ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Update 2 Release for ESX Server 3.5 and VirtualCenter 2.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Revision: 20080725 Item: EN-000027-00 You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on our Web site at: http://www.vmware.com/support/ The VMware Web site also provides the latest product updates. If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to: docfeedback@vmware.com © 2007, 2008 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Protected by one or more of U.S. Patent Nos.
Contents About This Book 7 1 Introduction to VMware Infrastructure 11 VMware Infrastructure at a Glance 12 What’s New for Installation 15 What’s New About Installing VirtualCenter Version 2.5 What’s New About Installing ESX Server 3.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide 3 VirtualCenter and ESX Server 3 Licensing Overview 27 Licensing Terminology 28 ESX Server 3 Editions 28 VirtualCenter Server Editions 30 VirtualCenter and ESX Server 3 Licensing Model 30 Single‐Host and Centralized License Types 30 Centralized Licensing 31 Single‐Host Licensing 32 License Key Functionality 33 Per‐Processor Licensing 33 Per‐Instance Licensing 35 License Expiration Considerations 35 License Server Availability 35 Using an Existing FLEXnet Li
Contents License File Contents 56 License File Locations 58 Adding New License Files to License Servers 59 Adding New License Files to Single Hosts 60 Installing a License Server 60 Troubleshooting Licensing 61 Receiving License Activation Codes 62 Checking the License Server 62 Checking the License File 64 Checking License Configuration 64 6 Installing VMware Infrastructure Management 65 Preparing the VirtualCenter Server Database 65 Configuring an Oracle Connection to Work Locally 66 Configuring an Orac
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Installing ESX Server 83 Navigation in the Installer 84 ESX Server Installation Procedure 84 Mouse Selection 88 Recommended Partitioning 88 Advanced Partitioning 89 Setting Your Time Zone 92 Postinstallation Considerations 93 Locating the Installation Logs 93 Assigning New Hardware on the Server 93 Installing Additional Drivers from the VMware Driver Disk 93 Verifying Your Device Driver Mappings 94 Downloading the VI Client 94 Installing a Language Pack on
About This Book This manual, the Installation Guide, describes how to install new configurations of VMware® VirtualCenter and ESX Server 3. The Installation Guide covers ESX Server 3.5. To read about ESX Server 3i version 3.5, see http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vi_pubs.html. For ease of discussion, this book uses the following product naming conventions: For topics specific to ESX Server 3.5, this book uses the term “ESX Server 3.” For topics specific to ESX Server 3i version 3.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Document Feedback VMware welcomes your suggestions for improving our documentation. If you have comments, send your feedback to: docfeedback@vmware.com VMware Infrastructure Documentation The VMware Infrastructure documentation consists of the combined VMware VirtualCenter and ESX Server documentation set. Abbreviations Used in Figures The figures in this book use the abbreviations listed in Table 1. Table 1.
About This Book Online and Telephone Support Use online support to submit technical support requests, view your product and contract information, and register your products. Go to: http://www.vmware.com/support Customers with appropriate support contracts should use telephone support for the fastest response on priority 1 issues. Go to: http://www.vmware.com/support/phone_support.html Support Offerings Find out how VMware support offerings can help meet your business needs. Go to: http://www.vmware.
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1 Introduction to VMware Infrastructure 1 This book describes each separate installer for setting up VMware ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter components. This chapter describes the components individually, so you know which you need to install. This chapter contains the following topics: “VMware Infrastructure at a Glance” on page 12 “What’s New for Installation” on page 15 VMware, Inc.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide VMware Infrastructure at a Glance Figure 1‐1 illustrates the six basic components of VMware Infrastructure. Figure 1-1. VMware Infrastructure Components VMware Infrastructure Client license server ESX Server hosts VirtualCenter database Web browser One VirtualCenter Server manages multiple ESX Server hosts. Each shaded block represents a separate installer or procedure.
Chapter 1 Introduction to VMware Infrastructure The major components of VMware Infrastructure are: ESX Server – ESX Server provides a virtualization layer that abstracts the processor, memory, storage, and networking resources of the physical host into multiple virtual machines. ESX Server 3 installation includes documentation in the form of man pages available from the service console. See “Installing VMware ESX Server Software” on page 81.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide The following plugins are available: VMware Converter – Enables you to convert physical or virtual machines into ESX Server virtual machines. After converting the virtual machines, you can add them to your VirtualCenter inventory. VMware Update Manager – Provides security monitoring and patching support for ESX Server hosts and virtual machines.
Chapter 1 Introduction to VMware Infrastructure What’s New for Installation This section describes procedures for installing and upgrading previous versions of VirtualCenter and ESX Server. This section is not a comprehensive list of new features. What’s New About Installing VirtualCenter Version 2.5 New features introduced in VirtualCenter 2.
