VMware ESXI - 6.7 Instruction Manual
vCenter Server and Host
Management
17 APR 2018
VMware vSphere 6.7
VMware ESXi 6.7
vCenter Server 6.7
vCenter Server and Host Management
You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware website at:
https://docs.vmware.com/
If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to
docfeedback@vmware.com
VMware, Inc.
3401 Hillview Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94304
www.vmware.com
Copyright © 2009–2018 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright and trademark information.
VMware, Inc. 2
Contents
About VMware vCenter Server and Host Management 10
vSphere Concepts and Features 11
1
Virtualization Basics 11
Physical Topology of vSphere Data Center 12
vSphere Software Components 13
Client Interfaces for vSphere 16
vSphere Managed Inventory Objects 17
Optional vCenter Server Components 19
vCenter Server Plug-Ins 21
Using the vSphere Client 22
2
Log in to vCenter Server by Using the vSphere Client 23
Use the vSphere Client Navigator 23
Customize the User Interface 24
Rearrange the Components of the User Interface 25
Customize the User Interface by Using the Layout Settings Menu 25
Disable the vSphere Web Client Customizable User Interface Feature 25
Disable the Related Objects Tabs 26
Install the VMware Enhanced Authentication Plug-in 26
Pause and Resume a Task in Progress in the vSphere Web Client 27
Refresh Data 27
Searching the Inventory 28
Perform a Quick Search 28
Perform a Simple Search 29
Perform an Advanced Search 29
Save a Search 30
Load a Saved Search 30
Use Quick Filters 31
Quick Filters Available for vSphere Objects 31
View Recent Objects 33
Configure the vSphere Web Client Timeout Value 34
Remove Stored User Data 34
Drag Objects 35
Export Lists 35
Attach File to Service Request 36
Keyboard Shortcuts 36
Inventory Keyboard Shortcuts 36
VMware, Inc.
3
vCenter Server and Host Management
Create a Scheduled Task with a Keyboard Shortcut 37
Configuring vCenter Server 38
3
Configure License Settings for vCenter Server 39
Configuring Statistics Settings 39
Configure Statistics Collection Intervals in the vSphere Web Client 40
Estimate the Effect of Statistics Collection on the Database in the vSphere Web Client 41
Data Collection Levels 41
Configure Runtime Settings for vCenter Server 42
Configure User Directory Settings 43
Configure Mail Sender Settings 44
Configure SNMP Settings 45
View Port Settings 45
Configure Timeout Settings 46
Configure Logging Options 46
Configure Database Settings 47
Verifying SSL Certificates for Legacy Hosts 48
Configure Advanced Settings 48
Send a Message to Other Logged In Users 49
Edit the Settings of Services 50
Start, Stop, and Restart Services 50
Configuring Services in the vSphere Web Client 51
Auto Deploy Service 53
Content Library Service 53
Transfer Service Properties 55
VMware Open Virtualization Format Service 56
Image Builder Service 56
VMware Performance Charts Service 56
VMware vSphere Authentication Proxy 57
VMware vSphere ESXi Dump Collector 58
VMware vSphere Update Manager 58
vAPI Endpoint 58
Using Enhanced Linked Mode 62
4
Configuring Communication Among ESXi , vCenter Server, and the
5
vSphere Web Client 63
Configuring Hosts and vCenter Server 64
6
Host Configuration 64
Configure the Boot Device on an ESXi Host 64
Configure Agent VM Settings 65
VMware, Inc. 4
vCenter Server and Host Management
Set Advanced Host Attributes 65
Synchronizing Clocks on the vSphere Network 66
Edit Time Configuration for a Host 66
Configuring Customer Experience Improvement Program 68
7
Categories of Information That VMware Receives 68
Join the Customer Experience Improvement Program in the vSphere Web Client 68
Organizing Your Inventory 69
8
Create Data Centers 70
Add a Host 71
Create a Folder 72
Create Clusters 72
vSphere Tags and Attributes 74
9
Migrate Custom Attributes to Tags 75
Create, Edit, or Delete a Tag Category 76
Create, Edit, or Delete a Tag 77
Assign a Tag to an Object 78
Remove a Tag from an Object 78
Add Permissions for Tags and Tag Categories 79
Tagging Best Practices 79
Custom Attributes in the vSphere Web Client 80
Add and Edit Custom Attributes 80
License Management and Reporting 82
10
Licensing Terminology and Definitions 83
The License Service in vSphere 6.7 84
Licensing for Environments with vCenter Server Systems 6.0 and Later, and 5.5 85
Licensing for Products in vSphere 85
Licensing for ESXi Hosts 85
Licensing for vCenter Server 87
Licensing for Clusters with Enabled vSAN 87
Suite Licensing 88
Licensing for VMware vCloud® Suite 88
Licensing for vSphere® with Operations Management 89
Managing Licenses 89
Create New Licenses 89
Configuring License Settings for Assets in the vSphere Web Client 90
Set Assets to Evaluation Mode 94
Rename a License 95
Remove Licenses 95
VMware, Inc. 5
vCenter Server and Host Management
Viewing Licensing Information 96
View Licensing Information About the vSphere Environment 96
View Available Licenses and Features About a Product 97
View the Features that an Asset Uses 97
View the License Key of the License 98
View the Licensed Features for an Asset 98
Generating Reports for License Use in the vSphere Web Client 99
View the License Usage for Multiple Products in the vSphere Web Client 99
View License Usage Details for a Single Product in the vSphere Web Client 100
Export a License Usage Report in the vSphere Web Client 100
Synchronizing Licenses with Your My VMware Account 101
Synchronize Licenses 101
Using CSV files 107
Using Generated Recommendation Reports 108
vCenter Server Domain Repoint License Considerations 110
Working with Tasks 111
11
View Tasks 111
Schedule Tasks 111
Create a Scheduled Task 112
Change or Reschedule a Task 114
Remove a Scheduled Task 115
Managing Hosts in vCenter Server 116
12
Disconnecting and Reconnecting a Host 116
Disconnect a Managed Host 116
Reconnect a Managed Host 117
Reconnecting Hosts After Changes to the vCenter Server SSL Certificate 117
Remove a Host from a Cluster 117
Remove a Managed Host from vCenter Server 118
Reboot or Shut Down an ESXi Host 118
Migrating Virtual Machines 120
13
Cold Migration 122
Migration with vMotion 123
Host Configuration for vMotion 124
Encrypted vSphere vMotion 127
Virtual Machine Conditions and Limitations for vMotion 129
Migration with vMotion in Environments Without Shared Storage 130
Migration Between vCenter Server Systems 131
Migration with Storage vMotion 133
Storage vMotion Requirements and Limitations 133
VMware, Inc. 6
vCenter Server and Host Management
CPU Compatibility and EVC 134
CPU Compatibility Scenarios 135
CPU Families and Feature Sets 136
About Enhanced vMotion Compatibility 136
EVC Requirements for Hosts 137
Create an EVC Cluster 137
Enable EVC on an Existing Cluster 138
Change the EVC Mode for a Cluster 139
Determine the EVC Mode of a Virtual Machine 140
Determine the EVC Mode that a Host Supports 141
Prepare Clusters for AMD Processors Without 3DNow! 141
CPU Compatibility Masks 142
View CPUID Details for an EVC Cluster 143
Migrate a Powered-Off or Suspended Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client 143
Migrate a Virtual Machine to a New Compute Resource 146
Migrate a Virtual Machine to a New Compute Resource and Storage in the vSphere Web Client 148
Migrate a Virtual Machine to New Storage in the vSphere Web Client 151
Place vMotion Traffic on the vMotion TCP/IP Stack of an ESXi Host 152
Place Traffic for Cold Migration, Cloning, and Snapshots on the Provisioning TCP/IP Stack 154
Limits on Simultaneous Migrations 156
About Migration Compatibility Checks 157
Automating Management Tasks Using vRealize Orchestrator 159
14
Concepts of Workflows 159
Performing Administration Tasks on the vSphere Objects 160
Configure the Default vRealize Orchestrator 161
Managing Associations of Workflows with vSphere Inventory Objects 162
Associate Workflows with vSphere Inventory Object Types 162
Edit the Associations of Workflows with vSphere Objects 163
Export the Associations of Workflows with vSphere Objects 163
Import the Association of Workflows with vSphere Objects 164
Working with Workflows 165
Run Workflows on vSphere Inventory Objects 165
View Information About Workflow Runs 166
View Information About the Runs of a Specific Workflow 167
View Workflows That Are Waiting for User Interaction 167
Searching for Workflows 168
Scheduling Workflows 169
Workflows for Managing Inventory Objects 172
Cluster and Compute Resource Workflows 172
Guest Operation Files Workflows 173
Guest Operation Processes Workflows 174
VMware, Inc. 7
vCenter Server and Host Management
Custom Attributes Workflows 174
Data Center Workflows 174
Datastore and Files Workflows 175
Data Center Folder Management Workflows 175
Host Folder Management Workflows 176
Virtual Machine Folder Management Workflows 176
Basic Host Management Workflows 176
Host Power Management Workflows 177
Host Registration Management Workflows 177
Networking Workflows 177
Distributed Virtual Port Group Workflows 178
Distributed Virtual Switch Workflows 178
Standard Virtual Switch Workflows 179
Resource Pool Workflows 179
Storage Workflows 180
Storage DRS Workflows 180
Basic Virtual Machine Management Workflows 181
Clone Workflows 183
Linked Clone Workflows 183
Linux Customization Clone Workflows 184
Tools Clone Workflows 184
Windows Customization Clone Workflows 185
Device Management Workflows 185
Move and Migrate Workflows 186
Other Workflows 186
Power Management Workflows 187
Snapshot Workflows 188
VMware Tools Workflows 189
About Headless Systems 190
15
Detecting a Headless System 190
About Serial Mode Dynamic Switching 190
ESXi Serial Port Modes 191
Dynamic Switching Keystrokes 191
Serial Port Dynamic Switching Using the CLI 191
Controlling the Serial DCUI 192
Troubleshooting Overview 193
16
Troubleshooting vCenter Server 193
Guidelines for Troubleshooting 194
Identifying Symptoms 194
Defining the Problem Space 194
VMware, Inc. 8
vCenter Server and Host Management
Testing Possible Solutions 195
Troubleshooting with Logs 195
vCenter Server Upgrade Fails When Unable to Stop Tomcat Service 197
Microsoft SQL Database Set to Unsupported Compatibility Mode Causes vCenter Server
Installation or Upgrade to Fail 198
Troubleshooting the vSphere Web Client 198
vCenter Server System Does Not Appear in vSphere Web Client Inventory 198
Unable to Start the Virtual Machine Console 199
Troubleshooting vCenter Server and ESXi Host Certificates 200
New vCenter Server Certificate Does Not Appear to Load 200
vCenter Server Cannot Connect to Managed Hosts 200
Cannot Configure vSphere HA When Using Custom SSL Certificates 200
Troubleshooting Hosts 201
Troubleshooting vSphere HA Host States 201
Troubleshooting vSphere Auto Deploy 206
Authentication Token Manipulation Error 213
Active Directory Rule Set Error Causes Host Profile Compliance Failure 214
Unable to Download VIBs When Using vCenter Server Reverse Proxy 214
Troubleshooting Licensing 216
Troubleshooting Host Licensing 216
Unable to Power On a Virtual Machine 217
Unable to Configure or Use a Feature 218
VMware, Inc. 9
About VMware vCenter Server and Host Management
vCenter Server and Host Management describes how to use the VMware® vSphere Web Client
components, configure and manage hosts, migrate virtual machines, and manage licenses in your
vCenter Server environment.
