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Basic System AdministrationESX Server 3.5, ESX Server 3i version 3.5
Virtual Center 2.5
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VMware, Inc.3401 Hillview Ave.Palo Alto, CA 94304www.vmware.com
2 VMware, Inc.
Basic Administration Guide
You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on our 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:
20062009 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and internationalcopyright and intellectual property laws. VMware products are covered by one or more patents listedat http://www.vmware.com/go/patents.
VMware, the VMware boxes logo and design, Virtual SMP and VMotion are registered trademarks ortrademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and namesmentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.
Basic Administration Guide
Revision: 20090213Item: VI-ENG-Q407-436
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UsingDHCPfortheServiceConsole 41
ConnectingtotheServiceConsole 42
UsingCommandsontheServiceConsole 42
4 UsingtheVIClient 45AbouttheVIClient 45
MenuBar 47
PopUpMenus 50
ConsoleMenu 50
NavigationBar 51
InventoryViewTabs 53
GettingStartedTabs 56
UsingtheTutorial 57
Toolbar 57
StatusBar,RecentTasks,andTriggeredAlarms 58
PanelSections 59
SortingandFilteringLists 60
UsingCustomAttributes 61
SelectingandViewingObjects 63
SelectingObjects 64
MonitoringObjects 65
PerformingActionsonObjects 65
ManagingVirtualCenterModules 67
5 SystemConfiguration 69HostConfigurationforESXServerandVirtualCenter 69
HardwareTab 70
SoftwareTab 71
ESXServerNetworkConfiguration 72
ESXServerStorageConfiguration 72
ViewingSecurityConfigurationInformation 73
ViewingESXServerCommandInformation 74
VirtualCenterConfiguration 74
ConfiguringVirtualCenterCommunication 76
ConfiguringthePortThatVirtualCenterServerUses 77
ConfiguringVirtualCenterCommunicationoveraWebConnection 78
VirtualMachineConfiguration 79
Working
with
Active
Sessions 81AboutSNMPandVMwareInfrastructure 83
AboutMIBFiles 83
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Contents
VMWAREROOTMIB 84
VMWAREENVMIB 84
VMWAREPRODUCTSMIB 85
VMWARERESOURCESMIB 86
VMWARETCMIB 89
VMWARETRAPSMIB 90
VMWAREVMINFOMIB 91
VMWAREVMKERNELMIB 93
UsingSNMPwithVirtualCenterServer 93
UsingSNMPwithESXServer3 95
ConfiguringtheESXServerAgentfromtheServiceConsole 95
ConfiguringSNMPTrapDestinationsforESXServer3 96
UsingSNMPwithESXServer3i 97
ConfiguringSNMPManagementClientSoftware 98
ConfiguringSNMPSecurityforESXServer3 98
SNMPDiagnostics 98
UsingSNMPwithGuestOperatingSystems 99
SystemLogFiles 100
ViewingSystemLogEntries 100
ExternalSystemLogs 101
ConfiguringSyslogonESXServerHosts 103
ExportingDiagnosticData 104
CollectingLogFiles 105
6 ManagingtheVIClientInventory 107UnderstandingVIClientObjects 108
AddinganInventoryObject 110
MovingObjectsintheInventory 111
RemovinganInventoryObject 112
WorkingwithFilesintheDatastoreBrowser 112
AboutCopyingVirtualMachineDisks 113
PerforminganInitialDatacenterConsolidation 113
VirtualMachineManagement
7 ManagingHostsinVirtualCenter 117
About
Hosts 118UnderstandingHostStates 119
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AddingaHost 119
ConnectingorDisconnectingaHost 122
RemovingaHostfromaCluster 124
RemovingaHostfromVirtualCenter 125
HostAdvancedConfigurationOptions 127
8 ConsolidatingtheDatacenter 129AboutDatacenterConsolidation 130
ConsolidationPrerequisites 130
FirstTime
Use 131
AboutConsolidationServices 131
SpecifyingConsolidationSettings 132
DiscoveringPhysicalSystems 132
SpecifyingScope 133
SupplyingSystemlevelAdministratorCredentials 134
ViewingAnalysisResults 134
Aboutthe
Confidence
Metric 135
ConsolidatingCandidates 135
AboutDiskResizing 136
ViewingConsolidationTasks 136
TroubleshootingConsolidation 137
VirtualCenterPerformance 137
AnalysisLimit 137
9 ImportingandExportingVirtualMachines 139AboutOVF 140
ImportingaVirtualAppliance 140
ExportingaVirtualMachine 141
10 CreatingVirtualMachines 143UsingtheNewVirtualMachineWizard 144
PerformingAdditionalConfigurationBeforeCompletion 144
CreatingTypicalVirtualMachines 145
CreatingCustomVirtualMachines 148
MappingaSANLUN 153
InstallingaGuestOperatingSystem 154
InstallingandUpgradingVMwareTools 155
DisplayingtheVMwareToolsPropertiesDialogBox 162VMwareToolsUpgrades 163
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Contents
CustomVMwareToolsInstallation 165
WYSEMultimediaSupport 166
InstallingWYSEMultimediaSupportwithVMwareTools 166
InstallingWYSEMultimediaSupportaspartofaVMwareToolsUpgrade 166
11 ManagingVirtualMachines 169ChangingVirtualMachinePowerStates 169
UnderstandingVirtualMachinePowerStates 170
UnderstandingTransitionalPowerStates 172
ManuallyPoweringaVirtualMachineOnandOff 172
UsingSuspendandResume 173
SchedulingaPowerStateChangeforaVirtualMachine 174
AddingandRemovingVirtualMachines 175
AddingExistingVirtualMachinestoVirtualCenter 175
RemovingVirtualMachinesfromVirtualCenter 175
ReturningaVirtualMachineorTemplatetoVirtualCenter 176
StartingandShuttingDownVirtualMachines 177
12 ConfiguringVirtualMachines 179VirtualMachinePropertiesEditor 179
ChangingtheHardwareConfigurationofaVirtualMachine 180
ChangingVirtualMachineOptions 186
ChangingVirtualMachineResourceSettings 192
CPUResources 192
AdvancedCPUSettings 193
MemoryResources 194
DiskResources 196
AddingNewHardware 196
LegacyVirtualMachines 201
UpgradingVirtualHardware 202
13 WorkingwithTemplatesandClones 203UnderstandingTemplates 203
CreatingTemplates 204
EditingaTemplate 206
DeployingVirtualMachinesfromTemplates 207
DeletingTemplates 209
RegainingTemplates 210
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CloningVirtualMachines 210
CreatingaScheduledTasktoCloneaVirtualMachine 212
14 CustomizingGuestOperatingSystems 215PreparingforGuestCustomization 216
VirtualHardwareRequirementsforGuestCustomization 216
WindowsRequirementsforGuestCustomization 217
LinuxRequirementsforGuestCustomization 218
CustomizingaWindowsGuestOperatingSystem 218
CustomizingaLinuxGuestOperatingSystem 222
UsingtheCustomizationSpecificationWizard 224
UsingtheCloneVirtualMachineWizard 228
CompletingaGuestOperatingSystemCustomization 229
CompletingLinuxGuestOperatingSystemCustomization 229
CompletingWindowsGuestOperatingSystemCustomization 229
15 MigratingVirtual
Machines 231AboutMigration 232
Migration 233
MigrationwithVMotion 233
VMotionRequirements 234
SharedStorage 234
SharedVMFSVolumeorNASStorage 234
CPUCompatibility 234
NetworkingRequirements 236
SwapfileLocationCompatibility 237
MigratingVirtualMachineswithSnapshots 238
VMotionCompatibility 238
CPUCompatibilityMasks 240
MigrationWizard 241
Migrationwith
Storage
VMotion 245
StorageVMotionRequirementsandLimitations 246
StorageVMotionRemoteCommandLineSyntax 247
StorageVMotionExamples 248
16 UsingSnapshots 249UnderstandingSnapshots 249
RelationshipBetween
Snapshots 250
SnapshotsandOtherActivityintheVirtualMachine 251
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Contents
TakingaSnapshot 251
ChangingDiskModetoExcludeVirtualDisksfromSnapshots 252
UsingtheSnapshotManager 253
RestoringaSnapshot 255
ParentSnapshot 255
Revert toSnapshotCommand 256
SystemAdministration
17 ManagingUsers,Groups,Permissions,andRoles 261AccessElements 262
AccessRules 262
HierarchicalInheritance 263
MultiplePermissionSettings 263
TasksRequiringSettingsonMultipleObjects 264
Users 265
Groups 267
Permissions 267
Roles 268
CreatingRoles 271
CloningRoles 272
EditingRoles 273
RemovingRoles 273
RenamingRoles 274
AccessPermissions 274
AssigningAccessPermissions 275
AdjustingtheSearchListinLargeDomains 278
ChangingAccessPermissions 279
RemovingAccessPermissions 280
18 SettingUpandMonitoringPerformanceStatisticsandResourceMaps 281
StatisticsCollection 281
AboutCollectionIntervalsandCollectionLevels 282
CollectionLevelScenarios 284
UsingCollectionLevelsEffectively 285
Howstatisticaldataisstoredinthedatabase 285
ConfiguringStatisticsCollectionIntervals 287PerformanceCharts 289
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ViewingCharts 290
SavingChartDatatoaFile 291
CustomizingChartViews 291
ResourceMaps 293
AboutVMotionResourceMaps 294
MapElementsandIcons 294
ViewingMaps 295
PrintingMaps 296
ExportingMaps 296
19 ManagingTasks,Events,andAlarms 297ManagingTasks 297
UnderstandingTasks 298
ViewingandPerformingTasks 298
ManagingScheduledTasks 301
ReschedulingaScheduledTask 304
RemovingaScheduledTask 305
CancelingaTask 305ManagingEvents 307
ViewingAllEventMessages 308
ViewingSelectedEventMessages 309
SortingandFilteringEventMessages 310
ExportingEventMessages 311
ManagingAlarms 312
UnderstandingAlarms 314
PreparingforEmailMessageSMTPAlarmNotification 315
PreparingforSNMPAlarmNotification 316
CreatingAlarms 317
EditingAlarms 322
RemovingAlarms 323
Appendixes
A DefinedPrivileges 327Alarms 328
Datacenter 329
Datastore 329
Extensions 330Folders 330
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Index 371
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Thismanual,BasicSystemAdministration,describeshowtostartandstoptheVMwareInfrastructureClient(VIClient)components,buildyourVMwareInfrastructure
environment,monitorandmanagetheinformationgeneratedaboutthecomponents,
andsetuprolesandpermissionsforusersandgroupsusingtheVMwareInfrastructureenvironment.Thismanualalsoprovidesinformationformanaging,creating,and
configuringvirtualmachinesinyourdatacenter.
