Related Manuals for VMware VmWare ESX Server 2.12
Summary of Contents for VMware VmWare ESX Server 2.12
- Page 1 ESX Server 2.1.2 Software ™ ™ for Dell PowerEdge Servers Deployment Guide w w w . d e l l . c o m | s u p p o r t . d e l l . c o m...
- Page 3 ESX Server 2.1.2 Software ™ ™ for Dell PowerEdge Servers Deployment Guide w w w . d e l l . c o m | s u p p o r t . d e l l . c o m...
- Page 4 Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. Dell Inc. disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.
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Page 5: Table Of Contents
....OpenManage Software Overview Using the Dell Remote Access Card III (DRAC III) ...... - Page 6 Guest Operating Systems ........Guest OS Installation .
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Page 7: Introduction
(OS) with their associated applications. The ESX Server software has a virtualization layer that allocates virtualized Dell resources to VMs and a Service Console – a management interface for the VMware virtualization layer. Figure 1-1 shows the ESX Server architecture. - Page 8 The vacant system can be shutdown, repaired, then placed back into service at which time VMs can be migrated back to it – all without impacting availability to end users. Dell configurations of ESX Server software and VirtualCenter allow users to: • Implement server consolidation •...
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Page 9: Understanding Dell Configurations
Understanding Dell Configurations For this release, Dell has qualified a base server configuration for use with ESX Server 2.1.2 software. A single server can be used in a "stand-alone" mode, or one or more servers can be connected to a shared SAN through a switch. -
Page 10: Table 1-2. Additional Supported Devices For A Stand-Alone Esx Server System Configuration
Table 1-2. Additional Supported Devices for a Stand-Alone ESX Server System Configuration Server PE 6650 PE 2850 PE 1850 Storage Five internal hard Six internal hard Two internal hard disks (15K RPM disks (15K RPM disks (15K RPM at RAID 5 at RAID 5 at RAID 1 recommended) -
Page 11: Figure 1-2. Non-Virtualcenter Configuration, One Or More Poweredge Servers With Optional San
Figure 1-2 shows the Dell qualified base server configuration when not using VirtualCenter. Figure 1-2. Non-VirtualCenter Configuration, One or More PowerEdge Servers with Optional SAN Dell's qualified configuration with VMware VirtualCenter is: VMware ESX Server 2.1.2 software on each PowerEdge server with a single VirtualCenter 1.1 Server on a PowerEdge 1850 managing all ESX Server... -
Page 12: Figure 1-3. Virtualcenter Configuration With San For
Figure 1-3. VirtualCenter Configuration with SAN for VMotion Figure 1-4. VirtualCenter Configuration with SAN for VMotion (with HBA Failover) Deployment Guide... -
Page 13: Understanding Esx Server Components
Virtual Machine - an encapsulation of an operating system and its application with dynamic features beyond physical machines. NOTE: An explanation of the VMware ESX Server software component product license information can be found at the www.dell.com/vmware under the Product and Services tab. Understanding VirtualCenter Components •... -
Page 14: Current Hardware And Software Qualification List
• VirtualCenter Agent - an agent that is installed on each Dell PowerEdge Server with ESX Server software that is part of a VirtualCenter farm. This agent allows the ESX Server software to be managed by VirtualCenter and allows for the VMotion capability. This agent is installed automatically when a host is added to VirtualCenter. -
Page 15: Before Installation
Size the resource requirements for the VMs, such as CPU requirements, amount of memory, number of NICs, etc. For more information on sizing see the sizing guidelines document at www.dell.com/vmware. • Size the resource requirements for the Service Console. •... -
Page 16: Recommended Local Disk Partitioning
Utility Partition New Dell Servers ship with the Dell Utility Partition (UP) pre-installed. The UP is a bootable disk partition that contains Dell diagnostic utilities and other software useful in maintaining the hardware. It is accessed by pressing the <F10> key at system boot time. Dell recommends that you keep the UP on your ESX Server system. -
Page 17: Service Console Configuration
ESX Server system. It is recommended that more memory (around 128 MB) be allocated to the Service Console if Dell OpenManage is installed. The amount of memory dedicated to the Service Console can be changed at any time, but requires a reboot of the ESX Server system. -
Page 18: After Installation
ESX Server Software Advanced features such as VMotion technology require a Storage Area Network (SAN) environment using Dell | EMC CX300, CX500, or CX700 storage devices. Setting up the SAN for ESX Server systems does not require any special steps. This section provides a quick overview of the general concepts of a SAN and the steps needed to set up a SAN environment. - Page 19 In order to create and use Storage Groups in Navisphere, the Access Logic option must be enabled. NOTE: Access Logic is a software component of Navisphere® which needs to be installed at the storage system. Zoning: Zoning controls access between fiber channel devices. Zoning at the switch would determine the group servers that can access a particular storage device.
