Using vCenter Server

 

 

 

Create and Organize vCenter Inventory Objects

Each datacenter has its own hosts, virtual machines, templates, datastores, and networks. The vCenter Server inventory is a hierarchy of objects. These objects are either containers of other objects, such as folders, or objects that you manage. Hosts, virtual machines, templates, clusters, resources pools, datastores, or networks can be objects. The inventory hierarchy is used to group your objects in a way that is meaningful. It also provides a natural structure on which to apply permissions.

vCenter Server can be used to manage one or more datacenters. Large organizations might use multiple datacenters to represent organizations or business units within the company. Inventory objects can interact within datacenters but have only limited interaction across datacenters. For example, a virtual machine can be migrates with vMotion from one host to another within a datacenter but not to a host in a different datacenter. But a virtual machine can be cloned within a datacenter and to a different datacenter.

The top object in the vCenter Server inventory is called the root object. The root object is the vCenter Server system itself. The root object cannot be removed from the inventory.

Items within the datacenter can be placed into folders. Folder and subfolders can be created to better organize systems. Virtual machines and templates are placed in folders that are based on function. Hosts are placed in folders that are based on CPU family. An advantage of organizing objects into folders is that you can create a structure on which appropriate access can be assigned to administrators.

 

 

 

 

Navigating the vSphere Client

The vSphere Client allows you to manage inventory objects. When you use the vSphere Client to log in to vCenter Server, the Home page is displayed. The default layout is the Home page with a menu bar, a navigation bar, a search box, and panels. The Home page has icons for major vSphere Client functions: Inventory, Administration, Management, and Solutions and Applications. When logged out of the vSphere Client, the vSphere Client retains the view that was displayed when it was closed and will return you to that view the next time you log in.

Navigation bar displays the hierarchical navigational path to the current vSphere Client view. For example, when you display the Hosts and Clusters inventory view, the navigation bar displays Home > Inventory > Hosts and Clusters. Click an item in the navigation bar to display a menu of all the options available at that level of the hierarchy.

There is also a search field in the vSphere Client and is available in all its views. By default, the vSphere Client searches every kind of inventory object, but you can click the icon to limit your search. The results will appear in the a pane displayed directly beneath the search field.

 

 

 

vCenter Server Views: Hosts and Clusters, VMs and Templates, Datastores and Networks

Hosts and Clusters inventory view displays all host and cluster objects in a datacenter. The VMs and Templates inventory view displays all virtual machine and template objects in a datacenter. Each view maintains its own set of folders in the datacenter. By default, you cannot see templates in Hosts and Clusters inventory view. To see templates in this view, select the datacenter object and click the Virtual Machines tab. Also by default, you cannot see hosts or clusters in the VMs and Templates inventory view. To see hosts in this view, select the datacenter object and click the Hosts tab.

The Datastore inventory view displays all the datastores in the datacenter. The Networking inventory view displays all virtual machine port groups and distributed virtual switches. As with the other inventory views, you can organize your datastore and network objects into folders.

 

 

 

Add a Host to the vCenter Server Inventory

To add a host to the vCenter Server inventory, you must be in the Hosts and Clusters inventory view. You can add a host to the datacenter, or to a folder or cluster in the datacenter. When adding a host to the inventory, use the root user account and its password. vCenter Server uses the root account to log in to the system and then creates a special user account named user. vCenter Server uses the user account for all future authentication. For ESXi hosts only, a page allows you to enable lockdown mode. Lockdown mode disables remote access for the administrator account after vCenter Serve takes control of the host. This ensures that the host is managed through vCenter Server only.

To add an ESX/ESXi host to the vCenter Server inventory, use the Add Host wizard. You must specify the following:

 

 

 

ESX/ESXi and vCenter Communication

vCenter Server and ESX/ESXi hosts are accessed through the vSphere Client. vCenter Server provides access to the ESX/ESXi host through a vCenter Server agent called the vpxa process. VPXA process is installed on the host when it is added to the vCenter Server inventory. vCenter Server agent communicates with the host agent known as the hostd process. The vpxa process communicates with the hostd process to relay the tasks perform on the host. The host agent, like the vCenter Server agent, resides on the ESX/ESXi host.

When using vSphere Client, vCenter Server passes commands to the ESX/ESXi host through the vpxa process. If using the vSphere Client to communicate directly with an ESX/ESXi host, the vpxa process is not used. Communications will instead directly go to the hostd process.

 

 

 

 

Overview of vCenter License

Licenses are managed and monitored from vCenter Server. Licensing consists of:

Some license keys can be split by applying them to multiple assets. vCenter Server can also manage license for legacy hosts. But a VMware License Server is required to do a legacy host license management.

 

 

 

vCenter Server Events

A vCenter Server event is the outcome or result of running a vCenter Server task. To display events, go to any inventory view and select any object. A Tasks & Event tab allows you to view the tasks and events related to that object. Use the event search field to search for a particular event by description, type, or target. When troubleshooting problems, viewing the vCenter Server system events can be useful. From the menu bar, select View > Management > Events to view events.

 

 

 

vCenter Server System Logs

Like events, vCenter Server system logs can also be useful for troubleshooting problems, particularly VMware technical support. GO to Home > Administration > System Logs to view the list of system logs. You can search for logs in the same way you would for events.

In the system log list, you see all the vCenter Server logs that currently are available for viewing. As with other ESX/ESXi host logs, you can export vCenter Server system logs to a compressed archive file. Logs become useful when working with VMware technical support to troubleshoot vCenter Server problems.

 

 

 

Creating a vCenter Server Administrator

Administrator role is the most powerful role in vCenter Server. This role allows user to perform every available action in vCenter Server. Only grant this role to as few users as possible. To limit the scope of access, avoid using Windows Administrator user account to run vCenter Server after installing it. Rather, assign the vCenter Server Administrator role to a normal, nonadministrative Windows user or group account.

Tip:

Avoid using the Windows Administrator user to run vCenter Server after it has been installed. By default, Windows local Administrators group is given the vCenter Server role named Administrator.