5.5, VMware

VMware 5.5 Configuring vCenter Server Linked Mode (Single Console Multiple vCenter)

Now who wouldn’t love to manage his VMware Infrastructure using a single management console. And you can do this with VMware vCenter Linked Mode. it’s available since vSphere 5.1 but im doing it here in 5.5 but let me warn you, there is a degradation in your scalability which i will not Discuss but you always need to check this feature is supported for how many vCenter and how many Hosts
1
i took this picture from kendrickcoleman which explain my design for this scenario and to to tell you the truth i learn alot from this site, even CBTNuggets didnt mention the way to configure vCenter in Linked mode in their Nugget so i had to test alot and here is the way
one of the most important requirement of Linked Mode is that both vCenter Server is Registering to the Same Single Sign-on Server which force me to change my LAB.

My LAB:
Single Sign-on Server (SSO): 192.168.200.250
vCenter 1 (VC1-CCIEROOT): 192.168.200.251
vCenter 2 (VC1-CCIEROOT): 192.168.200.252

I configured my  DNS resolution (forward / reverse working) on all my Windows servers.

Now similar to my second blog where i install vCenetr i will follow the same procedure.1
I will choose Custom Install > vCenter Single Sign-On > Install2
Click Next
3
Check the Box to Accept the License Agreement
4
Check the Box to add the AD as my identity source
5
Choose the standalone vCenter Single Sign-On Server
6
Choose a passwrd
7
Use the default Site name
8
Click Next for the default port
9
Click Next
10
Choose Install
11
it will take couple of minute to finish the installation
12
Click Finish
13
and here i finish the first part on the first server14

Now we move to the first vCenter (VC1-CCIEROOT) to configure the features
But this time we will Choose vSphere Web Client1
Click OK
2
Click Next
3
Accept the License Agreement
4
Click Next
5
Click Next to accept the default port
6
Now the Most Important step is to define the SSO Server
Choose a password
7
and before you press next also put the IP Address of the SSO Server8
Click Yes to accept the SSL SHA fingerprint
9
Click Install Certificates
10
Click Install
11
Click Next and it will proceed with the installation
12
Click Finish
13
and this is a message to let you know the installation is finish successfully
14
Second step install the vCenter Inventory Service > Install15
Click OK
16
Click Next
17
Accept the License Agreement
18
Click Next to accept the location of the installation
19
Enter the FQDN for the first vCenter
(VC1-CCIEROOT.mynaghi.com)
20
Click Next
21
Select the Small and click Next
22
Also again here you enter the SSO Credential and the IP Address of the SSO Server
23
Select Yes
24
Click Install to start the installation
25
it will take time to finish
26
Click Finish
30
Last but not least Select the vCenter Server > Install31
Click OK
32
Click Next
33
Accept the Agreement
34
no need to input any license since this is a LAB just click Next and it will install the evaluation License35
Choose to install the Database
36
Check the box to use the Administrator Account since i’m login with the Domain Admin Credential37
Create a standalone vCenter
38
Click Next to Accept the Default Ports
39
Choose the Small Size
40
and again Enter the Credential of the SSO Server
41
Click Yes
42
Click Next
43
make sure the name is the correct one
44
Click Next
45
Click Install
46
it will take couble of minute
47
and the database will take more time too48
once the SQL is finish the Server will progress with the vCenter Installation
50
Click Finish
51
and as you can see all my servers are installed52

Now we will repeat the same step in the second vCenter (VC2-CCIEROOT) for both feature Web Client and Inventory but for vCenter Server there is a little change so i will show it to you here
so select vCenter Server > Install 1
Click OK
2
Click Next
3
Accept the Agreement
4
Click Next on the License
5
Select to install the SQL Database
6
Also use the Local Admin here
7
Now this is the most important Step
Choose to join a VMware vCenter Server group using Linked Mode
8
Click OK
9
ENter the DNS FQDN for the first vCenter
(VC1-CCIEROOT.mynaghi.com)
and click Next
10
Click Next
11
Select Small Size Deployment
12
Enter the Credential of the SSO Server
13
Click Yes to Accept the SSL SHA1 fingerprint
14
Click Next
15
Enter the FQDN of the Server
(VC2-CCIEROOT.mynaghi.com)
16
Click Next
17
Click Install
18
Give it time
19
and more time20
and more more time 😀21
and just more more more time
i promise this is the last time
22
and Finish
23
now let’s browse to the vCenter page
vCenter 1 (VC1-CCIEROOT): 192.168.200.251
Click Advanced to accept the Certificate24
Confirm it
25
and now i will login to the vCenter page26
and as the page of vCenter show up click on vCenter27
and as you can see it show two vCenter in my page
VC1-CCIEROOT.mynaghi.com & VC2-CCIEROOT.mynaghi.com 28
As Easy As It Get  😀

