At the moment I am investigating moving to ESXi from ESX, after resolving the DSET issue I was then faced with the management of the ESXi hosts, currently the full fat ESX hosts have the Dell open management agent installed on them and SNMP configured, this allows the Dell management server to keep track of the underlying hardware and report any hardware issues or firmware updates.

But what happens with ESXi 4.0 and the removal of the service console ?

Earlier with ESXi 3.5, OpenManage component were integrated with the downloadable Dell ESX3i ISO image
but from ESXi 4.0 onwards, VMware introduced a new concept called vSphere Installation Bundle (VIB), this allows the end users to download VIB files and install it directly into ESXi 4.0. Dell are now posting their OpenManage component as a VIB on support.dell.com.

To help reduce the system footprint and to simplify deployment, the ESXi software does not have a traditional service console management interface where Dell OpenManage agents are installed. Instead, to provide the required hardware manageability, VMware has incorporated the standard Common Information Model (CIM) management profiles into the ESXi software.

The CIM framework is an open standard framework that defines how managed hardware elements in a system are represented.The CIM framework consists of CIM providers developed by hardware vendors to enable monitoring and managing of the hardware device. By representing the hardware elements using standard CIM, ESXi provides any management tool (that implements the same open standards) the ability to manage the system.

The installation manual takes you through the install of this VIB using the RCLI and the vihostupdate command but if you are like me and wish to automate these tasks you could use the following PowerCLI script to install the VIB, this script not only installs the VIB but will also setup SNMP and the Advanced Configuration setting which tells ESXi to use the installed Dell components to report on the hardware via CIM.

# Set the following variables
$ESXHost = "testesx4i"
$SNMPCommunity = "public"
$SNMPTargetHost = "192.168.0.50"
$FolderName = "oem-dell-openmanage-esxi_6.2.0-A00"
$DellOMSA = "c:\temp\$FolderName"

Connect-VIServer $ESXHost
Write "Retriving $ESXHost object"
$VMHostObj = Get-VMHost $ESXHost
Write "Checking for OMSA install files"

if (-Not (Test-Path "$DellOMSA\metadata.zip")){
	Write "$DellOMSA does not exist, please make sure this is the OMSA zip file extracted contents."
	Exit
} Else {
	Write "Install files found"
}
Write "Copying OMSA client to the host datastore"
$ds = $VMHostObj | Get-Datastore | Select -first 1
Copy-DatastoreItem $DellOMSA $ds.DatastoreBrowserPath -Recurse

Write "Installing Dell OMSA"
$DSName = $ds.Name
$InstalledOMSA = $VMHostObj | Install-VMHostPatch -HostPath /vmfs/volumes/$DSName/$FolderName/metadata.zip

Write "Enabling CIM OEM Providers"
Set-VMHostAdvancedConfiguration -Name UserVars.CIMOEMProvidersEnabled -Value 1 | Out-Null

Write "Removing Install files"
$urlPath = "https://" + $esxhost + "/folder/" + $FolderName + "?dcPath=ha-datacenter&dsName=" + $dsName
$fileMgr = Get-View (Get-View ServiceInstance).Content.FileManager
$fileMgr.DeleteDatastoreFile_Task($urlPath,$null)

If ($InstalledOMSA.NeedsRestart -eq $true){
	$Reboot = Read-Host "A reboot is needed type YES to reboot now or press enter to complete the install:"
	If ($Reboot -eq "YES"){
		Write "Putting host into maintenance Mode"
		Set-VMHost $VMHostObj -State Maintenance -Confirm:$false | Out-Null
		Write "Rebooting host now"
		Restart-VMHost $VMHostObj -Confirm:$false | Out-Null
	} Else {
		Write "A reboot is needed before the DELL OMSA will work correctly"
	}
}

If ((Get-VMHostSnmp).ReadOnlyCommunities -ne $SNMPCommunity){
	Write "Setting SNMP Configuration"
	$VMHostObj | Get-VMHostsnmp | Set-VMHostSnmp -TargetHost $SNMPTargetHost -TargetCommunity $SNMPCommunity -AddTarget -ReadOnlyCommunity $SNMPCommunity -Enabled:$true
}

Write "OMSA Install Completed"

To use the above script:

• Download the latest version of the VIB (currently 6.2.0 here)
• Extract the downloaded zip to a folder with the same name
• Adjust the Foldername and DELLOMSA variables to reflect the path and folder name
• Alter the ESXHost variable with the hostname or IP address of the server you will be installing to
• Alter the SNMPCommunity variable to your settings
• Alter the SNMPTargetHost variable to your setting (ITA server)
• Run the script from a PowerCLI prompt.

