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Archive for the ‘vSphere’ Category

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ESXCLI Basics: Setup SNMP on ESXi 5.x

Posted by Marek.Z on 24 December 2012

This is really basics stuff, but here is a quick how to.

  1. Connect to your host through SSH or open the DCUI.
  2. Setup the target SNMP server, port and community string: # esxcli system snmp set –t <ip_or_fqdn>@/<community_string>
  3. Enable SNMP: # esxcli system snmp set –e yes
  4. Logout.

Done! :)

Verify the snmpd service is running and check if the ports are open on the host though vSphere Client or vSphere Web Client.

Please note that the esxcli system snmp namespace is available from vSphere CLI version 5.1.

Cheers!

- Marek.Z

Posted in ESXCLI, ESXi 5, ESXi 5.1, How To, VMware, vSphere | Tagged: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Upgrading VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager from 5.0 to 5.1

Posted by Marek.Z on 15 November 2012

A little while ago VMware released vCenter Site Recovery Manager 5.1 together with other products and vCloud Suite. Here is a quick summary of “What’s new in SRM 5.1” and the new improvements.

  • SRM 5.1 supports reprotect and failback with vSphere Replication. Previously, you could only perform reprotect and failback on array-based protection groups. In SRM 5.1 you can perform reprotect and failback on vSphere Replication protection groups.
  • The SRM Server in SRM 5.1 is now a fully 64-bit application.
  • Improved handling of datastores in the all paths down (APD) state. If SRM detects that a datastore on the protected site is in the all paths down (APD) state and is preventing a virtual machine from shutting down, SRM waits for a period before attempting to shut down the virtual machine again. The APD state is usually transient, so by waiting for a datastore in the APD state to come back online, SRM can gracefully shut down the protected virtual machines on that datastore.
  • Improved disk resignaturing for VFMS disks.

Before you begin with the upgrade, make sure you have read the release notes and the “Upgrading SRM” chapter from Site Recovery Manager Installation and Configuration guide. If you are running SRM earlier than 5.0 you will have to upgrade to SRM 5.0 or 5.0.1 before you upgrade to 5.1. The upgrade preserves settings and configurations that were created in the previous version. This includes the following:

  • Datastore groups
  • Protection groups
  • Inventory mappings
  • Recovery plans
  • IP customizations for individual virtual machines
  • Custom roles and their memberships
  • SRM object permissions in vSphere
  • Custom alarms and alarm actions
  • Test plan histories
  • Security certificates
  • Mass IP customization files (CSVs)

Also, you have to upgrade the vCenter Server to version 5.1 before upgrading SRM to version 5.1. This includes the vSphere Client and VMware Update Manager. So, let’s start the upgrade. In this case we will concentrate on an in-place upgrade of SRM.

Important: make a back-up of your existing SRM database in case something goes wrong.

Create ODBC System DSN

Since SRM 5.1 is now a fully x64-bit application, we have to create an x64-bit ODBC system DSN for the database connectivity (you can delete the old x32-bit ODBC later).

  1. Open the ODBC Data Source Administrator and on the System DSN tab, click Add.
  2. Select the SQL Server Native Client 10.0 and click Finish.
  3. Provide a name, description and the SQL Server you want to connect to. Click Next.
  4. Provide a Login ID and password for the database. Click Next.
  5. Change the default database to your SRM database and click Next.
  6. Leave other settings as default and click Finish.
  7. Alternatively, click Test Data Source to test the database connection. Click OK to close the ODBC Administrator window.

Upgrade SRM Server

OK, it’s time to upgrade SRM.

  1. Execute the downloaded installation file from VMware on your SRM Server.
  2. Click Next on the SRM installation wizard. Note that the wizard detected a previous version of SRM and states that it will upgrade the product.
  3. Click Next on the patents window and agree to the EULA.
  4. Select the destination folder for the installation and click Next.
  5. Select Install vSphere Replication even if you already have vSphere Replication deployed. This option will install components that SRM requires to work with vSphere Replication. Click Next.
  6. Provide the vCenter Server username and password, click Next.
  7. Click Yes on the security warning.
  8. Click Yes when asked to overwrite the existing SRM registration.
  9. Select the option to automatically generate a certificate or use a PKCS#12 certificate file. In my case, I choose to automatically generate a certificate. Click Next.
  10. If you choose to generate a certificate for you, provide the Organization and Organization Unit. If you choose the certificate file option, this windows will not appear. Click Next to continue.
  11. Verify the settings for the SRM Extension and click Next.
  12. In the Database Configuration, provide the username and password for the SRM database. Click Next.
  13. In the Database Usage Selection, choose if you want to use the existing database or recreate the database (this will of course destroy the data). In my case, I used the existing database.
  14. Click Install to begin the installation.
  15. Click Finish to complete the installation wizard.