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2 System Requirements 2 This chapter describes the hardware and operating system requirements for hosts running VirtualCenter and ESX Server 3. Use the information in this chapter to ensure that your environment meets the requirements for installation.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Disk storage – 560MB minimum, 2GB recommended. You must have 245MB free on the destination drive for installation of the program, and you must have 315MB free on the drive containing your %temp% directory. NOTE Storage requirements can be larger if your database runs on the same hardware as the VirtualCenter Server machine. The size of the database varies with the number of hosts and virtual machines you manage.
Chapter 2 System Requirements VirtualCenter Database Requirements VirtualCenter supports the database formats listed in Table 2‐1. Table 2-1. Supported Database Formats Database Type Service Pack, Patch, and Driver Requirements Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Standard SP4 For Windows 2000 and Windows XP, apply MDAC 2.8 SP1 to the client. Use SQL Server driver for the client. Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Standard SP1 or SP2 For Windows 2000 and Windows XP, apply MDAC 2.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide VI Client Requirements The following sections list VI Client hardware and software requirements. VI Client Hardware Requirements The VI Client hardware must meet the following requirements: Processor – 266MHz or higher Intel or AMD x86 processor (500MHz recommended). Memory – 256MB RAM minimum, 512MB recommended. Disk Storage – 150MB free disk space required for basic installation.
Chapter 2 System Requirements License Server Requirements This section describes the license server requirements. License Server Hardware Requirements The license server hardware must meet the following requirements: Processor – 266MHz or higher Intel or AMD x86 processor. Memory – 256MB RAM minimum, 512MB recommended. Disk Storage – 25MB free disk space required for basic installation. Networking – Gigabit recommended.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide 1GB RAM minimum. One or more Ethernet controllers. Supported controllers include: Broadcom NetXtreme 570x gigabit controllers Intel PRO/100 adapters For best performance and security, use separate Ethernet controllers for the service console and the virtual machines. NOTE The 3Com 3c990 driver does not support all revisions of the 3c990. For example, 3CR990B is incompatible.
Chapter 2 System Requirements ESX Server 3 supports installing and booting from the following storage systems: ATA disk drives – Installing ESX Server 3 on an ATA drive or ATA RAID is supported. However, ensure that your specific drive controller is included in the supported hardware. Storage of virtual machines is currently not supported on ATA drives or RAIDs. Virtual machines must be stored on VMFS volumes configured on a SCSI or SATA drive, a SCSI RAID, or a SAN.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Enhanced Performance Recommendations The lists in previous sections suggest a basic ESX Server 3 configuration. In practice, you can use multiple physical disks, which include SCSI disks, Fibre Channel LUNs, RAID LUNs, and so on. Here are some recommendations for enhanced performance: RAM – Having sufficient RAM for all your virtual machines is important to achieving good performance. ESX Server 3 hosts require more RAM than typical servers.
Chapter 2 System Requirements Processors – Faster processors improve ESX Server 3 performance. For certain workloads, larger caches improve ESX Server 3 performance. Hardware compatibility – To ensure the best I/O performance and workload management, VMware ESX Server 3 provides its own drivers for supported devices. Be sure that the devices you use in your server are supported. For additional details on I/O device compatibility, download the ESX Server I/O Compatibility Guide from www.vmware.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Virtual Machine Requirements Each ESX Server machine has the following requirements. Virtual processor Intel Pentium II or later (dependent on system processor) One, two, or four processors per virtual machine NOTE If you create a two‐processor virtual machine, your ESX Server machine must have at least two physical processors. For a four‐processor virtual machine, your ESX Server machine must have at least four physical processors.
3 VirtualCenter and ESX Server 3 Licensing Overview 3 This chapter describes the licensing models available with ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Licensing Terminology Terms you might encounter during the license redemption and configuration process are defined below: License activation code – A license activation code (LAC) is a unique code that is associated with one or more VMware products purchased. You receive this code after your order is processed, unless you purchased your products from an authorized VMware reseller, in which case you receive a partner activation code.
Chapter 3 VirtualCenter and ESX Server 3 Licensing Overview Table 3‐1 displays ESX Server 3 features arranged by edition. Table 3-1.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide VirtualCenter Server Editions At least one instance of a VirtualCenter license is required for VI Foundation, VI Standard, and VI Enterprise editions. The following VirtualCenter editions are available: VirtualCenter Foundation – This edition lets you manage up to three ESX Server hosts. If you need to manage more than three hosts, upgrade to VirtualCenter edition.
Chapter 3 VirtualCenter and ESX Server 3 Licensing Overview Figure 3‐1 illustrates the three types of license environments. Figure 3-1.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide When a host requires a particular licensed functionality, the license for that entitlement is checked out from the license pool. License keys are released back to the pool when they are no longer being used and are available again to any host. The advantages of centralized licensing include: You administer all licensing from a single location. New licenses are allocated and reallocated using any combination of ESX Server form factors.
