articles about XYZ It’s all change virtually VI3.5 in a box · This concludes the ‘VI3.5 in a box’ white paper based upon ESX Server 3.5 Update 2 on VMware Workstation 6.5 Build

MIKE LAVERICK Limited Edition

[email protected]

In 2007, like others in the global VMware community,

Xtravirt developed a common methodology to install

and run VMware ESX 3.x on VMware Workstation 6

together with a shared storage solution based upon

an iSCSI software target. We called it ‘VI3 in a box’.

This allowed users and professionals in the IT

community to create simple and cost effective VI3

infrastructures to test, learn about and demonstrate

these environments.

Upon the release of VMware ESX 3.5 we found

that this methodology did not continue to hold

true. Although still possible to install ESX 3.5, when

attempting to start a nested Virtual Machine on the

ESX VM, the ESX VM panics, and a stop message

similar to the one below generated by Workstation

appears.

However, with the release of VMware Workstation 6.5,

Build 118166, a revised solution exists.

This white paper documents the process to install

and configure ‘VI3.5 in a box’.

PrerequisitesThe following software is required:

VMware Workstation 6.5 Build 118166•

ESX 3.5 Update 2•

We tested this installation on a Lenovo T60 laptop

computer with the following specification:

Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo T5600 1.83GHz CPU•

2GB Ram•

Intel-VT extensions enabled in the BIOS*•

*Note: the minimum CPU requirement is a multi-core processor with

either Intel-VT or AMD-V extensions.

The PC was running Windows XP Professional with

SP3 installed to current Microsoft patch levels

Install VMware Workstation 6.5

Close all running applications. Double click the

installer program to launch setup.

Each of the following steps represents a screen in the

installation wizard.

Welcome. Click 1. NextSetup Type. Select 2. Typical. Click NextDestination Folder. Click 3. NextConfigure Shortcuts. Select shortcut preference. 4.

Click NextReady to Install the Program. Click 5. InstallVMware Workstation will now install6.

Installation Wizard Completed. Click 7. Finish

At the prompt click Yes to restart your computer

X marks the spot! ESX 3.5 on Workstation is no longer a buried treasure...

VI3.5 in a boxwhite paper ESX3.5 on Workstation 6.5 Build 118166

www.xtravirt.com © 2008 | 1

Are you scared of change or do you embrace it? Change Management is an important part of any organisation. But do you consider it your friend or your enemy?

At the best of times, change managementcan often be a real headache for all ustechnologists. All we want to do is releasethe latest and greatest product in to theenterprise and reap the technological benefit.Change Management can seem like a hindrance,but, it is not. Us ‘techies’ should remember thatthe changes we make affect our business, ourcustomers and potentially our bottom line. Handsup how many times you have ‘changed’something only to find that the outcome had anundesirable affect? Change Management is animportant part of business process and has beenaround for hundreds of years in one way oranother. VMware technologies on the other handhave not. And let’s face it; VMware can be adifficult technology to explain to a non technicalChange Management person.

EducateEveryone these days understands tin and the risksof change around them. I mean, who doesn’t owna PC at home these days? However, as soon asyou take the physical tin away and start talkingabout virtual servers, virtual switches, virtualstorage etc, fear often settles in. We are all afraidof what we don’t understand and when your jobis to understand and manage your company’schanges, you want to be confident about what isgoing on. We always have to get managementbuy in for that extra ESX licence and we manage

that. So why stop there? Why not educate thechange management staff? There are some easyapproaches to accomplishing this.

* Run educational awareness sessions

* Ask a VAC or VMware for assistance

* Provide case studies

Educate your Change Management staff in thetechnology. Invest the time. They don’t need tobe implementers. They don’t need to be able todesign a VI3 infrastructure. They just needenough knowledge to feel comfortable with thetechnology, allowing them to support thechanges that you need to make.

They need to know how to put the car in gear, nothow the gearbox works. In the future all yourchanges will be logged and approved, theprocess will be easier for you. You won’t have tocontinually repeat yourself explaining how thetechnology works, feeling the pressure building,as your Change Control still hasn’t been approvedon the implementation date because nobodyunderstands the change. Who knows, if you heedthe advice and work together, maybe IT and theChange Management team will have a joint Xmasparty this year.

It’s all change... virtually

Change Management can seemlike a hindrance, but, it is not.

© 2008

articles about XYZ...


[email protected] www.xtravirt.com © 2008 | 2

Create an ESX Virtual Machine1. Start VMware Workstation. Start the New Virtual Machine wizard. Select the Custom radio button and

click Next

2. Choose the Virtual Machine Hardware Compatibility.

Ensure that Workstation 6.5 is selected in the

Hardware Compatibility field. Click Next

3. Guest Operating System Installation. Select ‘I will install the operating system later’ option. Click Next

4. Select a Guest Operating System. Select Linux, then

in the Version field select Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 64-bit. Click Next

5. Name the Virtual Machine. Enter a VM name and

specify a location to store VM files. Click Next

6. Processor Configuration. Select One. Click Next



7. Memory for the Virtual Machine. Select at least

1024MB. Click Next.

