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EN-000029-07
Basic Administration Guide
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VMware, Inc.
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www.vmware.com
2 VMware, Inc.
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
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Basic System Administration
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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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Basic System Administration
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
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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
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Basic System Administration
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
12 VMware, Inc.
About This Book
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.
VMware, Inc. 13
Basic System Administration
Intended Audience
Theinformationpresentedinthismanualiswrittenforsystemadministratorswhoare
experiencedWindowsorLinuxsystemadministratorsandwhoarefamiliarwith
virtualmachinetechnologyanddatacenteroperations.
Document Feedback
VMwarewelcomesyoursuggestionsforimprovingourdocumentation.Ifyouhave
comments,sendyourfeedbackto:
docfeedback@vmware.com
Table 1. Abbreviations
Abbreviation Description
database VirtualCenterdatabase
datastore Storageforthemanagedhost
dsk# Storagediskforthemanagedhost
hostn VirtualCentermanagedhosts
SAN Storageareanetworktypedatastoresharedbetweenmanagedhosts
tmplt Template
user# Userwithaccesspermissions
VC VirtualCenter
VM# Virtualmachinesonamanagedhost
http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.
14 VMware, Inc.
About This Book
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
http://mylearn1.vmware.com/mgrreg/index.cfm
VMware, Inc. 15
Basic System Administration
16 VMware, Inc.
Getting Started
VMware, Inc. 17
Basic System Administration
18 VMware, Inc.
1
VMware Infrastructure
Components 1
ThischapterintroducesVMwareInfrastructurecomponentsandtheoperationsthat
youusewhenmanagingyourvirtualmachinesthroughESXServerorVirtualCenter
Server.
Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:
TwoApproachestoManagingVirtualMachinesonpage 20
ComponentsofVMwareInfrastructureonpage 21
VMwareInfrastructureClientInterfacesonpage 24
OptionalVirtualCenterComponentsonpage 24
VirtualCenterModulesonpage 26
ManagedComponentsonpage 26
FunctionalComponentsonpage 28
AccessPrivilegesComponentsonpage 29
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Basic System Administration
DirectlythroughanESXServerhost(asingleorstandalonehost)thatcanmanage
onlythosevirtualmachines,andtheirresources,installedonit.
ThroughaVirtualCenterServerthatmanagesmultiplevirtualmachinesandtheir
resourcesdistributedovermanyESXServerhosts.
ThefigurebelowillustratesthecomponentsinanESXServerVirtualInfrastructure.
VI Client VI Client
Host Agent
VM VM VM
ESX Server host
datastore
20 VMware, Inc.
Chapter 1 VMware Infrastructure Components
ThefigurebelowillustratesthecomponentsinaVirtualCenterServerVirtual
Infrastructure.
VirtualCenter VirtualCenter
License Server Server VC
database
VM VM VM VM VM VM VM VM VM
ESX Server host ESX Server host ESX Server host
datastore shared
datastore
ESXServerAvirtualizationplatformusedtocreatethevirtualmachinesasaset
ofconfigurationanddiskfilesthattogetherperformallthefunctionsofaphysical
machine.
ThroughESXServer,yourunthevirtualmachines,installoperatingsystems,run
applications,andconfigurethevirtualmachines.Configurationincludes
identifyingthevirtualmachinesresources,suchasstoragedevices.
Theserverprovidesbootstrapping,management,andotherservicesthatmanage
yourvirtualmachines.
EachESXServerhasaVIClientavailableforyourmanagementuse.Ifyour
ESX ServerisaregisteredhostwiththeVirtualCenterServer,aVIClientthat
accommodatestheVirtualCenterfeaturesisavailable.
VMware, Inc. 21
Basic System Administration
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.
22 VMware, Inc.
Chapter 1 VMware Infrastructure Components
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.
VMware, Inc. 23
Basic System Administration
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.
VMotionAfeaturethatenablesyoutomoverunningvirtualmachinesfromone
ESXServerhosttoanotherwithoutserviceinterruption.Itrequireslicensingon
boththesourceandtargethost.TheVirtualCenterServercentrallycoordinatesall
VMotionactivities.
VMwareHAAfeaturethatenablesaclusterwithHighAvailability.Ifahostgoes
down,allvirtualmachinesthatwererunningonthehostarepromptlyrestarted
ondifferenthostsinthesamecluster.
24 VMware, Inc.
Chapter 1 VMware Infrastructure Components
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.
VMware, Inc. 25
Basic System Administration
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.
26 VMware, Inc.
Chapter 1 VMware Infrastructure Components
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.
VMware, Inc. 27
Basic System Administration
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.
28 VMware, Inc.
Chapter 1 VMware Infrastructure Components
VariousinformationlistsaregeneratedandtrackedbyyourVMwareInfrastructure
Clientactivity:
TasksTheseactivitiesarescheduledorinitiatedmanually.Tasksgenerateevent
messagesthatindicateanyissuesassociatedwiththetask.
EventsMessagesthatreportVMwareInfrastructureactivity.Eventmessagesare
predefinedintheproduct.
AlarmsSpecificnotificationsthatoccurinresponsetoselectedevents.Some
alarmsaredefinedbyproductdefault.Additionalalarmscanbecreatedand
appliedtoselectedinventoryobjectsorallinventoryobjects.
LogsStoredreferenceinformationrelatedtoselectedeventmessages.Logsare
predefinedintheproduct.Youcanconfigurewhetherselectedlogsaregenerated.
TheservergrantsaccesstoeachVMwareInfrastructureClientobject,datacenter,folder,
orvirtualmachine.Todothis,youassignaroleandauser(orgroup)toeachobject.
IndividualpermissionsareassignedthroughtheVIClientbypairingauserandarole
andassigningthispairtoaVMwareInfrastructureClientobject:
UsersandGroupsForVirtualCenter,usersandgroupsarecreatedand
maintainedthroughtheWindowsdomainorActiveDirectorydatabase.Usersand
groupsareregisteredwithVirtualCenter,orcreatedandregisteredwithan
ESX Server,throughtheprocessthatassignsprivileges.
RolesAsetofaccessrightsandprivileges.Thereareselecteddefaultroles.
You canalsocreaterolesandassigncombinationsofprivilegestoeachrole.
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Basic System Administration
30 VMware, Inc.
2
Thischaptersummarizestheinformationcontainedinthismanualonthefollowing
topics:
VMwareInfrastructurecomponents
Administrationtools
Systemconfiguration
Virtualmachinemanagementandconfiguration
Accessandpermissionsmanagement
Systemadministrationandmanagement
VMware, Inc. 31
Basic System Administration
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.
32 VMware, Inc.
Chapter 2 Using this Document
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.
VMware, Inc. 33
Basic System Administration
Appendixes
BasicSystemAdministrationprovidesthesefourappendixeswithspecialized
informationyoumightfindusefulwhenconfiguringyourVMwareInfrastructure
environment:
DefinedPrivilegesIncludestableswiththepermissionsandrolesthatare
availablewiththeVMwareInfrastructuresystem.
InstallingtheMicrosoftSysprepToolsDescribeshowtoinstalltheMicrosoft
SyspreptoolsonyourVirtualCenterServermachine.InstallingtheSyspreptools
isarequirementifyouplantocustomizeaWindowsguestoperatingsystem.
PerformanceChartMetricsIncludestableswiththemeasurementoptionsfor
eachresourcemonitoredonahost.
34 VMware, Inc.
3
Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:
ESXServeronpage 35
VirtualCenterServeronpage 36
VIClientonpage 38
VIWebAccessonpage 40
VMwareServiceConsoleonpage 41
ESX Server
WhenyouinstallESXServer,itstartsitselfthroughtheinstallationrebootprocess.
If yourESXServerisshutdown,youmustmanuallyrestartit.
OnthephysicalboxwhereESXServerisinstalled,pressthepowerbuttonuntilthe
poweronsequencebegins.
TheESXServerboots,discoversitsvirtualmachines,andproceedswithitsnormal
ESX Serverfunctions.
Youhavetheoptiontopowerofforrestart(reboot)anyESXServerhostusingthe
VI Client.ESXServer3hostscanalsobepoweredofffromtheserviceconsole.
PoweringoffamanagedhostdisconnectsitfromtheVirtualCenterServerbutdoesnot
removeitfromtheinventory.
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Basic System Administration
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.
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.
36 VMware, Inc.
Chapter 3 Starting and Stopping the VMware Infrastructure Components
ThefollowingsectionsdiscussstartingandstoppingelementsrelatedtoVirtualCenter:
VerifyingThatVirtualCenterServerStartedonpage 37
RestartingtheVirtualCenterServeronpage 37
StoppingtheVirtualCenterServeronpage 38
NOTEWhenVirtualCenterisinstalled,allusersinthelocalmachinesAdministrators
groupareassignedtheAdministratorrolewithfullprivilegesintheVirtualCenter
environment.AVirtualCenterAdministratormustsetpermissionsforallother
VirtualCenterusers.SeeAssigningAccessPermissionsonpage 279foradditional
information.
1 GototheServicesdisplayforyourversionofWindows.
Forexample,selectControlPanel>AdministrativeTools>Services.Click
VMwareInfrastructureServer.
TheStatuscolumnindicateswhethertheservicestarted.
2 RightclicktheVMwareInfrastructureServerandchooseProperties.Inthe
VMwareVirtualCenterServicesPropertiesdialogbox,clicktheGeneraltaband
viewtheservicestatus.
1 GototheServicesdisplayforyourversionofWindows.
Forexample,selectControlPanel>AdministrativeTools>Services.Click
VMwareInfrastructureServer.
2 RightclickVMwareInfrastructureServer,chooseStart,andwaitforstartupto
complete.
3 ClosethePropertiesdialogbox.
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Basic System Administration
YoushouldnothavetostoptheVirtualCenterServer.ItisbestfortheVirtualCenter
Servertohavecontinuousoperation.Continuousoperationensuresthatallmonitoring
andtaskactivitiesareperformedasexpected.
1 GototheServicesdisplayforyourversionofWindows.
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.
38 VMware, Inc.
Chapter 3 Starting and Stopping the VMware Infrastructure Components
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.
NOTEOnlypreviouslytypedserversappearintheServerdropdownmenu.
IfthisisthefirsttimeyouhaveloggedontotheVirtualCenterServer,anempty
Inventoryscreenappears.Addadatacenterandhosttobeginmonitoringand
managingyourvirtualmachinesthroughtheVMwareInfrastructureClient.
See ManagingtheVIClientInventoryonpage 107foradditionalinformation.
Clicktheclosebox(X)inthecorneroftheVIClientwindow,orchooseFile>Exit.
TheVIClientshutsdown.TheVIClientisloggedofftheserver.Theserver
continuestorunallitsnormalactivitiesinthebackground.Anyscheduledtasks
aresavedandperformedbytheVirtualCenterServer.
NOTEClosingaVIClientdoesnotstoptheserver.
VMware, Inc. 39
Basic System Administration
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.
1 LaunchyourWebbrowser.
2 EntertheURLofyourESXServerorVirtualCenterServerinstallation:
https://<host or server name>/ui
TheVIWebAccessloginpageappears.
Theloginpagecontainsfieldsforyourusernameandpassword.Thisusername
andpasswordarethesamecredentialsyouwoulduseifyouconnectedusingthe
VIClient.Also,thesamepermissionsareusedtodetermineifausercanviewand
manipulateobjects.VI WebAccessdoesnothaveitsownconceptofusersor
permissions.
40 VMware, Inc.
Chapter 3 Starting and Stopping the VMware Infrastructure Components
3 Typeyourusernameandpassword,andclickLogIn.
TheVI WebAccesshomepageappears.
Detailsaboutvirtualmachinesontheservertowhichyouareconnected.
Theoptiontoaccessthedetailspageforavirtualmachinewhereyoufind
informationaboutvirtualdevices,configurationoptions,andasummaryof
recentevents.
ClicktheLogOutlinkfoundatthecornerofeverypage.Youarepromptedtoconfirm
thatyouwanttologout.
NOTEIfyouareusinganyremoteclientdevicesthroughVI WebAccess,theyare
disconnectedwhenyoulogout.
ESXServer3idoesnothaveaserviceconsole.Someserviceconsolecommandsare
availableforESXServer3ithroughtheRemoteCLI.
TheVMwareInfrastructureSDKisusedforscriptedmanipulationofyourVMware
Infrastructureinstead.TheVMwareInfrastructureClientistheprimaryinterfacetoall
nonscriptedactivities,includingconfiguring,monitoring,andmanagingyourvirtual
machinesandresources.
VMware, Inc. 41
Basic System Administration
IfyourDNSservercannotmapthehostsnametoitsDHCPgeneratedIPaddress,you
mustdeterminetheserviceconsolesnumericIPaddressyourself.Anothercaution
againstusingDHCPisthatthenumericIPaddressmightchangeasDHCPleasesrun
outorwhenthesystemisrebooted.Forthisreason,VMwaredoesnotrecommend
usingDHCPfortheserviceconsoleunlessyourDNSservercanhandlethehostname
translation.
CAUTIONDonotusedynamic(DHCP)addressingwhensharingthenetworkadapter
assignedtotheserviceconsolewithvirtualmachines.ESXServer3requiresastatic
IP addressfortheserviceconsolewhensharinganetworkadapter.
IfyouhavedirectaccesstothecomputerwhereESXServer3isrunning,youcanlogin
tothephysicalconsoleonthatcomputer.
PressAltF2togettotheloginscreen.
DependingonthesecuritysettingsforyourESXServer3computer,youmightbeable
toconnectremotelytotheserviceconsoleusingSSHorTelnet.Formoreinformation
onthesecuritysettings,seetheESXServer3ConfigurationGuide.
NOTEESXServer3idoesnothaveaserviceconsole.However,manyofthefunctions
providedbytheserviceconsoleareavailablethroughtheRemoteCLI.Seethe
Remote CommandLineInterfaceInstallationandReferenceformoreinformationonusing
andinstallingtheRemoteCLI.
42 VMware, Inc.
Chapter 3 Starting and Stopping the VMware Infrastructure Components
Attheserviceconsolecommandline,typethemancommandfollowedbythenameof
thecommandforwhichyouwanttoseeinformation,forexample:
: man <command>
Foradditionalinformationoncommands,seethefollowingresources:
FormoredetailedinformationonESXServer3relatedcommands,seethe
ESX Server3ConfigurationGuide.
FormoreinformationonLinuxcommands,consultaLinuxreferencebook.
VMware, Inc. 43
Basic System Administration
44 VMware, Inc.
4
Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:
AbouttheVIClientonpage 45
SortingandFilteringListsonpage 59
UsingCustomAttributesonpage 61
SelectingandViewingObjectsonpage 63
ManagingVirtualCenterModulesonpage 67
ThedefaultVMwareInfrastructureClientlayoutisasinglewindowwithamenubar,
anavigationbar,atoolbar,astatusbar,apanelsection,andpopupmenus.
VMware, Inc. 45
Basic System Administration
TheVIClientareasarecoveredinthefollowingsections:
MenuBaronpage 47
PopUpMenusonpage 49
ConsoleMenuonpage 50
NavigationBaronpage 51
InventoryViewTabsonpage 53
Toolbaronpage 57
StatusBar,RecentTasks,andTriggeredAlarmsonpage 58
PanelSectionsonpage 58
46 VMware, Inc.
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.
VMware, Inc. 47
Basic System Administration
ViewMenuControlswhichpanelsarevisible.Thisprovidesamenuitemfor
selectingoneofthenavigationbuttons.
InTable 43,anasterisk(*)indicatesitemsthatareavailableonlywhenconnected
toVirtualCenterServer.
WhenconnectedtotheVirtualCenterServer,theView>Inventorymenuparsesthe
inventoryobjectviewsintogroups.
InventoryMenuDisplaysmenuitemsrelevanttotheselectedobjectinthe
inventorypanel.
InTable 45,anasterisk(*)indicatesitemsthatareavailableonlywhenconnected
toVirtualCenterServer.
48 VMware, Inc.
Chapter 4 Using the VI Client
AdministrationMenuDisplaysconfigurationoptionsthatapplyacrossthe
VMwareInfrastructureenvironment.
InTable 46,anasterisk(*)indicatesitemsthatareavailableonlywhenconnected
toVirtualCenterServer.
PluginsDisplaysoptionsformanagingVirtualCenterplugins.
HelpMenuDisplaystheonlinehelpoptions,linkstotheVMwareWebsite,and
productversioninformation.
Pop-Up Menus
Popupmenusprovidedirectaccesstomanyofthemenuitems.Popupmenusare
availablefrommostobjectsinboththeinventorypanelandtheinformationpanel.
RightclicktheselectedobjectorpressShift+F10.
VMware, Inc. 49
Basic System Administration
Console Menu
Theconsoleofapoweredonvirtualmachineisavailablethroughaconnectedserver.
ClicktheInventoryNavigationbutton,clickapoweredonvirtualmachineinthe
Inventorypanel,andclicktheConsoletabintheInformationpanel.
Clickthepopouticoninthenavigationbar.
AcopyoftheConsolewindowseparatesfromtheVIClient.Additionalmenusappear.
AdditionalmenuitemsareavailablefromthepopoutConsolewindow.
Allconnectionstothevirtualmachineseethesamedisplayinformation.Themessage
lineindicatesifothersareviewingthevirtualmachine.
ThepopoutvirtualmachineConsolehasthefollowingmenuitems.Theembedded
ConsolehassimilarmenuitemsbutdoesnotincludealloftheexternalConsolemenu
items.
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
50 VMware, Inc.
Chapter 4 Using the VI Client
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).
SeeManagingtheVIClientInventoryonpage 107forinformationonthedifferences
betweentheInventorybuttonviews.
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Basic System Administration
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.
52 VMware, Inc.
Chapter 4 Using the VI Client
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.
Rightclickthenavigationbarandchoosetheappropriateoption.
WhentheVIClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServeraMapsoptionisalso
available.SeeSettingUpandMonitoringPerformanceStatisticsandResourceMaps
onpage 285forinformationontheMapsfeature.
Whenanobjectisremovedfromtheinventory,itslogandeventhistoryremainsuntil
purgedthroughtheagingprocesses.Dataiskeptforaspecifiedwindowoftime.Asthe
timewindowshifts,olderdataispurged.
AdmintabsAsubsetoftheAdminbutton.TheAdmintabsareasetofpanels
thatdisplayconfigurationorientedinformationpertainingtotheservethatthe
VI Clientisconnectedto.ThetaboptionsareRolesandSystemLogs.Whenthe
VI ClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,aSessionsandLicensestabisalso
available.
VMware, Inc. 53
Basic System Administration
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.
NOTEYoucanuseeitherthenavigationbarortheinformationpaneltabstoview
eventsinformation.
Table 48liststheavailablepanelsandtheirsourcemapping.
54 VMware, Inc.
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VMware, Inc. 55
Basic System Administration
InthecasewhereVirtualCenterisnewlyinstalledandnoinventoryobjectshavebeen
added,theGettingStartedtabsguideyouthroughthestepsofaddingitemstothe
inventoryandsettingupthevirtualenvironment.
TodisableGettingStartedtabs:
ClicktheCloseTablinktodisableGettingStartedtabsforthetypeofobject
selected.
SelectEdit>ClientSettingsandclickRemoveAllTabstodisableGettingStarted
tabsforallinventoryobjects.
TorestoreGettingStartedtabs:
SelectEdit>ClientSettingsandclickRestoreAllTabstorestoreGettingStartedtabs
forallinventoryobjects.
56 VMware, Inc.
Chapter 4 Using the VI Client
GettingStartedtabscontainlinkstotutorialpages.Thetutorialisalsoaccessible
throughtheHelpmenu(Help>Tutorial).
Toolbar
Thetoolbarprovidesbuttonsforthemostcommonlyusedactions.
ChooseView>MainToolbartotogglethedisplayofthemaintoolbar.
ChooseView>Toolbartotogglethedisplayofthetoolbar.
Differenttoolbarbuttonsaredisplayeddependingonthenavigationtaskand
inventoryobjectselected.Sometoolbaroptionsmightbedimmeddependingonthe
objectselected.
Rightclickthetoolbarandchoosetheappropriateoption.
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Basic System Administration
ChooseView>Statusbar.
ClicktheTasksorAlarmsiconsinthestatusbar.
Panel Sections
InthebodyoftheVIClientpageisapanelsection.Inmostviews,thereisaleftanda
rightpanel:theinventorypanelandtheinformationpanel.Thesepanelscanberesized.
InventorypanelDisplaysahierarchicallistofVMwareInfrastructureobjects
whentheInventoryorMapsbuttonisselectedfromthenavigationbar.
InformationpanelsDisplaylistsandcharts.Dependingonthenavigation
buttonorInventorybuttonitemselected,theinformationpanelisdividedinto
tabbedelements.
To select an object
Singleclicktheappropriateobjectineithertheinventorypanelorontheinformation
panel.
58 VMware, Inc.
Chapter 4 Using the VI Client
Clickthearrowinthepanelmenubar.
Whenthepanelishidden,thepanelmenubarisastripalongthesideoftheVIClient
window.
To resize a panel
Clickaresizingpanelsideanddragittoanappropriatesize.
YourchoicesforthepanelsarepersistentacrossVIClientsessions.Ifyourunmultiple
VIClientsessionsusingdifferentusernames,thesettingsfromthelastsessiontoquit
determinethevaluesforthenextVIClientsession.
Youcanalsofilteralist,sortingandincludingonlyselecteditems.Afilterissortedby
akeyword.Choosethecolumnsyouwanttoincludeinthesearchforthekeyword.
To sort a list
Clickacolumnheadingtosortthelistbyentriesinthatcolumn.Thecurrentselection
doesnotchange.
Clickthetriangleinthecolumnheading.
Clickanindividualitem.PressShiftclickorCtrlclicktochoosemultipleitems.All
listscanbesorted.
VMware, Inc. 59
Basic System Administration
1 Clickthearrowtoviewalistofattributesfromwhichtochoose.Typetextdirectly
intothefilteringfieldtospecifysearchcriteria.
TheFilterfielddoesnotsupportbooleanexpressionsorspecialcharactersandis
notcasesensitive.
2 ClickOKtodisplayonlythosevirtualmachinesthatmatchthecriteria.ClickClear
tochangethefilter.
NOTEThereisaonesecondintervalbetweenkeystrokes.Ifyoutypeinthetextand
waitforonesecond,thesearchstartsautomatically.YoudonthavetoclickOKorEnter.
Thelistisupdatedbasedonwhetherfilteringisonoroff.Forexample,ifyouareinthe
VirtualMachinestab,youhavefilteredthelist,andthefilteredtextispoweredon,
youseealistonlyofvirtualmachineswhosestateissettopoweredon.Ifthestateof
anyofthesevirtualmachineschangestosomethingelse,theyareremovedfromthelist.
Newvirtualmachinesthatareaddedarealsobeingfiltered.Filteringispersistentfor
theusersession.
To remove a filter
ClickClear,ordeletetheentryinofthefilteringfieldandclickOK.
TheVIClientdisplaysthefulllistofavailableitems.
Rightclickinthecontainsfield,andselectordeselecttheappropriatecolumnnames.
Filteringisinclusive,notexclusive.Ifthekeywordisfoundinanyoftheselected
columns,thelineitemisincludedinthelist.
To export a list
1 Selectthelisttoexport.
2 ChooseFile>Export>ExportList.
3 Typeafilename,selectafiletypeinthedialogbox,andclickSave.
Afileisstoredinthespecifiedfilename,filetype,andlocation.
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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.
1 ChooseAdministration>CustomAttributes.
ThisoptionisnotavailablewhenconnectedonlytoanESXServer.
2 AddacustomattributeandclickAdd.
Theattributeisaddedtothelistofvirtualmachinecharacteristics.
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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.
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.
SelectingObjectsonpage 63
MonitoringObjectsonpage 65
PerformingActionsonObjectsonpage 65
Selecting Objects
VirtualCenterobjectsaredatacenters,networks,datastores,resourcepools,clusters,
hosts,andvirtualmachines.Selectinganobjectdoesthefollowing:
Allowsyoutoviewthestatusoftheobject.
Enablesthemenussoyoucanchooseactionstotakeontheobject.
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To select an object
1 ClicktheappropriatenavigationbaroptionsuchasInventory,ScheduledTasks,
Events,Admin,orMaps.
2 IfyouselectInventory,browsethroughthehierarchyintheinventorypaneluntil
youseetheiconforanobject.Clickit.
Whenanobjectisselected,theobjectlabelintheinventorypanelbackfillsandthe
informationpanelupdatesitsdisplaytoreflectthedatafortheselectedobject.
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.
SelectanitemandpressF2orclickthetextoftheselecteditem.Typethenewname.
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Monitoring Objects
VIClientmonitorsVirtualCenterorESXServeractivities.Forahosttobemonitoredby
VirtualCenter,itmustberegisteredwiththeVirtualCenterServer.SeeAddingaHost
onpage 129forinformationonaddingobjectstoyourVirtualCenterServer.Ifan
ESX ServerhostisnotregisteredwithaVirtualCenterServer,youcanconnecttothe
hostdirectly,alsousingtheVIClient.
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.
Toviewanobject,youmusthavethenecessarypermissionassignedforthatobject.
The typeofactionyoucantakeonanobjectdependsuponthespecificprivileges
assignedtoyourusernameandgroup.
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TherearethreemethodsfortakingactionsuponobjectsinVirtualCenter:
SelectingtheactionfromthemenubaratthetopoftheVirtualCenterwindow.
See MenuBaronpage 47.
Selectingtheactionfromtheobjectspopupmenuorbutton.Theprocedurelisted
belowdescribeshowtochoosetheactionfromtheobjectmenuorbutton.
