Configuring The Virtual Center Server

Configuring the VirtualCenter Server Page 1 of 12
Configuring the VirtualCenter Server
Configuring the VirtualCenter Server

This section describes how to configure VirtualCenter Server attributes and settings, and
discusses the following topics:
• Setting Custom Attributes
• Configuring Server Settings
docfeedback@vmware.com | Copyright © 2008 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved.
Configuring the VirtualCenter Server : Setting Custom Attributes
Setting Custom Attributes

You can use custom attributes to associate your own information with the resources in
VirtualCenter. After you create the attributes, set their values on each virtual machine or
managed host, as appropriate. The values are stored with VirtualCenter. You can then use
the new attributes to filter information about your virtual machines and managed hosts. If
you no longer need the custom attribute, remove it. A custom attribute is always a string,
even if it takes the form of a numeric value.
You can use this dialog box to create three types of attributes:
• Virtual Machine – Apply only to virtual machine objects.
• Host – Apply only to host objects.
• Global – Can be applied to hosts and virtual machines.
You can also edit virtual machine or host attributes from the Summary tab of the virtual
machine or host. See Editing Custom Attributes and Annotations for a Virtual Machine or
Host.
When you add an attribute column, the column is not unique to the particular list in which
you create it. It also appears on the Hosts, Virtual Machines and Resource Allocation
tabs for each of those objects, although you can assign a different value to the column on
each of those tabs. The information persists until you edit it or until the column is deleted.
Editing or deleting the column requires permission to edit custom attributes.
Conditions
VI Client must be VirtualCenter Server

connected to:
Minimum required Global > Manage Custom

privileges: Properties
Global > Set Custom Properties
To reach this dialog box: Administration > Custom

Attributes
To add a custom attribute

1. In the Custom Attributes dialog box, click Add.
2. In the Name text box, type the name to assign to the attribute.
3. In the Type drop-down list, select the attribute type.
4. Click OK.
5. Enter the values for the custom attribute:
file://D:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp\~hh4377.htm 6/25/2009

a. Select the object one level up the hierarchy that contains the objects to apply the
attribute to. For example, to enter attribute values for managed hosts, select the
datacenter and the Hosts tab for a list of hosts.
b. For each managed host or virtual machine, click the empty space below the new
attribute's column heading.
In the information panel, the new attribute is added to the header.
c. Type the attribute value that is appropriate for each managed host or virtual machine.
To remove a custom attribute
1. Select an attribute from the list in the Custom Attributes dialog box.
2. Click Remove.
The attribute is removed from all hosts and virtual machines.
To show or hide a custom attribute in a panel, right-click the column headings and select or
deselect the attribute.
Configuring the VirtualCenter Server : Configuring Server Settings
Configuring Server Settings

You can configure the following VirtualCenter settings:
• Configuring License Settings
• Configuring Statistics Settings
• Configuring Runtime Settings
• Configuring Active Directory Settings
• Configuring Mail Sender Settings
• Configuring SNMP Settings
• Configuring Web Service Settings
• Configuring Timeout Settings
• Configuring Logging Options
• Configuring Database Settings
Configuring the VirtualCenter Server : Configuring Server Settings : Configuring License Settings
Configuring License Settings

You must configure a license to use the VirtualCenter Server. This section introduces
licensing configuration options.
Conditions
VI Client must VirtualCenter Server

be connected
to:
Minimum Global > Settings

required
privileges:
To reach this Administration > VirtualCenter

dialog box: Management Server Configuration
Before you For complete information on setting up your

begin: licensing server, see the Installation Guide.
For information on modifying the licensing on
an ESX Server 3 host, see the Installation
Guide.
Fore more information on modifying the
licensing on an ESX Server 3i host, see the
Setup Guide for your ESX Server 3i product.
To configure the licenses for this server

1. In the VirtualCenter Management Server Configuration dialog box, select the License
Server option.
2. Select the location of the licenses.
• Select Use license services on this VirtualCenter server to use licenses from a
license server running on the same physical machine as this VirtualCenter Server. The
VirtualCenter Server itself does not distribute licenses.
• Select Use the following license server to use licenses located on a license server
and enter the port and name of the license server in the form port@host in the text
box.
3. Select the VirtualCenter edition.
• Select VirtualCenter Management Server if you purchased a license for the
standard edition of VirtualCenter Server.
• Select VirtualCenter Foundation Management Server if you purchased a license for
VirtualCenter Foundation.
4. Select Change host license server settings to match these VirtualCenter Server
settings whenever a host is added to inventory if you want each host you add to
this VirtualCenter Server’s inventory to use the same license server as this VirtualCenter
Server. The settings on the host are altered by VirtualCenter only when the host is added
or when the license server used by VirtualCenter is changed.
5. Select one of the following options:
• Click a link in the left pane of the dialog box to make changes on another page.
• Click OK to accept all the VirtualCenter Server settings changes you made and close
the dialog box.
• Click Cancel to close the VirtualCenter Configuration dialog box without saving any
settings changes.
Configuring the VirtualCenter Server : Configuring Server Settings : Configuring Statistics Settings
Configuring Statistics Settings

To set up how statistical data is recorded, you configure collection intervals. Collection
intervals determine the frequency at which statistic queries occur, the length of time
statistical data is stored in the database, and the type of statistical data collected.
Conditions

connected to:
Minimum required Global > Settings

privileges:
To reach this dialog Administration > VirtualCenter

box: Management Server Configuration
To configure a collection interval

1. In the VirtualCenter Management Server Configuration dialog box, select the Statistics
option.
2. If necessary, select the collection interval check box to enable it.
3. Click Edit and specify your changes in the Edit Collection Interval dialog box.
See Edit Collection Intervals.
4. Repeat step 3 for each collection interval to change.
5. Estimate the effect of the statistics settings on the database:
a. Enter the number of ESX hosts.
b. Enter the number of Virtual machines.
The estimated space required and number of database rows required are calculated
and displayed.
c. If necessary, make changes to your statistics collection settings.
6. Click OK.
To enable or disable a collection interval
1. Select or deselect the collection interval check box.
2. Click OK.
When you disable a collection interval, all subsequent intervals are disabled.
To estimate the effect of the statistics settings on the database
1. If necessary, configure the collection intervals.
2. In the database calculator pane, do the following:
a. Enter the number of ESX hosts.
b. Enter the number of Virtual machines.
The estimated space required and number of database rows required are calculated
and displayed.
c. If necessary, make changes to your statistics collection settings.
3. Click OK.
Configuring the VirtualCenter Server : Configuring Server Settings : Edit Collection Intervals
Edit Collection Intervals

The Edit Collection Interval dialog box lets you configure a collection interval. Not all
collection interval attributes are configurable.
Conditions
Collection Any enabled Collection Interval in the

Interval Statistics Intervals panel.
To reach this Administration > Virtualcenter

dialog box: Management Server Configuration
Related topic Configuring Statistics Settings
To change a collection interval

1. In the VirtualCenter Management Server Configuration dialog box, select Statistics in the
navigation list.

2. In Statistics Intervals, select the intervals to enable. Selecting a longer interval

automatically enables all shorter intervals.
3. To change the collection level for an enabled Interval Duration, do the following:
a. Select the interval.
b. Click Edit.
c. In Statistics Level, choose a level.
Level 4 uses the highest number of statistics counters. Use it only for debugging
purposes.
The collection level value must be less than or equal to the collection level set for the
preceeding collection interval. This is a VirtualCenter dependency.
d. For the Minute and Year intervals, you can change the collection frequency
(Statistics Interval) and the length of time to keep the samples (Keep samples
for). If necessary, choose the appropriate value for each option.
4. Click OK.
Configuring the VirtualCenter Server : Configuring Server Settings : Configuring Runtime Settings
Configuring Runtime Settings

