Posted by Brian on Mar 16, 2010 in vCenter Server, VMware, vSphere | 0 comments
I know this might just be me being stupid but I was surprised today to notice that a single ESX 4.0 host in Eval mode does not support Cloning or Templates. I hardly ever work with standalone hosts so it might be common knowledge but it still hit me weird. While in Eval mode every feature is opened up for testing, but I guess VMware feels that cloning is a vCenter feature. All I wanted to do is load in some templates for a client while the rest of the infrastructure is being built and was shocked by the missing option.
So a quick setup of vCenter server in a VM and I was rocking again. So if you ever have a Senior moment like I did today maybe this will help you.
Brian is a Technical Architect for a VMware partner and owner of this website. He is active in the VMware community and is helps lead the Chicago VMUG group. This blog Virtualize Tips was started to document and remember things that I come across while working with tech.
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Posted by admin on Sep 23, 2009 in vCenter Server, VMware | 0 comments
You have probably been hearing some of the buzz around vCenter Chargeback that will be available for VMware vSphere. Its a separate server that will work with vCenter server to all for chargeback of virtual resources. This will help the business to understand the costs of deploying new VMs. The IT side will use this to report and track on resources usage in the Virtual environment.
Within vCenter Chargeback there are several costing models that you will be able to use. First there is the Fixed Costing model that allows you apply a fixed cost for a VM instance. Secondly there is the Allocation Based Costing that offers variable costs per VM based on it’s allocated resources. Lastly you offer Utilization Based Costing that will be based on actual resources utilized.
You will be able to access this data via the vSphere client or a Web browser to allow your business customer the ability to get reports.
Currently Chargeback will support vCenter servers versions 4.0 and Virtual Center 2.5 update 3 and above. This is good news for companies not looking to move to vSphere in the near future.
You will be able to breakdown the cost models into per hour costs that track metrics like CPU, Disk Read/Write, Memory, Network traffice, Storage and a few more. You can choose to also bill for FT, HA and other custom add-ons. You can use cost templates to input values for different types of VMs that might be deployed.
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Posted by admin on Sep 14, 2009 in vCenter Server, VMware | 0 comments
If you plan on upgrading your existing Virtual Center server to 4.0 or standing up a new one. You have to remember about the differences in the licensing methods. The vSphere hosts now use license keys and the ESX 3.x hosts will require a license server to remain active while they are still in your environment.
You can download the VMware license server for no charge and install on a server. Point it to your license file and then all you have to do is point vCenter server to it. In vCenter server under Administration and vCenter server settings there is a Licensing section that you need to complete. Point it to the IP or name of your license server and you will now be able to add in those older hosts.
If you do not setup a license server you will get an error when trying to add the host in explaining that it could not find a license server. You can download the license from here.
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