VMware VCENTER CONFIGURATION MANAGER 5.3 User manual

vCenter Configuration Manager Installation and
Getting Started Guide
vCenter Configuration Manager 5.3
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vCenter Configuration Manager Installation and Getting Started Guide
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Contents
Copyright 2
About This Book 9
Preparing for Installation 11
Using Installation Manager 12
Understanding Installation Configurations 12
Understanding Tools Installation 13
Checking Prerequisites for Installation 13
Hardware and Software Requirements 13
Administration Rights 13
Default Network Authority Account 13
Default Collector Services Account 14
VMware Application Services Account 14
VCM Remote Virtual Directory 14
Secure Communications Certificates 15
Server Authentication 15
Understanding VCM's Use of FIPS Cryptography 17
VCM’s Use of Microsoft Cryptographic Service Providers (CSPs) for Windows Machines 17
Cryptography for UNIX/Linux Platforms 17
Cryptography used in VCM Software Components 18
Supported Windows and UNIX Platforms 18
Installing VCM Using Installation Manager 19
Using the Installation Manager 19
Navigating VCM Installation Manager Screens 19
Installing VCM and the Related Components 19
Upgrading VCM and Related Components 35
Prerequisites 35
Backup and Recovery 35
Assumptions for Upgrading Your VCM Collector and Database 36
Upgrading to VCM 5.3 36
Upgrading the VCM Database Only 36
Upgrading VCM on a 32-Bit System 36
Upgrading to a 64-Bit System 36
Before Upgrading 37
Performing the Upgrade 37
Upgrading Existing Windows Agents 38
Upgrading Existing Remote Clients 39
Upgrading Existing UNIX Agents 40
To Upgrade the UNIX Agent(s) with a Local Package 40
To Upgrade the UNIX Agent(s) with a Remote Package 41
Upgrading VCM for Virtualization 42
Upgrading an Agent Proxy Machine 43
Upgrading the vSphere Client VCM Plug-in 45
Getting Started with VCM Components and Tools 47
Understanding User Access 47
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vCenter Configuration Manager Installation and Getting Started Guide
Launching and Logging Onto VCM 48
How to Launch VCM and Log On 48
Getting Familiar with the Portal 48
General Information Bar 49
Portal Toolbar 49
Sliders 50
Where to Go Next 52
Getting Started with VCM 53
Discover, License, and Install Windows Machines 53
Verifying Available Domains 53
Checking the Network Authority 54
Assigning Network Authority Accounts 55
Discovering Windows Machines 56
Licensing Windows Machines 59
Installing the VCM Windows Agent on your Windows Machines 61
Performing an Initial Collection 67
Exploring Windows Collection Results 68
Getting Started Collecting Windows Custom Information 72
Discover, License, and Install UNIX/Linux Machines 80
Adding UNIX/Linux Machines 81
Licensing UNIX/Linux Machines 82
Installing the Agent on UNIX/Linux Machines 83
Performing a UNIX/Linux Collection 90
Exploring UNIX/Linux Collection Results 91
Discover, License, and Install Mac OS X Machines 94
Getting Started with VCM for Mac OS X 94
Adding Mac OS X Machines 94
Licensing Mac OS X Machines 96
Installing the Agent on Mac OS X Machines 97
Performing a Mac OS X Collection 103
Exploring Mac OS X Collection Results 106
Discover, License, and Collect Oracle Data from UNIX Machines 108
Adding UNIX Machines Hosting Oracle and Installing the Agent 109
Discovering Oracle Instances 109
Creating the Oracle Collection User Account 110
Performing an Oracle Collection 114
Exploring Oracle Collection Results 114
Reference Information about Oracle 114
Customize VCM for your Environment 115
How to Set Up and Use VCM Auditing 116
Getting Started with VCM for Virtualization 117
Virtual Environment Configuration 117
ESX 2.5/3.x,vSphere 4, and ESXi Servers Collections 118
vCenter Server Collections 118
Configuring Agent Proxy Virtualization Collections 118
Configuring Agent Proxy Machines 120
Licensing Agent Proxy Machines 120
Installing the Agent on the Agent Proxy Machine 121
Performing a Collection Using the Machines Data Type 121
Installing Agent Proxies 122
Configuring ESX/vSphere Servers 123
Copying Files to the ESX/vSphere Server 124
Running Scripts on the ESX/vSphere Server 124
Adding ESX/vSphere Servers to VCM 125
Licensing the ESX/vSphere Server in VCM 126
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Licensing ESX/vSphere Server Machines as Virtual Machine (VM) Hosts 127
Configuring Web Services for ESX/vSphere Server Communication 128
Adding the Web Services User to the Administrator Role Using the VI Client/vCenter Client 129
Installing the ESX Web Services Certificate on the Agent Proxy Machine 130