vCenter Server and Host Management also provides brief introductions to the various tasks you can
perform within the system, and it cross-references to the documentation that describes the tasks in detail.
vCenter Server and Host Management covers ESXi and vCenter Server.
Intended Audience
vCenter Server and Host Management is intended for system administrators who are experienced
Windows or Linux system administrators and who are familiar with virtual machine technology and data
center operations.
VMware, Inc.
10
vSphere Concepts and Features 1
VMware vSphere® uses the power of virtualization to transform data centers into simplified cloud
computing infrastructures, enabling IT organizations to deliver flexible and reliable IT services.
The two core components of vSphere are VMware ESXi™ and VMware vCenter Server®. ESXi is the
hypervisor on which you create and run virtual machines. vCenter Server is a service that acts as a
central administrator for ESXi hosts that are connected on a network. With vCenter Server, you can pool
and manage the resources of multiple hosts. vCenter Server allows you to monitor and manage your
physical and virtual infrastructure.
Additional vSphere components are available as plugins that extend the functionality of the vSphere
product.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n
Virtualization Basics
n
Physical Topology of vSphere Data Center
n
vSphere Software Components
n
Client Interfaces for vSphere
n
vSphere Managed Inventory Objects
n
Optional vCenter Server Components
n
vCenter Server Plug-Ins
Virtualization Basics
A virtual machine is a software computer that, like a physical computer, runs an operating system and
applications. The hypervisor serves as a platform for running virtual machines and allows for the
consolidation of computing resources.
Each virtual machine contains its own virtual, or software-based, hardware, including a virtual CPU,
memory, hard disk, and network interface card.
VMware, Inc.
11
vCenter Server and Host Management
ESXi is the hypervisor in a vSphere environment. The hypervisor is installed on physical or virtual
hardware in a virtualized data center, and acts as a platform for virtual machines. The hypervisor provides
physical hardware resources dynamically to virtual machines to support the operation of the virtual
machines. The hypervisor allows virtual machines to operate with a degree of independence from the
underlying physical hardware. For example, a virtual machine can be moved from one physical host to
another, or its virtual disks can be moved from one type of storage to another, without affecting the
functioning of the virtual machine.
Because virtual machines are decoupled from the underlying physical hardware, virtualization allows you
to consolidate physical computing resources such as CPUs, memory, storage, and networking into pools
of resources. These resources can be dynamically and flexibly made available to virtual machines. With
the vCenter Server management platform, you can increase the availability and security of your virtual
infrastructure.
Physical Topology of vSphere Data Center
A typical VMware vSphere data center consists of physical building blocks such as x86 virtualization
servers, storage networks and arrays, IP networks, a management server, and desktop clients.
The vSphere data center includes the following components.
ESXi Hosts Industry standard x86 servers that run ESXi on the bare metal. ESXi
software provides resources for and runs the virtual machines. You can
group a number of similarly configured x86 servers with connections to the
same network and storage subsystems. This grouping creates an
aggregate set of resources in the virtual environment, called a cluster.
Storage networks and
arrays
IP networks Each compute server can have multiple physical network adapters to
vCenter Server vCenter Server provides a single point of control to the data center. It
VMware vSphere uses Fibre Channel SAN arrays, iSCSI SAN arrays, and
NAS arrays to meet different data center storage needs. With storage area
networks, you can connect and share storage arrays between groups of
servers. This arrangement allows aggregation of the storage resources and
provides more flexibility in provisioning them to virtual machines.
provide high bandwidth and reliable networking to the entire VMware
vSphere data center.
provides essential data center services such as access control,
performance monitoring, and configuration. It unifies the resources from the
individual computing servers to be shared among virtual machines in the
entire data center. It manages the assignment of virtual machines to the
ESXi hosts and the assignment of resources to the virtual machines within
a given computing server. These assignments are based on the policies
that the system administrator sets.
VMware, Inc. 12
vCenter Server and Host Management
Compute servers continue to function even if vCenter Server becomes
unreachable (for example, if the network is severed). The ESXi hosts can
be managed separately and continue to run the virtual machines assigned
to them based on the resource assignment that was last set. After
connection to vCenter Server is restored, it can manage the data center as
a whole again.
Management clients VMware vSphere provides several interfaces for data center management
and virtual machine access. These interfaces include vSphere Web Client
for access through a web browser, vSphere Client, or vSphere CommandLine Interface (vSphere CLI).
vSphere Software Components
VMware vSphere is a suite of software components for virtualization. These include ESXi,
vCenter Server, and other software components that fulfill several different functions in the vSphere
environment.
Note Starting with vSphere 6.5, all vCenter Server services and some Platform Services Controller
services run as child processes of the VMware Service Lifecycle Manager service.
vSphere includes the following software components:
ESXi The hypervisor runs virtual machines. Each virtual machine has a set of
configuration and disk files that together perform all the functions of a
physical machine.
Through 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.
vCenter Server A service that acts as a central administrator for VMware ESXi hosts that
are connected on a network. vCenter Server directs actions on the virtual
machines and the ESXi hosts.
vCenter Server is a single Windows or Linux Service and is installed to run
automatically. The vCenter Server service runs continuously in the
background. It performs its monitoring and managing activities even when
no vSphere Web Clients are connected and when no one is logged on to
the computer where it resides. It must have network access to all the hosts
it manages.
VMware, Inc. 13
vCenter Server and Host Management
You can install vCenter Server on a Windows virtual machine or physical
server, or deploy the vCenter Server Appliance. The
vCenter Server Appliance is a preconfigured Linux-based virtual machine
optimized for running vCenter Server and the vCenter Server components.
You can deploy the vCenter Server Appliance on ESXi hosts 5.5 or later, or
on vCenter Server instances 5.5 or later.
Starting with vSphere 6.0, all prerequisite services for running
vCenter Server and the vCenter Server components are bundled in the
VMware Platform Services Controller. You can deploy vCenter Server with
an embedded or external Platform Services Controller, but you must always
install or deploy the Platform Services Controller before installing or
deploying vCenter Server. See the vCenter Server Installation and Setup
documentation for details about setting up this configuration.
vCenter Single Sign-On A service that is part of the vCenter Server management infrastructure. The
vCenter Single Sign-On authentication service makes the VMware cloud
infrastructure platform more secure by allowing the various vSphere
software components to communicate with each other. The vCenter Single
Sign-On authentication service uses a secure token exchange mechanism
instead of requiring each component to authenticate a user separately with
a directory service like Active Directory.
When you install vCenter Single Sign-On, the following components are
deployed.
STS (Security
Token Service)
STS certificates enable a user who has logged on
through vCenter Single Sign-On to authenticate to
any vCenter service that vCenter Single Sign-On
supports. The STS service issues Security
Assertion Markup Language (SAML) tokens. These
security tokens represent the identity of a user in
each of the vCenter Single Sign-On identity
sources.
Administration
server
The administration server allows users with vCenter
Single Sign-On administrator privileges to configure
the vCenter Single Sign-On service and manage
users and groups from the vSphere Client. Initially,
only the user administrator@vsphere.local has
these privileges.
vCenter Lookup
Service
vCenter Lookup Service contains topology
information about the vSphere infrastructure,
enabling vSphere components to connect to each
other securely. Unless you are using Simple Install,
VMware, Inc. 14
vCenter Server and Host Management
you are prompted for the Lookup Service URL when
you install other vSphere components. For example,
the Inventory Service and the vCenter Server
installers ask for the Lookup Service URL and then
contact the Lookup Service to find vCenter Single
Sign-On. After installation, the Inventory Service
and vCenter Server system are registered with the
vCenter Lookup Service so other vSphere
components, like the vSphere Client, can find them.
VMware
Directory
Service
Directory service associated with the vsphere.local
domain. This service is a multi-tenanted, multimastered directory service that makes an LDAP
directory available on port 11711. In multisite mode,
an update of VMware Directory Service content in
one VMware Directory Service instance results in
the automatic update of the VMware Directory
Service instances associated with all other vCenter
Single Sign-On nodes.
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 the vSphere Client for
download. After a plug-in is installed on the vSphere Client, it might alter
the interface by adding views, tabs, toolbar buttons, or menu items 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.
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
Persistent storage for maintaining the 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 ESXi host directly through the
VMware Host Client, and not through a vCenter Server system and
associated vSphere Client, you do not use a vCenter Server database.
VMware, Inc. 15
vCenter Server and Host Management
tcServer Many vCenter Server functions are implemented as web services that
require the tcServer. The tcServer is installed on the vCenter Server
machine as part of the vCenter Server installation.
Features that require the tcServer to be running include: lCIM/Hardware
Status tab, Performance charts, WebAccess, Storage Policy-Based
services, and vCenter Service status.
vCenter Server agent On each managed host, the software that collects, communicates, and runs
the actions received from vCenter Server. The vCenter Server agent is
installed the first time any host is added to the vCenter Server inventory.
Host agent On each managed host, the software that collects, communicates, and runs
the actions received through the vSphere Client. It is installed as part of the
ESXi installation.
Client Interfaces for vSphere
You can access vSphere components through the vSphere Client, the vSphere Web Client, the VMware
Host Client, and the vSphere Command-Line Interface.
vSphere Client The vSphere Client, introduced in vSphere 6.5, is an HTML5-based client
and is included with vCenter Server alongside the vSphere Web Client. The
vSphere Client is the primary interface for connecting to and managing
vCenter Server instances.
Instructions in this guide reflect the vSphere Client (an HTML5-based GUI).
You can also use the instructions to perform most of the tasks by using the
vSphere Web Client (a Flex-based GUI).
VMware, Inc. 16
vCenter Server and Host Management
Tasks for which the workflow differs significantly between the
vSphere Client and the vSphere Web Client have duplicate procedures that
provide steps according to the respective client interface. The procedures
that relate to the vSphere Web Client, contain vSphere Web Client in the
title.
vSphere Web Client The vSphere Web Client is a web application installed on a machine with
network access to your vCenter Server installation.
VMware Host Client
The VMware Host Client is a Web-based application that you can use to
manage individual ESXi hosts that are not connected to a vCenter Server
system.