Inaddition,thismanualprovidesbriefintroductionstothevarioustasksyoucan
performwithinthesystemaswellascrossreferencestothedocumentationthat
describesallthetasksindetail.
BasicSystem
Administration
covers
both
VMware
ESX
Server
3.5
and
VMware
ESX
Server3i,version3.5.Foreaseofdiscussion,thisbookusesthefollowingproduct
namingconventions:
FortopicsspecifictoESXServer3.5,thisbookusesthetermESXServer3.
FortopicsspecifictoESXServer3iversion3.5,thisbookusesthetermESXServer
3i.
For
topics
common
to
both
products,
this
book
uses
the
term
ESX
Server.
Whentheidentificationofaspecificreleaseisimportanttoadiscussion,thisbook
referstotheproductbyitsfull,versionedname.
WhenadiscussionappliestoallversionsofESXServerforVMwareInfrastructure
3,thisbookusesthetermESXServer3.x.
About This Book
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Intended Audience
Theinformationpresentedinthismanualiswrittenforsystemadministratorswhoare
experiencedWindowsorLinuxsystemadministratorsandwhoarefamiliarwithvirtualmachinetechnologyanddatacenteroperations.
Document Feedback
VMwarewelcomesyoursuggestionsforimprovingourdocumentation.Ifyouhave
comments,sendyourfeedbackto:
VMware Infrastructure Documentation
TheVMwareInfrastructuredocumentationconsistsofthecombinedVMware
VirtualCenterandESXServerdocumentationset.
Abbreviations Used in FiguresThefiguresinthismanualusetheabbreviationslistedinTable 1.
Table 1. Abbreviations
Abbreviation Description
database VirtualCenterdatabase
datastore Storageforthemanagedhost
dsk# Storagediskforthemanagedhost
hostn VirtualCentermanagedhosts
SAN Storageareanetworktypedatastoresharedbetweenmanagedhosts
tmplt Template
user# Userwithaccesspermissions
VC VirtualCenter
VM# Virtualmachinesonamanagedhost
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Getting Started
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B i S t Ad i i t ti
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Two Approaches to Managing Virtual Machines
VMwareInfrastructureClient(VIClient)isaflexible,configurablesolutionfor
managingyour
virtual
machines.
There
are
two
primary
methods
for
managing
your
virtualmachines:
DirectlythroughanESXServerhost(asingleorstandalonehost)thatcanmanage
onlythosevirtualmachines,andtheirresources,installedonit.
ThroughaVirtualCenterServerthatmanagesmultiplevirtualmachinesandtheir
resourcesdistributedovermanyESXServerhosts.
ThefigurebelowillustratesthecomponentsinanESXServerVirtualInfrastructure.
Figure 1-1. VMware Infrastructure Components with an ESX Server Host
ThefigurebelowillustratesthecomponentsinaVirtualCenterServerVirtual
Infrastructure.
datastore
VM VM VM
VI Client
Host Agent
VI Client
ESX Server host
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Chapter 1 VMware Infrastructure Components
Figure 1-2. VMware Infrastructure Components with a VirtualCenter Server
Components of VMware Infrastructure
TorunyourVMwareInfrastructureenvironment,youneedthefollowingitems:
ESXServer
A
virtualization
platform
used
to
create
the
virtual
machines
as
aset
ofconfigurationanddiskfilesthattogetherperformallthefunctionsofaphysical
machine.
ThroughESXServer,yourunthevirtualmachines,installoperatingsystems,run
applications,andconfigurethevirtualmachines.Configurationincludes
identifyingthevirtualmachinesresources,suchasstoragedevices.
Theserverprovidesbootstrapping,management,andotherservicesthatmanage
yourvirtualmachines.
EachESXServerhasaVIClientavailableforyourmanagementuse.IfyourESXServerisaregisteredhostwiththeVirtualCenterServer,aVIClientthat
accommodatestheVirtualCenterfeaturesisavailable.
VirtualCenterAservicethatactsasacentraladministratorforVMwareESX
Serverhoststhatareconnectedonanetwork.VirtualCenterdirectsactionsonthe
virtualmachinesandthevirtualmachinehosts(theESXServerhosts).
VC
database
shareddatastore
datastore
VM VM VM
VirtualCenterAgent
VirtualCenter
Server
VirtualCenter
License Server
VirtualCenterAgent
VirtualCenterAgent
VM VM VM VM VM VM
VI Client VI Client
ESX Server host ESX Server host ESX Server host
VI Client VI Client VI Client
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VirtualInfrastructureWebAccess(VIWebAccess)AWebinterfacethrough
whichyoucanperformbasicvirtualmachinemanagementandconfigurationand
getconsoleaccesstovirtualmachines.ItisinstalledwithyourESXServerhost.
SimilartotheVIClient,VIWebAccessworksdirectlywithahostorthroughVirtualCenter.SeetheVIWebAccessAdministratorsGuideforadditionalinformation.
VMwareServiceConsoleAcommandlineinterfaceforconfiguringanESX
Server3host.ForanESXServer3ihost,usetheremotecommandlineinterface.
RemoteCommandLineInterface(RemoteCLI)Acommandlineinterfacefor
configuring
an
ESX
Server
3i
host.
The
Remote
CLI
can
also
be
used
to
perform
StorageVMotionoperationsonbothESXServer3iandESXServer3version3.5
hosts.
Optional VirtualCenter Components
OptionalVirtualCentercomponentsarepackagedandinstalledwiththebaseproduct,
butrequireaseparatelicense.Optionalfeaturesinclude:
VMotionAfeaturethatenablesyoutomoverunningvirtualmachinesfromone
ESXServerhosttoanotherwithoutserviceinterruption.Itrequireslicensingon
boththesourceandtargethost.TheVirtualCenterServercentrallycoordinatesall
VMotionactivities.
VMwareHAAfeaturethatenablesaclusterwithHighAvailability.Ifahostgoes
down,allvirtualmachinesthatwererunningonthehostarepromptlyrestarted
ondifferent
hosts
in
the
same
cluster.
WhenyouenabletheclusterforHA,youspecifythenumberofhostsyouwould
liketobeabletorecover.Ifyouspecifythenumberofhostfailuresallowedas1,
HAmaintainsenoughcapacityacrosstheclustertotoleratethefailureofonehost.
Allrunningvirtualmachinesonthathostcanberestartedonremaininghosts.By
default,youcannotpoweronavirtualmachineifdoingsoviolatesrequired
failovercapacity.SeeResourceManagementGuideformoreinformation.
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VMwareDRSAfeaturethathelpsimproveresourceallocationandpower
consumptionacrossallhostsandresourcepools.VMwareDRScollectsresource
usageinformationforallhostsandvirtualmachinesintheclusterandgives
recommendations(ormigratesvirtualmachines)inoneoftwosituations:
InitialplacementWhenyoufirstpoweronavirtualmachineinthecluster,
DRSeitherplacesthevirtualmachineormakesarecommendation.
LoadbalancingDRStriestoimproveresourceutilizationacrossthecluster
byperformingautomaticmigrationsofvirtualmachines(VMotion)orby
providingarecommendationforvirtualmachinemigrations.
VMwareDRSincludesexperimentaldistributedpowermanagement(DPM)capabilities.WhenDPMisenabled,thesystemcomparescluster andhostlevel
capacitytothedemandsofvirtualmachinesrunninginthecluster.Basedonthe
resultsofthecomparison,DPMrecommends(orautomaticallyimplements)
actionsthatcanreducethepowerconsumptionofthecluster.
VMwareInfrastructureSDKpackageAPIsformanagingvirtualinfrastructure
anddocumentationdescribingthoseAPIs.TheSDKalsoincludesthe
VirtualCenterWebServiceinterface,WebServicesDescriptionLanguage(WSDL),andexamplefiles.Thisisavailablethroughanexternallink.TodownloadtheSDK
package,seehttp://www.vmware.com/support/developer.
VirtualCenter Modules
VirtualCentermodulesextendthecapabilitiesofVirtualCenterbyprovidingadditional
featuresand
functionality.
Some
modules
are
packaged
separately
from
the
base
productandrequireseparateinstallation.Modulesandthebaseproductcanbe
upgradedindependentlyofeachother.VMwaremodulesinclude:
VMwareUpdateManagerEnablesadministratorstoapplyupdatesandpatches
acrossESXServerhostsandallmanagedvirtualmachines.Thismoduleprovides
theabilitytocreateuserdefinedsecuritybaselineswhichrepresentasetofsecurity
standards.Securityadministratorscancomparehostsandvirtualmachines
againstthesebaselinestoidentifyandremediatesystemsthatarenotincompliance.
VMwareConverterEnterpriseforVirtualCenterEnablesuserstoconvert
physicalmachines,andvirtualmachinesinavarietyofformats,toESXServer
virtualmachines.ConvertedsystemscanbeimportedintotheVirtualCenter
inventory.
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Managed Components
VirtualCentermonitorsandmanagesvariouscomponentsofyourvirtualandphysical
infrastructure.Some
components
are
available
for
organizing
potentially
hundreds
of
virtualmachinesandotherobjects.Theycanberenamedtorepresenttheirpurposes;
forexample,theycanbenamedaftercompanydepartmentsorlocationsorfunctions.
Themanagedcomponentsare:
VirtualMachinesandTemplatesAvirtualizedx86personalcomputer
environmentinwhichaguestoperatingsystemandassociatedapplication
softwarecanrun.Multiplevirtualmachinescanoperateonthesamemanagedhost
machineconcurrently.
Templates
are
adesignated
type
of
virtual
machine.
HostsTheprimarycomponentuponwhichallvirtualmachinesreside.Ifthe
VMwareInfrastructureClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,allhosts
managedbythatVirtualCenterServerareavailableformanagement.Ifthe
VMwareInfrastructureClientisconnecteddirectlytoanESXServerhost,onlythat
hostisavailableformanagement.
ResourcepoolsAstructurethatallowsdelegationofcontrolovertheresources
ofahost.Resourcepoolsareusedtocompartmentalizeallresourcesinacluster.
Youcancreatemultipleresourcepoolsasdirectchildrenofahostorclusterand
configurethem.Thendelegatecontroloverthemtootherindividualsor
organizations.ThemanagedresourcesareCPUandmemoryfromahostorcluster.
Virtualmachinesexecutein,anddrawtheirresourcesfrom,resourcepools.
ClustersAcollectionofESXServerhostswithsharedresourcesandashared
managementinterface.Whenyouaddahosttoacluster,thehostsresources
becomepartoftheclustersresources.Theclustermanagestheresourcesofall
hosts.