For ESX 2.5.x Only: Setting Up VirtualCenter to Collect Virtualization Data 134
Adding Web Services Settings 134
Performing an Initial Virtualization Collection 134
Exploring Virtualization Collection Results 135
Configuring vCenter Server Data Collections 137
vCenter Server Collection Prerequisites 137
Collecting vCenter Server Data 141
Reviewing Collected vCenter Server Data 142
Troubleshooting vCenter Server Data Collections 142
About the vSphere Client VCM Plug-in 143
Registering the vSphere Client VCM Plug-in 143
Configuring the vSphere Client VCM Plug-in Integration Settings 144
Getting Started with the vSphere Client VCM Plug-in 145
Upgrading the vSphere Client VCM Plug-in 146
Further Reading 146
Getting Started with VCM Remote 147
Getting Started with VCM Remote 147
Installing the VCM Remote Client 148
Installing the Remote Client manually 149
Making VCM Aware of VCM Remote Clients 156
Configuring VCM Remote Settings 156
Creating Custom Collection Filter Sets 156
Specifying Custom Filter Sets in the VCM Remote Settings 156
Performing a Collection Using VCM Remote 157
Exploring VCM Remote Collection Results 157
Getting Started with VCM Patching 159
Getting Started with VCM Patching 159
Getting Started with VCM Patching for Windows Machines 159
Check for Updates to Bulletins 159
Collect Data from Windows Machines Using the VCM Patching Filter Sets 160
Launch an Assessment 161
Explore VCM Patching Windows Assessment Results 165
Deploy Patches to Windows Machines 165
Getting Started with VCM Patching for UNIX/Linux Machines 168
Getting Started 168
Check for Updates to Bulletins 169
Collect Assessment Data from UNIX/Linux Machines 169
Explore Assessment Results and Acquire the Patches 173
Deploy Patches to UNIX/Linux Machines 175
How the Deploy Action Works 176
Further Reading 177
Getting Started with Software Provisioning 179
VMware vCenter Configuration Manager Package Studio 179
Software Repository for Windows 179
Package Manager for Windows 179
Overview of Component Relationships 180
Installing the Software Provisioning Components 180
Install Software Repository for Windows 181
Software Repository Structure 182
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Manually Uninstall the Repository 182
Install Package Studio 182
Manually Uninstall Package Studio 184
Install Package Manager on Managed Machines 184
Using Package Studio to Create Software Packages and Publish to Repositories 185
Creating Packages 185
Using VCM Software Provisioning for Windows 186
Prerequisites 186
Collect Package Manager Information from Machines 187
Collect Software Repository Data 187
Add Repository Sources to Package Managers 188
Install Packages 189
Related Software Provisioning Actions 190
Viewing Provisioning Jobs in the Job Manager 190
Creating Compliance Rules based on Provisioning Data 190
Creating Compliance Rules containing Provisioning Remediation Actions 191
Further Reading 193
Getting Started with VCM Management Extensions for Assets 195
Getting Started with VCM Management Extensions for Assets 195
Review Hardware and Software Configuration Item Fields 195
Modifying Hardware Configuration Item Fields 196
Modifying Software Configuration Item Fields 198
Adding Hardware Configuration Items 200
Editing Values for Devices 200
Modifying Other Devices 201
Adding Software Configuration Items 202
Further Reading 203
Getting Started with VCM Service Desk Integration 205
Getting Started with Service Desk Integration 205
Service Desk Integration in the Console 205
Service Desk Integration in Job Manager 206
Further Reading 207
Getting Started with VCM for Active Directory 209
Making VCM Aware of Domain Controllers 209
Confirming the Presence of Domains 210
Adding and Assigning Network Authority Accounts 211
Discovering Domain Controllers 211
Verifying Domain Controller Machines in Available Machines 213
Licensing and Deploying the VCM Agent 213
Performing a Machine Data Type Collection 216
Configuring VCM for Active Directory as an Additional Product 216
Deploying VCM for AD to the Domain Controllers 216
Running the Determine Forest Action 218
Running the Setup DCs Action 218
Performing an Active Directory Data Collection 220
Exploring Active Directory Collection Results 223
Further Reading 226
Getting Started with VCM for SMS 227
Getting Started with VCM for SMS 227
Making VCM Aware of the SMS Servers 227
Performing SMS Server Collections 228
Performing SMS Client Collections 229
Exploring SMS Collection Results 229
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Contents
Viewing SMS Dashboards 229
Viewing SMS Server Data 230
Viewing SMS Client Data 231
Viewing SMS Reports 232
Further Reading 233
Getting Started with Windows Server Update Services 235
