vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide VMware vCenter Server Heartbeat 6.6 This document supports the version of each product listed and supports all subsequent versions until the document is replaced by a new edition. To check for more recent editions of this document, see http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware 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 Copyright © 2013 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and international copyright and intellectual property laws.
Contents About This Book 5 1 Introduction 7 vCenter Server Heartbeat Concepts 7 vCenter Server Heartbeat Protection 9 vCenter Server Heartbeat Communications 12 vCenter Server Heartbeat Failover Processes 14 2 vCenter Server Heartbeat Monitoring 19 Supported vCenter Server Heartbeat Clients 19 vCenter Server Heartbeat Console 20 vSphere Web Client Plug-in 25 vSphere Client Plug-in 27 Server Monitoring 29 Network Monitoring 30 Application Monitoring 34 Performance Monitoring 35 Monitoring Data Replication
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide 5 vCenter Server Heartbeat Diagnostics 79 Collecting Diagnostic Logs 79 Two Active or Two Passive Nodes 80 Synchronization Failures 82 Registry Status is Out-of-Sync 85 Channel Drops 85 Subnet or Routing Issues 89 MaxDiskUsage Errors 90 Application Slowdown 94 Glossary 97 4 VMware, Inc.
About This Book To help you protect your VMware vCenter Server installation, the vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator Guide provides information about monitoring, managing, maintaining, and diagnosing issues along with the architecture, configuration, and protection offered by vCenter Server Heartbeat.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Document Feedback VMware welcomes your suggestions for improving our documentation and invites you to send your feedback to docfeedback@vmware.com. Abbreviations Used in Figures Abbreviation Description Channel VMware Channel NIC Network Interface Card P2P Physical to Physical P2V Physical to Virtual V2V Virtual to Virtual Technical Support and Educational Resources The following sections describe the technical support resources available to you.
Introduction 1 This chapter includes the following topics: ■ “vCenter Server Heartbeat Concepts,” on page 7 ■ “vCenter Server Heartbeat Protection,” on page 9 ■ “vCenter Server Heartbeat Communications,” on page 12 ■ “vCenter Server Heartbeat Failover Processes,” on page 14 vCenter Server Heartbeat Concepts vCenter Server Heartbeat is a Windows based service specifically designed to provide High Availability (HA) or Disaster Recovery (DR) protection for vCenter Server configurations.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide IP Addressing ■ “Public IP Address” – a static IP address used by clients to access protected applications hosted on the active node. ■ “Management IP Address” – a unique permanent static IP address assigned to each node (Primary and Secondary) that is used for management of the node when the node is in the passive role. Figure 1- 1.
Chapter 1 Introduction During installation, the service name is configured in vCenter Server Heartbeat which continues to resolve to the Public IP address in DNS regardless of which node is hosting the Public IP address. ■ Failover in a LAN – When deployed in a LAN environment, the Public IP address is moved between the Primary and Secondary nodes as roles change from active to passive so that the protected applications are available to clients only when the node assumes the active role.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Figure 1- 2. vCenter Server Heartbeat Initiated Failover An auto-failover occurs when the passive node detects that the active node is no longer responding. This can occur when the active node operating system crashes, loses its network connections, host hardware fails, or otherwise becomes unavailable. The failover process is discussed in detail later in this guide.
Chapter 1 Introduction Figure 1- 3. vCenter Server Heartbeat Initiated Failover When vCenter Server Heartbeat initiates a failover as a result of a failed application or service, vCenter Server Heartbeat gracefully closes vCenter Server running on the active node and starts it on the passive node, including the component or service that caused the failure.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide vCenter Server Heartbeat Communications The VMware Channel is a crucial component of vCenter Server Heartbeat and can be configured in a number of ways. vCenter Server Heartbeat supports use of either multiple NICs or a single NIC. Both the Primary and Secondary must have the same number of NICs.