You can change the port number the server is using for communications. You can also
change the VirtualCenter ID. and the VirtualCenter Managed IP address. Usually, you do not
need to change these settings, but you might need to make changes if you run multiple
VirtualCenter Servers in the same environment.
Conditions

connected to:

privileges:
To reach this dialog Administration > Virtualcenter

To change the VirtualCenter ID or the port number

1. In the VirtualCenter Management Server Configuration dialog box, select the Runtime
Settings option.
2. Enter a unique ID in the VirtualCenter Server Unique ID text box.
You can change this value to a number from 0 through 63 to uniquely identify each
VirtualCenter Server running in a common environment. By default, an ID value is
generated randomly.
3. Enter the port number your client is using to communicate with the VirtualCenter Server
in the VirtualCenter Server TCP/IP Port text box.
The assigned default port number is 902. You rarely need to change this value.
4. Enter the VirtualCenter Server IP address in the VirtualCenter Server Managed IP
text box.
5. Click OK to save the changes you made and close the dialog box.
6. If you made changes to the VirtualCenter Server Unique ID or the VirtualCenter Server
TCP/IP Port, you must restart the VirtualCenter Server for these changes to take effect.

Configuring the VirtualCenter Server : Configuring Server Settings : Configuring Active Directory Settings
Configuring Active Directory Settings

You can configure some of the ways in which VirtualCenter interacts with the Active Directory
server.
Conditions

connected to:

privileges:

To configure how VirtualCenter interacts with the Active Directory server

1. In the VirtualCenter Management Server Configuration dialog box, select the Active
Directory option.
2. In the Active Directory Timeout field, enter the timeout interval in seconds for
connecting to the Active Directory server.
3. To limit the number of users and groups displayed in the Add Permissions dialog box,
select Enable Query Limit.
4. In the Users & Groups field, enter the maximum number of users and groups to
display. If you enter 0 (zero), all users and groups appear.
5. To have VirtualCenter periodically check its known users and groups against the Active
Directory server, select Enable Validation.
6. In the Validation Period field, enter the number of minutes between instances of
synchronization.
• Click a link in the left pane of the dialog box to make changes to another setting.
the dialog box.
settings changes.
Configuring the VirtualCenter Server : Configuring Server Settings : Configuring Mail Sender Settings
Configuring Mail Sender Settings

To use email messages to send SMTP notification, you need to do the following:
• Define the SMTP and email message addressing information.
• Specify the email message addresses for the users to receive the notification when you
create the alarm.
Conditions

connected to:

privileges:


To define the SMTP and email message addressing information

1. In the VirtualCenter Management Server Configuration dialog box, select the Mail option.
2. Enter the SMTP server and sender account information.
SMTP Server – The DNS name or IP address of the SMTP gateway to use for sending
email messages
Sender Account – The email message address of the sender, for example,
mail_server@datacenter.com
3. Select one of these options:
the dialog box.
settings changes.
Configuring the VirtualCenter Server : Configuring Server Settings : Configuring SNMP Settings
Configuring SNMP Settings

You can configure up to four receivers of SNMP traps. They must be configured in numerical
order. Each SNMP trap requires a corresponding host name, port, and community.
Conditions

connected to:

privileges:

To configure receivers of SNMP traps

1. In the VirtualCenter Management Server Configuration dialog box, select the SNMP
option.
2. In the Receiver URL field, enter the DNS name or IP address of the SNMP receiver.
3. In the field next to the Receiver URL field, enter the port number of the receiver. If the
port value is zero (0), VirtualCenter uses the default port, which is 162.
4. In the Community String field, enter the community identifier.
the dialog box.
settings changes.

