Setting up XClarity Management Hub (ESXi using VMware vCenter Client)
Set up the Lenovo XClarity Management Hub virtual appliance in a VMware vCenter Client on an ESXi host.
Procedure
To install the XClarity Management Hub virtual appliance, complete the following steps.
- Install and configure the virtual appliance on the host.
- Right-click the vCenter node, and click Deploy OVF Template.To deploy the virtual appliance, keep the following considerations in mind as you progress through the deployment wizard.
- Select source. Select the OVA file for XClarity Management Hub.
- Select name and folder. Choose an appliance name that is unique to this host.
- Select resource. Choose the ESXi host that you want to use for this virtual appliance.
- Select storage. Choose an SSD datastore that has a minimum of 340 GB of available storage , and choose the virtual disk format that meets the needs of your organization. If you are not sure which format to choose, select Thin Provision.
- Select networks. Choose Bridge to VM Network. You will modify this setting when you associate the virtual machine with the network.ImportantXClarity Management Hub includes the VMXNET 3 driver. You can ignore any VMware errors that say that the driver is not supported. For more information, see
VMware Docs – About Migration Compatibility Checks. - Customize templates.
- If you are using DHCP, specify
no
in the field. - If you are using a static IP address for the XClarity Management Hub management port, specify
yes
in the Configure initial IP setting field, and then specify the static IP protocols, addresses, netmasks, DNS servers, and gateways.
Note- You can also choose to use a configuration file to specify the IP address setting before powering on the virtual appliance (see
Using a configuration file to set the IP address
below). - The order of fields on this page might vary depending on your web browser and version of ESXi.
- If you are using DHCP, specify
- Ready to complete. Clear the Power on after deployment option.
TipYou can change the processor and memory configuration settings in VMware before powering on the virtual appliance. For information about configuration recommendations based on the number of devices in your environment, seeSupported hardware and software – XClarity Management Hub. The following figure show example configuration settings when the wizard is complete.
- If you are configured static IP addresses for the XClarity Management Hub management port, complete these steps before powering on the virtual appliance:
- From the vCenter client, select the XClarity Management Hub virtual appliance in the VMWare VMs view, right-click the Manage tab, and click Edit. The Edit Settings dialog is displayed.
- Click the vApp Option tab, and then click OVF environment transport in the navigation pane.
- Ensure that the VMware Tools and Enable options are selected, and then click OK.
- Right-click the vCenter node, and click Deploy OVF Template.
- (Physically separate management and data networks only) Associate the virtual machine with the data and management networks.
- Click the host to display the host details in the content pane of the VMware vSphere Client.
- Define port group 0.
- On the Virtual Machines - Network Access page, click Use vSwitch0, select vmnic0, and click Next to create a Port Group.
- Update the Port Group properties.
- Enter a label, such as VM Management Network for the network label.
- Optionally, enter the VLAN ID that was set up for the network.
- Associate the network adapters for the management VLAN to the network that you just added.
In the left navigation pane, right-click the virtual machine, and click Edit Settings. Then, from the Hardware tab, select each network adapter, and select the network label that you defined for this port group.
- Set up NIC teaming to provide failover capability between the two Flex switches that are installed in the chassis.
- From the host Configuration tab, click the vSwitch0 Properties link.
- Click the Network Adapters tab, and then select vmnic0.
- Click Add.
- Follow the steps in the Add Adapter Wizard to add vmnic1.
In the Policy Failover page, move vmnic1 down to the Standby Adapters section.
- Continue through the Add Adapter Wizard to complete the setup.
- Click the host to display the host details in the content pane of the VMware vSphere Client.
(Optional) Using an installation script
You can create a script, such as the following example, to install the XClarity Management Hub virtual appliance using the VMware ovftool (version 4.2.0 or later). You must include the following parameters in the script
- prop:guestinfo.ipv4.bootproto. The IPv4 boot protocol. This can be dhcp or static.
- prop:guestinfo.ipv4.dns1. Domain name space
- prop:guestinfo.ipv4.gateway. Gateway address
- prop:guestinfo.ipv4.ipaddr. IPv4 address
- prop:guestinfo.ipv4.netmask. Netmask
- prop:guestinfo.ipsetting. Indicates whether to set the IP address. This can be yes or no.
- prop:guestinfo.ipv6.bootproto. The IPv4 boot protocol. This can be auto, dhcp or static.
