vCenter Server and Host Management Update 2 Modified on 01 APR 2021 VMware vSphere 6.7 VMware ESXi 6.7 vCenter Server 6.7 vCenter Server and Host Management You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware website at: https://docs.vmware.com/ VMware, Inc. 3401 Hillview Ave. Palo Alto, CA 94304 www.vmware.com © Copyright 2009-2021 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright and trademark information. VMware, Inc. 2 Contents About VMware vCenter Server and Host Management 11 Updated Information 12 1 vSphere Concepts and Features 13 Virtualization Basics 13 Physical Topology of vSphere Data Center 14 vSphere Software Components 15 Client Interfaces for vSphere 18 vSphere Managed Inventory Objects 18 Optional vCenter Server Components 21 vCenter Server Plug-Ins 22 2 Using the vSphere Client 24 Log In to vCenter Server by Using the vSphere Client 25 Manage the Login Message to the vSphere Client Login Page 26 Use the vSphere Client Navigator 27 Customize the User Interface 28 Rearrange the Components of the User Interface 28 Customize the User Interface by Using the Layout Settings Menu 29 Disable the vSphere Web Client Customizable User Interface Feature 29 Disable the Related Objects Tabs 29 Manage Client Plug-Ins 30 Monitor Client Plugins 30 Install the VMware Enhanced Authentication Plug-in 30 Pause and Resume a Task in Progress in the vSphere Web Client 31 Refresh Data 31 Searching the Inventory 32 Perform a Quick Search 32 Perform a Simple Search 33 Perform an Advanced Search in the vSphere Web Client 33 Save, Run, Rename, and Delete a Search 34 Use Quick Filters 35 Quick Filters Available for vSphere Objects in the vSphere Web Client 35 View Recent Objects 37 Configure the vSphere Web Client Timeout Value 38 Remove Stored User Data 39 Drag Objects 39 VMware, Inc. 3 vCenter Server and Host Management Export Lists 40 Attach File to Service Request 40 Keyboard Shortcuts 41 Inventory Keyboard Shortcuts 41 Create a Scheduled Task with a Keyboard Shortcut 41 Provide Feedback with the vSphere Client 42 3 Configuring vCenter Server 43 Configure License Settings for vCenter Server 44 Configuring Statistics Settings 45 Configure Statistics Collection Intervals in the vSphere Client 45 Data Collection Levels 47 Configure Runtime Settings for vCenter Server 48 Configure User Directory Settings 49 Configure Mail Sender Settings 50 Configure SNMP Settings 50 View Port Settings 51 Configure Timeout Settings 52 Configure Logging Options 52 Configure Database Settings 53 Verifying SSL Certificates for Legacy Hosts 54 Configure Advanced Settings 55 Send a Message to Other Logged In Users 55 Edit the Settings of Services 56 Start, Stop, and Restart Services 57 Start, Stop, and Restart Services in the vSphere Web Client 57 Configuring Services in the vSphere Web Client 58 Auto Deploy Service 60 Content Library Service 60 Transfer Service Properties 62 VMware Open Virtualization Format Service 63 Image Builder Service 63 VMware Performance Charts Service 63 VMware vSphere Authentication Proxy 65 VMware vSphere ESXi Dump Collector 65 VMware vSphere Update Manager 65 vAPI Endpoint 66 4 Using Enhanced Linked Mode 70 5 Configuring Communication Among ESXi, vCenter Server, and the vSphere Web Client 71 VMware, Inc. 4 vCenter Server and Host Management 6 Configuring Hosts and vCenter Server 72 Host Configuration 72 Configure the Boot Device on an ESXi Host 72 Configure Agent VM Settings 73 Set Advanced Host Attributes 73 Synchronizing Clocks on the vSphere Network 74 Edit Time Configuration for a Host 75 7 Configuring Customer Experience Improvement Program 76 Categories of Information That VMware Receives 76 Join the Customer Experience Improvement Program in the vSphere Web Client 76 8 Organizing Your Inventory 78 Create Data Centers 79 Add a Host 80 Create a Folder 81 Creating Clusters 82 Create Clusters in the vSphere Client 82 Add Hosts to a Cluster in the vSphere Client 84 Configure a Cluster in the vSphere Client 85 Extending Clusters 87 Extend a Cluster without Host Networking Configuration 87 Extend a Cluster with Host Networking Configuration 88 9 vSphere Tags and Attributes 90 Migrate Custom Attributes to Tags 91 Create, Edit, or Delete a Tag Category 92 Create, Edit, or Delete a Tag 93 Assign or Remove a Tag 94 Add Permissions for Tags and Tag Categories 94 Tagging Best Practices 95 Custom Attributes in the vSphere Web Client 96 Add and Edit Custom Attributes 96 10 License Management and Reporting 98 Licensing Terminology and Definitions 99 The License Service in vSphere 6.7 100 Licensing for Environments with vCenter Server Systems 6.0 and Later, and 5.5 101 Licensing for Products in vSphere 101 Licensing for ESXi Hosts 102 Licensing for vCenter Server 103 VMware, Inc. 5 vCenter Server and Host Management Licensing for Clusters with Enabled vSAN 104 Suite Licensing 105 Licensing for VMware vCloud® Suite 105 Licensing for vSphere® with Operations Management 105 Licensing for the VMware vSphere® Platinum Edition 106 Managing Licenses 106 Create