Chapter 1 Introduction Figure 1- 5. Single NIC Configuration LAN and Stretched vLAN Deployment When deployed in a LAN, the Public NIC on the active node is configured with both a unique permanently assigned Management IP address for administrative access and the Public IP address which allows traffic from clients. The Public NIC on the passive node is configured to use its unique permanently assigned Management IP address.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide vCenter Server Heartbeat Failover Processes vCenter Server Heartbeat provides for failover from one node to the other node when initiated manually by the administrator or automatically as a result of hardware, operating system, network communications, protected applications, or services failure. Failover changes the role of the active and passive nodes depending on the status of the active node.
Chapter 1 Introduction 3 Re-designate the Secondary as the new active node. After this step, vCenter Server Heartbeat: ■ Reassigns the Public IP address to the Secondary in a LAN or updates DNS in a WAN. ■ Makes the newly active node visible on the network. The newly active node begins to intercept and queue disk I/O operations for the newly passive node. 4 vCenter Server Heartbeat causes the newly passive node to begin accepting updates from the active node.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide 3 Start intercepting updates to protected data and store the updates in the send queue of the local node. 4 Start all protected applications. The applications use the replicated application data to recover, and then accept re-connections from any clients. Any updates that the applications make to the protected data are intercepted and logged.
Chapter 1 Introduction Failover in a WAN Environment Failover in a WAN environment differs from Failover in a LAN environment due to the nature of the WAN connection. In a WAN environment, auto-failover is disabled by default in the event that the WAN connection is lost. Should a condition arise that would normally trigger an auto-failover, the administrator will receive vCenter Server Heartbeat alerts.
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vCenter Server Heartbeat Monitoring 2 After installation of vCenter Server Heartbeat, initial operational configuration and day-to-day operations are performed using the vCenter Server Heartbeat Console. vCenter Server Heartbeat operates over a Pair of vCenter Server Heartbeat nodes and is administered in these Pairs. The vCenter Server Heartbeat Console is used to administer one or more Pairs.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Table 2- 1.
Chapter 2 vCenter Server Heartbeat Monitoring Starting vCenter Server Heartbeat Console Start vCenter Server Heartbeat Console from any node of the vCenter Server Heartbeat Pair. Procedure 1 Right-click the VMware vCenter Server Heartbeat interactive status icon on the Windows tool tray (located on the right side of the Windows tool bar). The vCenter Server Heartbeat quick access menu opens. 2 Select Manage Server.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide 4 Click OK. A confirmation message appears. 5 Click Yes to confirm the changes and restart vCenter Server Heartbeat Console to apply the new font settings. Click No to restart later; the changes will be applied the next time vCenter Server Heartbeat Console is started. Working with Groups vCenter Server Heartbeat allows you to Group pairs based upon logical organization such as business function or category.
Chapter 2 vCenter Server Heartbeat Monitoring Adding a New Connection The Add Connection feature in the vCenter Server Heartbeat Console allows you to add a new Pair Connection to an existing vCenter Server Heartbeat Group. Procedure 1 In the navigation panel, select the vCenter Server Heartbeat Group to receive the new connection.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Editing a Connection The Edit Connection feature in the vCenter Server Heartbeat Console allows you to change the Port Number for existing connections. Procedure 1 In the navigation panel, select the connection you want to change and select Edit Connection from the File menu or right-click an existing connection in the navigation panel and select Edit Connection from the menu to display the Edit Connection dialog.
Chapter 2 vCenter Server Heartbeat Monitoring Editing User Name and Password Settings Use the Edit User Name and Password feature in vCenter Server Heartbeat Console to change the User Name and Password settings used to connect to a given Pair.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Launching the Heartbeat Plug-in for vSphere Web Client The Heartbeat Plug-in is integrated with vSphere Web Client and allows you to administer your Pair. Procedure 1 Login to vSphere Web Client. 2 Select vCenter in the navigation pane of vSphere Web Client. The vCenter pane is displayed. 3 Under the Inventory Lists, select vCenter Servers. A list of manageable vCenter Servers is displayed by Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDN).
