How to setup Link mode for Virtual Center 4.0

Today I have done VC upgrade and here is blog for the same. During the VC upgrade it did not ask me for setting VC in link mode which becomes very much necessary when you have multiple VC across environment.

Few things you should know

1. Link mode feature is not available to you if you are holding license for “foundation or essential edition ”. This required stander edition of VC license.

2. It uses ADAM (Active Directory Application Mode ) database to replicate it’s configuration between multiple VC.

3. ADAM stores :

* Connection information (IP addresses and ports)

* Certificates and thumbprints

* License Information

* User Roles

4. Permission can be configured on VC basis.

5. Single VC can manage 300 ESX host with 3000 VM but linked mode can manage 1000 ESX host with 10000 VM’s

More features are available here.

You have to re-run the setup for VC server installation. It will walk you through wizard

It will then detect the VC instance and prompt you for VC link mode setting

By default the link mode configuration will be selected

It will then prompt you to provide server name for which you are connecting

Make sure you have selection as below.

And that is about it.

Why Virtual machine swapfile location is grayed out?

I was trying to figure out why Virtual machine swapfile location is grayed out as shown in the pics below

What I understood is that it inherits properties from cluster. If the cluster has been set to store the swap file on VM then the pic above will be like that.

So you need to choose second option if you have to store swap as per your convenient . Such configuration is done incase where is the requirement to have swap at separate location

Upgrading Virtual Center from 2.5 to 4.0

One of the best upgrade I have done from Virtual Center 2.5 to Virtual Center 4.0 U1. I have done many upgrades where you have to through many pain of redoing the work post upgrade but with 4.0 U1 upgrade it was smoothest and cleanest one. Just pop-in the CD and next –next period.

Here is how I performed it

1. Make sure you have exported all the relevant information from VC so that if any issue comes during the upgrade , you should be able to handle it. Also make sure you have done latest backup of SQL server used by VC. This is how the VC ISO menu looks like and choose

2. It will then detect the VC already running

3. Agree to license agreement and then proceed

4. Fill the correct information

5. t may give message like this and let SQL admin knows about it

6. Type user name with which it can authenticate. Remember this can be your user name since it is just for the authentication purpose

7. Choose the option below as shown and check the box which is mention or else it will not allow to move forwards

8. Here is the option which allow to run the account as a service . Best practice is to run with system account

9. Let this be at default

10. Relax and sit tight till it is done

11. This will do numerous thing during that process

12. Finally it will show like this

Congratulation you have completed the VC upgrade successfully . With my 100+ host environment , I only came across on host which was in disconnect state . It also understand about VC2.5 licensing .

Adding additional vmfs volume on ESX host

We may often come across situation that local VMFS volume is exhausted and you have to add additional VMFS. I have written two different blog regarding the same .

One was how to use ACU from web and other was to create additional vmfs if you not able to see the logical volume

In this one we are adding additional drives in the available DL380 and then creating additional vmfs partition.

1 Reboot the ESX host and get into ACU (Array Configuration Utility ) BIOS by pressing F8 on key board. This will bring screen where you can see menu for configuring Array . We need to select first one as shown below

Once we select that ,next screen will show all the available disk . We make sure that you select RAID 5 and then press enter to create this logical drive

It will then provide summary for the total logical space and asking to press F8 to save the configuration

Press continue to see the total logical volume created

It will then show the summary along with newly created logical volume . Here you can also see the previous logical volume

Reboot the host and go to virtual center . Select the configuration from the host and then choose add storage

It will then run the wizard for creating new VMFS partition . Make sure that you select Disk/Lun

It will then show the newly created logical disk

It will show the warning but continue with space creation

Give the name as _storage

Go with default

End it will provide summary

Now you will have two VMFS volume, one old one and other one newly crated

Step by Step: Installing HP SIM on ESX4.0

Today I have installed HP SIM on BL460C G6 .  I followed my earlier blog and little bit of change in answer script.

First of all you need to download correct SIM agent for your hardware. So select the your server model  and then from “Software – System Management ” page download correct tar (hpmgmt-8.3.1-vmware4x.tgz)file. Follow the blog till steps 13.

Then the answer file looks like this :

[root@xxxx]# ./install831vibs.sh --install

HP Insight Manager Agent 8.3.1-01 Installer for VMware ESX

Target System is VMware ESX 4.0.0 build-208167

Server:  ProLiant BL460c G6

1.This script will now attempt to install the HP Insight Manager Agents.

Do you wish to continue? (y/n)    yes

2.For accessing the System Management Homepage, the port for hpim service (2381) should be enabled in the firewall. Do you want to enable this port? <y/n> (default is y) yes.

3. For allowing discovery by HP System Insight Manager, the port (2301) should be enabled in the firewall. Do you want to enable this port? <y/n> (default is y) yes

4.For adding the HP Systems Insight Manager Certificate in SMH, the port [280] should be enabled in the firewall.  Do you want to enable this port? <y/n> (default is y) yes

5. Do you wish to use an existing snmpd.conf (y/n) (Blank is n): no

6. Enter the localhost SNMP Read/Write community string (one word, required, no default):  public

7. Enter localhost SNMP Read Only community string (one word, Blank to skip): public

8. Enter Read/Write Authorized Management Station IP or DNS name (Blank to skip): <IP of SIM server>

9. Enter SNMP Read/Write community string for Management Station "<IP of SIM server>" (one word, required, no default): public

10. Enter Read Only Authorized Management Station IP or DNS name (Blank to skip): <Blank if you don’t have one>

11. Enter default SNMP trap community string (One word; Blank to skip): ): <Blank if you don’t have one>

12. Enter SNMP trap destination IP or DNS name (One word; Blank to skip): <Blank if you don’t have one>

13. Enter system contact information (Name, phone, room, etc; Blank to skip): <Blank if you don’t have one>

14. Enter system location information (Building, room, etc; Blank to skip): <Blank if you don’t have one>

System page has been changed from earlier version

And see it inside

If you want to do for 3.5 host then follow this blog