See
the
ResourceManagement
Guide.
DatastoresVirtualrepresentationsofcombinationsofunderlyingphysical
storageresourcesinthedatacenter.Thesephysicalstorageresourcescancome
fromthelocalSCSIdiskoftheserver,theFibreChannelSANdiskarrays,theiSCSI
SANdiskarrays,orNetworkAttachedStorage(NAS)arrays.
NetworksNetworksthatconnectvirtualmachinestoeachotherinthevirtual
environmentortothephysicalnetworkoutside.
NOTE
WhenVirtualCenterreferstoahost,thismeansthephysicalmachineonwhichthevirtualmachinesarerunning.AllvirtualmachineswithintheVMware
InfrastructureenvironmentrunonESXServerorhosts.Thetermhostinthis
manualmeanstheESXServerhostthathasvirtualmachinesonit.
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FoldersContainersusedtogroupobjectsandorganizethemintohierarchies.
Thisisnotonlyconvenientbutalsoprovidesanaturalstructureuponwhichto
applypermissions.
Therearethreetypesoffolders,eachofwhichcancontainotherfolders(ofthe
sametype)andexactlyoneothertypeofobject.Theseobjectsare:
Datacenters
Virtualmachines(whichincludetemplates)
Computeresources(whichincludehostsandclusters)
Thedatacenterfoldersformahierarchydirectlyundertherootnodeandallow
userstogrouptheirdatacentersinanyconvenientway.Withineachdatacenteris
onehierarchyoffolderswithvirtualmachinesandtemplatesandonehierarchyof
folderswithhostsandclusters.
DatacentersUnlikeafolder,whichisusedtoorganizeaspecificobjecttype,a
datacenterisanaggregationofallthedifferenttypesofobjectsneededtodowork
invirtualinfrastructure:hosts,virtualmachines,networks,anddatastores.
Withinadatacentertherearefourseparatehierarchies.
Virtualmachines(andtemplates)
Hosts(andclusters)
Networks
Datastores
Becauseitisnotpossibletoputnetworksordatastoresintofolders,theNetworks
andDatastoreshierarchiesarealwaysflatlists
Datacentersactasthenamespaceboundaryfortheseobjects.Youcannothavetwo
objects(forexample,twohosts)withthesamenameinthesamedatacenter,but
youcanhavetwoobjectswiththesamenameindifferentdatacenters.
Functional Components
ThefunctionalcomponentsmonitorandmanagetasksintheVMwareInfrastructureenvironment.Thefunctionalcomponentsareavailablethroughanavigationbuttonbar
intheVIClient.Theoptionsare:
InventoryAviewofallthemonitoredobjectsinVirtualCenter.Monitored
objectsincludedatacenters,resourcepools,clusters,networks,datastores,
templates,hosts,andvirtualmachines.
Scheduledtasks
A
list
of
activities
and
ameans
to
schedule
those
activities.
This
isavailablethroughVirtualCenterServeronly.
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EventsAlistofalltheeventsthatoccurintheVirtualCenterenvironment.Use
theNavigationoptiontodisplayalltheevents.Useanobjectspecificpanelto
displayonlytheeventsrelativetothatobject.
AdminAlistofenvironmentlevelconfigurationoptions.TheAdminoption
providesconfigurationaccesstoRoles,Sessions,Licenses,Diagnostics,and
SystemLogs.WhenconnectedtoanESXServerhost,onlytheRolesoption
appears.
MapsAvisualrepresentationofthestatusandstructureoftheVMware
Infrastructureenvironmentandtherelationshipsbetweenmanagedobjects.This
includeshosts,networks,virtualmachines,anddatastores.Thisisavailableonly
throughVirtualCenterServer.
VariousinformationlistsaregeneratedandtrackedbyyourVMwareInfrastructure
Clientactivity:
TasksTheseactivitiesarescheduledorinitiatedmanually.Tasksgenerateevent
messagesthatindicateanyissuesassociatedwiththetask.
EventsMessages
that
report
VMware
Infrastructure
activity.
Event
messages
are
predefinedintheproduct.
AlarmsSpecificnotificationsthatoccurinresponsetoselectedevents.Some
alarmsaredefinedbyproductdefault.Additionalalarmscanbecreatedand
appliedtoselectedinventoryobjectsorallinventoryobjects.
LogsStoredreferenceinformationrelatedtoselectedeventmessages.Logsare
predefinedintheproduct.Youcanconfigurewhetherselectedlogsaregenerated.
Access Privileges Components
EachuserlogsontoaVirtualCenterServerorahostthroughtheVIClient.Eachuser
isidentifiedtotheserverassomeonewhohasrightsandprivilegestoselectedobjects,
suchasdatacentersandvirtualmachines,withintheVMwareInfrastructure
environment.VirtualCenterServeritselfhasfullrightsandprivilegesonallhostsand
virtualmachines
within
the
VMware
Infrastructure
environment.
The
server
passes
on
onlythoseactionsandrequestsfromauserthattheuserhaspermissiontoperform.
TheservergrantsaccesstoeachVMwareInfrastructureClientobject,datacenter,folder,
orvirtualmachine.Todothis,youassignaroleandauser(orgroup)toeachobject.
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IndividualpermissionsareassignedthroughtheVIClientbypairingauserandarole
andassigningthispairtoaVMwareInfrastructureClientobject:
UsersandGroupsForVirtualCenter,usersandgroupsarecreatedand
maintainedthroughtheWindowsdomainorActiveDirectorydatabase.Usersand
groupsareregisteredwithVirtualCenter,orcreatedandregisteredwithanESX
Server,throughtheprocessthatassignsprivileges.
RolesAsetofaccessrightsandprivileges.Thereareselecteddefaultroles.You
canalsocreaterolesandassigncombinationsofprivilegestoeachrole.
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2
BasicSystemAdministrationdescribesthetasksyoumustcompletetoconfiguretheVMwareInfrastructureClient(VIClient)andvirtualmachines.Beforeusingthe
informationinBasicSystemAdministration,readtheIntroductiontoVMwareInfrastructure
for
an
overview
of
system
architecture
and
the
physical
and
virtual
devicesthatmakeupaVMwareInfrastructuresystem.
Thischaptersummarizestheinformationcontainedinthismanualonthefollowing
topics:
VMwareInfrastructurecomponents
Administrationtools
Systemconfiguration
Virtualmachinemanagementandconfiguration
Accessandpermissionsmanagement
Systemadministrationandmanagement
Using this Document 2
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Getting Started
Theintroductorydiscussionspanssevenchaptersanddescribesthesystem
components,system
management
tools,
and
the
basic
tasks
you
must
complete
to
configureyourVMwareInfrastructureClient.Theintroductorypartcontainsthe
followingchapters:
UsingthisDocumentSummarizesthecontentsofthisguidesothatyoucanfind
theinformationyouneed.
VMwareInfrastructureComponentsIntroducesyoutotheVMware
Infrastructurecomponentsandoperationsyouusewhenmanagingyourvirtual
machinesthroughESXServerorVirtualCenterServer.
StartingandStoppingtheVMwareInfrastructureComponentsDescribeshowto
startandstopeachoftheVMwareInfrastructurecomponents.Thisincludesthe
ESXServer,VirtualCenterServer,VMwareInfrastructureClient,Virtual
InfrastructureWebAccess,VirtualCenterhostagent,VirtualCenterlicenseserver,
andtheVMwareServiceConsole.
Usingthe
VI
Client
Describes
the
specific
layout
and
navigation
of
the
VI
Client.
SystemConfigurationContainsinformationforconfiguringadministration
options,VirtualCenterServersettings,andmanaginghostconfigurationoptions.
Italsoincludessomebasicsystemconfigurationinformation,suchashowto
accessandconfigurelogfilesandsetupSNMP.
ManagingtheVIClientInventoryDescribeshowtoperformtaskswithobjectsin
yourVMwareInfrastructureenvironment.Thisincludesfolders,datacenters,
clusters,resourcepools,networks,anddatastores.Theseobjectsareusedto
manageororganizethemonitoredandmanagedhostsandvirtualmachines.
ManagingHostsinVirtualCenterDescribeshowtoperformmanaged
hostrelatedtasks.
Chapter 2 Using this Document
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Virtual Machine Management
Thevirtualmachinemanagementdiscussionconsistsofsevenchaptersthatprovidea
basicunderstanding
of
virtual
machines
and
how
to
manage,
configure,
and
customize
them.Thevirtualmachinemanagementpartcontainsthefollowingchapters:
CreatingVirtualMachinesDescribeshowtocreatevirtualmachinesbyusingthe
NewVirtualMachinewizardandbycloningexistingvirtualmachines.
ManagingVirtualMachinesDescribesvirtualmachinetasks,includingaddinga
virtualmachinetoandremovingitfromtheVIClientandpoweringonandoff
virtualmachines.
ConfiguringVirtualMachinesDescribeshowtoeditandconfigureyourexisting
virtualmachines.Italsodiscussesadvancedvirtualmachineconfiguration
options.
UsingSnapshotsExplainshowtocapturetheentirestateofthevirtualmachine
usingthesnapshotsfeature.
WorkingwithTemplatesandClonesDescribescreatingtemplatesandusing
virtualmachinetemplatestocreateandprovisionnewvirtualmachines.
MigratingVirtualMachinesDescribestheprocessofmigratingormovinga
virtualmachinefromonehosttoanother.
CustomizingGuestOperatingSystemsExplainshowtocustomizetheidentity
andnetworksettingsofyourvirtualmachinesguestoperatingsystemsothatitis
readytobeginworkimmediatelyinyourtargetenvironment.
System Administration
Thesystemadministrationpartcontainsthefollowingchapters:
ManagingUsers,Groups,Permissions,andRolesDescribeshowtomanage
accesstoVMwareInfrastructureinventoryobjects.Itexplainshowtoconfigure
users,groups,roles,andpermissions.
SettingUpandMonitoringPerformanceStatisticsandResourceMapsDescribes
theperformancemonitoringpiecesoftheVMwareInfrastructureClientdata
presentedintheVIClient.ItalsodescribestheVMwareInfrastructureClientMaps
feature.
ManagingTasks,Events,andAlarmsDescribeshowtocreate,configure,anduse
tasks,events,andalarms.
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3
Thischapterincludesinformationonhowtostartandstopeachoneofthemajor
VMwareInfrastructurecomponents,ESXServerandVirtualCenterServer.
Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:
ESXServeronpage 35
VirtualCenterServeronpage 36
VIClientonpage 38
VIWebAccessonpage 40
VMwareServiceConsoleonpage 41
ESX Server
WhenyouinstallESXServer,itstartsitselfthroughtheinstallationrebootprocess.If
yourESXServerisshutdown,youmustmanuallyrestartit.