SchedulingtheactionthroughtheScheduledTaskspanel.SeeManaging
ScheduledTasksonpage 305toinformationonschedulingtasks.
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.
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Viewavailablemodulesthatarenotcurrentlyinstalledontheclient.
Viewinstalledmodules.
Downloadandinstallavailablemodules.
Enableanddisableinstalledmodules.
1 LaunchtheVirtualCenterclientandlogintoaVirtualCenterserver.
2 SelectPlugins>ManagePlugins.
TheAvailabletabdisplaysmodulesthatareavailabletobeinstalled.TheInstalledtab
displayscurrentlyinstalledmodules.
To install modules:
1 SelecttheAvailabletabinthePluginManagerdialogbox.
2 ClickDownloadandInstallforthemoduleyouwant.
3 Followthepromptsintheinstallationwizard.
4 Afterinstallationiscomplete,verifythatthemoduleislistedundertheInstalled
tabandthatitisenabled.
1 SelecttheInstalledtabinthePluginManagerdialogbox.
2 SelectEnabletoenableamodule,ordeselectEnabletodisableit.
Disablingamoduleindoesnotremoveitfromtheclient.Youmustuninstallthe
moduletoremoveit.
To remove modules:
ModulescanberemovedthroughtheoperatingsystemsAdd/RemovePrograms
controlpanel.Consultyouroperatingsystemsdocumentationforinstructionsonhow
tousetheAdd/RemoveProgramscontrolpanel.
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68 VMware, Inc.
5
System Configuration 5
Thischapterincludesbasicsystemconfigurationinformation,suchashowtoaccess
andconfigurelogfiles,configurefirewalls,andsetupSNMP.Sometopicshave
extensiveinformationdiscussedinseparatechaptersorbooks.Wherethisoccurs,
referencesareprovided.
Someofthetopicsinthischapteraretypicallyonetimeconfigurationtasks,thoughthe
settingscanbealteredwhenneeded.
Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:
HostConfigurationforESXServerandVirtualCenteronpage 69
VirtualCenterConfigurationonpage 74
ConfiguringVirtualCenterCommunicationonpage 76
VirtualMachineConfigurationonpage 79
WorkingwithActiveSessionsonpage 81
AboutSNMPandVMwareInfrastructureonpage 83
SystemLogFilesonpage 99
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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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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.
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SystemResourceAllocationDisplaysthehostsresourceallocationsettings.
This includesmemoryandCPUusage.TheEditdialogboxesallowyouto
configureamountsofCPUsharesandmemorysharesarereservedforhostuse.
TheSimple/Advancedtoggleddialogboxallowsyoutoconfigurethehosts
resourcepoolsCPUandmemoryreservedsharesforselectedhostfunctions.
SeetheResourceManagementGuideforcompleteinformationonconfiguringand
usingyourvirtualmachineresources.
AdvancedSettingsDisplaysalistofsettingsthatVMwarerecommendsyouuse
onlywhendirectedtobyVMwaretechnicalsupport.
NetworkingIntroducesyoutonetworkconceptsandguidesyouthroughthe
mostcommontasksyoumustcompletewhensettingupthenetworkforthe
ESX Serverhost.
AdvancedNetworkingCoversadvancednetworkingtaskssuchassettingup
MACaddresses,editingvirtualswitchesandports,andDNSrouting.Inaddition,
itprovidestipsonmakingyournetworkconfigurationmoreefficient.
NetworkingScenariosandTroubleshooting(IntheESXServer3Configuration
Guideonly)Describescommonnetworkingconfigurationandtroubleshooting
scenarios.
IntroductiontoStorageIntroducesyoutothetypesofstorageyoucanconfigure
fortheESXServerhost.
ConfiguringStorageExplainshowtoconfigurelocalSCSIstorage,Fibre
Channelstorage,andiSCSIstorage.ItalsoaddressesVMFSstorageand
networkattachedstorage.
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ManagingStorageExplainshowtomanageexistingdatastoresandthefile
systemsthatcomprisedatastores.
RawDeviceMappingDiscussesrawdevicemapping,howtoconfigurethistype
ofstorage,andhowtomanagerawdevicemappingsbysettingupmultipathing,
failover,andsoforth.
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.
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ESXServerTechnicalSupportCommands(IntheESXServer3Configuration
Guideonly)CoverstheESXServer3configurationcommandsthatcanbeissued
throughacommandlineshellsuchasSSH.Whilethesecommandsareavailable
foryouruse,youshouldnotconsiderthemanAPIuponwhichyoucanbuild
scripts.ThesecommandsaresubjecttochangeandVMwaredoesnotsupport
applicationsandscriptsthatrelyonESXServer3configurationcommands.
This appendixprovidesyouwithVMwareInfrastructureClientequivalentsfor
thesecommands.
UsingvmkfstoolsCoversthevmkfstoolsutility,whichyoucanusetoperform
managementandmigrationtasksforvirtualdisksandVMFSvolumes.
VirtualCenter Configuration
Setsofpropertiesandsettingsdialogboxesmakeadjustmentstothecorresponding
VirtualCenterenvironment.
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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Chapter 5 System Configuration
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).
MailSpecifytheSMTPserverandmailaccount.
SeeManagingEventsonpage 311.
SNMPSpecifytheSNMPreceiverURLs,ports,andcommunitystrings.
SeeAboutSNMPandVMwareInfrastructureonpage 83.
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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.
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.
CAUTIONIfyouusethisoptiontoopenacommunicationchannelbetweenyour
VirtualCenterServerandVIClient,theVirtualCenterconsoledoesnotwork.
SeeConfiguringVirtualCenterCommunicationoveraWebConnectionon
page 78forinformationonsettinguptheWebsiteport.
NOTEChangingtheportnumberisaveryrareoperation.
1 StarttheVIClientandlogintotheVirtualCenterServer.
SeeUsingtheVIClientonpage 45.
2 ChooseAdministration>VirtualCenterManagementServerConfiguration.
3 ClicktheRuntimeSettingsoption.
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4 EntertheportnumberyourVIClientisusingtocommunicatewiththe
VirtualCenterServer.ClicktheFinishoption.ClicktheFinishbutton.
Theportmustbelessthan64000.
5 Toacceptthechanges,restarttheVirtualCenterServer.
SeeVirtualCenterServeronpage 36.
CAUTIONIfyouusethisoptiontoopenacommunicationchannelbetweenyour
VirtualCenterServerandVIClient,theVirtualCenterconsoledoesnotwork.
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.
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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.
Selectavirtualmachine.ClicktheSummarytab.SeetheResourcessectionofthe
Summarytab.
ListedarethecurrentCPUandmemoryusage,inadditiontothedatastoresand
networksassociatedwiththeselectedvirtualmachine.
SeetheResourceManagementGuideforcompleteinformationonconfiguringandusing
yourvirtualmachineresources.
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Selectahost.ClicktheVirtualMachinestab.
Thisisalistofallthevirtualmachinesrunningontheselectedmanagedhostandthe
percentageofresourcesallocatedtothevirtualmachine.
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.
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FromtheVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,clicktheAdminbuttoninthe
navigationbar.ThenclicktheSessionstab.
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,clicktheAdminbuttonin
thenavigationbar.ThenclicktheSessionstab.
2 Rightclickthesessiontoclose.ChooseTerminate.
3 Toconfirmthetermination,clickOK.
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,clicktheAdminbuttonin
thenavigationbar.ThenclicktheSessionstab.
2 TypeintotheMessageofthedayfield.
3 ClicktheChangebutton.
Thetextissentasanoticemessagetoallactivesessionusersandtonewusers
whentheylogin.
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Inresponsetoagetoperation,whichisaspecificrequestforinformationfromthe
managementsystem.
Bysendinganotification,whichisanalertsentbytheSNMPagenttonotifythe
managementsystemofaparticulareventorcondition.
VirtualCenterServer,ESXServer3i,andESXServer3eachhaveanSNMPagent.
The agentsprovidedwitheachproducthavedifferingcapabilities.
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.
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VMWARE-VMINFO-MIB.mib Definesvariablesforreportinginformationaboutvirtual
machines.
VMWARE-VMKERNEL-MIB.mib Definesvariablesforreportinginformationaboutthestate
oftheVMkernel.
VMWARE-ROOT-MIB
TheVMWARE-ROOT-MIB.mibfiledefinesVMwaresenterpriseOIDandtoplevelOID
assignments.
Table 52liststheidentificationmappingforVMWARE-ROOT-MIB.mib.
vmwSystem vmware 1
vmwVirtMachines vmware 2
vmwResources vmware 3
vmwProductSpecific vmware 4
vmwTraps vmware 50
vmwOID vmware 60
VMWARE-ENV-MIB
TheVMWARE-ENV-MIB.mibdefinesvariablesandtraptypesusedtoreportonthestate
ofphysicalcomponentsofthehostcomputer.Thevariablesandtrapsdefinedinthis
fileareusedonlybyESXServer3ihosts.
VMWARE-ENV-MIB.mibdefinesasingletrap,vmwEnvHardwareEvent,whichissent
whenanESXServer3ihosthasdetectedamaterialchangeinthephysicalconditionof
thehardware.
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VMWARE-PRODUCTS-MIB
TheVMWARE-PRODUCTS-MIB.mibfiledefinesOIDstouniquelyidentifyeachSNMPagent
oneachVMwareplatform.TheidentificationmappingsforthisfilearelistedinTable 54.
oidESX vmwOID 1
vmwESX vmwProductSpecific 1
vmwEmbeddedESX vmwProductSpecific 2
vmwVC vmwProductSpecific 3
vmwServer vmwProductSpecific 4
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VMWARE-RESOURCES-MIB
TheVMWARE-RESOURCES-MIB.mibfiledefinesvariablesusedtoreportinformationon
resourceusage.Table 55liststheidentificationmappingsdefinedinthisfile.
CPU Subtree
Memory Subtree
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Disk Subtree
Net Subtree
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VMWARE-TC-MIB
The VMWARE-TC-MIB.mibfileprovidescommontextualconventionsusedbyVMware
MIBfiles.
VMWARE-TC-MIB.mibdefinesthefollowingintegervaluesforVmwSubsystemTypes:
unknown(1)
chassis(2)
powerSupply(3)
fan(4)
cpu(5)
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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.
vmPoweredOn Thistrapissentwhenavirtualmachineispoweredonfroma
suspendedorpoweredoffstate.
vmPoweredOff Thistrapissentwhenavirtualmachineispoweredoff.
vmHBLost Thistrapissentwhenavirtualmachinedetectsalossinguest
heartbeat.VMwareToolsmustbeinstalledintheguest
operatingsysteminorderforthisvaluetobevalid.
vmHBDetected Thistrapissentwhenavirtualmachinedetectsorregainsthe
guestheartbeat.VMwareToolsmustbeinstalledintheguest
operatingsysteminorderforthisvaluetobevalid.
vmSuspended Thistrapissentwhenavirtualmachineissuspended.
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VMWARE-TRAPS-MIB.mibalsodefinesvariablesusedbythesetraps.Table 57liststhe
variablesdefinedinthisfile.
VMWARE-VMINFO-MIB
TheVMWARE-VMINFO-MIB.mibfiledefinesvariablesforreportingvirtualmachine
information.Table 58liststhevariablesdefinedinthisfile.
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VMWARE-VMKERNEL-MIB
TheVMWARE-VMKERNEL-MIB.mibfiledefinesvariablesusedtoreporttheVMkernel
state.Table 59liststhevariablesdefinedinthisfile.
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TheSNMPenterprisetraptypeforVMwareVirtualCenteris201.Itsendsnogeneric
traps.
TousetheVirtualCenterSNMPtraps,youmustdothefollowing:
ConfiguretheSNMPsettingsonVirtualCenterServer.
ConfigureyourmanagementsoftwaretoaccepttrapsfromVirtualCenterServer.
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.
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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.
TheNetSNMPbasedagentiscompiledforversion5.0.9.2.30E.19ofNetSNMP.
ThatversionofNetSNMPisinstalledintheESXServer3serviceconsoleby
default.BackgroundinformationonNetSNMPisavailableat
netsnmp.sourceforge.net.
(SEEUPDATE)TheESXServer3NetSNMPbasedagentcanbeusedwithany
managementsoftwarethatcanloadandcompileamanagementinformationbase
(MIB)inSMIv1formatandcanunderstandSNMPv1trapmessages.TheESXServer3
NetSNMPbasedagentsupportsbothtrapsandSNMPgets.
TheNetSNMPbasedagentreportsthefollowingsysObjectID:
TheVMwarespecificMIBmodulesareinstalledwhenyouinstallESX Server3.
By defaultonafreshinstall,ESXServercomponentsareenabledinSNMP,and
VMwaretrapsareonbydefault.YoumustconfigureatrapsinktoreceiveSNMPtraps.
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1 Logintotheserviceconsoleastherootuser.
2 Editthe /etc/snmp/snmpd.confconfigurationfile.
3 AddorremovethefollowinglinetoenableordisableVMwareMIBitems:
dlmod SNMPESX /usr/lib/vmware/snmp/libSNMPESX.so
YoucansettheSNMPdaemontostartwheneverESXServer3bootsbylogginginas
therootuserontheserviceconsoleandrunningthechkconfigcommand:
chkconfig snmpd on
IfyoumuststarttheSNMPagentmanually,loginasrootintheserviceconsoleandrun
thefollowingcommand:
/etc/rc.d/init.d/snmpd start
Bydefault,theagentstartsandrunsasbackgroundprocesses.
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.
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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.
Table 510liststhecommandoptionsandsyntaxforthevicfg-snmpcommand.
You musttargetthevicfg-snmpcommanddirectlytotheESXServer3ihost.
You cannotusethiscommandwithaVirtualCenterServer.Formoreinformationon
installingandusingtheRemoteCLI,seetheRemoteCommandLineInterfaceInstallation
andReference.
--disable StopstheSNMPservice.
-D
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--enable StartstheSNMPservice.
-E
--reset Clearsallpreviouslyspecifiedcommunitiesand
-r targets.
--show DisplaysthecurrentSNMPconfiguration.
-s
--targets <hostname[@port]> Setsthedestinationfor(notifications)traps.
</community>[, ...] The settingsspecifiedusingthisflagoverwriteany
-t <hostname[@port]> previoussettings.
</community>[, ...]
--test Sendsatestnotificationthatcanbeusedtovalidatethe
-T SNMPconfiguration.
Inyourmanagementsoftware,specifytheESXServermachineasanSNMPbased
manageddevice.
Setupappropriatecommunitynamesinthemanagementsoftware.Thesemust
correspondtothevaluessetinthemasterSNMPagentsconfigurationfile,for
example,rocommunity,trapcommunity,andtrapsink.
LoadtheESXServerMIBsintothemanagementsoftwaresoyoucanviewthe
symbolicnamesfortheESXServervariables.YoucanfindtheMIBfileson
ESX ServerSW,inthe/usr/lib/vmware/snmp/mibsdirectory.
OtherenhancementstotheSNMPsecuritymechanismallowanadministratortosetup
amoreelaboratepermissionsscheme.Seethesnmpd.conf(5)manpagefordetails.
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SNMP Diagnostics
YoucanusethefollowingtoolstodiagnoseproblemswithSNMPconfiguration.
Typevicfg-snmp -TattheRemoteCLItoprompttheESXServer3iagenttosend
atesttrap.
TheSNMPv2-MIBfileprovidesanumberofcounterstoaidindebuggingSNMP
problems.Table 511listssomeofthesediagnosticcounters.
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Thevirtualmachineusesitsownvirtualhardwaredevices.Youshouldnotinstall
agentsintendedtomonitorhardwareonthephysicalcomputerinthevirtualmachine.
Thefollowingsectionsdiscusssystemlogfiles:
ViewingSystemLogEntriesonpage 99
ExternalSystemLogsonpage 101
ConfiguringSyslogonESXServerHostsonpage 102
ExportingDiagnosticDataonpage 103
CollectingLogFilesonpage 104
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoeitheraVirtualCenterServeroranESXServer,
displaytheadministrationpanelandviewthesystemlogtab.
2 ClicktheAdminbuttoninthenavigationbar.ClicktheSystemLogstab.
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3 Fromthedropdownlist,choosethelogandentryyouwanttoview.
1 Withthelogyouwanttofilterdisplayed,chooseView>Filteringtorefertothe
filteringoptions.
2 Entertextintothedatafield.ClickCleartoemptythedatafield.
NOTEOnWindowssystems,severallogfilesarestoredintheLocalSettingsdirectory,
whichislocatedatC:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Local Settings\.
Thisfolderishiddenbydefault.Toviewitscontents,openMyComputer,chooseTools
>FolderOptions,clicktheViewtab,andchooseShowHiddenFilesandFolders.
Table 512listslogfilesassociatedwithESXServersystems.
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 /var/log/vmkernel
report
VMkernelMessages /var/log/vmkernel
VMkernelAlertsandAvailability /var/log/vmkernel
report
VMkernelWarning /var/log/vmkwarning
VirtualMachinelogfile vmware.loginthesamedirectoryasthe.vmxfileforthe
virtualmachine
VirtualMachineConfiguration <virtual_machine_name>/<virtual_machine_name>.
file vmx locatedonadatastoreassociatedwiththemanaged
host.Usedthevirtualmachinesummarypageinthe
VI Clienttodeterminethedatastoreonwhichthisfileis
located.
Table 513listslogfilesassociatedwiththeVIClientmachine.
VIClient TempdirectoryontheVIClientmachine.
Installationlog Example:
C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Local
Settings\Temp\vmmsi.log
VIClient \vpxdirectoryinthetempdirectoryontheVIClientmachine.
Servicelog Example:
C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Local
Settings\Temp\vpx\viclient-x.log
x(=0, 1, ... 9)
LogfilepathSpecifiesadatastorepathtoafileinwhichsyslogdlogsallmessages.
RemotehostSpecifiesaremotehosttowhichsyslogmessagesareforwarded.
Youcanalsospecifytheportonwhichtheremotehostreceivesmessages.
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.
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.
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServerorESXServer,choose
Administration>ExportDiagnosticData.
2 IftheVIClientisconnectedtoVirtualCenterServer,specifythehostwhoselogs
youwanttoexportandthelocationforstoringthelogfiles.
3 IftheVIClientisconnectedtoanESXServer,specifythelocationforthelogfiles.
4 ClickOK.
Afileiscreatedoftheselecteddataandstoredatthespecifiedlocation,usingthe
vm-supportscript.Ifnofileextensionisprovided,thedefaultisatextfile.Thefile
containsType,Time,andDescription.
1 ChooseAdministration.ClickServerSettings>LoggingOptions.
2 ChooseVerbosefromthepopupmenu.
3 ClickOK.
Choosefromtheoptions:
Toviewtheviclient-*.logfiles,changetothedirectory,%temp%.
IfyouarerunningtheVIClientontheVirtualCenterServermachine,download
thelogbundle.
IftheVMkernelfails,normallyanerrormessageappearsforaperiodoftimeand
thenthevirtualmachinereboots.
IfyouspecifiedaVMwarecoredumppartitionwhenyouconfiguredyourvirtual
machine,theVMkernelalsogeneratesacoredumpanderrorlog.
MoreseriousproblemsintheVMkernelcanfreezethemachinewithoutanerror
messageorcoredump.
Runthefollowingscriptontheserviceconsole:
/usr/bin/vm-support
ThisscriptcollectsandpackagesallrelevantESXServer3systemand
configurationinformationandESXServerlogfiles.Thisinformationcanbeused
toanalyzetheproblemyouareencountering.
Theresultingfilehasthefollowingformat:
esx-<date>-<unique-xnumber>.tgz
NOTETheviewsandcapabilitiesdisplayedvarydependingonwhethertheVIClient
isconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServeroranESXServerhost.Unlessindicated,the
process,task,ordescriptionappliestoallkindsofVIClientconnections.
Thischapterdescribeshowtoaddorremoveinventoryobjects.Includedisareference
tothedocumentationthatdescribestheseitemsandrelatedactivitiesindetail.
EachobjectintheVMwareInfrastructureClienthasitsplaceintheoverallhierarchy.
Anobjectspositionisdeterminedbytheobjectsfunctionality.
Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:
UnderstandingVIClientObjectsonpage 108
AddinganInventoryObjectonpage 110
MovingObjectsintheInventoryonpage 111
RemovinganInventoryObjectonpage 112
WorkingwithFilesintheDatastoreBrowseronpage 113
PerforminganInitialDatacenterConsolidationonpage 114
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.
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.
VirtualmachinesLocatedwithinahost,virtualdisksonadatastore,associated
withinaclusterorresourcepool.Canbelistedasachildobjecttohosts,clusters,
orresourcepools.Canbemovedbetweenhostsorclusters.Whenaddingtoa
clusterorresourcepool,youmustspecifyorhaveintheclusterorresourcepoola
designatedtargethost.
TemplatesAtemplateisamastercopyofavirtualmachinethatcanbeusedto
createandprovisionnewvirtualmachines.
NetworksInVirtualCenterServeronly.Childobjecttodatacenters.Networksare
discoveredwhenhostsareaddedtotheVMwareInfrastructureenvironment.
SeetheESXServer3ConfigurationGuideorESXServer3iConfigurationGuidefor
comprehensiveinformationonconfiguringESXServernetworks.
DatastoresInVirtualCenterServeronly.Childobjecttodatacenters.Datastores
arediscoveredwhenhostsareaddedtotheVMwareInfrastructureenvironment.
Thisincludesthediscoveryofdatastoresthatarelocaltothemanagedhostaswell
asdatastoresontheSANorNAS.
SeetheESXServer3ConfigurationGuideorESXServer3iConfigurationGuidefor
comprehensiveinformationonconfiguringESXServerdatastores.
1 FromaVIClient,displaytheappropriateinventoryview.
2 Selecttheappropriateparenticonintheinventorypanel.Fromthepopupmenu,
chooseNew <Object>where<Object>isafolder,datacenter,cluster,resource
pool,host,orvirtualmachine.
Ifthenewobjectisafolderordatacenter,anewiconisaddedtotheinventory.
Forexample,anewdatacenterisaddedtothehierarchy.Typeinausefulname.
Iftheobjectisacluster,resourcepool,host,orvirtualmachine,awizardappears.
AnswerthepromptsandclickFinish.
Foradditionalinformation,seetheappropriatemanual:
ClusterSeetheResourceManagementGuide.
ResourcepoolSeetheResourceManagementGuide.
HostSeeManagingHostsinVirtualCenteronpage 127.
VirtualmachineSeeManagingVirtualMachinesonpage 169.
1 FromaVIClient,displaytheappropriateinventoryview.
2 Selecttheobjecttobemovedfromtheappropriateinventoryviewbyclickingit.
Aboxisdisplayedaroundit.Thisindicatestheobjectisselected.
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.
NOTETheremoveoptiondoesnotdeletevirtualmachinesfromitsdatastore.
1 FromaVIClient,displaytheappropriateinventoryview.
2 Selecttheobject.Fromthepopupmenu,chooseRemove.
3 Toconfirmthatyouwanttoremovetheobject,clickYesandfollowtheprompts,
asneeded.
Whenconfirmed,VirtualCenterremovesallclusters,hosts,andvirtualmachines
withinthedatacenterfromthemanagedinventory.Inaddition,alltheassociated
tasks,alarms,andeventsarealsoremoved.Assignedprocessorandmigration
licensesarereturnedtoavailablestatus.Virtualmachinesthatwereonthe
managedhostremainonthehost.Therootfoldercannotberemoved.
Vieworsearchthecontentsofadatastore.
AddavirtualmachineortemplatestoredonadatastoretotheVIClientinventory.
Copyormovefilesfromonelocationtoanother,includingtoanotherdatastore.
Uploadafilefromtheclientcomputertoadatastore.
Downloadafilefromadatastoretotheclientcomputer.
Deleteorrenamefilesonadatastore.
TheDatastoreBrowseroperatesinamannersimilartofilesystemapplicationslike
WindowsExplorer.Itsupportsmanycommonfilesystemoperations,including
copying,cutting,andpastingfiles.TheDatastoreBrowserdoesnotsupport
draganddropoperations.
FordetailedinstructionsonusingtheDatastoreBrowser,seetheVIClientonlinehelp.
Youcandownloadvirtualdisksfromadatastoretolocalstorage,butyoucannot
uploadvirtualdisksfromlocalstoragetoadatastore,becausethediskformatcannot
beverifiedduringtheupload.
Consolidating the
Datacenter 7
ThischapterdescribestheGuidedConsolidationfeature,afeaturerecommendedfor
smallerITenvironmentstogetsetupandrunningwithVMwareInfrastructure.
This featureenablesyoutoconsolidatephysicalsystemsinyourdatacenterby
convertingthemtovirtualmachinesandimportingthemintoVirtualCenter.
Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:
AboutDatacenterConsolidationonpage 118
ConsolidationPrerequisitesonpage 118
FirstTimeUseonpage 119
AboutConsolidationServicesonpage 119
SpecifyingConsolidationSettingsonpage 120
FindingPhysicalSystemsonpage 120
ViewingAnalysisResultsonpage 122
ConsolidatingCandidatesonpage 123
ViewingConsolidationTasksonpage 125
TroubleshootingConsolidationonpage 125
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.
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.
VMwareCapacityPlannerServiceDiscoversdomainsandsystemswithin
domains.Collectsperformancedataonsystemsselectedforanalysis.Itisreferred
toasthecollectorserviceinthisdocument.
VMwareConverterEnterpriseServiceConvertsphysicalsystemstovirtual
machines.VirtualCenterprovidesthisservicewithinformationaboutthe
destinationandotherparameters,andVMwareConverterEnterpriseService
handlestheconversionoperation.Thisservicecanbeinstalledthesamemachine
astheVirtualCenterServer,oronaseparatemachine.
