Scalability Module 11

Introduction to VMware Virtualization Installing VMware ESX and ESXi You Are Here vSphere Environment Operations Introduction to VMware Virtualization Access Control VMware ESX and ESXi Resource Monitoring VMware vCenter Server Data Protection Networking Scalability Storage High Availability Virtual Machines Patch Management Installing VMware ESX and ESXi VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Importance As you scale your VMware vSphere™ environment, you need to be aware of the vSphere features and functions that will help you manage your growing environment. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Module Lessons Lesson 1: vCenter Linked Mode Lesson 2: Host Profiles Lesson 3: vNetwork Distributed Switches Lesson 4: vMotion Migration Lesson 5: DRS Lesson 6: VMware DPM VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Lesson 1: vCenter Linked Mode VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Lesson Objectives Describe VMware vCenter™ Linked Mode List vCenter Linked Mode requirements Join a VMware vCenter Server system to a Linked Mode group View and manage vCenter Server inventories in a Linked Mode group Isolate a vCenter Server system from a Linked Mode group VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

vCenter Linked Mode vCenter Linked Mode helps you manage multiple vCenter Server instances. vCenter Linked Mode allows you to: Log in simultaneously to all vCenter Server systems View and search the inventories of all vCenter Server systems You cannot migrate hosts or virtual machines between vCenter Server systems in vCenter Linked Mode. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

vCenter Linked Mode Architecture VMware vSphere Client vCenter Server Tomcat Web service vCenter Server Tomcat Web service vCenter Server Tomcat Web service ADAM instance ADAM instance ADAM instance vCenter Server instance vCenter Server instance vCenter Server instance Connection information Certificates and thumbprints Licensing information User roles VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Searching Across vCenter Server Instances VMware vSphere Client 1 4 3 3 3 vCenter Server Tomcat Web service vCenter Server Tomcat Web service vCenter Server Tomcat Web service 2 ADAM instance ADAM instance ADAM instance vCenter Server instance vCenter Server instance vCenter Server instance VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Basic Requirements for vCenter Linked Mode Domain controller: Domain user account needs the following privileges: Member of Admin group Act as part of operating system Log in as a service vCenter Server instances can be in different domains if the domains trust each other. DNS server: DNS name must match machine name. Clocks synchronized across instances VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Joining a Linked Mode Group Join a system to a Linked Mode group. After installing vCenter Server Start > Programs > VMware > vCenter Server Linked Mode Configuration During installation of vCenter Server VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

vCenter Service Monitoring: Linked Mode Groups Use the vCenter Service Status window to quickly identify and correct failures. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Resolving Role Conflicts Roles are replicated when a vCenter Server system is joined to a Linked Mode group. If role names differ on vCenter Server systems, they are combined into a single common list and each server will have all the user roles. If role names are identical, they are combined into a single role (if they contain the same privileges). If role names are identical, and the roles contain different privileges, these roles must be reconciled. One of the roles must be renamed. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A 293

Isolate a vCenter Server Instance 2 1 You can isolate a vCenter Server instance from a Linked Mode group in two ways: Use the vCenter Server Linked Mode Configuration wizard. Use Windows Add/Remove Programs. 3 VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A 294

Lesson Summary Describe vCenter Linked Mode List vCenter Linked Mode requirements Join a vCenter Server system to a Linked Mode group View and manage vCenter Server inventories in a Linked Mode group Isolate a vCenter Server system from a Linked Mode group VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A 295

Lesson 2: Host Profiles VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Lesson Objectives Describe Host Profiles components and operation Describe Host Profiles benefits Manage VMware® ESX™/ESXi configuration compliance using a host profile VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A 297

Host Configuration Overview ESX/ESXi host configurations have a wide scope, which include: CPU Memory Storage Networking Licensing DNS and routing ESX service console firewall Existing processes for modifying a single host’s configuration are either manual or automated through scripts. The Host Profiles feature allows you to export configuration settings from a reference host and save them as a portable set of policies, called the host profile. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A 298 298 298

