VMware Infrastructure 3 Deployment

8/6/2019 VMware Infrastructure 3 Deployment

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VMware Infrastructure 3, deployment

Executive summary............................................................................................................................... 3

Audience ........................................................................................................................................ 3

This white paper .............................................................................................................................. 3

ESX server pre-deployment.................................................................................................................... 3

Compatibility and support................................................................................................................. 4

HP ProLiant servers ....................................................................................................................... 4

HP StorageWorks SAN................................................................................................................. 4

HP I/O devices ............................................................................................................................ 4

Server configuration options.............................................................................................................. 4

IOAPIC table setting ..................................................................................................................... 4

Hyper-Threading Technology ......................................................................................................... 5

Node interleaving ........................................................................................................................ 5

Platform specific considerations ......................................................................................................... 5

HP ProLiant servers with AMD Opteron processors ........................................................................... 5

SAN configuration ........................................................................................................................... 6

Configuring HBAs ........................................................................................................................ 6

Configuring clustering support ....................................................................................................... 6

Supported SAN topologies............................................................................................................ 7

MSA configuration notes ............................................................................................................... 7

EVA configuration notes ................................................................................................................ 8

XP configuration notes................................................................................................................... 9

Supported guest operating systems................................................................................................. 9

Boot From SAN.......................................................................................................................... 10

Deploying VMware ESX Server 3.0 ..................................................................................................... 11

Installation methods........................................................................................................................ 11 HP Integrated Lights-Out .............................................................................................................. 11

Scripted installation .................................................................................................................... 11

Installation considerations ............................................................................................................... 11

ATA/IDE and SATA drives........................................................................................................... 11

SAN ......................................................................................................................................... 12

Boot From SAN.......................................................................................................................... 12

Disk partitioning......................................................................................................................... 12



Post-installation tasks .......................................................................................................................... 13HP Insight Management agents........................................................................................................ 13

Obtaining IM agents for ESX Server ............................................................................................. 13

Installing and configuring IM agents ............................................................................................. 14

Silent installation ........................................................................................................................ 15

Re-configuring the IM agents........................................................................................................ 15

ESX Server configuration................................................................................................................. 15

Virtual Machine deployment ............................................................................................................... 16

Creating new VMs ......................................................................................................................... 16

Using standard media................................................................................................................. 16

Network deployment .................................................................................................................. 16

Using RDP ................................................................................................................................. 17

Migrating VMs from ESX Server 2.x ................................................................................................. 18

VMware Tools ............................................................................................................................... 18

Using RDP to install VMware Tools ............................................................................................... 18

Using HP Systems Insight Manager ...................................................................................................... 20

Host management .......................................................................................................................... 20

SNMP settings............................................................................................................................ 20

Trust relationship ........................................................................................................................ 21

VM management ........................................................................................................................... 21

Configuring HP SIM.................................................................................................................... 21

Windows VMs ........................................................................................................................... 22

Linux VMs.................................................................................................................................. 24

Troubleshooting ............................................................................................................................. 24

For more information.......................................................................................................................... 26



Executive summary

This white paper provides guidance on the deployment of a VMware Infrastructure environmentbased on HP server, storage, and management products. The following key technologycomponents are deployed:

• HP ProLiant servers

• HP ProLiant Essentials software

• HP StorageWorks Storage Area Network (SAN) products

• VMware ESX Server 3.x

• VMware VirtualCenter 2.x

This white paper is not designed to replace documentation supplied with individual solutioncomponents but, rather, is intended to serve as an additional resource to aid the IT professionalsresponsible for deploying a VMware environment.

This is the second in a series of documents on the planning, deployment, and operation of an Adaptive Enterprise based on VMware Infrastructure and HP server, storage, and managementtechnologies. The remaining documents in this series can be found at

http://www.hp.com/go/vmware.

Audience

This white paper is intended for solutions architects, IT planners, and engineers involved in thedeployment of virtualization solutions. The reader should be familiar with networking in aheterogeneous environment, understand and interact with virtualized infrastructures on an on-goingbasis, and have a working knowledge of ESX Server and HP ProLiant Essentials software products.

This white paper

This white paper provides information on the following topics:

•

Compatibility and support – Identifying and configuring HP ProLiant server platforms that arecertified for VMware ESX Server 3.0.

• SAN configuration – Configuring supported HP StorageWorks SAN arrays for connectivity withESX Server systems

• Deploying VMware ESX Server 3.0 – Advanced methods for deploying ESX Server on HP ProLiantservers

• HP Insight Management agents – Installing HP management tools on an ESX Server system

• Virtual Machine deployment – Using conventional and advanced methods to deploy a virtualmachine (VM)

• VMware Tools – Deploying management tools into a guest operating system

•

Using HP Systems Insight Manager – Using HP Systems Insight Manager (HP SIM) to provide VMvisibility

ESX server pre-deployment

This section contains configuration steps that should be performed before you deploy VMware ESXServer.

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Compatibility and support

This section details HP servers, storage, and I/O devices that have been tested and are supported byHP for ESX Server 3.0.