SeeConsolidationPrerequisitesonpage 118forinformationabouttheuser
privilegesrequiredbyeachserviceforproperfunctioning.
SelectAdministration>ConsolidationSettings>ServiceStatustab.
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.
SpecifyingScopeonpage 121
SupplyingSystemlevelAdministratorCredentialsonpage 122
NOTEInformationaboutdiscoveredsystemsiscached,andaverylargecachecan
negativelyimpactVirtualCenterperformance.Itisrecommendedthatyoudonotrun
GuidedConsolidationovermorethan20,000systemswithoutclearingthecache.
For informationaboutdisablingGuidedConsolidation,andaboutclearingthecache,
seeTroubleshootingConsolidationonpage 125.
1 IntheVIClienttoolbar,clickConsolidationtodisplaytheConsolidationview.
2 IntheGettingStartedtabclickAnalyzephysicalcomputersforconsolidation,or
intheAnalysistab,clickStartAnalysis.
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.
NOTEUpto100systemscanbesimultaneouslyanalyzed.
Also,thefirsttimeadomainisselected,itmighttakesometimeforVirtualCenterto
discoverandlistthesystemsitfinds.Afterthat,thelistiscachedsothatsubsequent
searchestakelesstime.
1 SelectManuallyspecifythecomputerstoconsolidate.
2 Dooneofthefollowing:
EntercomputernamesorIPaddresses.Separatemultipleentrieswith
commas.
EnteranIPrange.Multiplerangesarenotpermitted.
Enterthefullyqualifiedpathtoatextfilethatcontainsalistofcomputer
namesorIPaddresses.EachcomputernameorIPaddressmustbeona
separatelineinthefile.ThefilemustbeaccessibletotheVIClient.
1 SelectadomainfromtheDomaindropdownmenu.
2 Optionallyfilterthelistbyselectingfiltersandenteringyourcriteriaintothetext
field.Youcanturnfiltersonandoffbyclickingthedownarrowtotheleftofthe
textbox.
3 Optionallysortthelistbyclickingonacolumnheading.
4 Selectthesystemsyouwanttoanalyze.
5 ClickAddtoAnalysis.Youmightbeaskedforadministratorauthentication
credentials(seeSupplyingSystemlevelAdministratorCredentialson
page 122).
1 IntheSetAuthenticationdialogbox,enteradomainqualifiedusername(for
example,DOMAIN\username)andpassword.
YouaccesstheSetAuthenticationdialogboxduringtheAddtoAnalysisphase,or
aftersystemshavebeenaddedtoanalysisbyselectingsystemsintheAnalysistab
andclickingSetAuthentication.
2 ClickOK.
PhysicalComputerDisplaysthehostnameofthephysicalsystembeing
analyzedorimported.
CPUInfoDisplaysthenumberofCPUsandtheirclockspeed.
MemoryInfoDisplaystheamountofRAMonthesystem.
StatusDisplaystheprogressoftheanalysis.
ConfidenceIndicatesthedegreetowhichVirtualCenterisabletogather
performancedataaboutthesystemandhowgoodacandidatethesystemisbased
ontheavailabledata.
CPUUsageDisplaysthesystemsaverageCPUusageovertime.
MemoryUsageDisplaysthesystemsaveragememoryusageovertime.
Afterreviewinganalysisresults,youcanproceedbycreatingaconsolidationplan.
See ConsolidatingCandidatesonpage 123.
NOTEAfter24hoursofanalysis,VirtualCenterindicatesahighlevelofconfidencein
itsrecommendations.However,thiscanbemisleadingifasystemsworkloadvaries
significantlyoverweeksormonths.Toensureahighlevelofconfidenceina
recommendation,allowthedurationoftheanalysisphasetoencompassanamountof
timethatincludesrepresentativepeaksandtroughsinthesystemsworkload.Analysis
canrunuptoonemonth.
Consolidating Candidates
Afteryouhaveanalyzedyourdatacenter,youarereadytoconvertcandidatestovirtual
machines.Inthisphase,youselectthesystemsyouwanttoconvert.VirtualCenter
selectsappropriatedestinationsandconfigurationparametersforeachresultantvirtual
machine.Ifmorethanonevirtualmachinehostisavailable,youcanselectthehostyou
want.
NOTEItishighlyrecommendedthatyouvirtualizeonecandidateatatime.
Consolidatingmultiplecandidatessimultaneouslycouldcauseallvirtualization
operationstofailifthehostdoesnotcontainanadequateamountofstoragespace.
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.
1 IntheAnalysistab,rightclickonasystemandselectConverttoVirtualMachine>
Manually.ThemenuoptionisavailableonlyiftheVMwareConverterEnterprise
ClientisinstalledandenabledonyourVIClient.YoucanverifywhetherVMware
ConverterEnterpriseClientisinstalledandenabledthroughthePluginManager
(Plugins>PluginManager>Installedtab).
TheImportWizardisdisplayed.
2 Completethewizardtomanuallyspecifyvirtualmachineproperties.
Virtualdiskscannotbesmallerthan4GB.
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.
Disable Consolidation
To disable consolidation
1 SelectAdministration>VirtualCenterManagementServerConfiguration.
2 SelectAdvancedSettings.
3 ClickAddRow.
4 EnterthefollowingintheKeyfield:
dontStartConsolidation
5 EnterthefollowingintheValuefield:
true
6 RestarttheVirtualCenterServer.
Thecollectorserviceisstillactiveandwillcontinuetoperiodicallyprobesystems
thatarebeinganalyzed.
1 OpentheServicescontrolpanel.
2 StoptheVMwareCapacityPlannerService.
3 DisabletheVMwareCapacityPlannerService.
2 RemoveVMwareCapacityPlannerforVirtualCenter.
3 (Optional)RemoveVMwareConverterEnterpriseforVirtualCenter.
Managing Hosts in
VirtualCenter 8
ThischapterdescribeshowtomanagehostsusingVirtualCenter.Forinformationon
configurationmanagementofESXServerhosts,seetheESXServer3ConfigurationGuide
orESXServer3iConfigurationGuide.
NOTETheviewsandcapabilitiesdisplayedvarydependingonwhethertheVIClient
isconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServeroranESXServerhost.Unlessindicated,the
process,task,ordescriptionappliestoallkindsofVIClientconnections.
Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:
AboutHostsonpage 128
UnderstandingHostStatesonpage 129
AddingaHostonpage 129
ConnectingorDisconnectingaHostonpage 132
ReconnectingHostsAfterChangestotheVirtualCenterSSLCertificateon
page 133
RemovingaHostfromVirtualCenteronpage 135
MonitoringHostHealthStatusonpage 137
HostAdvancedConfigurationOptionsonpage 138
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.
CAUTIONIfanESXServerhostisconnectedwithaVirtualCenterServerandyou
attachedaVIClienttomanagetheESXServerhostdirectly,youreceiveanerror
messagebutareallowedtoproceed.Thismightresultinconflictsonthehost,especially
ifthehostispartofacluster.Thisactionisstronglydiscouraged.
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.
NOTEDisconnectingamanagedhostdiffersfromremovingthemanagedhostfrom
theVirtualCenterServer.Disconnectingamanagedhostdoesnotremoveitfromthe
VirtualCenterServer;ittemporarilysuspendsallVirtualCenterServermonitoring
activities.Themanagedhostanditsassociatedvirtualmachinesremaininthe
VirtualCenterServerinventory.Removingamanagedhostremovesthemanagedhost
andallitsassociatedvirtualmachinesfromtheVirtualCenterServerinventory.
Adding a Host
Virtualmachinesexistonmanagedhostswithinthenetwork.Hostsareaddedtothe
VMwareInfrastructureenvironment.TheVirtualCenterServerdiscoversandaddsall
thevirtualmachinescontainedwithinthatmanagedhosttotheVMwareInfrastructure
environment.
IfyouareconnectingyourVIClienttoanESXServerdirectly,theproceduresinthis
sectiondonotapply.
NOTEWhenaddingorremovinghosts,makesureNFSmountsareactive.
If NFS mountsareunresponsive,theoperationfails.(SEEUPDATE)
1 Ensureacommunicationchannelthroughafirewall,ifneeded.
IfanymanagedhostintheVirtualCenterenvironmentisbehindafirewall,ensure
thatthemanagedhostcancommunicatewiththeVirtualCenterServerandwith
allotherhostsonport902oranotherconfiguredport.SeetheInstallationGuidefor
ESXServer3ortheSetupGuideforyourESXServer3iproduct,andtheESXServer
3ConfigurationGuideorESXServer3iConfigurationGuideforadditional
information.
2 ClicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar.Expandtheinventoryasneeded,
andclicktheappropriatedatacenter,folder,orcluster.
3 Selecttheappropriatedatacenterorcluster,andchooseNewHostfromthemain
orpopupmenu.
4 Enterthemanagedhostconnectionsettings.
a TypethenameofthemanagedhostintheHostnamefield.
b EntertheUsernameandPasswordforauseraccountthathasadministrative
privilegesontheselectedmanagedhost.
VirtualCenterusestherootaccounttologintothesystemandthencreatesa
specialuseraccount.VirtualCenterthenusesthisaccountforallfuture
authentication.
5 ToconfirmtheHostSummaryinformation,clickNext.
6 Ifyouareaddingthehosttoacluster:
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.
Readsthenumberofprocessorsonthemanagedhostandallocatesthe
appropriatenumberoflicenses.Thenumberofprocessorsisstoredinthe
VirtualCenterdatabaseandisverifieduponeachmanagedhostreconnection
andVirtualCenterstartup.
NOTENewerprocessorshavetwoCPUcoresineachprocessorpackage.
SystemswithdualcoreprocessorsmustuseESXServer2.5.2orlater.
VirtualCenterlicensesareissuedbypairsofprocessorpackages,notby
processorcores.Therefore,ifthesystemisusingtwodualcoreprocessorsor
twosinglecoreprocessors,thesystemrequiresasingle2processor
VirtualCenterlicense.
Verifiesthatthemanagedhostversionissupported.Ifitisnot,andthe
managedhostversioncanbeupgraded,VirtualCenterpromptsyouto
performanupgrade.
Importsexistingvirtualmachines.
NOTEDisconnectingamanagedhostdiffersfromremovingthemanagedhostfrom
VirtualCenter.DisconnectingamanagedhostdoesnotremoveitfromVirtualCenter;it
temporarilysuspendsallVirtualCentermonitoringactivities.Themanagedhostandits
associatedvirtualmachinesremainintheVirtualCenterinventory.Removinga
managedhostremovesthemanagedhostandallitsassociatedvirtualmachinesfrom
theVirtualCenterinventory.
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,clicktheInventorybutton
inthenavigationbar.Expandtheinventoryasneeded,andclicktheappropriate
managedhost.
2 Selecttheappropriatemanagedhosticonintheinventorypanel,andchoose
ConnectorDisconnectfromthepopupmenu.
3 Whendisconnecting,confirmtheaction.ClickYes.
WhenthemanagedhostsconnectionstatustoVirtualCenterischanged,the
statusesofthevirtualmachinesonthatmanagedhostareupdatedtoreflectthe
change.
Ifthemanagedhostisdisconnected,theworddisconnectedisappendedtothe
objectnameinparentheses,andtheobjectisdimmed.Allassociatedvirtual
machinesaresimilarlydimmedandlabeled.
IftheVirtualCenterServerfailstodecryptahostpassword,thehostisdisconnected
fromtheVirtualCenterServer.Youmustreconnectthehostandsupplythelogin
credentials,whichwillbeencryptedandstoredinthedatabaseusingthenew
certificate.SeeConnectingorDisconnectingaHostonpage 132.
machinesdeployedonthehostareeithermigratedtootherhostswithintheclusteror
remainwiththehostandareremovedfromthecluster,dependingontheircurrent
state.Hostscanberemovedfromaclusteronlyifallofthevirtualmachinesonitare
poweredoff,andthehostisplacedintomaintenancemode.
SeetheResourceManagementGuideforcompleteclusterinformation.
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,displaytheinventory.
2 ToremovetheVirtualCenteragentfromthemanagedhost,ensurethatthe
managedhostisinaconnectedstate.
3 Poweroffallvirtualmachinesonthehost,ormigratethevirtualmachinestoanew
hostusingVMotion.
4 Selecttheappropriatemanagedhosticonintheinventorypanel,andchoose
Enter MaintenanceModefromthepopupmenu.ClickYes.
Thehosticonchangesandthetermmaintenancemodeisaddedtothenamein
parentheses.
5 Movethehost:
a Selectthehosticonintheinventorypanel,anddragittothenewlocation.
Thehostcanbemovedtoanotherclusteroranotherdatacenter.Whenthenew
locationisselected,ablueboxsurroundstheclusterordatacentername.
b Releasethemousebutton.
VirtualCentermovesthehosttothenewlocation.
6 Selectthehost,andfromthepopupmenuchooseExitMaintenanceMode.
7 Restartanyvirtualmachines,asneeded.
NOTEIfatallpossible,removemanagedhostswhiletheyareconnected.Removinga
disconnectedmanagedhostdoesnotremovetheVirtualCenteragentfromthe
managedhost.
Removingamanagedhostdiffersfromdisconnectingthemanagedhostfrom
VirtualCenter.DisconnectingamanagedhostdoesnotremoveitfromVirtualCenter;it
temporarilysuspendsallVirtualCentermonitoringactivities.Themanagedhostandits
associatedvirtualmachinesremainintheVirtualCenterinventory.
RemovingamanagedhostfromVirtualCenterdoesnotremovethevirtualmachines
fromthemanagedhostordatastore.ItremovesonlyVirtualCentersaccesstothe
managedhostandvirtualmachinesonthatmanagedhost.
Thefigurebelowillustratestheprocessforremovingamanagedhostfrom
VirtualCenter.Intheexamplehere,noticethelostlinkbetweentheVirtualCenter
Serverandtheremovedmanagedhost,whilethemanagedhostfilesremainonthe
datastore.
host A
VM1
VM2 VM1.dsk
VM2.dsk
VirtualCenter
host B VM3.dsk
VM3
VM4.dsk
VM4
shared datastore
host A
VM1
VirtualCenter
VM2 VM1.dsk
VM2.dsk
host B VM3.dsk
VM3
VM4.dsk
VM4
shared datastore
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,displaytheinventory.
2 ToremovetheVirtualCenteragentfromthemanagedhost,ensurethatthe
managedhostisinaconnectedstate.
Themanagedhostcanbeinaconnectedordisconnectedstatewhenyouremove
it.However,removingamanagedhostwhileitisdisconnecteddoesnotremove
theVirtualCenteragentfromthemanagedhost.
3 Poweroffallvirtualmachinesonthehost,ormigratethevirtualmachinestoanew
hostusingVMotion.
4 Ifthehostispartofacluster,selecttheappropriatemanagedhosticoninthe
inventorypanelandchooseEnterMaintenanceModefromthepopupmenu.
Confirmplacement.ClickYes.
5 Selecttheappropriatemanagedhosticonintheinventorypanel,andchoose
Removefromthepopupmenu.
6 ClickYestoremovethemanagedhost.ClickNotokeepthemanagedhost.
IfyouclickYes,VirtualCenterremovesthemanagedhostandassociatedvirtual
machinesfromtheVirtualCenterenvironment.VirtualCenterthenreturnsall
associatedprocessorandmigrationlicensestoavailablestatus.
CPUprocessors
Memory
Fans
Temperature
Voltage
Softwarecomponents
ThehosthealthmonitoringtoolpresentsdatagatheredusingSystemsManagement
ArchitectureforServerHardware(SMASH)profiles.Theinformationdisplayed
dependsonthesensorsavailableonyourserverhardware.
1 LogintoaVirtualCenterServerusingtheVIClient,andselectthehostinthe
inventory.
2 ClicktheConfigurationtabandclickHealth Status.
Thesensordataisdisplayedinatree.Therootofthetreedisplaystheoverallhost
healthstatus.
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
1 LogintoaVirtualCenterServerusingtheVIClient,andselectthehostinthe
inventory.
2 OnthehostConfigurationtab,clickHealth Status.
3 ClickReset Sensors.
1 LogintoaVirtualCenterServerusingtheVIClient,andselectthehostinthe
inventory.
2 OnthehostConfigurationtab,clickHealth Status.
3 ClickRefresh.
SeetheESXServer3ConfigurationGuideorESXServer3iConfigurationGuidefor
completeinformationonconfiguringESXServerhosts.
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
About OVF
OVFisafileformatthatallowsforexchangeofvirtualappliancesacrossproductsand
platforms.TheOVFformatoffersthefollowingadvantages:
OVFfilesarecompressed,allowingforfasterdownloads.
TheVIClientvalidatesaOVFfilebeforeimportingit,andensuresthatitis
compatiblewiththeintendeddestinationserver.Iftheapplianceisincompatible
withtheselectedhost,itcannotbeimportedandanerrormessageisdisplayed.
NOTEToimportavirtualmachinethatwascreatedbyanotherVMwareproductand
isnotinOVFformat,usetheVMwareConverterEnterprisemodule.SeetheVMware
ConverterEnterpriseforVirtualCenterdocumentationformoreinformation.
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.
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.
1 IntheVIClientinventory,selectthevirtualmachineyouwanttoexport.
2 ChooseFile>VirtualAppliance>Export.
3 IntheDirectorytextbox,enterthelocationtostoretheexportedvirtualmachine.
4 TocreateanewfolderfortheOVFfile,selectMakeNewFolder.
5 (Optional)EnteradescriptionofthevirtualmachineintheDescriptiontextbox.
Bydefault,thetextfromtheNotespaneonthevirtualmachinesSummarytab
appearsinthistextbox.
6 ClickOK.
TheprogressoftheexporttaskisdisplayedintheVIClientStatuspanel.
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.
NOTEAfteryoucreateavirtualmachine,youmustinstalltheguestoperatingsystem
andVMwareTools.Noneofthecreationprocessesdescribedaboveinstallsguest
operatingsystemsforyou.Also,checktheinstallationnotesforyourguestoperating
systembeforeyouinstallit.YoucanfindthisinformationintheGuestOperatingSystem
InstallationGuide.
Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:
UsingtheNewVirtualMachineWizardonpage 144
InstallingaGuestOperatingSystemonpage 154
InstallingandUpgradingVMwareToolsonpage 155
Youmusthavetheappropriateprivilegesbeforeyoucancreatevirtualmachines.
ConsultyourVirtualCenteradministratorifyouarenotsurewhetheryouhavethe
necessaryprivileges.
Resourcepools
Clusters
Hosts
Virtualmachinefolders
AswiththeVIClientasawhole,theNewVirtualMachinewizardiscontextsensitive
anditsscreensandconfigurationoptionschangedependingonyourhostenvironment
andyourselections.Onlythosescreensandoptionsthatareapplicabletothecurrent
contextareenabled;itemsthatarenotapplicabletothecontextareeitherremovedor
disabled.
AfteryoulaunchtheNewVirtualMachinewizard,youmustchooseoneofthe
followingpaths:
TypicalThispathshortenstheprocessbyskippingsomechoicesthatrarely
needchangingfromtheirdefaults.SeeCreatingTypicalVirtualMachineson
page 145.
CustomThecustompathprovidesmoreflexibilityandoptions.SeeCreating
CustomVirtualMachinesonpage 148.
ToopentheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialogboxfromtheNewVirtualMachine
wizard,selecttheEditthevirtualmachinesettingsbeforecompletioncheckboxand
clickNext.ForinformationabouttheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialogbox,
see VirtualMachinePropertiesEditoronpage 179.
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.
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.
NOTETheVirtualCPUspagedoesnotappearifthehostissingleprocessororthe
guestoperatingsystemdoesnotsupportSMP(forexample,NetWareand
WindowsNT4.0).
11 Configurethevirtualmachinesmemorysizebyselectingthenumberof
megabytes.
Theminimum,recommended,maximumforbestperformance,andmaximum
sizesarebasedontheguestoperatingsystem.Regardlessoftheguestoperating
system,theminimummemorysizeis4MB.Themaximumdependsonthehost,
butforESXServer3.5andESXServer3iversion3.5itis65532MB(64GBminus4MB).
Thememorysizemustbeamultipleof4MB.
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.
NOTEExercisecautionwhenyouconfigureavirtualmachinetoconnectto
multiplenetworks.Becausevirtualmachinessharetheirphysicalnetwork
hardwarewiththehost,theaccidentalormaliciousbridgingoftwonetworksbya
virtualmachinecanoccur.MinimumSpanningTreeprotocolcannotprotect
againsttheseoccurrences.
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.
16 ClickNext.
17 OntheReadytoCompleteNewVirtualMachinepage,reviewyourselectionsand
specifythefollowingoption:
Editthevirtualmachinesettingsbeforesubmittingthecreationtask
CheckthisoptionifyouwanttoopentheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialog
boxtosetfurtherconfigurationoptions,suchasaddingadditionaldisks
(see PerformingAdditionalConfigurationBeforeCompletiononpage 144).
NOTEBeforeyoucanuseyournewvirtualmachine,youmustfirstpartition
andformatthevirtualdrive,installaguestoperatingsystem,theninstall
VMwareTools.Typically,theoperatingsystemsinstallationprogramhandles
partitioningandformattingthevirtualdrive.
SeeInstallingaGuestOperatingSystemonpage 154andInstallingand
UpgradingVMwareToolsonpage 155.
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.
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.
NOTETheNumberofVirtualCPUspagedoesnotappearifthehostis
singleprocessorortheguestoperatingsystemdoesnotsupportSMP(forexample,
NetwareandWindowsNT4.0).
13 Configurethevirtualmachinesmemorysizebyselectingthenumberof
megabytes.
Theminimum,recommended,andmaximumsizesarebasedontheguest
operatingsystem.Regardlessoftheguestoperatingsystem,theminimum
memorysizeis4MB.Themaximumdependsonthehost,butforESXServer3.5
andESXServer3iversion3.5itis65532MB(64GBminus4MB).Thememorysize
mustbeamultipleof4MB.
14 ClickNext.
15 ChoosethenetworkstoconnecttoandtheiroptionsbyselectinghowmanyNICs
youwanttoconnectto,thenamesofthenetworks,andwhetheryouwantto
connecttothematpoweron.
Ifyoudonotwantthevirtualnetworkadaptertoconnectwhenthevirtual
machineispoweredon,deselecttheConnectatPowerOncheckbox.
TheNetworkdropdownmenuliststheportgroupsthatareconfiguredforvirtual
machineuseonthehost.Ifnovirtualmachineportgroupsareconfigured,a
warningdialogboxappears,andyouarenotallowedtoconfigureanyvirtual
networkcards.
NOTEExercisecautionwhenyouconfigureavirtualmachinetoconnectto
multiplenetworks.Becausevirtualmachinessharetheirphysicalnetwork
hardwarewiththehost,theaccidentalormaliciousbridgingoftwonetworksbya
virtualmachinecanoccur.MinimumSpanningTreeprotocolcannotprotect
againsttheseoccurrences.
16 ClickNext.
17 ChoosethetypeofSCSIadapteryouwanttousewiththevirtualmachine.
TwoIDEadaptersandaSCSIadapterareinstalledinthevirtualmachine.TheIDE
adapterisalwaysATAPI.FortheSCSIadapter,youcanchoosebetweenaBusLogic
orLSILogicSCSIadapter.
IntheSelectI/OAdapterTypespage,thedefaultforyourguestoperatingsystem
isalreadyselected.OlderguestoperatingsystemsdefaulttotheBusLogicadapter.
TheLSILogicadapterhasimprovedperformance,worksbetterwithnondisk
SCSIdevices,andisincludedwithWindowsServer2003.
YoucandownloadthedriverfromtheLSILogicWebsite.SeetheGuestOperating
InstallationGuidefordetailsaboutthedriverandtheguestoperatingsystemyou
plantoinstallinthisvirtualmachine.
NOTEThechoiceofSCSIadapterdoesnotaffectwhetheryourvirtualdiskisan
IDEorSCSIdisk.
18 Selectthetypeofdisk,andclickNext.
Youcanstorevirtualmachinedatainanewvirtualdisk,anexistingvirtualdisk,
oramappedstorageareanetwork(SAN)logicalunitnumber(LUN).
Avirtualdiskcomprisesoneormorefilesonthefilesystemthatappearasasingle
harddisktotheguestoperatingsystem.Thesedisksareportableamonghosts.
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.
23 OntheReadytoCompleteNewVirtualMachinepage,reviewyourselectionsand
specifythefollowingoption:
Editthevirtualmachinesettingsbeforesubmittingthecreationtask
CheckthisoptionifyouwanttoopentheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialog
boxtosetfurtherconfigurationoptions,suchasaddingadditionaldisks(see
PerformingAdditionalConfigurationBeforeCompletiononpage 144).
NOTEBeforeyoucanuseyournewvirtualmachine,youmustfirstpartition
andformatthevirtualdrive,installaguestoperatingsystem,theninstall
VMwareTools.Typically,theoperatingsystemsinstallationprogramhandles
partitioningandformattingthevirtualdrive.
SeeInstallingaGuestOperatingSystemonpage 154andInstallingand
UpgradingVMwareToolsonpage 155.
24 Ifyouchosetouseanexistingvirtualdisk,clickBrowseandnavigatetothe
virtualdiskyouwanttouse.ClickNext.
25 Selectwhichvirtualdevicenodeshouldbeusedbyyourvirtualdisk.
26 IfyouselectIndependentmode,chooseoneofthefollowing:
a PersistentChangesareimmediatelyandpermanentlywrittentothedisk.
b NonpersistentChangestothediskarediscardedwhenyoupoweroffor
reverttothesnapshot.
27 ClickNext.
28 OntheReadytoCompleteNewVirtualMachinepage,reviewyourselectionsand
specifythefollowingoption:
Editthevirtualmachinesettingsbeforesubmittingthecreationtask
CheckthisoptionifyouwanttoopentheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialog
boxtosetfurtherconfigurationoptions,suchasaddingadditionaldisks(see
PerformingAdditionalConfigurationBeforeCompletiononpage 144).
NOTEBeforeyoucanuseyournewvirtualmachine,youmustfirstpartition
andformatthevirtualdrive,installaguestoperatingsystem,theninstall
VMwareTools.Typically,theoperatingsystemsinstallationprogramhandles
partitioningandformattingthevirtualdrive.
SeeInstallingaGuestOperatingSystemonpage 154andInstallingand
UpgradingVMwareToolsonpage 155.
WhenyoumapaLUNtoaVMFSvolume,VirtualCentercreatesafilethatpointstothe
rawLUN.EncapsulatingdiskinformationinafileallowsVirtualCentertolockthe
LUNsothatonlyonevirtualmachinecanwritetoit.
NOTEThisfilehasa.vmdkextension,butthefilecontainsonlydiskinformation
describingthemappingtotheLUNontheESXServersystem.Theactualdataisstored
ontheLUN.
YoucannotdeployavirtualmachinefromatemplateandstoreitsdataonaLUN;you
canonlystoreitsdatainavirtualdiskfile.
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.
8 OntheSpecifyAdvancedOptionspage,youcanchangethevirtualdevicenode
andclickNext.
9 OntheReadytoCompleteNewVirtualMachinepage,reviewyourselections.
ClickFinishtocompleteyourvirtualmachine,oroptionallyperformadditional
configuration(seePerformingAdditionalConfigurationBeforeCompletionon
page 144).
Installingaguestoperatingsysteminsideyourvirtualmachineisessentiallythesame
asinstallingitonaphysicalcomputer.Thebasicstepsforatypicaloperatingsystem
aredescribedbelow.SeeGuestOperatingSystemInstallationGuideformoreinformation
onindividualguestoperatingsystems.
NOTEItissometimesnecessarytochangethebootorderinthevirtualmachinesBIOS
settings.However,sometimesavirtualmachinesbootsequenceprogressestooquickly
forausertoopenaconsoletothevirtualmachineandenterBIOSsetup.Ifthishappens,
youcanmodifythevirtualmachinespropertiestoslowitsbootsequence,orforceitto
enterBIOSsetup.SeeChangingVirtualMachineOptionsonpage 186.Forprior
versionsofVirtualCenterthatdonotcontaintheseoptionsintheGUI,youcanuse
Ctrl+Alt+Insert(orCtrl+Alt+DeletefornonWindowssystems)tosoftresetthevirtual
machine.
1 StartVMwareVirtualCenter.
2 InserttheinstallationCDROMforyourguestoperatingsystem,orcreateanISO
imagefilefromtheinstallationCDROM.UsetheVirtualMachineSettingseditor
toconnectthevirtualmachinesCDROMdrivetotheISOimagefileandpoweron
thevirtualmachine.
NOTEYoumightneedtochangethebootorderinthevirtualmachineBIOSso
thatthevirtualmachineattemptstobootfromtheCD/DVDdevicebeforetrying
otherbootdevices.Todoso,pressF2whenpromptedduringvirtualmachine
startup.
UsinganISOimageisfasterthanusingaCDROM.
3 Topoweronyourvirtualmachine,clickthePowerOnbutton.
Whenavirtualmachineispoweredon,agreenrightarrowisdisplayednexttothe
virtualmachineiconintheinventorylist,andtheoptionsintheCommandspanel
changeasshowninthefollowingimage:
4 Followtheinstructionsprovidedbytheoperatingsystemvendor.
Tocustomizeaguestoperatingsystem,seeCustomizingGuestOperating
Systemsonpage 215.
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.
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.
NOTEIftheguestoperatingsystemisinstalledbutnotcorrectlyconfiguredwhenyou
installVMwareTools,theVMwareToolsinstallationdoesnotworkcorrectly.Thiscan
causetheguestoperatingsystemtocrash.
VMwareToolshasthefollowinglimitations:
Shrinkdiskisnotsupported.
ForMicrosoftWindowsNT,thedefaultscriptsforsuspendandresumedonot
work.
ThemousedriverinstallationfailsinXwindowsversionsearlierthan4.2.0.
Thissectionincludesthefollowinginformation:
DisplayingtheVMwareToolsPropertiesDialogBoxonpage 162
VMwareToolsUpgradesonpage 163
NOTEIfyoudonothaveVMwareToolsinstalledinyourvirtualmachine,youcannot
usetheshutdownorrestartoptions.YoucanuseonlythePoweroptions.Ifyouwant
toshutdowntheguestoperatingsystem,shutitdownfromwithinthevirtualmachine
consolebeforeyoupoweroffthevirtualmachine.
TheinstallersforVMwareToolsforWindows,Linux,Solaris,andNetWareguest
operatingsystemsarebuiltintoESXServerasISOimagefiles.AnISOimagefilelooks
likeaCDROMtoyourguestoperatingsystemandevenappearsasaCDROMdiscin
WindowsExplorer.YoudonotuseanactualCDROMdisctoinstallVMwareTools,nor
doyouneedtodownloadtheCDROMimageorburnaphysicalCDROMofthis
imagefile.
WhenyouchoosetoinstallVMwareTools,VMwareVirtualCentertemporarily
connectsthevirtualmachinesfirstvirtualCDROMdiskdrivetotheISOimagefile
thatcontainstheVMwareToolsinstallerforyourguestoperatingsystem.Youareready
tobegintheinstallationprocess.
NOTEIfyouareusingaWYSEthinclientdeviceandwanttoinstallWYSEMultimedia
SupportalongwithVMwareTools,seeCustomVMwareToolsInstallationon
page 165.YoumustusethecustominstallationpathinordertoinstallWYSE
MultimediaSupport.
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.
To install or upgrade VMware Tools on a Linux guest from X with the RPM
installer
1 Openaconsoletothevirtualmachine.
2 Poweronthevirtualmachine.
3 Aftertheguestoperatingsystemstarts,rightclickthevirtualmachineandchoose
InstallVMwareTools.
Theremainingstepstakeplaceinsidethevirtualmachine.
4 Dooneofthefollowing:
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 &
To install or upgrade VMware Tools on a Linux guest with the tar installer or
RPM installer
1 Openaconsoletothevirtualmachine.
2 Poweronthevirtualmachine.
3 Aftertheguestoperatingsystemstarts,rightclickthevirtualmachineandchoose
InstallVMwareTools.
Theremainingstepstakeplaceinsidethevirtualmachine.
4 Asroot(su -),mounttheVMwareToolsvirtualCDROMimageandchangetoa
workingdirectory(forexample,/tmp),asfollows.
NOTESomeLinuxdistributionsautomaticallymountCDROMs.Ifyour
distributionusesautomounting,donotusethemountandumountcommands
describedinthisprocedure.YoustillmustuntartheVMwareToolsinstallerto
/tmp.
SomeLinuxdistributionsusedifferentdevicenamesororganizethe/dev
directorydifferently.Modifythefollowingcommandstoreflecttheconventions
usedbyyourdistribution:
mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
cd /tmp
NOTEIfyouhaveapreviousinstallation,deletetheprevious
vmware-tools-distribdirectorybeforeinstalling.Thedefaultlocationofthis
directoryis:
/tmp/vmware-tools-distrib
5 UncompresstheinstallerandunmounttheCDROMimage.
DependingonwhetheryouareusingthetarinstallerortheRPMinstaller,doone
ofthefollowing:
Forthetarinstaller,atthecommandprompt,enter:
tar zxpf /mnt/cdrom/VMwareTools-5.0.0-<xxxx>.tar.gz
umount /dev/cdrom
FortheRPMinstaller,atthecommandprompt,enter:
rpm -Uhv /mnt/cdrom/VMwareTools-5.0.0-<xxxx>.i386.rpm
umount /dev/cdrom
NOTEIfyouattempttoinstallanrpminstallationoveratarinstallationorthe
reversetheinstallerdetectsthepreviousinstallationandmustconvertthe
installerdatabaseformatbeforecontinuing.
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.
9 InanXterminal,opentheVMwareToolsPropertiesdialogbox:
vmware-toolbox &
1 Openaconsoletothevirtualmachine.
2 Poweronthevirtualmachine.
3 Aftertheguestoperatingsystemstarts,rightclickthevirtualmachineandchoose
InstallVMwareTools.
Theremainingstepstakeplaceinsidethevirtualmachine.
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.
9 InanXterminal,opentheVMwareToolsPropertiesdialogbox:
vmware-toolbox &
1 Openaconsoletothevirtualmachine.
2 Poweronthevirtualmachine.
3 Aftertheguestoperatingsystemstarts,rightclickthevirtualmachineandchoose
InstallVMwareTools.
Theremainingstepstakeplaceinsidethevirtualmachine.
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
Usethisdialogboxtoconfiguresuchthingsastimesynchronizationbetweenhostand
guest,notificationsofVMwareToolsupdates(forWindowsandLinuxguestsonly),
andspecifyingwhichscriptstorunwhenthevirtualmachinespowerstatechanges.
ForinstructionsonusingtheVMwareToolsPropertiesdialogbox,clicktheHelp
buttoninsidethedialogbox.
OpenaconsoletothevirtualmachineanddoubleclicktheVMwareToolsiconinthe
systemtrayfrominsidetheguestoperatingsystem.
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.
VirtualmachinesmusthaveaversionofVMwareToolsshippedwith
ESX Server 3.0.1orgreaterinstalled.
VirtualmachinesmustbehostedonanESXServer3.0.1orgreater,andthe
VirtualCenterservermustbeversion2.0.1orgreater.
VirtualmachinesmustberunningaLinuxorWindowsguestOSthatissupported
byESXServer3.0.1orgreaterandVirtualCenter2.0.1orgreater.
Virtualmachinesmustbepoweredon.
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.
-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.
1 OpentheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialogboxforthevirtualmachineyouwant
toupgrade.
2 SelectOptionstab>VMwareTools.
3 SelecttheCheckandupgradeToolsbeforeeachpoweronoptionunder
AutomaticVMwareToolsUpgrade.
4 ClickOK.
Thenexttimethevirtualmachineispoweredon,itcheckstheESXServerhostfora
newerversionofVMwareTools.Ifoneisavailable,itisinstalledandtheguest
operatingsystemisrestarted(ifrequired).
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 ClickNext.
TheSetupTypepageisdisplayed.
6 SelectCustom,andclickNext.
TheCustomSetuppageisdisplayed.
7 ClicktheredXnexttoeachoptionalfeatureyouwanttoinstall,andselect
This featurewillbeinstalledonlocalharddrive.
8 ClickNext.
Aprogressbarisdisplayedshowingtheprogressoftheinstallation.
9 ClickFinish.
WYSEMultimediaSupportissupportedontheWindows2003andWindowsXPguest
operatingsystemsonly.WYSEMultimediaSupportisinstalledaspartofaVMware
Toolsinstallationorupgrade.
FollowtheinstructionsforthecustominstallationpathasdescribedinCustom
VMwareToolsInstallationonpage 165.OntheCustomSetuppage,selectWYSE
MultimediaRedirectorforinstallation.
1 Openaconsoletoapoweredonvirtualmachine.
2 Inthevirtualmachine,chooseStart>Settings>ControlPanel>AddorRemove
Programs.
3 Inthelistofprograms,selectVMwareToolsandclickChange.
TheVMwareToolsInstallationwizardisdisplayed.
4 ClickNext.
TheProgramMaintenancepageisdisplayed.
5 SelectModifyandclickNext.
TheCustomSetuppageisdisplayed.
6 ClicktheredXnexttoWYSEMultimediaRedirectorandselectThisfeaturewill
beinstalledonlocalharddrive.
7 ClickNext.
8 ClickModifytobegintheinstallation.
Aprogressbarisdisplayedshowingtheprogressoftheinstallation.
9 ClickFinish.
ForvirtualmachinesonESXServer3.0.1orlaterhostsmanagedbyVirtualCenter2.0.1
orlater,WYSEMultimediaSupportcanbeinstalledaspartofaVMwareToolsupgrade
startedfromtheVIClient.
2 IntheAdvancedtextbox,typesetup.exe /s /vINSTALL_WYSE=1.
3 ClickOK.
NOTETheviewsandcapabilitiesdisplayedvarydependingonwhethertheVIClient
isconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServeroranESXServerhost.Unlessindicated,the
process,task,ordescriptionappliestobothkindsofVIClientconnections.
Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:
ChangingVirtualMachinePowerStatesonpage 169
AddingandRemovingVirtualMachinesonpage 175
StartingandShuttingDownVirtualMachinesonpage 177
Therearealsoseveralaccesspointsformakingchangestothesepowerstates.Youcan
changeapowerstatechangeby:
SelectingthevirtualmachineandthepoweroptionfromtheInventory>Virtual
Machinemenu.
SelectingPoweronfromtheCommandsarea.
Selectingthepoweroptionfromthepopupmenu.
SchedulingapowerstatechangethroughtheScheduledTasksbuttoninthe
navigationbar.
Thepowerstatetopicsarecoveredinthefollowingsections:
UnderstandingVirtualMachinePowerStatesonpage 170
UnderstandingTransitionalPowerStatesonpage 172
ManuallyPoweringaVirtualMachineOnandOffonpage 172
UsingSuspendandResumeonpage 173
SchedulingaPowerStateChangeforaVirtualMachineonpage 174
PoweronPowersonthevirtualmachineandbootstheguestoperatingsystemif
theguestoperatingsystemisinstalled.
PoweroffPowersoffthevirtualmachine.Thevirtualmachinedoesnotattempt
toshutdowntheguestoperatingsystemgracefully.
SuspendPausesthevirtualmachineactivity.Alltransactionsarefrozenuntilyou
issuearesumecommand.
ResumeAllowsvirtualmachineactivitytocontinueandreleasestheSuspended
state.
ResetShutsdowntheguestoperatingsystemandrestartsit.Thisoperation
dependsontheoperatingsystembeingshutdown.Ifshutdownisnotautomatic
forthatoperatingsystem,VMwareToolsmustbeinstalled.
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.
Thefigurebelowillustratesstates,transitions,andstatechangingcommandsfor
virtualmachines.
powered on
resume suspend
state
suspended command
1 ClicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar.
2 Expandtheinventoryasneeded,andselectavirtualmachine.
3 Usethepowerstatebuttonsinthetoolbar,orrightclickonthevirtualmachineand
selectanpowerstateoption
NOTEPowerOffisliketurningofftheelectricitytoaphysicalmachineand
alwaysshutsdownthevirtualmachine.ShutDownGuestattemptstogracefully
shutdownthevirtualmachine
Afteryouresumeanddoadditionalworkinthevirtualmachine,youcannotreturnto
thestatethevirtualmachinewasinatthetimeyoususpended.Topreservethestateof
thevirtualmachinesoyoucanreturntothesamestaterepeatedly,takeasnapshot.
See UsingSnapshotsonpage 253formoreinformation.
Thespeedofthesuspendandresumeoperationsdependsonhowmuchdatachanged
whilethevirtualmachinewasrunning.Ingeneral,thefirstsuspendoperationtakesa
bitlongerthansubsequentsuspendoperationsdo.
Whenyoususpendavirtualmachine,afilewitha.vmssextensioniscreated.Thisfile
containstheentirestateofthevirtualmachine.Whenyouresumethevirtualmachine,
itsstateisrestoredfromthe.vmssfile.
1 Ifyourvirtualmachineisrunninginfullscreenmode,returntowindowmodeby
pressingtheCtrlAltkeycombination.
2 ClickSuspendontheVMwareInfrastructureClienttoolbar.
WhenVMwareInfrastructureClientcompletesthesuspendoperation,itissafeto
exitVMwareInfrastructureClient.
3 ChooseFile>Exit.
1 StartVMwareInfrastructureClient,andselectavirtualmachinethatyouhave
suspended.
2 ClickthePowerOnbuttonontheVMwareInfrastructureClienttoolbar,orchoose
thePowerOnoptionfromthepopupmenuortheCommandswindow.
NOTEApplicationsyouwererunningatthetimeyoususpendedthevirtual
machinearerunning,andthecontentisthesameasitwaswhenyoususpended
thevirtualmachine.
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.
Thefollowingsectionsdiscussaddingandremovingvirtualmachines:
AddingExistingVirtualMachinestoVirtualCenteronpage 175
RemovingVirtualMachinesfromVirtualCenteronpage 175
ReturningaVirtualMachineorTemplatetoVirtualCenteronpage 176
Ifamanagedhostisdisconnectedandreconnected,anychangestothevirtual
machinesonthatmanagedhostareidentified,andVMwareInfrastructureClient
updatesthelistofvirtualmachines.Forexample,ifnode3isremovedandnode4is
added,thenewlistofvirtualmachinesaddsnode4andshowsnode3asorphaned.
RemovingVirtualMachinesfromdisk,ontheotherhand,purgesthevirtualmachine
anditsfiles.
1 FromtheVIClient,clicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar.
2 Expandtheinventoryasneeded,andclicktheappropriatevirtualmachine.
3 Makesurethatthevirtualmachineispoweredoff.
4 Selectthevirtualmachineintheinventorypanel.
5 ChooseInventory>VirtualMachine>Remove,orrightclickonthevirtual
machineandselectRemovefromInventory.
6 Toconfirmthatyouwanttoremovethevirtualmachinefromtheinventory,
click OK.
VirtualCenterServerremovesreferencestothevirtualmachineandnolonger
tracksitscondition.
NOTETheRemovefromInventorycommandremovesthevirtualmachineonly
fromVirtualCenterinventory.Itdoesnotremovethevirtualmachinefromits
datastore.
CAUTIONThisproceduredeletesallthefilesfortheselectedvirtualmachine,including
theconfigurationfileandthevirtualdiskfiles.Ifothervirtualmachinessharedisks
withthevirtualmachineyouwanttodelete(target),removetheshareddisksfromthe
targetbeforedeletingit.SeeChangingtheHardwareConfigurationofaVirtual
Machineonpage 180.
1 FromtheVIClient,clicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar.
2 Expandtheinventoryasneeded,andclicktheappropriatevirtualmachine.
3 Makesurethatthevirtualmachineispoweredoff.
4 RightclickonthevirtualmachineandselectDeletefromDisk.
5 ClickOKintheconfirmationdialogbox.
VirtualCenterdeletesthevirtualmachinefromitsdatastore.
1 RightclickonthedatastoreandchooseBrowseDatastore.
TheDatastoreBrowserdialogboxisdisplayed.
2 Navigatetothevirtualmachineortemplatethatyouwanttoaddtoinventory.
3 RightclickonthevirtualmachineortemplateandchooseAddtoInventory.
4 FollowthestepsintheAddtoInventorywizardtofinishaddingthevirtual
machineortemplate.
1 SelecttheInventorybutton.
2 Selectahostmachine.
3 ClicktheConfigurationtab.
Configurationinformationforthehostappears.
4 ClicktheVirtualMachineStartup/Shutdownlink.
Thevirtualmachinestartupandshutdowninformationappears.
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.
Configuring Virtual
Machines 12
ThischapterdescribestheVirtualMachinePropertieseditorandtheAddHardware
wizard.Theseallowyoutoeditandconfigureyourvirtualmachines.Italsodiscusses
advancedvirtualmachineconfigurationoptions.Theseactivitiescanbeperformed
duringthevirtualmachinecreationprocessorafteryoucreatethevirtualmachineand
installtheguestoperatingsystem.Someoperationscanbeperformedwhilethevirtual
machineispoweredon;othersonlywhenthevirtualmachineispoweredoff.This
chapteralsodescribeslegacyvirtualmachinesandhowtoupgradethemtothecurrent
virtualmachinehardwareversion.Youmusthavesufficientpermissiontoperformthe
activitiesdescribedinthischapter.
Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:
VirtualMachinePropertiesEditoronpage 179
AddingNewHardwareonpage 196
LegacyVirtualMachinesonpage 201
UpgradingVirtualHardwareonpage 202
1 FromtheVIClient,clickInventoryinthenavigationbar.
2 Expandtheinventoryasneeded,andselectthevirtualmachineyouwanttoedit.
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
Youcanadd,edit,orremovehardwarefromyourvirtualmachineusingthiswizard.
Thestatusofthedevice,suchaseditedoradding,isdisplayedinparenthesesnextto
thehardwarelisting.Theselectedguestoperatingsystemdeterminesthedevicesthat
areavailabletobeaddedtoagivenvirtualmachine.Thedevicesthatcanbeaddedare:
Serialport
Parallelport
Floppydrive
DVD/CDROMdrive
Ethernetadapter
Harddisk
SCSIdevice
1 ClicktheHardwaretab.
2 ClicktheDVD/CDROMdriveintheHardwarelist.
3 Makechangesasneededtothedevicestatus,connection,orvirtualdevicenodefor
thevirtualmachinetouse.
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.
1 ClicktheHardwaretab.
2 ClickthefloppydriveintheDevicelist.
3 UnderDeviceStatus,selectConnectatpowerontoconnectthisvirtualmachine
tothefloppydrivewhenthevirtualmachineispoweredon.
4 UnderConnection,selectUsephysicaldrivetouseaphysicaldrive,choose
Client orHost,andchoosethedrivefromthelist.
5 Touseafloppyimage,selectUseexistingfloppyImageorCreateanewfloppy
image,andbrowsetothefloppyimage.
6 ClickOKtosaveyourchangesandclosethedialogbox.
1 ClicktheHardwaretab.
2 SelecttheSCSIdeviceinthehardwarelist.
3 ToconnectthisvirtualmachinetotheserversSCSIdevicewhenthevirtual
machineispoweredon,selectConnectatpoweron.
4 UnderConnection,selectthephysicaldeviceyouwanttouse.
UnderVirtualdevicenode,selectthevirtualdevicenodewhereyouwantthis
devicetoappearinthevirtualmachine.
5 ClickOKtosaveyourchangesandclosethedialogbox.
Youcanadddisksandextenddisksevenwhilethevirtualmachineisrunning.
To changediskmode,thevirtualmachinemustbepoweredoff.
1 ClicktheHardwaretab.
2 ClicktheappropriateHardDiskintheHardwarelist.
3 Ifthevirtualmachineispoweredon,youcandoanyofthefollowing:
Changedisksize.
Addnewdisk.
4 Ifthevirtualmachineispoweredoff,youcandoanyofthefollowing:
Changedisksize.
Addnewdisk.
Changethevirtualdevicenode.
TurnonoroffIndependentmode.DisksrunninginIndependentmodeare
unaffectedbysnapshots.ChoosePersistentorNonpersistentmodeto
determinethepersistenceofchanges.
5 ClickOKtosaveyourchangesandclosethedialogbox.
NOTETheManagePathsfeatureforRDMdisksisnotavailableforvirtualmachines
onlegacyhostsrunningversionsofESXServerpriortorelease3.0.
1 ClicktheHardwaretab.
2 ClickMemoryintheHardwarelist.
3 Adjusttheamountofmemoryallocatedtothevirtualmachine.
(SEEUPDATE)Therangeofmemorysupportedis128MBto16384MBandisnot
limitedtothephysicalmemoryofthehostwherethevirtualmachineresides.
4 ClickOKtosaveyourchangesandclosethedialogbox.
2 ClicktheappropriateNICintheHardwarelist.
3 ToconnectthevirtualNICwhenthevirtualmachineispoweredon,select
Connect atpoweron.
4 UnderNetworkconnection,usethedropdownmenutochoosethenetworklabel
youwantthevirtualmachinetouse.
5 ClickOKtosaveyourchangesandclosethedialogbox.
1 ClicktheHardwaretab.
2 ClicktheappropriateParallelportintheHardwarelist.
3 DeselecttheConnectatpoweroncheckboxifyoudonotwanttheparallelport
devicetobeconnectedwhenthevirtualmachinepowerson.
ThedefaultsettingisConnectatpoweron.
4 UnderConnection,selectaradiobuttontoindicateaphysicalparallelportorto
connectthevirtualparallelporttoafile.
a IfyouselectUsephysicalparallelport,choosetheportfromthedropdown
menu.
b IfyouselectUseoutputfile,browsetothefilelocation.
5 ClickOKtosaveyourchangesandclosethedialogbox.
YoucanchangetheSCSIcontrollerconfigurationforavirtualmachineonan
ESX Serverhostonly.
CAUTIONChangingtheSCSIcontrollertypemightresultinavirtualmachineboot
failure.
YoucanalsospecifywhethertheSCSIbusisshared.Dependingonthetypeofsharing,
virtualmachinescanaccessthesamevirtualdisksimultaneouslyonthesameserveror
anyserver.
1 ClicktheHardwaretab.
2 ClicktheappropriateSCSIControllerintheDevicelist.
3 SelecttheSCSIcontrollertypeinthelist.
CAUTIONChangingtheSCSIcontrollertypemightresultinavirtualmachine
bootfailure.
4 SelectthetypeofsharingintheSCSIBusSharinglist:
NoneVirtualdiskscannotbesharedbyothervirtualmachines.
VirtualVirtualdiskscanbesharedbyvirtualmachinesonsameserver.
PhysicalVirtualdiskscanbesharedbyvirtualmachinesonanyserver.
5 ClickOKtosaveyourchangesandclosethedialogbox.
1 ClicktheHardwaretab.
2 ClicktheappropriateSerialportintheHardwarelist.
3 IfyouselectedUsephysicalserialport,usethedropdownmenutochoosetheport
onthehostcomputerthatyouwanttouseforthisserialconnection.