To start your ESX Server
OnthephysicalboxwhereESXServerisinstalled,pressthepowerbuttonuntilthepoweronsequencebegins.
TheESXServerboots,discoversitsvirtualmachines,andproceedswithitsnormalESX
Serverfunctions.
Youhavetheoptiontopowerofforrestart(reboot)anyESXServerhostusingtheVI
Client.ESXServer3hostscanalsobepoweredofffromtheserviceconsole.Powering
offamanaged
host
disconnects
it
from
the
VirtualCenter
Server
but
does
not
remove
it
fromtheinventory.
Starting and Stopping the
VMware Infrastructure
Components 3
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Chapter 3 Starting and Stopping the VMware Infrastructure Components
Th f ll i i di i d i l l d Vi lC
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ThefollowingsectionsdiscussstartingandstoppingelementsrelatedtoVirtualCenter:
VerifyingThatVirtualCenterServerStartedonpage 37
Restartingthe
VirtualCenter
Server
on
page 37
StoppingtheVirtualCenterServeronpage 38
Verifying That VirtualCenter Server Started
VirtualCenterisaservice,soproceedtoyourWindowsserviceslistandverifythatthe
servicestarted.
To verify that the VirtualCenter Server is running
1 GototheServicesdisplayforyourversionofWindows.
Forexample,selectControlPanel>AdministrativeTools>Services.Click
VMwareInfrastructureServer.
TheStatuscolumnindicateswhethertheservicestarted.
2 RightclicktheVMwareInfrastructureServerandchooseProperties.Inthe
VMwareVirtualCenter
Services
Properties
dialog
box,
click
the
General
tab
and
viewtheservicestatus.
Restarting the VirtualCenter Server
TheVirtualCenterServerservicestartswhenthemachineonwhichitisinstalledis
booted.IfyouhavemanuallystoppedtheVirtualCenterServerserviceormuststartit
foranyreason,performthestepsbelow.
To restart the VirtualCenter Server through Windows Services
1 GototheServicesdisplayforyourversionofWindows.
Forexample,selectControlPanel>AdministrativeTools>Services.Click
VMwareInfrastructureServer.
NOTE WhenVirtualCenterisinstalled,allusersinthelocalmachinesAdministrators
groupareassignedtheAdministratorrolewithfullprivilegesintheVirtualCenter
environment.AVirtualCenterAdministratormustsetpermissionsforallother
VirtualCenterusers.SeeAssigningAccessPermissionsonpage 275foradditional
information.
Basic System Administration
2 Ri ht click VM a e I f ast uctu e Se e choose Start a d ait fo sta tup to
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38 VMware, Inc.
2 RightclickVMwareInfrastructureServer,chooseStart,andwaitforstartupto
complete.
3 ClosethePropertiesdialogbox.
Stopping the VirtualCenter Server
TheVirtualCenterServerisaWindowsservice.YoucanusetheWindowsinterfaceto
selecttheserviceandstopit.
YoushouldnothavetostoptheVirtualCenterServer.ItisbestfortheVirtualCenter
Servertohavecontinuousoperation.Continuousoperationensuresthatallmonitoring
andtaskactivitiesareperformedasexpected.
To stop the VirtualCenter Server
1 GototheServicesdisplayforyourversionofWindows.
Forexample,selectStart>ControlPanel>AdministrativeTools>Services.Click
VMwareVirtualCenterService.
2 RightclicktheVMwareVirtualCenterServer,chooseStop,andwaitforittostop.
3 ClosethePropertiesdialogbox.
VI Client
TheVMwareInfrastructureClientisusedtologintoeitheraVirtualCenterServeror
anESXServerhost.EachserversupportsmultipleVIClientsessions.TheVIClientcan
beinstalledonanymachinethathasnetworkaccesstotheVirtualCenterServeroranESXserverhost.
Bydefault,administratorsareallowedtologintoaVirtualCenterServer.
Administratorsherearedefinedtobeeither:
MembersofthelocalAdministratorsgroupiftheVirtualCenterServerisnota
domaincontroller.
MembersofthedomainAdministratorsgroupiftheVirtualCenterServerisa
domaincontroller.
Starting the VI Client and Logging In
TheVIClientistheinterfacetoESXServerhostsandtheVirtualCenterServer.When
youstarttheVIClient,ithasasingleopeningpage.Whenyoulogin,theVIClient
displaysonly
the
features
and
functions
that
are
appropriate
to
the
type
of
server
you
loggedonto.
Chapter 3 Starting and Stopping the VMware Infrastructure Components
To start a VI Client session
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To start a VI Client session
1 LogintoyourWindowssystem.
2 Thefirst
time
you
start
the
VI
Client,
log
in
as
the
administrator.
a Ifthemanagedhostisnotadomaincontroller,loginaseither\or,whereisamemberofthelocal
Administratorsgroup.
b Ifthemanagedhostisadomaincontroller,youmustloginas
\,whereisthedomainnameforwhichthe
managedhostisacontrollerand isamemberofthatdomains
DomainAdministratorsgroup.Thispracticeofrunningonadomain
controllerisnotrecommended.
3 LaunchtheVIClient.
DoubleclickashortcutorchoosetheapplicationthroughStart>Programs>
VMware>VMwareInfrastructureClient.
4 Logintotheserver.
Enterorchoosetheservername,yourusername,andyourpasswordforthat
server.ClickLogintocontinue.
IfthisisthefirsttimeyouhaveloggedontotheVirtualCenterServer,anempty
Inventoryscreenappears.Addadatacenterandhosttobeginmonitoringand
managingyourvirtualmachinesthroughtheVMwareInfrastructureClient.See
ManagingtheVIClientInventoryonpage 107foradditionalinformation.
Stopping the VI Client and Logging Out
WhenyounolongermustvieworaltertheactivitiesthatVirtualCenterisperforming,
logoutoftheVIClient.
To stop a VI Client session
Clicktheclosebox(X)inthecorneroftheVIClientwindow,orchooseFile>Exit.
TheVIClientshutsdown.TheVIClientisloggedofftheserver.Theserver
continuestorunallitsnormalactivitiesinthebackground.Anyscheduledtasks
aresavedandperformedbytheVirtualCenterServer.
NOTE OnlypreviouslytypedserversappearintheServerdropdownmenu.
NOTE
ClosingaVIClientdoesnotstoptheserver.
Basic System Administration
VI Web Access
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VI Web Access
VI WebAccessistheWebinterfacethroughwhichyoucanmanageyourvirtual
machines.VI WebAccessisinstalledwhenyouinstallESXServer.AswiththeVI
Client,VIWebAccesscaneitherbeusedtoconnectdirectlytoanESXServerhostorto
VirtualCenter.ThefunctionalityofVI WebAccessisasubsetofVIClientfunctionality.
TheVI WebAccessconsoleprovidesaremotemousekeyboardscreen(MKS)forthe
virtualmachines.Youcaninteractwithaguestoperatingsystemrunninginavirtual
machineandconnectremotelytothevirtualmachinesmouse,keyboard,andscreen.
ForinformationonhowtouseVI WebAccesstoconfigurevirtualmachinesforESX
ServerandVirtualCenter,seetheVirtualInfrastructureWebAccessAdministratorsGuide.VIWebAccessusesaWebinterfaceandaninternetconnectiontoaccessyourESX
ServerorVirtualCenterServer.
To log in to VI Web Access
1 LaunchyourWebbrowser.
2 EntertheURLofyourESXServerorVirtualCenterServerinstallation:
https:///ui
TheVIWebAccessloginpageappears.
Theloginpagecontainsfieldsforyourusernameandpassword.Thisusername
andpasswordarethesamecredentialsyouwoulduseifyouconnectedusingthe
VIClient.
Also,
the
same
permissions
are
used
to
determine
if
auser
can
view
and
manipulateobjects.VI WebAccessdoesnothaveitsownconceptofusersor
permissions.
Chapter 3 Starting and Stopping the VMware Infrastructure Components
3 Typeyourusernameandpassword,andclickLogIn.
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yp y p , g
TheVI WebAccesshomepageappears.
Afteryour
user
name
and
password
are
authorized
by
VI Web
Access,
the
VI Web
Accesshomepageappears.TheVI WebAccesshomepagecontains:
Detailsaboutvirtualmachinesontheservertowhichyouareconnected.
Theoptiontoaccessthedetailspageforavirtualmachinewhereyoufind
informationaboutvirtualdevices,configurationoptions,andasummaryof
recentevents.
To log out of VI Web Access
ClicktheLogOutlinkfoundatthecornerofeverypage.Youarepromptedtoconfirm
thatyouwanttologout.
VMware Service Console
InpreviousversionsofESXServer,theserviceconsolewasoneoftheinterfacestoESX
Serverhosts.StartingwithESXServer3,manyofthecommandsaredeprecated.The
serviceconsoleistypicallyusedonlyinconjunctionwithaVMwaretechnicalsupport
representative.
ESXServer3idoesnothaveaserviceconsole.Someserviceconsolecommandsare
availableforESXServer3ithroughtheremotecommandlineinterface.
TheVMwareInfrastructureSDKisusedforscriptedmanipulationofyourVMware
Infrastructureinstead.TheVMwareInfrastructureClientistheprimaryinterfacetoall
nonscriptedactivities,includingconfiguring,monitoring,andmanagingyourvirtual
machinesandresources.
Using DHCP for the Service ConsoleTherecommendedsetupistousestaticIPaddressesfortheserviceconsoleofanESX
Server3host.YoucansetuptheserviceconsoletouseDHCP,ifyourDNSserveris
capableofmappingtheserviceconsoleshostnametothedynamicallygeneratedIP
address.
NOTE IfyouareusinganyremoteclientdevicesthroughVI WebAccess,theyare
disconnectedwhenyoulogout.
Basic System Administration
IfyourDNSservercannotmapthehostsnametoitsDHCPgeneratedIPaddress,you
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mustdeterminetheserviceconsolesnumericIPaddressyourself.Anothercaution
againstusingDHCPisthatthenumericIPaddressmightchangeasDHCPleasesrun
outor
when
the
system
is
rebooted.
For
this
reason,
VMware
does
not
recommend
usingDHCPfortheserviceconsoleunlessyourDNSservercanhandlethehostname
translation.
Connecting to the Service Console
Whetheryouusetheserviceconsolelocallyorthrougharemoteconnection,youmust
loginusingavalidusernameandpassword.
IfyouhavedirectaccesstothecomputerwhereESXServer3isrunning,youcanlogin
tothephysicalconsoleonthatcomputer.