HP ProLiant servers

For the most up-to-date list of supported platforms and important configuration notes refer to thesupport matrix athttp://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/servers/software/vmware/hpvmwarecert.html.

HP StorageWorks SAN

The following is a list of HP StorageWorks SAN array systems that have been certified with VMwareESX Server 3.0. For the most up-to-date list of supported arrays and important configuration notes,refer to the Storage / SAN Compatibility Guide for ESX Server 3.0 athttp://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi3_san_guide.pdf.

• HP StorageWorks 1500cs Modular Smart Array (MSA1500)

• HP StorageWorks 1000 Modular Smart Array (MSA1000)

• HP StorageWorks 4000 Enterprise Virtual Arrays (EVA4000)



• HP StorageWorks XP128 Disk Array (XP128)

• HP StorageWorks XP1024 Disk Array (XP1024)

HP I/O devices

For the most up-to-date list of supported devices and important configuration notes, refer the HPProLiant option support matrix athttp://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/servers/software/vmware/hpvmware-options-matrix.html.

Server configuration options

This section provides information on configuring the IOAPIC table, Intel® Hyper-Threading, and nodeinterleaving for AMD Opteron™-based systems. All of these options can be configured in the ROM-Based Setup Utility (RBSU). To access the RBSU, press F9 when prompted during the Power-On SelfTest (POST).

IOAPIC table setting

The IOAPIC (Input/Output Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller) controls the flow of interruptrequests in a multi-processor system. It also affects the mapping of IRQs to interrupt-driven subsystemssuch as PCI or ISA devices.

Full IOAPIC table support should be enabled for all HP ProLiant servers running VMware ESX

Server. This option can be found in the Advanced Options menu of the RBSU. Full IOAPIC tablesupport is enabled by default in current generation ProLiant servers.

Note:Previous generation ProLiant servers may refer to this optionas MPS Table Mode.

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http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/servers/software/vmware/hpvmware-options-matrix.html

http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi3_san_guide.pdf

http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/servers/software/vmware/hpvmwarecert.html



Hyper-Threading Technology

Hyper-Threading Technology is an embedded Intel processor technology that allows the operatingsystem to view a single CPU as two logical units. The processor is capable of managing multiple tasksgenerated by different applications.

Hyper-Threading is supported by ESX Server. To enable or disable Hyper-Threading at the systemlevel, select Processor Hyper-Threading from the Advanced Options menu in the RBSU.

Node interleaving

To optimize performance over a wide variety of applications, the AMD Opteron processor supportstwo different types of memory access: Non-Uniform Memory Access (NUMA) and Uniform Memory

Access (UMA), or node interleaving.

NUMA is enabled by default on Opteron-based ProLiant servers. To place the server in UMA mode,enable Node Interleaving from the Advanced Options menu in the RBSU.

Additional details about memory access and configuration for Opteron-based ProLiant servers areprovided in the next section.

Platform specific considerations

The following section contains configuration details and consideration specific to various ProLiantserver lines.

HP ProLiant servers with AMD Opteron processors

As mentioned above, the Opteron processor supports two different types of memory access: non-uniform memory access (NUMA) and sufficiently uniform memory access (SUMA), or nodeinterleaving.

A node consists of the processor cores, including the embedded memory controller and the attachedDIMMs. The total memory attached to all the processors is divided into 4096 byte segments. In thecase of linear addressing (NUMA), consecutive 4096 byte segments are on the same node. In thecase of node interleaving (SUMA), consecutive 4096 byte segments are on different or adjacent

nodes.

Linear memory accessing (NUMA) defines thememory starting at 0 on node 0 and assigns thetotal amount of memory on node 0 the nextsequential address, up to the memory total onnode 0. The memory on node 1 will then startwith the next sequential address until the processis complete.

Node interleaving (SUMA) breaks memory into4KB addressable entities. Addressing starts with

address 0 on node 0 and sequentially assignsthrough address 4095 to node 0, addresses4096 through 8191 to node 1, addresses 8192through 12287 to node 3, and addresses 12888through 16383 to node 4. Address 16384 isassigned to node 0 and the process continuesuntil all memory has been assigned in thisfashion.

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ESX Server currently offers NUMA support for Opteron-based systems and implements severaloptimizations designed to enhance virtual machine performance on NUMA systems. However, somevirtual machine workloads may not benefit from these optimizations. For example, virtual machinesthat have more virtual processors than the number of processor cores available on a single hardwarenode cannot be managed automatically. Virtual machines that are not managed automatically by theNUMA scheduler still run correctly; they simply don't benefit from ESX Server's NUMA optimizations.In this case, performance may be improved by activating node interleaving.

For best performance, HP recommends configuring each node with an equal amount of RAM.

Additionally, each ProLiant server may have its own rules and guidelines for configuring memory.Please see the QuickSpecs for each platform available athttp://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/ProductBulletin.html

For more information on ESX Server and NUMA technology, refer to VMware Knowledge Basearticle 1570.

SAN configuration

This section contains important information for both server and SAN administrators to use whenconfiguring ESX Server hosts for SAN connectivity.

Configuring HBAsThis section contains information on obtaining the World-Wide Port Names (WWPNs) from yourFibre Channel HBAs and configuring them for clustering support.

