8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
1/378
Basic System AdministrationESX Server 3.0.1 and Virtual Center 2.0.1
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
2/378
VMware, Inc.3145 Porter DrivePalo Alto, CA 94304www.vmware.com
2 VMware, Inc.
Basic System Administration
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:
20062008 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Protected by one or more of U.S. Patent Nos. 6,397,242,6,496,847, 6,704,925, 6,711,672, 6,725,289, 6,735,601, 6,785,886, 6,789,156, 6,795,966, 6,880,022,6,961,941, 6,961,806 and 6,944,699; patents pending.
VMware, the VMware boxes logo and design, Virtual SMP and VMotion are registered trademarks ortrademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions.
All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.
Basic System Administration
Revision: 2006105Item: VI-ENG-Q306-293
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
3/378
VMware, Inc. 3
Contents
Preface 11
GettingStarted
1 VMwareInfrastructureComponents 17TwoApproachestoManagingVirtualMachines 17
ComponentsofVMwareInfrastructure 19
VirtualInfrastructureClientInterfaces 21
OptionalVirtualCenterComponents 21
ManagedComponents 22
FunctionalComponents 24
AccessPrivilegesComponents 25
2 UsingthisDocument 27GettingStarted 27
VirtualMachine
Management 28
SystemAdministration 29
Appendixes 29
3 StartingandStoppingtheVMwareInfrastructureComponents 31ESXServer 31
VirtualCenterServer 33
VerifyingThatVirtualCenterServerStarted 33RestartingtheVirtualCenterServer 34
StoppingtheVirtualCenterServer 34
VIClient 34
StartingtheVIClientandLoggingOn 35
StoppingtheVIClientandLoggingOff 36
VIWebAccess 36
LoggingInandOutofVIWebAccess 36VMwareServiceConsole 37
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
4/378
Basic System Administration
4 VMware, Inc.
UsingDHCPfortheServiceConsole 38
ConnectingtotheServiceConsole 38
UsingCommandsontheServiceConsole 38
4 UsingtheVIClient 41VIClientOverview 41
MenuBar 43
PopUpMenus 45
ConsoleMenu 45
NavigationBar 46
InventoryViewTabs 49
Toolbar 52
StatusBar,RecentTasks,andTriggeredAlarms 53
PanelSections 53
SortingandFilteringLists 54
UsingCustomAttributes 55
SelectingandViewingObjects 57
SelectingObjects 57MonitoringObjects 58
PerformingActionsonObjects 59
5 SystemConfiguration 61HostConfigurationforESXServerandVirtualCenter 61
ConfiguringaHost 62
HardwareTab 62
SoftwareTab 63
ViewingNetworkConfigurationInformation 64
ViewingStorageConfigurationInformation 64
ViewingSecurityConfigurationInformation 64
ViewingESXServerCommandInformation 65
VirtualCenterConfiguration 66
ConfiguringVirtualCenterCommunication 68
ConfiguringthePortThatVirtualCenterServerUses 69
ConfiguringVirtualCenterCommunicationoveraWebConnection 69
VirtualMachineConfiguration 71
WorkingwithActiveSessions 73
SNMPConfiguration 74
UsingMIBswithYourSNMPTraps 74
UnderstandingSNMPTrapandVariableDefinitions 75
UsingSNMPtoMonitortheComputerRunningESXServer 77
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
5/378
VMware, Inc. 5
Contents
InformationAboutthePhysicalComputer 77
InformationAbouttheVirtualMachines 78
SNMPTraps 78
SettingUpESXServerSNMP 79
InstallingtheESXServerSNMPModule 79
InstallingtheESXServerMIBModule 79
ConfiguringtheESXServerAgentfromtheServiceConsole 79
ConfiguringSNMPTrapDestinations 80
ConfiguringSNMPManagementClientSoftware 80
ConfiguringSNMPSecurity 81
UsingSNMPwithGuestOperatingSystems 81
SystemLogFiles 81
ViewingSystemLogEntries 82
ExternalSystemLogs 83
ExportingDiagnosticData 86
CollectingLogFiles 87
6 ManagingtheVIClientInventory 91UnderstandingVIClientObjects 91
AddinganInventoryObject 96
MovingObjectsintheInventory 97
RemovinganInventoryObject 98
7 Managing
Hosts
in
VirtualCenter 99HostsOverview 99UnderstandingHostStates 101
AddingaHost 101
ConnectingorDisconnectingaHost 104
AutomaticallyReconnectingaHost 106
RemovingaHostfromaCluster 106
RemovingaHost
from
VirtualCenter 108
HostAdvancedConfigurationOptions 110
VirtualMachineManagement
8 CreatingVirtualMachines 113
UsingtheNewVirtualMachineWizard 114CreatingTypicalVirtualMachines 115
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
6/378
Basic System Administration
6 VMware, Inc.
CreatingCustomVirtualMachines 121
MappingaSANLUN 130
InstallingaGuestOperatingSystem 132
InstallingandUpgradingVMwareTools 133
Limitations 133
VMwareToolsPropertiesDialogBox 135
OptionsTab 135
DevicesTab 136
ScriptsTab 136
About
Tab 138AutomatedVMwareToolsUpgrades 138
9 ManagingVirtualMachines 141ChangingVirtualMachinePowerStates 141
UnderstandingVirtualMachinePowerStates 142
UnderstandingTransitionalPowerStates 144
Manually
Powering
a
Virtual
Machine
On
and
Off 144UsingSuspendandResume 145
SchedulingaPowerStateChangeforaVirtualMachine 146
AddingandRemovingVirtualMachines 150
AddingExistingVirtualMachinestoVirtualCenter 150
RemovingandReturningVirtualMachinesfromVirtualCenter 151
ReturningaVirtualMachinetoVirtualCenter 152
StartingandShuttingDownVirtualMachines 155
10 ConfiguringVirtualMachines 159VirtualMachinePropertiesEditor 159
ChangingtheHardwareConfigurationofaVirtualMachine 160
ChangingVirtualMachineOptions 170
ChangingVirtualMachineResourceSettings 175
CPUResources 175
AdvancedCPUSettings 176
MemoryResources 178
DiskResources 179
ChangingtheAudioConfiguration 180
AddingNewHardware 181
AddingDVD/CDROMorFloppyDevices 183
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
7/378
VMware, Inc. 7
Contents
11 CustomizingGuestOperatingSystems 189PreparingforGuestCustomization 190
CustomizingaWindows
Guest
Operating
System 190
UsingtheCustomizationSpecificationWizard 196
UsingtheCloneVirtualMachineWizard 199
CompletingaGuestOperatingSystemCustomization 200
CompletingLinuxGuestOperatingSystemCustomization 200
CompletingWindowsGuestOperatingSystemCustomization 201
12 Workingwith
Templates
and
Clones 203
UnderstandingTemplates 203
CreatingTemplates 204
EditingaTemplate 208
DeployingVirtualMachinesfromTemplates 209
DeletingaTemplate 212
RegainingTemplates 213
CloninganExistingVirtualMachine 215CreatingaScheduledTasktoCloneaVirtualMachine 218
13 UsingSnapshots 221UnderstandingSnapshots 221
RelationshipBetweenSnapshots 222
SnapshotsandOtherActivityintheVirtualMachine 223
TakingaSnapshot 223ChangingDiskModetoExcludeVirtualDisksfromSnapshots 225
UsingtheSnapshotManager 226
RestoringaSnapshot 227
ParentSnapshot 228
Revert toSnapshotCommand 229
14 MigratingVirtualMachines 231Overview 231
Migration 233
MigrationwithVMotion 233
VMotionRequirements 234
SharedStorage 234
SharedVMFSVolumeorNASStorage 234
CPUCompatibility 234
NetworkingRequirements 236
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
8/378
Basic System Administration
8 VMware, Inc.
VMotionCompatibility 237
CPUCompatibilityMasks 238
MigrationWizard 239
SystemAdministration
15 ManagingUsers,Groups,Permissions,andRoles 247AccessElements 248
AccessRules 248
HierarchicalInheritance 249
MultiplePermissionSettings 249
TasksRequiringSettingsonMultipleObjects 250
Users 251
Groups 253
Permissions 254
Roles 254
CreatingRoles 257
CloningRoles 259
EditingRoles 260
RemovingRoles 261
RenamingRoles 262
AccessPermissions 262
AssigningAccessPermissions 263
AdjustingtheSearchListinLargeDomains 266ChangingAccessPermissions 267
RemovingAccessPermissions 268
16 MonitoringYourVmwareInfrastructureEnvironment 269MonitoringYourVMwareInfrastructureEnvironment 269
PerformanceCharts 270
PerformanceChartResources 270
PerformanceChartView 271
SelectingPerformanceChartOptions 271
ViewingStackedGraphs 273
SettingtheStatisticsCollectionIntervals 274
ChangingtheStatisticsCollectionLevel 276
Maps 276
GlobalMaps 277
InventoryMaps 277
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
9/378
VMware, Inc. 9
Contents
VMotionResourceMaps 277
MapElementsandIcons 279
ViewingtheMaps 280
EditingtheMaps 280
PrintingMaps 284
ExportingMaps 285
NavigatingBetweenMaps 286
DisplayingObjectMenusinMaps 286
17 ManagingTasks,Events,andAlarms 289ManagingTasks 289
UnderstandingTasks 290
ViewingandPerformingTasks 290
ManagingScheduledTasks 293
ReschedulingaScheduledTask 300
RemovingaScheduledTask 300
CancelingaTask 301
ManagingEvents 303ViewingAllEventMessages 303
ViewingSelectedEventMessages 305
SortingandFilteringEventMessages 306
ExportingEventMessages 307
ManagingAlarms 308
UnderstandingAlarms 309
Preparingfor
Message
SMTP
Alarm
Notification 311
PreparingforSNMPAlarmNotification 312
CreatingAlarms 314
EditingAlarms 320
RemovingAlarms 321
Appendixes
A DefinedPrivileges 325AlarmManagement 326
Datacenter 327
Datastore 327
Folders 328
Global 329HostConfiguration 330
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
10/378
Basic System Administration
10 VMware, Inc.
HostInventory 331
HostLocalOperations 332
Network 333
Performance 333
Permissions 334
Resource 334
ScheduledTask 336
Sessions 336
VirtualMachineConfiguration 337
Virtual
Machine
Interaction 339VirtualMachineInventory 340
VirtualMachineProvisioning 341
VirtualMachineState 342
B InstallingtheMicrosoftSysprepTools 345
C PerformanceChartMeasurements 349CPU 350
Disk 350
DRS 352
Memory 352
Network 354
ResourceGroup 354
System 355
Index 357
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
11/378
VMware, Inc. 11
ThisprefacedescribesthecontentsofBasicSystemAdministrationandprovidespointerstoVMwaretechnicalandeducationalresources.
