VMware VCENTER CONFIGURATION MANAGER 5.3, vCenter Configuration Manager Foundation Checker 3.0 User Manual

vCenter Configuration ManagerFoundation Checker

User's Guide

vCenter Configuration Manager 5.3

vCenter Configuration Manager Foundation Checker 3.0

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EN-000438-01

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Contents

About This Book 5

Introduction to Foundation Checker 7

Installing Foundation Checker 9

Installing the Standalone Version of Foundation Checker 9
Downloading the Standalone Foundation Checker 10

Running Foundation Checker 11

Command Prompt Parameters 12

Reviewing the Foundation Checker System Checks 13

Components 13
Displayed Information 13
Evaluating the Results 14

Other Troubleshooting Options 15

Escalating Issues 15

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About This Book

This guide, VCM Foundation Checker User's Guide, describes the process of installing, running, and
analyzing the prerequisite checks performed by VMware vCenter Configuration Manager (VCM)
Foundation Checker. These checks are required before installing the VCM application. This document
contains the following information:

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Foundation Checker overview

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Installing Foundation Checker

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Running Foundation Checker

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Reviewing the Foundation Checker system results

VCM Foundation Checker User's Guide covers VCM 5.3 and Foundation Checker 3.0.

Intended Audience

This document contains information intended for system administrators who are experienced Windows,
UNIX/Linux, Mac,or VMware virtualization system administrators and who are familiar with installing
VCM.

To use the information in this guide effectively, you must have a basic understanding of how to configure
network resources, install software, and administer operating systems. You also need to fully understand
your network’s topology and resource naming conventions.

Document Feedback

VMware welcomes your suggestions for improving our documentation. If you have comments, send
your feedback to [e-mail].

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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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Introduction to Foundation Checker

1

The Foundation Checker is a tool used to verify that the machine designated as a VCM Collector meets all
the prerequisites necessary for installing VCM. The prerequisites are described in the VCM Hardware and
Software Requirements Guide.

The Foundation Checker is comprised of a series of system checks run on the Collector machine. If the
checks run without error, you can begin installing VCM. If the checks identify missing components or
incorrect configurations, you are instructed where to verify the component or configuration, and how to
remedy the errors.

NOTEDo not proceed with the installation of VCM until the Foundation Checker is able to run all the
checks with no errors.

You will most commonly encounter the Foundation Checker as part of the Installation Manager. If you
are using this manual in the context of installing VCM, see "Reviewing the Foundation Checker System

Checks" on page 13 for information about evaluating the results. However, you can run the Foundation

Checker as a standalone application. The most common scenarios for installing and running the
standalone application are as follows:

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If you are checking a designated Collector machine in advance of VCM installation.

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If you are adding a Collector to your VCM configuration and want to check the new machine in
advance of installation.

Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 of this manual provides information about installing and running the standalone
version of the Foundation Checker.

IMPORTANT If you install and run the Foundation Checker before installation, it is important to uninstall
the Foundation Checker before running the Installation Manager. If you do not uninstall, the Installation
Manager will generate errors or consider the installation an upgrade and fail.

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Installing Foundation Checker

2

The Foundation Checker is run as part of the VCM Installation Manager application. However, you can
install a standalone version on your designated Collector machine to verify a VCM-ready configuration in
advance of the full VCM installation.

To use Foundation Checker as a standalone application, you can install the Foundation Checker tool using
the Installation Manager or download the Foundation Checker application from the Download VMware
vCenter Configuration Manager. Do not install a standalone version of Foundation Checker on a machine
that is already running VCM.

NOTEIf you received Foundation Checker from a source other than the Installation Manager, see "Running

Foundation Checker" on page 11 for instructions. Take care to use the version of the Foundation Checker

that supports the specific version of VCM you are installing.

Installing the Standalone Version of Foundation Checker

1. Insert the installation CD into the machine on which you are installing Foundation Checker. The
Installation screen appears.

NOTE If the Installation screen does not appear automatically or if you are installing from a network
location, navigate to the root directory on the CD or share and double-click setup.exe.

2. Click Run Installation Manager. The Introduction page appears.

3. Click Next. The License Agreement appears.

4. Select I accept the terms in the license agreement, and also indicate that you are an authorized agent
or end user and that you have read the terms of the agreement.

5. Click Next. After identifying any components already installed on the machine, the Select Installation
Type page appears.

6. Select the Advanced Installation check box to expand the installation options.

7. To install only the Foundation Checker, clear all the check boxes and then select Foundation Checker
in the Tools list.

8. Click Next. The Gathering System Information page appears. The Installation Manager verifies that
the machine has sufficient resources to support the Foundation Checker.

9. Click Next. The Configure Components page appears.

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10. Use the default location or to change the location where the Foundation Checker tool is to be installed,

type a new path in the text box or click Change to browse to the new location.

11. Click Next. The Install Components page appears.

12. Click Install.

13. When you are notified that the process is completed, click Finish. The application is installed.

Downloading the Standalone Foundation Checker

1. Log on to the Download VMware vCenter Configuration Manager
(http://downloads.vmware.com/d/info/datacenter_downloads/vmware_vcenter_configuration_
manager/5_0).

2. Download the Foundation Checker file. You must run the version of Foundation Checker associated
with the version of VCM you are planning to install.

3. If the file does not self-extract and run, unzip the downloaded file.

4. Open a command prompt and browse to the location of the FoundationChecker.console.exe. See

"Running Foundation Checker" on page 11 for more information.