Obtaining World-Wide Port Name (WWPN)

In order to configure an HP StorageWorks SAN, you will need to know the WWPN for each HBAyou intend to connect to the SAN. Follow the instructions for your HBA model below to obtain the

WWPN. Write down the WWPN for later use.

Table 1. Obtaining WWPNs for HBAs

HBA How to obtain WWPN

QLogicThe WWPN can be found by entering the QLogic Fast!UTIL utility during server post. Selectthe appropriate host adapter (if more than one is present), then go to Configuration SettingsHost Adapter Settings and look for Adapter Port Name.

EmulexThe WWPN can be found by entering the Emulex BIOS Utility during server post. Select theappropriate host adapter (if more than one is present). The WWPN will be displayed at thetop of the screen.

Configuring clustering support

Clustering your virtual machines between ESX Server machines requires shared disks. To configure anHBA for clustering support, follow the instructions for your HBA listed in the table below.

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– Provide a unique name for the connection and set the profile by typing the following command:

CLI> add connection <unique_name> wwpn=<wwpn> profile=Linux

– To verify that each connection has been correctly set, type the following command:

CLI> show connections

– For each connection, verify that the profile is set to Linux and that its status is Online. If there areany problems, refer to the MSA1000/MSA1500 documentation for troubleshooting guidelines.

ACU

– Enable Selective Storage Presentation (SSP).

– Review the list of HBAs connected to the array.

– Assign a unique name to each connection and select Linux from the drop-down list as thedesired profile.

– Enable access to the LUNs you wish to present to the ESX Server systems.

EVA configuration notes

Before configuring an EVA SAN to an ESX Server machine, HP recommends upgrading the arraycontroller to the appropriate firmware version, as specified in Table 4.

Table 4. Array controller firmware levels

Array Minimum Recommended

EVA3000(HSV100)

VCS 3.028

VCS 4.004

VCS 3.028

VCS 4.004

EVA5000(HSV110)

VCS 3.028

VCS 4.004

VCS 3.028

VCS 4.004

EVA4000

EVA6000

(HSV200)

XCS 5.031 XCS 5.100

EVA8000

(HSV210)

XCS 5.031 XCS 5.100

For more information on upgrading the firmware of an EVA array and on configuring the EVA, seehttp://h18006.www1.hp.com/storage/arraysystems.html

When adding an ESX Server system as a new host, Command View EVA may not populate all theHBAs in the WWPN drop-down list. The WWPN can be entered manually if this occurs. Theconnection type must be set to according to Table 5.

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Table 5. Array controller connection type

Array Firmware Connection Type

EVA3000

EVA5000

VCS 3.028 Custom:

000000002200282E

EVA3000

EVA5000

VCS 4.004 VMware

EVA4000EVA6000

EVA8000

XCS 5.031 Custom:00000000220008BC

EVA4000

EVA6000

EVA8000

XCS 5.100 VMware

Red Hat Advanced Server 2.1, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3, and SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 guest VM support requires using the "vmxlsilogic" SCSI emulation.

XP configuration notes

Before configuring an XP SAN and ESX Server, HP recommends upgrading the array controller to anappropriate firmware version, as specified in Table 6.

Table 6. Array controller firmware levels

Array Minimum Recommended

XP128

XP1024

21.14.18.00/00 21.14.18.00/00

For more information on upgrading the firmware of an XP array and on configuring this array, see:


The host mode for all XP arrays should be set to “0x0C”.

Supported guest operating systems

The following guest operating systems are supported with HP StorageWorks SAN arrays and VMware ESX Server:

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Table 7. Supported Guest Operation Systems

Microsoft ® Windows® SuSE Linux Red Hat

Windows 2000 SP3 andSP4

SLES 8 SP3 RHEL 2.1 U6 and U7

Windows 2003 base andSP1

SLES 9 SP1 and SP2 RHEL 3 U4 and U5

RHEL 4 U2

RHEL 2.1, RHEL 3, and SLES8 support requires using the "vmxlsilogic" SCSI emulation.

Boot From SAN

Enabling Boot From SAN on an HP ProLiant server is a two-stage process: enabling and configuringthe QLogic BIOS, and configuring the server’s host boot order in the RBSU. Perform the followingsteps:

Configuring the BIOS

1. While the server is booting, press Ctrl Q to enter Fast!UTIL.

2. From the Select Host Adapter menu, choose the adapter you want to boot from, then press Enter .

3. In the Fast!UTIL Options menu, choose Configuration Settings, then press Enter .

4. In the Configuration Settings menu, choose Host Adapter Settings, then press Enter .

5. In the Host Adapter Settings menu, change the Host Adapter BIOS setting to Enabled by pressingEnter .

6. Press ESC to go back to the Configuration Settings menu. Choose Selectable Boot Settings, thenpress Enter .

7. In the Selectable Boot Settings menu, enable the Selectable Boot option, then move the cursor to thePrimary Boot Port Name, LUN:, then press Enter .

