Relationship of Lab Manager and vSphere

Similar Questions

• Lab Manager and VMFS 5?

  I know Lab Manager only is not supported in vSphere 5 but I have a cluster where some hosts run LabManager.  I've updated vCenter and LabManager still works very well.  I want to spend the VMFS, so there are 2 possible scenarios

  -Put level all VMFS volumes, will be this LM break?

  -Upgrade only the LUNS than regular machinery of the host and leave the LUNS that are dedicated to LM as VMFS3.  This will cause any type of conflict?

  Hello.

  I don't think that you can actually get these 5 VMFS volumes, as all the guests, access to the database must support VMFS-5. This means that only 5 ESXi hosts will work.

  Good luck!

• Question about Lab Manager and ESX Resource Pools

  Hello world

  I was wondering if I can get feedback from some of the members of the community.  We used Lab Manager very strongly in our support organizations and it has proved to be a valuable tool.  Recently, we collaborated with the Department of technical training and started hosting online seminars and classes for them using Lab Manager.  Last week we had a fairly large class of users (approx. 45), each duty deploy 2 rather Beefy VMs that were very intensive resources (Jboss, SQL, Mail to name a few).  My colleague and I went through a lot of trials and planning to ensure that our infrastructure can handle the load while allowing our users to date at the same speed and reliability, so that they are used.

  Our Lab Manager ESX server pools made up of the following:

  5 HP DL380 G5 servers with 2 x Quad Core 2.8 GHZ processors (8 cores each) with 32 GB of RAM each

  2 HP DL580 G5 servers with 4 x Quad Core 2.8 GHZ processors (16 cores each) with 128 GB of RAM each

  When the class is running and everyone has made their 2 machines, we noticed for some reason, he was all on ESX2 and 3 deployment (380 s).  Then came the ESX alarms, use of 90% of memory, then more than 100% bringing the disk page.  The CPU usage was at a all time high.

  I look at the 2 580 s and there are about 4 virtual machines deployed on them.

  So my question is...

  How does he know where to launch a Virtual Lab Manager machine?  There's no sense 2 servers have been brought to the red zone, and almost overloaded when the 2 most powerful servers in my farm are nearly dormant.  I noticed sometimes in the past, but not this bad.  Normally, we have about 45-50 computers deployed at some point and it seems to spread them out properly.

  This group of training has access to the same LUN and ESX server with Betclick as any other organization that we have.

  We have decided hosting several sessions of training may be greater than this one and would like to know that the virtual machines will be distributed properly.

  I would like to know your opinion on this

  First to answer your question, then make guess what happens.

  As indicated in response Ilya, LM distributed VMs differently with active DRS resource pools and pools of resources without active DRS.

  LM place VMs when the DRS is not used.

  When DRS is used, we use the DRS admission control to select the host to place virtual machines.

  DRS is turned off, LM uses its own placement routine:

  For each virtual machine, LM filter all managed servers that cannot run the virtual machine. A complete list of patterns are:

  • The managed server has not enough memory or quota for virtual machine to run the virtual machine.

  • The host is not connected to the data store that is the virtual machine.

  • The virtual machine has active state (suspended) and the CPU of the server managed by the waking state has been captured is not compatible with the managed server currently considered.

  • The virtual machine has been a guest on 64-bit and the managed server is not 64-bit capable.

  • The virtual machine has more processors than the managed server.

  • The managed server is not accessible or is set to "prohibit deployments." Not reachable may mean that the lm-agent or its not to ping queries is not answer (this is visible in the list of managed server page).

  Once we have the complete list of eligible servers, we place the virtual machines on the host including the smallest (MemoryReservation % + CPUReservation %). By default, we reserve not CPU on LM VMs, this internship will be largely due to the memory on the host computers if you have not changed the settings of reservation of CPU on your virtual machines.

  For closed deploy to the PF3, force us all virtual machines to go on the same host, so if any virtual machines have any special data store / CPU type specification, all virtual machines is forced to go on this host. If there are conflicting requirements between different virtual machines in the same configuration, deployment will fail. Closed VMs also have another condition to check that is rarely achieved in practice: number of closed networks available on the managed server. By default, this is 20 and you will need more than 20 different configurations closed running on a managed server before you who will strike.  (LM4 allows Cross fencing host, so this does not apply in LM4).