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Page 20: Setting Up Manual Load Balancing
Load balancing can be achieved by manually configuring the preferred path for each LUN from the ESX MUI. For more information about load balancing, refer to Configuring redundancy and load balancing in Dell | EMC Storage for VMware ESX Server Software at www.dell.com/vmware. -
Page 21: Figure 1-5. Example Of A Management Station And Managed Systems
For more information about OpenManage see the OpenManage Product Documentation CD-ROM, which comes with the Dell Server and is also available at www.dell.com/openmanage. Figure 1-5 illustrates the relationship between a management station and its managed systems. -
Page 22: Using The Dell Remote Access Card Iii (Drac Iii) On Pe 6650
Dell OpenManage Server Administrator will run within the VMware Service Console and can be used to manage the server components. Devices which are dedicated exclusively to the VMkernel are not reported by Dell OpenManage Server Administrator and Service Console. Server Administrator can only monitor hardware components that are shared with the VMware Service Console. -
Page 23: Installing Openmanage Server Administrator And Remote Management
Installing OpenManage Server Administrator and Remote Management Use the following steps to install Dell OpenManage 4.1 on the ESX Server system. The ESX Server Installation CD-ROM and OpenManage CD-ROM are required for the installation. Log on with administrator privileges (root) to the Service Console. -
Page 24: Guest Os Performance Tuning Tips
Ensure that each VM's guest OS type is correct in its configuration file. • To ensure best device performance ensure that you are using supported devices. See www.dell.com/vmware for details. • For best performance, VMs should use separate resources from the Service Console, specifically Ethernet NIC cards. -
Page 25: Table 1-6. Limiting Resources By Application Type
• Tradeoffs between memory and CPU resources: • If VMs are CPU-bound and RAM is under-utilized, then turn off page sharing. You can achieve this from the ESX Server Management User Interface (MUI): • Choose Options tab. • Next, click on Advanced Settings. •... - Page 26 Similarly, Citrix MetaFrame XP performs better by installing hotfix XE102W014 in the guest Windows OS. Microsoft Windows 2003 Tuning Tips • Dell recommends that you do all performance tuning experiments prior to activating your license for Windows 2003 operating system. Microsoft Windows 2000 Tuning Tips •...
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Page 27: Additional Resources
VMware configurations is available at www.dell.com/vmware. • Dell products: www.dell.com see servers, then product literature. • EMC Support Matrix (ESM) at www.emc.com/horizontal/interoperability/ • For information about Dell Services and Support product offerings and requirements see www.dell.com/vmware under the Product and Services tab. Deployment Guide... -
Page 28: Technical Support Resources
Features, Documentation, Install Guide, Admin Guide, Scripting Guide, SAN, Backup, Troubleshooting (also see the KnowledgeBase) www.vmware.com/support Technical Support Resources • Dell-specific VMware information and additional documentation are located at www.dell.com/vmware/ • VMware support website at www.vmware.com • Dell hardware support at www.dell.com/support •... -
Page 29: Index
ESX Server environment ESX, 11 OpenManage installation, 18 VirtualCenter, 11 ESX Server software, 5, 11 configuration components, 11 Dell, 7, 9 installation, 12 ESX Server RAID, 13 SAN setup, 16 Server Console, 15 ESX Server systems VirtualCenter server, 8-9 base hardware configuration, 7... - Page 30 farms Linux ESX Server, 5, 9 OS installation, 25 tuning tips, 25 load balancing automatic, 18 manual, 18 guest OS, 21-22 installation, 21 local disk performance, 22 partitions, 14 LUN, 16 hardware qualification list, 12 management server ESX, 11 installation after, 16 newsgroups, 26 ESX Server 2.1.2 software, 12...
- Page 31 operating systems guest OS, 21 RAID, 16 guest OS installation, 21 configuration, 13 guest OS performance, 22 registering Linux performance, 25 host servers, 17 NT4 performance, 25 Windows 2000 performance, 24 remote access card, 20 Windows 2003 performance, 24 remote management, 21 Windows performance, 24 resources newsgroups, 26...
- Page 32 technical support, 26 Windows tuning tips, 24 templates Windows 2000 tuning tips, 24 VirtualCenter Server, 12 Windows 2003 tuning tips, 24 tuning tips Windows NT4 tuning tips, 25 guest OS, 22 Linux, 25 Windows, 24 Windows 2000, 24 zoning, 17 Windows 2003, 24 Windows NT4, 25 Utility Partition, 14...
- Page 34 Printed in the U.S.A.