8. In the Select Fibre Channel Device menu, choose the device to boot from, then press Enter .

9. In the Select LUN menu, choose the supported LUN.

10. Save the changes by pressing ESC twice.

Configuring the host boot order

1. While the system is booting, Press F9 to start the BIOS Setup Utility.

2. Choose Boot Controller Order .

3. Select the primary HBA (that is, the HBA dedicated to your SAN or presented to your LUN) andmove it to Controller Order 1.

4. Disable the Smart Array Controller.

5. Press F10 to save your configuration and exit the utility.

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Deploying VMware ESX Server 3.0

Installation methods

VMware ESX Server 3 includes both a graphical and a text-mode installer. The graphic-mode installeris the default and recommended method for installation.

When using the VMware installation media, you will be presented with a boot prompt at system

startup. Press Enter to start the graphical installer or type “esx text” at the boot prompt to use thetext-mode installer.

HP Integrated Lights-Out

Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) is a web-based, remote management technology available on HP ProLiantservers. iLO offers complete control – as if you were physically standing in front of the target server.

The iLO Virtual Media feature offers a number of options for booting a remote machine in order toinstall ESX Server.

Table 8. Options for booting a remote machine

How? Where?

Using a standard 1.44-MB floppy diskette On a client machine

Using a CD-ROM On a client machine

Using an image of the floppy diskette or CD-ROM From anywhere on the network

ESX Server supports installation via iLO Virtual Media using either the physical installation CD or anISO2 image from a client machine or the network.

Virtual Media requires an iLO/iLO2 Advanced license. For more information about iLO, refer towww.hp.com/servers/ilo.

Scripted installation

Once ESX Server has been deployed on an HP ProLiant server, IT staff can use this system to automatefurther deployments. This is particularly useful when deploying ESX Server instances on a number ofsimilarly configured servers.

See the Installation and Upgrade Guide from VMware for more information on creating a scriptedinstallation.

Installation considerations

This section highlights some additional items that you may wish to consider before beginning yourdeployment.

ATA/IDE and SATA drives

VMware supports booting from ATA/IDE and SATA devices; however you cannot create a VMFSvolume on these devices. An ESX Server host must have SCSI/SAS storage, NAS, or a SAN onwhich to store and run virtual machines.

2 As prescribed by ISO standard ISO 9660

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SAN

Before installation, you should zone and mask all SAN LUNs away from your server except thoseneeded during installation. This includes shared LUNs with existing VMFS partitions. This will helpprevent accidental deletion of critical VMs and data. After installation, you may then unmask theshared LUNs.

The maximum number of LUNs supported by the ESX Server installer is 128, and the maximum forESX Server is 255. Keep these maxima in mind when configuring and presenting LUNs.

Boot From SAN

ESX Server does not support booting from a shared LUN. Each ESX Server host should have itsown boot volume, and this volume should be masked away from all other systems.

Disk partitioning

The following table shows how the ESX Server host’s storage should be partitioned. The sizesprovided are recommended minima, and optional partitions are noted.

Table 9. Default storage configuration and partitioning for a VMFS volume on internal drives

Partition

name

File system

format

Size Description

/boot ext3 100MB The boot partitions stores files required to boot ESXServer.

/ ext3 2560MB Called the “root” partition, this contains the ESX Serveroperating system and Web Center files. Allocate anadditional 512MB if you plan to use this server forscripted installations.

NA Swap 544MB The swap partition is used by the service console andtools like the HP Insight Management agents.

vmkcore vmkcore 100MB This partition serves as a repository for the VMkernelcore dump files in the event of a VMkernel core dump.

VMFS VMFS-3 1200MB+ The VMFS file system for the storage of virtual machinedisk files. Must be large enough to hold your VM disks.

/home(optional)

ext3 512MB Storage for individual users.

/tmp(optional)

ext3 1024MB Partition used for temporary storage.

/var (optional)

ext3 1024MB Partition is used for log file storage. HP recommendscreating a /var partition to prevent unchecked log filegrowth from creating service interruptions.

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Post-installation tasks

HP Insight Management agents

HP Insight Management (IM) agents provide server management capabilities for ESX Serverinstalled on supported server platforms. This section describes how to obtain, install, and configurethe agents for a particular server environment.

Obtaining IM agents for ESX Server The latest IM agents are available from the HP website. Follow these steps to download theagents:

1. Go to http://www.hp.com/servers/swdrivers.2. Under Option 2: Locate by category, select the appropriate version of VMware ESX Server from

the Operating system drop-down list.3. From the Category drop-down list, select Software – System Management.4. Click Locate software to obtain a download link.5. Download the compressed tar file directly to the ESX Server system.6. Unpack the archive with the command:

%> tar zxvf hpmgmt-<version>-vmware.tgz

Note:Opening the tar file on a Windows server may corrupt filesin the archive.

The contents of the archive are unpacked in the hpmgmt/<version>/ directory.

Table 10 lists the packages included in the archive and their functions.

