VMware 4817V62 - vSphere - PC, vSphere vCenter Server 4.0, vSphere ESX 4.0, vSphere ESXi 4.0 Administration Manual

vSphere Basic System Administration

vCenter Server 4.0

ESX 4.0

ESXi 4.0

This document supports the version of each product listed and supports all subsequent versions until the document is replaced by a new edition. To check for more recent editions of this document, see http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.

EN-000105-08

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You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware Web site at:

http://www.vmware.com/support/

The VMware Web site also provides the latest product updates.

If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to:

docfeedback@vmware.com

Copyright © 2009–2011 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and international copyright and intellectual property laws. VMware products are covered by one or more patents listed at

http://www.vmware.com/go/patents.

VMware is a registered trademark or trademark of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.

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3401 Hillview Ave. Palo Alto, CA 94304 www.vmware.com

Contents

Updated Information 9

About This Book 11

Getting Started

vSphere Components 15

Components of vSphere 15

vSphere Client Interfaces 17

Functional Components 17

Managed Components 19

Access Privileges Components 21

vCenter Server Modules 21

vCenter Components That Require Tomcat 22

Optional vCenter Server Components 22

Starting and Stopping the vSphere Components 25

Start an ESX/ESXi Host 25

Reboot or Shut Down an ESX/ESXi Host 25

Stop an ESX Host Manually 26

Starting vCenter Server 26

Start the vSphere Client and Log In 27

Stop the vSphere Client and Log Out 28

vSphere Web Access 28

VMware Service Console 29

Using vCenter Server in Linked Mode 31

Linked Mode Prerequisites 31

Linked Mode Considerations 32

Join a Linked Mode Group After Installation 32

Reconciling Roles When Connecting vCenter Server to a Linked Mode Group 33

Isolate a vCenter Server Instance from a Linked Mode Group 34

Change the Domain of a vCenter Server System in a Linked Mode Group 34

Configure the URLs on a Linked Mode vCenter Server System 34

Linked Mode Troubleshooting 35

Monitor vCenter Server Services 37

Using the vSphere Client 39

Getting Started Tabs 40

Status Bar, Recent Tasks, and Triggered Alarms 40

Panel Sections 40

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View Virtual Machine Console 41