This
preface
contains
the
following
topics: AboutThisBookonpage 11
TechnicalSupportandEducationResourcesonpage 13
About This Book
Thismanual,BasicSystemAdministration,describeshowtostartandstoptheVirtualInfrastructureClientcomponents,buildyourVMwareInfrastructureenvironment,monitorandmanagetheinformationgeneratedaboutthecomponents,andsetuproles
andpermissionsforusersandgroupsusingtheVMwareInfrastructureenvironment.
Thismanualalsoprovidesinformationformanaging,creating,andconfiguringvirtual
machinesinyourdatacenter.
Inaddition,thismanualprovidesbriefintroductionstothevarioustasksyoucan
performwithinthesystemaswellascrossreferencestothedocumentationthat
describesallthetasksindetail.
Revision History
Thismanualisrevisedwitheachreleaseoftheproductorwhennecessary.Arevised
versioncancontainminorormajorchanges.Table P1providesyouwiththerevision
historyofthismanual.
Preface
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
12/378
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
13/378
VMware, Inc. 13
Preface
Abbreviations Used in Graphics
ThegraphicsinthismanualusetheabbreviationslistedinTable P3.
Technical Support and Education Resources
Thefollowingsectionsdescribethetechnicalsupportresourcesavailabletoyou.
Self-Service Support
UsetheVMwareTechnologyNetwork(VMTN)forselfhelptoolsandtechnical
information:
Productinformationhttp://www.vmware.com/products/
Technologyinformationhttp://www.vmware.com/vcommunity/technology
Documentationhttp://www.vmware.com/support/pubs
VMTNKnowledgeBasehttp://www.vmware.com/support/kb
Discussionforumshttp://www.vmware.com/community
Italic Documenttitles,
glossary
terms,
and
occasional
emphasis
Variableandparameternames
Table P-2. Conventions Used in This Manual (Continued)
Style Elements
Table P-3. Abbreviations
Abbreviation Description
VC VirtualCenter
VI VirtualInfrastructureClient
server VirtualCenterServer
database VirtualCenterdatabase
hostn VirtualCentermanagedhosts
VM# Virtualmachinesonamanagedhost
user# Userwithaccesspermissions
dsk# Storagediskforthemanagedhost
datastore Storageforthemanagedhost
SAN Storageareanetworktypedatastoresharedbetweenmanagedhosts
tmplt Template
http://www.vmware.com/products/http://www.vmware.com/vcommunity/technologyhttp://www.vmware.com/support/pubshttp://www.vmware.com/support/kbhttp://www.vmware.com/communityhttp://www.vmware.com/communityhttp://www.vmware.com/support/kbhttp://www.vmware.com/support/pubshttp://www.vmware.com/vcommunity/technologyhttp://www.vmware.com/products/8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
14/378
Basic System Administration
14 VMware, Inc.
Usergroupshttp://www.vmware.com/vcommunity/usergroups.html
FormoreinformationabouttheVMwareTechnologyNetwork,goto
http://www.vmtn.net.
Online and Telephone Support
Useonlinesupporttosubmittechnicalsupportrequests,viewyourproductand
contractinformation,andregisteryourproducts.Goto
http://www.vmware.com/support .
Customerswithappropriatesupportcontractsshouldusetelephonesupportforthe
fastestresponseonpriority1issues.Goto
http://www.vmware.com/support/phone_support.html .
Support Offerings
FindouthowVMwaresupportofferingscanhelpmeetyourbusinessneeds.Goto
http://www.vmware.com/support/services.
VMware Education Services
VMwarecoursesofferextensivehandsonlabs,casestudyexamples,andcourse
materialsdesignedtobeusedasonthejobreferencetools.Formoreinformationabout
VMwareEducationServices,gotohttp://mylearn1.vmware.com/mgrreg/index.cfm.
http://www.vmware.com/vcommunity/usergroups.htmlhttp://www.vmware.com/vcommunityhttp://www.vmware.com/supporthttp://www.vmware.com/support/phone_support.htmlhttp://www.vmware.com/support/serviceshttp://mylearn1.vmware.com/mgrreg/index.cfmhttp://mylearn1.vmware.com/mgrreg/index.cfmhttp://mylearn1.vmware.com/mgrreg/index.cfmhttp://www.vmware.com/support/serviceshttp://www.vmware.com/support/phone_support.htmlhttp://www.vmware.com/supporthttp://www.vmware.com/vcommunityhttp://www.vmware.com/vcommunity/usergroups.html8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
15/378
VMware, Inc. 15
Getting Started
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
16/378
Basic System Administration
16 VMware, Inc.
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
17/378
VMware, Inc. 17
1
ThischapterintroducesVMwareInfrastructurecomponentsandtheoperationsthat
youusewhenmanagingyourvirtualmachinesthroughESXServerorVirtualCenter
Server.
Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:
TwoApproachestoManagingVirtualMachinesonpage 17
ComponentsofVMwareInfrastructureonpage 19
VirtualInfrastructureClientInterfacesonpage 21
OptionalVirtualCenterComponentsonpage 21
ManagedComponentsonpage 22
FunctionalComponentsonpage 24
AccessPrivilegesComponentsonpage 25
Two Approaches to Managing Virtual Machines
VirtualInfrastructureClient(VIClient)isaflexible,configurablesolutionformanagingyourvirtualmachines.Therearetwoprimarymethodsformanagingyourvirtual
machines:
DirectlythroughanESXServer(asingleorstandalonehost)thatcanmanageonly
thosevirtualmachines,andtheirresources,installedonit.
ThroughaVirtualCenterServerthatmanagesmultiplevirtualmachinesandtheir
resourcesdistributed
over
many
ESX
Server
hosts.
VMware Infrastructure
Components
1
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
18/378
Basic System Administration
18 VMware, Inc.
ThefigurebelowillustratesthecomponentsinanESXServerVirtualInfrastructure.
Figure 1-1. VMware Infrastructure Components with an ESX Server
ThefigurebelowillustratesthecomponentsinaVirtualCenterServerVirtual
Infrastructure.
Figure 1-2. VMware Infrastructure Components with a VirtualCenter Server
datastore
VM VM VM
VI Client
Host Agent
VI Client
ESX Server host
VC
database
shared
datastoredatastore
VM VM VM
VirtualCenter
Agent
VirtualCenter
Server
VirtualCenter
License Server
VirtualCenter
Agent
VirtualCenter
Agent
VM VM VM VM VM VM
VI Client VI Client
ESX Server host ESX Server host ESX Server host
VI Client VI Client VI Client
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
19/378
VMware, Inc. 19
Chapter 1 VMware Infrastructure Components
Components of VMware Infrastructure
TorunyourVMwareInfrastructureenvironment,youneedthefollowingitems:
ESXServerThevirtualizationplatformusedtocreatethevirtualmachinesasa
setofconfigurationanddiskfilesthattogetherperformallthefunctionsofa
physicalmachine.
ThroughESXServer,yourunthevirtualmachines,installoperatingsystems,run
applications,andconfigurethevirtualmachines.Configurationincludes
identifyingthevirtualmachinesresources,suchasstoragedevices.
Theserver
incorporates
aresource
manager
and
serviceconsolethatprovidesbootstrapping,management,andotherservicesthatmanageyourvirtual
machines.
EachESXServerhasaVIClientavailableforyourmanagementuse.IfyourESXServerisaregisteredhostwiththeVirtualCenterManagementServer,aVIClient
thataccommodatestheVirtualCenterfeaturesisavailable.
VirtualCenterAservicethatactsasacentraladministratorforVMwareESX
Serverhoststhatareconnectedonanetwork.VirtualCenterdirectsactionsonthe
virtualmachinesandthevirtualmachinehosts(theESXServerhosts).
VirtualCenterManagementServer(VirtualCenterServer)Theworkingcoreof
VirtualCenter.VirtualCenterServerisasingleWindowsServiceandisinstalledtorunautomatically.AsaWindowsService,theVirtualCenterServerruns
continuouslyinthebackground,performingitsmonitoringandmanaging
activities
even
when
no
VI
Clients
are
connected
and
even
if
nobody
is
logged
on
tothecomputerwhereitresides.Itmusthavenetworkaccesstoallthehostsit
managesandbeavailablefornetworkaccessfromanymachinewheretheVI
Clientisrun.
VirtualCenterdatabaseApersistentstorageareaformaintainingstatusofeach
virtualmachine,host,andusermanagedintheVirtualCenterenvironment.The
VirtualCenterdatabasecanberemoteorlocaltotheVirtualCenterServermachine.ThedatabaseisinstalledandconfiguredduringVirtualCenterinstallation.
IfyouareaccessingyourESXServerdirectlythroughaVIClient,andnotthrough
aVirtualCenterServerandassociatedVIClient,youdonotuseaVirtualCenter
database.
DatastoreThestoragelocationsforthevirtualmachinefilesspecifiedwhen
creatingvirtualmachines.Datastoreshidetheidiosyncrasiesofvariousstorage
options(such
as
VMFS
volumes
on
local
SCSI
disks
of
the
server,
the
Fibre
Channel
SANdiskarrays,theiSCSISANdiskarrays,orNetworkAttachedStorage(NAS)
B i S t Ad i i t ti
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
20/378
Basic System Administration
20 VMware, Inc.
arrays)andprovideauniformmodelforvariousstorageproductsrequiredby
virtualmachines.
VirtualCenteragentOneachmanagedhost,softwarethatcollects,
communicates,andexecutestheactionsreceivedfromtheVirtualCenterServer.
TheVirtualCenteragentisinstalledthefirsttimeanyESXServerhostisaddedtotheVirtualCenterinventory.
HostagentOneachmanagedhost,softwarethatcollects,communicates,and
executestheactionsreceivedthroughtheVIClient.ItisinstalledaspartoftheESX
Serverinstallation.
VirtualCenterlicense
serverServerthatstoressoftwarelicensesrequiredfor
mostoperationsinVirtualCenterandESXServer,suchaspoweringonavirtual
machine.
VirtualCenterandESXServersupporttwomodesoflicensing:license
serverbasedandhostbased.Inhostbasedlicensingmode,thelicensefilesare
storedonindividualESXServerhosts.Inlicenseserverbasedlicensingmode,
licensesarestoredonalicenseserver,whichmakestheselicensesavailabletoone
ormorehosts.Youcanrunamixedenvironmentemployingbothhostbasedand
licenseserverbasedlicensing.
VirtualCenterandfeaturesthatrequireVirtualCenter,suchasVMotion,mustbe
licensedinlicenseserverbasedmode.ESXServerspecificfeaturescanbelicensed
ineitherlicenseserverbasedorhostbasedmode.
Forcompleteinformationoninstallingthesecomponents,refertotheInstallationandUpgradeGuide.ForcompleteinformationonconfiguringESXServer,refertotheServerConfigurationGuide.
Chapter 1 VMware Infrastructure Components
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
21/378
VMware, Inc. 21
Chapter 1 VMware Infrastructure Components
Virtual Infrastructure Client Interfaces
VirtualInfrastructureClientinterfaceoptionsinclude:
VirtualInfrastructure
Client
(VI
Client)
Arequiredcomponentandtheprimary
interfaceforcreating,managing,andmonitoringvirtualmachines,theirresources,
andtheirhosts.Italsoprovidesconsoleaccesstovirtualmachines.