Table 10. Descriptions of packages included with the download

Package Description

hpasm This package provides server and storage management capabilities.

hprsm This package provides rack and iLO management capabilities.

cmanic This agent gathers critical HP ProLiant NIC hardware and software information tohelp IT administrators manage and troubleshoot their systems.

hpsmh The System Management Homepage provides a consolidated view for single-servermanagement that highlights tightly-integrated management functionalities (such asperformance, fault, security, diagnostic, configuration, and software changemanagement).

expat Package dependency for hpsmh. This package is not installed on ESX Server 3.0 ucd-snmp-cmaX This package contains the UCD-SNMP protocol and cmaX extensions. This package

is not installed on ESX Server 3.0.

ucd-snmp-cmaX-utils This package contains tools for requesting or setting information from SNMPagents, tools for generating and handling SNMP traps, a version of the netstatcommand, which uses SNMP, and a Tk/Perl MIB browser. This package is notinstalled on ESX Server 3.0.

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Installing and configuring IM agents

After the tar file has been downloaded and unpacked, view the included README file for importantinstallation and configuration information.

Before starting the installation, you should consider or have available the following information:

• SNMP settings

During the installation, you will be asked to supply community strings—both read-only and read-

write—for SNMP communication with the localhost and with a management station such as HPSystems Insight Manager. The settings you provide will be written to the SNMP configuration file, /etc/snmp/snmpd.conf. You must specify a read-write community string for the localhost. Thiscommunity string is used by the agents to write data to the SNMP Management Information Base(MIB) tree. If you are using HP SIM or other management software, see Central Management Server(CMS) below.

• Central Management Server

If using a central management system such as HP Systems Insight Manager, you will need toprovide the IP address or DNS name for the management server during the installation. Enter themanagement server’s IP address along with the community string that matches the settings in yourmanagement server. When using HP SIM, you only need to allow read-only access to the CMS.

•

Firewall Configuration VMware ESX Server 3.0 uses a firewall to restrict network communications to and from the ESXServer host to essential services only. For full functionality of health and management agents, thefollowing ports must be opened:

Table 11. Ports

Port Protocol ESX Firewall Service Description

161 tcp/udp snmp snmpd SNMP traffic

162 tcp/udp snmp snmpd SNMP traps

2381 tcp https N/A HP System Management Homepage

During the installation, you will be given the option to have the installer configure the ESX Serverfirewall for you.

For more information about the HP health and management agents, please see the Managing ProLianServers with Linux HOWTO at ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/products/servers/Linux/linux.pdf.

Although this HOWTO was written for enterprise Linux systems, much of the information contained isalso applicable to VMware ESX Server environments.

To begin the installation, login as root and run the following command:

%> ./installvm<version>.sh --install

The installation script performs some basic checks and guides you through the installation process.

After the installation has completed, you may wish to configure the System Management Homepage(SMH). To start the SMH configuration wizard, run the following command:

%> /usr/local/hp/hpSMHSetup.pl

For detailed information on configuring SMH, refer to the System Management Homepage InstallationGuide .

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Silent installation

The installation script may also be run in silent mode, installing and configuring the IM agents basedon settings contained in an input file – without user interaction.

To automate the installation of the agents, create an input file using the hpmgmt.conf.example filefrom the download package as a template. Information on the available options is given in theexample file; at a minimum, you should configure local read-write community access for SNMP.

To automate the configuration of the System Management Homepage, place a copy of the SMH

configuration file (smhpd.xml) with the desired setting into the same directory as the agent installationscript. It is recommended to use a file from a pre-existing installation rather than edit the file by hand.The smhpd.xml file can be found in /opt/hp/hpsmh/conf/. During a silent installation, the installerwill check for the presence of this file. If found, it will be used to configure SMH; otherwise, SMH willbe configured with the default options.

When you are ready to begin the installation, login as root and run the following command:

%> ./installvm<version>.sh --silent --inputfile input.file

The installation process starts immediately; you are not prompted for confirmation. However, ifnecessary information from the configuration file is missing, you may be prompted for it during theinstallation.

Re-configuring the IM agents

To change the configuration of the agents after the installation is complete, login as root and run thefollowing command:

%> service hpasm reconfigure

This command stops the agents and reruns the interactive configuration wizard. After reconfiguringthe agents, you must restart the SNMP service.

ESX Server configuration

After installing ESX Server, you will need to configure the host’s networking, storage, and securitysettings. Please see the Virtual Infrastructure: Server Configuration Guide for complete details onconfiguring your ESX Server host.

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Virtual Machine deployment

The provisioning and deployment of a virtual machine (VM) is, in many ways, similar to theprovisioning and deployment of a physical server. Servers are first configured with the desiredhardware (such as CPUs, memory, disks, and NICs) then provisioned with an operating system – moslikely via physical media such as a CD-ROM or DVD, or over the network. Likewise, a VM is createdwith a specific virtual hardware configuration; however, in addition to the more conventional methodsof server provisioning, VMs offer some unique options.

This section discusses conventional and advanced methods for deploying VMs.

Creating new VMs

Many of the deployment options used for physical servers are also available to virtual machines.Some of the more widely-used options (the use of standard media, a network deployment, and theuse of HP ProLiant Essentials Rapid Deployment Pack (RDP)) are discussed below.