The hardware management data is provided to management applications using CIM Extensible Markup Language (XML) as well as WS-Management (WSMAN).

The VMware Infrastructure (VI) client provides hardware health status of various hardware devices. The VI client uses CIM XML to read hardware information provided by the CIM providers. Each of the monitored hardware devices are listed along with the health status.

Once this has been installed you will still not be able to access the normal OMSA website which is accessed via https://<hostname>:1311/ if you do want to access this you will need to install the ‘Dell OpenManage Server Administrator Managed Node’ onto a windows or linux box which acts as a proxy and relays the information back to the webpage as below:

You will also be able to discover the host in your Dell OpenManage IT Assistant (ITA) using SNMP but it will not have the full functionality which was offered in the full fat version of ESX with OMSA installed, you can add limited network discovery and health monitoring by using the DRAC card and allowing ITA to find this, the below diagram gives an overview of ESXi management for Dell systems:

So the conclusion is just to keep in mind that the management interfaces which you may use at the moment for Dell servers to report on hardware and health performances may have changed and this will require your internal processes and monitoring to be adapted when adopting ESXi.

For further information on Dell system management for ESXi please see this document.

Dell ESXi Management is a post from: Virtu-Al.
Virtu-Al is one of the authors of VMware vSphere PowerCLI Reference: Automating vSphere Administration"

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Its here, I’m an author, watch out JK Rowling !

Its been a while coming but the vSphere 4.0 Quick Start Guide is now available to buy on Amazon (US), we are working at getting it on the UK site but I’m just pleased to see it out there and available to buy.

This book is a co-authored publication bought to you from some of the leading names in VMware bloggers and admins, and they also asked me to contribute too

The book is designed for you to carry around with you, its not a heavy duty full novel but more of a VMware admins help book which can be referred to when you are in the damp dark datacenter at 4am in the morning with no internet connection !

Having said that there is definitely something in there for everyone, whether you are new to VMware or a seasoned Pro.

Throughout the book you will find great tips, real life situations and numerous PowerCLI examples.

If you haven’t yet heard of this book then please read these wonderful comments already left on the Amazon post.

If you have read it then please, leave your comments along with the others.

Buy your copy now ! in fact buy two !

vSphere 4.0 Quick Start Guide is here is a post from: Virtu-Al.
Virtu-Al is one of the authors of VMware vSphere PowerCLI Reference: Automating vSphere Administration"

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What’s New

 

Notes:

Not all combinations of VirtualCenter and ESX Server versions are supported and not all of these highlighted features are available unless you are using VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 4 with ESX Server 3.5 Update 4. See the ESX Server, VirtualCenter, and VMware Infrastructure Client Compatibility Matrixes for more information on compatibility.

This version of ESX Server requires a VMware Tools upgrade.

The following information provides highlights of some of the enhancements available in this release of VMware ESX Server:

Expanded Support for Enhanced vmxnet Adapter — This version of ESX Server includes an updated version of the VMXNET driver (VMXNET enhanced) for the following guest operating systems:

Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (32-bit)

Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition (64-bit)

Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Web Edition

Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003

Microsoft Windows XP Professional (32-bit)

The new VMXNET version improves virtual machine networking performance and requires VMware tools upgrade.

Enablement of Intel Xeon Processor 5500 Series — Support for the Xeon processor 5500 series has been added. Support includes Enhanced VMotion capabilities. For additional information on previous processor families supported by Enhanced VMotion, see Enhanced VMotion Compatibility (EVC) processor support (KB 1003212).

QLogic Fibre Channel Adapter Driver Update — The driver and firmware for the QLogic fibre channel adapters have been updated to version 7.08-vm66 and 4.04.06 respectively. This release provides interoperability fixes for QLogic Management Tools for FC Adapters and enhanced NPIV support.

Emulex Fibre Channel Adapter Driver Update — The driver for Emulex Fibre Channel Adapters has been upgraded to version 7.4.0.40. This release provides support for the HBAnyware 4.0 Emulex management suite.

LSI megaraid_sas and mptscsi Storage Controller Driver Update — The drivers for LSI megaraid_sas and mptscsi storage controllers have been updated to version 3.19vmw and 2.6.48.18 vmw respectively. The upgrade improves performance and enhance event handling capabilities for these two drivers.

