VMware® ESX Server 3i Dell Solution Guide
Notes, Notices, and Cautions NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your computer. NOTICE: A NOTICE indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem. ____________________ Information in this document is subject to change without notice. © 2008 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of Dell Inc. is strictly forbidden.
Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VMware ESX Server 3i Features . Ease of Deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 . . . . . . . . . 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Integrated Management and Health Monitoring Enhanced security . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Appendix B: Enabling and Disabling the VMware ESX Server 3i Software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix C: Sample Step-by-Step Management Network Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Appendix D: Modifying Remote Access Console Virtual Media Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 . . . . . . 34 Appendix E: Configuration Backup and Restore Procedures Appendix F: Troubleshooting . . . . . 36 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Introduction Dell PowerEdge servers enabled with VMware ESX Server 3i represent the next generation of servers designed specifically for virtualization. Through its close partnership with VMware, Dell is able to offer qualified VMware-based virtualization solutions optimized for today’s active data centers. With its hardware-like footprint, VMware ESX Server 3i offers a standardsbased management solution designed for reduced deployment time, centralized management, and increased security.
Integrated Management and Health Monitoring Tightly integrated with the Dell PowerEdge platforms, VMware ESX Server 3i uses the standards-based Common Interface Model (CIM) to monitor (graphically) the PowerEdge server on which it is running and provide up-todate system health information.
Improved Reliability Hard drives represent one of the greatest sources of hardware failures in data center environments. Shared storage arrays (fibre channel or iSCSI) are better suited for virtual machine (VM) and data storage than local hard drives, providing higher levels of performance and increased single point of failure recovery. Additionally, solid-state, internal storage is easier to configure than other hard drive-less solutions, such as Boot-from-SAN.
External Storage: iSCSI based EqualLogic PS5000E, PS5000X, and PS5000VX; PowerVault MD3000i and NX1950 PowerVault MD3000 direct attached (VMotion not supported) For full support details, consult VMware’s complete Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) at www.vmware.com/resources/guides.html. To ensure processor compatibility across several servers, consult the Dell VMotion compatibility guide at www.dell.com/vmware.
Figure 1. VMware Infrastructure Components Using Dell PowerEdge Systems and Storage Systems Diagram Components: • ESX Server — allows multiple operating systems to run simultaneously on a single PowerEdge system. • VirtualCenter Server — manages multiple ESX Servers and runs on Windows Server 2003. VirtualCenter is optional and is required for advanced management capabilities such as VMotion, DRS, and HA. • VirtualCenter Database — stores all of the configuration data about a VMware Infrastructure.
Installation Guide and Upgrade Guide for ESX Server 3 under VMware Infrastructure 3 on the VMware documentation website at www.vmware.com/support/pubs. • VMware Infrastructure Client - installs on a system running a supported Windows operating system and is the primary tool to manage an ESX Server host by directly connecting to it or through the VirtualCenter server. • Virtual Machine Storage — stores virtual machine configuration and virtual disk files.
• Gather the required network information, such as IP addresses, network masks, and gateway addresses. • If you are using DRS or the HA feature, determine the hosts that will be a part of such a cluster and allocate shared storage accordingly. • Determine the appropriate networking configuration for management, virtual machines, and iSCSI (optional). Virtual local area networks (VLANs) can be used to efficiently isolate traffic. Dell-Supported VMware Infrastructure 3.
For a cost-effective solution, you can opt for an iSCSI SAN environment (see Figure 3). It is recommended that you use two iSCSI initiators on the ESX Server host connected to two separate Ethernet switches that provide redundant paths to SPs on the storage unit. Figure 3.
If the system is currently set to boot to another operating system, such as Linux or Windows, use the information in "Appendix B: Enabling and Disabling the VMware ESX Server 3i Software" on page 28 to set ESX as the primary boot operating system. To set up your server: 1 Power on your server. 2 Press at boot and select the internal storage device as the one-time boot device (located under Hard Drives in the menu).
Figure 5. VMware ESX Server 3i Executing Modules Once all ESX modules have expanded and executed, the server is ready to begin servicing workloads as illustrated in Figure 6. If there is a DHCP server or DHCP proxy configured on your network subnet, the ESX server displays the address acquired by the DHCP server. Proceed to "Management Software Installation" on page 17 to install the Virtual Infrastructure Client.
Configuring the ESX Server 3i Software The following section describes how to edit the ESX server host settings via the DCUI.
To set the password: 1 After boot, your server will show the main ESX Server 3i host screen (see Figure 6 or Figure 7). From here, press to enter the main DCUI configuration screen (see Figure 8). Figure 8. Main DCUI Configuration Screen 2 Select “Configure Root Password” and then press Enter. By default, the old password field will be grayed out and the first new password field selected. Enter the new password twice. If the password is accepted, you will be back to the main DCUI screen.
2 Scroll down to “Configure Management Network” in the main DCUI customization screen (see Figure 9), and press Enter to display the main Management network configuration screen (see Figure 10). Figure 9. Network Summary Screen Figure 10. Main Network Configuration Screen Additional Setup Steps Dell recommends the following steps: 1 Backup your configuration using the procedures outlined in Appendix E: Configuration Backup and Restore Procedures.
Install Virtual Infrastructure Client (VI Client) 1 Download the VI Client directly from your ESX Server 3i host. Point the web browser of your Windows management server to the IP address of your ESX Server 3i host. The IP address of your server is displayed on the main screen of your server (see Figure 11). Figure 11.
2 The browser will display a webpage (see Figure 12). Click on the “Download VMware Infrastructure client” link and install the download. Figure 12. Download VI Client Screen Figure 13. VMware Infrastructure Client Login Screen 3 Once complete, launch the VMware Infrastructure Client by specifying the IP address of your ESX Server 3i host, a user name of ‘root’ (default), and the password you specified in the DCUI earlier section or blank (no password) if you did not specify one.
Solution Licensing Licensing Methods VMware ESX Server 3i offers four methods for licensing your host. These methods provide the flexibility needed to serve large and small organizations, as well as the capability to test drive the enterprise-level features of ESX Server 3i for a limited period of time. These methods are: Evaluation Licensing When operating without a purchased license, your system will have an evaluation license allowing 60 days of enterprise-level feature usage.
license server grants access to the feature. When no longer needed, the feature license is checked back into the license pool for reuse. Some VI3 features are only available via centralized licensing due to their multi-host nature. Users who purchased standard and enterprise versions of ESX Server 3i will need to convert their host-based license code into a license server license. This procedure is discussed in the Solution Licensing of this document as well as in VMware’s ESX Server 3i documentation.
Figure 14. DCUI Support Screen To Modify Licensing Configuration (from Virtual Infrastructure Client only): The DCUI will allow read-only access to the current licensing status of your system. To make changes to your licensing configuration, you must log into the server using the VI Client and/or VirtualCenter. The steps below will show you how to make changes. Please consult the VMware ESX Server 3i documentation for VirtualCenter instructions.
Serial Number Registration and Exchange To access your software subscription services and/or advanced VMware software features, you must register the serial number of your ESX Server 3i server with VMware. Registration must be completed within 30 days of purchase using VMware registration website, www.vmware.com/code/dell. If you have multiple serial numbers, you can register all the codes to one license administrator or multiple serial numbers with different license administrators.
4 Turn on the system and press (one-time boot menu) during the power on system test (POST). The system will display “Entering Boot Menu…” in the upper right corner of the screen and continue with the POST process. 5 Once finished with the initial boot, you will see a text menu of all bootable storage devices.
Figure 17. Beginning Recovery Process Figure 18. Error, other devices found NOTE: If you see a fatal error (Figure 18), double check that no other USB-based storage devices are connected to the system and that the virtual media devices present on the DRAC have been disabled, (see Appendix D: Modifying Remote Access Console Virtual Media Status). 7 Once the recovery process completes, press ENTER to reboot your server. The server will reboot and launch the VMware ESX Server 3i software.
Appendix A: Deployment Best Practices Check List Use the following Dell deployment best practices checklist to aid the deployment of the VMware ESX Server ESX 3i software. • Rack (if applicable) and connect your PowerEdge server according to the server deployment guide.
• Set host name and DNS server settings (Page 26) • (Optional) Set DNS Suffix(s) (Page 26) • Install Virtual Infrastructure Client to manage your server (Page 15) • Review licensing options (Page 17) • Record host-based licensing code, store in safe place (Page 18) ________-________-________-________-________ • (Optional) Convert host-based license code to centralized license code • (Optional) Add converted license to centralized license server • (Optional) Change licensing mode of ESX Server
Appendix B: Enabling and Disabling the VMware ESX Server 3i Software Selected systems come preinstalled with VMware ESX Server 3i on internal flash storage. If this software was ordered as the primary OS, the system will automatically boot to it. If the software was ordered as the secondary OS, the system will automatically boot to it and the ESX Server 3i software will be disabled by default.
5 Press , then , and then again to save these changes. NOTICE: Dell recommends not to modify other settings unless you are familiar with the settings. Modifying settings could cause your system to fail to boot/function properly. 6 Restart your server. Disable Recurring Boot to ESX Server 3i, v3.5 Repeat the steps for Enable Recurring Boot to ESX Server 3i, v3.
Appendix C: Sample Step-by-Step Management Network Configuration This appendix guides you through a sample management network setup with the following parameters. • Redundant management NICs (on-board NICs) • Static address of 172.17.13.211/24 (255.255.255.0) gateway: 172.17.13.1 • Host name of: EmbedESX1.VMwareFarm.lab • DNS servers: 172.17.28.10 and 172.17. 28.
Figure 19. Network Adapter Selection Screen 3 Press to return to the main network configuration screen (Figure 10). Set Host Name, IP address, Subnet Mask, Default Gateway, and VLAN ID 1 With the main management network screen displayed (see Figure 10), scroll and select “VLAN (Optional)”. 2 Enter your desired management VLAN ID. If you know that you need to use a specific VLAN ID, make sure your network connection/uplink is not already tagging at the local switch.
Figure 20. Configure VLAN ID Setting Figure 21. Configure IP Settings 3 Next, from the main network configuration screen (Figure 10), select “IP Configuration”. 4 Scroll down to “Set static IP address” line, and press SPACE to select. Enter your IP address, subnet mask, and gateway. Press ESC to exit this screen. NOTE: Although your new settings will be shown on the main network configuration screen, they will NOT take effect until you exit this screen by pressing again.
5 From the Configure Management Network screen (see Figure 10), select “DNS Settings”. You will notice the current settings are summarized on the right of the screen; press ENTER to enter the configuration screen (see Figure 22). 6 Because you have set an IP address statically, you will not have the option to use DHCP supplied information for the primary and secondary DNS servers. If you decide to use DHCP for the IP address, you will be able to select either option.
Appendix D: Modifying Remote Access Console Virtual Media Status In order to recover the ESX 3i image, the virtual media of the Dell Remote Access Controller must be disabled; internal storage device must be the only USB-based storage device present in the system. If you purchased the Dell Remote Access Controller (DRAC), you will need to disable the virtual devices (floppy and CD/DVD) presented to all operating systems by the DRAC.
NOTE: To re-enable the virtual floppy and CD device, use the following settings (defaults): • Virtual Media: Attached • Virtual Flash: Disabled Solution Guide 35
Appendix E: Configuration Backup and Restore Procedures Dell recommends backing up your VMware ESX Server 3i configuration once your complete initial setup and on routinely on a schedule that fits your datacenter environment. Backing up your configuration will capture the license code (host serial number) and will restore this code upon restore.
If you do not specify a password in the command line, you will be prompted for one when the command executes. EX: vicfg-cfgbackup --server 172.17.13.211 --username root –s backupdate.dat If you are running the RCLI, the backup file will be placed locally. Restoring the Configuration of your ESX 3i Host To restore a host’s configuration data: 1 Power off any virtual machines that are running on the host you want to restore.
Appendix F: Troubleshooting This section will provide troubleshooting steps for typical issues. Symptoms: • The VMware ESX 3i software will not boot. • You receive a “No OS found” message on power on. Resolution: • Check the boot order – The internal storage device may no longer be selected at the first boot device. This can happen if the device has recently been removed due to failure. To correct this: a Boot the server, press when prompted in the upper right corner of the screen.
Appendix G: Related Documents • Documents related to this and other Dell/VMware products are located at www.dell.com/vmware. Support Documents: • VMware Software Compatibility Matrix for Dell Servers • VMotion and 64-bit Virtual Machine Compatibility Guide for Dell Servers • Dell PowerVault NX1950 Configuration Guide for VMware ESX Server • Dell PowerVault MD3000i Configuration Guide for VMware ESX Server • VMware Infrastructure 3.
Solution Guide