To log in to the ESX Server 3 service console
PressAltF2togettotheloginscreen.
DependingonthesecuritysettingsforyourESXServer3computer,youmightbeable
toconnectremotelytotheserviceconsoleusingSSHorTelnet.Formoreinformation
onthesecuritysettings,seetheESXServer3ConfigurationGuide.
Using Commands on the Service ConsoleTheserviceconsolerunsamodifiedversionofLinux,andmanyofthecommands
availableonLinuxorUNIXarealsoavailableontheserviceconsole.Detailedusage
notesformostserviceconsolecommandsareavailableasmanualormanpages.
CAUTION Donotusedynamic(DHCP)addressingwhensharingthenetworkadapter
assignedtotheserviceconsolewithvirtualmachines.ESXServer3requiresastaticIP
addressfortheserviceconsolewhensharinganetworkadapter.
NOTE ESXServer3idoesnothaveaserviceconsole.However,manyofthefunctions
providedbytheserviceconsoleareavailablethroughtheRemoteCLI.SeetheESXServer3iConfigurationGuideformoreinformationonusingandinstallingtheRemoteCLI.
Chapter 3 Starting and Stopping the VMware Infrastructure Components
To view the man page for a particular command
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Attheserviceconsolecommandline,typethemancommandfollowedbythenameof
thecommandforwhichyouwanttoseeinformation,forexample:
: man
Foradditionalinformationoncommands,seethefollowingresources:
FormoredetailedinformationonESXServer3relatedcommands,seetheESXServer3ConfigurationGuide.
FormoreinformationonLinuxcommands,consultaLinuxreferencebook.
Basic System Administration
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ThischapterdescribesthespecificlayoutandnavigationoftheVIClient.Italso
containsinformationforconfiguringadminoptions,VirtualCenterServersettings,
managinghostconfigurationoptions,andmanagingmodules.
Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:
AbouttheVIClientonpage 45
SortingandFilteringListsonpage 60
UsingCustomAttributesonpage 61
SelectingandViewingObjectsonpage 63
ManagingVirtualCenterModulesonpage 67
About the VI Client
TheVMwareInfrastructureClientadaptstotheconnectedserver.WhentheVIClient
isconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,theVIClientdisplaysalltheoptionsavailableto
theVMwareInfrastructureenvironment,basedonthelicensingyouhaveconfigured
andthe
permissions
of
the
user.
When
the
VI
Client
is
connected
to
an
ESX
Server
host,
theVIClientdisplaysonlytheoptionsappropriatetosinglehostmanagement.
ThedefaultVMwareInfrastructureClientlayoutisasinglewindowwithamenubar,
anavigationbar,atoolbar,astatusbar,apanelsection,andpopupmenus.
Using the VI Client 4
Basic System Administration
Figure 4-1. VMware Infrastructure Client Layout
Main
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46 VMware, Inc.
TheVIClientareasarecoveredinthefollowingsections:
MenuBaronpage 47
PopUpMenusonpage 50
ConsoleMenuonpage 50
NavigationBaronpage 51
InventoryViewTabsonpage 53
Toolbaronpage 57
StatusBar,RecentTasks,andTriggeredAlarmsonpage 58
PanelSectionsonpage 59
Menus
Main
ToolbarToolbar Inventory tabs
Status panel Information panelStatus barInventory panel
Pop-up menuConsole button
Chapter 4 Using the VI Client
Menu Bar
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Themenubarprovidesaccesstoallcommandsandoperatesinamannerconsistent
withotherWindowsapplications.Thetablesbelowlistallthemenuitemsavailable
fromthesefivemenus.ThemenuitemsavailablevarydependinguponwhethertheVIClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServeroranESXServerhost.Themenubar
optionsare:
FileMenuSimilartotheFilemenuinmostapplicationswithtwoexceptions:
AprintmenuitemisnotavailableontheFilemenu.Toprint,usethePrint
ScreenmechanisminWindowstotakeacopyoftheVIClientwindowor
exportthe
VirtualCenter
data
to
another
format
and
print
from
another
application.
Asavemenuitemisnotavailable.TheVIClientissimilartoabrowser.Most
usermanipulationsarepersistentinthedisplayoftheVirtualCenterdata.
InTable 41,anasterisk(*)indicatesitemsthatareavailableonlywhenconnected
toVirtualCenterServer.
EditMenuDisplaysmenuitemsrelevanttotheselectedobject.
Table 4-1. File Menu Items
File> New> VirtualMachine|AddHost*|Cluster*|ResourcePool|Folder*|Datacenter*|Alarm*|ScheduledTask*|AddPermission
File> Export> ExportEvents*|ExportList|ExportMaps*|ExportDiagnosticData
File> Report> HostSummary|Performance
File> VirtualAppliance> Import|Export
File> PrintMaps> PrintSettings|PrintPreview|Print
File> Exit
Table 4-2. Edit Menu ItemsEdit> Rename|Remove|CustomizationSpecifications|ClientSettings
Basic System Administration
ViewMenuControlswhichpanelsarevisible.Thisprovidesamenuitemfor
selecting one of the navigation buttons.
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48 VMware, Inc.
selectingoneofthenavigationbuttons.
InTable 43,anasterisk(*)indicatesitemsthatareavailableonlywhenconnected
toVirtualCenterServer.
WhenconnectedtotheVirtualCenterServer,theView>Inventorymenuparsesthe
inventoryobject
views
into
groups.
InventoryMenuDisplaysmenuitemsrelevanttotheselectedobjectinthe
inventorypanel.
InTable 45,anasterisk(*)indicatesitemsthatareavailableonlywhenconnected
toVirtualCenterServer.
Table 4-3. View Menu Items
View> MainToolbar|Toolbar|StatusBar|Inventory|ScheduledTasks*|Events|Administration|Maps*|Filtering
Table 4-4. View Menu > Inventory Items
View> Inventory> Hosts&Clusters|VirtualMachines&Templates|Networks|Datastores
Table 4-5. Inventory Menu Items
Inventory> Datacenter> NewFolder|NewCluster|AddHost|AddAlarm|AddPermission|Remove|Rename
Inventory> VirtualMachine> PowerOn|PowerOff|Suspend|Reset|ShutDownGuest|StandbyGuest|RestartGuest|Snapshot|Migrate|Clone|ClonetoTemplate|ConverttoTemplate|AddAlarm|AddPermission|OpenConsole|SendCtrl+Alt+Del|AnswerQuestion|ReportPerformance|InstallVMwareTools|UpgradeVMware
Tools|Edit
Settings
|Rename
|Remove
fromInventory|DeletefromDisk
Chapter 4 Using the VI Client
Inventory > Templates* > Power On | Power Off | Suspend | Reset
Table 4-5. Inventory Menu Items (Continued)
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AdministrationMenuDisplaysconfigurationoptionsthatapplyacrossthe
VMwareInfrastructureenvironment.
InTable 46,anasterisk(*)indicatesitemsthatareavailableonlywhenconnected
toVirtualCenterServer.
PluginsDisplaysoptionsformanagingVirtualCenterplugins.
Inventory> Templates*> PowerOn|PowerOff|Suspend|Reset|ShutDownGuest|RestartGuest|Snapshot|Migrate|Clone|ClonetoTemplate|ConverttoTemplate|OpenConsole|SentCtrl+Alt+Del|AnswerQuestion|ReportPerformance|InstallVMwareTools|EditSettings|Rename|RemovefromInventory|DeletefromDisk
Inventory> Host> NewVirtualMachine|Connect*|Disconnect*|EnterMaintenanceMode|
ShutDown|Reboot|ReportSummary|ReportPerformance|AdvancedSettings|Remove*|RelocateVMFiles
Inventory> Cluster*> AddHost|NewVirtualMachine|NewResourcePool|EditSettings|Remove|Rename
Inventory> ResourcePool> NewVirtualMachine|NewResource
Pool
|
Report
Performance*
|
Remove
|
Rename
Inventory> Datastore*> BrowseDatastore|Rename|Remove|Refresh
Inventory> Network*> Remove
Inventory> Permission> Add|Delete|Properties
Inventory> Alarm*> Properties|Remove
Inventory> ScheduledTask*> Run|Remove|Properties
Table 4-6. Administration Menu Items
Administration> CustomAttributes*|VirtualCenterManagementSettings*|Role|Session*|EditMessageoftheDay*|ExportDiagnosticData*|ConsolidationSettings
Basic System Administration
HelpMenuDisplaystheonlinehelpoptions,linkstotheVMwareWebsite,and
productversioninformation.
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Pop-Up MenusPopupmenusprovidedirectaccesstomanyofthemenuitems.Popupmenusare
availablefrommostobjectsinboththeinventorypanelandtheinformationpanel.
To view a pop-up menu
RightclicktheselectedobjectorpressShift+F10.
Console Menu
Theconsoleofapoweredonvirtualmachineisavailablethroughaconnectedserver.
To view the virtual machine console
ClicktheInventoryNavigationbutton,clickapoweredonvirtualmachineinthe
Inventorypanel,andclicktheConsoletabintheInformationpanel.
To pop out the virtual machine console
Clickthepopouticoninthenavigationbar.
AcopyoftheConsolewindowseparatesfromtheVIClient.Additionalmenusappear.
AdditionalmenuitemsareavailablefromthepopoutConsolewindow.
Allconnectionstothevirtualmachineseethesamedisplayinformation.Themessage
lineindicatesifothersareviewingthevirtualmachine.
The message line indicates
the number of activeconnections to this virtual
machine.
Additional Console menu
Chapter 4 Using the VI Client
ThepopoutvirtualmachineConsolehasthefollowingmenuitems.Theembedded
ConsolehassimilarmenuitemsbutdoesnotincludealloftheexternalConsolemenu
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items.
Navigation Bar
Thenavigationbarprovidesshortcutbuttonsthatloadthematchingtoolbarandpanel
intotheVIClientwindow.Thenavigationbarcombinesanddisplaysassociatedtasks
andinformation.Whenabuttonhasbeenselected,itremainsselectedtoindicatethe
currentview.
The
buttons
represent
the
VI
Client
functional
areas.
Depending
upon
whethertheVIClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServeroranESXServerhost,the
listedbuttonsvary.
Eachnavigationbarbuttonhasaprimaryinformationpanelandassociatedtabs.The
Inventorybuttonhasaninventorypanelfromwhichyoucanselectobjects.Each
selectedobjecthasitsownsetofassociatedinformationpaneltabs.Thisinformationis
inoneofthefollowingtwosetsofpanels:
Navigationbarprovidesshortcutstogeneralizedareasofrelatedactivities.Theoptions
areInventoryandAdministration,whentheVIClientisconnectedtoanESXServer
hostoraVirtualCenterServer.WhentheVIClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenter
Serveradditionaloptionsareavailable:ScheduledTasks,Events,Consolidationand
Maps.TheInventorybuttonalsohasadditionaldropdownmenuitems(Hosts&
Clusters,VirtualMachines&Templates,Networks,andDatastores).
