VMware vCenter Operations Manager - 5.7 User Manual

vApp Deployment and Configuration

Guide

vCenter Operations Manager 5.7

This document supports the version of each product listed and
supports all subsequent versions until the document is replaced
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document, see http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.

EN-000645-00

vApp Deployment and Configuration Guide

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Contents

vCenter Operations Manager Deployment and Configuration Guide 5

Introducing vCenter Operations Manager 7

1

vCenter Operations Manager Architecture 7

vCenter Operations Manager and vCenter Server Connections 8

Integrating vCenter Operations Manager and the vSphere Client 9

Integrating with VMware vCenter Infrastructure Navigator 9

vCenter Operations Manager Licensing 10

Certificate Warnings 10

How vCenter Operations Manager Uses Network Ports 10

Deployment Planning Worksheet 11

Finding More Information 11

System Requirements 13

2

vCenter Operations Manager vApp Requirements 13

vCenter Server and ESX Requirements 14

vCenter Operations Manager Supported Browsers 15

Installing vCenter Operations Manager 17

3

Configure Network Parameters for the vCenter Operations Manager vApp 17

Deploy the vCenter Operations Manager vApp 18

Set the ESX Host Time 19

Define the vCenter Server System to Monitor 20

Assign the vCenter Operations Manager License 21

Configure the SMTP and SNMP Settings for vCenter Operations Manager 22

Configure the Default Sender in Email Notifications 22

Install a Custom SSL Certificate for vCenter Operations Manager 23

Grant Access to vCenter Operations 24

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Verifying the vCenter Operations Manager Installation 27

4

Verifying the vCenter Operations Manager Installation from the vSphere Client 27

Verify the vCenter Operations Manager Installation from a Browser 28

Installing a vCenter Operations Manager Adapter 29

5

Install an Adapter on a vApp 29

Managing the Infrastructure Navigator Adapter 31

6

Modifying Adapter Configuration Properties 31

Viewing System Log Files 32

Infrastructure Navigator Adapter Classes 32

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vApp Deployment and Configuration Guide

Updating vCenter Operations Manager 33

7

Updating Virtual Appliance Software to the vCenter Operations Manager vApp 33

Upgrade Paths for vCenter Operations Manager 33

Upgrade Requirements 33

Add a Hard Disk to a Virtual Machine 34

Upgrade the vApp 35

Managing vCenter Operations Manager 37

8

Change the Password of the Root User 37

Change the Password of the Administrator User 37

Create and Download a Support Bundle 38

Index 39

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vCenter Operations Manager Deployment and Configuration Guide

The vCenter Operations Manager Deployment and Configuration Guide provides information about installing and
upgrading VMware® vCenter Operations Manager.

Intended Audience

This guide is intended for anyone who wants to install or upgrade vCenter Operations Manager.

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vApp Deployment and Configuration Guide

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Introducing

vCenter Operations Manager 1

vCenter Operations Manager is an application used to monitor and manage the health, capacity, and
performance of your virtual environment.

vCenter Operations Manager includes the Standard, Advanced, and Enterprise Editions. All editions are
available in vApp format.

This chapter includes the following topics:

n

“vCenter Operations Manager Architecture,” on page 7

n

“vCenter Operations Manager and vCenter Server Connections,” on page 8

n

“Integrating vCenter Operations Manager and the vSphere Client,” on page 9

n

“Integrating with VMware vCenter Infrastructure Navigator,” on page 9

n

“vCenter Operations Manager Licensing,” on page 10

n

“Certificate Warnings,” on page 10

n

“How vCenter Operations Manager Uses Network Ports,” on page 10

n

“Deployment Planning Worksheet,” on page 11

n

“Finding More Information,” on page 11

vCenter Operations Manager Architecture

vCenter Operations Manager is a vApp that you import and deploy with a vCenter Server system.

Understanding the vCenter Operations Manager vApp

vCenter Operations Manager is distributed as a vApp that you can import and deploy to a Virtualization
platform, such as ESX. A vApp has the same basic operation as a virtual machine, but can contain multiple
virtual machines or appliances. The same vApp exists for the Standard, Advanced, and Enterprise Editions.

Distribution Formats

The vApp is distributed as an Open Virtualization Format (OVF) file. The vSphere Client provides an import
vApp workflow that guides you in deploying vApps in OVF format.