Chapter 2 vCenter Server Heartbeat Monitoring Performing a Failover Using vSphere Web Client Procedure 1 Navigate to the Heartbeat sub-tab in the vSphere Web Client. 2 Click either Make Primary Active or Make Secondary Active as appropriate. A confirmation dialog is displayed. 3 Click Yes to confirm your action. vCenter Server Heartbeat performs a failover. Note After performing a Make Active operation, the Heartbeat tab may fail to display properly.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide 3 Select the Heartbeat tab of vSphere Client. 4 When prompted to acknowledge the Security Alert, click Yes to proceed.The Heartbeat Plug-in is displayed. Figure 2- 2. vSphere Client Heartbeat Plug-in Performing a Failover Using vSphere Client Procedure 1 Select the Heartbeat tab of vSphere Client. 2 Click either Make Primary Active or Make Secondary Active as appropriate. 3 When prompted accept the security certificate to complete the operation.
Chapter 2 vCenter Server Heartbeat Monitoring Server Monitoring Protection against operating system or hardware failure affecting the active node is accomplished using two instances of the vCenter Server Heartbeat that monitor one another by sending “I’m alive” messages over the VMware Channel. If the passive node detects that this process (the heartbeat) has failed, a failover is initiated.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide When viewing the passive node status, the file system and registry status are displayed graphically. The following (table 2-3) lists possible synchronization statuses and their meanings. Table 2- 3. File System and Registry Status Status Icon Description Synchronized Fully synchronized. Unchecked There are files that are currently unchecked. A full system check did not complete. Out-of-Sync Not synchronized.
Chapter 2 vCenter Server Heartbeat Monitoring Reviewing the VMware Channel Status The Data: Traffic/Queues page displays the VMware Channel status. VMware Channel status can be displayed as: ■ Connected – A green solid arrow icon ■ Waiting – A solid orange icon is displayed when the channel has just disconnected.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Active node Isolation Figure 2-3 illustrates a scenario where the active node has lost connection with the passive node via the VMware Channel. 32 VMware, Inc.
Chapter 2 vCenter Server Heartbeat Monitoring Figure 2- 3. Network Isolation Workflow Diagram VMware, Inc.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Upon detection of missed heartbeats vCenter Server Heartbeat performs the following steps: 1 As soon as the active node detects that the VMware Channel is experiencing missed heartbeats, it determines if a valid failover target (the passive node) is present. Simultaneously, once the passive node detects missed heartbeats, it determines if it is a valid failover target.
Chapter 2 vCenter Server Heartbeat Monitoring Checking the Status of Services The Applications: Services page displays services that either you or plug-ins specify and services related to them by dependency (either as dependents or depends-on). Target states of protected services for the Primary and Secondary can be specified and are typically Running on the active and Stopped on the passive nodes. Services are protected if they are set to Running or Automatic, and are otherwise logged as unprotected.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide ■ MemoryFreePTEs ■ MemoryPageReadsPerSec ■ MemoryPageWritesPerSec ■ MemoryPagesPerSec ■ MemoryPagingFileUseage ■ PageFaultsPerSec ■ ProcessorIntsPerSec ■ ProcessorLoad ■ ProcessorQueueLength ■ RedirectorBytesTotalPerSec ■ RedirectorNetworkErrorsPerSec ■ ServerBytesTotalPerSec ■ ServerWorkItemShortages >= 3 (if the rule for server work item shortages is triggered, consult Microsoft documentation on setting the registry values for InitWo
Chapter 2 vCenter Server Heartbeat Monitoring Table 2- 4. File and Registry Synchronization Status Icon Description The file is verified and successfully synchronized. The file is not synchronized on the active and passive node. This state often follows a failover and requires manual synchronization and verification. The file or folder has not been checked because a full system check has not been performed or the system check has not yet reached the file or folder. VMware, Inc.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide 38 VMware, Inc.
Managing vCenter Server Heartbeat 3 vCenter Server Heartbeat provides the tools to customize configuration parameters to protect vCenter Server, View Composer, and SQL Server in the event of hardware, operating system, network communications, applications, or services failure.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Launching the Configure Server Wizard Use the Configure Server wizard to modify communications between the Primary and Secondary nodes and reconfigure other components of vCenter Server Heartbeat when necessary. When using the Configure Server wizard to make modifications, ensure vCenter Server Heartbeat is stopped. Procedure 1 Stop vCenter Server Heartbeat.