Configuring the VirtualCenter Server : Configuring Server Settings : Configuring Web Service Settings
Configuring Web Service Settings

The Web Service is installed as part of the VMware VirtualCenter installation. The Web
Service is a required component for third-party applications that use the VMware SDK
application programming interface (API). For information about Web Service installation, see
the Installation Guide (choose Help > Manuals).
Conditions

connected to:

privileges:

To configure the Web Service settings

1. In the VirtualCenter Management Server Configuration dialog box, select the Web
Service option.
2. Enter values for the http and https ports in the appropriate text boxes.
3. Select the check box if to maintain compatibility with the older VirtualCenter 1.x SDK
Web interface.
Configuring the VirtualCenter Server : Configuring Server Settings : Configuring Timeout Settings
Configuring Timeout Settings

Timeout settings let you configure the timeout intervals for VirtualCenter operations. These
intervals specify that the VI Client should not time out in less than the specified values. Do
not set the value to zero (0).
Conditions

connected to:

privileges:

To select timeout intervals for VirtualCenter operations

1. In the VirtualCenter Management Server Configuration dialog box, select the Timeout
Settings option.
2. In the Normal Operations field, enter the timeout interval in seconds for normal
operations.
3. In the Long Operations field, enter the timeout interval in minutes for long operations.
the dialog box.

settings changes.
5. Restart the VirtualCenter Server for the changes to take effect.
Configuring the VirtualCenter Server : Configuring Server Settings : Configuring Logging Options
Configuring Logging Options

You can configure the amount of detail that VirtualCenter collects in log files.
Conditions

connected to:

privileges:

To configure the level of detail for log files

1. In the VirtualCenter Management Server Configuration dialog box, select the Logging
Options option.
2. From the VirtualCenter Logging list, select one of the following options:
• None (Disable logging) – turn off logging
• Error (Errors only) – display only error log entries
• Warning (Errors and warnings) – display warning and error log entries
• Info (Normal logging) – displays information, error, and warning log entries
• Verbose (Verbose) – displays information, error, warning, and verbose log entries
• Trivia (Extended verbose) – displays information, error, warning, verbose, and trivia
log entries
the dialog box.
settings changes.
Changes to the logging settings take effect immediately. You do not need to restart
VirtualCenter Server.
Configuring the VirtualCenter Server : Configuring Server Settings : Configuring Database Settings
Configuring Database Settings

You can change the VirtualCenter Server password and the specification for the maxiumum
number of simultaneous database connections.
Conditions


connected to:

privileges:

Before you make any changes to your database’s authentication setup, first change the
password in the Database Settings dialog box.
To change the password VirtualCenter Server uses when connecting to the
database
1. In the VirtualCenter Management Server Configuration dialog box, select the Database
option.
2. Type the new password in the Password text box and retype it in the second text box.
3. Click OK to accept all the VirtualCenter Server settings changes you made and close the
dialog box.
The VirtualCenter Server uses this password when creating connections to the database.
4. Change your database’s authentication setup to use the password you entered.
For details, see your database’s documentation.
5. Restart the VirtualCenter Server service.
On restarting, it connects using the new password.
Note: Not all database connection configurations require a password. This setting is
significant only when password-based authentication for database connections is in use.
To change the maximum number of database connections to create
1. Type the new number in the Maximum number text box.
This value normally does not need to be changed. You might want to increase this
number if your VirtualCenter Server frequently performs many operations and
performance is critical. You might want to decrease this number, for example, if the
database is shared and connections to the database are costly. VMware recommends that
you not change this value unless one of these issues pertains to your system.
the dialog box.
settings changes.
Configuring the VirtualCenter Server : Configuring Server Settings : Configuring SSL Settings
Configuring SSL Settings

You can configure VirtualCenter Server to check the SSL certificates of hosts it connects to. If
you select this option, VirtualCenter Server, the VI Client, and Web Access clients check for
valid SSL certificates before connecting to a host for such operations as adding a host or
making a remote console connection to a virtual machine.
Conditions

connected to:


privileges:

To configure VirtualCenter SSL settings

1. In the VirtualCenter Management Configuration dialog box, select the SSL Settings
option.
2. Select the Check host certificates check box to check for valid SSL certificates before
establishing SSL connections to hosts.
the dialog box.
settings changes.
Configuring the VirtualCenter Server : Configuring Server Settings : Configuring Advanced Settings
Configuring Advanced Settings