Upgrade SRM Client plug-in

Up next is the SRM Client plug-in upgrade. Before you begin, uninstall the old SRM plug-in from your system (Control Panel –> Programs).

  1. Open the vSphere Client (the SRM Client plug-in is at the time of this writing not available for the vSphere Web Client) and open the Plug-in Manager.
  2. Under the Available Plug-ins click the Download and Install link.
  3. Install the certificate and ignore the warning.
  4. Run the installer.
  5. The installation is as easy as next, next, finish.

Upgrade vSphere Replication

The easiest way to upgrade the vSphere Replication is by using VMware Update Manager. You have to upgrade the vSphere Replication Management server first.

  1. Open the VMware Update Manager and select the Configuration tab.
  2. Select Download Settings and make sure the VMware VA update source is selected. Click Download Now to check for new updates.
  3. Next, go to Baselines and Groups, select VMs/VAs button and click Create to create a new baseline.
  4. In the new baseline wizard, provide a suggestive name for the baseline and make sure the VA Upgrade is selected. Click Next.
  5. In the Upgrade Options window, select VMware Inc. as Vendor and All Products as Appliance. Click Add Rule and Next to proceed.
  6. Click Finish to create the new baseline.
  7. Next, go to VMs and Templates view. Select the vSphere Replication Management Server and select the Update Manager tab.
  8. Click Attach, and select the baseline created earlier.
  9. Click Remediate to start the upgrade.
  10. Click Next in the remediation section.
  11. Provide a task name and schedule the upgrade or upgrade immediately.
  12. If desired, take a snapshot and provide a name for the snapshot. Click Next.
  13. Review the settings and click Finish.
  14. Wait until the upgrade completes.

Repeat the steps described in Upgrade vSphere Replication for all vSphere Replication servers in your environment.

All done, don’t forget to upgrade the Recovery Site. :)

Cheers!

- Marek.Z

Posted in Site Recovery Manager, Upgrade, VMware, vSphere | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Upgrading ESXi 5.0 host to ESXi 5.1

Posted by Marek.Z on 13 September 2012

In the last article I have covered the upgrade process from vCenter Server 5.0 to vCenter server 5.1. In this article I will cover a quick how to on upgrading your ESXi host to version 5.1. In this case, I will perform an in place upgrade of the host. Before you proceed with upgrade in your production environment, please read chapter 6 “Upgrading and Migrating Your Hosts” from the vSphere Upgrade guide.

  1. Boot your server from the CD or USB drive containing the ESXi 5.1 installer.
  2. Press Enter to start the interactive installer. 
  3. When the files are loaded, press Enter to continue.
  4. Press F11 to accept the EULA.
  5. Select the disk containing previous installation of ESXi and press Enter. 
  6. When the scanning is completed you will be presented with the following message. Select the Upgrade option and press Enter to continue. 
  7. Press F11 to confirm the upgrade of your ESXi host. 
  8. When the installer finishes the upgrade, remove the installation media from the host and press Enter to reboot.
  9. When the hosts reboots, you should see the familiar screen with the software version , host name and IP address. 

That’s it! You are done. This process takes literally minutes to complete. :)

Cheers!

- Marek.Z

Posted in ESXi 5, ESXi 5.1, How To, upgrade, VMware, vSphere | Tagged: , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Upgrade vCenter Server 5.x to vCenter Server 5.1

Posted by Marek.Z on 12 September 2012

As you probably all know, the vSphere 5.1 and vCloud Suite binaries have been made available for download yesterday. The vCenter Server ISO is now about 3,4 GB in size which is quite significant compared to 2,4 GB in version 5.0 Update 1. The size of ESXi hypervisor is now about 307 MB which is about 10 MB more than the version 5.0 Update 1.

Before you begin with upgrading your production environment, make sure you have verified the following:

  • Read the vSphere Upgrade guide
  • Check the VMware Product Interoperability Matrix
  • Read the VMware vSphere 5.1 Release Notes
  • Back up your vCenter Server databases and SSL certificates

When you are done, you can start with the upgrade process.

vCenter Server upgrade

After you have backed-up the vCenter Server database and the certificates, follow these steps to upgrade your vSphere vCenter Server to version 5.1.

