vmware administration imp

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Basic System AdministrationESX Server 3.5, ESX Server 3i version 3.5

VirtualCenter 2.5

This document supports the version of each product listed and

supports all subsequent versions until the document is replacedby a new edition. To check for more recent editions of thisdocument, see http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.

VI-ENG-Q407-436
http://www.vmware.com/support/pubshttp://www.vmware.com/support/pubs


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

2 VMware, Inc.

Basic System Administration

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

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

The VMware Web site also provides the latest product updates.

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

[email protected]

Copyright 20062010 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and

international copyright and intellectual property laws. VMware products are covered by one or morepatents listed at http://www.vmware.com/go/patents.

VMware is a registered trademark or trademark of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or otherjurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respectivecompanies.
http://www.vmware.com/supportmailto:[email protected]://www.vmware.com/go/patentshttp://www.vmware.com/go/patentsmailto:[email protected]://www.vmware.com/supporthttp://www.vmware.com/support/


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Contents

AboutThisBook 13

GettingStarted

1 VMwareInfrastructureComponents 19TwoApproachestoManagingVirtualMachines 20

ComponentsofVMwareInfrastructure 21

VMwareInfrastructureClientInterfaces 23

OptionalVirtualCenterComponents 24

VirtualCenterModules 25

ManagedComponents 26

FunctionalComponents 27

AccessPrivilegesComponents 28

2 UsingthisDocument 31

GettingStarted 32

VirtualMachineManagement 33

SystemAdministration 33

Appendixes 34

3 StartingandStoppingtheVMwareInfrastructureComponents 35ESXServer 35

VirtualCenterServer 36VerifyingThatVirtualCenterServerStarted 37

RestartingtheVirtualCenterServer 37

StoppingtheVirtualCenterServer 38

VIClient 38

StartingtheVIClientandLoggingIn 38

StoppingtheVIClientandLoggingOut 39

VIWebAccess 40VMwareServiceConsole 41


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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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8 VMware, Inc.

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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Contents

Global 331

HostCIM 333

HostConfiguration 333

HostInventory 335

HostLocalOperations 337

Network 337

Performance 338

Permissions 339

Resource 339

Scheduled

Task 341Sessions 341

Tasks 342

VirtualMachineConfiguration 342

VirtualMachineInteraction 345

VirtualMachineInventory 346

VirtualMachineProvisioning 347

VirtualMachine

State 348

B InstallingtheMicrosoftSysprepTools 351

C PerformanceChartMetrics 355CPU 356

VirtualMachine 357

Host 358ResourcePool 358

Cluster 359

Disk 359

HostandVirtualMachine 359

Memory 360

VirtualMachine 360

Host 362ResourcePool 364

Cluster 366

ClusterServices 367

Cluster 368

Network 368

HostandVirtualMachine 368

System 370


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12 VMware, Inc.

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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14 VMware, Inc.

Intended Audience

Theinformationpresentedinthismanualiswrittenforsystemadministratorswhoare

experiencedWindowsorLinuxsystemadministratorsandwhoarefamiliarwithvirtualmachinetechnologyanddatacenteroperations.

Document Feedback

VMwarewelcomesyoursuggestionsforimprovingourdocumentation.Ifyouhave

comments,sendyourfeedbackto:

[email protected]

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
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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VMware, Inc. 15

About This Book

Technical Support and Education Resources

Thefollowingsectionsdescribethetechnicalsupportresourcesavailabletoyou.You

canaccessthemostcurrentversionsofthismanualandotherbooksbygoingto:

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

Online and Telephone Support

Useonlinesupporttosubmittechnicalsupportrequests,viewyourproductand

contractinformation,andregisteryourproducts.Goto

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

Customerswithappropriatesupportcontractsshouldusetelephonesupportforthe

fastestresponseonpriority1issues.Goto

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

Support Offerings

Findout

how

VMware

support

offerings

can

help

meet

your

business

needs.