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VMware

VMware High Availability

(OMG we lost everything)

i don’t think there is any manager in this world want to hear this
losing all the VM and you have to wait for hours to restore your backup
so the solution is high availability
from this picture below there is VM Registered to each hosts (BTW the picture is borrowed from another web :D)
host1
Once the host fail the VM will move to the other Hosts
host2
so let’s deploy this and test it
GO to Home > Host and Clusters1
Select Datacenter > CCIEROOT Cluster > Manage > Settings > vSphere HA choose Edit2
Check the box (Turn ON vShere HA) and then you choose from the Menu in the right3
Select Host Monitoring > VM Monitoring Status > Choose Option (VM Monitoring Only)4
Select Datastore heartbeating > choose to Automatically Select Datastore accessible from the host
5
Under vSphere DRS > select Fully Automated
6
Now go to Datacenter > CCIEROOT Cluster > Monitor > vSphere HA > click on Summary
7
Then select the Related Object > Virtual Machines and you can see each VM reside under which host
8
i will need to install VMware tools under all machines
9
Click Mount
10
then double click on the DVD Drive (D:)
11
Choose Yes12
Complete the Installation13
Select Next
14
Choose Typical
15
Click Install
16
The installation will take less than 1 Minute
17
Click Finish
18
and click yes to restart the machine and repeat this on all your machines
19
now the Machine is up 20
now for testing let’s shutdown our host (192.168.208.209) which VM (windows 10-B) reside on21
Just click OK
22
and you can see the shutdown initiated
23
As you can see the machine windows10-B is disconnected
243 minute and the machine moved to the new host (192.168.208.210)33.PNG
and just like that we establish High Availability 😀

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5.5, VMware

VMware Storage DRS

So im finally back with a new blog
i know i been sleeping during the corona pandemic, so lets get to it
i previously explain how to configure the DRS in VMware Level and now we will do it in the Storage level
so in my previous blog i show you how to install Storage
so the reason for Storage DRS is to move machine from an over utilized storage to a none busy storage
here i will show you only how to install it and the result is similar to the VMware DRS
similar to the VMware DRS i will create a new Cluster

Go to vCenter – Datacenter – New Datastore Cluster
1

Choose a name and check the box to Turn ON Storage DRS2

Choose the DRS storage Automation to be Fully Automated3

Leave this section as it’s but sometimes this I/O check box could cause Error but this is a lab so i would leave it as it’s
and  i played the thresholds a little bit so it triggered the storage automation 4

I selected the cluster here that need connecting to the Storage DRS
5

in this step i selected the 3 Storage that will be under this cluster  (ISCSI-A, ISCSI-B & ISCSI-C)6

At the summary page press Finish7

and now i can see all my storage is under the Datastore Cluster
8

now let me add a new Virtual Machine
10

Select Create a new Virtual Machine11

Select the Datacenter
12

Choose the Cluster were you want to install the VM 13

Now the BIG Step, no need to choose a specific storage, i can select the Storage Cluster and automatically the system will choose the storage14

Choose ESXi 5.5 and later15

Select the Guest Machine16

In the Customization page just press Next17

Now in the summary page you can see under the Datastore
the Machine chooses the ISCSI-B as (Recommended) by the ESXi DRS Storage
Click Finish to start deployment
19

From Recent Task you can see the Task been Deployed
20

Finally the Machine created under the Cluster and in the Summary page you see the Storage (Storage Cluster)21.PNG

;D

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5.5, VMware

Converting a Physical Server to VMware Machine (P2V)

VMware vCenter Converter transforms your Windows- and Linux-based physical machines and third-party image formats to VMware virtual machines, So
Bayan Senur whom is the manager of Jaguar & Land Rover Contact Center have a recording server that almost crashing and there is no enough storage on server and she need that space so the best thing is to move it to Virtual environment were we can add space and back up the system without worrying any more