  1. Login to your vCenter Server with the Administrator account
  2. If not automatically started, start the autorun.exe from the CD drive. The VMware vCenter Installer window should open.

Single Sign On Server

  1. Select the VMware vCenter Simple Install, this will automatically install the vCenter Server, Single Sign On Server and Inventory Service on your machine. Click Install to proceed.
  2. The installer will start installing the SSO Server. Follow the instructions and set the password for the administrator account. Click Next to proceed.
  3. In the vCenter Server Single Sign On Database window, provide the password for the “sa” user if you already have a Microsoft SQL Server running on your system and press Next.
  4. Next, enter the FQDN or IP address for the Single Sign On system. Click Next to proceed.
  5. Change the installation folder or leave it at its default. Click Next to continue.
  6. Change the HTTPS port if the port provided is already in use or leave it at its default and click Next to continue.
  7. Click the Install button to start the installation of vCenter Server Single Sign On Server.

Inventory Services

  1. When the installer finishes the SSO Server installation, it will continue with the Inventory Services installation. You will be presented with two options. In my case, I choose to retain my data in the Inventory Services database.
  2. Click Next and the Install to start the installation process.

vCenter Server

  1. When the installation of the Inventory Service completes, the installation wizard for the vCenter Server will start. Enter the license key or click Next to install the software in the evaluation mode.
  2. Click Next in the database server credentials window.
  3. Click OK if you get a warning stating that the VMware vSphere Update Manager will not be available after the upgrade. The Update Manager will be upgraded later in this article. 
  4. Next, select the “Upgrade existing vCenter Server database” option and check the “I have taken backup of the existing database and SSL certificates”. Do not proceed without a backup! It’s for your own safety :)  
  5. Choose the vCenter Agent upgrade option on your hosts. You can choose to upgrade automatically or manually. It’s up to you. Click Next to continue. 
  6. Next, enter the vCenter Server service account credentials or use the SYSTEM account. Click Next  to continue.
  7. In the ports configuration window, check the ports that will be used by vCenter Server. Change the port numbers if necessary. If your hosts will power on more than 2000 VMs, check the “Increase the number of available ephemeral ports” option. Click Next to continue.
  8. Select the correct Inventory Size for your infrastructure and click Next to continue.
  9. If you want to review or change any of the installation setting, click the Back button. Otherwise, click Install to start the installation process.

The installation and upgrade process can take a while. If the installation completes successfully, click Finish to close the installer.

VMware vCenter Server has been installed successfully. Click Finish to exit the wizard.

Optionally, at this point you could upgrade the VMware vSphere client or you can do it after the upgrade of the Update Manager so you can re-enable the Update Manager plug-in. I will not cover the upgrade process of vSphere client because the installation is really simple and straightforward. Beside that, we all be using vSphere Web client right? ;)

Update Manager

Next in line for the upgrade is the VMware vSphere Update Manager.

  1. Select the VMware vSphere Update Manager link in the VMware vCenter Installer window and click on Install.
  2. If you have an Update Manager instance already running on your vCenter Server machine, you will see the following message. Click OK to upgrade to version 5.1. 
  3. When the wizard is ready, click Next. Click Next in the End-User Patent Agreement, accept the license agreement and click Next.
  4. Read the support information and select the “Download updates from default sources immediately after installation”. Click Next. 
  5. Next, provide the vCenter Server information and credentials and click Next. 
  6. Continue by pressing Next in the Database Information window.
  7. Select the “Yes, I want to upgrade my Update Manager database” ratio button and check the box stating that you have taken a backup of the existing database. Once, again. Make sure you have the backup! :) Click Next. 
  8. Verify the port settings. Change the port numbers if necessary and configure the proxy if you are using one. Click Next.
  9. Click Install to begin the installation process.

When the installation wizard completes successfully, click Finish.

That’s it, you are done! :)

Optionally, you can upgrade the vSphere client if you haven’t already done so and upgrade the Dump Collector, Syslog Collector and Auto Deploy if you are using them. Also, don’t forget to re-enable the Update Manager plug-in and reassign the licenses to your vCenter Server and ESXi hosts.

Cheers!

- Marek.Z

Posted in ESXi 5, upgrade, vCenter, VMware, vSphere | Tagged: , , , , | 8 Comments »

What’s new in VMware vSphere 5.1, new technical whitepapers available!

Posted by Marek.Z on 27 August 2012

In addition to release of vSphere 5.1, there are some new whitepapers available from VMware.

Happy reading!

Cheers!

- Marek.Z

Posted in VMware, vSphere | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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