VSICM6 m12 installvspherecomponents

Installing vSphere Components
Module 12

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You Are Here

9.

7.

Virtual Machine Management

10. Software-Defined Data Center

8.

Resource Management and Monitoring

11.

9.

vSphere HA and vSphere Fault Tolerance

Course Introduction

Creating Virtual Machines

12. vCenter Server

10. Host Scalability

13. Configuring and Managing Virtual Networks

11.

14. Configuring and Managing Virtual Storage

12. Installing vSphere Components

vSphere Update Manager and Host Maintenance

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12-2


Importance
By understanding the options in deploying VMware vCenter Server™ and VMware ESXi™ hosts, you can select deployment
options that best fit the enterprise.

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Module Lessons

Lesson 1:

Installing ESXi

Lesson 2:

Installing vCenter Server

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Lesson 1:
Installing ESXi

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Learner Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to meet the following objectives:

•

Describe how to install ESXi interactively

•

Describe other methods of ESXi installation

•

Identify the basic requirements for a boot-from-SAN configuration

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ESXi Hardware Prerequisites
Processor: 64-bit x86 CPU:

•
•
•

Requires at least two cores.
ESXi supports a broad range of x64 multicore processors.
Requires NX/XD bit to be enabled for the CPU in the BIOS.

Memory: 4 GB RAM minimum
One or more Ethernet controllers:

•

Gigabit, 10 Gigabit, and 40 Gigabit Ethernet controllers are supported.

Disk storage:

•
•

A SCSI adapter, Fibre Channel adapter, converged network adapter, iSCSI adapter, or internal RAID controller
A SCSI disk, Fibre Channel logical unit number (LUN), iSCSI disk, or RAID LUN with unpartitioned space: SATA, SCSI, or Serial
Attached SCSI

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12-7


Information for Installing ESXi

Installation

Required or

Default

Option

Optional

Selection

Keyboard layout

Required

U.S. English

Host name

Required for static IP settings

None

Install location

Required

None

Required

U.S. English

VLAN ID

Optional

None

IP address

Optional

DHCP

Subnet mask

Optional

Calculated based on IP address

Gateway

Optional

Based on IP address and subnet mask

Keyboard
layout

Comments

The vSphere Web Client can use either the host name or the IP address to access the
ESXi host.

Must be at least 5 GB if you install the components on a single disk.

VLAN ID range: from 0 through 4094.

Configure a static IP address or use DHCP to configure the network.
IP address, subnet mask, gateway, and DNS network settings can be changed after
installation.

Secondary DNS server can also be defined

Primary DNS

Optional

Based on IP address and subnet mask

Root password

Optional

None

Must contain from 8 through 40 characters

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Installing ESXi
You must have the ESXi ISO file on CD, DVD, or USB flash drive media.
Boot from the media to start the ESXi installer.
Select a volume that is not formatted with VMware vSphere® VMFS.

Select a volume that is not
formatted with VMFS.

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Other ESXi Installation Options
In addition to using an interactive installation procedure to install ESXi, the following options are available:

•

Scripted ESXi installation:

–
–
–

•

The script must be stored in an accessible location such as HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, NFS, CD, or USB.
A PXE boot installation is possible.

Automatic ESXi installation with VMware vSpheređ Auto Deploy:






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The script contains the host configuration settings.

The ESXi host loads the image directly into the host memory.
The ESXi installation can be either stateful or stateless.
PXE boot is used to contact an autodeploy server.
vSphere Auto Deploy uses host profiles.

Remote management applications:

–

Install ESXi on hosts in remote locations with third-party management applications.

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Booting from SAN
ESXi can be booted from SAN:
ESXi
ESXi

•

Supported for Fibre Channel SAN

•

Supported for iSCSI and Fibre Channel over Ethernet for certain qualified storage adapters

SAN connections must be made through a switched topology unless the array is
certified for direct-connect.
The ESXi host must have exclusive access to its own boot LUN.
Use different LUNs for VMFS datastores and boot partitions.

Boot LUN

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Review of Learner Objectives
You should be able to meet the following objectives:

•

Describe how to install ESXi interactively

•

Describe other methods of ESXi installation

•

Identify the basic requirements for a boot-from-SAN configuration

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12-12


Lesson 2:
Installing vCenter Server

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Learner Objectives
By the end of this lesson, you should be able to meet the following objectives:

•

Choose between a distributed configuration and an embedded configuration, based on your requirements

•

Choose between a Windows-based installation and an appliance, based on your requirements

•

Identify the basic requirements for a vCenter Server installation

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Overview of the vSphere Installation Process
VMware vSphere® is a sophisticated product with multiple components to install and set up. To ensure a successful vSphere
deployment, follow this sequence of required tasks:

1.

Read the vSphere release notes.

2.

Verify that your system meets vSphere hardware and software requirements.

3.

Install ESXi 6 on your ESXi hosts.

4.

(Optional) Set up a Syslog server for remote logging.

5.

Prepare databases.

