VMware vSphere 5 on Dell PowerEdge Systems Deployment Guide
Notes, Cautions, and Warnings NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer. CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates potential damage to hardware or loss of data if instructions are not followed. WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death. Information in this publication is subject to change without notice. © 2012 Dell Inc. All rights reserved.
Contents Notes, Cautions, and Warnings...................................................................................................2 1 Introduction..................................................................................................................................5 vSphere 5 Architecture Overview............................................................................................................................5 ESXi Architecture Overview............................................
Configuring The Password...............................................................................................................................19 Configuring Lockdown Mode...........................................................................................................................20 Managing the Management Network Services...............................................................................................20 5 Configuration Backup and Restore Procedures.......................
Introduction 1 This document helps you to deploy VMware ESXi 5 on Dell systems and provides specific information on recommended configurations, best practices, and additional resources. NOTE: VMware vSphere 5 includes the ESXi architecture only. Dell offers the following VMware editions: • vSphere Essentials Plus • vSphere Standard • vSphere Enterprise • vSphere Enterprise Plus • VMware vCenter Server NOTE: In addition to the above, Dell also offers ESXi Single Server edition.
systems. Advanced features such as VMotion, HA, and DRS require that the disk and configuration files are stored on the external shared storage of the virtual machines. Figure 1. vSphere Components ESXi Architecture Overview ESXi is a bare-metal enterprise class hypervisor, which can be pre-installed on Dell PowerEdge systems. With the reduced footprint of the hypervisor, ESXi is integrated on PowerEdge systems through embedded Secure Digital (SD) or Universal Serial Bus (USB) cards.
Getting Started With vSphere 5 • 2 If you have ordered VMware ESXi with your Dell PowerEdge system, ESXi is pre-installed and pre-activated with the Single Server edition license key. Ensure that you note down the license key safely. If you have ordered a license plan with your ESXi software, you must register and exchange the Partner Activation Code (PAC) for a product serial number or a license key. You can register the activation codes with either one or multiple license administrators.
Knowledge Base vmware.com/support/kb Dell Wiki vmware.com/support/kb Contacting Dell NOTE: If you do not have an active Internet connection, you can find contact information on your purchase invoice, packing slip, bill, or Dell product catalog. Dell provides several online and telephone-based support and service options. Availability varies by country and product, and some services may not be available in your area. To contact Dell for sales, technical support, or customer service issues: 1.
Installing vSphere 5 3 NOTE: If you had ordered VMware ESXi, it is pre-installed on your PowerEdge system. The ESXi installer media is required only for the recovery of a corrupted image. NOTE: If you did not order ESXi with your system, you can order the Internal Dual SD Module kit (for PowerEdge R810, R815, R715, and R910 systems only) at dell.com and download the ESXi installation media from support.dell.com.
NOTE: Dell-customized ESXi image may contain additional or VMware-IOVP certified updated drivers. For more information, see the topic "Additional Information" of the Drivers release page at support.dell.com. • If needed, Dell may update the customized ISO for a critical patch impacting Dell to include VMware patches or bug fixes for Dell hardware.
The installer environment starts. When the installer image loads, the system is ready to begin the flash storage imaging process. 6. On the Select a Disk page, select the USB or SD storage device on which you want to install ESXi and press . CAUTION: Step 6 erases all data on your USB or SD storage device. 7. Enter the root password and press to start the installation. 8. When the installation process is complete, press to reboot the system. 9.
NOTE: If you hold down a key on the keyboard for extended periods of time, it may result in keyboard failure. To avoid possible keyboard failure, press and release in even intervals until the System Setup screen is displayed. If the operating system logo is displayed instead of the System Setup screen, wait until the operating system finishes loading. Turn off the system and try again. 3. Use the up- and down-arrow keys to highlight Integrated Devices, and then press . 4.
CAUTION: It is recommended that you do not modify other settings unless you are familiar with the settings. Modifying settings could cause your system to fail to boot or function properly. 5. Restart your system. Downloading The Patches And Updates For ESXi NOTE: Ensure that you follow the instructions given in this section to install any patches or updates for ESXi. NOTE: Check for the latest patch and update releases for your ESXi version regularly.
Installing vSphere Client 1. Point the web browser of your Windows management system to the IP address of your ESXi server host to download vSphere Client. The IP address of your system is displayed on the main screen of your system. The browser displays a webpage. 2. Click on the Download VMware vSphere Client link and install the client software. NOTE: Ensure that the system is connected to the Internet. 3.
Deploying vSphere 5 — Important Information 4 • VMware vSphere 5 introduces vRAM pool licensing limits, based on product family per socket: 24 GB for Standard, 32 GB for Enterprise, 48 GB for Enterprise Plus, and a total of 144 GB for Essentials Plus. vRAM is the total virtual RAM allocated to an active virtual machine. For example, a virtual machine with 4 GB of virtual RAM would take up 4 GB of vRAM from the licensing allowance.
7. To enter the system setup, press when you turn on the system. For more information, see the documentation that ships with your system. 8. Enable the Virtualization Technology (VT) feature, if available, in the PowerEdge system. NOTE: The VT feature is required to run 64-bit virtual machines. 9. Set the universal serial bus (USB) controller to USB on with BIOS Support, if available, in the PowerEdge system. This setting enables support for USB devices both during and after the ESXi boot process.
Figure 3. Configuring vSphere Using Dell Fibre Channel SAN vSphere Configuration Using iSCSI SAN The figure, “Configuring vSphere With iSCSI SAN” shows a vSphere configuration using iSCSI SAN. The iSCSI SAN provides a cost-effective solution. It is recommended to use two iSCSI initiators on the ESXi host connected to two separate ethernet switches to provide redundant paths to the storage processors on the storage system.
Figure 4. Configuring vSphere With iSCSI SAN Booting ESXi This section describes how to perform the basic setup of your system based on the following assumptions: • You have already connected a keyboard, monitor, and mouse. • You have connected the first onboard NIC to your management network. • Ensure that the infrastructure between the two systems is working correctly prior to working with your system and the VMware management software. To set up your system: 1. Turn on your system. 2.
NOTE: When the address is being acquired, 0.0.0.0 is displayed by default. To install vSphere Client, see "Installing vSphere Client". If a warning is displayed, the ESXi host was unable to obtain an IP address from your DHCP system. For information on configuring the setting, see "Configuring, Restarting, Testing, or Restoring the Management Network Services". Figure 5. ESXi (Running With DHCP) Figure 6.
4. Press to logout. Configuring Lockdown Mode Lockdown mode prevents remote personnel from logging in to the ESXi host by using the root login name. By default, lockdown mode is disabled. If you enable lockdown mode and do not configure other local host user accounts to have standalone host access through the vSphere Client, the root user does not have access through the vSphere API and CLI.
Configuration Backup and Restore Procedures 5 It is recommended that you back up your VMware ESXi configuration after you complete the initial setup on a routine schedule that fits your datacenter environment. Backing up your configuration captures the license code (host serial number). You need the license code if you use the installer media to restore the ESXi image. To backup or restore the configuration information, you must use the VMware vSphere CLI.
The backup process does not support restoring to later builds. This requirement can be overridden by using the –f option. 3. Start the vSphere CLI on a host other than the host you want to restore and log in. 4. Run the vicfg-cfgbackup command with the –l flag to load and restore the backup file to the host.
Licensing Information 6 This section discusses the different modes of obtaining license for your Dell PowerEdge system. NOTE: For more information about the different editions, see vmware.com. License Evaluation VMware allows a 60-day free evaluation period for all enterprise-level features of vSphere 5. At the end of the evaluation period, your ESXi hypervisor may stop managing all virtual machines in the inventory.
Administering License Keys You can administer the license key using vSphere Client to manage the licenses individually on the ESXi system. Alternatively, you can use vCenter Server to manage the licenses centrally. NOTE: For more information on administering license keys and VMware software licensing configuration, see vmware.com/support/pubs. NOTE: If you receive a warning that you are disabling certain features by switching out of evaluation mode, click OK, and then click Yes.
Supported PowerEdge Configurations for vSphere 5 7 For complete information about all the supported Dell PowerEdge systems with VMware ESXi, see VMware vSphere 5 on Dell PowerEdge and Storage Systems Compatibility Matrix at support.dell.com/manuals. NOTE: The SAS/SATA drives mentioned in the following tables also include Dell PCIe SSD drives. The following lists the currently shipping PowerEdge systems that support ESXi 5.0.
PowerEdge M910 Networking Four integrated network ports and all supported peripheral NICs Remote Access iDRAC 6 PowerEdge M710HD Configuration PowerEdge M710HD Processor Intel Xeon 5500/5600 series Minimum Memory 4 GB Internal Storage Two 2.
PowerEdge M610x Configuration PowerEdge M610x Processor Intel Xeon 5500/5600 series Minimum Memory 4 GB Internal Storage Two 2.
PowerEdge R910 Internal Flash Memory Supported SD memory card Internal Storage Adapter SAS 6/iR Integrated, PERC 6/i Integrated, PERC H200 Integrated, and PERC H700 Integrated External Disks Storage Adapter SAS 5/E, 6 Gbps SAS HBA, and PERC H800 Fibre Channel HBA (SAN connectivity) All supported HBAs Networking Four integrated network ports and all supported peripheral NICs Remote Access iDRAC6 Enterprise PowerEdge R815 Configuration PowerEdge R815 Processor AMD Opteron 6100/6200 series Minimu
PowerEdge R810 Remote Access iDRAC6 Enterprise PowerEdge R715 Configuration PowerEdge R715 Processor AMD Opteron 6100/6200 series Minimum Memory 8 GB Internal Storage Up to six 2.
PowerEdge R610 Internal Storage Up to six 2.
PowerEdge R515 External Disks Storage Adapter PERC H800, and 6 Gbps SAS HBA Fibre Channel HBA (SAN connectivity) All supported HBAs Networking Two integrated network ports and all supported peripheral NICs Remote Access iDRAC6 Enterprise PowerEdge R415 Configuration PowerEdge R415 Processor AMD Opteron 4100/4200 series Minimum Memory 4 GB Internal Storage Four 3.
PowerEdge R310 Configuration PowerEdge R410 Processor Intel Xeon 3400 series or Core i3 series Minimum Memory 4 GB Internal Storage Upto four 3.5" or 2.
PowerEdge R210 Networking One integrated network port and all supported peripheral NICs Remote Access iDRAC6 Enterprise PowerEdge T710 Configuration PowerEdge T710 Processor Intel Xeon 5500/5600 Series Minimum Memory 4 GB Internal Storage Up to sixteen 2.5" SAS/SATA disks or up to eight 3.
PowerEdge T410 Configuration PowerEdge T410 Processor Intel Xeon 5500/5600 Series Minimum Memory 4 GB Internal Storage Six 3.
PowerEdge T110 II Networking One integrated network port and all supported peripheral NICs Remote Access iDRAC6 Enterprise PowerEdge T110 Configuration PowerEdge T110 Processor Intel Xeon 3400 series or Core i3 series Minimum Memory 4 GB Internal Storage Four 3.