Figure 4-2. Navigation bar shortcuts
Table 4-7. Virtual Machine Pop-Out Console Menu Items
File> Exit
View> AutofitWindow|FitWindowNow|FitGuestNow|FullScreen
VM> PowerOn|PowerOff|Suspend|Reset|ShutDownGuest|RestartGuest|Snapshot|Migrate|Clone|ClonetoTemplate|ConverttoTemplate|AddAlarm|AddPermission|SendCtrl+Alt+Del|AnswerQuestion|ReportPerformance|Install/UpgradeVMwareTools|EditSettings|
Rename|RemovefromInventory|DeletefromDisk
Basic System Administration
To view the Inventory button options
Click the arrow on the Inventory navigation bar button to see the inventory group
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ClickthearrowontheInventorynavigationbarbuttontoseetheinventorygroup
options.ChooseView>Inventory>HostsandClusters(orVirtualMachinesand
Templates,Networks,orDatastores.
SeeManagingtheVIClientInventoryonpage 107forinformationonthedifferences
betweentheInventorybuttonviews.
InventorybuttonAviewofallthemonitoredobjectsinVirtualCenter.
Monitoredobjectsincludedatacenters,resourcepools,clusters,networks,
datastores,templates,hosts,andvirtualmachines.
TheInventorybuttondisplaysaninventorypanelandaninformationpanel.Theinformationpanelcontainsseveraltabs.Thesetoftabsthatisdisplayedvaries
dependingupontheinventoryobjectselectedintheinventorypanel.
TherearefourdifferentInventorybuttonviews:
HostsandClustersdisplaystheinventoryhierarchyofallinventoryobjects
excepttemplates,networks,anddatastores.
VirtualMachines
and
Templatesdisplaysthelistofvirtualmachinesand
templates.
Networksdisplaysthelistofnetworks.
Datastoresdisplaysthelistofdatastores.
AllfouroftheInventoryoptionsaredividedintotwosubpanels,theinventory
panelandtheinformationpanel.ThisInventoryoptiondisplaysalltheobjects
containedwithinVirtualCenter,suchasfolders,datacenters,hosts,clusters,
resourcepoolsandvirtualmachines.WhenconnectedtoanESXServerhostthe
inventoryoptiondisplaysalltheobjectscontainedwithinthehost,suchashost,
resourcepools,andvirtualmachines.Throughselectingobjectsineitherofthetwo
subpanels,youperformandspecifyactions.
Therearefourdifferentinventoryviews.Eachrelatestosomeoftheeightdifferent
inventoryobjects:hosts,clusters,folders,datacenters,virtualmachinesand
templates,resourcepools,networks,anddatastores.
Allfourviewshavethe(single)rootnode.Youcanplacefoldersanddatacenters
belowtherootnode.Belowdatacentersthehierarchyissplitupintonetworks,
datastores,virtualmachineandtemplates,andhosts,clusters,andresourcepools.
Chapter 4 Using the VI Client
ScheduledTasksbuttonAlistofactivitiesandameanstoschedulethose
activities.ThisisavailablethroughVirtualCenterServeronly.
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TheScheduledTasksandEventsbuttons,availableonlywhenconnectedtoa
VirtualCenterServer,displayasingleinformationpanel.
EventsbuttonAlistofalltheeventsthatoccurintheVirtualCenterenvironment.
UsetheNavigationoptiontodisplayalltheevents.Useanobjectspecificpanelto
displayonlytheeventsrelativetothatobject.
AdminbuttonAlistofenvironmentlevelconfigurationoptions.TheAdmin
optionprovidesconfigurationaccesstoRoles,Sessions,Licenses,Diagnostics,and
System
Logs.
When
connected
to
an
ESX
Server
only,
the
Roles
option
appears.
TheAdminbuttondisplaysasetoftabbedinformationpanels.Selected
configurationoptionsareavailablethroughthesetabs.
MapsbuttonAvisualrepresentationofthestatusandstructureoftheVMware
Infrastructureenvironment.Thisincludeshosts,networks,virtualmachines,and
datastores.ThisisavailablethroughVirtualCenterServeronly.
TheMaps
button,
available
only
when
connected
to
aVirtualCenter
Server,
displaysaninventorypanelandatopologypanel.
ConsolidationAmeanstoconsolidateyourdatacenterandbuildyour
VirtualCenterinventorybyimportingphysicalsystemsasvirtualmachines.
Guidedconsolidationoffersaquick,automatedwayofpopulatinganewvirtual
environment.Fordetails,seeConsolidatingtheDatacenteronpage 129.
To change the look of the navigation bar
Rightclickthenavigationbarandchoosetheappropriateoption.
Inventory View Tabs
Youcanaccessthegeneraldisplayofdataandactivitythroughtheinformationpanel
oftheVIClientwindow.Theinformationpanelisthevisualcenterofyourmonitoring
activities.Throughtheinformationpanel,youcanviewstatus,resourceusage,and
performanceinformationaboutyourhosts,virtualmachines,anddatacenters.Inthe
informationpanel,youcanalsoviewscheduledtasks,availabletemplates,andalistof
events.
WhentheVIClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServeraMapsoptionisalso
available.SeeSettingUpandMonitoringPerformanceStatisticsandResourceMaps
onpage 281forinformationontheMapsfeature.
Basic System Administration
Whenanobjectisremovedfromtheinventory,itslogandeventhistoryremainsuntil
purgedthroughtheagingprocesses.Dataiskeptforaspecifiedwindowoftime.Asthe
time window shifts older data is purged
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timewindowshifts,olderdataispurged.
AdmintabsAsubsetoftheAdminbutton.TheAdmintabsareasetofpanels
thatdisplayconfigurationorientedinformationpertainingtotheservethattheVI
Clientisconnectedto.ThetaboptionsareRolesandSystemLogs.WhentheVI
ClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,aSessionsandLicensestabisalso
available.
InventorytabsAsubsetoftheInventorybutton.TheInventorytabsareasetof
panelsthatdisplaytaskorientedinformationpertainingtotheselectedinventory
object.Eachinventoryobjecthasitsownsetoftabs.Thetaboptionsare:GettingStarted,Summary,Datacenters,VirtualMachines,Hosts,DRSRecommendations,
ResourceAllocation,Performance,Configuration,Tasks&Events,Alarms,
Console,Permissions,andMaps.
WhenyouclicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar,aninformationpanel
appearsontherightsideofthescreen.Whenyouselectanobject(host,virtual
machine,folder,datacenter,cluster,resourcepool)fromtheinventorypanel,the
informationpaneldisplaystabscorrespondingtotheselectedobject.ThisdataremainsuntilyouclickanotherInventorybutton.
Table 48liststheavailablepanelsandtheirsourcemapping.
NOTE Youcanuseeitherthenavigationbarortheinformationpaneltabstoview
eventsinformation.
Table 4-8. Inventory View Tabs
Panel Name
Client
Connected To
Button, Tab, or
Toggle Description
Admin ESXServer
VirtualCenter
navigationbarbutton
Listsselectedconfigurationoptionsandinformation.
Alarms VirtualCenter inventorypanel
tab
Liststheconfiguredalarmsforthe
selected
object.
Alarms VirtualCenter toggle button Liststhetriggeredalarmsfortheselectedobject.
Configuration ESXServer
VirtualCenter
inventorypaneltab
Providesaccesstoconfiguringtheselectedhost.
Console ESXServer
VirtualCenter
inventorypaneltab
Displaysaremoteconsoletointeractdirectlywiththevirtualmachine.
Throughthe
remote
console
you
can
take
selectedactionsuponthevirtualmachine.
Chapter 4 Using the VI Client
Table 4-8. Inventory View Tabs (Continued)
P l N
Client
C t d T
Button, Tab, or
T l D i ti
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Datacenters VirtualCenter inventorypaneltab
Liststhedatacentersorganizedundertheselectedfolder.
Datastores VirtualCenter navigationbarbutton:Datastores
Providesaccessformanagingdatastores.
Events ESXServer inventorypaneltab
Liststheeventmessagesthatreportonthestatusoftheselectedobject.
GettingStarted VirtualCenter inventorypanel
tab
Providesinformationaboutthetypeof
objectselectedandlinkstoactionsyoucanperformonthatobject.SeeGettingStartedTabsonpage 56.
Hosts VirtualCenter inventorypaneltab
Liststhehostsassignedtotheselectedinventoryobject.
Inventory VirtualCenter
ESXServer
navigationbarbutton:Hosts&Clusters
Providesaccessformanagingalltheinventoryobjects.
Licenses VirtualCenter adminpaneltab Liststhelicensesconfiguredinthelicenseserver.
Maps VirtualCenter navigationbarbutton
Displaysrelationshipsbetweentheselectedinventoryobjects.
DRSRecommendations
VirtualCenter inventorypaneltab
Liststhemigrationssuggestedorcompletedfortheselectedcluster,andlistssuggestedorcompletedpowermanagementsuggestions.
Networks VirtualCenter navigationbarbutton:Networks
Providesaccessformanagingnetworks.
Performance ESXServer
VirtualCenter
inventorypaneltab
Displaystheperformancechartsfortheselectedhostorvirtualmachineresources.Thechartsfordatacentersandhostsdisplaycombinedchartsthatshowthe
usageof
each
resource.
Permissions ESXServer
VirtualCenter
inventorypaneltab
Liststheusersandgroupsthathavepermissionsontheselectedobjectandatwhatlevelthepermissionwasassigned.
ResourceAllocation ESXServer
VirtualCenter
inventorypaneltab
Liststhedistributionoftheselectedhostsresources:CPU,memory.
Roles ESXServer
VirtualCenter
adminpaneltab Providesaccessforconfiguringuserroles.
Panel Name Connected To Toggle Description
Basic System Administration
Table 4-8. Inventory View Tabs (Continued)
Panel Name
Client
Connected To
Button, Tab, or
Toggle Description
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Getting Started Tabs
GettingStartedtabsareavailableforeachtypeofinventoryobject.Theyprovidea
descriptionofthetypeofobjectselected,shortcutstoactionsyoucanperformonthat
object,andlinkstosectionsoftheTutorial(seeUsingtheTutorialonpage 57)that
pertaintothattypeofobject.
InthecasewhereVirtualCenterisnewlyinstalledandnoinventoryobjectshavebeenadded,theGettingStartedtabsguideyouthroughthestepsofaddingitemstothe
inventoryandsettingupthevirtualenvironment.
ScheduledTasks VirtualCenter navigationbarbutton
Providesaccessforcreatingandmanagingscheduledtasks.
Sessions VirtualCenter adminpaneltab ListstheVIClientsessionsconnectedtotheVirtualCenterServer.
Summary ESXServer
VirtualCenter
inventorypaneltab
Displaysacollectionofdatafortheselectedobject.
SystemLogs ESXServer
VirtualCenter
adminpaneltab Listsselectedlogfilesfortheservers.
Tasks VirtualCenter toggle button Liststherecenttasksfortheselectedobject.
Tasks&Events VirtualCenter inventorypaneltab
Liststhetaskscompletedandtheeventmessagesthatreportonthestatusoftheselectedobject.
Templates VirtualCenter navigationbar
button:VirtualMachines&Templates
Providesaccessformanagingtemplates.
VirtualMachines ESXServer
VirtualCenter
inventorypaneltab
Liststhevirtualmachinesassignedtotheselecteddatacenterorhostandgroup.Toaccess,clicktheVirtualMachinestabandthevirtualmachinesinthegrouparedisplayed.
Panel Name Connected To Toggle Description
Chapter 4 Using the VI Client
TodisableGettingStartedtabs:
ClicktheCloseTablinktodisableGettingStartedtabsforthetypeofobject
l t d
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selected.
SelectEdit>Client
SettingsandclickRemove
All
Tabs
todisableGettingStarted
tabsforallinventoryobjects.
TorestoreGettingStartedtabs:
SelectEdit>ClientSettingsandclickRestoreAllTabstorestoreGettingStartedtabs
forallinventoryobjects.
Using the Tutorial
Thetutorialprovidesanintroductiontovirtualization.Itisdesignedtohelpnewusers
understandthebasicconceptsofvirtualizationandtorecognizethecomponentsthat
compriseavirtualenvironment.
GettingStartedtabscontainlinkstotutorialpages.Thetutorialisalsoaccessible
throughtheHelpmenu(Help>Tutorial).
Toolbar
Thetoolbarprovidesbuttonsforthemostcommonlyusedactions.
To view or hide a toolbar
ChooseView>MainToolbartotogglethedisplayofthemaintoolbar.
ChooseView
>Toolbar
to
toggle
the
display
of
the
toolbar.
Differenttoolbarbuttonsaredisplayeddependingonthenavigationtaskand
inventoryobjectselected.Sometoolbaroptionsmightbedimmeddependingonthe
objectselected.
Basic System Administration
To change the look of the toolbar
Rightclickthetoolbarandchoosetheappropriateoption.
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Status Bar, Recent Tasks, and Triggered Alarms
The
status
bar
appears
at
the
bottom
of
the
window.
It
contains
icons
to
view
triggered
alarmsorrecenttasks.TheTasksbuttondisplaysanycurrentlyrunningorrecently
completedactivetasks.Includedisaprogressbarindicatingthepercentagecomplete
ofeachtask.Therecenttasksandthetriggeredalarmpanelsdisplayacrossthebottom
oftheVIClientwindow.
To hide or view the status bar
ChooseView>Statusbar.
Chapter 4 Using the VI Client
To hide or view recent tasks or triggered alarms
ClicktheTasksorAlarmsiconsinthestatusbar.
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Panel Sections
InthebodyoftheVIClientpageisapanelsection.Inmostviews,thereisaleftanda
rightpanel:theinventorypanelandtheinformationpanel.Thesepanelscanberesized.
InventorypanelDisplaysahierarchicallistofVMwareInfrastructureobjects
whentheInventoryorMapsbuttonisselectedfromthenavigationbar.
InformationpanelsDisplaylistsandcharts.Dependingonthenavigation
buttonorInventorybuttonitemselected,theinformationpanelisdividedinto
tabbedelements.
To select an object
Singleclicktheappropriateobjectineithertheinventorypanelorontheinformation
panel.
To close or open a panel
Clickthearrowinthepanelmenubar.
Whenthepanelishidden,thepanelmenubarisastripalongthesideoftheVIClient
window.
To resize a panel
Clickaresizingpanelsideanddragittoanappropriatesize.
Basic System Administration
YourchoicesforthepanelsarepersistentacrossVIClientsessions.Ifyourunmultiple
VIClientsessionsusingdifferentusernames,thesettingsfromthelastsessiontoquit
determinethevaluesforthenextVIClientsession.
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Sorting and Filtering Lists
SortanylistintheVIClientbyclickingthecolumnlabelheading.Atriangleinthe
columnheadshowsthesortorderasascendingordescending.
Youcanalsofilteralist,sortingandincludingonlyselecteditems.Afilterissortedby
akeyword.Choosethecolumnsyouwanttoincludeinthesearchforthekeyword.
To sort a list
Clickacolumnheadingtosortthelistbyentriesinthatcolumn.Thecurrentselection
doesnotchange.
To change between ascending and descending order
Clickthetriangleinthecolumnheading.
To choose items in a list
Clickanindividualitem.PressShiftclickorCtrlclicktochoosemultipleitems.All
listscanbesorted.
To view or remove columns in a list
Rightclickthecolumnheaderandchoosethecolumnnamefromthelist.
To filter the list view
1 Clickthearrowtoviewalistofattributesfromwhichtochoose.Typetextdirectly
intothefilteringfieldtospecifysearchcriteria.
TheFilterfielddoesnotsupportbooleanexpressionsorspecialcharactersandis
notcasesensitive.
2 ClickOK
to
display
only
those
virtual
machines
that
match
the
criteria.
ClickClear
tochangethefilter.
Thelistisupdatedbasedonwhetherfilteringisonoroff.Forexample,ifyouareinthe
VirtualMachinestab,youhavefilteredthelist,andthefilteredtextispoweredon,
youseealistonlyofvirtualmachineswhosestateissettopoweredon.Ifthestateof
NOTE Thereisaonesecondintervalbetweenkeystrokes.Ifyoutypeinthetextand
waitforonesecond,thesearchstartsautomatically.YoudonthavetoclickOKorEnter.
Chapter 4 Using the VI Client
anyofthesevirtualmachineschangestosomethingelse,theyareremovedfromthelist.
Newvirtualmachinesthatareaddedarealsobeingfiltered.Filteringispersistentfor
theusersession.
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To remove a filter
ClickClear,ordeletetheentryinofthefilteringfieldandclickOK.
TheVIClientdisplaysthefulllistofavailableitems.
To choose columns to search for the filtering keyword
Rightclickinthecontainsfield,andselectordeselecttheappropriatecolumnnames.
Filteringisinclusive,notexclusive.Ifthekeywordisfoundinanyoftheselected
columns,thelineitemisincludedinthelist.
To export a list
1 Selectthelisttoexport.
2 ChooseFile>Export>ExportList.
3 Typeafilename,selectafiletypeinthedialogbox,andclickSave.
Afileisstoredinthespecifiedfilename,filetype,andlocation.
Using Custom Attributes
Attributesaretheresourcesthataremonitoredandmanagedforallthemanagedhosts
andvirtualmachinesinyourVMwareInfrastructureenvironment.Attributesstatus
andstatesappearonthevariousinventorypanels.
Customattributescanbeusedtoassociateuserspecificmetainformationwithvirtual
machinesandmanagedhosts.Afteryoucreatetheattributes,setthevalueforthe
attributeoneachvirtualmachineormanagedhost,asappropriate.Thisvalueisstored
withVirtualCenterandnotwiththevirtualmachineormanagedhost.Thenusethe
newattributetofilterinformationaboutyourvirtualmachinesandmanagedhosts.If
younolongerneedthecustomattribute,removeit.Acustomattributeisalwaysa
string.
Forexample,supposeyouhaveasetofproductsandyouwanttosortthembysales
representative.Createacustomattributeforsalespersonname,Name.Addthecustom
attribute,Name,columntooneofthelistviews.Addtheappropriatenametoeach
productentry.ClickthecolumntitleNametosortalphabetically.
ThecustomattributesfeatureisavailableonlywhenconnectedtoaVirtualCenter
Server.
Basic System Administration
To add a custom attribute
1 ChooseAdministration>CustomAttributes.
This option is not available when connected only to an ESX Server
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ThisoptionisnotavailablewhenconnectedonlytoanESXServer.
2 AddacustomattributeandclickAdd.
Theattributeisaddedtothelistofvirtualmachinecharacteristics.
3 Tochangetheattributename,clickintheNamefieldandtypethenameyouwant
toassigntotheattribute.
4 Enterthevaluesforthecustomattribute.
a Selecttheobject(onelevelupthehierarchy)thatcontainstheobjectstowhich
youwanttoapplytheattribute.
Forexample,ifyouwanttoenterattributevaluesformanagedhosts,selectthe
datacenterandtheHoststabforalistofhosts.
b Foreachmanagedhostorvirtualmachine,clickthenewattributescolumn.
Intheinformationpanel,thenewattributeisaddedtotheheader.
c Typetheattributevaluethatisappropriateforeachmanagedhostorvirtual
machine.
Youcanalsoeditcustomattributesandaddannotationsforavirtualmachineorhost
fromtheSummarytabfortheobject.Annotationscanbeusedtoprovideadditional
descriptivetextorcommentsforanobject.
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Basic System Administration
Selecting Objects
VirtualCenterobjectsaredatacenters,networks,datastores,resourcepools,clusters,
hosts,andvirtualmachines.Selectinganobjectdoesthefollowing:
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Allowsyoutoviewthestatusoftheobject.
Enablesthemenussoyoucanchooseactionstotakeontheobject.
To select an object
1 ClicktheappropriatenavigationbaroptionsuchasInventory,ScheduledTasks,
Events,Admin,orMaps.
2 IfyouselectInventory,browsethroughthehierarchyintheinventorypaneluntil
youseetheiconforanobject.Clickit.
Whenanobjectisselected,theobjectlabelintheinventorypanelbackfillsandthe
informationpanelupdatesitsdisplaytoreflectthedatafortheselectedobject.
To view an object menu
Selectthe
appropriate
object
and
choose
the
appropriate
action
from
the
menu
bar.
Alternatively,rightclicktheobject.
Apopupmenuwiththeobjectsavailableactionsappears.
Foreachtypeofobject,suchasdatacenter,host,orvirtualmachine,acorrespondingset
oftabsappearsintheinformationpanel.Forexample:
Ifyouselectamanagedhostintheinventorypanelwhileconnectedto
VirtualCenter,the
information
panel
displays
Summary,
Virtual
Machines,
ResourceAllocation,Performance,Configuration,Tasks&Events,Alarms,
Permissions,andMapstabs.