4 IfyouselectedUseoutputfile,browsetothelocationofthefileonthehostthat
youwanttousetostoretheoutputofthevirtualserialport.
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.
9 ClickOKtosaveyourchangesandclosethedialogbox.
IfthevirtualmachineisonanESXServerhostandyouhaveVirtualSMPfor
ESX Server,whichsupportssymetricmultiprocessors(SMP),youcanconfigurea
virtualmachinetohaveuptofourvirtualprocessorsorCPUs.VirtualSMPcanuse
twowayorfourwaySMP.VirtualmachinescannothavemorevirtualCPUsthanthe
actualnumberoflogicalCPUsonthehostthatis,thenumberofphysicalprocessor
coresifhyperthreadingisdisabledortwotimesthenumberofphysicalprocessorcores
ifhyperthreadingisenabled.FormoreinformationaboutusingSMP,consultthe
VMwareKnowledgeBase.
NOTENotallguestoperatingsystemssupportSMP,andsomethatdorequire
reinstallationifthenumberofCPUschanges.
(SEEUPDATE)Changingthenumberofprocessorsanimportedvirtualmachineusesis
notsupported.
1 ClicktheHardwaretab.
2 ClickVirtualProcessororCPUintheHardwarelist.
3 Selectthenumberofvirtualprocessorsforthevirtualmachine.
YoumusthaveVMwareVirtualSMPforESXServerifyouwantmorethanone
virtualprocessororCPUforthevirtualmachine.IfyoudonothaveVMware
VirtualSMPforESXServer,thevirtualmachinecanhaveonlyonevirtual
processororCPU.
4 ClickOKtosaveyourchangesandclosethedialogbox.
GeneralOptionsVirtualmachinedisplaynameandtypeofguestoperating
system.(Readonly)locationofvirtualmachineanditsconfigurationfile.
VMwareToolsPowerControlsbehavior,VMwareToolsscriptsandautomatic
updates.
PowerManagementVirtualmachineSuspendbehavior.
Advanced>GeneralAcceleration,logging,debuggingandstatistics.
Advanced>CPUIDMaskNxflagandadvancedidentificationmaskoptions.
Advanced>BootOptionsVirtualmachinebootoptions.
Advanced>ParavirtualizationVMIparavirtualizationenablement.
Advanced>FibreChannelNPIVVirtualnodeandportworldwide
names (WWNs).
Advanced>VirtualizedMMUSettingsforenablingHardwarePageTable
Virtualization.
Advanced>SwapfileLocationSwapfilelocation.
1 ClicktheOptionstab.
2 SelectGeneralOptionsintheSettingslist.
ThevirtualmachinenameisdisplayedintheVirtualmachinenamefield.
Changingthenamedoesnotchangethenameofanyvirtualmachinefilesorthe
associateddirectory.
3 Selectanoperatingsystemandversion.
4 ClickOKtosaveyourchangesandclosethedialogbox.
NOTEVMwareToolsoptionscannotbechangedwhilethevirtualmachineis
poweredon.
1 ClicktheOptionstab.
2 SelectVMwareToolsintheSettingslist.
Thestopbuttononthetoolbarcanbeconfiguredtopoweroffthevirtualmachine,
shutdowntheguestoperatingsystem,orusethesystemdefault.Thepausebutton
onthetoolbarcanbeconfiguredtosuspendthevirtualmachineorusethesystem
default.Theresetbuttononthetoolbarcanbeconfiguredtoresetthevirtual
machine,restarttheguestoperatingsystem,orusethesystemdefault.
3 SelecttheactionsyouwantfromthedropdownmenusunderPowerControls.
4 (Optional)ConfigureVMwareToolsscriptstorunwhenyouchangethevirtual
machinespowerstatebyselectingoptionsunderRunVMwareToolsscripts.
NOTEForESXServervirtualmachines,therearenoscriptsforresumingand
suspendingvirtualmachines.
5 (Optional)ConfigureVMwareToolstocheckforandinstallupdatesbeforeeach
poweronbyselectingtheCheckandupgradeToolsbeforeeachpoweronoption
underAutomaticVMwareToolsUpgrade.
6 (Optional)Configuretheguestoperatingsystemtosynchronizetimewiththehost
byselectingtheSynchronizeguesttimewithhostoption.
7 ClickOKtosaveyourchangesandclosethedialogbox.
1 ClicktheOptionstab.
2 SelectPowerManagementintheSettingslist.
GuestPowerManagementallowsyoutodeterminehowthevirtualmachine
respondswhentheguestoperatingsystemisplacedonstandby.
3 UnderGuestPowerManagement,selecteitherSuspendthevirtualmachineor
Puttheguestoperatingsysteminstandbymodeandleavethevirtualmachine
poweredon.
4 (Optional)Ifyouchosetoleavethevirtualmachineon,selectWakeonLANfor
virtualmachinetrafficonyourvirtualmachinenetworkbyselectingthecheck
box.
NotallguestoperatingsystemssupportWakeonLAN.Onlythefollowingtypes
ofNICssupportWakeonLAN:
Flexible(VMwareToolsrequired).
vmxnet
Enhancedvmxnet
Optionsaredisablediftheyarenotsupported.
5 ClickOKtosaveyourchangesandclosethedialogbox.
1 ClicktheOptionstab.
2 SelectAdvanced>GeneralintheSettingslist.
a Todisableacceleration,selecttheDisableaccelerationcheckbox.
Youcanenableanddisableaccelerationwhilethevirtualmachineisrunning.
Inrareinstances,youmightfindthatwhenyouinstallorrunsoftwareinside
avirtualmachine,thevirtualmachineappearstohang.Generally,the
problemoccursearlyintheprogramsexecution.Inmanycases,youcanget
pasttheproblembytemporarilydisablingaccelerationinthevirtualmachine.
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.
NOTEThevirtualmachinemustbepoweredoffbeforeyoucanchange
this setting.
4 SelectAdvanced>BootOptions.
a Specifythedurationinmillisecondsyouwanttodelayenteringtheboot
sequencewhenthevirtualmachineispoweredonorrestarted.
b SelecttheoptionunderForceBIOSSetuptohavethevirtualmachineenter
BIOSsetupwhenitboots.
TheseoptionsareusefulwhenyouneedtoenterthevirtualmachinesBIOS
setupbecausesometimestheconsoleattachestothevirtualmachineafterthe
bootsequencepassesthepointwhereyoucanenterBIOS.
5 SelectAdvanced>Paravirtualization.SelectSupportVMIParavirtualizationto
enableVMIParavirtualizationtoenableit,ordeselectittodisablethisfeature.
VMIisaparavirtualizationstandardthatenablesimprovedperformanceforvirtual
machinescapableofutilizingit.Currently,thisfeatureisavailableonlyforthose
versionsoftheLinuxguestoperatingsystemwhichsupportVMIparavirtualization.
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.
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.
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.
NOTEAvirtualmachinewithWWNsthatarealreadyinuseonthestorage
networkispreventedfrompoweringon.Tosolvethisissue,generatenewWWNs
orremovethem.
ProvidetheWWNassignmentstoyourSANadministrator.Theadministrator
needsthoseassignmentstoconfigurevirtualmachineaccesstotheLUN.Formore
informationonhowtoconfigureanvirtualmachinetouseNPIV,seethe
ESX Server3ConfigurationGuideorESXServer3iConfigurationGuide.
7 SelectAdvanced>VirtualizedMMUandspecifywhethertodisablethefeature,
alwaysusethefeaturewhereavailable,orhavethehostsystemdeterminewhether
thefeatureshouldbeused.
8 SelectAdvanced>SwapfileLocation.
Chooseoneofthefollowingoptions:
DefaultStorethevirtualmachineswapfileatthedefaultlocationdefined
bythehostorclusterswapfilesettings.SeeHostConfigurationforESX
ServerandVirtualCenteronpage 69formoreinformationonhostswapfile
settings.SeetheResourceManagementGuideformoreinformationoncluster
settings.
AlwaysstorewiththevirtualmachineStorethevirtualmachineswapfile
inthesamefolderasthevirtualmachineconfigurationfile.
StoreinthehostsswapfiledatastoreStorethevirtualmachineswapfilein
theswapfiledatastoredefinedbythehostorclusterswapfilesettings.
Formoreinformationonresources,seetheResourceManagementGuide.
CPU Resources
TheCPUResourcespanelletsyouallocateprocessorresourcesforavirtualmachine,
specifyingreservations,limits,andshares.Youcaneditsomeofthesameinformation
ontheResourcePoolstabofthemainVIClientwindow,whichyoumightdotoedit
resourcesettingsatthesametimeyoueditedothervirtualmachinesettings.
1 ClicktheResourcestab.
2 SelectCPUintheSettingslist.
3 Selectasharesvalue,whichrepresentsarelativemetricforallocatingCPU
capacity.
SharesThevaluesLow,Normal,High,andCustomarecomparedtothe
sumofallsharesofallvirtualmachinesontheserverand,onESXServer3
hosts,theserviceconsole.Shareallocationsymbolicvaluescanbeusedto
configuretheirconversionintonumericvalues.
ReservationGuaranteedCPUallocationforthisvirtualmachine.
LimitUpperlimitforthisvirtualmachinesCPUallocation.Select
Unlimitedtospecifynoupperlimit.
Formoreinformationonsharevalues,seetheResourceManagementGuide.
4 ClickOKtosaveyourchanges.
TheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialogboxcloses.
NOTEHyperthreadingtechnologyallowsasinglephysicalprocessortobehavelike
twologicalprocessors.Theprocessorcanruntwoindependentapplicationsatthesame
time.Whilehyperthreadingdoesnotdoubletheperformanceofasystem,itcan
increaseperformancebybetterutilizingidleresources.Fordetailedinformationabout
hyperthreadinganditsuseinVMwareInfrastructure,seetheResourceManagement
Guide(chooseHelp>Manuals).
VMwareESXServergenerallymanagesprocessorschedulingwell,evenwhen
hyperthreadingisenabled.Thesettingsonthispageareusefulonlyforfinegrained
tweakingofcriticalvirtualmachines.
TheHyperthreadingSharingoptionprovidesdetailedcontroloverwhetheravirtual
machineshouldbescheduledtoshareaphysicalprocessorcore(assuming
hyperthreadingisenabledonthehostatall).
TheSchedulingAffinityoptionallowsfinegrainedcontroloverhowvirtualmachine
CPUsaredistributedacrossthehostsphysicalcores(andhyperthreadsif
hyperthreadingisenabled).
1 ClicktheResourcestab.
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.
NOTEThisoptionisnotallowedwhenthevirtualmachineresidesonaDRS
cluster,anditsvaluesareclearedwhenavirtualmachineismigratedtoanewhost.
Thevalueoftheoptionisonlyintuningtheperformanceofaprecisesetofvirtual
machinesonthesamehost.
Thecheckboxesfortheindividualprocessorsrepresentphysicalcoresif
hyperthreadingisdisabledorlogicalcores(twoperphysicalcore)if
hyperthreadingisenabled.Checkingalltheboxesisthesameasnotapplyingany
affinity.Youmustprovideatleastasmanyprocessoraffinitiesasthenumberof
virtualCPUsinthevirtualmachine.
5 ClickOKtosaveyourchanges.
TheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialogboxcloses.
Memory Resources
TheMemoryResourcespanelletsyouallocatememoryresourcesforavirtualmachine
andspecifyreservations,limits,andshares.Youcaneditsomeofthesameinformation
ontheResourcePoolstabofthemainVIClientwindow,whichyoumightdotoedit
resourcesettingsatthesametimeasothervirtualmachinesettings.
1 ClicktheResourcestab.
2 SelectMemoryintheSettingslist.
3 FromthedropdownmenuintheResourceallocationpanel,choosearelative
metricforallocatingmemorytoallvirtualmachines.
SymbolicvaluesLow,Normal,High,andCustomarecomparedtothesumofall
sharesofallvirtualmachinesontheserverand,onanESXServer3host,theservice
console.Shareallocationsymbolicvaluescanbeusedtoconfiguretheirconversion
intonumericvalues.
4 IntheResourceallocationpanel,usetheslidertoselecttheamountofreserved
memoryandthememorylimit,orusetheupanddownarrowstoenterthe
numberofMBsallocated.
Formoreinformationonmemoryvalues,seethememmanpage.
5 ClickOKtosaveyourchanges.
TheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialogboxcloses.
ThispageisdisplayedonlyifthehostutilizestheNUMAmemoryarchitecture.
Becauseaffinitysettingsaremeaningfulonlywhenusedtotweaktheperformanceofa
specificsetofvirtualmachinesononehost,thispagealsoisnotdisplayedwhenthe
virtualmachineresidesonaDRScluster.Theoptionvaluesareclearedwhenthevirtual
machineismovedtoanewhost.
NUMAmemorynodeaffinityenablesfinegrainedcontroloverhowvirtualmachine
memoryisdistributedtohostphysicalmemory.Checkingalltheboxesisthesameas
applyingnoaffinity.
ConsulttheResourceManagementGuidefordetailsaboutNUMAandadvanced
memoryresources.
NOTESpecifynodestobeusedforfuturememoryallocationsonlyifyouhavealso
specifiedCPUaffinity.Ifyoumakemanualchangesonlytothememoryaffinity
settings,automaticNUMArebalancingdoesnotworkproperly.
1 SelecttheResourcestab,andchooseMemory.
2 IntheNUMAMemoryAffinitypanel,setmemoryaffinity.
Disk Resources
TheDiskResourcespanelletsyouallocatehostdiskI/Obandwidthtothevirtualhard
disksofthisvirtualmachine.DiskI/Oisahostcentricresourceandcannotbepooled
acrossacluster.However,CPUandmemoryresourcesaremuchmorelikelyto
constrainvirtualmachineperformancethandiskresources.
1 ClicktheResourcestab.
2 SelectDiskintheSettingslist.
Onthisdialogbox,youcanadjustthehostdiskallocationforthisvirtualmachine.
3 IntheResourceAllocationpanel,selectthevirtualharddiskfromthelist.
4 ClickintheSharesfield.Usethedropdownmenutochangethevaluetoallocate
anumberofsharesofitsdiskbandwidthtothevirtualmachine.
Sharesisavaluethatrepresentstherelativemetricforcontrollingdiskbandwidth
toallvirtualmachines.ThevaluesLow,Normal,High,andCustomarecompared
tothesumofallsharesofallvirtualmachinesontheserverand,onanESXServer3
host,theserviceconsole.Shareallocationsymbolicvaluescanbeusedtoconfigure
theirconversionintonumericvalues.
5 ClickOKtosaveyourchanges.
1 FromtheVirtualCenterclient,clickInventoryinthenavigationbar.Expandthe
inventoryasneeded,andclicktheappropriatevirtualmachine.
2 TodisplaytheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialogbox,clicktheEditSettingslink
intheCommandspanel.
3 ClicktheHardwaretab.
4 ClickAddtostarttheAddHardwarewizard.
Followthestepsinthefollowingsectionstoaddvarioustypesofvirtualhardware
toyourvirtualmachine.
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.
1 StarttheAddHardwarewizard.
2 SelectParallelPort,andclickNext.
3 SelectphysicalparallelportonthehostorOutputtofile.
4 ClickNext.
5 IfyouselectedUsephysicalparallelportonthehost,choosetheportfromthe
dropdownmenu.IfyouselectedOutputtofile,browsetothelocationofthefile.
6 UnderDevicestatus,deselecttheConnectatpoweroncheckboxifyoudonot
wanttheparallelportdevicetobeconnectedwhenthevirtualmachinepowerson.
7 ClickNext.
8 ReviewtheinformationontheReadytoCompletewindow,andclickFinish.
1 StarttheAddHardwarewizard.
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.
1 StarttheAddHardwarewizard.
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.
8 ReviewtheinformationontheReadytoCompletewindow,andclickFinish.
1 StarttheAddHardwarewizard.
2 SelectEthernetAdapter,andclickNext.
3 IntheNetworkconnectionpanel,chooseeitheranamednetworkwithaspecified
labeloralegacynetwork.
4 ToconnectthevirtualNICwhenthevirtualmachineispoweredon,selectConnect
atpoweron.
5 Tocompletethewizard,clickFinish.
1 StarttheAddHardwarewizard.
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.
9 ClickNext.
10 Reviewtheinformation,andclickFinish.
1 StarttheAddHardwarewizard.
2 SelectSCSIDevice,andclickNext.
3 UnderConnection,usethedropdownmenutochoosethephysicaldeviceyou
wanttouse.
4 ToconnectthisvirtualmachinetotheserversSCSIdevicewhenthevirtual
machineispoweredon,selectConnectatpoweron.
5 UnderVirtualdevicenode,selectthevirtualdevicenodewhereyouwantthis
devicetoappearinthevirtualmachine.
Youcanalsoselectthecheckboxtoindicatethatthevirtualdeviceissetupinthe
samewayasthephysicalunit.
6 ReviewtheinformationintheReadytoCompletewindow,andclickFinish.
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.
1 Selectthevirtualmachineintheinventory.
2 ClickEditSettings.
Thevirtualmachinehardwareversionisdisplayedatthetoprightcornerofthe
VirtualMachinePropertiesdialogbox.
1 FromtheVIClient,rightclickavirtualmachineintheinventory,andchoose
UpgradeVirtualHardwarefromthedropdownmenu.
Aconfirmationdialogboxappearswiththemessage,Thisoperationwillcause
thevirtualhardwareyourguestoperatingsystemrunsontochange.Itisan
irreversibleoperationthatwillmakeyourvirtualmachineincompatiblewith
earlierversionsoftheVMwaresoftwareproducts.Itisstronglyrecommendedthat
youmakeabackupcopyofyourdisk(s)beforeproceeding.Areyousureyouwant
toupgradeyourconfiguration?
2 ClickYes.
AprogressbarappearsintheRecentTaskspaneatthebottomoftheclient
window.
Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:
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.
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.
1 StarttheVIClientandlogintotheVirtualCenterServer.
2 ClicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar.
Theinventorypanelandtheinformationpaneldisplayinformationabout
manageddatacenters,hosts,resourcepools,andvirtualmachines.Theinventory
toolbarappears.
3 Expandtheinventoryasneeded,andselectavirtualmachine.
4 Turnoffthevirtualmachineusingtheshutdownorpoweroffoptions.
5 FromtheCommandsareaorthepopupmenu,clickConverttoTemplate.
VirtualCentermarksthatvirtualmachineasatemplateanddisplaysthetaskinthe
RecentTaskspane.
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.
1 StarttheVIclient,andlogintotheVirtualCenterServer.
2 ClicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar.
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.
1 Convertthetemplatetoavirtualmachine.
2 Editthevirtualmachine.
3 Convertthevirtualmachinetoatemplate.
Youcandirectlychangethenameofatemplateusingtheprocedurebelow.
1 FromtheVirtualCenterclient,clicktheInventorybutton.
2 Selectthedatacenterthatcontainsthetemplate.
3 SelecttheVirtualMachinestab.
4 Clickonthetemplate.Clickthetemplateagain.
5 Thenameofthevirtualmachineisnowaneditablefield.
6 Changethename,andclickoutsidethefield.
NOTEWhenatemplatethatresidesonalegacyVMFS2datastoreisconvertedtoa
virtualmachine,theresultingvirtualmachinemustberegisteredonthehostwherethe
templatewascreated.Selectthishostasthedestinationforthenewvirtualmachine.
1 StarttheVIClient,andlogintotheVirtualCenterServer.
2 ClicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar.
Theinventorypanelandtheinformationpaneldisplayinformationabout
manageddatacenters,hosts,resourcepools,andvirtualmachines.Theinventory
toolbarappears.
3 Selectthedatacenterthatcontainsthetemplate,andclicktheVirtualMachinestab.
Thevirtualmachinesandtemplatesassociatedwiththedatacenterappearinthe
datacenterpanel.
4 Rightclickthetemplate,andchooseDeployVirtualMachinefromthis
Template.
TheDeployTemplatewizardappears.
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.
NOTECustomizationisnotsupportedforallguestoperatingsystems.
Additionally,someguestoperatingsystemsrequireMicrosoftSyspreptools.
See InstallingtheMicrosoftSysprepToolsonpage 353.
10 IntheReadytoCompletepage,reviewtheinformationforyournewvirtual
machine,selectthePoweronthenewVirtualMachineaftercreationcheckboxif
youwanttopoweronthevirtualmachineimmediately,andclickFinish.
AfteryouclickFinish,youcannotuseoreditthevirtualmachineuntilthetask
completes.Thismighttakeseveralminutes.Thevirtualmachineisaddedtothe
datastore.
1 StartVirtualCenterclient,andlogintotheVirtualCenterServer.
2 ClicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar.
Theinventorypanelandtheinformationpaneldisplayinformationabout
manageddatacenters,hosts,resourcepools,andvirtualmachines.Theinventory
toolbarappears.
3 Selectthedatacenterthatcontainsthetemplate.
Thevirtualmachinesandtemplatesassociatedwiththedatacenterappearinthe
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.
CAUTIONAfteratemplateisdeletedfromahost,thereisnowaytorecoverit.
1 StartVirtualCenterclient,andlogintotheVirtualCenterServer.
2 ClicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar,andselectthehostthatcontains
thetemplate.
3 Selectthedatastorethatcontainsthetemplate,andclicktheVirtualMachinetab.
4 Rightclickthetemplate,andchooseDeletefromDisk.
5 ClickOKtoconfirmremovingthetemplatefromtheVirtualCenterdatabase.
Thetemplateisdeletedfromthediskandcannotberecovered.
Regaining Templates
Templatesareassociatedwithhosts,andtheonlywaytoregainorregistertemplates
afterremovingandaddingahostistousethedatastorebrowsertolocatethetemplate.
Thenusetheinventorywizardtonameandregisterthe.vmtxfileasatemplateback
intoVirtualCenter.
NOTEIfyouwantthetemplatetoretainitsoriginalname,donotenteranameinthe
AddtoInventorywizard.VirtualCenterwillusetheoriginalnameifthefieldinthe
wizardisleftblank.
To regain a template
1 StartVirtualCenterclient,andlogintotheVirtualCenterServer.
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.
Youcanhotcloneavirtualmachineinanypowerstate.Youdonotneedtopoweroff
thevirtualmachineinordertocloneit.However,youcannotcloneasuspendedvirtual
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.
1 ClicktheScheduledTasksbuttoninthenavigationbar.
Thelistofscheduledtasksappears.
2 ChooseFile>New>ScheduledTask,orclicktheNewbutton.
TheSelectaTasktoScheduledialogboxappears.
3 UsethedropdownmenutochooseCloneavirtualmachine,andclickOK.
TheCloneVirtualMachinewizardappears.
4 Selectthevirtualmachinetoclone,andclickNext.
5 Followthewizardthroughthesamestepsasthoseintheprevioustaskinwhich
youclonedavirtualmachine.ThepageafterGuestCustomizationistheSchedule
theTaskpage.
6 Enteranameandataskdescriptioninthetextbox.
7 Selectthefrequencyofthetask.
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.
Customizing Guest
Operating Systems 14
Nowthatyouhavecreatedandconfiguredavirtualmachine,youhavetheoptionto
customizetheidentityandnetworksettingsofyourvirtualmachinesguestoperating
systemsothatitisreadytobeginworkimmediatelyinyourtargetenvironment.
Youcansaveyourvirtualmachinesettingsinaspecificationthatyoucanrecalllater
andreuse.Youdothisusingthecustomizationwizard.Therearetwowaystoaccess
thecustomizationwizard:usingthecustomizationspecificationmanager,whichlets
youcreatespecificationsandstoretheminthedatabaseforlateruse,andusingthe
wizardwhenyourecloninganewvirtualmachine.
NOTEVirtualmachinesmustberegisteredintheVirtualCenterinventorybeforeyou
cancustomizetheirguestoperatingsystems.
ThischapterdescribeshowtousetheCustomizationSpecificationManagerto
customizeyourguestoperatingsystems.
Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:
PreparingforGuestCustomizationonpage 216
CustomizingaWindowsGuestOperatingSystemonpage 218
UsingtheCustomizationSpecificationWizardonpage 224
UsingtheCloneVirtualMachineWizardonpage 228
CompletingaGuestOperatingSystemCustomizationonpage 229
Formoredetailsoninstallingaguestoperatingsystem,seetheGuestOperatingSystem
InstallationGuide.
BeforeyouruntheGuestCustomizationwizard,ifyouintendtoperformaguest
customization,dothefollowing:
Verifythatyoursystemmeetstheguestcustomizationrequirements.Ifyouplanto
customizeaWindowsguestoperatingsystem,youmustinstallthecomponents
requiredtosupportaWindowsguestoperatingsystemcustomization.Thisis
describedinAppendix B,InstallingtheMicrosoftSysprepTools,onpage 353.
InstalltherequiredcomponentsontheWindowsmachinewheretheVirtualCenter
serverisinstalled.
NOTEAfterdeployingandcustomizingnonvolumelicensedversionsof
Windows XPorWindows 2003,youmightneedtoreactivateyour
Microsoft operatingsystemonthenewvirtualmachine.
VMwareToolsinstalled.
SCSIdisks.
ThedefaultconfigurationforVMwareWorkstation,andVMwareServercreating
aWindowsXPorWindowsServer2003virtualmachineisIDEdisks.Ifyouare
customizingavirtualmachinewithIDEdisks,itcanbedeployedonlytoa
VMwareServerhost.
VirtualCentercustomizationoperatesonthediskattachedtothevirtualSCSInode
withthelowestaddressontheSCSIcontrollerwiththelowestindex.Asaresult,
youmustmakesurethattheguestoperatingsystembeingcustomizedresideson
adiskattachedasSCSI0:0nodeinthevirtualmachineconfiguration.