Chapter 3 VirtualCenter and ESX Server 3 Licensing Overview License Key Functionality Specific entitlement to run VMware software is determined by license keys. Depending on the ESX Server and VirtualCenter features you want to use, purchase keys based on one of the following: Per‐processor basis – To activate a feature, a host requires a feature license for each of its processors.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide For example, you purchase ESX Server licenses for ten processors and VMotion licenses for six processors. You can then deploy those licenses on any of the following combinations of servers: ESX Server on five 2‐processor hosts. Enable VMotion on three hosts. ESX Server on three 2‐processor hosts and one 4‐processor host. Enable VMotion on three 2‐processor hosts, or on one 2‐processor host and a 4‐processor host.
Chapter 3 VirtualCenter and ESX Server 3 Licensing Overview Server VMotion and Storage VMotion – To migrate a powered‐on virtual machine between hosts, each ESX Server processor involved must have a VMotion license key. For example, if you use VMotion from a dual‐processor ESX Server host to another dual‐processor host, you must have four VMotion licenses. See Basic System Administration.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide However, all licensed functionality currently operating at the time the license server becomes unavailable continues to operate as follows: All VirtualCenter licensed features continue to operate indefinitely, relying on a cached version of the license state. This includes not only basic VirtualCenter operation, but licenses for VirtualCenter add‐ons, such as VMotion and DRS.
Chapter 3 VirtualCenter and ESX Server 3 Licensing Overview Table 3‐3 displays ESX Server licensed operations permitted while the license server is unavailable. Operations that are not permitted are operations that require the acquisition of new licenses from the license server. Table 3-3. Permitted ESX Server Operations When the License Server Is Unavailable After Grace Period Expires Component Attempted Action During Grace Period Virtual machine Power on.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Table 3‐4 lists VirtualCenter licensed operations that are permitted when the license server is unavailable. Operations that are not permitted are operations that require the acquisition of new licenses from the license server. Table 3-4. Permitted VirtualCenter Operations When the License Server Is Unavailable When License Server Is Unavailable Component Attempted Action VirtualCenter Server Remove an ESX Server host from inventory (see next entry).
Chapter 3 VirtualCenter and ESX Server 3 Licensing Overview The VirtualCenter Server uses a “heartbeat” mechanism to check whether the license server is reachable and to determine if there have been any changes in the license file. The heartbeat interval is five minutes. It might take the VirtualCenter Server up to five minutes to detect if there are license changes or if the license server has become unavailable.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Contacting Support If you require assistance with licensing, contact VMware for support as follows: 40 If you have not received license activation codes for your VI3 purchase or have difficulties using your license activation codes to obtain license files, send email to vi‐hotline@vmware.com. If you obtain license files and have difficulties configuring or troubleshooting licensed features, file a support request at http://www.vmware.com/support.
4 Running VMware VirtualCenter and VMware ESX Server in Evaluation Mode 4 This chapter provides information on how to install and run VirtualCenter 2.5 and ESX Server 3.5 in an evaluation mode and how to obtain licenses when the evaluation mode expires.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Licensing VirtualCenter and ESX Server After the Evaluation Period Expires After the 60‐day evaluation period expires, unless you obtain licenses for your software, you are no longer able to perform most operations in VirtualCenter and ESX Server. For example, you cannot power on virtual machines, add new hosts, or use advanced ESX Server and VirtualCenter features.
Chapter 4 Running VMware VirtualCenter and VMware ESX Server in Evaluation Mode Considerations When You Switch ESX Server and VirtualCenter to Licensed Modes When you switch your VirtualCenter and ESX Server from evaluation mode to the licensed mode, consider the following: If the number of ESX Server hosts you add to your inventory exceeds the number allowed by your current licensing type, you can no longer manage the excess hosts.
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5 Licensing VirtualCenter and ESX Server 5 This chapter provides procedures for redeeming license files and configuring license options.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Licensing Process Figure 5‐1 summarizes the license configuration processes for ESX Server 3. Figure 5-1. License Configuration Process for ESX Server 3 Purchase and install ESX Server 3 Power on the host Use in evaluation mode Install a license server or enter path to .lic file Served Change to licensed mode? Local Install a local file on the disk (/etc/vmware/) Set the edition and add-on licenses ESX Server 3 host is licensed 46 VMware, Inc.
Chapter 5 Licensing VirtualCenter and ESX Server Figure 5‐2 summarizes the license configuration processes for the VirtualCenter Server. Figure 5-2.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide After you purchase VMware Infrastructure software, do the following to obtain and use your licenses: 1 Decide which licensing model to use. VMware Infrastructure 3 uses FLEXnet licensing, which offers a choice of license types: centralized, single‐host, or mixed. See “Single‐Host and Centralized License Types” on page 30. 2 Register your purchase.