Chapter 3 Managing vCenter Server Heartbeat Configuring the Machine The Machine tab is used to set the Server Identity, identify the Active Server, and configure the Client Connection Port. Configuring the Machine Identity The identity is either Primary or Secondary and once assigned does not change during the life of the node. Caution The Identity should only be changed when directed to do so by VMware Support or by a knowledge base article.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Configuring the Client Connection Port Clients such as the vSphere Web Client or vCenter Server Heartbeat Console connect to vCenter Server Heartbeat using the Client Connection Port. Do not change this port unless another application is using it. Procedure ◆ To change the Client Connection Port, click the Machine tab, edit the default entry (52267) and click Next or Finish.
Chapter 3 Managing vCenter Server Heartbeat 6 To change the VMware Channel IP addresses, select and edit the entry in the table. 7 Click Next or Finish. Configuring the Default Channel Port The VMware Channel uses the Default Channel Port to communicate between the Primary and Secondary nodes. Do not change this port unless another application is using it. Procedure ◆ To change the Default Channel Port, click the Channel tab, edit the default entry (57348), and click Next or Finish.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Procedure ◆ To change Low Bandwidth Optimization after installation, select the Channel tab in the Configure Server wizard and click the HA/DR Topology drop-down to select the appropriate topology. Click Next or Finish to accept changes. Figure 3- 4. Configure Server wizard - Channel tab Configuring Public IP Addressing During installation, vCenter Server Heartbeat configures the Public IP address(es).
Chapter 3 Managing vCenter Server Heartbeat 5 Enter the Public IP address Subnet Mask in the first Mask field. 6 Enter the reserved Management IP address in the Mgmt IP field. 7 Enter the reserved Management IP address Subnet Mask in the second Mask field. Note The Public IP Addresses table allows multiple entries. The table also allows you to configure Public IPs and Management IPs for the same network adapter on separate lines.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Managing vCenter Server Heartbeat License Keys To manage vCenter Server Heartbeat license keys, select the License tab of the Configure Server wizard. Adding an Entry to the License Keys Table Procedure 1 Click the Add Row icon and enter your VMware vCenter Server Heartbeat serial number. 2 Manually type or paste (using Ctrl-V) your serial number into the table. 3 Click Next or Finish. Figure 3- 6. Configure Server wizard — License tab 46 VMware, Inc.
Chapter 3 Managing vCenter Server Heartbeat Configuring Logs vCenter Server Heartbeat allows you to change the default location of logs used for storing data in the queue. Configuring Message Queue Logs Replication data received from the active node is temporarily stored in the passive node’s receive queue. Replication data from the active node waiting to be sent across the VMware Channel is temporarily stored in the active node’s send queue in message queue logs.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Procedure ◆ To configure Maximum Disk Usage, click the Logs tab of the Configure Server wizard (Figure 3-7), type the maximum dedicated disk space allocated for message queue log files, and click Finish. Managing Heartbeat Settings The Server: Monitoring page provides three features to manage server monitoring operations: Configure Pings, Configure Failover, and Configure Response Times.
Chapter 3 Managing vCenter Server Heartbeat 3 Modify the existing target IP addresses for each node to ping. Note If IP address values are added to the Network Monitoring > Ping Configuration > Ping Routing dialog, the new values added will replace the default ping targets of the Global catalog, Primary DNS server, and Default Gateway. In a WAN environment, the target addresses for Public network monitoring on the Secondary node may be different to those automatically selected on the Primary.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide 3 Select or clear check boxes for each of the following items to select actions to take if the configured Failover timeout is exceeded. Note If the first two check boxes are not selected, failover will not occur in a LAN.
Chapter 3 Managing vCenter Server Heartbeat Enabling Failover in a WAN By default, when deployed in a WAN environment, failover is disabled. To enable failover in a WAN environment, follow the steps below. Procedure 1 Navigate to the Network: Network Monitoring page. 2 Click Configure Auto-switchover. 3 Select the Auto-switchover if client network connectivity lost for check box. 4 Configure the number of pings to wait before performing the failover. 5 Click OK.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Since a failover cannot be performed during synchronization, it is important to review the queue information prior to attempting a failover. If the queues are large, file operations on the active node are high and it may be prudent to delay a failover due to the length of time required to completely clear the queue. Queue lengths can be viewed from the Data: Traffic/Queues page of the vCenter Server Heartbeat Console.