VIClientisinstalledonaWindowsmachinewithnetworkaccesstoyourESX
ServerorVirtualCenterServerinstallation.Theinterfacedisplaysslightlydifferent
optionsdependingonwhichtypeofserveryouareconnectedto.Whileall
VirtualCenteractivitiesareperformedbytheVirtualCenterServer,youmustuse
theVIClienttomonitor,manage,andcontroltheserver.AsingleVirtualCenter
ServerorESXServercansupportmultiple,simultaneouslyconnectedVIClients.
VirtualInfrastructureWebAccess(VIWebAccess)AWebinterfacethrough
whichyoucanperformbasicvirtualmachinemanagementandconfigurationand
getconsoleaccesstovirtualmachines.ItisinstalledwithyourESXServer.Similar
totheVIClient,VIWebAccessworksdirectlywithanESXServerhostorthrough
VirtualCenter.RefertotheVIWebAccessAdministratorsGuideforadditionalinformation.
VMwareServiceConsoleAcommandlineinterfaceforconfiguringyourESX
Server.Typically,thisisusedinconjunctionwithaVMwaretechnicalsupport
representative.
Optional VirtualCenter Components
AdditionalVirtualCenterfeaturesinclude:
VMotionAfeaturethatenablesyoutomoverunningvirtualmachinesfromone
ESXServertoanotherwithoutserviceinterruption.Itrequireslicensingonboth
thesourceandtargethost.TheVirtualCenterServercentrallycoordinatesall
VMotionactivities.
VMwareHAAfeaturethatenablesaclusterwithHighAvailability.Ifahostgoes
down,allvirtualmachinesthatwereonthehostarepromptlyrestartedondifferenthosts.
WhenyouenabletheclusterforHA,youspecifythenumberofhostsyouwould
liketobeabletorecover.Ifyouspecifythenumberofhostfailuresallowedas1,
HAmaintainsenoughcapacityacrosstheclustertotoleratethefailureofonehost.
Allrunningvirtualmachinesonthathostcanberestartedonremaininghosts.By
default,youcannotpoweronavirtualmachineifdoingsoviolatesrequired
failovercapacity.SeeResourceManagementGuide.
Basic System Administration
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
22/378
Basic System Administration
22 VMware, Inc.
VMwareDRSAfeaturethathelpsimproveresourceallocationacrossallhosts
andresourcepools.VMwareDRScollectsresourceusageinformationforallhosts
andvirtualmachinesintheclusterandgivesrecommendations(ormigrates
virtualmachines)inoneoftwosituations:
InitialplacementWhenyoufirstpoweronavirtualmachineinthecluster,
DRSeitherplacesthevirtualmachineormakesarecommendation.
LoadbalancingDRStriestoimproveresourceutilizationacrossthecluster
byperformingautomaticmigrationsofvirtualmachines(VMotion)orby
providingarecommendationforvirtualmachinemigrations.
VMwareInfrastructure
SDK
package
APIsformanagingvirtualinfrastructure
anddocumentationdescribingthoseAPIs.TheSDKalsoincludesthe
VirtualCenterWebServiceinterface,WebServicesDescriptionLanguage(WSDL),
andexamplefiles.Thisisavailablethroughanexternallink.TodownloadtheSDK
package,refertohttp://www.vmware.com/support/developer .
Managed Components
VirtualCentermonitorsandmanagesvariouscomponentsofyourvirtualandphysical
infrastructure.Somecomponentsareavailablefororganizingpotentiallyhundredsof
virtualmachinesandotherobjects.Theycanberenamedtorepresenttheirpurposes;
forexample,theycanbenamedaftercompanydepartmentsorlocationsorfunctions.
Themanagedcomponentsare:
VirtualMachinesandTemplatesAvirtualizedx86personalcomputer
environmentin
which
aguest
operating
system
and
associated
application
softwarecanrun.Multiplevirtualmachinescanoperateonthesamemanagedhost
machineconcurrently.Templatesareadesignatedtypeofvirtualmachine.
HostsTheprimarycomponentuponwhichallvirtualmachinesreside.Ifthe
VirtualInfrastructureClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,therecanbe
manyhosts.IftheVirtualInfrastructureClientisconnectedtoanESXServer,there
canbeonlyonehost.
ResourcepoolsAstructurethatallowsdelegationofcontrolovertheresources
ofahost.Resourcepoolsareusedtocompartmentalizeallresourcesinacluster.
Youcancreatemultipleresourcepoolsasdirectchildrenofahostorclusterand
NOTE WhenVirtualCenterreferstoahost,thismeansthephysicalmachineonwhichthe
virtualmachinesarerunning.AllvirtualmachineswithintheVMware
InfrastructureenvironmentarephysicallyonESXServerhosts.Thetermhostin
thismanualmeanstheESXServerhostthathasvirtualmachinesonit.
Chapter 1 VMware Infrastructure Components
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
23/378
VMware, Inc. 23
p p
configurethem.Thendelegatecontroloverthemtootherindividualsor
organizations.ThemanagedresourcesareCPUandmemoryfromahostorcluster.
Virtualmachinesexecutein,anddrawtheirresourcesfrom,resourcepools.
ClustersAcollectionofESXServerhostswithsharedresourcesandashared
managementinterface.Whenyouaddahosttoacluster,thehostsresources
becomepartoftheclustersresources.Theclustermanagestheresourcesofall
hosts.RefertotheResourceManagementGuide. DatastoresVirtualrepresentationsofcombinationsofunderlyingphysical
storageresourcesinthedatacenter.Thesephysicalstorageresourcescancome
from
the
local
SCSI
disk
of
the
server,
the
Fibre
Channel
SAN
disk
arrays,
the
iSCSI
SANdiskarrays,orNetworkAttachedStorage(NAS)arrays.
NetworksNetworksthatconnectvirtualmachinestoeachotherinthevirtual
environmentortothephysicalnetworkoutside.
FoldersContainersusedtogroupobjectsandorganizethemintohierarchies.
Thisisnotonlyconvenientbutalsoprovidesanaturalstructureuponwhichto
applypermissions.
Therearethreetypesoffolders,eachofwhichcancontainotherfolders(ofthe
sametype)andexactlyoneothertypeofobject.Theseobjectsare:
Datacenters
Virtualmachines(whichincludetemplates)
Computeresources(whichincludehostsandclusters)
Thedatacenter
folders
form
ahierarchy
directly
under
the
root
node
and
allow
userstogrouptheirdatacentersinanyconvenientway.Withineachdatacenteris
onehierarchyoffolderswithvirtualmachinesand/ortemplatesandonehierarchy
offolderswithhostsandclusters.
DatacentersUnlikeafolder,whichisusedtoorganizeaspecificobjecttype,a
datacenterisanaggregationofallthedifferenttypesofobjectsneededtodowork
invirtualinfrastructure:hosts,virtualmachines,networks,anddatastores.
Withinadatacentertherearefourseparatehierarchies.Becauseitisnotpossibleto
putnetworksordatastoresintofolders,thesefourhierarchiesarealwaysflatlists:
Virtualmachines(andtemplates)
Hosts(andclusters)
Networks
Datastores
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
24/378
Chapter 1 VMware Infrastructure Components
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
25/378
VMware, Inc. 25
LogsStoredreferenceinformationrelatedtoselectedeventmessages.Logsare
predefinedintheproduct.Youcanconfigurewhetherselectedlogsaregenerated.
Access Privileges ComponentsEachuserlogsontoaVirtualCenteroranESXServerthroughtheVIClient.Eachuser
isidentifiedtotheserverassomeonewhohasrightsandprivilegestoselectedobjects,
suchasdatacentersandvirtualmachines,withintheVMwareInfrastructure
environment.VirtualCenterServeritselfhasfullrightsandprivilegesonallhostsand
virtualmachineswithintheVMwareInfrastructureenvironment.Theserverpasseson
onlythoseactionsandrequestsfromauserthattheuserhaspermissiontoperform.
TheservergrantsaccesstoeachVirtualInfrastructureClientobject,datacenter,folder,
orvirtualmachine.Todothis,youassignaroleandauser(orgroup)toeachobject.
IndividualpermissionsareassignedthroughtheVIClientbypairingauserandarole
andassigningthispairtoaVirtualInfrastructureClientobject:
UsersandGroupsForVirtualCenter,usersandgroupsarecreatedand
maintainedthroughtheWindowsdomainorActiveDirectorydatabase.Usersand
groupsareregisteredwithVirtualCenter,orcreatedandregisteredwithanESX
Server,throughtheprocessthatassignsprivileges.
RolesAsetofaccessrightsandprivileges.Thereareselecteddefaultroles.You
canalsocreaterolesandassigncombinationsofprivilegestoeachrole.
Basic System Administration
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
26/378
26 VMware, Inc.
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
27/378
VMware, Inc. 27
2
BasicSystemAdministrationdescribesthetasksyoumustcompletetoconfiguretheVirtualInfrastructureClient(VIClient)andvirtualmachines.Beforeusingthe
informationinBasicSystemAdministration,readtheIntroductiontoVMwareInfrastructure
for
an
overview
of
system
architecture
and
the
physical
and
virtual
devicesthatmakeupaVMwareInfrastructuresystem.
Thisintroductionsummarizesthecontentsofthisguidesothatyoucanfindthe
informationyouneed.Thisguidecoversthesesubjects:
VMwareInfrastructurecomponents
Administrationtools
Systemconfiguration
Virtualmachinemanagementandconfiguration
Accessandpermissionsmanagement
Systemadministrationandmanagement
Getting StartedTheintroductorydiscussionspanssevenchaptersanddescribesthesystem
components,systemmanagementtools,andthebasictasksyoumustcompleteto
configureyourVirtualInfrastructureClient.Theintroductorypartcontainsthe
followingchapters:
UsingthisDocumentSummarizesthecontentsofthisguidesothatyoucanfind
theinformationyouneed.
Using this Document 2
Basic System Administration
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
28/378
28 VMware, Inc.
VMwareInfrastructureComponentsIntroducesyoutotheVMware
Infrastructurecomponentsandoperationsyouusewhenmanagingyourvirtual
machinesthroughESXServerorVirtualCenterServer.
StartingandStoppingtheVMwareInfrastructureComponentsDescribeshowto
startandstopeachoftheVMwareInfrastructurecomponents.Thisincludesthe
ESXServer,VirtualCenterServer,VirtualInfrastructureClient,Virtual
InfrastructureWebAccess,VirtualCenterhostagent,VirtualCenterlicenseserver,
andtheVMwareServiceConsole.
UsingtheVIClientDescribesthespecificlayoutandnavigationoftheVIClient.
SystemConfigurationContainsinformationforconfiguringadministrationoptions,VirtualCenterServersettings,andmanaginghostconfigurationoptions.
Italsoincludessomebasicsystemconfigurationinformation,suchashowto
accessandconfigurelogfilesandsetupSNMP.
ManagingtheVIClientInventoryDescribeshowtoperformtaskswithobjectsin
yourVMwareInfrastructureenvironment.Thisincludesfolders,datacenters,
clusters,resourcepools,networks,anddatastores.Theseobjectsareusedto
manageororganizethemonitoredandmanagedhostsandvirtualmachines.
ManagingHostsinVirtualCenterDescribeshowtoperformmanaged
hostrelatedtasks.
Virtual Machine Management
Thevirtualmachinemanagementdiscussionconsistsofsevenchaptersthatprovidea
basicunderstandingofvirtualmachinesandhowtomanage,configure,andcustomizethem.Thevirtualmachinemanagementpartcontainsthefollowingchapters:
CreatingVirtualMachinesDescribeshowtocreatevirtualmachinesbyusingthe
NewVirtualMachinewizardandbycloningexistingvirtualmachines.
ManagingVirtualMachinesDescribesvirtualmachinetasks,includingaddinga
virtualmachinetoandremovingitfromtheVIClientandpoweringonandoff
virtualmachines.
ConfiguringVirtualMachinesDescribeshowtoeditandconfigureyourexisting
virtualmachines.Italsodiscussesadvancedvirtualmachineconfiguration
options.
UsingSnapshotsExplainshowtocapturetheentirestateofthevirtualmachine
usingthesnapshotsfeature.
Workingwith
Templates
and
Clones
Describes
creating
templates
and
using
virtualmachinetemplatestocreateandprovisionnewvirtualmachines.
Chapter 2 Using this Document
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
29/378
VMware, Inc. 29
MigratingVirtualMachinesDescribestheprocessofmigratingormovinga
virtualmachinefromonehosttoanother.
CustomizingGuestOperatingSystemsExplainshowtocustomizetheidentity
andnetworksettingsofyourvirtualmachinesguestoperatingsystemsothatitis
readytobeginworkimmediatelyinyourtargetenvironment.
System Administration
Thesystemadministrationpartcontainsthefollowingchapters:
ManagingUsers,Groups,Permissions,andRolesDescribeshowtomanage
accesstoVMwareInfrastructureinventoryobjects.Itexplainshowtoconfigure
users,groups,roles,andpermissions.
MonitoringYourVmwareInfrastructureEnvironmentDescribesthe
performancemonitoringpiecesoftheVirtualInfrastructureClientdatapresented
intheVIClient.ItalsodescribestheVirtualInfrastructureClientMapsfeature.
ManagingTasks,Events,andAlarmsDescribeshowtocreate,configure,anduse
tasks,events,andalarms.
Appendixes
BasicSystemAdministrationprovidesthesefourappendixeswithspecializedinformationyoumightfindusefulwhenconfiguringyourVMwareInfrastructure
environment:
DefinedPrivilegesIncludestableswiththepermissionsandrolesthatareavailablewiththeVMwareInfrastructuresystem.
InstallingtheMicrosoftSysprepToolsDescribeshowtoinstalltheMicrosoft
SyspreptoolsonyourVirtualCenterServermachine.InstallingtheSyspreptools
isarequirementifyouplantocustomizeaWindowsguestoperatingsystem.
PerformanceChartMeasurementsIncludestableswiththemeasurementoptions
foreachresourcemonitoredonahost.
Basic System Administration
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
30/378
30 VMware, Inc.
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
31/378
VMware, Inc. 31
3
Thischapterincludesinformationonhowtostartandstopeachoneofthemajor
VMwareInfrastructurecomponents,ESXServerandVirtualCenterServer.
Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:
ESXServeronpage 31
VirtualCenterServeronpage 33
VIClientonpage 34
VIWebAccessonpage 36
VMwareServiceConsoleonpage 37
ESX Server
WhenyouinstallESXServer,itstartsitselfthroughtheinstallationrebootprocess.If
yourESXServerisshutdown,youmustmanuallyrestartit.
To start your ESX Server
OnthephysicalboxwheretheESXServerisinstalled,pressthepowerbuttonuntilthepoweronsequencebegins.
TheESXServerboots,discoversitsvirtualmachines,andproceedswithitsnormalESX
Serverfunctions.
Youhavetheoptiontopowerofforrestart(reboot)anyESXServerhostmanagedby
VirtualCenter.PoweringoffamanagedhostdisconnectsitfromtheVirtualCenter
Serverbut
does
not
remove
it
from
the
inventory.
Starting and Stopping the
VMware Infrastructure
Components 3
Basic System Administration
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
32/378
32 VMware, Inc.
To reboot or shut down your ESX Server
1 StartaVirtualInfrastructureClient.
Referto
Configuring
VirtualCenter
Communication
on
page 68
for
information.
2 DisplaytheinventorypanelandtheappropriateESXServerhosts.
3 IfconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,displaytheinventorys:Hosts&Clusters
panel.Selecttheappropriaterootfolder(bydefaultlabeledHosts&Clusters)or
subfolder.
4 SelecttheappropriateESXServerintheinventorypanel.
5 Fromthemainorrightclickpopupmenu,chooseRebootorShutDown,as
appropriate.
IfRebootisselected,theESXServershutsdownandreboots.
IfShutDownisselected,theESXServershutsdown.Youmustmanually
powerthesystembackon.
6 Provide
a
reason
for
the
shut
down.
Thisinformationisaddedtothelog.
To manually stop your ESX Server
1 LogontoyourESXServerserviceconsole.
RefertoConnectingtotheServiceConsoleonpage 38forinformationon
accessingtheserviceconsole.
2 Executetheshutdowncommand.
Forexample:
: shutdown -h now
ESXServergracefullyshutsdown.Whenitisfinished,amessageindicatesthatit
issafetopoweroffyoursystem.
3 Pressthepowerbuttonuntilthemachinepowersoff.
Chapter 3 Starting and Stopping the VMware Infrastructure Components
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
33/378
VMware, Inc. 33
VirtualCenter Server
VirtualCentermanagesmultiplehoststhatcancontainmultiplevirtualmachines.To
performanyactivitieswiththeVirtualCenter,youmustusetheVirtualInfrastructure
Client.
TheVirtualCenterServerstartswhenyoustarttheWindowsmachineonwhichitis
installed.Italsorestartswhenthismachineisrebooted.
ThefollowingsectionsdiscussstartingandstoppingelementsrelatedtoVirtualCenter:
VerifyingThatVirtualCenterServerStartedonpage 33
RestartingtheVirtualCenterServeronpage 34
StoppingtheVirtualCenterServeronpage 34
Verifying That VirtualCenter Server Started
VirtualCenterisaservice,soproceedtoyourWindowsserviceslistandverifythatthe
servicestarted.
To verify that the VirtualCenter Server is running
1 GototheServicesdisplayforyourversionofWindows.
Forexample,selectControlPanel>AdministrativeTools>Services.Click
VMwareInfrastructureServer.
TheStatuscolumnindicateswhethertheservicestarted.
2 RightclicktheVMwareInfrastructureServerandchooseProperties.Inthe
VMwareVirtualCenter
Services
Properties
dialog
box,
click
the
General
tab
and
viewtheservicestatus.
NOTE WhenVirtualCenterisinstalled,allusersinthelocalmachinesAdministratorsgroup
areassignedtheAdministratorrolewithfullprivilegesintheVirtualCenter
environment.AVirtualCenterAdministratormustsetpermissionsforallother
VirtualCenterusers.RefertoAssigningAccessPermissionsonpage 263for
additionalinformation.
Basic System Administration
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
34/378
34 VMware, Inc.
Restarting the VirtualCenter Server
TheVirtualCenterServerservicestartswhenthemachineonwhichitisinstalledis
booted.IfyouhavemanuallystoppedtheVirtualCenterServerserviceormuststartit
foranyreason,performthestepsbelow.
To restart the VirtualCenter Server through Windows Services
1 GototheServicesdisplayforyourversionofWindows.
Forexample,selectControlPanel>AdministrativeTools>Services.Click
VMwareInfrastructureServer.
2 RightclickVMwareInfrastructureServer,chooseStart,andwaitforstartuptocomplete.
3 ClosethePropertiesdialogbox.
Stopping the VirtualCenter Server
TheVirtualCenterServerisaWindowsservice.YoucanusetheWindowsinterfaceto
selecttheserviceandstopit.
YoushouldnothavetostoptheVirtualCenterServer.ItisbestfortheVirtualCenter
Servertohavecontinuousoperation.Continuousoperationensuresthatallmonitoring
andtaskactivitiesareperformedasexpected.
To stop the VirtualCenter Server
1 GototheServicesdisplayforyourversionofWindows.
Forexample,selectStart>ControlPanel>AdministrativeTools>Services.Click
VMwareVirtualCenterService.
2 RightclicktheVMwareVirtualCenterServer,chooseStop,andwaitforittostop.
3 ClosethePropertiesdialogbox.
VI ClientTheVirtualInfrastructureClientisusedtologontoeitheraVirtualCenterServeroran
ESXServer.EachserversupportsmultipleVIClientlogons.TheVIClientcanbe
installedonanymachinethathasnetworkaccesstotheVirtualCenterServeroranESX
server.
Bydefault,administratorsareallowedtologontoaVirtualCenterServer.
Administratorsherearedefinedtobeeither:
Chapter 3 Starting and Stopping the VMware Infrastructure Components
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
35/378
VMware, Inc. 35
MembersofthelocalAdministratorsgroupiftheVirtualCenterServerisnota
domaincontroller.
MembersofthedomainAdministratorsgroupiftheVirtualCenterServerisa
domaincontroller.
Starting the VI Client and Logging On
TheVIClientistheinterfacetoboththeESXServerandtheVirtualCenterServer.When
youstarttheVIClient,ithasasingleopeningpage.Whenyoulogon,theVIClient
displaysonlythefeaturesandfunctionsthatareappropriatetothetypeofserveryou
logged
on
to.
To start a VI Client session
1 LogontoyourWindowssystem.
2 ThefirsttimeyoustarttheVIClient,logonastheadministrator.
a Ifthemanagedhostisnotadomaincontroller,logonaseither\or,whereisamemberofthelocal
Administratorsgroup.
b Ifthemanagedhostisadomaincontroller,youmustlogonas
\,whereisthedomainnameforwhichthe
managedhostisacontrollerand isamemberofthatdomains
DomainAdministratorsgroup.Thispracticeofrunningonadomain
controllerisnotrecommended.
3 LaunchtheVIClient.
4 DoubleclickashortcutorchoosetheapplicationthroughStart>Programs>
VMware>VMwareVirtualInfrastructureClient2.
5 Logontothedesiredserver.
6 Enterorchoosetheservername,yourusername,andyourpasswordforthat
server.ClickLogIntocontinue.
IfthisisthefirsttimeyouhaveloggedontotheVirtualCenterServer,anempty
Inventoryscreenappears.Addadatacenterandhosttobeginmonitoringand
managingyourvirtualmachinesthroughtheVirtualInfrastructureClient.Referto
ManagingtheVIClientInventoryonpage 91foradditionalinformation.