Searching the vSphere Inventory 41

Using Lists 42

Custom Attributes 43

Select Objects 44

Manage vCenter Server Plug-Ins 45

Save vSphere Client Data 46

Configuring Hosts and vCenter Server 47

Host Configuration 47

Configuring vCenter Server 48

Access the vCenter Server Settings 48

Configuring Communication Among ESX, vCenter Server, and the vSphere Client 49

Configure vCenter Server SMTP Mail Settings 49

Working with Active Sessions 49

SNMP and vSphere 50

System Log Files 65

Managing the vSphere Client Inventory 71

Understanding vSphere Client Objects 71

Add an Inventory Object 73

Moving Objects in the Inventory 74

Remove an Inventory Object 74

Browsing Datastores in the vSphere Client Inventory 75

Managing Hosts in vCenter Server 77

About Hosts 77

Add a Host 78

Completing the Add Host Process 79

Disconnecting and Reconnecting a Host 80

Remove a Host from a Cluster 81

Understanding Managed Host Removal 81

Remove a Managed Host from vCenter Server 82

Monitoring Host Health Status 83

Virtual Machine Management

Consolidating the Datacenter 87

Consolidation First Time Use 88

Consolidation Prerequisites 88

About Consolidation Services 91

Configuring Consolidation Settings 91

Find and Analyze Physical Systems 92

Viewing Analysis Results 93

Converting Physical Systems to Virtual Machines 93

Viewing Consolidation Tasks 94

Troubleshooting Consolidation 95

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Deploying OVF Templates 99

About OVF 99

Deploy an OVF Template 99

Browse VMware Virtual Appliance Marketplace 101

Export an OVF Template 101

Managing VMware vApp 103

Create a vApp 103

Populate the vApp 105

Edit vApp Settings 106

Configuring IP Pools 109

Clone a vApp 111

Power On a vApp 111

Power Off a vApp 112

Edit vApp Annotation 112

Creating Virtual Machines 113

Access the New Virtual Machine Wizard 113

Select a Path Through the New Virtual Machine Wizard 114

Enter a Name and Location 114

Select a Resource Pool 114

Select a Datastore 115

Select a Virtual Machine Version 115

Select an Operating System 115

Select the Number of Virtual Processors 115

Configure Virtual Memory 116

Configure Networks 116

About VMware Paravirtual SCSI Adapters 116

Select a SCSI Adapter 117

Selecting a Virtual Disk Type 117

Complete Virtual Machine Creation 120

Installing a Guest Operating System 120

Installing and Upgrading VMware Tools 120

Managing Virtual Machines 133

Changing Virtual Machine Power States 134

Adding and Removing Virtual Machines 137

Configure Virtual Machine Startup and Shutdown Behavior 138

Virtual Machine Configuration 141

Virtual Machine Hardware Versions 141

Virtual Machine Properties Editor 142

Adding New Hardware 156

Converting Virtual Disks from Thin to Thick 163

Working with Templates and Clones 165

Creating Templates 165

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Edit a Template 167

Change Template Name 168

Deploy Virtual Machines from Templates 168

Convert Templates to Virtual Machines 169

Deleting Templates 169

Regain Templates 170

Clone Virtual Machines 170

Create a Scheduled Task to Clone a Virtual Machine 171

Customizing Guest Operating Systems 173

Preparing for Guest Customization 173

Customize Windows During Cloning or Deployment 175

Customize Linux During Cloning or Deployment 176

Create a Customization Specification for Linux 177

Create a Customization Specification for Windows 177

Managing Customization Specification 179

Completing a Guest Operating System Customization 180

Migrating Virtual Machines 183

Cold Migration 184

Migrating a Suspended Virtual Machine 184

Migration with VMotion 184

Migration with Storage VMotion 193

Migrate a Powered-Off or Suspended Virtual Machine 194

Migrate a Powered-On Virtual Machine with VMotion 195

Migrate a Virtual Machine with Storage VMotion 196

Storage VMotion Command-Line Syntax 198

Using Snapshots 201

About Snapshots 201

Using the Snapshot Manager 204

Restore a Snapshot 205

System Administration

Managing Users, Groups, Roles, and Permissions 209

Managing vSphere Users 209

Groups 210

Removing or Modifying Users and Groups 211

Best Practices for Users and Groups 211

Using Roles to Assign Privileges 211

Permissions 215

Best Practices for Roles and Permissions 222

Required Privileges for Common Tasks 223

Monitoring Storage Resources 225

Working with Storage Reports 225

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Working with Storage Maps 227

Using vCenter Maps 229

vCenter VMotion Maps 230

vCenter Map Icons and Interface Controls 230

View vCenter Maps 231

Print vCenter Maps 231

Export vCenter Maps 231

Working with Alarms 233

Alarm Triggers 234

Alarm Actions 243

Alarm Reporting 248

Creating Alarms 248

Managing Alarms 252

Managing Alarm Actions 256

Preconfigured VMware Alarms 259

Working with Performance Statistics 261

Statistics Collection for vCenter Server 261

vCenter Server Performance Charts 268

Monitoring and Troubleshooting Performance 273

Working with Tasks and Events 279

Managing Tasks 279

Managing Events 285

Appendixes

Defined Privileges 291

Alarms 292

Datacenter 293

Datastore 293

Distributed Virtual Port Group 294

Distributed Virtual Switch 295

Extensions 296

Folders 296

Global 297

Host CIM 298

Host Configuration 298

Host Inventory 300

Host Local Operations 301

Host Profile 302

Network 302

Performance 303

Permissions 304

Resource 304

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Scheduled Task 306

Sessions 306

Tasks 307

vApp 307

Virtual Machine Configuration 309

Virtual Machine Interaction 313

Virtual Machine Inventory 316

Virtual Machine Provisioning 317

Virtual Machine State 320

Installing the Microsoft Sysprep Tools 321

Install the Microsoft System Preparation Tools from a Microsoft Web Site Download 321

Install the Microsoft Sysprep Tools from the Windows Operating System CD 322

Performance Metrics 325

Cluster Services Metrics 326

CPU Metrics 327

Disk Metrics 331

Management Agent Metrics 335

Memory Metrics 336

Network Metrics 344

Storage Utilization Metrics 346

System Metrics 347

Virtual Machine Operations Metrics 348

Index 351

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Updated Information

This Basic System Administration is updated with each release of the product or when necessary.

This table provides the update history of the Basic System Administration.

Revision Description

EN-000105-08 Changed a point in “Configuring Communication Among ESX, vCenter Server, and the vSphere Client,”

on page 49 section.

EN-000105-07

The topics “Windows Requirements for Guest Customization,” on page 174 and “Linux Requirements

for Guest Customization,” on page 175 now have reference to the vSphere Compatibility Matrixes

document for information on the list of operating system that are supported for guest OS cutomization.

The topic “About Snapshots,” on page 201 now reflects that VMware does not support snapshots of virtual machines configured with bus-sharing.

In “Disk Metrics,” on page 331, corrected the table. The latency counters were marked as available for V (virtual machines) and H (hosts), when they are actually only available for hosts.

In “Memory Metrics,” on page 336, corrected the table. The sharedcommon counter was marked as available for V (virtual machines) and H (hosts), when it is actually only available for hosts.

EN-000105-06

In certain topics, removed references to Microsoft Outlook Express.

In “Upgrade VMware Tools Manually,” on page 128, updated Step 5to show that you do not have to power-off the virtual machines when upgrading VMware Tools manually.

EN-000105-05

In “Specify an IP Address Range,” on page 109, updated the incorrect IPv4 address from 10.209.60.13 to 10.20.60.13.

In Chapter 17, “Using Snapshots,” on page 201, added information that you can use snapshot as a restoration point during a linear or iterative process.

In “About Snapshots,” on page 201, added a link to a KB article.

In “Revert to Snapshot Command,” on page 205, added information about taking the snapshot when the virtual machine is powered off.

In “Collection Intervals,” on page 263, updated that ESXi retains real-time statistics for one hour instead of 30 minutes.

In “Disk Metrics,” on page 331, updated the Stats Type as rate and Unit as kiloBytesPerSecond in the usage counter of the Table C-3.

EN-000105-04

In “Edit vApp Startup and Shutdown Options,” on page 106 the tab name is changed from Start up to Start Order.

A note added to “View vApp License Agreement,” on page 107 clarifies the condition required to view the vApp license agreement.

The alarms Virtual Machine CPU Ready, Virtual machine disk commands canceled, and Virtual machine disk reset are removed from the Default VMware Alarms table in “Preconfigured VMware

Alarms,” on page 259.

“How Metrics Are Stored in the vCenter Server Database,” on page 267 now reflects that the maximum

number of years for which the vCenter Server Database can store statistical data is 5 years.

EN-000105-03

The list of supported guest operating systems in topic “Linux Requirements for Guest

Customization,” on page 175 has been revised.

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Revision Description

EN-000105-02

The following sentence has been removed from the note in“Change the Virtual Processor or CPU

Configuration,” on page 148: "Changing the number of processors an imported virtual machine uses

is not supported." This information no longer pertains to vSphere.

Added information to “About Snapshots,” on page 201 that clarifies the issue of using snapshots for virtual machine backups.

EN-000105-01

The topic “Add a USB Controller to a Virtual Machine,” on page 163 now reflects that although you can add a USB controller to a virtual machine, adding USB devices is not supported.

Chapter 16, “Migrating Virtual Machines,” on page 183 has been revised to remove references to

VMware Server. VMware Server hosts are not supported by vCenter Server.

In Table A-22 the description for the Host USB device privilege now reflects that adding USB devices to virtual machines is not supported.

Minor revisions.

EN-000105-00 Initial release.

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About This Book

This manual, Basic System Administration, describes how to start and stop the VMware® vSphere™ Client components, build your vSphere environment, monitor and manage the information generated about the components, and set up roles and permissions for users and groups using the vSphere environment. This manual also provides information for managing, creating, and configuring virtual machines in your datacenter.

In addition, this manual provides brief introductions to the various tasks you can perform within the system as well as cross-references to the documentation that describes all the tasks in detail.

Basic System Administration covers ESX, ESXi, and vCenter Server.

Intended Audience

The information presented in this manual is written for system administrators who are experienced Windows or Linux system administrators and who are familiar with virtual machine technology and datacenter operations.

Document Feedback

VMware welcomes your suggestions for improving our documentation. If you have comments, send your feedback to docfeedback@vmware.com.

VMware vSphere Documentation

The vSphere documentation consists of the combined VMware vCenter Server and ESX/ESXi documentation set.

Abbreviations Used in Figures

The figures in this manual use the abbreviations listed in Table 1.

Table 1. Abbreviations

Abbreviation Description

database vCenter Server database

datastore Storage for the managed host

dsk# Storage disk for the managed host

hostn vCenter Server managed hosts

SAN Storage area network type datastore shared between

managed hosts

tmplt Template

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Table 1. Abbreviations (Continued)

Abbreviation Description

user# User with access permissions

VC vCenter Server

VM# Virtual machines on a managed host

Technical Support and Education Resources

The following technical support resources are available to you. To access the current version of this book and other books, go to http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.

Online and Telephone Support

To use online support to submit technical support requests, view your product and contract information, and register your products, go to

http://www.vmware.com/support.

Customers with appropriate support contracts should use telephone support for priority 1 issues. Go to

http://www.vmware.com/support/phone_support.html.

Support Offerings

To find out how VMware support offerings can help meet your business needs, go to http://www.vmware.com/support/services.

VMware Professional Services

VMware Education Services courses offer extensive hands-on labs, case study examples, and course materials designed to be used as on-the-job reference tools. Courses are available onsite, in the classroom, and live online. For onsite pilot programs and implementation best practices, VMware Consulting Services provides offerings to help you assess, plan, build, and manage your virtual environment. To access information about education classes, certification programs, and consulting services, go to

http://www.vmware.com/services.

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Getting Started

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vSphere Components 1

VMware vSphere™ includes components and operations essential for managing virtual machines. vSphere works with several client interfaces and offers many optional components and modules, such as VMware High Availability (HA), VMware VMotion™, VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS), VMware Update Manager, and VMware Converter Enterprise.

vSphere allows you to treat your virtual environment objects as managed components such as virtual machines, hosts, datacenters, resource pools, and clusters. Functional components of vSphere provide the best way to manage each of these managed components of your virtual environment.

Finally, vSphere provides powerful administration tools through access privileges components.

This chapter includes the following topics:

“Components of vSphere,” on page 15

“vSphere Client Interfaces,” on page 17

“Functional Components,” on page 17

“Managed Components,” on page 19

“Access Privileges Components,” on page 21

“vCenter Server Modules,” on page 21

“vCenter Components That Require Tomcat,” on page 22

“Optional vCenter Server Components,” on page 22

Components of vSphere

VMware vSphere is a suite of software components for virtualization.

To run your vSphere environment, you need the following components:

ESX/ESXi

A virtualization platform used to create the virtual machines as a set of configuration and disk files that together perform all the functions of a physical machine.

Through ESX/ESXi, you run the virtual machines, install operating systems, run applications, and configure the virtual machines. Configuration includes identifying the virtual machine’s resources, such as storage devices.

The server provides bootstrapping, management, and other services that manage your virtual machines.

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Each ESX/ESXi host has a vSphere Client available for your management use. If your ESX/ESXi host is registered with vCenter Server, a vSphere Client that accommodates vCenter Server features is available.

vCenter Server

A service that acts as a central administrator for VMware ESX/ESXi hosts that are connected on a network. vCenter Server directs actions on the virtual machines and the virtual machine hosts (the ESX/ESXi hosts).

vCenter Server is a single Windows Service and is installed to run automatically. vCenter Server runs continuously in the background, performing its monitoring and managing activities even when no vSphere Clients are connected and even if nobody is logged on to the computer where it resides. It must have network access to all the hosts it manages and be available for network access from any machine where the vSphere Client is run.

vCenter Server can be installed in a Windows virtual machine on an ESX/ESXi host, allowing it to take advantage of the high-availability afforded by VMware HA. See the Installation Guide for details on setting up this configuration.

Multiple vCenter Server systems can be joined together using Linked Mode to allow them to be managed using a single vSphere Client connection.

vCenter Server plug-ins

Applications that provide additional features and functionality to vCenter Server. Typically, plug-ins consist of a server component and a client component. After the plug-in server is installed, it is registered with vCenter Server and the plug-in client is available to vSphere clients for download. After a plug-in is installed on a vSphere client, it might alter the interface by adding views, tabs, toolbar buttons, or menu options related to the added functionality.

Plug-ins leverage core vCenter Server capabilities, such as authentication and permission management, but can have their own types of events, tasks, metadata, and privileges.

In addition to plug-ins that are available independently of vCenter Server, some vCenter Server features are implemented as plug-ins, and can be managed using the vSphere Client Plug-in Manager. These features include vCenter Storage Monitoring, vCenter Hardware Status, and vCenter Service Status.

vCenter Server database

A persistent storage area for maintaining status of each virtual machine, host, and user managed in the vCenter Server environment. The vCenter Server database can be remote or local to the vCenter Server system.

The database is installed and configured during vCenter Server installation.

If you are accessing your ESX/ESXi host directly through a vSphere Client, and not through a vCenter Server system and associated vSphere Client, you do not use a vCenter Server database.

Datastore

A virtual representation of combinations of underlying physical storage resources in the datacenter. A datastore is the storage location for virtual machine files. These physical storage resources can come from the local SCSI disk of the server, the Fibre Channel SAN disk arrays, the iSCSI SAN disk arrays, or Network Attached Storage (NAS) arrays. Datastores hide the idiosyncrasies of the storage options and provide a uniform model for various storage products required by virtual machines.

vCenter Server agent

On each managed host, software that collects, communicates, and executes the actions received from vCenter Server. The vCenter Server agent is installed the first time any host is added to the vCenter Server inventory.

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Host agent

On each managed host, software that collects, communicates, and executes the actions received through the vSphere Client. It is installed as part of the ESX/ESXi installation.

LDAP

vCenter Server uses LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) to synchronize data such as license and role information across vCenter Server systems joined in Linked Mode.

vSphere Client Interfaces

There are several ways to access vSphere components.

vSphere interface options include:

vSphere Client

A required component and the primary interface for creating, managing, and monitoring virtual machines, their resources, and their hosts. It also provides console access to virtual machines.

vSphere Client is installed on a Windows machine with network access to your ESX/ESXi or vCenter Server system installation. The interface displays slightly different options depending on which type of server you are connected to. While all vCenter Server activities are performed by a vCenter Server system, you must use the vSphere Client to monitor, manage, and control the server. A single vCenter Server system or ESX/ESXi host can support multiple, simultaneously connected vSphere Clients.

vSphere Web Access

A Web interface through which you can perform basic virtual machine management and configuration and get console access to virtual machines. It is installed with your ESX/ESXi host. Similar to the vSphere Client, vSphere Web Access works directly with a host or through vCenter Server. See the vSphere Web Access Administrator’s Guide for additional information.

VMware Service Console

A command-line interface for configuring an ESX host. For an ESXi host, use the vSphere Command-Line Interface.

vSphere Command-Line Interface

A command-line interface for configuring an ESXi host. The vSphere Command-Line Interface can also be used to perform Storage VMotion operations on both ESX/ESXi hosts.

Functional Components

Functional components are used to monitor and manage your vSphere infrastructure.

The functional components are accessible from the vSphere Client Home page. Functional components are divided into four categories: Inventory, Administration, Management, and Solutions and Applications.

Inventory

You use the Inventory functional components to view the objects managed by vCenter Server. Managed objects include datacenters, resource pools, clusters, networks, datastores, templates, hosts, and virtual machines. The inventory options are:

Allows you to search the vSphere inventory for hosts, virtual machines, networks, datastores, and folders matching specified criteria.

Hosts and Clusters

Provides a hierarchical view of hosts, clusters, and their child objects.

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VMs and Templates

Provides a view of all virtual machines and templates in the inventory, grouped by datacenters and folders.

Datastores

Provides a view of all datastores in the inventory, grouped by datacenters and folders.

Networks

Provides a view of all networks in the inventory, grouped by datacenters and folders.

Administration

You use the Administration functional components to configure and monitor the state of your hosts or vCenter Server systems. The options are:

Roles

Allows you to view and create roles used to grant access privileges to users.

Sessions

Allows you to view all vSphere Client sessions currently connected to the selected vCenter Server system. If you have sufficient privileges, you can terminate sessions. Sessions are available through vCenter Server only.

Licensing

Allows you to view and administer vSphere licenses. This is available through vCenter Server only. To administer licenses for a standalone host, use the host Configuration tab.

System Logs

Allows you to display and export log files.

vCenter Server Settings

Allows you to configure a number of settings for the selected vCenter Server system. The vCenter Server settings are available through vCenter Server only.

vCenter Server Status

Provides a list of vSphere services with their current status. The status details include warning and alert information.

Guided Consolidation

Analyzes computers in your enterprise and recommends the best candidates to virtualize. The consolidation interface guides you through the conversion process based on the computers you select for consolidation.

Management

You use the Management functional components to monitor and manage the objects in the vSphere inventory. Management functional components are available through vCenter Server only. The options are:

Scheduled Tasks

Provides a list of activities and a means to schedule those activities. Scheduled tasks are available through vCenter Server only.

Events

Provides a list of all the events that occur in the vCenter Server environment. Use this option to view all events. To see only events relevant to a particular object, use the Tasks & Events tab for that object. Events are available through vCenter Server only.

Maps

Provides a visual representation of the status and structure of the vSphere environment and the relationships between managed objects. This includes hosts, networks, virtual machines, and datastores. Maps are available only through vCenter Server.

Host Profiles

Allows you to view, create, apply, and check compliance for host profiles.

Customization Specifications Manager

Allows you to create new virtual machine guest operating system specifications and manage existing specifications.

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Solutions and Applications

You use the Solutions and Applications panel to access vCenter Server extensions installed in your vCenter Server System. For example, you can access the VMware vCenter Guided Consolidation extension and the VMware vCenter Update Manager from this panel.

NOTE This panel appears only if you purchased and installed VMware vSphere extensions that are sold separately from the VMware vCenter Server product.

Managed Components

Managed components are objects in your virtual and physical infrastructure on which you can place permissions, monitor tasks and events, and set alarms. You can group most managed components by using folders to more easily manage them.

All managed components, with the exception of hosts, can be renamed to represent their purposes. For example, they can be named after company departments or locations or functions. vCenter Server monitors and manages the following components of your virtual and physical infrastructure:

Clusters

A collection of ESX/ESXi hosts and associated virtual machines intended to work together as a unit. When you add a host to a cluster, the host’s resources become part of the cluster’s resources. The cluster manages the resources of all hosts.

If you enable VMware DRS on a cluster, the resources of the hosts in the cluster are merged to allow resource balancing for the hosts in the cluster. If you enable VMware HA on a cluster, the resources of the cluster are managed as a pool of capacity to allow rapid recovery from host hardware failures.See the Resource Management Guide.

Datacenters

Unlike a folder, which is used to organize a specific object type, a datacenter is an aggregation of all the different types of objects needed to do work in virtual infrastructure: hosts, virtual machines, networks, and datastores.

Within a datacenter there are four separate hierarchies.

Virtual machines (and templates)

Hosts (and clusters)

Networks

Datastores

The datacenter is the unit of virtualization (the namespace) of networks and datastores. Within a datacenter, you cannot have two objects (for example, two hosts) with the same name but you can have two objects with the same name in different datacenters. Virtual machine names need not be unique within the datacenter, but must be unique within each virtual machine folder.

If two virtual machines connect to networkA, they are connected to the same network. Rules are different across datacenters. Theoretically, the same physical network can appear in two datacenters and be called two different names. Or networkA might have one meaning in datacenterA and a different meaning in datacenterB. Moving objects between datacenters can create problems or, at least, unpredictable results.

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To have a single namespace (that is, a single datacenter) for all networks and datastores, use folders within the datacenter to organize the networks and datastores. To have separate namespaces (separate datacenters) for networks and datastores, create two datacenters.

Datastores

Folders

A top-level structure for vCenter Server only. Folders allow you to group objects of the same type so you can easily manage them. For example, you can use folders to set permissions across objects, to set alarms across objects, and to organize objects in a meaningful way.

A folder can contain other folders, or a group of objects of the same type: datacenters, clusters, datastores, networks, virtual machines, templates, or hosts. For example, one folder can contain hosts and a folder containing hosts, but it cannot contain hosts and a folder containing virtual machines.

The datacenter folders form a hierarchy directly under the root vCenter Server and allow users to group their datacenters in any convenient way. Within each datacenter is one hierarchy of folders with virtual machines and templates, one with hosts and clusters, one with datastores, and one with networks.