NOTEIfavirtualmachinehasmixedIDEandSCSIdisks,thefirstIDEdiskis
consideredthebootdisk,andVirtualCenterpassesittothecustomizer.Firstis
incontroller:deviceorder,thatis,ide0:0,ide0:1,scsi0:0,scsi0:1,andsoon.
ForWindowsguestoperatingsystems:Ifthevirtualmachineresidesonahost
runningESXServer3.0.xorearlier,boththeactivepartition(thepartition
containingboot.ini)andthesystempartition(thepartitioncontainingthe
systemdirectory,forexample,\WINNTor\WINDOWS),areonthesamevirtualdisk
andattachedtheSCSI0:0virtualSCSInode.
NOTEItisnotarequirementthatactiveandsystempartitionsbethesamepartition.
ForLinuxguests:IfthevirtualmachineresidesonahostrunningESXServer3.0.x
orearlier,thevirtualdiskcontainingthesystempartition(thepartitioncontaining
the/etcdirectory)mustresideontheSCSI0:0node.
32bitor64bithardwarecorrespondingtothe32bitor64bitoperatingsystem
beinginstalled.
Theguestoperatingsystemisnotaprimaryorbackupdomaincontroller.
ThecloneortemplatehasoneofthefollowingWindowsversionsinstalled:
Windows2000Server,AdvancedServer,orProfessional(including64bit
versions)
WindowsXPProfessional(including64bitversions)
WindowsServer2003,Web,Standard,orEnterpriseEditions(including64bit
versions)
WindowsVista(including64bitversions)
NOTEWindowsXPHomeorWindowsNT4operatingsystemguestcustomization
isnotsupported.WindowsVistacustomizationissupportedonlyonhosts
runningESXServer3.5andgreaterorESXServer3iversion3.5andgreater.
ThemostrecentversionofVMwareToolsisinstalledintheguestoperating
system.
TheMicrosoftSyspreptoolsareinstalledontheVirtualCenterserver.
IfthevirtualmachineresidesonahostrunningESXServer3.0.xorearlier,boththe
activepartition(thepartitioncontainingboot.ini)andthesystempartition(the
partitioncontainingthesystemdirectory,forexample,\WINNTor\WINDOWS),
mustbeonthesamevirtualdisk.
MicrosoftSyspreptoolshavecertainrequirementsandimposecertainrestrictionson
thesourcemachine.SeetheMicrosoftSysprepdocumentationforadditional
information.
ThecloneortemplatehasoneofthefollowingLinuxversionsinstalled:
RedHatEnterpriseLinuxASversions2through5(including64bitversions)
RedHatApplicationServerversions2through5(including64bitversions)
SUSELINUXEnterpriseServer8,9,or10
NOTECustomizationforRedHatLinuxversion4andgreaterandSUSE
LINUXEnterpriseServerversion9andgreaterissupportedonlyonhosts
runningESXServer3.5andgreaterorESXServer3iversion3.5andgreater.
ThemostrecentversionofVMwareToolsisinstalledintheguestoperating
system.
Thecloneortemplatehasarootvolumeformattedwithanext2,ext3,orReiserFS
filesystem.
TheGuestCustomizationwizardstartsindirectlyfromtheDeployTemplatewizardor
CloneVirtualMachinewizard,oryoucanstartthewizardbyselectingavirtual
machineandthenselectingEdit>CustomizationSpecifications.
1 StarttheGuestCustomizationwizard.
2 OntheRegistrationInformationpage,enterthevirtualmachineownersname
andorganization.ClickNext.
Thisinformationisforguestoperatingsystemregistrationpurposes.Itis
displayedintheguestoperatingsystemSystemProperties.IntheNamefield,you
canenterthenameofaperson,user,orgroup.
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.
5 OntheAdministratorPasswordpage,typeandconfirmtheadministrator
passwordforthevirtualmachine.ClickNext.
Ifyouleavethepasswordblank,theVIClientasksyoutoconfirmthat
Administratorusersarentrequiredtoprovideapassword.
NOTEYoucanonlychangetheadministratorpasswordiftheadministrator
passwordonthesourceWindowsvirtualmachineisblank.Ifyouspecifyanew
administratorpasswordandthesourceWindowsvirtualmachineortemplate
alreadyhasone,theoldadministratorpassworddoesnotchange.
Ifyouwanttoautomaticallyloginasadministratorwhenthevirtualmachine
boots,selectAutomaticallylogonastheadministratorandspecifyhowmany
timesautomaticloginistobeperformed.Thisisusefulifyouknowyouwillhave
aseriesofrebootsbeforethevirtualmachineisreadyfornormalloginusers.
6 OntheTimeZonepage,choosethetimezoneforthevirtualmachine.ClickNext.
7 OntheRunOncepage,typeanycommandsyouwanttorunaspartofthefirst
startupforthenewvirtualmachine.Afteryoutypeeachcommand,clickAdd.Use
theDeleteandMoveoptionstocreatetherunorderforthecommands.Whenyou
aredonewiththecommandlist,clickNext.
NOTESeeMicrosoftWindowsSysprepdocumentationformoreinformationon
theRunOncecommands.
8 IfyouwantVirtualCentertoautomaticallyconfigureallnetworkinterfacesfroma
DHCPserver,selectTypicalsettingsontheNetworkpage.ClickNext.
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.
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.
YoucannotstarttheGuestCustomizationwizardfromamenuortoolbaroption.
The GuestCustomizationwizardstartsindirectlyfromtheDeployTemplatewizardor
CloneVirtualMachinewizard.
1 StarttheGuestCustomizationwizard.
2 OntheComputerNamepage,specifytheComputerNameandtheDomainName
forthevirtualmachine.ClickNext.
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.
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.
TheCustomizationSpecificationManagerwindowappears.Fromhere,youcan
viewthepropertiesofaspecificationandcreate,edit,copy,delete,import,or
exportspecifications.UsetheRefreshbuttontorefreshthedisplay.
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.
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.
NOTESeeMicrosoftWindowsSysprepdocumentationformoreinformationon
theRunOncecommands.
17 ClickNext.
18 Specifythenetworkinterfacesettingsifyouwanttocustomizethesoftware
settingsforeachnetworkinterface.Selecttheradiobuttonfortypicalsettingsto
enableDHCPforallnetworkinterfacesortheradiobuttonforcustomsettingsto
manuallyconfigureeachnetworkinterface.
19 ClickNext.
20 IntheWorkgrouporDomainpage,selectthewayinwhichthevirtualmachine
participatesinthenetwork,selecttheradiobuttonforworkgroupandentera
workgroupname,orselecttheradiobuttonforWindowsserverdomainandenter
thedomain.
Inthelattercase,youmustalsoenterausernameandpasswordforauseraccount
thathaspermissiontoaddacomputertothespecifieddomain.
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.
27 ClicktheEditicontoredisplaytheGuestCustomizationwizard,andchangethe
informationforthespecification.
28 ClicktheCopyicontocreateacopyofthespecification.
29 Todeleteaspecification,selectitandclicktheDeleteicon.
Thespecificationisdeletedfromthespecificationmanager.
30 Toimportanexistingspecificationintothemanager,clicktheImporticonand
selectthespecificationintheBrowsedialogbox.
31 Toexportaspecification,clicktheExporticonandchooseaSaveAslocation.
32 Usethemaximize,minimize,andclosebuttonstomaximize,minimize,orexitthe
specificationmanager.
Usethefollowingprocedurewhenyouaresettingupyournewvirtualmachine.
You usethespecificationthatyousetupintheprevioussectionasyousetupavirtual
machineinthefollowingprocedure.
Formoreinformationonusingthecustomizationwizard,seeCustomizinga
WindowsGuestOperatingSystemonpage 218.
1 ChooseInventory>VirtualMachine>Clone.
TheCloneVirtualMachinewizardappears.
2 MovethroughthewizarduntilyoureachtheSelectGuestCustomizationOption
pagefromwhichyoucancustomizeusingtheCustomizationwizardorcustomize
usinganexistingcustomizationspecificationselectedfromthespecification
managerslist.
Ifthenewvirtualmachineencounterscustomizationerrorswhileitisbooting,the
errorsarereportedusingtheguestssystemloggingmechanism.InLinux,theseerrors
areloggedto/var/log/vmware/customization.log.InWindows,theyarewritten
to%WINDIR%\temp\vmware-imc.
Thestepsrequiredtofinalizeguestoperatingsystemcustomizationarecoveredinthe
followingsections:
CompletingLinuxGuestOperatingSystemCustomizationonpage 229
CompletingWindowsGuestOperatingSystemCustomizationonpage 229
Afterpoweringonforthefirsttime,acustomizedWindowsvirtualmachine
automaticallyrebootsmultipletimestofinalizetheconfigurationprocess.Itbecomes
operationalwhentheloginpageappearsafterthesecondreboot.Thisprocesscantake
severalminutes,dependingonthespeedandloadofthehost.Ifanyerrorsoccur
duringthefinalconfigurationprocess,eventsareloggedtotheguestoperating
systemseventdatabase.Toviewtheseerrors,chooseStart>Program>Administrative
Tools>EventViewerfromtheWindowsStartmenu.
Ifanyoftheinformationrequiredintheconfigurationfinalizationprocessisnot
correct,theguestoperatingsystempauseswhenthenewvirtualmachinebootsand
waitsforyoutoenterthecorrectinformation.Incorrectinformationmightinclude:
Thecomputernameisnotunique.Thecomputernamemustbeuniqueforthe
networkonwhichthemachineisdeployed.
Theproductkeyisincorrect.
Theuserspecifiedtojoinadomainthatdoesnotexist.
TheDHCPserverforthenetworkisnotfunctioningproperly.
Openthevirtualmachinesconsoletoseeifthesystemiswaitingforinformation.
Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:
AboutMigrationonpage 232
ColdMigrationonpage 232
MigratingaSuspendedVirtualMachineonpage 233
MigrationwithVMotiononpage 233
UsingtheMigrateVirtualMachineWizardonpage 243
MigrationwithStorageVMotiononpage 248
NOTECopyingavirtualmachinecreatesanewvirtualmachine.Itisnotaformof
migration.
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.
Iferrorsoccurduringcoldmigration,thevirtualmachinesreverttotheiroriginalstates
andlocations.
Youcanmovevirtualmachinesmanuallyorsetupascheduledtasktoperformthecold
migration.SeeManagingTasks,Events,andAlarmsonpage 301forinformationon
schedulingtasks.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Migrationsofsuspendedvirtualmachinesalsorequirethatthevirtualmachinebeable
toresumeexecutiononthetargethostusingequivalentinstructions.
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.
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.
SSSE3 Considerations
WithintheIntelP4andIntelCoreprocessorfamilies,VMwareplacesarestriction
betweenprocessorsthatdosupporttheSSSE3instructionsandprocessorsthatdonot
supporttheSSSE3instructions.Becausetheyareapplicationlevelinstructionsthat
bypassthevirtualizationlayer,theseinstructionscouldcauseapplicationinstabilityif
mismatchedafteramigrationwithVMotion.
SSE4.1 Considerations
WithintheIntelCore2processorfamily,VMwareplacesarestrictionbetween
processorsthatdosupporttheSSE4.1instructionsandprocessorsthatdonotsupport
theSSE4.1instructionsbecausetheyareapplicationlevelinstructionsthatbypassthe
virtualizationlayer,andcouldcauseapplicationinstabilityifmismatchedaftera
migrationwithVMotion.
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.
Allhostsintheclustermusteitherhavehardwarelivemigrationsupport
(Intel FlexMigrationorAMDVExtendedMigration)orhavetheCPUwhose
baselinefeaturesetyouintendtoenableforthecluster.Forspecifichostprocessors
supported,seeTable 151.
AllhostsintheclustermustberunningESXServer3.5Update2orlater.
AllhostsintheclustermustbeconnectedtotheVirtualCenterServer.
Allvirtualmachinesintheclustermustbepoweredofformigratedoutofthe
clusterwhenEVCisenabled.
AnyhostaddedtoanexistingEVCenabledclustermustalsomeettherequirements
listedabove.
Intel45nmCore2(Penryn)
Createanemptycluster,enableEVC,andthenmovehostsintothecluster.
EnableEVConanexistingcluster.
VMwarerecommendscreatinganemptyEVCclusterasthesimplestwayofcreating
anEVCclusterwithminimaldisruptiontoyourexistinginfrastructure.
BeforeyoucreateanEVCcluster,ensurethatthehostsyouintendtoaddtothecluster
meettherequirementslistedinEVCRequirementsonpage 238.
1 Createanemptycluster.
OtherclusterfeaturessuchasVMwareDRSandVMwareHAarefullycompatible
withEVC.Youcanchoosetoenablethesefeatureswhenyoucreatethecluster.
For moreinformationonspecificclusteroptions,seetheVIClientonlineHelp.
2 EdittheclustersettingsandenableEVC.
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.
1 Ensurethattherearenopoweredonvirtualmachinesintheclusterbefore
enablingEVC.SelecttheclusterforwhichyouwanttoenableEVC,anddooneof
thefollowing:
Poweroffallthevirtualmachinesinthecluster.
MigratetheclustersvirtualmachinestoanotherhostusingVMotion.
IfyoumigratethevirtualmachinestoahostwiththesameCPUtypethatyou
enableasthebaselinefortheEVCcluster,youwillbeabletouseVMotionto
migratethesevirtualmachinesbackintotheclusterafteryouhavefinished
settingitup.Otherwise,youwillhavetopoweroffthevirtualmachinesto
migratethemintothecluster.
2 EnsurethattheclustercontainshostswithCPUsfromonlyonevendor:Intelor
AMD.
3 EdittheclustersettingsandenableEVC.
SelecttheCPUvendorandfeaturesetappropriateforthehostsinthecluster.
For moreinformationonconfiguringEVC,seetheVIClientonlineHelp.
4 Poweronthevirtualmachinesinthecluster,ormigratevirtualmachinesintothe
cluster.
DefaultvaluesfortheCPUcompatibilitymasksaresetbyVMwaretoguaranteethe
stabilityofvirtualmachinesafteramigrationwithVMotion.Changestothesedefault
masksaremadeconservativelybyVMware,andonlywhennewCPUfeaturesare
introducedandversionsofESXServerareupdatedtoexposeorhidethemfromvirtual
machines.
Insomecases,whereachoicebetweenCPUcompatibilityorguestoperatingsystem
features(suchasNx/XD)exists,VMwareprovidescheckboxoptionstoconfigure
individualvirtualmachinesthroughthevirtualmachinesAdvancedSettingsoption.
FormorecontroloverthevisibilityofCPUfeatures,youcaneditthevirtualmachines
CPUcompatibilitymaskatthebitlevel.
CAUTIONManualeditoftheCPUcompatibilitymaskswithouttheappropriate
documentationandtestingisNOTrecommendedandmightleadtoanunsupported
configuration.FormoreinformationoneditingCPUcompatibilitymasks,see
ChangingVirtualMachineOptionsonpage 186.
CPUcompatibilitymaskscannotpreventvirtualmachinesfromaccessingmaskedCPU
featuresinallcircumstances.Onhostswithouthardwarelivemigrationsupport
(Intel FlexMigrationorAMDVExtendedMigration),applicationscandetectanduse
maskedfeatureseventhoughtheyarehiddenfromtheguestoperatingsystem.In
addition,onanyhost,applicationsthatuseunsupportedmethodsofdetectingCPU
featuresratherthanusingtheCPUIDinstructioncanaccessmaskedfeatures.Virtual
machinesrunningsuchillbehavedapplicationsmightexperiencestabilityproblems
aftermigration.
YoucannotusemigrationwithVMotiontomigratevirtualmachinesusingraw
disksforclusteringpurposes.
YoucannotusemigrationwithVMotiontomigrateavirtualmachinethatusesa
virtualdevicebackedbyadevicethatisnotaccessibleonthedestinationhost.
(For example,youcannotmigrateavirtualmachinewithaCDdrivebackedbythe
physicalCDdriveonthesourcehost.)Disconnectthesedevicesbeforemigrating
thevirtualmachine.
YoucannotusemigrationwithVMotiontomigrateavirtualmachinethatusesa
virtualdevicebackedbyadeviceontheclientcomputer.Disconnectthesedevices
beforemigratingthevirtualmachine.
YoucannotusemigrationwithVMotiontomigrateavirtualmachineifthe
destinationhostcannotaccessthevirtualmachinesswapfile.Formore
information,seeSwapfileLocationCompatibilityonpage 242.
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.
MigrationsbetweenahostrunningESXServer3.5orESXServer3iversion3.5
andahostrunninganearlierversionofESXServer:Migrationsofsuspendedand
poweredoffvirtualmachinesareallowed.Ifthevirtualmachineisconfiguredto
usealocalswapfiledatastore,attemptingtomigrateittoahostthatdoesnot
supportthisconfigurationproducesawarning,butthemigrationcanproceed.
Whenthevirtualmachineispoweredonagain,theswapfileislocatedwiththe
virtualmachine.
SeetheVIClientonlineHelpformoreinformationonconfiguringswapfile
policies.
MigrationswithVMotionarenotallowedunlessthedestinationswapfilelocation
isthesameasthesourceswapfilelocation.Inpractice,thismeansthatvirtual
machineswapfilesmustbelocatedwiththevirtualmachineconfigurationfile.
Ifthemigrationinvolvesmovingtheconfigurationfileorvirtualdisks,thenthe
followingadditionalrestrictionsapply:
ThestartinganddestinationhostsmustberunningESXServer3version3.5or
ESX Server3iversion3.5orlater.
Allofthevirtualmachinefilesanddisksmustresideinasingledirectory,andthe
migrateoperationmustmoveallthevirtualmachinefilesanddiskstoasingle
destinationdirectory.
VirtualCentergeneratesawarning,butdoesnotpreventmigration,whenyouattempt
tomigrateavirtualmachinewithsnapshots.Revertingtoasnapshotaftermigration
withVMotionmightcausethevirtualmachinetocrash,becausethemigrationwizard
cannotverifythecompatibilityofthevirtualmachinestateinthesnapshotwiththe
destinationhost.
1 Selectthevirtualmachineyouwanttomigrate.Thendooneofthefollowing:
RightclickandchooseMigratefromthepopupmenu.
OntheSummarytab,clicktheMigratetoNewHostbutton.
Dragthevirtualmachineontothetargethost,cluster,orresourcepool.
NOTEIfmultiplevirtualmachinesareselectedandthewizardisinvokedthrough
draganddrop,thevirtualmachinesmustallbeinthesamepowerstate.
Otherwise,anerrormessageisdisplayed,andthewizardstops.
2 SelectthedestinationhostorclusterforthevirtualmachineandclickNext.
PossibletargetsincludehostsandDRSclusterswithanylevelofautomation.Ifa
clusterdoesnothaveDRSenabled,selectaspecifichostintheclusterratherthan
selectingtheclusteritself.
AnycompatibilityproblemisdisplayedintheCompatibilitypanel.Fixthe
problem,orselectanotherhostorcluster.
Ifthewizardisinvokedthroughdraganddrop,theSelectDestinationhostor
clusterwindowisskippedifthedraganddroptargetisastandalonehostora
resourcepoolassignedtoastandalonehost.Ifaclusteroraclustersresourcepool
isthedraganddroptarget,theSelectDestinationhostorclusterwindowappears.
3 Selectthedestinationresourcepoolforthevirtualmachinemigrationandclick
Next.
AnycompatibilityproblemisdisplayedintheCompatibilitypanel.Fixthe
problem,orchooseanotherresourcepool.
TheResourcePoolSelectionpagedoesnotappearifavirtualmachinewas
droppedonaresourcepool.
4 Choosewhattodowiththevirtualmachineconfigurationfilesandvirtualdisks:
Ifyouwanttokeepthevirtualmachineconfigurationfilesandvirtualdisksin
theircurrentlocation,selectKeepvirtualmachineconfigurationfilesand
virtualdisksintheircurrentlocationsandclickNext.
Ifyouwanttomovethevirtualmachineconfigurationfilesandvirtualdisks
toanewlocation,selectMovevirtualmachineconfigurationfilesand
virtualdisks,thenselectthedestinationdatastoreandclickNext.
5 Reviewthesummary,andclickFinish.
VirtualCentermovesthevirtualmachinetothenewhost.Eventmessagesappear
intheEventstab.ThedatadisplayedontheSummarytabshowsthestatusand
statethroughoutthemigration.
1 Selectthevirtualmachineyouwanttomigrate.Thendooneofthefollowing:
RightclickandchooseMigratefromthepopupmenu.
OntheSummarytab,clicktheMigratetoNewHostbutton.
Dragthevirtualmachineontothetargethost,cluster,orresourcepool.
NOTEIfmultiplevirtualmachinesareselectedandthewizardisinvokedthrough
draganddrop,thevirtualmachinesmustallbeinthesamepowerstate.
Otherwise,anerrormessageisdisplayed,andthewizardstops.
2 Selectadestinationhostorclusterforthevirtualmachine.
PossibletargetsincludehostsandDRSclusterswithanylevelofautomation.Ifa
clusterdoesnothaveDRSenabled,selectaspecifichostintheclusterratherthan
selectingtheclusteritself.
Ifthewizardisinvokedthroughdraganddrop,theSelectDestinationhostor
clusterwindowisskippedifthedraganddroptargetisastandalonehostora
resourcepoolassignedtoastandalonehost.Ifaclusteroraclustersresourcepool
isthedraganddroptarget,theSelectDestinationhostorclusterwindowappears.
AnycompatibilityproblemisdisplayedintheCompatibilitypanel.Fixthe
problem,orselectanotherhostorcluster.
3 Selectaresourcepool,andclickNext.
AnycompatibilityproblemisdisplayedintheCompatibilitypanel.Fixthe
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.
Ifthevirtualmachineiscompatible,thepaneldisplaysthemessage,Validation
succeeded.Ifthevirtualmachineisnotcompatiblewitheitherthehostsorclusters
configurednetworksordatastores,thecompatibilitywindowcandisplayboth
warningsanderrors:
Warningmessagesdonotdisablemigration.Oftenthemigrationisjustifiedand
youcancontinuewiththemigrationdespitethewarnings.
Errorscandisablemigrationiftherearenoerrorfreedestinationhostsamongthe
selecteddestinationhosts.Inthiscase,theNextbuttonisdisabled.
Error message
Forclusters,thenetworkanddatastoreconfigurationsaretakenintoaccountwhen
checkingcompatibilityissues.Forhosts,theindividualhostsconfigurationisused.
A possibleproblemmightbethatVMotionisnotenabledononeorbothhosts.
Aspecifichostfeatureseffectsoncompatibilityaredependentonwhetherornot
ESX Serverexposesorhidesthemfromvirtualmachines:
Featuresthatareexposedtovirtualmachinesarenotcompatiblewhentheyare
mismatched.
Featuresthatarenotexposedtovirtualmachinesarecompatibleregardlessof
mismatches.
StorageVMotionhasanumberofusesinadministeringvirtualinfrastructure,
includingthefollowing:
UpgradingVMwareInfrastructurewithoutvirtualmachinedowntime.Duringan
upgradefromESXServer2.xtoESXServer3.5,youcanmigraterunningvirtual
machinesfromaVMFS2datastoretoaVMFS3datastore,andupgradetheVMFS2
datastorewithoutanyimpactonvirtualmachines.YoucanthenuseStorage
VMotiontomigratevirtualmachinesbacktotheoriginaldatastorewithoutany
virtualmachinedowntime.
Storagemaintenanceandreconfiguration.YoucanuseStorageVMotiontomove
virtualmachinesoffofastoragedevicetoallowmaintenanceorreconfigurationof
thestoragedevicewithoutvirtualmachinedowntime.
Redistributingstorageload.YoucanuseStorageVMotiontoredistributevirtual
machinesorvirtualdiskstodifferentstoragevolumestobalancecapacityor
improveperformance.
VirtualmachineswithsnapshotscannotbemigratedusingStorageVMotion.
Virtualmachinedisksmustbeinpersistentmodeorberawdevicemaps.
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.
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.
<datacenter> Thedatacenterwhichcontainsthevirtualmachinetobemigrated.
--disks Ifyoudonotspecifythisparameter,allvirtualdisksassociatedwith
avirtualmachinearerelocatedtothesamedatastoreasthevirtual
machineconfigurationfile.Byspecifyingthisparameter,youcan
choosetolocateindividualvirtualdiskstodifferentdatastores.
Ifyouwouldliketokeepavirtualdiskonitscurrentdatastore,use
the--disksoptionforthatdiskwithitscurrentdatastoreasthe
<new datastore>.
1 IntheVIClientinventory,selectthevirtualmachineandclicktheSummarytab.
2 ClickEditSettingstodisplaytheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialogbox.
3 ClicktheOptionstab,andselectGeneralOptions.
ThepathtothevirtualmachineconfigurationfileisdisplayedintheVirtualMachine
ConfigurationFiletextbox.
1 IntheVIClientinventory,selectthevirtualmachinetowhichthevirtualdisk
belongs,andclicktheSummarytab.
2 ClickEditSettingstodisplaytheVirtualMachinePropertiesdialogbox.
3 ClicktheHardwaretab,andselectthevirtualdiskfromthelistofdevices.
ThepathtothevirtualdiskfileisdisplayedintheDiskFiletextbox.
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'
Using Snapshots 16
VMwareVirtualCentersnapshotsallowyoutopreservethestateofthevirtualmachine
soyoucanreturntothesamestaterepeatedly.
Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:
UnderstandingSnapshotsonpage 253
UsingtheSnapshotManageronpage 257
RestoringaSnapshotonpage 259
Understanding Snapshots
Asnapshotcapturestheentirestateofthevirtualmachineatthetimeyoutakethe
snapshot.Thisincludes:
MemorystateThecontentsofthevirtualmachinesmemory.
SettingsstateThevirtualmachinesettings.
DiskstateThestateofallthevirtualmachinesvirtualdisks.
NOTESnapshotsofrawdisks,RDMphysicalmodedisks,andindependentdisksare
notsupported.
Snapshotsoperateonindividualvirtualmachines.Inateamofvirtualmachines,taking
asnapshotpreservesthestateonlyoftheactivevirtualmachine.
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.
Inthelinearprocess,eachsnapshothasoneparentandonechild,exceptforthe
lastsnapshot,whichhasnochildren.
Intheprocesstree,eachsnapshothasoneparent,butonesnapshotmayhave
morethanonechild.Manysnapshotshavenochildren.
Youcanreverttoaparentorachild.
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.
3 (Optional)Typeadescriptionforyoursnapshot.
Descriptionsareusefultoidentifydifferencesbetweensimilarlynamedsnapshots.
DescriptionsappearintheSnapshot Manager.
4 ClickOK.
Aprogresspopupmenuboxappears.Whenthesnapshothasbeensuccessfully
taken,itislistedintheRecentTasksfieldatthebottomofVirtualCenter.
5 Clickthetargetvirtualmachinetodisplaytasksandeventsforthismachineor,
whilethevirtualmachineisstillselected,clicktheTasks&Eventstab.
1 ChooseInventory>VirtualMachine>EditSettings.
2 ClicktheHardwaretab,andselecttheharddiskyouwanttoexclude.
3 UnderMode,selectIndependent.Independentdisksarenotaffectedby
snapshots.
Youhavethefollowingpersistenceoptionsforanindependentdisk:
PersistentChangesareimmediatelyandpermanentlywrittentothedisk.
Allchangestoanindependentdiskinpersistentmoderemain,evenwhenyou
reverttothatsnapshot.
NonpersistentChangestothediskarediscardedwhenyoupoweroffor
reverttothatsnapshot.
4 ClickOK.
TheSnapshotManagerwindowcontainsthefollowingareas:Snapshottree,Details
region,Commandbuttons,Navigationregion,andaYouarehereicon.
SnapshottreeDisplaysallsnapshotsforthevirtualmachine.
YouarehereiconRepresentsthecurrentoperationalstateofthevirtualmachine.
TheYouarehereiconisalwaysselectedandvisiblewhenyouopentheSnapshot
Manager.
TheYouarehereiconrepresentsastatethatisneverasnapshotitselfbutrather
thevirtualmachinestateaftertheparentsnapshot.Asnapshotisalwaysastatic
recordofavirtualmachinestate.TheYouareherestatecanbeoperationaland
changing.Evenwhenyoucreateasnapshotofapoweredofforsuspendedvirtual
machine,theYouareherestateisnotidenticaltothesnapshot.
YoucannotgotoorselecttheYouareherestate.Youareherealwaysrepresents
thecurrentandactivestate.
CommandButtonsTheSnapshotManagerhasthreecommandbuttonsintheleft
pane:Goto,Delete,andDeleteAll.
DetailsDisplaysthenameanddescriptionoftheselectedsnapshot.Thesefields
areblankifyouhavenotselectedasnapshot.
NavigationRegionContainsbuttonsfornavigatingoutofthedialogbox:
CloseClosestheSnapshotManager.
HelpOpensthehelpsystem.
1 ChooseInventory>VirtualMachine>Snapshot>SnapshotManager.
2 IntheSnapshotManager,selectasnapshotbyclickingit.
3 Togotoasnapshot,clicktheGotobuttontorestorethevirtualmachinetoany
arbitrarysnapshot.
TheGotocommandallowsyoutorestorethestateofanysnapshot.
4 ClickYesintheconfirmationdialogbox.
5 Todeleteasnapshot,clicktheDeletebuttontopermanentlyremoveasnapshot
fromVirtualCenteruse.
6 ClickYesintheconfirmationdialogbox.
7 Todeleteallsnapshots,clicktheDeleteAllbuttontopermanentlyremoveall
snapshotsfromVirtualCenteruse.
NOTEDeletecommitsthesnapshotdatatotheparentandthenremovesthe
selectedsnapshot.DeleteAllcommitsalltheimmediatesnapshotsbeforetheYou
areherecurrentstatetothebasediskandremovesallexistingsnapshotsforthat
virtualmachine.
8 ClickYesintheconfirmationdialogbox.
9 ClickClosetoexittheSnapshotManager.
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.
NOTETheparentsnapshotisnotalwaysthesnapshotyoutookmostrecently.For
example,ifyoutakeasnapshottodayandthenGotoasnapshotyoutookyesterday,
thesnapshotyoutooktodayisnolongertheparentofthecurrentstateofthevirtual
machine.Theparentsnapshothasbecomethesnapshotyoutookyesterday.
Thecurrentdiskandmemorystatesarediscardedandrestoredastheywerewhenyou
tookthatsnapshot.Ifyourparentsnapshotwastakenwhenthevirtualmachinewas
poweredoff,choosingSnapshot>ReverttoSnapshotmovesthepoweredonvirtual
machinetothatparentstate,thatis,toapoweredoffstate.
take a
snapshot
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.
take a
snapshot 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,
go to
whose parent snapshot is the
snapshot_a snapshot_b 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).
Therearethreewaystoreverttotheparentsnapshot:
ChooseInventory>VirtualMachine>Snapshot>ReverttoSnapshot.
ClicktheReverttosnapshotbuttononthetoolbar.
Rightclickthevirtualmachine,andchooseSnapshot>ReverttoSnapshot.
NOTEYoumustbeinAdminviewfortheAdmin>Rolesmenuitemtobeenabled.
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.
Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:
AccessElementsonpage 266
AccessRulesonpage 266
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.
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
Ifyouapplypermissions,theyoverrideeachotherdownthehierarchy.Ifpermissions
aredefinedonthesameentity,acoupleofsituationsarepossible:
Ifauserisamemberofmultiplegroupswithdifferentpermissions.Foreach
objectthegrouphaspermissionson,thesamepermissionsapplyasifgrantedto
theuserdirectly.
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.
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.
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.
ThevpxuseruserisaVirtualCenterentitywithrootrightsontheESXServerhost,
allowingittomanageactivitiesforthathost.Thevpxuseriscreatedatthetimethat
anESXServerhostisattachedtoVirtualCenter.ItisnotpresentontheESX Server
hostunlessthehostisbeingmanagedthroughVirtualCenter.
CAUTIONDonotchangevpxuseranddonotchangeitspermissions.Ifyoudoso,you
mightexperienceproblemsworkingwiththeESXServerhostthroughVirtualCenter.
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.
Mostusershavelimitedabilitytomanipulatetheobjectsassociatedwiththehost.
However,ESXServerprovidefullaccessrightsandpermissionsonallvirtualobjects,
suchasdatastores,hosts,virtualmachines,andresourcepools,totwousers:rootand
vpxuser.
Asroot,youcangrantpermissionsonahosttoindividualusersorgroups.Through
VirtualCenter,youcangrantpermissionstoanyuserorgroupincludedinthe
WindowsdomainlistreferencedbyVirtualCenter.
NOTEBydefault,alluserswhoaremembersoftheWindowsAdministrators
groupontheVirtualCenterServeraregrantedthesameaccessrightsasanyuser
assignedtotheAdministratorrole.UserswhoaremembersoftheAdministrators
groupcanloginasindividualsandhavefullaccess.
Themethodyouusetoconfigurepermissionsdirectlyonahostisidenticaltothe
methodyouusetoconfigurepermissionsinVirtualCenter.Thelistofprivilegesisthe
sameforESXServerandVirtualCenter.
NOTEWhenyouconnectdirectlytoanESXServerhostusingtheVIClient,youcannot
setvirtualmachineonlypermissions.Tosetpermissionsonindividualvirtual
machines,connecttothehostthroughVirtualCenterServer.
ThetableinAppendix Aliststheaccesspermissions.
Roles
VirtualCenterandESXServergrantaccesstoobjectsonlytouserswhohavebeen
assignedpermissionsfortheobject.Whenyouassignauserorgrouppermissionsfor
theobject,youdosobypairingtheuserorgroupwitharole.Aroleisapredefinedset
ofprivileges.
VirtualCenterandESXServerhostsprovidedefaultroles:
SystemrolesSystemrolesarepermanentandtheprivilegesassociatedwith
theserolescannotbechanged.
SamplerolesSamplerolesareprovidedforconvenienceasguidelinesand
suggestions.Theserolescanbemodifiedorremoved.
Youcanalsocreatecompletelynewroles.Table 171liststhedefaultrolesthatcanbe
pairedwithauserandassignedtoanobject.
Allrolespermittheusertoscheduletasksbydefault.Userscanscheduleonlytasks
theyhavepermissiontoperformatthetimethetasksarecreated.Usetheroleediting
facilitiesintheVIClienttocreateprivilegesetsthatmatchyouruserneeds.Ifyouuse
theVIClientconnectedtoVirtualCentertomanageyourhosts,youhaveadditional
rolestochoosefromVirtualCenter.TherolesyoucreatedirectlyonanESXServerhost
arenotaccessiblewithinVirtualCenter.Youcanworkwiththeserolesonlyifyoulog
intothehostdirectlyfromtheVIClient.
Activitiesyoucanperformwithrolesaredescribedinthefollowingsections:
CreatingRolesonpage 275
CloningRolesonpage 276
EditingRolesonpage 277
RemovingRolesonpage 277
RenamingRolesonpage 278
NOTEChangestopermissionsandrolesareimplementedimmediately,evenifthe
usersinvolvedareloggedon.
Creating Roles
Someofthedefaultrolesarepreconfiguredandcannotbechanged.Ifyouhave
situationsthatrequireadifferentcombinationofaccessprivileges,createanadditional
roleormodifytheprovidedsamplerolestosuityourneeds.
To create a role
1 LogintotheVIClientconnectedtoeitheraVirtualCenterServeroranESXServer
hostasauserwithAdministratorprivileges.
2 FromtheVIClient,clicktheAdminbuttoninthenavigationbar.ClicktheRoles
tab.
3 RightclickintheRolestabinformationpanel.ChooseAdd.
TheAddRoledialogboxappears.
4 Typeanameforthenewrole.
5 Selecttheprivilegesyouwantthenewroletohave.Clicktheplus(+)signsto
expandthelists,asneeded.ClickOKtocompletetheprocess.
Cloning Roles
Youcanmakeacopyofanexistingrole,renameit,andlatereditit.Whenyoumakea
copy,thenewroleisnotautomaticallyappliedtothesameuserorgroupsandobjects.
To clone a role
1 FromtheVIClient,clicktheAdminbuttoninthenavigationbar.ClicktheRoles
tab.
2 Toselecttheroletoduplicate,clicktheobjectinthelistofRoles.
3 Toclonetheselectedrole,chooseAdministration>Role>Clone.
Aduplicateoftheroleisaddedtothelistofroles.ThenameisCopy of
<rolename>.
Editing Roles
Whenyoueditarole,youhavetheoptiontochangeanyoralloftheprivilegesselected
forthatrole.Whencompleted,thesenewprivilegesareappliedtoanyuserorgroup
assignedtheeditedrole.
1 FromtheVIClient,clicktheAdminbuttoninthenavigationbar.ClicktheRoles
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.
CAUTIONBesurethatyouunderstandhowuserswillbeaffectedbeforeremovingall
assignmentsorreplacingthem.
1 FromtheVIClient,clicktheAdminbuttoninthenavigationbar.ClicktheRoles
tab.
2 Toselecttheroletoremove,clicktheobjectinthelistofroles.
YoucanselectmultiplerolesusingtheCtrlorShiftkeys.
3 ChooseAdministration>Role>Remove.
4 Toconfirmthatyouwanttodeletetheselectedrole,clickOK.
Theroleisremovedfromthelistandisnolongeravailableforassigningtousers
orgroups.
Iftheroleisassignedtoauserorgroup,awarningmessageappears.
5 SelectoneoftheradiobuttonoptionsandclickOK.
Theoptionsare:
RemoveRoleAssignmentsThisoptionremovesanyconfigureduseror
group+rolepairingsontheserver.Ifauserorgroupdoesnothaveanyother
permissionsassigned,theyloseallprivileges.
ReassignaffecteduserstoThisoptionreassignsanyconfigureduseror
group+rolepairingstotheselectednewrole.
Renaming Roles
Roles,likemostotherVMwareInfrastructureobjects,canberenamed.
1 FromtheVIClient,clicktheAdminbuttoninthenavigationbar.ClicktheRoles
tab.
2 Toselecttheroletorename,clicktheobjectinthelistofroles.
3 ChooseAdministration>Role>Rename.
4 Typethenewname.PressEnterorclickanotherobject.
Access Permissions
ForeachobjectintheVMwareInfrastructurehierarchy,determinethepermissionsfor
eachVirtualCenteruserandgroup.
NOTESeveraluserscanaccesstheVirtualCenterServerfromdifferentVMware
InfrastructureClientsessionsatthesametime.VMwareInfrastructuredoesnot
explicitlyrestrictuserswiththesameauthenticationcredentialsfromaccessingand
takingactionwithintheVMwareInfrastructureenvironment.
IfyouremoveusersfromanESXServerhost,seetheSecuritychapterintheESXServer3
ConfigurationGuideorESXServer3iConfigurationGuideforprocessandconsequences.
IfyouremoveusersfromtheVirtualCenterdomain,theylosepermissionstoallobjects
intheVMwareInfrastructureandwillnotbeabletologinagain.Userswhoare
currentlyloggedonandareremovedfromthedomainretaintheirVMware
Infrastructurepermissionsonlyuntilthenextvalidationperiod(thedefaultisevery
24 hours).Removingagroupdoesnotaffectthepermissionsgrantedindividuallyto
theusersinthatgroup,orthosegrantedaspartofinclusioninanothergroup.
Ifyouchangeausersnameinthedomain,theexistingusernamebecomesinvalidin
theVMwareInfrastructuresystem.Thesamemethodologyappliestogroups,butthis
appliestoagrouponlyafterVirtualCenterServerhasbeenrestarted.
1 LogintotheVIClientasauserwiththeAdministratorprivileges.
2 FromtheVIClient,clicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar.Expandthe
inventoryasneeded,andclicktheappropriateobject.
Theobjectsthatcanhavepermissionsassignedtothemare:
InVirtualCenterFolders,datacenters,clusters,resourcepools,hosts
InESXServerResourcepools,thehost,virtualmachines
3 Withtheappropriateobjectselected,clickthePermissionstab.
4 RightclickinthePermissionstabandchooseAddPermission.
5 ChoosearolefromtheAssignedRoledropdownmenu.
Thismenudisplaysalltherolesthathavebeenassignedtothathost.Whentherole
isdisplayed,theprivilegesgrantedontherolearelistedinthesectionbelowthe
roletitleforreferencepurposes.
6 (Optional)SelectthePropagatetoChildObjectscheckbox.
Ifthischeckboxisselected,theroleisalsoappliedtoallchildobjectsoftheselected
inventoryobject.Mostofthetimeselectingthisboxisappropriate.
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.
NOTEThisprocedureappliesonlytoVirtualCenteruserlists.ESXServeruserlists
cannotbesearchedinthesameway.
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.
NOTEPermissionsarealwaysvalidatedwhentheserverstarts.Evenifthe
serverisdisabled.
4 ClickOK.
1 FromtheVIClient,clicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar.Expandthe
inventoryasneeded,andclicktheappropriateobject.
2 Withtheobjectselected,clickthePermissionstab.
3 Toselecttheuserorgroup+rolepairthatyouwanttochange,clicktheappropriate
lineitem.
4 ChooseInventory>Permissions>Properties.
5 Toselecttheappropriaterolefortheuserorgroup,choosefromthedropdown
menu.ClickOK.
6 Topropagatetheprivilegestothechildrenoftheassignedinventoryobject,click
thePropagatecheckbox.
1 FromtheVIClient,clicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar.Expandthe
inventoryasneeded,andclicktheappropriateobject.
2 Withtheobjectselected,clickthePermissionstab.
3 Toselecttheuserorgroup+rolepairthatyouwanttodelete,clicktheappropriate
lineitem.
4 ChooseInventory>Permissions>Delete.
TheVMwareInfrastructureserverremovesthepermissionsetting.
NOTEThereisnoadditionalwarningthatthepermissionisgoingtoberemoved.
Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:
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.
Table 181belowliststhedefaultintervaldurationandcollectionfrequencyvaluefor
eachinterval.
Eachcollectionintervalalsohasadefaultcollectionlevelthatdetermineshowmany
countersareusedwhencollectingstatisticsdata.Countersestablishwhichmetricsare
retrievedandrecordedinthedatabase.Youcanassignacollectionlevelof14toeach
collectioninterval,withlevel4havingthelargestnumberofcounters.Bydefault,all
collectionintervalsusecollectionlevel1.
NOTEThecollectionlevelforanintervalcannotbegreaterthanthecollectionlevelset
fortheprecedingcollectioninterval.Forexample,iftheMonthintervalissetto
collectionlevel3,theYearintervalcanbesettocollectionlevel1,2,or3,butnotto
collectionlevel4.
NOTEThecollectionlevelvalueforacollectionintervalmustbelessthanorequalto
thecollectionlevelsetfortheproceedingcollectioninterval.ThisisaVirtualCenter
dependency.
Toidentifyvirtualmachinesthatcanbecolocatedbecauseofcomplimentary
memorysharing.
Todetecttheamountofactivememoryonahosttodeterminewhetheritcan
handleadditionalvirtualmachines.
Reasonstousecollectionlevel3:
TocomparereadyandwaittimesofvirtualCPUstodeterminetheeffectivenessof
VSMP.
Todiagnoseproblemswithdevices,orcompareperformanceamongmultiple
devices.
Reasonstousecollectionlevel4:
Todeterminewhetheradeviceisbeingsaturated.
Totroubleshooterrors.
Whenyouusecollectionlevel3or4todiagnoseproblems,resetthecollectionlevel
toitspreviousstateassoonaspossible.
Whenyouusecollectionlevel4,trytolimitthecollectionperiodtotheDay
intervalsothedatabaseisntimpacted.Ifyouneedtosavethedataforlongerthan
1day,increasetheDayintervaldurationto2or3ratherthanusetheWeek
interval.Forexample,ifyouneedtorecorddataovertheweekend,settheinterval
to3days.Asarule,increasethecollectionintervaltotheWeekintervalonlywhen
youneedtheintervaldurationtobemorethan3days.
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.
Youcontrolhowlongstatisticaldataisstoredinthedatabasebyenablingordisabling
acollectioninterval.Whenyoudisableacollectioninterval,allsubsequentintervalsare
automaticallydisabled.Forexample,whenyoudisabletheWeekinterval,theMonth
andYearintervalsarealsodisabled.DataispurgedattheendoftheDayintervalcycle
sincenorollupscanoccur.Oldestdataispurgedfirst.
NOTEYoumustmanuallyenableeachcollectionintervaltouseitagain;subsequent
collectionintervalsarenotenabledautomatically.Also,youcanonlyenableacollection
intervalifallpreviouscollectionintervalsareenabled.Forexample,toenablethe
Monthinterval,theDayandWeekintervalsmustbeenabled.
(SEEUPDATE)Bydefault,statisticsarestoredintheVirtualCenterdatabasefor1year;
however,youcanincreasethisto3years.VMwaresuggestsyouarchiveyourstatistical
dataoutsideoftheVirtualCenterdatabasetosaveitforlongerthan3years.
Changingtheintervallengthorcollectionfrequency.
Changingthecollectionlevel.
Enablingordisablingacollectioninterval.
Toensureyourdatabasecanhandlethestatisticscollectionyouconfigure,VIClient
providesyouwithadatabaseestimationcalculatorinwhichyouenterthenumberof
hostsandvirtualmachinesinyourinventory.Thecalculatorusesthesenumbersto
determinehowmuchdatabasespaceisrequiredforthecollectioninterval
configurationyoudefined.Thisensuresyouhavenecessaryresources.
Forinformationonhowtousethedatabaseestimationcalculator,seeToestimatethe
statisticsimpactonthedatabaseonpage 293.
1 InVIClient,chooseAdministration>VirtualCenterManagementServer
ConfigurationtoopentheVirtualCenterManagementServerConfiguration
dialogbox.
2 SelectStatisticsinthenavigationpanel.
3 Ifnecessary,selectthecollectionintervalcheckboxtoenableordisableit.
4 Selecttherowcontainingthecollectioninterval.
5 ClickEdit.TheEditCollectionIntervaldialogboxopens.
6 Changethefollowingattributevalueswhereappropriate:
CollectionFrequency
Keepsamplesfor
CollectionLevel
NOTETokeepdatasamplesformorethan3years,archiveitoutsideofthe
VirtualCenterdatabase.
Foralistofcollectionintervalattributesthatareconfigurable,SeeTable 182,
StatisticCollectionLevels,onpage 287.
Foradescriptionofcollectionfrequencyandduration,seeAboutCollection
IntervalsandCollectionLevelsonpage 286.
7 ClickOK.
9 Validatethenewconfigurationbyusingthedatabaseestimationcalculator.
EnterthenumberofPhysicalHostsinyourinventory.
EnterthenumberofVirtualMachinesinyourinventory.
1 IntheVirtualCenterManagementServerConfigurationdialogbox,select
Statistics.
2 Dooneofthefollowing:
Toenableacollectioninterval,selectitscheckboxunderIntervalDuration.
Todisableacollectioninterval,deselectitscheckboxunderInterval
Duration.
NOTEWhenyoudisableacollectioninterval,allsubsequentintervalsare
automaticallydisabled.
3 (Optional)Validatethechangebyusingthedatabaseestimationcalculator.
EnterthenumberofPhysicalHostsinyourinventory.
EnterthenumberofVirtualMachinesinyourinventory.
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.
NOTEFullchartfunctionalityisavailabletoVIClientsessionsonlywhentheyare
connectedto,andwhenthemonitoreditemsaremanagedby,VirtualCenter.VIClients
connecteddirectlytoESXServerhostsonlydisplayrealtimestatisticsand5minute
statisticsfor1day.
Viewing Charts
Severalchartviewsarepreconfiguredforyou.Achartviewisacollectionofsettingsthat
definewhatdatathechartdisplays.Settingsforpreconfiguredviewscanbe
customized,orentirelynewviewscanbecreated.Chartsdisplaydataaslinegraphsor
stackedgraphs.Stackedgraphsarelimitedtodisplayingdataonasinglemetric,but
canplotthedataonthatmetricformultipleinventoryobjects.
1 Selectahost,cluster,resourcepool,orvirtualmachineintheinventorypanel.
2 SelectthePerformancetab.
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.
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.
To customize charts
1 InthePerformancetab,clickChangeChartOptions.TheCustomizePerformance
Chartdialogboxisdisplayed.
2 IntheChartOptionsarea,selectametricandatimerangetoaccessthesettingsfor
thatchart,orselectCustomtocreateanentirelynewchartwithatimerangeyou
specify.
3 AdjustthesettingstoyourlikingandclickApply.Seetheperformancechart
measurementtablesinAppendix Cfordetailedinformationaboutsettingoptions.
NOTEConsiderthefollowingwhencreatingastackedgraphchart:
AnynumberofitemsintheObjectsareacanbeselected.However,onlyone
itemintheCounterareacanbeselected.Astackedgraphcannotchartmore
thanonemeasurementoverasetofobjects.
Pervirtualmachinestackedgraphsareavailableonlyforhosts.Thehostand
allvirtualmachinesonitareavailableforselectionintheObjectsarea.
Somemetricsarenotapplicabletovirtualmachinestackedcharts.These
metricsarenotincludedinthelistofselectablemeasurements.
1 IntheCustomizePerformanceChartdialogbox,clickSaveChartSettings.
The SaveSelectiondialogboxisdisplayed.
2 SelectachartandclickOK.YoursettingsaresavedandaddedtotheSwitchto
menu,andtheSaveSelectiondialogboxisclosed.
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.
DatastorecompatibilityHostmustbeconnectedtoallthesamedatastoresasthe
virtualmachine.
NetworkcompatibilityHostmustbeconnectedtoallthesamenetworksasthe
virtualmachine.
SoftwarecompatibilityHostmusthavecompatiblesoftwarewiththevirtual
machine.
CPUcompatibilityHostCPUmustbecompatiblewiththevirtualmachine.
NOTETheVMotionmapisnotaconclusivestatementastowhetherVMotionis
possiblebetweenthevirtualmachineandhostsidentifiedaspossiblemigrationtargets.
However,itdoesprovideinformationastowhetherVMotionmightbepossible,andif
not,whatanadministratormightdotoremedythesituation.
Attribute Description
Hosticon.
AhostthatiscompatibleforVMotionmigration.Thecolorofthe
circlevariesinintensitybasedontheloadofthecurrenthost.Heavily
usedhostsarepale;lowloadhostsaresaturatedgreen.
AhostthatisnotcompatibleforVMotionmigration.
Virtualmachineicon.
Networkicon.
Datastoreicon.
Overviewsection Thumbnailgraphicofthefullscalemap.
MapRelationships Displayedwhenmorethanonemapviewisavailable.
section
Refreshlink Mapsdonotautorefresh.ClickRefreshtosynchronizeyourmap
withthecurrentstateoftheinventoryandtocenterthemapview.
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.
Printing Maps
YoucanprintmapsbyselectingFile>PrintMaps>Print,orbyclickingthePrintbutton
(globalmaps).
Exporting Maps
Youcanexportmapstoimagefiles(BPM,JPEG,orEMF)byselectingFile>Export>
ExportMaps,orbyclickingtheExportbutton(globalmaps).
ManagingTasksonpage 301
ManagingEventsonpage 311
ManagingAlarmsonpage 316
Managing Tasks
ThissectiondescribeshowtoviewandscheduleVirtualCentertasks.Tasksareplanned
activities.Theseactivitiesarescheduledorinitiatedmanually.Tasksgenerateevent
messagesthatindicateanyissuesassociatedwiththetask.Therearetwokindsoftasks:
Anunscheduledtask,whichcanresultfromperforminganoperationthatmight
takeawhile,likeaddingahost.
Ascheduledtask,whichyousetuptoinitiateatafuturetime.
NOTETheviewsandcapabilitiesdisplayedvarydependingonwhetherthe
VI ClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServeroranESXServer.Unlessindicated,
theprocess,task,ordescriptionappliestobothkindsofVIClientconnections.The
TasksoptionisnotavailablewhentheVIClientisconnectedtoanESXServer,but
itdoesoffertherecenttaskswindowatthebottomoftheVIClientwindow.
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.
TasksarenottrackedorscheduledonyourESXServerhostunlesstheESXServeris
registeredandconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer.
FromtheVIClientconnectedtoanESXServeroraVirtualCenterServer,clicktheTasks
togglebuttononthelowerleftsideoftheVIClientwindow.
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoanESXServer,clicktheInventorybuttoninthe
navigationbar.Expandtheinventoryasneeded,andclicktheobjectwherethe
actionistobeperformed.
2 Choosetheactivityfromthemainorpopupmenuassociatedwiththeobject.
Forexample,selectavirtualmachine,rightclick,andchoosethePowerOnoption.
AddthehosttotheVirtualCenterinventory.
SeeAddingaHostonpage 129formoreinformation.
ToscheduleataskonaVirtualCenterServer,seeManagingScheduledTaskson
page 305.
1 FromtheVIClient,clicktheInventory,andclicktherootfolder.
2 ClicktheTask&Eventstab.ClicktheTasksbuttonontheTasks&Eventspanel.
3 Clickataskinthepanel.
DetailedinformationappearsintheTaskDetailspane.
1 FromtheVIClient,displaytheinventorypanel,selecttheappropriateobjectand
viewtheTasks&Eventspanel.
2 Clickthecolumntitle.Ittogglesbetweenascendinganddescendingsort.
1 FromtheVIClient,expandtheinventoryasneeded,andclicktheappropriate
object.
2 ClicktheTask&Eventstab.ClicktheTasksbuttonontheTasks&Eventspanel.
3 ChooseView>Filtering,ifneeded.
4 Clickthelistarrow,andclickthecolumntoincludeinthefiltersearch.
5 Typeakeywordintothebox,andpressEnter.
Thelistoftasksdisplaysonlythoseitemsthatcontainthekeywordyoutyped.
Changethepowerstateofavirtualmachine(seeChangingVirtualMachine
PowerStatesonpage 169)
Createavirtualmachinetemplate(seeCreatingTemplatesonpage 204)
MoveavirtualmachinewithVMotion(seeMigrationwithVMotionon
page 233)
Createavirtualmachine(seeUsingtheNewVirtualMachineWizardon
page 144)
Takeasnapshotofavirtualmachine(seeUnderstandingSnapshotsonpage 253)
Customizeavirtualmachine(seePreparingforGuestCustomizationon
page 216)
Addahost(seeAddingaHostonpage 129)
NOTEAnyoperationcanbesetasascheduledtaskthroughtheVMware
InfrastructureAPI.However,onlyasubsetofalloperationscanbepartofa
scheduledtaskthroughtheVIClient.
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.
NOTEOnlyonetimingschedulecanbesetpertask.Tosetmorethanone
frequencytype,setupadditionaltasks.
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.
6 Tocompletethewizard,clickFinish.
VirtualCenteraddsthetasktothelistintheScheduledTaskstab.
NOTETheVIClientconvertstolocaltimewhenitandtheVirtualCenterServerare
locatedindifferenttimezones.Forexample,assumetheVirtualCenterServerislocated
inEasternStandardTime(EST),andtheVIClientislocatedinPacificStandardTime
(PST),threehoursbehindEST.Assumeauserschedulesatasktorunatnoon,Monday
PST.BeforetheVIClientsendsthetasktotheVirtualCenterServer,itconvertsthe
executiontimetoMonday,3pmEST.Auserinyetadifferenttimezonewillseethetask
scheduledforwhateverMonday,3pmESTequatestointheirlocaltime.
1 ClickScheduledTasksinthenavigationbar.
2 RightclickonataskandselectProperties.
Thewizardassociatedwiththetaskisdisplayed.
3 Edittaskpropertiesthroughthewizard.
NOTERemovingataskdiffersfromcancelingatask.Cancelingataskstopsatask
currentlyoccurring,whetherstartedmanuallyorschedule.Removingataskremoves
futureoccurrencesofascheduledtask.
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,clicktheScheduledTasks
optioninthenavigationbar.
Thelistofscheduledtasksappears.
2 Selecttheappropriatetaskfromthelist.ChooseInventory>ScheduledTask>
Remove.
VirtualCenterremovesthetaskfromthescheduledtasklist.
3 Toverifythatyouwanttoremovethetask,clickOK.
Thetaskisdeletedfromthelistoftasks.
Canceling a Task
Onlytasksthatareinprocesscanbecanceled.Andonlyselected(scheduledor
manuallyinitiated)taskscanbecanceledwhileinprocess.Cancelingataskwhileitis
runningrequiresthatyouhavetheappropriatepermissionsassignedtothehostwhere
thetaskisoccurring.
NOTEThecancelingoperationisnotallowedifoneorbothofthehostsinvolvedisan
ESXServerversion2.0.1.
Cancelingataskdiffersfromremovingatask.Cancelingataskstopsataskcurrently
occurring,whetherstartedmanuallyorscheduled.Removingataskremovesfuture
occurrencesofascheduledtask.
Thetasksthatcanbecanceledaftertheystartare:
Connectingtoahost
Cloningavirtualmachine
Migratingavirtualmachine
Deployingatemplate
Creatingatemplatefromavirtualmachine
Cloningatemplate
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,viewtheRecentTasks
panel.
2 IftheRecentTaskspanelisnotcurrentlydisplayed,clickTasksatthelowerleft
corneroftheVIClientwindow.
3 Selecttheappropriatetaskfromthelist.
4 Rightclickthetask,andchooseCancel.
Notalltaskscanbecancelled.Ifthecanceloptionisunavailable,theselectedtask
cannotbecancelled.
VirtualCenterstopsprogressonthetask,returnstheobjectstotheirprevious
states,anddisplaysthetaskascanceled.
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
NOTEWhenconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,Eventsarecombinedwiththe
Tasks tab.
Figure 19-1. VI Client Connected to ESX Server > Inventory > Virtual Machine >
Events Tab
FromtheInventorypanel,clicktheEventstab.Clickanevent.
TheEventDetailsfielddisplaysadditionalinformationabouttheevent:
EventsaremessagesthatreportVMwareInfrastructureClientactivity.Event
messagesarepredefinedintheproduct.
Logsarestoredreferenceinformationrelatedtoselectedeventmessages.Logsare
predefinedintheproduct.Youcanconfigurewhetherselectedlogsaregenerated
ornot.
NOTETheviewsandcapabilitiesdisplayedvarydependingonwhethertheVI
ClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServeroranESXServer.Unlessindicated,
theprocess,task,ordescriptionappliestobothkindsofconnections.
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoeitheraVirtualCenterServeroranESXServer,
clicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar.Expandtheinventoryasneeded.
2 Intheinventorypanel,selectafolder,cluster,resourcepool,host,orvirtual
machine,asappropriate.
Ifyouselectahost,theeventmessagesforallthevirtualmachinesonthathostare
includedintheEventslog.
3 ClicktheEventstab.
4 Clicktheevent.
AfulltextmessagewithlinkstorelatedobjectsappearsintheEventDetailsbox.
5 ClickanyofthebluehighlighteditemsintheEventsDetailsbox.
Theviewchangestodisplaytheselectedlinkedobject.
To sort a list
Clickthecolumnheadingtoresortthelistbytheentriesinthatcolumn.Thecurrent
selectiondoesnotchange.
Clickthecolumnheadingtotogglebetweenascendinganddescendingorder.
Clickanindividualitem.UseShiftclicktochoosemultipleitemsintheEventspanel.
Rightclickanycolumnhead,andchoosefromthelistofdatafieldstobedisplayed.
1 ChooseView>Filteringtoseethefilteringoptions.
2 Entertextintothedatafield.ClickCleartoemptythedatafield.
Entriesinmultiplecolumnsthatmatchthesearchtermaredisplayed.Inthe
example,thesearchwordpowerisfoundinboththeDescriptionandtheTask
columnentries.
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.
6 Specifythenumberofeventstoexport,eitheralloraspecificnumber.
7 ClickOKtocreateafileoftheselecteddata.
VirtualCentercreatesafileoftheselecteddatabasedonthefileextensionprovidedand
storesthefileatthespecifiedlocation.Ifnofileextensionisprovided,thedefaultisa
textfile.ThefilecontainsType,Time,andDescription.
Managing Alarms
Alarmsarespecificnotificationsthatoccurinresponsetoselectedevents.Somealarms
aredefinedbyproductdefault.Additionalalarmscanbecreatedandappliedto
selectedinventoryobjectsorallinventoryobjects.
NOTETheviewsandcapabilitiesdisplayedvarydependingonwhethertheVIClient
isconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServeroranESXServer.TheAlarmsoptionisnot
availablewhentheVIClientisconnectedtoanESXServer.
Thissectioncontainsthefollowingtopics:
UnderstandingAlarmsonpage 317
PreparingforEmailMessageSMTPAlarmNotificationonpage 319
PreparingforSNMPAlarmNotificationonpage 320
CreatingAlarmsonpage 321
EditingAlarmsonpage 326
RemovingAlarmsonpage 327
TheAlarmstabintheinventorypaneldisplaysthelistofalarmsfortheselectedobject
thatareactivatedupondesignatedevents.Alarmscanapplytohostsandvirtual
machines,andcanbedefinedinparententitiessuchasfoldersorresourcepools.
NOTEAlarmsareconfigurableonlythroughtheVirtualCenterServer.ESXServer
hostsconnectedtoaVIClientdirectlydonothavethealarmsfunctionality.Togetthe
alarmfeatures,havetheVirtualCenterServermanagetheESXServer.
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.
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.
Runascript
Theuserscriptcommandanditsargumentsmustbeformattedintoonestring.
TheuserscriptisrunningasseparateprocessanddoesnotblocktheVirtualCenter
Serverprocesses.Butthescriptdoesrunandconsumetheresourcesonthe
VirtualCenterServermachine,suchasprocessorandmemory.
Suspendthevirtualmachine
Poweroffthevirtualmachine
Resetthevirtualmachine
Theactionsavailablewithalarmsaredescribedinthefollowingsections:
PreparingforEmailMessageSMTPAlarmNotificationonpage 319
PreparingforSNMPAlarmNotificationonpage 320
CreatingAlarmsonpage 321
EditingAlarmsonpage 326
RemovingAlarmsonpage 327
DefinetheSMTPandemailmessageaddressinginformation.
Specifytheemailmessageaddressforthoseintendedtoreceivethenotification
whenyoucreatethealarm.
1 FromtheVIClient,chooseAdministration>VirtualCenterManagementServer
Configuration.
2 ClickMailinthenavigationlist.
3 Foremailmessagenotification,settheSMTPserverandSMTPport:
SMTPServerTheDNSnameorIPaddressoftheSMTPgatewaytousefor
sendingemailmessages.
SenderAccountTheemailaddressofthesender,forexample,mail_server
datacenter.com.(SEEUPDATE)
4 ClickOK.
TheVirtualCenterServerhost.
TheSNMPreceiverservertoacceptthetrapsfromVirtualCenter.
Whenyoucreateanalarm,onlyonetrapistriggeredandsent.Thealarmparameters
include:
TypeThestateVirtualCenterismonitoringforthealarm.OptionsincludeHost
Processor(orCPU)usage,HostMemoryusage,HostState,VirtualMachine
Processor(orCPU)usage,VirtualMachineMemoryusage,VirtualMachineState,
VirtualMachineHeartbeat.
NameThenameofthehostorvirtualmachinethattriggersthealarm.
OldStatusThealarmstatusbeforethealarmwastriggered.
NewStatusThealarmstatuswhenthealarmistriggered.
ObjectValueTheobjectvaluewhenthealarmistriggered.
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.
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.
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.
NOTEAlarmsformetrictriggersaretriggeredonlywhenthespecifiedmetric
meetsthetriggerconditionforfiveminutes.Thispreventsalarmsfrom
triggeringduetotransientspikesinthemonitoredmetric.
TheoptionsforstatetriggersareIs(state)andIsNot(state).
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.
8 Specifythereportingfrequencywhenthealarmistriggered.Enteravaluefor
ToleranceandoneforFrequency.
9 Specifytheactiontobetakenwhenthealarmistriggered.
10 ClicktheActionstab.ClicktheAddbutton.Clicktheappropriatecheckbox.
Therearefourdifferentlevelchanges:greentoyellow,yellowtored,redtoyellow,
andyellowtogreen.Attachanactionforeachchangefromoneleveltoanother.
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
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.
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,clicktheInventorybutton
inthenavigationbar.Expandtheinventoryasneeded,clicktheAlarmstab,and
clicktheDefinitionsbutton.
2 Ifthealarmyouwanttochangeisnotdefinedatthecurrentlocation,clickthe
linkedobjectintheDefinedincolumn.
VirtualCenterdisplaystheAlarmspanelfortheobjectwherethealarmwasdefined.
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
1 FromtheVIClientconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,clicktheInventorybutton
inthenavigationbar.Expandtheinventoryasneeded,clicktheAlarmstab,and
clicktheDefinitionsbutton.
2 Ifthealarmyouwanttochangeisnotdefinedatthecurrentlocation,clickthe
linkedobjectintheDefinedincolumn.VirtualCenterdisplaystheAlarmspanel
fortheobjectwherethealarmwasdefined.
3 Toremovethealarm,selectthealarm,andchooseInventory>Alarm>Remove.
Aconfirmationpopupwindowappears.
4 ClickYes.
Thealarmisremoved.
Defined Privileges 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.
Thisappendixcontainsthefollowingtopics:
Alarmsonpage 332
Datacenteronpage 333
Datastoreonpage 333
Extensionsonpage 334
Foldersonpage 334
Globalonpage 335
HostCIMonpage 337
HostConfigurationonpage 337
HostInventoryonpage 339
HostLocalOperationsonpage 341
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 Pair with Effective
Name Description Used Object on Object
Datacenter
Table A-2. Datacenter Privileges
Privilege Pair with Effective on
Name Description Affects Object Object
Datastore
Table A-3. Datastore Privileges
Privilege Pair with Effective on
Name Description Affects Object Object
Extensions
Table A-4. Extension Privileges
Privilege Pair with Effective on
Name Description Affects Object Object
Folders
Table A-5. Folder Privileges
Privilege Pair with Effective on
Name Description Affects Object Object
Global
Table A-6. Global Privileges
Privilege Pair with Effective on
Name Description Affects Object Object
Host CIM
Table A-7. Host CIM Privileges
Privilege Pair with Effective on
Name Description Affects Object Object
Host Configuration
Table A-8. Host Configuration Privileges
Privilege Pair with Effective on
Name Description Affects Object Object
Host Inventory
Table A-9. Host Inventory Privileges
Privilege Pair with Effective on
Name Description Affects Object Object
Network
Table A-11. Network Privileges
Privilege Pair with Effective on
Name Description Affects Object Object
Performance
Table A-12. Alarm Management Privileges
Privilege Pair with Effective
Name Description Affects Object on Object
Permissions
Table A-13. Permissions Privileges
Privilege Pair with Effective
Name Description Used Object on Object
Resource
Table A-14. Resource Privileges
Privilege Pair with Effective on
Name Description Affects Object Object
Scheduled Task
Table A-15. Scheduled Task Privileges
Privilege Pair with Effective on
Name Description Affects Object Object
Sessions
Table A-16. Session Privileges
Privilege Pair with Effective on
Name Description Affects Object Object
Tasks
Table A-17. Tasks Privileges
Privilege Pair with Effective on
Name Description Affects Object Object
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.
NOTESyspreptoolsarebuiltintotheWindowsVistaoperatingsystem.
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\
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.
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\
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.
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).
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
Virtual Machine
Table C-1. CPU Performance Metrics for Virtual Machines
Available in
Collection
Counter Level VC/ESX Description
Host
Table C-2. CPU Performance Metrics for Hosts
Available in
Collection
Counter Level VC/ESX Description
Resource Pool
Table C-3. CPU Performance Metrics for Resource Pools
Available in
Collection
Counter Level VC/ESX Description
Cluster
Table C-4. CPU Performance Metrics for Clusters
Available in
Collection
Counter Level VC/ESX Description
Disk
Thetableinthissectionlistsmetricsformeasuringdiskperformance.
All measurementsareinkilobytesunlessotherwisenoted.Diskperformancechartsare
availableforhostsandvirtualmachines;chartoptionsareidenticalforboth.
Table C-5. Disk Performance Metrics for Host and Virtual Machines (Continued)
Available in
Collection
Counter Level VC/ESX Description
Memory
Thetablesinthissectionlistmetricsformeasuringmemoryperformance.Memory
performancechartsareavailableforthefollowinginventoryobjects:
VirtualMachine
Host
ResourcePool
Cluster
Virtual Machine
Table C-6. Memory Performance Metrics for Virtual Machines
Available in
Collection
Counter Level VC/ESX Description
MemorySwap 2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofmemoryswappedin.
In Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Host
Table C-7. Memory Performance Metrics for Hosts
Available in
Collection
Counter Level VC/ESX Description
MemoryState 2 Yes/Yes Calculatesthememorystate.
Rollup:Latest
StatsType:Absolute
Resource Pool
Table C-8. Memory Performance Metrics for Resouce Pools
Available in
Collection
Counter Level VC/ESX Description
MemoryUsage 1(4) Yes/No Calculatesamountofmemoryusedasa
(SEEUPDATE) percentageoftotalconfigured,ortotal
availablememory.
Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Memory 2(4) Yes/Yes Calculatesamountofmemorygranted.
Granted Rollup:Average
StatsType:Absolute
Cluster
Table C-9. Memory Performance Metrics for Clusters
Available in
Collection
Counter Level VC/ESX Description
Cluster Services
Thetableinthissectionlistsmetricsformeasuringtheperformanceofclusterservices
suchasDRSandHA.Clusterservicesperformancechartsareavailableonlyfor
clusters.
Cluster
Table C-10. Cluster Services Metrics for Clusters
Available in
Collection
Counter Level VC/ESX Description
Network
Thetableinthissectionlistsmetricsformeasuringnetworkperformance.Network
performancechartsareavailableforvirtualmachinesandhosts;chartoptionsare
identicalforboth.
Table C-11. Network Metrics for Hosts and Virtual Machines (Continued)
Available in
Collection
Counter Level VC/ESX Description
System
Thetableinthissectionlistsmetricsformeasuringsystemperformance.System
performancechartsareavailableforvirtualmachinesandhosts.
Heartbeat 1 Numberofheartbeatsincollectionperiod.
Rollup:Summation
Yes/Yes StatsType:Delta
Symbols B
176, 285 baselines, security 26
boot settings 189
A BusLogic 150
access
inventory objects 266 C
permissions 278 charts
privileges 331 best practices for setting collection
rules 266 levels 287
to VirtualCenter through Web 78 customize 295
Active Directory 118 export 295
VirtualCenter settings 75 performance 293
active sessions 81 clone
send messages 82 save guest operating system
adapters customization 228
Ethernet 180, 199 templates 204
SCSI 150 virtual machines 210
alarms 29 clusters 27
about 316 remove hosts 133
define rules for 321 shared storage 234
edit 326 collection
email notification of 316 best practices 287
privileges 332 levels and intervals 285
remove 327 command-line interface
scripts 319 remote 42
SNMP traps 318 commands
tab 54 ESX Server 74
annotations 61 service console 42
appliances 139 components
ATAPI 150 datastore 23
ESX Server 21
host agent 23
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
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
ThecurrentversionofVirtualCenterdoesnotuseVmdbHttpProxy.dllfor
communicationbetweentheVIClientandtheVirtualCenterServer.
InVirtualCenterServer2.5andlater,theVirtualCenterServeractsasaWebservice.If
yourenvironmentrequirestheuseofaWebproxy,VirtualCenterServercanbeusedas
aproxyserverlikeanyotherWebservice.
TheVIClientusesports80and443tocommunicatewithVirtualCenterServerand
ESX/ESXihosts.Theseportscannotbechanged.Configureyourfirewalltoallow
communicationbetweentheVIClientandVirtualCenterServerusingtheports80
and 443.
VMwareMIBfilesdefinetheinformationprovidedbyESX/ESXihostsandvCenter
ServertoSNMPmanagementsoftware.YoucandownloadtheseMIBfilesfromthe
VMwareWebsite.
ReferKB1013758formoreinformationonusingSNMPwithVirtualCenter2.5and
ESX 3.5.
Table 51liststheMIBfilesprovidedbyVMwareanddescribestheinformationthat
eachfileprovides.
1 CopythefollowingMIBfilestothelocationrequiredbyyourmanagement
software:
VMWARE-VC-EVENT-MIB
VMWARE-OBSOLETE-MIB
TheseMIBfilesarerequiredtointerpretVirtualCenterServerTraps.
YoucandownloadtheseSNMPMIBfilesfromtheVMwareWebsite.Refer
KB 1013445formoredetailsondownloadingtheMIBfiles.
TheESXServer3NetSNMPbasedagentcanbeusedwithanymanagementsoftware
thatcanloadandcompileamanagementinformationbase(MIB)inSMIv2formatand
canunderstandSNMPv2trapmessages.
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:
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
NOTELockdownMode,whichisavailableonlyinESXiEmbedded,isnotavailablein
ESXinstallations.LockdownModedisablesremoteaccessfortheadministratorafter
VirtualCenterServertakescontroloftheESXihost.Formoredetails,referthesection
ESXServer3iLockdownModeinESXServer3iConfigurationGuide.
NOTEDuringVMwareToolsinstallation,aLinuxguestoperatingsystemmight
displayamessageindicatingthatthepackagehasnotbeensigned.Ifthismessage
appears,clickInstallAnywaytocontinuetheinstallation.
NOTEDuringVMwareToolsinstallation,aLinuxguestoperatingsystemmight
displayamessageindicatingthatthepackagehasnotbeensigned.Ifthismessage
appears,clickInstallAnywaytocontinuetheinstallation.
OptionsforLinuxaredocumentedintheLinuxinstallerforLinuxTools.
CommandlineoptionsforWindowsaredocumentedintheMSIforWindows
ToolsandatWikipedia(searchforWindowsInstaller).
NOTEHostserialdevicefunctionalityisnotavailableonESXihosts.
NOTENotallguestoperatingsystemssupportSMP,andsomethatdorequire
reinstallationifthenumberofCPUschanges..
SeetheVMwareInfrastructureCompatibilityMatrixesGuideforthelistofsupported
operatingsystemsforvirtualimagecustomization.
SeetheVMwareInfrastructureCompatibilityMatrixesGuideforthelistofsupported
operatingsystemsforvirtualimagecustomization.
Also,thefollowingrequirementshouldbelistedinthissection:
PerlisinstalledintheLinuxguestoperatingsystem.
Allhostsintheclustermusthavehardwarevirtualization(IntelVTorAMDV)
enabledintheBIOSifitisavailable.
Allhostsintheclustermusthaveexecuteprotection(XDonIntelprocessorsand
NXonAMDprocessors)enabledintheBIOS.
YoucaninitiatemigrationswithstorageVMotiononbothESXServer3iandESX
Server 3hostsbyrunningthesvmotioncommandfromtheRemoteCommandLine
Interface(RemoteCLI).
FormoreinformationoninstallingandusingtheRemoteCLI,seetheRemote
CommandLineInterfaceInstallationandReference.
Totakeasnapshot,thestateofthevirtualdiskatthetimeoftakingthesnapshotmust
bepreserved.Whenthisoccurs,theguestoperatingsystemcannotwritetotheVMDK
file.ThedeltadiskisanadditionalVMDKfilewheretheguestisgivenwriteaccess.
NOTEToconsolidateallsnapshotsintothebasevirtualmachine,youmightneedextra
diskspace,aslargeasthebaseVMDK.
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).
NOTEWhilesnapshotsprovideapointintimeimageofthediskthatbackupsolutions
canuse,snapshotsshouldnotbeusedforvirtualmachinebackups.
Bydefault,statisticsarestoredintheVirtualCenterdatabasefor1year.However,you
canincreasethisto5years.Youshouldarchiveyourstatisticaldataoutsideofthe
VirtualCenterdatabasetosaveitformorethan5years.
SenderAccountTheemailaddressofthesender,forexample,
mail_server@datacenter.com.
ThefollowingVMStateoptionsaredisplayedintheWarningcolumn:None,
PoweredOff,PoweredOn,andSuspended.
TheHostStateoptionscorrespondtothefollowingactivities:None,Connected,
Disconnected,andNotresponding.
Theexitingstateisconsideredayellowcolorconditionattheselectedstate.
TheguestoperatingsystemcustomizationfeatureinVirtualCenterServer2.5takesfull
advantageofWindowsSysprepfunctionality.