Go

to

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

VMware Education Services

VMwarecoursesofferextensivehandsonlabs,casestudyexamples,andcourse

materialsdesignedtobeusedasonthejobreferencetools.Formoreinformationabout

VMwareEducationServices,gotohttp://mylearn1.vmware.com/mgrreg/index.cfm.
http://www.vmware.com/support/pubshttp://www.vmware.com/supporthttp://www.vmware.com/support/phone_support.htmlhttp://www.vmware.com/support/serviceshttp://mylearn1.vmware.com/mgrreg/index.cfmhttp://mylearn1.vmware.com/mgrreg/index.cfmhttp://mylearn1.vmware.com/mgrreg/index.cfmhttp://www.vmware.com/support/serviceshttp://www.vmware.com/support/phone_support.htmlhttp://www.vmware.com/supporthttp://www.vmware.com/support/pubs


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16 VMware, Inc.


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Getting Started


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1

ThischapterintroducesVMwareInfrastructurecomponentsandtheoperationsthat

youusewhenmanagingyourvirtualmachinesthroughESXServerorVirtualCenter

Server.

Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:

TwoApproachestoManagingVirtualMachinesonpage 20

ComponentsofVMwareInfrastructureonpage 21

VMwareInfrastructureClientInterfacesonpage 23

OptionalVirtualCenterComponentsonpage 24

VirtualCenterModulesonpage 25

ManagedComponentsonpage 26

FunctionalComponentsonpage 27

AccessPrivilegesComponentsonpage 28

VMware Infrastructure

Components

1

B i S t Ad i i t ti


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20 VMware, Inc.

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

Chapter 1 VMware Infrastructure Components


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VMware, Inc. 21


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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22 VMware, Inc.

VirtualCenterServerTheworkingcoreofVirtualCenter.VirtualCenterServerisasingleWindowsServiceandisinstalledtorunautomatically.AsaWindows

Service,theVirtualCenterServerrunscontinuouslyinthebackground,

performingitsmonitoringandmanagingactivitiesevenwhennoVIClientsareconnectedandevenifnobodyisloggedontothecomputerwhereitresides.It

musthavenetworkaccesstoallthehostsitmanagesandbeavailablefornetwork

accessfromanymachinewheretheVIClientisrun.

VirtualCenterServercanbeinstalledinaWindowsvirtualmachineonanESX

Serverhost,allowingittotakeadvantageofthehighavailabilityaffordedby

VMwareHA.SeetheInstallationGuidefordetailsonsettingupthisconfiguration. VirtualCentermodulesApplicationsthatprovideadditionalfeaturesand

functionalitytoVirtualCenter.Typically,modulesconsistofaservercomponent

andaclientcomponent.Aftertheservercomponentofamoduleisinstalled,itis

registeredwiththeVirtualCenterserverandtheclientcomponentisavailableto

VirtualCenterclientsfordownload(seeManagingVirtualCenterModuleson

page 67).AfteramoduleisinstalledonaVirtualCenterclient,itmightalterthe

interfacebyaddingviews,tabs,toolbarbuttons,ormenuoptionsrelatedtothe

addedfunctionality.

ModulesleveragecoreVirtualCentercapabilities,suchasauthenticationand

permissionmanagement,butcanhavetheirowntypesofevents,tasks,metadata,

andprivileges.

ModulesrequireVirtualCenter,buttheycanbeinstalledanytimeafter

VirtualCenterhasbeeninstalled.ModulesandVirtualCentercanbeupgraded

independentof

each

other.

VirtualCenterdatabaseApersistentstorageareaformaintainingstatusofeach

virtualmachine,host,andusermanagedintheVirtualCenterenvironment.The

VirtualCenterdatabasecanberemoteorlocaltotheVirtualCenterServermachine.ThedatabaseisinstalledandconfiguredduringVirtualCenterinstallation.

IfyouareaccessingyourESXServerhostdirectlythroughaVIClient,andnot

throughaVirtualCenterServerandassociatedVIClient,youdonotuseaVirtualCenterdatabase.

DatastoreThestoragelocationsforthevirtualmachinefilesspecifiedwhen

creatingvirtualmachines.Datastoreshidetheidiosyncrasiesofvariousstorage

options(suchasVMFSvolumesonlocalSCSIdisksoftheserver,theFibreChannel

SANdiskarrays,theiSCSISANdiskarrays,orNetworkAttachedStorage(NAS)

arrays)andprovideauniformmodelforvariousstorageproductsrequiredby

virtualmachines.



