managing vmware esx environments with hp network management center
DESCRIPTION
HP Network Management Center (NMC) provides a full array of network management capabilities. Attend this session and find out how it can be used to manage VMware ESX virtual environments as well. We’ll describe for you a method for using the NMC to provide event, performance, configuration automation, and notification services for ESX servers and virtual switches, and we’ll present examples and tips from real deployments. We’ll show you how the method employs HP Network Node Manager for status polling, management event and trap handling—including VMware MIBs. You’ll see how HP Performance Insight can be used for virtual switch and server management using the Device Resource and System Resources support packs and including the Host Resources MIB. And we’ll explain how HP Network Automation can be used for configuration management of ESX virtual switches and AlarmPoint express for critical event notification. And you’ll come away knowing how to realize additional benefit from your network management investment by leveraging ESX.TRANSCRIPT
1 ©2010 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice
Managing VMware ESX Environments with HP Network Management Center
Richard AntonickTechnical Architect
Melillo Consulting
Introduction
The HP Network Management Center
provides a full array of network management
capabilities. In addition, it can be used to
manage VMware ESX virtual environments.
This presentation describes a method for
using the NMC to provide event,
performance, configuration automation and
notification services for VMware ESX hosts
and virtual switches.
Assumptions
•Familiarity with the NMC products and
SNMP
•NMC products are installed, patched,
configured and integrated, as needed
•VMware ESX version 4.0 environment
•vSphere client will be installed on an
administration workstation
•Administrator/root access to the vCenter
server and all ESX host service consoles
•vSphere Management Assistant (VMA) and
VMware guests will not be covered
Tip: Get the version with vmware -v
Terms (1)
• vSphere - virtualizes and aggregates the
underlying physical hardware resources
across multiple systems and provides
pools of virtual resources to the
datacenter.
• vCenter server - provides a single point of
control of the vSphere datacenter.
• ESX - A virtualization layer run on physical
servers that abstracts processor, memory,
storage, and resources into multiple virtual
machines.
• ESX host – physical server.
Terms (2)
• vSwitch - A virtualized network switch
used by ESX server to manage traffic
between virtual machines, the service
console, and the physical network
adapters on the ESX server machine.
• Virtual machine – A software computer
that, like a physical computer, runs an
operating system and applications.
Multiple virtual machines can operate on
the same host system concurrently.
Terms (3)
• Service console - The command-line
interface for an ESX server system that
enables administrators to configure the
system. Available locally or remotely via
Telnet or SSH.
• vSphere client - An interface that allows
users to connect remotely to vCenter
Server or ESX from any Windows PC.
Components and Roles
The method features:
HP Network Node Manager for status polling,
management event and trap handling, including the
use of VMware MIBs
HP Performance Insight for virtual switch and server
management using the Device Resource and System
Resources report packs and including the Host
Resources MIB
HP Network Automation for configuration
management of ESX virtual switches
AlarmPoint Systems AlarmPoint Express for critical
event notification.
NNMi
• ESX Host Status Polling
• Console Display
– Inventory
– Custom groups
– Topology
• ESX trap receiver
• Custom poller for ESX-specific MIB objects
• Current host network performance with
iSPI for Performance
• AlarmPoint Express integration for
notification
Network Automation
Network Automation 7.60 uses the ESX APIs
to gain access to the vSwitch service so that
it can identify and manage the vSwitch
within the ESX server.
NA can isolate the vSwitch and manage it
just as if it were another physical network
device, using the same NA GUI and API
interfaces used with physical network
devices. The February, 2010 driver pack
must be loaded.
Performance Insight
• NNMi integration for node synchronization
• System Resources Report Pack
• The SysRes RFC 1514 Datapipe collects
the following data from the Host
Resources MIB:
– CPU utilization
– Memory utilization
– Number of page outs
– Run queue length
– Swap utilization
AlarmPoint Express
• Variety of destination device types
including alpha/numeric pagers, phones,
email, SMS
• Alert grouping by:
– function
– work shift
– other
• Scheduling and automatic rotation.
• Included with NNMi. Great value!
Tip: Additional functionality can
be licensed at any time.
VMware ESX Version 3.x SNMP Support
• Virtual Center Server
– vCenter Server SNMP agent functions only as a trap emitter.
– Sends vCenter alarms to the management server as traps.
– Does not support other SNMP operations, such as GET
– Configured via vSphere GUI.
• ESX host Net-SNMP agent (snmpd)
– Supports standard SNMP operations (GET, SET, as well as
trap)
– Access via the service console.
– Configured via manual editing of the SNMP configuration
text file (snmpd.conf).
– Generic SNMP MIB support via snmpd.
– Host Resources MIB support
VMware ESX Version 4.x SNMP Support
• Virtual Center Server (traps only)
• Net-SNMP agent
• VMware embedded SNMP agent
• hostd provides SNMP agent support
• Remote configuration via vicfg CLI - Manages
the SNMP agent on an ESX host from an
administration client (Windows XP/Vista or
Linux).
• Includes VMware-specific MIB support.
• NO RFC 1514 Host Resources MIB support.
