VMware vCenter Server

Module 4

© 2011 VMware Inc. All rights reserved

 You Are Here

Course Introduction Data Protection

Introduction to Virtualization Access & Authentication Control

Virtual Machines Resource Management and Monitoring

VMware vCenter Server High Availability

Configure and Manage Virtual Networks Scalability

Configure and Manage Virtual Storage Patch Management

Managing Virtual Machines Installing vSphere Components

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 Importance

VMware vCenter Server™ allows you to centrally manage

multiple VMware® ESXi™ hosts and their virtual machines.
Failure to properly install, configure, and manage vCenter
Server could result in reduced administrative efficiency or
possible VMware ESXi host and virtual machine downtime.

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 Module Lessons

Lesson 1: vCenter Server Architecture

Lesson 2: Deploy vCenter Server Virtual Appliance
Lesson 3: Manage vCenter Server Inventory

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© 2011 VMware Inc. All rights reserved

 Lesson 1:
vCenter Server Architecture

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 Learner Objectives

After this lesson, you should be able to do the following:

 Describe the architecture of vCenter Server.
 Discuss how ESXi hosts communicate with vCenter Server.
 Identify additional vCenter Server components and modules.

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 vCenter Server: Management Platform

vCenter Server is a service that

VMware vCenter Server
acts as a central administration
point for ESXi hosts and their
virtual machines, connected on a
network: Manage
 Up to 1,000 hosts per
vCenter Server instance
 Up to 10,000 powered-on VMware VMware VMware
vSphere® vSphere vSphere
virtual machines per
vCenter Server instance

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 vCenter Architecture

ESXi host ESXi host ESXi host

* NIS also supported

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 ESXi and vCenter Server Communication

vCenter Server

hostd vpxa

ESXi host

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 vCenter Server Components

Active Directory /
distributed services
NIS Services
Additional Services :
• Update manager

database • Orchestrator user

server access vSphere
control API
core services

VMware ESX®/ESXi management

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 Additional vCenter Server Modules

Optional vCenter Server modules (plug-ins) provide additional

features to vCenter Server.
Examples:
 VMware vSphere Update Manager
 VMware Site Recovery Manager™ Plug-In
 VMware Data Recovery
These modules include a server component and a client
component:
 The client component is a plug-in available for download and
installation to the VMware vSphere® Client™ after the server
component is installed in vCenter Server.
 The client component alters the interface by adding items related to
the enhanced functionality.

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 Default vCenter Server Plug-Ins

vCenter Server is installed with a set of default plug-ins.

To install a new plug-in, use the Plug-in Manager in the vSphere
Client.

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 Review of Learner Objectives

You should be able to do the following:

 Describe the architecture of vCenter Server.
 Discuss how ESXi hosts communicate with vCenter Server.
 Identify additional vCenter Server components and modules.

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© 2011 VMware Inc. All rights reserved

 Lesson 2:
Deploy vCenter Server Virtual
Appliance

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 Learner Objectives

After this lesson, you should be able to do the following:

 Import the vCenter Server appliance into an existing infrastructure.
 Configure and deploy the vCenter Server appliance.

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 vCenter Server Appliance Features

The vCenter Server appliance features include the following:

 Pre-packaged 64-bit application running on SUSE Linux Enterprise
Server 11
 Embedded database available for:
• Evaluating the appliance
• Running less than 5 ESXi servers or less than 50 virtual machines
 Support for external Oracle and IBM DB2 databases when running in
an enterprise
 vCenter Server appliance configuration performed through a web-
based interface
 Support for the vSphere Web Client application
 The vCenter Server virtual appliance, which can authenticate with
either Active Directory (AD) or Network Information Service (NIS)

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 vCenter Server Appliance Benefits

The benefits of using the vCenter Server appliance include the

following:
 Simplified deployment and configuration:
• Import appliance to an ESXi server
• Configure the network and time zone settings
• Use the web interface to configure the appliance
 Lower total cost of ownership by eliminating the Windows operating
system dependency and associated licensing costs
 No change to user experience when connecting to vCenter Server
with the VMware vSphere Client

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 vCenter Server Appliance Requirements

vCenter Server Appliance

Requirements
Hardware
Disk space needed on the host Minimum = 7GB
machine Maximum = 82GB
For 1-10 hosts or 1-100 virtual machines,
allocate 4GB.

For 10-100 hosts or 100-1000 virtual

machines, allocate 8GB.
vCenter Server Appliance
memory allocation
For 100-400 hosts or 1000-4000 virtual
machines, allocate 13GB.