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VMware, Inc. 23

p p

VirtualCenteragentOneachmanagedhost,softwarethatcollects,

communicates,andexecutestheactionsreceivedfromtheVirtualCenterServer.

TheVirtualCenteragentisinstalledthefirsttimeanyhostisaddedtotheVirtualCenterinventory.

HostagentOneachmanagedhost,softwarethatcollects,communicates,and

executestheactionsreceivedthroughtheVIClient.ItisinstalledaspartoftheESX

Serverinstallation.

VirtualCenterlicenseserverAserverthatstoressoftwarelicensesrequiredfor

mostoperationsinVirtualCenterandESXServer,suchaspoweringonavirtual

machine.

VMwareInfrastructuresupportsmultiplemodesoflicensing.Notallmodesof

licensingrequirealicenseserver.VirtualCenterandfeaturesthatrequire

VirtualCenter,suchasVMwareVMotion,requirealicenseserver.

FormoreinformationonVirtualCenterandESXServer3licensing,seethe

InstallationGuide.FormoreinformationonESXServer3ilicensing,seetheSetupGuideforyourESXServer3iproduct.

Forcompleteinformationoninstallingthesecomponents,seetheInstallationGuide.ForcompleteinformationonconfiguringESXServer3,seetheESXServer3ConfigurationGuide.ForcompleteinformationonconfiguringESXServer3i,seetheESXServer3iConfigurationGuide.

VMware Infrastructure Client Interfaces

VMwareInfrastructureClientinterfaceoptionsinclude:

VMwareInfrastructureClient(VIClient)Arequiredcomponentandthe

primaryinterfaceforcreating,managing,andmonitoringvirtualmachines,their

resources,andtheirhosts.Italsoprovidesconsoleaccesstovirtualmachines.

VIClientisinstalledonaWindowsmachinewithnetworkaccesstoyourESX

ServerorVirtualCenterServerinstallation.Theinterfacedisplaysslightlydifferent

optionsdependingonwhichtypeofserveryouareconnectedto.WhileallVirtualCenteractivitiesareperformedbytheVirtualCenterServer,youmustuse

theVIClienttomonitor,manage,andcontroltheserver.AsingleVirtualCenter

ServerorESXServerhostcansupportmultiple,simultaneouslyconnectedVI

Clients.



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24 VMware, Inc.

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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VMware, Inc. 25

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.

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


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26 VMware, Inc.

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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VMware, Inc. 27

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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28 VMware, Inc.

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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Appendixes

BasicSystemAdministrationprovidesthesefourappendixeswithspecializedinformation

you

might

find

useful

when

configuring

your

VMware

Infrastructure

environment:

DefinedPrivilegesIncludestableswiththepermissionsandrolesthatare

availablewiththeVMwareInfrastructuresystem.

InstallingtheMicrosoftSysprepToolsDescribeshowtoinstalltheMicrosoft

SyspreptoolsonyourVirtualCenterServermachine.InstallingtheSyspreptools

isarequirementifyouplantocustomizeaWindowsguestoperatingsystem.

PerformanceChartMetricsIncludestableswiththemeasurementoptionsfor

eachresourcemonitoredonahost.


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VMware, Inc. 35

3

Thischapterincludesinformationonhowtostartandstopeachoneofthemajor

VMwareInfrastructurecomponents,ESXServerandVirtualCenterServer.


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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36 VMware, Inc.

To reboot or shut down your ESX Server(SEEUPDATE)1 StartaVMwareInfrastructureClientandconnecteithertoaVirtualCenterServer

oranESXServerhost.

SeeConfiguringVirtualCenterCommunicationonpage 76forinformation.

2 IfconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,displaytheinventorysHosts&Clusters

panel.Selecttheappropriaterootfolder(bydefaultlabeledHosts&Clusters)or

subfolder.

3 SelecttheappropriateESXServerintheinventorypanel.

4 Fromthe

main

or

right

click

pop

up

menu,

choose

Reboot

or

Shut

Down,

as

appropriate.

IfRebootisselected,theESXServershutsdownandreboots.

IfShutDownisselected,theESXServershutsdown.Youmustmanually

powerthesystembackon.

5 Provideareasonfortheshutdown.

Thisinformationisaddedtothelog.