The vCenter Operations Manager vApp is managed using the Administration Portal which is a Web console
for configuration and management tasks.

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vApp Deployment and Configuration Guide

vApp Components

vCenter Operations Manager architecture consists of two virtual machines. The following section describes
the vCenter Operations Manager key components of the vApp Architecture.

UI VM

The UI VM allows you to access the results of the analytics in the form of badges and scores using the Web­based application for the UI VM. It also allows you access to the Administration Portal in order to perform
management tasks. The applications in UI VM are described as follows:

vSphere Web
Application

Enterprise Web
Application

Administration Web
Application

The vCenter Operations Manager vSphere UI provides a summary and deeper
views into the vSphere environment.

The vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise application provides a
customizable Web-based user interface. It is available using the Enterprise
edition and provides a view into the entire enterprise.

The vCenter Operations Manager Administration Portal provides a user
interface for vCenter Operations Manager maintenance and management
tasks.

Analytics VM

The Analytics VM is responsible for collecting data from vCenter Server, vCenter Configuration Manager, and
third party data sources, such as metrics, topology, and change events. Raw data is stored in its scalable File
System Database (FSDB). The components in Analytics VM are described as follows:

Capacity and
Performance Analytics

Capacity Collector

FileSystem Database

Postgres DB

Checks the incoming metrics for abnormalities in real time, updates health
scores, and generates alerts when necessary.

Collects metrics and computes derived metrics.

Stores the collected metrics statistics.

Stores all other data collected, including objects, relationships, events, dynamic
thresholds, and alerts.

vCenter Operations Manager and vCenter Server Connections

A single vCenter Operations Manager server can connect to one or to multiple vCenter Server instances. All
communications between vCenter Operations Manager and vCenter Server take place over an SSL connection
and are authenticated by public key certificates or stored certificates.

When vCenter Operations Manager is connected to multiple vCenter Server instances, you have a common
view across all vCenter Server instances for all reporting features.

Basic Deployment

A basic deployment connects vCenter Operations Manager to a single vCenter Server.

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Chapter 1 Introducing vCenter Operations Manager

Multi-Site Deployment

vCenter Operations Manager can connect to vCenter Server instances that are linked. These servers are required
to have common logins. If you configure vCenter Operations Manager to connect to multiple vCenter Server
instances, you must have login privileges to all the vCenter Server instances and use the same password for
login.

Integrating vCenter Operations Manager and the vSphere Client

You can start vCenter Operations Manager from the vSphere Client.

To integrate with the vSphere Client, install the vCenter Operations Manager plug-in. After the plug-in is
installed and you start the vSphere Client, it will discover the plug-in and load it automatically. After the plug­in is initialized and loaded, the vCenter Operations Manager icon is available under the Solutions and
Applications section of the vSphere Client's home page. Click the icon to launch
vCenter Operations Manager in a new view.

NOTE This functionality only works with the vSphere Client 4.0 Update 2 or later.

Integrating with VMware vCenter Infrastructure Navigator

vCenter Operations Manager supports the integration with vCenter Infrastructure Navigator.

Infrastructure Navigator is an application awareness plug-in to the vCenter Server. Infrastructure Navigator
probes the virtual machine entities inside the vCenter Server and provides application related information.

After Infrastructure Navigator integration with vCenter Operations Manager, the application related
information is displayed in the Relationships tab under the Environment tab of
vCenter Operations Manager.

Compatibility Requirements

Infrastructure Navigator can integrate vCenter Operations Manager with vCenter Server 5.0 or later with
Infrastructure Navigator version 1.2 and 2.0.

Deployment

The integration of Infrastructure Navigator with vCenter Operations Manager is seamless. After vCenter
Operations is downloaded and installed, the Infrastructure Navigator adapter is created when you register a
vCenter Server to monitor. If the vCenter Server has Infrastructure Navigator installed and configured,
vCenter Operations Manager displays application related information in the vSphere user interface.

Managing the vCenter Infrastructure Navigator Adapter

You can view the Infrastructure Navigator adapter from the custom user interface. You cannot add, edit, or
delete the Infrastructure Navigator adapter. For management tasks, see Chapter 6, “Managing the

Infrastructure Navigator Adapter,” on page 31.