Chapter 5 Licensing VirtualCenter and ESX Server When you receive the email containing your activation codes, follow the instructions in the email to register license activation codes and generate license files through the Web‐based license activation portal. For additional information on the license activation process, see the license activation portal online Help. Setting Up Centralized Licensing You can configure centralized licensing at installation time.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Configuring License Server Licensing The first procedure in this section describes VirtualCenter centralized licensing configuration. If your environment uses the default VirtualCenter installation, or if you have no VirtualCenter Server, go directly to “To configure centralized licensing for an ESX Server host” on page 51.
Chapter 5 Licensing VirtualCenter and ESX Server If you did not select the check box for the optional setting, follow the procedure in the next section to manually configure ESX Server hosts to use centralized licensing. To configure centralized licensing for an ESX Server host 1 From the VI Client, select the host in the inventory. 2 Click the Configuration tab. 3 Under Software, click Licensed Features. 4 To set the license server: a Click Edit to the right of License Sources.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide To configure local license server licensing for the VirtualCenter Server 1 From the VI Client, choose Administration > VirtualCenter Management Server Configuration. 2 Click License Server in the list on the left. 3 Click the Use license services on this VirtualCenter Server button.
Chapter 5 Licensing VirtualCenter and ESX Server To open a specific port in the service console firewall 1 Log in to the service console as the root user. 2 Execute this command: esxcfg-firewall --openPort ,tcp,out,"License Server" Changing from Single-Host to Centralized Licensing You can change your ESX Server hosts from single‐host licensing to centralized licensing.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide To use the VI Client to configure single-host licensing 1 From the VI Client, select the host in the inventory. 2 Click the Configuration tab. 3 Under Software, click Licensed Features. 4 Click Edit to the right of License Sources. The License Sources dialog box appears. 5 Click the Use Host License File button. 6 Click Browse and locate the license file. This file must be located on the client machine, not on the ESX Server host.
Chapter 5 Licensing VirtualCenter and ESX Server 4 Click OK to save your changes. 5 Remove and Add any affected ESX Server machine in the inventory. Now it is safe to reconfigure single‐host licensing on any changed ESX Server machines. Configuring Licensing for a Mixed ESX Server 2.x and ESX Server 3.x Environment You can use the VirtualCenter Server 2.x to manage a mixed environment of both ESX Server 2.x and ESX Server 3.x hosts.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Changing from Centralized to Single-Host Licensing You can change your ESX Server hosts from the centralized license type to the single‐host license type. The VirtualCenter Server and additional features such as VMotion, VMware DRS, and VMware HA must remain in centralized mode. To change the license type for your ESX Server hosts, generate new license files for each host and configure the hosts to use the new license type.
Chapter 5 Licensing VirtualCenter and ESX Server License key – Contains encrypted license keys, one for each feature to which you are entitled. Table 5‐1 lists the available license keys. Table 5-1.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Example 5‐2 shows a typical centralized license key. Example 5-2. Centralized License Key INCREMENT PROD_ESX_FULL VMWARELM 2005.05 31-dec-2008 8 \ VENDOR_STRING="licenseType=Server;vmodl=esxFull;desc=ESX Server \ Enterprise;capacityType=cpuPackage;gp=14;exclude=BACKUP" \ ISSUED=06-AUG-2007 NOTICE="FulfillmentId=1201;Name=VMware \ Internal" TS_OK SIGN="1F7F 98D5 ...
Chapter 5 Licensing VirtualCenter and ESX Server Adding New License Files to License Servers The license server supports a license directory for multiple license files. If you obtained multiple license files (for example, from separate orders) and want to manage all these licenses from the same license server, add them to the license server directory and restart the server.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide 6 Click Start. 7 Click ReRead License File to load the new license files. Adding New License Files to Single Hosts Host‐based licensing does not support a multiple‐license‐file directory. If you have multiple license files, you need to combine them into a single license file by using the license activation portal.
Chapter 5 Licensing VirtualCenter and ESX Server To install a VMware license server 1 Insert the VMware Infrastructure Installation CD. If the VMware Infrastructure Management Installer appears, click cancel to exit. 2 Navigate to the \vpx folder on the installation CD and double‐click VMware‐licenseserver.exe. 3 Verify that you are installing the license server and click Next. 4 To accept the license agreement, select I accept the terms in the license agreement and click Next.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Receiving License Activation Codes VMware sends license activation codes and licensing information to the license administrator listed for a particular purchase. If you are not the license administrator, contact your organization’s license administrator for your license activation codes. If you need to change the license administrator for your order, contact vi‐hotline@vmware.com. Include the relevant order numbers in your email.
Chapter 5 Licensing VirtualCenter and ESX Server To check that the license server is listening 1 On the machine on which the license server is installed, choose Start > Command Prompt. 2 Type netstat -ab at the command line. 3 Verify that the lmgrd.exe process is listening on port 27000 and that the VMWARELM.exe process is listening on port 27010. If not, the license server might not be installed or might not be started.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Checking the License File If your license server is operating properly or if you are using single‐host licensing, but you cannot use licensed features, you have a problem with your license file. Check the following: Validate your license file at http://www.vmware.com/checklicense/. Ensure that you are using the correct type of license file. If you are using a license server, use a centralized file.
6 Installing VMware Infrastructure Management 6 This chapter describes how to prepare your VirtualCenter database, install VMware Infrastructure Management software, and configure communication between components. You can install VMware Infrastructure Management software on a physical system or on a virtual machine running on an ESX Server 3 host.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide The database topics are covered in the following sections: “Configuring an Oracle Connection to Work Locally” on page 66 “Configuring an Oracle Connection to Work Remotely” on page 67 “Configuring a SQL Server ODBC Connection” on page 68 “Configuring Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express” on page 71 “Maintaining Your VirtualCenter Database” on page 72 Configuring an Oracle Connection to Work Locally To use an Oracle database as your VirtualC
Chapter 6 Installing VMware Infrastructure Management To connect Oracle locally 1 Create a new tablespace specifically for VirtualCenter using the following SQL statement: CREATE TABLESPACE "VPX" DATAFILE 'C:\Oracle\ORADATA\VPX\VPX.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide 3 Edit the tnsnames.ora file located at Ora9I or 10g, as appropriate. C:\Oracle\Oraxx\NETWORK\ADMIN In this example, xx is either 9I or 10g. 4 Use the Net8 Configuration Assistant to add the following entry: VPX = (DESCRIPTION = (ADDRESS_LIST = (ADDRESS=(PROTOCOL=TCP)(HOST=vpxd-Oracle)(PORT=1521)) ) (CONNECT_DATA = (SERVICE_NAME = VPX) ) ) HOST = In this example, HOST is the managed host to which the client needs to connect.
Chapter 6 Installing VMware Infrastructure Management Before you begin this procedure, review the required database patches specified in Table 2‐1, “Supported Database Formats,” on page 19. If you do not prepare your database correctly, the VirtualCenter installer might display error and warning messages. To prepare a SQL Server database to work with VirtualCenter 1 On your Microsoft SQL Server, create a SQL Server database using Enterprise Manager on the SQL Server.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide 7 To create a new SQL Server ODBC connection: a Click Add. b For SQL Server 2000, select SQL Server and click Finish. For SQL Server 2005, select SQL Native Client and click Finish. 8 Type an ODBC data store name (DSN) name in the Name field. For example, type VMware VirtualCenter. 9 (Optional) Type an ODBC DSN description in the Description field. 10 Select the server name from the Server drop‐down menu.
Chapter 6 Installing VMware Infrastructure Management To identify the authentication type 1 Open SQL Server Enterprise Manager. 2 Click the Properties tab to view properties. 3 Check the mode. The mode indicates either Windows NT or SQL Server authentication type.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Maintaining Your VirtualCenter Database After your VirtualCenter database instance and VirtualCenter are installed and operational, perform standard database maintenance processes. These include: Monitoring the growth of the log file and compacting the database log file, as needed. See the documentation for the database type you are using. Scheduling regular backups of the database. Backing up the database before any VirtualCenter upgrade.
Chapter 6 Installing VMware Infrastructure Management You can deploy VirtualCenter behind a firewall. However, make sure there is no Network Address Translation (NAT) firewall between VirtualCenter and the hosts it will manage. The installer automatically installs a license server for you, unless you enter a path to an existing license server. To use an existing license server, obtain the host name or IP address.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Installation Procedure This procedure describes how to install all VMware Infrastructure management components. To install VMware Infrastructure Management 1 As Administrator on the Windows system, insert the installation CD. 2 Choose a language for the installer and click OK. 3 When the VMware Infrastructure Management Installer screen appears, click Next.
Chapter 6 Installing VMware Infrastructure Management If your connection fails, a warning appears. Click OK and re‐enter your database connection information until you can continue. 9 Select one of the following options: To use VirtualCenter in evaluation mode, select I want to evaluate VirtualCenter Server and click Next. If you choose this option, the enterprise‐level edition of VirtualCenter is installed in evaluation mode.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide 12 For VMware Update Manager, you can use the same database that you use for VirtualCenter, or you can use another database. See Step 8. 13 For VMware Update Manager, enter the port and proxy information that you want to use or accept the default information shown on screen. This step applies only to custom installations. 14 For VMware Converter, enter the port information that you want to use or accept the default information shown on screen.
Chapter 6 Installing VMware Infrastructure Management During normal operations, VirtualCenter is listening for data from its managed hosts and clients on designated ports. Additionally, the managed hosts are listening for data from VirtualCenter on designated ports. If a firewall exists between any of these elements, a hole must be created to allow data transfer to these designated ports. The following sections describe how to facilitate this communication.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide To enable a VirtualCenter managed host to receive data on the default port Open port 902 in the firewall to allow data transfer to the VirtualCenter managed host from the VirtualCenter Server or another VirtualCenter managed host. Consult your firewall system administrator for additional information on configuring the ports.
Chapter 6 Installing VMware Infrastructure Management 3 Click Yes to confirm that you want to remove the program. 4 Click Finish. Installing VirtualCenter in a Virtual Machine You can install your VirtualCenter components in a Windows virtual machine, which runs on an ESX Server host.
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7 Installing VMware ESX Server Software 7 This chapter describes how to install and configure ESX Server.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Installation Methods Two installation modes are available for installing VMware ESX Server software: Graphical mode – This is a graphical, mouse‐based installation program to install or upgrade ESX Server. This is the recommended installation method. See “Installing ESX Server” on page 83. Text mode — This is a text‐based interface to install or upgrade ESX Server.
Chapter 7 Installing VMware ESX Server Software LUN Requirements Although ESX Server supports up to 256 LUNs for operation, the installer supports a maximum of 128 LUNs. If you have more than 128 LUNs, connect them after the installation is complete. The minimum supported LUN capacity for VMFS3 is 1200MB. An ESX Server host supports only the first 256 LUNs loaded at boot time. Your boot volume must be encountered in the first 256 LUNs, or the ESX Server host can stop responding at startup.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Navigation in the Installer To navigate and perform actions in the ESX Server installer, press the Tab key, spacebar, directional arrows, or Enter key. You can: Move the highlight between selection fields with the Tab key. Make a selection within a field using the arrow keys or by typing a value. Press Tab until the highlight is in the OK box, and press either the spacebar or Enter key.
Chapter 7 Installing VMware ESX Server Software 3 Click Test to have the installer inspect the installation CD media for errors. If you click Skip, continue now with Step 4. If you click Test, a progress bar appears. The CD media is being tested for errors. When testing is complete, a Media Check Result dialog box appears and click OK. The Welcome page appears. 4 Click Next (graphical installer) or OK (text installer). The Select Keyboard page appears.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide 9 Select a partitioning option. Recommended – Configures default partitions, based on the capacity of the hard drive. Continue with “Recommended Partitioning” on page 88. Advanced – You specify all partition settings. Continue with “Advanced Partitioning” on page 89. 10 Select how the ESX Server will boot: From a drive (install on the MBR of the drive) – Use this option for most installations.
Chapter 7 Installing VMware ESX Server Software 15 Enter the ESX Server host name. Type the complete machine name, including the domain where appropriate. This option is available only if you use a static IP address. VI Clients can use either the host name or the IP address to access the ESX Server host. 16 If your network requires a VLAN ID, enter a VLAN ID. 17 Select Create a default network for virtual machines to create a default port group for virtual machines. This option is selected by default.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Mouse Selection Here are some mouse identification hints: If the connector is round, your mouse is a PS/2 or a bus mouse. If the connector is trapezoidal with nine holes, it is a serial mouse. If the connector is a flat rectangle with a slot, it is a USB mouse. Try to find an exact match – If you cannot find an exact match, choose a mouse type that is compatible with yours. Otherwise, choose the appropriate generic mouse type.
Chapter 7 Installing VMware ESX Server Software Advanced Partitioning With advanced or manual partitioning, the installer lists the drives with existing partitions and the amount of available space. You must create all partitions, determining a specific mount point, file system, and capacity. Each ESX Server host requires five specific partitions. If the host has network storage, only the first three required partitions must be configured on local storage.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide 7 8 To create a swap partition, use the following settings: Mount Point – Not applicable. This drop‐down menu is disabled when you select swap for file system. File System – swap Size (MB) – VMware recommends 544MB.
Chapter 7 Installing VMware ESX Server Software If your ESX Server host has no network storage and one local disk, you must create two more required partitions on the local disk (for a total of five required partitions): vmkcore – A vmkcore partition is required to store core dumps for troubleshooting. VMware does not support ESX Server host configurations without a vmkcore partition. vmfs3 – A vmfs3 partition is required to store your virtual machines.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Setting Your Time Zone The graphical installer lets you select your time zone using a map, a list of locations, or a list of time zones. To set the time zone using the map 1 Click the Map tab to display the map. 2 Click the map on the city nearest to your location. 3 Select the check box for using UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) if appropriate. (This option is selected by default.) 4 Click Next to continue the installation with Step 20 on page 87.