Configuration Tasks (1)
1. Download and install vSphere client and
vSphere CLI onto an administration
workstation
2. Configure and enable SNMP on vCenter
server and ESX hosts
3. Download and load VMware MIBs,
including traps, into NNMi
4. Configure NNMi to discover/load ESX
servers and hosts and verify that they
were loaded
5. Import/verify that ESX hosts were loaded
into NA
Configuration Tasks (2)
6. Select NA ESX host driver
7. Verify that ESX vSwitches have loaded
into NA
8. Discover the vSwitch driver
9. Configure incidents in NNMi for ESX host
and server traps
10. Configure AlarmPoint for ESX messages
from NNMi
11. Verify/import ESX hosts into PI
Configuration Tasks (3)
12. Verify that PI is collecting system (host
resources) data from the ESX hosts and
producing reports
13. Verify that the NNMi iSPI for performance
is showing data for the ESX hosts
vSphere Client Installation
• The vSphere client runs faster on an
administration workstation than from the
vCenter server
• From a Windows XP or Linux workstation,
download the vSphere client by browsing
to the local vCenter server (ignore any
certificate errors)
• When the VMware vSphere 4 Welcome
page appears select the Download vSphere
Client link and install the package
vSphere CLI Download Page
vSphere CLI Installation Error
• When installing the vSphere client from the
vCenter server, the installation may fail on
Windows XP with error code 1603
• The workstation’s .NET Framework may
need to be upgraded. Refer to VMware
Knowledge Base article 1010723
vCenter Server SNMP Configuration
•Connect to the vCenter server
with the vSphere client
•Select Administration->vCenter
Server Settings->SNMP
•Enter the appropriate values
•Management server (trap
receiver
•Trap port
•Trap community string
vCenter Server SNMP Trap/Alarm
Configuration (1)
• Connect to the vCenter server with the
vSphere client
• Select an ESX host in the left pane
• Select the Alarms tab in the right pane
• Click on Definitions
• Double-click under the Defined in column
for a given row
• Click on the Actions tab
• Click Add
• Click on the Action item and select “Send
a notification trap” from the
pull-down menu.
vCenter Server SNMP Trap/Alarm
Configuration (2)
vCenter Server SNMP Trap/Alarm
Configuration (3)
vCenter Server SNMP Trap/Alarm
Configuration (4)
vCenter Server SNMP Trap/Alarm
Configuration (5)
vSphere CLI Installation
• Download the VMware vSphere CLI from
the VMware web site onto the
administration workstation:
– http://communities.vmware.com/community/vmtn/vsphere/au
tomationtools/vsphere_cli
• Install the vSphere CLI:
– VMware-vSphere-CLI-4.0.0-161974.exe
vicfg-snmp Command Options (1)
The following are run from a command
window on an administration workstation:
• --communities | -c Specifies at least one
community.
• --enable | -E Starts the SNMP service.
• --disable | -D Stops the SNMP service.
• --port | -p Set SNMP agent port (default
161)
• --reset | -r Clears all previously specified
communities and targets
• --show | -s Displays the current SNMP
configuration
vicfg-snmp Command Options (2)
• --targets | -t Configures a trap destination
and trap port (default 162).
• --test | -T Sends a WarmStart trap
(.1.3.6.1.6.3.1.1.5.2) and validates the trap
configuration when adding or changing the
notification configuration.
• --vihost | -h Specify a vCenter server to run
the command against.
vicfg-snmp Authentication Options
• Command line
– --password (echoed to screen)
– --sessionfile - Password not revealed. Expires in 30 minutes
– --config - Password specified in a .visdkrc configuration file
in plain text
• Environment variable
• Credential store
• Current account using Microsoft Windows
Security Support Provider Interface (SSPI)
• Prompt the user for a password. Password
is not echoed to the screen.
Configure the ESX Host SNMP agent
• Run the vSphere CLI from the
administration workstation. Specify the
community string and trap destination and
enable the SNMP agent:
– “C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware vSphere CLI\bin\vicfg-
snmp.pl” --server burns.mjm.com --communities VMware
– vicfg-snmp.pl --server burns.mjm.com --targets em-
x64.mjm.com/VMWare
– vicfg-snmp.pl --server burns.mjm.com --enable
• The vicfg-snmp command will prompt for a
user name and password. The password
will not be echoed to the screen.
Configure the ESX Host SNMP agent (2)
The user name and password can be passed
on the command line but the password will
be echoed to the screen.
– vicfg-snmp.pl --server burns.mjm.com--username root --
password pw123456 --show
Tip: use option abbreviations and combine
commands to reduce typos and save
keystrokes
vicfg-snmp.pl --server burns.mjm.com -t em-
x64.mjm.com/VMWare –c VMWare -E
Confirm the ESX Host SNMP Agent
Configuration
Display the ESX host SNMP configuration:
– vicfg-snmp.pl --server burns.mjm.com --show
• Current SNMP agent settings:
• Enabled : 1
• UDP port : 161
• Communities : VMWare
• Notification targets :
• em-x64.mjm.com@162/VMWare
Confirm the ESX Host SNMP Agent Configuration
• Send a test trap to the NNMi server:
vicfg-snmp.pl --server burns.mjm.com --test
Sending test notification (trap) to all configured
targets...