New Licenses 106 Configuring License Settings for Assets in the vSphere Web Client 107 Set Assets to Evaluation Mode 112 Rename a License 113 Remove Licenses 113 Viewing Licensing Information 114 View Licensing Information About the vSphere Environment 114 View Available Licenses and Features About a Product 115 View the Features Тhat an Asset Uses 116 View the License Key of the License 116 View the Licensed Features for an Asset 117 Export Licensing Information in the vSphere Environment 117 Generating Reports for License Use in the vSphere Web Client 118 View the License Usage for Multiple Products in the vSphere Web Client 119 View License Usage Details for a Single Product in the vSphere Web Client 119 Export a License Usage Report in the vSphere Web Client 120 Synchronizing Licenses with Your Customer Connect Account 121 Synchronize Licenses 121 Using CSV Files 127 Using Generated Recommendation Reports 128 vCenter Server Domain Repoint License Considerations 130 11 Working with Tasks 131 View Tasks 131 Schedule Tasks 131 Create a Scheduled Task in the vSphere Client 132 Create a Scheduled Task in the vSphere Web Client 134 Edit a Scheduled Task 136 Remove a Scheduled Task 137 12 Managing Hosts with vCenter Server in the vSphere Client 138 Disconnecting and Reconnecting a Host in the vSphere Client 138 Disconnect a Managed Host in the vSphere Client 138 Reconnect a Managed Host in the vSphere Client 139 Reconnecting Hosts After Changes to the vCenter Server SSL Certificate in the vSphere Client 139 VMware, Inc. 6 vCenter Server and Host Management Remove a Host from a Cluster in the vSphere Client 139 Remove a Managed Host from vCenter Server in the vSphere Client 140 Reboot or Shut Down an ESXi Host 141 13 Migrating Virtual Machines 143 Cold Migration 145 Migration with vMotion 146 Host Configuration for vMotion 147 Encrypted vSphere vMotion 150 Virtual Machine Conditions and Limitations for vMotion 152 Migration with vMotion in Environments Without Shared Storage 154 Migration Between vCenter Server Systems 155 Migration with Storage vMotion 157 Storage vMotion Requirements and Limitations 158 CPU Compatibility and EVC 159 CPU Compatibility Scenarios 159 CPU Families and Feature Sets 160 About Enhanced vMotion Compatibility 161 EVC Requirements for Hosts 161 Create an EVC Cluster 162 Enable EVC on an Existing Cluster 163 Change the EVC Mode for a Cluster 163 Determine the EVC Mode of a Virtual Machine 165 Determine the EVC Mode that a Host Supports 166 Prepare Clusters for AMD Processors Without 3DNow! 167 CPU Compatibility Masks 168 View CPUID Details for an EVC Cluster 168 Migrate a Powered-Off or Suspended Virtual Machine in the vSphere Web Client 169 Migrate a Virtual Machine to a New Compute Resource 171 Migrate a Virtual Machine to a New Compute Resource and Storage in the vSphere Web Client 174 Migrate a Virtual Machine to New Storage in the vSphere Web Client 177 Place vMotion Traffic on the vMotion TCP/IP Stack of an ESXi Host 179 Place Traffic for Cold Migration on the Provisioning TCP/IP Stack 181 Limits on Simultaneous Migrations 183 About Migration Compatibility Checks 184 14 Working with the Developer Center 186 Using the API Explorer 186 Retrieve APIs Using API Explorer 186 Using Code Capture 187 Record Actions Using Code Capture 187 VMware, Inc. 7 vCenter Server and Host Management 15 Automating Management Tasks by Using vRealize Orchestrator 189 Concepts of Workflows 189 Performing Administration Tasks on the vSphere Objects 190 Configure the Default vRealize Orchestrator 191 Managing Associations of Workflows with vSphere Inventory Objects 192 Associate Workflows with vSphere Inventory Object Types 192 Edit the Associations of Workflows with vSphere Objects 193 Export the Associations of Workflows with vSphere Objects 193 Import the Association of Workflows with vSphere Objects 194 Working with Workflows 195 Run Workflows on vSphere Inventory Objects 195 View Information About Workflow Runs 196 View Information About the Runs of a Specific Workflow 197 View Workflows That Are Waiting for User Interaction 197 Searching for Workflows 198 Scheduling Workflows 199 Workflows for Managing Inventory Objects 202 Cluster and Compute Resource Workflows 202 Guest Operation Files Workflows 203 Guest Operation Processes Workflows 204 Custom Attributes Workflows 205 Data Center Workflows 205 Datastore and Files Workflows 206 Data Center Folder Management Workflows 206 Host Folder Management Workflows 207 Virtual Machine Folder Management Workflows 207 Basic Host Management Workflows 207 Host Power Management Workflows 208 Host Registration Management Workflows 208 Networking Workflows 209 Distributed Virtual Port Group Workflows 209 Distributed Virtual Switch Workflows 209 Standard Virtual Switch Workflows 210 Resource Pool Workflows 211 Storage Workflows 211 Storage DRS Workflows 212 Basic Virtual Machine Management Workflows 213 Clone Workflows 215 Linked Clone Workflows 215 Linux Customization Clone Workflows 216 Tools Clone Workflows 216 VMware, