Managing VMware ESXi in the Datacenter Dwarakanath P Rao Sr Partner consultant 6 th November 2008
Agenda VMware ESXi Overview ESXi Getting Started Case Studies
VMware ESXi Overview Next What generation is It? of VMware s market-leading ESX hypervisor Virtual Machines VMware ESXi What Partitions does it a do? server into virtual machines Reduces hardware, power, and cooling with the performance and features of ESX Plug-and-Play What is unique? Minimal configuration. Run VMs in minutes OS-Independent, thin architecture Unparalleled security and reliability Full-featured Who can use it & How do you use it? Superior consolidation and scalability Easy to mange with remote tools Simple license upgrade to VI3 Enterprise
Vision: Building Block for the Next-generation Datacenter Plug-and-Play: Power on a new server with ESXi. The new server joins a cluster Self-optimizing: All VMs in the cluster are automatically rebalanced taking in consideration the newly available resources
Servers Shipping with Embedded ESXi DL360 G5 DL365 G5 DL380 G5 DL385 G2 BL460c BL465c G5 DL385 G5 DL580 G5 DL585 G2 DL585 G5 ML370 G5 BL465c BL680c G5 BL685c G5 BL480c BL685c 1950 III 2900 III 2950 III R805 R900 R905 M600 M605 x3850 HS21 RX 300 S4 RX 330 S1 RS210 RS220 120Bb-m6 120Rj-2
Servers Qualified for ESXi Installable DL360 G5 DL365 G5 DL380 G5 DL385 G2 BL460c BL465c G5 DL385 G5 DL580 G5 DL585 G2 DL585 G5 ML370 G5 BL465c BL680c G5 BL685c G5 BL480c BL685c 1950 III 2900 III 2950 III R805 R900 R905 M600 M605 x3850 x3455 LS41 HS21 LS21 BX620 S4 Known to work with 90+ Intel ESAA Platforms Variations Select partners include If ESXi is readable by a given server s CD ROM and installs on the attached hard disk, ESXi (hypervisor) will function on that server CIM Provider functionality has not been tested on servers not listed on the ESXi Installable HCL
VMware ESXi Getting Started
Hardware Needed Server CPU Minimum: Single socket, dual core Ideal: Dual-socket, 4 cores per CPU Memory: Minimum: 1GB Ideal: 8+GB Network Minimum: one NIC, plus one for Management interface Ideal: One for Management Interface plus multiple NICs for VMs Storage Local Storage (SATA/SAS): Minimum: one 80GB drive Ideal:2 mirrored drives (only for ESXi Installable) plus 4 RAID5 drives for VMs Shared Storage NFS, iscsi, Fibre Channel: for VM storage ESXi Installable requires local disk for the hypervisor CPU Memory Network Storage
Installing ESXi VMware ESXi Embedded Installed via SD flash or USB key internal to the server Distributed with a new server No Installation -- Just Turn It On! VMware ESXi Installable Load Installer via CD or ISO image Simple 2-step procedure: 1. Accept EULA 2. Select local drive for installation
Start Running VMs in Minutes 3i 1. Power on server and boot into hypervisor 2. Server Console Remote Access is supported with ESXi HP ilo Dell DRAC IBM RAS 3. Configure Admin Password 4. (optional) Modify network configuration 5. Connect VI Client to IP Address Or manage with VirtualCenter
Importing a virtual appliance
Creating Virtual Machines Use VMware Converter Transfer existing physical servers into virtual machines Import existing VMware and 3rd party virtual images Import a Virtual Appliance Create from Scratch Specify CPUs (1-4), Memory (1-64 GB), Disks, Network interfaces Load OS from ISO image (over 80 supported OSes) Hundreds to choose from on the Virtual Appliance Marketplace Download directly via VI Client and deploy on host
Manage Your ESXi Host: VI Client
Common Information Model (CIM) Key features Agent-less, standards based monitoring of hardware resources Used by VirtualCenter to provide basic hardware status information CIM providers readable by 3rd party management tools
Manage Individual VMs Control capabilities Power on/off Suspend Captures state of VM to disk Can resume back to same state Snapshot Makes point-in-time copy of virtual disk(s) Can have multiple snapshots in a tree
Backing up Virtual Machines Option 1: traditional backup tools Back up a VM like you would a physical server Option 2: back up VM as a set of files Can view and download VM files via VI Client through Datastore Browser (can also do via RCLI), OR Can download VM files directly from shared storage device 1. Take snapshot of VM 2. Download copies of VM files 3. Remove snapshot
More Sophisticated Features Resource Pools Allows you to divide resources of host in fine-grained way Create multiple-nested resource pools according to policies, e.g. By Application By Department
More Sophisticated Features Virtual Networking Create multiple vswitches and assign one or more NICs to each Create vswitches without NICs for internal-only traffic Make use of VLAN tagging (if your physical network supports it)
Case Studies: VMware ESXi in Large Financial, Large Oil
Case Studies: ESXi Operational Deployment Large US Financial Large US Oil Server Vendor HP HP Why ESXi? (prioritized list) Deployment Process Management Practice No installation; server is now an appliance Easier patching More secure COS considered an OS by Bank s security team Purchase licensed server for HP Apply latest patches with VMware Update Manager Add to computation cluster via Virtual Center No local disks; all storage on SAN No reliance on HP SIM No reliance on third-party agents Has developed in-house PERL script that interacts with HP HW directly through ilo Script queries HP IML logs Reports any item that is not listed at Informational or Repaired Emails report to system administrators More secure No installation required Easier patching Easier to deploy at remote sites Purchase stand-alone, unlicensed ESXi USB keys from HP Configure key at central site Apply latest patch Provide IP address Set root password Install USB key in HP server and ship to installation location May use local storage or SAN Relies on HP SIM hooks integrated into ESXi Satisfied with ESXi SIM integration
HP Systems Insight Manager Working Together with ESXi and VirtualCenter
ESX, ESXi 3.5 Comparison Capability VMware ESX VMware ESXi Service Console Remote CLI Scriptable Installation Serial Cable Connectivity Privileged (unsecure), flexible Linux environment Service Console CLI Support for RCLI in ESX 3.5 U2 KickStart support Enabled None. VI Client, RCLI, and APIs for management At this time, the following Service Console CLI commands have not been implemented in RCLI: ESXcfg-claimrule ESXcfg-info ESXcfg-resgrp ESXcfg-swiscsi Not supported at this time. Support for post installation configuration script using RCLI-based configuration scripts. No support at this time SNMP VMware ESX supports SNMP With VI only Active Directory Integration Third-party module in Service Console Not supported at this time HW Inst. HW agents in Service Console Monitoring through CIM Providers Software Patches & Updates Linux-like patching FW-like upgrades VI Web Access Supported Not Supported See KB 1006543
Remote CLI Overview A set of tools which enable execution of VI management tasks from a remote CLI environment Commands are run from a remote system They get executed on an ESX Server The output is piped back in-line A replacement for COS-based CLI and scripts A better way to do CLI-based ESX Server management User is authenticated Fine-grained permissions Auditing of tasks
Q&A Dwarakanath P Rao Sr Partner Consultant.