IfyouselecttheinventorypanelwhileconnectedtoanESXServer,theinformation
paneldisplaysSummary,VirtualMachines,ResourceAllocation,Performance,
Configuration,Users&Groups,SystemLogs,EventsandPermissionstabs.
Ifyouselectadatacenter,theinformationpaneldisplaysVirtualMachines,Hosts,
Tasks&Events,Alarms,Permissions,andMapstabs.
Theinventorypanelandinformationpanelshareasingleselectionlist.Selectingan
objectinonepaneldeselectsanyotherobjectintheotherpanel.
Menuactions,fromeitherthemenubarorapopupmenu,applytothecurrently
selectedobject.Ifnoobjectisselected,nomenuactionsareavailable.Apopupmenu
canappearonlyforaselectedobject.SeePopUpMenusonpage 50foradditional
informationonthepopupmenuoptions.
Chapter 4 Using the VI Client
To change the name of an object
SelectanitemandpressF2orclickthetextoftheselecteditem.Typethenewname.
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Monitoring ObjectsVIClientmonitorsVirtualCenterorESXServeractivities.Forahosttobemonitoredby
VirtualCenter,itmustberegisteredwiththeVirtualCenterServer.SeeAddingaHost
onpage 119forinformationonaddingobjectstoyourVirtualCenterServer.IfanESX
ServerhostisnotregisteredwithaVirtualCenterServer,youcanconnecttothehost
directly,alsousingtheVIClient.
To check the status of an object
1 StarttheVIClient.
2 Clicktheappropriatebuttoninthenavigationbar.
IfyouclicktheInventoryorMapsbutton,navigatethroughtheinventory
panelliststoviewindividualobjectssuchashosts,datacenters,andvirtual
machines.
IfyouclicktheScheduledTasks,Events,orAdminbutton,theinformation
paneldisplaysthescheduledtasks,events,oradministrativewizard
appropriatetothechoice.
3 Clicktheobjecttoviewit.
Whenyouselectanobject,theobjectlabelintheinventorypanelisshowninblue
andtheinformationpanelupdatesitsdisplaytoreflecttheobjectsdata.
4 Clicktheappropriatetabintheinformationpanel.
Thedatacorrespondingtotheobjectandtabselectedisshown.Clickthroughthe
tabstoviewtheinformationabouttheobject,asneeded.
Performing Actions on Objects
This
section
describes
only
the
basic
process
for
performing
tasks
in
the
VMware
InfrastructureClient.Thissectiondoesnotdescribespecificsettingsandconditions.
Seethechapterorbookspecifictothetaskyouwanttoperformforadditional
information.
Toviewanobject,youmusthavethenecessarypermissionassignedforthatobject.The
typeofactionyoucantakeonanobjectdependsuponthespecificprivilegesassigned
toyourusernameandgroup.
Basic System Administration
TherearethreemethodsfortakingactionsuponobjectsinVirtualCenter:
SelectingtheactionfromthemenubaratthetopoftheVirtualCenterwindow.See
MenuBaronpage 47.
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Selectingtheactionfromtheobjectspopupmenuorbutton.Theprocedurelistedbelowdescribeshowtochoosetheactionfromtheobjectmenuorbutton.
SchedulingtheactionthroughtheScheduledTaskspanel.SeeManaging
ScheduledTasksonpage 301toinformationonschedulingtasks.
To perform an action on a VMware Infrastructure object
1 Start
the
VMware
Infrastructure
Client.2 Connecttotheappropriateserver.
3 Toselectanobjectyouwanttovieworuponwhichyouwanttoperformanaction,
selecttheappropriateinventoryview,browsethroughthehierarchyinthe
inventorypaneluntilyouseeitsicon,andclickit.
Anobjectcanbeselectedintheinventorypanelortheinformationpanel.
Iftheobjectisnotintheview:
Verifyyouareloggedontothecorrectserver.
AddthehosttoVirtualCentercontrol,ifneeded.SeeManagingHostsin
VirtualCenteronpage 117forinformation.
4 Afteranobjectisselected:
Chooseamenu
item
from
the
main
menu.
Rightclicktheobjectandchoosefromthepopupmenu.
5 Followtheprompts.
Dependingontheactionyouselected,eithertheviewintheinformationpanelchanges
orawizardpromptsyouforinformationtocompletethetransaction.
Chapter 4 Using the VI Client
Managing VirtualCenter Modules
Aftertheservercomponentofamoduleisinstalledandregisteredwiththe
VirtualCenterserver,itsclientcomponentisavailabletoVirtualCenterclients.Client
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componentinstallationandenablementaremanagedthroughthePluginManagerdialogbox(Plugins>ManagePlugins).ThePluginManagerenablesuserstodothe
following:
Viewavailablemodulesthatarenotcurrentlyinstalledontheclient.
Viewinstalledmodules.
Downloadandinstallavailablemodules.
Enableanddisableinstalledmodules.
To open the Manage Plugins dialog box:
1 LaunchtheVirtualCenterclientandlogintoaVirtualCenterserver.
2 SelectPlugins>ManagePlugins.
TheAvailabletabdisplaysmodulesthatareavailabletobeinstalled.TheInstalledtab
displayscurrentlyinstalledmodules.
To install modules:
1 SelecttheAvailabletabinthePluginManagerdialogbox.
2 ClickDownloadandInstallforthemoduleyouwant.
3 Followthepromptsintheinstallationwizard.
4 Afterinstallationiscomplete,verifythatthemoduleislistedundertheInstalled
tabandthatitisenabled.
To disable and enable modules:
1 SelecttheInstalledtabinthePluginManagerdialogbox.
2 SelectEnabletoenableamodule,ordeselectEnabletodisableit.
Disablingamoduleindoesnotremoveitfromtheclient.Youmustuninstallthe
moduletoremoveit.
To remove modules:
ModulescanberemovedthroughtheoperatingsystemsAdd/RemovePrograms
controlpanel.Consultyouroperatingsystemsdocumentationforinstructionsonhow
touse
the
Add/Remove
Programs
control
panel.
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Thischapterincludesbasicsystemconfigurationinformation,suchashowtoaccess
andconfigurelogfiles,configurefirewalls,andsetupSNMP.Sometopicshave
extensiveinformationdiscussedinseparatechaptersorbooks.Wherethisoccurs,
referencesareprovided.
Someofthetopicsinthischapteraretypicallyonetimeconfigurationtasks,thoughthe
settingscanbealteredwhenneeded.
Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:
HostConfigurationforESXServerandVirtualCenteronpage 69
VirtualCenterConfigurationonpage 74
ConfiguringVirtualCenterCommunicationonpage 76
VirtualMachineConfigurationonpage 79
WorkingwithActiveSessionsonpage 81
AboutSNMPandVMwareInfrastructureonpage 83
SystemLogFilesonpage 100
Host Configuration for ESX Server and VirtualCenter
ESXServerhostsareconfiguredandmanagedthroughtheVMwareInfrastructure
Client.SomehostrelatedconfigurationisspecifictoVirtualCenter.Otherhost
configurationappliestostandalonehostsaswellasVirtualCenterregisteredhosts.
TheESXServer3ConfigurationGuidedescribesthetasksyoumustcompletetoconfigure
ESX
Server
3host
networking,
storage,
and
security.
The
ESXServer3i
System Configuration 5
Basic System Administration
ConfigurationGuidedescribesthesetasksforanESXServer3ihost.Inaddition,theseguidesprovideoverviews,recommendations,andconceptualdiscussionstohelpyou
understandthesetasks.TheyexplainhowtodeployanESXServerhosttomeetyour
needs.BeforeusingtheinformationintheESXServer3ConfigurationGuideortheESXS 3i C fi ti G id d th I t d ti t VM I f t t f
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Server3iConfigurationGuide,readtheIntroductiontoVMwareInfrastructureforanoverviewofsystemarchitectureandthephysicalandvirtualdevicesthatmakeupa
VMwareInfrastructuresystem.
ThissectionsummarizesthehostconfigurationoptionsandthecontentsoftheESXServer3ConfigurationGuideandESXServer3iConfigurationGuidesothatyoucanfindtheinformationyouneed.
Selectahost
and
the
Configuration
tab
for
the
host.
The
configuration
tab
displays
all
oftheconfigurationoptionsavailable.
Hardware Tab
Thehardwaretabdisplaysthefollowingconfigurationoptions:
HealthStatus(ESXServer3ionly)Displaysthestatusofhardwarecomponents
suchasprocessors,memory,andstorage.
ProcessorsDisplaysthehostsprocessorinformationsuchastype,speed,
manufacturer.Thepropertiesdialogboxallowsyoutoenableordisable
Hyperthreading.
MemoryDisplaysthehostsmemoryconfiguration,includingtotalmemory
available,amountsforthehostssystem,amountsforthevirtualmachines,and
amountsfortheESXServer3serviceconsole.OnanESXServer3host,the
propertiesdialogboxallowsyoutosettheamountdedicatedtotheserviceconsole.
Storage(SCSI,SAN,NFS)Displaysthestoragevolumesconfiguredforthehost
anddetailsabouteachstoragedevice.Thisincludesvolumelabels,filesystem
type,blocksize,extents,andcapacity.TheRefresh,Remove,AddStorage,and
Propertiesdialogboxesallowyoutochangevolumeproperties,addextents,
managepaths,adddiskorLUNdatastores,andaddnetworkfilesystem(NFS)
datastores.
NetworkingDisplayscurrentnetworksattachedtothehost.TheRefresh,Add
Networking,Remove,andPropertiesdialogboxesallowyoutoconfigureports
andnetworkadapters,anddefineconnectiontypestothehostsvirtualmachines
andVMkernel.OnanESXServer3host,youcanalsodefineconnectionstothe
serviceconsole.
Chapter 5 System Configuration
StorageAdaptersDisplaysstorageadapterconfiguration,suchasdevicetype,
SANidentification,LUNidentification,path,andcapacity.TheRescan,Hide
LUNs,andPropertiesdialogboxesallowyoutoscanfornewstoragedevicesor
VMFSvolumes,hidetheLUNinformationforeachselectedstorageadapter,and
view VMotion configuration status
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viewVMotionconfigurationstatus.
NetworkAdaptersDisplaysnetworkadapterinformation,includingdevice
type,speed,vSwitch,andnetworkidentification.
Software Tab
Thesoftwaretabdisplaysthefollowingconfigurationoptions:
LicensedFeaturesDisplaysthecurrentstatusoflicensingforthecurrently
selectedhost.Thisincludeslicensesources,licensetype,andlicensingforaddons
suchasVMotionor