For more information about the VMware Host Client, see vSphere Single
Host Management - VMware Host Client.
vSphere Command-
Line Interfaces
vSphere supports multiple command-line interfaces for configuring virtual
machines, ESXi hosts, and vCenter Server.
Note In vSphere 6.7, most of the vSphere Web Client functionality is implemented in the vSphere Client.
For an up-to-date list of the unsupported functionality, see Functionality Updates for the vSphere Client.
vSphere Managed Inventory Objects
In vSphere, the inventory is a collection of virtual and physical objects on which you can place
permissions, monitor tasks and events, and set alarms. You can group most inventory objects by using
folders to more easily manage them.
All inventory objects, 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.
Note Managed object names cannot exceed 214 bytes (UTF-8 encoded).
vCenter Server monitors and manages the following inventory objects:
Data Centers Unlike folders, which are used to organize specific object types, a data
center is an aggregation of all the different types of objects used to work in
virtual infrastructure.
Within each data center, there are four separate hierarchies.
n
Virtual machines (and templates)
n
Hosts (and clusters)
n
Networks
n
Datastores
VMware, Inc. 17
vCenter Server and Host Management
The data center defines the namespace for networks and datastores. The
names for these objects must be unique within a data center. You cannot
have two datastores with the same name within a single data center, but
you can have two datastores with the same name in two different data
centers. Virtual machines, templates, and clusters need not be unique
within the data center, but must be unique within their folder.
Objects with the same name in two different data centers are not
necessarily the same object. Because of this, moving objects between data
centers can create unpredictable results. For example, a network named
networkA in data_centerA might not be the same network as a network
named networkA in data_centerB. Moving a virtual machine connected to
networkA from data_centerA to data_centerB results in the virtual machine
changing the network it is connected to.
Clusters A collection of 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. vCenter Server manages
the resources of all hosts in a cluster as one unit.
If you enable VMware EVC on a cluster, you can ensure that migrations
with vMotion do not fail because of CPU compatibility errors. If you enable
vSphere 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 vSphere HA on a cluster, the resources of the cluster are managed
as a pool of capacity to allow rapid recovery from host hardware failures.
Datastores A virtual representation of physical storage resources in the data center. A
datastore is the storage location for virtual machine files. In an on-premises
SDDC, these physical storage resources can come from the local SCSI
disk of the ESXi host, the Fibre Channel SAN disk arrays, the iSCSI SAN
disk arrays, or Network Attached Storage (NAS) arrays. For both onpremises and cloud SDDCs, vSAN datastores hide the idiosyncrasies of
the underlying physical storage and present a uniform model for the
storage resources required by virtual machines.
Folders 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:
data centers, 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.
VMware, Inc. 18
vCenter Server and Host Management
Data center folders form a hierarchy directly under the root vCenter Server
and allow users to group their data centers. Within each data center 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 ESXi is installed. All virtual machines run
on hosts or clusters.
Networks A set of virtual network interface cards (virtual NICs), distributed switches
or vSphere Distributed Switches, and port groups or distributed port groups
that connect virtual machines to each other or to the physical network
outside of the virtual data center. 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 and distributed port groups.
Resource pools Resource pools are used to compartmentalize the CPU and memory
resources of a host or cluster. Virtual machines run in, and draw their
resources from, resource pools. You can create multiple resource pools as
direct children of a standalone host or cluster and then delegate control
over each resource pool to other individuals or organizations.
If DRS is enabled, vCenter Server provides various options for 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.
Templates A template is a master copy of a virtual machine that can be used to create
and provision new virtual machines. Templates can have a guest operating
system and application software installed. They can be customized during
deployment to ensure that the new virtual machine has a unique name and
network settings.
Virtual machines A virtualized 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 vSphere vApp is a format for packaging and managing applications. A vApp
can contain multiple virtual machines.
Optional vCenter Server Components
Optional vCenter Server components are packaged and installed with the base product, but might require
a separate license.
VMware, Inc. 19
vCenter Server and Host Management
Optional vCenter Server features include:
vMotion Enables you to move running virtual machines from one ESXi host to
another ESXi host without service interruption. It requires licensing on both
the source and target host. vCenter Server centrally coordinates all vMotion
activities.
Storage vMotion Allows you to move the disks and configuration file of a running virtual
machine from one datastore to another without service interruption. It
requires licensing on the virtual machine's host.
vSphere HA Enables a cluster with High Availability. If a host fails, all virtual machines
that were running on the host are promptly restarted on different hosts in
the same cluster.
When you enable the cluster for vSphere HA, you specify the number of
hosts you want to be able to recover. If you specify the number of host
failures allowed as 1, vSphere 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 turn
on a virtual machine if doing so violates required failover capacity.
vSphere DRS Helps improve resource allocation and power consumption across all hosts
and resource pools. vSphere DRS collects resource use information for all
hosts and virtual machines in the cluster and gives recommendations (or
migrates virtual machines) in one of two situations:
n
Initial placement – When you power on a virtual machine in the cluster
for the first time, DRS either places the virtual machine or makes a
recommendation.
n
Load balancing – DRS attempts to improve resource use across the
cluster by performing automatic migrations of virtual machines
(vMotion) or by providing a recommendation for virtual machine
migrations.
vSphere DRS includes distributed power management (DPM) capabilities.
When DPM is enabled, the system compares cluster-level and host-level
capacity to the demands of virtual machines that are running in the cluster.
Based on the results of the comparison, DPM recommends (or implements)
actions that can reduce the power consumption of the cluster.