Using standard media

The most basic method of installing an operating system is by using the physical install media – mostlikely a CD-ROM or DVD or, perhaps, a floppy diskette. A VM’s CD-ROM drive can be mapped

directly to the CD-ROM drive of the host machine, permitting a very simple guest operating systeminstallation.

The VM’s CD-ROM drive can also be mapped to an image file on the host or the host’s network. WithESX Server 3.0 and the Virtual Infrastructure Client, you can now also use images on the client orclient’s network. By creating a repository for CD-ROM images on the network or SAN, you canmaintain a central location for images to be shared by all ESX Server machines, eliminating the needto locate and swap CD-ROMs between hosts.

VMs can also access CD-ROMs and image files via the HP ProLiant server host’s iLO Virtual Mediafeature. When connecting a VM’s CD-ROM to the iLO Virtual CD, take note of the following:

• Use the special device /dev/scd0 rather than the standard /dev/cdrom.

• It is NOT necessary to first mount the device in the ESX service console.

When using iLO Virtual Floppy, the device is typically /dev/sda; however, if a SAN or some otherSCSI device is attached, this may not be the case. To verify which device is attached to the VirtualFloppy, run the dmesg command in the service console after connecting the floppy in the iLOinterface. Look for lines similar to the following example:

scsi3 : SCSI emulation for USB Mass Storage devices

Vendor: HP Model: Virtual Floppy Rev: 0.01

Type: Direct-Access ANSI SCSI revision: 02

VMWARE: Unique Device attached as scsi disk sde at scsi3, channel

0, id 0, lun 0

Attached scsi removable disk sde at scsi3, channel 0, id 0, lun 0

Note that the fourth and fifth lines of this example show the Virtual Floppy attached to /dev/sde.

Network deployment

Many operating systems now support some method of installation over the network (for example,Microsoft Remote Installation Service). This scenario is usually accomplished by remote bootingwith a Pre-Boot eXecution Environment (PXE) ROM or by using special boot media containingnetwork support. PXE boot is supported by ESX Server VMs.

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A VM with no guest operating system installed attempts to boot from devices (hard disk, CD-ROMdrive, floppy drive, network adapter) in the order in which these devices appear in the bootsequence specified in the VM’s BIOS. As a result, if you plan to use PXE boot capability, HPrecommends placing the network adapter at the top of the boot order. To achieve this, press F2 when the VM first boots to enter the VM’s BIOS; update the boot order in the BIOS.

Note:The PXE boot image must contain drivers for the UniversalNetwork Device Interface (UNDI) or the VM’s virtual networkadapter to support network connectivity.

Using RDP

RDP includes predefined jobs for deploying an operating system to a VM. However, before using oneof these jobs, you must perform some additional steps, as described below.

First, you must set the PXE NIC to appear first in the VM’s boot order. To achieve this, perform thefollowing steps:

1. Power on the VM.

2. Press F2 during POST to enter the VM’s BIOS configuration utility.

3. From the Boot menu, select Network Boot and then press the + (plus) key until the PXE NIC is firstin the boot order.

Next, allow the VM to PXE boot and connect to the Deployment Server. Once connected, the VM isdisplayed under New Computers in the Deployment Server console as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. The VM is displayed in the Deployment Server console

The default deployment scripts will use the console name as the system name. You should considerrenaming the VM using a name that complies with the requirements of the operating system thatwill be deployed, or modify to deployment job to use/create a valid system name. The deploymentjob may now be run on the VM.

To customize the deployment of the operating system on the VM, use the same procedures as youwould for a physical server. For example, if installing a Windows operating system, you mustcreate an unattend.txt file that is customized for the specific VM, then configure the deploymentjob to use your custom unattend.txt file.

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Migrating VMs from ESX Server 2.x

Virtual Machines created with ESX Server 2.x can be migrated to ESX Server 3.0 hosts. Follow theprocedures in the VMware Installation and Upgrade Guide for migrating your ESX 2.x virtualmachines.

VMware Tools

This section provides guidelines for deploying VMware Tools into a Windows guest operating

system.

IMPORTANT:It is very important to install VMware Tools in the guestoperating system. While the guest operating system can runwithout VMware tools, significant functionality andconvenience would be lost.

VMware Tools is a suite of utilities that can enhance the performance of the VM’s guest operating

system and improve VM management. Features include:

• VMware Tools service for Windows (or vmware-guestd on Linux guests)

• A set of VMware device drivers, including an SVGA display driver, the advanced networking driverfor some guest operating systems, the BusLogic SCSI driver for some guest operating systems, thememory control driver for efficient memory allocation between virtual machines, the sync driver toquiesce I/O for Consolidated Backup, and the VMware mouse driver.

• The VMware Tools control panel, which allows IT staff to modify settings, shrink virtual disks, andconnect and disconnect virtual devices

• A set of scripts that helps automate guest operating system operations; the scripts run when the VM’s power state changes.

•

A component that supports copying-and-pasting text between the guest and managed hostoperating systems

For more information on installing VMware Tools, refer to the Basic System Administration Guide . See below for guidelines on using RDP to install VMware Tools.

Using RDP to install VMware Tools

RDP can be used to automate the installation of VMware Tools into a Windows guest OS. Perform thefollowing steps:

Note:

To fully automate the installation of VMware Tools, theDriverSigningPolicy for the system or domain must be set toIgnore. For more information on setting DriverSigningPolicyin Windows, refer to Microsoft KB article 298503. Thepolicy may be restored to its original setting when theinstallation is complete.

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http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi3_admin_guide.pdf


http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=298503

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=298503





1. To copy VMware Tools files to the Deployment Server, first use the Virtual Infrastructure Client toattach to an existing VM’s console.

2. Connect the VM’s virtual CD-ROM to the VMware Tools ISO image at/usr/lib/vmware/isoimages/windows.iso.

3. Copy the contents of the CD-ROM to VMwareTools, a newly-created directory under<deployment_server>\lib\software on the Deployment Server.

4. Create a new Distribute Software task in a new or existing job.

5. Configure the task to support the silent installation of all VMware Tools components, as shown inFigure 2.

Figure 2. Configuring a task for the silent install of all VMware Tools components

Note: When scheduling this task, be aware that the VM rebootswhen the installation is complete.

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Using HP Systems Insight Manager

Host management

This section provides details on configuring HP Systems Insight Manager (HP SIM) to manage yourHP ProLiant servers running ESX Server 3.0.

SNMP settings

Before discovering your host, you should install and configure the HP Insight Management agentsaccording to the instructions above. Verify that you have provided read-only SNMP access to theCMS and that the community string matches one provided to HP SIM. To check the community strings,go to Options Protocol Settings Global Protocol Settings….

Figure 3. To check community strings:

You can provide up to 8 global community strings. If you need more, you can provide additionalstrings for each host after discovery.

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Note:If you use “public” for a community string, HP recommendsmaking it the lowest priority.

During discovery, HP SIM will attempt to use the first community string in the list. If it is unable toestablish communication with the host, then it will try with the second string in the list and so on. Once

HP SIM can establish a connection with a particular community string, no additional strings will betried and that string will be used for all future SNMP communication (unless explicitly configured viathe host’s protocol settings page).

Once you have verified that your SNMP configuration is correct, you can then perform devicediscovery of your host.

Note:Make sure that you have configured your ESX firewall topermit SNMP traffic.

Trust relationship

You may wish to establish a “trust relationship” between the HP SIM CMS and your ESX Serverhost. This will enable single sign-on (SSO) management between the CMS and the host and permitremote task execution. Trust can be established by Name or by Certificates and is configuredthrough the System Management Homepage. To export the CMS certificate, go to Options Security Certificates Server Certificate and use the Export feature. This certificate can besaved, then uploaded to your ESX Server host. Refer to the System Management Homepage Installation Guide for further details.

VM management

Since its hardware is virtual rather than physical, it is unnecessary to install IM agents on a VM.However, the visibility of VMs is valuable to IT staff, answering questions such as: Is the VM up ordown? How much free disk space is available to the VM?

For basic status monitoring, HP SIM does not require additional software to be installed on the VM– HP SIM can poll status by issuing a standard ping and waiting for a response. However, thereare some states where, although the VM responds to a ping, an application or major parts of theoperating system may have crashed. Thus, it is desirable to implement more advanced statuscapabilities through WBEM/WMI and SNMP – industry-standard management protocols.

Configuring HP SIM

Since WMI/WBEM is a secured protocol, HP SIM needs a valid user name/password combination tobe able to authenticate to the managed systems. These credentials can be specified on a global orindividual system basis. More information about the proper credentials to use is provided in theoperating system specific sections below.

To set a global username and password, set the appropriate Default WBEM settings, as shown inFigure 4, under Options Protocol Settings Global Protocol Settings ….

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Figure 4. Setting a global username and password

After ensuring that the Enable WBEM checkbox is checked, specify the appropriate user name andpassword so that HP SIM can access WBEM/WMI data. Since there are five different settings,

you can specify different logins for different groups of servers.To specify the WBEM credentials on an individual basis, select the server you wish to configure,then select OptionsProtocol SettingSystem Protocol Settings ..., as shown in Figure 5.

Figure 5. Setting an individual username and password

After ensuring that Use values specified below is selected, enter the individual username andpassword.

SNMP has a rudimentary security capability through an agreed-upon pass phrase (known as acommunity string) used by both sender and receiver. SNMP community strings can be specified ona global or individual system basis. Details on configuring SNMP community strings in HP SIM areprovided in the Host Management section above.

Windows VMs

Microsoft Windows operating systems come with an SNMP stack. Follow the instructions for installingand configuring SNMP provided by your operating system.

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In addition to community string security, Windows Server 2003 provides a host allow/denyfeature for controlling access to SNMP data. By default, the SNMP service is set up to respondonly to requests from localhost and ignore all others, including requests from the HP SIM server.There are two options for enabling these requests:

• Add the DNS name or IP address of the HP SIM CMS to the list of addresses from which SNMPservice accepts packets, or

• Change the selection to Accept packets from any host, as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6. Configuring SNMP service to accept requests from any host

WMI is provided and installed by default by Windows 2000 and later operating systems. A WMIstack is available for Windows NT 4.0 via download from Microsoft. Visit

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads; search the keywords, “WMI core.” Since WMI uses secure communications, a valid OS account login/password combination must besupplied to HP SIM. Since this user does not need special privileges, an administrator account is notrequired. HP recommends using a single account across all VMs for WMI communication.

If the configuration is correct, your VMs should be displayed (after discovery) in HP SIM as in theexample shown in Figure 7. Note that the Product Name is shown as VMware Virtual Platform.

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http://www.microsoft.com/downloads

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads



Figure 7. An example of correctly-configured VMs in HP SIM

If the any information is missing or unknown, click on the particular VM and verify thatManagement Protocols settings include WBEM and SNMP. If not, verify your settings as describedabove or see the Troubleshooting section below for additional information.

Linux VMs

Most Linux distributions also provide an SNMP stack, although it may not be installed by default.Refer to your distribution’s instructions for installing SNMP. After SNMP has been installed, you willneed to provide read-only access to your HP SIM CMS. Add the following line to your snmpd

configuration file.

rocommunity community_string_from_CMS IP_of_CMS

For additional information on configuring snmpd security settings, see the snmpd.conf manual page.

Once SNMP is configured, HP SIM will discover your Linux VM with a Product Name of Linux Server .This is different from your Windows VMs, which are discovered as VMware Virtual Platform. If youprefer, you can change the way HP SIM discovers your Linux VMs to match that of your Windows

VMs. You will need to create a new Managed Type in HP SIM and change the SNMP SysObjectIDon your Linux VM. Refer to the documentation for your SNMP stack and Systems Insight Manager.

Note:In order to change the SysObjectID, you must use the net-snmp stack. The ucd-snmp stack does not support thisfeature.

In order to use WBEM to manage your Linux VMs, you will need to install a WBEM CommonInformation Model Object Manager (CIMOM). There are two open source projects available fordownload that provide CIMOMs – OpenWBEM and Open Pegasus. Recent Linux distributions arenow beginning to include a CIMOM package; however, for best results, HP recommendsdownloading and compiling Open Pegasus from source (use version 2.5 or later). Follow theinstructions provided by each project for installing and configuring a user account for access bythe CMS.

Troubleshooting

This section describes some common problems you may encounter while discovering your ESX Serverhosts and VMs and provides some tips on how to resolve them.

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25

My ESX Server hosts do not display the ProLiant server model or report as “unknown” or “LinuxServer”.• Verify the HP Insight Management agents have been installed and are running.

• Verify your ESX firewall is configured to permit SNMP traffic (ports 161 and 162).

• Open a browser to the System Management Homepage (https://hostname:2381). If you areunable to bring up SMH or if any information is missing, restart the management agents.

• Navigate to the System Page for the host in HP SIM. Expand the Product Description area andverify that SNMP is listed as one of the Management Protocols.

• Navigate to the host’s System Protocol Settings page and verify that SNMP community stringmatches the one you configured on your host. If not, override the global setting and supply thecommunity string you wish to use.

• Re-run Identify Systems from the Options menu.

My Virtual Machine reports as “unknown” or “unmanaged.”

• Verify your SNMP and WBEM configuration in the Global Protocol Settings.

• Navigate to the device’s System Page. Expand the Product Description area and verify SNMP and WBEM are listed in the Management Protocols section.

• Verify that your network permits traffic on port 5989.

•

Restart the WMI Mapper service on the CMS host.• Re-run Identify Systems from the Options menu.

https://hostname:2381/

https://hostname:2381/



For more information

Resource description Web address

HP website www.hp.com

HP ProLiant servers www.hp.com/go/proliant

HP ProLiant Server Management

Software

www.hp.com/go/hpsim

HP StorageWorks www.hp.com/go/storageworks

VMware server virtualization www.hp.com/go/vmware

VMware website www.vmware.com

VMware Infrastructure www.vmware.com/products/vi/

VMware Infrastructure Documentation www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vi_pubs.html

VMware Knowledge Base www.vmware.com/kb

VMware and HP Alliance www.vmware.com/hp

© 2006 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The informationcontained herein is subject to change without notice. The only

warranties for HP products and services are set forth in the expresswarranty statements accompanying such products and services. Nothingherein should be construed as constituting an additional warranty. HPshall not be liable for technical or editorial errors or omissionscontained herein. Intel is a trademark or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or itssubsidiaries in the United States and other countries. AMD Opteron is atrademark of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Linux is a U.S. registeredtrademark of Linus Torvalds. Microsoft and Windows are U.S.registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

6/2006 -1

http://www.hp.com/

http://www.hp.com/go/proliant

http://www.hp.com/go/hpsim

http://www.hp.com/go/storageworks


http://www.vmware.com/

http://www.vmware.com/products/vi/

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

http://www.vmware.com/kb

http://www.vmware.com/hp

http://www.vmware.com/hp

http://www.vmware.com/kb

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

http://www.vmware.com/products/vi/

http://www.vmware.com/


http://www.hp.com/go/storageworks

http://www.hp.com/go/hpsim

http://www.hp.com/go/proliant

http://www.hp.com/

Documents

VMware Infrastructure 3 Deployment