriortoconnectingyourVIClientto
yourVirtualCenterServerorESXServer.
NOTETheproceduresdescribedherearenotavailableforcommunicationwithan
ESX Server.ESXServeronlyusesport902.Youcannotchangetheportnumber
ESX ServerusestocommunicatewitheitheraVIClientortheVirtualCenterServer.
See theESXServer3ConfigurationGuideortheESXServer3iConfigurationGuidefor
completeinformationonsecurity,communication,andportconfigurationwithan
ESX Serverhost.
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IfafirewallispreventingtheVIClientfromconnectingtotheVirtualCenterServer,you
havethreeoptionsforcorrectingthis:
ReconfigureyourfirewalltoallowtheVIClienttocommunicatethroughport902
ontheVirtualCenterServerorESXServer.Seetheinstructionsforyourfirewall.
Usesomeportotherthan902(andifnecessary,configureyourfirewalltoopenthis
otherport).TheVIClientandtheVirtualCenterServermustbothbeconfiguredto
usethesameport.
SeeConfiguringthePortThatVirtualCenterServerUsesonpage 77for
informationonchangingthisportnumberinyourVirtualCenterServer.
IfneitheroftheprecedingoptionsispossibleandyourfirewallallowsWebtraffic
topasstotheserver,youcanconnecttheVIClienttotheVirtualCenterServer
usingastandardWebconnection.
SeeConfiguringVirtualCenterCommunicationoveraWebConnectionon
page 78forinformationonsettinguptheWebsiteport.
Configuring the Port That VirtualCenter Server Uses
Thereisadefaultportnumberassigned,902.Thisprocedureappliesonlyto
communicationbetweenaVIClientandaVirtualCenterServer.Donotusethisto
attempttochangetheportnumberforcommunicationbetweenaVIClientandan
ESX Server.
To change the default port number
1 StarttheVIClientandlogintotheVirtualCenterServer.
SeeUsingtheVIClientonpage 45.
2 ChooseAdministration>VirtualCenterManagementServerConfiguration.
3 ClicktheRuntimeSettingsoption.
CAUTIONIfyouusethisoptiontoopenacommunicationchannelbetweenyour
VirtualCenterServerandVIClient,theVirtualCenterconsoledoesnotwork.
NOTEChangingtheportnumberisaveryrareoperation.
78 VMware, Inc.
4 EntertheportnumberyourVIClientisusingtocommunicatewiththe
VirtualCenterServer.ClicktheFinishoption.ClicktheFinishbutton.
Theportmustbelessthan64000.
5 Toacceptthechanges,restarttheVirtualCenterServer.
SeeVirtualCenterServeronpage 36.
Configuring VirtualCenter Communication over a Web
Connection
OnealternativetoconnectingtheVirtualCenterServerandVIClientonoppositesides
ofafirewallisthroughastandardWebconnection.
ToenableyourVIClienttoconnectwiththeVirtualCenterServeracrossafirewall
usingaWebtunnel,changetheWebsiteportaddressonyourVirtualCenterServer.
To open a Web port between the VirtualCenter Server and the VI Client using IIS
1 OntheVirtualCenterServer,installInternetInformationServices(IIS)Manager.
Typically,thisisinstalledbydefaultwiththeMicrosoftWindowsoperating
system.
2 EnableIIS.
Forexample,chooseStart>ControlPanel>AdministrativeTools>Internet
ServicesManager.SelectInternetInformationServices.
3 FromtheIISmanager,opentheWindowsdialogbox.
4 Expandthe<server_name>.RightclickonDefaultWebSite.ChooseProperties>
WebSitetab.
5 SettheportvaluefortheVirtualCenterservice.
6 IntheWebSiteDescriptionblock,enterthevalueoftheTCPPortor,ifallowed,the
SSLport.
Avalueof80isthedefaultnonsecureTCPWebsiteport.Avalueof443isthe
defaultsecureSSLWebsiteport.
CAUTIONIfyouusethisoptiontoopenacommunicationchannelbetweenyour
VirtualCenterServerandVIClient,theVirtualCenterconsoledoesnotwork.
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7 (SEEUPDATE)Setthedlldirectory.
a Ifneeded,createthedirectory:
C:\inetpub\wwwroot\vpx\
b Setthepermissionsforthisdirectorytoallowexecution.
c CopythefileVmdbHttpProxy.dlltothisdirectory.
Thefileisin\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\VirtualCenter
Server\.
8 Verifythatthechangehasbeenapplied.
9 StopandrestartthedefaultWebsite.
10 EachtimeyouupdatetheVirtualCenterversion,repeatthisprocess.
WhenyoustarttheVIClient,entertheVirtualCenterServerWebsiteaddressas
listedintheServerfield.
IfyouareusingthesecureWebportoranyothernondefaultport,usethefull
name:http:<server name>:<port>.
Forexample,http:vcserver:443.
IfyouareusingthedefaultnonsecureWebsiteport,anyofthefollowing
combinationswork:http:<server name>,<server name>80,orhttp:<server
name>:80.
Virtual Machine Configuration
Setsofpropertiesandsettingsdialogboxesmakeadjustmentstothecorresponding
virtualmachineelement.
To view the resources of a virtual machine
Selectavirtualmachine.ClicktheSummarytab.SeetheResourcessectionofthe
Summarytab.
ListedarethecurrentCPUandmemoryusage,inadditiontothedatastoresand
networksassociatedwiththeselectedvirtualmachine.
SeetheResourceManagementGuideforcompleteinformationonconfiguringandusing
yourvirtualmachineresources.
80 VMware, Inc.
To view the virtual machines on a host
Selectahost.ClicktheVirtualMachinestab.
Thisisalistofallthevirtualmachinesrunningontheselectedmanagedhostandthe
percentageofresourcesallocatedtothevirtualmachine.
To view the configuration of a virtual machine
SeethechaptersinVirtualMachineManagementonpage 115forcomplete
informationaboutcreatingvirtualmachinesandeditingtheconfigurationofvirtual
machines.
SelectavirtualmachineandchooseEditSettings.
ThisdisplaystheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialogbox.Fromthisdialogboxyoucan
editthefollowingvirtualmachineconfigurationitems:
HardwareAddsorremovesthehardwareelementstoyourvirtualmachine:
Memory
CPU
Floppydrive
CD/DVDdrive
Networkadapter
SCSIcontroller
Harddisk
Serialport
Parallelport
SCSIdevice
OptionsListssomegeneralvirtualmachinesettings,actionstotakeduringa
powerstatechange,andactionstakenfordebuggingduringaprocess.
GeneralContainsvirtualmachinename,virtualmachineconfigurationfile
pathandname,virtualmachineworkinglocation,guestoperatingsystem,
andversionoftheguestoperatingsysteminstalled.
VMwareToolsContainspowercontrolsettingsforthevirtualmachines
toolbarpowericonsandarunscriptsoptionspecifyingifandwhentoruna
VMwareToolsscript.
PowerManagementAllowsyoutospecifythevirtualmachinesresponse
whentheguestoperatingsystemisonstandby.
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AdvancedOptionsunderthisheadingcontroladvancedvirtualmachine
optionsasfollows:
GeneralContainssettingsforacceleration,logging,debugging.
Also allowsyoutosetadvancedvirtualmachineconfigurationparameters.
CPUIDMaskContainssettingsforconfiguringCPUIDmasksfor
increasingVMotioncompatibility.
BootOptionsContainsoptionsforsettingbootdelayandforcingthe
virtualmachinetoenterBIOSsetuponboot.
ParavirtualizationAllowsyoutoturnonVMIparavirtualization.
FibreChannelNPIVContainssettingsforconfiguringNPortID
Virtualizationidentifiers.
VirtualizedMMUAllowsyoutoconfigurewhethervirtualmachines
makeuseofhardwarepagetablevirtualizationcapabilities.
SwapfileLocationAllowsyoutosetthelocationinwhichthevirtual
machineswapfileisstored.
ResourcesModifiestheresourcesharesonthemanagedhostofavirtualmachine.
CPUAllowsyoutospecifytheCPUresourceallocationshares,reservation,
andlimitfortheselectedvirtualmachine.
MemoryAllowsyoutospecifythememoryresourceallocationshares,
reservation,andlimitfortheselectedvirtualmachine.
DiskAllowsyoutospecifythediskresourceallocationsharesandshares
valuefortheselectedvirtualmachine.
AdvancedCPUAllowsyoutospecifythehyperthreadingandscheduling
affinityfortheCPUrunningtheselectedvirtualmachine.
AdvancedMemoryAllowsyoutosetlowleveloptionsfordistributionof
virtualmachinememorytoNUMA(nonuniformmemoryaccess)memory
nodes.ThispageappearsonlyifthevirtualmachineshostsupportsNUMA
memoryarchitecture.
Working with Active Sessions
WhenyourVIClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,youcanviewthelistof
usersloggedontotheserver.ThisisnotavailablewhenyourVIClientisconnectedto
anESXServerhost.
82 VMware, Inc.
To view the users that are currently logged on to a VirtualCenter Server
FromtheVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,clicktheAdminbuttoninthe
navigationbar.ThenclicktheSessionstab.
To terminate an active session
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,clicktheAdminbuttonin
thenavigationbar.ThenclicktheSessionstab.
2 Rightclickthesessiontoclose.ChooseTerminate.
3 Toconfirmthetermination,clickOK.
To send a message to all users logged on to an active session
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,clicktheAdminbuttonin
thenavigationbar.ThenclicktheSessionstab.
2 TypeintotheMessageofthedayfield.
3 ClicktheChangebutton.
Thetextissentasanoticemessagetoallactivesessionusersandtonewusers
whentheylogin.
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About SNMP and VMware Infrastructure
SimpleNetworkManagementProtocol(SNMP)allowsmanagementprogramsto
monitorandcontrolavarietyofnetworkeddevices.ManageddevicesrunSNMP
agents,whichcanprovideinformationtoamanagementprograminatleastoneofthe
followingways:
Inresponsetoagetoperation,whichisaspecificrequestforinformationfromthe
managementsystem.
Bysendinganotification,whichisanalertsentbytheSNMPagenttonotifythe
managementsystemofaparticulareventorcondition.
VirtualCenterServer,ESXServer3i,andESXServer3eachhaveanSNMPagent.
The agentsprovidedwitheachproducthavedifferingcapabilities.
About MIB Files
(SEEUPDATE)ManagementInformationBase(MIB)filesdefinetheinformationthatcan
beprovidedbymanageddevices.TheMIBfilescontainobjectidentifiers(OIDs)and
variablesarrangedinahierarchy.Currently,VMwareprovidestheMIBfileslistedin
Table 51forusewithVI3.
Table 5-1. VMware MIB Files
MIB File Description
VMWARE-ROOT-MIB.mib ContainsVMwaresenterpriseOIDandtoplevelOID
assignments.
VMWARE-ENV-MIB.mib Definesvariablesandtraptypesusedtoreporthardware
environmentstatus.(ESXServer3ihostsonly)
VMWARE-PRODUCTS-MIB.mib DefinesOIDstouniquelyidentifyeachSNMPagentoneach
VMwareplatform.
VMWARE-RESOURCES-MIB.mib Definesvariablesusedtoreportinformationonresource
usageoftheVMkernel,includingmemory,CPU,anddisk
utilization.
VMWARE-SYTEM-MIB.mib TheVMWARE-SYSTEM-MIB.mibfileisobsolete.Usethe
SNMPv2MIBtoobtaininformationfromsysDescr.0and
sysObjecID.0.
VMWARE-TC-MIB.mib DefinescommontextualconventionsusedbyVMwareMIB
files.
VMWARE-TRAPS-MIB.mib Definesvirtualmachinepowerrelatedtrapssentby
ESX ServerandtrapssentbyVirtualCenter.
84 VMware, Inc.
VMWARE-ROOT-MIB
TheVMWARE-ROOT-MIB.mibfiledefinesVMwaresenterpriseOIDandtoplevelOID
assignments.
Table 52liststheidentificationmappingforVMWARE-ROOT-MIB.mib.
VMWARE-ENV-MIB
TheVMWARE-ENV-MIB.mibdefinesvariablesandtraptypesusedtoreportonthestate
ofphysicalcomponentsofthehostcomputer.Thevariablesandtrapsdefinedinthis
fileareusedonlybyESXServer3ihosts.
VMWARE-ENV-MIB.mibdefinesasingletrap,vmwEnvHardwareEvent,whichissent
whenanESXServer3ihosthasdetectedamaterialchangeinthephysicalconditionof
thehardware.
Table 53liststhevariablesdefinedin VMWARE-ENV-MIB.mib.
VMWARE-VMINFO-MIB.mib Definesvariablesforreportinginformationaboutvirtual
machines.
VMWARE-VMKERNEL-MIB.mib Definesvariablesforreportinginformationaboutthestate
oftheVMkernel.
Table 5-2. Definition Mapping for VMWARE-ROOT-MIB.mib
Label Identification Mapping
vmware enterprises 6876
vmwSystem vmware 1
vmwVirtMachines vmware 2
vmwResources vmware 3
vmwProductSpecific vmware 4
vmwTraps vmware 50
vmwOID vmware 60
vmwExperimental vmware 700
Table 5-1. VMware MIB Files (Continued)
MIB File Description
VMware, Inc. 85
VMWARE-PRODUCTS-MIB
TheVMWARE-PRODUCTS-MIB.mibfiledefinesOIDstouniquelyidentifyeachSNMPagent
oneachVMwareplatform.TheidentificationmappingsforthisfilearelistedinTable 54.
Table 5-3. Variable Definitions in VMWARE-ENV-MIB
Variable ID Mapping Description
vmwEnv vmwProductSpecific 20 DefinestheOIDrootforthisMIB
module.
vmwEnvNumber vmwEnv 1 Numberofconceptualrowsin
vmwEnvTable.
vmwEnvLastChange vmwEnv 2 Thevalueof sysUptimewhena
conceptualrowwaslastaddedtoor
deletedfromvmwEnvTable.
vmwEnvTable vmwEnv 3 Thistableispopulatedbymonitoring
subsystemssuchasIPMI.
vmwEnvEntry vmwEnvTable 1 Oneentryiscreatedinthetablefor
eachphysicalcomponentreporting
itsstatustoESXServer3i.
vmwEnvIndex vmwEnvEntry 1 Auniqueidentifierforthephysical
component.Thisidentifierdoesnot
persistacrossmanagementrestarts.
vmwSubsystemType vmwEnvEntry 2 Thetypeofhardwarecomponentthat
isreportingitsenvironmentalstate.
vmwHardwareStatus vmwEnvEntry 3 Thelastreportedstatusofthe
component.
vmwEventDescription vmwEnvEntry 4 Adescriptionofthelastreported
eventforthishardwarecomponent.
vmwHardwareTime vmwEnvEntry 5 ThevalueofsysUptimewhen
vmwHardwareStatuswasreported.
Table 5-4. Identification Mappings for VMWARE-PRODUCTS-MIB.mib
Label Identification Mapping
oidESX vmwOID 1
vmwESX vmwProductSpecific 1
vmwEmbeddedESX vmwProductSpecific 2
vmwVC vmwProductSpecific 3
vmwServer vmwProductSpecific 4
86 VMware, Inc.
VMWARE-RESOURCES-MIB
TheVMWARE-RESOURCES-MIB.mibfiledefinesvariablesusedtoreportinformationon
resourceusage.Table 55liststheidentificationmappingsdefinedinthisfile.
Table 5-5. Identification Mappings for VMWARE-RESOURCES-MIB
CPU Subtree
vmwCPU vmwResources 1 DefinestherootOIDforthesubtreeof
variablesusedtoreportCPU
information.
numCPUs vmwCPU 1 ThenumberofphysicalCPUspresenton
thesystem.
cpuTable vmwCPU 2 AtableofCPUusagebyeachvirtual
machine.
cpuEntry cpuTable 1 AnentryincpuTablethatrecordsCPU
usageforasinglevirtualmachine.
cpuVMID cpuEntry 1 Theidentificationnumberallocatedto
thevirtualmachinebytheVMkernel.
cpuShares cpuEntry 2 TheshareoftheCPUallocatedtothe
virtualmachinebytheVMkernel.
cpuUtil cpuEntry 3 Amountoftimethevirtualmachinehas
beenrunningontheCPU(inseconds).
Memory Subtree
vmwMemory vmwResources 2 DefinestherootOIDforthesubtreeof
variablesusedtoreportmemory
information.
memSize vmwMemory 1 Amountofphysicalmemorypresenton
thehost(inKB).
memCOS vmwMemory 2 Amountofphysicalmemoryusedbythe
serviceconsole(inKB).Thisvariabledoes
notapplytoESXServer3ihosts,which
donothaveaserviceconsole.
memAvail vmwMemory 3 Theamountoffreephysicalmemory
availableonthehost.
memTable vmwMemory 4 Atableofmemoryusagebyeachvirtual
machine.
memEntry memTable 1 AnentryinmemTablethatrecords
memoryusagebyasinglevirtual
machine.
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memVMID memEntry 1 Theidentificationnumberallocatedto
thevirtualmachinebytheVMkernel.
memShares memEntry 2 Thesharesofmemoryallocatedtothe
virtualmachinebytheVMkernel.
memConfigured memEntry 3 Theamountofmemorythevirtual
machinewasconfiguredwith(inKB).
memUtil memEntry 4 Theamountofmemorycurrentlyusedby
thevirtualmachine(inKB).
Disk Subtree
vmwHBATable vmwResources 3 Atableusedforreportingdiskadapter
andtargetinformation.
hbaEntry vmwHBATable 1 ArecordforasingleHBAconnectedto
thehostmachine.
hbaIdx hbaEntry 1 IndexfortheHBAtable.
hbaName hbaEntry 2 Astringdescribingthedisk.Format:
<devname#>:<tgt>:<lun>.
hbaVMID hbaEntry 3 Theidentificationnumberallocatedto
therunningvirtualmachinebythe
VMkernel.
diskShares hbaEntry 4 Shareofdiskbandwidthallocatedtothis
virtualmachine.
numReads hbaEntry 5 Numberofreadstothisdisksincethe
diskmodulewasloaded.
kbRead hbaEntry 6 Kilobytesreadfromthisdisksincethe
numWrites hbaEntry 7 Numberofwritestothisdisksincethe
kbWritten hbaEntry 8 Numberofkilobyteswrittentothisdisk
sincethediskmodulewasloaded.
Net Subtree
vmwNetTable vmwResources 4 Atableusedforreportingnetwork
adapterstatistics.
netEntry vmwNetTable 1 Arecordforasinglenetworkadapteron
thevirtualmachine.
netIdx netEntry 1 Indexforthenetworktable.
Table 5-5. Identification Mappings for VMWARE-RESOURCES-MIB (Continued)
88 VMware, Inc.
VMWARE-TC-MIB
The VMWARE-TC-MIB.mibfileprovidescommontextualconventionsusedbyVMware
MIBfiles.
VMWARE-TC-MIB.mibdefinesthefollowingintegervaluesforVmwSubsystemTypes:
unknown(1)
chassis(2)
powerSupply(3)
fan(4)
cpu(5)
netName netEntry 2 Astringdescribingthenetworkadapter.
netVMID netEntry 3 Theidentificationnumberallocatedto
therunningvirtualmachinebythe
VMkernel.
ifAddr netEntry 4 TheMACaddressofthevirtual
machinesvirtualnetworkadapter.
netShares netEntry 5 Shareofnetworkbandwidthallocatedto
thisvirtualmachine.Thisobjecthasnot
beenimplemented.
pktsTx netEntry 6 Thenumberofpacketstransmittedon
thisnetworkadaptersincethenetwork
modulewasloaded.SeeSMIv2version
for64bitpackets.
kbTx netEntry 7 Thenumberofkilobytessentfromthis
networkadaptersincethenetwork
for64bitpackets.
pktsRx netEntry 8 Thenumberofpacketsreceivedonthis
networkadaptersincethenetwork
for64bitpackets.
kbRx netEntry 9 Kilobytesreceivedonthisnetwork
adaptersincethenetworkmodulewas
loaded.SeeSMIv2versionfor64bit
packets.
Table 5-5. Identification Mappings for VMWARE-RESOURCES-MIB (Continued)
VMware, Inc. 89
memory(6)
battery(7)
temperatureSensor(8)
raidController(9)
voltage(10)
VMWARE-TC-MIB.mibdefinesthefollowingintegervaluesforVmwSubsystemStatus:
unknown(1)
normal(2)
marginal(3)
critical(4)
failed(5)
VMWARE-TRAPS-MIB
VMWARE-TRAPS-MIB.mibdefinestrapsusedbyESXServerandVirtualCenter.
All notificationsdefinedinthisfilearesentbyVMwareagentsusingtheSNMPv1trap
format.Table 56liststhetraps.
Table 5-6. Traps Defined in VMWARE-TRAPS-MIB
Trap Description
ESX Server Traps
vmPoweredOn Thistrapissentwhenavirtualmachineispoweredonfroma
suspendedorpoweredoffstate.
vmPoweredOff Thistrapissentwhenavirtualmachineispoweredoff.
vmHBLost Thistrapissentwhenavirtualmachinedetectsalossinguest
heartbeat.VMwareToolsmustbeinstalledintheguest
operatingsysteminorderforthisvaluetobevalid.
vmHBDetected Thistrapissentwhenavirtualmachinedetectsorregainsthe
guestheartbeat.VMwareToolsmustbeinstalledintheguest
operatingsysteminorderforthisvaluetobevalid.
vmSuspended Thistrapissentwhenavirtualmachineissuspended.
VirtualCenter Server Traps
vpxdTrap Thistrapissentwhenanentitystatushaschanged.
90 VMware, Inc.
VMWARE-TRAPS-MIB.mibalsodefinesvariablesusedbythesetraps.Table 57liststhe
variablesdefinedinthisfile.
VMWARE-VMINFO-MIB
TheVMWARE-VMINFO-MIB.mibfiledefinesvariablesforreportingvirtualmachine
information.Table 58liststhevariablesdefinedinthisfile.
Table 5-7. Variables Defined in VMWARE-TRAPS-MIB
ESX Server Trap Variables
vmID vmwTraps 101 TheIDoftheaffectedvirtualmachinegenerating
thetrap.IfthereisnovirtualmachineID
(for example,ifthevirtualmachinehasbeen
poweredoff),thevmIDis1.
vmConfigFile vmwTraps 102 Theconfigurationfileofthevirtualmachine
generatingthetrap.
VirtualCenter Server Trap Variables
vpxdTrapType vmwTraps 301 ThetraptypeoftheVirtualCentertrap.
vpxdHostName vmwTraps 302 Thenameoftheaffectedhost.
vpxdVMName vmwTraps 303 Thenameoftheaffectedvirtualmachine.
vpxdOldStatus vmwTraps 304 Thepriorstatus.
vpxdNewStatus vmwTraps 305 Thenewstatus.
vpxdObjValue vmwTraps 306 Theobjectvalue.
Table 5-8. Identification Mappings for VMWARE-VMINFO-MIB
vmTable vmwVirtMachines 1 Atablecontaininginformationonthe
virtualmachinesthathavebeen
configuredonthesystem.
vmEntry vmTable 1 Therecordforasinglevirtualmachine.
vmIdx vmEntry 1 Anindexforthevirtualmachineentry.
vmDisplayName vmEntry 2 Thedisplaynameforthevirtualmachine.
vmConfigFile vmEntry 3 Thepathtotheconfigurationfileforthis
virtualmachine.
vmGuestOS vmEntry 4 Theguestoperatingsystemrunningon
thevirtualmachine.
VMware, Inc. 91
vmMemSize vmEntry 5 Thememory(inMB)configuredforthis
virtualmachine.
vmState vmEntry 6 Thevirtualmachinepowerstate(onoroff).
vmVMID vmEntry 7 Anidentificationnumberassignedto
runningvirtualmachinesbythe
VMkernel.Poweredoffvirtualmachines
tonothavethisID.
vmGuestState vmEntry 8 Thestateoftheguestoperatingsystem
(onoroff).
hbaTable vmwVirtMachines 2 Atableofdiskadaptersvisibletoavirtual
machine.
hbaEntry hbaTable 1 RecordforasingleHBA.
hbaVmIdx hbaEntry 1 Anumbercorrespondingtothevirtual
machinesindexinthevmTable.
hbaIdx hbaEntry 2 ThevirtualmachinesvirtualSCSI
adapternumber.
hbaNum hbaEntry 3 ThedevicenumberfortheHBA.
hbaVirtDev hbaEntry 4 ThevirtualdevicetypeforthisHBA.
hbaTgtTable vmwVirtMachines 3 ThetableofSCSItargetsvisibletoa
virtualmachine.
hbaTgtEntry hbaTgtTable 1 RecordforasingleSCSItarget.
hbaTgtVmIdx hbaTgtEntry 1 Anumbercorrespondingtothevirtual
hbaTgtIdx hbaTgtEntry 2 ThevirtualSCSItargetnumber.
hbaTgtNum hbaTgtEntry 3 TheSCSItargetdescription.
netTable vmwVirtMachines 4 Atableofnetworkadaptersseenbya
virtualmachine.
netEntry netTable 1 Arecordforasinglenetworkadapter.
netVmIdx netEntry 1 Anumbercorrespondingtothevirtual
netIdx netEntry 2 Indexforthistable.
netNum netEntry 3 Thedevicenumberforthenetwork
adapter.
netName netEntry 4 Thedevicenameforthenetworkadapter.
Table 5-8. Identification Mappings for VMWARE-VMINFO-MIB (Continued)
92 VMware, Inc.
VMWARE-VMKERNEL-MIB
TheVMWARE-VMKERNEL-MIB.mibfiledefinesvariablesusedtoreporttheVMkernel
state.Table 59liststhevariablesdefinedinthisfile.
netConnType netEntry 5 Connectiontype(userormonitordevice).
floppyTable vmwVirtMachines 5 Atableoffloppydrivesvisibletoavirtual
machine.
floppyEntry floppyTable 1 Arecordforasinglefloppydevice.
fdVmIdx floppyEntry 1 Anumbercorrespondingtothevirtual
fdIdx floppyEntry 2 Indexforthefloppytable.Givestheorder
ofthefloppydeviceonthevirtualmachine.
fdName floppyEntry 3 Thedevicenumberornameforthefloppy
device.
fdConnected floppyEntry 4 Indicateswhetherthefloppydeviceis
connected.
cdromTable vmwVirtMachines 6 AtableofCDROMdrivesvisibletoa
virtualmachine.
cdromEntry cdromTable 1 ArecordforasingleCDROMdrive.
cdVmIdx cdromEntry 1 Anumbercorrespondingtothevirtual
cdromIdx cdromEntry 2 IndexfortheCDROMtable.Givesthe
orderofCDROMdevicesonthevirtual
machine.
cdromName cdromEntry 3 Thedevicenumberornameforthe
CDROMdevice.
cdromConnected cdromEntry 4 IndicateswhethertheCDROMdeviceis
connected.
Table 5-9. Identification Mappings for VMWARE-VMKERNEL-MIB
esxVMKernel vmwESX 1 TherootOIDforVMkernelvariables.
vmkLoaded esxVMKernel 1 IndicateswhethertheVMkernelhasbeen
loaded.Notethatifthevalueofthisvariable
isNo,thenallothervariablesreportedfor
ESXServer3areinvalid.
Table 5-8. Identification Mappings for VMWARE-VMINFO-MIB (Continued)
VMware, Inc. 93
Using SNMP with VirtualCenter Server
TheSNMPagentincludedwithVirtualCenterServercanbeusedtosendtrapswhen
analarmistriggeredontheVirtualCenterServer.TheVirtualCenterSNMPagent
functionsonlyasatrapemitter,anddoesnotsupportotherSNMPoperations,such
as get.AlltrapssentbytheVirtualCenterServerSNMPagentareSNMPversion1traps.
TheSNMPenterprisetraptypeforVMwareVirtualCenteris201.Itsendsnogeneric
traps.
TousetheVirtualCenterSNMPtraps,youmustdothefollowing:
ConfiguretheSNMPsettingsonVirtualCenterServer.
ConfigureyourmanagementsoftwaretoaccepttrapsfromVirtualCenterServer.
To configure SNMP settings on VirtualCenter Server
1 IntheVIClientconnectedtoVirtualCenterServer,chooseAdministration>
VirtualCenterManagementServerConfiguration.
TheVirtualCenterManagementServerConfigurationdialogboxisdisplayed.
2 SelectSNMPtodisplaytheSNMPpage.
3 IntheReceiverURLtextbox,entertheDNSnameorIPaddressoftheSNMP
receiver.
4 Intheadjacenttextbox,entertheportnumberoftheSNMPreceiver.
Iftheportvalueisleftempty,thedefaultvalueof162isused.
5 IntheCommunityStringtextbox,enterthecommunityidentifier.
6 ToenableadditionalSNMPreceivers,selecttheappropriatecheckbox,andrepeat
Steps3through5forthatreceiver.
7 ClickOKtoclosethedialogboxandsavethesettings.
ThetrapssentbyVirtualCenterServeraretypicallysenttoothermanagement
programs.YoumustconfigureyourmanagementservertointerprettheSNMPtraps
sentbyVirtualCenterServer.
94 VMware, Inc.
To configure your management program to interpret VirtualCenter SNMP traps
1 (SEEUPDATE)CopytheMIBfilestothelocationrequiredbyyourmanagement
software.To interpretVirtualCenterServertraps,onlythefollowingMIBfilesare
needed:
VMWARE-ROOT-MIB.mib
VMWARE-TRAPS-MIB.mib
TheMIBdefinitionfilescanbefoundatC:\Program
Files\VMware\Infrastructure\VirtualCenter Server\MIBSwhenthe
defaultinstallationdirectoryisused.
2 ModifyyourmanagementprogramtoincludeandinterprettheVMwareMIBs.
SeeyourmanagementprogramdocumentationforinformationonaddingMIB
definitionstoyourprogram.
Using SNMP with ESX Server 3
ESXServer3shipswithtwoSNMPagents.ThefirstisanSNMPagentbasedon
NetSNMPwithenhancementstosupportdataspecifictoESXServer3.Thesecond
agentisidenticaltothatwhichshipswithESXServer3i,andcanbeusedand
configuredinthesamemanner.SeeUsingSNMPwithESXServer3ionpage 96for
moreinformationonthisagent.
TheNetSNMPbasedagentiscompiledforversion5.0.9.2.30E.19ofNetSNMP.
ThatversionofNetSNMPisinstalledintheESXServer3serviceconsoleby
default.BackgroundinformationonNetSNMPisavailableat
netsnmp.sourceforge.net.
(SEEUPDATE)TheESXServer3NetSNMPbasedagentcanbeusedwithany
managementsoftwarethatcanloadandcompileamanagementinformationbase
(MIB)inSMIv1formatandcanunderstandSNMPv1trapmessages.TheESXServer3
NetSNMPbasedagentsupportsbothtrapsandSNMPgets.
TheNetSNMPbasedagentreportsthefollowingsysObjectID:
SNMPv2-MIB::sysDescr.0 = STRING: VMware ESX Server 0 VMware,
Inc. 0 0 i686
SNMPv2-MIB::sysObjectID.0 = OID: SNMPv2-SMI::mib-2.6786.4.1
YoucanchoosetouseSNMPwithorwithoutanyESXServerMIBitems.
TheVMwarespecificMIBmodulesareinstalledwhenyouinstallESX Server3.
By defaultonafreshinstall,ESXServercomponentsareenabledinSNMP,and
VMwaretrapsareonbydefault.YoumustconfigureatrapsinktoreceiveSNMPtraps.
VMware, Inc. 95
Configuring the ESX Server Agent from the Service Console
(SEEUPDATE)Thefollowingproceduresmustbeperformedafterinstallingor
upgradingthirdpartymanagementapplications.
To enable or disable VMware MIBs on ESX Server 3
1 Logintotheserviceconsoleastherootuser.
2 Editthe /etc/snmp/snmpd.confconfigurationfile.
3 AddorremovethefollowinglinetoenableordisableVMwareMIBitems:
dlmod SNMPESX /usr/lib/vmware/snmp/libSNMPESX.so
To start the ESX Server 3 SNMP agent automatically
YoucansettheSNMPdaemontostartwheneverESXServer3bootsbylogginginas
therootuserontheserviceconsoleandrunningthechkconfigcommand:
chkconfig snmpd on
To start the ESX Server 3 SNMP agent manually
IfyoumuststarttheSNMPagentmanually,loginasrootintheserviceconsoleandrun
thefollowingcommand:
/etc/rc.d/init.d/snmpd start
Bydefault,theagentstartsandrunsasbackgroundprocesses.
To enable and disable traps on ESX Server 3
1 Edittheconfig.xmlfile.
Theconfigurationparametersnmp/generateTrapsinthe
/etc/vmware/hostd/config.xmlfiledetermineswhethertogenerateatrap.
By default,atrapisgenerated.
2 Todisabletraps,addthefollowingentrytothefile:
<plugins>
<snmpsvc><generateTraps>false</generateTraps></snmpsvc>
</plugins>
3 Toreenabletraps,removetheentryfromthefile.
4 Restartvmware_hostdtoseethechangetakeeffect.
96 VMware, Inc.
Configuring SNMP Trap Destinations for ESX Server 3
VMwaretrapsaregeneratedtothedestinationsspecifiedintheconfigurationfile.
To configure traps
1 Logintotheserviceconsoleastherootuser.
2 Modifythe/etc/snmp/snmpd.conffile.
3 Usingatexteditor,addthefollowingline,replacingmercury.solar.comwiththe
nameofthehostonyournetworkthatwillreceivetraps.
trapsink example.com
Repeatthislinetospecifymorethanonedestination.
4 Addthefollowingline,replacingpublicwithacommunitynameofyourchoice:
trapcommunity public.
Onlyoneinstanceofthislineisallowed.
5 Saveyourchanges.
Using SNMP with ESX Server 3i
ESXServer3ishipswithanSNMPmanagementagentdifferentfromthatwhichruns
intheserviceconsoleofESXServer3.Currently,thisSNMPagentsupportsonlySNMP
traps,notGETS.Thisagentisoffbydefault.Tousethisagent,youmustenablethe
SNMPservice,specifyatleastonecommunity,andconfigureatrapdestinationusing
theRemoteCLIcommandvicfg-snmp.
Table 510liststhecommandoptionsandsyntaxforthevicfg-snmpcommand.
You musttargetthevicfg-snmpcommanddirectlytotheESXServer3ihost.
You cannotusethiscommandwithaVirtualCenterServer.Formoreinformationon
installingandusingtheRemoteCLI,seetheRemoteCommandLineInterfaceInstallation
andReference.
Table 5-10. vicfg-snmp Command Options
Option Description
--communities <comm1>[, ...]
-c <comm1>[, ...]
Specifiescommunitiesseparatedbycommas.
The settingsspecifiedusingthisflagoverwriteany
previoussettings.
--disable
-D
StopstheSNMPservice.
VMware, Inc. 97
Configuring SNMP Management Client Software
TouseyourSNMPmanagementsoftwarewiththeESXServer3orESXServer3iagents,
takethestepsneededtoaccomplishthefollowing:
Inyourmanagementsoftware,specifytheESXServermachineasanSNMPbased
manageddevice.
Setupappropriatecommunitynamesinthemanagementsoftware.Thesemust
correspondtothevaluessetinthemasterSNMPagentsconfigurationfile,for
example,rocommunity,trapcommunity,andtrapsink.
LoadtheESXServerMIBsintothemanagementsoftwaresoyoucanviewthe
symbolicnamesfortheESXServervariables.YoucanfindtheMIBfileson
ESX ServerSW,inthe/usr/lib/vmware/snmp/mibsdirectory.
Configuring SNMP Security for ESX Server 3
TheESXServerSNMPpackagetakesthesimplestapproachtoSNMPsecurityinthe
defaultconfiguration.Itsetsupasinglecommunitywithreadonlyaccess.Thisis
denotedbytherocommunityconfigurationparameterintheconfigurationfileforthe
snmpd daemon,snmpd.conf.Youshouldchangethisfile.
OtherenhancementstotheSNMPsecuritymechanismallowanadministratortosetup
amoreelaboratepermissionsscheme.Seethesnmpd.conf(5)manpagefordetails.
--enable
-E
StartstheSNMPservice.
--port <port-number>
-p <port-number>
SetstheportusedbytheSNMPagent.Thedefaultis
udp/162.
--reset
-r
Clearsallpreviouslyspecifiedcommunitiesand
targets.
--show
-s
DisplaysthecurrentSNMPconfiguration.
--targets <hostname[@port]>
</community>[, ...]
-t <hostname[@port]>
</community>[, ...]
Setsthedestinationfor(notifications)traps.
The settingsspecifiedusingthisflagoverwriteany
previoussettings.
--test
-T
Sendsatestnotificationthatcanbeusedtovalidatethe
SNMPconfiguration.
Table 5-10. vicfg-snmp Command Options (Continued)
Option Description
98 VMware, Inc.
SNMP Diagnostics
YoucanusethefollowingtoolstodiagnoseproblemswithSNMPconfiguration.
Typevicfg-snmp -TattheRemoteCLItoprompttheESXServer3iagenttosend
atesttrap.
TheSNMPv2-MIBfileprovidesanumberofcounterstoaidindebuggingSNMP
problems.Table 511listssomeofthesediagnosticcounters.
Table 5-11. Diagnostic Counters from SNMPv2-MIB
snmpInPkts snmp 1 ThetotalnumberofmessagesdeliveredtotheSNMP
entityfromthetransportservice.
snmpInBadVersions snmp 3 ThetotalnumberofSNMPmessagesthatweredelivered
totheSNMPentityandwereforanunsupportedSNMP
version.
snmpInBadCommunityNames snmp 4 ThetotalnumberofcommunitybasedSNMPmessages
deliveredtotheSNMPentitythatusedaninvalidSNMP
communityname.
snmpInBadCommunityUses snmp 5 ThetotalnumberofcommunitybasedSNMPmessages
deliveredtotheSNMPentitythatrepresentedanSNMP
operationthatwasnotallowedforthecommunitynamed
inthemessage.
snmpInASNParseErrs snmp 6 ThetotalnumberofASN.1orBERerrorsencounteredby
theSNMPentitywhendecodingreceivedSNMP
messages.
snmpEnableAuthenTraps snmp 30 IndicateswhethertheSNMPentityispermittedto
generateauthenticationFailuretraps.Thevalueofthis
objectoverridesanyconfigurationinformation.It
thereforeprovidesameansofdisablingall
authenticationFailuretraps.
snmpSilentDrops snmp 31 ThetotalnumberofConfirmedClassPDUsdeliveredto
theSNMPentitythatweresilentlydroppedbecausethe
sizeofareplycontaininganalternateResponseClassPDU
withanemptyvariablebindingsfieldwasgreaterthan
eitheralocalconstraintorthemaximummessagesize
associatedwiththeoriginatoroftherequest.
snmpProxyDrops snmp 32 ThetotalnumberofConfirmedClassPDUsdeliveredto
theSNMPentitythatweresilentlydroppedbecausethe
transmissionofthemessagetoaproxytargetfailedina
mannerotherthanatimeoutsuchthatnoResponse
ClassPDUcouldbereturned.
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Using SNMP with Guest Operating Systems
TouseSNMPtomonitorguestoperatingsystemsorapplicationsrunninginvirtual
machines,installtheSNMPagentsyounormallywoulduseforthatpurposeinthe
guestoperatingsystems.NospecialconfigurationisrequiredonESXServer.
Thevirtualmachineusesitsownvirtualhardwaredevices.Youshouldnotinstall
agentsintendedtomonitorhardwareonthephysicalcomputerinthevirtualmachine.
System Log Files
Inadditiontolistsofeventsandalarms,VMwareInfrastructurecomponentsgenerate
assortedlogs.Theselogscontainadditionalinformationaboutactivitiesinyour
VMwareInfrastructureenvironment.
Thefollowingsectionsdiscusssystemlogfiles:
ViewingSystemLogEntriesonpage 99
ExternalSystemLogsonpage 101
ConfiguringSyslogonESXServerHostsonpage 102
ExportingDiagnosticDataonpage 103
CollectingLogFilesonpage 104
Viewing System Log Entries
Thefollowingtwoproceduresdescribehowtoaccessandviewsystemlogs.
To view system log entries
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoeitheraVirtualCenterServeroranESXServer,
displaytheadministrationpanelandviewthesystemlogtab.
2 ClicktheAdminbuttoninthenavigationbar.ClicktheSystemLogstab.
100 VMware, Inc.
3 Fromthedropdownlist,choosethelogandentryyouwanttoview.
To search and list selected items
1 Withthelogyouwanttofilterdisplayed,chooseView>Filteringtorefertothe
filteringoptions.
2 Entertextintothedatafield.ClickCleartoemptythedatafield.
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External System Logs
VMwaretechnicalsupportmightrequestseveralfilestohelpresolveanyissuesyou
havewiththeproduct.Thissectiondescribesthetypesandlocationsoflogfilesfound
onvariousVI3componentsystems.
Table 512listslogfilesassociatedwithESXServersystems.
.
Table 513listslogfilesassociatedwiththeVIClientmachine.
NOTEOnWindowssystems,severallogfilesarestoredintheLocalSettingsdirectory,
whichislocatedatC:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Local Settings\.
Thisfolderishiddenbydefault.Toviewitscontents,openMyComputer,chooseTools
>FolderOptions,clicktheViewtab,andchooseShowHiddenFilesandFolders.
Table 5-12. ESX Server System Logs
Component Location
ESXServer2.xServicelog /var/log/vmware/vmware-serverd.log
ESXServer3.xServicelog /var/log/vmware/hostd.log
VIClientAgentlog /var/log/vmware/vpx/vpxa.log
VirtualMachineKernelCorefile /root/vmkernel-core.<date>
and
/root/vmkernel-log.<date>
Thesefilesarepresentafteryourebootyourmachine.
Sysloglog /var/log/messages
ServiceConsoleAvailability
report
/var/log/vmkernel
VMkernelMessages /var/log/vmkernel
VMkernelAlertsandAvailability
report
/var/log/vmkernel
VMkernelWarning /var/log/vmkwarning
VirtualMachinelogfile vmware.loginthesamedirectoryasthe.vmxfileforthe
virtualmachine
VirtualMachineConfiguration
file
<virtual_machine_name>/<virtual_machine_name>.
vmx locatedonadatastoreassociatedwiththemanaged
host.Usedthevirtualmachinesummarypageinthe
VI Clienttodeterminethedatastoreonwhichthisfileis
located.
102 VMware, Inc.
Configuring Syslog on ESX Server Hosts
AllESXServerhostsrunasyslogservice(syslogd),whichlogsmessagesfromthe
VMkernelandothersystemcomponentstoafile.OnanESXServer3host,youcan
configuresyslogbehaviorbyeditingthe/etc/syslog.conffile.OnanESXServer3i
host,youcanusetheVIClientortheRemoteCLIcommandvicfg-advcfgto
configurethefollowingoptions:
LogfilepathSpecifiesadatastorepathtoafileinwhichsyslogdlogsallmessages.
RemotehostSpecifiesaremotehosttowhichsyslogmessagesareforwarded.
Youcanalsospecifytheportonwhichtheremotehostreceivesmessages.
To configure syslogd on an ESX Server 3i host
1 SelectthehostintheVIClientinventory.
2 ClicktheConfigurationtabtodisplayit.
3 ClickAdvancedSettings.
4 SelectSysloginthetreecontrol.
5 IntheSyslog.Local.DatastorePathtextbox,enterthedatastorepathforthefileto
whichsyslogwilllogmessages.
Thedatastorepathshouldbeoftheform[<datastorename>]</path/to/file>,where
thepathisrelativetotherootofthevolumebackingthedatastore.Forexample,
thedatastorepath[storage1] var/log/messageswouldmaptothepath
/vmfs/volumes/storage1/var/log/messages.
Ifnopathisspecified,thedefaultpathis/var/log/messages.
Table 5-13. VI Client System Logs
Component Location
VIClient
Installationlog
TempdirectoryontheVIClientmachine.
Example:
C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Local
Settings\Temp\vmmsi.log
VIClient
Servicelog
\vpxdirectoryinthetempdirectoryontheVIClientmachine.
Example:
C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Local
Settings\Temp\vpx\viclient-x.log
x(=0, 1, ... 9)
VMware, Inc. 103
6 IntheSyslog.Remote.Hostnametextbox,enterthenameoftheremotehostto
whichsyslogdatawillbeforwarded.
Ifnovalueisspecified,noforwardingtakesplace.
Inordertoreceivetheforwardedsyslogmessages,yourremotehostmusthavea
syslogserviceinstalledandcorrectlyconfigured.Consultthedocumentationfor
thesyslogserviceinstalledonyourremotehostforinformationonconfiguration.
7 IntheSyslog.Remote.Porttextbox,entertheportontheremotehosttowhich
syslogdatawillbeforwarded.
Bydefault,thisoptionissetto514,whichisthedefaultUDPportusedbysyslog.
ChangestothisoptiontakeeffectonlyifSyslog.Remote.Hostnameisconfigured.
8 ClickOK.
Changestothesyslogoptionstakeeffectimmediately.
SeetheRemoteCommandLineInterfaceInstallationandReferenceformoreinformationon
installingandusingtheRemoteCLI.
Exporting Diagnostic Data
Thereisanoptionforexportingallorpartofyourlogfiledata.
To export diagnostic data
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServerorESXServer,choose
Administration>ExportDiagnosticData.
2 IftheVIClientisconnectedtoVirtualCenterServer,specifythehostwhoselogs
youwanttoexportandthelocationforstoringthelogfiles.
104 VMware, Inc.
3 IftheVIClientisconnectedtoanESXServer,specifythelocationforthelogfiles.
4 ClickOK.
Afileiscreatedoftheselecteddataandstoredatthespecifiedlocation,usingthe
vm-supportscript.Ifnofileextensionisprovided,thedefaultisatextfile.Thefile
containsType,Time,andDescription.
Collecting Log Files
VMwaretechnicalsupportmightrequestseveralfilestohelpresolveyourproblem.
Thefollowingdescribesscriptprocessesforgeneratingandcollectingsomeofthese
files.
To set VirtualCenter verbose logging in the VMware Infrastructure Client
1 ChooseAdministration.ClickServerSettings>LoggingOptions.
2 ChooseVerbosefromthepopupmenu.
3 ClickOK.
To collect VMware Infrastructure log files
Choosefromtheoptions:
Toviewtheviclient-*.logfiles,changetothedirectory,%temp%.
IfyouarerunningtheVIClientontheVirtualCenterServermachine,download
thelogbundle.
VMware, Inc. 105
To collect ESX Server VMkernel files
IftheVMkernelfails,normallyanerrormessageappearsforaperiodoftimeand
thenthevirtualmachinereboots.
IfyouspecifiedaVMwarecoredumppartitionwhenyouconfiguredyourvirtual
machine,theVMkernelalsogeneratesacoredumpanderrorlog.
MoreseriousproblemsintheVMkernelcanfreezethemachinewithoutanerror
messageorcoredump.
To collect ESX Server log files using the Service Console
Runthefollowingscriptontheserviceconsole:
/usr/bin/vm-support
ThisscriptcollectsandpackagesallrelevantESXServer3systemand
configurationinformationandESXServerlogfiles.Thisinformationcanbeused
toanalyzetheproblemyouareencountering.
Theresultingfilehasthefollowingformat:
esx-<date>-<unique-xnumber>.tgz
106 VMware, Inc.
VMware, Inc. 107
6
ThischapterdescribeshowtomanagetheobjectsinyourVMwareInfrastructure
environment.Thisincludesfolders,datacenters,clusters,resourcepools,networks,
anddatastores.Theseobjectsareusedtohelpmanageororganizethemonitoredand
managedhostsandvirtualmachines.
Thischapterdescribeshowtoaddorremoveinventoryobjects.Includedisareference
tothedocumentationthatdescribestheseitemsandrelatedactivitiesindetail.
EachobjectintheVMwareInfrastructureClienthasitsplaceintheoverallhierarchy.
Anobjectspositionisdeterminedbytheobjectsfunctionality.
UnderstandingVIClientObjectsonpage 108
AddinganInventoryObjectonpage 110
MovingObjectsintheInventoryonpage 111
RemovinganInventoryObjectonpage 112
WorkingwithFilesintheDatastoreBrowseronpage 113
PerforminganInitialDatacenterConsolidationonpage 114
Managing the VI Client
Inventory 6
NOTETheviewsandcapabilitiesdisplayedvarydependingonwhethertheVIClient
isconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServeroranESXServerhost.Unlessindicated,the
process,task,ordescriptionappliestoallkindsofVIClientconnections.
108 VMware, Inc.
Understanding VI Client Objects
Thereareseveralwaystogetinsightintotherelationshipsbetweendifferentobjects:
ViewingthroughtheMapsfeatureshowstheinventoryobjectrelationshipsin
graphicalform.
Clickinganobjectintheinventoryprovidesalistoftabbedcontentthatlists
relatedobjects.
Forexample,adatastorehasavirtualmachinetabthatliststhevirtualmachines
thatusethedatastore.Thereisalsoahosttabthatlistthehoststhatcanaccessthe
datastore.
ViewingInventory>HostsandClustersprovidesaviewofthesetofvirtual
machinesthatrunonaparticularhost,cluster,orresourcepool.Eachobjecthasa
tabthatdisplaysallthevirtualmachinesassociatedorcontainedwithinin.
However,theHostsandClustersviewisnotacompletelistofavailablevirtual
machinesandtemplates.OnlytheInventory>VirtualMachinesandTemplates
optiondisplaysallthevirtualmachineandtemplates.Throughthisviewyoucan
organizevirtualmachinesintoarbitraryfolderhierarchies.
TheVMwareInfrastructureClientobjectsareasfollows:
RootfolderInVirtualCenterServeronly.Childobjectsaredatacentersor
subfolders.TherootfolderissetasadefaultforeveryVirtualCenterServer.
You canchangethename,butnotaddorremoveit.
FoldersInVirtualCenterServeronly.Childobjectsaredatacenters,hosts,
clusters,virtualmachines,templates,orsubfolders.
DatacentersInVirtualCenterServeronly.Childobjectsarefolders,clusters,or
hosts.
Adatacentercontainsclusters,hosts,andvirtualmachines.Allactionstakenupon
managedhostsandvirtualmachinesareappliedwithintheirdatacenter.Withina
datacenter,youcanmonitorandmanagevirtualmachinesseparatelyfromtheir
hostsanduseVMotion.
ClustersInVirtualCenterServeronly.Childobjectsarehosts,virtualmachines,
orresourcepools.
VMware, Inc. 109
Chapter 6 Managing the VI Client Inventory
Ifyoursystemislicensed,youcanenablethefollowingclusterfeatures:
VMwareHAAllowsVirtualCentertomigrateandrestartavirtualmachine
whenahostfails.VMwareHAisnotlistedasaninventoryobjectitself,butit
allowstheclusterobjecttobeseen.
VMwareDRSMonitorstheVirtualCenterenvironment,makesinitialplacement
recommendations,makesvirtualmachinemigrationrecommendations,makes
distributedpowermanagementrecommendations,andenablesVirtualCenterto
automaticallyplaceandmigratevirtualmachinesonhoststoattainthebestuseof
clusterandpowerresources.VMwareDRSisnotlistedasaninventoryobject
itself,butitallowstheclusterobjecttobeseen.
EnhancedVMotionCompatibility(EVC)AllowsVirtualCentertoenforce
VMotioncompatibilitybetweenallhostsintheclusterbyforcinghostswithto
exposeacommonsetofCPUfeaturestovirtualmachines.
SeetheResourceManagementGuideforcomprehensiveinformationonusing
VMwareInfrastructureClientclusters.
HostsChildobjectsarevirtualmachinesorresourcepools.HostsareESXServer
systems.Thetermhostreferstothevirtualizationplatformthatisthehosttothe
virtualmachines.HostisthedefaulttopstructureforastandaloneESXServer
machine.
WhentheVirtualCenterServerisconnectedtotheVMwareInfrastructureClient,
allESXServersystemsregisteredwithVirtualCenterarereferredtoashosts.
ESX ServersystemsdirectlyconnectedtotheVMwareInfrastructureClientare
referredtoasstandalonehosts.
SeetheESXServer3ConfigurationGuideorESXServer3iConfigurationGuidefor
comprehensiveinformationonconfiguringyourESXServersystem.
ResourcepoolsChildobjectsarevirtualmachinesorresourcepools.Resource
poolsareavailableonESXServerhostsaswellasthroughVirtualCenterServers.
AVMwareInfrastructureClientresourcepoolisusedtoallocatehostprovided
CPUandmemorytothevirtualmachinesresidenttothehost.
SeetheResourceManagementGuideforcomprehensiveinformationonusing
resourcepools.
110 VMware, Inc.
VirtualmachinesLocatedwithinahost,virtualdisksonadatastore,associated
withinaclusterorresourcepool.Canbelistedasachildobjecttohosts,clusters,
orresourcepools.Canbemovedbetweenhostsorclusters.Whenaddingtoa
clusterorresourcepool,youmustspecifyorhaveintheclusterorresourcepoola
designatedtargethost.
TemplatesAtemplateisamastercopyofavirtualmachinethatcanbeusedto
createandprovisionnewvirtualmachines.
NetworksInVirtualCenterServeronly.Childobjecttodatacenters.Networksare
discoveredwhenhostsareaddedtotheVMwareInfrastructureenvironment.
comprehensiveinformationonconfiguringESXServernetworks.
DatastoresInVirtualCenterServeronly.Childobjecttodatacenters.Datastores
arediscoveredwhenhostsareaddedtotheVMwareInfrastructureenvironment.
Thisincludesthediscoveryofdatastoresthatarelocaltothemanagedhostaswell
asdatastoresontheSANorNAS.
comprehensiveinformationonconfiguringESXServerdatastores.
Adding an Inventory Object
Eachinventoryobjectcanbeaddedonlytoitscorrespondinghierarchicalparent.
Only permissibleobjectsarelistedontheparentmenus.Thesepairingsareasfollows:
To add an inventory object
1 FromaVIClient,displaytheappropriateinventoryview.
2 Selecttheappropriateparenticonintheinventorypanel.Fromthepopupmenu,
chooseNew <Object>where<Object>isafolder,datacenter,cluster,resource
pool,host,orvirtualmachine.
VMware, Inc. 111
Ifthenewobjectisafolderordatacenter,anewiconisaddedtotheinventory.
Forexample,anewdatacenterisaddedtothehierarchy.Typeinausefulname.
Iftheobjectisacluster,resourcepool,host,orvirtualmachine,awizardappears.
AnswerthepromptsandclickFinish.
Foradditionalinformation,seetheappropriatemanual:
ClusterSeetheResourceManagementGuide.
ResourcepoolSeetheResourceManagementGuide.
HostSeeManagingHostsinVirtualCenteronpage 127.
VirtualmachineSeeManagingVirtualMachinesonpage 169.
Moving Objects in the Inventory
Someobjectscanbemanuallymovedbetweenfolders,datacenters,resourcepools,and
hosts.
To move an object using drag-and-drop
2 Selecttheobjecttobemovedfromtheappropriateinventoryviewbyclickingit.
Aboxisdisplayedaroundit.Thisindicatestheobjectisselected.
112 VMware, Inc.
3 Dragthemovingobjecttothetargetobject.
Ifthemovingobjectisallowedtomovetothetarget,thetargetobjectis
displayedwithaboxaroundit,indicatingitisselected.
Ifthemovingobjectisnotallowedtomovetothetarget,anaughtsign(zero
withaslash)appears,andtheobjectisnotmoved.
Theinventoryobjectscanbemovedasfollows:
Rootfolder,roothost(ESXServer),networks,anddatastoresCannotbe
moved.
FoldersCanbemovedwithinadatacenter.
DatacenterCanbemovedtofoldersatasiblingorparentlevel.
ClusterCanbemovedbetweenfoldersandwithindatacentersatasibling
orparentlevel.
HostWhenmanagedbyaVirtualCenterServer,ifahostisinacluster,all
virtualmachinesonthehostmustbeshutdownandthehostmustbeplaced
intomaintenancemodebeforeitcanbemovedfromthecluster.Ahostcanbe
movedbetweenclustersanddatacenters.
ResourcepoolsCanbemovedtootherresourcepoolsandfolders.
VirtualmachinesCanbemovedtootherresourcepools,clusters,folders,
datacenters,orhosts.Whenaddingtoanythingotherthanahost,youmust
specifyatargethost.
4 Correcttheconditionalsituation,ifneeded.
Whenyoureleasethemousebuttonafterdraggingtheobjectmovestothenew
locationoranerrormessageindicateswhatneedstobedonetopermitthemove.
Removing an Inventory Object
Whenyouremoveanobject(suchasafolder,datacenter,cluster,orresourcepool),
VirtualCenterremovesallchildinventoryobjects(suchasdatacenters,clusters,hosts,
andvirtualmachinescontainedwithintheobject).Alltheassociatedtasksandalarms
arealsoremoved.Assignedprocessorandmigrationlicensesarereturnedtoavailable
status.Virtualmachinesthatwereonamanagedhostremainonthehost,butareno
longermanagedbyVirtualCenter.