Chapter 3 Managing vCenter Server Heartbeat 5 Restart the Primary node and reconnect or enable the NIC. 6 After restart, check that the Taskbar icon now reflects the changes and displays P / – (Primary and passive). 7 On the Secondary active node or from a remote client, launch vCenter Server Heartbeat Console and confirm that the Secondary node is reporting as active.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Managing Applications Use the Applications: Summary page to start, stop, and configure all protected applications and enable or disable protection and monitoring. Applications can be managed without needing to stop vCenter Server Heartbeat or taking the full server offline. During installation, vCenter Server Heartbeat configures default settings for application protection but accepts modifications to configurations settings.
Chapter 3 Managing vCenter Server Heartbeat Resetting the Application Health Status If a problem occurs (for example, a failed service or rule), the Application Health status becomes Degraded. Even if vCenter Server Heartbeat corrects the problem (for example, restarts the failed service) or the user corrects the problem, the Degraded status remains until manually cleared by the Administrator. In this state, the Service Discovery Task will not run.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Reviewing the Applications Log The Applications Log helps when troubleshooting the protected application environment. The Applications Log provides information about the behavior of all protected applications and includes events such as task status changes, rule triggering, task outputs, and application warnings. Use this log to troubleshoot application errors.
Chapter 3 Managing vCenter Server Heartbeat 3 If vCenter Server Heartbeat is to manage the start and stop of the service, select Manage Starting and Stopping. If vCenter Server Heartbeat is to monitor the state of the service, select Monitor State. vCenter Server Heartbeat also assigns three sequential tasks to perform in the event of failure. Task options include Recover Service, Application Restart, Log Warning, Switchover, and any additional user-defined Rule-Action tasks previously created.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Changing the Order of Services The exact order in which services start and stop is influenced by a number of key factors: ■ The order of applications specified by plug-ins determines which services are started first. ■ Services can have dependencies which must be respected. For example, if service B is listed after service A under the User-Defined group, and service A depends on Service B, Service B starts first.
Chapter 3 Managing vCenter Server Heartbeat Adding a Task To add a task: Procedure 1 Click Add to invoke the Add Task dialog. 2 Assign a name to the task. 3 Select the task type from the Task Type: drop-down list. Note If the Task Type is Network Configuration, you must select the identity of the node to run the task (Primary or Secondary). 4 In the Command text box, enter the path or Browse to the script, .bat file, or command for the task to perform.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Adding a User Account Procedure 1 On the Applications: Tasks page, clickUser Accounts to invoke the User Accounts dialog. 2 Click Add to invoke the Add User dialog. 3 Type the name of the User, the associated Domain, and a Password into the corresponding text boxes. 4 Click OK. Removing a User Account Procedure 1 To remove a user, click User Accounts on the Applications: Tasks page to invoke the User Accounts dialog.
Chapter 3 Managing vCenter Server Heartbeat Procedure 1 Select the task from the task list. 2 Right-click on the existing task and select Run Now from the menu or click Run Now at the top of the pane. vCenter Server Heartbeat immediately launches the task. Managing Rules Rules are implemented by plug-ins (there are no user-defined rules). Rules can be configured with rule actions, which are tasks to be performed when a rule triggers.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Managing Plug-ins Plug-ins support specific applications and contain all of the components to protect the designated application. Plug-ins start and stop the application, monitor the application, and provide all rules necessary to ensure that the application is available in the event of failure by initiating a failover when configured.