Chapter 7 Installing VMware ESX Server Software Postinstallation Considerations This section discusses installation logs and hardware and driver additions. Locating the Installation Logs After you install and reboot, log in to the service console to read the installation logs: /root/install.log is a complete log of the installation. /root/anaconda-ks.cfg is a kickstart file containing the selected installation.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Verifying Your Device Driver Mappings During the upgrade, the ESX Server installer renames the /etc/vmware/vmware-device.map.local file to /etc/vmware/vmware-device.map.local.orig. After the upgrade, compare the vmware-device.map.local.orig file with the newly created vmware-device.map.local file and make any necessary changes. The locations of some drivers have changed in ESX Server 3.5. With the addition of new drivers in ESX Server 3.
Chapter 7 Installing VMware ESX Server Software To install the language pack 1 Download the VMware‐ESXlangpack‐‐.zip file from the download site. 2 Extract the contents of the ZIP file into a temporary directory. 3 Copy the files from the esx/hostd/ directory to the hostd installation directory on your ESX Server host (usually usr/lib/vmware/hostd/).
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A ESX Server Partitioning A ESX Server hosts have required and optional partitions. This appendix contains the following topics: “Required Partitions” on page 97 “Optional Partitions” on page 101 Required Partitions An ESX Server local boot volume requires three specific partitions for operation. In addition, a local or remote VMFS partition is required to store your virtual machines, and a vmkcore partition is required to provide core dumps for technical support.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Table A‐1 describes the required partitions. Table A-1. ESX Server Required Partitions Recommended Storage by Host Disk Configuration Mount Point Type Internal Disk with External SAN, NAS, or iSCSI /boot ext3 100MB 100MB Location: internal disk Location: LUN0 SAN Only Internal Disk Only 100MB Partition Description Stores information required to boot the ESX Server host system. For example, this is where the grub and LILO boot loaders reside.
Appendix A ESX Server Partitioning Table A-1. ESX Server Required Partitions (Continued) Recommended Storage by Host Disk Configuration Mount Point Type Internal Disk with External SAN, NAS, or iSCSI Not applicable VMFS3 1.2GB SAN Only Internal Disk Only 1.2GB 1.2GB Partition Description A VMFS partition is required. However, VMFS partitions do not need to be located on a local or boot drive.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Table A-1. ESX Server Required Partitions (Continued) Recommended Storage by Host Disk Configuration Mount Point Type Not applicable vmkcore Internal Disk with External SAN, NAS, or iSCSI 100MB Location: any disk SAN Only 100MB per host sharing the SAN Internal Disk Only 100MB Partition Description A 100MB vmkcore partition is required for each ESX Server host. Can be located on a local SCSI volume, a networked SCSI volume, or a SAN.
Appendix A ESX Server Partitioning Optional Partitions Table A‐2 describes the optional partitions. For /tmp and /home, VMware recommends separate partitions to prevent unexpected disk space constraints from compromising ESX Server operations. Table A-2. ESX Server Optional Partitions Recommended Storage by Host Disk Configuration Mount Point Type Internal Disk with External SAN/NAS/ iSCSI /home ext3 512MB SAN Only Internal Disk Only Partition Description Optional.
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B Remote and Scripted Installations B You can install ESX Server using remote and scripted installations.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide After you set up the script, you can use it to install ESX Server files in either of the following ways: From the ESX Server CD in the local CD‐ROM drive of the new system. Across the network, using installation files that are hosted on a remote server. Enabling Scripted Installation After you install ESX Server on a system, you must enable the scripted installation feature before you can use Web Access to create an installation script.
Appendix B Remote and Scripted Installations 6 Save and close the file. 7 Type service vmware-webAccess restart. Setting Up the Script After you install ESX Server on one system and enable scripted installations on that system, you can set up a script necessary for performing a scripted installation of ESX Server on other systems. When you set up the script, choose the networking method (static IP or DHCP) for the server on which you will install ESX Server.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Creating a Script Using VI Web Access The VI Web Access interface lets you create a kickstart configuration file using a graphical interface. To set up the script 1 Launch a supported Web browser and enter the URL of your ESX Server installation to open VI Web Access. The Welcome page appears. 2 Click Log in to the Scripted Installer. The Scripted Install page appears.
Appendix B Remote and Scripted Installations For example: ftp://:/var/ftp/pub/build where is the name assigned to the HTTP or FTP server. Select CD‐ROM to install from the CD on the local CD‐ROM drive on the new system. Select NFS to perform a network install using the Network File System (NFS) application.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide 4 Read through the end user license agreement and select the I have read and accept the terms in the license agreement check box. If the ESX Server system will have a static IP address, the Networking Options page appears. If the ESX Server system will use DHCP, skip to Step 7.