Hosts

The physical computer on which the virtualization platform software, such as ESX/ESXi, is installed and all virtual machines reside. If the vSphere Client is connected directly to an ESX/ESXi host, only that host is available for management.

NOTE When vCenter Server refers to a host, this means the physical machine on which the virtual machines are running. All virtual machines within the VMware vSphere environment are physically on ESX/ESXi hosts. The term host in this Help system refers to the ESX/ESXi host that has virtual machines on it.

Networks

A set of virtual network interface cards (virtual NIC), virtual switches (vSwitch), and port groups that connect virtual machines to each other or to the physical network outside of the virtual datacenter. All virtual machines that connect to the same port group belong to the same network in the virtual environment, even if they are on different physical servers. You can monitor networks and set permissions and alarms on port groups.

Resource pools

A structure that allows delegation of control over the resources of a host. Resource pools are used to compartmentalize all resources in a cluster. You can create multiple resource pools as direct children of a host or cluster and configure them. Then delegate control over them to other individuals or organizations. The managed resources are CPU and memory from a host or cluster. Virtual machines execute in, and draw their resources from, resource pools.

vCenter Server provides, through the DRS components, various options in monitoring the status of the resources and adjusting or suggesting adjustments to the virtual machines using the resources. You can monitor resources and set alarms on them.

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Templates

A master copy of a virtual machine that can be used to create and provision new virtual machines.

Virtual machines

A virtualized x86 or x64 personal computer environment in which a guest operating system and associated application software can run. Multiple virtual machines can operate on the same managed host machine concurrently.

vApps

VMware vApp is a format for packaging and managing applications. A vApp can contain multiple virtual machines.

Access Privileges Components

vSphere provides access control to managed objects by using user and group permissions and roles.

Each user logs in to a vCenter Server system through the vSphere Client. Each user is identified to the server as someone who has rights and privileges to selected objects, such as datacenters and virtual machines, within the vSphere environment. The vCenter Server system has full rights and privileges on all hosts and virtual machines within the vSphere environment. The server passes on only those actions and requests from a user that the user has permission to perform. Access privileges affect which vSphere Client objects appear in the inventory.

The server determines which access privileges and requests to allow based on the role assigned to the user or the user’s group on each object. vCenter Server administrators can create custom roles with specific sets of privileges, as well as use the sample roles that vCenter Server provides.

Users and Groups

Created through the Windows domain or Active Directory database or on the ESX/ESXi host. The server, vCenter Server or ESX/ESXi, registers users and groups as part of the assigning privileges process.

Roles

A set of access rights and privileges. Selected sample roles exist. You can also create roles and assign combinations of privileges to each role.

Permissions

A permission consists of a user or group and a role assigned to a particular inventory object.

vCenter Server Modules

vCenter Server modules extend the capabilities of vCenter Server by providing additional features and functionality.

Some modules are packaged separately from the base product and require separate installation. Modules and the base product can be upgraded independently of each other. VMware modules include:

VMware Update Manager

Enables administrators to apply updates and patches across ESX/ESXi hosts and all managed virtual machines. This module provides the ability to create user-defined security baselines which represent a set of security standards. Security administrators can compare hosts and virtual machines against these baselines to identify and remediate systems that are not in compliance.

VMware Converter Enterprise for vCenter Server

Enables users to convert physical machines, and virtual machines in a variety of formats, to ESX/ESXi virtual machines. Converted systems can be imported into the vCenter Server inventory.

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vShield Zones

vShield Zones is an application-aware firewall built for VMware vCenter Server integration. vShield Zones inspects client-server communications and inter-virtual-machine communication to provide detailed traffic analytics and application-aware firewall partitioning. vShield Zones is a critical security component for protecting virtualized datacenters from network-based attacks and misuse.

VMware vCenter Orchestrator

VMware vCenter Orchestrator is a workflow engine that enables you to create and execute automated workflows within your VMware vSphere environment. vCenter Orchestrator coordinates workflow tasks across multiple VMware products and third-party management and administration solutions through its open plug-in architecture. vCenter Orchestrator provides a library of workflows that are highly extensible; any operation available in the vCenter Server API can be used to customize vCenter Orchestrator workflows.

VMware Data Recovery

VMware Data Recovery is a disk-based backup and recovery solution that provides complete data protection for virtual machines. VMware Data Recovery is fully integrated with VMware vCenter Server to enable centralized and efficient management of backup jobs and includes data de-duplication to minimize disk usage.

vCenter Components That Require Tomcat

Several vCenter Server components require the Tomcat Web server to be running on the vCenter Server system. The Tomcat Web server is installed as part of the vCenter Server installation.

The components that require Tomcat to be running include the following.

Linked Mode

CIM/Hardware Status tab

Performance charts

WebAccess

vCenter Storage Monitoring/Storage Views tab

vCenter Service Status

Optional vCenter Server Components

Optional vCenter Server components are packaged and installed with the base product, but require a separate license.

Optional features include:

VMotion

A feature that enables you to move running virtual machines from one ESX/ESXi host to another without service interruption. It requires licensing on both the source and target host. vCenter Server centrally coordinates all VMotion activities.

VMware HA

A feature that enables a cluster with High Availability. If a host goes down, all virtual machines that were running on the host are promptly restarted on different hosts in the same cluster.

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When you enable the cluster for HA, you specify the number of hosts you would like to be able to recover. If you specify the number of host failures allowed as 1, HA maintains enough capacity across the cluster to tolerate the failure of one host. All running virtual machines on that host can be restarted on remaining hosts. By default, you cannot power on a virtual machine if doing so violates required failover capacity. See the VMware Availability Guide for more information.

VMware DRS

A feature that helps improve resource allocation and power consumption across all hosts and resource pools. VMware DRS collects resource usage information for all hosts and virtual machines in the cluster and gives recommendations (or migrates virtual machines) in one of two situations:

Initial placement – When you first power on a virtual machine in the cluster, DRS either places the virtual machine or makes a recommendation.

Load balancing – DRS tries to improve resource utilization across the cluster by performing automatic migrations of virtual machines (VMotion) or by providing a recommendation for virtual machine migrations.

VMware DRS includes distributed power management (DPM) capabilities. When DPM is enabled, the system compares cluster- and host-level capacity to the demands of virtual machines running in the cluster. Based on the results of the comparison, DPM recommends (or automatically implements) actions that can reduce the power consumption of the cluster.

vSphere SDK package

APIs for managing virtual infrastructure and documentation describing those APIs. The SDK also includes the vCenter Server Web Service interface, Web Services Description Language (WSDL), and example files. This is available through an external link. You can download the SDK package from the VMware APIs and SDKs Documentation page on the VMware Web site.

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Starting and Stopping the vSphere

Components 2

You can start and stop each one of the major vSphere components, ESX/ESXi, and vCenter Server. You might want to stop a component to perform maintenance or upgrade operations.

This chapter includes the following topics:

“Start an ESX/ESXi Host,” on page 25

“Reboot or Shut Down an ESX/ESXi Host,” on page 25

“Stop an ESX Host Manually,” on page 26

“Starting vCenter Server,” on page 26

“Start the vSphere Client and Log In,” on page 27

“Stop the vSphere Client and Log Out,” on page 28

“vSphere Web Access,” on page 28

“VMware Service Console,” on page 29

Start an ESX/ESXi Host

When you install ESX/ESXi, it starts itself through the installation reboot process. If your ESX/ESXi host is shut down, you must manually restart it.

Procedure

On the physical box where ESX/ESXi is installed, press the power button until the power on sequence begins.

The ESX/ESXi host starts, locates its virtual machines, and proceeds with its normal ESX/ESXi functions.

Reboot or Shut Down an ESX/ESXi Host

You can power off or restart (reboot) any ESX/ESXi host using the vSphere Client. You can also power off ESX hosts from the service console. Powering off a managed host disconnects it from vCenter Server, but does not remove it from the inventory.

Procedure

1 Shut down all virtual machines running on the ESX/ESXi host.

2 Select the ESX/ESXi host you want to shut down.

VMware, Inc.

3 From the main or right-click menu, select Reboot or Shut Down.

If you select Reboot, the ESX/ESXi host shuts down and reboots.

If you select Shut Down, the ESX/ESXi host shuts down. You must manually power the system back on.

4 Provide a reason for the shut down.

This information is added to the log.

Stop an ESX Host Manually

You can manually shut down an ESX host.

Procedure

1 Log in to the ESX service console.

2 Run the shutdown command.

For example:shutdown -h now

ESX shuts down. When it is finished, a message indicates that it is safe to power off your system.

3 Press the power button until the machine powers off.

For information about accessing the service console, see “Connect to the Service Console,” on page 29.

Starting vCenter Server

vCenter Server runs as a Windows service. vCenter Server starts when you start the Windows machine on which it is installed. It also restarts when that machine is rebooted.

Verify That vCenter Server Is Running

You can verify that the vCenter Server service is running.

Procedure

1 Go to the Services console for your version of Windows.

For example, select Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services and click VMware VirtualCenter Server.

The Status column indicates whether the service started.

2 Right-click the vCenter Server service and select Properties.

3 In the VMware vCenter Server Services Properties dialog box, click the General tab and view the service

status.

Restart the vCenter Server System

The vCenter Server service starts when the machine on which it is installed is booted. You can manually restart the vCenter Server system.

If you have manually stopped the vCenter Server service or must start it for any reason, perform the steps below.

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Procedure

1 Go to the Services console for your version of Windows.

For example, select Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services and click VMware VirtualCenter Server.

2 Right-click VMware VirtualCenter Server, select Start, and wait for startup to complete.

3 Close the Properties dialog box.

Stop the vCenter Server System

vCenter Server is a Windows service. You can use the Windows interface to select the service and stop it.

You should not have to stop the vCenter Server service. The vCenter Server should operate without interruption. Continuous operation ensures that all monitoring and task activities are performed as expected.

Procedure

1 Go to the Services console for your version of Windows.

For example, select Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services.

2 Click VMware VirtualCenter Server Service.

3 Right-click VMware VirtualCenter Server, select Stop, and wait for it to stop.

4 Close the Properties dialog box.

Start the vSphere Client and Log In

The vSphere Client is a graphical user interface to vCenter Server and to hosts.

A login screen appears when you start the vSphere Client. After you log in, the client displays the objects and functionality appropriate to the server you are accessing and the permissions available to the user you logged in as.

Procedure

1 Log in to your Windows system.

If this is the first time you are starting the vSphere Client, log in as the administrator:

If the managed host is not a domain controller, log in as either

or <user>,

where <user> is a member of the local Administrators group.

If the managed host is a domain controller, you must log in as

, where <domain> is the domain name for which the managed host is a controller and <user>is a member of that domain’s Domain Administrators group. VMware does not recommend running on a domain controller .

2 Double-click a shortcut or select the vSphere Client from Start > Programs > VMware > vSphere Client.

3 Enter or select the server name, your user name, and your password.

If you are logging in to a vCenter Server system that is part of a Connected Group, logging in to that server connects you to all servers in that group.

NOTE Only previously entered server names appear in the Serverdrop-down menu.

4 Click Login to continue.

You are now connected to the host or vCenter Server system.

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Stop the vSphere Client and Log Out

When you no longer need to view or alter the activities that the vCenter Server system is performing, log out of the vSphere Client.

NOTE Closing a vSphere Client session does not stop the server.

Procedure

Click the close box (X) , or select File > Exit.

The vSphere Client shuts down. The vSphere Client is logged out of the vCenter Server system. The server continues to run all its normal activities in the background. Any scheduled tasks are saved and performed by vCenter Server.

vSphere Web Access

vSphere Web Access is the Web interface through which you can manage your virtual machines. vSphere Web Access is installed when you install ESX/ESXi.

As with the vSphere Client, vSphere Web Access can either be used to connect directly to an ESX/ESXi host or to a vCenter Server system. The functionality of vSphere Web Access is a subset of vSphere Client functionality.

The vSphere Web Access console provides a remote mouse-keyboard-screen (MKS) for the virtual machines. You can interact with a guest operating system running in a virtual machine and connect remotely to the virtual machine’s mouse, keyboard, and screen.

vSphere Web Access uses a Web interface and an Internet connection to access your ESX/ESXi host or vCenter Server system.

vSphere Web Access does not have its own concept of users or permissions. Use the same login credentials you would use to log in to the vSphere Client.

Procedure

1 Launch your Web browser.

2 Enter the URL of your ESX/ESXi or vCenter Server installation:

https://

/ui

3 Type your user name and password, and click Log In.

After your user name and password are authorized by vSphere Web Access, the vSphere Web Access home page appears.

Log Out of vSphere Web Access

Log out when you are finished with your vSphere Web Access activities.

Procedure

Click the Log Out link at the top right corner of every page.

Remote client devices are disconnected when you log out of vSphere Web Access.

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VMware Service Console

In previous versions of ESX, the service console was one of the interfaces to ESX hosts. Many of the commands are now deprecated. The service console is typically used only in conjunction with a VMware technical support representative.

ESXi does not have a service console. Some service console commands are available for ESXi through the remote command-line interface.

The vSphere SDK is used for scripted manipulation of your vSphere instead. The vSphere Client is the primary interface to all nonscripted activities, including configuring, monitoring, and managing your virtual machines and resources.

Using DHCP for the Service Console

The recommended setup is to use static IP addresses for the service console of an ESX host. You can set up the service console to use DHCP, if your DNS server is capable of mapping the service console’s host name to the dynamically generated IP address.

If your DNS server cannot map the host’s name to its DHCP-generated IP address, you must determine the service console's numeric IP address. Another caution against using DHCP is that the numeric IP address might change as DHCP leases run out or when the system is rebooted.

VMware does not recommend using DHCP for the service console unless your DNS server can handle the host name translation.

CAUTION Do not use dynamic (DHCP) addressing when sharing the network adapter assigned to the service console with virtual machines. ESX requires a static IP address for the service console when sharing a network adapter.

Connect to the Service Console

If you have direct access to the system where ESX is running, you can log in to the physical console on that system.

Whether you use the service console locally or through a remote connection, you must log in using a valid user name and password.

NOTE Depending on the security settings for your ESX computer, you might be able to connect remotely to the service console using SSH or Telnet. For more information on the security settings, see the ESX Configuration Guide.

Procedure

Press Alt+F2 to get to the login screen and log in.

Using Commands on the Service Console

The service console runs a modified version of Linux, and many of the commands available on Linux or UNIX are also available on the service console.

Detailed usage notes for most service console commands are available as manual or man pages.

NOTE ESXi does not have a service console. However, many of the functions provided by the service console are available through the vSphere CLI.

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View the man Page for a Service Console Command

man pages provide information about commands, their usage, options, and syntax.

Procedure

At the service console command line, type the man command followed by the name of the command for which you want to see information.

For example: man <command>

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VMware 4817V62 - vSphere - PC, vSphere vCenter Server 4.0, vSphere ESX 4.0, vSphere ESXi 4.0 Administration Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual