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 either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem. WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death. © 2016 Dell Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and international copyright and intellectual property laws.
Contents 1 Introduction................................................................................................................................. 6 vSphere 5 architecture overview........................................................................................................................................ 6 ESXi architecture overview..................................................................................................................................................
ESXi installation....................................................................................................................................................................22 ESXi does not boot or displays a no OS found message at start up ..................................................................... 22 Purple or pink screen while booting or running your ESXi........................................................................................22 Frequently Asked Questions.................
8 Getting help...............................................................................................................................40 Documentation matrix........................................................................................................................................................ 40 Contacting Dell....................................................................................................................................................................
1 Introduction This document helps you to deploy VMware ESXi 5 on Dell systems and provides specific information about recommended configurations, best practices, and additional resources. NOTE: VMware vSphere 5 does not include the ESX classic edition.
Virtual Machine DataStore Stores VM configuration and virtual disk files. The VM storage can either be internal local storage to the ESXi or external storage. Multiple ESXi system share VM storage. Advanced features such as HA and DRS require that the hard disk drive and configuration files are stored on the external shared storage. Figure 1. vSphere components ESXi architecture overview ESXi is a bare-metal enterprise class hypervisor that can be pre-installed on Dell PowerEdge systems.
2 Installing vSphere 5 NOTE: If you have ordered VMware ESXi with your PowerEdge system, the PowerEdge system comes preinstalled on the system. The ESXi installer media is required only for the recovery of a corrupted image or reinstallation.
NOTE: If you have not ordered order ESXi with your system, you can order the Internal Dual SD Module kit at www.dell.com and download the ESXi Installation media from dell.com/support. For information about creating your ESXi media, see the Downloading the ESXi installer media section in this document.
Overview — Dell Fault Resilient Memory CAUTION: Do not attempt to enable Fault Resilient Memory (FRM) on vSphere versions earlier than VMware ESXi 5.5. Up to 25% of system memory may be consumed to provide the FRM zone in 12th generation of PowerEdge systems and 12.5% of system memory may be consumed to provide FRM zone in 13th generation of PowerEdge Systems. FRM is a Memory Operating mode available on the BIOS settings of few Dell’s 12th generation of PowerEdge systems and later.
1. Turn on the system. NOTE: Before installing ESXi, you must enable the flash storage device. For more information, see Enabling Or Disabling Flash Storage Device. 2. Insert the ESXi installer media into the optical drive. 3. Restart the system. 4. When the Dell logo is displayed, press F11 immediately. 5. At the Boot Menu, use the up- and down-arrow keys to select the optical drive and press Enter. The installer environment starts.
a) Restart ESXi and access System Setup. b) Select SD Card or Internal USB Port, depending upon which device is valid for your system. c) Use the right- and left arrow keys to disable the device. CAUTION: Booting into an operating system other than ESXi, without disabling the flash media results in data loss. 5. Press Enter to save your selection. 6. Press Esc. 7. Select Save Changes and Exit. 8. Press Enter to exit the System Setup screen. 9. Reboot the system. 10.
7. Select the required patch and click Download Now to download the zip file. 8. Install the patch using any of the update tools provided by VMware such as esxcli or vCenter Update Manager. NOTE: For more information on patch management, see vmware.com/support/pubs/. Creating the vCenter Server installation media 1. Go to vmware.com/download. 2. Click the VMware vSphere 5 download link. 3. Use your VMware store account credentials to log in to the download portal. 4.
3 Deploying vSphere 5 Important information • • • • Dell recommends that you use the latest BIOS versions listed at Dell.com/support for Dell PowerEdge servers. Dell’s 13th generation of PowerEdge system supports ESXi installation on Non-RAID Logical unit number (LUN) or passthrough Hard disk drive (HDDs) or Solid state disk (SSDs). Dell’s 13th generation of PowerEdge system supports ESXi installation on an On-board SATA controller in Non-RAID mode.
5. Optionally, connect your iSCSI-based network connection to the third onboard network adapter (if applicable). NOTE: For systems with only two onboard network adapters, Dell recommends to add a supported network adapter. 6. Turn on your system. 7. To enter the system setup, press F2 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, on the PowerEdge system.
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 controllers on the storage system. The following figure shows a vSphere configuration by using iSCSI SAN. Figure 4.
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. NOTE: When you enable the lockdown, non-VMware VIBs such as Dell OpenManage does not work.
4 Configuration backup and restore procedures NOTE: Dell recommends you to 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). To back up or restore the configuration information, use the VMware vSphere CLI.
NOTE: If you do not specify a password in the command line, you are prompted for one when the command executes. For example: vicfgcfgbackup --server 172.17.13.211 --username root –l backupdate.dat After a successful restore, the system reboots using the new configuration. For complete instructions on back up and restore commands, see VMware ESXi Embedded and vCenter Server Setup Guide at vmware.com/support/pubs.
5 Licensing information This section provides information about the different modes of obtaining license for your Dell PowerEdge system. NOTE: ESXi Single Server Edition licence does not support vSphere 5.0 version Update 2 and later . NOTE: For more information about the different editions, go to vmware.com. Topics: • • • • ESXi single server edition licensing for vSphere 5.0 License evaluation vSphere licensing Administering license keys ESXi single server edition licensing for vSphere 5.
Administering license keys You can administer the license key by 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 about administering license keys and VMware software licensing configuration, go to 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.
6 Troubleshooting ESXi ESXi installation This section provides troubleshooting steps for common issues encountered during deployment of ESXi. ESXi does not boot or displays a no OS found message at start up Check the boot order. The correct storage device may no longer be selected as the first boot device. This can happen if the device has recently been removed due to failure.
Why are network adapters not detected during ESXi installation on PowerEdge servers? Cause: This issue occurs due to one of the following reasons: • • • • The ESXi image does not contain the latest version of network drivers, for Network Daughter Cards (NDCs) or network adapters used in Dell servers. PowerEdge server does not have an NDC installed. The NDC installed on the PowerEdge server is faulty PowerEdge server has an NDC installed, but the NDC setting is disabled in the BIOS/UEFI. Resolution: 1.
3. In the BIOS configuration utility, ensure that Integrated RAID Controller is set to Enable. 4. While installing ESXi, ensure that the USB 3.0 option in the BIOS settings is set to Disable. 5. If the Storage controller is set to RAID mode, ensure that the virtual disks are created with the hard drives associated with the controller. Figure 7.
7 Supported PowerEdge configurations for vSphere 5.x For more information about supported Dell PowerEdge systems with VMware ESXi, see VMware vSphere 5 on Dell PowerEdge and Storage Systems Compatibility Matrix at dell.com/virtualizationsolutions. The following table lists the currently shipping PowerEdge systems that support ESXi 5.x. NOTE: SAS/SATA drives mentioned in the following table also include SSDs.
PowerEdge FC830 configuration Table 1. PowerEdge FC830 configuration PowerEdge FC830 Processor Intel Xeon E5-4600 v3 product family Minimum Memory 8 GB Internal Storage Up to four 2.
PowerEdge FC430 QP bNDC, Intel i350 Quad Port bNDC, Emulex QP bNDC , Intel X710 , Intel X520 Remote Access iDRAC8 PowerEdge M915 configuration Table 4. PowerEdge M915 configuration PowerEdge M915 Processor AMD Opteron 6100/6200/6300 series Minimum Memory 4 GB Internal Storage Two 2.
PowerEdge M830 Fibre Channel HBA All supported HBAs Networking Broadcom 57800S QP bNDC, Broadcom 5720 QP bNDC, Broadcom Dual Port 10 GB and dual Port 1 GB bNDC, Intel X540 QP bNDC, Intel i350 Quad Port bNDC, Emulex QP bNDC , Intel X710 , Intel X520 Remote Access iDRAC8 PowerEdge M820 configuration NOTE: PowerEdge M820 system is a server module of the PowerEdge VRTX system. Table 7.
Table 9. PowerEdge M620 configuration PowerEdge M620 Processor Intel Xeon E5-2600 and Intel Xeon E5-2600 v2 product families Minimum Memory 4 GB Internal Storage Up to two 2.
PowerEdge R920 configuration Table 12. PowerEdge R920 configuration PowerEdge R920 Processor Intel Xeon E7-4800 v2 and Xeon E7-8800 v2 product family Minimum Memory 8 GB Internal Storage Up to twenty-four 2.
PowerEdge R820 Networking Broadcom 57800S QP rNDC, Broadcom 5720 QP rNDC, Intel X540 QP rNDC, Intel i350 rNDC, and supported peripheral NICs Remote Access iDRAC7 PowerEdge R815 configuration Table 15. PowerEdge R815 configuration PowerEdge R815 Processor AMD Opteron 6100/6200/6300 series Minimum Memory 8 GB Internal Storage Up to six 2.
PowerEdge R730xd Internal Flash Memory Supported SD memory cards Internal Storage Adapter PERC H330, PERC H730, and PERC H730P External Disks Storage Adapter PERC H830 and 12Gbps SAS HBA Fibre Channel HBA (SAN connectivity) All supported HBAs Networking Broadcom 57800S QP rNDC or Broadcom 5720 QP rNDC or Broadcom Dual Port 10 GB and dual Port 1 GB rNDC or Intel X540 QP rNDC or Intel i350 Quad Port rNDC or Emulex QP rNDC Remote Access iDRAC8 PowerEdge R720 configuration Table 18.
PowerEdge R715 configuration Table 20. PowerEdge R715 configuration PowerEdge R715 Processor AMD Opteron 6100/6200/6300 series Minimum Memory 8 GB Internal Storage Up to six 2.
PowerEdge R620 Networking Broadcom 57800S QP rNDC, Broadcom 5720 QP rNDC, Intel X540 QP rNDC, Intel i350 rNDC, and supported peripheral NICs Remote Access iDRAC7 PowerEdge R530 configuration Table 23. PowerEdge R530 configuration PowerEdge R530 Processor Intel Xeon E5-2600 v3 product family Minimum Memory 8 GB Internal Storage Up to eight 3.
PowerEdge R515 Fibre Channel HBA (SAN connectivity) All supported HBAs Networking Two integrated network ports and all supported peripheral NICs Remote Access iDRAC6 Enterprise PowerEdge R430 configuration Table 26. PowerEdge R430 configuration PowerEdge R430 Processor Intel Xeon E5-2600 v3 product family Minimum Memory 8GB Internal Storage Up to four 3.5-inch SAS/SATA or up to ten 2.5-inch SATA SSD/ HDDs or up to eight 2.
PowerEdge R415 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 R320 configuration Table 29. PowerEdge R320 configuration PowerEdge R320 Processor Intel Xeon E5-2400, Intel Xeon E5-2400 v2, and Intel Xeon E5-1400 v2 product family Minimum Memory 4 GB Internal Storage Up to eight 2.5-inch or four 3.
PowerEdge R210 II Internal Storage Two 3.5-inch SAS/SATA HDDs Internal Storage Adapter PERC H200 External Disks Storage Adapter PERC H800 Fibre Channel HBA (SAN connectivity) Not applicable Networking Two integrated network ports and all supported peripheral NICs Remote Access iDRAC6 Enterprise PowerEdge T630 configuration Table 32. PowerEdge T630 configuration PowerEdge T630 Processor Intel E5-2600 v3 product family Minimum Memory 8 GB Internal Storage Up to sixteen 2.5-inch or eighteen 3.
PowerEdge T430 Internal Storage Up to eight 3.5-inch SAS/SATA HDD/SSD or up to sixteen 2.5inch SAS/SATA HDD/SSD Internal Flash Memory Supported SD memory card Internal Storage Adapter PERC H330, PERC H730 and PERC H730P External Disks Storage Adapter PERC H830 and 12 Gbps SAS HBA Fibre Channel HBA All supported HBAs Networking All supported add-in NIC Remote Access iDRAC8 PowerEdge T420 configuration Table 35.
PowerEdge T110 II configuration Table 37. PowerEdge T110 II configuration PowerEdge T110 II Processor Intel Xeon E3-1200 product family or Intel Xeon E3-1200 v2 product family or Intel Core i3 series Minimum Memory 4 GB Internal Storage Four 3.
8 Getting help Topics: • • • Documentation matrix Contacting Dell Downloading drivers and firmware Documentation matrix The documentation matrix provides information on documents that you can refer to for setting up and managing your system. Table 38. Documentation matrix To... See the...
a) Enter your system Service Tag in the Enter your Service Tag field. b) Click Submit. The support page that lists the various support categories is displayed. 4. For general support: a) Select your product category. b) Select your product segment. c) Select your product. The support page that lists the various support categories is displayed. 5. For contact details of Dell Global Technical Support: a) Click Global Technical Support.