To manually stop an ESX Server 3 host

1 LogintotheESXServerserviceconsole.

SeeConnectingtotheServiceConsoleonpage 42forinformationonaccessing

theserviceconsole.

2 Executetheshutdowncommand.

Forexample:

: shutdown -h now

ESXServer3gracefullyshutsdown.Whenitisfinished,amessageindicatesthat

itissafetopoweroffyoursystem.

3 Pressthe

power

button

until

the

machine

powers

off.

VirtualCenter Server

VirtualCentermanagesmultiplehoststhatcancontainmultiplevirtualmachines.To

performanyactivitieswiththeVirtualCenter,youmustusetheVMwareInfrastructure

Client.

TheVirtualCenterServerstartswhenyoustarttheWindowsmachineonwhichitisinstalled.Italsorestartswhenthismachineisrebooted.

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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VMware, Inc. 37

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


Forexample,selectControlPanel>AdministrativeTools>Services.Click

VMwareInfrastructureServer.

NOTE WhenVirtualCenterisinstalled,allusersinthelocalmachinesAdministrators

groupareassignedtheAdministratorrolewithfullprivilegesintheVirtualCenter

environment.AVirtualCenterAdministratormustsetpermissionsforallother

VirtualCenterusers.SeeAssigningAccessPermissionsonpage 275foradditional

information.


2 Right li k VM a e I f a t u tu e Se e hoo e Start a d ait fo ta 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


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.


To start a VI Client session


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VMware, Inc. 39

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.


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.


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.


IfyourDNSservercannotmapthehostsnametoitsDHCPgeneratedIPaddress,you


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y p g y

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.


To view the man page for a particular command


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VMware, Inc. 43

Attheserviceconsolecommandline,typethemancommandfollowedbythenameof

thecommandforwhichyouwanttoseeinformation,forexample:

: man

Foradditionalinformationoncommands,seethefollowingresources:

FormoredetailedinformationonESXServer3relatedcommands,seetheESXServer3ConfigurationGuide.

FormoreinformationonLinuxcommands,consultaLinuxreferencebook.



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4


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ThischapterdescribesthespecificlayoutandnavigationoftheVIClient.Italso

containsinformationforconfiguringadminoptions,VirtualCenterServersettings,

managinghostconfigurationoptions,andmanagingmodules.


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


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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VMware, Inc. 47

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


ViewMenuControlswhichpanelsarevisible.Thisprovidesamenuitemfor

selecting one of the navigation buttons.


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p

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


ThepopoutvirtualmachineConsolehasthefollowingmenuitems.Theembedded

ConsolehassimilarmenuitemsbutdoesnotincludealloftheexternalConsolemenu


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VMware, Inc. 51

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


To view the Inventory button options

Click the arrow on the Inventory navigation bar button to see the inventory group


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52 VMware, Inc.

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.


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.


Whenanobjectisremovedfromtheinventory,itslogandeventhistoryremainsuntil

purgedthroughtheagingprocesses.Dataiskeptforaspecifiedwindowoftime.Asthe

time window shifts older data is purged


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54 VMware, Inc.

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 togglebutton Liststhetriggeredalarmsfortheselectedobject.

Configuration ESXServer

VirtualCenter

inventorypaneltab

Providesaccesstoconfiguringtheselectedhost.

Console ESXServer

VirtualCenter

inventorypaneltab

Displaysaremoteconsoletointeractdirectlywiththevirtualmachine.

Throughthe

remote

console

you

can

take

selectedactionsuponthevirtualmachine.


Table 4-8. Inventory View Tabs (Continued)

Panel Name

Client

Connected To

Button, Tab, or

Toggle Description


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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


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 togglebutton 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


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


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.


To edit custom attributes and annotations for a virtual machine or host

1 Selectthevirtualmachineorhostintheinventory.

2 Click the Summary tab for the virtual machine or host


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2 ClicktheSummarytabforthevirtualmachineorhost.

3 IntheAnnotationsbox,clicktheEditlink.

TheEditCustomAttributesdialogboxisdisplayed.

4 Toaddanattribute:

a ClickAdd.

b IntheNametextbox,typethenameoftheattribute.

c IntheTypedropdownlis

vmware administration imp

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