NOTETheremoveoptiondoesnotdeletevirtualmachinesfromitsdatastore.
VMware, Inc. 113
To remove an inventory object
2 Selecttheobject.Fromthepopupmenu,chooseRemove.
3 Toconfirmthatyouwanttoremovetheobject,clickYesandfollowtheprompts,
asneeded.
Whenconfirmed,VirtualCenterremovesallclusters,hosts,andvirtualmachines
withinthedatacenterfromthemanagedinventory.Inaddition,alltheassociated
tasks,alarms,andeventsarealsoremoved.Assignedprocessorandmigration
licensesarereturnedtoavailablestatus.Virtualmachinesthatwereonthe
managedhostremainonthehost.Therootfoldercannotberemoved.
Working with Files in the Datastore Browser
TheDatastoreBrowserallowsyoutomanagethecontentsofdatastoresintheVIClient
inventory.YoucanusetheDatastoreBrowsertodothefollowing:
Vieworsearchthecontentsofadatastore.
AddavirtualmachineortemplatestoredonadatastoretotheVIClientinventory.
Copyormovefilesfromonelocationtoanother,includingtoanotherdatastore.
Uploadafilefromtheclientcomputertoadatastore.
Downloadafilefromadatastoretotheclientcomputer.
Deleteorrenamefilesonadatastore.
TheDatastoreBrowseroperatesinamannersimilartofilesystemapplicationslike
WindowsExplorer.Itsupportsmanycommonfilesystemoperations,including
copying,cutting,andpastingfiles.TheDatastoreBrowserdoesnotsupport
draganddropoperations.
FordetailedinstructionsonusingtheDatastoreBrowser,seetheVIClientonlinehelp.
114 VMware, Inc.
About Copying Virtual Machine Disks
YoucanusetheDatastoreBrowsertocopyvirtualmachinediskfilesbetweenhosts.
Diskfilesarecopiedasis,withoutanyformatconversion.Diskscopiedfromonetype
ofhosttoadifferenttypeofhostmightrequireconversionbeforetheycanbeusedon
thenewhost.
Youcandownloadvirtualdisksfromadatastoretolocalstorage,butyoucannot
uploadvirtualdisksfromlocalstoragetoadatastore,becausethediskformatcannot
beverifiedduringtheupload.
Performing an Initial Datacenter Consolidation
VirtualCenterincludesafeaturethatenablesyoutobuildyourinventorybyimporting
physicalsystemsintoVirtualCenterasvirtualmachines.Thisfeatureoffersaquick,
automatedwayofpopulatinganewvirtualenvironment.Fordetails,see
ConsolidatingtheDatacenteronpage 117.
VMware, Inc. 115
Virtual Machine Management
116 VMware, Inc.
VMware, Inc. 117
7
ThischapterdescribestheGuidedConsolidationfeature,afeaturerecommendedfor
smallerITenvironmentstogetsetupandrunningwithVMwareInfrastructure.
This featureenablesyoutoconsolidatephysicalsystemsinyourdatacenterby
convertingthemtovirtualmachinesandimportingthemintoVirtualCenter.
AboutDatacenterConsolidationonpage 118
ConsolidationPrerequisitesonpage 118
FirstTimeUseonpage 119
AboutConsolidationServicesonpage 119
SpecifyingConsolidationSettingsonpage 120
FindingPhysicalSystemsonpage 120
ViewingAnalysisResultsonpage 122
ConsolidatingCandidatesonpage 123
ViewingConsolidationTasksonpage 125
TroubleshootingConsolidationonpage 125
Consolidating the
Datacenter 7
118 VMware, Inc.
About Datacenter Consolidation
AccesstheGuidedConsolidationfeaturebyclickingtheConsolidationnavigation
button.
GuidedConsolidation,recommendedforsmallerITenvironments,enablesyouto
streamlineyourdatacenterbymovingbusinessapplications,spreadacrossmultiple
disparatephysicalsystems,intoacentrallymanagedvirtualenvironment.Inthe
virtualizedenvironment,thephysicalsystemsthatrunyourbusinessapplicationsare
transformedintovirtualmachines.Multiplevirtualmachinescanbehostedonasingle
physicalsystem,enablingmoreefficientuseofcomputingresources.Consolidating
yourdatacenterinvolvesthefollowingprocess:
FindYousearchforandselectthephysicalsystemsinyourdatacenterthatyou
wantanalyzed.SeeFindingPhysicalSystemsonpage 120.
AnalyzeSelectedphysicalsystemsareanalyzedandperformancedataoneach
selectedsystemiscollected.Generally,thelongerthedurationoftheanalysis
phasethehighertheconfidenceintheVirtualCentersrecommendations.
See ViewingAnalysisResultsonpage 122.
ConsolidatePerformancedataiscomparedtotheresourcesavailableonthe
virtualmachinehostsystems.Theselectedphysicalsystemsareconvertedto
virtualmachinesandimportedintoVirtualCenterontherecommendedhosts
wheretheyaremanagedalongwithothercomponentsofyourvirtual
environment.SeeConsolidatingCandidatesonpage 123.
Usetheconsolidationfeaturetostartbuildingyourvirtualenvironment,ortofurther
consolidateyourdatacenterasitgrows.IfyouareusingtheConsolidationfeaturefor
thefirsttime,seeConsolidationPrerequisitesonpage 118.
Consolidation Prerequisites
BeforeyouusetheConsolidationfeature,ensurethatthefollowingprerequisitesare
met:
Atleastonedatacenterinventoryobjectexists.SeeAddinganInventoryObject
onpage 110.
AtleastonehostisregisteredwithVirtualCenter.SeeAddingaHoston
page 129.
VMware, Inc. 119
Chapter 7 Consolidating the Datacenter
ConsolidationservicesrequirelocaladministratorprivilegesontheVirtualCenter
server.Specifically,thecollectorservicemustberunwithlocaladministrator
privileges.Additionally,theaccountusedmustalsobegrantedtheLogonas
serviceprivilege.IfActiveDirectoryisdeployedonyournetwork,thecredentials
usedtorunconsolidationservicesmustalsohavesufficientprivilegestoquerythe
ActiveDirectorydatabase.SupplyVirtualCenterwithyourcredentialsbeforeyou
beginaconsolidationproject.SeeSpecifyingConsolidationSettingson
page 120.
Consolidationservicesalsorequireadministratoraccesstothesystemsselectedfor
analysis.Specifically,thecollectorserviceusesthesecredentialstoconnecttoand
retrieveconfigurationandperformancedatafromthephysicalsystemsunder
analysis.SeeSupplyingSystemlevelAdministratorCredentialsonpage 122.
First Time Use
ThefirsttimeyouusetheConsolidationfeature,youarepromptedtospecify
consolidationsettings(seeSpecifyingConsolidationSettingsonpage 120).Awizard
stepsyouthroughtheprocessofspecifyingthesesettings.Youcanchangethese
settingsatanytimebyselectingAdministration>ConsolidationSettings>
Credentialstab.
About Consolidation Services
ConsolidationservicesareinstalledtogetherwithVirtualCenterServer.Consolidation
servicesincludethefollowing:
VMwareCapacityPlannerServiceDiscoversdomainsandsystemswithin
domains.Collectsperformancedataonsystemsselectedforanalysis.Itisreferred
toasthecollectorserviceinthisdocument.
VMwareConverterEnterpriseServiceConvertsphysicalsystemstovirtual
machines.VirtualCenterprovidesthisservicewithinformationaboutthe
destinationandotherparameters,andVMwareConverterEnterpriseService
handlestheconversionoperation.Thisservicecanbeinstalledthesamemachine
astheVirtualCenterServer,oronaseparatemachine.
SeeConsolidationPrerequisitesonpage 118forinformationabouttheuser
privilegesrequiredbyeachserviceforproperfunctioning.
To view active consolidation services
SelectAdministration>ConsolidationSettings>ServiceStatustab.
120 VMware, Inc.
Specifying Consolidation Settings
Consolidationsettingsenableyoutospecifythecredentialsnecessarytorun
Consolidationservicesandtospecifydefaultsystemlevelcredentials
(see ConsolidationPrerequisitesonpage 118).
To specify consolidation settings
1 SelectAdministration>ConsolidationSettings>Credentialstab.
2 ClickChangeinoneofthefollowingareas:
ServiceCredentialsUsedtorunthecollectorserviceontheVirtualCenter
Server.Ensurethatthisaccounthasadministratorprivilegesonthe
VirtualCenterserverand,ifActiveDirectoryisdeployed,thattheyalsohave
thenecessaryprivilegestoqueryActiveDirectory.Furthermore,thisaccount
mustbegrantedtheuserrighttoLogonasaservice.Thisisaccomplished
throughtheLocalSecurityPolicyutility(Start>AdministrativeTools>Local
SecurityPolicy).
DefaultCredentialsUsedtoaccesssystemsthatareselectedforanalysisbut
forwhichnoadministratorcredentialsarespecified.
3 Enteradomainqualifiedusername(forexample,DOMAIN\username)andpassword.
4 ConfirmthepasswordandclickOK.
Finding Physical Systems
Findingphysicalsystemsinvolvesthefollowingprocess:
SpecifyingScopeonpage 121
SupplyingSystemlevelAdministratorCredentialsonpage 122
To find physical systems in your datacenter
1 IntheVIClienttoolbar,clickConsolidationtodisplaytheConsolidationview.
2 IntheGettingStartedtabclickAnalyzephysicalcomputersforconsolidation,or
intheAnalysistab,clickStartAnalysis.
NOTEInformationaboutdiscoveredsystemsiscached,andaverylargecachecan
negativelyimpactVirtualCenterperformance.Itisrecommendedthatyoudonotrun
GuidedConsolidationovermorethan20,000systemswithoutclearingthecache.
For informationaboutdisablingGuidedConsolidation,andaboutclearingthecache,
seeTroubleshootingConsolidationonpage 125.
VMware, Inc. 121
TheAddtoAnalysisdialogboxisdisplayed.Ifthisisthefirsttimeyouareusing
thisfeature,seeFirstTimeUseonpage 119.
3 Selectthesystemsyouwanttoanalyze.SeeSpecifyingScopeonpage 121for
detailsaboutusingtheAddtoAnalysisdialogbox.
4 ClickAddtoAnalysis.TheSetAuthenticationdialogboxisdisplayed.See
SupplyingSystemlevelAdministratorCredentialsonpage 122fordetailsabout
usingtheSetAuthenticationdialogbox.
5 SpecifyauthenticationcredentialsandclickOK.Theselectedsystemsareanalyzed
andresultsaredisplayedintheAnalysistab.ProceedtoViewingAnalysis
Resultsonpage 122.
Specifying Scope
TheAddtoAnalysisdialogboxenablesyoufindsystemsonyournetworkandselect
theonesyouwanttoanalyze.Youcanspecifythesystemsyouwanttoanalyzeby
computername,IPaddressorrangeofIPaddresses,orfilename.Youcanalsosearch
forallsystemswithinadomain,thenselecttheonesyouwanttoanalyze.Ifthereare
manysystemsinthedomainandyouarehavingtroublefindingtheonesyouwant,you
canfilterthelistbycomputername,IPaddress,domain,orbysystemsunderanalysis.
To manually specify systems to consolidate
1 SelectManuallyspecifythecomputerstoconsolidate.
2 Dooneofthefollowing:
EntercomputernamesorIPaddresses.Separatemultipleentrieswith
commas.
EnteranIPrange.Multiplerangesarenotpermitted.
Enterthefullyqualifiedpathtoatextfilethatcontainsalistofcomputer
namesorIPaddresses.EachcomputernameorIPaddressmustbeona
separatelineinthefile.ThefilemustbeaccessibletotheVIClient.
NOTEUpto100systemscanbesimultaneouslyanalyzed.
Also,thefirsttimeadomainisselected,itmighttakesometimeforVirtualCenterto
discoverandlistthesystemsitfinds.Afterthat,thelistiscachedsothatsubsequent
searchestakelesstime.
122 VMware, Inc.
To find systems in a domain
1 SelectadomainfromtheDomaindropdownmenu.
2 Optionallyfilterthelistbyselectingfiltersandenteringyourcriteriaintothetext
field.Youcanturnfiltersonandoffbyclickingthedownarrowtotheleftofthe
textbox.
3 Optionallysortthelistbyclickingonacolumnheading.
4 Selectthesystemsyouwanttoanalyze.
5 ClickAddtoAnalysis.Youmightbeaskedforadministratorauthentication
credentials(seeSupplyingSystemlevelAdministratorCredentialson
page 122).
Supplying System-level Administrator Credentials
VirtualCenterrequiresadministratoraccesstothesystemsselectedforanalysisbefore
itcanbegintoanalyzethem.Youcanspecifycredentialsonasystembysystembasis,
andyoucanspecifydefaultcredentialsthatVirtualCentercanusewhencredentials
havenotbeenexplicitlyspecified.Defaultcredentialscanbespecifiedatanytime
throughConsolidationSettings(SpecifyingConsolidationSettingsonpage 120).
To specify credentials for a specific system
1 IntheSetAuthenticationdialogbox,enteradomainqualifiedusername(for
example,DOMAIN\username)andpassword.
YouaccesstheSetAuthenticationdialogboxduringtheAddtoAnalysisphase,or
aftersystemshavebeenaddedtoanalysisbyselectingsystemsintheAnalysistab
andclickingSetAuthentication.
2 ClickOK.
Viewing Analysis Results
AnalysisresultsaredisplayedintheAnalysistab.Whenanalysisiscomplete,the
followinginformationisdisplayed:
PhysicalComputerDisplaysthehostnameofthephysicalsystembeing
analyzedorimported.
CPUInfoDisplaysthenumberofCPUsandtheirclockspeed.
MemoryInfoDisplaystheamountofRAMonthesystem.
StatusDisplaystheprogressoftheanalysis.
VMware, Inc. 123
ConfidenceIndicatesthedegreetowhichVirtualCenterisabletogather
performancedataaboutthesystemandhowgoodacandidatethesystemisbased
ontheavailabledata.
CPUUsageDisplaysthesystemsaverageCPUusageovertime.
MemoryUsageDisplaysthesystemsaveragememoryusageovertime.
Afterreviewinganalysisresults,youcanproceedbycreatingaconsolidationplan.
See ConsolidatingCandidatesonpage 123.
About the Confidence Metric
OneimportantmetricdisplayedintheAnalysistabistheConfidencemetric.During
theanalysisphase,performancedataabouteachselectedsystemiscollected.Thisdata
iscomparedtohostresourcestodeterminearecommendationforeachcandidate.The
recommendationindicateshowwellsuited,basedonthecollecteddata,acandidateis
toaparticularvirtualmachinehostsystem.Confidencereferstothereliabilityofthe
recommendationanditisafunctionofthedurationoftheanalysis.Recommendations
basedonlongerperiodsofanalysisandthereforemoreperformancedatareceivea
higherlevelofconfidence.
Consolidating Candidates
Afteryouhaveanalyzedyourdatacenter,youarereadytoconvertcandidatestovirtual
machines.Inthisphase,youselectthesystemsyouwanttoconvert.VirtualCenter
selectsappropriatedestinationsandconfigurationparametersforeachresultantvirtual
machine.Ifmorethanonevirtualmachinehostisavailable,youcanselectthehostyou
want.
NOTEAfter24hoursofanalysis,VirtualCenterindicatesahighlevelofconfidencein
itsrecommendations.However,thiscanbemisleadingifasystemsworkloadvaries
significantlyoverweeksormonths.Toensureahighlevelofconfidenceina
recommendation,allowthedurationoftheanalysisphasetoencompassanamountof
timethatincludesrepresentativepeaksandtroughsinthesystemsworkload.Analysis
canrunuptoonemonth.
NOTEItishighlyrecommendedthatyouvirtualizeonecandidateatatime.
Consolidatingmultiplecandidatessimultaneouslycouldcauseallvirtualization
operationstofailifthehostdoesnotcontainanadequateamountofstoragespace.
124 VMware, Inc.
To convert systems using VirtualCenter recommendations
1 IntheAnalysistab,selectthesystemsyouwanttoconsolidateandclick
Plan Consolidation.
Adialogboxisdisplayed.
2 Selectasystem.
3 OptionallychangethenamedisplayedinthePhysicalComputercolumnby
doubleclickingitandenteringanewname.Yourentrywillbeusedasthename
fortheresultantvirtualmachine.
4 Optionallychangedestinations,ifalternativedestinationsareavailable,by
clickingintheDestinationscolumnandselectingfromthedropdownmenu.
ThenumberofstarsdisplayedintheDestinationRatingcolumnindicatethe
degreetowhichthehostsystemcancomfortablyaccommodatetheestimated
resourceneedsoftheresultantvirtualmachine.
5 ClickConsolidate.
Aconversiontaskisinstantiated.YoucanviewtaskprogressintheRecentTasks
pane.YouviewadditionalinformationaboutthetaskintheTaskstab.See
ViewingConsolidationTasksonpage 125.
To convert systems manually
1 IntheAnalysistab,rightclickonasystemandselectConverttoVirtualMachine>
Manually.ThemenuoptionisavailableonlyiftheVMwareConverterEnterprise
ClientisinstalledandenabledonyourVIClient.YoucanverifywhetherVMware
ConverterEnterpriseClientisinstalledandenabledthroughthePluginManager
(Plugins>PluginManager>Installedtab).
TheImportWizardisdisplayed.
2 Completethewizardtomanuallyspecifyvirtualmachineproperties.
About Disk Resizing
Duringtheconversionprocess,physicaldisksaretypicallyresizedtoconservespaceon
thedatastorewhileprovidingroomforgrowthontheresultantvirtualdisk.
The followingformulaisusedtoresizeconverteddisks:
amount of space used on physical disk * 1.25 = resultant virtual disk size
Virtualdiskscannotbesmallerthan4GB.
VMware, Inc. 125
Viewing Consolidation Tasks
Ataskiscreatedforeachsystembeingconverted.Recenttasksaredisplayedinthe
RecentTaskspane.TheTaskstablistsallconsolidationtasks.Youcanviewdetailed
informationaboutataskbyselectingit.Informationabouteventsrelatedtotheselected
taskaredisplayedintheTaskDetailspane.
Youcanfilterthelistoftasksbyenteringcriteriainthesearchfieldandselectingany
combinationofthefollowing:
Name
Target
Status
Initiatedby
StartTime
CompleteTime
Troubleshooting Consolidation
GuidedConsolidationtasksareresourceintensive.Ifyounoticeanegativeimpacton
VirtualCenter,considerthefollowing:
GuidedConsolidationcachesinformationaboutdiscoveredsystems,andavery
largecachecannegativelyimpactVirtualCenterperformance.DonotrunGuided
Consolidationagainstmorethan20,000systems.
Upto100systemscanbesimultaneouslyanalyzed.Ifyouselectmorethan
100 systems,systemswillbeadded,intheordertheyappear,untilthemaximum
numberofsystemsisreached.
Usethefollowingoptionstoremedyperformanceissues:
Disableconsolidationandcontinuetorunthecollectorservice.Thismethod
preventsconsolidationtasksfromstarting,butdoesnotstopthecollectorservice
fromgatheringdata.
Disableconsolidation,andstopanddisablethecollectorservice.Thismethod
preventsconsolidationtasksfromstarting,andstopsthecollectorservicefrom
gatheringdata.Thecollecteddataisnotdestroyedandcanbeusediftheserviceis
startedagain.
Uninstallthecollectorservice.ThismethodremovesGuidedConsolidation,and
thedataithascollectedwillnolongerbeusable.
126 VMware, Inc.
Disable Consolidation
To disable consolidation
1 SelectAdministration>VirtualCenterManagementServerConfiguration.
2 SelectAdvancedSettings.
3 ClickAddRow.
4 EnterthefollowingintheKeyfield:
dontStartConsolidation
5 EnterthefollowingintheValuefield:
true
6 RestarttheVirtualCenterServer.
Thecollectorserviceisstillactiveandwillcontinuetoperiodicallyprobesystems
thatarebeinganalyzed.
Disable the Collector Service
To disable the collector service
1 OpentheServicescontrolpanel.
2 StoptheVMwareCapacityPlannerService.
3 DisabletheVMwareCapacityPlannerService.
Uninstall Guided Consolidation
To uninstall Guided Consolidation
1 OpentheAddorRemoveProgramscontrolpanel.
2 RemoveVMwareCapacityPlannerforVirtualCenter.
3 (Optional)RemoveVMwareConverterEnterpriseforVirtualCenter.
VMware, Inc. 127
8
ThischapterdescribeshowtomanagehostsusingVirtualCenter.Forinformationon
configurationmanagementofESXServerhosts,seetheESXServer3ConfigurationGuide
orESXServer3iConfigurationGuide.
AboutHostsonpage 128
UnderstandingHostStatesonpage 129
AddingaHostonpage 129
ConnectingorDisconnectingaHostonpage 132
ReconnectingHostsAfterChangestotheVirtualCenterSSLCertificateon
page 133
RemovingaHostfromVirtualCenteronpage 135
MonitoringHostHealthStatusonpage 137
HostAdvancedConfigurationOptionsonpage 138
Managing Hosts in
VirtualCenter 8
process,task,ordescriptionappliestoallkindsofVIClientconnections.
128 VMware, Inc.
About Hosts
Ahostisavirtualizationplatform,anESXServersystem,thatsupportsvirtual
machines.AVirtualCentermanagedhostisanESXServerhostthatisregisteredwith
VirtualCenter.ThetaskofmanagingahostisaccomplishedthroughtheVMware
InfrastructureClient.ThisVIClientcanbeconnectedeitherdirectlytoanESXServer
hostorindirectlytohoststhroughaconnectiontoaVirtualCenterServer.
WhenESXServerhostsareconnectedtotheVIClientdirectly,youmanagethem
individuallyasstandalonehosts.Mostofthehostconfigurationandvirtualmachine
configurationfeaturesstillapply.Featuresthatrequiremultiplehosts,suchas
migrationwithVMotionofavirtualmachinefromonehosttoanother,arenotavailable
throughthestandalonehostconnection.
WhenESXServerhostsaremanagedbyVirtualCenter,theyareaddedtotheVMware
InfrastructureenvironmentthroughaVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer.
Managedhostsarehierarchicallyplacedindatacenters,folders,orclustersunderthe
rootnodefolder.
Allvirtualmachinesonmanagedhostsarediscoveredandimportedinto
VirtualCenter.Whenyouaddmultiplemanagedhosts,theVirtualCenterServer
identifiesanynamingconflictsthatexistbetweenvirtualmachinesandalertsthe
systemadministrator,whocanthenrenamevirtualmachinesasnecessary.Configure
thevirtualmachinedisplaynames.Thenamecanbeupto80characterslongandmay
containalphanumericcharactersandtheunderscore(_)andhyphen()characters.
The namemustalsobeuniqueacrossallvirtualmachineswithinavirtualmachine
group.Namesarecaseinsensitive:thenamemy_vmisidenticaltoMy_Vm.
WhentheVirtualCenterServerconnectstoamanagedhost,itdoessoasaprivileged
user.TheindividualVMwareInfrastructureClientuserdoesnotnecessarilyneedtobe
anadministrativeuseronthemanagedhost.SeeAssigningAccessPermissionson
page 279forinformationonsettingupVMwareInfrastructureClientusers.
CAUTIONIfanESXServerhostisconnectedwithaVirtualCenterServerandyou
attachedaVIClienttomanagetheESXServerhostdirectly,youreceiveanerror
messagebutareallowedtoproceed.Thismightresultinconflictsonthehost,especially
ifthehostispartofacluster.Thisactionisstronglydiscouraged.
VMware, Inc. 129
Chapter 8 Managing Hosts in VirtualCenter
Understanding Host States
Actionstakenuponamanagedhostrequirethatthemanagedhostbeinaspecificstate.
Wheneveranoperationisperformedonamanagedhost,thehoststatechanges.
While thestateisintransition,thestatefielddisplaysatermthatdescribesthetransition.
Adding a Host
Virtualmachinesexistonmanagedhostswithinthenetwork.Hostsareaddedtothe
VMwareInfrastructureenvironment.TheVirtualCenterServerdiscoversandaddsall
thevirtualmachinescontainedwithinthatmanagedhosttotheVMwareInfrastructure
environment.
IfyouareconnectingyourVIClienttoanESXServerdirectly,theproceduresinthis
sectiondonotapply.
To add a host to the VirtualCenter Server
1 Ensureacommunicationchannelthroughafirewall,ifneeded.
IfanymanagedhostintheVirtualCenterenvironmentisbehindafirewall,ensure
thatthemanagedhostcancommunicatewiththeVirtualCenterServerandwith
allotherhostsonport902oranotherconfiguredport.SeetheInstallationGuidefor
ESXServer3ortheSetupGuideforyourESXServer3iproduct,andtheESXServer
3ConfigurationGuideorESXServer3iConfigurationGuideforadditional
information.
2 ClicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar.Expandtheinventoryasneeded,
andclicktheappropriatedatacenter,folder,orcluster.
3 Selecttheappropriatedatacenterorcluster,andchooseNewHostfromthemain
orpopupmenu.
NOTEDisconnectingamanagedhostdiffersfromremovingthemanagedhostfrom
theVirtualCenterServer.Disconnectingamanagedhostdoesnotremoveitfromthe
VirtualCenterServer;ittemporarilysuspendsallVirtualCenterServermonitoring
activities.Themanagedhostanditsassociatedvirtualmachinesremaininthe
VirtualCenterServerinventory.Removingamanagedhostremovesthemanagedhost
andallitsassociatedvirtualmachinesfromtheVirtualCenterServerinventory.
NOTEWhenaddingorremovinghosts,makesureNFSmountsareactive.
If NFS mountsareunresponsive,theoperationfails.(SEEUPDATE)
130 VMware, Inc.
4 Enterthemanagedhostconnectionsettings.
a TypethenameofthemanagedhostintheHostnamefield.
b EntertheUsernameandPasswordforauseraccountthathasadministrative
privilegesontheselectedmanagedhost.
VirtualCenterusestherootaccounttologintothesystemandthencreatesa
specialuseraccount.VirtualCenterthenusesthisaccountforallfuture
authentication.
5 ToconfirmtheHostSummaryinformation,clickNext.
6 Ifyouareaddingthehosttoacluster:
VMware, Inc. 131
a Specifywhatshouldhappentotheresourcepoolsonthehost.
Theoptionsare:
Putallthehostsvirtualmachinesintotheclustersrootresourcepool.
Createnewresourcepoolforthehostsvirtualmachines.Thedefault
resourcepoolnameisderivedfromthehostsname.Typeoverthetextto
supplyyourownname.
b ClickNext.
SeetheResourceManagementGuideformoreinformationonclusters.
7 Ifyouareaddingthehosttoadatacenter:
a Identifythelocationofthehostsvirtualmachines.
b SelectfromthelistofinventoryobjectsdisplayedintheSelectionbox.
8 ToconfirmcompletingtheAddHostwizard,clickFinish.
WhenthedialogboxiscompleteandyouclickNext,VirtualCenterdoesthe
following:
Searchesthenetworkforthespecifiedmanagedhostandidentifiesallthe
virtualmachinesonthemanagedhost.IfyouclickCancel,thehostisremoved
fromtheVirtualCenterinventory.
Connectstothemanagedhost.Ifthewizardcannotconnecttothemanaged
host,themanagedhostisnotaddedtotheinventory.
Verifiesthatthemanagedhostisnotalreadybeingmanaged.Ifitisalready
beingmanagedbyanotherVirtualCenterServer,VirtualCenterdisplaysa
message.Ifthewizardcanconnecttothemanagedhostbutforsomereason
cannotremainconnectedtotheVirtualCenterServer,thehostisadded,butis
inadisconnectedstate.Thisoccurs,forexample,ifthehostisalreadybeing
managedbyanotherVirtualCenterServer.
132 VMware, Inc.
Readsthenumberofprocessorsonthemanagedhostandallocatesthe
appropriatenumberoflicenses.Thenumberofprocessorsisstoredinthe
VirtualCenterdatabaseandisverifieduponeachmanagedhostreconnection
andVirtualCenterstartup.
Verifiesthatthemanagedhostversionissupported.Ifitisnot,andthe
managedhostversioncanbeupgraded,VirtualCenterpromptsyouto
performanupgrade.
Importsexistingvirtualmachines.
Connecting or Disconnecting a Host
Youhavetheoptiontodisconnectandreconnectamanagedhostthatisbeingmanaged
byaparticularVirtualCenterServer.Thissectiondescribeshowtoreconnecta
managedhost.
To connect or disconnect a managed host
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,clicktheInventorybutton
inthenavigationbar.Expandtheinventoryasneeded,andclicktheappropriate
managedhost.
2 Selecttheappropriatemanagedhosticonintheinventorypanel,andchoose
ConnectorDisconnectfromthepopupmenu.
3 Whendisconnecting,confirmtheaction.ClickYes.
WhenthemanagedhostsconnectionstatustoVirtualCenterischanged,the
statusesofthevirtualmachinesonthatmanagedhostareupdatedtoreflectthe
change.
NOTENewerprocessorshavetwoCPUcoresineachprocessorpackage.
SystemswithdualcoreprocessorsmustuseESXServer2.5.2orlater.
VirtualCenterlicensesareissuedbypairsofprocessorpackages,notby
processorcores.Therefore,ifthesystemisusingtwodualcoreprocessorsor
twosinglecoreprocessors,thesystemrequiresasingle2processor
VirtualCenterlicense.
NOTEDisconnectingamanagedhostdiffersfromremovingthemanagedhostfrom
VirtualCenter.DisconnectingamanagedhostdoesnotremoveitfromVirtualCenter;it
temporarilysuspendsallVirtualCentermonitoringactivities.Themanagedhostandits
associatedvirtualmachinesremainintheVirtualCenterinventory.Removinga
managedhostremovesthemanagedhostandallitsassociatedvirtualmachinesfrom
theVirtualCenterinventory.
VMware, Inc. 133
Ifthemanagedhostisdisconnected,theworddisconnectedisappendedtothe
objectnameinparentheses,andtheobjectisdimmed.Allassociatedvirtual
machinesaresimilarlydimmedandlabeled.
Reconnecting Hosts After Changes to the VirtualCenter
SSL Certificate
TheVirtualCenterServerusesanSSLcertificatetoencryptanddecrypthostpasswords
storedintheVirtualCenterdatabase.Ifthecertificateisreplacedorchanged,the
VirtualCenterServercannotdecrypthostpasswords,andthereforecannotconnectto
managedhosts.
IftheVirtualCenterServerfailstodecryptahostpassword,thehostisdisconnected
fromtheVirtualCenterServer.Youmustreconnectthehostandsupplythelogin
credentials,whichwillbeencryptedandstoredinthedatabaseusingthenew
certificate.SeeConnectingorDisconnectingaHostonpage 132.
Removing a Host from a Cluster
Hostscanberemovedfromaclusterbyselectingthemfromeithertheinventoryorlist
viewsanddraggingthemtoanewlocationwithintheinventory(eithertoafolderasa
standalonehostortoanothercluster).Whenahostisremovedfromacluster,the
resourcesitprovidesaredeductedfromthetotalclusterresources.Thevirtual
134 VMware, Inc.
machinesdeployedonthehostareeithermigratedtootherhostswithintheclusteror
remainwiththehostandareremovedfromthecluster,dependingontheircurrent
state.Hostscanberemovedfromaclusteronlyifallofthevirtualmachinesonitare
poweredoff,andthehostisplacedintomaintenancemode.
SeetheResourceManagementGuideforcompleteclusterinformation.
To remove a host from a cluster
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,displaytheinventory.
2 ToremovetheVirtualCenteragentfromthemanagedhost,ensurethatthe
managedhostisinaconnectedstate.
3 Poweroffallvirtualmachinesonthehost,ormigratethevirtualmachinestoanew
hostusingVMotion.
Enter MaintenanceModefromthepopupmenu.ClickYes.
Thehosticonchangesandthetermmaintenancemodeisaddedtothenamein
parentheses.
VMware, Inc. 135
5 Movethehost:
a Selectthehosticonintheinventorypanel,anddragittothenewlocation.
Thehostcanbemovedtoanotherclusteroranotherdatacenter.Whenthenew
locationisselected,ablueboxsurroundstheclusterordatacentername.
b Releasethemousebutton.
VirtualCentermovesthehosttothenewlocation.
6 Selectthehost,andfromthepopupmenuchooseExitMaintenanceMode.
7 Restartanyvirtualmachines,asneeded.
Removing a Host from VirtualCenter
RemovingamanagedhostfromVirtualCenterbreakstheconnectionandstopsall
monitoringandmanagingfunctionsofthatmanagedhostandofallthevirtual
machinesonthatmanagedhost.Themanagedhostanditsassociatedvirtualmachines
areremovedfromtheinventory.HistoricaldataremainsintheVirtualCenterdatabase.
Removingamanagedhostdiffersfromdisconnectingthemanagedhostfrom
VirtualCenter.DisconnectingamanagedhostdoesnotremoveitfromVirtualCenter;it
temporarilysuspendsallVirtualCentermonitoringactivities.Themanagedhostandits
associatedvirtualmachinesremainintheVirtualCenterinventory.
RemovingamanagedhostfromVirtualCenterdoesnotremovethevirtualmachines
fromthemanagedhostordatastore.ItremovesonlyVirtualCentersaccesstothe
managedhostandvirtualmachinesonthatmanagedhost.
Thefigurebelowillustratestheprocessforremovingamanagedhostfrom
VirtualCenter.Intheexamplehere,noticethelostlinkbetweentheVirtualCenter
Serverandtheremovedmanagedhost,whilethemanagedhostfilesremainonthe
datastore.
NOTEIfatallpossible,removemanagedhostswhiletheyareconnected.Removinga
disconnectedmanagedhostdoesnotremovetheVirtualCenteragentfromthe
managedhost.
136 VMware, Inc.
Figure 8-1. Removing a Host
To remove a managed host
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,displaytheinventory.
2 ToremovetheVirtualCenteragentfromthemanagedhost,ensurethatthe
managedhostisinaconnectedstate.
Themanagedhostcanbeinaconnectedordisconnectedstatewhenyouremove
it.However,removingamanagedhostwhileitisdisconnecteddoesnotremove
theVirtualCenteragentfromthemanagedhost.
3 Poweroffallvirtualmachinesonthehost,ormigratethevirtualmachinestoanew
hostusingVMotion.
4 Ifthehostispartofacluster,selecttheappropriatemanagedhosticoninthe
inventorypanelandchooseEnterMaintenanceModefromthepopupmenu.
Confirmplacement.ClickYes.
1. Registered host and virtual machines
shared datastore
VirtualCenter
VM1.dsk
VM2.dsk
VM3.dsk
VM4.dsk
host A
VM1
VM2
host B
VM3
VM4
shared datastore
VirtualCenter
VM1.dsk
VM2.dsk
VM3.dsk
VM4.dsk
host A
VM1
VM2
host B
VM3
VM4
2. Remove host. Virtual machines stay on the hosts datastore.
VMware, Inc. 137
Removefromthepopupmenu.
6 ClickYestoremovethemanagedhost.ClickNotokeepthemanagedhost.
IfyouclickYes,VirtualCenterremovesthemanagedhostandassociatedvirtual
machinesfromtheVirtualCenterenvironment.VirtualCenterthenreturnsall
associatedprocessorandmigrationlicensestoavailablestatus.
Monitoring Host Health Status
Thehosthealthmonitoringtoolallowsyoutomonitorthehealthofavarietyofhost
hardwarecomponentsincluding:
CPUprocessors
Memory
Fans
Temperature
Voltage
Softwarecomponents
ThehosthealthmonitoringtoolpresentsdatagatheredusingSystemsManagement
ArchitectureforServerHardware(SMASH)profiles.Theinformationdisplayed
dependsonthesensorsavailableonyourserverhardware.
To monitor the health of a host
1 LogintoaVirtualCenterServerusingtheVIClient,andselectthehostinthe
inventory.
2 ClicktheConfigurationtabandclickHealth Status.
Thesensordataisdisplayedinatree.Therootofthetreedisplaystheoverallhost
healthstatus.
138 VMware, Inc.
Ifacomponentisfunctioningnormally,thestatusindicatorisgreen.Thestatus
indicatorchangestoyelloworredifasystemcomponentviolatesaperformance
thresholdorisnotfunctioningproperly.Generally,ayellowindicatorsignifies
degradedperformance.Aredindicatorsignifiesthatacomponentstoppedoperating
orexceededthehighestthreshold.
TheReadingcolumndisplaysthecurrentvaluesforthesensors.Forinstance,thecolumn
displaysrotationsperminute(RPM)forfansanddegreesCelsiusfortemperature.
Youcansetanalarmtotriggerbasedontheoverallhealthstatusofthehost.Formore
information,seeCreatingAlarmsonpage 321.
Resetting Sensors
Somehosthardwaresensorsdisplaydatathatiscumulativeovertime.Youcanreset
thesesensorstoclearthedatainthemandbegincollectingnewdata.
To reset sensors
inventory.
2 OnthehostConfigurationtab,clickHealth Status.
3 ClickReset Sensors.
Refreshing Health Status Data
TheVIClientrefreshesthedatafromhosthealthsensorsautomaticallyeveryfew
minutes.Youcanalsorefreshdatamanually.
To refresh health status data
inventory.
2 OnthehostConfigurationtab,clickHealth Status.
3 ClickRefresh.
Host Advanced Configuration Options
SeetheResourceManagementGuideforcompleteinformationonconfiguringandusing
theresourceallocationfeatures,whichincludeVMwareHAandVMwareDRS.
completeinformationonconfiguringESXServerhosts.
VMware, Inc. 139
9
TheVMwareInfrastructureClient(VIClient)allowsyoutoimportandexportvirtual
appliancesstoredinOpenVirtualMachineFormat(OVF).Anapplianceisa
preconfiguredvirtualmachinethattypicallyincludesapreinstalledguestoperating
systemandothersoftware.
Importingvirtualappliancesallowsyoutoaddpreconfiguredvirtualmachinesto
yourVirtualCenterorESXServerinventory.Importingavirtualapplianceissimilarto
deployingavirtualmachinefromatemplate.However,youcanimportavirtual
appliancefromanylocalfilesystemaccessiblefromtheVIClientmachine,orfroma
remoteWebserver.Thelocalfilesystemscanincludelocaldisks(suchasC:),removable
media(suchasCDsorUSBkeychaindrives),andsharednetworkdrives.
Exportingvirtualmachinesallowsyoutocreatevirtualappliancesthatcanbeimported
byotherusers.Youcanusetheexportfunctiontodistributepreinstalledsoftwareasa
virtualappliance,orasameansofdistributingtemplatevirtualmachinestousers,
includinguserswhocannotdirectlyaccessandusethetemplatesinyourVirtualCenter
inventory.
Thischapterdiscussesthefollowingtopics:
AboutOVFonpage 140
ImportingaVirtualApplianceonpage 140
ExportingaVirtualMachineonpage 141
Importing and Exporting
Virtual Machines 9
140 VMware, Inc.
About OVF
OVFisafileformatthatallowsforexchangeofvirtualappliancesacrossproductsand
platforms.TheOVFformatoffersthefollowingadvantages:
OVFfilesarecompressed,allowingforfasterdownloads.
TheVIClientvalidatesaOVFfilebeforeimportingit,andensuresthatitis
compatiblewiththeintendeddestinationserver.Iftheapplianceisincompatible
withtheselectedhost,itcannotbeimportedandanerrormessageisdisplayed.
Importing a Virtual Appliance
YoucanimportavirtualappliancestoredinOVFformatfromalocalfilesystem
accessibletotheVIClientmachine,orfromaWebURL.
To import a virtual appliance
1 IntheVIClient,chooseFile>VirtualAppliance>Import.
TheImportVirtualAppliancewizardisdisplayed.
2 Selectoneofthefollowingoptions:
ImportfromFileBrowseyourfilesystemforanappliance.
ImportfromURLSpecifyaURLtoanappliancelocatedontheinternet.
Example:http://vmware.com/VMTN/appliance.ovf
ImportfromVMwareVirtualApplianceMarketplaceSelectfromVMware
appliancesavailableontheVMwareVirtualApplianceMarketplaceWebsite.
3 ClickNext.
TheVirtualApplianceDetailspageisdisplayed.
4 ClickNext.
5 Iflicenseagreementsarepackagedwiththeappliance,theEndUserLicense
Agreementpageisdisplayed.Agreetoacceptthetermsofthelicensesandclick
Next.
NOTEToimportavirtualmachinethatwascreatedbyanotherVMwareproductand
isnotinOVFformat,usetheVMwareConverterEnterprisemodule.SeetheVMware
ConverterEnterpriseforVirtualCenterdocumentationformoreinformation.
VMware, Inc. 141
Chapter 9 Importing and Exporting Virtual Machines
6 (Optional)Editthenameandselectadatacenter.
Adefaultnamemightbeprovided.Youcanoptionallyeditthename.Thename
canbeupto80characterslongandcancontainalphanumericcharactersandthe
underscore(_)andhyphen()characters.Itshouldalsobeuniquewithinthe
virtualmachinefolder.Namesarecasesensitive.(SEEUPDATE)
7 ClickNext.
8 OntheHost/Cluster/ResourcePoolpage,selectthehost,cluster,orresourcepool
(ifapplicable)inwhichyouwanttorunthevirtualmachineandclickNext.
9 Ifyouselectedaclusteroraresourcepoolonthepreviouspage,andDRSis
disabledorisinmanualmode,theSpecificHostpageappears.Selectthehoston
whichyouwanttorunthisvirtualmachine,andclickNext.
10 Chooseadatastoreforthevirtualmachine,andclickNext.
Thevirtualmachineconfigurationfileandvirtualdiskfilesarestoredonthe
datastore.Chooseadatastorelargeenoughtoaccommodatethevirtualmachine
andallofitsvirtualdiskfiles.
11 Ifyourinfrastructurecontainsmultiplenetworks,mapeachnetworkspecifiedin
theOVFfiletoanetworkinyourinfrastructure.
12 ClickNext.
13 ReviewyoursettingsandclickFinish.
TheprogressoftheimporttaskisdisplayedintheVIClientStatuspanel.
Exporting a Virtual Machine
YoucanexportavirtualmachinetoOVFformattomakeitavailabletootherusersto
importintotheirinventory.
To export a virtual machine
1 IntheVIClientinventory,selectthevirtualmachineyouwanttoexport.
2 ChooseFile>VirtualAppliance>Export.
3 IntheDirectorytextbox,enterthelocationtostoretheexportedvirtualmachine.
142 VMware, Inc.
4 TocreateanewfolderfortheOVFfile,selectMakeNewFolder.
5 (Optional)EnteradescriptionofthevirtualmachineintheDescriptiontextbox.
Bydefault,thetextfromtheNotespaneonthevirtualmachinesSummarytab
appearsinthistextbox.
6 ClickOK.
TheprogressoftheexporttaskisdisplayedintheVIClientStatuspanel.
VMware, Inc. 143
10
TheVMwareInfrastructureClient(VIClient)enablesyoutodeployandmanage
virtualmachines.TheVIClientprovidesseveralwaystocreatevirtualmachines:
ImportingYoucanimportavirtualmachinestoredinOVFformat.See
Chapter 9,ImportingandExportingVirtualMachines,onpage 139.
ConsolidateYoucanconsolidateexistingphysicalsystemsbyconvertingthem
tovirtualmachinesandimportingthoseintoVirtualCenter.SeeConsolidating
theDatacenteronpage 117.
CreateNewYoucanmanuallyconfigureentirelynewvirtualmachines.
See UsingtheNewVirtualMachineWizardonpage 144.
CloneYoucancreateexactreplicasofexistingvirtualmachines.SeeChapter 13,
WorkingwithTemplatesandClones,onpage 203.
DeployfromTemplatesYoucancreatevirtualmachinesfromtemplatesthat
provideabaseconfigurationwhichyoucancustomize.SeeChapter 13,Working
withTemplatesandClones,onpage 203.
Foreachtypeofcreationprocess,awizardguidesyouthroughthestepstoproducea
completeandworkingvirtualmachine.
Creating Virtual Machines 10
NOTEAfteryoucreateavirtualmachine,youmustinstalltheguestoperatingsystem
andVMwareTools.Noneofthecreationprocessesdescribedaboveinstallsguest
operatingsystemsforyou.Also,checktheinstallationnotesforyourguestoperating
systembeforeyouinstallit.YoucanfindthisinformationintheGuestOperatingSystem
InstallationGuide.
144 VMware, Inc.
UsingtheNewVirtualMachineWizardonpage 144
InstallingaGuestOperatingSystemonpage 154
InstallingandUpgradingVMwareToolsonpage 155
Youmusthavetheappropriateprivilegesbeforeyoucancreatevirtualmachines.
ConsultyourVirtualCenteradministratorifyouarenotsurewhetheryouhavethe
necessaryprivileges.
Using the New Virtual Machine Wizard
YoucanaccesstheNewVirtualMachinewizardfrommanydifferentlocations.
The instructionsinthischapterseeonemethodofstartingthewizard.Inmostcontexts,
therightclickpopupmenuforthefollowingGUIobjectsincludesanoptionthat
enablesyoutolaunchtheNewVirtualMachinewizard:
Resourcepools
Clusters
Hosts
Virtualmachinefolders
AswiththeVIClientasawhole,theNewVirtualMachinewizardiscontextsensitive
anditsscreensandconfigurationoptionschangedependingonyourhostenvironment
andyourselections.Onlythosescreensandoptionsthatareapplicabletothecurrent
contextareenabled;itemsthatarenotapplicabletothecontextareeitherremovedor
disabled.
AfteryoulaunchtheNewVirtualMachinewizard,youmustchooseoneofthe
followingpaths:
TypicalThispathshortenstheprocessbyskippingsomechoicesthatrarely
needchangingfromtheirdefaults.SeeCreatingTypicalVirtualMachineson
page 145.
CustomThecustompathprovidesmoreflexibilityandoptions.SeeCreating
CustomVirtualMachinesonpage 148.
Performing Additional Configuration Before Completion
Thefinalwizardscreenforeachpathenablesyoutoreviewyourconfiguration
selectionsandoptionallyopentheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialogboxtosetfurther
configurationoptions,suchasaddingadditionaldisks,beforeinstantiatingthevirtual
machine.
VMware, Inc. 145
Chapter 10 Creating Virtual Machines
ToopentheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialogboxfromtheNewVirtualMachine
wizard,selecttheEditthevirtualmachinesettingsbeforecompletioncheckboxand
clickNext.ForinformationabouttheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialogbox,
see VirtualMachinePropertiesEditoronpage 179.
Creating Typical Virtual Machines
Thetypicalpathisabbreviatedbecausesomeassumptionsaremadeaboutthevirtual
machineconfiguration.Ifyouwanttofullycustomizeyourvirtualmachine,
see CreatingCustomVirtualMachinesonpage 148.
To create a new virtual machine through the typical path
1 FromtheVirtualCenterclient,clickInventoryinthenavigationbarandexpand
theinventoryasneeded.
2 Intheinventorylist,selectthemanagedhosttowhichyouwanttoaddthenew
virtualmachine.
TheSummarytabforthehostappears.
3 ChooseFile>New>VirtualMachine.
TheNewVirtualMachinewizardappears.
4 SelectTypical,andclickNext.
5 Typeavirtualmachinename,andclickNext.
ThenameyouenterintheVirtualMachineNamefieldisthenamethatislisted
intheVirtualCenterclientinventory.Itisalsousedasthenameofthevirtual
machinesfiles.Thenamecanbeupto80characterslongandmaycontain
alphanumericcharactersandtheunderscore(_)andhyphen()characters.
This namemustbeuniquewithinthefolder.Namesarecaseinsensitive:thename
my_vmisidenticaltoMy_Vm.
6 Selectafolderortherootofadatacenter,andclickNext.
7 Iftheresourcepooloptionisavailable,expandthetreeuntilyoulocatethe
resourcepoolinwhichyouwanttorunthevirtualmachine,highlightit,and
click Next.
Resourcepoolsallowyoutomanageyourcomputingresourceswithinahostor
hostsbysettingthemupinameaningfulhierarchy.Virtualmachinesandchild
resourcepoolssharetheresourcesoftheparentresourcepool.Formore
informationonresourcepools,seetheResourceManagementGuide.
146 VMware, Inc.
8 Selectadatastoreinwhichtostorethevirtualmachinefiles,andclickNext.
Youshouldchooseadatastorelargeenoughtoholdthevirtualmachineandallof
itsvirtualdiskfiles.ForESXServerhosts,theDatastoreisconfiguredonthathost,
includingVMFS,NAS,andiSCSIvolumes.
9 UnderGuestOperatingSystem,selecttheoperatingsystemfamily(Microsoft
Windows,Linux,NovellNetWare,Solaris,orOther),selecttheversionfromthe
dropdownmenu,andclickNext.IfyouselectOther,enteradisplaynamefor
youroperatingsystem.Youcanchangethisnameafterthevirtualmachinehas
beencreatedbyopeningtheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialogboxandeditingthe
Optionstab>Advanced>General>ConfigurationParameters>
guestOSAltNameparameter.
Thisistheoperatingsystemforyourvirtualmachine.Yourchoiceshouldbebased
onyourplanneduseofthevirtualmachine.Theselectedguestoperatingsystem
affectsthesupporteddevicesandnumberofvirtualCPUsavailableforthevirtual
machine.
SeetheGuestOperatingSystemInstallationGuidefordetails.
Thewizarddoesnotinstalltheguestoperatingsystemforyou.TheNewVirtual
Machinewizardusesthisinformationtoselectappropriatedefaultvalues,suchas
theamountofmemoryneeded.
10 Selectthenumberofvirtualprocessorsinthevirtualmachinefromthedropdown
menu,andclickNext.
LicensingforVMwareVirtualSMPisrequiredtopoweronmultipleCPU
virtualmachines.SeetheInstallationGuideforESXServer3,ortheSetupGuidefor
yourESXServer3iproduct,moreinformationonlicensing.
11 Configurethevirtualmachinesmemorysizebyselectingthenumberof
megabytes.
Theminimum,recommended,maximumforbestperformance,andmaximum
sizesarebasedontheguestoperatingsystem.Regardlessoftheguestoperating
system,theminimummemorysizeis4MB.Themaximumdependsonthehost,
butforESXServer3.5andESXServer3iversion3.5itis65532MB(64GBminus4MB).
Thememorysizemustbeamultipleof4MB.
NOTETheVirtualCPUspagedoesnotappearifthehostissingleprocessororthe
guestoperatingsystemdoesnotsupportSMP(forexample,NetWareand
WindowsNT4.0).
VMware, Inc. 147
Thecoloredtrianglesalongthesliderrepresenttheseamountsasindicatedbythe
keyonthewizard.Youcanalsodragthesliderorselectthenumberusingtheup
anddownarrows.Themaximumforbestperformancerepresentsthethreshold
abovewhichthehostsphysicalmemoryisinsufficienttorunthevirtualmachine
atfullspeed.Thisvaluefluctuatesasconditionsonthehostchange(asvirtual
machinesarepoweredonoroff,forexample).
12 ClickNext.
13 Choosethenetworkstoconnecttoandtheiroptionsbyselectinghowmany
networkadapters(NICs)youwanttoconnectto,thenamesofthenetworks,and
whetheryouwanttoconnecttothematpoweron.
TheNetworkdropdownmenuliststheportgroupsthatareconfiguredforvirtual
machineuseonthehost.Ifnovirtualmachineportgroupsareconfigured,a
warningdialogboxappears,andyouarenotallowedtoconfigureanyvirtual
networkcards.
14 ClickNext.
15 Specifythesizeofthevirtualdisk.
Enterthedisksizeinmegabytes(MB)orgigabytes(GB).Thedefaultis4GB.
The availablespaceontheselectedVMFSvolumeislisted.Youcanconfigurea
diskfromassmallas1MBtoaslargeas2TB(2048GB),usingawholenumberof
MB or GB.
Thevirtualdiskshouldbelargeenoughtoholdtheguestoperatingsystemandall
ofthesoftwarethatyouintendtoinstallwithroomfordataandgrowth.
Youcannotchangethevirtualdisksmaximumcapacitylater,butyoucaninstall
additionalvirtualdiskslaterbyusingtheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialogbox.
Forexample,youneedabout1GBofactualfreespaceonthefilesystemcontaining
thevirtualdisktoinstallWindowsServer2003andapplications,suchas
Microsoft Office,insidethevirtualmachine.
NOTEExercisecautionwhenyouconfigureavirtualmachinetoconnectto
multiplenetworks.Becausevirtualmachinessharetheirphysicalnetwork
hardwarewiththehost,theaccidentalormaliciousbridgingoftwonetworksbya
virtualmachinecanoccur.MinimumSpanningTreeprotocolcannotprotect
againsttheseoccurrences.
148 VMware, Inc.
16 ClickNext.
17 OntheReadytoCompleteNewVirtualMachinepage,reviewyourselectionsand
specifythefollowingoption:
Editthevirtualmachinesettingsbeforesubmittingthecreationtask
CheckthisoptionifyouwanttoopentheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialog
boxtosetfurtherconfigurationoptions,suchasaddingadditionaldisks
(see PerformingAdditionalConfigurationBeforeCompletiononpage 144).
SeeInstallingaGuestOperatingSystemonpage 154andInstallingand
UpgradingVMwareToolsonpage 155.
Creating Custom Virtual Machines
ThissectiondescribesthestepstakenwhenyouselectthecustompathintheNew
VirtualMachinewizard.
To create a new virtual machine through the custom path
1 FromtheVirtualCenterclient,clickInventoryinthenavigationbar,andexpand
theinventoryasneeded.
2 Intheinventorylist,selectthemanagedhosttowhichyouwanttoaddthenew
virtualmachine.
3 ChooseFile>New>VirtualMachine.
TheNewVirtualMachinewizardappears.
4 SelectCustom,andclickNext.
5 Typeavirtualmachinename,andclickNext.
ThenameyouenterintheVirtualMachineNamefieldisthenamethatislisted
intheVirtualCenterclientinventory.Itisalsousedasthenameofthevirtual
machinesfiles.Thenamecanbeupto80characterslongandmaycontain
alphanumericcharactersandtheunderscore(_)andhyphen()characters.
This nameshouldbeuniqueacrosstheentiredatacenterandmustbeuniquewithin
thefolder.Namesarecaseinsensitive:thenamemy_vmisidenticaltoMy_Vm.
6 Selectafolderortherootofadatacenter,andclickNext.
NOTEBeforeyoucanuseyournewvirtualmachine,youmustfirstpartition
andformatthevirtualdrive,installaguestoperatingsystem,theninstall
VMwareTools.Typically,theoperatingsystemsinstallationprogramhandles
partitioningandformattingthevirtualdrive.
VMware, Inc. 149
7 Iftheresourcepooloptionisavailable,expandthetreeuntilyoulocatethe
resourcepoolinwhichyouwanttorunthevirtualmachine,highlightit,and
click Next.
Resourcepoolsallowyoutomanageyourcomputingresourceswithinahostor
hostsbysettingthemupinameaningfulhierarchy.Virtualmachinesandchild
resourcepoolssharetheresourcesoftheparentresourcepool.Formore
informationonresourcepools,seetheResourceManagementGuide.
8 Selectadatastoreinwhichtostorethevirtualmachinefiles,andclickNext.
Chooseadatastorelargeenoughtoholdthevirtualmachineandallofitsvirtual
diskfiles.ForESXServerhosts,theDatastoreisconfiguredonthathost,including
VMFS,NAS,andiSCSIvolumes.
9 UnderGuestoperatingsystem,selecttheoperatingsystemfamily
(Microsoft Windows,Linux,NovellNetWare,Solaris,orOther).
10 Choosetheversionfromthedropdownmenu.
Thisistheoperatingsystemforyourvirtualmachine.Yourchoiceshouldbebased
onyourplanneduseofthevirtualmachine.Theselectedguestoperatingsystem
affectsthesupporteddevicesandnumberofvirtualCPUsavailableforthevirtual
machine.
Thewizarddoesnotinstalltheguestoperatingsystemforyou.TheNewVirtual
Machinewizardusesthisinformationtoselectappropriatedefaultvalues,suchas
theamountofmemoryneeded.
11 ClickNext.
12 Selectthenumberofvirtualprocessorsinthevirtualmachinefromthedropdown
menu,andclickNext.
13 Configurethevirtualmachinesmemorysizebyselectingthenumberof
megabytes.
Theminimum,recommended,andmaximumsizesarebasedontheguest
operatingsystem.Regardlessoftheguestoperatingsystem,theminimum
memorysizeis4MB.Themaximumdependsonthehost,butforESXServer3.5
andESXServer3iversion3.5itis65532MB(64GBminus4MB).Thememorysize
mustbeamultipleof4MB.
NOTETheNumberofVirtualCPUspagedoesnotappearifthehostis
singleprocessorortheguestoperatingsystemdoesnotsupportSMP(forexample,
NetwareandWindowsNT4.0).
150 VMware, Inc.
14 ClickNext.
15 ChoosethenetworkstoconnecttoandtheiroptionsbyselectinghowmanyNICs
youwanttoconnectto,thenamesofthenetworks,andwhetheryouwantto
connecttothematpoweron.
