Using ESXi with PowerChute

Business Edition
This help covers the following topics:
• Installing vMA for an ESXi Host Server
• Configuring and Running ESXi

PowerChute Business Edition does not support the HA environment.

1
Installing vMA for an ESXi Host Server
vSphere Management Assistant (vMA), from the VMware® company, enables you to manage
your ESXi host servers.
You need to install it in order to use PowerChute Business Edition with an ESXi host, as that OS
does not allow a direct installation.
The installation steps below assume that you have:
• An operational ESXi host server.
• An operational vSphere Client in order to log on to the host server.
You can download the vSphere Client from www.vmware.com or by browsing to
https://<ESXi Host IP Address> and clicking on the Download vSphere Client
option.
The Client requires AMD Opteron, rev E or higher CPU or Intel processors, with EM64T
and VT support.
To perform the vMA installation, you should be an administrator with basic knowledge of Linux.
The web page vSphere Management Assistant has in-depth background information on the
topics mentioned above. Alternatively, you can call VMware customer support.
The APC by Schneider KBase (http://www.apc.com/site/support/index.cfm/faq/index.cfm), has
some information on installing the Client also. Type a search query like “vMA ESXi” to display the
relevant articles.

vSphere Management Assistant (vMA) was previously known as

VMware Infrastructure Management Assistant (VIMA).

Installing vMA
Note: VMware uses the term deploy with vMA and other applications, meaning to install,
configure, test, and use the application.
1. Download the vMA installation files from vSphere Management Assistant , and extract the
files.

2. Log on to the ESXi host or vCenter server using your vSphere Client.

2
3. You need the URL of the host server, its user name, and password, in order to do this.
Select File - Deploy OVF Template from the menu.

3
4. At the Deploy from a file or URL field, enter the path to the .OVF file you extracted at
step 1 above.

4
5. The vMA and OVF details are displayed. Click the Next button.

6. When the End User Licence Agreement (EULA) is displayed, click Accept and then Next.

5
7. Accept the default vMA name (and location) or enter alternatives, and click Next.

6
8. At Disk Format, choose the default disk layout option by clicking Next.

7
9. The options you have chosen display again, click Finish.

The vMA software is now installed, and it should be displaying in the left-hand pane.
10. Select the installed vMA in the left-hand pane.

11. Click on the Getting Started tab along the top of the screen and choose Edit Virtual
Machine Settings in the right-hand pane.

12. In the Virtual Machine dialog, click the Add... button on the hardware tab.

This launches the Add Hardware wizard.

8
13. Select Serial Port, as the type of device to add and click Next:

14. Under Serial port type, select User physical serial port on the host and click Next:

9
15. Select your physical serial port from the drop down list, enable the option Connect at
Power on and enable the option Yield CPU on poll. Click Next.

16. Click Finish and then click OK to finish adding the new serial port.
17. Power on the vMA virtual machine – follow the instructions on configuring IP address,
setting vi-admin password etc.
18. Use WinSCP (Windows Secure CoPy) to copy the PowerChute Business Edition Agent
installation directory to vMA. (WinSCP is available for free on the Internet).
Note: With vMA 5 you cannot connect to vMA using SSH (required for SCP transfer) by
default even though sshd is running. To allow access you need to edit /etc/hosts.allow
and add this line below (otherwise the ssh connection will be refused).
sshd : ALL : ALLOW
You have two alternatives to using the WinSCP software.
i. You can map a network drive by
first creating a new folder, e.g. “share” where the network drive will be mapped:
sudo mkdir /mnt/share
then mounting the network share:
sudo mount -t cifs //<server name or share name> /mnt/share -o
username=<user name>,password=<password>
For example:
sudo mount -t cifs //11.111.111.111/public /mnt/share -o
username=mmmftp,password=rrrftp

ii. Or you can mount the CD: *

first create the directory if it does not already exist, then mount it.
sudo mkdir /mnt/cdrom
sudo mount -o ro /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
* Prior to mounting the CD, you must edit the CD/DVD Drive (specifically its Device
Status and Device Type) in the VM settings.

10
If you’re inserting the CD in the host drive, select the relevant vMA in the left pane of
vSphere Client, and click on the CD icon on the toolbar and select Connect to host
device.

If you’re inserting the CD in the client drive, select the relevant vMA in the left pane of
vSphere Client, and click on the CD icon on the toolbar and select Connect to
<drive, e.g. E>.