I have the EXE in my folder so lets get to it1

2
Choose Next
3

4
Select agree to the terms
5
Choose the default folder to save the installation
6
I choose Local Installation
7
i checked the box to join the VMware which is optional
8
Now select Install to start the instalation
9

10
Select Finish to run the Converter11
First step Select Convert Machine option
12
Now select the machine option
in my case my machine is powered on
then enter the detail of machine IP address (which is Jaguar Company Speechlog recording system ;D Sorry Bayan i had to test on something ) and username and password for the machine
13
The Agent will be deploy to the machine remotly
14
you can check if the Agent been deployed by going to Control Panel – Program and Feature
15
Now next step is select the Infrastructure that im using which is VMware infrastructure then Enter the IP Address of the vCenter with the admin login16
Next step is to chose the Datacenter were you want the machine to be17
then you choose the cluster and host that you will be installed on and the VM version
18
you can see there is an (X) error showing on the Data to Copy option and as you see the F: Drive have 368 G which bigger than our Host 19
Select Advanced 20
i made sure that i will not use the F drive in this process But in real life you need to have a bigger HD
21
and i made the C Drive as Thin
22
Also an optional i change the vCPU23
In Advanced i made sure to remove any system restore point so it will not utilize more space
24
Press Finish
25

26
Converting process will start 27
and its completed
28
you can check the job process
30

31
Now Lets check our vCenter32
Select Host and Cluster
33
and here under the Host that we choose earlier our Speechlog-PC Machine34
i will use the credential to login  35
;D
36
Thanks to an easy Converting

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5.5, VMware

Vmware Affinity

in the last blog “VMware DRS” i show you how to migrate machine automatically and this was the result, it moved my VM Machine “Windows 10-A” & “Windows 10-B” to the ESXi host “192.168.208.210”
8
but what if i do not want those two machines to be together and i want “Windows 10-A” & “Windows 10” to be together and “Windows 10-B” to be far away from “Windows 10-A” and not share the same host.
well there is one solution “Affinity and Anti-Affinity”
so if you go also to your Cluster – Related Objects -Virtual Machines
1
Okay lets adjust the component so we can see the host of each Machine2
Add the Host Field
3
As you can see here
Windows 10 on host (192.168.208.209)
Windows 10-A on host (192.168.208.210)
Windows 10-B on host (192.168.208.210)4
lets create first rule that will join Windows 10-A & Windows 10 Together
so lets go to Cluster – Manage – Settings – DRS Rules
5
Add a new Rule – Choose a Name
Select to Keep Virtual Machine Together
Now Add the Machine
6
I choose Machines:
Windows 10
&
Windows 10-A
7
Now Choose OK
8
as you can see if you highlight the rule it will show you the machine affected by that rules 9
Now if you go back to Cluster – Related Object – Virtual Machines
you can see that Machine Windows 10 Joined the other Machines and now become hosted by host 192.168.208.21010
and you can see the Task Detail here11
As i remembered we mention that we want “Windows 10-B” to be far away from “Windows 10-A”
so lets add another rule and this time we choose to (Separate Virtual Machines)
12
Lets choose Machines Windows 10-A & Windows 10-B13
Now press OK
14
and if you highlight the Rule you will see the affected Machines15
and if we go to the Task we will see that Machine Windows -A is moving from host 192.168.208.210 and since there is a rule to keep Windows10-A and Windows 10 together in that case also Machine Windows 10 will be moving to the other host
16
and Yup both machine now faaaaaar away from Windows 10-B
and both of Windows 10 & Windows 10-A hosted on 192.168.208.20917

Okay now we finish with VM to VM Relationship
what if i want to Keep a specific VM tagged to a specific Host
Here we go to a new thing called : DRS Group
20
Add a DRS Group and choose a name
and choose a Type should be VM DRS Group
21
First Select the VM Machine and i selected Windows 10-B
Note: make sure you dont select the wrong VM cause it will cause an issue since you have another rule that separate Windows 10-A from Windows10-B
22
and its added
23

24
Now Add another DRS Group and choose a name and Type should be Host DRS Group25
and select the Host needed
26
and then press OK
27