Host Profiles Host profiles eliminate per-host configurations and maintains configuration consistency and correctness across the entire datacenter. Benefits: Simplified setup and change management for ESX/ESXi hosts Easy detection of noncompliance with standard configurations Automated remediation VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A 299

Basic Workflow to Implement Host Profiles memory reservation storage networking date and time firewall security services users and user groups 2 4 3 5 reference host cluster 1 VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Monitoring for Compliance VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Applying Host Profiles To bring a host to the required state of configuration: Select Apply to apply the configuration encapsulated in the attached host profile. Review the configuration changes to be applied. The host is configured automatically. For you to apply the host profile, a host must be in maintenance mode. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A 302

Lesson Summary Describe Host Profiles components and operation Describe Host Profiles benefits Manage ESX/ESXi configuration compliance using a host profile VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A 303

Lesson 3: vNetwork Distributed Switches VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Lesson Objectives List the benefits of using vNetwork distributed switches Create a distributed virtual switch Manage the distributed virtual switch Describe the distributed virtual switch architecture Describe the properties of a distributed virtual switch VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

vNetwork Distributed Switch A vNetwork distributed switch provides similar functionality to a vNetwork standard switch, but it functions as a single virtual switch across all associated hosts. VMware vCenter™ Server owns the configuration of the distributed virtual switch. The configuration will be consistent across all the hosts that use it. A distributed virtual switch can support up to 350 hosts. A distributed virtual switch can benefit from the performance of 10GbE physical network interface cards (NICs). The behavior of distributed virtual switches is consistent with vNetwork standard switches. You can configure virtual machine port groups, VMkernel ports, and service console ports. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Benefits of Distributed Virtual Switches Benefits of distributed virtual switches over standard virtual switches: Simplify datacenter administration Provide support for private VLANs Enable networking statistics and policies to migrate with virtual machines during a migration with VMware vMotion™ Provide for customization and third-party development distributed virtual switches standard virtual switches VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Distributed Virtual Switch Example Create a distributed virtual switch named vDS01. Create a port group named Production, to be used for virtual machine networking. Assign uplinks, vmnic1 on host ESX01 and vmnic2 on host ESX02, to the distributed virtual switch. uplink port group distributed virtual switch, vDS01 Production virtual physical uplinks vmnic0 vmnic1 vmnic2 vmnic0 vmnic1 vmnic2 ESX01 ESX02 VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Viewing Distributed Virtual Switches View distributed virtual switches in the Networking inventory view. Give port groups descriptive names. For example, change the name dvPortGroup (default) to Production. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Managing Virtual Adapters Click the Manage Virtual Adapters link to add a new virtual adapter or to migrate an existing one to a distributed virtual switch. Managing virtual adapters is performed at the host level. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Managing Physical Adapters network configuration for host sc-goose01.vmeduc.com Modify physical adapter configuration at the host level, for example, to create a NIC team. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Connecting a Virtual Machine to a Port Group Connect a virtual machine to a network by assigning a port group to its network adapter. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Distributed Virtual Switch Architecture management port management port vMotion port distributed ports and port groups vCenter Server distributed virtual switch (control plane) uplink port groups hidden vSwitches (I/O plane) virtual physical physical NICs (uplinks) host 1 host 2 VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Editing General Switch Properties The Properties tab has settings for general properties, such as the distributed virtual switch name, the number of uplink ports and optional names, the number of ports, and notes. Distributed ports and port groups inherit property settings defined at the switch level. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A 314

Editing Advanced Switch Properties The Properties tab also has settings for advanced properties, including: Maximum MTU Cisco Discovery Protocol Administrator Contact Information VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Network I/O Control Network I/O Control allows distributed virtual switch traffic to be divided into different network resource pools. You can use shares and limits to control traffic priority. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Standard Switch and Distributed Switch Feature Comparison Layer 2 switch VLAN segmentation 802.1Q tagging NIC teaming Outbound traffic shaping Inbound traffic shaping VM network port block Private VLANs Load-based teaming Datacenter-level management Network vMotion vNetwork switch APIs Per-port policy settings Port state monitoring VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A 317