Ifyoudonotwantthevirtualnetworkadaptertoconnectwhenthevirtual
machineispoweredon,deselecttheConnectatPowerOncheckbox.
TheNetworkdropdownmenuliststheportgroupsthatareconfiguredforvirtual
machineuseonthehost.Ifnovirtualmachineportgroupsareconfigured,a
warningdialogboxappears,andyouarenotallowedtoconfigureanyvirtual
networkcards.
16 ClickNext.
17 ChoosethetypeofSCSIadapteryouwanttousewiththevirtualmachine.
TwoIDEadaptersandaSCSIadapterareinstalledinthevirtualmachine.TheIDE
adapterisalwaysATAPI.FortheSCSIadapter,youcanchoosebetweenaBusLogic
orLSILogicSCSIadapter.
IntheSelectI/OAdapterTypespage,thedefaultforyourguestoperatingsystem
isalreadyselected.OlderguestoperatingsystemsdefaulttotheBusLogicadapter.
TheLSILogicadapterhasimprovedperformance,worksbetterwithnondisk
SCSIdevices,andisincludedwithWindowsServer2003.
YoucandownloadthedriverfromtheLSILogicWebsite.SeetheGuestOperating
InstallationGuidefordetailsaboutthedriverandtheguestoperatingsystemyou
plantoinstallinthisvirtualmachine.
18 Selectthetypeofdisk,andclickNext.
Youcanstorevirtualmachinedatainanewvirtualdisk,anexistingvirtualdisk,
oramappedstorageareanetwork(SAN)logicalunitnumber(LUN).
Avirtualdiskcomprisesoneormorefilesonthefilesystemthatappearasasingle
harddisktotheguestoperatingsystem.Thesedisksareportableamonghosts.
NOTEExercisecautionwhenyouconfigureavirtualmachinetoconnectto
multiplenetworks.Becausevirtualmachinessharetheirphysicalnetwork
hardwarewiththehost,theaccidentalormaliciousbridgingoftwonetworksbya
virtualmachinecanoccur.MinimumSpanningTreeprotocolcannotprotect
againsttheseoccurrences.
NOTEThechoiceofSCSIadapterdoesnotaffectwhetheryourvirtualdiskisan
IDEorSCSIdisk.
VMware, Inc. 151
MappingaSANLUNgivesyourvirtualmachinedirectaccesstothatSAN,
allowingyoutouseexistingSANcommandstomanagestorageforthedisk.
Youalsohavetheoptionofcreatingyourvirtualmachinewithoutadisk.
SeetheSANConfigurationGuidefordetailsaboutSANLUNconfiguration.
Ifyouchoosetocreateanewvirtualdisk,gotoStep 19.
Ifyouchoosetouseanexistingvirtualdisk,gotoStep 24.
IfyouchoosetocreateamappedSANLUN,gotoMappingaSANLUNon
page 153.
Ifyouchoosetocreateavirtualmachinewithoutadisk,gotoStep 23.
19 Ifyouchosetocreateanewvirtualdisk,youmustselectthesizeofthevirtual
disk,specifyadatastorelocationforthedisk,andclickNext.
Enterthedisksizeinmegabytes(MB)orgigabytes(GB).Thedefaultis4GB.
The availablespaceontheselectedVMFSvolumeislisted.Youcanconfigurea
diskfromassmallas1MBtoaslargeas2TB(2048GB),usingawholenumberof
MBorGB.
Thevirtualdiskshouldbelargeenoughtoholdtheguestoperatingsystemandall
ofthesoftwarethatyouintendtoinstallwithroomfordataandgrowth.
Youcannotchangethevirtualdisksmaximumcapacitylater,butyoucaninstall
additionalvirtualdiskslaterbyusingtheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialogbox.
Forexample,youneedabout1GBofactualfreespaceonthefilesystemcontaining
thevirtualdisktoinstallWindowsServer2003andapplications,suchas
Microsoft Office,insidethevirtualmachine.
Youcanlocatethevirtualdiskonthesamedatastoreasthevirtualmachineor
selectadatastoreinanotherlocation.UsetheBrowsebuttontolocateadatastore.
TheBrowseforDatastoredialogboxappears.
20 SelectTheVirtualdevicenodeanddiskmodeforthevirtualdisk.
21 IfyouselectIndependentdiskmode,chooseoneofthefollowing:
a PersistentChangesareimmediatelyandpermanentlywrittentothedisk.
b NonpersistentChangestothediskarediscardedwhenyoupoweroffor
reverttothesnapshot.
22 ClickNext.
152 VMware, Inc.
boxtosetfurtherconfigurationoptions,suchasaddingadditionaldisks(see
PerformingAdditionalConfigurationBeforeCompletiononpage 144).
24 Ifyouchosetouseanexistingvirtualdisk,clickBrowseandnavigatetothe
virtualdiskyouwanttouse.ClickNext.
25 Selectwhichvirtualdevicenodeshouldbeusedbyyourvirtualdisk.
26 IfyouselectIndependentmode,chooseoneofthefollowing:
a PersistentChangesareimmediatelyandpermanentlywrittentothedisk.
b NonpersistentChangestothediskarediscardedwhenyoupoweroffor
reverttothesnapshot.
27 ClickNext.
boxtosetfurtherconfigurationoptions,suchasaddingadditionaldisks(see
PerformingAdditionalConfigurationBeforeCompletiononpage 144).
VMware, Inc. 153
Mapping a SAN LUN
ForvirtualmachinesrunningonanESXServerhost,insteadofstoringvirtualmachine
datainavirtualdiskfile,youcanstorethedatadirectlyonaSANLUN.Thisisuseful
ifyouarerunningapplicationsinyourvirtualmachinesthatmustknowthephysical
characteristicsofthestoragedevice.
WhenyoumapaLUNtoaVMFSvolume,VirtualCentercreatesafilethatpointstothe
rawLUN.EncapsulatingdiskinformationinafileallowsVirtualCentertolockthe
LUNsothatonlyonevirtualmachinecanwritetoit.
To map a SAN LUN
1 FromtheSelectaDiskpage,selectMappedSANLUN.
2 ClickNext.
3 SelectaLUNfortherawdisk.
4 ClickNext.
5 SelectadatastoreontowhichtomaptheLUN.
6 ClickNext.
7 Selectacompatibilitymode,eitherphysicalorvirtual.
Physicalcompatibilitymodeallowstheguestoperatingsystemtoaccessthe
hardwaredirectly.PhysicalcompatibilityisusefulifyouareusingSANaware
applicationsinthevirtualmachine.However,aLUNconfiguredforphysical
compatibilitycannotbecloned,madeintoatemplate,ormigratedifthe
migrationinvolvescopyingthedisk.
VirtualcompatibilitymodeallowsthevirtualmachinetouseVMware
snapshotsandotheradvancedfunctionality.Virtualcompatibilityallowsthe
LUNtobehaveasifitwereavirtualdisk,soyoucanusefeatureslikedisk
modes.Whenyouclonethedisk,makeatemplateoutofit,ormigrateit(ifthe
migrationinvolvescopyingthedisk),thecontentsoftheLUNarecopiedinto
avirtualdisk(.vmdk)file.
Subsequentscreensofferdifferentoptions,dependingonyourchoice.
NOTEThisfilehasa.vmdkextension,butthefilecontainsonlydiskinformation
describingthemappingtotheLUNontheESXServersystem.Theactualdataisstored
ontheLUN.
YoucannotdeployavirtualmachinefromatemplateandstoreitsdataonaLUN;you
canonlystoreitsdatainavirtualdiskfile.
154 VMware, Inc.
8 OntheSpecifyAdvancedOptionspage,youcanchangethevirtualdevicenode
andclickNext.
9 OntheReadytoCompleteNewVirtualMachinepage,reviewyourselections.
ClickFinishtocompleteyourvirtualmachine,oroptionallyperformadditional
configuration(seePerformingAdditionalConfigurationBeforeCompletionon
page 144).
Installing a Guest Operating System
Anewvirtualmachineislikeaphysicalcomputerwithablankharddisk.Beforeyou
canuseit,youmustpartitionandformatthevirtualdiskandinstallanoperating
system.Theoperatingsystemsinstallationprogrammighthandlethepartitioningand
formattingstepsforyou.
Installingaguestoperatingsysteminsideyourvirtualmachineisessentiallythesame
asinstallingitonaphysicalcomputer.Thebasicstepsforatypicaloperatingsystem
aredescribedbelow.SeeGuestOperatingSystemInstallationGuideformoreinformation
onindividualguestoperatingsystems.
To install a guest operating system
1 StartVMwareVirtualCenter.
2 InserttheinstallationCDROMforyourguestoperatingsystem,orcreateanISO
imagefilefromtheinstallationCDROM.UsetheVirtualMachineSettingseditor
toconnectthevirtualmachinesCDROMdrivetotheISOimagefileandpoweron
thevirtualmachine.
UsinganISOimageisfasterthanusingaCDROM.
NOTEItissometimesnecessarytochangethebootorderinthevirtualmachinesBIOS
settings.However,sometimesavirtualmachinesbootsequenceprogressestooquickly
forausertoopenaconsoletothevirtualmachineandenterBIOSsetup.Ifthishappens,
youcanmodifythevirtualmachinespropertiestoslowitsbootsequence,orforceitto
enterBIOSsetup.SeeChangingVirtualMachineOptionsonpage 186.Forprior
versionsofVirtualCenterthatdonotcontaintheseoptionsintheGUI,youcanuse
Ctrl+Alt+Insert(orCtrl+Alt+DeletefornonWindowssystems)tosoftresetthevirtual
machine.
NOTEYoumightneedtochangethebootorderinthevirtualmachineBIOSso
thatthevirtualmachineattemptstobootfromtheCD/DVDdevicebeforetrying
otherbootdevices.Todoso,pressF2whenpromptedduringvirtualmachine
startup.
VMware, Inc. 155
3 Topoweronyourvirtualmachine,clickthePowerOnbutton.
Whenavirtualmachineispoweredon,agreenrightarrowisdisplayednexttothe
virtualmachineiconintheinventorylist,andtheoptionsintheCommandspanel
changeasshowninthefollowingimage:
4 Followtheinstructionsprovidedbytheoperatingsystemvendor.
Tocustomizeaguestoperatingsystem,seeCustomizingGuestOperating
Systemsonpage 215.
Installing and Upgrading VMware Tools
VMwareToolsisasuiteofutilitiesthatenhancestheperformanceofthevirtual
machinesguestoperatingsystemandimprovesmanagementofthevirtualmachine.
InstallingVMwareToolsintheguestoperatingsystemisvital.Althoughtheguest
operatingsystemcanrunwithoutVMwareTools,youloseimportantfunctionalityand
convenience.
WhenyouinstallVMwareTools,youinstall:
TheVMwareToolsservice(VMwareService.exeonWindowsguestsor
vmware-guestdonLinuxandSolarisguests).Thisservicesynchronizesthetime
intheguestoperatingsystemwiththetimeinthehostoperatingsystem.
On Windowsguests,italsocontrolsgrabbingandreleaseingthemousecursor.
AsetofVMwaredevicedrivers,includinganSVGAdisplaydriver,thevmxnet
networkingdriverforsomeguestoperatingsystems,theBusLogicSCSIdriverfor
someguestoperatingsystems,thememorycontroldriverforefficientmemory
allocationbetweenvirtualmachines,thesyncdrivertoquiesceI/Ofor
ConsolidatedBackup,andtheVMwaremousedriver.
TheVMwareToolscontrolpanel,whichletsyoumodifysettings,shrinkvirtual
disks,andconnectanddisconnectvirtualdevices.
156 VMware, Inc.
Asetofscriptsthathelpsyoutoautomateguestoperatingsystemoperations.
The scriptsrunwhenthevirtualmachinespowerstatechangesifyouconfigure
themtodoso.
TheVMwareuserprocess(VMwareUser.exeonWindowsguestsorvmware-user
onLinuxandSolarisguests),whichenablesyoutocopyandpastetextbetweenthe
guestandmanagedhostoperatingsystems.
OnLinuxandSolarisguests,thisprocesscontrolsgrabbingandreleaseingthe
mousecursorwhentheSVGAdriverisnotinstalled.
TheVMwareToolsuserprocessisnotinstalledonNetWareoperatingsystems.
Instead,thevmwtoolprogramisinstalled.Itcontrolsthegrabbingandreleasingof
themousecursor.Italsoallowsyoucopyandpastetext.
YoucanoptionallyinstallWYSEMultimediaRedirector,whichimprovesstreaming
videoperformanceinWindowsguestoperatingsystemsrunningonWYSEthinclient
devices.
ConfiguretheguestoperatingsystembeforeinstallingorreinstallingVMwareTools.
ThisenablesVMwaretoolstodeterminethecorrectmouseconfigurationandmodule
configuration.
VMwareToolshasthefollowinglimitations:
Shrinkdiskisnotsupported.
ForMicrosoftWindowsNT,thedefaultscriptsforsuspendandresumedonot
work.
ThemousedriverinstallationfailsinXwindowsversionsearlierthan4.2.0.
Thissectionincludesthefollowinginformation:
DisplayingtheVMwareToolsPropertiesDialogBoxonpage 162
VMwareToolsUpgradesonpage 163
NOTEIftheguestoperatingsystemisinstalledbutnotcorrectlyconfiguredwhenyou
installVMwareTools,theVMwareToolsinstallationdoesnotworkcorrectly.Thiscan
causetheguestoperatingsystemtocrash.
NOTEIfyoudonothaveVMwareToolsinstalledinyourvirtualmachine,youcannot
usetheshutdownorrestartoptions.YoucanuseonlythePoweroptions.Ifyouwant
toshutdowntheguestoperatingsystem,shutitdownfromwithinthevirtualmachine
consolebeforeyoupoweroffthevirtualmachine.
VMware, Inc. 157
TheinstallersforVMwareToolsforWindows,Linux,Solaris,andNetWareguest
operatingsystemsarebuiltintoESXServerasISOimagefiles.AnISOimagefilelooks
likeaCDROMtoyourguestoperatingsystemandevenappearsasaCDROMdiscin
WindowsExplorer.YoudonotuseanactualCDROMdisctoinstallVMwareTools,nor
doyouneedtodownloadtheCDROMimageorburnaphysicalCDROMofthis
imagefile.
WhenyouchoosetoinstallVMwareTools,VMwareVirtualCentertemporarily
connectsthevirtualmachinesfirstvirtualCDROMdiskdrivetotheISOimagefile
thatcontainstheVMwareToolsinstallerforyourguestoperatingsystem.Youareready
tobegintheinstallationprocess.
To install or upgrade VMware Tools on a Windows Guest
1 Openaconsoletothevirtualmachine.
2 Poweronthevirtualmachine.
3 Aftertheguestoperatingsystemstarts,rightclickthevirtualmachineandchoose
InstallVMwareTools.
4 Frominsidethevirtualmachine,clickOKtoconfirmthatyouwanttoinstall
VMwareToolsandlaunchtheInstallShieldwizard.
Ifyouhaveautorunenabledinyourguestoperatingsystem(thedefault
settingforWindowsoperatingsystems),adialogboxappears.
Ifautorunisnotenabled,runtheVMwareToolsinstaller.ClickStart>Run
andenterD:\setup.exe,whereD:isyourfirstvirtualCDROMdrive.
5 Followtheonscreeninstructions.
OnWindowsServer2003,theSVGAdriverisinstalledautomatically,andthe
guestoperatingsystemusesitafteritreboots.
AfteryouinstallVMwareTools,Windows2000andWindowsXPguest
operatingsystemsmustberebootedtousethenewdriver.
NOTEIfyouareusingaWYSEthinclientdeviceandwanttoinstallWYSEMultimedia
SupportalongwithVMwareTools,seeCustomVMwareToolsInstallationon
page 165.YoumustusethecustominstallationpathinordertoinstallWYSE
MultimediaSupport.
158 VMware, Inc.
To install or upgrade VMware Tools on a Linux guest from X with the RPM
installer
InstallVMwareTools.
Theremainingstepstakeplaceinsidethevirtualmachine.
IfyouseeaVMwareToolsCDicononthedesktop,doubleclickit,andafter
itopens,doubleclicktheRPMinstallerintherootoftheCDROM.
Ifyouseeafilemanagerwindow,doubleclicktheRPMinstallerfile.
InsomeLinuxdistributions,theVMwareToolsCDiconmightfailtoappear.
In thiscase,continueinstallVMwareToolsfromthecommandline.
5 Whenprompted,entertherootpasswordandclickOK.
Theinstallerpreparesthepackages.(SEEUPDATE)
6 ClickContinuewhentheinstallerpresentsadialogboxthatshows
Completed SystemPreparation.
Adialogboxappearswithaprogressbar.Whentheinstallerisdone,VMware
Toolsisinstalled.Thereisnoconfirmationorfinishbutton.
7 InanXterminal,asroot(su -),runthefollowingfiletoconfigureVMwareTools:
vmware-config-tools.pl
Respondtothequestionstheinstallerdisplaysonthescreen.PressEntertoaccept
thedefaultvalue.
8 Whendone,exitfromtherootaccount:
exit
9 InanXterminal,opentheVMwareToolsPropertiesdialogbox:
vmware-toolbox &
VMware, Inc. 159
To install or upgrade VMware Tools on a Linux guest with the tar installer or
RPM installer
InstallVMwareTools.
4 Asroot(su -),mounttheVMwareToolsvirtualCDROMimageandchangetoa
workingdirectory(forexample,/tmp),asfollows.
SomeLinuxdistributionsusedifferentdevicenamesororganizethe/dev
directorydifferently.Modifythefollowingcommandstoreflecttheconventions
usedbyyourdistribution:
mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
cd /tmp
NOTESomeLinuxdistributionsautomaticallymountCDROMs.Ifyour
distributionusesautomounting,donotusethemountandumountcommands
describedinthisprocedure.YoustillmustuntartheVMwareToolsinstallerto
/tmp.
NOTEIfyouhaveapreviousinstallation,deletetheprevious
vmware-tools-distribdirectorybeforeinstalling.Thedefaultlocationofthis
directoryis:
/tmp/vmware-tools-distrib
160 VMware, Inc.
5 UncompresstheinstallerandunmounttheCDROMimage.
DependingonwhetheryouareusingthetarinstallerortheRPMinstaller,doone
ofthefollowing:
Forthetarinstaller,atthecommandprompt,enter:
tar zxpf /mnt/cdrom/VMwareTools-5.0.0-<xxxx>.tar.gz
umount /dev/cdrom
Where <xxxx> isthebuild/revisionnumberoftheWorkstationrelease.
FortheRPMinstaller,atthecommandprompt,enter:
rpm -Uhv /mnt/cdrom/VMwareTools-5.0.0-<xxxx>.i386.rpm
umount /dev/cdrom
Where <xxxx> isthebuild/revisionnumberoftheWorkstationrelease.
6 DependingonwhetheryouareusingthetarinstallerortheRPMinstaller,doone
ofthefollowing:(SEEUPDATE)
Forthetarinstaller,runtheVMwareToolstarinstaller:
cd vmware-tools-distrib
./vmware-install.pl
Respondtotheconfigurationquestionsonthescreen.PressEntertoacceptthe
defaultvalue.
FortheRPMinstaller,configureVMwareTools:
vmware-config-tools.pl
Respondtothequestionstheinstallerdisplaysonthescreen.PressEnterto
acceptthedefaultvalue.
7 Logofftherootaccount.
exit
8 Startyourgraphicalenvironment.
vmware-toolbox &
NOTEIfyouattempttoinstallanrpminstallationoveratarinstallationorthe
reversetheinstallerdetectsthepreviousinstallationandmustconvertthe
installerdatabaseformatbeforecontinuing.
VMware, Inc. 161
To install or upgrade VMware Tools on a Solaris guest
InstallVMwareTools.
4 Loginasroot(su -)and,ifnecessary,mounttheVMwareToolsvirtualCDROM
image,asfollows.
Usually,theSolarisvolumemanagervoldmountstheCDROMunder
/cdrom/vmwaretools.IftheCDROMisnotmounted,restartthevolume
managerusingthefollowingcommands:
/etc/init.d/volmgt stop
/etc/init.d/volmgt start
5 AftertheCDROMismounted,changetoaworkingdirectory(forexample,/tmp)
andextractVMwareTools,asfollows:
cd /tmp
gunzip -c /cdrom/vmwaretools/vmware-solaris-tools.tar.gz | tar xf -
6 RuntheVMwareToolstarinstaller:
cd vmware-tools-distrib
./vmware-install.pl
Respondtotheconfigurationquestionsonthescreen.PressEntertoacceptthe
defaultvalue.
7 Logoffoftherootaccount.
exit
8 Startyourgraphicalenvironment.
vmware-toolbox &
162 VMware, Inc.
To install VMware Tools in a NetWare virtual machine
InstallVMwareTools.
4 LoadtheCDROMdriversotheCDROMdevicemountstheISOimageasavolume.
Dooneofthefollowing:
InthesystemconsoleforaNetWare6.5virtualmachine,enter:
LOAD CDDVD
InthesystemconsoleforaNetWare6.0orNetWare5.1virtualmachine,enter:
LOAD CD9660.NSS
Whenthedriverfinishesloading,youcanbegininstallingVMwareTools,as
describedinthenextstep.
5 Inthesystemconsole,enterthefollowingcommand:
vmwtools:\setup.ncf
Whentheinstallationfinishes,themessageVMware Tools for NetWare are now
runningappearsintheLoggerScreen(NetWare6.5andNetWare6.0guests)orthe
ConsoleScreen(NetWare5.1guests).
Displaying the VMware Tools Properties Dialog Box
UsetheVMwareToolsPropertiesdialogboxtoconfigureVMwareToolsinsideyour
virtualmachine.Instructionsfordisplayingthisdialogboxvary,dependingonthe
guestoperatingsystem.
Usethisdialogboxtoconfiguresuchthingsastimesynchronizationbetweenhostand
guest,notificationsofVMwareToolsupdates(forWindowsandLinuxguestsonly),
andspecifyingwhichscriptstorunwhenthevirtualmachinespowerstatechanges.
ForinstructionsonusingtheVMwareToolsPropertiesdialogbox,clicktheHelp
buttoninsidethedialogbox.
To display the VMware Tools Properties dialog box on Windows guests
OpenaconsoletothevirtualmachineanddoubleclicktheVMwareToolsiconinthe
systemtrayfrominsidetheguestoperatingsystem.
VMware, Inc. 163
To display the VMware Tools Properties dialog box on Linux and Solaris guests
Openaconsoletothevirtualmachineandthenopenaterminalwindowandenterthe
command:
/usr/bin/vmware-toolbox &
To display the VMware Tools dialog box on NetWare 5.1 or higher guests
ChooseNovell>Settings>VMwareToolsforNetWare.
VMware Tools Upgrades
YoucanupgradeVMwareToolsmanually,oryoucanconfigurevirtualmachinesto
automaticallycheckforandinstallnewerversionsofVMwareTools(seeChanging
VirtualMachineOptionsonpage 186).Thefollowingarerequiredforautomatic
upgrades:
VirtualmachinesmusthaveaversionofVMwareToolsshippedwith
ESX Server 3.0.1orgreaterinstalled.
VirtualmachinesmustbehostedonanESXServer3.0.1orgreater,andthe
VirtualCenterservermustbeversion2.0.1orgreater.
VirtualmachinesmustberunningaLinuxorWindowsguestOSthatissupported
byESXServer3.0.1orgreaterandVirtualCenter2.0.1orgreater.
Virtualmachinesmustbepoweredon.
To manually upgrade VMware Tools:
1 LaunchtheVIclientandlogintotheVirtualCenterserver.
2 SelecttheInventory>HostsandClustersview.
3 Selectthehostorclusterthatcontainsthevirtualmachinesyouwanttoupgrade.
4 SelecttheVirtualMachinestab.
5 Selectthevirtualmachinesyouwanttoupgradeandpowerthemoff.
6 RightclickyourselectionsandselectInstall/UpgradeTools.
7 (Optional)EntercommandlineoptionsintheAdvancedfield
(see CommandLineOptions (SEEUPDATE)onpage 164).
8 ClickOK.
VMwareToolscanalsobemanuallyupgradedfromwithinthevirtualmachines
operatingsystembyopeningtheVMwareToolsPropertiesdialogbox(doubleclickthe
iconinthesystemtray)andclickingUpgradeintheOptionstab.
164 VMware, Inc.
To configure virtual machines to automatically upgrade VMware Tools:
1 OpentheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialogboxforthevirtualmachineyouwant
toupgrade.
2 SelectOptionstab>VMwareTools.
3 SelecttheCheckandupgradeToolsbeforeeachpoweronoptionunder
AutomaticVMwareToolsUpgrade.
4 ClickOK.
Thenexttimethevirtualmachineispoweredon,itcheckstheESXServerhostfora
newerversionofVMwareTools.Ifoneisavailable,itisinstalledandtheguest
operatingsystemisrestarted(ifrequired).
Table 10-1. Command-Line Options (SEE UPDATE)
Option Description
-u user Specifiesauserwithsufficientprivilegesonthetargetvirtualmachine,
includingVirtualMachine.Config.*,VirtualMachine.Interact.*,and
VirtualMachine.Provisioning.*
-p password Specifiesapasswordonthecommandline.Ifthisisomitted,thetool
immediatelypromptsforapassword.
-n vmname Thenameofthevirtualmachinetoupgrade.Thisnamecorresponds
tothedisplaynameofavirtualmachine.Specifymultiplevirtual
machinesusingmultiplenparameters.Thenoptionisignoredifh
isspecified.
-h host Attemptstoupgradeallthevirtualmachinesonaparticularhost.Fails
ifthespecifiedhostifnotversionESX3.0orgreater.
-m maxpowerons Onaparticularhost,powerononlythisnumberofvirtualmachines
atatime.
-o port SpecifiestheVirtualCenterServerport,ifoneotherthanthedefault
port902hasbeenconfigured.
-t maxpowerontime Afterthetoolsupgradeisscheduledonavirtualmachine,thevirtual
machineispoweredonandallowedtorunthroughthetools
installationprocess.Inmostcases,theguestpowersoffthemachine
whentheprocesscompletes.Thisparameterallowsausertosetthe
maximumamountoftimeforavirtualmachinetobepoweredonin
casetheguestisunabletoshutdownthemachineitself.
-s Skipsthetoolsanddoesonlythevirtualhardwareupgrade.
-q Worksquietly.Doesntproducestatusorcompletionmessageson
shutdown.
VMware, Inc. 165
Custom VMware Tools Installation
YoucanuseacustomVMwareToolsinstallationpathtoinstalloptionaldriversorother
softwarethatmightimprovetheperformanceofparticularvirtualmachines,suchas
WYSEMultimediaSupport.
To perform a custom VMware Tools installation on a Windows Guest
InstallVMwareTools.
4 Frominsidethevirtualmachine,clickOKtoconfirmthatyouwanttoinstall
VMwareToolsandlaunchtheInstallShieldwizard.
Ifyouhaveautorunenabledinyourguestoperatingsystem(thedefault
settingforWindowsoperatingsystems),adialogboxappears.
Ifautorunisnotenabled,runtheVMwareToolsinstaller.ClickStart>Run
andenterD:\setup.exe,whereD:isyourfirstvirtualCDROMdrive.
5 ClickNext.
TheSetupTypepageisdisplayed.
6 SelectCustom,andclickNext.
TheCustomSetuppageisdisplayed.
7 ClicktheredXnexttoeachoptionalfeatureyouwanttoinstall,andselect
This featurewillbeinstalledonlocalharddrive.
8 ClickNext.
Aprogressbarisdisplayedshowingtheprogressoftheinstallation.
9 ClickFinish.
WYSE Multimedia Support
IfyouareusingaWYSEthinclientdevicetoconductremotedesktopsessionsusing
VMwareVDI,installingWYSEMultimediaSupportintheguestoperatingsystem
improvestheperformanceofstreamingvideo.WYSEMultimediaSupportallows
streamingvideotobedecodedontheclientratherthanonthehost,therebyconserving
networkbandwidth.
166 VMware, Inc.
WYSEMultimediaSupportissupportedontheWindows2003andWindowsXPguest
operatingsystemsonly.WYSEMultimediaSupportisinstalledaspartofaVMware
Toolsinstallationorupgrade.
Installing WYSE Multimedia Support with VMware Tools
WhenyouinstallVMwareToolsinaWindows2003orWindowsXPguestoperating
systemforthefirsttime,youcaninstallWYSEMultimediaSupportatthesametimeby
choosingacustominstallationpath.
To install WYSE Multimedia Support as part of a first-time installation of VMware
Tools
FollowtheinstructionsforthecustominstallationpathasdescribedinCustom
VMwareToolsInstallationonpage 165.OntheCustomSetuppage,selectWYSE
MultimediaRedirectorforinstallation.
Installing WYSE Multimedia Support as part of a VMware Tools Upgrade
ForvirtualmachinesthatalreadyhaveVMwareToolsinstalled,WYSEMultimedia
SupportcanbeinstalledaspartofaVMwareToolsupgradeusingtheWindowsAdd
orRemoveProgramsfeature.
To install WYSE Multimedia Support using Add or Remove Programs
1 Openaconsoletoapoweredonvirtualmachine.
2 Inthevirtualmachine,chooseStart>Settings>ControlPanel>AddorRemove
Programs.
3 Inthelistofprograms,selectVMwareToolsandclickChange.
TheVMwareToolsInstallationwizardisdisplayed.
4 ClickNext.
TheProgramMaintenancepageisdisplayed.
5 SelectModifyandclickNext.
TheCustomSetuppageisdisplayed.
6 ClicktheredXnexttoWYSEMultimediaRedirectorandselectThisfeaturewill
beinstalledonlocalharddrive.
VMware, Inc. 167
7 ClickNext.
8 ClickModifytobegintheinstallation.
Aprogressbarisdisplayedshowingtheprogressoftheinstallation.
9 ClickFinish.
ForvirtualmachinesonESXServer3.0.1orlaterhostsmanagedbyVirtualCenter2.0.1
orlater,WYSEMultimediaSupportcanbeinstalledaspartofaVMwareToolsupgrade
startedfromtheVIClient.
To install WYSE Multimedia Support as part of a VMware Tools Upgrade
1 RightclickapoweredonvirtualmachineandchooseUpgradeVMwareTools.
2 IntheAdvancedtextbox,typesetup.exe /s /vINSTALL_WYSE=1.
3 ClickOK.
168 VMware, Inc.
VMware, Inc. 169
11
Thischapterdescribesvirtualmachinetasks,includingaddingandremovingvirtual
machinesandpoweringvirtualmachinesonandoff.
ChangingVirtualMachinePowerStatesonpage 169
AddingandRemovingVirtualMachinesonpage 175
StartingandShuttingDownVirtualMachinesonpage 177
Changing Virtual Machine Power States
Thepowerstateofavirtualmachineindicateswhetherthevirtualmachineisactiveand
functional.Therearethreebasicstates:on,off,andsuspend.Toachievetheonstate,
youcanpoweronthemachine,resetthemachine,orresumeactivityfromasuspended
state.Toachievetheoffstate,youcanpoweroffthemachineorsuspendallvirtual
machineactivity.Eachvirtualmachinepowerstatechangehasadifferenteffectonthe
guestoperatingsysteminthevirtualmachine.
Managing Virtual Machines 11
process,task,ordescriptionappliestobothkindsofVIClientconnections.
170 VMware, Inc.
Therearealsoseveralaccesspointsformakingchangestothesepowerstates.Youcan
changeapowerstatechangeby:
SelectingthevirtualmachineandthepoweroptionfromtheInventory>Virtual
Machinemenu.
SelectingPoweronfromtheCommandsarea.
Selectingthepoweroptionfromthepopupmenu.
SchedulingapowerstatechangethroughtheScheduledTasksbuttoninthe
navigationbar.
Thepowerstatetopicsarecoveredinthefollowingsections:
UnderstandingVirtualMachinePowerStatesonpage 170
UnderstandingTransitionalPowerStatesonpage 172
ManuallyPoweringaVirtualMachineOnandOffonpage 172
UsingSuspendandResumeonpage 173
SchedulingaPowerStateChangeforaVirtualMachineonpage 174
Understanding Virtual Machine Power States
Thebasicpowerstateoptionsinclude:
PoweronPowersonthevirtualmachineandbootstheguestoperatingsystemif
theguestoperatingsystemisinstalled.
PoweroffPowersoffthevirtualmachine.Thevirtualmachinedoesnotattempt
toshutdowntheguestoperatingsystemgracefully.
SuspendPausesthevirtualmachineactivity.Alltransactionsarefrozenuntilyou
issuearesumecommand.
ResumeAllowsvirtualmachineactivitytocontinueandreleasestheSuspended
state.
ResetShutsdowntheguestoperatingsystemandrestartsit.Thisoperation
dependsontheoperatingsystembeingshutdown.Ifshutdownisnotautomatic
forthatoperatingsystem,VMwareToolsmustbeinstalled.
VMware, Inc. 171
Chapter 11 Managing Virtual Machines
Thefollowingpoweroptionsperformextrafunctionsinadditiontothebasicvirtual
machinepoweroperations.VMwareToolsmustbeinstalledinthevirtualmachineto
performthesefunctions:
ShutdownguestShutsdowntheguestoperatingsystemgracefully.
StandbyguestSuspendstheguestoperatingsystemandrunVMwaretools
suspendscripts.
RestartguestShutsdownandrestartstheguestoperatingsystemwithout
poweringoffthevirtualmachine.
Toolbarpowerbuttonsperformasfollows:
PoweroffPowersoffthevirtualmachine.Apoweroffoperationdisplaysa
confirmationdialogboxindicatingthattheguestoperatingsystemmightnotshut
downproperly.
PoweronPowersonavirtualmachinewhenavirtualmachineisstopped,or
resumesthevirtualmachineandrunsascriptwhenitissuspendedandVMware
Toolsisinstalledandavailable.Resumesthevirtualmachineanddoesnotruna
scriptwhenVMwareToolsisnotinstalled.
SuspendSuspendsthevirtualmachinewithoutrunningascriptwhenVMware
Toolsisnotinstalled,orrunsascript,andsuspendsthevirtualmachinewhen
VMwareToolsisinstalledandavailable.
ResetResetsthevirtualmachinewhenVMwareToolsisnotinstalled,and
restartstheguestoperatingsystemwhenVMwareToolsisinstalledandavailable.
Aresetoperationdisplaysaconfirmationdialogboxindicatingthattheguest
operatingsystemisnotshutdownproperly.
NOTEThespecificformofthepowerstateactioncanbemodifiedtoincludeguest
operatingsystemshutdownsornotandtoincluderunningscriptsornot.
To configurepoweroperationsettingschoosehost>Configuration>Virtual
Machinestartup/shutdown.
172 VMware, Inc.
Understanding Transitional Power States
Actionstakenonavirtualmachinerequirethatthevirtualmachinebeinspecificpower
states.Wheneverapoweroperationisperformedonavirtualmachine,thevirtual
machinepowerstatechangesandallothercommandsarelockedoutuntilthefirst
commandiscompleted.
Thefigurebelowillustratesstates,transitions,andstatechangingcommandsfor
virtualmachines.
Figure 11-1. Virtual Machine Power State Changes
Manually Powering a Virtual Machine On and Off
Beforechanginganypowerstateonavirtualmachine,youmusthaveaddedthevirtual
machinetoyourVMwareInfrastructureenvironment.SeeAddingandRemoving
VirtualMachinesonpage 175.
To manually change the power state of a virtual machine
1 ClicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar.
2 Expandtheinventoryasneeded,andselectavirtualmachine.
3 Usethepowerstatebuttonsinthetoolbar,orrightclickonthevirtualmachineand
selectanpowerstateoption
suspend resume
powered off
powered on
suspended
power on power off
remove
state
command
NOTEPowerOffisliketurningofftheelectricitytoaphysicalmachineand
alwaysshutsdownthevirtualmachine.ShutDownGuestattemptstogracefully
shutdownthevirtualmachine
VMware, Inc. 173
Using Suspend and Resume
Thesuspendandresumefeatureismostusefulwhenyouwanttosavethecurrentstate
ofyourvirtualmachineandpickupworklaterwiththevirtualmachineinthesame
state.
Afteryouresumeanddoadditionalworkinthevirtualmachine,youcannotreturnto
thestatethevirtualmachinewasinatthetimeyoususpended.Topreservethestateof
thevirtualmachinesoyoucanreturntothesamestaterepeatedly,takeasnapshot.
See UsingSnapshotsonpage 253formoreinformation.
Thespeedofthesuspendandresumeoperationsdependsonhowmuchdatachanged
whilethevirtualmachinewasrunning.Ingeneral,thefirstsuspendoperationtakesa
bitlongerthansubsequentsuspendoperationsdo.
Whenyoususpendavirtualmachine,afilewitha.vmssextensioniscreated.Thisfile
containstheentirestateofthevirtualmachine.Whenyouresumethevirtualmachine,
itsstateisrestoredfromthe.vmssfile.
To suspend a virtual machine
1 Ifyourvirtualmachineisrunninginfullscreenmode,returntowindowmodeby
pressingtheCtrlAltkeycombination.
2 ClickSuspendontheVMwareInfrastructureClienttoolbar.
WhenVMwareInfrastructureClientcompletesthesuspendoperation,itissafeto
exitVMwareInfrastructureClient.
3 ChooseFile>Exit.
To resume a virtual machine that you have suspended
1 StartVMwareInfrastructureClient,andselectavirtualmachinethatyouhave
suspended.
2 ClickthePowerOnbuttonontheVMwareInfrastructureClienttoolbar,orchoose
thePowerOnoptionfromthepopupmenuortheCommandswindow.
NOTEApplicationsyouwererunningatthetimeyoususpendedthevirtual
machinearerunning,andthecontentisthesameasitwaswhenyoususpended
thevirtualmachine.
174 VMware, Inc.
Scheduling a Power State Change for a Virtual Machine
Dependinguponyourpermissions,youcancreateascheduledtasktochangethe
powerstateofthevirtualmachineintheVIClient.
To create a scheduled task that changes the power state
1 ClicktheScheduledTasksbuttoninthenavigationbar.
Thelistofscheduledtasksappears.
2 RightclickandchooseNewScheduledTask,orchooseFile>New>Scheduled
Task.
TheSelectaTasktoSchedulewindowappears.
3 SelectChangethepowerstateofavirtualmachine,andclickOK.
TheChangeaVirtualMachinesPowerStatewizardappearsanddisplaysthe
SelectVirtualMachinepage.
4 Selectthevirtualmachinewhosestateyouwanttochange.
TheSelectaPowerOperationpageappears.
5 SelectaPowerOperationoption,andclickNext.
6 IfyouselectedaPowerOnoperation,theSelectHostpageappears.Selectthehost
whichwillpoweronthevirtualmachine.
7 ClickNext.
TheScheduletheTaskscreenappears.
8 Namethetask,giveadescription,andspecifythetimingofthetask.
Todisplaytothecalendar,selectLater,andclickthedropdownarrowtochoosea
datefromthedisplayedcalendar.Aredcircleindicatestodaysdateandadark
circleindicatesthescheduleddate.
9 ClickNext.
10 ClickFinish.
VMwareInfrastructureClientaddsthenewtasktothescheduledtasklistand
completesitatthedesignatedtime.Whenyoucreateascheduledtask,
VirtualCenterverifiesthatyouhavethecorrectpermissionstoperformtheactions
ontherelevantdatacenters,hosts,andvirtualmachines.Oncethetaskiscreated,
thetaskisperformedevenifyounolongerhavepermissiontoperformthetask.
VMware, Inc. 175
Adding and Removing Virtual Machines
VirtualmachinescanbeaddedtotheVirtualCenterServerinventorythroughtheir
managedhosts.TheycanberemovedfromVirtualCenterServercontrolandoptionally
fromtheirmanagedhostsstorage.
Thefollowingsectionsdiscussaddingandremovingvirtualmachines:
AddingExistingVirtualMachinestoVirtualCenteronpage 175
RemovingVirtualMachinesfromVirtualCenteronpage 175
ReturningaVirtualMachineorTemplatetoVirtualCenteronpage 176
Adding Existing Virtual Machines to VirtualCenter
WhenyouaddamanagedhosttoVMwareInfrastructureClient,itdiscoversallthe
virtualmachinesonthatmanagedhostandaddsthemtotheVirtualCenterinventory.
Ifamanagedhostisdisconnected,thealreadydiscoveredvirtualmachinescontinueto
belistedintheinventory.
Ifamanagedhostisdisconnectedandreconnected,anychangestothevirtual
machinesonthatmanagedhostareidentified,andVMwareInfrastructureClient
updatesthelistofvirtualmachines.Forexample,ifnode3isremovedandnode4is
added,thenewlistofvirtualmachinesaddsnode4andshowsnode3asorphaned.
Removing Virtual Machines from VirtualCenter
RemovingVirtualMachinesfrominventoryunregistersthemfromthehostand
VirtualCenter.Virtualmachinefilesremainatthesamestoragelocationandthevirtual
machinecanbereregisteredusingthedatastorebrowser.
RemovingVirtualMachinesfromdisk,ontheotherhand,purgesthevirtualmachine
anditsfiles.
To remove a virtual machine from VirtualCenter but not the datastore
1 FromtheVIClient,clicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar.
2 Expandtheinventoryasneeded,andclicktheappropriatevirtualmachine.
3 Makesurethatthevirtualmachineispoweredoff.
4 Selectthevirtualmachineintheinventorypanel.
176 VMware, Inc.
5 ChooseInventory>VirtualMachine>Remove,orrightclickonthevirtual
machineandselectRemovefromInventory.
6 Toconfirmthatyouwanttoremovethevirtualmachinefromtheinventory,
click OK.
VirtualCenterServerremovesreferencestothevirtualmachineandnolonger
tracksitscondition.
To remove a virtual machine from VirtualCenter and the datastore
1 FromtheVIClient,clicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar.
2 Expandtheinventoryasneeded,andclicktheappropriatevirtualmachine.
3 Makesurethatthevirtualmachineispoweredoff.
4 RightclickonthevirtualmachineandselectDeletefromDisk.
5 ClickOKintheconfirmationdialogbox.
VirtualCenterdeletesthevirtualmachinefromitsdatastore.
Returning a Virtual Machine or Template to VirtualCenter
IfyouhaveremovedavirtualmachineortemplatefromaVirtualCenterserverbutdid
notremoveitfromthemanagedhostsdatastoreandyouwanttoreturnitto
VirtualCenter,usetheDatastoreBrowser.
To return a virtual machine or template to VirtualCenter
1 RightclickonthedatastoreandchooseBrowseDatastore.
TheDatastoreBrowserdialogboxisdisplayed.
2 Navigatetothevirtualmachineortemplatethatyouwanttoaddtoinventory.
NOTETheRemovefromInventorycommandremovesthevirtualmachineonly
fromVirtualCenterinventory.Itdoesnotremovethevirtualmachinefromits
datastore.
CAUTIONThisproceduredeletesallthefilesfortheselectedvirtualmachine,including
theconfigurationfileandthevirtualdiskfiles.Ifothervirtualmachinessharedisks
withthevirtualmachineyouwanttodelete(target),removetheshareddisksfromthe
targetbeforedeletingit.SeeChangingtheHardwareConfigurationofaVirtual
Machineonpage 180.
VMware, Inc. 177
3 RightclickonthevirtualmachineortemplateandchooseAddtoInventory.
4 FollowthestepsintheAddtoInventorywizardtofinishaddingthevirtual
machineortemplate.
Starting and Shutting Down Virtual Machines
Youcanconfigureyourvirtualmachinetostartupandshutdownautomatically,oryou
candisablethisfunction.Youcanalsosetthedefaulttimingaswellasthestartuporder
forspecifiedvirtualmachineswhenthesystemhoststarts.
To configure virtual machine startup and shutdown
1 SelecttheInventorybutton.
2 Selectahostmachine.
3 ClicktheConfigurationtab.
Configurationinformationforthehostappears.
4 ClicktheVirtualMachineStartup/Shutdownlink.
Thevirtualmachinestartupandshutdowninformationappears.
178 VMware, Inc.
5 ClickProperties.
TheVirtualMachineStartupandShutdowndialogboxappears.
6 Ifyouwanttoallowvirtualmachinestostartandstopautomatically,clickthe
checkboxatthetopofthedialogboxandenteratimeinsecondsforthedefault
startupdelayandthedefaultshutdowndelay.
7 Ifyouwanttheoperatingsystemtostartafterabriefdelay,specifyadelaytimein
theDefaultStartupDelaybox.
ThisallowstimeforVMwareToolsorthebootingsystemtorunscripts.
8 Clickthecheckboxifyouwanttheoperatingsystemtobootimmediatelyafter
VMwareToolsstarts.
9 Next,specifytheorderinwhichthevirtualmachinesstartwhenthesystemstarts.
UsetheMoveUp,MoveDown,andEditbuttonstorearrangethevirtual
machinesinthedisplay.
VirtualmachineslistedunderManualStartupdonotautomaticallystartuporshut
down.Inordertoautomaticallystartuporshutdownavirtualmachine,youmust
moveitsothatitislistedundereitherAutomaticStartuporAnyOrder.
Thevirtualmachinesarestoppedinreverseorder.
10 ClickOKtoexitthedialogboxwhenyouarethroughchangingthesystem
settings.
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12
ThischapterdescribestheVirtualMachinePropertieseditorandtheAddHardware
wizard.Theseallowyoutoeditandconfigureyourvirtualmachines.Italsodiscusses
advancedvirtualmachineconfigurationoptions.Theseactivitiescanbeperformed
duringthevirtualmachinecreationprocessorafteryoucreatethevirtualmachineand
installtheguestoperatingsystem.Someoperationscanbeperformedwhilethevirtual
machineispoweredon;othersonlywhenthevirtualmachineispoweredoff.This
chapteralsodescribeslegacyvirtualmachinesandhowtoupgradethemtothecurrent
virtualmachinehardwareversion.Youmusthavesufficientpermissiontoperformthe
activitiesdescribedinthischapter.
VirtualMachinePropertiesEditoronpage 179
AddingNewHardwareonpage 196
LegacyVirtualMachinesonpage 201
UpgradingVirtualHardwareonpage 202
Virtual Machine Properties Editor
TheVirtualMachinePropertiesEditorallowsyoutochangenearlyeverycharacteristic
thatyouchoosewhenyoucreatedthevirtualmachine.Thissectiondescribeshowto
usethiseditor.
To edit an existing virtual machine configuration
1 FromtheVIClient,clickInventoryinthenavigationbar.
2 Expandtheinventoryasneeded,andselectthevirtualmachineyouwanttoedit.
Configuring Virtual
Machines 12
180 VMware, Inc.
3 (Optional)Poweroffthevirtualmachine.
Mostofthepropertiesofavirtualmachinecanbechangedonlywhileitispowered
off,butyoucanopenthepropertieseditorregardlessofthepowerstate.Manyof
thecontrolsarereadonlyifthevirtualmachineisnotpoweredoff.
4 TodisplaytheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialogbox,clicktheEditSettingslinkin
theCommandspanel.
TheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialogboxisdisplayed.Therearethreetabs:
Hardware,Options,andResources.
5 Selectatabandproceedtooneofthefollowingsections:
ChangingtheHardwareConfigurationofaVirtualMachineonpage 180
ChangingVirtualMachineOptionsonpage 186
ChangingVirtualMachineResourceSettingsonpage 192
Changing the Hardware Configuration of a Virtual Machine
Thissectiondescribeshowtochangetheconfigurationofexistingvirtualhardware
devicesinavirtualmachine.
Youcanadd,edit,orremovehardwarefromyourvirtualmachineusingthiswizard.
Thestatusofthedevice,suchaseditedoradding,isdisplayedinparenthesesnextto
thehardwarelisting.Theselectedguestoperatingsystemdeterminesthedevicesthat
areavailabletobeaddedtoagivenvirtualmachine.Thedevicesthatcanbeaddedare:
Serialport
Parallelport
Floppydrive
DVD/CDROMdrive
Ethernetadapter
Harddisk
SCSIdevice
To change the DVD/CD-ROM drive configuration
1 ClicktheHardwaretab.
2 ClicktheDVD/CDROMdriveintheHardwarelist.
3 Makechangesasneededtothedevicestatus,connection,orvirtualdevicenodefor
thevirtualmachinetouse.
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Chapter 12 Configuring Virtual Machines
4 IfyoudonotwanttheCDROMdriveconnectedwhenthevirtualmachinestarts,
deselectConnectatpoweron.
5 SelecttheUsephysicaldriveradiobuttontoconnectthevirtualmachinesdriveto
aphysicaldriveonthehostcomputer.
YoucanaccessaclientCDROMdeviceorhostCDROMdevice.Therearetwo
typesofDVD/CDROMaccess:
a UsePassthrough(raw)modeonlyforremoteclientdeviceaccess.
b UseATAPIemulationtoaccessahostCDROMdevice.
ThelocalorhostCDROMdeviceisaccessedthroughemulationmode.
PassthroughmodeisnotfunctionalforlocalhostCDROMaccess.Youcan
writeorburnaremoteCDonlythroughpassthroughmodeaccess,butin
emulationmodeyoucanonlyreadaCDROMfromahostCDROMdevice.
6 Ifyouelectedtouseaphysicaldrive,choosethedrivetousefromthedropdown
list.
7 Alternatively,selectUseISOImagetoconnectthevirtualmachinesdrivetoan
ISOimagefile.
8 IfyouselectedUseISOImage,clickBrowsetonavigatetothefile.
9 UnderVirtualdevicenode,usethedropdownmenutochoosethedevicenodethe
driveusesinthevirtualmachine.
10 ClickOKtosaveyourchangesandclosethedialogbox.
To change the floppy drive configuration
2 ClickthefloppydriveintheDevicelist.
3 UnderDeviceStatus,selectConnectatpowerontoconnectthisvirtualmachine
tothefloppydrivewhenthevirtualmachineispoweredon.
4 UnderConnection,selectUsephysicaldrivetouseaphysicaldrive,choose
Client orHost,andchoosethedrivefromthelist.
5 Touseafloppyimage,selectUseexistingfloppyImageorCreateanewfloppy
image,andbrowsetothefloppyimage.
182 VMware, Inc.
To change the SCSI device configuration
2 SelecttheSCSIdeviceinthehardwarelist.
3 ToconnectthisvirtualmachinetotheserversSCSIdevicewhenthevirtual
machineispoweredon,selectConnectatpoweron.
4 UnderConnection,selectthephysicaldeviceyouwanttouse.
UnderVirtualdevicenode,selectthevirtualdevicenodewhereyouwantthis
devicetoappearinthevirtualmachine.
To change the virtual disk configuration
Youcanadddisksandextenddisksevenwhilethevirtualmachineisrunning.
To changediskmode,thevirtualmachinemustbepoweredoff.
2 ClicktheappropriateHardDiskintheHardwarelist.
3 Ifthevirtualmachineispoweredon,youcandoanyofthefollowing:
Changedisksize.
Addnewdisk.
4 Ifthevirtualmachineispoweredoff,youcandoanyofthefollowing:
Changedisksize.
Addnewdisk.
Changethevirtualdevicenode.
TurnonoroffIndependentmode.DisksrunninginIndependentmodeare
unaffectedbysnapshots.ChoosePersistentorNonpersistentmodeto
determinethepersistenceofchanges.
NOTETheManagePathsfeatureforRDMdisksisnotavailableforvirtualmachines
onlegacyhostsrunningversionsofESXServerpriortorelease3.0.
VMware, Inc. 183
To change the memory configuration
2 ClickMemoryintheHardwarelist.
3 Adjusttheamountofmemoryallocatedtothevirtualmachine.
(SEEUPDATE)Therangeofmemorysupportedis128MBto16384MBandisnot
limitedtothephysicalmemoryofthehostwherethevirtualmachineresides.
To change the virtual Ethernet adapter (NIC) configuration
2 ClicktheappropriateNICintheHardwarelist.
3 ToconnectthevirtualNICwhenthevirtualmachineispoweredon,select
Connect atpoweron.
4 UnderNetworkconnection,usethedropdownmenutochoosethenetworklabel
youwantthevirtualmachinetouse.
To change the parallel port configuration
2 ClicktheappropriateParallelportintheHardwarelist.
3 DeselecttheConnectatpoweroncheckboxifyoudonotwanttheparallelport
devicetobeconnectedwhenthevirtualmachinepowerson.
ThedefaultsettingisConnectatpoweron.
4 UnderConnection,selectaradiobuttontoindicateaphysicalparallelportorto
connectthevirtualparallelporttoafile.
a IfyouselectUsephysicalparallelport,choosetheportfromthedropdown
menu.
b IfyouselectUseoutputfile,browsetothefilelocation.
184 VMware, Inc.
To change the SCSI controller configuration
YoucanchangetheSCSIcontrollerconfigurationforavirtualmachineonan
ESX Serverhostonly.
YoucanalsospecifywhethertheSCSIbusisshared.Dependingonthetypeofsharing,
virtualmachinescanaccessthesamevirtualdisksimultaneouslyonthesameserveror
anyserver.
2 ClicktheappropriateSCSIControllerintheDevicelist.
3 SelecttheSCSIcontrollertypeinthelist.
4 SelectthetypeofsharingintheSCSIBusSharinglist:
NoneVirtualdiskscannotbesharedbyothervirtualmachines.
VirtualVirtualdiskscanbesharedbyvirtualmachinesonsameserver.
PhysicalVirtualdiskscanbesharedbyvirtualmachinesonanyserver.
To change the serial port configuration (SEEUPDATE)
2 ClicktheappropriateSerialportintheHardwarelist.
3 IfyouselectedUsephysicalserialport,usethedropdownmenutochoosetheport
onthehostcomputerthatyouwanttouseforthisserialconnection.
4 IfyouselectedUseoutputfile,browsetothelocationofthefileonthehostthat
youwanttousetostoretheoutputofthevirtualserialport.
CAUTIONChangingtheSCSIcontrollertypemightresultinavirtualmachineboot
failure.
CAUTIONChangingtheSCSIcontrollertypemightresultinavirtualmachine
bootfailure.
VMware, Inc. 185
5 IfyouselectedUsenamedpipe,usethedefaultpipenameorenteranotherpipe
nameofyourchoiceinthePipeNamelist.
ForaserialpipeforavirtualmachineonanESXServerhostforLinuxhost,enter
/tmp/<socket>oranotherUNIXsocketnameofyourchoice.
Thendecidewhetheryouareconnectingtwovirtualmachinesorconnectinga
virtualmachinetoanapplicationonthehost.
6 Ifyouareconnectingtwovirtualmachines,youmustconfigureaserialportasa
namedpipeintwovirtualmachines:aservervirtualmachineandaclientvirtual
machine.
a Fortheservervirtualmachine,selectServerintheNearendlist.
b Fortheclientvirtualmachine,selectClientintheNearendlist.
c SelectAvirtualmachineintheFarendlist.
7 Ifyouareconnectingtoanapplicationonthehost,dothefollowing:
a SelectServerorClientintheNearendlist.Ingeneral,selectServerifyouplan
tostartthisendoftheconnectionfirst.
b SelectAnapplicationintheFarendlist.
Bydefault,theserialportisconnectedwhenyoupoweronthevirtualmachine.
YoumightdeselecttheConnectatpoweroncheckbox(optional).
8 UnderI/OMode,decidewhethertoconfigurethisserialporttouseinterrupt
modeorpolledmode.
Polledmodeisofinterestprimarilytodeveloperswhoareusingdebuggingtools
thatcommunicateoveraserialconnection.
Polledmodecausesthevirtualmachinetoconsumeadisproportionateshareof
processor(orCPU)time.Thismakesthehostandotherguestsrunsluggishly.To
maintainbestperformanceforapplicationsonthehost,selecttheYieldCPUon
pollcheckbox.Thisforcestheaffectedvirtualmachinetouseinterruptmode,
whichyieldsprocessor(orCPU)timeiftheonlytaskitistryingtodoispollthe
virtualserialport.
186 VMware, Inc.
To change the virtual processor or CPU configuration
IfthevirtualmachineisonanESXServerhostandyouhaveVirtualSMPfor
ESX Server,whichsupportssymetricmultiprocessors(SMP),youcanconfigurea
virtualmachinetohaveuptofourvirtualprocessorsorCPUs.VirtualSMPcanuse
twowayorfourwaySMP.VirtualmachinescannothavemorevirtualCPUsthanthe
actualnumberoflogicalCPUsonthehostthatis,thenumberofphysicalprocessor
coresifhyperthreadingisdisabledortwotimesthenumberofphysicalprocessorcores
ifhyperthreadingisenabled.FormoreinformationaboutusingSMP,consultthe
VMwareKnowledgeBase.
2 ClickVirtualProcessororCPUintheHardwarelist.
3 Selectthenumberofvirtualprocessorsforthevirtualmachine.
YoumusthaveVMwareVirtualSMPforESXServerifyouwantmorethanone
virtualprocessororCPUforthevirtualmachine.IfyoudonothaveVMware
VirtualSMPforESXServer,thevirtualmachinecanhaveonlyonevirtual
processororCPU.