28
Now go back to the DRS Rule and add a rule
Type: Virtual Machine to a Host
and select the VM DRS Group and Host DRS Group that you created
29
and if you highlight the rule you will see the affected Machine30
Now you can see VM Windows 10-B moved to 192.168.208.209
an since there is an older rule that separate windows 10-A from Windows 10-B so the VM windows 10-A moved to host 192.168.208.210
also there is a rule that Join VM Windows 10-A & Windwos 10 together then the VM Windows 10 moved to host 192.168.208.210
i know that a really confusing but i suggest you read it couple of time and test it your self to get the matter
31
and that is the beautiful result
32
and you can go to the Cluster – Monitor – vSphere DRS – History to see the procedure 33

;D

 

 

 

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5.5, VMware

VMware DRS (Distributed Resource Scheduler)

Hello Again
So in my earlier blog i manually migrate VM Machine from my first host to the second one, what if i want for my virtual machine to be moved automatically??? the Answer is:
DRS (Distributed Resource Scheduler)

lets start by the configuration but first if you notice all my machine under Host [192.168.208.209] nothing under [10.1.1.32]or[192.168.208.210]
so before we start the earlier two blog is very important to be establish first for VMware DRS to work
VMotion
Shared Storage
Right Click my  Datacenter – New Cluster2
Give it a name and check the box DRS [Turn on] and you can choose the Automation Level and here i will show you the Fully Automated. most of the admin prefer the Partially automated as the VMware will give you suggestion and you could follow or not or Manual were an admin give suggestion3
Second step is i will drag my hosts under the Cluster4
and it will ask me what to do with the VM and i choose my first option and press Ok5
and automatically it start moving the VM from under my host 192.168.208.209 to other Hosts
6
and the end result as you can see my 3 Virtual Machine moved under my biggest host [192.168.208.210]
7
and if you go to the cluster – vsphere DRS tab – History
you see the time and date those machines moves
(Wow i cant believe i wrote this blog in 2018 and never shared it, dont blame me i was chasing pal alto certificate)8
and also you can see the CPU Utilization9
and select the VM to see each Utilization 10

 

;D

 

 

 

 

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5.5, VMware

Migrate VMs with VMware vMotion

vMotion enables live migration of VM machines from one Host to another with no impact on the Daily operation But Let me tell you this
Before migrating a virtual machine with vMotion, ensure that your hosts and virtual machines have the same network card & share the storage believe me you don’t want your machine to come with different IP Address  ;D

So Similar to how we did earlier when we add a Storage in the last blog we need to add a VMkernel specific for vMotion
in your Home Dashboard go to Host and Cluster1
Select your Host – Manage – Networking – Virtual Switches – Add Host Networking
2
Choose VMkernel Network Adapter
3
Choose a New Standard Switch
4
Click on the + Sign to add a network card5
Select the card you want to use6
Press Next 7
Here we will Check the Box for vMotion Traffic8
Give a static IP Address to the VMKernel9
Press Finish10
Now it’s created we are ready to move to the next step11

Now as you can see my VM Machine (Windows 10) is located under my Host 192.168.208.210 and using my ISCSI Storage (ISCSI-A)
30
Right CLick on the Machine and Select Migrate
20
Now i have the option either to change the Host of the Machine or Change the Datastore or Both
since in my last blog i added an External storage then i will change Both31
I choose to move it to the Host and the compatibility check sign is successful
(the red sign Most of the time memory size give a red sign you have to take care about it but this is just a lab) 33
Now choose the storage you want to move to 34
It’s better to choose the Recommended option35
Select Finish36
and you can see your Machine is Moving in the Recent Task
37
And Walla your Machine Moved under host 192.168.208.209 38
and if you go down you can see the storage information  which show ISCSI-B39

;D

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5.5, VMware

Clone your perfect Virtual Machine

Cloning

okay i know
Same face, Different Hair style and Different dress
its like i created a copy of my self
Guess what!!
VMware have the same Capabilities called (Cloning)
Cloning Feature allow you to create a copy of your perfect Virtual Machine instead of repetitively creating a VM from scratch over and over

So this is how you can do it
Select your Perfect VM Machine1
Right Click and choose – Clone to Virtual Machine
2
Select a name to your new machine and choose a Datacenter3
Select which Host you want to put your VM in4
Select the Storage5
I will not go in detail of Edit the Machine file but for a better practice you need to do it6
Press Finish7
you can Monitor the recent task while the machine is been created
8
and just like that your machine is created9.PNG
Of course you need to change the IP Address to save your self from Conflict IP Address and PC Name cause we did this clone without operation system customize

10.PNG

;D

 