For more than 400 hosts or 4000 virtual

machines, allocate 17GB.

Processor 2 vCPU (default)

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 Importing the Appliance

To import the appliance, select File > Deploy OVF Template.

The appliance is imported on an ESXi host that is part of the virtual
infrastructure.

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 Starting the Appliance

Once the appliance boots up, the network settings and time zone
need to be configured.
Network settings can be configured from the console or using a
web interface.

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 Configuring the vCenter Server Appliance Network

Access the appliance console

Select Configure Network, then enter the network settings.
Reboot the appliance after the network is configured.

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 Configuring the vCenter Server Appliance Time Zone

Access the appliance console

Select Set Timezone and set the time zone to the appropriate
location.

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 Connecting to the Web Interface

Open a web browser and type:

https://[appliancename|ip address]:5480
Log in and configure the appliance.

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 Configuring vCenter Server

Accept the enterprise-user license agreement and configure the

database.
 Click Accept
EULA to accept
the end-user
license agreement
(EULA) , which
displays upon first
login.
 Select embedded
or Oracle for
database type.
 Enter connection
information if
required.
 Click Test
Settings or Save
Settings.
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 Manage vCenter Server Services
Turn on the vCenter Server service and manage additional vCenter
Server services.
 Click Start
vCenter.
 Click the
Services tab.
 Start and stop
services for the
vSphere Web
Client and ESXi
hosts.

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 Additional vCenter Server Configuration Options

There are many other configuration options that are beyond the
scope of this discussion.

The other tabs offer various configuration options. For example:

 Configure HTTP/HTTPS ports
 Change appliance password
 Reboot or shutdown the appliance
 Configure logging and core file storage
 Modify IP address, DNS, and hostname

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 Lab 4

In this lab, you will perform basic vCenter Server inventory

operations.
1. Configure the vCenter Server appliance with a Web browser.
2. Configure vCenter Server appliance to use directory services.
3. Register VMware vSphere Web Client with vCenter Server
appliance.
4. Connect to the vCenter Server appliance with the vSphere Client.

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 Review of Learner Objectives

You should be able to do the following:

 Import the vCenter Server appliance into an existing
infrastructure.
 Configure and deploy the vCenter Server appliance.

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 Lesson 3:
Manage vCenter Server Inventory

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 Learner Objectives

After this lesson, you should be able to do the following:

 Create and organize vCenter Server inventory objects
 Navigate using the vSphere Client
 Add license keys to vCenter Server
 View vCenter Server logs and events
 Create a vCenter Server administrator

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 Datacenter Object

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 Organizing Inventory Objects into Folders

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 Navigating the vSphere Client

Home page
search box

navigation bar

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 vCenter Server Views: Hosts and Clusters, VMs, and Templates

Hosts and clusters Virtual machines and templates

inventory view inventory view

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 vCenter Server Views: Datastores and Networks

Datastores and datastore clusters

inventory view Networking inventory view

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 Adding a Host to the vCenter Server Inventory

To add an ESXi host to

the vCenter Server
inventory, use the Add
Host wizard and
specify:
 Fully qualified
domain name
 User name and
password
 Lockdown mode
enabled

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 vCenter License Overview

Licenses are managed and monitored from vCenter Server.

Licensing consists of:
 Product – License to use a vSphere software component or
feature
 License key – 25-character string that corresponds to a product
 Asset – Machine on which a product is installed

product

license
key

assets

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 vCenter Server Events

event search

details of
selected
event

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 vCenter Server System Logs

log search

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 Lab 5

In this lab, you will perform basic vCenter Server inventory

operations.
1. Install vSphere license keys.
2. Create a vCenter Server inventory datacenter object.
3. Create vCenter Server inventory folder objects.
4. Add your ESXi host to the vCenter Server inventory.

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 Review of Learner Objectives

You should be able to do the following:

 Create and organize vCenter Server inventory objects
 Navigate using the vSphere Client
 Add license keys to vCenter Server
 View vCenter Server logs and events
 Create a vCenter Server administrator

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 Key Points

 The vCenter Server appliance is a Linux based appliance that

you can deploy as an alternative to the standard, Windows-
based vCenter Server software.
 The VMware vCenter™ architecture consists of vCenter Server,
the vCenter Server database, Active Directory, and managed
ESXi hosts.
 Use the inventory views to organize inventory objects in a
meaningful way.

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