Novell PLATESPIN ORCHESTRATE 2.0.2 - ADMINISTRATOR REFERENCE... User manual

Novell®
www.novell.com
novdocx (en) 13 May 2009
AUTHORIZED DOCUMENTATION
PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Getting Started Reference
PlateSpin ® Orchestrate
2.0.2
June 17, 2009
Getting Started Reference

novdocx (en) 13 May 2009
Legal Notices
Novell, Inc. makes no representations or warranties with respect to the contents or use of this documentation, and
specifically disclaims any express or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose.
Further, Novell, Inc. reserves the right to revise this publication and to make changes to its content, at any time,
without obligation to notify any person or entity of such revisions or changes.
Further, Novell, Inc. makes no representations or warranties with respect to any software, and specifically disclaims
any express or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. Further, Novell, Inc.
reserves the right to make changes to any and all parts of Novell software, at any time, without any obligation to
notify any person or entity of such changes.
Any products or technical information provided under this Agreement may be subject to U.S. export controls and the
trade laws of other countries. You agree to comply with all export control regulations and to obtain any required
licenses or classification to export, re-export or import deliverables. You agree not to export or re-export to entities on
the current U.S. export exclusion lists or to any embargoed or terrorist countries as specified in the U.S. export laws.
You agree to not use deliverables for prohibited nuclear, missile, or chemical biological weaponry end uses. See the
Novell International Trade Services Web page (http://www.novell.com/info/exports/) for more information on
exporting Novell software. Novell assumes no responsibility for your failure to obtain any necessary export
approvals.
Copyright © 2008-2009 Novell, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, photocopied,
stored on a retrieval system, or transmitted without the express written consent of the publisher.
Novell, Inc. has intellectual property rights relating to technology embodied in the product that is described in this
document. In particular, and without limitation, these intellectual property rights may include one or more of the U.S.
patents listed on the Novell Legal Patents Web page (http://www.novell.com/company/legal/patents/) and one or
more additional patents or pending patent applications in the U.S. and in other countries.
Novell, Inc.
404 Wyman Street, Suite 500
Waltham, MA 02451
U.S.A.
www.novell.com
Online Documentation: To access the latest online documentation for this and other Novell products, see
the Novell Documentation Web page (http://www.novell.com/documentation).

novdocx (en) 13 May 2009
Novell Trademarks
For Novell trademarks, see the Novell Trademark and Service Mark list (http://www.novell.com/company/legal/
trademarks/tmlist.html).
Third-Party Materials
All third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

4PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Getting Started Reference
novdocx (en) 13 May 2009

Contents 5
Contents
novdocx (en) 13 May 2009
About This Guide 7
1Overview 9
1.1 Product Rebranding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
1.2 Introduction to PlateSpin Orchestrate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.2.1 What Is PlateSpin Orchestrate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.2.2 How Do I Obtain and License PlateSpin Orchestrate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.3 PlateSpin Orchestrate Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
1.3.1 PlateSpin Orchestrate Installation and Configuration Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.3.2 PlateSpin Orchestrate Upgrade Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.3.3 PlateSpin Orchestrate VM Client Guide and Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.3.4 PlateSpin Orchestrate Virtual Machine Management Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.3.5 PlateSpin Orchestrate Development Client Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
1.3.6 PlateSpin Orchestrate Administration Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.3.7 PlateSpin Orchestrate High Availability Configuration Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.3.8 PlateSpin Orchestrate Command Line Reference. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.3.9 PlateSpin Orchestrate Server Portal Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.3.10 PlateSpin Orchestrate Job Developer Guide and Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2 Understanding Basic Functionality 15
2.1 Basic PlateSpin Orchestrate Server, VM Client, and Development Client Terms and
Concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.1.1 The Grid. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.1.2 Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.1.3 Resources Running the PlateSpin Orchestrate Agent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.1.4 Jobs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.1.5 Typical Use of the Grid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.2 System Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.3 How Do I Interact with PlateSpin Orchestrate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
2.4 How PlateSpin Orchestrate Components Communicate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
A Documentation Updates 23
A.1 June 17, 2009 (2.0.2 Release). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

6PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Getting Started Reference
novdocx (en) 13 May 2009

About This Guide 7
novdocx (en) 13 May 2009
About This Guide
This Getting Started Reference provides a basic introduction to PlateSpin®Orchestrate 2.0 from
Novell®components and what’s new in the product since its last release.
Chapter 1, “Overview,” on page 9
Chapter 2, “Understanding Basic Functionality,” on page 15
Audience
The contents of this guide are of interest to the following individuals:
VM Administrator: A PlateSpin Orchestrate virtual machine (VM) Administrator manages the life
cycle of the VMs in the enterprise, including creating, starting, stopping, migrating, and deleting
VMs. For more information about the Orchestrate VM Client tasks and tools used by the VM
Administrator, see the PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 VM Client Guide and Reference. For more
information about the Orchestrate Development Client tasks and tools used by the VM
Administrator, see the PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Virtual Machine Management Guide.
Orchestrate Administrator: A PlateSpin Orchestrate Administrator deploys jobs, manages users,
and monitors distributed computing resources. Administrators can also create and set policies for
automating the usage of these computing resources. For more information about the Development
Client tasks and tools used by the Orchestrate Administrator, see the PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0
Administrator Reference.
User: The end user of PlateSpin Orchestrate, also called a “Job Manager,” runs and manages jobs
that have been created by a Job Developer and deployed by the administrator. It is also possible that
the end user could be a developer who has created applications to run on distributed computing
resources. For more information about the tasks and tools used by the Job Manager, see the
PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Server Portal Reference.
Job Developer: The developer has control of a self-contained development system where he or she
creates jobs and policies and tests them in a laboratory environment. When the jobs are tested and
proven to function as intended, the developer delivers them to the PlateSpin Orchestrate
administrator. For more information about the tasks and tools used by the Job Developer, see the
PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Developer Guide and Reference.
Prerequisite Skills
As data center managers or IT or operations administrators, it is assumed that users of the product
have the following background:
General understanding of network operating environments and systems architecture.
Knowledge of basic UNIX* shell commands and text editors.

8PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Getting Started Reference
novdocx (en) 13 May 2009
Feedback
We want to hear your comments and suggestions about this manual and the other documentation
included with this product. Please use the User Comments feature at the bottom of each page of the
online documentation, or go to www.novell.com/documentation/feedback.html (http://
www.novell.com/documentation/feedback.html) and enter your comments there.
Additional Product Documentation
In addition to this Getting Started Reference, PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 includes the following
additional guides that contain valuable information about the product:
PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Installation and Configuration Guide
PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Upgrade Guide
PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 VM Client Guide and Reference
PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Development Client Reference
PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Virtual Machine Management Guide
PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Administrator Reference
PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 High Availability Configuration Guide
PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Command Line Reference
PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Developer Guide and Reference
PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Server Portal Reference
Documentation Updates
This Getting Started Reference is updated periodically. To view the most recent version, visit the
PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Web site (http://www.novell.com/documentation/pso_orchestrate20/) and
look for the documentation updates section included at the end of the book.
Documentation Conventions
In Novell documentation, a greater-than symbol (>) is used to separate actions within a step and
items in a cross-reference path.
A trademark symbol (®, TM, etc.) denotes a Novell trademark. An asterisk (*) denotes a third-party
trademark.
When a single pathname can be written with a backslash for some platforms or a forward slash for
other platforms, the pathname is presented with a backslash. Users of platforms that require a
forward slash, such as Linux* or UNIX, should use forward slashes as required by your software.

Overview
1
9
novdocx (en) 13 May 2009
1
Overview
Welcome to PlateSpin®Orchestrate 2.0 from Novell®. This section of the Getting Started Guide
includes the general information you need to become acquainted with the product.
Section 1.1, “Product Rebranding,” on page 9
Section 1.2, “Introduction to PlateSpin Orchestrate,” on page 10
Section 1.3, “PlateSpin Orchestrate Documentation,” on page 12
1.1 Product Rebranding
ZENworks®Orchestrator has been repositioned under the Novell PlateSpin brand of Data Center
Management products. PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 is an upgrade for ZENworks Orchestrator 1.3.
The table below maps the older ZENworks brand component naming to the newer PlateSpin brand
component naming.
Table 1-1 Comparing 1.3 Brand Naming to 2.0 Brand Naming
NOTE: The VM Warehouse component of ZENworks Orchestrator 1.3 is not included in PlateSpin
Orchestrate 2.0.
Some aspects of ZENworks branding have not been fully transitioned to the PlateSpin name. For
example, there is some residual naming apparent in file names, file paths, command line tools, and
other parts of the product without high visibility. This naming residue should not interfere with your
use of the product.
Version 1.3 Names and Terms Version 2.0 Names and Terms
Novell ZENworks Orchestrator 1.3 PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 from Novell
Orchestrator Server Orchestrate Server
Orchestrator Agent Orchestrate Agent
Orchestrator Console Orchestrate Development Client
Virtual Machine Management Interface or VM GUI Orchestrate VM Client
Orchestrator User Portal Orchestrate Server Portal
Orchestrator VM Builder Orchestrate VM Builder
Orchestrator Monitoring Server Orchestrate Monitoring Service

10 PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 Getting Started Reference
novdocx (en) 13 May 2009
1.2 Introduction to PlateSpin Orchestrate
The following sections contain information to help introduce you to PlateSpin Orchestrate:
Section 1.2.1, “What Is PlateSpin Orchestrate?,” on page 10
Section 1.2.2, “How Do I Obtain and License PlateSpin Orchestrate?,” on page 12
1.2.1 What Is PlateSpin Orchestrate?
PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 uses its functional components to:
Perform high-performance task breakdown across multiple machines (resources) in a data
center
Provide distributed, CRON-style job scheduling
Provide a messaging system between the PlateSpin Orchestrate Server and the managed
machines
The PlateSpin Orchestrate system consists of a central server (the Orchestrate Server), agents
capable of executing work on each managed resource, and an optional client application (the
PlateSpin Orchestrate Development Client) that can be used to drive and monitor the PlateSpin
Orchestrate system. Work is described to the system in the form of a “job.” A job is written in an
embedded Python* script and deployed to and managed by the server. When a job is run, constraint-
based placement (a kind of rules engine) directs the work to suitable and available resources. The
job might partially execute on the managed systems and can further execute any process as the
desired user on the managed system.
The Orchestrate VM Client adds increased functionality to PlateSpin Orchestrate.This client helps
administrators, IT operators, and job developers improve and expand the performance of the data
center by automating provisioning and by using Virtual Machines (VMs) as resources in the data
center computing environment. Better managed VMs can help control associated data center costs
by addressing several data center issues, including cooling, space, power usage, and efficient
hardware usage. For more information about the VM Client, see the PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0 VM
Client Guide and Reference.
Key Product Features
PlateSpin Orchestrate includes these core features:
Creation and management of virtual environments
Powerful automation and scheduling engine
Support for most commonly used hypervisors
Open API promotes extensibility
New in The 2.0.2 Release
Some of the new features in PlateSpin Orchestrate 2.0.xinclude:
Provisioning Adapters
VMware* Virtual Center
Usability improvements for connecting to Virtual Center