Chapter 3 Managing vCenter Server Heartbeat Uninstalling a Plug-in You can uninstall a plug-in when you upgrade or remove the application the plug-in protects, or when directed by VMware Support. Procedure 1 On the Applications: Plug-ins page, right-click an existing plug-in and select Uninstall or select the plug-in and click Uninstall at the top of the pane. A confirmation dialog appears. 2 Click OK.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Adding a User-Defined Inclusion Filter Inclusion filters create a subset of files to include for protection. Procedure 1 In the Data: File Filters pane, click Add Inclusion Filter to display the Add Inclusion Filter dialog. 2 Type the complete path and pattern, specify a pattern containing wildcards, or click Browse to locate the file or folder. 3 Click OK.
Chapter 3 Managing vCenter Server Heartbeat Removing User-Defined Filters When necessary, user defined Inclusion Filters and Exclusion filters can be removed. Procedure 1 Select the filter in the Data: File Filters list and click Remove, or right-click on the filter in the Data: File Filters list and select Remove from the menu. A confirmation message appears. 2 Click Yes to remove the filter.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Initiating a Full System Check A Full System Check verifies and synchronizes the entire protected file set by performing the same block level check of all the files identified by file filters in the initial startup synchronization and verification. Procedure 1 Click Full System Check in the File Hierarchy pane to initiate a Full System Check.
Chapter 3 Managing vCenter Server Heartbeat Initiating File Synchronization Manually The Data: Replication File Hierarchy pane displays files that were detected as out of synchronization. Procedure ◆ To initiate file synchronization manually, perform one of the following: ■ To synchronize the specified files, click Synchronize. ■ Select multiple files using the Shift or Ctrl keys and click Synchronize.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Alerts and Events vCenter Server Heartbeat can notify Administrators of potential problems or when specific events occur by sending custom configured predefined alerts and route event logs to a remote Administrator as required. Managing Alerts vCenter Server Heartbeat can send predefined alerts to remote administrators via email when configured using the Logs page. Procedure 1 Navigate to the Logs page and click Configure Alerts.
Chapter 3 Managing vCenter Server Heartbeat 3 Click Add and type a fully qualified email address for each recipient for the respective trigger level alert. 4 To delete a recipient, select the recipient’s email address in the Mail Recipients pane and click Remove. Use the preconfigured subject and content for alert emails for Red, Yellow, or Green alerts. You may add content as required.VMware recommends leaving the preconfigured subject and content and if necessary, add additional information.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Testing Alert Reporting vCenter Server Heartbeat allows you to test alert reporting without triggering an actual alert during operations on the active node. Procedure 1 Navigate to the Logs page. 2 Click Test Alert Reporting. A Test Alert email is sent to the configured email recipients. Managing Event Log Files vCenter Server Heartbeat allows you to configure Event Log files to direct where the log file is stored and the number of events to be recorded.
Maintaining vCenter Server Heartbeat 4 vCenter Server Heartbeat's unique architecture allows administrators to perform routine maintenance and, for most operations, prevents having to shutdown nodes to complete maintenance procedures.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide In additional to those listed above, vCenter Server Heartbeat Server: Summary page provides the following additional controls: ■ Start Applications – Click to start protected applications on the active node. ■ Stop Applications – Click to stop protected applications on the active node. ■ Configure – Click to open the Configure dialog.
Chapter 4 Maintaining vCenter Server Heartbeat Procedure 1 On the Applications: Summary page, click Configure. 2 Select Unprotect services and stop monitoring all applications (for manual application maintenance) and click OK. 3 Perform the required maintenance. 4 When maintenance is complete, on the Applications: Summary page of vCenter Server Heartbeat Console, click Configure. 5 Select Protect services and monitor all applications (recommended) and click OK. VMware, Inc.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Reviewing Event Logs The Event Log pane of the Logs page lists events logged chronologically by default and shows when an event happened, the event type, event source, its importance, and its detail. Display order for events can be sorted either descending or ascending by clicking on the column heading. Since detail in the data grid is truncated, it may be necessary to review the log in more detail.
Chapter 4 Maintaining vCenter Server Heartbeat Filtering log events by date and time range Procedure 1 Select the Only show events from check box and adjust the start date, end date, and times. 2 Click OK. Table 4- 2. Event Log Buttons Icon Purpose To export the list to a comma-separated variable file, click Export event log at the top left of the Log Details data grid. You can configure the filename and path to export the data in the Configuration tab. To immediately email the list, click E-mail.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Configuring Orphaned Files Check Options Prior to initiating an Orphaned Files Check, you must configure the actions to take in the event orphaned files are found. By default, Orphaned Files Check is configured to delete orphaned files. Should you want to log the files presence rather than delete, follow the steps below. Procedure 1 Navigate to the Data: Replication page and click Configure. 2 Select the Orphaned Files tab.
Chapter 4 Maintaining vCenter Server Heartbeat 9 Launch vCenter Server Heartbeat Console. 10 Perform a manual failover using vCenter Server Heartbeat Console to make the Secondary node active. Note, at this point users may notice a slight interruption to the protected application. 11 When the failover is complete, launch Windows Update on the Primary (passive) node. 12 Download and install patches or hotfixes, but DO NOT reboot the node if instructed to do so.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide 9 Change the server role to Secondary/passive. a Launch the vCenter Server Heartbeat Configure Server wizard and select the Machine tab. b In the Active Server section, change the server role for the Primary server to Active and click Finish. 10 Start VMware vCenter Server Heartbeat on the Secondary server only. 11 Restart the Secondary server. 12 The upgrade process continues on the Primary (passive) server.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Diagnostics 5 You can use a variety of procedures for diagnosing and fixing problems that you may encounter when using vCenter Server Heartbeat.You can use troubleshooting procedures to investigate the causes of such problems and attempt to correct them yourself, or you can obtain assistance from VMware Technical Support. The following unexpected behaviors illustrate Problems, Causes, and Solutions for a given scenario.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Two Active or Two Passive Nodes Should both nodes (Primary and Secondary) become active or passive at the same time, you should address the issue immediately. Two Active Nodes Two active nodes live on the same network is critical and referred to as Split-brain syndrome. This condition must be resolved immediately. Problem Split-brain syndrome is identified by the following symptoms: ■ Both nodes in a pair are running and in an active state.
Chapter 5 vCenter Server Heartbeat Diagnostics The following procedure corrects two active nodes and results in an active and passive pair. 1 Identify the node with the most up-to-date data or the node to make active. 2 Shut down vCenter Server Heartbeat on both nodes (if running). 3 On the node to make passive, right-click the Task bar icon, and select the Server Configuration wizard. 4 Select the Machine tab and set the role to passive.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide ■ The active node fails before the handshake that establishes the VMware Channel connection. The passive node cannot detect that the active node is not responding when the failure occurs and cannot determine the condition of the active node.
Chapter 5 vCenter Server Heartbeat Diagnostics [N29]The passive VMware vCenter Server Heartbeat server attempted to access the file: {filename}. This failed because the file was in use by another application. Please ensure that there are no applications which access protected files running on the passive. Note This occurs if the vSphere Client is left running on the passive node.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Solution The installation process manually assigns the correct IP addresses to each NIC on the Secondary node. If no VMware Channel connection occurs between the nodes, verify the configuration of the IP addresses on the Secondary's channel NICs. Check the settings for the Public NIC. The configuration error can remain unrecognized until a failover occurs.
Chapter 5 vCenter Server Heartbeat Diagnostics Cause The passive node has less available disk space than the active node, preventing updates from being replicated to the passive node. The quantity of updates from the active node exceeds the passive node's available disk space. Solution ◆ Free up some additional disk space on the passive node. Do not delete data from the protected set to prevent data loss in the event of a failover. You could update the disk subsystem on the passive node.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Cause This unusual condition points to an application or Windows experiencing a fault on the passive node.
Chapter 5 vCenter Server Heartbeat Diagnostics ■ Improper configuration of NICs used for the VMware Channel connection ■ ISP problems in a WAN environment Solution When a NIC problem is encountered, perform the following checks: 1 Verify that VMware Channel NIC drivers are the correct and latest versions. Known issues are identified with HP/Compaq ProLiant NC67xx/NC77xx Gigabit Ethernet NICs. Check other NIC types.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Solution The firewall rules must be recreated to allow traffic to pass through for the Client Connection port and the Default Channel port. VMware recommends that the firewall be configured to allow the Client to connect to the Client Connection port by process, nfgui.exe, rather than by a specific port.