  To make a guess blind because of your distribution problem - if you use the saved state and fencing, it's probably the type of processor.  Processor type can be checked on the host properties page.

  If you not are not I would check that the images can deploy on the 580 s by disabling the 380s and trying to deploy them.

  If you use DRS (which you're not), it could be due to deployment of virtual machines too fast for the algorithm of control for the entrance of VC.  An easy solution for this is to extinguish the DRS on the cluster manager of laboratory.

  We tested load internal repeatedly, the product QA in different laboratories, we run (LM has been used in VMworld Labs for the past couple years and internal systems of training and demonstration for our Organization implemented SE), so no need to worry about this.  I assure you that the first 'real' performance problem you will encounter will be almost certainly due to an overload of your storage array (too many IOPS / s)... and for that you have to distribute content in data warehouses and use techniques of creating paths to balance the load.

  Kind regards

  Steven

  Another thread on this: http://communities.vmware.com/message/1258902.

• Lab Manager licensing during the merger of vSphere environments

  Is there a small vSphere environment that is available for Lab Manager and a great environment vSphere and both are now completely separated (different vcenter servers, groups separated from ESX, etc.), and they are merged into one, what happens to the Lab Manager licenses?  Should be updated to take account of the increase in the number of ESX host in the new environment?  Environments can be merged without buying additional licenses?  If so, would be half the environment allowed for lab manager and others are not allowed?  How would the lab manager-under license, and lab-manager-without sections allowed environmental stands / separated?

  Thanks for your comments

  "Prepared" you went in in the section resources, hosts tab and see that the host is ready (green check mark), this means that there has been a 'prepare' to the host.  Prepare installs the agent LM, then she will deduct your license (settings > license).

  Kind regards

  Jon Hemming, b.SC., RHCT, VMware vExpert 2009
  http://Twitter.com/vJonHemming

  If your question or problem has been resolved, please click the "right answer".  If someone helped him, please click "useful answer.

• Integration Microsoft DevStudio 2010 and VMware Lab Manager

  Microsoft DevStudio 2010 seems to provide a nice integration in a virtualized environment of laboratory course using their own hypervisor. What is VMware plan to integrate this? Someone else began to focus on the integration yet? In order to manage isolated networks, they seem to have a lab test controller talking agents, so different test agents in the "closed" configurations can easily be found out.

  I already have a wind front of genius as far as my current LM infrastructure goes.

  Microsoft plans to add support for ESX by SP1 environment according to their team. How that factors in Lab Manager I don't know. In addition, their installation on the hypervisor isn't exactly great. It requires the VM already be made by hand. So there is no, automagic dpeloy the VM to test cancel them the deployment when done. So from what we have seen, it seems to not integrate yet. I found it very disappointing. However, they have the facilites for before and after series of tests shares. So our next step is to see if you use the API we can deploy and Undeploy of an image of Lab Manager and pass through the IP address of the machine newly deployed to the Test Manager. It should work, but we have not begun to this topic but, as we always try to make sure that we understand everything that happens in the process of the hypervisor.

• How get rid you of a user in the Lab Manager?

  OK, that is.  I imported Active Directory groups in the Lab Manager and everything works fine.  I thought that I would like to delete a user (TOL3 configuration) on the domain controller to see what Lab Manager and it appears greyed out.  I can't however to delete in the laboratory Manager, no matter what I do.  LDAP synchronization do not do it, restart SQL (Lab Manager) service and other services, does not remove and re-import the groups does not work either.   Does anyone have a solution?

  Hello

  You will need to log into the Manager of laboratory as a "system administrator".

  Change the organization 'Global '.

  Now you should get disable it and remove the option to remove the user from Lab manager.

  Kind regards

  Nitin Shetty

• In Lab Manager NETWORK load balancing

  Hello

  I am trying to configure windows NLB on two or three windows 2008 machines in Lab Manager and I have problems. The IP Address of the cluster is not to pings to all other machines in the same configuration. I ping the IP cluster of the node itself. Haven't tried multicast and unicast not to no luck.

  How can I get this to work?

  Thank you

  NLB is not supported within a Lab Manager configuration.

  In addition, Lab Manager does not support Multicast in closed configurations.

  Kind regards

  Jonathan

  B.SC., RHCT, VMware vExpert 2009

  NOTE: If your question or problem has been resolved, please mark this thread as answered and awarded points accordingly.

• Passage of the workstation in the Lab manager automation

  Hello

  I have a c# code base and allows to connect to VMware workstation VIX. Base code (using VIX) I have to connect to the VM, clone, copy test in him, and then run it.

  Recently, in our society, we have decided to go for the Director of the laboratory. Therefore, we must make application to connect to the lab instead of the Workstation Manager. I learned that the VIX API cannot be used to talk to the Manager of laboratory, and I need to use the Lab Manager API.

  My question is that I have to completely remove handling VIX and put implementation of Lab Manager API. or I just need to use the API of Lab Manager to connect to the virtual machine, then use VIX API to communicate (i.e. clone, copy data, snapshot, etc.).

  Rizwan

  You must only use the Lab Manager API to perform actions you have on various VMs. avoid using the VIX API to manipulate Lab Manager virtual machines since that interfere with the correct operation of Lab Manager and could lead to a potential loss of data. For example, Lab Manager uses its own cloning mechanism and taken of VM snapshots, and the cloning/taking snapshots via VIX will destroy only the Lab Manager virtual machines view.

• How to migrate virtual machines from the virtual server MS in Lab Manager?

  We migrate our environment. So primary question is - how to migrate our MS VirtualServer VMs to Lab Manager?

  BR

  Hello

  Have you tried using using VMware vCenter Converter?  It can take Virtual PC machines and turn them into VMs VMware (.vmdks), you should then be able to manufacture models of VMware virtual machines, import them into the Lab Manager and voila.

• using SATA vs FC in Lab Manager

  Hi, I'm new to Lab manager and we have noticed performance using LM, however by using virtual machines in Virtual Center have no problem. What are some bottlenecks, that I should look for? We use Server 2 GB for Lab Manager, Server 2 GB for VC, and two 32 GB connected SATA ESX servers. Upgrades to CF help considerably?

  upgrade to FC shared will help a lot; SATA performance tends to be pretty poor and lose you out on the opportunity to share storage, but it is especially in the field of the performance of the virtual machine, which apparently is acceptable when it is directly accessible from VC.  I'll come back later.

  Check use of memory on the servers of your LM and VC - the task manager's performance tab should be sufficient for this purpose.  If your use of the page file seems to be high, probably, and the biggest single performance gain noted by increasing real memory of the system in question.  2 GB seems reasonable, but you very well may benefit considerably with 4 GB of ram real at the VC server.

  CPU utilization must above all be a non-issue.   I run my setup of LM in a virtual machine with a maximum of 512 mhz of limited resources and do not tend to notice the important, long cpu to load.  Memory is always the killer.

  You can also Alternatively take advantages by adding a third win2k3 machine in the mix to install an external full version of MS SQL Server for your VC, rather than the bundled sql express - especially because it divides the workload on the vc server, that tends to get hammered by the demands of LM.

  Network topology could be a problem.  From the sound of it, you have a LM separate, physical server and a server VC separate, physical, as well as some ESX servers.  Is the networking between the four devices complex or distorted? There are benefits to the use of the network paths separate for network LM/VC-esx service console that use virtual machines, and there are certainly benefits to all local to the other servers.

  Or, Alternatively, if your LM and VC are actually themselves VM within your esx servers, you can save significantly by giving them minorants of resources and prioritization of memory/cpu to 'high' whereas they are less likely to get private by ESX resources.

  Meanwhile, your virtual machine performance.  Director of the laboratory, because of related clones, use the drive a little differently, in order to really start to lose with the absence of tagged command queuing, rewriting, and other features in a high performance SCSI configuration, because an operation of e/s "sequential" may eventually be scattered all over the disk.  At the very least, a GNU / linux external and a high performance + disks SCSI controller, shared nfs or iscsi to your esx boxes should give significant benefits (especially if you can do an isolated for this traffic network) in the area of how to perform your VM.  Naturally, the CF will be faster, but there will be $$ involved.

• Provisioning for models of Lab Manager

  Hello

  We are beginning to create templates for our implementation of Lab manager and I'm not sure if I have to use thin or thick provisioning. It would be preferable to use thin to save disk space, but I'm not familiar enough with LM (and don't have any best practices docs) to know what consequences this may have. Someone can advise me on this point, is it OK to use and does not performance issues?

  Thank you

  Although not supported, that people discover that this should work, save a ton of disk space and not suffer a drop in performance.   You will need to do the conversion when the virtual machines on the tree are not running.  An enterprising soul might even describe the conversion process to convert all the discs basic installation in thin provisioned disks in an automated way.

  Because its not supported, make sure you have a backup of the original monolithic disc before you do!

• Lab Manager

  We are poised to implement a LabManager environment.

  -Is it better that we place the LabManager on a physical rather than virtual box?

  -Can place us LabManager on the same physical server as the server VCenter?

  Scott

  It does not matter, you can have physical or virtual (with virtual you enjoy all the advantages of infrastructure VMware)

  in regards to install it on the same machine as VirtualCenter, try to avoid it.

  Server Manager requirements

  Manager

  software on a virtual machine. Do not install the server Lab Manager

  software on a physical or a virtual machine that contains

  VirtualCenter server software. If you have the server Lab Manager and

  VirtualCenter server software installed in separate virtual machines,

  these VMs can reside on the same ESX host.

  Concerning

  Jose

• Cannot locate the Microsoft Sysprep package on the server Lab Manager

  I have created a new model using the Lab Manager and install Windows XP 64-bit on it.  When the virtual machine has been cancelled and I tried to publish... I have the following error Publishing...

  Cannot publish a model of

  * Could not locate the Microsoft Sysprep package on the server Lab Manager.

  This 64-bit Windows system requires the package to perform the configuration of comments.

  See the documentation on the creation of the package.*

  When the sysprep package must be on the labmanager... I have a WinXP_64 directory, located in...

  Server\Tools\LMTools\Sysprep C:\Program VMware Lab Manager the Lab Manager server.  I also ran sysprep on the master, that I am trying to publish.  Anyone who encountered this?

  A few sites to check out:

  • http://pubs.VMware.com/labmanager3/users/LM_Users_Guide_templates.7.16.html -> note, you must have all the files in all the folders to build the package

  • http://pubs.VMware.com/labmanager3/users/LM_Users_Guide_templates.7.17.html

• New Lab Manager - IP address conflict

  Hello. I'm new to the Director of the laboratory, and I hope to use it to provide a demo environment of a few machines in a domain for our software. If after installation of Lab manager and Vmtools, I put a machine virtual like a new domain controller/dns in virtual center, imported to the Manager of the laboratory as a VM template, added to a configuration, and it deployed in a workspace in closed mode. But I get IP conflict errors. Is not fenced mode supposed to avoid ip conflicts? I have the original CD/dns off also in virtualcenter. Thanks for your help.

  I think what you want to do is to start with a model with just the OS and create the domain controller once you have a workspace configuration.  See: http://pubs.vmware.com/labmanager3/users/LM_Users_Guide_templates.7.15.html

  "The virtual computer model cannot be configured... a domain controller.

  http://pubs.VMware.com/labmanager3/users/LM_Users_Guide_templates.7.15.html

• Known issues with running ESX, vSphere and vCenter Lab Manager on a Windows Server?

  I'm on a project that is currently planned to install ESX, vSphere and vCenter Lab Manager on a Windows 2003 R2 Enterprise x 64.  Anyone know if there are known problems with their performance on a beefy Server?

  http://communities.VMware.com/community/VMTN/vSphere?view=overview and take a look at podcasting.