Appendix B Remote and Scripted Installations 8 From the Licensing Mode list, specify one of the following: Post Install – Choose this option to configure licensing manually after installation. Use License Server – Choose this option to retrieve licenses from a license server. Use Host License File – Choose this option to upload a license file. 9 Click Next to continue. 10 If you selected the License Server licensing type, enter the centralized licensing information.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide To run a scripted installation using a PXE server 1 Upload your kickstart file to an NFS or HTTP server. 2 Specify the installation method in the PXE server boot options, where is the URL to access the kickstart file and is the URL to access the uploaded installation files. Editing the Kickstart Configuration File The kickstart configuration file is a text file containing the options specified for the ESX Server installation.
Appendix B Remote and Scripted Installations Table B-1. Kickstart Commands for ESX Server Installation Command Description autostep (optional) Similar to interactive. Use mostly for debugging. auth or authconfig (required) Set up authentication for the system. --enablemd5 Uses md5 based user passwords. --enablenis Enables NIS support. By default, this command uses whatever domain it finds on the network. --nisdomain= Sets the NIS domain. Requires --enablenis.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Table B-1. Kickstart Commands for ESX Server Installation (Continued) Command Description firewall (optional) Configures firewall options in kickstart. --enabled Rejects all incoming connections unless they are a response to outbound requests. --disabled Allows all incoming connections. --high Deprecated; same as --enabled. --medium Deprecated; same as --enabled. --trust= Specifies devices whose traffic is allowed to go through the firewall.
Appendix B Remote and Scripted Installations Table B-1. Kickstart Commands for ESX Server Installation (Continued) Command Description langsupport (required) Sets the language(s) to install on the system. Specifies the value for the language support. Use the same language codes you used with lang. --default Specifies which language will be a default when installing more than one language. mouse (required) Configures the mouse for the system, both in GUI and text modes.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide Table B-1. Kickstart Commands for ESX Server Installation (Continued) Command Description --ondisk= or --ondrive= Specifies the disk on which partitions will be created. For example, part --ondisk=sda creates partitions on the first SCSI drive on the system. --fstype= Sets the file system type for the partition. --badblocks Specifies that the partition should be checked for bad sectors.
Appendix B Remote and Scripted Installations %packages Section This section specifies packages for installation. The %packages section is required for successful installation and must follow the commands section. The section consists of the following two lines: %packages @ base %pre Section The %pre section lets you specify a script to run prior to installation. This section is optional and must come after the commands section.
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide # Text Mode text # Network install type network --device eth0 --bootproto dhcp # Language lang en_US # Language Support langsupport --default en_US # Keyboard keyboard us # Mouse mouse generic3ps/2 --device psaux # Reboot after install ? reboot # Clear Partitions clearpart --all --initlabel --drives=sda # Partitioning part /boot --fstype ext3 --size=100 --ondisk=sda part / --fstype ext3 --size=1500 --ondisk=sda part None --fstype vmkcore --size=100 --ondisk
Index Numerics D 27000, port 52 27010, port 52 databases Oracle 66 preparing 65 SQL Server 68 device driver mappings 94 device drivers 94 DPM, by edition 29 DRAC 82 driver disks 93 DRS, by edition 29 A activation code, license 48 Altiris 110 ATA disks 23 B backing up virtual machines 29 backup 34 Consolidated Backup 34 BIOS 86 boot device 86 boot loader options 86 booting from SAN 83, 86 kernel parameters 86 C centralized licensing configuring 50 description 31 Chinese installing language pack 94 cli
ESX Server 3 and VirtualCenter Installation Guide I IDE disks 23 ILO 82 installation logs 93 installation script, creating 105 installing ESX Server 83 license server 60 on SANs 23 Oracle database 66 VirtualCenter Server 72 internationalization 94 iSCSI licensing 29 J Japanese installing language pack 94 K kernel parameters, boot 86 kickstart commands 111 kickstart file, creating 105 kudzu utility 93 L LAC 28 language packs 94 license activation code 28, 48 license files installing 49 locations of 58 ob
Index ports 27000 52 27010 52 configuring 76 firewall 76 license server 52 PXE 110 R reinstalling VirtualCenter 78 remote Oracle database 66 removing VirtualCenter 78 RSA II 82 S SANs booting from 83, 86 SATA disks 23, 82 scripted installation 109 SCSI 22 SCSI adapters 93 SCSI disks 23 SDK 13 shared LUNs 83 single-host licensing configuring 53 description 32 SMP, licensing 29 specifications ESX Server system minimum 21 performance recommendations 24 VMware, Inc.
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