Newly Supported Guest Operating Systems — Support for the following guest operating systems has been added specifically for this release:

For more complete information about supported guests included in this release, see the Guest Operating System Installation Guide: http://www.vmware.com/pdf/GuestOS_guide.pdf.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 (32-bit and 64-bit).

SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 (32-bit and 64-bit).

Ubuntu 8.10 Desktop Edition and Server Edition (32-bit and 64-bit).

Windows Preinstallation Environment 2.0 (32-bit and 64-bit).

Furthermore, pre-built kernel modules (PBMs) were added in this release for the following guests:

Ubuntu 8.10

Ubuntu 8.04.2

Newly Supported Management Agents — Refer to VMware ESX Server Supported Hardware Lifecycle Management Agents for the most up-to-date information on supported management agents.

Newly Supported I/O Devices — in-box support for the following on-board processors, IO devices, and storage subsystems:

SAS Controllers and SATA Controllers:

The following are newly supported SATA Controllers.

• PMC 8011 (for SAS and SATA drives)
• Intel ICH9
• Intel ICH10
• CERC 6/I SATA/SAS Integrated RAID Controller (for SAS and SATA drivers)
• HP Smart Array P700m Controller

  Notes:

  1. Some limitations apply in terms of support for SATA controllers. For more information, see SATA Controller Support in ESX 3.5 (KB 1008673).
  2. Storing VMFS datastores on native SATA drives is not supported.

Network Cards: The following are newly supported network interface cards:

HP NC375i Integrated Quad Port Multifunction Gigabit Server Adapter

HP NC362i Integrated Dual port Gigabit Server Adapter

Intel 82598EB 10 Gigabit AT Network Connection

HP NC360m Dual 1 Gigabit/NC364m Quad 1 Gigabit

Intel Gigabit CT Desktop Adapter

Intel 82574L Gigabit Network Connection

Intel 10 Gigabit XF SR Dual Port Server Adapter

Intel 10 Gigabit XF SR Server Adapter

Intel 10 Gigabit XF LR Server Adapter

Intel 10 Gigabit CX4 Dual Port Server Adapter

Intel 10 Gigabit AF DA Dual Port Server Adapter

Intel 10 Gigabit AT Server Adapter

Intel 82598EB 10 Gigabit AT CX4 Network Connection

NetXtreme BCM5722 Gigabit Ethernet

NetXtreme BCM5755 Gigabit Ethernet

NetXtreme BCM5755M Gigabit Ethernet

NetXtreme BCM5756 Gigabit Ethernet

Expanded Support: The E1000 Intel network interface card (NIC) is now available for NetWare 5 and NetWare 6 guest operating systems.

Onboard Management Processors:

IBM system management processor (iBMC)

Storage Arrays:

SUN StorageTek 2530 SAS Array

Sun Storage 6580 Array

Sun Storage 6780 Array

ESX 3.5 Update 4 Released is a post from: Virtu-Al.
Virtu-Al is one of the authors of VMware vSphere PowerCLI Reference: Automating vSphere Administration"

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Head over to the Veeam site now to get your free copy of Veeam Monitor 3.0. Very useful for monitoring ESX3i

The Veeam Monitor Free Edition is an easy-to-use VMware monitoring solution designed to meet the day-to-day needs of VMware administrators who need real-time performance monitoring and alerting. Built from the ground up specifically for the virtual world, Veeam Monitor provides a bird’s-eye view of key performance metrics across your virtual ESXi infrastructure.

With Veeam Monitor, you can view real-time resource usage data for any virtual infrastructure object or collection of objects, as well as known infrastructure events, all on a single screen. This allows you to finally see your virtual infrastructure as a unified entity, not just a collection of isolated hosts and guests.

Veeam Monitor provides comprehensive data on resource consumption and workload, from VirtualCenter, or ESX and ESXi hosts all the way down to the individual virtual machine level. Detailed real-time statistics are provided for key parameters critical to the health of the virtual environment, such as CPU and memory usage, disk and network I/O, and swap usage. Real-time data for multiple VI objects can be viewed in a convenient consolidated view for each ESX host, resource pool or cluster. This speeds up analysis and troubleshooting, and helps you identify potential resource bottlenecks faster than is possible using the Virtual Infrastructure Client.

• Correlation of event and performance data

Veeam Monitor helps you understand how virtual infrastructure activities affect your VM performance, and solve resource usage mysteries with real-time monitoring graphs displaying known virtual infrastructure events, such as VMotion, snapshot creation and deletion, or backup activities, directly on the performance graphs.