NOTE OnlypreviouslytypedserversappearintheServerpulldownlist.
Basic System Administration
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
36/378
36 VMware, Inc.
Stopping the VI Client and Logging Off
WhenyounolongermustvieworaltertheactivitiesthatVirtualCenterisperforming,
logoffoftheVIClient.
To stop a VI Client session
1 Clicktheclosebox(X)inthecorneroftheVIClientwindow,orchooseFile>Exit.
TheVIClientshutsdown.TheVIClientisloggedofftheserver.Theserver
continuestorunallitsnormalactivitiesinthebackground.Anyscheduledtasks
aresavedandperformedbytheVirtualCenterServer.
VI Web Access
VI WebAccessistheWebinterfacethroughwhichyoucanmanageyourvirtual
machines.VI WebAccessisinstalledwhenyouinstallESXServer.AswiththeVI
Client,VIWebAccesscaneitherbeusedtoconnectdirectlytoanESXServerorto
VirtualCenter.ThefunctionalityofVI WebAccessisasubsetofVIClientfunctionality.
TheVI WebAccessconsoleprovidesaremotemousekeyboardscreen(MKS)forthe
virtualmachines.Youcaninteractwithaguestoperatingsystemrunninginavirtual
machineandconnectremotelytothevirtualmachinesmouse,keyboard,andscreen.
ForinformationonhowtouseVI WebAccesstoconfigurevirtualmachinesforESX
ServerandVirtualCenter,seetheVirtualInfrastructureWebAccessAdministratorsGuide.Logging In and Out of VIWeb Access
VIWebAccessusesaWebinterfaceandaninternetconnectiontoaccessyourESX
ServerorVirtualCenterServer.
To log in to VI Web Access
1 LaunchyourWebbrowser.
2 EntertheURLofyourESXServeroryourVirtualCenterServerinstallation:
https:///ui
NOTE ClosingaVIClientdoesnotstoptheserver.
Chapter 3 Starting and Stopping the VMware Infrastructure Components
Th VI W b A l i
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
37/378
VMware, Inc. 37
TheVIWebAccessloginpageappears.
Theloginpagecontainsfieldsforyourusernameandpassword.Thisusername
andpasswordarethesamecredentialsyouwoulduseifyouconnectedusingtheVIClient.Also,thesamepermissionsareusedtodetermineifausercanviewand
manipulateobjects.VI WebAccessdoesnothaveitsownconceptofusersor
permissions.
3 Typeyourusernameandpassword,andclickLogIn.
TheVI WebAccesshomepageappears.
AfteryourusernameandpasswordareauthorizedbyVI WebAccess,theVI WebAccesshomepageappears.TheVI WebAccesshomepagecontains:
Detailsaboutvirtualmachinesontheservertowhichyouareconnected.
Theoptiontoaccessthedetailspageforavirtualmachinewhereyoufind
informationaboutvirtualdevices,configurationoptions,andasummaryof
recentevents.
To log out of VI Web Access
ClicktheLogOutlinkfoundatthecornerofeverypage.Youarepromptedtoconfirm
thatyouwanttologout.
VMware Service Console
InpreviousversionsofESXServer,theserviceconsolewasoneoftheinterfacestoESX
Serverhosts.StartingwithESXServer3,manyofthecommandsaredeprecated.
ServiceconsoleistypicallyusedonlyinconjunctionwithaVMwaretechnicalsupport
representative.
TheVMware
Infrastructure
SDK
is
used
for
scripted
manipulation
of
your
VMware
Infrastructureinstead.TheVirtualInfrastructureClientistheprimaryinterfacetoall
NOTE IfyouareusinganyremoteclientdevicesthroughVI WebAccess,theyare
disconnectedwhenyoulogout.
Basic System Administration
o sc ipted acti ities i cludi co fi u i o ito i a d a a i you i tual
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
38/378
38 VMware, Inc.
nonscriptedactivities,includingconfiguring,monitoring,andmanagingyourvirtual
machinesandresources.
Using DHCP for the Service ConsoleTherecommendedsetupistousestaticIPaddressesfortheserviceconsole.Youcanset
uptheserviceconsoletouseDHCP,ifyourDNSserveriscapableofmappingthe
serviceconsoleshostnametothedynamicallygeneratedIPaddress.
IfyourDNSservercannotmapthehostsnametoitsDHCPgeneratedIPaddress,you
mustdeterminetheserviceconsolesnumericIPaddressyourself.Anothercaution
againstusingDHCPisthatthenumericIPaddressmightchangeasDHCPleasesrun
outorwhenthesystemisrebooted.Forthisreason,VMwaredoesnotrecommend
usingDHCPfortheserviceconsoleunlessyourDNSservercanhandlethehostname
translation.
Connecting to the Service Console
Whetheryouusetheserviceconsolelocallyorthrougharemoteconnection,youmust
logonusingavalidusernameandpassword.
IfyouhavedirectaccesstothecomputerwhereESXServerisrunning,youcanlogon
tothephysicalconsoleonthatcomputer.
To log on to the ESX Server service console
PressAltF2togettothelogonscreen.
DependingonthesecuritysettingsforyourESXServercomputer,youmightbeableto
connectremotelytotheserviceconsoleusingsshorTelnet.Formoreinformationonthe
securitysettings,refertotheServerConfigurationGuide.Using Commands on the Service Console
TheserviceconsolerunsamodifiedversionofLinux,andmanyofthecommands
availableonLinuxorUNIXarealsoavailableontheserviceconsole.Detailedusage
notesformostserviceconsolecommandsareavailableasmanualormanfiles.
To view the man page for a particular command
Atthe
service
console
command
line,
type
the
man
command
followed
by
the
name
of
thecommandforwhichyouwanttorefertoinformation,forexample:
CAUTION Donotusedynamic(DHCP)addressingwhensharingthenetworkadapter
assignedtotheserviceconsolewithvirtualmachines.ESXServerrequiresa
staticIPaddressfortheserviceconsolewhensharinganetworkadapter.
Chapter 3 Starting and Stopping the VMware Infrastructure Components
: man
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
39/378
VMware, Inc. 39
: man
Foradditionalinformationoncommands,refertothefollowingresources:
FormoredetailedinformationonESXServerrelatedcommands,seetheServerConfigurationGuide.
FormoreinformationonLinuxcommands,consultaLinuxreferencebook.
Basic System Administration
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
40/378
40 VMware, Inc.
4
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
41/378
VMware, Inc. 41
ThischapterdescribesthespecificlayoutandnavigationoftheVIClient.Italso
containsinformationforconfiguringadminoptions,VirtualCenterServersettings,and
managinghostconfigurationoptions.
Thischaptercontainsthefollowingsections:
VIClientOverviewonpage 41
SortingandFilteringListsonpage 54
UsingCustomAttributesonpage 55
SelectingandViewingObjectsonpage 57
VI Client Overview
TheVirtualInfrastructureClientadaptstotheserveritisconnectedto.WhentheVI
ClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,theVIClientdisplaysalltheoptions
availabletotheVMwareVirtualInfrastructureenvironment,basedonthelicensingyou
haveconfiguredandthepermissionsoftheuser.WhentheVIClientisconnectedtoan
ESXServer,theVIClientdisplaysonlytheoptionsappropriatetosinglehost
management.
ThedefaultVirtualInfrastructureClientlayoutisasinglewindowwithamenubar,a
navigationbar,atoolbar,astatusbar,apanelsection,andpopupmenus.
Using the VI Client 4
Basic System Administration
Navigation
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
42/378
42 VMware, Inc.
Figure 4-1. Virtual Infrastructure Client Layout
TheVIClientareasarecoveredinthefollowingsections:
MenuBaronpage 43
PopUpMenusonpage 45
ConsoleMenuonpage 45
NavigationBaronpage 46
InventoryViewTabsonpage 49
Toolbaronpage 52
StatusBar,RecentTasks,andTriggeredAlarmsonpage 53
PanelSectionsonpage 53
Menus
g
barToolbar Inventory tabs
Status Information panelStatus barInventory panel
Pop-up menuConsole button
Chapter 4 Using the VI Client
Menu Bar
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
43/378
VMware, Inc. 43
Themenubarprovidesaccesstoallcommandsandoperatesinamannerconsistent
withotherWindowsapplications.Thetablesbelowlistallthemenuitemsavailable
fromthesefivemenus.ThemenuitemsavailablevarydependinguponwhethertheVIClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServeroranESXServer.Themenubaroptions
are:
FileMenuSimilartotheFilemenuinmostapplicationswithtwoexceptions:
AprintmenuitemisnotavailableontheFilemenu.Toprint,usethePrint
ScreenmechanisminWindowstotakeacopyoftheVIClientwindowor
exportthe
VirtualCenter
data
to
another
format
and
from
another
application.
Asavemenuitemisnotavailable.TheVIClientissimilartoabrowser.Most
usermanipulationsarepersistentinthedisplayoftheVirtualCenterdata.
InTable 41,anasterisk(*)indicatesitemsthatareavailableonlywhenconnected
toVirtualCenterServer.
EditMenuDisplaysmenuitemsrelevanttotheselectedobject.
ViewMenuControlswhichpanelsarevisible.Thisprovidesamenuitemfor
selectingone
of
the
navigation
buttons.
InTable 43,anasterisk(*)indicatesitemsthatareavailableonlywhenconnected
toVirtualCenterServer.
Table 4-1. File Menu Items
File> New> VirtualMachine|AddHost*|Cluster*|ResourcePool|Folder*|Datacenter*|Alarm*|ScheduledTask*|AddPermission
File> Export> ExportEvents*|ExportList|Licenses|ExportMaps*
File> Report> HostSummary|Performance
File> Exit
Table 4-2. Edit Menu Items
Edit> Rename|Remove|CustomizationSpecifications|VIClientSettings
Table 4-3. View Menu Items
View> Toolbar|StatusBar|Inventory|ScheduledTasks*|Events|Administration|Maps*|Filtering
Basic System Administration
WhenconnectedtotheVirtualCenterServer,theView>Inventorymenuparsesthe
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
44/378
44 VMware, Inc.
inventoryobjectviewsintogroups.
InventoryMenuDisplaysmenuitemsrelevanttotheselectedobjectinthe
inventorypanel.
InTable 45,anasterisk(*)indicatesitemsthatareavailableonlywhenconnected
toVirtualCenter
Server.