Changing Virtual Machine Options
YoucanchangethefollowingsettingsintheOptionstab:
GeneralOptionsVirtualmachinedisplaynameandtypeofguestoperating
system.(Readonly)locationofvirtualmachineanditsconfigurationfile.
VMwareToolsPowerControlsbehavior,VMwareToolsscriptsandautomatic
updates.
PowerManagementVirtualmachineSuspendbehavior.
Advanced>GeneralAcceleration,logging,debuggingandstatistics.
Advanced>CPUIDMaskNxflagandadvancedidentificationmaskoptions.
Advanced>BootOptionsVirtualmachinebootoptions.
Advanced>ParavirtualizationVMIparavirtualizationenablement.
NOTENotallguestoperatingsystemssupportSMP,andsomethatdorequire
reinstallationifthenumberofCPUschanges.
(SEEUPDATE)Changingthenumberofprocessorsanimportedvirtualmachineusesis
notsupported.
VMware, Inc. 187
Advanced>FibreChannelNPIVVirtualnodeandportworldwide
names (WWNs).
Advanced>VirtualizedMMUSettingsforenablingHardwarePageTable
Virtualization.
Advanced>SwapfileLocationSwapfilelocation.
To change general settings
1 ClicktheOptionstab.
2 SelectGeneralOptionsintheSettingslist.
ThevirtualmachinenameisdisplayedintheVirtualmachinenamefield.
Changingthenamedoesnotchangethenameofanyvirtualmachinefilesorthe
associateddirectory.
3 Selectanoperatingsystemandversion.
To change VMware Tools options
2 SelectVMwareToolsintheSettingslist.
Thestopbuttononthetoolbarcanbeconfiguredtopoweroffthevirtualmachine,
shutdowntheguestoperatingsystem,orusethesystemdefault.Thepausebutton
onthetoolbarcanbeconfiguredtosuspendthevirtualmachineorusethesystem
default.Theresetbuttononthetoolbarcanbeconfiguredtoresetthevirtual
machine,restarttheguestoperatingsystem,orusethesystemdefault.
3 SelecttheactionsyouwantfromthedropdownmenusunderPowerControls.
4 (Optional)ConfigureVMwareToolsscriptstorunwhenyouchangethevirtual
machinespowerstatebyselectingoptionsunderRunVMwareToolsscripts.
5 (Optional)ConfigureVMwareToolstocheckforandinstallupdatesbeforeeach
poweronbyselectingtheCheckandupgradeToolsbeforeeachpoweronoption
underAutomaticVMwareToolsUpgrade.
NOTEVMwareToolsoptionscannotbechangedwhilethevirtualmachineis
poweredon.
NOTEForESXServervirtualmachines,therearenoscriptsforresumingand
suspendingvirtualmachines.
188 VMware, Inc.
6 (Optional)Configuretheguestoperatingsystemtosynchronizetimewiththehost
byselectingtheSynchronizeguesttimewithhostoption.
To change power management settings
2 SelectPowerManagementintheSettingslist.
GuestPowerManagementallowsyoutodeterminehowthevirtualmachine
respondswhentheguestoperatingsystemisplacedonstandby.
3 UnderGuestPowerManagement,selecteitherSuspendthevirtualmachineor
Puttheguestoperatingsysteminstandbymodeandleavethevirtualmachine
poweredon.
4 (Optional)Ifyouchosetoleavethevirtualmachineon,selectWakeonLANfor
virtualmachinetrafficonyourvirtualmachinenetworkbyselectingthecheck
box.
NotallguestoperatingsystemssupportWakeonLAN.Onlythefollowingtypes
ofNICssupportWakeonLAN:
Flexible(VMwareToolsrequired).
vmxnet
Enhancedvmxnet
Optionsaredisablediftheyarenotsupported.
To change advanced virtual machine settings
2 SelectAdvanced>GeneralintheSettingslist.
a Todisableacceleration,selecttheDisableaccelerationcheckbox.
Youcanenableanddisableaccelerationwhilethevirtualmachineisrunning.
Inrareinstances,youmightfindthatwhenyouinstallorrunsoftwareinside
avirtualmachine,thevirtualmachineappearstohang.Generally,the
problemoccursearlyintheprogramsexecution.Inmanycases,youcanget
pasttheproblembytemporarilydisablingaccelerationinthevirtualmachine.
VMware, Inc. 189
Thissettingslowsdownvirtualmachineperformance,souseitonlyfor
gettingpasttheproblemwithrunningtheprogram.Aftertheprogramstops
encounteringproblems,deselectDisableacceleration.Youmightthenbeable
toruntheprogramwithacceleration.
b Toenableloggingmode,selecttheEnableloggingcheckbox.
c Toenabledebuggingmode,selectanoptionfromtheDebuggingand
Statisticssection.Debugginginformationandstatisticscanbehelpfulto
VMwaretechnicalsupportinresolvingissues.
d Tosetadvancedconfigurationparameters,clickConfigurationParameters.
Generally,youshouldonlychangethesesettingsifyouintendtouse
experimentalfeaturesorwheninstructedtodosobyaVMwaretechnical
supportrepresentative.
3 SelectAdvanced>CPUIDMask.
a SpecifywhetheryouwanttohidethehostsCPUNxflagfromtheguest
operatingsystem.
HidingtheNxflagpreventstheguestoperatingsystemfrommakinguseof
thisCPUfeature,butenablesthevirtualmachinetobemovedtohoststhatdo
notincludetheNxfeature.WhentheNxflagisvisible,theguestoperating
systemcanmakeuseofthefeature,butthevirtualmachinecanbemovedonly
tohostswiththeNxcapability.
b ClickAdvancedtoaccesstheCPUIdentificationMaskdialogbox.An
explanationofthesymbolsinthisdialogboxisavailablebyclickingLegend.
4 SelectAdvanced>BootOptions.
a Specifythedurationinmillisecondsyouwanttodelayenteringtheboot
sequencewhenthevirtualmachineispoweredonorrestarted.
b SelecttheoptionunderForceBIOSSetuptohavethevirtualmachineenter
BIOSsetupwhenitboots.
TheseoptionsareusefulwhenyouneedtoenterthevirtualmachinesBIOS
setupbecausesometimestheconsoleattachestothevirtualmachineafterthe
bootsequencepassesthepointwhereyoucanenterBIOS.
NOTEThevirtualmachinemustbepoweredoffbeforeyoucanchange
this setting.
190 VMware, Inc.
5 SelectAdvanced>Paravirtualization.SelectSupportVMIParavirtualizationto
enableVMIParavirtualizationtoenableit,ordeselectittodisablethisfeature.
VMIisaparavirtualizationstandardthatenablesimprovedperformanceforvirtual
machinescapableofutilizingit.Currently,thisfeatureisavailableonlyforthose
versionsoftheLinuxguestoperatingsystemwhichsupportVMIparavirtualization.
6 SelectAdvanced>FibreChannelNPIVSettings.
NportIDvirtualization(NPIV)providestheabilitytoshareasinglephysicalFibre
ChannelHBAportamongmultiplevirtualports,eachwithuniqueidentifiers.This
allowscontrolovervirtualmachineaccesstoLUNsonapervirtualmachinebasis.
Eachvirtualportisidentifiedbyapairofworldwidenames(WWNs):aworld
wideportname(WWPN)andaworldwidenodename(WWNN).TheseWWNs
areassignedbytheVirtualCenterServer.
NPIVsupportissubjecttothefollowinglimitations:
NPIVmustbeenabledontheSANswitch.Contacttheswitchvendorfor
informationaboutenablingNPIVontheirdevices.
NPIVissupportedonlyforvirtualmachineswithRDMdisks.Virtual
machineswithregularvirtualdiskscontinuetousetheWWNsofthehosts
physicalHBAs.
NOTEEnablingparavirtualizationutilizesoneofthevirtualmachinessixvirtual
PCIslots.Also,enablingparavirtualizationcanlimithowandwherethevirtual
machinecanbemigrated.Considerthefollowingbeforeenablingthisfeature:
ThesehostssupportVMIparavirtualization:ESXServer3.5andgreater,
ESX Server3iversion3.5andgreater,andWorkstation6.0andgreater.
Hardwareversion4virtualmachineswithparavirtualizationenabledthatare
createdonESXServerhostscanbemigratedtoVMwareServerand
Workstationhostswithoutlossoffunctionality.
Avirtualmachinewithparavirtualizationenabledandthatispoweredoffcan
bemovedmanuallytoahostthatdoesnotsupportparavirtualization.
However,thiscanresultinreducedperformance.
Avirtualmachinewithparavirtualizationenabledandthatispoweredonor
inasuspendedpowerstatecannotbemigratedtoahostthatdoesnotsupport
paravirtualization.
AutomatedVirtualCenterDRSmigrationsofvirtualmachineswith
paravirtualizationenabledtohoststhatdonotsupportparavirutualization
arenotallowed.
VMware, Inc. 191
ThephysicalHBAsontheESXServerhostmusthaveaccesstoaLUNusing
itsWWNsinorderforanyvirtualmachinesonthathosttohaveaccesstothat
LUNusingtheirNPIVWWNs.Ensurethataccessisprovidedtoboththehost
andthevirtualmachines.
ThephysicalHBAsontheESXServerhostmustsupportNPIV.Ifthephysical
HBAsdonotsupportNPIV,thevirtualmachinesrunningonthathostwillfall
backtousingtheWWNsofthehostsphysicalHBAsforLUNaccess.
Eachvirtualmachinecanhaveupto4virtualports.NPIVenabledvirtual
machinesareassignedexactly4NPIVrelatedWWNs,whichareusedto
communicatewithphysicalHBAsthroughvirtualports.Therefore,virtual
machinescanutilizeupto4physicalHBAsforNPIVpurposes.
TovieworeditavirtualmachinesWWNs:
a ToeditthevirtualmachinesWWNs,poweroffthevirtualmachine.
b EnsurethatthevirtualmachinehasadatastorecontainingaLUNthathas
beenmadeavailabletothehost.
c SelecttheOptionstab.
d SelectFibreChannelNPIV.
e CurrentlyassignedWWNsaredisplayedintheWWNAssignmentsbox.
f Dooneofthefollowing:
ToleaveWWNsunchanged,selectLeaveunchanged.
TohaveVirtualCenterortheESXServerhostgeneratenewWWNs,select
GenerateNewWWNs.
ToremovethecurrentWWNassignments,selectRemoveWWN
assignment.
g ClickOKtosaveyourchangesandclosethedialogbox.
ProvidetheWWNassignmentstoyourSANadministrator.Theadministrator
needsthoseassignmentstoconfigurevirtualmachineaccesstotheLUN.Formore
informationonhowtoconfigureanvirtualmachinetouseNPIV,seethe
ESX Server3ConfigurationGuideorESXServer3iConfigurationGuide.
NOTEAvirtualmachinewithWWNsthatarealreadyinuseonthestorage
networkispreventedfrompoweringon.Tosolvethisissue,generatenewWWNs
orremovethem.
192 VMware, Inc.
7 SelectAdvanced>VirtualizedMMUandspecifywhethertodisablethefeature,
alwaysusethefeaturewhereavailable,orhavethehostsystemdeterminewhether
thefeatureshouldbeused.
8 SelectAdvanced>SwapfileLocation.
Chooseoneofthefollowingoptions:
DefaultStorethevirtualmachineswapfileatthedefaultlocationdefined
bythehostorclusterswapfilesettings.SeeHostConfigurationforESX
ServerandVirtualCenteronpage 69formoreinformationonhostswapfile
settings.SeetheResourceManagementGuideformoreinformationoncluster
settings.
AlwaysstorewiththevirtualmachineStorethevirtualmachineswapfile
inthesamefolderasthevirtualmachineconfigurationfile.
StoreinthehostsswapfiledatastoreStorethevirtualmachineswapfilein
theswapfiledatastoredefinedbythehostorclusterswapfilesettings.
Changing Virtual Machine Resource Settings
IntheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialogbox,youcanadjustthehostresource
allocationfortheselectedvirtualmachine.YoucanchangeCPU,memory,disk,and
advancedCPUresourcesfromthistab.
Formoreinformationonresources,seetheResourceManagementGuide.
CPU Resources
TheCPUResourcespanelletsyouallocateprocessorresourcesforavirtualmachine,
specifyingreservations,limits,andshares.Youcaneditsomeofthesameinformation
ontheResourcePoolstabofthemainVIClientwindow,whichyoumightdotoedit
resourcesettingsatthesametimeyoueditedothervirtualmachinesettings.
To change CPU settings
1 ClicktheResourcestab.
2 SelectCPUintheSettingslist.
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3 Selectasharesvalue,whichrepresentsarelativemetricforallocatingCPU
capacity.
SharesThevaluesLow,Normal,High,andCustomarecomparedtothe
sumofallsharesofallvirtualmachinesontheserverand,onESXServer3
hosts,theserviceconsole.Shareallocationsymbolicvaluescanbeusedto
configuretheirconversionintonumericvalues.
ReservationGuaranteedCPUallocationforthisvirtualmachine.
LimitUpperlimitforthisvirtualmachinesCPUallocation.Select
Unlimitedtospecifynoupperlimit.
Formoreinformationonsharevalues,seetheResourceManagementGuide.
TheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialogboxcloses.
Advanced CPU Settings
TheAdvancedCPUResourcespanelletsyousetlowleveloptionsthatinvolve
schedulingthevirtualmachineprocessingtophysicalprocessorcoresand
hyperthreads.ThispaneldoesnotappearforvirtualmachinesinaDRSclusterorwhen
thehosthasonlyoneprocessorcoreandnohyperthreading.
VMwareESXServergenerallymanagesprocessorschedulingwell,evenwhen
hyperthreadingisenabled.Thesettingsonthispageareusefulonlyforfinegrained
tweakingofcriticalvirtualmachines.
TheHyperthreadingSharingoptionprovidesdetailedcontroloverwhetheravirtual
machineshouldbescheduledtoshareaphysicalprocessorcore(assuming
hyperthreadingisenabledonthehostatall).
TheSchedulingAffinityoptionallowsfinegrainedcontroloverhowvirtualmachine
CPUsaredistributedacrossthehostsphysicalcores(andhyperthreadsif
hyperthreadingisenabled).
NOTEHyperthreadingtechnologyallowsasinglephysicalprocessortobehavelike
twologicalprocessors.Theprocessorcanruntwoindependentapplicationsatthesame
time.Whilehyperthreadingdoesnotdoubletheperformanceofasystem,itcan
increaseperformancebybetterutilizingidleresources.Fordetailedinformationabout
hyperthreadinganditsuseinVMwareInfrastructure,seetheResourceManagement
Guide(chooseHelp>Manuals).
194 VMware, Inc.
To change Advanced CPU settings
2 SelectAdvancedCPUintheSettingslist.
3 ChooseHyperthreadingSharingModefromthedropdownmenu.Theoptionsare:
Any(default)ThevirtualCPUsofthisvirtualmachinecanfreelysharecores
withothervirtualCPUsofthisorothervirtualmachines.
NoneThevirtualCPUsofthisvirtualmachinehaveexclusiveuseofa
processorcorewhenevertheyarescheduledtoit.Theotherhyperthreadof
thecoreishaltedwhilethisvirtualmachineisusingthecore.
InternalOnavirtualmachinewithexactlytwovirtualprocessors,thetwo
virtualprocessorsareallowedtoshareonephysicalcore(atthediscretionof
theESXServerscheduler),butthisvirtualmachineneversharesacorewith
anyothervirtualmachine.Ifthisvirtualmachinehasanyothernumberof
processorsotherthantwo,thissettingisthesameastheNonesetting.
4 ChoosetoscheduleaffinitybyselectingtheRunonprocessor(s)radiobutton.
Thecheckboxesfortheindividualprocessorsrepresentphysicalcoresif
hyperthreadingisdisabledorlogicalcores(twoperphysicalcore)if
hyperthreadingisenabled.Checkingalltheboxesisthesameasnotapplyingany
affinity.Youmustprovideatleastasmanyprocessoraffinitiesasthenumberof
virtualCPUsinthevirtualmachine.
Memory Resources
TheMemoryResourcespanelletsyouallocatememoryresourcesforavirtualmachine
andspecifyreservations,limits,andshares.Youcaneditsomeofthesameinformation
ontheResourcePoolstabofthemainVIClientwindow,whichyoumightdotoedit
resourcesettingsatthesametimeasothervirtualmachinesettings.
NOTEThisoptionisnotallowedwhenthevirtualmachineresidesonaDRS
cluster,anditsvaluesareclearedwhenavirtualmachineismigratedtoanewhost.
Thevalueoftheoptionisonlyintuningtheperformanceofaprecisesetofvirtual
machinesonthesamehost.
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To change memory settings
2 SelectMemoryintheSettingslist.
3 FromthedropdownmenuintheResourceallocationpanel,choosearelative
metricforallocatingmemorytoallvirtualmachines.
SymbolicvaluesLow,Normal,High,andCustomarecomparedtothesumofall
sharesofallvirtualmachinesontheserverand,onanESXServer3host,theservice
console.Shareallocationsymbolicvaluescanbeusedtoconfiguretheirconversion
intonumericvalues.
4 IntheResourceallocationpanel,usetheslidertoselecttheamountofreserved
memoryandthememorylimit,orusetheupanddownarrowstoenterthe
numberofMBsallocated.
Formoreinformationonmemoryvalues,seethememmanpage.
Advanced Memory Resources
TheAdvancedMemoryResourcespageletsyousetlowleveloptionsthatinvolve
distributionofvirtualmachinememorytoNUMAmemorynodes.
ThispageisdisplayedonlyifthehostutilizestheNUMAmemoryarchitecture.
Becauseaffinitysettingsaremeaningfulonlywhenusedtotweaktheperformanceofa
specificsetofvirtualmachinesononehost,thispagealsoisnotdisplayedwhenthe
virtualmachineresidesonaDRScluster.Theoptionvaluesareclearedwhenthevirtual
machineismovedtoanewhost.
NUMAmemorynodeaffinityenablesfinegrainedcontroloverhowvirtualmachine
memoryisdistributedtohostphysicalmemory.Checkingalltheboxesisthesameas
applyingnoaffinity.
ConsulttheResourceManagementGuidefordetailsaboutNUMAandadvanced
memoryresources.
NOTESpecifynodestobeusedforfuturememoryallocationsonlyifyouhavealso
specifiedCPUaffinity.Ifyoumakemanualchangesonlytothememoryaffinity
settings,automaticNUMArebalancingdoesnotworkproperly.
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To associate memory allocations with a NUMA node
1 SelecttheResourcestab,andchooseMemory.
2 IntheNUMAMemoryAffinitypanel,setmemoryaffinity.
Disk Resources
TheDiskResourcespanelletsyouallocatehostdiskI/Obandwidthtothevirtualhard
disksofthisvirtualmachine.DiskI/Oisahostcentricresourceandcannotbepooled
acrossacluster.However,CPUandmemoryresourcesaremuchmorelikelyto
constrainvirtualmachineperformancethandiskresources.
To change disk settings
2 SelectDiskintheSettingslist.
Onthisdialogbox,youcanadjustthehostdiskallocationforthisvirtualmachine.
3 IntheResourceAllocationpanel,selectthevirtualharddiskfromthelist.
4 ClickintheSharesfield.Usethedropdownmenutochangethevaluetoallocate
anumberofsharesofitsdiskbandwidthtothevirtualmachine.
Sharesisavaluethatrepresentstherelativemetricforcontrollingdiskbandwidth
toallvirtualmachines.ThevaluesLow,Normal,High,andCustomarecompared
tothesumofallsharesofallvirtualmachinesontheserverand,onanESXServer3
host,theserviceconsole.Shareallocationsymbolicvaluescanbeusedtoconfigure
theirconversionintonumericvalues.
Adding New Hardware
YoucanaddvirtualhardwaretoavirtualmachineusingtheAddHardwarewizard.
ThevirtualhardwarethatyouaddappearsinthehardwarelistdisplayedintheVirtual
MachinePropertieswizard.Theselectedguestoperatingsystemdeterminesthe
devicesthatareavailabletobeaddedtoagivenvirtualmachine.
To start the wizard
1 FromtheVirtualCenterclient,clickInventoryinthenavigationbar.Expandthe
inventoryasneeded,andclicktheappropriatevirtualmachine.
2 TodisplaytheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialogbox,clicktheEditSettingslink
intheCommandspanel.
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4 ClickAddtostarttheAddHardwarewizard.
Followthestepsinthefollowingsectionstoaddvarioustypesofvirtualhardware
toyourvirtualmachine.
To add a serial port
1 StarttheAddHardwarewizard.
2 SelectSerialPort,andclickNext.
3 Selectthetypeofmediayouwantthevirtualporttoaccess:useaphysicalserial
portonthehost,outputtoafile,orconnecttoanamedpipe.
4 ClickNext.
5 IfyouselectedUsephysicalserialportonthehost,usethedropdownmenuto
choosetheportonthehostcomputerthatyouwanttouseforthisserial
connection.
6 IfyouselectedOutputtofile,browsetothefileonthehostthatyouwanttouseto
storetheoutputofthevirtualserialport.
7 IfyouselectedConnecttonamedpipe,enterapipenameinthePipeNamefield
andusethedropdownmenustochoosethenearandfarendsofthepipe.
Theoptionsforthenearendareclientorserver.Theoptionsforthefarendarea
processoravirtualmachine.
Bydefault,theserialportisconnectedwhenyoupoweronthevirtualmachine.
8 (Optional)DeselecttheConnectatpoweroncheckboxifyoudonotwantthe
serialporttoconnectwhenthevirtualmachineispoweredon.
9 (Optional)DeselecttheI/OmodeYieldCPUonpollcheckboxifyouwantto
configurethisserialporttouseinterruptmodeasopposedtopolledmode.
Polledmodeisofinterestprimarilytodeveloperswhoareusingdebuggingtools
thatcommunicateoveraserialconnection.Polledmodecausesthevirtualmachine
toconsumeadisproportionateshareofCPUtime.Thismakesthehostandother
guestsrunsluggishly.
10 (Optional)Tomaintainbestperformanceforapplicationsonthehost,selectthe
YieldCPUonpollcheckbox.
Thisforcestheaffectedvirtualmachinetouseinterruptmode,whichyieldsCPU
timeiftheonlytaskitistryingtodoispollthevirtualserialport.
11 ReviewtheinformationontheReadytoCompletewindow,andclickFinish.
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To add a parallel port
2 SelectParallelPort,andclickNext.
3 SelectphysicalparallelportonthehostorOutputtofile.
4 ClickNext.
5 IfyouselectedUsephysicalparallelportonthehost,choosetheportfromthe
dropdownmenu.IfyouselectedOutputtofile,browsetothelocationofthefile.
6 UnderDevicestatus,deselecttheConnectatpoweroncheckboxifyoudonot
wanttheparallelportdevicetobeconnectedwhenthevirtualmachinepowerson.
7 ClickNext.
To add a DVD/CD-ROM drive
2 SelectDVD/CDROMDrive,andclickNext.
3 SelecteitherUsephysicaldriveorUseISOimage.
a IfyouselectedUsephysicaldrive,selecteitherclientorhostasthedevice
location.Choosethedriveyouwanttousefromthedropdownmenu.
Selectpassthroughandusethecheckboxtoindicatewhethertoconnect
exclusivelytothevirtualmachine,orselectATAPIemulation.
b IfyouselectedUseISOImage,enterthepathandfilenamefortheimagefile,
orclickBrowsetonavigatetothefile.
4 IfyoudonotwanttheCDROMdriveconnectedwhenthevirtualmachinestarts,
deselectConnectatpoweron.
5 ClickNext.
6 Specifythevirtualdevicenodethedriveusesinthevirtualmachine,andclick
Next.
7 ReviewtheinformationontheReadytoCompletewindow,andclickFinishor
Backifyouwanttochangeanyinformation.
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To add a floppy drive
2 SelectFloppyDrive,andclickNext.
3 Selectthetypeoffloppymediatouse:
Aphysicalfloppydrivetogivetheguestaccesstothefloppyonthehost.
Afloppyimage,whichisafileonthehostthatstoresdatainthesameformat
asaphysicalfloppydisk.
Ablankfloppyimagetocreateanduseablankfloppyimage.
4 ClickNext.
5 IfyouselectedUseaphysicalfloppydrive,selecteitherclientorhostasthedevice
locationandchoosethedrivefromthedropdownmenu.
a IfyouselectedUseafloppyimage,browsetothefloppyimage.
b IfyouselectedCreateablankfloppyimage,browsetothefloppyimage.
6 Tohavethefloppydriveconnectedtothevirtualmachinewhenyoupoweriton,
selectConnectatpoweron.
7 ClickNext.
To add an Ethernet adapter (NIC)
2 SelectEthernetAdapter,andclickNext.
3 IntheNetworkconnectionpanel,chooseeitheranamednetworkwithaspecified
labeloralegacynetwork.
4 ToconnectthevirtualNICwhenthevirtualmachineispoweredon,selectConnect
atpoweron.
5 Tocompletethewizard,clickFinish.
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To add a hard disk
2 SelectHardDisk,andclickNext.
3 Selectthetypeofstorageforthevirtualmachinesdisk,andclickNext.
Youcanstorevirtualmachinedatainanewvirtualdisk,anexistingvirtualdisk,
oraMappedSANLUN.Avirtualdisk,whichappearsasasingleharddisktothe
guestoperatingsystem,iscomposedofoneormorefilesonthehostfilesystem.
Virtualdiskscaneasilybecopiedormovedonthesamehostorbetweenhosts.
4 IfyouselectedCreateanewvirtualdisk,dothefollowing:
a Enterthediskcapacity.
b SelectthelocationaseitherStorewiththevirtualmachineorSpecifya
datastore.
c IfyouselectedSpecifyadatastore,browseforthedatastorelocation,andclick
Next.ContinuewithStep 7.
5 Ifyouselectedanexistingdisk,browseforthediskfilepathandclickNext.
6 IfyouselectedMappedSANLUN:
a SelecttheLUNthatyouwanttousefortherawdisk,andclickNext.
b SelectadatastoreandclickNext.
c Selectthecompatibilitymode:physicaltoallowtheguestoperatingsystemto
accessthehardwaredirectlyorvirtualtoallowthevirtualmachinetouse
VMwaresnapshotsandotheradvancedfunctions.ClickNext.
7 Specifythevirtualdevicenode.
8 Setvirtualdiskmodeoptions:
a SelectIndependenttomakethediskindependent.Independentdisksarenot
affectedbysnapshots.
b IfyouselectedIndependent,selectoneofthetwomodesforindependent
disks:
PersistentThediskoperatesnormallyexceptthatchangestothedisk
arepermanentevenifthevirtualmachineisrevertedtoasnapshot.
NonpersistentThediskappearstooperatenormally,butwheneverthe
virtualmachineispoweredofforrevertedtoasnapshot,thecontentsof
thediskreturntotheiroriginalstate.Alllaterchangesarediscarded.
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9 ClickNext.
10 Reviewtheinformation,andclickFinish.
To add a SCSI device
2 SelectSCSIDevice,andclickNext.
3 UnderConnection,usethedropdownmenutochoosethephysicaldeviceyou
wanttouse.
4 ToconnectthisvirtualmachinetotheserversSCSIdevicewhenthevirtual
machineispoweredon,selectConnectatpoweron.
5 UnderVirtualdevicenode,selectthevirtualdevicenodewhereyouwantthis
devicetoappearinthevirtualmachine.
Youcanalsoselectthecheckboxtoindicatethatthevirtualdeviceissetupinthe
samewayasthephysicalunit.
6 ReviewtheinformationintheReadytoCompletewindow,andclickFinish.
Legacy Virtual Machines
VirtualmachinescreatedonanESXServer2.xhostcanrunonanESXServer3.xhost
inlegacymode.Thesevirtualmachinesuseanoldervirtualhardwareversionthanthat
supportedbyESXServer3.xandarereferredtoaslegacyvirtualmachines.Alegacy
virtualmachineisproducedbyanyofthefollowingoperations:
YoucreateavirtualmachineonanESXServer2.xhost,andthenmigrateittoan
ESXServer3.xhost.
YoucreateanewvirtualmachineonanESXServer3.xhostusinganexisting
virtualdiskthatwascreatedonanESXServer2.xhost.
YouaddavirtualdiskcreatedonanESXServer2.xhosttoanexistingnonlegacy
virtualmachine.
LegacyvirtualmachinescontinuetorunonESXServer3.xhosts,buthavereduced
performanceandcapabilities.Inparticular,youcannotaddorremovevirtualdevices
onlegacyvirtualmachines.Tomakefulluseofthesevirtualmachines,upgradethe
virtualhardwareasdescribedintheUpgradeGuide.
NOTEVirtualmachinescreatedonESXServer1.xhosts,orusingotherVMware
productssuchasVMwareWorkstation,mustbeconvertedtorunonESXServer3.x
hosts.SeetheVirtualMachineMobilityPlanningGuideformoreinformation.
202 VMware, Inc.
Upgrading Virtual Hardware
Toallowlegacyvirtualmachinestotakefulladvantageofthecapabilitiesofferedby
ESXServer3.x,youmustupgradetheirvirtualhardwaretothecurrentversion.See
LegacyVirtualMachinesonpage 201formoreinformation.Youcandetermine
whetheravirtualmachineneedstobeupgradedbydeterminingitshardwareversion.
To determine the virtual hardware version for a virtual machine
1 Selectthevirtualmachineintheinventory.
2 ClickEditSettings.
Thevirtualmachinehardwareversionisdisplayedatthetoprightcornerofthe
VirtualMachinePropertiesdialogbox.
To upgrade virtual hardware
1 FromtheVIClient,rightclickavirtualmachineintheinventory,andchoose
UpgradeVirtualHardwarefromthedropdownmenu.
Aconfirmationdialogboxappearswiththemessage,Thisoperationwillcause
thevirtualhardwareyourguestoperatingsystemrunsontochange.Itisan
irreversibleoperationthatwillmakeyourvirtualmachineincompatiblewith
earlierversionsoftheVMwaresoftwareproducts.Itisstronglyrecommendedthat
youmakeabackupcopyofyourdisk(s)beforeproceeding.Areyousureyouwant
toupgradeyourconfiguration?
2 ClickYes.
AprogressbarappearsintheRecentTaskspaneatthebottomoftheclient
window.
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13
Thischapterdescribescreatingtemplatesandcloningvirtualmachines.
UnderstandingTemplatesonpage 203
CreatingTemplatesonpage 204
EditingaTemplateonpage 206
DeployingVirtualMachinesfromTemplatesonpage 207
DeletingTemplatesonpage 209
RegainingTemplatesonpage 210
CloningVirtualMachinesonpage 210
CreatingaScheduledTasktoCloneaVirtualMachineonpage 212
Understanding Templates
Atemplateisamastercopyofavirtualmachinethatcanbeusedtocreateand
provisionnewvirtualmachines.Thisimagetypicallyincludesaspecifiedoperating
systemandconfigurationthatprovidesvirtualcounterpartstohardwarecomponents.
Typically,atemplateincludesaninstalledguestoperatingsystemandasetof
applications.
Working with Templates and
Clones 13
204 VMware, Inc.
Templatescoexistwithvirtualmachinesatanylevelwithinthetemplateandvirtual
machinedomain.Youcanordercollectionsofvirtualmachinesandtemplatesinto
arbitraryfoldersandapplyavarietyofpermissionstobothvirtualmachinesand
templates.Virtualmachinescanbetransformedintotemplateswithoutrequiringafull
copyofthevirtualmachinefilesandthecreationofanewobject.
Youcanusetemplatestocreatenewvirtualmachinesbydeployingthetemplateasa
virtualmachine.Whencomplete,thedeployedvirtualmachineisaddedtothefolder
chosenbytheuserwhenthetemplatewascreated.
Toviewtemplates,selectthedatacenterandselecttheVirtualMachinestab.Allvirtual
machinesandtemplatesforthedatacenterarevisiblefromhere.Virtualmachinesand
templateshavedifferenticons.
Creating Templates
Therearethreewaystocreateatemplate:
Usinganexistingvirtualmachineinplace.Thisprocessconvertstheoriginal
virtualmachine.
Cloningavirtualmachinetoatemplate.
Cloninganexistingtemplate.
Youdonotneedtopoweroffavirtualmachineinordertocloneittoatemplate.
virtual machine icon template icon
VMware, Inc. 205
Chapter 13 Working with Templates and Clones
To convert an existing virtual machine to a template
1 StarttheVIClientandlogintotheVirtualCenterServer.
Theinventorypanelandtheinformationpaneldisplayinformationabout
manageddatacenters,hosts,resourcepools,andvirtualmachines.Theinventory
toolbarappears.
3 Expandtheinventoryasneeded,andselectavirtualmachine.
4 Turnoffthevirtualmachineusingtheshutdownorpoweroffoptions.
5 FromtheCommandsareaorthepopupmenu,clickConverttoTemplate.
VirtualCentermarksthatvirtualmachineasatemplateanddisplaysthetaskinthe
RecentTaskspane.
To clone a virtual machine to a template
1 StarttheVIclient,andlogintotheVirtualCenterServer.
2 ClickInventoryinthenavigationbartodisplaytheinventorypanel.
3 RightclickthevirtualmachineandclickClonetoTemplate.
IftheClonetoTemplateoptionisnotenabled,youmayneedtopoweroffthe
virtualmachine.Youcannotcloneasuspendedvirtualmachine.
TheCloneVirtualMachinetoTemplatewizardappears.
4 Givethenewtemplateaname,selectitsinventorylocation,andclickNext.
Enterausefulnamethatdescribesthetemplate.Thenamecanbeupto80
characterslongandcancontainalphanumericcharactersandtheunderscore(_)
andhyphen()characters.Itshouldalsobeuniqueacrossalltemplatesandvirtual
machinesinthedatacenter.Namesarecaseinsensitive:thenamemy_vmis
identicaltoMy_Vm.
5 Passthroughthetargetlocationpage.ClickNext.
6 ClickFinish.
VirtualCenterdisplaystheTasksinventorypanelforreferenceandaddsthecloned
templatetothelistintheinformationpanel.
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To clone an existing template
1 StarttheVIclient,andlogintotheVirtualCenterServer.
3 Selectthedatacenterthatcontainsthetemplate.
Thevirtualmachinesandtemplatesassociatedwiththedatacenterappearinthe
datacenterpanel.
4 RightclickthetemplateandchooseClone.
TheCloneTemplatewizardappears.
5 Givethenewtemplateauniquenameanddescription,andclickNext.
Enterausefulnameandabriefdescriptionofthetemplate.Description
informationcaninclude,forexample,theoperatingsystem,applications,versions,
andintendedusesforthetemplate.Thenamecanbeupto80characterslong,and
cancontainalphanumericcharactersandtheunderscore
(_)andhyphen()characters.Itshouldalsobeuniqueacrossalltemplatesand
virtualmachinesinthedatacenter.Namesarecaseinsensitive:thenamemy_vm
isidenticaltoMy_Vm.
6 Selectthehostorcluster,andclickNext.
7 Chooseadatastoreforthetemplate.ClickNext.
8 SelectaradiobuttontoeitherleavethevirtualdisksintheirNormalvirtual
machineformatortoCompactthevirtualdiskstominimizestorage.ClickNext.
9 OntheReadytoCompletewindow,reviewtheinformationforyournewvirtual
machine,andclickFinish.
Youcannotusethenewtemplateuntilthecloningtaskcompletes.VirtualCenter
addstheclonedtemplatetothelistintheVirtualMachinestab.
Editing a Template
Youmightwanttoedityourtemplate(toupgradeanapplication,forexample).
However,templatescannotbeeditedastemplates.Youmustconvertthetemplatetoa
virtualmachine,editit,andconverttheeditedvirtualmachinetoatemplate.
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To edit the template
1 Convertthetemplatetoavirtualmachine.
2 Editthevirtualmachine.
3 Convertthevirtualmachinetoatemplate.
Youcandirectlychangethenameofatemplateusingtheprocedurebelow.
To change the name of a template
1 FromtheVirtualCenterclient,clicktheInventorybutton.
3 SelecttheVirtualMachinestab.
4 Clickonthetemplate.Clickthetemplateagain.
5 Thenameofthevirtualmachineisnowaneditablefield.
6 Changethename,andclickoutsidethefield.
Deploying Virtual Machines from Templates
Thisproceduredeploysavirtualmachinefromanexistingtemplate.
To deploy a virtual machine from a template
1 StarttheVIClient,andlogintotheVirtualCenterServer.
toolbarappears.
3 Selectthedatacenterthatcontainsthetemplate,andclicktheVirtualMachinestab.
datacenterpanel.
4 Rightclickthetemplate,andchooseDeployVirtualMachinefromthis
Template.
TheDeployTemplatewizardappears.
NOTEWhenatemplatethatresidesonalegacyVMFS2datastoreisconvertedtoa
virtualmachine,theresultingvirtualmachinemustberegisteredonthehostwherethe
templatewascreated.Selectthishostasthedestinationforthenewvirtualmachine.
208 VMware, Inc.
5 Givethenewvirtualmachineaname,selectalocation,andclickNext.
Thenamecanbeupto80characterslongandcancontainalphanumericcharacters
andtheunderscore(_)andhyphen()characters.Itshouldalsobeuniqueacross
alltemplatesandvirtualmachinesinthedatacenter.Namesarecaseinsensitive:
thenamemy_vmisidenticaltoMy_Vm.
6 OntheHost/Clusterpage,selectthehostonwhichyouwanttostorethetemplate
andclickNext.
7 Selectaresourcepool(ifapplicable)inwhichyouwanttorunthevirtualmachine,
andclickNext.
Resourcepoolsallowhierarchicalmanagementofresourceswithinahostor
cluster.Virtualmachinesandchildpoolssharetheresourcesoftheirparentpool.
8 Chooseadatastoreforthevirtualmachine,andclickNext.
Youarechoosingthedatastoreinwhichtostorethefilesforthevirtualmachine.
Youshouldchooseonethatislargeenoughtoaccommodatethevirtualmachine
andallofitsvirtualdiskfilessothattheycanallresideinthesameplace.
TheAdvancedbuttonallowsyoutostoreindividualfilesinseparatelocations.
To returntothedatastoreselectionpage,clicktheBasicbutton.
9 IntheSelectGuestCustomizationOptionpage,performoneoftheseactions:
Ifyoudonotwanttocustomizeyourguestoperatingsystem,selectDonot
customizeandclickNext.
Ifyouwanttocustomizeyourguestoperatingsystem,clickoneoftheother
selectionsasappropriate.Youcustomizeguestoperatingsystemsthroughthe
wizardorbyusinganexistingcustomizationspecificationthatyoucreate.
For instructions,seeCustomizingGuestOperatingSystemsonpage 215.
10 IntheReadytoCompletepage,reviewtheinformationforyournewvirtual
machine,selectthePoweronthenewVirtualMachineaftercreationcheckboxif
youwanttopoweronthevirtualmachineimmediately,andclickFinish.
AfteryouclickFinish,youcannotuseoreditthevirtualmachineuntilthetask
completes.Thismighttakeseveralminutes.Thevirtualmachineisaddedtothe
datastore.
NOTECustomizationisnotsupportedforallguestoperatingsystems.
Additionally,someguestoperatingsystemsrequireMicrosoftSyspreptools.
See InstallingtheMicrosoftSysprepToolsonpage 353.
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To convert a template to a virtual machine
1 StartVirtualCenterclient,andlogintotheVirtualCenterServer.
toolbarappears.
datacenterpanel.
4 ClicktheVirtualMachinestab.
5 RightclickonthetemplateandchooseConverttoVirtualMachine.
Thetemplateisconvertedtoavirtualmachine.
Deleting Templates
To remove templates from the VirtualCenter inventory
Thisprocedureunregistersthetemplate.Itdoesnotremovethetemplatefilesfromthe
datastore.
1 ClicktheInventorybutton.
2 Selecttheappropriatetemplate.
3 Rightclickthetemplate,andchooseRemovefromInventory.
4 ClickOKtoconfirmremovingthetemplatefromtheVirtualCenterdatabase.
AllnondatastoretemplatefilesareremovedfromtheVirtualCenterinventory.
To delete a template from disk
2 ClicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar,andselectthehostthatcontains
thetemplate.
3 Selectthedatastorethatcontainsthetemplate,andclicktheVirtualMachinetab.
CAUTIONAfteratemplateisdeletedfromahost,thereisnowaytorecoverit.
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4 Rightclickthetemplate,andchooseDeletefromDisk.
5 ClickOKtoconfirmremovingthetemplatefromtheVirtualCenterdatabase.
Thetemplateisdeletedfromthediskandcannotberecovered.
Regaining Templates
Templatesareassociatedwithhosts,andtheonlywaytoregainorregistertemplates
afterremovingandaddingahostistousethedatastorebrowsertolocatethetemplate.
Thenusetheinventorywizardtonameandregisterthe.vmtxfileasatemplateback
intoVirtualCenter.
To regain a template
2 ClicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar,andselectthehostthatcontains
thetemplate.
3 RightclickthedatastorethatcontainsthetemplateandselectBrowseDatastore.
4 Browsethroughthedatastorefolderstofindthe.vmtxfile.
5 Rightclickthe.vmtxfileandselectAddtoInventory.
TheAddtoInventorywizardappears.
6 Enteratemplatemachinename,selectalocation,andclickNext.
Selectahostorclusteronwhichtostorethetemplate,andclickNext.
7 Reviewyourselections,andclickFinish.
8 ThetemplateisregisteredtothehostandcanbeviewedfromthehostsVirtual
Machinetab.
Cloning Virtual Machines
Acloneisacopypluscustomizationofavirtualmachine.Whenyoucreateaclone,
VirtualCenterprovidesanoptiontocustomizetheguestoperatingsystemofthat
virtualmachine.Youcanplacethenewcloneonanyhostwithinthesamedatacenter
astheoriginalvirtualmachine,oryoucanplaceitinadifferentdatacenter.
NOTEIfyouwantthetemplatetoretainitsoriginalname,donotenteranameinthe
AddtoInventorywizard.VirtualCenterwillusetheoriginalnameifthefieldinthe
wizardisleftblank.
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Youcanhotcloneavirtualmachineinanypowerstate.Youdonotneedtopoweroff
thevirtualmachineinordertocloneit.However,youcannotcloneasuspendedvirtual
machine.
To clone a virtual machine
1 StartVirtualCenterandlogintotheVirtualCenterServer.
2 Fromtheinventorypanel,clicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar.
Theinventorypanelandtheinformationpaneldisplaythedatastores,resource
pools,hosts,andvirtualmachineinformation.Theinventorytoolbarappears.
3 Expandtheinventoryasneeded,andclickthesourcevirtualmachine.
4 TostarttheCloneaVirtualMachinewizard,clicktheClonetoNewVirtual
MachinelinkintheCommandsarea,orchooseClonefromthepopupmenu.
IftheCloneoptionisnotenabled,youmayneedtopoweroffthevirtualmachine.
Youcannotcloneasuspendedvirtualmachine.
TheCloneVirtualMachinewizardappears.
5 Enteravirtualmachinename,selectalocation,andclickNext.
6 Selectahostorclusteronwhichtoruntheclone,andclickNext.
7 Ifyouchooseacluster,youmustchooseaspecifichostwithinthecluster,andclick
Next.
8 Selectaresourcepoolinwhichtoruntheclone,andclickNext.
9 Selectthedatastorelocationwhereyouwanttostorethevirtualmachinefiles,and
clickNext.
10 ClicktheAdvancedbuttonformoreoptions,andclickNext.
TheSelectGuestCustomizationOptionpageappears.Youcanchooseto
customizetheguestoperatingsystemusingthewizardorusinganexisting
customizationspecification.Youcanalsochoosenottocustomize.
Formoreinformation,seeCustomizingGuestOperatingSystemsonpage 215.
11 Selecttheappropriateradiobutton,andclickNext.
12 Reviewyourselections,andclickFinish.
OntheReadytoCompleteNewVirtualMachinepage,youcanselectthecheckbox
topoweronthenewvirtualmachineaftercreation.AfteryouclickFinish,you
cannotuseoreditthevirtualmachineuntilthetaskcompletes.Ifthetaskinvolves
thecreationofavirtualdisk,itcouldtakeseveralminutestocomplete.
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Creating a Scheduled Task to Clone a Virtual Machine
Thisprocedurecreatesascheduledtasktocloneavirtualmachine.
To create a scheduled task to clone a virtual machine
1 ClicktheScheduledTasksbuttoninthenavigationbar.
2 ChooseFile>New>ScheduledTask,orclicktheNewbutton.
TheSelectaTasktoScheduledialogboxappears.
3 UsethedropdownmenutochooseCloneavirtualmachine,andclickOK.
4 Selectthevirtualmachinetoclone,andclickNext.
5 Followthewizardthroughthesamestepsasthoseintheprevioustaskinwhich
youclonedavirtualmachine.ThepageafterGuestCustomizationistheSchedule
theTaskpage.
6 Enteranameandataskdescriptioninthetextbox.
7 Selectthefrequencyofthetask.
VMware, Inc. 213
8 SelecttheradiobuttonforNoworLater.Iflater,enterthetimeanddatewhenyou
wantthevirtualmachinetobedeployed,andclickNext.
Toseethecalendar,clickLater,andclickthedropdownarrowtoselectadatefrom
thedisplayedcalendar.Aredcircleindicatestodaysdate,andadarkcircle
indicatesthescheduleddate.
9 ReviewtheinformationontheReadytoCompleteNewVirtualMachinepage,
andclickFinish.
Optionally,youcanselectthecheckboxtopoweronthenewvirtualmachineafter
itiscreated.
VirtualCenteraddsthenewtasktothescheduledtasklistandcompletesitatthe
designatedtime.Whenitistimetoperformthetask,VirtualCenterfirstverifies
thattheuserwhocreatedthetaskstillhaspermissiontocompletethetask.Ifthe
permissionlevelsarenotacceptable,VirtualCentersendsamessagetothelogand
thetaskisnotperformed.
214 VMware, Inc.
VMware, Inc. 215
14
Nowthatyouhavecreatedandconfiguredavirtualmachine,youhavetheoptionto
customizetheidentityandnetworksettingsofyourvirtualmachinesguestoperating
systemsothatitisreadytobeginworkimmediatelyinyourtargetenvironment.
Youcansaveyourvirtualmachinesettingsinaspecificationthatyoucanrecalllater
andreuse.Youdothisusingthecustomizationwizard.Therearetwowaystoaccess
thecustomizationwizard:usingthecustomizationspecificationmanager,whichlets
youcreatespecificationsandstoretheminthedatabaseforlateruse,andusingthe
wizardwhenyourecloninganewvirtualmachine.
ThischapterdescribeshowtousetheCustomizationSpecificationManagerto
customizeyourguestoperatingsystems.
PreparingforGuestCustomizationonpage 216
CustomizingaWindowsGuestOperatingSystemonpage 218
UsingtheCustomizationSpecificationWizardonpage 224
UsingtheCloneVirtualMachineWizardonpage 228
CompletingaGuestOperatingSystemCustomizationonpage 229
Formoredetailsoninstallingaguestoperatingsystem,seetheGuestOperatingSystem
InstallationGuide.
Customizing Guest
Operating Systems 14
NOTEVirtualmachinesmustberegisteredintheVirtualCenterinventorybeforeyou
cancustomizetheirguestoperatingsystems.
216 VMware, Inc.
Preparing for Guest Customization
Whenyoudeployanewvirtualmachinefromatemplateorcloneanexistingvirtual
machine,youhavetheopportunitytocustomizethenewguestoperatingsystem.
The GuestCustomizationwizardguidesyouthroughtheconfigurationoptions.
BeforeyouruntheGuestCustomizationwizard,ifyouintendtoperformaguest
customization,dothefollowing:
Verifythatyoursystemmeetstheguestcustomizationrequirements.Ifyouplanto
customizeaWindowsguestoperatingsystem,youmustinstallthecomponents
requiredtosupportaWindowsguestoperatingsystemcustomization.Thisis
describedinAppendix B,InstallingtheMicrosoftSysprepTools,onpage 353.
InstalltherequiredcomponentsontheWindowsmachinewheretheVirtualCenter
serverisinstalled.
Virtual Hardware Requirements for Guest Customization
Guestcustomizationrequiresthatthesourcevirtualmachineusedtocreatetheclone
ortemplateshasthefollowing:
VMwareToolsinstalled.
SCSIdisks.
ThedefaultconfigurationforVMwareWorkstation,andVMwareServercreating
aWindowsXPorWindowsServer2003virtualmachineisIDEdisks.Ifyouare
customizingavirtualmachinewithIDEdisks,itcanbedeployedonlytoa
VMwareServerhost.
VirtualCentercustomizationoperatesonthediskattachedtothevirtualSCSInode
withthelowestaddressontheSCSIcontrollerwiththelowestindex.Asaresult,
youmustmakesurethattheguestoperatingsystembeingcustomizedresideson
adiskattachedasSCSI0:0nodeinthevirtualmachineconfiguration.
NOTEAfterdeployingandcustomizingnonvolumelicensedversionsof
Windows XPorWindows 2003,youmightneedtoreactivateyour
Microsoft operatingsystemonthenewvirtualmachine.
NOTEIfavirtualmachinehasmixedIDEandSCSIdisks,thefirstIDEdiskis
consideredthebootdisk,andVirtualCenterpassesittothecustomizer.Firstis
incontroller:deviceorder,thatis,ide0:0,ide0:1,scsi0:0,scsi0:1,andsoon.
VMware, Inc. 217
Chapter 14 Customizing Guest Operating Systems
ForWindowsguestoperatingsystems:Ifthevirtualmachineresidesonahost
runningESXServer3.0.xorearlier,boththeactivepartition(thepartition
containingboot.ini)andthesystempartition(thepartitioncontainingthe
systemdirectory,forexample,\WINNTor\WINDOWS),areonthesamevirtualdisk
andattachedtheSCSI0:0virtualSCSInode.
ForLinuxguests:IfthevirtualmachineresidesonahostrunningESXServer3.0.x
orearlier,thevirtualdiskcontainingthesystempartition(thepartitioncontaining
the/etcdirectory)mustresideontheSCSI0:0node.
32bitor64bithardwarecorrespondingtothe32bitor64bitoperatingsystem
beinginstalled.
Windows Requirements for Guest Customization
GuestcustomizationofaWindowsguestoperatingsystemcanoccurif:(SEEUPDATE)
Theguestoperatingsystemisnotaprimaryorbackupdomaincontroller.
ThecloneortemplatehasoneofthefollowingWindowsversionsinstalled:
Windows2000Server,AdvancedServer,orProfessional(including64bit
versions)
WindowsXPProfessional(including64bitversions)
WindowsServer2003,Web,Standard,orEnterpriseEditions(including64bit
versions)
WindowsVista(including64bitversions)
ThemostrecentversionofVMwareToolsisinstalledintheguestoperating
system.
TheMicrosoftSyspreptoolsareinstalledontheVirtualCenterserver.
IfthevirtualmachineresidesonahostrunningESXServer3.0.xorearlier,boththe
activepartition(thepartitioncontainingboot.ini)andthesystempartition(the
partitioncontainingthesystemdirectory,forexample,\WINNTor\WINDOWS),
mustbeonthesamevirtualdisk.
NOTEItisnotarequirementthatactiveandsystempartitionsbethesamepartition.
NOTEWindowsXPHomeorWindowsNT4operatingsystemguestcustomization
isnotsupported.WindowsVistacustomizationissupportedonlyonhosts
runningESXServer3.5andgreaterorESXServer3iversion3.5andgreater.
218 VMware, Inc.
MicrosoftSyspreptoolshavecertainrequirementsandimposecertainrestrictionson
thesourcemachine.SeetheMicrosoftSysprepdocumentationforadditional
information.
Linux Requirements for Guest Customization
GuestcustomizationofaLinuxguestoperatingsystemcanoccurif:(SEEUPDATE)
ThecloneortemplatehasoneofthefollowingLinuxversionsinstalled:
RedHatEnterpriseLinuxASversions2through5(including64bitversions)
RedHatApplicationServerversions2through5(including64bitversions)
SUSELINUXEnterpriseServer8,9,or10
ThemostrecentversionofVMwareToolsisinstalledintheguestoperating
system.
Thecloneortemplatehasarootvolumeformattedwithanext2,ext3,orReiserFS
filesystem.
Customizing a Windows Guest Operating System
Thecustomizingprocessvaries,dependingupontheguestoperatingsystemtobeused
inthenewvirtualmachine.TocustomizeaWindowsoperatingsystemwhile
deployingatemplateorcloningavirtualmachine,performthefollowingsteps.
To customize a Windows guest operating system
TheGuestCustomizationwizardstartsindirectlyfromtheDeployTemplatewizardor
CloneVirtualMachinewizard,oryoucanstartthewizardbyselectingavirtual
machineandthenselectingEdit>CustomizationSpecifications.
1 StarttheGuestCustomizationwizard.
2 OntheRegistrationInformationpage,enterthevirtualmachineownersname
andorganization.ClickNext.
Thisinformationisforguestoperatingsystemregistrationpurposes.Itis
displayedintheguestoperatingsystemSystemProperties.IntheNamefield,you
canenterthenameofaperson,user,orgroup.
NOTECustomizationforRedHatLinuxversion4andgreaterandSUSE
LINUXEnterpriseServerversion9andgreaterissupportedonlyonhosts
runningESXServer3.5andgreaterorESXServer3iversion3.5andgreater.
VMware, Inc. 219
3 OntheComputerNamepage,specifytheComputerNameforthevirtual
machine.ClickNext.
Thecomputernameisthenamegiventotheparticularinstanceofaguest
operatingsystem.Theoperatingsystemusesthisnametoidentifyitselfonthe
network.OnWindowssystems,itiscalledthecomputername.Onmostother
operatingsystems,itiscalledthehostname.Thisisnotthesameasthevirtual
machinenamethatwasdeclaredearlierintheDeployTemplatewizardorClone
VirtualMachinewizard.Youcansetthecomputernameusingthefollowing
options:
UseaspecificnameThenamecancontainalphanumericcharactersandthe
underscore(_)andhyphen()characters.Itcannotcontainperiods(.)or
blankspacesandcannotbemadeupofdigitsonly.Ifyouwanttoensurethat
thenameisuniquesothatyoudonotincurconflicts,selectAppendanumeric
valuetoensureuniqueness.Namesarecaseinsensitive:thenamemy_vm
isidenticaltoMy_Vm.
UsethevirtualmachinesnameThecomputernamethatVirtualCenter
createsisidenticaltothenameofthevirtualmachineonwhichtheguest
operatingsystemisrunning.
PrompttheuserforanameintheDeploywizardTheVIClientpopulates
theDeployVirtualMachinewizardwithapromptforthecomputername
afteryoucompleteallthestepsinthewizard.
UseacustomapplicationconfiguredwiththeVirtualCenterServerto
generateanameEnteraparameterthatcanbepassedtothecustom
application.
4 OntheWindowsLicensepage,specifytheWindowslicensekeyforthenewguest
operatingsystem.ClickNext.
IfyouarecustomizingaWindowsServeroperatingsystem,selecttheappropriate
licensemode,PerseatorPerserver.IfyouselectPerserver,specifythemaximum
numberofsimultaneousconnectionsyouwanttheservertoaccept.
220 VMware, Inc.
5 OntheAdministratorPasswordpage,typeandconfirmtheadministrator
passwordforthevirtualmachine.ClickNext.
Ifyouleavethepasswordblank,theVIClientasksyoutoconfirmthat
Administratorusersarentrequiredtoprovideapassword.
Ifyouwanttoautomaticallyloginasadministratorwhenthevirtualmachine
boots,selectAutomaticallylogonastheadministratorandspecifyhowmany
timesautomaticloginistobeperformed.Thisisusefulifyouknowyouwillhave
aseriesofrebootsbeforethevirtualmachineisreadyfornormalloginusers.
6 OntheTimeZonepage,choosethetimezoneforthevirtualmachine.ClickNext.
7 OntheRunOncepage,typeanycommandsyouwanttorunaspartofthefirst
startupforthenewvirtualmachine.Afteryoutypeeachcommand,clickAdd.Use
theDeleteandMoveoptionstocreatetherunorderforthecommands.Whenyou
aredonewiththecommandlist,clickNext.
8 IfyouwantVirtualCentertoautomaticallyconfigureallnetworkinterfacesfroma
DHCPserver,selectTypicalsettingsontheNetworkpage.ClickNext.
NOTEYoucanonlychangetheadministratorpasswordiftheadministrator
passwordonthesourceWindowsvirtualmachineisblank.Ifyouspecifyanew
administratorpasswordandthesourceWindowsvirtualmachineortemplate
alreadyhasone,theoldadministratorpassworddoesnotchange.
NOTESeeMicrosoftWindowsSysprepdocumentationformoreinformationon
theRunOncecommands.
VMware, Inc. 221
9 IftypicalVirtualCenterconfigurationisnotappropriateforyourenvironment,
selectCustomsettings,selectthenetworkinterfacecard(NIC)tocustomizeand
clickCustomizetomakeadditionalspecifications.
TheNetworkPropertiesdialogboxopens.