• User interface optimized for monitoring

The Veeam Monitor user interface was designed and optimized specifically for monitoring tasks. You can switch easily between different views to quickly find the VMware Infrastructure component you are looking for, or you can perform an integrated search. Drill down to an individual VM and find out how much CPU and memory it is consuming, and even connect to the VM console – all right from the Monitor user interface. Find out at a glance which components of your VMware infrastructure are the largest resource consumers: the Tops section of Veeam Monitor helps you identify which virtual machines are consuming the most CPU, memory, disk I/O and network resources.

• Advanced alerting and flexible alarms

Veeam Monitor provides comprehensive alerting with custom alarms that can be based on many sources. You can easily set up e-mail notifications or SNMP traps for important events such as a given number of running VMs is exceeded, VM heartbeat is lost, a specific event is generated by VirtualCenter etc. Being alerted on such events allows for faster administrator response to critical issues, helping you to maintain better health and uptime of your virtual infrastructure. The Free Edition allows you to set and use up to ten alarms.

• Scalable architecture

Veeam Monitor is an enterprise-level client-server application that enables multi-admin access to performance data without affecting ESX server and VirtualCenter performance or changing your access policies. It gathers all performance information into a local or remote SQL database, allowing users to access infrastructure-wide performance data and reporting as needed. While you are using the Free Edition, this data is still gathered, so that if you later choose to upgrade to the full Veeam Monitor, you will have access to this historical data for capacity planning, chargeback and trend analysis.

• Support for multiple VirtualCenters

Veeam Monitor can be optionally integrated with VMware VirtualCenter to provide cluster-aware monitoring of your virtual machines. Veeam Monitor supports and extends VMware’s management framework, offloading the monitoring burden from VirtualCenter for enhanced VC performance. And with support for consolidating performance data from multiple VirtualCenters, Veeam Monitor shows performance data from your entire virtual infrastructure on a single screen – no matter how large your VMware deployment is.

• Easy to deploy and use

While providing you truly enterprise-scale architecture, Veeam Monitor has extremely low system requirements comparing to other VMware monitoring solutions. Veeam Monitor takes minutes to deploy and use in any size environment. Installation package contains everything you need to start using the software right away, minutes after you download it!

• Simple upgrade to the full version

Veeam Monitor 3.0 Free Edition is a post from: Virtu-Al.
Virtu-Al is one of the authors of VMware vSphere PowerCLI Reference: Automating vSphere Administration"

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If you are unsure how to do this I came across a nice article today which includes a step by step video on how to configure this useful feature…

http://www.petri.co.il/running-vmware-esx-and-esxi-in-workstation-on-your-desktop-pc.htm

It reads…

In the following new video, I demonstrate, step by step, how you can run VMware ESX Server 3.5 and ESXi 3.5 inside VMware Workstation 6.5. This is also shown in my Train Signal VMware ESX Server video training course.

While you wouldn’t run ESX in Workstation for a production server, running ESX in Workstation is an excellent way to test and demonstrate ESX Server (and the entire VMware Virtual Infrastructure suite) on a single PC. Think about it – what if you had a single PC with 2 ESX Servers, an iSCSI virtual SAN, and a Windows Server running Virtual Center. With that, you would have “VMware Infrastructure in a box” and be able to run powerful features like VMotion, SVMotion, VMHA, and Update Manager, all on a single PC.

Running ESX and ESXi in VMware Workstation is a post from: Virtu-Al.
Virtu-Al is one of the authors of VMware vSphere PowerCLI Reference: Automating vSphere Administration"

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This one has been around for a while but I thought I would document it on my blog as I just used it and there is a growing demand for 3i help due to it now being free !

How to enable SSH on VMware ESX 3i.

After reading the VMTN forum use the following steps to enable SSH

• From the console press ALT-F1
• Type unsupported and press ENTER
• Enter the root password
• Enter the following command vi /etc/inetd.conf
• Search for the #SSH settings
• Remove the # from the SSH row
• Save the config by using :wq!
• Type ps | grep inetd on the console
• Send a hangup signal by using the following command kill -s HUP

You can now use Putty to SSH to your 3i server.

How to enable SSH on ESX 3i is a post from: Virtu-Al.
Virtu-Al is one of the authors of VMware vSphere PowerCLI Reference: Automating vSphere Administration"

Buy it now from: Amazon USA Amazon UK Sybex