6.

Synchronize clocks on the vSphere network with a network time server.

7.

Configure vCenter Server administrator user accounts.

8.

Deploy VMware Platform Services Controller™.

9.

Install vCenter Server.

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Platform Services Controller
vCenter Server includes the Platform Services Controller.
The Platform Services Controller includes a set of common infrastructure services:

•

VMware vCenter™ Single Sign-On™

•

VMware License Server

•

Lookup Service

•

Certificate Authority

•

Virtual Machine or Physical

Platform Services Controller
Certificate Store

vCenter Server

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16


Other vCenter Server Functions and Services
vCenter Server provides other functions and services as part of the vSphere system:

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vCenter Server
VMware vSpheređ Web Client (server)
VMware Inventory Service
vSphere Auto Deploy
VMware vSphere® ESXi™ Dump Collector
VMware vSphere® Syslog Collector

Virtual Machine or Physical

Platform Services Controller

vCenter Server

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Choosing Your Configuration
You choose between the following major options when you plan your vCenter Server installation:

•
•
•
•

Single system or distributed?
Windows server-based or virtual appliance?
Embedded database or external database?
Physical server or virtual machine?

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When to Use a Windows Server or a Virtual Appliance
Should you use a Windows server or a virtual appliance?
Virtual appliance advantages:

•

A virtual appliance is much easier to install and configure.

•

No operating system license is required.

•

All configuration is done through a GUI.

•

vCenter Server running on a virtual appliance can scale to the same loads as a vCenter Server installed on a Windows server

vCenter Server system running on a Windows server advantages:

•

Better for administrators who are more comfortable with Windows.

•

More options for external database support.

•

Configuration is done through a GUI, but individual components appear as Windows services.

Both the Windows and the virtual appliance types of installation appear the same and operate the same in the vSphere Web
Client, with identical functionality.

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Choosing a Single System or a Distributed System

Consider the following options when you install a single (embedded) system or a distributed system:

•

In a single system all components are installed on one server:

–
–
–

•

Much simpler to install.
Much simpler to manage.
The user interface calls a single system deployment an embedded deployment.

In a distributed system you have multiple servers:

–
–
–

You can have different components on different servers.
A distributed system can handle higher loads and provide more fault tolerance if it is configured correctly.
The user interface calls a distributed deployment an external install.

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vCenter Server in an Embedded Install
All services bundled with the Platform Services Controller are deployed on the same host as vCenter Server.

Optional Additional Embedded Servers

Virtual Machine or Physical

Virtual Machine or Physical

Platform Services Controller

VMDir

Platform Services Controller

Replication

vCenter Server

vCenter Server

•

A single server with an embedded Platform Services Controller is suitable for deployments with eight or fewer ESXi host instances.

•

The Platform Services Controller supports data replication.

The green arrows represent VMDir replication.

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Distributed vCenter Server System Configuration
The services included with the Platform Services Controller and vCenter Server are deployed on different physical servers or
virtual appliances.
You first must deploy the Platform Services Controller on one virtual machine or physical server and then deploy vCenter
Server on another virtual machine or physical server.
After a deployment method is selected, it cannot be undone.

Virtual Machine or Physical

Virtual Machine or Physical

VMDir
Platform Services Controller

Platform Services Controller

Replication

Virtual Machine or

Virtual Machine or

Virtual Machine or

Virtual Machine or

Physical

Physical

Physical

Physical

vCenter Server

vCenter Server

vCenter Server

vCenter Server

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Choosing an Installation Method
You must determine which vCenter Server installation method meets the needs of your organization:

•

A virtual appliance is much easier to install and configure:

–
–

•

No operating system license is required.
All configuration is done through a GUI.

vCenter Server Appliance and Windows-based vCenter Server have the same functionality. Both can be used to manage large
environments.

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vCenter Server Appliance Benefits
VMware vCenter Server™ Appliance™ has many benefits:

•

Simplified installation and setup.

•

Contains all of the necessary services, such as vCenter Single Sign-On and the License Service, which can be shared between

multiple vCenter Server instances.

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The VMware vFabricđ Postgres embedded database supports larger environments than databases embedded in previous vCenter
Server Appliance versions.

•

Support for both IPv4 and IPv6 connectivity (no mixed mode deployments).

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vCenter Server Appliance Features
vCenter Server Appliance is a preconfigured Linux-based virtual machine, which is optimized for running vCenter Server.

•
•
•

vCenter Server Appliance runs on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11, Update 3.
vCenter Server Appliance can be used with ESXi 5.5 and ESXi 6.
Prepackaged with a VMware vFabricđ Postgres database embedded database:

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Suitable for environments with up to 1,000 hosts and 10,000 virtual machines.
Also supports Oracle 11g R2 11.2.0.4 and Oracle 12c as external databases.

Equipped with the vCenter Server Appliance console for troubleshooting and configuration.
Supports vSphere Web Client.
Supports connections by either IPv4 or IPv6 addresses.

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