Complete. Check with each target to see if trap
was received.
• A warm start trap should appear in the
NNMi Incident Browser.
Tip: the ESX host must be in the NNMi
inventory for the trap message to appear in
the Incident Browser.
ESX Host SNMP Trap Test
VMware MIBs List in Load Order
1. VMWARE-ROOT-MIB.mib
2. VMWARE-TC-MIB.mib
3. VMWARE-PRODUCTS-MIB.mib
4. VMWARE-SYSTEM-MIB.mib
5. VMWARE-ENV-MIB.mib
6. VMWARE-RESOURCES-MIB.mib
7. VMWARE-VMINFO-MIB.mib
8. VMWARE-AGENTCAP-MIB.mib
9. VMWARE-VC-EVENT-MIB.mib
Initial Configuration – NNMi Server
• Download VMware MIBs
– http://download3.vmware.com/software/sdk-api/VMware-
esx-mibs-1.0.0-160789.zip
• Load VMware MIBs into NNMi using the
MIB load ordered list
– For example: nnmloadmib.ovpl -load VMWARE-ROOT-
MIB.mib
• Load VMware trap definitions into NNMi
– For example: nnmincidentcfg.ovpl -loadTraps VMWARE-
VMINFO-MIB.mib
Tip: Create a folder outside of the NNMi
product tree for additional MIBs
Initial Configuration – NNMi Server
Create VMware server profile in NNMi
NNMi Device Profile for VMware ESX Host
Initial Configuration – NNMi Server
Load ESX hosts:
– Discovery by IP range
– Discovery by Enterprise OID (VMware is
.1.3.6.1.4.1.6876.4.1)
– Manual loading from the NNMi console by Discovery Seed
– Command line loading by Discovery Seed or by seed file
• nnmloadseeds.ovpl -n burns.mjm.com
• nnmloadseeds.ovpl -f ESX_hosts_to_load.txt
Tip: Create a script for loading seeds
NNMi Discovery by Enterprise OID
Verify ESX Host Configurations in NA
Config:
– Product:
• Vendor: VMware, Inc.
• Version: 4.0.0 065
• Build: 164009
• Full Name: VMware ESX 4.0.0 build-164009
• OS Type: vmnix-x86
• Product Line ID: esx
• API Type: HostAgent
• API Version: 4.0
Troubleshooting ESX Host SNMP
• From the ESX host service console:
– /usr/bin/snmpwalk –v 1 –c VMWare ray.mjm.com system
• From the NNMi server:
– %NNMInstallDir%\support\nnmsnmpwalk –c VMWare
ray.mjm.com system
• From PI – Use the MIB Browser application
from the PI Management Console
– Tools->MIB Browser
OR
– Start->HP Software->Performance Insight->MIB Browser
Verify ESX vSwitch Configurations in NA
Sample vSwitch configuration
Host server: ray.mjm.com
– Virtual Switch Name: vSwitch0
– MTU: 1500
– Ports: 64
– Ports Available: 54
– Physical NICs: key-vim.host.PhysicalNic-vmnic0
– Port Group: key-vim.host.PortGroup-
vSwitch0 Secure External
key-vim.host.PortGroup-VSA Management Network key-
vim.host.PortGroup-None-1LM47
key-vim.host.PortGroup-VM Network key-
vim.host.PortGroup-Service Console
PI System Utilization Reports
NNMi v.9 Support for VMware
HP recently announced additional support for
VMwWare in NNMi v9.0 Advanced
– VMware ESX Server and Virtual Machine Capability
discovery
• An ESX server node has a "VMware ESX Host"
capability.
• A VM node running on that ESX server node
has a "Virtual Machine" capability.
– Predefined node groups enable viewing of "VMware ESX
Hosts" and "Virtual Machines“.
– Tools → Find Attached Switch Port can find virtual machines
using the virtual machine's hostname, IP address, or MAC
address.
Resources (1)
• HP ITRC and support portal for NMC
products
– http://itrc.hp.com
– http://support.openview.hp.com
• NA community (BSA Essentials Network)
– https://www.www2.hp.com/
• AlarmPoint web site
– www.alarmpoint.com
Resources (2)
• VMware site
– http://www.vmware.com
• ESX Documentation
– http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/
– vsp_40_vcli.pdf
– vsp_4_snmp_config.pdf
– vSphere Basic System Administration
• VMware Communities
– http://communities.vmware.com/home.jspa
– http://communities.vmware.com/community/developer/mana
gementapi
Outcomes
• Leverage investment in existing
NMC products to avoid costs of
additional products
• Simplify operations by using
knowledge of current products
• Save time required for
implementing server
monitoring solutions
• Provide visibility of VMware
ESX servers
Questions?
©2010 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
To learn more on this topic, and to connect with
your peers after the conference, visit the HP
Software Solutions Community:
www.hp.com/go/swcommunity
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