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Running Foundation Checker

3

After Foundation Checker has been installed, you can run it on the machine you are validating. The
standalone Foundation Checker is run from a command prompt.

1. Open a command prompt window.

2. At the command prompt, go to the directory where VCM Foundation Checker is installed. For
example, c:\Program Files\VMware\VCM\Tools\FoundationChecker. Or, if you are working with
downloaded and unzipped files from the Download VMware vCenter Configuration Manager web
site, go to the directory where the unzipped files reside.

3. Type FoundationChecker.console.exe -v -dispxform. The -v command directs the
application to run in verbose mode, displaying status of the checks as they run. The -dispxform
command launches the Foundation Checker Results page, providing information about any changes
you may need to make to prepare your machine for an installation. See "Evaluating the Results" on

page 14 for more information.

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Command Prompt Parameters

Parameter Description

-help Use this run-time parameter to display a complete list of available parameters.

-v Use this parameter to run the application in verbose mode. You are presented with

all application details while performing system checks.

-dispxform Use this parameter to display the HTML page which presents the results of your

checks after the Foundation Checker has run.

-cat Use this parameter to check a particular category of checks. A list of check categories

can be found in the Categories.xml file in the Datafiles\Input directory where you
installed Foundation Checker.

-outputfile Use this parameter with an output file name to output the results to a file. An

example parameter is -outputfile c:\program
files\VMware\VCM\Tools\FoundationChecker\results.txt. A .txt file is created in
the folder where Foundation Checker is installed. This parameter is identical to the ­so parameter.

-so Use this parameter with an output file name to output the results to a file. An

example parameter is -so c:\program
files\VMware\VCM\Tools\FoundationChecker\results.txt. A .txt file is created in
the folder where Foundation Checker is installed. This parameter is identical to the ­outputfile parameter.

-xformresult

<filename>

Changes the name of the results .xsl file. Defaults to ViewFCResults.xsl if not
provided. The output file will be located in the Datafiles\Output directory where you
installed the application. Changes the name of the results .xsl file. Defaults to
ViewFCResults.xsl if not provided.

-inputfile Use this parameter to use an custom input file used to check the machine. As part of

the customer support process, VMware may provide a custom input file.

-configfile <filename> Changes the name of the config XML file. Defaults to Config.xml if not provided.

-indir Use this parameter to specify the root directory for data input.

-outdir Use this parameter to specify the output directory for data.

-mach Use this parameter to specify the name of the machine on which you want to run the

application.

-debug Use this parameter to provide a larger list of debug options from running

Foundation Checker. The output file is located in the Datafiles\Output directory
where you installed the application.

Table 3-1. Foundation Checker Command Parameters

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Reviewing the Foundation Checker Sys­tem Checks

4

To ensure a successful VCM installation, Foundation Checker performs a series of system checks to verify
the existence of various applications and system prerequisites.

Components

The system checks evaluate the machine for the following component prerequisites.

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Operating System

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SQL Server 2005

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.NET Framework (3.5.1)

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Internet Information Services

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SQL Server Reporting Services

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Internet Explorer

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Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC)

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SQL XML

Displayed Information

The displayed information includes:

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Component: System check name.

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Status: Severity level (OK, Warning, or Error).

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OK: Indicates the check was successful. No further action is required.

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Warning: Indicates that a non-mandatory check has failed. VCM may not install or, if installed, it
may not run optimally.

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Error: Indicates that a required check has failed and VCM will not install.

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Problem: Provides a short description of the problem Foundation Checker identified during the
assessment.

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Fix: Provides a short description of the remediation steps needed to fix the problem. This field also
contains a link to a Help file describing steps you can take to remedy the problem.

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Message: Provides a description of what the expected values are for this System Check.

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Evaluating the Results

The system check results are saved as an HTML file. The HTML file is automatically displayed at the end of
the checking process when the Foundation Checker is run with the -dispxform parameter.

You can also view the file using the following procedure.

1. Open the FCResult.htm file. The default location for the file is the Datafiles\Output directory
where you installed Foundation Checker.

2. Click any of the OK, Error, or Warning links to expand the list of displayed checks for each
component. Click on Click here for more information to view the steps for correcting any errors or
warnings. See the following example:

NOTEVMware recommends that you address all Errors and review all Warnings. Warnings provide
valuable information regarding configuration settings that may impact VCM performance.

IMPORTANT If you install and run the Foundation Checker before installation, it is important to uninstall
the Foundation Checker before running the Installation Manager. If you do not uninstall, the Installation
Manager will generate errors or consider the installation an upgrade and fail.

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Other Troubleshooting Options

Additional troubleshooting options are as follows.

Problem Resolution
After running the Foundation Checker, the

results file displays a large number of
errors.

Carefully review and apply the configuration settings provided in the
Hardware and Software Requirements, “Chapter 4: Software and Operating
System Requirements – Collector Machines”. Run the Foundation Checker
again.

I receive errors when I run the Foundation
Checker on a machine that has previously
run the Foundation Checker without
errors.

Reboot the machine and run Foundation Checker again.

Table 4-1. Other Troubleshooting Options

Escalating Issues

If the steps provided to resolve the system check failures do not solve the warnings or errors, contact
VMware Customer Support. Be prepared to provide the contents of the following folders.

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FoundationChecker

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_csi_installation

The Support team will use these files to evaluate your system checking errors. The folders are located in
the installing user’s Documents and Settings temporary folder, located under C:\Documents and
Settings\john.doe\Local Settings\Temp, or use %Temp%.

Reviewing the Foundation C hecker System Checks

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