Dell ESX Server User Manual
VMware® ESX Server™ 2.1.2 Software
for Dell
Deployment Guide
™
PowerEdge™ Servers
www.dell.com | support.dell.com
VMware® ESX Server™ 2.1.2 Software
for Dell
Deployment Guide
™
PowerEdge™ Servers
www.dell.com | support.dell.com
Notes, Notices, and Cautions
NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you
make better use of your computer.
NOTICE: A NOTICE indicates either potential damage to
hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem.
CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates a potential for property
damage, personal injury, or death.
____________________
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
© 2004 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of
Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden.
Trademarks used in this text: Dell, the DELL logo, and PowerEdge are
trademarks of Dell Inc.; VMware, VMotion, and ESX Server are trademarks of
VMware, Inc.; EMC is a registered trademark of EMC Corporation; Linux is a
registered trademark of Linus Torvalds; Netware is a registered trademark of
Novell In c.; Intel, Xeon, and Pentium are registered trademarks of
Intel Corporation; Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of
Microsoft Corporation.
Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either
the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell Inc. disclaims
any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.
Portions of this document Copyrighted VMware, Inc. 2004.
August 2004 P/N X6320 Rev. A00
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Understanding Dell Configurations
Understanding ESX Server Components
Understanding VirtualCenter Components
. . . . . . . . . . . . 7
. . . . . . . . 11
. . . . . . . 11
Current Hardware and Software
Qualification List
Installation of ESX Server 2.1.2 Software
Before Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Recommended Local Disk Partitioning
Service Console Configuration
After Installation
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
. . . . . . . 12
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
SAN Environment Setup with
ESX Server Software
Setting Up Manual Load Balancing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Dell OpenManage in a
VMware ESX Server Environment
. . . . . . . . . . . . 18
OpenManage Software Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Using the Dell Remote Access Card III (DRAC III)
on PE 6650
Installing OpenManage Server Administrator and
Remote Management
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Contents 3
Guest Operating Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Guest OS Installation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Guest OS Performance Tuning Tips
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Additional Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Product Documentation Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Technical Support Resources
Newsgroups
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Tables
Table 1-1. Base ESX Server System
Hardware Configuration
Table 1-2. Additional Supported Devices for a Stand-Alone
ESX Server System Configuration
Table 1-3. Additional Supported Devices for a SAN-attached
ESX Server System
Table 1-4. Recommended VirtualCenter Server
Configuration
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
Table 1-5. Suggested Disk Partitioning within
VMware ESX Server
Table 1-6. Limiting Resources by Application Type
. . . . . . . . . . . . 1-7
. . . . . . . . 1-8
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-8
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-14
. . . . 1-23
Figures
Figure 1-1. VMware ESX Server Architecture . . . . . . . 1-5
Figure 1-2. Non-VirtualCenter Configuration, One or More
PowerEdge Servers with Optional SAN
Figure 1-3. VirtualCenter Configuration with SAN for
VMotion
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-10
Figure 1-4. VirtualCenter Configuration with SAN for
VMotion (with HBA Failover)
Figure 1-5. Example of a Management Station and
Managed Systems
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1-19
4 Contents
. . . . . . . . . 1-10
. . . . 1-9
Introduction
VMware®ESX Server™ software provides the rapid creation of multiple
virtual machines (VMs) on a single physical server. These VMs each run in a
resource-isolated, secure environment and include a Microsoft
Linux™, or Novell
applications. The ESX Server software has a virtualization layer that
allocates virtualized Dell resources to VMs and a Service Console – a
management interface for the VMware virtualization layer.
the ESX Server architecture.
Figure 1-1. VMware ESX Server Architecture
®
NetWare® operating system (OS) with their associated
®
Windows,
Figure 1-1
shows
VMware VirtualCenter is a management application that monitors and
manages virtual machines distributed across ESX Server installations, as well
as the ESX Server systems themselves. VirtualCenter can show global task
lists, each individual ESX Server, or each individual VM.
When VirtualCenter-managed ESX Server farms have a common
Storage Area Network (SAN), they can take advantage of VMotion™
technology. This technology allows for the “hot” migration of a running VM.
A live, state-full application, with its OS, can be moved from one
PowerEdge™ server running ESX Server to another. This migration is
transparent to the end users, who are not aware that it is taking place.
VMotion technology provides dynamic scaling, performance, and
Deployment Guide 5
zero-downtime maintenance. If a physical server needs servicing, it can be
vacated; that is, all running VMs are moved to other ESX Server systems
without affecting users. The vacant system can be shutdown, repaired, then
placed back into service at which time VMs can be migrated back to it – all
without impacting availability to end users.
Dell configurations of ESX Server software and VirtualCenter allow users to:
• Implement server consolidation
• Deliver high availability and guaranteed service levels
• Streamline testing and deployment
• Scale hardware and software infrastructure
www.dell.com | support.dell.com
• Upgrade to current and standard hardware, independently of
software upgrades
This document is a companion guide to the
Installation Guide
and provides specific information as it relates to
VMware ESX Server 2.1
Dell servers and Dell recommended configurations. For the latest version of
this document see
www.dell.com/vmware
under the
Resource
tab. For more
information about ESX Server software and VirtualCenter, consult the
following documents, which are distributed with the software and are
available on the VMware Web site at
www.vmware.com/support/vc11/
www.vmware.com/support/esx21/
:
• ESX Server 2.1 Installation Guide
• ESX Server 2.1 Administrator’s Guide
• Guest Operating System Installation Guide
• VMware Scripting API User’s Manual
• VMware VirtualCenter 1.1 User's Manual
and
6 Deployment Guide
Understanding Dell Configurations
For this release, Dell has qualified a base server configuration for use with
ESX Server 2.1.2 software. A single server can be used in a "stand-alone"
mode, or one or more servers can be connected to a shared SAN through a
switch. VMotion technology is available when two or more servers share a
common SAN. VirtualCenter may be used to manage servers in any of these
configurations, and is required to initiate VMotion events.
NOTE: USB devices are not supported with ESX Server 2.1.2 software default
installation and configuration. Even if USB is enabled in the BIOS, the
ESX Server 2.1.2 software will disable it by default. If you need to use USB with
ESX Server 2.1.2, see the VMware knowledge base article 1326 - Using USB
When ESX Server Disables It.
The following tables list Dell's recommended configurations.
shows the common baseline configuration. For standalone configurations,
add the contents of
Ta b l e 1 - 2
configurations, add the contents of
Table 1-1. Base ESX Server System Hardware Configuration
to that of
Ta b l e 1 - 3
Ta b l e 1 - 1
to that of
. For SAN-attached
Ta b l e 1 - 1
Ta b le 1 - 1
.
Device
Class
Server PowerEdge 6650 PowerEdge 2850 PowerEdge 1850
Processor Four Intel Xeon
RAM 16 GB
RAID
Controller
Networking Two Integrated
Configuration Configuration Configuration
Processors
(recommended)
PowerEdge
Expandable Raid
Controller 4, dual
channel
(PERC4/DC)
Network Ports
Add-On NIC
Two Intel Xeon
Processors
8 GB
(recommended)
PowerEdge
Expandable Raid
Controller 4e/Di
(Dual Channel
Integrated)
Two Integrated
Network Ports
Add-On NIC
Two Intel Xeon
Processors
8 GB
(recommended)
PowerEdge
Expandable Raid
Controller 4e/Si
(Single Channel
Integrated)
Two Integrated
Network Ports
Add-On NIC
Deployment Guide 7
Table 1-2. Additional Supported Devices for a Stand-Alone
ESX Server System Configuration
Server PE 6650 PE 2850 PE 1850
Storage Five internal hard
disks (15K RPM
at RAID 5
recommended)
Six internal hard
disks (15K RPM
at RAID 5
recommended)
Two internal hard
disks (15K RPM
at RAID 1
recommended)
Table 1-3. Additional Supported Devices for a SAN-attached
ESX Server System
Device Class Configuration
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Host Bus Adapter (HBA) One fiber channel host bus
adapter (HBA)
or
Two fiber channel host bus
adapters (HBAs) for HBA failover
configurations
For higher availability on the PE
1850, the Qlogic QLA 2342 (dual
port HBA card) is recommended.
Storage Two internal hard disks (15K RPM
at RAID 1 recommended)
Table 1-4. Recommended VirtualCenter Server Configuration
Resource Class Recommendation
Server PowerEdge 1850
Memory 2 GB RAM
RAID Controller Integrated RAID controller
enabled
Storage Two internal hard disks (largest
capacity available at RAID 5)
Network Two integrated network ports
Operating System Microsoft Windows Server 2003
8 Deployment Guide
Figure 1-2
shows the Dell qualified base server configuration when not using
VirtualCenter.
Figure 1-2. Non-VirtualCenter Configuration, One or More PowerEdge Servers
with Optional SAN
Dell's qualified configuration with VMware VirtualCenter is: VMware ESX
Server 2.1.2 software on each PowerEdge server with a single
VirtualCenter 1.1 Server on a PowerEdge 1850 managing all ESX Server
installations in a farm. For additional performance or VMware VMotion
features, Dell|EMC CX300, CX500, or CX700 storage is required.
Figure 1-3
shows the configuration when using VirtualCenter and
Figure 1-4
shows the configuration when implementing HBA failover.
Deployment Guide 9
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