You can use the Advanced Settings page to modify the VirtualCenter Server configuration file,
vpxd.cfg. This page can be used to add entries to the vpxd.cfg file, but not to edit or delete
them. VMware recommends that you change these settings only when instructed to do so by
VMware technical support or when you are following specific instructions in VMware
documentation.
Conditions

connected to:

privileges:
To reach this dialog Administration > VirtualCenter

To add configuration settings

1. In the VirtualCenter Management Server Configuration dialog box, select the Advanced
Settings option.
1. Click Add Row to add a blank row to the settings table.
2. Enter a key and a value in the appropriate columns.
the dialog box.
settings changes.
Many advanced options changes require that the VirtualCenter Server be restarted before
they take effect. Consult VMware technical support to determine if your changes require a
restart.


Configuring The Virtual Center Server

Hochgeladen von

Dokumentinformationen

Originalbeschreibung:

Originaltitel

Copyright

Verfügbare Formate

Dieses Dokument teilen

Dokument teilen oder einbetten

Freigabeoptionen

Stufen Sie dieses Dokument als nützlich ein?

Sind diese Inhalte unangemessen?

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

Configuring The Virtual Center Server

Hochgeladen von

Copyright:

Verfügbare Formate

Configuring the VirtualCenter Server Page 1 of 12

Configuring the VirtualCenter Server

Configuring the VirtualCenter Server

docfeedback@vmware.com | Copyright © 2008 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved.

Configuring the VirtualCenter Server : Setting Custom Attributes

Setting Custom Attributes

VI Client must be VirtualCenter Server

Minimum required Global > Manage Custom

To reach this dialog box: Administration > Custom

To add a custom attribute

file://D:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp\~hh4377.htm 6/25/2009

docfeedback@vmware.com | Copyright © 2008 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved.

Configuring the VirtualCenter Server : Configuring Server Settings

Configuring Server Settings

docfeedback@vmware.com | Copyright © 2008 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved.

Configuring License Settings

VI Client must VirtualCenter Server

Minimum Global > Settings

To reach this Administration > VirtualCenter

file://D:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp\~hh4377.htm 6/25/2009

dialog box: Management Server Configuration

Before you For complete information on setting up your

To configure the licenses for this server

docfeedback@vmware.com | Copyright © 2008 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved.

Configuring Statistics Settings

VI Client must be VirtualCenter Server

Minimum required Global > Settings

To reach this dialog Administration > VirtualCenter

file://D:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp\~hh4377.htm 6/25/2009

box: Management Server Configuration

To configure a collection interval

docfeedback@vmware.com | Copyright © 2008 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved.

Edit Collection Intervals

Collection Any enabled Collection Interval in the

To reach this Administration > Virtualcenter

Related topic Configuring Statistics Settings

To change a collection interval

file://D:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp\~hh4377.htm 6/25/2009

2. In Statistics Intervals, select the intervals to enable. Selecting a longer interval

docfeedback@vmware.com | Copyright © 2008 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved.

Configuring Runtime Settings

VI Client must be VirtualCenter Server

Minimum required Global > Settings

To reach this dialog Administration > Virtualcenter

To change the VirtualCenter ID or the port number

docfeedback@vmware.com | Copyright © 2008 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved.

file://D:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp\~hh4377.htm 6/25/2009

Configuring Active Directory Settings

VI Client must be VirtualCenter Server

Minimum required Global > Settings

To reach this dialog Administration > Virtualcenter

To configure how VirtualCenter interacts with the Active Directory server

docfeedback@vmware.com | Copyright © 2008 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved.

Configuring Mail Sender Settings

VI Client must be VirtualCenter Server

Minimum required Global > Settings

file://D:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp\~hh4377.htm 6/25/2009

To reach this dialog Administration > Virtualcenter

To define the SMTP and email message addressing information

docfeedback@vmware.com | Copyright © 2008 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved.

Configuring SNMP Settings

VI Client must be VirtualCenter Server