UsetheNetworkPropertiesdialogboxtoperformthesesteps:
a OntheGeneraltab,selectwhetheryouwanttouseDHCPtoobtainan
IP addressautomaticallyorentertheIPaddressesmanually.Alsoselect
whetheryouwanttouseDHCPtoobtainanDNSserveraddress
automaticallyorentertheDNSserveraddressesmanually.
b OntheDNStab,specifytheDNSconnectionsbyenteringDNSsuffixes.
For eachDNSsuffixyouenter,clickAdd.IfyouareaddingmultipleDNS
connections,useMoveUpandMoveDowntospecifytheorderinwhicha
virtualmachineistousetheconnections.
c OntheWINStab,specifytheprimaryandsecondaryWINSaddressesby
typingtheIPaddressesintheentryboxes.
d ClickOKtoreturntothepreviousdialogbox.ClickNextontheNetwork
GuestCustomizationsdialogbox.
222 VMware, Inc.
10 OntheWorkgrouporDomainpage,completeoneofthesesteps:
Tojoinaworkgroup,selectWorkgroup,typetheworkgroupname,andclick
Next.
Tojoinadomain,selectWindowsServerDomain,specifytheusernameofa
userwhocanaddcomputerstotheWindowsdomain,andspecifytheusers
password.ClickNext.
11 OntheOperatingSystemOptionspage,selectGenerateNewSecurityID(SID)
togenerateanewsecurityIDforthevirtualmachine.
12 ClickNext.
13 (Optional)OntheSaveSpecificationpage,savethecustomizedoptionsasan
.xmlfilebycompletingthesesteps:
a SelectSavethiscustomizationspecificationforlateruse.
b Specifythenameforthespecification,andclickNext.
VirtualCentersavesthecustomizedconfigurationparametersintheVirtualCenter
database.Ifthecustomizationsettingsaresaved,theadministrator,anddomain
administrator,passwordsarestoredinencryptedformatinthedatabase.Because
thecertificateusedtoencryptthepasswordsisuniquetoeachVirtualCenter
Server,reinstallingtheVirtualCenterServer,orattachinganewinstanceofthe
servertothedatabase,invalidatestheencryptedpasswords.Thepasswordsmust
bereenteredbeforetheycanbeused.
14 ClickFinishtosaveyourchangesandexittheGuestCustomizationwizard.
15 ClickFinishtodeploythevirtualmachineandexittheDeployTemplatewizardor
CloneVirtualMachinewizard.
Customizing a Linux Guest Operating System
To customize a Linux guest operating system
YoucannotstarttheGuestCustomizationwizardfromamenuortoolbaroption.
The GuestCustomizationwizardstartsindirectlyfromtheDeployTemplatewizardor
CloneVirtualMachinewizard.
1 StarttheGuestCustomizationwizard.
2 OntheComputerNamepage,specifytheComputerNameandtheDomainName
forthevirtualmachine.ClickNext.
VMware, Inc. 223
Thecomputernameisthenamegiventotheparticularinstanceofaguest
operatingsystem.Theoperatingsystemusesthisnametoidentifyitselfonthe
network.OnLinuxsystems,itiscalledthehostname.Thisisnotthesameasthe
VMwareVI3virtualmachinenamethatwasdeclaredearlierintheDeploy
TemplatewizardorCloneVirtualMachinewizard.Youcansetthecomputername
usingthefollowingoptions:
UseaspecificnameThenamecancontainalphanumericcharactersandthe
underscore(_)andhyphen()characters.Itcannotcontainperiods(.)or
blankspacesandcannotbemadeupofdigitsonly.Ifyouwanttoensurethat
thenameisuniquesothatyoudonotincurconflicts,selectAppendanumeric
valuetoensureuniqueness.Namesarecaseinsensitive:thenamemy_vm
isidenticaltoMy_Vm.
UsethevirtualmachinesnameThecomputernamethatVirtualCenter
createsisidenticaltothenameofthevirtualmachineonwhichtheguest
operatingsystemisrunning.
PrompttheuserforanameintheDeploywizardTheVIClientpopulates
theDeployVirtualMachinewizardwithapromptforthecomputername
afteryoucompleteallthestepsinthewizard.
UseacustomapplicationconfiguredwiththeVirtualCenterServerto
generateanameEnteraparameterthatcanbepassedtothecustom
application.
3 IfyouwantVirtualCentertoautomaticallyconfigureallnetworkinterfacesfroma
DHCPserver,selectTypicalsettingsontheNetworkpage.ClickNext.
4 IfVirtualCenterconfigurationisnotappropriateforyourenvironment,select
Customsettings,andclickNext.
5 Selectthenetworkinterfacecard(NIC)tocustomizeandclickCustomizetomake
additionalspecifications.
UsetheNetworkPropertiesdialogboxtoperformthesesteps:
a OntheGeneraltab,selectwhetheryouwanttouseDHCPtoobtainan
IP addressautomaticallyorentertheIPaddressesmanually.Alsoselect
whetheryouwanttouseDHCPtoobtainanDNSserveraddressautomatically
orentertheDNSserveraddressesmanually.
b ClickOKtoreturntothepreviousdialogbox.ClickNextontheNetwork
GuestCustomizationspage.
224 VMware, Inc.
6 OntheDNSandDomainsettingspage,entertheIPaddressesfortheDNSservers.
SpecifytheDNSconnectionsbyenteringDNSsuffixes.ForeachDNSsuffixyou
enter,clickAdd.IfyouareaddingmultipleDNSconnections,useMoveUpand
MoveDowntospecifytheorderinwhichavirtualmachineistousethe
connections.
7 (Optional)OntheSaveSpecificationpage,savethecustomizedoptionsasan
.xmlfilebycompletingthesesteps:
a SelectSavethiscustomizationspecificationforlateruse.
b Specifythefilenameforthespecification,andclickNext.
VirtualCentersavesthecustomizedconfigurationparametersintheVirtualCenter
database.Ifthecustomizationsettingsaresaved,theadministrator,anddomain
administrator,passwordsarestoredinencryptedformatinthedatabase.Because
thecertificateusedtoencryptthepasswordsisuniquetoeachVirtualCenter
Server,reinstallingtheVirtualCenterServer,orattachinganewinstanceofthe
serverthedatabase,invalidatestheencryptedpasswords.Thepasswordsmustbe
reenteredbeforetheycanbeused.
8 ClickFinish.
VirtualCenterclosestheGuestCustomizationwizardandreturnsyoutothe
DeployTemplatewizardorCloneVirtualMachinewizard.
9 ClickFinishtodeploythevirtualmachinefromthetemplateorcreatetheclone.
Using the Customization Specification Wizard
Thefollowingprocedurehelpsyousetupacustomizationspecificationthatcanbe
usedlatertocustomizeaguestoperatingsystem.
To start the Guest Customization wizard
1 ChooseEdit>CustomizationSpecifications.
TheCustomizationSpecificationManagerwindowappears.Fromhere,youcan
viewthepropertiesofaspecificationandcreate,edit,copy,delete,import,or
exportspecifications.UsetheRefreshbuttontorefreshthedisplay.
VMware, Inc. 225
2 Tocreateanewspecification,clicktheNewicon.
TheGuestCustomizationwizardappears.
3 Choosethetargetvirtualmachineoperatingsystemfromthedropdownmenu.
4 SelectthecheckboxifyouwanttouseacustomSysprepanswerfile.
5 Typeanameforthenewcustomizationspecificationandanoptionaldescription.
ClickNext.
6 Typetheownersnameandorganizationtoregisterthiscopyoftheguest
operatingsystem.ClickNext.
TheComputerNamepageappears.Inthispageyouspecifyacomputernameto
identifythisvirtualmachineonanetwork.
7 Tospecifyanameforthecomputer,selecttheradiobuttonforoneofthefollowing:
Useaspecificname
Withthisoption,youmusttypeanameinthetextfield.Selectthecheckbox
ifyouwanttoappendanumericvaluetothespecificcomputernameto
ensureuniquenessofname.
UsetheVirtualMachineName
PrompttheuserforanameintheDeploywizard
UseacustomapplicationconfiguredwiththeVirtualCenterserverto
generateaname
Withthisselection,yousupplyanargument.
226 VMware, Inc.
8 ClickNext.
TheoperatingsystemLicensepageappears.
9 IntheLicensepage,typetheproductIDifthevirtualmachinerequireslicensing
information.
Somevirtualmachinesmightnotrequirelicensinginformation.Inthatcase,leave
thesefieldsblank.
10 SelectthecheckboxforIncludeServerLicenseInformationifyouare
customizingaserverguestoperatingsystem.
11 Selecteitherperseatorperserveroperatingsystem,enterthemaximum
connectionsforserverlicensemode,andclickNext.
12 OntheAdministratorPasswordpanel,typeapasswordandconfirmitforthe
administratoraccount.
Ifyoudonotenterapassword,awarningdialogboxappears.
13 Selectthecheckboxifyouwanttoautomaticallyloginastheadministrator,and
choosethenumberoftimestologin.
14 ClickNext.
15 Usethedropdownmenutochooseatimezone,andclickNext.
16 IntheRunOncepage,specifycommandstoberunthefirsttimeauserlogson.
Usethenavigationbuttonstoadd,delete,andmovecommandsupordown.
17 ClickNext.
18 Specifythenetworkinterfacesettingsifyouwanttocustomizethesoftware
settingsforeachnetworkinterface.Selecttheradiobuttonfortypicalsettingsto
enableDHCPforallnetworkinterfacesortheradiobuttonforcustomsettingsto
manuallyconfigureeachnetworkinterface.
19 ClickNext.
20 IntheWorkgrouporDomainpage,selectthewayinwhichthevirtualmachine
participatesinthenetwork,selecttheradiobuttonforworkgroupandentera
workgroupname,orselecttheradiobuttonforWindowsserverdomainandenter
thedomain.
Inthelattercase,youmustalsoenterausernameandpasswordforauseraccount
thathaspermissiontoaddacomputertothespecifieddomain.
NOTESeeMicrosoftWindowsSysprepdocumentationformoreinformationon
theRunOncecommands.
VMware, Inc. 227
21 ClickNext.
22 IntheOperatingSystemOptionspage,selectGenerateNewSecurityID(SID)to
generateanewsecurityidentifier.
23 ClickNext.
24 Reviewtheinformationyouhaveentered,andclickFinish.
ThespecificationappearsintheCustomizationSpecificationManagerpageand
canbeusedtocustomizeaguestoperatingsystem.
SavedcustomizationspecificationsareuniquetoeachVirtualCenterServerandto
eachversionofVirtualCenterduetoencryption.Youhavetorecreatethe
customizationspecificationsforeachVirtualCenterServer.Encryptionis
preservedbetweenupgradeversionsonthesameVirtualCenterServer.This
meansyoucanusethesamespecificationsbetweenupgradesofVirtualCenter.
However,ifyouuninstallVirtualCenterandlaterdoafreshinstallation,theability
todecryptpasswordsfromtheearlierinstallationislost.
25 Toviewthepropertiesofaspecification,clickthePropertiesicon.
TheCustomizationSpecificationPropertiesdialogboxappears.
26 ClickOKtoclosethedialogbox.
228 VMware, Inc.
27 ClicktheEditicontoredisplaytheGuestCustomizationwizard,andchangethe
informationforthespecification.
28 ClicktheCopyicontocreateacopyofthespecification.
29 Todeleteaspecification,selectitandclicktheDeleteicon.
Thespecificationisdeletedfromthespecificationmanager.
30 Toimportanexistingspecificationintothemanager,clicktheImporticonand
selectthespecificationintheBrowsedialogbox.
31 Toexportaspecification,clicktheExporticonandchooseaSaveAslocation.
32 Usethemaximize,minimize,andclosebuttonstomaximize,minimize,orexitthe
specificationmanager.
Using the Clone Virtual Machine Wizard
YouhaveasecondopportunitytoaccesstheGuestCustomizationwizardattheendof
thedeploymentwizard.Here,youhavetheabilitytoloadasavedcustomization
specification.Youcanchoosetogetthespecificationfromthelocaldiskorfromthe
server.Ifyouchoosenottoloadasavedspecification,thewizardopenswithblank
fields.
Usethefollowingprocedurewhenyouaresettingupyournewvirtualmachine.
You usethespecificationthatyousetupintheprevioussectionasyousetupavirtual
machineinthefollowingprocedure.
Formoreinformationonusingthecustomizationwizard,seeCustomizinga
WindowsGuestOperatingSystemonpage 218.
To load a saved customization specification using the Clone Virtual Machine
wizard
1 ChooseInventory>VirtualMachine>Clone.
2 MovethroughthewizarduntilyoureachtheSelectGuestCustomizationOption
pagefromwhichyoucancustomizeusingtheCustomizationwizardorcustomize
usinganexistingcustomizationspecificationselectedfromthespecification
managerslist.
VMware, Inc. 229
Completing a Guest Operating System Customization
Thefinalcustomizationstepsoccurwhenthenewvirtualmachinebootsforthefirst
time.Aspartofthisprocess,themachinemightrebootanumberoftimes.The
customizationprocessdoesnotcompleteuntiltheguestoperatingsystemboots,runs
thefinalizationscripts,andreachestheloginpage.
Ifthenewvirtualmachineencounterscustomizationerrorswhileitisbooting,the
errorsarereportedusingtheguestssystemloggingmechanism.InLinux,theseerrors
areloggedto/var/log/vmware/customization.log.InWindows,theyarewritten
to%WINDIR%\temp\vmware-imc.
Thestepsrequiredtofinalizeguestoperatingsystemcustomizationarecoveredinthe
followingsections:
CompletingLinuxGuestOperatingSystemCustomizationonpage 229
CompletingWindowsGuestOperatingSystemCustomizationonpage 229
Completing Linux Guest Operating System Customization
AcustomizedLinuxvirtualmachinedoesnotneedanyadditionalrebootingandis
operationalassoonastheloginpageappearsafterthefirstboot.Ifconfigurationerrors
occur,theyaredisplayedonthevirtualmachinesconsolewindowwhiletheguest
operatingsystemisbooting.
Completing Windows Guest Operating System Customization
Whenacustomizedvirtualmachineispoweredonforthefirsttime,itsguestoperating
systemcompletesasetofoperationsthatfinalizesthecustomizationandconfiguration
process.Dependingontheguestoperatingsystemtype,thisprocessmightrequire
additionalrebooting,whichisautomaticallyperformed.
Afterpoweringonforthefirsttime,acustomizedWindowsvirtualmachine
automaticallyrebootsmultipletimestofinalizetheconfigurationprocess.Itbecomes
operationalwhentheloginpageappearsafterthesecondreboot.Thisprocesscantake
severalminutes,dependingonthespeedandloadofthehost.Ifanyerrorsoccur
duringthefinalconfigurationprocess,eventsareloggedtotheguestoperating
systemseventdatabase.Toviewtheseerrors,chooseStart>Program>Administrative
Tools>EventViewerfromtheWindowsStartmenu.
230 VMware, Inc.
Ifanyoftheinformationrequiredintheconfigurationfinalizationprocessisnot
correct,theguestoperatingsystempauseswhenthenewvirtualmachinebootsand
waitsforyoutoenterthecorrectinformation.Incorrectinformationmightinclude:
Thecomputernameisnotunique.Thecomputernamemustbeuniqueforthe
networkonwhichthemachineisdeployed.
Theproductkeyisincorrect.
Theuserspecifiedtojoinadomainthatdoesnotexist.
TheDHCPserverforthenetworkisnotfunctioningproperly.
To determine if the system is waiting for information
Openthevirtualmachinesconsoletoseeifthesystemiswaitingforinformation.
VMware, Inc. 231
15
Thischapterdescribestheprocessofmigratingmovingavirtualmachinefromone
hosttoanother.
AboutMigrationonpage 232
ColdMigrationonpage 232
MigratingaSuspendedVirtualMachineonpage 233
MigrationwithVMotiononpage 233
UsingtheMigrateVirtualMachineWizardonpage 243
MigrationwithStorageVMotiononpage 248
Migrating Virtual Machines 15
NOTECopyingavirtualmachinecreatesanewvirtualmachine.Itisnotaformof
migration.
232 VMware, Inc.
About Migration
Migrationistheprocessofmovingavirtualmachinefromonehostorstoragelocation
toanother.InVirtualCenter2.5andgreater,youhavethefollowingmigrationoptions:
ColdMigrationMovingapoweredoffvirtualmachinetoanewhost.
Optionally,youcanrelocateconfigurationanddiskfilestonewstoragelocations.
Coldmigrationcanbeusedtomigratevirtualmachinesfromonedatacenterto
another.
MigratingaSuspendedVirtualMachineMovingasuspendedvirtualmachine
toanewhost.Optionally,youcanrelocateconfigurationanddiskfilestonew
storagelocation.Youcanmigratesuspendedvirtualmachinesfromonedatacenter
toanother.
MigrationwithVMotionMovingapoweredonvirtualmachinetoanewhost.
MigrationwithVMotionallowsyoutomoveavirtualmachinetoanewhost
withoutanyinterruptionintheavailabilityofthevirtualmachine.Migrationwith
VMotioncannotbeusedtomovevirtualmachinesfromonedatacentertoanother.
MigrationwithStorageVMotionMovingthevirtualdisksorconfigurationfile
ofapoweredonvirtualmachinetoanewhost.MigrationwithStorageVMotion
allowsyoutomoveavirtualmachinesstoragewithoutanyinterruptioninthe
availabilityofthevirtualmachine.
Cold Migration
Thevirtualmachineyouwanttomigratemustbepoweredoffpriortobeginningthe
coldmigrationprocess.Withcoldmigration,youhavetheoptionofmovingthe
associateddisksfromonedatastoretoanother.Thevirtualmachinesarenotrequired
tobeonsharedstorage.
Acoldmigrationconsistsofthefollowingsteps:
1 Theconfigurationfiles,includingtheNVRAMfile(BIOSsettings)andlogfiles,as
wellasthedisksofthevirtualmachinearemovedfromthesourcehosttothe
destinationhostsassociatedstoragearea.
2 Thevirtualmachineisregisteredwiththenewhost.
3 Afterthemigrationiscompleted,theoldversionofthevirtualmachineisdeleted
fromthesourcehost.
VMware, Inc. 233
Chapter 15 Migrating Virtual Machines
Iferrorsoccurduringcoldmigration,thevirtualmachinesreverttotheiroriginalstates
andlocations.
Youcanmovevirtualmachinesmanuallyorsetupascheduledtasktoperformthecold
migration.SeeManagingTasks,Events,andAlarmsonpage 301forinformationon
schedulingtasks.
Migrating a Suspended Virtual Machine
MigrationofsuspendedvirtualmachinesissupportedinESXServer3.xand
ESX Server3iandlateronly.VirtualmachinescreatedusingESXServer2.xmustbe
poweredoffbeforemigration.Whenmigratingasuspendedvirtualmachine,youalso
havetheoptionofmovingtheassociateddisksfromonedatastoretoanother.
The virtualmachinesarenotrequiredtobeonsharedstorage.
Whenyoumigrateasuspendedvirtualmachine,thenewhostforthevirtualmachine
mustmeetCPUcompatibilityrequirements.Formoreinformation,seeAbout
MigrationCompatibilityChecksonpage 246.
Migrationofasuspendedvirtualmachineconsistsofthefollowingsteps:
1 Theconfigurationfiles,includingtheNVRAMfile(BIOSsettings),logfiles,and
thesuspendfileaswellasthedisksofthevirtualmachinearemovedfromthe
sourcehosttothedestinationhostsassociatedstoragearea.
2 Thevirtualmachineisregisteredwiththenewhost.
3 Afterthemigrationiscompleted,theoldversionofthevirtualmachineisdeleted
fromthesourcehost.
Iferrorsoccurduringmigration,thevirtualmachinesreverttotheiroriginalstatesand
locations.
BothmigrationofasuspendedvirtualmachineandmigrationwithVMotionare
sometimesreferredtoashotmigration,becausetheyallowmigrationofavirtual
machinewithoutpoweringitoff.
Migration with VMotion
MigrationwithVMotionallowsworkingprocessestocontinuethroughouta
migration.Theentirestateofthevirtualmachine,aswellasitsconfigurationfile,if
necessary,ismovedtothenewhost,whiletheassociatedvirtualdiskremainsinthe
samelocationonstoragethatissharedbetweenthetwohosts.Afterthevirtualmachine
stateismigratedtothealternatehost,thevirtualmachinerunsonthenewhost.
234 VMware, Inc.
Thestateinformationincludesthecurrentmemorycontentandalltheinformationthat
definesandidentifiesthevirtualmachine.Thememorycontentincludestransaction
dataandwhateverbitsoftheoperatingsystemandapplicationsareinthememory.
The definingandidentificationinformationstoredinthestateincludesallthedatathat
mapstothevirtualmachinehardwareelements,suchasBIOS,devices,CPU,MAC
addressesfortheEthernetcards,chipsetstates,registers,andsoforth.
MigrationwithVMotionhappensinthreestages:
1 WhenthemigrationwithVMotionisrequested,VirtualCenterverifiesthatthe
existingvirtualmachineisinastablestatewithitscurrenthost.
2 Thevirtualmachinestateinformation(memory,registers,andnetwork
connections)iscopiedtothetargethost.
3 Thevirtualmachineresumesitsactivitiesonthenewhost.
Ifanyerroroccursduringmigration,thevirtualmachinesreverttotheiroriginalstates
andlocations.
BothmigrationofasuspendedvirtualmachineandmigrationwithVMotionare
sometimesreferredtoashotmigration,becausetheyallowmigrationofavirtual
machinewithoutpoweringitoff.
Host Configuration for VMotion
InordertosuccessfullyuseVMotion,youmustfirstconfigureyourhostscorrectly.
Ensurethatyouhavecorrectlyconfiguredyourhostsineachofthefollowingareas:
EachhostmustbecorrectlylicensedforVMotion.Formoreinformationon
licensing,seetheInstallationGuide.
Eachhostmustbeconfiguredtousesharedstorage.Formoreinformation,see
SharedStorageonpage 234.
EachhostmustmeetthenetworkingrequirementsforVMotion.Formore
information,seeVMotionNetworkingRequirementsonpage 235.
Shared Storage
DuringamigrationwithVMotion,themigratingvirtualmachinemustbeonstorage
accessibletoboththesourceandtargethosts.Ensurethatthehostsconfiguredfor
VMotionusesharedstorage.Sharedstorageistypicallyonastorageareanetwork(SAN),
butcanalsobeimplementedusingiSCSIandNASsharedstorage.SeetheVMware
SANConfigurationGuideforadditionalinformationonSANandtheESXServer3
ConfigurationGuideorESXServer3iConfigurationGuideforinformationonothershared
storage.
VMware, Inc. 235
VMotion Networking Requirements
VMotionrequiresaprivateGigabitEthernet(GigE)networkbetweenall
VMotionenabledhosts.EachhostenabledforVMotionmusthaveaminimumoftwo
Ethernetadapters,atleastoneofwhichmustbeaGigEadapter.
Recommendednetworkingbestpracticesareasfollows:
UseonededicatedEthernetadapterfortheserviceconsole(onESXServer3hosts).
UseonededicatedGigEadapterforVMotion.
IfonlytwoEthernetadaptersareavailable:
Forbestsecurity,dedicatetheGigEadaptertoVMotion,anduseVLANsto
dividethevirtualmachineandmanagementtrafficontheotheradapter.
Forbestavailability,combinebothadaptersintoabond,anduseVLANsto
dividetrafficintonetworks:oneormoreforvirtualmachinetraffic,oneforthe
serviceconsole(onESXServer3hosts),andoneforVMotion.
ConfigurethevirtualnetworksonVMotionenabledhostsasfollows:
Oneachhost,configureaVMkernelportgroupforVMotion.
Ensurethatvirtualmachineshaveaccesstothesamesubnetsonsourceand
destinationhosts.
Ensurethatthenetworklabelsusedforvirtualmachineportgroupsareconsistent
acrosshosts.DuringamigrationwithVMotion,VirtualCenterassignsvirtual
machinestoportgroupsbasedonmatchingnetworklabels.
Formoreinformationonhostnetworkingconfiguration,seetheESXServer3
ConfigurationGuideortheESXServer3iConfigurationGuide.
About CPU Compatibility
VMotiontransferstherunningarchitecturalstateofavirtualmachinebetween
underlyingESXServersystems.Successfulmigrationrequiresthattheprocessorsofthe
targethostbeabletoexecuteusingtheequivalentinstructionsthattheprocessorsofthe
sourcehostwereusingwhenthevirtualmachinewasmigratedoffofthesourcehost.
Processorclockspeedsandcachesizes,andthenumberofprocessorcorescanvary,but
processorsmustcomefromthesamevendorclass(IntelorAMD)andusecompatible
featuresetstobecompatibleformigrationwithVMotion.
Migrationsofsuspendedvirtualmachinesalsorequirethatthevirtualmachinebeable
toresumeexecutiononthetargethostusingequivalentinstructions.
236 VMware, Inc.
WhenyouinitiateamigrationwithVMotionoramigrationofasuspendedvirtual
machine,theMigrateVirtualMachinewizardchecksthedestinationhostfor
compatibilityandproducesanerrormessageiftherearecompatibilityproblemsthat
willpreventmigration.Formoreinformation,seeAboutMigrationCompatibility
Checksonpage 246.
Whenavirtualmachineispoweredon,itdeterminesitsavailableCPUfeatureset.
The virtualmachinesCPUfeaturesetisbasedonthehostsCPUfeatureset.However,
someofthehostCPUfeaturescanbehiddenfromthevirtualmachineifthehostispart
ofaclusterusingEnhancedVMotionCompatibility,orifaCPUcompatibilitymaskis
appliedtothevirtualmachine.FormoreinformationonEnhancedVMotion
Compatibility,seeAboutEnhancedVMotionCompatibilityonpage 238.Formore
informationonCPUcompatibilitymasks,seeAboutCPUCompatibilityMaskson
page 241.
WhenyouattempttomigrateavirtualmachinewithVMotion,oneofthefollowing
scenariosapplies:
ThedestinationhostfeaturesetmatchesthevirtualmachinesCPUfeatureset.
CPUcompatibilityrequirementsaremet,andmigrationwithVMotionproceeds.
ThevirtualmachinesCPUfeaturesetcontainsfeaturesnotsupportedbythe
destinationhost.CPUcompatibilityrequirementsarenotmet,andmigrationwith
VMotioncannotproceed.
Thedestinationhostsupportsthevirtualmachinesfeatureset,plusadditional
userlevelfeatures(suchasSSE4.1)notfoundinthevirtualmachinesfeatureset.
CPUcompatibilityrequirementsarenotmet,andmigrationwithVMotioncannot
proceed.
Thedestinationhostsupportsthevirtualmachinesfeatureset,plusadditional
kernellevelfeatures(suchasNx)notfoundinthevirtualmachinesfeatureset.
CPUcompatibilityrequirementsaremet,andmigrationwithVMotionproceeds.
ThevirtualmachineretainsitsCPUfeaturesetaslongasitremainspoweredon,
allowingittomigratefreelybacktotheoriginalhost.However,ifthevirtual
machineisrebooted,itacquiresanewfeaturesetfromthenewhost,whichmight
causeVMotionincompatibilityifyouattempttomigratethevirtualmachineback
totheoriginalhost.
NOTEVMware,inpartnershipwithCPUandhardwarevendors,isworkingto
maintainVMotioncompatibilityacrossthewidestrangeofprocessors.Foradditional
information,checktheVMwareKnowledgeBase.
VMware, Inc. 237
About CPU Families and Feature Sets
ProcessorfamiliessuchasIntelXeonandAMDOpteronaredefinedbytheprocessor
vendors.Youcandistinguishdifferentprocessorversionswithinthesamefamilyby
comparingtheprocessorsmodel,steppinglevel,andextendedfeatures.Insomecases,
processorvendorshaveintroducedsignificantarchitecturalchangeswithinthesame
processorfamily,suchastheSSSE3andSSE4.1instructions,andNx/XDCPUsecurity
features.
Bydefault,VirtualCenteridentifiesmismatchesonfeaturesaccessibletoapplications
asincompatibletoguaranteethestabilityofvirtualmachinesaftermigrationswith
VMotion.
ServerhardwaresCPUspecificationswillusuallyindicatewhetherornottheCPUs
containthefeaturesthataffectVMotioncompatibility.Ifthespecificationsofaserver
oritsCPUfeaturesareunknown,VMwaresbootableCPUidentificationutility
(availablefordownloadwithESXServer)canbeusedtobootaserveranddetermine
whetheritsCPUscontainfeaturessuchasSSE3,SSSE3,andNx/XD.
FormoreinformationonidentifyingIntelprocessorsandtheirfeatures,seeApplication
Note485:IntelProcessorIdentificationandtheCPUIDInstruction,availablefromIntel.
ForemoreinformationonidentifyingAMDprocessorsandtheirfeatures,seeCPUID
Specification,availablefromAMD.
Nx/XD Considerations
AMDsNoeXecute(Nx)andIntelseXecuteDisable(XD)technologyservethesame
securitypurpose:tomarkmemorypagesasdataonlytopreventmalicioussoftware
exploitsandbufferoverflowattacks.
ThefollowingoperatingsystemssupportNxandXD:
WindowsServer2003(SP1),Windows*XP(SP2),WindowsVista,RHEL4,RHEL3
(Update3),SUSE10,SUSELinux9.2,Solaris10,Linuxkernels2.6.6orlater(or2.4
kernelswithapatch)
InESXServer3.xandlater,NxandXDtechnologyisexposedbydefaultforallguest
operatingsystemsthatcanuseit(tradingoffsomecompatibilityforsecuritybydefault).
HostspreviouslycompatibleinESXServer2.xmightbecomeincompatibleafter
upgradingtoESXServer3.xifNxmismatched,butperVMCPUcompatibilitymasks
specifiedintheVMotionCPUCompatibilityMatrixcanbeusedtorestorecompatibility.
238 VMware, Inc.
SSSE3 Considerations
WithintheIntelP4andIntelCoreprocessorfamilies,VMwareplacesarestriction
betweenprocessorsthatdosupporttheSSSE3instructionsandprocessorsthatdonot
supporttheSSSE3instructions.Becausetheyareapplicationlevelinstructionsthat
bypassthevirtualizationlayer,theseinstructionscouldcauseapplicationinstabilityif
mismatchedafteramigrationwithVMotion.
SSE4.1 Considerations
WithintheIntelCore2processorfamily,VMwareplacesarestrictionbetween
processorsthatdosupporttheSSE4.1instructionsandprocessorsthatdonotsupport
theSSE4.1instructionsbecausetheyareapplicationlevelinstructionsthatbypassthe
virtualizationlayer,andcouldcauseapplicationinstabilityifmismatchedaftera
migrationwithVMotion.
About Enhanced VMotion Compatibility
YoucanusetheEnhancedVMotionCompatibility(EVC)featuretohelpensure
VMotioncompatibilityforthehostsinacluster.EVCensuresthatallhostsinacluster
presentthesameCPUfeaturesettovirtualmachines,eveniftheactualCPUsonthe
hostsdiffer.ThispreventsmigrationswithVMotionfromfailingduetoincompatible
CPUs.
ConfigureEVCfromtheclustersettingsdialogbox.WhenyouconfigureEVC,youset
allhostprocessorsintheclustertopresentthefeaturesofabaselineprocessor.EVC
leveragesIntelFlexMigrationtechnologytopresentthesamefeaturesetasthebaseline
Intelprocessor.EVCleveragesAMDsAMDVExtendedMigrationtechnologyto
presentthesamefeaturesetasthebaselineAMDprocessor.Formoreinformationon
baselineprocessorsandsupportedprocessors,seeEVCRequirementsonpage 238.
EVCcannotpreventvirtualmachinesfromaccessinghiddenCPUfeaturesinall
circumstances.ApplicationsthatdonotfollowCPUvendorrecommendedmethodsof
featuredetectionmaybehaveunexpectedlyinanEVCenvironment.VMwareEVC
cannotbesupportedwithillbehavedapplicationsthatdonotfollowtheCPUvendor
recommendations.Formoreinformationoncreatingwellbehavedapplications,search
theVMwareKnowledgeBaseforthearticleTestingandUsingNewFeaturesinCPUs.
EVC Requirements
InordertoenableEVConacluster,theclustermustmeetthefollowingrequirements:
YoumustberunningVirtualCenter2.5Update2orlater.(SEEUPDATE)
AllhostsintheclustermusthaveCPUsfromasinglevendor,eitherIntelorAMD.
VMware, Inc. 239
Allhostsintheclustermusteitherhavehardwarelivemigrationsupport
(Intel FlexMigrationorAMDVExtendedMigration)orhavetheCPUwhose
baselinefeaturesetyouintendtoenableforthecluster.Forspecifichostprocessors
supported,seeTable 151.
AllhostsintheclustermustberunningESXServer3.5Update2orlater.
AllhostsintheclustermustbeconnectedtotheVirtualCenterServer.
Allvirtualmachinesintheclustermustbepoweredofformigratedoutofthe
clusterwhenEVCisenabled.
AnyhostaddedtoanexistingEVCenabledclustermustalsomeettherequirements
listedabove.
Creating an EVC Cluster
WhenyoucreateanEVCcluster,youcanuseoneoftwomethods:
Createanemptycluster,enableEVC,andthenmovehostsintothecluster.
EnableEVConanexistingcluster.
VMwarerecommendscreatinganemptyEVCclusterasthesimplestwayofcreating
anEVCclusterwithminimaldisruptiontoyourexistinginfrastructure.
BeforeyoucreateanEVCcluster,ensurethatthehostsyouintendtoaddtothecluster
meettherequirementslistedinEVCRequirementsonpage 238.
To create an EVC cluster
1 Createanemptycluster.
OtherclusterfeaturessuchasVMwareDRSandVMwareHAarefullycompatible
withEVC.Youcanchoosetoenablethesefeatureswhenyoucreatethecluster.
For moreinformationonspecificclusteroptions,seetheVIClientonlineHelp.
2 EdittheclustersettingsandenableEVC.
Table 15-1. Processors Supported in EVC Clusters
Vendor Baseline Processor Processors Supported
Intel IntelCore2(Merom) IntelCore2(Merom)
Intel45nmCore2(Penryn)
AMD AMDSecondGenerationOpteron
(RevE/F)
AMDSecondGenerationOpteron(RevE/F)
AMDThirdGenerationOpteron(Barcelona)
240 VMware, Inc.
SelecttheCPUvendorandfeaturesetappropriateforthehostsyouintendtoadd
tothecluster.FormoreinformationonconfiguringEVC,seetheVIClientonline
Help.
3 Selectahosttomoveintothecluster,anddooneofthefollowing:
Poweroffallthevirtualmachinesonthehost.
MigratethehostsvirtualmachinestoanotherhostusingVMotion.
IfyoumigratethevirtualmachinestoahostwiththesameCPUtypethatyou
haveenabledasthebaselinefortheEVCcluster,youwillbeabletouse
VMotiontomigratethesevirtualmachinesintotheclusterafteryouhave
finishedsettingitup.Otherwise,youwillhavetopoweroffthevirtual
machinestomigratethemintothecluster.
4 Movethehostintothecluster.
Youcanpoweronthevirtualmachinesonthehost,ormigratevirtualmachines
intotheclusterwithVMotion,providedthattheymeetCPUcompatibility
requirementsfortheclustersbaselineCPU.
5 RepeatStep 3andStep 4foreachadditionalhostthatyouwanttomoveintothe
cluster.
Enabling EVC on an Existing Cluster
BeforeyouenableEVConanexistingcluster,ensurethatthehostsintheclustermeet
therequirementslistedinEVCRequirementsonpage 238.
To enable EVC on an existing cluster
1 Ensurethattherearenopoweredonvirtualmachinesintheclusterbefore
enablingEVC.SelecttheclusterforwhichyouwanttoenableEVC,anddooneof
thefollowing:
Poweroffallthevirtualmachinesinthecluster.
MigratetheclustersvirtualmachinestoanotherhostusingVMotion.
IfyoumigratethevirtualmachinestoahostwiththesameCPUtypethatyou
enableasthebaselinefortheEVCcluster,youwillbeabletouseVMotionto
migratethesevirtualmachinesbackintotheclusterafteryouhavefinished
settingitup.Otherwise,youwillhavetopoweroffthevirtualmachinesto
migratethemintothecluster.
2 EnsurethattheclustercontainshostswithCPUsfromonlyonevendor:Intelor
AMD.
VMware, Inc. 241
3 EdittheclustersettingsandenableEVC.
SelecttheCPUvendorandfeaturesetappropriateforthehostsinthecluster.
For moreinformationonconfiguringEVC,seetheVIClientonlineHelp.
4 Poweronthevirtualmachinesinthecluster,ormigratevirtualmachinesintothe
cluster.
About CPU Compatibility Masks
VirtualCentercomparestheCPUfeaturesavailabletoavirtualmachinewiththeCPU
featuresofthedestinationhosttodeterminewhethertoallowordisallowmigrations
withVMotion.CPUcompatibilitymasksallowpervirtualmachinecustomizationof
theCPUfeaturesvisibletoavirtualmachine.
DefaultvaluesfortheCPUcompatibilitymasksaresetbyVMwaretoguaranteethe
stabilityofvirtualmachinesafteramigrationwithVMotion.Changestothesedefault
masksaremadeconservativelybyVMware,andonlywhennewCPUfeaturesare
introducedandversionsofESXServerareupdatedtoexposeorhidethemfromvirtual
machines.
Insomecases,whereachoicebetweenCPUcompatibilityorguestoperatingsystem
features(suchasNx/XD)exists,VMwareprovidescheckboxoptionstoconfigure
individualvirtualmachinesthroughthevirtualmachinesAdvancedSettingsoption.
FormorecontroloverthevisibilityofCPUfeatures,youcaneditthevirtualmachines
CPUcompatibilitymaskatthebitlevel.
CPUcompatibilitymaskscannotpreventvirtualmachinesfromaccessingmaskedCPU
featuresinallcircumstances.Onhostswithouthardwarelivemigrationsupport
(Intel FlexMigrationorAMDVExtendedMigration),applicationscandetectanduse
maskedfeatureseventhoughtheyarehiddenfromtheguestoperatingsystem.In
addition,onanyhost,applicationsthatuseunsupportedmethodsofdetectingCPU
featuresratherthanusingtheCPUIDinstructioncanaccessmaskedfeatures.Virtual
machinesrunningsuchillbehavedapplicationsmightexperiencestabilityproblems
aftermigration.
CAUTIONManualeditoftheCPUcompatibilitymaskswithouttheappropriate
documentationandtestingisNOTrecommendedandmightleadtoanunsupported
configuration.FormoreinformationoneditingCPUcompatibilitymasks,see
ChangingVirtualMachineOptionsonpage 186.
242 VMware, Inc.
Virtual Machine Configuration Requirements for VMotion
Anumberofspecificvirtualmachineconfigurationscanpreventmigrationofavirtual
machinewithVMotion.Theseconfigurationsaresummarizedbelow:
YoucannotusemigrationwithVMotiontomigratevirtualmachinesusingraw
disksforclusteringpurposes.
YoucannotusemigrationwithVMotiontomigrateavirtualmachinethatusesa
virtualdevicebackedbyadevicethatisnotaccessibleonthedestinationhost.
(For example,youcannotmigrateavirtualmachinewithaCDdrivebackedbythe
physicalCDdriveonthesourcehost.)Disconnectthesedevicesbeforemigrating
thevirtualmachine.
YoucannotusemigrationwithVMotiontomigrateavirtualmachinethatusesa
virtualdevicebackedbyadeviceontheclientcomputer.Disconnectthesedevices
beforemigratingthevirtualmachine.
YoucannotusemigrationwithVMotiontomigrateavirtualmachineifthe
destinationhostcannotaccessthevirtualmachinesswapfile.Formore
information,seeSwapfileLocationCompatibilityonpage 242.
Swapfile Location Compatibility
VirtualmachinesonhostsrunningESXServer3.0.xhaveavirtualmachineswapfile
locatedwiththevirtualmachineconfigurationfile.Thesevirtualmachinescanbe
migratedwithVMotiononlyifthedestinationhostcanaccesstheVMFSvolumewhere
theswapfileislocated.
YoucanconfigureESXServer3.5andESXServer3iversion3.5hostsorclustersorhosts
managedbyVirtualCenter2.5tostorevirtualmachineswapfilesinoneoftwo
locations:withthevirtualmachineconfigurationfile,oronalocalswapfiledatastore
specifiedforthathost.Youcanalsosetindividualvirtualmachinestohaveadifferent
swapfilelocationfromthedefaultsetfortheircurrenthost.
ThelocationofthevirtualmachineswapfileaffectsVMotioncompatibilityasfollows:
MigrationsbetweenhostsrunningESXServer3.5orESXServer3iversion3.5:
MigrationswithVMotionandmigrationsofsuspendedandpoweredoffvirtual
machinesareallowed.
Iftheswapfilelocationspecifiedonthedestinationhostdiffersfromtheswapfile
locationspecifiedonthesourcehost,theswapfileiscopiedtothenewlocation.
ThiscanresultinslowermigrationswithVMotion.Ifthedestinationhostcannot
accessthespecifiedswapfilelocation,itstorestheswapfilewiththevirtual
machineconfigurationfile.
VMware, Inc. 243
MigrationsbetweenahostrunningESXServer3.5orESXServer3iversion3.5
andahostrunninganearlierversionofESXServer:Migrationsofsuspendedand
poweredoffvirtualmachinesareallowed.Ifthevirtualmachineisconfiguredto
usealocalswapfiledatastore,attemptingtomigrateittoahostthatdoesnot
supportthisconfigurationproducesawarning,butthemigrationcanproceed.
Whenthevirtualmachineispoweredonagain,theswapfileislocatedwiththe
virtualmachine.
SeetheVIClientonlineHelpformoreinformationonconfiguringswapfile
policies.
MigrationswithVMotionarenotallowedunlessthedestinationswapfilelocation
isthesameasthesourceswapfilelocation.Inpractice,thismeansthatvirtual
machineswapfilesmustbelocatedwiththevirtualmachineconfigurationfile.
Migrating Virtual Machines with Snapshots
Someadditionalrestrictionsapplywhenmigratingvirtualmachineswithsnapshots.
Migratingavirtualmachinewithsnapshotsispermitted,regardlessofthevirtual
machinepowerstate,aslongasthevirtualmachineisbeingmigratedtoanewhost
withoutmovingitsconfigurationfileordisks.(Inotherwords,thevirtualmachine
mustresideonsharedstorageaccessibletobothhosts.)
Ifthemigrationinvolvesmovingtheconfigurationfileorvirtualdisks,thenthe
followingadditionalrestrictionsapply:
ThestartinganddestinationhostsmustberunningESXServer3version3.5or
ESX Server3iversion3.5orlater.
Allofthevirtualmachinefilesanddisksmustresideinasingledirectory,andthe
migrateoperationmustmoveallthevirtualmachinefilesanddiskstoasingle
destinationdirectory.
VirtualCentergeneratesawarning,butdoesnotpreventmigration,whenyouattempt
tomigrateavirtualmachinewithsnapshots.Revertingtoasnapshotaftermigration
withVMotionmightcausethevirtualmachinetocrash,becausethemigrationwizard
cannotverifythecompatibilityofthevirtualmachinestateinthesnapshotwiththe
destinationhost.
Using the Migrate Virtual Machine Wizard
TheMigrateVirtualMachinewizardtakesyouthroughtheprocessofmigratinga
virtualmachinefromonehosttoanother.Thewizardoptionsdifferslightly,depending
onwhetheryouareperformingcoldmigrationormigrationwithVMotion.
244 VMware, Inc.
To migrate a powered-off or suspended virtual machine
1 Selectthevirtualmachineyouwanttomigrate.Thendooneofthefollowing:
RightclickandchooseMigratefromthepopupmenu.
OntheSummarytab,clicktheMigratetoNewHostbutton.
Dragthevirtualmachineontothetargethost,cluster,orresourcepool.
2 SelectthedestinationhostorclusterforthevirtualmachineandclickNext.
PossibletargetsincludehostsandDRSclusterswithanylevelofautomation.Ifa
clusterdoesnothaveDRSenabled,selectaspecifichostintheclusterratherthan
selectingtheclusteritself.
AnycompatibilityproblemisdisplayedintheCompatibilitypanel.Fixthe
problem,orselectanotherhostorcluster.
Ifthewizardisinvokedthroughdraganddrop,theSelectDestinationhostor
clusterwindowisskippedifthedraganddroptargetisastandalonehostora
resourcepoolassignedtoastandalonehost.Ifaclusteroraclustersresourcepool
isthedraganddroptarget,theSelectDestinationhostorclusterwindowappears.
NOTEIfmultiplevirtualmachinesareselectedandthewizardisinvokedthrough
draganddrop,thevirtualmachinesmustallbeinthesamepowerstate.
Otherwise,anerrormessageisdisplayed,andthewizardstops.
VMware, Inc. 245
3 Selectthedestinationresourcepoolforthevirtualmachinemigrationandclick
Next.
problem,orchooseanotherresourcepool.
TheResourcePoolSelectionpagedoesnotappearifavirtualmachinewas
droppedonaresourcepool.
4 Choosewhattodowiththevirtualmachineconfigurationfilesandvirtualdisks:
Ifyouwanttokeepthevirtualmachineconfigurationfilesandvirtualdisksin
theircurrentlocation,selectKeepvirtualmachineconfigurationfilesand
virtualdisksintheircurrentlocationsandclickNext.
Ifyouwanttomovethevirtualmachineconfigurationfilesandvirtualdisks
toanewlocation,selectMovevirtualmachineconfigurationfilesand
virtualdisks,thenselectthedestinationdatastoreandclickNext.
5 Reviewthesummary,andclickFinish.
VirtualCentermovesthevirtualmachinetothenewhost.Eventmessagesappear
intheEventstab.ThedatadisplayedontheSummarytabshowsthestatusand
statethroughoutthemigration.
To migrate a powered-on virtual machine
1 Selectthevirtualmachineyouwanttomigrate.Thendooneofthefollowing:
RightclickandchooseMigratefromthepopupmenu.
OntheSummarytab,clicktheMigratetoNewHostbutton.
Dragthevirtualmachineontothetargethost,cluster,orresourcepool.
2 Selectadestinationhostorclusterforthevirtualmachine.
PossibletargetsincludehostsandDRSclusterswithanylevelofautomation.Ifa
clusterdoesnothaveDRSenabled,selectaspecifichostintheclusterratherthan
selectingtheclusteritself.
NOTEIfmultiplevirtualmachinesareselectedandthewizardisinvokedthrough
draganddrop,thevirtualmachinesmustallbeinthesamepowerstate.
Otherwise,anerrormessageisdisplayed,andthewizardstops.
246 VMware, Inc.
Ifthewizardisinvokedthroughdraganddrop,theSelectDestinationhostor
clusterwindowisskippedifthedraganddroptargetisastandalonehostora
resourcepoolassignedtoastandalonehost.Ifaclusteroraclustersresourcepool
isthedraganddroptarget,theSelectDestinationhostorclusterwindowappears.
problem,orselectanotherhostorcluster.
3 Selectaresourcepool,andclickNext.
problem,orchooseanotherresourcepool.
TheResourcePoolSelectionpagedoesnotappearifavirtualmachinewas
droppedonaresourcepool.
4 SelectthemigrationprioritylevelandclickNext:
HighPriorityVirtualCenterreservesresourcesonboththesourceand
destinationhoststomaintainvirtualmachineavailabilityduringthe
migration.Highprioritymigrationsdonotproceedifresourcesare
unavailable.
LowPriorityVirtualCenterdoesnotreserveresourcesonthesourceand
destinationhoststomaintainavailabilityduringthemigration.Lowpriority
migrationsalwaysproceed.However,thevirtualmachinemightbecome
brieflyunavailableifhostresourcesareunavailableduringthemigration.
5 Reviewthepage,andclickFinish.
WhenyouclickFinish,ataskiscreatedthatbeginsthevirtualmachinemigration
process.Whilethevirtualmachineisintheprocessofbeingmigrated,youhave
onlylimitedaccesstoitsfunctions.
About Migration Compatibility Checks
Duringmigration,theMigrateVirtualMachinewizardchecksthedestinationhostfor
compatibilitywiththemigratingvirtualmachineusinganumberofcriteria.Whenyou
selectahost,theCompatibilitypanelatthebottomoftheMigrateVirtualMachine
wizarddisplaysinformationaboutthecompatibilityoftheselectedhostorclusterwith
thevirtualmachinesconfiguration.
Ifthevirtualmachineiscompatible,thepaneldisplaysthemessage,Validation
succeeded.Ifthevirtualmachineisnotcompatiblewitheitherthehostsorclusters
configurednetworksordatastores,thecompatibilitywindowcandisplayboth
warningsanderrors:
VMware, Inc. 247
Warningmessagesdonotdisablemigration.Oftenthemigrationisjustifiedand
youcancontinuewiththemigrationdespitethewarnings.
Errorscandisablemigrationiftherearenoerrorfreedestinationhostsamongthe
selecteddestinationhosts.Inthiscase,theNextbuttonisdisabled.
Forclusters,thenetworkanddatastoreconfigurationsaretakenintoaccountwhen
checkingcompatibilityissues.Forhosts,theindividualhostsconfigurationisused.
A possibleproblemmightbethatVMotionisnotenabledononeorbothhosts.
Warning messages
Compatibility panel
Error message
248 VMware, Inc.
Aspecifichostfeatureseffectsoncompatibilityaredependentonwhetherornot
ESX Serverexposesorhidesthemfromvirtualmachines:
Featuresthatareexposedtovirtualmachinesarenotcompatiblewhentheyare
mismatched.
Featuresthatarenotexposedtovirtualmachinesarecompatibleregardlessof
mismatches.
Migration with Storage VMotion
UsingStorageVMotion,youcanmigrateavirtualmachineanditsdiskfilesfromone
datastoretoanotherwhilethevirtualmachineisrunning.Youcanchoosetoplacethe
virtualmachineandallitsdisksinasinglelocation,orselectseparatelocationsforthe
virtualmachineconfigurationfileandeachvirtualdisk.Thevirtualmachinedoesnot
changeexecutionhostduringamigrationwithStorageVMotion.
StorageVMotionhasanumberofusesinadministeringvirtualinfrastructure,
includingthefollowing:
UpgradingVMwareInfrastructurewithoutvirtualmachinedowntime.Duringan
upgradefromESXServer2.xtoESXServer3.5,youcanmigraterunningvirtual
machinesfromaVMFS2datastoretoaVMFS3datastore,andupgradetheVMFS2
datastorewithoutanyimpactonvirtualmachines.YoucanthenuseStorage
VMotiontomigratevirtualmachinesbacktotheoriginaldatastorewithoutany
virtualmachinedowntime.
Storagemaintenanceandreconfiguration.YoucanuseStorageVMotiontomove
virtualmachinesoffofastoragedevicetoallowmaintenanceorreconfigurationof
thestoragedevicewithoutvirtualmachinedowntime.
Redistributingstorageload.YoucanuseStorageVMotiontoredistributevirtual
machinesorvirtualdiskstodifferentstoragevolumestobalancecapacityor
improveperformance.
Storage VMotion Requirements and Limitations
StorageVMotionissubjecttothefollowingrequirementsandlimitations:
VirtualmachineswithsnapshotscannotbemigratedusingStorageVMotion.
Virtualmachinedisksmustbeinpersistentmodeorberawdevicemaps.
VMware, Inc. 249
Youmustmovethevirtualmachines.vmxfileduringamigrationwithStorage
VMotion.Ifyouwanttomoveavirtualmachinesdiskswhilekeepingthe.vmxfile
inthesameplace,youcanmovethe.vmx fileandthediskstoanewlocation,and
thenmovethe.vmxfilebacktoitsoriginallocation.
Thehostonwhichthevirtualmachineisrunningmusthavesufficientresourcesto
supporttwoinstancesofthevirtualmachinerunningconcurrentlyforabrieftime.
ThehostonwhichthevirtualmachineisrunningmusthaveaVMotionlicense,
andbecorrectlyconfiguredforVMotion.
Thehostonwhichthevirtualmachineisrunningmusthaveaccesstoboththe
sourceandtargetdatastores.
VMwareInfrastructure3supportsamaximumoffoursimultaneousVMotionor
StorageVMotionaccessestoasingledatastore.AmigrationwithVMotion
involvestwosimultaneousaccessestothedatastore,bythesourceanddestination
hosts.AmigrationwithStorageVMotioninvolvesoneaccesstothesource
datastoreandoneaccesstothedestinationdatastore.Therefore,ifnoother
migrationsareoccurring,uptofourconcurrentStorageVMotionmigrations
involvingthedatastorecanoccursimultaneously.
Storage VMotion Remote Command-Line Syntax
(SEEUPDATE)InadditiontousingtheMigrationwizard,youcaninitiatemigrations
withStorageVMotiononbothESXServer3iandESXServer3hostsfromtheRemote
CommandLineInterface(RemoteCLI)usingthesvmotioncommand.Formore
informationoninstallingandusingtheRemoteCLI,seetheRemoteCommandLine
InterfaceInstallationandReference.
Thesvmotioncommandcanbeinvokedineitheraninteractiveornoninteractive
mode.Tousethecommandininteractivemode,typesvmotion --interactive.You
willthenbepromptedforalltheinformationnecessarytocompletethestorage
migration.Whenthecommandisinvokedininteractivemode,allotherparameters
givenareignored.
Innoninteractivemode,thesvmotioncommandusesthefollowingsyntax:
svmotion [Standard remote CLI options] --datacenter=<datacenter name> --vm
<VM config datastore path>:<new datastore> [--disks
<virtual disk datastore path>:<new datastore>, <virtual disk
datastore path>:<new datastore>]
FormoreinformationonthestandardRemoteCLIoptions,seetheRemote
CommandLineInstallationandReference.
Table 152describestheparametersforthesvmotioncommand.
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Determining the Path to a Virtual Machine Configuration File
To determine the path to a virtual machines configuration file
1 IntheVIClientinventory,selectthevirtualmachineandclicktheSummarytab.
2 ClickEditSettingstodisplaytheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialogbox.
3 ClicktheOptionstab,andselectGeneralOptions.
ThepathtothevirtualmachineconfigurationfileisdisplayedintheVirtualMachine
ConfigurationFiletextbox.
Determining the Path to a Virtual Disk File
To determine the path to a virtual disk file
1 IntheVIClientinventory,selectthevirtualmachinetowhichthevirtualdisk
belongs,andclicktheSummarytab.
2 ClickEditSettingstodisplaytheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialogbox.
3 ClicktheHardwaretab,andselectthevirtualdiskfromthelistofdevices.
ThepathtothevirtualdiskfileisdisplayedintheDiskFiletextbox.
Table 15-2. svmotion command parameters
Parameter Description
<datacenter> Thedatacenterwhichcontainsthevirtualmachinetobemigrated.
<VM config
datastore path>
Thedatastorepathtothevirtualmachinesconfigurationfile.The
pathshouldbeenclosedinsinglequotes.
<new datastore> Thenameofthenewdatastoretowhichthevirtualmachine
configurationfileordiskistobemoved.Donotincludebrackets
aroundthenameofthenewdatastore.
--disks Ifyoudonotspecifythisparameter,allvirtualdisksassociatedwith
avirtualmachinearerelocatedtothesamedatastoreasthevirtual
machineconfigurationfile.Byspecifyingthisparameter,youcan
choosetolocateindividualvirtualdiskstodifferentdatastores.
Ifyouwouldliketokeepavirtualdiskonitscurrentdatastore,use
the--disksoptionforthatdiskwithitscurrentdatastoreasthe
<new datastore>.
<virtual disk
datastore path>
Thedatastorepathtothevirtualdiskfile.
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Storage VMotion Command-Line Examples
Theexamplesinthissectionareformattedonmultiplelinesforreadability.
The commandshouldbeissuedonasingleline.
Anexampleofrelocatingallofavirtualmachinesdiskstoadatastorenamed
new_datastore:
svmotion --url=https://myvc.mycorp.com/sdk
--username=me
--password=secret
--datacenter=DC1
--vm='[old_datastore] myvm/myvm.vmx: new_datastore'
Anexampleofrelocatingavirtualmachinetonew_datastore,whileleavingthedisks,
myvm_1.vmdkandmyvm_2.vmdkonold_datastore:
svmotion --datacenter='My DC'
--vm='[old_datastore] myvm/myvm.vmx:
new_datastore'
--disks='[old_datastore] myvm/myvm_1.vmdk:
old_datastore,
[old_datastore] myvm/myvm_2.vmdk:
old_datastore'
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16
VMwareVirtualCentersnapshotsallowyoutopreservethestateofthevirtualmachine
soyoucanreturntothesamestaterepeatedly.
UnderstandingSnapshotsonpage 253
UsingtheSnapshotManageronpage 257
RestoringaSnapshotonpage 259
Understanding Snapshots
Asnapshotcapturestheentirestateofthevirtualmachineatthetimeyoutakethe
snapshot.Thisincludes:
MemorystateThecontentsofthevirtualmachinesmemory.
SettingsstateThevirtualmachinesettings.