- prop:guestinfo.ipv6.ipaddr. IPv6 address
#!/bin/bash
# XCLARITY virtual appliance ova file name
LXCA_OVA="lnvgy_sw_lxca_331-2.0.0_vmware_x86-64.ova"
# ESXi IP, ID and Password
ESXI_HOST="1.2.3.4"
ESXI_USERNAME="userid"
ESXI_PASSWORD="userpasswd"
# ESXi virtual switch and datastore to store the
# XClarity virtual appliance
ESXI_VM_NETWORK="VM Network"
ESXI_VM_DATASTORE="datastore2"
# XCLarity ETH0 static ip info
IPV4_BOOTPROTO="static"
LXCA_VMNAME="lxca-vm"
LXCA_DEPOPT="small"
LXCA_OVERWR="--overwrite"
LXCA_HOSTNAME="dt.labs.lenovo.com"
LXCA_IP="1.2.3.5"
LXCA_NETMASK="255.255.240.0"
LXCA_GATEWAY="1.2.0.1"
LXCA_DNS="1.2.0.10"
LXCA_CHGIP="yes"
LXCA_IP6="0::0"
IPV6_BOOTPROTO="auto"
##### Using ovftool version 4.2.0 ###
##### '--X:injectOvfEnv' and '--powerOn' are the key parameters
/usr/bin/ovftool --acceptAllEulas --X:waitForIp --skipManifestCheck ${LXCA_OVERWR}
--X:injectOvfEnv --powerOn "--net:bridged=${ESXI_VM_NETWORK}"
--datastore=${ESXI_VM_DATASTORE} --diskMode=thin --name=${LXCA_VMNAME}
--deploymentOption=${LXCA_DEPOPT}
--prop:guestinfo.ipv4.bootproto=${IPV4_BOOTPROTO}
--prop:guestinfo.ipv4.dns1=${LXCA_DNS}
--prop:guestinfo.ipv4.gateway=${LXCA_GATEWAY}
--prop:guestinfo.ipv4.ipaddr=${LXCA_IP}
--prop:guestinfo.ipv4.netmask=${LXCA_NETMASK}
--prop:guestinfo.ipsetting=${LXCA_CHGIP}
--prop:guestinfo.ipv6.bootproto=${IPV6_BOOTPROTO}
--prop:guestinfo.ipv6.ipaddr=${LXCA_IP6} ${LXCA_OVA}
"vi://${ESXI_USERNAME}:${ESXI_PASSWORD}@${ESXI_HOST}/"
if [[ "$?" -eq 0 ]]; then
exit 0
else
exit 999
fi
[root@localhost dtest]# ./depl.sh
Opening OVA source: lnvgy_sw_lxca_331-2.0.0_vmware_x86-64.ova
Opening VI target: vi://root@1.2.3.4:443/
Deploying to VI: vi://root@1.2.3.4:443/
Transfer Completed
Powering on VM: lxca-vm
Task Completed
Received IP address: 1.2.3.5
(Optional) Using a configuration file to set the IP settings
If you are not using a DHCP server, you can optionally use a configuration file to specify the IP settings that you want to use to access the XClarity Management Hub web interface using the Eth0 network interface.
The configuration file (eth0_config) is contained in an ISO file that you create and mount to the virtual machine before XClarity Management Hub is started for the first time. When the XClarity Management Hub starts the first time, it configures the IP address for the Eth0 network using the static IP address that is defined in the eth0_config file and displays the web interface to set up initially and configure the appropriate settings (see Configuring the XClarity Management Hub).
To use a configuration file, perform the following steps before powering on the virtual appliance.
- Create a file named eth0_config (with no file extension) that contains the following IPv4 parameters that you want the virtual machine to use at startup.
- IPV4_ADDR=
- IPV4_NETMASK=
- IPV4_GATEWAY=
- IPV6_ADDR=
- IPV6_GATEWAY=
You can use the echo command to create the file, for example:ECHO IPV4_ADDR=1.1.1.1 > ./eth0_config
ECHO IPV4_NETMASK=255.255.255.05 >> ./eth0_config
ECHO IPV4_GATEWAY=1.1.1.5 >> ./eth0_config
ECHO IPV6_ADDR=1001:1002:1003:1004::2 >> ./eth0_config
ECHO IPV6_GATEWAY=1001:1002:1003:1004::1 >> ./eth0_config - Create an ISO image that contains the eth0_config file.
To create an ISO image on Windows, use your favorite ISO software. On Linux, use the mkisofs command, for example:
mkisofs -V IP4ADDR -J -o ./boot.iso ./eth0_configwhere -V is the volume label, -J is for Joliet format, -o is the output file name, and ./eth0_config is the file to be included in the ISO image.
- Upload the ISO image to a suitable location using the Datastore Browser.
- Mount the .ISO image to the virtual machine. The ISO file must reside in the datastore of the ESXi host so that it can be mounted as a CD/DVD drive on the XClarity Management Hub virtual machine.
- Right click the virtual machine, and click Edit Settings.
- Click Add to display the Add Hardware wizard.
- Click CD/DVD Drive, and click Next.
- Select Use ISO image, and click Next.
- Select the ISO image, and click Next.
- Select the virtual device node, and click Next.
- Click Finish.
NoteYou can unmount the drive and delete the ISO image after you log in to theXClarity Management Hub web interface and finish configuring the appropriate settings.
After you finish
Log in and configure XClarity Management Hub (see Configuring the XClarity Management Hub).