Storage DRS Allows you to manage multiple datastores as a single resource, called a
datastore cluster. A datastore cluster is an aggregation of multiple
datastores into a single logical, load-balanced pool. You can treat the
datastore cluster as a single flexible storage resource for resource
management purposes. You can assign a virtual disk to a datastore cluster,
and Storage DRS finds an appropriate datastore for it. The load balancer
VMware, Inc. 20
vCenter Server and Host Management
takes care of initial placement and future migrations based on workload
measurements. Storage space balancing and I/O balancing minimize the
risk of running out of space and the risk of I/O bottlenecks slowing the
performance of virtual machines.
vSphere Fault
Tolerance
vSphere Fault Tolerance provides continuous availability for virtual
machines by creating and maintaining a Secondary VM that is identical to
the Primary VM. This Secondary VM is continuously available to replace
the Primary VM in a failover situation.
vCenter Server Plug-Ins
vCenter Server plug-ins extend the capabilities of vCenter Server by providing additional features and
functions.
Some plug-ins are installed as part of the base vCenter Server product.
vCenter Storage
Monitoring
vCenter Hardware
Status
vCenter Service Status Displays the status of vCenter services.
Some plug-ins are packaged separately from the base product and require separate installation. You can
update plug-ins and the base product independently of each other. VMware modules include:
Allows you to review information on storage use and to map relationships
visually between all storage entities available in vCenter Server.
Uses CIM monitoring to display the hardware status of hosts that
vCenter Server manages.
vSphere Update
Manager (VUM)
vRealize Orchestrator A workflow engine that enables you to create and run automated workflows
Enables administrators to apply updates and patches across ESXi hosts
and all managed virtual machines. Administrators can create user-defined
security baselines that 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.
in your vSphere environment. vRealize Orchestrator coordinates workflow
tasks across multiple VMware products and third-party management and
administration solutions through its open plug-in architecture.
vRealize Orchestrator provides a library of workflows that are extensible.
You can use any operation available in the vCenter Server API to
customize vRealize Orchestrator workflows.
VMware, Inc. 21
Using the vSphere Client 2
Use the vSphere Client to connect to vCenter Server systems and manage vSphere inventory objects.
Use of the vSphere Client requires a supported Web browser.
VMware has tested and supports the following guest operating systems and browser versions for the
vSphere Client.
Table 2‑1. Supported Guest Operating Systems and Browser Versions for the vSphere Client .
Operating system Browser
Windows 32-bit and 64-bit Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 and later.
Mozilla Firefox: 56 and later.
Google Chrome: 62 and later.
Mac OS Mozilla Firefox: 56 and later.
Google Chrome: 62 and later.
Later versions of these browsers are likely to work, but have not been tested.
This chapter includes the following topics:
n
Log in to vCenter Server by Using the vSphere Client
n
Use the vSphere Client Navigator
n
Customize the User Interface
n
Install the VMware Enhanced Authentication Plug-in
n
Pause and Resume a Task in Progress in the vSphere Web Client
n
Refresh Data
n
Searching the Inventory
n
Use Quick Filters
n
View Recent Objects
n
Configure the vSphere Web Client Timeout Value
n
Remove Stored User Data
n
Drag Objects
VMware, Inc.
22
vCenter Server and Host Management
n
Export Lists
n
Attach File to Service Request
n
Keyboard Shortcuts
Log in to vCenter Server by Using the vSphere Client
Log in to vCenter Server by using the vSphere Client to manage your vSphere inventory.
In vSphere 6.5 and later, the vSphere Client is installed as part of the vCenter Server on Windows or the
vCenter Server Appliance deployment. This way, the vSphere Client always points to the same vCenter
Single Sign-On instance.
Procedure
1 Open a Web browser and enter the URL for the vSphere Client:
https://vcenter_server_ip_address_or_fqdn/ui. To use the vSphere Web Client, enter the
URL: https://vcenter_server_ip_address_or_fqdn/vsphere-client.
2 Enter the credentials of a user who has permissions on vCenter Server, and click Login.
3 If a warning message about an untrusted SSL certificate appears, select the appropriate action based
on your security policy.
Option Action
Ignore the security warning for this
login session only.
Ignore the security warning for this
login session, and install the default
certificate so that the warning does not
appear again.
Cancel and install a signed certificate
before proceeding.
Click Ignore.
Select Install this certificate and do not display any security warnings for
this server and click Ignore.
Select this option only if using the default certificate does not present a security
problem in your environment.
Click Cancel and ensure that a signed certificate is installed on the vCenter
Server system before you attempt to connect again.
4 To logout, click the user name at the top of the vSphere Client window and select Logout.
The vSphere Client connects to all the vCenter Server systems on which the specified user has
permissions, allowing you to view and manage your inventory.
Use the vSphere Client Navigator
You can use the navigator to browse and select objects in the vSphere Client inventory as an alternative
to the hierarchical inventory tree.
Unlike the inventory tree, which presents hierarchical arrangements of parent and child objects arranged
in the Hosts and Clusters, VMs and Templates, Storage, and Networking views, the navigator presents a
graph-based view of the inventory. You can navigate from an object to its related objects, regardless of
type.
VMware, Inc. 23
vCenter Server and Host Management
Procedure
1 From the vSphere Client Home, click Global Inventory Lists.
2 Under Global Inventory Lists, click one of the object categories to view objects of that type.
For example, click Hosts to view hosts in the vSphere Client inventory.
3 Click an object in the list once to display information about the object in the center pane of the
vSphere Client.
4 (Optional) Click the object again to open it.
