Dell ESX Server 3i User Manual
VMware® ESX Server 3i
Dell Solution Guide
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.
____________________
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
© 2008 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of DellInc. is strictly forbidden.
Trademarks used in this text: Dell, the DELL logo, PowerVault, and PowerEdge are trademarks of
Dell Inc.; VMware, ESX Server, and VMotion are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware,
Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions; EMC is a registered trademark of EMC Corporation;
Intel and Xeon are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation; AMD Opteron is a trademark of
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.; Microsoft, Windows, SQL Server, and Windows Server are either
trademarks or registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other
countries; Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates.
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. 2008.
April 2008 Rev. A00
Contents
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
VMware ESX Server 3i Features
Ease of Deployment
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Integrated Management and Health Monitoring
Enhanced security
Reduced Patch Management
Improved Reliability
Rapid Deployment and Provisioning
Dell Supported Configurations
VMware Infrastructure Architecture
Diagram Components:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Dell-Supported VMware Infrastructure 3.5
Configurations
Solution Deployment
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
First Boot Experience (Simple Setup)
Configuring the ESX Server 3i Software
Management Software Installation
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Install Virtual Infrastructure Client (VI Client)
Solution Licensing
Licensing Methods
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Serial Number Registration and Exchange
. . . . . . . . . 6
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
. . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
. . . . . . . . . . 18
. . . . . . . . . . . 23
Image Recovery
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Appendix A: Deployment Best Practices Check List
. . . . . . . . 26
Contents 3
Appendix B: Enabling and Disabling the VMware ESX
Server 3i Software
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Appendix C: Sample Step-by-Step Management Network
Configuration
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Appendix D: Modifying Remote Access Console Virtual
Media Status
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Appendix E: Configuration Backup and Restore Procedures
Appendix F: Troubleshooting
Appendix G: Related Documents
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
. . . . 36
4 Contents
Introduction
Dell PowerEdge servers enabled with VMware ESX Server 3i represent the
next generation of servers designed specifically for virtualization. Through its
close partnership with VMware, Dell is able to offer qualified VMware-based
virtualization solutions optimized for today’s active data centers.
With its hardware-like footprint, VMware ESX Server 3i offers a standardsbased management solution designed for reduced deployment time,
centralized management, and increased security. When coupled with energy
efficient Dell PowerEdge servers, you can also take advantage of reduced
power and cooling needs, the latest in CPU technologies, reduced server
downtime, and greater reliability.
This guide will help you understand the differences between ESX Server 3i
and ESX Server 3 versions of VMware’s Virtual Infrastructure 3 (VI3)
products as they are deployed on Dell servers, how to deploy, manage, license,
and support your solution, and Dell’s deployment best practices. A
deployment best practices checklist is also provided (see "Appendix A:
Deployment Best Practices Check List" on page 26).
NOTE: Although this guide will help you use your ESX Server 3i enabled
PowerEdge server, you are also encouraged to review the information provided by
VMware (
www.vmware.com).
VMware ESX Server 3i Features
Ease of Deployment
VMware ESX Server 3i is sold as an OEM product pre-installed on Dell
servers. Because ESX Server 3i is pre-installed, your server can be deployed
within minutes by simply connecting a keyboard, monitor, and mouse, and by
enabling basic Ethernet-based connectivity for management traffic; there is
no need to configure local storage, install ESX from CD, or configure the
server via the service console. With server data center deployments often
handled by several technicians and engineers through a formal deployment
process, eliminating these steps may save time and simplify IT deployment
flows.
Solution Guide 5
Integrated Management and Health Monitoring
Tightly integrated with the Dell PowerEdge platforms, VMware ESX Server 3i
uses the standards-based Common Interface Model (CIM) to monitor
(graphically) the PowerEdge server on which it is running and provide up-todate system health information. This information is available for one or more
servers within the Virtual Infrastructure Client (VI Client) and includes the
following data: internal storage array, physical and logical drive health, and
analog system parameters, such as cooling fan speeds and system board
ambient temperature readings. The ESX Server 3i kernel also supports SNMP
alerting, a widely adopted management protocol. SNMP support allows you
to integrate your PowerEdge systems into your existing management
infrastructure.
In addition, VMware’s software is now able to take advantage of power
monitoring capabilities offered by Dell PowerEdge servers. You can monitor
instantaneous power usage and input voltages, as well as cumulative power,
max current and max power usage since last reset.
For more information about systems management with VMware ESX Server
3i on Dell PowerEdge servers, and a comprehensive management guide
greatly expanding on the architecture, out-of-band management, and
baseboard management controller (BMC) capabilities of this solution, please
visit www.dell.com/vmware.
Enhanced security
With a service console based on a hardened Linux® distribution, ESX Server
software already helps provide a secure virtualization environment.
ESX Server 3i further enhances security by eliminating the service console
altogether, which simplifies the process of securing the IT infrastructure by
reducing the number of open network ports and preventing other programs
that can compromise security from being installed.
Reduced Patch Management
Removal of the service console in ESX Server 3i simplifies patch
management, reducing VMware support costs, simplifying IT processes and
maintenance scheduling, and improving host security.
6 Solution Guide
Improved Reliability
Hard drives represent one of the greatest sources of hardware failures in data
center environments. Shared storage arrays (fibre channel or iSCSI) are better
suited for virtual machine (VM) and data storage than local hard drives,
providing higher levels of performance and increased single point of failure
recovery. Additionally, solid-state, internal storage is easier to configure than
other hard drive-less solutions, such as Boot-from-SAN. Because shared
storage arrays are required to take advantage of ESX Server 3i enterprise and
standard-level features, Dynamic Resource Scheduling (DRS) and HighAvailability (HA), server local hard drives are not needed.
Rapid Deployment and Provisioning
Dell offers VMware ESX Server 3i pre-installed direct from the Dell factory,
enabling greatly simplified data center deployment and provisioning. For the
first time, VMware users have the ability to go from box to rack to processing
workloads in minutes.
Dell Supported Configurations
Server PowerEdge R805
Processors Two Dual/Quad Core AMD Opteron 2200/2300
Memory (Min/Max) 8 GB/128 GB
Storage Adapters for Internal
Disks
Storage Adapter for External
Disks
Fibre Channel HBA
(required for SAN
connectivity only)
Networking Four integrated network ports, All supported
Dell Remote Access
Controller (DRAC)
Internal Storage Up to two 2.5” SAS/SATA disks
PERC 6/i Integrated;
SAS 6/iR Integrated
SAS 5/E
PERC 6/E
All supported Fibre Channel HBAs
peripheral NICs
DRAC 5 (required)
Solution Guide 7
External Storage:
iSCSI based
direct attached (VMotion
not supported)
EqualLogic PS5000E, PS5000X, and PS5000VX;
PowerVault MD3000i and NX1950
PowerVault MD3000
For full support details, consult VMware’s complete Hardware Compatibility
List (HCL) at www.vmware.com/resources/guides.html.
To ensure processor compatibility across several servers, consult the Dell
VMotion compatibility guide at www.dell.com/vmware.
VMware Infrastructure Architecture
VMware Infrastructure consists of the following components (see Figure 1).
8 Solution Guide
Figure 1. VMware Infrastructure Components Using Dell PowerEdge Systems and
Storage Systems
Diagram Components:
• ESX Server — allows multiple operating systems to run simultaneously on
a single PowerEdge system.
• VirtualCenter Server — manages multiple ESX Servers and runs on
Windows Server 2003. VirtualCenter is optional and is required for
advanced management capabilities such as VMotion, DRS, and HA.
• VirtualCenter Database — stores all of the configuration data about a
VMware Infrastructure. It is recommended that you use a professional
database such as Microsoft SQL Server™ or Oracle™ for the VirtualCenter
database.
• License Server — authorizes ESX Server hosts and the VirtualCenter
server per the purchased license keys and licensing agreement. It is
recommended to install the license server on the VirtualCenter host. This
can also reside on a separate host. License server is required when using a
centralized licensing model, but is not required for host-based licensing.
For more information on the different licensing configurations, see the
Solution Guide 9
Installation Guide
and
Upgrade Guide
for ESX Server 3 under VMware
Infrastructure 3 on the VMware documentation website at
www.vmware.com/support/pubs
.
• VMware Infrastructure Client - installs on a system running a supported
Windows operating system and is the primary tool to manage an ESX
Server host by directly connecting to it or through the VirtualCenter
server.
• Virtual Machine Storage — stores virtual machine configuration and
virtual disk files. This can be either an internal storage local to the ESX
Server or an external storage that can be shared by multiple ESX Servers.
Advanced features such as VMotion, DRS, and HA require that the virtual
machine’s disk and configuration files are stored on external shared
storage.
• VMware Infrastructure Web Access — a web interface for managing
virtual machines and accessing remote consoles.
Guidelines
Before deploying VMware Infrastructure, follow the guidelines below:
• Determine the licensing mode that will best suit the deployment
environment and design the licensing infrastructure accordingly.
• Determine the type of storage (local SCSI/SAS/SATA, iSCSI, or Fibre
Channel SAN) for hosting virtual machines that will best suit the
deployment environment and design your storage infrastructure
accordingly.
• Determine the number of logical unit numbers (LUNs), size of the LUNs,
RAID level of the LUNs, and the number of storage groups.
• Determine the number of virtual machines that will run on the ESX
Servers and their corresponding workloads.
• Size the resource requirements for the virtual machines, such as the
microprocessor requirements, memory size, and networking. For more
information on general sizing and scaling studies, see the documentation
available on the Dell and VMware Alliance website at
www.dell.com/vmware→ Resources→ White Papers. For articles on
performance and sizing, see the VMware documentation website at
www.vmware.com/support/pubs
.
10 Solution Guide
• Gather the required network information, such as IP addresses, network
masks, and gateway addresses.
• If you are using DRS or the HA feature, determine the hosts that will be a
part of such a cluster and allocate shared storage accordingly.
• Determine the appropriate networking configuration for management,
virtual machines, and iSCSI (optional). Virtual local area networks
(VLANs) can be used to efficiently isolate traffic.
Dell-Supported VMware Infrastructure 3.5 Configurations
If you use Fibre Channel storage, you can have a single Fibre Channel HBA
connected to a Fibre Channel switch that in turn provides paths to both
storage processors (SPs) on the Fibre Channel storage unit (see Figure 2). To
provide maximum protection against a single failure at the HBA, Fibre
Channel switch, or SP level, it is recommended that you use two Fibre
Channel HBAs on the ESX Server host connected to separate Fibre Channel
switches that provide redundant paths to SPs on the storage unit.
Figure 2. VMware Infrastructure Configurations with Dell PowerEdge Systems and
Dell EMC Fibre Channel SAN
Solution Guide 11
For a cost-effective solution, you can opt for an iSCSI SAN environment (see
Figure 3). It is recommended that you use two iSCSI initiators on the ESX
Server host connected to two separate Ethernet switches that provide
redundant paths to SPs on the storage unit.
Figure 3. VMware Infrastructure Configurations with Dell PowerEdge Systems and
iSCSI SAN
Solution Deployment
First Boot Experience (Simple Setup)
The following procedure describes how to perform the basic setup of your
server and assumes that you have already connected a keyboard, monitor, and
mouse, and that you have connected the first onboard NIC to your
management network. The network should have a valid DHCP server and
should be the same network you plan to use when you install the required
management software on a second machine. Ensure the infrastructure
between the two systems is working correctly prior to working with your server
and the VMware management software.
12 Solution Guide
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