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5.5, VMware

How to Add ISCSI Storage to VMware ESXi

When i start my road to VMware in 2013 this is the subject that kill my head and i got the help from a friend of mine so the thanks here goes to Mohammed Hadi Bafaqeer
164

ISCSI Storage is one of the best solution for VMware Design cause you cant depend on the Storage of the server in case the server crashed all your data crashed and you cant retrieve it and also it can help you in enabling feature like Vmotion

so lets start configuring
in Home Page – choose “Hosts and Clusters”
2
Select the Host3
Go to Manage tab – Networking – Virtual Switch 4
Choose to Add host networking5
Select the VMKernel Network Adapter 6
I use the same vSwitch since I have only one network interface in my server that is up now.
I suggest to have a separate network vSwitch for Storage1.PNG
Put name to it and leave the rest for default and no need to enable any Services11
It better to select a static IP but since this is a lab i let it Automatically obtain an IP from DHCP12
Finish
2
and you can see your vSwitch 0 when you highlight it it show the Storage3

now Second Step
go to the host – Manage – Storage – Storage Adapter –
+ Software ISCSI Adapter15
Press OK
16
Now highlights the ISCSI Storage Adapter
Select tab Target – Add18Put the IP Address of you Storage
Mine is 192.168.200.100 press Ok19
Now the Target is added20Now I will associate the VMKernel Adapter with it
Select Network Port Binding – +21Select the Storage VMKernel Adapter that I configure in the beginning of the blog
4.PNG
It is Added and show status Not Used5Click In Rescan icon to refresh the page and 24

25
And it change from Not used to Last Active
6Now Third Step is to add Datastore
Select Host – Related Objects tab – Datastores –
Choose to create a new datastore27
Select the Location28
Choose the Type29
Choose a datastore name90
and select the Version31
ok here i only chooses to use 50 Gig of my 93 Gig 91
Then hit Finish92
as you can see the storage been added under my ESXi host 192.168.208.21093.PNG
and if i go to my second host 10.1.1.23 i will see the same shared Storage
94
Now i want to increase my Storage cause of the 50 Gig is not enough and i want to utilize my whole storage
in my Home Page go to Storage
100
Then go to select the storage i create
ISCSI-A – Manage – Settings – General – Increase 101
Select the Device102
Use the free space103
Increase to the size you wish 104
And simply it increase now hit finish105
and as you can see it change from 50 Gig to 93 Gig106Now lets Create a Virtual Machine to be inside that storage
1
Choose to create a virtual Machine2
Choose the Datacenter3
Select the host4
and now you choose the storage you create earlier5
Choose the compatibility version6
And select the Guest family
i am about to install Windows  ;D7
ALmost finish i will just select my ISO file8
Windows 10 CD yessssssssss9
Hit Next10
and that it’s press Finish11
Power on the Machine12
open console to see the procedure
13
and proceed with he installation16
And that it is
install the windows on our new storage20

;D

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5.5, Active Directory, VMware

Integrate VMware vCenter Single Sign-On (SSO) with Active Directory

Single Sign-On (SSO) is a part of vCenter Installation and important step in Authentication and Authorization
once you install vCenter you would have a “vSphere.local” Domain in your server, it would be better if you could integrate your existing Microsoft Active Directory (AD) environment with your organizational structure of groups and users.

So before we start with the configuration i will login with my Domain User and check that i can see anything (vCenter, Datacenter or Hosts)
10
And as you can see under my vCenter there is nothing of my Datacenter or Hosts
12.PNG
So to start as my luck i added my server to a domain already in my Earlier Blog
so to complete the steps here and add give permission to users
Go to Administrator – Single Sign-on – users and groups
1
so to give a permission for my self
From drop down i can change the “vsphere.local” to “mynaghi.com”
2
i put in the search my name so it will not list the whole organization
3
and if you go under Administration – Single Sign-on – Configuration – identity Sources
you see from were you get your configuration
for my case i already added my server to the domain4
so to configure the user and give him access so in Home Page
vCenter – vCenter Servers – Then Select the VC-CCIEROOT.Mynaghi.com
then click on “Manage Tab” – Permission – +
5
Select the Assigned role as Administrator
6
I change the Domain to “Mynaghi” and in the Search bar i put my name and Click Add 7
Now I press OK8
As you can see now it show under the permissions9
Now let me login using my Domain Username & Password again
10
and as you can see i can see under the vCenter my vCenter Servers, My Data Center and My Hosts11

;D

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