Opening an object brings it to the top of the navigator and displays related object categories beneath
it.
For example, opening a host allows you to see the child resource pools, virtual machines, vApps,
datastores, standard networks, distributed switches, and distributed port groups associated with this
host.
5 To access additional information and actions, click one of the tabs in the center pane.
Option Description
Getting Started View introductory information and access basic actions.
Summary View basic status and configuration for an object.
Monitor View alarms, performance data, resource allocation, events, and other status
information for an object.
Configure Configure settings, alarm definitions, tags, and permissions.
Related Objects tabs Tabs with lists of the objects related to the object that you selected. For example,
if you select a host, the tabs that you see are VMs, Resource Pools,
Datastores, and Networks.
Customize the User Interface
You can customize the look and feel of vSphere Client to improve your experience while you perform your
tasks.
After you customize the user interface, vSphere Client saves the individual user interface customization.
n
Rearrange the Components of the User Interface
You can rearrange the panes in the vSphere Web Client user interface. You can move the panes
and Navigator sidebar around the content area to enhance your personal experience by customizing
the vSphere Web Client user interface. You change the interface at any time.
n
Customize the User Interface by Using the Layout Settings Menu
You can customize the user interface of vSphere Web Client by choosing to hide or display different
panes.
n
Disable the vSphere Web Client Customizable User Interface Feature
You can disable the vSphere Web Client customizable user interface feature by changing the
webclient.properties file of vCenter Server or vCenter Server Appliance.
VMware, Inc. 24
vCenter Server and Host Management
n
Disable the Related Objects Tabs
You can disable the related object tabs by changing the webclient.properties file.
Rearrange the Components of the User Interface
You can rearrange the panes in the vSphere Web Client user interface. You can move the panes and
Navigator sidebar around the content area to enhance your personal experience by customizing the
vSphere Web Client user interface. You change the interface at any time.
Procedure
1 In a Web browser, log in to vSphere Web Client.
2 Drag the pane you want to move to an appropriate place.
While you drag the pane, you see two types of arrows. Single arrows move as you drag from one part
of the UI to another. Both single and double arrows indicate the target position of the pane you want
to move.
Customize the User Interface by Using the Layout Settings Menu
You can customize the user interface of vSphere Web Client by choosing to hide or display different
panes.
Procedure
1 In a Web browser, log in to vSphere Web Client.
2 Click the user name at the top of the vSphere Web Client window and select Layout Settings.
3 In the Layout Settings window, select the panes that you want the UI to display.
4 Click OK to save the changes.
Disable the vSphere Web Client Customizable User Interface Feature
You can disable the vSphere Web Client customizable user interface feature by changing the
webclient.properties file of vCenter Server or vCenter Server Appliance.
Procedure
1 Connect to the vCenter Server or vCenter Server Appliance by using any remote console, and
optionally use SSH.
2 Navigate to the webclient.properties file and open it in a text editor.
Option Description
vCenter Server
vCenter Server Appliance
installation_directory\VMware\CIS\cfg\vsphere-
client\webclient.properties
/etc/vmware/vsphere-client/webclient.properties
VMware, Inc. 25
vCenter Server and Host Management
3 On a new line, enter docking.disabled=true and save the file.
Disable the Related Objects Tabs
You can disable the related object tabs by changing the webclient.properties file.
Procedure
1 Connect to the vCenter Server or vCenter Server Appliance by using any remote console, and
optionally use SSH.
2 Navigate to the /etc/vmware/vsphere-client/webclient.properties file and open it in a text
editor.
3 Edit the file to include the line show.relations.in.categorized.tabs=false.
If the line is present but commented out, remove the comment indicator.
4 Restart the vSphere Web Client service.
Install the VMware Enhanced Authentication Plug-in
The VMware Enhanced Authentication Plug-in provides Integrated Windows Authentication and
Windows-based smart card functionality.
In the vSphere 6.5 release, the VMware Enhanced Authentication Plug-in replaced the Client Integration
Plug-in from vSphere 6.0 releases and earlier. The Enhanced Authentication Plug-in provides Integrated
Windows Authentication and Windows-based smart card functionality. These are the only two features
carried over from the previous Client Integration Plug-in. The Enhanced Authentication Plug-in can
function seamlessly if you already have the Client Integration Plug-in installed on your system from
vSphere 6.0 or earlier. There are no conflicts if both plug-ins are installed.
Install the plug-in only once to enable all the functionality the plug-in delivers.
If you install the plug-in from an Internet Explorer browser, you must first disable Protected Mode and
enable pop-up windows on your Web browser. Internet Explorer identifies the plug-in as being on the
Internet instead of on the local intranet. In such cases, the plug-in is not installed correctly because
Protected Mode is enabled for the Internet.
For information about supported browsers and operating systems, see the vCenter Server Installation and
Setup documentation.
Prerequisites
If you use Microsoft Internet Explorer, disable Protected Mode.
Procedure
1 Open a Web browser and type the URL for the vSphere Client.
2 At the bottom of the vSphere Client login page, click Download Enhanced Authentication Plug-in.
VMware, Inc. 26
vCenter Server and Host Management
3 If the browser blocks the installation either by issuing certificate errors or by running a pop-up blocker,
follow the Help instructions for your browser to resolve the problem.
4 Save the plug-in to your computer, and run the executable.
5 Step through the installation wizard for both the VMware Enhanced Authentication Plug-in and the
VMware Plug-in Service which are run in succession.
6 When the installations are complete, refresh your browser.
7 On the External Protocol Request dialog box, click Launch Application to run the Enhanced
Authentication Plug-in.