DiskstateThestateofallthevirtualmachinesvirtualdisks.
Snapshotsoperateonindividualvirtualmachines.Inateamofvirtualmachines,taking
asnapshotpreservesthestateonlyoftheactivevirtualmachine.
Using Snapshots 16
NOTESnapshotsofrawdisks,RDMphysicalmodedisks,andindependentdisksare
notsupported.
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Whenyoureverttoasnapshot,youreturnalltheseitemstothestatetheywereinatthe
timeyoutookthatsnapshot.Ifyouwantthevirtualmachinetobesuspended,powered
on,orpoweredoffwhenyoulaunchit,besureitisinthecorrectstatewhenyoutake
thatsnapshot.
Snapshotsareusefulwhenyouneedtorevertrepeatedlytothesamestatebutyoudont
wanttocreatemultiplevirtualmachines.Withsnapshots,youcreatebackupand
restorepositionsinalinearprocess.Youcanalsopreserveabaselinebeforediverging
avirtualmachineinaprocesstree.
Snapshotscanbeusedasrestorationpointsduringalinearoriterativeprocess,suchas
installingupdatepackages,orduringabranchingprocess,suchasinstallingdifferent
versionsofaprogram.Takingsnapshotsensuresthateachinstallationbeginsfroman
identicalbaseline.
Multiplesnapshotsreferstotheabilitytocreatemorethanonesnapshotofthesame
virtualmachine.Totakesnapshotsofmultiplevirtualmachines,(forexample,
snapshotsforallmembersofateam)requiresthatyoutakeaseparatesnapshotofeach
teammember.
Multiplesnapshotsarenotsimplyanewwayofsavingyourvirtualmachines.With
multiplesnapshots,youcansavemanypositionstoaccommodatemanykindsofwork
processes.
(SEEUPDATE)Althoughyoucantakesnapshotsupto32levels,theamountoftimeit
takestocommitordeletethosesnapshotsincreasesasthelevelsgetdeeper.The
requiredtimeisdirectlyproportionaltotheamountofdata(committedordeleted)and
thevirtualmachinesRAMsize.
Relationship Between Snapshots
Therelationshipbetweensnapshotsislikethatofaparenttoachild:
Inthelinearprocess,eachsnapshothasoneparentandonechild,exceptforthe
lastsnapshot,whichhasnochildren.
Intheprocesstree,eachsnapshothasoneparent,butonesnapshotmayhave
morethanonechild.Manysnapshotshavenochildren.
Youcanreverttoaparentorachild.
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Chapter 16 Using Snapshots
Snapshots and Other Activity in the Virtual Machine
Whenyoutakeasnapshot,beawareofotheractivitygoingoninthevirtualmachine
andthelikelyeffectofrevertingtothatsnapshot.Ingeneral,itisbesttotakeasnapshot
whennoapplicationsinthevirtualmachinearecommunicatingwithothercomputers.
Thepotentialforproblemsisgreatestifthevirtualmachineiscommunicatingwith
anothercomputer,especiallyinaproductionenvironment.
Forexample,ifyoutakeasnapshotwhilethevirtualmachineisdownloadingafile
fromaserveronthenetwork,thevirtualmachinecontinuesdownloadingthefile,
communicatingitsprogresstotheserver.Ifyoureverttothesnapshot,communications
betweenthevirtualmachineandtheserverareconfusedandthefiletransferfails.
Anotherexampleistakingasnapshotwhileanapplicationinthevirtualmachineis
sendingatransactiontoadatabaseonaseparatemachine.Ifyoureverttothat
snapshotespeciallyifyourevertafterthetransactionstartsbutbeforeithasbeen
committedthedatabaseislikelytobeconfused.
Taking a Snapshot
Takingasnapshotisasynchronousoperation.Alluseroperationstothevirtual
machineduringthisperiodareblockedforsnapshotanddataconsistency.Thetime
takentodevelopasnapshotdependsontheamountofdataandtheloadontheserver.
Onaverage,thetimerangesfrom30to40secondsforminimalsnapshotcreation.
Youcantakeasnapshotwhileavirtualmachineispoweredon,poweredoff,or
suspended.Ifyouaresuspendingavirtualmachine,waituntilthesuspendoperation
hasfinishedbeforetakingasnapshot.
Youmustpoweroffthevirtualmachinebeforetakingasnapshotifthevirtualmachine
hasmultipledisksindifferentdiskmodes.Forexample,ifyouhaveaspecialpurpose
configurationthatrequiresyoutouseanindependentdisk,youmustpoweroffthe
virtualmachinebeforetakingasnapshot.
To take a snapshot
1 ChooseInventory>VirtualMachine>Snapshot>TakeSnapshot.
YoucanalsoclicktheTakeasnapshotofthisvirtualmachinebutton,orrightclick
thevirtualmachineandchooseSnapshot>TakeSnapshot.
TheTakeVirtualMachineSnapshotwindowappears.
2 Typeanameforyoursnapshot.
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3 (Optional)Typeadescriptionforyoursnapshot.
Descriptionsareusefultoidentifydifferencesbetweensimilarlynamedsnapshots.
DescriptionsappearintheSnapshot Manager.
4 ClickOK.
Aprogresspopupmenuboxappears.Whenthesnapshothasbeensuccessfully
taken,itislistedintheRecentTasksfieldatthebottomofVirtualCenter.
5 Clickthetargetvirtualmachinetodisplaytasksandeventsforthismachineor,
whilethevirtualmachineisstillselected,clicktheTasks&Eventstab.
Changing Disk Mode to Exclude Virtual Disks from Snapshots
Youmustpoweroffanddeleteanyexistingsnapshotsbeforeyouattempttochangethe
diskmode.Deletingasnapshotinvolvescommittingtheexistingdataonthesnapshot
disktotheparentdisk.
To exclude a disk from a snapshot
1 ChooseInventory>VirtualMachine>EditSettings.
2 ClicktheHardwaretab,andselecttheharddiskyouwanttoexclude.
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3 UnderMode,selectIndependent.Independentdisksarenotaffectedby
snapshots.
Youhavethefollowingpersistenceoptionsforanindependentdisk:
PersistentChangesareimmediatelyandpermanentlywrittentothedisk.
Allchangestoanindependentdiskinpersistentmoderemain,evenwhenyou
reverttothatsnapshot.
NonpersistentChangestothediskarediscardedwhenyoupoweroffor
reverttothatsnapshot.
4 ClickOK.
Using the Snapshot Manager
TheSnapshotManagerletsyoureviewallsnapshotsfortheactivevirtualmachineand
actonthemdirectly.
TheSnapshotManagerwindowcontainsthefollowingareas:Snapshottree,Details
region,Commandbuttons,Navigationregion,andaYouarehereicon.
Figure 16-1. Snapshot Manager
SnapshottreeDisplaysallsnapshotsforthevirtualmachine.
YouarehereiconRepresentsthecurrentoperationalstateofthevirtualmachine.
TheYouarehereiconisalwaysselectedandvisiblewhenyouopentheSnapshot
Manager.
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TheYouarehereiconrepresentsastatethatisneverasnapshotitselfbutrather
thevirtualmachinestateaftertheparentsnapshot.Asnapshotisalwaysastatic
recordofavirtualmachinestate.TheYouareherestatecanbeoperationaland
changing.Evenwhenyoucreateasnapshotofapoweredofforsuspendedvirtual
machine,theYouareherestateisnotidenticaltothesnapshot.
YoucannotgotoorselecttheYouareherestate.Youareherealwaysrepresents
thecurrentandactivestate.
CommandButtonsTheSnapshotManagerhasthreecommandbuttonsintheleft
pane:Goto,Delete,andDeleteAll.
DetailsDisplaysthenameanddescriptionoftheselectedsnapshot.Thesefields
areblankifyouhavenotselectedasnapshot.
NavigationRegionContainsbuttonsfornavigatingoutofthedialogbox:
CloseClosestheSnapshotManager.
HelpOpensthehelpsystem.
To use the Snapshot Manager
1 ChooseInventory>VirtualMachine>Snapshot>SnapshotManager.
2 IntheSnapshotManager,selectasnapshotbyclickingit.
3 Togotoasnapshot,clicktheGotobuttontorestorethevirtualmachinetoany
arbitrarysnapshot.
TheGotocommandallowsyoutorestorethestateofanysnapshot.
4 ClickYesintheconfirmationdialogbox.
5 Todeleteasnapshot,clicktheDeletebuttontopermanentlyremoveasnapshot
fromVirtualCenteruse.
7 Todeleteallsnapshots,clicktheDeleteAllbuttontopermanentlyremoveall
snapshotsfromVirtualCenteruse.
9 ClickClosetoexittheSnapshotManager.
NOTEDeletecommitsthesnapshotdatatotheparentandthenremovesthe
selectedsnapshot.DeleteAllcommitsalltheimmediatesnapshotsbeforetheYou
areherecurrentstatetothebasediskandremovesallexistingsnapshotsforthat
virtualmachine.
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Restoring a Snapshot
VMwareVirtualCenterincludesthefollowingsnapshotmethodstoallowyoutoreturn
totheoriginalvirtualmachine:
TheInventory>VirtualMachine>Snapshotmenucontainsthecommand
Revert toSnapshot.
TheSnapshotManagerhasaGotobutton.
Parent Snapshot
TodiscernbetweentheReverttoSnapshotandGotocommands,youmust
understandwhatismeantbytheparentsnapshot.
Theparentsnapshotisthemostrecentlysavedversionofthecurrentstateofthevirtual
machine.Ifyouhavejusttakenasnapshot,thatstoredstateistheparentsnapshotof
thecurrentstate(Youarehere).Ifyourevertorgotoasnapshot,thatsnapshotbecomes
theparentofthecurrentstate(Youarehere).
TheparentsnapshotisalwaysthesnapshotappearingimmediatelyabovetheYouare
hereiconintheSnapshotManager.
Figure 16-2. Parent Snapshot
NOTETheparentsnapshotisnotalwaysthesnapshotyoutookmostrecently.For
example,ifyoutakeasnapshottodayandthenGotoasnapshotyoutookyesterday,
thesnapshotyoutooktodayisnolongertheparentofthecurrentstateofthevirtual
machine.Theparentsnapshothasbecomethesnapshotyoutookyesterday.
Parent Snapshot
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Revert to Snapshot Command
ReverttoSnapshotisessentiallyashortcuttotheparentsnapshotofYouarehere.This
commandimmediatelyactivatestheparentsnapshotofthecurrentstateofthevirtual
machine.
Thecurrentdiskandmemorystatesarediscardedandrestoredastheywerewhenyou
tookthatsnapshot.Ifyourparentsnapshotwastakenwhenthevirtualmachinewas
poweredoff,choosingSnapshot>ReverttoSnapshotmovesthepoweredonvirtual
machinetothatparentstate,thatis,toapoweredoffstate.
Figure 16-3. Revert to Snapshot
take a
snapshot
take a
snapshot
go to
snapshot_a
Virtual machine with no snapshots.
The new snapshot (snapshot_a) is
now the parent of the You are here
state. The parent snapshot of the You
are here state is the parent snapshot
of the virtual machine.
When you take a snapshot from the
snapshot_a state, snapshot_a
becomes the parent of the new
shapshot (snapshot_b) and
snapshot_b is the parent shapshot of
the You are here state. If you take a
snapshot now, the new snapshot will
be based on the You are here state,
whose parent snapshot is the
snapshot_b state.
When you go to snapshot_a,
snapshot_a becomes the parent of the
You are here state. If you take a
snapshot now, the new snapshot will
be based on the snapshot_a state.
When you revert a virtual machine, the virtual machine returns to the parent snapshot of the
virtual machine (that is, the parent of the current You are here state).
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Therearethreewaystoreverttotheparentsnapshot:
ChooseInventory>VirtualMachine>Snapshot>ReverttoSnapshot.
ClicktheReverttosnapshotbuttononthetoolbar.
Rightclickthevirtualmachine,andchooseSnapshot>ReverttoSnapshot.
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System Administration
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17
Thischapterdescribesusers,groups,permissions,androles.VirtualCenterand
ESX Serverhostsdeterminethelevelofaccessfortheuserbasedonthepermissions
assignedtotheuser.Thecombinationofusername,password,andpermissionsisthe
mechanismbywhichVirtualCenterandESXServerhostsauthenticateauserforaccess
andauthorizetheusertoperformactivities.Theserversandhostsmaintainlistsof
authorizedusersandthepermissionsassignedtoeachuser.
Privilegesdefinebasicindividualrightsrequiredtoperformactionsandread
properties.ESXServerandVirtualCenterusesetsofprivileges,orroles,tocontrol
whichindividualusersorgroupscanaccessparticularVMwareInfrastructureobjects.
ESXServerandVirtualCenterprovideasetofpreestablishedroles.Youcanalsocreate
newroles.
TheprivilegesandrolesassignedonanESXServerhostareseparatefromthe
privilegesandrolesassignedonaVirtualCenterServer.Ifyouhaveprivilegesandroles
assignedonanESXServerhostandthenaddthathosttotheVirtualCenterServer
inventory,onlytheprivilegesandrolesassignedthroughtheVirtualCenterServerare
recognized.IfyouthenremovethehostfromtheVirtualCenterServerinventory,the
previouslysetESXServerhostprivilegesandrolesareused.
Foracompletelistofprivilegesavailable,seeAppendix A,DefinedPrivileges,on
page 331.
AccessElementsonpage 266
AccessRulesonpage 266
Managing Users, Groups,
Permissions, and Roles 17
NOTEYoumustbeinAdminviewfortheAdmin>Rolesmenuitemtobeenabled.
266 VMware, Inc.
Usersonpage 269
Groupsonpage 271
Permissionsonpage 271
Rolesonpage 272
AccessPermissionsonpage 278
Access Elements
AccesstoVMwareInfrastructureobjectsandactivitiesisestablishedthroughthe
combinationof:
LogIninformationUsernameandpassword.
GroupsAmethodforgroupingindividualusers.
Youcanmanageusersmoreeasilybyassigningthemtogroups.Ifyoucreate
groups,youcanapplyaroletothegroup,andthisroleisinheritedbyalltheusers
inthegroup.
RolesAdefinedcollectionofprivileges.
Rolesareacollectionofdefinedprivilegesthatcontrolindividualuserorgroup
accesstoparticularVMwareInfrastructureobjects.ESXServerandVirtualCenter
Serverprovideasetofdefaultroles.Youcanalsocreatenewroles.
PrivilegesAparticularrightcorrespondingtoasetofoperationsormethodson
aclassofobjects.
PermissionsThecombinationoftheroleplususerorgroupnameassignedtoa
VMwareInfrastructureinventoryobject.
Theroleandauserorgroupnamemakeapair.ThispairisassignedtoaVMware
Infrastructureobject.Typically,thisroleanduserpairingispropagatedtothe
childrenintheinventoryhierarchy.Thepairiscalledapermission.
Access Rules
Thefollowingisalistofgeneralrulestoconsiderwhenconfiguringyourusersand
groupspermissions.
Usersdonotneedtologoutandloginforchangestotakeeffect.Allchangestakeeffect
immediately.
VMware, Inc. 267
Chapter 17 Managing Users, Groups, Permissions, and Roles
Hierarchical Inheritance
Propagationissetperpermissionrule,notuniversallyapplied.Permissionsdefinedfor
asubobjectalwaysoverridethosepropagatedfromparentobjects.
Withrespecttopermissions,therearethreetypesofelementsinthehierarchy.Theyare:
ManagedentityThesecanhavepermissionsdefinedonthem.
Virtualmachines
Folders
Datacenters
Clusters
Hosts
Resourcepools
Templates
RelatedtoamanagedentityThesecannothavepermissionsdefinedonthem,
butinheritaccessfromtheobjecttheyarerelatedto.Examplesinclude:
Networks
Datastores
GlobalentityThesealwaysgettheirpermissionsfromtherootnode.Examples
include:
Customfields
Licenses
Statisticsintervals
Roles
Sessions
Multiple Permission Settings
Objectsmighthavemultiplepermissions,butatmostoneforeachuserorgroup.
Ifyouapplypermissions,theyoverrideeachotherdownthehierarchy.Ifpermissions
aredefinedonthesameentity,acoupleofsituationsarepossible:
Ifauserisamemberofmultiplegroupswithdifferentpermissions.Foreach
objectthegrouphaspermissionson,thesamepermissionsapplyasifgrantedto
theuserdirectly.
268 VMware, Inc.
Ifmultiplegrouppermissionsaredefinedonthesameobjectandtheuser
belongstotwoormoreofthosegroups:
Ifthereisnopermissiondefinedexplicitlyfortheuseronthatobject,theuser
isassignedtheunionofprivilegesassignedtothegroupsforthatobject.
Ifthereisapermissiondefinedexplicitlyfortheuseronthatobject,that
permissiontakesprecedenceoverallgrouppermissions.
Example1:Expandingauserspermissions
Role1canpoweronvirtualmachines.
Role2cantakesnapshotsofvirtualmachines.
GroupAisgrantedRole1onvirtualmachine.
GroupBisgrantedRole2onvirtualmachine.
User1isnotassignedspecificpermission:
User1,whobelongstogroupsAandB,logson.
User1canbothpoweronandtakesnapshotsofvirtualmachine.
Example2:Limitingauserspermissions
Role1canpoweronvirtualmachines.
Role2cantakesnapshotsofvirtualmachines.
GroupAisgrantedRole1onvirtualmachineparentfolder.
GroupBisgrantedRole2onvirtualmachine.
User1ReadOnlypermissionisremovedonvirtualmachine:
User1cantakesnapshotsbutnotpoweron.
Tasks Requiring Settings on Multiple Objects
Whensettingpermissions,verifythatalltheobjecttypesaresetwithappropriate
privilegesforeachparticularaction.Someoperationsrequireaccesspermissionatthe
rootfolderinadditiontoaccesspermissionsontheobjectbeingmanipulated.Some
operationsrequireaccessorperformancepermissionataparentfolderandarelated
object.
SeeAppendix A,DefinedPrivileges,onpage 331foralistofpredefinedrolesand
associatedprivileges.Usethesepredefinedrolestohelpdeterminetherole+object
pairingrequiredtoperformyourchosentask.
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Example3:Addingavirtualmachine
Role3canaddvirtualmachines.
Role4isreadonly.
GroupCisgrantedRole3onHost1.
GroupCisalsograntedRole4ontheparentfolderordatacenterforHost1s
associateddatastoresandnetworks.
Theseobjectsinherittheirpermissionsfromtheirparentfolderordatacenter.
SettingbothpermissionsallowsGroupCuserstoaddavirtualmachinetothe
host.
Example4:Delegatingresources
UsingdefaultrolesforResourcePoolAdministrator,VirtualMachineUser,
andReadOnly
GrantUser1theroleofResourcePoolAdministratoronResourcePoolA.
GrantUser1theroleofVirtualMachineUseronallthevirtualmachinesin
ResourcePoolA.
GrantUser1therole,ReadOnlyonthefolderordatacentercontainingthe
datastoresandnetworksassociatedwithResourcePoolA.
Becauseresourcepoolsaffectmultipleinventoryobjectsyoumustassignvarious
privilegesonselectedobjectstoeffectivelyperformtasks(inthiscase,delegating
resourceswithinaresourcepoolontothevirtualmachinesinthatresourcepool).
Users
AuserisanindividualauthorizedtologintoanESXServerhostortoVirtualCenter.
Usersonahostfallintotwocategories:thosewhocanaccesstheESXServerhost
throughVirtualCenterandthosewhocanaccessthehostbydirectlyloggingintothe
hostfromVIClient,VIWebAccess,athirdpartyclient,oracommandshell.Thesetwo
categoriesdrawusersfromdifferentsources:
VirtualCenterusersAuthorizedusersforVirtualCenterarethoseincludedinthe
WindowsdomainlistreferencedbyVirtualCenterorlocalWindowsusersonthe
VirtualCenterhost.
YoucannotuseVirtualCentertomanuallycreate,remove,orotherwisechange
users.Ifyouneedtomanipulatetheuserlistorchangeuserpasswords,youmust
dosothroughthetoolsyounormallyusetomanageyourWindowsdomain.
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AnychangesyoumaketotheWindowsdomainarereflectedinVirtualCenter.
BecauseyoucannotdirectlymanageusersinVirtualCenter,theuserinterface
doesntprovideauserlistforyoutoreview.Youseethesechangesonlywhenyou
selectuserstoconfigurepermissions.
DirectaccessusersUsersauthorizedtoworkdirectlyonanESXServerhostare
thoseaddedtotheinternaluserlistbydefaultwhenESXServerisinstalledorby
asystemadministratorafterinstallation.
IfyoulogintoanESXServerhostasrootusingtheVIClient,youcanperforma
varietyofmanagementactivitiesfortheseusers,suchaschangingpasswords,
groupmemberships,permissions,andsoforth.Youcanalsoaddandremove
users.
EvenifthelistsmaintainedbyanESXServerhostandVirtualCenterappeartohave
commonusers(forinstance,ausercalleddevuser),theseusersshouldbetreatedas
separateuserswhohavethesamename.TheattributesofdevuserinVirtualCenter,
includingpermissions,passwords,andsoforth,areseparatefromtheattributesof
devuserontheESXServerhost.IfyoulogintoVirtualCenterasdevuser,youmighthave
permissiontoviewanddeletefilesfromadatastore.IfyoulogintoanESXServerhost
asdevuser,youmightnot.
UsersandgroupsintheVMwareInfrastructureenvironmentarecreatedusingthe
followingmethods:
WhentheVIClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServersystem,usersand
groupsaredefinedthroughthestandardmethodsforWindowsdomainsorActive
Directory.YoudonotcreateusersandgroupsforaccesstotheVirtualCenterServer
throughtheVIClient.
WhentheVIClientisconnectedtoanESXServerhost,usersandgroupsare
definedthroughtheUsersandGroupstab.
EachESXServerhosthastwodefaultusers:
Therootuserhasfulladministrativeprivileges.Administratorsusethisloginand
itsassociatedpasswordtologintoahostthroughtheVIClient.Rootusershavea
completerangeofcontrolactivitiesonthespecifichostthattheyareloggedonto,
includingmanipulatingpermissions,creatinggroupsandusers,workingwith
events,andsoforth.
WARNINGSeetheAuthenticationandUserManagementchapteroftheESXServer3
ConfigurationGuideorESXServer3iConfigurationGuideforinformationaboutrootusers
andyourESXServerbeforeyoumakeanychangestotherootuser.Mistakesherecan
haveseriousaccessconsequences.
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ThevpxuseruserisaVirtualCenterentitywithrootrightsontheESXServerhost,
allowingittomanageactivitiesforthathost.Thevpxuseriscreatedatthetimethat
anESXServerhostisattachedtoVirtualCenter.ItisnotpresentontheESX Server
hostunlessthehostisbeingmanagedthroughVirtualCenter.
ForinformationoncreatingusersandgroupsforusewithVirtualCenterServer,see
Microsoftdocumentation.
ForinformationoncreatingusersandgroupforusewithESXServer,seetheSecurity
sectionoftheESXServer3ConfigurationGuideorESXServer3iConfigurationGuide.
Groups
Youcanefficientlymanagesomeuserattributesbycreatinggroups.Agroupisasetof
usersthatyouwanttomanagethroughacommonsetofrulesandpermissions.When
youassignpermissionstoagroup,theyareinheritedbyallusersinthegroup.Using
groupscansignificantlyreducethetimeittakestosetupyourpermissionsmodel.
ThegrouplistsinVirtualCenterandanESXServerhostaredrawnfromthesame
sourcesastheuserlists.IfyouareworkingthroughVirtualCenter,thegrouplistis
calledfromtheWindowsdomain.IfyouareloggedontoanESXServerhostdirectly,
thegrouplistiscalledfromatablemaintainedbythehost.
TheVirtualCenterServergrantsaccesstoeachinventoryobjectbyassigningarolewith
definedprivilegesandauserorgrouptoeachobject.Rolesareadefinedsetofaccess
privileges.
IndividualpermissionsareassignedthroughtheVirtualCenterServerortheESXServer
hostbypairingauserandaroleandassigningthispairtoaninventoryobject.
Permissions
InVMwareInfrastructure,apermissionisdefinedasanaccessrolethatconsistsofa
userandtheusersassignedroleforanobject,suchasavirtualmachineorESXServer
host.Permissionsgrantuserstherighttoperformspecificactivitiesandmanage
specificobjectsonaspecifichostor,ifusersareworkingfromVirtualCenter,all
VirtualCentermanagedobjects.Forexample,toconfigurememoryforanESXServer
host,youmusthavehostconfigurationpermissions.
CAUTIONDonotchangevpxuseranddonotchangeitspermissions.Ifyoudoso,you
mightexperienceproblemsworkingwiththeESXServerhostthroughVirtualCenter.
272 VMware, Inc.
Mostusershavelimitedabilitytomanipulatetheobjectsassociatedwiththehost.
However,ESXServerprovidefullaccessrightsandpermissionsonallvirtualobjects,
suchasdatastores,hosts,virtualmachines,andresourcepools,totwousers:rootand
vpxuser.
Asroot,youcangrantpermissionsonahosttoindividualusersorgroups.Through
VirtualCenter,youcangrantpermissionstoanyuserorgroupincludedinthe
WindowsdomainlistreferencedbyVirtualCenter.
Themethodyouusetoconfigurepermissionsdirectlyonahostisidenticaltothe
methodyouusetoconfigurepermissionsinVirtualCenter.Thelistofprivilegesisthe
sameforESXServerandVirtualCenter.
ThetableinAppendix Aliststheaccesspermissions.
Roles
VirtualCenterandESXServergrantaccesstoobjectsonlytouserswhohavebeen
assignedpermissionsfortheobject.Whenyouassignauserorgrouppermissionsfor
theobject,youdosobypairingtheuserorgroupwitharole.Aroleisapredefinedset
ofprivileges.
VirtualCenterandESXServerhostsprovidedefaultroles:
SystemrolesSystemrolesarepermanentandtheprivilegesassociatedwith
theserolescannotbechanged.
SamplerolesSamplerolesareprovidedforconvenienceasguidelinesand
suggestions.Theserolescanbemodifiedorremoved.
Youcanalsocreatecompletelynewroles.Table 171liststhedefaultrolesthatcanbe
pairedwithauserandassignedtoanobject.
NOTEBydefault,alluserswhoaremembersoftheWindowsAdministrators
groupontheVirtualCenterServeraregrantedthesameaccessrightsasanyuser
assignedtotheAdministratorrole.UserswhoaremembersoftheAdministrators
groupcanloginasindividualsandhavefullaccess.
NOTEWhenyouconnectdirectlytoanESXServerhostusingtheVIClient,youcannot
setvirtualmachineonlypermissions.Tosetpermissionsonindividualvirtual
machines,connecttothehostthroughVirtualCenterServer.
VMware, Inc. 273
Table 17-1. Default Roles
Role Role Type Description User Capabilities
NoAccessUser system Cannotvieworchangetheassignedobject.
VIClienttabsassociatedwithanobjectdisplay
withoutcontent.
Thisisthedefaultroleforallusersexceptthoseusers
intheAdministratorsgroup.
ReadOnlyUser system Viewthestateanddetailsabouttheobject.
ViewallthetabpanelsintheVIClientexceptthe
consoletab.Cannotperformanyactionsthroughthe
menusandtoolbars.
Administrator system Allprivilegesforallobjects.
Add,remove,andsetaccessrightsandprivilegesfor
alltheVirtualCenterusersandallthevirtualobjectsin
theVMwareInfrastructureenvironment.
Thisisthedefaultroleforallmembersofthe
Administratorsgroup.
VirtualMachine
User
sample Performactionsonvirtualmachinesonly.
Interactwithvirtualmachines,butnotchangethe
virtualmachineconfiguration.Thisincludes:
Allprivilegesforthescheduledtasksprivileges
group.
Selectedprivilegesfortheglobalitemsandvirtual
machineprivilegesgroups.
Noprivilegesforthefolder,datacenter,datastore,
network,host,resource,alarms,sessions,
performance,andpermissionsprivilegesgroups.
VirtualMachine
PowerUser
sample Performactionsonthevirtualmachineandresource
objects.
Interactandchangemostvirtualmachine
configurationsettings,takesnapshots,andschedule
tasks.Thisincludes:
Allprivilegesforscheduledtaskprivilegesgroup.
Selectedprivilegesforglobalitems,datastore,and
virtualmachineprivilegesgroups.
Noprivilegesforfolder,datacenter,network,host,
resource,alarms,sessions,performance,and
permissionsprivilegesgroups.
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Allrolespermittheusertoscheduletasksbydefault.Userscanscheduleonlytasks
theyhavepermissiontoperformatthetimethetasksarecreated.Usetheroleediting
facilitiesintheVIClienttocreateprivilegesetsthatmatchyouruserneeds.Ifyouuse
theVIClientconnectedtoVirtualCentertomanageyourhosts,youhaveadditional
rolestochoosefromVirtualCenter.TherolesyoucreatedirectlyonanESXServerhost
arenotaccessiblewithinVirtualCenter.Youcanworkwiththeserolesonlyifyoulog
intothehostdirectlyfromtheVIClient.
Activitiesyoucanperformwithrolesaredescribedinthefollowingsections:
CreatingRolesonpage 275
CloningRolesonpage 276
EditingRolesonpage 277
ResourcePool
Administrator
sample Performactionsondatastores,hosts,virtualmachines,
resources,andalarms.
Providesresourcedelegationandisassignedto
resourcepoolinventoryobjects.Thisincludes:
Allprivilegesforfolder,virtualmachine,alarms,
andscheduledtaskprivilegesgroups.
Selectedprivilegesforglobalitems,datastore,
resource,andpermissionsprivilegesgroups.
Noprivilegesfordatacenter,network,host,
sessions,orperformanceprivilegesgroups.
Datacenter
Administrator
sample Performactionsonglobalitems,folders,datacenters,
datastores,hosts,virtualmachines,resources,and
alarms.
Setupdatacenters,butwithlimitedabilitytointeract
withvirtualmachines.Thisincludes:
Allprivilegesforfolder,datacenter,datastore,
network,resource,alarms,andscheduledtask
privilegesgroups.
Selectedprivilegesforglobalitems,host,and
virtualmachineprivilegesgroups.
Noprivilegesforsession,performance,and
permissionprivilegesgroups.
VirtualMachine
Administrator
sample Performactionsonglobalitems,folders,datacenters,
datastores,hosts,virtualmachines,resources,alarms,
andsessions.Thisincludes:
Allprivilegesforallprivilegegroups,except
permissions.
Table 17-1. Default Roles (Continued)
Role Role Type Description User Capabilities
VMware, Inc. 275
RemovingRolesonpage 277
RenamingRolesonpage 278
Creating Roles
Someofthedefaultrolesarepreconfiguredandcannotbechanged.Ifyouhave
situationsthatrequireadifferentcombinationofaccessprivileges,createanadditional
roleormodifytheprovidedsamplerolestosuityourneeds.
To create a role
1 LogintotheVIClientconnectedtoeitheraVirtualCenterServeroranESXServer
hostasauserwithAdministratorprivileges.
2 FromtheVIClient,clicktheAdminbuttoninthenavigationbar.ClicktheRoles
tab.
3 RightclickintheRolestabinformationpanel.ChooseAdd.
TheAddRoledialogboxappears.
NOTEChangestopermissionsandrolesareimplementedimmediately,evenifthe
usersinvolvedareloggedon.
276 VMware, Inc.
4 Typeanameforthenewrole.
5 Selecttheprivilegesyouwantthenewroletohave.Clicktheplus(+)signsto
expandthelists,asneeded.ClickOKtocompletetheprocess.
Cloning Roles
Youcanmakeacopyofanexistingrole,renameit,andlatereditit.Whenyoumakea
copy,thenewroleisnotautomaticallyappliedtothesameuserorgroupsandobjects.
To clone a role
tab.
2 Toselecttheroletoduplicate,clicktheobjectinthelistofRoles.
3 Toclonetheselectedrole,chooseAdministration>Role>Clone.
Aduplicateoftheroleisaddedtothelistofroles.ThenameisCopy of
<rolename>.
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Editing Roles
Whenyoueditarole,youhavetheoptiontochangeanyoralloftheprivilegesselected
forthatrole.Whencompleted,thesenewprivilegesareappliedtoanyuserorgroup
assignedtheeditedrole.
To edit a permissions role
tab.
2 Toselecttheroletoedit,clicktheobjectinthelistofRoles.
3 ChooseAdministration>Role>EditRole.
4 Selecttheprivilegesyouwantthenewroletohave.Clicktheplus(+)signsto
expandthelists,asneeded.
5 ClickOKtocompletetheprocess.
Removing Roles
Whenyouremovearole,ifitisnotassignedtoanyusersorgroups,thedefinitionis
removedfromthelistofpossibleroles.Whenyouremovearolethatisassignedtoa
userorgroupyoucanremoveallassignmentsorreplacethemwithanassignmentto
anotherrole.
To remove an existing role
tab.
2 Toselecttheroletoremove,clicktheobjectinthelistofroles.
YoucanselectmultiplerolesusingtheCtrlorShiftkeys.
3 ChooseAdministration>Role>Remove.
CAUTIONBesurethatyouunderstandhowuserswillbeaffectedbeforeremovingall
assignmentsorreplacingthem.
278 VMware, Inc.
4 Toconfirmthatyouwanttodeletetheselectedrole,clickOK.
Theroleisremovedfromthelistandisnolongeravailableforassigningtousers
orgroups.
Iftheroleisassignedtoauserorgroup,awarningmessageappears.
5 SelectoneoftheradiobuttonoptionsandclickOK.
Theoptionsare:
RemoveRoleAssignmentsThisoptionremovesanyconfigureduseror
group+rolepairingsontheserver.Ifauserorgroupdoesnothaveanyother
permissionsassigned,theyloseallprivileges.
ReassignaffecteduserstoThisoptionreassignsanyconfigureduseror
group+rolepairingstotheselectednewrole.
Renaming Roles
Roles,likemostotherVMwareInfrastructureobjects,canberenamed.
To rename an existing role
tab.
2 Toselecttheroletorename,clicktheobjectinthelistofroles.
3 ChooseAdministration>Role>Rename.
4 Typethenewname.PressEnterorclickanotherobject.
Access Permissions
ForeachobjectintheVMwareInfrastructurehierarchy,determinethepermissionsfor
eachVirtualCenteruserandgroup.
IfyouremoveusersfromanESXServerhost,seetheSecuritychapterintheESXServer3
ConfigurationGuideorESXServer3iConfigurationGuideforprocessandconsequences.
NOTESeveraluserscanaccesstheVirtualCenterServerfromdifferentVMware
InfrastructureClientsessionsatthesametime.VMwareInfrastructuredoesnot
explicitlyrestrictuserswiththesameauthenticationcredentialsfromaccessingand
takingactionwithintheVMwareInfrastructureenvironment.
VMware, Inc. 279
IfyouremoveusersfromtheVirtualCenterdomain,theylosepermissionstoallobjects
intheVMwareInfrastructureandwillnotbeabletologinagain.Userswhoare
currentlyloggedonandareremovedfromthedomainretaintheirVMware
Infrastructurepermissionsonlyuntilthenextvalidationperiod(thedefaultisevery
24 hours).Removingagroupdoesnotaffectthepermissionsgrantedindividuallyto
theusersinthatgroup,orthosegrantedaspartofinclusioninanothergroup.
Ifyouchangeausersnameinthedomain,theexistingusernamebecomesinvalidin
theVMwareInfrastructuresystem.Thesamemethodologyappliestogroups,butthis
appliestoagrouponlyafterVirtualCenterServerhasbeenrestarted.
Assigning Access Permissions
Afteranyadditionalrolesaredefinedandusersandgroupsarecreated,youmust
assigntheusersandgroupstheirroles,withassociatedpermissions,totherelevant
inventoryobjects.
To assign a user or group permission
1 LogintotheVIClientasauserwiththeAdministratorprivileges.
2 FromtheVIClient,clicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar.Expandthe
inventoryasneeded,andclicktheappropriateobject.
Theobjectsthatcanhavepermissionsassignedtothemare:
InVirtualCenterFolders,datacenters,clusters,resourcepools,hosts
InESXServerResourcepools,thehost,virtualmachines
3 Withtheappropriateobjectselected,clickthePermissionstab.
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4 RightclickinthePermissionstabandchooseAddPermission.
5 ChoosearolefromtheAssignedRoledropdownmenu.
Thismenudisplaysalltherolesthathavebeenassignedtothathost.Whentherole
isdisplayed,theprivilegesgrantedontherolearelistedinthesectionbelowthe
roletitleforreferencepurposes.
6 (Optional)SelectthePropagatetoChildObjectscheckbox.
Ifthischeckboxisselected,theroleisalsoappliedtoallchildobjectsoftheselected
inventoryobject.Mostofthetimeselectingthisboxisappropriate.
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7 ClicktheAddbuttontoopentheSelectUsersorGroupsdialogbox.
SeeAdjustingtheSearchListinLargeDomainsonpage 282forinformationon
adjustingthelistofusersandgroupsyouselectfrom.
8 Identifytheuserorgroupthatisbeingassignedthisrole:
a ChoosethedomainwheretheuserorgroupislocatedfromtheDomain
dropdownmenu.
b TypeanameintheSearchboxorselectanamefromtheNamelist.
c ClickAdd.
ThenameisaddedtoeithertheUsersorGroupslist.
d RepeatstepathroughStep ctoaddadditionalusersorgroups.
e ClickOKwhenfinished.
Ifyouknowtheuserorgroupname,youcantypeitintheNamefieldmanually.
9 Verifytheusersandgroupsareassignedtotheappropriatepermissions,andclick
OK.
10 Tofinishthetask,clickOK.
Theserveraddsthepermissiontothelistofpermissionsfortheobject.
Thelistofpermissionsreferencesallusersandgroupsthathaverolesassignedto
theobject,andindicateswhereintheVirtualCenterhierarchytheroleisassigned.
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Adjusting the Search List in Large Domains
Ifyouhavedomainswiththousandsofusersorgroupsinthem,adjustthesearch
settingsforuseintheSelectUsersorGroupsdialogbox.
To adjust users and groups search parameters
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,chooseAdministration>
VirtualCenterManagementServerConfiguration.
TheVirtualCenterConfigurationwizardappears.
2 Whenthewizardisdisplayed,clicktheActiveDirectorylistitem.
3 Changethevaluesasneeded:
ActiveDirectoryTimeoutSpecifiesinsecondsthemaximumamountof
timeVirtualCenterallowsthesearchtorunontheselecteddomain.Searching
verylargedomainscantakeaverylongtime.
EnableQueryLimitandUsers&GroupsvalueSpecifiesthemaximum
numberofusersandgroupsVirtualCenterdisplaysfromtheselecteddomain
intheSelectUsersorGroupsdialogbox.Tospecifynomaximumlimit,
deselectthecheckbox.
EnableValidationandValidationPeriodSpecifiesthetimeinminutes
betweenpermissionschecks.VirtualCenterverifiesthatallusersandgroups
knowntoVirtualCentercurrentlyexistinWindows.
Forexample,ifuserSmithwasassignedpermissionsandinthedomainthe
usersnamewaschangedtoSmith2,VirtualCenterconcludesthatSmithno
longerexistsandremovespermissionsforthatuser.
Similarly,ifuserSmithisremovedfromthedomain,allpermissionsare
irrelevant.ThatisuntilanewuserSmithisaddedtothedomain.Thenewuser
SmithreceivesallthepermissionstheolduserSmithwasassigned,unlessyou
usethisoptiontodeleteolduserSmithfromthesystem.
Todeactivatethevalidationfunctions,deselectthecheckbox.
4 ClickOK.
NOTEThisprocedureappliesonlytoVirtualCenteruserlists.ESXServeruserlists
cannotbesearchedinthesameway.
NOTEPermissionsarealwaysvalidatedwhentheserverstarts.Evenifthe
serverisdisabled.
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Changing Access Permissions
Afterauserorgroup+rolepairissetforaninventoryobject,theonlychangeyoucan
makeistotherolepairedwiththeuserorgroupandthePropagatecheckbox.Youdo
havetheoptiontoremovethepermissionsetting.SeeRemovingAccessPermissions
onpage 284forinformation.
To change the permission role for a user or group
2 Withtheobjectselected,clickthePermissionstab.
3 Toselecttheuserorgroup+rolepairthatyouwanttochange,clicktheappropriate
lineitem.
4 ChooseInventory>Permissions>Properties.
5 Toselecttheappropriaterolefortheuserorgroup,choosefromthedropdown
menu.ClickOK.
6 Topropagatetheprivilegestothechildrenoftheassignedinventoryobject,click
thePropagatecheckbox.
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Removing Access Permissions
Removingapermissionforauserorgroupdoesnotremovetheuserorgroupfromthe
listofthoseavailable.Italsodoesnotremovetherolefromthelistofavailableitems.
It removestheuserorgroup+rolepairfromtheselectedinventoryobject.
To remove a permission role for a user or group
2 Withtheobjectselected,clickthePermissionstab.
3 Toselecttheuserorgroup+rolepairthatyouwanttodelete,clicktheappropriate
lineitem.
4 ChooseInventory>Permissions>Delete.
TheVMwareInfrastructureserverremovesthepermissionsetting.
NOTEThereisnoadditionalwarningthatthepermissionisgoingtoberemoved.
VMware, Inc. 285
18
Thischapterdescribeshowtosetupperformancestatisticsforhosts,clusters,resource
pools,andvirtualmachines.Italsoprovidesinformationoncustomizingandviewing
performancechartsandresourcemaps.
StatisticsCollectiononpage 285
PerformanceChartsonpage 293
ResourceMapsonpage 297
Statistics Collection
Youcancollectperformancestatisticsforallhosts,clusters,virtualmachines,resource
pools,andinyourenvironment.ThisincludesstatisticaldataonCPUs,disks,
networks,andthelike.VirtualCenterusesstatisticcounterstoqueryeachentityand
writesthedatatotheVirtualCenterdatabase.Toensureperformanceisnotimpaired
whencollectingandwritingthedatatothedatabase,VirtualCenterperformscyclical
queriesratherthanperformingonesinglequery.Italsousescollectionlevelsto
determinehowmanystatisticcounterstousewhilequeryingfordata.Combined,
collectionintervalsandcollectionlevelsenableyoutocontrolhowstatisticsare
collectedacrossyourenvironment.
Setting Up and Monitoring
Performance Statistics and
Resource Maps 18
286 VMware, Inc.
About Collection Intervals and Collection Levels
Bydefault,VirtualCenterhasfourcollectionintervals:Day,Week,Month,andYear.
Eachintervalspecifiesalengthofatimeduringwhichstatisticsarecollectedatacertain
frequency.Forexample,theDayintervalsetsstatisticstobecollectedevery5minutes
duringa1dayperiod,asshowninFigure 181,Example:DailyStatisticsCollection,
onpage 286.
Figure 18-1. Example: Daily Statistics Collection
Table 181belowliststhedefaultintervaldurationandcollectionfrequencyvaluefor
eachinterval.
Table 18-1. Interval Duration and Collection Frequency: Defaults
Collection
Interval
Interval
Duration
Collection
Frequency Configurable Attributes Possible Values
Day 1Day 5Minutes IntervalLength(Days)13
CollectionFrequency(Minutes)1,2,3,5
Week 1Week 30Minutes None
Month 1Month 2Hours None
Year 1Year 1Days IntervalLength(Years)13(SEEUPDATE)
VMware, Inc. 287
Chapter 18 Setting Up and Monitoring Performance Statistics and Resource Maps
Eachcollectionintervalalsohasadefaultcollectionlevelthatdetermineshowmany
countersareusedwhencollectingstatisticsdata.Countersestablishwhichmetricsare
retrievedandrecordedinthedatabase.Youcanassignacollectionlevelof14toeach
collectioninterval,withlevel4havingthelargestnumberofcounters.Bydefault,all
collectionintervalsusecollectionlevel1.
Table 182,StatisticCollectionLevels,onpage 287describesthestatisticscollection
levelsandprovidesrecommendationsonwhentousethem.
NOTEThecollectionlevelforanintervalcannotbegreaterthanthecollectionlevelset
fortheprecedingcollectioninterval.Forexample,iftheMonthintervalissetto
collectionlevel3,theYearintervalcanbesettocollectionlevel1,2,or3,butnotto
collectionlevel4.
NOTEThecollectionlevelvalueforacollectionintervalmustbelessthanorequalto
thecollectionlevelsetfortheproceedingcollectioninterval.ThisisaVirtualCenter
dependency.
Table 18-2. Statistic Collection Levels
Collection Level Metrics Best Practice
Level1 Basicmetrics:
AverageusageforCPU,memory,
disk,andnetworkcounters
Systemuptimeandheartbeat
DRSmetrics
Useforlongtermperformance
monitoringwhendevice
statisticsarenotrequired.
Level1isthedefaultCollection
LevelforallCollectionIntervals.
Level2 Allmetricsfor:
CPU,memory,disk,andnetwork
counters
Average,summation,andlatest
rolluptypes(doesnotinclude
maximumandminimumrollup
types)
Systemuptimeandheartbeat
DRSmetrics
Useforlongtermperformance
monitoringwhendevice
statisticsarenotrequiredbut
youwanttomonitormorethan
thebasicstatistics.
288 VMware, Inc.
Collection Level Scenarios
Formostpurposes,settingthecollectionlevelto1or2isadequateforallcollection
intervals.Reasonstousecollectionlevel2:
Toidentifyvirtualmachinesthatcanbecolocatedbecauseofcomplimentary
memorysharing.
Todetecttheamountofactivememoryonahosttodeterminewhetheritcan
handleadditionalvirtualmachines.
Reasonstousecollectionlevel3:
TocomparereadyandwaittimesofvirtualCPUstodeterminetheeffectivenessof
VSMP.
Todiagnoseproblemswithdevices,orcompareperformanceamongmultiple
devices.
Reasonstousecollectionlevel4:
Todeterminewhetheradeviceisbeingsaturated.
Totroubleshooterrors.
Level3 Allmetricsforallcountergroups,
excluding
thoseformaximumandminimum
rolluptypes.
Useforshorttermperformance
monitoringafterencountering
problemsorwhendevice
statisticsarerequired.
Duetothelargequantityof
troubleshootingdataretrieved
andrecorded,uselevel3forthe
shortesttimeperiodpossible
theDayorWeekcollection
interval.
Level4 Allmetricsforallcountergroups
supportedbyVirtualCenter.
Useforshorttermperformance
monitoringafterencountering
problemsorwhendevice
statisticsarerequired.
Duetothelargequantityof
troubleshootingdataretrieved
andrecorded,uselevel4forthe
shortestamountoftimepossible.
Table 18-2. Statistic Collection Levels (Continued)
Collection Level Metrics Best Practice
VMware, Inc. 289
Using Collection Levels Effectively
Toretrievemoredetailedmetricsforashortperiodoftime,viewarealtimedata
chartratherthanincreasethecollectionlevel.Viewingrealtimedatahasless
impactonperformancebecausemetricsareretrieveddirectlyfromthesource
withoutbeingwrittentotheVirtualCenterdatabase.Formoreinformationondata
charts,seePerformanceChartsonpage 293.
Whenyouusecollectionlevel3or4todiagnoseproblems,resetthecollectionlevel
toitspreviousstateassoonaspossible.
Whenyouusecollectionlevel4,trytolimitthecollectionperiodtotheDay
intervalsothedatabaseisntimpacted.Ifyouneedtosavethedataforlongerthan
1day,increasetheDayintervaldurationto2or3ratherthanusetheWeek
interval.Forexample,ifyouneedtorecorddataovertheweekend,settheinterval
to3days.Asarule,increasethecollectionintervaltotheWeekintervalonlywhen
youneedtheintervaldurationtobemorethan3days.
How statistical data is stored in the database
Thestatisticaldataforeachcollectionintervalisstoredinitsowndatabasetable.Atthe
endofaninterval,oneoftwothingscanoccur:
Ifthenextintervalisdisabled,thedatainthetablethatisolderthantheinterval
durationispurged.
Ifthenextintervalisenabled,thedataisaggregatedintogroupsandisrolledupto
thedatabasetableofthesubsequentcollectioninterval.Forexample,saytheDay
intervalhasa5minutecollectionfrequencyandtheWeekintervalhasa30minute
collectionfrequency.WhentheDayintervalcompletes,itaggregatesthe5minute
queriesintogroupsof6(equalling30minutes)androllsthe30minutedatablock
totheWeekintervaldatabasetable.Thedayolddataisthenpurgedfromthe
databasetomakeroomfornewqueries.Figure 181,Example:DailyStatistics
Collection,onpage 286showsthedefaultrollupprocess.
290 VMware, Inc.
Figure 18-2. Default Rollup of Statistics Data
Youcontrolhowlongstatisticaldataisstoredinthedatabasebyenablingordisabling
acollectioninterval.Whenyoudisableacollectioninterval,allsubsequentintervalsare
automaticallydisabled.Forexample,whenyoudisabletheWeekinterval,theMonth
andYearintervalsarealsodisabled.DataispurgedattheendoftheDayintervalcycle
sincenorollupscanoccur.Oldestdataispurgedfirst.
(SEEUPDATE)Bydefault,statisticsarestoredintheVirtualCenterdatabasefor1year;
however,youcanincreasethisto3years.VMwaresuggestsyouarchiveyourstatistical
dataoutsideoftheVirtualCenterdatabasetosaveitforlongerthan3years.
NOTEYoumustmanuallyenableeachcollectionintervaltouseitagain;subsequent
collectionintervalsarenotenabledautomatically.Also,youcanonlyenableacollection
intervalifallpreviouscollectionintervalsareenabled.Forexample,toenablethe
Monthinterval,theDayandWeekintervalsmustbeenabled.
VMware, Inc. 291
Configuring Statistics Collection Intervals
Bydefault,allcollectionintervalsareenabledandqueryforstatisticsatcollectionlevel2.
Youcanchangethedefaultimplementationby:
Changingtheintervallengthorcollectionfrequency.
Changingthecollectionlevel.
Enablingordisablingacollectioninterval.
Toensureyourdatabasecanhandlethestatisticscollectionyouconfigure,VIClient
providesyouwithadatabaseestimationcalculatorinwhichyouenterthenumberof
hostsandvirtualmachinesinyourinventory.Thecalculatorusesthesenumbersto
determinehowmuchdatabasespaceisrequiredforthecollectioninterval
configurationyoudefined.Thisensuresyouhavenecessaryresources.
Forinformationonhowtousethedatabaseestimationcalculator,seeToestimatethe
statisticsimpactonthedatabaseonpage 293.
To configure collection intervals
1 InVIClient,chooseAdministration>VirtualCenterManagementServer
ConfigurationtoopentheVirtualCenterManagementServerConfiguration
dialogbox.
2 SelectStatisticsinthenavigationpanel.
3 Ifnecessary,selectthecollectionintervalcheckboxtoenableordisableit.
292 VMware, Inc.
4 Selecttherowcontainingthecollectioninterval.
5 ClickEdit.TheEditCollectionIntervaldialogboxopens.
6 Changethefollowingattributevalueswhereappropriate:
CollectionFrequency
Keepsamplesfor
CollectionLevel
Foralistofcollectionintervalattributesthatareconfigurable,SeeTable 182,
StatisticCollectionLevels,onpage 287.
Foradescriptionofcollectionfrequencyandduration,seeAboutCollection
IntervalsandCollectionLevelsonpage 286.
7 ClickOK.
8 RepeatStep 3Step 7foreachcollectionintervaltochange.
9 Validatethenewconfigurationbyusingthedatabaseestimationcalculator.
EnterthenumberofPhysicalHostsinyourinventory.
EnterthenumberofVirtualMachinesinyourinventory.
To enable or disable a collection interval
1 IntheVirtualCenterManagementServerConfigurationdialogbox,select
Statistics.
Toenableacollectioninterval,selectitscheckboxunderIntervalDuration.
Todisableacollectioninterval,deselectitscheckboxunderInterval
Duration.
3 (Optional)Validatethechangebyusingthedatabaseestimationcalculator.
EnterthenumberofPhysicalHostsinyourinventory.
EnterthenumberofVirtualMachinesinyourinventory.
NOTETokeepdatasamplesformorethan3years,archiveitoutsideofthe
VirtualCenterdatabase.
NOTEWhenyoudisableacollectioninterval,allsubsequentintervalsare
automaticallydisabled.
VMware, Inc. 293
To estimate the statistics impact on the database
1 Configureyourcollectionintervals.SeeToconfigurecollectionintervals.
2 EnterthenumberofPhysicalHostsinyourinventory.
3 EnterthenumberofVirtualMachinesinyourinventory.
Performance Charts
Performancechartsdisplayperformancedataforavarietyofmetrics.Performance
chartsareaccessiblethroughthePerformancetab,whichisavailableforhosts,clusters,
resourcepools,andvirtualmachines.Performancedataisspecifictothetypeofobject.
Forexample,virtualmachineperformancemetricsaredifferentfromcluster
performancemetrics.
Chartscandisplayrealtimedata(20secondintervalsforESXServer3.xhosts;
60 secondintervalsforESXServer2.xhosts)orhistoricaldata.Theamountofhistorical
datacollecteddependsonthefollowingsettings:
StatisticsCollectionIntervals
StatisticsCollectionLevels
Formoreinformationonthesesettings,seeConfiguringStatisticsCollection
Intervalsonpage 291.
RealtimedatacanbeviewedthroughaVIClientconnectedtoeitheraVirtualCenter
serverordirectlytoanESXServerhost.Historicaldata,however,canbeviewedonly
throughaVIClientconnectedtoVirtualCenter.Allperformancedataisavailableto
externalprogramsthroughtheVMwareInfrastructureSDK.
Viewing Charts
Severalchartviewsarepreconfiguredforyou.Achartviewisacollectionofsettingsthat
definewhatdatathechartdisplays.Settingsforpreconfiguredviewscanbe
customized,orentirelynewviewscanbecreated.Chartsdisplaydataaslinegraphsor
stackedgraphs.Stackedgraphsarelimitedtodisplayingdataonasinglemetric,but
canplotthedataonthatmetricformultipleinventoryobjects.
NOTEFullchartfunctionalityisavailabletoVIClientsessionsonlywhentheyare
connectedto,andwhenthemonitoreditemsaremanagedby,VirtualCenter.VIClients
connecteddirectlytoESXServerhostsonlydisplayrealtimestatisticsand5minute
statisticsfor1day.
294 VMware, Inc.
To view performance charts
1 Selectahost,cluster,resourcepool,orvirtualmachineintheinventorypanel.
2 SelectthePerformancetab.
Figure 18-3. VI Client displaying Performance tab for virtual machine.
3 SelectanoptionfromtheSwitchtomenutoviewadifferentchart.Preconfigured
chartsincludethefollowing:
CPUShowstheCPUusageinMHzoftheselectedinventoryobject.
Availableforcluster,resourcepool,host,andvirtualmachine.
MemoryShowstheamountofmemorygrantedtotheselectedinventory
object.Availableforcluster,resourcepool,host,andvirtualmachine.
DiskShowstheaggregatedstorageperformancestatisticsoftheselected
inventoryobject.Availableforhostandvirtualmachine.
NetworkShowstheaggregatednetworkperformancestatisticsofthe
selectedinventoryobject.Availableforhostandvirtualmachine.
SystemAvailableforhostandvirtualmachine.
ClusterServicesAvailableforDRS/HAclustersandhoststhatarepartof
DRSclusters.
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Saving Chart Data to a File
YoucansavechartdatatoafileinvariousgraphicsformatsorinMicrosoftExcel
format.
To save chart data to a file
1 InthePerformancetab,clicktheexporticon( )toopenafilebrowser.
2 Selectthelocationwhereyouwanttostorethefile.
3 Enteranameforthefile.
4 Selectafiletype(JPEG,PNG,GIF,Bitmap,MicrosoftOfficeExcelWorkbook).
5 ClickSave.
YoucanalsoexportperformancedataforaselectedinventoryitemtoaMicrosoftOffice
ExcelfilethroughtheExportPerformancedialogbox.Toaccessthatdialogbox,select
Report>PerformancefromtheFilemenu,orselectReportPerformancefromthe
inventoryitemsrightclickmenu.
Customizing Chart Views
Youcancustomizepreconfiguredviews,orcreateentirelynewviews.Newviewsare
addedtotheSwitchtomenu.Changestochartoptionstakeeffectimmediately.
296 VMware, Inc.
To customize charts
1 InthePerformancetab,clickChangeChartOptions.TheCustomizePerformance
Chartdialogboxisdisplayed.
Figure 18-4. Customize Performance Chart dialog box.
2 IntheChartOptionsarea,selectametricandatimerangetoaccessthesettingsfor
thatchart,orselectCustomtocreateanentirelynewchartwithatimerangeyou
specify.
3 AdjustthesettingstoyourlikingandclickApply.Seetheperformancechart
measurementtablesinAppendix Cfordetailedinformationaboutsettingoptions.
NOTEConsiderthefollowingwhencreatingastackedgraphchart:
AnynumberofitemsintheObjectsareacanbeselected.However,onlyone
itemintheCounterareacanbeselected.Astackedgraphcannotchartmore
thanonemeasurementoverasetofobjects.