Getting Started with Windows Server Update Services 235
Making VCM Aware of the WSUS Server 235
Performing WSUS Server Collections 236
Performing WSUS Client Collections 236
Exploring WSUS Collection Results 237
Viewing WSUS Clients 237
Viewing WSUS Reports 238
Further Reading 238
Accessing Additional Compliance Content 239
Locating the Content Directory 239
Launching the Content Wizard to Import Relevant Content 239
Exploring Imported Content Results in the Portal 239
Installing and Getting Started with VCM Tools 241
Installing the VCM Tools Only 241
Foundation Checker 242
VCM Job Manager Tool 242
VCM Import/Export and Content Wizard (CW) 243
VCM Import/Export 244
Content Wizard 245
Maintaining VCM After Installation 247
Customize VCM and Component-specific Settings 247
Configure Database File Growth 249
Configure Database Recovery Settings 250
Create a Maintenance Plan for SQL Server 2005 250
Incorporate the VCM CMDB into your Backup/Disaster Recovery Plans 258
Troubleshooting Problems with VCM 259
Evaluating Missing UNIX Patch Assessment Results 259
Resolving Reports and Node Summaries Problems 260
To Resolve the Problem 260
Resolving Protected Storage Errors 260
To Resolve the Problem 261
Resetting the Required Secure Channel (SSL) 261
Updating the Web.config Configuration File 261
Updating the VCM Virtual Directory 262
Updating the IIS Settings in VCM 262
Resolving a Report Parameter Error 262
Configuring a Collector as an Agent Proxy 265
Verifying Membership to CSI_COMM_PROXY_SVC on the Agent Proxy Machine 265
Generating Key Pairs on the Agent Proxy Machine 266
Uploading Keys to the Database 266
Index 267
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About This Book
About This Book This guide, VCM Installation and Getting Started Guide, describes the steps you must take in order to ensure
a successful VMware vCenter Configuration Manager (VCM) installation. This document contains the
following information:
nPreparing for the VCM installation.
nInstalling VCM.
nGetting started with VCM and its components.
nMaintenance and troubleshooting.
Read this document and complete the associated procedures to prepare for a successful installation.
The VCM Installation and Getting Started Guide covers VCM, Foundation Checker, and Service Desk
Connector.
Intended Audience
The information presented in this manual is written for system administrators who are experienced
Windows or UNIX/Linux system administrators and who are familiar with managing network users and
resources, and performing system maintenance.
To use the information in this guide effectively, you must have a basic understanding of how to configure
network resources, install software, and administer operating systems. You also need to fully understand
your network’s topology and resource naming conventions.
Document Feedback
VMware welcomes your suggestions for improving our documentation. If you have comments, send
your feedback to [e-mail].
VMware VCM Documentation
The vCenter Configuration Manager (VCM) documentation consists of the VCM Hardware and Software
Requirements Guide,VCM Foundation Checker User's Guide, VCM online Help, this manual, and other
associated documentation.
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Technical Support and Education Resources
The following technical support resources are available to you. To access the current version of this book
and other books, go to http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.
Online and Telephone
Support
To use online support to submit technical support requests, view your product
and contract information, and register your products, go to
http://www.vmware.com/support.
Customers with appropriate support contracts should use telephone support for
priority 1 issues. Go to http://www.vmware.com/support/phone_support.html.
Support Offerings To find out how VMware support offerings can help meet your business needs,
go to http://www.vmware.com/support/services.
VMware Professional
Services
VMware Education Services courses offer extensive hands-on labs, case study
examples, and course materials designed to be used as on-the-job reference tools.
Courses are available onsite, in the classroom, and live online. For onsite pilot
programs and implementation best practices, VMware Consulting Services
provides offerings to help you assess, plan, build, and manage your virtual
environment. To access information about education classes, certification
programs, and consulting services, go to http://www.vmware.com/services.
vCenter Configuration Manager Installation and Getting Started Guide
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