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vApp Deployment and Configuration Guide

vCenter Operations Manager Licensing

vCenter Operations Manager and vCenter Server licensing are separate. You can purchase a product license
for the Standard, Advanced, and Enterprise editions of vCenter Operations Manager.

A full license is a permanent license that gives you access to editions of vCenter Operations Manager and all
updates. This license does not have an expiration date. For vCenter Operations Manager Standard and
Advanced, the license is virtual machine based and sets the limit on how many virtual machines
vCenter Operations Manager call pull data from. For vCenter Operations Manager Enterprise, the license is
not virtual machine based and there are no limits on virtual machines or resources.

To apply a license key, see “Assign the vCenter Operations Manager License,” on page 21.

For more information about licensing, see the VMware licensing portal.

Certificate Warnings

When you access vCenter Operations Manager from a browser, security warnings are reported. Warnings are
generated if the certificate is self-signed and not signed by a recognized Certificate Authority (CA) or the
distinguished name field of the certificate does not match the hostname of the server. You must accept the
certificate to proceed with the connection.

How vCenter Operations Manager Uses Network Ports

vCenter Operations Manager uses several different network ports to communicate with vCenter Server and
vCenter Operations Manager components.

The vCenter Operations Manager client uses the following TCP ports to connect to the
vCenter Operations Manager server. Configure your external firewalls so that these ports are open.

NOTE VMware does not support the customization of server ports.

Network Ports

The following table lists the default vCenter Operations Manager port access connections.

Table 1-1. Port Access Requirements for vCenter Operations Manager vApp

Port Number Description

22 Enables SSH access to the vCenter Operations Manager

vApp

80 Redirects to port 443

443 Used to access the vCenter Operations Manager Admin

Portal and the vCenter Operations Manager application

1194 Sets the tunnel between UI VM and Analytics VM

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Deployment Planning Worksheet

Use the deployment planning worksheet to prepare for your vCenter Operations Manager deployment.

Table 1-2. Deployment Planning Worksheet

Component Considerations

vCenter Server Determine which vCenter Server you will deploy

vCenter Server Network Parameters Use the vSphere Client to configure the network parameters

Port Number Assignments Make sure that you configure your firewalls so that the

vCenter Server Hostname or IP Address Determine which Hostname or IP address

vCenter Server Password You must have the administrator username and password

vCenter Operations Manager License Obtain a license key and register

VMware VirtualCenter Management Webservices vCenter Operations Manager requires vCenter Server to run

Time synchronization The time of the ESX system that hosts the

Chapter 1 Introducing vCenter Operations Manager

vCenter Operations Manager from. The vCenter Server must
be compatible with vCenter Operations Manager. See

“vCenter Server and ESX Requirements,” on page 14.

before you deploy the vCenter Operations Manager vApp.
See “Configure Network Parameters for the vCenter

Operations Manager vApp,” on page 17.

following ports are open:

n

22: Enables SSH access

n

80: Redirects to port 443

n

443: vApp Admin UI and the
vCenter Operations Manager application.

n

1194: Tunnel for the UI VM and Analytics VM

See “How vCenter Operations Manager Uses Network

Ports,” on page 10 for port requirements.

vCenter Operations Manager will monitor and collect data
from.

for the vCenter Server vCenter Operations Manager will
monitor and collect data from.

vCenter Operations Manager. See “Assign the vCenter

Operations Manager License,” on page 21.

this service.

vCenter Operations Manager vApp and the vCenter Server
must be synchronized. The vApp clock synchronizes with
and depends on the ESX host clock.

Finding More Information

See the following documents for additional information about using vCenter Operations Manager.

vCenter Operations Manager Documentation

The vCenter Operations Manager 5.7 Release Note provides product overview and a description of known
issues.

The vCenter Operations Manager Advanced Getting Started Guide provides information about the
vCenter Operations Manager planning process.

The vCenter Operations Manager in-product help is a Web-based help system. Online help is available through
the help menu and from context-sensitive links within the vCenter Operations Manager user interface.

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The vCenter Operations Manager Administration Portal in-product help is a Web-based system. Online help
is available through the help menu and from context-sensitive links within the Administration Portal user
interface.

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