Chapter 5 vCenter Server Heartbeat Diagnostics VMware vCenter Server Heartbeat Packet Filter Is Enabled on the Channel NIC(s) Proper configuration requires that the packet filter be disabled on the VMware Channel NIC. When the packet filter is enabled on the channel NICs, the following symptoms are encountered. Problem Interference with network traffic across the VMware Channel results in an intermittent channel connection or no channel connection at all.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide WAN Deployment Incorrect routing can prevent the active and passive nodes from connecting in a WAN environment. Problem The VMware Channel disconnects or fails to connect in a WAN deployment. Cause When the VMware Channel disconnects or fails to connect in a WAN deployment, the static route might not be configured or might be configured incorrectly.
Chapter 5 vCenter Server Heartbeat Diagnostics Both send and receive queues are stored on disk by default in the \R2\log directory, with a quota configured for the maximum permitted queue size (by default, 1GB on each node). You can configure both the queue location and the quota.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide [L9]Exceeded the Maximum Disk Usage on the ACTIVE Server This message indicates that you have exceeded the amount of allocated disk space reserved for the active node’s send queue. Problem Replication stops and the vCenter Server Heartbeat Event Log displays the error message originating from the active node.
Chapter 5 vCenter Server Heartbeat Diagnostics Solution To resolve this issue: ■ If you have multiple physical disks on each node, locate the vCenter Server Heartbeat send and receive queues on a separate physical disk, away from the Windows directory, the Windows page file, and any protected files help to alleviate disk performance issues: 1 Shut down vCenter Server Heartbeat. 2 Open the Server Configuration wizard and select the Logs tab.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Application Slowdown Operations performed by the application can take longer to complete, and in turn, can affect the time required to log in to a remote client, or to open or save a file. This is true for both nodes running vCenter Server Heartbeat and for nodes running any other application.
Chapter 5 vCenter Server Heartbeat Diagnostics One Node Can Provide Adequate Resource Support, but the Other Cannot If total resource requirements of applications exceed available physical resources, the operating system attempts to provide resources, but leaves some applications under-resourced. When this situation occurs, an application cannot obtain enough memory to operate normally, or a process must wait before accessing the hard disk.
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Glossary Active The functional state or role of a node when it is visible to clients through the network, running protected applications, and servicing client requests. Alert A notification provided by vCenter Server Heartbeat sent to a user or entered into the system log indicating an exceeded threshold.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Cloned Servers Servers that have identical configuration settings, names, applications, Security Identifiers (SIDs) and IP addresses, following the installation of vCenter Server Heartbeat. Cloning Process The vCenter Server Heartbeat process whereby all installed programs, configuration settings, and the machine name, Security Identifier (SID), and IP address are copied to another node.
Glossary Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) Also known as an absolute domain name, a FQDN specifies its exact location in the tree hierarchy of the Domain Name System (DNS). It specifies all domain levels, including the top-level domain, relative to the root domain. Example: somehost.example.com., where the trailing dot indicates the root domain. Global Catalog Server A global catalog is a domain controller that stores a copy of all Active Directory objects in a forest.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide Network Monitoring Monitoring the ability of the active node to communicate with the rest of the network by polling defined nodes across the network at regular intervals. Pair See vCenter Server Heartbeat Pair above. Passive The functional state or role of a node when it is not delivering service to clients and is hidden from the rest of the network.
Glossary Replication The generic term given to the process of intercepting changes to data files and registry keys, transporting the changed data across the Channel, and applying them to the passive node(s) so the nodes are maintained in a synchronized state. Role The functional state of a node in the vCenter Server Heartbeat Cluster: active or passive. Rule A set of actions performed by vCenter Server Heartbeat when defined conditions are met.
vCenter Server Heartbeat Administrator's Guide System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) System Center Operations Manager is a cross-platform data center management server for operating systems and hypervisors. System State Data that comprises the registry, COM+ Class Registration database, files under Windows File Protection, and system boot file; other data may be included in the system state data. Task An action performed by vCenter Server Heartbeat when defined conditions are met.