The link to download the plug-in disappears from the login page.
Pause and Resume a Task in Progress in the vSphere Web Client
You can pause many tasks in the vSphere Web Client and later resume them from the Work in Progress
pane.
Procedure
1 In a dialog box or wizard, click the minimize button.
The task is paused and minimized to the Work in Progress pane. Any changes that you have made in
the dialog box or wizard are saved, but not yet applied to the object you are working with.
2 When you are ready to resume the task, click it in the Work in Progress pane.
The dialog box or wizard opens and you can resume the task from where you left off.
Refresh Data
You must manually refresh the data in the vSphere Client to see changes made to objects by other users
during your session.
For performance reasons, the vSphere Client does not continuously refresh data on all objects in the
inventory. All changes that you make during your current session are immediately reflected in the client
user interface. Change made by other users or in other sessions are not reflected until you manually
refresh the data.
Procedure
u
To update all data in the current vSphere Client view, click the refresh icon (
).
The client view is updated.
VMware, Inc. 27
vCenter Server and Host Management
Searching the Inventory
With vSphere Client, you can search the inventory for objects that match specified criteria. You can
search the inventories of all vCenter Server systems connected to the same Platform Services Controller
or to Platform Services Controllers.
You can only view and search for inventory objects that you have permission to view.
Note If your permissions change while you are logged in, the search service might not immediately
recognize these changes. To ensure that your search is performed with up-to-date permissions, log out of
all your open sessions and log in again before you perform the search.
n
Perform a Quick Search
A quick search checks all types of objects for the specified search term within the name or other
properties of the object.
n
Perform a Simple Search
A simple search checks all types of objects for a specified search term within the object name.
n
Perform an Advanced Search
You can conduct an advanced search in the vSphere Web Client to search for managed objects that
meet multiple criteria.
n
Save a Search
You can save search queries in the vSphere Web Client so that you can retrieve them to rerun later.
n
Load a Saved Search
You can load a saved search query to rerun the search.
Perform a Quick Search
A quick search checks all types of objects for the specified search term within the name or other
properties of the object.
Procedure
1 Type the search term in the search box at the top of the vSphere Client window.
Multiple search terms in a quick or simple search are treated as if they are connected by ORs. For
example, searching for example machine finds all objects with names containing either "example" or
"machine".
The search results appear below the search box as you type. The number of items displayed is
limited to 10.
2 (Optional) To display an item in the inventory, click that item in the search results.
VMware, Inc. 28
vCenter Server and Host Management
3 (Optional) To see more search results or more details about the search results, click All Results.
a (Optional) To see additional information about the object, select an object in the results table.
b (Optional) To display that item in the inventory, double-click any item in the search results.
The search results are listed in a table. If differing types of objects are found, the table contains tabs
for each type of object. For example, if a search finds hosts and virtual machines, the following tabs
appear: Hosts, showing only host results and Virtual Machines, showing only virtual machine
results.
Perform a Simple Search
A simple search checks all types of objects for a specified search term within the object name.
Procedure
1 From the vSphere Client Home screen sidebar menu, click New Search
2 Type the search term in the search box and press Enter.
Multiple search terms in a quick or simple search are treated as if they are connected by ORs. For
example, searching for example machine finds all objects with names containing either "example" or
"machine".
The search results are listed in a table. If differing types of objects are found, the table contains tabs
for each type of object. For example, if a search finds hosts and virtual machines, the following tabs
appear: Hosts, showing only host results and Virtual Machines, showing only virtual machine
results.
3 (Optional) To see additional information about the object, select the object in the results table.
4 (Optional) To display an item in the inventory, double-click that item in the search results.
Perform an Advanced Search
You can conduct an advanced search in the vSphere Web Client to search for managed objects that meet
multiple criteria.
For example, you can use specific strings to search for virtual machines residing on a particular host.
Procedure
1 From the vSphere Web Client Home, click New Search and then click Advanced Search.
2 Select the type of object to search for from the Search for drop-down menu.
3 Select how to combine the search criteria.
Option Description
any The search returns results that match any of the specified criteria.
all The search returns only results that match all the specified criteria.
VMware, Inc. 29
vCenter Server and Host Management
4 Select a property to search for from the drop-down menu.
The properties available depend on the type of object you are searching for.
5 Select the relationship between the search term and the property from the drop-down menu.
The options available in this step depend on the property selected in the previous step. For example,
if you select a Name property, the options available are contains, is, and is not.
6 Type or select the search term.
7 (Optional) To add additional search criteria, click Add new criteria and repeat step 4 to step 6.
8 (Optional) To add an additional search, click Add another object type and repeat step 2 to step 7.
9 Click Search.
Search results are displayed in the details pane and in the navigator.
10 (Optional) To see item details without leaving the context of the search, click on the item in the
navigator.
11 (Optional) To display an item in the inventory, double-click on the item in the details pane.
Save a Search
You can save search queries in the vSphere Web Client so that you can retrieve them to rerun later.
Procedure
1 In the vSphere Web Client, enter a query for either a simple or advanced search.
2 Click Save.
3 Type a name for the search and click OK.
The search query you entered is saved. You can reload that query later and repeat the search.
Load a Saved Search
You can load a saved search query to rerun the search.
The vSphere Web Client saves search queries, not search results. When you load a saved search, the
search query is run again and new results are displayed.
Procedure
1 From the vSphere Web Client Home, click Saved Searches.
2 Click the saved search.
The search runs and the results are displayed.
VMware, Inc. 30
Loading...