Pervirtualmachinestackedgraphsareavailableonlyforhosts.Thehostand
allvirtualmachinesonitareavailableforselectionintheObjectsarea.
Somemetricsarenotapplicabletovirtualmachinestackedcharts.These
metricsarenotincludedinthelistofselectablemeasurements.
VMware, Inc. 297
To save your settings as a new chart view
1 IntheCustomizePerformanceChartdialogbox,clickSaveChartSettings.
The SaveSelectiondialogboxisdisplayed.
2 SelectachartandclickOK.YoursettingsaresavedandaddedtotheSwitchto
menu,andtheSaveSelectiondialogboxisclosed.
To delete chart views
1 IntheCustomizePerformanceChartdialogbox,clickManageCharts.Adialog
boxisdisplayed.
2 SelectachartandclickDelete.ThechartisdeletedanditisremovedfromSwitchto
menu.
3 ClickOKtoclosethedialogboxandreturntotheCustomizePerformanceChart
dialogbox.
Resource Maps
InVirtualCenter,amapisavisualrepresentationofyourdatacenterstopology.Maps
provideavisualrepresentationoftherelationshipsbetweenthevirtualandphysical
resourcesavailableinVirtualCenter.Thefollowingpreconfiguredmapviewsare
available:
VirtualMachineResourcesDisplaysvirtualmachinecentricrelationships.
HostResourcesDisplayshostcentricphysicalrelationships.
VMotionResourceDisplayspotentialhostsforVMotionmigration.SeeAbout
VMotionResourceMaps.
Amapviewlimitsorexpandsthescopeofamap,asdoesthelocationwhereyouare
viewingthemap.WhenaccessingmapviewsfromtheMapsbuttoninthenavigation
bar,allVirtualCenterresourcesareavailablefordisplay.Whenaccessingmapviews
fromtheMapstabofaselectedinventoryitem,onlyitemsrelevanttothatitemare
availablefordisplay.TheonlymapviewavailablethroughtheMapstabforvirtual
machineinventoryitemsistheVMotionResourcesview.Allmapviews,except
VMotionResourcesmaps,canbecustomized.
Viewingmapscanhelpyoudeterminesuchthingsaswhichclustersorhostsaremost
denselypopulated,whichnetworksaremostcritical,andwhichstoragedevicesare
beingutilized.
NOTEMapsareavailableonlywhentheVIClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer.
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About VMotion Resource Maps
VMotionResourcemaps,likeothermaps,provideavisualrepresentationofthe
resources(hosts,datastores,andnetworks)associatedwiththeselectedvirtual
machine.Inadditiontothisbasicinformation,thesemapsalsoindicatethehostsinthe
virtualmachinesclusterordatacenterwhicharepotentialmigrationtargets.Thatis,
themapindicateswhichhostsarecompatiblewiththeselectedvirtualmachinesuch
thatVMotioncouldpotentiallymigratethevirtualmachinetooneofthecompatible
hosts.HostsmarkedasVMotioncompatiblemustmeetthefollowingcriteria:
DatastorecompatibilityHostmustbeconnectedtoallthesamedatastoresasthe
virtualmachine.
NetworkcompatibilityHostmustbeconnectedtoallthesamenetworksasthe
virtualmachine.
SoftwarecompatibilityHostmusthavecompatiblesoftwarewiththevirtual
machine.
CPUcompatibilityHostCPUmustbecompatiblewiththevirtualmachine.
Map Elements and Icons
Thefollowingtabledescribesmapelementsandiconsaredescribedinthefollowing
table.
NOTETheVMotionmapisnotaconclusivestatementastowhetherVMotionis
possiblebetweenthevirtualmachineandhostsidentifiedaspossiblemigrationtargets.
However,itdoesprovideinformationastowhetherVMotionmightbepossible,andif
not,whatanadministratormightdotoremedythesituation.
Table 18-3. Map Elements and Icons
Attribute Description
Hosticon.
AhostthatiscompatibleforVMotionmigration.Thecolorofthe
circlevariesinintensitybasedontheloadofthecurrenthost.Heavily
usedhostsarepale;lowloadhostsaresaturatedgreen.
AhostthatisnotcompatibleforVMotionmigration.
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Viewing Maps
GlobalmapsmapswhereallVirtualCenterobjectsareavailablefordisplayare
accessiblethroughtheMapsbuttoninthenavigationbar.
MapsforspecificinventoryobjectsareavailablethroughtheMapstabforthoseobjects.
ToaccessaninventoryobjectsMapstab,selecteithertheHostsandClustersorthe
VirtualMachinesandTemplatesoptionfromtheInventorybuttoninthenavigation
bar,thenselectaninventoryitem.
Youcancustomizeamapviewbyselectingordeselectingobjectsintheinventorypane
(globalmaps),orbyselectingordeselectingoptionsintheMapRelationshipsarea.
Youcanrepositionthemapbydraggingit(clickanywhereonthemap,hold,drag).A
greyboxintheoverviewarearepresentsthesectionofthetotalmapthatisviewable
andmovesasyoudragthemap.Youcanresizethegreyboxtozoominoroutofa
sectionofthemap.
YoucandoubleclickanyobjectinamaptoswitchtotheMaptabforthatitem
(providingaMaptabisavailableforthattypeofobject).Youcanrightclickonany
objectinamaptoaccessitsrightclickmenu.
Virtualmachineicon.
Networkicon.
Datastoreicon.
Overviewsection Thumbnailgraphicofthefullscalemap.
MapRelationships
section
Displayedwhenmorethanonemapviewisavailable.
Refreshlink Mapsdonotautorefresh.ClickRefreshtosynchronizeyourmap
withthecurrentstateoftheinventoryandtocenterthemapview.
Table 18-3. Map Elements and Icons (Continued)
Attribute Description
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Printing Maps
YoucanprintmapsbyselectingFile>PrintMaps>Print,orbyclickingthePrintbutton
(globalmaps).
Exporting Maps
Youcanexportmapstoimagefiles(BPM,JPEG,orEMF)byselectingFile>Export>
ExportMaps,orbyclickingtheExportbutton(globalmaps).
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19
ManagingTasksonpage 301
ManagingEventsonpage 311
ManagingAlarmsonpage 316
Managing Tasks
ThissectiondescribeshowtoviewandscheduleVirtualCentertasks.Tasksareplanned
activities.Theseactivitiesarescheduledorinitiatedmanually.Tasksgenerateevent
messagesthatindicateanyissuesassociatedwiththetask.Therearetwokindsoftasks:
Anunscheduledtask,whichcanresultfromperforminganoperationthatmight
takeawhile,likeaddingahost.
Ascheduledtask,whichyousetuptoinitiateatafuturetime.
Managing Tasks, Events,
and Alarms 19
NOTETheviewsandcapabilitiesdisplayedvarydependingonwhetherthe
VI ClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServeroranESXServer.Unlessindicated,
theprocess,task,ordescriptionappliestobothkindsofVIClientconnections.The
TasksoptionisnotavailablewhentheVIClientisconnectedtoanESXServer,but
itdoesoffertherecenttaskswindowatthebottomoftheVIClientwindow.
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Thissectioncontainsthefollowingsections:
UnderstandingTasksonpage 302
ViewingandPerformingTasksonpage 303
ManagingScheduledTasksonpage 305
ReschedulingaScheduledTaskonpage 308
RemovingaScheduledTaskonpage 308
CancelingaTaskonpage 309
Understanding Tasks
ThescheduledtasksoptionallowsyoutoconfigureselectedVirtualCenteractivitiesto
occuratdesignatedtimes.Thetimingoptionsincludeimmediately,later,orona
recurringbasis.Scheduledtasksareperformedinadditiontomanuallydriven
activities.
CreateascheduledtaskthroughtheNewTaskwizard,whichdisplaystheavailable
taskoptions.Afteryouselectanoption,thewizarddisplaysthepagesthatarerelevant
tothetypeoftaskyouarescheduling.TheNewTaskwizardendswhenyousetthe
timingofthetask.Afteryoucreateatask,youcanreschedulethetasktochangeits
timingandfrequency.
Ifthedirectionsofmanuallydrivenandscheduledactivitiesconflict,VirtualCenter
performswhicheveractivityisduefirst.Ifavirtualmachineisinanincorrectstateto
performanyactivity,manualorscheduled,VirtualCentersendsamessagetothelog
anddoesnotperformthetask.
Whenyoucreateascheduledtask,VirtualCenterverifiesthatyouhavethecorrect
permissionstoperformtheactionsontherelevantdatacenters,hosts,andvirtual
machines.Afterthetaskiscreated,thetaskisperformedevenifyounolongerhave
permissiontoperformthetask.
WhenanobjectisremovedfromVirtualCenter,allassociatedtasksarealsoremoved.
Eventsareloggedtotheeventlogatstartandcompletionofthetasks.Anyerrorsthat
occurduringthetaskarealsorecordedintheeventlog.
CAUTIONDonotschedulemultipletaskstobeperformedatthesametimeonthesame
object.Theresultsareunpredictable.
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Chapter 19 Managing Tasks, Events, and Alarms
Viewing and Performing Tasks
Youhavetheoptiontoviewthelistoftasksassociatedwithparticularinventoryobjects
orthecompletelistoftasksassignedtotheentireVirtualCenterinventory.Tasks
includeactivitiessuchaspoweringonoroffavirtualmachine,cloningavirtual
machine,oraddingavirtualmachinetoaresourcepool.
TasksarenottrackedorscheduledonyourESXServerhostunlesstheESXServeris
registeredandconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer.
To view recent tasks
FromtheVIClientconnectedtoanESXServeroraVirtualCenterServer,clicktheTasks
togglebuttononthelowerleftsideoftheVIClientwindow.
To perform a task on an ESX Server
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoanESXServer,clicktheInventorybuttoninthe
navigationbar.Expandtheinventoryasneeded,andclicktheobjectwherethe
actionistobeperformed.
2 Choosetheactivityfromthemainorpopupmenuassociatedwiththeobject.
Forexample,selectavirtualmachine,rightclick,andchoosethePowerOnoption.
To schedule or view a list of tasks on an ESX Server
AddthehosttotheVirtualCenterinventory.
SeeAddingaHostonpage 129formoreinformation.
ToscheduleataskonaVirtualCenterServer,seeManagingScheduledTaskson
page 305.
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To view a list of tasks completed on a VirtualCenter Server
1 FromtheVIClient,clicktheInventory,andclicktherootfolder.
2 ClicktheTask&Eventstab.ClicktheTasksbuttonontheTasks&Eventspanel.
3 Clickataskinthepanel.
DetailedinformationappearsintheTaskDetailspane.
To sort the list of tasks
1 FromtheVIClient,displaytheinventorypanel,selecttheappropriateobjectand
viewtheTasks&Eventspanel.
2 Clickthecolumntitle.Ittogglesbetweenascendinganddescendingsort.
To filter the list of tasks
1 FromtheVIClient,expandtheinventoryasneeded,andclicktheappropriate
object.
2 ClicktheTask&Eventstab.ClicktheTasksbuttonontheTasks&Eventspanel.
3 ChooseView>Filtering,ifneeded.
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4 Clickthelistarrow,andclickthecolumntoincludeinthefiltersearch.
5 Typeakeywordintothebox,andpressEnter.
Thelistoftasksdisplaysonlythoseitemsthatcontainthekeywordyoutyped.
Managing Scheduled Tasks
Youcanscheduletaskstooccuratdesignatedtimes.Eachscheduletaskoptionrunsthe
correspondingwizardforthetaskandaddsaschedulingtimeoptionattheendofthe
wizard.ThepossibletasksthatcanbescheduledthroughtheNewTaskwizardare
listedbelow.Seethelisteddocumentforinformationoncompletingtheindividualtask
wizards:
Changethepowerstateofavirtualmachine(seeChangingVirtualMachine
PowerStatesonpage 169)
Createavirtualmachinetemplate(seeCreatingTemplatesonpage 204)
MoveavirtualmachinewithVMotion(seeMigrationwithVMotionon
page 233)
Createavirtualmachine(seeUsingtheNewVirtualMachineWizardon
page 144)
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Takeasnapshotofavirtualmachine(seeUnderstandingSnapshotsonpage 253)
Customizeavirtualmachine(seePreparingforGuestCustomizationon
page 216)
Addahost(seeAddingaHostonpage 129)
To create a scheduled task
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,clicktheScheduledTasks
optioninthenavigationbar.
Thecurrentlistofscheduledtasksappears.
2 ClickNewinthetoolbar,orchooseFile>New>ScheduledTask.
3 Selectthetaskyouwanttoschedulefromthedropdownmenu.ClickOK.
4 Completethetaskspecificinformation.
TheNewTaskwizarddisplaysaseriesofpagesthatcorrespondtothepagesyou
seewhenyouperformthetaskstartingfromtheselectedobject.
Seethesectionorthemanualthatisappropriateforeachoptionforspecific
informationoneachtask.Mostoftheschedulingprocessesdifferfrommanually
performedtasksonlyinthatyoumustspecifythevirtualmachine,host,or
datacentertowhichthetaskappliesandspecifythetimetoperformthetask.
5 Selectthefrequencyofthescheduledtask,andcompetetheschedulingaccording
totheoptiondescribedinTable 191.
ThetimewhenascheduledtaskoccursisrelativetotheVirtualCenterServerand
nottothelocalVIClientfromwhichyouconfigurethetask.
NOTEAnyoperationcanbesetasascheduledtaskthroughtheVMware
InfrastructureAPI.However,onlyasubsetofalloperationscanbepartofa
scheduledtaskthroughtheVIClient.
NOTEOnlyonetimingschedulecanbesetpertask.Tosetmorethanone
frequencytype,setupadditionaltasks.
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Table 19-1. Scheduled Task Frequency Options
Frequency Procedure to Set
Once Torunthescheduledtaskimmediatelyaftercreation,selectNow,and
clickNext.
Torunthescheduledtaskatalaterdateandtime,dothefollowing:
1 SelectLater.
2 TypeaclocktimeintheTimefield.
3 ClicktheDatearrowtodisplayacalendar.Selectadatebyclicking
itonthecalendar.
Clicktheleftandrightarrowstoviewadditionalmonths.Selectthe
monthandchoosefromthelist.Selecttheyearbyclickingtheupand
downarrows.
4 ClickNext.
AfterStartup Entertheamountofdelay,andclickNext.
Hourly Enterthestarttimeafterthebeginningofthehourandtheinterval
(for example,15minutesaftereveryeighthours).ClickNext.
Daily Enterthestarttimeandinterval.ClickNext.
Forexample,enter14:30everyfourthdaytorunthetaskat2:30pmevery
fourdays.
Weekly Enterthestarttime,dayoftheweek,andinterval.ClickNext.
Forexample,TuesdaysandThursday,8:00am,everysecondweek.
You canselectmultipledaysoftheweek.
Monthly Enterthestarttime,dayofthemonth,andinterval.ClickNext.
Forexample,entersecondThursdayofthemonth,11:00everythird
month.
Ifyouselectadayhigherthan28,awarningmessageisdisplayed
becausesomemonthsare29,30,or31days.
Thelast<day>ofthemonthselectsthelastweekinthemonththatthe
dayoccurs.IfyouselectthelastMondayofthemonth,andthemonth
endsonaSunday,thelastMondaywillbesixdaysbeforetheendofthe
month.
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6 Tocompletethewizard,clickFinish.
VirtualCenteraddsthetasktothelistintheScheduledTaskstab.
Rescheduling a Scheduled Task
Youcanchangethepropertiesofscheduledtasks:
To edit a scheduled task
1 ClickScheduledTasksinthenavigationbar.
2 RightclickonataskandselectProperties.
Thewizardassociatedwiththetaskisdisplayed.
3 Edittaskpropertiesthroughthewizard.
Removing a Scheduled Task
Removingascheduledtaskremovesallfutureoccurrencesofthetask.Thehistory
associatedwithallpreviousexecutionsofthetaskremainsintheVirtualCenterdatabase.
NOTETheVIClientconvertstolocaltimewhenitandtheVirtualCenterServerare
locatedindifferenttimezones.Forexample,assumetheVirtualCenterServerislocated
inEasternStandardTime(EST),andtheVIClientislocatedinPacificStandardTime
(PST),threehoursbehindEST.Assumeauserschedulesatasktorunatnoon,Monday
PST.BeforetheVIClientsendsthetasktotheVirtualCenterServer,itconvertsthe
executiontimetoMonday,3pmEST.Auserinyetadifferenttimezonewillseethetask
scheduledforwhateverMonday,3pmESTequatestointheirlocaltime.
NOTERemovingataskdiffersfromcancelingatask.Cancelingataskstopsatask
currentlyoccurring,whetherstartedmanuallyorschedule.Removingataskremoves
futureoccurrencesofascheduledtask.
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To remove a task that has been scheduled
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,clicktheScheduledTasks
optioninthenavigationbar.
2 Selecttheappropriatetaskfromthelist.ChooseInventory>ScheduledTask>
Remove.
VirtualCenterremovesthetaskfromthescheduledtasklist.
3 Toverifythatyouwanttoremovethetask,clickOK.
Thetaskisdeletedfromthelistoftasks.
Canceling a Task
Onlytasksthatareinprocesscanbecanceled.Andonlyselected(scheduledor
manuallyinitiated)taskscanbecanceledwhileinprocess.Cancelingataskwhileitis
runningrequiresthatyouhavetheappropriatepermissionsassignedtothehostwhere
thetaskisoccurring.
Cancelingataskdiffersfromremovingatask.Cancelingataskstopsataskcurrently
occurring,whetherstartedmanuallyorscheduled.Removingataskremovesfuture
occurrencesofascheduledtask.
Thetasksthatcanbecanceledaftertheystartare:
Connectingtoahost
Cloningavirtualmachine
Migratingavirtualmachine
Deployingatemplate
Creatingatemplatefromavirtualmachine
Cloningatemplate
NOTEThecancelingoperationisnotallowedifoneorbothofthehostsinvolvedisan
ESXServerversion2.0.1.
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To cancel a task that is currently running
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,viewtheRecentTasks
panel.
2 IftheRecentTaskspanelisnotcurrentlydisplayed,clickTasksatthelowerleft
corneroftheVIClientwindow.
3 Selecttheappropriatetaskfromthelist.
4 Rightclickthetask,andchooseCancel.
Notalltaskscanbecancelled.Ifthecanceloptionisunavailable,theselectedtask
cannotbecancelled.
VirtualCenterstopsprogressonthetask,returnstheobjectstotheirprevious
states,anddisplaysthetaskascanceled.
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Managing Events
AneventisanyactionthatisofinteresttotheVirtualCenterServerortheESXServer.
Eacheventtriggersaneventmessage.Alleventmessagesarearchivedonthe
VirtualCenterServersdatabase.Vieweventmessagesfromtwolocations:
TheEventsoptioninthenavigationbardisplaysalleventsthathaveoccurredon
theVirtualCenterServer.
AnEventstabforanyobjectundertheInventorybutton.TheseEventstablistings
showonlytheeventsthatoccurredonortotheselecteddatacenter,host,orvirtual
machine.
Themostrecenteventsappearattheendofascrollablelist.Messagesareidentifiedby
type:Information,Error,orWarning.Messagesarealsocolorcoded.Ashortenedevent
messageappearsinthedescriptionportionofthepanel.Amoredetailedversionofa
selectedeventmessageappearsintheEventDetailsportionofthepanel.Typically,the
EventDetailentryindicatesthehostorvirtualmachineonwhichtheeventoccurred
anddescribestheactionthatoccurred.Theobjectoftheeventisalinktotheobjects
individualeventpage.
Thissectioncontainsthefollowing:
ViewingAllEventMessagesonpage 311
ViewingSelectedEventMessagesonpage 313
SortingandFilteringEventMessagesonpage 314
ExportingEventMessagesonpage 315
Viewing All Event Messages
TheEventstabisavailablewhenyouselectaresourcepool,host,orvirtualmachine
objectfromtheInventorypanel.ThisviewoftheeventsisavailablewhentheVIClient
isconnectedtoanESXServer.
NOTEWhenconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,Eventsarecombinedwiththe
Tasks tab.
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Figure 19-1. VI Client Connected to ESX Server > Inventory > Virtual Machine >
Events Tab
To view event details
FromtheInventorypanel,clicktheEventstab.Clickanevent.
TheEventDetailsfielddisplaysadditionalinformationabouttheevent:
EventsaremessagesthatreportVMwareInfrastructureClientactivity.Event
messagesarepredefinedintheproduct.
Logsarestoredreferenceinformationrelatedtoselectedeventmessages.Logsare
predefinedintheproduct.Youcanconfigurewhetherselectedlogsaregenerated
ornot.
NOTETheviewsandcapabilitiesdisplayedvarydependingonwhethertheVI
ClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServeroranESXServer.Unlessindicated,
theprocess,task,ordescriptionappliestobothkindsofconnections.
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Viewing Selected Event Messages
EachobjectintheinventorypanelhasanEventstabintheinformationpanel.Each
eventthatappearsisanobjectspecificsubsetofalltheserverevents.
To view the event messages and event detail for an object
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoeitheraVirtualCenterServeroranESXServer,
clicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar.Expandtheinventoryasneeded.
2 Intheinventorypanel,selectafolder,cluster,resourcepool,host,orvirtual
machine,asappropriate.
Ifyouselectahost,theeventmessagesforallthevirtualmachinesonthathostare
includedintheEventslog.
3 ClicktheEventstab.
4 Clicktheevent.
AfulltextmessagewithlinkstorelatedobjectsappearsintheEventDetailsbox.
5 ClickanyofthebluehighlighteditemsintheEventsDetailsbox.
Theviewchangestodisplaytheselectedlinkedobject.
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Sorting and Filtering Event Messages
Sortallitemsinthelistbyclickinginthecolumnlabelheading.Atriangleinthecolumn
headshowsthesortorderasascendingordescending.
To sort a list
Clickthecolumnheadingtoresortthelistbytheentriesinthatcolumn.Thecurrent
selectiondoesnotchange.
To change ascending or descending order
Clickthecolumnheadingtotogglebetweenascendinganddescendingorder.
To choose items in a list
Clickanindividualitem.UseShiftclicktochoosemultipleitemsintheEventspanel.
To view selected columns only
Rightclickanycolumnhead,andchoosefromthelistofdatafieldstobedisplayed.
To search and list selected items
1 ChooseView>Filteringtoseethefilteringoptions.
2 Entertextintothedatafield.ClickCleartoemptythedatafield.
Entriesinmultiplecolumnsthatmatchthesearchtermaredisplayed.Inthe
example,thesearchwordpowerisfoundinboththeDescriptionandtheTask
columnentries.
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Exporting Event Messages
Youcanexportallorpartoftheeventslogfile.
To export the events file
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,chooseFile>Export>
ExportEvents.
2 Specifythetimerangeofmessagesandthetypeofmessagestoexport.
3 Specifyafilename,filetype,andlocationfortheexportedfile.ClicktheBrowse
buttontoviewtheSaveAsdialogbox.
Thefileissavedasatextfile.
4 SelecttheTyperadiobuttontoindicatethetypeoferrorstoincludeintheexported
file.
Youcanspecifywhethertoincludeusergeneratedorsystemgeneratedevents.
Youcanspecifyallusers,oryoucanspecifyTheseusersandclickBrowsetoselect
asubsetofusers.
5 Specifythetimerangeofeventstoexport.OptionsareHours,Days,Weeks,
Months,andFrom/Todateranges.
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6 Specifythenumberofeventstoexport,eitheralloraspecificnumber.
7 ClickOKtocreateafileoftheselecteddata.
VirtualCentercreatesafileoftheselecteddatabasedonthefileextensionprovidedand
storesthefileatthespecifiedlocation.Ifnofileextensionisprovided,thedefaultisa
textfile.ThefilecontainsType,Time,andDescription.
Managing Alarms
Alarmsarespecificnotificationsthatoccurinresponsetoselectedevents.Somealarms
aredefinedbyproductdefault.Additionalalarmscanbecreatedandappliedto
selectedinventoryobjectsorallinventoryobjects.
Thissectioncontainsthefollowingtopics:
UnderstandingAlarmsonpage 317
PreparingforEmailMessageSMTPAlarmNotificationonpage 319
PreparingforSNMPAlarmNotificationonpage 320
CreatingAlarmsonpage 321
EditingAlarmsonpage 326
RemovingAlarmsonpage 327
TheAlarmstabintheinventorypaneldisplaysthelistofalarmsfortheselectedobject
thatareactivatedupondesignatedevents.Alarmscanapplytohostsandvirtual
machines,andcanbedefinedinparententitiessuchasfoldersorresourcepools.
isconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServeroranESXServer.TheAlarmsoptionisnot
availablewhentheVIClientisconnectedtoanESXServer.
NOTEAlarmsareconfigurableonlythroughtheVirtualCenterServer.ESXServer
hostsconnectedtoaVIClientdirectlydonothavethealarmsfunctionality.Togetthe
alarmfeatures,havetheVirtualCenterServermanagetheESXServer.
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TheAlarmstabhastwoviewsavailablethroughbuttons:
AlarmsDisplaystriggeredalarmsagainsttheselectedinventoryitem.
Figure 19-2. VI Client Connected to VirtualCenter Server > Inventory: Hosts and
Clusters > Host > Alarms Tab > Alarms Button
DefinitionsDisplaysthealarmsthataremonitoringtheselectedinventoryitem.
Iftheeventconfiguredinanalarmoccurs,thealarmistriggeredandtheserver
takestheconfiguredaction(forexample,sendsanemailnotification).
Figure 19-3. VI Client Connected to VirtualCenter Server > Inventory: Hosts and
Clusters > Host > Alarms Tab > Definitions Button
Understanding Alarms
Alarmssendnotificationmessageswhenselectedeventsoccurtooronhostsorvirtual
machines.Alarmsindicatethestatuslevelsofanobjectorcollectionofobjectsinthe
hierarchy.Alarmscanbedefinedatallhierarchicallevels,includingfolders,
datacenters,clusters,resourcepools,hosts,andvirtualmachines.
Alarmsareinheritedfromparentlevelsandcannotbechangedoroverriddenatachild
level.Whenyouaddnewalarmstoanyobjectyoucontributetothecollectionofalarms
thatareinforceatanyofitschildlevels.
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Whenanalarmiscreated,VirtualCenterverifiestheuserpermissionstoperformthe
actionsontherelevantdatacenters,hosts,andvirtualmachines.Afterthealarmis
created,thealarmisperformedevenifthecreatingusernolongerhaspermissionto
createthealarm.
Alarmsareappliedtoeitherhostsorvirtualmachines.Eachalarmhasatriggering
eventandanotificationmethod.
Therearetwokindsofalarmtriggers:
MetricTriggeranalarmwhenaparticularpropertyofamonitoredobjectfalls
withinaparticularrangeofvaluesforaperiodoffiveminutes.Forexample,the
HostCPUUsagetriggercanbesettotriggeranalarmwhentheCPUusagerises
aboveorfallsbelowaspecifiedpercentagevalue.
Alarmsformetrictriggersaretriggeredonlywhenthespecifiedmetricmeetsthe
triggerconditionforfiveminutes.Thispreventsalarmsfromtriggeringdueto
transientspikesinthemonitoredmetric.
StateTriggeranalarmwhenamonitoredobjectentersaspecifiedstate.
For example,theHostStatetriggercanbesettotriggeranalarmwhenthehost
entersanyofthefollowingstates:None,Connected,Disconnected,or
Not responding.Alarmsforstatetriggersaretriggeredimmediatelywhenthe
specifiedstateisreached.
Thereareseveraltypesofalarmnotificationmethods:
Sendanotificationemailmessage
SMTPsendsanemailmessage.TheSMTPmustbereadywhentheemailmessage
issent.TherearetwowaystosetSMTP:throughVirtualCenterorthrough
MicrosoftOutlookExpress.TheVirtualCentersetupisnotalwaysneededifthe
SMTPsettinginOutlookExpressiscorrect.
TheVirtualCenterServergeneratesthesubjectandbodytextoftheemailmessage.
OnlytheTolist(receiver)isrequiredfromuserinput.Specifytheemailmessage
addresswherethemessageshouldbesent.Separatethenamesofmultiple
recipientswithcommasorsemicolons.
Sendanotificationtrap
TheVirtualCenterServeristhedefaultSNMPnotificationreceiver.AnSNMPtrap
viewerisrequiredtoviewasenttrap.TheVirtualCenterServerhostmustbe
configuredtoreceiveSNMPtraps.SeePreparingforSNMPAlarmNotification
onpage 320.
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Runascript
Theuserscriptcommandanditsargumentsmustbeformattedintoonestring.
TheuserscriptisrunningasseparateprocessanddoesnotblocktheVirtualCenter
Serverprocesses.Butthescriptdoesrunandconsumetheresourcesonthe
VirtualCenterServermachine,suchasprocessorandmemory.
Suspendthevirtualmachine
Poweroffthevirtualmachine
Resetthevirtualmachine
Theactionsavailablewithalarmsaredescribedinthefollowingsections:
PreparingforEmailMessageSMTPAlarmNotificationonpage 319
PreparingforSNMPAlarmNotificationonpage 320
CreatingAlarmsonpage 321
EditingAlarmsonpage 326
RemovingAlarmsonpage 327
Preparing for Email Message SMTP Alarm Notification
IfyouwanttouseemailmessagestosendSMTPnotifications,youmust:
DefinetheSMTPandemailmessageaddressinginformation.
Specifytheemailmessageaddressforthoseintendedtoreceivethenotification
whenyoucreatethealarm.
To define the SMTP and email message addressing information
1 FromtheVIClient,chooseAdministration>VirtualCenterManagementServer
Configuration.
2 ClickMailinthenavigationlist.
3 Foremailmessagenotification,settheSMTPserverandSMTPport:
SMTPServerTheDNSnameorIPaddressoftheSMTPgatewaytousefor
sendingemailmessages.
SenderAccountTheemailaddressofthesender,forexample,mail_server
datacenter.com.(SEEUPDATE)
4 ClickOK.
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Preparing for SNMP Alarm Notification
TouseSNMPtraps,youmustconfigure:
TheVirtualCenterServerhost.
TheSNMPreceiverservertoacceptthetrapsfromVirtualCenter.
Whenyoucreateanalarm,onlyonetrapistriggeredandsent.Thealarmparameters
include:
TypeThestateVirtualCenterismonitoringforthealarm.OptionsincludeHost
Processor(orCPU)usage,HostMemoryusage,HostState,VirtualMachine
Processor(orCPU)usage,VirtualMachineMemoryusage,VirtualMachineState,
VirtualMachineHeartbeat.
NameThenameofthehostorvirtualmachinethattriggersthealarm.
OldStatusThealarmstatusbeforethealarmwastriggered.
NewStatusThealarmstatuswhenthealarmistriggered.
ObjectValueTheobjectvaluewhenthealarmistriggered.
To define the SNMP information
1 FromtheVIClient,chooseAdministration>VirtualCenterManagementServer
Configuration.
2 ClickSNMPinthenavigationlist.
3 EntertheSNMPandmailaddressing,asappropriate:
ConfigureuptofourreceiversofSNMPtraps.Theymustbeconfiguredin
numericalorder,1,2,3,and4.EachSNMPtraprequiresacorrespondinghost
name,portandcommunity.Forexample:
ReceiverURLTheDNSnameandIPaddressoftheSNMPreceiver.
ReceiverportTheportnumberofthereceiver.
Iftheportvalueisempty,VirtualCenterusesthedefaultport.Thedefaultport
is902.
CommunityStringThecommunityidentifier.
4 ClickOK.
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Creating Alarms
IfyouplantouseemailmessageorSNMPnotification,seePreparingforEmail
MessageSMTPAlarmNotificationonpage 319anddefinetheaddressinformation
beforeyoucreateyouralarm.
To create an alarm
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,clicktheInventorybutton.
Expandtheinventoryasneeded,clicktheappropriateobject,clicktheAlarmstab,
andclicktheDefinitionsbutton.
2 ChooseFile>New>Alarm.
Ifyoustartfromafolder,datacenter,orcluster,theAlarmPropertiesdialogbox
displaystheoptiontocreateanalarmforeitherahostoravirtualmachine.Ifyou
startfromaresourcepool,host,oravirtualmachine,MonitorahostorMonitora
VMispreselectedandtheotheroptionisdimmed.
3 Selectthealarmtype.
4 IntheGeneraltab,specifyanameforthealarm,theobjecttobemonitored(host
orvirtualmachine),thetriggerpriority,andwhethertoenablethisalarm.
TriggerprioritiescanbesettoRedorGreen:
RedThedefault,triggersthealarmsprioritizedredasfirst,thenyellow,and
greenalarmslast.
GreenTriggersthealarmsprioritizedasgreenfirst,thenyellow,andred
alarmslast.
322 VMware, Inc.
5 Todefinethealarmbutnotmakeitactive,deselecttheEnablebox.
6 ClicktheTriggerstabandtheAddbutton.
IntheTriggerstab,therearefourdropdownmenus:
TriggerType
Theoptionslistedapplytoeitherthehostorvirtualmachine.
Forhostalarms,theoptionsareHostProcessor(orCPU)Usage,Host
MemoryUsage,HostNetworkUsage,HostDiskUsage,HostState,and
HostHardwareHealth.
Forvirtualmachinealarms,theoptionsareVMProcessor(orCPU)Usage,
VMMemoryUsage,VMNetworkUsage,VMDiskUsage,andVMState.
Condition
TheoptionsformetrictriggersareIsAboveandIsBelow.
TheoptionsforstatetriggersareIs(state)andIsNot(state).
NOTEAlarmsformetrictriggersaretriggeredonlywhenthespecifiedmetric
meetsthetriggerconditionforfiveminutes.Thispreventsalarmsfrom
triggeringduetotransientspikesinthemonitoredmetric.
VMware, Inc. 323
Warning(Yellow)stateormetricvalueandAlert(Red)stateormetricvalue
Percentageoptionsrangefrom5percentto100percentin5percent
increments.Fornonpercentagemetrics,suchasNetworkUsage,youcantype
anyvalue.
(SEEUPDATE)Virtualmachinestateoptionscorrespondtotheseactivities:
Creating,Migrating,Connecting,Disconnecting,MigratingwithVMotion,
Reconnecting,Removing,Resetting,Resuming,Starting,Stopping,
Suspending,Disconnected,Initial,Orphaned,PoweredOff,PoweredOn,and
Suspended.Hoststateoptionscorrespondtotheseactivities:Connecting,
Disconnecting,Reconnecting,Removing,Shuttingdown,Connected,and
Disconnected.Exitingstateisconsideredayellowconditionatselectedstate.
Thecolorscorrespondingtotheexiting/fromandentering/tostatesaresetin
theActionstab.ThedefaultisFromyellowtored.
7 (Optional)Definemultipleconditionsforthealarmtriggeringevent.ClickAdd.
Entertheparametersforeachcondition.
324 VMware, Inc.
8 Specifythereportingfrequencywhenthealarmistriggered.Enteravaluefor
ToleranceandoneforFrequency.
9 Specifytheactiontobetakenwhenthealarmistriggered.
10 ClicktheActionstab.ClicktheAddbutton.Clicktheappropriatecheckbox.
Therearefourdifferentlevelchanges:greentoyellow,yellowtored,redtoyellow,
andyellowtogreen.Attachanactionforeachchangefromoneleveltoanother.
VMware, Inc. 325
11 Choosetheactiontobetakenwhentheeventistriggeredandspecifythe
associatedinformation.
Theoptionsare:
Sendanotificationemail.
ProvidetheemailaddressofthenotificationrecipientintheValuefield.
SMTPsendsanotificationemail.TheSMTPmustbereadywhentheemailis
sent.TherearetwowaystosetSMTP:throughVirtualCenterorthrough
MicrosoftOutlookExpress.VirtualCentersetupisnotalwaysneededifthe
SMTPsettinginOutlookExpressiscorrect.
VirtualCenterServergeneratestheemailmessagesubjectandbodytext.Only
thetolist(receiver)isrequiredfromuserinput.Specifytheemailaddress
towhichthemessageshouldbesent.Separatemultiplerecipientswith
commasorsemicolons.SeePreparingforEmailMessageSMTPAlarm
Notificationonpage 319.
Sendanotificationtrap.
ThereisadefaultSNMPnotificationreceiver,theVirtualCenterServer.An
SNMPtrapviewerisrequiredtoviewasenttrap.TheVirtualCenterServer
hostmustbeconfiguredtoreceiveSNMPtraps.SeePreparingforSNMP
AlarmNotificationonpage 320.
Runascript.
Ifthescriptisa.exe file,providethepathtothescripttorun.Ifthescriptis
a.batfile,providethescriptpathasanargumenttothe
c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe command.Forexample,toexecuteascript
locatedinc:\alarmscript.bat,givethescriptpathas
c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe /c c:\alarmscript.bat.
Theuserscriptcommandanditsargumentsmustbeformattedintoone
string.
TheuserscriptrunsinotherprocessesanddoesnotblocktheVirtualCenter
Serverfromrunning.However,thescriptconsumesserverresources,suchas
processorandmemory.
{eventDescription} full formatted message for alarm triggering
event
{targetName} name of the entity name where the alarm is triggered
{alarmName} name of the alarm that is triggered
{triggeringSummary} summary info of the alarm with triggering
values
{declaringSummary} summary info of the alarm declaration
326 VMware, Inc.
{oldStatus} alarm status before it is triggered
{newStatus} alarm status after it is triggered
{target} inventory object as triggering alarm
Example scripts:
"c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe /c c:\MyAlarmProcess.bat {targetName}
{alarmName}"
Twoalarmtriggeringparametersarepassedtothebackfile.Thefirst
parameteristhenameoftheentity,andthesecondisthenameofthealarm.
WhentheentitynameisMyEntityandalarmnameisMyAlarm,thescript
becomes"c:\windows\system32\cmd.exe /c c:\MyAlarmProcess.bat
MyEntity MyAlarm".
"d:\tools\alarm.exe '{targetName}' '{alarmName}' {newStatus}"
Threealarmtriggeringparametersarepassedtotheexecutionfile.Thefirstis
theentityname,thesecondisthealarmname,andthethirdisthealarmstatus
aftertriggering.Whentheentitynameismy dummy vm,thealarmnameismy
test alarm,andthenewstatusisred,thescriptbecomes:
"d:\tools\alarm.exe my dummy vm my test alarm red
Poweron,Poweroff,Suspend,orResetthevirtualmachine.
Theseapplyonlytoavirtualmachinealarm.
12 Tocompletethealarm,clickOK.
VirtualCenterverifiestheconfigurationofthealarmandaddsthealarmtothelist
ofalarmsfortheselectedobject.
NoticethattheDefinedIncolumnindicateswhereintheinventoryhierarchythe
alarmisdefined.
Editing Alarms
Alarmscanbemodified,butyoumusteditthematthehierarchicallevelwherethey
werecreated.Asimplechangeistoenableordisablethealarm.Ifanalarmisdisabled,
anXappearsonthealarmlistingicon.
To edit an existing alarm
inthenavigationbar.Expandtheinventoryasneeded,clicktheAlarmstab,and
clicktheDefinitionsbutton.
2 Ifthealarmyouwanttochangeisnotdefinedatthecurrentlocation,clickthe
linkedobjectintheDefinedincolumn.
VirtualCenterdisplaystheAlarmspanelfortheobjectwherethealarmwasdefined.
VMware, Inc. 327
3 Selectthealarmtoedit.ChooseInventory>Alarm>EditSettings.Theentryin
theDefinedincolumnforthealarmmustbeThisobject.
4 Editthealarmgeneralsettings,triggers,oractions,asneeded.ClickOK.
VirtualCenterverifiestheconfigurationofthealarmandeditsthealarmforthe
selectedobject.SeeCreatingAlarmsonpage 321foradditionalinformation.
Removing Alarms
Removealarmsfromtheobjectinwhichtheyweredefined.Youcannotremovethem
fromachildthatinheritedthealarm.
To remove an alarm
inthenavigationbar.Expandtheinventoryasneeded,clicktheAlarmstab,and
clicktheDefinitionsbutton.
2 Ifthealarmyouwanttochangeisnotdefinedatthecurrentlocation,clickthe
linkedobjectintheDefinedincolumn.VirtualCenterdisplaystheAlarmspanel
fortheobjectwherethealarmwasdefined.
3 Toremovethealarm,selectthealarm,andchooseInventory>Alarm>Remove.
Aconfirmationpopupwindowappears.
4 ClickYes.
Thealarmisremoved.
328 VMware, Inc.
VMware, Inc. 329
Appendixes
330 VMware, Inc.
VMware, Inc. 331
A
Thefollowingtableslistthedefaultprivilegesthat,whenselectedforarole,canbe
pairedwithauserandassignedtoanobject.ThefollowingtablesuseVCtoindicate
VirtualCenterServerandHCtoindicatehostclient,astandaloneESXServer.
Whensettingpermissions,verifyalltheobjecttypesaresetwithappropriateprivileges
foreachparticularaction.Someoperationsrequireaccesspermissionattherootfolder
orparentfolderinadditiontoaccesstotheobjectbeingmanipulated.Someoperations
requireaccessorperformancepermissionataparentfolderandarelatedobject.See
Chapter 17,ManagingUsers,Groups,Permissions,andRoles,onpage 265for
informationonapplyingprivilegestoinventoryobjects.
SeeTable 171,DefaultRoles,onpage 273foralistofpredefinedgroupedprivileges.
Thisappendixcontainsthefollowingtopics:
Alarmsonpage 332
Datacenteronpage 333
Datastoreonpage 333
Extensionsonpage 334
Foldersonpage 334
Globalonpage 335
HostCIMonpage 337
HostConfigurationonpage 337
HostInventoryonpage 339
HostLocalOperationsonpage 341
Defined Privileges A
332 VMware, Inc.
Networkonpage 341
Performanceonpage 342
Permissionsonpage 342
Resourceonpage 343
ScheduledTaskonpage 344
Sessionsonpage 345
Tasksonpage 345
VirtualMachineConfigurationonpage 346
VirtualMachineInteractiononpage 348
VirtualMachineInventoryonpage 350
VirtualMachineProvisioningonpage 350
VirtualMachineStateonpage 352
Alarms
Table A-1. Alarms Privileges
Privilege
Name Description Used
Pair with
Object
Effective
on Object
CreateAlarm
1
Createsanewalarm.
UserinterfaceelementAlarmtab
popupmenu,Filemenu
VConly Alarm
object
parent
All
inventory
items
DeleteAlarm Deletesanexistingalarm.
popupmenu,Filemenu
VConly Alarm
object
parent
All
inventory
items
ModifyAlarm Changesthepropertiesofanexisting
alarm.
popupmenu,Filemenu
VConly Alarm
object
parent
All
inventory
items
1. Whencreatingalarmswithacustomaction,privilegetoperformtheactionisverifiedwhentheusecreates
thealarm.
VMware, Inc. 333
Appendix A Defined Privileges
Datacenter
Datastore
Table A-2. Datacenter Privileges
Privilege
Name Description Affects
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
Create
Datacenter
Createsanewdatacenter.
UserinterfaceelementInventory
popupmenu,toolbarbutton,andFile>
NewDatacenter
VConly Datacenter Datacenter
folders
Delete
Datacenter
Removesadatacenter.
popupmenu,Inventory>Datacenter>
Remove,Edit>Remove
VConly Datacenter
plusparent
object
Datacenters
Move
Datacenter
Movesadatacenter.
Privilegemustbepresentatboththe
sourceanddestination.
draganddrop
VConly Datacenter,
sourceand
destination
Datacenters,
Datacenter
folders
Rename
Datacenter
Changesthenameofadatacenter.
object,Inventorypopupmenu,Edit>
Rename,Inventory>Datacenter>
Rename
VConly Datacenter Datacenters
Table A-3. Datastore Privileges
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
Browse
Datastore
Browsesfilesonadatastore.
UserinterfaceelementAddexisting
disk,browseforCDROMorFloppy
media,serialorparallelportfiles
HCandVC Datastores Datastores
Delete
Datastore
Removesadatastore.
datastorepopupmenu,Edit>Remove,
Inventory>Datastore>Remove
Delete
DatastoreFile
Deletesafileinthedatastore.
UserinterfaceelementDatastore
BrowsertoolbarbuttonandDatastore
popupmenu
334 VMware, Inc.
Extensions
Folders
File
Management
Carriesoutfileoperationsinthe
datastorebrowser.
Rename
Datastore
Renamesadatastore.
UserinterfaceelementDatastore
PropertiesdialogChangebutton,host
Summarytabpopupmenu
Table A-3. Datastore Privileges (Continued)
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
Table A-4. Extension Privileges
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
Register
Extension
Registersanextension(plugin) VConly Root
Folder
RootFolder
Unregister
Extension
Unregistersanextension(plugin) VConly Root
Folder
RootFolder
Update
Extension
Updatesanextension(plugin) VConly Root
Folder
RootFolder
Table A-5. Folder Privileges
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
CreateFolder Createsanewfolder.
UserinterfaceelementTaskbar
button,Filemenu,popupmenu
VConly Folders Folders
DeleteFolder Deletesafolder.
UserinterfaceelementFilemenu,
popupmenu
VConly Foldersplus
parentobject
Folders
VMware, Inc. 335
Global
MoveFolder Movesafolder.
draganddrop
VConly Folders,
sourceand
destination
Folders
RenameFolder Changesthenameofafolder.
paneobjecttextfield,popupmenu,
Filemenu
VConly Folders Folders
Table A-5. Folder Privileges (Continued)
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
Table A-6. Global Privileges
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
CancelTask Cancelsarunningorqueuedtask.
UserinterfaceelementRecenttasks
panepopupmenu,Tasks&Events
popupmenu.Cancurrentlycancel
cloneandclonetotemplate.
HCandVC Anyobject Inventory
object
relatedtothe
task
Capacity
Planning
Enablestheuseofcapacityplanningfor
planningconsolidationofphysical
machinestovirtualmachines.
UserinterfaceelementConsolidation
buttonintoolbar.
VConly Anyobject Rootfolder
Diagnostics Getslistofdiagnosticfiles,logheader,
binaryfiles,ordiagnosticbundle.
UserinterfaceelementFile>Export>
ExportDiagnosticData,Admin
SystemLogstab
Disable
Methods
AllowsserversforVirtualCenter
extensionstodisablecertainoperations
onobjectsmanagedbyVirtualCenter.
NouserVIClientinterfaceelementsare
associatedwiththisprivilege.
336 VMware, Inc.
Enable
Methods
AllowsserversforVirtualCenter
extensionstoenablecertainoperations
onobjectsmanagedbyVirtualCenter.
Licenses Seeswhatlicensesareinstalledand
addsorremoveslicenses.
UserinterfaceelementLicensestab,
Configuration>LicensedFeatures
HCandVC Anyobject Rootfolder
LogEvent Logsauserdefinedeventagainsta
particularmanagedentity.
UserinterfaceelementShouldaskfor
areasonwhenshuttingdownor
rebootingahost.
HCandVC Allobjects All
inventory
objects
Manage
Custom
Attributes
Adds,removes,renamescustom
attributesforamanagedentity.
Userinterfaceelement
Administration>CustomAttributes
VConly Allobjects Rootfolder
Proxy Allowsaccesstoaninternalinterface
foraddingorremovingendpointstoor
fromtheproxy.
ScriptAction Schedulesascriptedactionin
conjunctionwithanalarm.
UserinterfaceelementAlarm
Settingsdialogbox
VConly All
inventory
objects
All
inventory
objects
Service
Managers
Allowsuseoftheresxtopcommandin
theRemoteCLI.
HCandVC Hosts Hosts
SetCustom
Attributes
Views,creates,andremovescustom
attributefields.
UserinterfaceelementAnylistview
showsthefieldsdefinedandallows
settingthem
VConly Allobjects All
inventory
objects
Table A-6. Global Privileges (Continued)
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
VMware, Inc. 337
Host CIM
Host Configuration
Settings ReadsandmodifiesruntimeVC
configurationsettings.
Administration>VirtualCenter
ManagementServerConfiguration
VCServer PreparesorinitiatesaVMotionsend
operationoraVMotionreceive
operation.
Table A-6. Global Privileges (Continued)
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
Table A-7. Host CIM Privileges
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
CIM
Interaction
Allowsaclienttoobtainatickettouse
forCIMservices.
HCandVC Hosts Hosts
Table A-8. Host Configuration Privileges
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
Advanced
Configuration
Setsadvancedoptionsinhost
configuration.
UserinterfaceelementHost
Configurationtab>Advanced
Settings,Inventoryhierarchypopup
menu
HCandVC Hosts Hosts
ChangeDate
TimeSettings
Setstimeanddatesettingsonthehost.
Configurationtab>Time
Configuration
HCandVC Hosts Hosts
Change
Settings(SEE
UPDATE)
Allowssettingoflockdownmode.
Configurationtab>SecurityProfile>
LockdownMode>Edit
HCandVC Hosts Hosts
338 VMware, Inc.
ChangeSNMP
Settings
Edits,restarts,andstopsSNMPagent.
HCandVC Hosts Hosts
Connection Changestheconnectionstatusofahost
(connectedordisconnected).
UserinterfaceelementRightclick
Host
VConly Hosts Hosts
Firmware Allowsupdatestothehostfirmwareon
ESXServer3ihosts.
HCandVC Hosts Hosts(ESX
Server3i
only)
Hyper
Threading
Enablesanddisableshyperthreadingin
thehostCPUscheduler.
Configurationtab>Processors
HCandVC Hosts Hosts
Maintenance Putsthehostinandoutofmaintenance
mode,shutsdownandrestartsthehost.
UserinterfaceelementHostpopup
menu,Inventory>Host>Enter
MaintenanceMode
HCandVC Hosts Hosts
Memory
Configuration
Setsconfiguredserviceconsolememory
reservation.Thissettingisapplicable
onlyonESXServer3hosts.
Configurationtab>Memory
HCandVC Hosts Hosts
Network
Configuration
Configuresnetwork,firewall,and
VMotionnetwork.
Configurationtab>Networking,
NetworkAdapter,DNSandRouting
HCandVC Hosts Hosts
QueryPatch Allowsqueryingforinstallablepatches
andinstallationofpatchesonthehost.
HCandVC Hosts Hosts
Security
Profileand
Firewall
Configuresinternetservices,suchas
SSH,Telnet,SNMP,andhostfirewall.
Configurationtab>SecurityProfile
HCandVC Hosts Hosts
Table A-8. Host Configuration Privileges (Continued)
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
VMware, Inc. 339
Host Inventory
System
Management
Allowsextensionstomanipulatethefile
systemonthehost.
HCandVC Hosts Hosts
System
Resource
Settings
Updatestheconfigurationofthesystem
resourcehierarchy.
Configurationtab>SystemResource
Allocation
HCandVC Hosts Hosts
Storage
Partition
Configuration
ManagesVMFSdatastoreand
diagnosticpartitions.Scansfornew
storagedevices.ManagesiSCSI.
Configurationtab>Storage,Storage
Adapters,HostConfigurationtab
datastorepopupmenu
HCandVC Hosts Hosts
Virtual
Machine
Autostart
Configuration
Changesautostartandautostoporder
ofvirtualmachinesonasinglehost.
Configurationtab>VirtualMachine
StartuporShutdown
HCandVC Hosts Hosts
Table A-8. Host Configuration Privileges (Continued)
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
Table A-9. Host Inventory Privileges
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
AddHostTo
Cluster
Addsahosttoanexistingcluster.
popupmenu
VConly Hosts Clusters
Add
Standalone
Host
Addsastandalonehost.
UserinterfaceelementToolbar
button,inventorypopupmenu,
Inventory>Datacenter>AddHost,
File>New>AddHost,Hoststab
popupmenu
VConly Hosts Datacenters,
Hostfolders
340 VMware, Inc.
CreateCluster Createsanewcluster.
UserinterfaceelementToolbar
button,inventorypopupmenu,
Inventory>Datacenter>NewCluster,
File>New>Cluster
VConly Clusters Datacenters,
Hostfolders
Modify
Cluster
Changesthepropertiesofacluster.
popupmenu,Inventory>Cluster>
EditSettings,Summarytab
VConly Clusters Clusters
Move
Cluster/Standa
loneHost
Movesaclusterorstandalonehost
betweenfolders.
hierarchy
VConly Clusters,
sourceand
destination
Clusters,
Hostfolders
MoveHost Movesasetofexistinghostsintoa
cluster.
hierarchydraganddrop
VConly Hosts,source
and
destination
Clusters,
Hostfolders
Remove
Cluster
Deletesaclusterorstandalonehost.
popupmenu,Edit>Remove,
Inventory>Cluster>Remove
VConly Clustersplus
parentobject
Clusters,
Hosts
RemoveHost
FromCluster
Removesahostinaclusteror
standalonehost.
draganddropoutofcluster,popup
menu,Inventory>Host>Remove
VConly Clustersplus
parentobject
Clusters,
Hostfolders
Rename
Cluster
Renamesacluster.
singleclick,inventoryhierarchypopup
menu,Inventory>Cluster>Rename
Table A-9. Host Inventory Privileges (Continued)
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
VMware, Inc. 341
Host Local Operations
Network
Table A-10. Host Local Operations Privileges
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
AddHostto
VirtualCenter
Installsanduninstallsvariousagentson
ahost,forexample,vpxaandaam.
HConly Rootfolder Rootfolder
CreateVirtual
Machine
Createsanewvirtualmachinefrom
scratchonadiskwithoutregisteringit
onthehost.
DeleteVirtual
Machine
Deletesavirtualmachineondisk,
whetherregisteredornot.
ManageUser
Groups
Manageslocalaccountsonahost.
UserinterfaceelementUsers&
Groupstab(onlypresentiftheVIClient
logsontothehostdirectly)
Table A-11. Network Privileges
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
Delete
Network
Removesanetwork.
networkpopupmenu,Edit>Remove,
Inventory>Network>Remove
HCandVC Datacenter Datacenters
342 VMware, Inc.
Performance
Permissions
Table A-12. Alarm Management Privileges
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective
on Object
Modify
Intervals
Creates,removes,andupdates
performancedatacollectionintervals.
Administration>VirtualCenter
ManagementServerConfiguration>
Statistics
VConly Rootfolder Rootfolder
Table A-13. Permissions Privileges
Privilege
Name Description Used
Pair with
Object
Effective
on Object
Modify
Permission
Definesoneormorepermissionrules
onanentity,orupdatesrulesifalready
presentforthegivenuserorgroupon
theentity.
UserinterfaceelementPermissions
tabpopupmenu,Inventory>
Permissionsmenu
HCandVC Anyobject
plusparent
object
All
inventory
items
ModifyRole Updatesarolesnameandthe
privileges.
UserinterfaceelementRolestab
popupmenu,toolbarbutton,File
menu
ReassignRole
Permissions
Reassignsallpermissionsofaroleto
anotherrole.
UserinterfaceelementDeleteRole
dialogboxradiobuttonandassociated
menu
VMware, Inc. 343
Resource
Table A-14. Resource Privileges
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
Apply
Recommenda
tion
Askstheservertogoaheadwitha
suggestedVMotion.
UserinterfaceelementClusterDRS
Recommendationstab
AssignVirtual
MachineTo
Pool
Assignsvirtualmachinestoaresource
pool.
UserinterfaceelementNewVirtual
Machinewizard
HCandVC Resource
pools
Resource
pools
CreatePool Createsanewresourcepool.
popupmenu,Summarytab,
Resourcestab
HCandVC Resource
pools,
clusters
Resource
pools,
clusters
Migrate Migratesavirtualmachinesexecution
toaspecificresourcepoolorhost.
popupmenu,VirtualMachine
Summarytab,Inventory>Virtual
Machine>Migrate,draganddrop
VConly Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
ModifyPool Changestheallocationsofaresource
pool.
UserinterfaceelementInventory>
ResourcePool>Remove,Resources
tab
HCandVC Resource
poolsplus
parent
object
Resource
pools
MovePool Movesaresourcepool.
Draganddrop
HCandVC Resource
pools,
sourceand
destination
Resource
pools
Query
VMotion
InvestigatesthegeneralVMotion
compatibilityofavirtualmachinewith
asetofhosts.
UserinterfaceelementRequired
whendisplayingthemigrationwizard
forapoweredonVM,tocheck
compatibility
344 VMware, Inc.
Scheduled Task
Relocate Coldmigratesavirtualmachines
executiontoaspecificresourcepoolor
host.
popupmenu,VirtualMachine
Summarytab,Inventory>Virtual
Machine>Migrate,draganddrop
VConly Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
RemovePool Deletesaresourcepool.
UserinterfaceelementEdit>
Remove,Inventory>ResourcePool>
Remove,inventorypopupmenu,
Resourcestab
HCandVC Resource
poolsplus
parent
object
Resource
pools
RenamePool Renamesaresourcepool.
Rename,Inventory>ResourcePool>
Rename,singleclick,popupmenu
HCandVC Resource
pools
Resource
pools
Table A-14. Resource Privileges (Continued)
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
Table A-15. Scheduled Task Privileges
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
CreateTasks
1
Schedulesatask.Requiresthe
privilegestoperformthescheduled
actionatthetimeofscheduling.