Lab 19 In this lab, you will create a distributed virtual switch. Remove the vmnic from the standard virtual switch. Create a distributed virtual switch for the virtual machine network. Create a distributed virtual switch port group. Migrate virtual machines to a distributed switch port group. Verify that your virtual machine has proper access to the Production network. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A 318

Lesson Summary List the benefits of using distributed virtual switches Create a distributed virtual switch Manage the distributed virtual switch Describe the distributed virtual switch architecture Describe the properties of a distributed virtual switch VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Lesson 4: vMotion Migration VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Lesson Objectives Explain the importance of vMotion Identify vMotion requirements: Virtual machine Host Verify vMotion requirements Perform a vMotion migration VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

vMotion Migration A vMotion migration moves a powered-on virtual machine from one host to another. vMotion can be used to: Improve overall hardware utilization Allow continued virtual machine operation while accommodating scheduled hardware downtime Allow VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) to balance virtual machines across hosts VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

How vMotion Migration Works VM A (network = Production) VM A (network = Production) memory bitmap vMotion network memory Production network VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Virtual Machine Requirements for vMotion Migration A virtual machine must meet the following requirements: A virtual machine must not have a connection to an internal vSwitch (vSwitch with zero uplink adapters). A virtual machine must not have a connection to a virtual device (such as a CD-ROM or floppy drive) with a local image mounted. A virtual machine must not have CPU affinity configured. If the virtual machine’s swap file is not accessible to the destination host, vMotion must be able to create a swap file accessible to the destination host before migration can begin. If a virtual machine uses an RDM, the RDM must be accessible by the destination host. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Host Requirements for vMotion Migration Source and destination hosts must have: Visibility to all storage (Fibre Channel, iSCSI, or NAS) used by the virtual machine: 128 concurrent vMotion migrations per VMware vStorage VMFS datastore At least a Gigabit Ethernet network: Four concurrent vMotion migrations on a 1Gbps network Eight concurrent vMotion migrations on a 10Gbps network Access to the same physical networks Compatible CPUs: CPU feature sets of both the source and destination host must be compatible. Some features can be hidden by using Enhanced vMotion Compatibility (EVC) or compatibility masks. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

CPU Constraints on vMotion Migration CPU characteristics Exact match required? Why or why not? Clock speeds, cache sizes, hyperthreading, and number of cores No Virtualized away by VMkernel Manufacturer (Intel or AMD) Family (P4, Opteron) Yes Instruction sets contain many small differences. Presence or absence of SSE3, SSSE3, or SSE4.1 instructions Multimedia instructions usable directly by applications Virtualization hardware assist For 32-bit VMs: No For 64-bit VMs on Intel: Yes The VMware Intel 64-bit implementation leverages VT. Execution-disable (NX/XD bit) Yes (but customizable) Guest operating system relies on NX/XD bit if detected. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Exposing or Hiding NX/XD Choose between NX/XD security features or broadest vMotion compatibility. For future CPU features, edit mask at the bit level. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Identifying CPU Characteristics To identify CPU characteristics, use the server and CPU specifications. Or use the VMware CPU identification utility. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Verifying vMotion Layout: Virtual Machine Map VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Checking vMotion Errors VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Lab 20 In this lab, you will use vMotion to migrate virtual machines. Create a VMkernel port group for vMotion migration. Verify that your ESXi host meets vMotion requirements. Verify that your virtual machine meets vMotion requirements. Perform a vMotion migration of a virtual machine. Prepare for the next lab. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A 331

Lesson Summary Explain the importance of VMware vMotion Identify vMotion requirements: Virtual machine Host Verify vMotion requirements Perform a vMotion migration VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Lesson 5: DRS VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Lesson Objectives Describe the functions of a DRS cluster Explain the benefits of EVC Create a DRS cluster View information about a DRS cluster Remove a host from a DRS cluster VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

What Is a DRS Cluster? A cluster is a collection of ESX/ESXi hosts and associated virtual machines. A DRS cluster is managed by vCenter Server and has these resource management capabilities: Initial placement Load balancing Power management cluster VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