8. Network Type. For this example the Use bridged networking option was selected. Click Next

9. Select I/O Adapter Types. Select LSI Logic. Click

Next

10. Select a Disk. Select Create a new virtual disk.

Click Next

11. Select a Disk Type. Select SCSI. Click Next

12. Specify Disk Capacity. 8GB was used in this

example. Select the Allocate all disk space now

checkbox and also select Store virtual disk as a single file


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13. Specify Disk File. Rename the disk file if required.

Click Next

14. Ready to Create Virtual Machine. Deselect the

Power on this virtual machine after creation

checkbox. Click Customize Hardware

15. Hardware. Remove the following hardware: Floppy, USB Controller and Sound.

16. Hardware. Select Network. Tick Replicate physical network connection state

17. Hardware. Select Display. Deselect the Accelerate 3D graphics checkbox.

18. Select Processors. In the Preferred Mode field select

the Intel-VTx or AMD-V option. Click OK

19. Click Finish



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20. The virtual disk will be allocated. This step may take

some time.

21. Once complete, double-click the CD/DVD (IDE) option to open the customisation menu

22. CD/DVD. Select Use ISO image file. Browse to

the location of the ESX 3.5 Update 2 ISO previously

downloaded. Click OK

23. A line needs to be added into the .vmx file for this

virtual machine. Navigate to the Windows folder where

the VM is stored. The location of the .vmx file is shown

in the Workstation GUI

24. Edit the .vmx file using Windows notepad. Add the

following line, monitor_control.restrict_backdoor = “true” to the file as shown. Save the file and close



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Install VMware ESX 3.51. Within Workstation power on the VM.

The ESX boot loader screen will appear. Press the Enter

key to continue. The following is a default GUI install of

ESX; modify as required.

Each of the following steps represents a screen in the

installation wizard.

CD Media Test. Select 1. SkipWelcome to the ESX Server 3.5 Installer. Click 2. NextSelect Keyboard. Select your keyboard layout. 3.

Click NextMouse Configuration. Click 4. NextWarning - Initialize Drive. Click 5. YesEnd User License Agreement. Select 6. I accept the terms of the license agreement. Click NextPartitioning Options. Accept defaults or modify 7.

accordingly. Click NextWarning - remove partitions. Click 8. YesPartition Disks. Modify as required. For this 9.

configuration we made the VMFS partition smaller

and ensured that the SWAP partition was equal to

the amount of configured memory in the ESX VM.

Click NextAdvanced Options. Click 10. NextNetwork Configuration. Configure networking as 11.

required. Click NextTime Zone Selection. Configure time zone, UTC 12.

offset and location. Click NextAccount Configuration. Set root password. Click 13.

NextAbout to Install. Click 14. Next

ESX Server will now install. Once complete click Finish.

ESX server will reboot and start to load. The ESX iso can

now be unmounted. Once the splash screen appears

it may take a few minutes for ESX to complete loading.

Check by pressing ALT-F1 - if you see a login then ESX

has completed booting.

Using your Internet browser (IE7 in this case),

navigate to the IP address of your ESX VM, eg:

http://192.168.15.49. If using DHCP, press ALT-F11 to

show the assigned IP address.

Accept any website certificate warnings, eg: Continue to this website

Click Download VMware Infrastructure Client

Follow the installation prompts to install the VI Client.

Once complete launch the VI Client.

Enter the ESX VM IP address, root username and its

password. Click Login. Click Ignore at the Security

Warning prompt and the client will continue to load




The VI client interface for the ESX Server VM will be

presented.

At this point you can continue to configure the ESX

server from the VI client. Optionally, create additional

ESX Server VM’s, create a VM to run VirtualCenter and

fully configure a ‘VI3.5 in a box’ infrastructure.

Create a VMAs mentioned at the start of this paper, the primary

issue with ESX 3.5 until this release of Workstation is that

although ESX could be installed, any VM’s deployed on

the ESX VM would crash Workstation when attempting

to power on. This severely limited the use of the

solution as it could not be used to demonstrate key

functions such as VMotion, DRS and HA.

To illustrate that this release has resolved this issue, the

next steps show the ability to create and power on VM’s.

From the VI Client go File -> Virtual Appliance ->

Import. Select the Import from VMware Virtual Appliance Marketplace and select a VM. Nostalgia

was selected as it is only a small 6MB VM. Follow the

import wizard and the VM will download and register

with the ESX VM. Power on the VM. The screenshot

below shows the VM having started up.

And lastly, a game in progress.

This concludes the ‘VI3.5 in a box’ white paper based

upon ESX Server 3.5 Update 2 on VMware Workstation

6.5 Build 118166.

The information in this document has been developed

by Xtravirt in conjunction with the VMware community.

This document is a culmination of the combined effort.

Xtravirt wish to acknowledge and thank everyone in the

community for their contributions.

Documents

articles about XYZ It’s all change virtually VI3.5 in a box · This concludes the ‘VI3.5 in a box’ white paper based upon ESX Server 3.5 Update 2 on VMware Workstation 6.5 Build