Table 4-4. View Menu > Inventory Items
View> Inventory> Hosts&Clusters|VirtualMachines&Templates|Networks|Datastores
Table 4-5. Inventory Menu Items
Inventory> Datacenter> NewFolder|NewCluster|AddHost|Remove|Rename
Inventory> VirtualMachine> PowerOn|PowerOff|Suspend|Reset|ShutDownGuest|StandbyGuest|RestartGuest|Snapshot|Migrate|Clone|ClonetoTemplate|
ConverttoTemplate|OpenConsole|SentCtrl+Alt+Del|AnswerQuestion|ReportPerformance|InstallVMwareTools|EditSettings|Rename|RemovefromInventory|DeletefromDisk
Inventory> Templates*> PowerOn|PowerOff|Suspend|Reset|ShutDownGuest|RestartGuest|Snapshot|Migrate|Clone|ClonetoTemplate|ConverttoTemplate
|Open
Console
|Sent
Ctrl+Alt+Del
|Answer
Question|ReportPerformance|InstallVMwareTools|EditSettings|Rename|RemovefromInventory|DeletefromDisk
Inventory> Host> NewVirtualMachine|Connect*|Disconnect*|EnterMaintenanceMode|ShutDown|Reboot|ReportSummary|ReportPerformance|AdvancedSettings|Remove*|RelocateVMFiles
Inventory> Cluster*> AddHost|NewVirtualMachine|NewResourcePool|EditSettings|Remove|Rename
Inventory> ResourcePool> NewVirtualMachine|NewResourcePool|ReportPerformance*|Remove|Rename
Inventory> Datastore*> BrowseDatastore|Rename|Remove|Refresh
Inventory> Network*> Remove
Inventory>
Permission
>
Add
|Delete
|Properties
Chapter 4 Using the VI Client
Table 4-5. Inventory Menu Items (Continued)
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
45/378
VMware, Inc. 45
AdministrationMenuDisplaysconfigurationoptionsthatapplyacrossthe
VirtualInfrastructureenvironment.
InTable 46,anasterisk(*)indicatesitemsthatareavailableonlywhenconnected
toVirtualCenterServer.
HelpMenuDisplaystheonlinehelpoptions,linkstotheVMwareWebsite,and
productversioninformation.
Pop-Up Menus
Popupmenusprovidedirectaccesstomanyofthemenuitems.Popupmenusare
availablefrommostobjectsinboththeinventorypanelandtheinformationpanel.
To view a pop-up menu
RightclicktheselectedobjectorpressShift+F10.
Console Menu
Theconsoleofapoweredonvirtualmachineisavailablethroughaconnectedserver.
To view the virtual machine console
ClicktheInventoryNavigationbutton,clickapoweredonvirtualmachineinthe
Inventorypanel,andclicktheConsoletabintheInformationpanel.
To pop out the virtual machine console
Clickthepopouticoninthenavigationbar.
AcopyoftheConsolewindowseparatesfromtheVIClient.Additionalmenusappear.
Inventory> Alarm*> Properties|Remove
Inventory> ScheduledTask*> Run|Remove|Properties
Table 4-6. Administration Menu Items
Administration> CustomAttributes*|VMwareVirtualCenterSettings*|Role|Session*|EditMessageoftheDay*|CollectDiagnosticInformation*|LegacyTemplates*
Basic System Administration
AdditionalmenuitemsareavailablefromthepopoutConsolewindow.
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
46/378
46 VMware, Inc.
Allconnectionstothevirtualmachineseethesamedisplayinformation.Themessage
lineindicatesifothersareviewingthevirtualmachine.
ThepopoutvirtualmachineConsolehasthefollowingmenuitems.Theembedded
ConsolehassimilarmenuitemsbutdoesnotincludealloftheexternalConsolemenu
items.
Navigation Bar
Thenavigationbarprovidesshortcutbuttonsthatloadthematchingtoolbarandpanel
intotheVIClientwindow.Thenavigationbarcombinesanddisplaysassociatedtasks
andinformation.Whenabuttonhasbeenselected,itremainsselectedtoindicatethe
currentview.ThebuttonsrepresenttheVIClientfunctionalareas.Dependingupon
whethertheVIClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServeroranESXServer,thelisted
buttonsvary.
Eachnavigation
bar
button
has
aprimary
information
panel
and
associated
tabs.
The
Inventorybuttonhasaninventorypanelfromwhichyoucanselectobjects.Each
Table 4-7. Virtual Machine Pop-Out Console Menu Items
File> Exit
View
>
Autofit
|
Fit
|
Fit
Guest
to
WindowVM> PowerOn|PowerOff|Suspend|Reset|ShutDownGuest|RestartGuest|
Snapshot|Migrate|Clone|ClonetoTemplate|ConverttoTemplate|OpenConsole|SentCtrl+Alt+Del|AnswerQuestion|ReportPerformance|InstallVMwareTools|EditSettings|Rename|RemovefromInventory|DeletefromDisk
The message line indicates
the number of active
connections to this virtualmachine.
Additional Console menu
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
47/378
Basic System Administration
AllfouroftheInventoryoptionsaredividedintotwosubpanels,theinventory
panel and the information panel. This Inventory option displays all the objects
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
48/378
48 VMware, Inc.
panelandtheinformationpanel.ThisInventoryoptiondisplaysalltheobjects
containedwithinVirtualCenter,suchasfolders,datacenters,hosts,clusters,
resourcepoolsandvirtualmachines.WhenconnectedtoanESXServerthe
inventoryoptiondisplaysalltheobjectscontainedwithintheESXServer,suchas
host,resourcepools,andvirtualmachines.Throughselectingobjectsineitherof
thetwosubpanels,youperformandspecifyactions.
Therearefourdifferentinventoryviews.Eachrelatestosomeoftheeightdifferent
inventoryobjects:hosts,clusters,folders,datacenters,virtualmachinesand
templates,resourcepools,networks,anddatastores.
Allfourviewshavethe(single)rootnode,allowanyfoldersbelowtherootnode(thatcanonlycontainotherfoldersanddatacenters)anddatacenters.Below
datacentersthehierarchyissplitupintonetworks,datastores,virtualmachineand
templates,andhosts,clusters,andresourcepools.
ScheduledTasksbuttonAlistofactivitiesandameanstoschedulethose
activities.ThisisavailablethroughVirtualCenterServeronly.
TheScheduled
Tasks
and
Events
buttons,
available
only
when
connected
to
a
VirtualCenterServer,displayasingleinformationpanel.
EventsbuttonAlistofalltheeventsthatoccurintheVirtualCenterenvironment.
UsetheNavigationoptiontodisplayalltheevents.Useanobjectspecificpanelto
displayonlytheeventsrelativetothatobject.
AdminbuttonAlistofenvironmentlevelconfigurationoptions.TheAdmin
optionprovidesconfigurationaccesstoRoles,Sessions,Licenses,Diagnostics,and
SystemLogs.WhenconnectedtoanESXServeronly,theRolesoptionappears.
TheAdminbuttondisplaysasetoftabbedinformationpanels.Selected
configurationoptionsareavailablethroughthesetabs.
MapsbuttonAvisualrepresentationofthestatusandstructureoftheVirtual
Infrastructureenvironment.Thisincludeshosts,networks,virtualmachines,and
datastores.ThisisavailablethroughVirtualCenterServeronly.
TheMapsbutton,availableonlywhenconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServer,
displaysaninventorypanelandatopologypanel.
To change the look of the navigation bar
Rightclickthenavigationbarandchoosetheappropriateoption.
Chapter 4 Using the VI Client
Inventory View Tabs
Y th l di l f d t d ti it th h th i f ti l
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
49/378
VMware, Inc. 49
Youcanaccessthegeneraldisplayofdataandactivitythroughtheinformationpanel
oftheVIClientwindow.Theinformationpanelisthevisualcenterofyourmonitoring
activities.Throughtheinformationpanel,youcanviewstatus,resourceusage,andperformanceinformationaboutyourhosts,virtualmachines,anddatacenters.Inthe
informationpanel,youcanalsoviewscheduledtasks,availabletemplates,andalistof
events.
WhentheVIClientisconnectedtoaVirtualCenterServeraMapsoptionisalso
available.RefertoMonitoringYourVmwareInfrastructureEnvironmenton
page 269forinformationontheMapsfeature.
Whenanobjectisremovedfromtheinventory,itslogandeventhistoryremainsuntil
purgedthroughtheagingprocesses.Dataiskeptforaspecifiedwindowoftime.Asthe
timewindowshifts,olderdataispurged.
AdmintabsAsubsetoftheAdminbutton.TheAdmintabsareasetofpanels
thatdisplayconfigurationorientedinformationpertainingtotheservethattheVI
Clientisconnectedto.ThetaboptionsareRolesandSystemLogs.WhentheVI
Clientis
connected
to
aVirtualCenter
Server,
aSessions
and
Licenses
tab
is
also
available.
InventorytabsAsubsetoftheInventorybutton.TheInventorytabsareasetof
panelsthatdisplaytaskorientedinformationpertainingtotheselectedinventory
object.Eachinventoryobjecthasitsownsetoftabs.Thetaboptionsare:Summary,
Datacenters,VirtualMachines,Hosts,Migrations,ResourceAllocation,
Performance,Configuration,Tasks&Events,Alarms,Console,Permissions,and
Maps.
WhenyouclicktheInventorybuttoninthenavigationbar,aninformationpanel
appearsontherightsideofthescreen.Whenyouselectanobject(host,virtual
machine,folder,datacenter,cluster,resourcepool)fromtheinventorypanel,the
informationpaneldisplaystabscorrespondingtotheselectedobject.Thisdata
remainsuntilyouclickanotherInventorybutton.
NOTE Youcanuseeitherthenavigationbarortheinformationpaneltabstovieweventsinformation.
Basic System Administration
Table 48liststheavailablepanelsandtheirsourcemapping.
T bl 4 8 I t Vi T b
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
50/378
50 VMware, Inc.
Table 4-8. Inventory View Tabs
Panel Name
ESX Server or
VirtualCenter
Server
Button, Tab, or
Toggle Description
Admin both navigationbarbutton
Listsselectedconfigurationoptionsandinformation.
Alarms VirtualCenter inventorypaneltab
Liststheconfiguredalarmsfortheselectedobject.
Alarms VirtualCenter toggle button Liststhetriggeredalarmsfortheselectedobject.
Configuration both inventorypaneltab
Providesaccesstoconfiguringtheselectedhost.
Console both inventorypaneltab
Displaysaremoteconsoletointeractdirectlywiththevirtualmachine.Throughtheremoteconsoleyoucantakeselectedactionsuponthevirtualmachine.
Datacenters VirtualCenter inventorypaneltab
Liststhedatacentersorganizedundertheselectedfolder.
Datastores VirtualCenter navigationbarbutton:Datastores
Providesaccessformanagingdatastores.
Events ESXServer inventorypaneltab
Liststheeventmessagesthatreportonthestatusoftheselectedobject.
Hosts both inventorypanel
tab
Liststhehostsassignedtotheselected
inventoryobject.
Inventory both navigationbarbutton:Hosts&Clusters
Providesaccessformanagingalltheinventoryobjects.
Licenses VirtualCenter adminpaneltab Liststhelicensesconfiguredinthelicenseserver.
Maps VirtualCenter navigationbar
button
Displaysrelationshipsbetweenthe
selectedinventoryobjects.
Migrations VirtualCenter inventorypaneltab
Liststhemigrationssuggestedorcompletedfortheselectedcluster.
Networks VirtualCenter navigationbarbutton:Networks
Providesaccessformanagingnetworks.