DRS Cluster Prerequisites DRS works best if the virtual machines meet vMotion requirements. To use DRS for load balancing, the hosts in the cluster must be part of a vMotion network. If not, DRS can still make initial placement recommendations. Configure all hosts in the cluster to used shared storage. Volumes must be accessible by all hosts. Volumes must be large enough to store all virtual disks for your virtual machine. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A 336

DRS Cluster Settings: Automation Level Configure automation level for initial placement of VMs and dynamic balancing while VMs are running. Automation level Initial VM placement Dynamic balancing Manual Partially automated Automatic Fully automated Migration threshold determines how quickly virtual machines are migrated. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

DRS Cluster Settings: EVC EVC is a cluster feature that prevents vMotion migrations from failing because of incompatible CPUs. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

CPU Baselines for an EVC Cluster EVC works at the cluster level, using CPU baselines to configure all processors included in the cluster enabled for EVC. A baseline is a set of CPU features supported by every host in the cluster. CPU baseline feature set CPUID CPUID CPUID CPUID X… X… X… K… cluster enabled for EVC VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

EVC Cluster Requirements All hosts in the cluster must meet the following requirements: Use CPUs from a single vendor (either Intel or AMD) Use Intel CPUs with Core 2 micro architecture and newer Use AMD first-generation Opteron CPUs and newer Run ESX 3.5 Update 2 or later Be connected to vCenter Server Be enabled for hardware virtualization (AMD-V or Intel VT) Be enabled for execution-disable technology (AMD No eXecute (NX) or Intel eXecute Disable (XD)) Be configured for vMotion migration Applications in virtual machines must be well-behaved. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

DRS Cluster Settings: Swap File Location Store the virtual machine’s swap file with the virtual machine or in a specified datastore. VMware recommends that you store the swap file in the same directory as the virtual machine. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

DRS Cluster Settings: Affinity Rules for Virtual Machines Affinity rules for virtual machines specify that either selected virtual machines be placed on the same host (affinity) or on different hosts (anti-affinity). Affinity rules: Use for multi–virtual machine systems where performance benefits virtual machines communicating heavily with one another. Anti-affinity rules: Use for multi–virtual machine systems that load-balance or require high availability. Two rules: Keep Virtual Machines Together and Separate Virtual Machines VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

DRS Cluster Settings: DRS Groups A DRS group is: A group of virtual machines A group of hosts A virtual machine can belong to multiple virtual machine DRS groups. A host can belong to multiple host DRS groups.. DRS groups are used in defining Virtual Machines to Hosts affinity rules. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

DRS Cluster Settings: Virtual Machines to Hosts Affinity Rules A Virtual Machines to Hosts affinity rule: Specifies an affinity relationship between a virtual machine DRS group and a host DRS group Is either a required rule or a preferential rule Other options: Must run on hosts in group, Must Not run on hosts in group, Should Not run on hosts in group VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Virtual Machines to Hosts Affinity Rule: Preferential A preferential rule is softly enforced and can be violated if necessary. Group A Group B Example: Separate VMs on different blade systems. X X Blade Chassis A Blade Chassis B DRS cluster VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Virtual Machines to Hosts Affinity Rule: Required A required rule is strictly enforced and can never be violated. Group A Example: Enforce host-based ISV licensing. X X ISV-Licensed DRS cluster VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

DRS Cluster Settings: Automation at the Virtual Machine Level Optionally, set automation level per virtual machine. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Adding a Host to a Cluster When adding a new host or moving a host into the cluster, you can keep the resource pool hierarchy of the existing host. For example, add sc-quail04 to Lab Cluster. When adding the host, choose to create a resource pool for this host’s virtual machines and resource pools. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Viewing DRS Cluster Information The cluster Summary tab also provides information specific to DRS. The View Resource Distribution Chart link displays CPU and memory utilization per host. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A 349

Viewing DRS Recommendations Refresh recommendations. Edit cluster properties. Apply a subset of recommendations. Apply all recommendations. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Monitoring Cluster Status View the inventory hierarchy for the cluster state. View the cluster’s Tasks & Events tab for more information. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Maintenance Mode and Standby Mode To service a host in a cluster (for example, to install more memory) or remove a host from a cluster, you must place the host in maintenance mode. Virtual machines on the host should be migrated to another host or shut down. You cannot power on virtual machines or migrate virtual machines to a host entering maintenance mode. While in maintenance mode, the host does not allow you to deploy or power on a virtual machine. When a host is placed in standby mode, it is powered off. This mode is used by VMware Distributed Power Management to optimize power usage. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Removing a Host from the DRS Cluster Before removing a host from a DRS cluster, consider the following issues: The resource pool hierarchy remains with the cluster. Because a host must be in maintenance mode, all virtual machines running on that host are powered off. The resources available for the cluster decrease. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Improving Virtual Machine Performance Methods for improving virtual machine performance Fine Use network traffic shaping. Modify the virtual machine’s CPU and memory reservations. Modify the resource pool’s CPU and memory limits and reservations. Use NIC teaming. Broad Use storage multipathing. Use a DRS cluster. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

eLearning Activity In this eLearning activity, you will participate in a guided tour on how to configure a DRS cluster: http://mylearn.vmware.com/register.cfm?course=73277 VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A 355

Lesson Summary Describe the functions of a DRS cluster Explain the benefits of EVC Create a DRS cluster View information about a DRS cluster Remove a host from a DRS cluster VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Lesson 6: VMware DPM VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

Lesson Objectives Describe VMware DPM operation Configure VMware DPM VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A 358

VMware DPM VMware DPM consolidates workloads to reduce power consumption: Cuts power and cooling costs Automates management of energy efficiency VMware DPM supports three power management protocols: Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) Integrated Lights-Out (iLO) Wake on LAN (WOL) VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A 359

How Does VMware DPM Work? Operates on ESX/ESXi hosts that can be awakened from a powered-off state through WOL packets or IPMI-based remote power-on: WOL packets are sent over the vMotion network by another ESX/ESXi host in the cluster. VMware DPM keeps at least one such host powered on. Can be enabled or disabled at the cluster level: VMware DPM is disabled by default. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A 360

VMware DPM Operation VMware DPM powers off the host when the cluster load is low: VMware DPM considers a 20-minute load history. All virtual machines on the selected host are migrated to other hosts. VMware DPM powers on a host when the cluster load is high: It considers a 5-minute load history. The WOL packet is sent to the selected host, which boots up. DRS load balancing initiates, and some virtual machines are migrated to this host. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A 361

Power Management Comparison: VMware DPM How does VMware DPM compare to power management features in server hardware? VMware DPM = cluster power management Enhanced Intel SpeedStep and AMD PowerNow! = per-host power management Dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) Implement both VMware DPM and DVFS to maximize power savings. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A 362

Executes recommendations Enabling VMware DPM Automation level Function Off Disables features Manual Recommends only Automatic Executes recommendations VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

VMware DPM Host Options Cluster > Edit Settings Verify that wake is functioning properly. Disable hosts with a status of Never. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A

eLearning activity In this eLearning activity, you will participate in a guided tour on how to configure a DPM cluster: http://mylearn.vmware.com/register.cfm?course=73568 VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A 365

Lesson Summary Describe VMware DPM operation Configure VMware DPM 366 VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A 366

Key Points vCenter Linked Mode allows a single vSphere Client to view and manage the inventories of multiple vCenter Server systems. The Host Profiles feature allows you to export configuration settings from a master reference host and save them as a host profile. You can use the host profile to quickly configure other hosts in the datacenter. Distributed virtual switches are useful when you need to maintain network configurations for multiple ESX/ESXi hosts. vMotion is the underlying technology for DRS clusters. DRS clusters provide automated resource management for multiple ESX/ESXi hosts. VMware DPM consolidates workloads and powers down unused ESX/ESXi hosts to reduce power consumption. VMware vSphere 4.1: Install, Configure, Manage – Revision A