See graphic below for when the CD/DVD is placed in the CD drive of the ESXi host:

11
 and this illustration below for when the CD/DVD is placed in the CD drive of a
machine running vSphere client (a Windows or a Linux machine):

19. Start the installation with this command:

sudo ./install_pbeagent_linux.sh
You can find this script in the Linux directory off the root of your CD, or on the website.
20. On the following screen, answer the questions that determine which PowerChute Agent is
suitable for your system.
See the graphics below for illustrations of RJ45 and DB9 ports.

12
21. Enter a username and password, and a communications port.
If you are using PowerChute Server or PowerChute Console to manage your Agents,
then use the same values here as for those components.
22. On the following screen, check that the signal type and the communications port are
correct.
23. In order to shut down the ESXi host using vMA, it must be added as a fastpass target. To
do this, add the ESXi Host IP when prompted.
24. Choose whether to start the Agent immediately. Your installation is complete.
25. Confirm that the ESXi host has been added as a target server using the following
command:
sudo vifp listservers
Note: To launch the Agent after installation, type one of the following in your browser:
http://<vMA IP address>:3052
https://<vMA IP address>:6547
26. In order to ensure safe shutdown of the VMs running on the ESXi server you need to
install VMWare tools on each VM. To do this right click on the VM in vSphere Client and
select Guest - Install/Upgrade VMWare Tools.

13
27. Additionally you need to set Virtual Machine shutdown options. To do this select the ESXi
host in VSphere and go to the Configuration tab. In the Software section select Virtual
Machine Startup/Shutdown:

28. Click on Properties in top right corner.

29. Enable the check box Allow virtual machines to start and stop automatically with the
system.
30. Set the shutdown delay (default 120 seconds) and set the shutdown action to Guest
shutdown.

14
31. Select VMs listed under Manual Startup and use the Move Up button to move them to
the section Any order or Automatic Startup. To prevent machines from starting up
automatically move them back down to Manual startup section:

It is possible that your virtual machine might not shut down or might
not shut down safely. This issue is recognized by the VMware
company. Please refer to the workaround published by VMware (KB
Article 1008182) on their Web site .

15
Configuring and Running ESXi
See the sections below to fully configure ESXi to facilitate using PowerChute Business Edition.

Fastpass Target
In order to shut down an ESXi host using vMA, you must add the ESXi server as a fastpass
target for that vMA.
1. Use the command:
vifp addserver <hostname/ IP address of ESXi host>.
2. When prompted, enter the root password for the ESXi host.
3. Confirm that the ESXi host has been added as a target server with this command:
vifp listservers.
Note: You are prompted to add the ESXi server during the installation. If you skipped this
step or are doing a silent installation, you must manually add the ESXi server as a target
host after the installation completes.

You can add additional ESXi hosts for shutdown if required by using
the sudo vifpaddserver command.

See vSphere Management Assistant for further information on adding a target server to VIMA.

VMware Tools
You must have an installation of VMware Tools for each guest operating system on VMware. This
ensures safe shut down of the virtual machines (VM) running on the ESXi server.
To install the VMware Tools, right-click on the VM in vSphere Client, and select Guest - Install/
Upgrade VMWare Tools.
For additional information, consult your ESXi documentation.

16
VM Shutdown Options
You need to set the virtual machine (VM) shutdown options.
1. Select the ESXi host in VSphere Client and choose the Configuration tab.
2. In the Software pane, select Virtual Machine Startup/Shutdown.

3. Click on Properties in the top-right corner.

17
4. Select the check box Allow virtual machines to start and stop automatically with the
system.

5. Set the shutdown delay (which has a default of 120 seconds), and set the shutdown
action to Guest Shutdown.
6. You can move VMs from Manual Startup to Any order or Automatic Startup, by
selecting the VM and using the Move Up button.
7. To prevent machines from starting up automatically, move them under Manual startup by
using the Move Down button.

It is possible that your virtual machine might not shut down or might
not shut down safely. This issue is recognized by the VMware
company. Please refer to the workaround published by VMware (KB
Article 1008182) on their Web site .

18
Starting and Stopping
Use the commands below to stop and start PowerChute Business Edition on ESXi.
To stop PowerChute, type the following at the command line:
sudo /etc/rc.d/init.d/PBEAgent stop
To start PowerChute manually, type the following at the command line:
sudo /etc/rc.d/init.d/PBEAgent start

Uninstalling
To uninstall, type the following command:
sudo rpm -e pbeagent

© 2013 by Schneider Electric. All rights reserved. Smart-UPS and PowerChute are owned by Schneider
Electric Industries S.A.S., American Power Conversion Corporation, or their affiliated companies. All
other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

990-4862
© Schneider Electric 2001-2013
September 3, 2013 19