Chapter 4 Using the VI Client
Table 4-8. Inventory View Tabs (Continued)
ESX Server or
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
51/378
VMware, Inc. 51
Performance both inventorypaneltab
Displaystheperformancechartsfortheselectedhostorvirtualmachineresources.Thechartsfordatacentersandhostsdisplaycombinedchartsthatshowtheusageofeachresource.
Permissions both inventorypaneltab
Liststheusersandgroupsthathavepermissionsontheselectedobjectandat
whatlevel
the
permission
was
assigned.
ResourceAllocation
VirtualCenter inventorypaneltab
Liststhedistributionoftheselectedhostsresources:CPU,memory.
Roles both adminpaneltab Providesaccessforconfiguringuserroles.
ScheduledTasks VirtualCenter navigationbarbutton
Providesaccessforcreatingandmanagingscheduledtasks.
Sessions VirtualCenter adminpaneltab ListstheVIClientsessionsconnectedtotheVirtualCenterServer.
Summary both inventorypaneltab
Displaysacollectionofdatafortheselectedobject.
SystemLogs both adminpaneltab Listsselectedlogfilesfortheservers.
Tasks VirtualCenter toggle button Liststherecenttasksfortheselectedobject.
Tasks&
Events
VirtualCenter inventory
panel
tabLists
the
tasks
completed
and
the
event
messagesthatreportonthestatusoftheselectedobject.
Templates VirtualCenter navigationbarbutton:VirtualMachines&Templates
Providesaccessformanagingtemplates.
Virtual
Machines
both inventorypanel
tab
Liststhevirtualmachinesassignedtothe
selecteddatacenterorhostandgroup.Toaccess,clicktheVirtualMachinestabandthevirtualmachinesinthegrouparedisplayed.
Panel Name
ESX Server or
VirtualCenter
Server
Button, Tab, or
Toggle Description
Basic System Administration
Toolbar
The toolbar provides buttons for the most commonly used actions.
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
52/378
52 VMware, Inc.
Thetoolbarprovidesbuttonsforthemostcommonlyusedactions.
To view or hide a toolbar
ChooseView>Toolbars.
Differenttoolbarbuttonsaredisplayeddependingonthenavigationtaskand
inventoryobjectselected.Sometoolbaroptionsmightbedimmeddependingonthe
objectselected.
To change the look of the toolbar
Rightclick
the
toolbar
and
choose
the
appropriate
option.
Chapter 4 Using the VI Client
Status Bar, Recent Tasks, and Triggered Alarms
Thestatusbarappearsatthebottomofthewindow.Itcontainsiconstoviewtriggered
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
53/378
VMware, Inc. 53
pp gg
alarmsorrecenttasks.TheTasksbuttondisplaysanycurrentlyrunningorrecently
completedactivetasks.Includedisaprogressbarindicatingthepercentagecompleteofeachtask.Therecenttasksandthetriggeredalarmpanelsdisplayacrossthebottom
oftheVIClientwindow.
To hide or view the status bar
ChooseView>Statusbar.
To hide or view recent tasks or triggered alarms
ClicktheTasksorAlarmsiconsinthestatusbar.
Panel Sections
InthebodyoftheVIClientpageisapanelsection.Inmostviews,thereisarightand
aleftpanel:theinventorypanelandtheinformationpanel.Thesepanelscanberesized.
InventorypanelDisplaysahierarchicallistofVirtualInfrastructureobjects
whentheInventoryorMapsbuttonisselectedfromthenavigationbar.
Information
panels
Display
lists
and
charts.
Depending
on
the
navigation
buttonorInventorybuttonitemselected,theinformationpanelisdividedinto
tabbedelements.
To select an object
Singleclicktheappropriateobjectineithertheinventorypanelorontheinformation
panel.
Basic System Administration
To close or open a panel
Clickthearrowinthepanelmenubar.
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
54/378
54 VMware, Inc.
Whenthepanelishidden,thepanelmenubarisastripalongthesideoftheVIClient
window.
To resize a panel
Clickaresizingpanelsideanddragittoanappropriatesize.
YourchoicesforthepanelsarepersistentacrossVIClientsessions.Ifyourunmultiple
VIClientsessionsusingdifferentusernames,thesettingsfromthelastsessiontoquit
determinethe
values
for
the
next
VI
Client
session.
Sorting and Filtering Lists
SortanylistintheVIClientbyclickingthecolumnlabelheading.Atriangleinthe
columnheadshowsthesortorderasascendingordescending.
Youcanalsofilteralist,sortingandincludingonlyselecteditems.Afilterissortedby
akeyword.
Choose
the
columns
you
want
to
include
in
the
search
for
the
keyword.
To sort a list
Clickacolumnheadingtosortthelistbyentriesinthatcolumn.Thecurrentselection
doesnotchange.
To change between ascending and descending order
Clickthe
triangle
in
the
column
heading.
To choose items in a list
Clickanindividualitem.PressShiftclickorCtrlclicktochoosemultipleitems.All
listscanbesorted.
To view or remove columns in a list
Rightclickthecolumnheaderandchoosethecolumnnamefromthelist.
To filter the list view
1 Clickthearrowtoviewalistofattributesfromwhichtochoose.Typetextdirectly
intothefilteringfieldtospecifysearchcriteria.
TheFilterfielddoesnotsupportbooleanexpressionsorspecialcharactersandis
notcasesensitive.
Chapter 4 Using the VI Client
2 ClickOKtodisplayonlythosevirtualmachinesthatmatchthecriteria.ClickClear
tochangethefilter.
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
55/378
VMware, Inc. 55
Thelistisupdatedbasedonwhetherfilteringisonoroff.Forexample,ifyouareinthe
VirtualMachinestab,youhavefilteredthelist,andthefilteredtextispoweredon,
youonlyrefertoalistofvirtualmachineswhosestateissettopoweredon.Ifthestate
ofanyofthesevirtualmachineschangestosomethingelse,theyareremovedfromthe
list.Newvirtualmachinesthatareaddedarealsobeingfiltered.Filteringispersistent
fortheusersession.
To remove a filter
ClickClear,ordeletetheentryinofthefilteringfieldandclickOK.
TheVIClientdisplaysthefulllistofavailableitems.
To choose columns to search for the filtering keyword
Rightclickinthecontainsfield,andselectordeselecttheappropriatecolumnnames.
Filteringisinclusive,notexclusive.Ifthekeywordisfoundinanyoftheselected
columns,thelineitemisincludedinthelist.
To export a list
1 Selectthelisttoexport.
2 ChooseFile>Export>ExportList.
3 Typeafilename,selectafiletypeinthedialogbox,andclickSave.
Afileisstoredinthespecifiedfilename,filetype,andlocation.
Using Custom Attributes
AttributesaretheresourcesthataremonitoredandmanagedforallthemanagedhostsandvirtualmachinesinyourVirtualInfrastructureenvironment.Attributesstatusand
statesappearonthevariousinventorypanels.
Customattributescanbeusedtoassociateuserspecificmetainformationwithvirtual
machinesandmanagedhosts.Afteryoucreatetheattributes,setthevalueforthe
attributeoneachvirtualmachineormanagedhost,asappropriate.Thisvalueisstored
withVirtualCenterandnotwiththevirtualmachineormanagedhost.Thenusethe
newattributetofilterinformationaboutyourvirtualmachinesandmanagedhosts.If
NOTE Thereisaonesecondintervalbetweenkeystrokes.Ifyoutypeinthetextandwaitfor
onesecond,thesearchstartsautomatically.YoudonthavetoclickOKorEnter.
Basic System Administration
younolongerneedthecustomattribute,removeit.Acustomattributeisalwaysa
string.
l h f d d h b l
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
56/378
56 VMware, Inc.
Forexample,supposeyouhaveasetofproductsandyouwanttosortthembysales
representative.Create
acustom
attribute
for
sales
person
name,
Name.
Add
the
custom
attribute,Name,columntooneofthelistviews.Addtheappropriatenametoeach
productentry.ClickthecolumntitleNametosortalphabetically.
ThecustomattributesfeatureisavailableonlywhenconnectedtoaVirtualCenter
Server.
To add a custom attribute
1 ChooseAdministration>CustomAttributes.
ThisoptionisnotavailablewhenconnectedonlytoanESXServer.
2 AddacustomattributeandclickAdd.
Theattributeisaddedtothelistofvirtualmachinecharacteristics.
3 Tochangetheattributename,clickintheNamefieldandtypethenameyouwant
toassigntotheattribute.
4 Enterthevaluesforthecustomattribute.
a Selecttheobject(onelevelupthehierarchy)thatcontainstheobjectstowhich
youwanttoapplytheattribute.
Chapter 4 Using the VI Client
Forexample,ifyouwanttoenterattributevaluesformanagedhosts,selectthe
datacenterandtheHoststabforalistofhosts.
b F h d h t i t l hi li k th tt ib t l
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
57/378
VMware, Inc. 57
b Foreachmanagedhostorvirtualmachine,clickthenewattributescolumn.
Intheinformationpanel,thenewattributeisaddedtotheheader.
c Typetheattributevaluethatisappropriateforeachmanagedhostorvirtual
machine.
Selecting and Viewing Objects
ThissectiondescribescommonWindowsproceduresthataffecttheVirtual
InfrastructureClient.Navigationtopicsarediscussedinthefollowingsections:
SelectingObjectsonpage 57
MonitoringObjectsonpage 58
PerformingActionsonObjectsonpage 59
Selecting ObjectsVirtualCenterobjectsaredatacenters,networks,datastores,resourcepools,clusters,
hosts,andvirtualmachines.Selectinganobjectdoesthefollowing:
Allowsyoutoviewthestatusoftheobject.
Enablesthemenussoyoucanchooseactionstotakeontheobject.
To select an object
1 ClicktheappropriatenavigationbaroptionsuchasInventory,ScheduledTasks,
Events,Admin,orMaps.
2 IfyouselectInventory,browsethroughthehierarchyintheinventorypaneluntil
youseetheiconforanobject.Clickit.
Whenanobjectisselected,theobjectlabelintheinventorypanelbackfillsandthe
information
panel
updates
its
display
to
reflect
the
data
for
the
selected
object.
To view an object menu
Selecttheappropriateobjectandchoosetheappropriateactionfromthemenubar.
Alternatively,rightclicktheobject.
Apopupmenuwiththeobjectsavailableactionsappears.
Foreachtypeofobject,suchasdatacenter,host,orvirtualmachine,acorrespondingset
oftabsappearsintheinformationpanel.Forexample:
Basic System Administration
Ifyouselectamanagedhostintheinventorypanelwhileconnectedto
VirtualCenter,theinformationpaneldisplaysSummary,VirtualMachines,
ResourceAllocation,Performance,Configuration,Tasks&Events,Alarms,
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
58/378
58 VMware, Inc.
Permissions,andMapstabs.
IfyouselecttheinventorypanelwhileconnectedtoanESXServer,theinformation
paneldisplaysSummary,VirtualMachines,ResourceAllocation,Performance,
Configuration,Users&Groups,SystemLogs,EventsandPermissionstabs.
