VI3 Installation and Upgrade Guide - vmware.com

1 Installation and Upgrade GuideESX and VirtualCenter , Porter DrivePalo Alto, CA , and Upgrade Guide You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on our Web site at vmware Web site also provides the latest product you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback 2006 vmware , Inc. All rights reserved. Protected by one or more of Patent Nos. 6,397,242, 6,496,847, 6,704,925, 6,711,672, 6,725,289, 6,735,601, 6,785,886, 6,789,156, 6,795,966, 6,880,022, 6,961,941, 6,961,806 and 6,944,699; patents , the vmware boxes logo and design, Virtual SMP and VMotion are registered trademarks or trademarks of vmware , Inc. in the United States and/or other other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.

2 Installation and Upgrade GuideRevision: 20060925 Item: VI-ENG-Q306-292 vmware , Inc. 3 ContentsPreface 111 Introduction to vmware Infrastructure 17 vmware Infrastructure at a Glance 17 What s New for Installation 20 What s New About Installing VirtualCenter Version 220 What s New About Installing ESX Server Version 3202 System Requirements 21 VirtualCenter Requirements 21 VirtualCenter Server Requirements 21 Hardware Requirements 22 VirtualCenter Server Software Requirements 22 VirtualCenter Database Requirements 23 End of Support Life for Microsoft Access Database Software 23 Virtual Infrastructure Client Requirements 23 Virtual Infrastructure Client Hardware Requirements 23 Virtual Infrastructure Client Software Requirements 23 VirtualCenter VI Web Access Requirements 24 License

3 Server Requirements 24 License Server Hardware Requirements 24 License Server Software Requirements 24 ESX Server Requirements 24 Minimum Server Hardware Requirements 25 Enhanced Performance Recommendations 26 Maximum Configuration for ESX Server 27 Storage 28 Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) 28 Hardware Processors 28 Virtual Processors 29 Memory 29 Adapters 29 Installation and Upgrade Guide4 vmware , Inc. Hardware and Software Compatibility 29 Supported Guest Operating Systems 29 Virtual Machine Specifications 30 Virtual Storage 30 Virtual SCSI Devices 30 Virtual Processor 30 Virtual Chip Set 30 Virtual BIOS 31 Virtual Machine Memory 31 Virtual Adapters 31 Virtual Ethernet Cards 31 Virtual Floppy Drives 31 Virtual CD 31 Legacy Devices 31 Virtual Serial (COM) Ports 31 Virtual Parallel (LPT)

4 Ports 313 Licensing VirtualCenter and ESX Server 33 VirtualCenter and ESX Server Licensing Model 33 Customer Licensing Process 34 Host Based and License Server Based License Modes 34 License Server Based Licensing 35 Host Based Licensing 36 License Key Functionality 37 Per Processor and Per Host Licensing 37 Per Feature Licensing 38 ESX Server License Keys (License Server Based and Host Based) 38 VirtualCenter License Keys (License Server Based Only) 39 Obtaining License Files 40 Setting Up License Server Based Licensing 40 Installing the License File 40 Location of the License Server 40 Configuring License Server Based Licensing 41 Changing the Default License Server Ports 43 License Server Availability 43 Setting Up Host Based Licensing 46 Configuring an ESX Server Machine for Host Based Licensing 46 Host Based and License Server Based Machines in the Same Environment 47 Configuring Licensing for a Mixed ESX Server and ESX Server Environment 48 vmware .

5 ESX Server License Types 48 License File 50 License File Contents 50 License File Locations 51 Editing the License File 52 License File Editing Tips 52 Activating an Edited License File 52 Sample License File 53 Installing the License Server 544 Installing vmware VirtualCenter 57 Preparing the VirtualCenter Server Database 57 Configuring Your VirtualCenter Database 58 Configuring an Oracle Connection to Work Locally 58 Configuring an Oracle Connection to Work Remotely 59 Configuring a SQL Server ODBC Connection 59 Configuring Microsoft SQL Server Desktop Engine (MSDE) 62 Maintaining Your VirtualCenter Database 63 Installing the VirtualCenter Server 63 Components Installed 63 VirtualCenter Server Installation Procedure 64 Installing the Virtual Infrastructure Client 68 Configuring Communication Between VirtualCenter Components 69 Connecting to Your VirtualCenter Server Through a Firewall 70 Connecting to Your Managed Hosts Through a Firewall 70 Connecting Hosts with the License Server Through a Firewall 71 Uninstalling VirtualCenter Components 715 Installing vmware ESX Server Software 75 Preparing to Install 75 Installed Components 75 Installation Methods 76 Using ILO, DRAC.

6 And RSA II 76 Installation on IDE or SATA Drives 76 LUN Requirements 76 Installing ESX Server 77 Navigation in the Installer 77 ESX Server Installation Procedure 77 Recommended Partitioning 82 Advanced Partitioning 83 Installation and Upgrade Guide6 vmware , Inc. Setting Your Time Zone 86 Postinstallation Considerations 87 Configuring the ESX Server Host to Boot from a SAN 87 Locating the Installation Logs 87 Assigning New Hardware on the Server 87 Installing Additional Drivers from the vmware Driver Disk 88 Verifying Your Device Driver Mappings 88 Creating a Rescue Floppy Disk 89 Installing Language Packs on the ESX Server Host 89 Downloading the Virtual Infrastructure Client 906 Remote and Scripted Installations 93 Scripting Your Installations 93 Enabling Scripted Installation 94 Setting Up the Script 95 Creating a Script Using VI Web Access 95 Running a Scripted Installation from the Kickstart File 101 Editing the Kickstart Configuration File 101 Command

7 Section 102%packages Section 104%pre Section 104%post Section 104%vmlicense_text Section 104 Sample Kickstart File 1057 Planning a vmware Infrastructure Upgrade 107 Ensuring a Safe and Smooth Upgrade 108 Supported Upgrades in This Release 108 Upgrade Order Is Important 108 Upgrade Is Not Reversible 109 Backup and Restore Strategies 109 VirtualCenter Backup 109 ESX Server Backup 109 Virtual Machine Backup 110 Pre Upgrade Script 110 Downtime for Virtual Machines 110 Understanding Changes to vmware Architecture 111 Virtual Machine File System Format: VMFS2 to VMFS3 111 Upgrading VM2 Virtual Machine Format to VM3 112 Strategies for In Place or Migration Upgrades 113 vmware , In Place Upgrade 113 Pros of an In Place Upgrade 114 Cons of an In Place Upgrade 114 Migration Upgrade 114 Pros of a Migration Upgrade 115 Cons of a Migration Upgrade 115 Understanding the Stages of Upgrading 115 Requirements for Staging 115 Stage 1 Upgrading vmware VirtualCenter 116 Expected Downtime in Stage 1 116 Stage 1 Prerequisites 117 Stage 1 Upgrade Tasks 117 Repercussions of Stage 1117 Stage 2 Upgrading Your ESX Server Hosts and Datastores 118 Upgrade Strategy for ESX Server Host with Local Disks 118 Upgrade Strategy for ESX Server Host with SAN 118 Expected Downtime in Stage 2 119 Procedure 2A Upgrading a vmware ESX Server Host 120 Procedure 2B Upgrading a Datastore from VMFS2 to VMFS3

8 120 Stage 3 Upgrading Your Virtual Machines 121 Expected Downtime in Stage 3 121 Stage 3 Prerequisites 122 Repercussions of Stage 3122 Stage 3 Upgrade Tasks 122 Stage 4 Upgrading vmware Tools Within the Guest Operating System 123 Expected Downtime in Stage 4 123 Stage 4 Prerequisites 123 Stage 4 Upgrade Procedure 123 Repercussions of Stage 4 123 Upgrade Examples 123 Upgrading a Host with Virtual Machines on a Local Disk 124 Upgrading Hosts on a SAN Using VMotion with Datastore Relocation 126 Upgrading Hosts Sharing a SAN with In Place VMFS Upgrade 1288 Upgrading VirtualCenter 133 Before You Upgrade vmware VirtualCenter 133 Release Upgrade Support 133 Before You Upgrade Your VirtualCenter Server 134 VirtualCenter Version 2 Server Uses TCP/IP Ports 80 and 443 134 Installation and Upgrade Guide8 vmware , Inc.

9 VirtualCenter Version 2 Server Cannot Run on a GSX Server Host 134 VirtualCenter Database Must Be Upgraded 135 MDAC or Higher Must Be Installed on Windows 2000 Server SP4 135 Performing the VirtualCenter Upgrade 135 Upgrading the VirtualCenter Server 136 Upgrading the VirtualCenter Database 140 Upgrading Oracle and SQL Databases 141 End of Life for Access Database 141 Using the Database Upgrade Wizard 142 Repairing the Database DSN 143 Upgrading VirtualCenter Clients to Virtual Infrastructure Clients 144 Downtime for a Virtual Infrastructure Client Upgrade 144 Troubleshooting the Virtual Infrastructure Client 144 Upgrading Virtual Infrastructure to Use the License Server 144 Downtime for a License Server Installation 1459 Upgrading ESX Server 147 Before You Upgrade ESX Server 147 Release Upgrade Support 148 Follow Upgrade Steps in the Order Given 149 Host Configuration Requires a Virtual Infrastructure Client 149 Support for Scripted Installations 149 Support for Legacy Hardware 149 Components Installed by the Upgrade 150 Upgrade Requirements 150 Using ILO, DRAC.

10 And RSA II 151 Selecting the Boot Drive 151 Host Drive and LUN Requirements 151 Verifying Hardware Support 152 Allocating PCI Devices 152 Debug Mode Is Not Installed with an Upgrade from ESX Server 152 Commit or Discard Changes to Virtual Disks in Undoable Mode 152 Restoring NFS Mounts After Upgrade 153 Reconfigure Virtual Machines with SCSI Passthroughs After Upgrade 153 Upgrading Virtual Machines with RAW Disks 153 Performing the ESX Server Host Upgrade 153 Machine Downtime for a Host Upgrade 153 Virtual Machine Downtime for a Host Upgrade 154 Host Upgrade Methods 154 Running the Pre Upgrade Script 154 Upgrading Using the Graphical Installer 155 vmware , Upgrading Using the Text Based Installer 159 Upgrading from a Tarball 163 Upgrading Using esxupdate 163 Upgrading Datastores 164 Relocating Virtual Machines 16610 Upgrading Virtual Machines 167 Upgrading Virtual Hardware to VM3 Format 167 Upgrading to vmware Tools 3168 vmware Tools Upgrade Procedure 168 Unexpected Hardware Changes When Upgrading Virtual Adapter 168 Upgrading Hardware and vmware Tools in Multiple Virtual Machines 169 Requirements 169 Specifying Host or Virtual Machine Names 170 Usage Examples 171 Upgrading Virtual Machine Templates 172 Using Workstation or GSX Server Virtual Disks with ESX Server 173 AUpgrade Preparation Checklists 175 BDatastore Partitioning 181 Required