UserinterfaceelementScheduled
Taskstoolbarbuttonandpopupmenu
VConly Allinventory
objects
Allinventory
objects
ModifyTask Reconfiguresthescheduledtask
properties.
UserinterfaceelementInventory>
ScheduledTasks>Edit,Scheduled
Taskstabpopupmenu
VConly Allinventory
objects
Allinventory
objects
RemoveTask Removesascheduledtaskfromthe
queue.
Taskspopupmenu,Inventory>
ScheduledTask>Remove,Edit>
Remove
VConly Allinventory
objects
Allinventory
objects
VMware, Inc. 345
Sessions
Tasks
RunTask Runsthescheduledtaskimmediately.
Taskspopupmenu,Inventory>
ScheduledTask>Run
VConly Allinventory
objects
Allinventory
objects
1. Creatingandrunningatask(ondemand)requirespermissiontoinvoketheassociatedaction.Forexample,
Alarmsrequirespermissionsonafoldertocreatealarmsonobjectsinthatfolder.
Table A-15. Scheduled Task Privileges (Continued)
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
Table A-16. Session Privileges
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
Global
Message
Setsthegloballoginmessage.
UserinterfaceelementSessionstab,
Administration>EditMessageofthe
Day
Impersonate
User
Impersonatesanotheruser.This
capabilityisusedbyextensions.
Validate
Session
Verifiessessionvalidity. VConly Rootfolder Rootfolder
Viewand
Terminate
Sessions
Allowsviewingofsession.Forceslog
outofoneormoreloggedonusers.
UserinterfaceelementSessionstab
Table A-17. Tasks Privileges
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
Create Allowsanextensiontocreatea
userdefinedtask.
Update Allowsanextensiontoupdatesa
userdefinedtask.
346 VMware, Inc.
Virtual Machine Configuration
Table A-18. Virtual Machine Privileges
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
AddExisting
Disk
Addsavirtualdiskthatreferstoan
existingvirtualdisk.
UserinterfaceelementVirtual
MachinePropertiesdialogbox
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
AddNewDisk Addsavirtualdiskthatcreatesanew
virtualdisk.
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
Addor
Remove
Device
Addsorremovesanynondiskdevice.
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
Advanced ChangesvaluesinextraConfig.
MachinePropertiesdialogbox>
Optionstab>AdvancedGeneral
option>ConfigurationParameters
button
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
ChangeCPU
Count
ChangesthenumberofvirtualCPUs.
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
Change
Resource
Changesresourceconfigurationofaset
ofVMnodesinagivenresourcepool.
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
DiskExtend Expandsthesizeofavirtualdisk. HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
DiskLease LeasesdisksforVMwareConsolidated
Backup.
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
HostUSB
Device
AttachesahostbasedUSBdevicetoa
virtualmachine.
Userinterfaceelement>Virtual
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
VMware, Inc. 347
Memory Changestheamountofmemory
allocatedtotheVM.
Memory
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
ModifyDevice
Settings
Changesthepropertiesofanexisting
device.
SCSI/IDEnodeselection
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
RawDevice
1
Addsorremovesarawdiskmapping
orSCSIpassthroughdevice.
MachineProperties>Add/Removeraw
diskmapping
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
RemoveDisk Removesavirtualdiskdevice.
MachinePropertiesdialogbox>Hard
Disk(butnotarawdiskmapping)
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
Rename Renamesavirtualmachineormodifies
theassociatednotesofavirtual
machine.
MachinePropertiesdialogbox,
inventory,inventorypopupmenu,File
menu,Inventorymenu
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
ResetGuest
Information
Clearsguestinfovariables.
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
Settings ChangesgeneralVMsettings.
Optionstab
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
Swap
Placement
Changestheswapfileplacementpolicy
foravirtualmachine.
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
Table A-18. Virtual Machine Privileges (Continued)
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
348 VMware, Inc.
Virtual Machine Interaction
Upgrade
Virtual
Hardware
Upgradesthevirtualmachinesvirtual
hardwareversionfromaprevious
versionofVMware.
UserinterfaceelementPopupmenu,
Filemenu(appearsonlyifvmxfile
showsalowerconfigurationnumber)
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
1. Settingthisparameteroverridesanyotherprivilegeformodifyingrawdevices,includingconnectionstates.
Table A-18. Virtual Machine Privileges (Continued)
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
Table A-19. Virtual Machine Interaction
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
Answer
Question
ResolvesissueswithVMstate
transitionsorruntimeerrors.
UserinterfaceelementSummarytab,
Inventorymenu,popupmenu
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
ConfigureCD
Media
ChangesthebackingofaCDROM
device.
DVD/CDROM
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
Configure
FloppyMedia
Changesthebackingofafloppydevice.
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
Console
Interaction
Interactswiththevirtualmachines
virtualmouse,keyboard,andscreen;
getsscreenshotinformation.
UserinterfaceelementConsoletab,
toolbarbutton,Inventory>Virtual
Machine>OpenConsole,inventory
popupmenu
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
Defragment
AllDisks
Defragmentsalldisksonthevirtual
machine.
HCandVC. Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
VMware, Inc. 349
Device
Connection
Changestheconnectedstateofavirtual
machinesdisconnectablevirtual
devices.
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
PowerOff Powersoffapoweredonvirtual
machine,shutsdownguest.
UserinterfaceelementFilemenu
item,popupmenu,popupconsole
menu,toolbarbutton,Summarytab
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
PowerOn Powersonapoweredoffvirtual
machine,resumesasuspendedvirtual
machine.
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
Reset Resetsvirtualmachineandrebootsthe
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
Suspend Suspendsapoweredonvirtual
machine,putsguestinstandbymode.
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
ToolsInstall MountsandunmountstheVMware
ToolsCDinstallerasaCDROMforthe
menu
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
Table A-19. Virtual Machine Interaction (Continued)
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
350 VMware, Inc.
Virtual Machine Inventory
Virtual Machine Provisioning
Table A-20. Virtual Machine Inventory Privileges
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
Create Createsanewvirtualmachineand
allocatesresourcesforitsexecution.
popupmenu,SummarytabNew
VirtualMachinelinks
HCandVC Parent
folders
Virtual
machine
folders
Move Relocatesavirtualmachineinthe
hierarchy.
hierarchydraganddropinVirtual
Machines&Templatesview
VConly Virtual
machines,
parent
folders
Virtual
machines,
virtual
machine
folders
Remove Deletesavirtualmachine,optionally
removesunderlyingfilesfromdisk.
popupmenu,Summarytab
HCandVC Virtual
machines
plusparent
folders
Virtual
machines
Table A-21. Virtual Machine Provisioning Privileges
Privilege Name Description Affects
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
AllowDisk
Access
Opensadiskonavirtualmachinefor
randomreadandwriteaccess.Used
mostlyforremotediskmounting.
n/a Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
AllowReadOnly
DiskAccess
Opensadiskonavirtualmachinefor
randomreadaccess.Usedmostlyfor
remotediskmounting.
n/a Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
AllowVirtual
Machine
Download
Readsfilesassociatedwithavirtual
machine,includingvmx,disks,logs,
andnvram.
HCand
VC
Virtual
machines
Rootfolders
VMware, Inc. 351
AllowVirtual
MachineFiles
Upload
Writesfilesassociatedwithavirtual
machine,includingvmx,disks,logs,
andnvram.
HCand
VC
Virtual
machines
Rootfolders
Clone Clonesanexistingvirtualmachineand
allocatesresources.
popupmenu,Summarytab
VConly Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
CloneTemplate Clonesatemplate.
popupmenu,VirtualMachinestab
VConly Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
CreateTemplate
FromVirtual
Machine
Createsanewtemplatefromavirtual
machine.
UserinterfaceelementCloneto
template...Filemenu,popupmenu,
Summarytabitems
VConly Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
Customize Customizesavirtualmachinesguest
operatingsystemwithoutmovingthe
virtualmachine.
UserinterfaceelementCloneVirtual
Machinewizard:GuestCustomization
VConly Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
DeployTemplate Createsanewvirtualmachinefroma
template.
UserinterfaceelementDeployto
templateFilemenu,popupmenu
items,VirtualMachinestab
VConly Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
MarkAs
Template
Marksanexisting,poweredoffvirtual
machineasatemplate.
UserinterfaceelementConvertto
template...Filemenu,popupmenu
items,VirtualMachinestab,Summary
tab
VConly Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
MarkAsVirtual
Machine
MarksanexistingtemplateasaVM.
UserinterfaceelementConvertto
VirtualMachine...Filemenu,popup
menuitems,VirtualMachinestab
VConly Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
Table A-21. Virtual Machine Provisioning Privileges (Continued)
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
352 VMware, Inc.
Virtual Machine State
Modify
Customization
Specs
Creates,modifies,ordeletes
customizationspecifications.
CustomizationSpecificationsManager
Read
Customization
Specs
Viewsthecustomizationspecifications
definedonthesystem.
CustomizationSpecifications
Table A-21. Virtual Machine Provisioning Privileges (Continued)
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
Table A-22. Virtual Machine State Privileges
Privilege
Pair with
Object
Effective on
Object
Create
Snapshot
Createsanewsnapshotfromthevirtual
machinescurrentstate.
toolbarbutton,Inventorymenu
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
Remove
Snapshot
Removesasnapshotfromthesnapshot
history.
toolbarbutton,Inventorymenu
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
Rename
Snapshot
Renamesthissnapshotwitheithera
newnameoranewdescriptionorboth.
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
RevertTo
Snapshot
SetstheVMtothestateitwasinata
givensnapshot.
toolbarbutton,Inventorymenu,
VirtualMachinestab
HCandVC Virtual
machines
Virtual
machines
VMware, Inc. 353
B
IfyouplantocustomizeaWindowsguestoperatingsystem,youmustfirstinstallthe
MicrosoftSyspreptoolsonyourVirtualCenterServermachine.
MicrosoftincludestheSyspreptoolsetontheinstallationCDROMdiscsforWindows
2000,WindowsXP,andWindows2003.ItalsodistributesSysprepfromtheMicrosoft
Website.ToperformaWindowscustomization,youmustinstalltheSyspreptools
eitherfromyourinstallationdisc,orfromtheMicrosoftdownloadpackage.Youmust
installthecorrectversionoftheSyspreptoolsforeachoperatingsystemyouwantto
customize.Also,ensurethatthepasswordforthelocaladministratoraccountonthe
virtualmachineissettoblank().
Duringcustomization,VirtualCentersearchesfortheSyspreppackagecorresponding
toyourguestoperatingsystem.IfVirtualCenterdoesnotfindanySyspreptools,the
Windowsvirtualmachinecustomizationdoesnotproceed.
(SEEUPDATE)TheguestoperatingsystemcustomizationfeatureinVirtualCenterServer
3.5takesfulladvantageofWindowssysprepfunctionality.Asaresult,itisvery
importantthatyouhavesysprepinstalledforeachofthegueststhatyouwishto
customize.IfforexamplesysprepisnotprovidedforWindowsServer2003,
customizationwillnotattempttouseanearlierversion,butwillsimplydisablethe
customizationoperationforthatguest.
Installing the Microsoft
Sysprep Tools B
NOTESyspreptoolsarebuiltintotheWindowsVistaoperatingsystem.
354 VMware, Inc.
To install the Microsoft Sysprep tools from a Microsoft Web site download
1 DownloadtheSyspreppackagefromtheMicrosoftdownloadcenter.Makesure
thatyoudownloadthecorrectversionfortheguestoperatingsystemyouwantto
customize.
2 ClickNexttocontinue.
3 ClickIagreetoacceptthetermsandconditions.
4 ClickDownload.
5 Savethefiletoyourlocaldisk.
6 Openandexpandthe.cabfile,usingatoolsuchasWinzip.exeoranothertool
capableofreadingMicrosoftCABfiles.
7 Extractthefilestotheprovideddirectory.
ThefollowingSysprepsupportdirectorieswerecreatedduringVirtualCenter
installation:
C:\<ALLUSERSPROFILE>\Application Data\Vmware\VMware VirtualCenter\sysprep
...\1.1\
...\2k\
...\xp\
...\svr2003\
...\xp-64\
...\svr2003-64\
where<ALLUSERSPROFILE>isusually\Documents And Settings\All Users\.
Thisiswherevpxd.cfgisalsolocated.
Selectthesubdirectorythatcorrespondstoyouroperatingsystem.
8 ClickOKtoexpandthefiles.
Afteryouhaveextractedthefilesfromthe.cabfile,youshouldsee:
...\<guest>\deptool.chm
...\<guest>\readme.txt
...\<guest>\setupcl.exe
...\<guest>\setupmgr.exe
...\<guest>\setupmgx.dll
...\<guest>\sysprep.exe
...\<guest>\unattend.doc
where<guest>is2k,xp,svr2003,xp64,orsvr200364.
VMware, Inc. 355
Appendix B Installing the Microsoft Sysprep Tools
To install the Microsoft Sysprep tools from the Windows operating system CD
1 InserttheWindowsoperatingsystemCDintotheCDROMdrive(oftenthe
D: drive.
2 LocatetheDEPLOY.CABfileintheCDdirectory,\Support\Tools.
3 OpenandexpandtheDEPLOY.CABfile,usingatoolsuchasWinzip.exeoranother
toolcapableofreadingMicrosoftCABfiles.
4 ExtractthefilestothedirectoryappropriatetoyourSysprepguestoperating
system.
ThefollowingSysprepsupportdirectorieswerecreatedduringVirtualCenter
installation:
C:\<ALLUSERSPROFILE>\Application Data\Vmware\VMware VirtualCenter\sysprep
...\1.1\
...\2k\
...\xp\
...\svr2003\
...\xp-64\
...\svr2003-64\
where<ALLUSERSPROFILE>isusually\Documents And Settings\All Users\.
Thisiswherevpxd.cfgisalsolocated.
Selectthesubdirectorythatcorrespondstoyouroperatingsystem.
5 ClickOKtoexpandthefiles.
Afteryouhaveextractedthefilesfromthe.cab file,youshouldsee:
...\<guest>\deptool.chm
...\<guest>\readme.txt
...\<guest>\setupcl.exe
...\<guest>\setupmgr.exe
...\<guest>\setupmgx.dll
...\<guest>\sysprep.exe
...\<guest>\unattend.doc
where<guest>is2k,xp,svr2003,xp64,orsvr200364.
6 RepeatthisproceduretoextractSysprepfilesforeachoftheWindowsguest
operatingsystems(Windows2000,WindowsXP,orWindows2003)youplanto
customizeusingVirtualCenter.
YouarenowreadytocustomizeanewvirtualmachinewithasupportedWindows
guestoperatingsystemwhenyoucloneanexistingvirtualmachine.
356 VMware, Inc.
VMware, Inc. 357
C
Thisappendixliststhemetrics,orcounters,availablefordisplayinperformancecharts.
TheavailabilityofsomecountersdependsontheStatisticsCollectionLevelsetting
(see AboutCollectionIntervalsandCollectionLevelsonpage 286).Changestochart
optionstakeeffectafterthecurrentdatacollectioncycleiscompleteandthenextcycle
begins.
Countershaverollupandstatisticstypecharacteristics.Ametricsrollupreferstowhat
typeofmeasurementisbeingpresented.Rolluptypesincludethefollowing:
AverageDatacollectedforthespecifieddurationisaveraged.Themeasurement
displayedinthechartrepresentsanaverageforthedurationofthedatacollection
cycle.
SummationDatacollectedissummed.Themeasurementdisplayedinthechart
representsthesumofdatacollectedduringthecollectioncycle.
LatestDatacollectedisasetvalue.Themeasurementdisplayedinthechart
representsthecurrentsetting.
MinimumDatacollectedisaveraged.Themeasurementdisplayedinthechart
representstheaverageminimumvalueforthedurationofthedatacollectioncycle.
MaximumDatacollectedisaveraged.Themeasurementdisplayedinthechart
representstheaveragemaximumvalueforthedurationofthedatacollection
cycle.
Ametricsstatisticstypereferstowhetherthemeasurementrepresentsachangedvalue
(Delta),anabsolutevalue(Absolute),oraratio(Rate).
Performance Chart Metrics C
358 VMware, Inc.
Tablesareorganizedbyresourceandinventoryobjectandcontainthefollowing
information:
CounterListsthedisplaynameofeachmetric.
AvailableinCollectionLevelIndicatestheminimumvaluetowhichthe
statisticscollectionlevelmustbesetforthemetrictobeincludedasaselectable
optionintheCustomizeChartPerformancedialogbox.
VC/ESXIndicateswhethertheoptionisavailablewhentheVIClientis
connectedtoVirtualCenterServerordirectlytoanESXServerhost.
DescriptionProvidesabriefdescriptionofthemetric.
Calculationsforallmetricslistedinthetablesareforthedurationofthedatacollection
cycle.CollectioncycledurationsarespecifiedintheStatisticsCollectionIntervalsetting
(seeAboutCollectionIntervalsandCollectionLevelsonpage 286).
Thisappendixcontainsthefollowingtopics:
CPUonpage 358
Diskonpage 361
ClusterServicesonpage 369
Networkonpage 370
Systemonpage 371
CPU
ThetablesinthissectionlistmetricsformeasuringCPUperformance.All
measurementsareinmillisecondsunlessotherwisenoted.CPUperformancechartsare
availableforthefollowinginventoryobjects:
VirtualMachine
Host
ResourcePool
Cluster
VMware, Inc. 359
Appendix C Performance Chart Metrics
Virtual Machine
Table C-1. CPU Performance Metrics for Virtual Machines
Counter
Available in
Collection
Level VC/ESX Description
CPUUsage 1(4) Yes/Yes CalculatesCPUusageasapercentage.
Rollup:Average(Minimum/Maximum)
StatsType:Rate
CPUUsagein
MHz
1(4) Yes/Yes CalculatesCPUusageinMegahertz.
StatsType:Rate
CPUUsed 3 Yes/Yes CalculatesamountofCPUtimethatisused.
Rollup:Summation
StatsType:Delta
CPU
Guaranteed
3 Yes/Yes CalculatesamountofCPUtimethatis
guaranteed.
Rollup:Latest
StatsType:Absolute
CPUExtra 3 Yes/Yes CalculatesamountofCPUtimethatisunused.
Rollup:Latest
StatsType:Absolute
CPUReady 3 Yes/Yes CalculatesamountofCPUtimethatis
consumedbybeinginthereadystate.
Rollup:Latest
StatsType:Absolute
CPUSystem 3 Yes/Yes CalculatesamountofCPUtimethatis
consumedbysystemprocesses.
Rollup:Latest
StatsType:Absolute
CPUIdleTime 3 Yes/Yes CalculatesamountofCPUtimethatis
consumedbybeinginthewaitstate.
Rollup:Latest
StatsType:Absolute
360 VMware, Inc.
Host
Resource Pool
Table C-2. CPU Performance Metrics for Hosts
Counter
Available in
Collection
CPUUsed 1 Yes/Yes CalculatesamountofCPUtimethatisused.
Rollup:Summation
StatsType:Delta
idle 1 Yes/Yes CalculatesCPUidletime.
Rollup:Summation
StatsType:Delta
CPUReserved
Capacity
1 Yes/Yes Comparesvalueofresourcepoolsreservation
settingwithsumofchildobjectsreservation
settings.Displaysthegreaterofthetwo
values.
Rollup:Latest
StatsType:Absolute
CPUUsagein
MHz
1(4) Yes/Yes CalculatesaverageCPUusageinMegahertz.
StatsType:Rate
CPUUsage 1(4) Yes/Yes CalculatesCPUusageasapercentage.
StatsType:Rate
Table C-3. CPU Performance Metrics for Resource Pools
Counter
Available in
Collection
CPUUsagein
MHz
1(4) Yes/Yes CalculatesCPUusageinMegahertz.
StatsType:Rate
VMware, Inc. 361
Cluster
Disk
Thetableinthissectionlistsmetricsformeasuringdiskperformance.
All measurementsareinkilobytesunlessotherwisenoted.Diskperformancechartsare
availableforhostsandvirtualmachines;chartoptionsareidenticalforboth.
Host and Virtual Machine
Table C-4. CPU Performance Metrics for Clusters
Counter
Available in
Collection
CPUUsagein
MHz
1(4) Yes/No CalculatesCPUusageinMegahertz.
StatsType:Rate
Table C-5. Disk Performance Metrics for Host and Virtual Machines
Counter
Available in
Collection
DiskUsagein
MHz
1(4) Yes/Yes Calculatessumofdatareadandwrittentoall
diskinstancesinkilobytespersecond.
StatsType:Rate
Read 3 Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofdatareadfromdiskin
kilobytespersecondperHBA.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Rate
Write 3 Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofdatawrittentodiskin
kilobytespersecondperHBA.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Rate
362 VMware, Inc.
Memory
Thetablesinthissectionlistmetricsformeasuringmemoryperformance.Memory
performancechartsareavailableforthefollowinginventoryobjects:
VirtualMachine
Host
ResourcePool
Cluster
Virtual Machine
numberWrite 3 Yes/Yes Calculatestotalnumberofdiskwriteactions
perHBA.
Rollup:Summation
StatsType:Delta
numberRead 3 Yes/Yes Calculatestotalnumberofdiskreadactions
perHBA.
Rollup:Summation
StatsType:Delta
Table C-5. Disk Performance Metrics for Host and Virtual Machines (Continued)
Counter
Available in
Collection
Table C-6. Memory Performance Metrics for Virtual Machines
Counter
Available in
Collection
MemorySwap
In
2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofmemoryswappedin.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
MemorySwap
In
4 Yes/Yes Calculatesaverageminimumamountof
memoryswappedin.
Rollup:Minimum
StatsType:Absolute
VMware, Inc. 363
MemorySwap
In
4 Yes/Yes Calculatesaveragemaximumamountof
memoryswappedin.
Rollup:Maximum
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
BalloonTarget
2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofmemoryavailableto
memorycontrol.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
Balloon
2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofmemoryusedby
memorycontrol.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
MemorySwap
Out
2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofmemoryswappedout.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
MemoryUsage 1(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofmemoryusedasa
percentageoftotalconfigured,ortotal
availablememory.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
Overhead
2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofadditionalhostmemory
allocatedtothevirtualmachine.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
MemoryZero 2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofzeropagememory.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
Active
2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofmemoryactivelyused.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
Shared
2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofmemoryshared.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Table C-6. Memory Performance Metrics for Virtual Machines (Continued)
Counter
Available in
Collection
364 VMware, Inc.
Host
Memory
Granted
2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofmemorygranted.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
Consumed
2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofhostmemoryconsumed
bythevirtualmachineforguestoperating
systemmemory.
StatsType:Absolute
MemorySwap
Target
2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofmemorythatcanbe
swapped.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
Swapped
2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofmemoryswapped.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Table C-6. Memory Performance Metrics for Virtual Machines (Continued)
Counter
Available in
Collection
Table C-7. Memory Performance Metrics for Hosts
Counter
Available in
Collection
MemoryState 2 Yes/Yes Calculatesthememorystate.
Rollup:Latest
StatsType:Absolute
MemoryUsed
byVMKernel
2 Yes/Yes Calculatestheamountofmemoryusedby
vmkernel.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
MemorySwap
Used
2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatestheamountofmemoryusedby
swap
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
Active
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
VMware, Inc. 365
Memory
Consumed
2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofhostmemoryconsumed
bythevirtualmachineforguestoperating
systemmemory.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
MemorySwap
Out
2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofmemoryswappedout.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
Unreserved
2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofmemorythatis
unreserved.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
MemoryHeap 2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofmemoryallocatedfor
heap.
Memory
Reserved
Capacity
2 Yes/Yes CalculatesamountinMBofmemoryreserved
bythevirtualmachines.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
MemoryHeap
Free
2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountoffreespaceinthe
memoryheap.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
MemoryUsage 1(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofmemoryusedasa
availablememory.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
Shared
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
MemorySwap
In
2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofmemoryswappedin.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Table C-7. Memory Performance Metrics for Hosts (Continued)
Counter
Available in
Collection
366 VMware, Inc.
Resource Pool
Memory
Overhead
Memory
Balloon
2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofmemoryusedby
memorycontrol.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
Granted
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
Shared
Common
2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofmemorysharedby
common.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Table C-7. Memory Performance Metrics for Hosts (Continued)
Counter
Available in
Collection
Table C-8. Memory Performance Metrics for Resouce Pools
Counter
Available in
Collection
MemoryUsage
(SEEUPDATE)
1(4) Yes/No Calculatesamountofmemoryusedasa
availablememory.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
Granted
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
Active
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
Shared
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
VMware, Inc. 367
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
Swapped
2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofmemoryswapped.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
MemorySwap
Target
2(4) Yes/No Calculatesamountofmemorythatcanbe
swapped.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
MemorySwap
In
2(4) Yes/No Calculatesamountofmemoryswappedin.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
MemorySwap
Out
2(4) Yes/No Calculatesamountofmemoryswappedout.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
Balloon
2(4) Yes/No Calculatesamountofmemoryusedby
memorycontrol.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
BalloonTarget
2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofmemoryavailableto
memorycontrol.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
Overhead
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Table C-8. Memory Performance Metrics for Resouce Pools
Counter
Available in
Collection
368 VMware, Inc.
Cluster
Table C-9. Memory Performance Metrics for Clusters
Counter
Available in
Collection
MemoryUsage 1(4) Yes/No Calculatesamountofmemoryusedasa
availablememory.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
Granted
2(4) Yes/No Calculatesamountofmemorygranted.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
Active
2(4) Yes/No Calculatesamountofmemoryactivelyused.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
Shared
2(4) Yes/No Calculatesamountofmemoryshared.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
MemoryZero 2(4) Yes/No Calculatesamountofzeropagememory.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
Unreserved
2(4) Yes/No Calculatesamountofmemorythatis
unreserved.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
MemorySwap
Used
2(4) Yes/No Calculatesamountofmemoryusedbyswap.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
MemorySwap
Unreserved
2(4) Yes/No Calculatesamountofmemorynotreservedfor
swap.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
Shared
Common
2(4) Yes/No Calculatesamountofmemorysharedby
common.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
VMware, Inc. 369
Cluster Services
Thetableinthissectionlistsmetricsformeasuringtheperformanceofclusterservices
suchasDRSandHA.Clusterservicesperformancechartsareavailableonlyfor
clusters.
MemoryHeap 2(4) Yes/No Calculatesamountofmemoryallocatedfor
heap.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
MemoryHeap
Free
2(4) Yes/No Calculatesfreespaceinmemoryheap.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
MemoryState 2(4) Yes/No Calculatesstate.
Rollup:Latest
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
Balloon
2(4) Yes/No Calculatesamountofmemoryusedby
memorycontrol.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
BalloonTarget
2(4) Yes/No Calculatesamountofmemoryavailableto
memorycontrol.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory
Overhead
2(4) Yes/No Calculatesamountofadditionalhostmemory
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Table C-9. Memory Performance Metrics for Clusters (Continued)
Counter
Available in
Collection
370 VMware, Inc.
Cluster
Network
Thetableinthissectionlistsmetricsformeasuringnetworkperformance.Network
performancechartsareavailableforvirtualmachinesandhosts;chartoptionsare
identicalforboth.
Host and Virtual Machine
Table C-10. Cluster Services Metrics for Clusters
Counter
Available in
Collection
EffectiveCPU
Resources
1(4) Yes/No CalculatesaverageDRSeffectiveCPU
resourcesavailablemeasuredinMHz.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Rate.
Effective
Memory
Resources
1(4) Yes/No CalculatesaverageDRSeffectivememory
resourcesavailableinMB.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Current
failoverlevel
1(4) Yes/No Calculatesthecurrentnumberoffailoversthat
canbetoleratedbyHA.
Rollup:Latest
StatsType:Absolute.
Table C-11. Network Metrics for Hosts and Virtual Machines
Counter
Available in
Collection
NetworkData
ReceiveRate
3 Yes/Yes RateatwhichdataisreceivedinKBps.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Rate
Network
Packets
Transmitted
3 Yes/Yes Numberofpacketstransmittedintheperiod.
Rollup:Summation
StatsType:Delta
NetworkData
TransmitRate
3 Yes/Yes Rateatwhichdataistransmitted.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Rate
VMware, Inc. 371
System
Thetableinthissectionlistsmetricsformeasuringsystemperformance.System
performancechartsareavailableforvirtualmachinesandhosts.
Network
Usage
(Average)
1(4) Yes/Yes Aggregatednetworkperformancestatisticsin
KBps.
StatsType:Rate
Network
Packets
Received
3 Yes/Yes Numberofpacketsreceivedintheperiod.
Rollup:Summation
StatsType:Delta
Table C-11. Network Metrics for Hosts and Virtual Machines (Continued)
Counter
Available in
Collection
Table C-12. System Metrics for Virtual Machines and Hosts
Counter
Available in
Collection
Heartbeat 1
Yes/Yes
Numberofheartbeatsincollectionperiod.
Rollup:Summation
StatsType:Delta
Uptime 1 Yes/Yes Numberofsecondssincestartup.
Rollup:Latest
StatsType:Absolute
ResourceCPU
Usage
3(4) Yes/Yes CPUusage.
StatsType:Rate
372 VMware, Inc.
VMware, Inc. 373 VMware, Inc. 373
Index
Symbols
176, 285
A
access
inventory objects 266
permissions 278
privileges 331
rules 266
to VirtualCenter through Web 78
Active Directory 118
VirtualCenter settings 75
active sessions 81
send messages 82
adapters
Ethernet 180, 199
SCSI 150
alarms 29
about 316
define rules for 321
edit 326
email notification of 316
privileges 332
remove 327
scripts 319
SNMP traps 318
tab 54
annotations 61
appliances 139
ATAPI 150
B
baselines, security 26
boot settings 189
BusLogic 150
C
charts
best practices for setting collection
levels 287
customize 295
export 295
performance 293
clone
save guest operating system
customization 228
templates 204
virtual machines 210
clusters 27
remove hosts 133
shared storage 234
collection
best practices 287
levels and intervals 285
command-line interface
remote 42
commands
ESX Server 74
service console 42
components
datastore 23
ESX Server 21
host agent 23
374 VMware, Inc.
license server 23
VirtualCenter agent 23
VirtualCenter database 22
VirtualCenter Server 22
VMware Infrastructure 21
console
service, the 41
tab 54
virtual machine 50
consolidation
about 118
analysis results 122
cache 125
confidence metric 123
credentials 120
first time use 119
limits 125
prerequisites 118
services 118
settings 119, 120
tasks 125
troubleshoot 125
consolidation settings 118
convert, see consolidation
CPU
advanced settings 193
compatibility masks 241
configuration 186
CPU Identification Mask 189
credentials
consolidation 120
custom attributes 61
D
database
calculator 293
VirtualCenter 22, 76
datacenters 28
consolidation 118
privileges 333
topology maps 297
Datastore Browser 113
datastores 27
about 23
privileges 333
relocate virtual machine files 248
DHCP 41
diagnostic data
export 101
diagnostics 98
disks 180, 200
independent 257
independent mode 151
modes 200
raw device mapping 72
resources 196
DVD/CD-ROM, see optical drives
E
ESX Server
about 21
agent, configure 95
commands 74
diagram 21
hosts 128
hosts, add to VirtualCenter 129
hosts, configure 70
manage 20
reboot 36
storage 72
syslog service 102
traps 89
ESX Server 3
SNMP traps 96
ESX Server 3i
SNMP 96
Ethernet adapters 180, 199
events 28, 29
VMware, Inc. 375
Index
about 311
alarms 316
export 103, 315
navigation bar 54
tab 54
export
appliances 139
events 103
extensions
privileges 334
F
Fibre Channel NPIV 81, 187, 190
firewall
configure communication 76
floppy drives 180, 199
folders 27
privileges 334
G
Getting Started tabs, enable and
disable 56
global privileges 335
groups 266, 271
guest operating systems 215
customization prerequisites 216
install 154
Guided Consolidation 53, 114
H
hardware
virtual machine 180, 196
HBA 190
host bus adapter (HBA) 87
hosts 26
about 128
add 129
advanced configuration 138
CIM privileges 337
configuration privileges 337
configure 70
connect to VirtualCenter 132
disconnect from VirtualCenter 132
inventory privileges 339
local operations privileges 341
network configuration 72
reconnecting 133
remove from cluster 133
remove from VirtualCenter 135, 136
states 129
tab 54
HTTP and HTTPS ports
hyperthreading 193
I
IDE 150
IIS 78
image files
ISO 181
import
appliances 139
independent disks 257
install
VMware Tools 155
interfaces 24
inventory
about 28
access to objects 266
navigation bar 54
objects, add 110
topology maps 297
ISO image files 181
L
legacy virtual machines 201
376 VMware, Inc.
license server 23
diagram 21
Linux
guest, customize 215
guest, install VMware Tools on 158
load balancing 25
log files 29, 99
collect 104
export 101
external 101
logging
logging in 266
VI Client 38
VI Web Access 40
logging out
VI Client 39
VI Web Access 40
LSI logic 150
LUNs 153, 200
M
MAC address 88
mail
man pages
service console 43
managed devices
MIB files 83
maps 28, 297
exporting 300
print 300
view 299
VMotion resources 298
memory
resources 194
metrics
performance 357
MIB 83, 95
Microsoft Sysprep 353
migration
about 232
relocate virtual machine files 248
Storage VMotion 248
with snapshots 243
modules, see plugins
N
navigation bar
overview 51
NetWare 162
networks 27
host configuration 72
privileges 341
requirements for VMotion 235
NIC 199
NPIV 81, 187, 190
NUMA 194
O
object identifiers (OIDs) 83
objects
inventory 110
VirtualCenter 63
Open Virtual Machine Format (OVF) 140
operating system, guest 154
optical drives 180, 198
OVF 139, 140
P
paravirtualization 190
PCI 190
performance
best practices for setting collection
levels 287
charts 293, 295
metrics 357
VMware, Inc. 377
Index
privileges 342
statistics collection 285
tab 54
permissions 266, 271
access 278
privileges 342
settings 267
tab 54
plugins 22
manage 67
ports 180
parallel 198
Web access to VirtualCenter 78
power management 25
power off
shutdown, versus 172
power states
transitional 172
virtual machines 169, 174
privileges 266, 331
alarms 332
configuration 337
datacenter 333
datastore 333
extension 334
folders 334
global 335
host CIM 337
host inventory 339
host local operations 341
network 341
performance 342
permission 342
resource 343
scheduled tasks 344
sessions 345
tasks 345
virtual machine 350
virtual machine configuration 346
virtual machine interaction 348
virtual machine provisioning 350
virtual machine state 352
R
raw device mapping 72, 200
reconnecting hosts 133
remote
command-line interface 42
reset 170
resource maps 297
resource pools 27
resources
CPU 192
management 25
memory 194
privileges 343
virtual machine settings 192
restart
VirtualCenter 37
resume 170
roles 266, 272
copy 276
create 275
default 273
edit 277
privileges, lists of 331
remove 277
rename 278
rollup 285, 357
figure 290
RPM installer 158
runtime settings
S
SAN LUN 200
378 VMware, Inc.
mapping 153
schedule
power states 174
scheduled tasks 302
about 28
cancel 309
clone virtual machine 212
manage 305
privileges 344
scheduling affinity 193
scripts
alarms 319
SCSI 180, 201
adapter 150
security
baselines 26
configuration 73
SNMP 97
serial port 197
service console 41
commands 42
configure ESX Server agent 95
connection 42
DHCP 41
man pages 43
remote command-line interface,
versus 42
services
consolidation 119
syslogd 102
VMware Tools 155
sessions
privileges 345
VI Client, terminating 82
shutdown 170, 177
power off, versus 172
SMTP
snapshots
about 253
exclude virtual disks from 256
manage 257
parent 259
revert to 259
virtual machines, migrate 243
SNMP 83, 98
alarms, set traps for notification
of 318
configure 83, 93
diagnostics 98
ESX Server 3i 96
management software 97
security 97
traps 94
traps, configure 96
Solaris 161
SSH 42
SSL
VirtualCenter 76
SSL certificate 133
standby 170
starting
VI Client 38
startup 177
statistics
about 285
database calculator 293
storage 200
raw device mapping 72
Storage VMotion 248
command-line syntax 249
limitations 248
requirements 248
streaming multimedia
WYSE 165
Summary tab 54
VMware, Inc. 379
Index
suspend 170
swapfile 81, 187
syslog 102
sysprep 353
T
tabs
Admin 53
Getting Started 56
Inventory 54
Summary 54
tar installer 159, 160
tasks 29
about 302
cancel 309
clone virtual machine 212
events 311
manage 301
navigation bar 54
privileges 345
scheduled 305
Telnet 42
templates 26
about 203
create 204
delete 209
deploy virtual machines 207
edit 206
inventory, return to 210
navigation bar 54
returning to VirtualCenter 176
unregister 209
virtual machines, convert to 209
timeout
traps 89
SNMP 94
SNMP, configure 96
troubleshoot
consolidation 125
log files 99, 104
tutorial 57
U
upgrade
VMware Tools 155, 157
users 269
utilities
sysprep 353
VMware Tools 155
V
VI Client 20, 24, 38
about 45
communication through firewall 76
console window 50
diagram 21
logging in 38
logging out 39
sessions 82
starting 38
stop 39
VirtualCenter port configuration 77
VI Web Access 24, 40
logging in 40
logging out 40
virtual disks 200
virtual hardware
upgrade 202
virtual machine
SCSI device 201
virtual machine configuration
Fibre Channel NPIV 187
swapfile location 187
virtual machine name 148
virtual machines
acceleration 188
380 VMware, Inc.
add existing 175
advanced settings 188
boot settings 189
clone 210
configuration privileges 346
configure 179
convert 26
copy disks 114
CPU compatibility masks 241
CPU configuration 186
CPU settings, resource 192
CPU, settings, advanced 193
CPUID Mask settings 189
create 144
deploying from templates 207
disk settings 196
Ethernet adapter 199
export 141
Fibre Channel NPIV 81
Fibre Channel NPIV settings 190
floppy drives 199
guest operating system 154
guest operating system
customization 216
guest operating system settings 187
hard disks 200
hardware 180, 196
interaction privileges 348
inventory privileges 350
legacy 201
log settings 188
managing 169
memory settings 194
migration 232
name 145, 187
NIC 199
optical drives 198
options 186
parallel port 198
paravirtualization settings 190
power management settings 188
power settings 80
power states 169
properties 179
provisioning privileges 350
removing 175
resource settings 192
resume 173
returning to VirtualCenter 176
scheduled task to clone 212
scheduling power states 174
security compliance 26
see also appliances
serial port 197
shutdown 177
snapshots 253
startup 177
state privileges 352
statistic collection settings 188
suspend 173
swapfile location 81
tab 54
templates, convert from 209
templates, convert to 204
upgrade hardware 202
upgrade version 201
view configuration 79
VMware Tools 80
VMware Tools settings 187
VirtualCenter
about 22
active sessions, view 81
agent 23
alarms 316
communication through firewall 76
configuration 74
VMware, Inc. 381
Index
database 22, 76
diagram 21
events 311
hosts, add 129
hosts, remove 135
inventory 28
objects 63
plugins 22, 26
port configuration 77
restarting 37
SNMP 93
start 36
stop 36, 38
tasks 301
templates, unregister 209
traps 89
VMFS 153
VMI paravirtualization 190
VMotion 24, 232
compatibility 246
network requirements 235
Nx and XD considerations 237
requirements 234
resource maps 298
swapfile considerations 242
VMware Capacity Planner service 119
VMware Converter Enterprise
about 26
service 119
VMware DRS 25
VMware High Availability (HA) 24
components of 21
diagram 21
VMware SDK 25
VMware Service Console 24
VMware Tools 80, 143
automate upgrades 163
install and upgrade 155
Linux 158
NetWare 162
properties 162
RPM installer 158, 159
settings 187
Solaris 161
tar installer 159
upgrade 157
WYSE 165
VMware Update Manager 26
W
Web access
VirtualCenter port configuration 78
Web Service
Windows
guest operating system
customization 215
WWN 190
WYSE multimedia 165
X
X terminal 158
382 VMware, Inc.
VMware, Inc. Update1
Updates for the Basic Administration
Guide
LastUpdated:May14,2010
ThisdocumentprovidesupdatestotheUpdate2releaseofthe
ESXServer3.5andESXServer3iversion3.5versionsoftheBasicAdministrationGuide.
Updateddescriptionsareorganizedbypagenumbersothatyoucaneasilylocatethe
areaoftheguidethathaschanges.Ifthechangespansmultiplesequentialpages,this
documentprovidesthestartingpagenumberonly.
ThefollowingisalistofupdatesmadetotheBasicAdministrationGuide:
UpdatestoHardwareTabonPage 70
UpdatestotheConfiguringVirtualCenterCommunicationoveraWebConnection
SectiononPage 79
UpdatestotheAboutMIBFilesSectiononPage 83
UpdatestotheToconfigureyourmanagementprogramtointerpretVirtualCenter
SNMPtrapsProcedureonPage 94
UpdatestotheUsingSNMPwithESXServer3SectiononPage 94
UpdatestotheConfiguringtheESXServerAgentfromtheServiceConsoleSection
onPage 95
UpdatestotheAddingaHostSectiononPage 129
UpdatestotheImportingaVirtualApplianceProcedureonPage 141
UpdatestotheToInstallorUpgradeVMwareToolsonaLinuxGuestfromXwith
theRPMInstallerProcedureonPage 158
UpdatestotheToInstallorUpgradeVMwareToolsonaLinuxGuestwiththetar
InstallerorRPM InstallerProcedureonPage 160
UpdatestotheVMwareToolsUpgradesInformationonPage 163
UpdatestotheToChangetheMemoryConfigurationProcedureonPage 183
UpdatestotheToChangetheSerialPortConfigurationProcedureonPage 184
Updates for the Basic Administration Guide
Update2 VMware, Inc.

UpdatestotheChangethevirtualprocessororCPUconfigurationProcedureon
Page 186
UpdatestotheWindowsRequirementsforGuestCustomizationSectionon
Page 217
UpdatestotheLinuxRequirementsforGuestCustomizationSectiononPage 218
UpdatestoEVCRequirementsSectiononPage 238
UpdatestotheStorageVMotionRemoteCommandLineSyntaxSectionon
Page 249
UpdatestotheUnderstandingSnapshotsSectiononPage 254
UpdatestotheIntervalDurationandCollectionFrequency:DefaultsTableon
Page 286
UpdatestotheHowstatisticaldataisstoredinthedatabaseSectiononPage 290
UpdatestotheToDefinetheSMTPandEmailMessageAddressingInformation
ProcedureonPage 319
UpdatestotheTocreateanalarmProcedureonPage 323
UpdatetotheHostConfigurationPrivilegesTableonPage 337
UpdatestotheInstallingtheMicrosoftSysprepToolsAppendixonPage 353
UpdatestotheMemoryPerformanceMetricsforResourcePoolsonPage 366
Updates to Hardware Tab on Page 70
InHardwareTab,thedescriptionoftheHealthStatusoptionincorrectlystatesthatitis
availableforESXServer3ionly.TheHealthStatusoptionisalsoavailablefor
ESX Server3.5Update2andlater.
Updates to the Configuring VirtualCenter Communication
over a Web Connection Section on Page 79
Step 7oftheToopenaWebportbetweentheVirtualCenterServerandtheVIClient
usingIISprocedureisnowinvalid.Thefollowinginformationshouldbeincludedin
thesection:
ThecurrentversionofVirtualCenterdoesnotuseVmdbHttpProxy.dllfor
communicationbetweentheVIClientandtheVirtualCenterServer.
InVirtualCenterServer2.5andlater,theVirtualCenterServeractsasaWebservice.If
yourenvironmentrequirestheuseofaWebproxy,VirtualCenterServercanbeusedas
aproxyserverlikeanyotherWebservice.
TheVIClientusesports80and443tocommunicatewithVirtualCenterServerand
ESX/ESXihosts.Theseportscannotbechanged.Configureyourfirewalltoallow
communicationbetweentheVIClientandVirtualCenterServerusingtheports80
and 443.
Updates to the About MIB Files Section on Page 83
ThecontentintheAboutMIBFilessectionshouldbereplacedwiththefollowing
content:
VMwareMIBfilesdefinetheinformationprovidedbyESX/ESXihostsandvCenter
ServertoSNMPmanagementsoftware.YoucandownloadtheseMIBfilesfromthe
VMwareWebsite.
ReferKB1013758formoreinformationonusingSNMPwithVirtualCenter2.5and
ESX 3.5.
Table 51liststheMIBfilesprovidedbyVMwareanddescribestheinformationthat
eachfileprovides.
Updates to the To configure your management program
to interpret VirtualCenter SNMP traps Procedure on
Page 94
Step 1intheToconfigureyourmanagementprogramtointerpretVirtualCenterSNMP
trapsprocedureisincorrect.Thefollowingdetailsshouldreplacetheincorrectstep:
1 CopythefollowingMIBfilestothelocationrequiredbyyourmanagement
software:
VMWARE-VC-EVENT-MIB
VMWARE-OBSOLETE-MIB
TheseMIBfilesarerequiredtointerpretVirtualCenterServerTraps.
YoucandownloadtheseSNMPMIBfilesfromtheVMwareWebsite.Refer
KB 1013445formoredetailsondownloadingtheMIBfiles.

Updates to the Using SNMP with ESX Server 3 Section on
Page 94
ThesentenceintheUsingSNMPwithESXServer3sectionregardingSMIv1and
SNMPv1shouldbereplacedwiththefollowingcontent:
TheESXServer3NetSNMPbasedagentcanbeusedwithanymanagementsoftware
thatcanloadandcompileamanagementinformationbase(MIB)inSMIv2formatand
canunderstandSNMPv2trapmessages.
Updates to the Configuring the ESX Server Agent from
the Service Console Section on Page 95
TheConfiguringtheESXServerAgentfromtheServiceConsolesectiondoesnot
providedetailedinstructionsforconfiguringanESXServerhostforgeneratingtraps.
Thefollowingprocedure,whichenablesyoutomodify/etc/vmware/snmp.xmlto
setuptraptargetsforVMwarerelatedtrapsfromServiceConsole,shouldbeaddedto
thissection.(ReferKB1008065tousethevicfg-snmpcommandfromtheRemoteCLI
toenabletheSNMPagentandconfiguretrapdestinations).
To configure an ESX host for SNMP Traps
1 LoginasroottotheserviceconsoleoftheESXhost.
2 Runthefollowingcommandtoeditthesnmp.xmlfile:
vi /etc/vmware/snmp.xml
3 Updatethesnmp.xmlfilewiththefollowingtext:
<config>
<snmpSettings>
<communities>public</communities>
<enable>true</enable>
<port>99</port>
<targets>localhost@162 private</targets>
</snmpSettings>
</config>
4 Runthefollowingcommandtoedittheconfig.xmlfile:
vi /etc/vmware/hostd/config.xml
5 Updatetheconfig.xmlfilewiththefollowingtext:
<log>
<directory>/var/log/vmware/</directory>
<name>hostd</name>
<outputToConsole>false</outputToConsole>
<level>verbose</level>
</log>
6 Restarthostdusingthefollowingcommand:
service mgmt-vmware restart
7 Runthefollowingcommandstoverifythatthesnmpdandsnmptrapdarerunning
successfully:
etc/initd/snmpd status
etc/initd/snmptrapd status
Ifthestatusisdisplayedasstopped,startthedaemons:
etc/initd/snmpd start
etc/initd/snmptrapd start
Tomonitorandreceivethegeneratedtraps,enterthefollowingcommands:
# snmpd -P
# snmptrapd -P
Updates to the Adding a Host Section on Page 129
ThenoteintheAddingaHostsectionshouldcontainthefollowinginformation
regardingtheLockdownmode:
NOTELockdownMode,whichisavailableonlyinESXiEmbedded,isnotavailablein
ESXinstallations.LockdownModedisablesremoteaccessfortheadministratorafter
VirtualCenterServertakescontroloftheESXihost.Formoredetails,referthesection
ESXServer3iLockdownModeinESXServer3iConfigurationGuide.

Updates to the Importing a Virtual Appliance Procedure
on Page 141
Step 6oftheToimportavirtualapplianceprocedurestatesincorrectinformation.The
nameprovidedtothedatacenteriscaseinsensitive.
Updates to the To Install or Upgrade VMware Tools on a
Linux Guest from X with the RPM Installer Procedure on
Page 158
Step 5oftheprocedureToinstallorupgradeVMwareToolsonaLinuxguestfromX
withtheRPMinstallershouldincludethefollowingnote:
Updates to the To Install or Upgrade VMware Tools on a
Linux Guest with the tar Installer or RPM Installer
Procedure on Page 160
Step 6oftheprocedureToinstallorupgradeVMwareToolsonaLinuxguestwiththe
tarinstallerorRPM installershouldincludethefollowingnote:
Updates to the VMware Tools Upgrades Information on
Page 163
Step 7oftheToManuallyUpgradeToolsprocedurehasacrossreferencetoTable 101,
whichcontainserroneousinformation.Thetableshouldbereplacedwiththefollowing
paragraph:
OptionsforLinuxaredocumentedintheLinuxinstallerforLinuxTools.
CommandlineoptionsforWindowsaredocumentedintheMSIforWindows
ToolsandatWikipedia(searchforWindowsInstaller).
NOTEDuringVMwareToolsinstallation,aLinuxguestoperatingsystemmight
displayamessageindicatingthatthepackagehasnotbeensigned.Ifthismessage
appears,clickInstallAnywaytocontinuetheinstallation.
NOTEDuringVMwareToolsinstallation,aLinuxguestoperatingsystemmight
displayamessageindicatingthatthepackagehasnotbeensigned.Ifthismessage
appears,clickInstallAnywaytocontinuetheinstallation.
Updates to the To Change the Memory Configuration
Step 3oftheTochangethememoryconfigurationprocedurestatesincorrect
informationabouttherangeofmemorysupported.Thecorrectrangeofmemory
supportedis128MBto65532MB.
Updates to the To Change the Serial Port Configuration
ThefollowingnoteshouldprecedetheTochangetheserialportconfiguration
procedure:
Updates to the Change the virtual processor or CPU
configuration Procedure on Page 186
ThenoteinTochangethevirtualprocessororCPUconfigurationsectioncontaining
informationonthesupportforchangingthenumberofprocessorsinanimported
virtualmachineisincorrect.Thecorrectinformationis
Updates to the Windows Requirements for Guest
Customization Section on Page 217
ThefollowingtextshouldappearintheWindowsRequirementsforGuest
Customizationsection:
SeetheVMwareInfrastructureCompatibilityMatrixesGuideforthelistofsupported
operatingsystemsforvirtualimagecustomization.
NOTEHostserialdevicefunctionalityisnotavailableonESXihosts.
NOTENotallguestoperatingsystemssupportSMP,andsomethatdorequire
reinstallationifthenumberofCPUschanges..

Updates to the Linux Requirements for Guest
Customization Section on Page 218
ThefollowingtextshouldappearintheLinuxRequirementsforGuestCustomization
section:
SeetheVMwareInfrastructureCompatibilityMatrixesGuideforthelistofsupported
operatingsystemsforvirtualimagecustomization.
Also,thefollowingrequirementshouldbelistedinthissection:
PerlisinstalledintheLinuxguestoperatingsystem.
Updates to EVC Requirements Section on Page 238
InEVCRequirementssection,thelistofrequirementsshouldcontainthefollowingtwo
additionalitems:
Allhostsintheclustermusthavehardwarevirtualization(IntelVTorAMDV)
enabledintheBIOSifitisavailable.
Allhostsintheclustermusthaveexecuteprotection(XDonIntelprocessorsand
NXonAMDprocessors)enabledintheBIOS.
Updates to the Storage VMotion Remote Command-Line
Syntax Section on Page 249
ThecontentintheStorageVMotionRemoteCommandLineSyntaxsectionon
initiatingthemigrationswithStorageVMotionfromtheRemoteCommandLine
Interfaceisnotproper.Thecontentshouldbeasfollows:
YoucaninitiatemigrationswithstorageVMotiononbothESXServer3iandESX
Server 3hostsbyrunningthesvmotioncommandfromtheRemoteCommandLine
Interface(RemoteCLI).
FormoreinformationoninstallingandusingtheRemoteCLI,seetheRemote
CommandLineInterfaceInstallationandReference.
Updates to the Understanding Snapshots Section on
Page 254
TheUnderstandingSnapshotssectiondoesnotincludeinformationondeltadisks.The
sectionshouldcontainthefollowingcontent:
Totakeasnapshot,thestateofthevirtualdiskatthetimeoftakingthesnapshotmust
bepreserved.Whenthisoccurs,theguestoperatingsystemcannotwritetotheVMDK
file.ThedeltadiskisanadditionalVMDKfilewheretheguestisgivenwriteaccess.
Thedeltadiskrepresentsthedifferencebetweenthecurrentstateofthevirtualdiskand
thestateatthetimeoftheprevioussnapshot.Ifmorethanonesnapshotsexist,delta
disksmightrepresentthedifference(ordelta)betweeneachsnapshot.Also,theguest
canwritetoeverysingleblockofthevirtualdiskcausingthedeltadisktogrowaslarge
asthebaseVMDKofthevirtualmachine.
Whenasnapshotisdeleted,ifauserchoosestomergethechangesbetweenthe
snapshotstothepreviousdiskstate,allthedatafromthedeltadiskthatcontainsthe
informationaboutthedeletedsnapshotiswrittentotheparentdisk.Thismightinvolve
alargeamountofdiskI/Oandmightreducethevirtualmachineperformanceuntil
consolidationiscomplete.
Iftheuserchoosestoignorethedeltadisks,deltaconsolidationisnotrequired.
SeeVMwareKnowledgeBasesystemformoreinformationontheiterativesnapshot
deletionbehavior.SeealsoDeleteAllsnapshotoperationresultsinaConsolidate
Helpersnapshotwhenadatastorehasinsufficientdiskspace(KBarticle1003302).
NOTEToconsolidateallsnapshotsintothebasevirtualmachine,youmightneedextra
diskspace,aslargeasthebaseVMDK.
NOTEWhilesnapshotsprovideapointintimeimageofthediskthatbackupsolutions
canuse,snapshotsshouldnotbeusedforvirtualmachinebackups.

Updates to the Interval Duration and Collection
Frequency: Defaults Table on Page 286
InTable 181,theconfigurablevalueofthedurationforwhichthestatisticscanbe
storedintheVirtualCenterdatabaseisincorrect.Thefollowingrowsreplacethe
respectiverowsinthetable.
Updates to the How statistical data is stored in the
database Section on Page 290
TheHowstatisticaldataisstoredinthedatabasesectioncontainsincorrectinformation
aboutthedurationforwhichthestatisticscanbestoredintheVirtualCenterdatabase.
Thetextshouldbeasfollows:
Bydefault,statisticsarestoredintheVirtualCenterdatabasefor1year.However,you
canincreasethisto5years.Youshouldarchiveyourstatisticaldataoutsideofthe
VirtualCenterdatabasetosaveitformorethan5years.
Updates to the To Define the SMTP and Email Message
Addressing Information Procedure on Page 319
InStep 3,theSenderAccountexampleisincorrect.Theemailaddressismissingtheat
sign(@).Thetextshouldread:
SenderAccountTheemailaddressofthesender,forexample,
mail_server@datacenter.com.
Collection
Interval
Interval
Duration
Collection
Frequency Configurable Attributes Possible Values
Day 1Day 5Minutes IntervalLength(Days)15
CollectionFrequency(Minutes)1,2,3,5
Year 1Year 1Days IntervalLength(Years)15
Updates to the To create an alarm Procedure on Page 323
IntheWarninglistitemofStep 6,thedetailsoftheVMstateoptionsareincorrect.The
contentshouldreadasfollows:
ThefollowingVMStateoptionsaredisplayedintheWarningcolumn:None,
PoweredOff,PoweredOn,andSuspended.
TheHostStateoptionscorrespondtothefollowingactivities:None,Connected,
Disconnected,andNotresponding.
Theexitingstateisconsideredayellowcolorconditionattheselectedstate.
Update to the Host Configuration Privileges Table on
Page 337
InTable A8,thedescriptionfortheChangeSettingsprivilegedoesnotmentionthatthe
privilegeallowssettingtheLockdownModeonlyonESXihosts.Therowshould
appearasfollows:
Updates to the Installing the Microsoft Sysprep Tools
Appendix on Page 353
TheversionoftheVirtualCenterServermentionedinthefourthparagraphinthe
InstallingtheMicrosoftSysprepToolsappendixisincorrect.Thetextshouldreadas
follows:
TheguestoperatingsystemcustomizationfeatureinVirtualCenterServer2.5takesfull
advantageofWindowsSysprepfunctionality.
Updates to the Memory Performance Metrics for
Resource Pools on Page 366
TheMemoryUsagecounterinTable C8displayedincorrectdataandhasbeen
removed.
Change
Settings
AllowssettingoflockdownmodeonESXi
hostsonly.
Userinterfaceelement:
1 SelecttheHostConfigurationtab.
2 ClickSecurityProfile.
3 SelectLockdownModeandclickEdit.
HCandVC Hosts Hosts
(ESXionly)

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