Ifyouselectadatacenter,theinformationpaneldisplaysVirtualMachines,Hosts,
Tasks&Events,Alarms,Permissions,andMapstabs.
Theinventorypanelandinformationpanelshareasingleselectionlist.Selectingan
objectinonepaneldeselectsanyotherobjectintheotherpanel.
Menuactions,fromeitherthemenubarorapopupmenu,applytothecurrently
selectedobject.Ifnoobjectisselected,nomenuactionsareavailable.Apopupmenu
canappearonlyforaselectedobject.RefertoPopUpMenusonpage 45for
additionalinformationonthepopupmenuoptions.
To change the name of an object
SelectanitemandpressF2orclickthetextoftheselecteditem.Typethenewname.
Monitoring Objects
VIClientmonitorsVirtualCenterorESXServeractivities.Forahosttobemonitoredby
VirtualCenter,itmustberegisteredwiththeVirtualCenterServer.RefertoAddinga
Hostonpage 101forinformationonaddingobjectstoyourVirtualCenterServer.Ifan
ESXServerhostisnotregisteredwithaVirtualCenterServer,youcanconnecttotheESXServerdirectly,alsousingtheVIClient.
To check the status of an object
1 StarttheVIClient.
2 Clicktheappropriatebuttoninthenavigationbar.
IfyouclicktheInventoryorMapsbutton,drillthroughtheinventorypanelliststoviewindividualobjectssuchashosts,datacenters,andvirtual
machines.
IfyouclicktheScheduledTasks,Events,orAdminbutton,theinformation
paneldisplaysthescheduledtasks,events,oradministrativewizard
appropriatetothechoice.
3 Clickthe
object
to
view
it.
Chapter 4 Using the VI Client
Whenyouselectanobject,theobjectlabelintheinventorypanelisshowninblue
andtheinformationpanelupdatesitsdisplaytoreflecttheobjectsdata.
4 Click the appropriate tab in the information panel
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
59/378
VMware, Inc. 59
4 Clicktheappropriatetabintheinformationpanel.
Thedatacorrespondingtotheobjectandtabselectedisshown.Clickthroughthe
tabstoviewtheinformationabouttheobject,asneeded.
Performing Actions on Objects
ThissectiondescribesonlythebasicprocessforperformingtasksintheVirtual
InfrastructureClient.Thissectiondoesnotdescribespecificsettingsandconditions.
Refer
to
the
chapter
or
book
specific
to
the
task
you
want
to
perform
for
additional
information.
Toviewanobject,youmusthavethenecessarypermissionassignedforthatobject.The
typeofactionyoucantakeonanobjectdependsuponthespecificprivilegesassigned
toyourusernameandgroup.
TherearethreemethodsfortakingactionsuponobjectsinVirtualCenter:
Selectingthe
action
from
the
menu
bar
at
the
top
of
the
VirtualCenter
window.
RefertoMenuBaronpage 43.
Selectingtheactionfromtheobjectspopupmenuorbutton.Theprocedurelisted
belowdescribeshowtochoosetheactionfromtheobjectmenuorbutton.
SchedulingtheactionthroughtheScheduledTaskspanel.RefertoManaging
ScheduledTasksonpage 293toinformationonschedulingtasks.
To perform an action on a Virtual Infrastructure object
1 StarttheVirtualInfrastructureClient.
2 Connecttotheappropriateserver.
3 Toselectanobjectyouwanttovieworuponwhichyouwanttoperformanaction,
selecttheappropriateinventoryview,browsethroughthehierarchyinthe
inventorypaneluntilyouseeitsicon,andclickit.
Anobjectcanbeselectedintheinventorypanelortheinformationpanel.
Iftheobjectisnotintheview:
Verifyyouareloggedontothecorrectserver.
AddthehosttoVirtualCentercontrol,ifneeded.RefertoManagingHostsin
VirtualCenteronpage 99forinformation.
4 Onceanobjectisselected:
Basic System Administration
Chooseamenuitemfromthemainmenu.
Rightclicktheobjectandchoosefromthepopupmenu.
F ll h
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
60/378
60 VMware, Inc.
5 Followtheprompts.
Dependingontheactionyouselected,eithertheviewintheinformationpanelchanges
orawizardpromptsyouforinformationtocompletethetransaction.
5
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
61/378
VMware, Inc. 61
Thischapterincludesbasicsystemconfigurationinformation,suchashowtoaccess
andconfigurelogfiles,configurefirewalls,andsetupSNMP.Sometopicshave
extensiveinformationdiscussedinseparatechaptersorbooks.Wherethisoccurs,
referencesareprovided.
Someofthetopicsinthischapteraretypicallyonetimeconfigurationtasks,though
certainlythesettingscanbealteredwhenneeded.
Thischaptercontainsthefollowingtopics:
HostConfigurationforESXServerandVirtualCenteronpage 61
VirtualCenterConfigurationonpage 66
ConfiguringVirtualCenterCommunicationonpage 68
VirtualMachineConfigurationonpage 71
WorkingwithActiveSessionsonpage 73
SNMPConfigurationonpage 74
SystemLogFilesonpage 81
Host Configuration for ESX Server and VirtualCenter
ESXServerhostsareconfiguredandmanagedthroughtheVirtualInfrastructure
Client.SomehostrelatedconfigurationisspecifictoVirtualCenter.Otherhost
configurationappliestostandalonehostsaswellasVirtualCenterregisteredhost
scenarios.
System Configuration 5
Basic System Administration
TheServerConfigurationGuidedescribesthetasksyoumustcompletetoconfigureESXServerhostnetworking,storage,andsecurity.Inaddition,itprovidesoverviews,
recommendations,andconceptualdiscussionstohelpyouunderstandthesetasks.It
explains how to deploy an ESX Server host to meet your needs Before using the
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
62/378
62 VMware, Inc.
explainshowtodeployanESXServerhosttomeetyourneeds.Beforeusingthe
informationintheServerConfigurationGuide,readtheIntroductiontoVirtualInfrastructureforanoverviewofsystemarchitectureandthephysicalandvirtual
devicesthatmakeupaVirtualInfrastructuresystem.
ThissectionsummarizesthehostconfigurationoptionsandthecontentsoftheServerConfigurationGuidesothatyoucanfindtheinformationyouneed.
Configuring a HostSelectahostandtheConfigurationtabforthehost.Theconfigurationtabdisplaysall
oftheconfigurationoptionsavailable.
Hardware Tab
Thehardwaretabdisplaysthefollowingconfigurationoptions:
ProcessorsDisplaysthehostsprocessorinformationsuchastype,speed,
manufacturer.Thepropertiesdialogboxallowsyoutoenableordisable
Hyperthreading.
MemoryDisplaysthehostsmemoryconfiguration,includingtotalmemory
available,amountsforthehostssystem,amountsforthevirtualmachines,and
amountsfortheESXServerServiceConsole.Thepropertiesdialogboxallowsyou
tosettheamountdedicatedtotheESXServerServiceConsole.
Storage(SCSI,
SAN,
NFS)Displaysthestoragevolumesconfiguredforthehost
anddetailsabouteachstoragedevice.Thisincludesvolumelabels,filesystem
type,blocksize,extents,andcapacity.TheRefresh,Remove,AddStorage,and
Propertiesdialogboxesallowyoutochangevolumeproperties,addextents,
managepaths,adddiskorLUNdatastores,andaddnetworkfilesystem(NFS)
datastores.
NetworkingDisplayscurrentnetworksattachedtothehost.TheRefresh,Add
Networking,Remove,andPropertiesdialogboxesallowyoutoconfigureports
andnetworkadapters,anddefineconnectiontypestothehostsvirtualmachine,
VMkernel,andserviceconsole.
StorageAdaptersDisplaysstorageadapterconfiguration,suchasdevicetype,
SANidentification,LUNidentification,path,andcapacity.TheRescan,Hide
LUNs,andPropertiesdialogboxesallowyoutoscanfornewstoragedevicesor
VMFSvolumes,hidetheLUNinformationforeachselectedstorageadapter,and
viewVMotionconfigurationstatus.
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
63/378
Basic System Administration
Viewing Network Configuration Information
TheESXServernetworkingchaptersprovideyouwithaconceptualunderstandingof
physicalandvirtualnetworkconcepts,adescriptionofthebasictasksyoumust
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
64/378
64 VMware, Inc.
complete
to
configure
your
ESX
Server
hosts
network
connections,
and
a
discussion
of
advancednetworkingtopicsandtasks.Thenetworkingsectioncontainsthefollowing
chapters:
NetworkingIntroducesyoutonetworkconceptsandguidesyouthroughthe
mostcommontasksyoumustcompletewhensettingupthenetworkfortheESX
Serverhost.
AdvancedNetworkingCoversadvancednetworkingtaskssuchassettingup
MACaddresses,editingvirtualswitchesandports,andDNSrouting.Inaddition,itprovidestipsonmakingyournetworkconfigurationmoreefficient.
NetworkingScenariosandTroubleshootingDescribescommonnetworking
configurationandtroubleshootingscenarios.
Viewing Storage Configuration Information
TheESX
Server
storage
chapters
provide
you
with
abasic
understanding
of
storage,
a
descriptionofthebasictasksyouperformtoconfigureandmanageyourESXServer
hostsstorage,andadiscussionofhowtosetuprawdevicemapping.Thestorage
sectioncontainsthefollowingchapters:
IntroductiontoStorageIntroducesyoutothetypesofstorageyoucanconfigure
fortheESXServerhost.
ConfiguringStorageExplainshowtoconfigurelocalSCSIstorage,Fibre
Channelstorage,andiSCSIstorage.ItalsoaddressesVMFSstorageand
networkattachedstorage.
ManagingStorageExplainshowtomanageexistingdatastoresandthefile
systemsthatcomprisedatastores.
RawDeviceMappingDiscussesrawdevicemapping,howtoconfigurethistype
ofstorage,andhowtomanagerawdevicemappingsbysettingupmultipathing,
failover,and
so
forth.
Viewing Security Configuration Information
TheESXServersecuritychaptersdiscusssafeguardsVMwarehasbuiltintoESXServer
andmeasuresyoucantaketoprotectyourESXServerhostfromsecuritythreats.These
measuresincludeusingfirewalls,leveragingthesecurityfeaturesofvirtualswitches,
andsettingupuserauthenticationandpermissions.Thesecuritysectioncontainsthe
followingchapters:
Chapter 5 System Configuration
SecurityforESXServerSystemsIntroducesyoutotheESXServerfeaturesthat
helpyouensureasecureenvironmentforyourdataandgivesyouanoverviewof
systemdesignasitrelatestosecurity.
8/7/2019 VMware ESX_Basic System Administration
65/378
VMware, Inc. 65
Securing
an
ESX
Server
Configuration
Explains
how
to
configure
firewall
ports
forESXServerhostsandVMwareVirtualCenter,howtousevirtualswitchesand
VLANstoensurenetworkisolati
Top Related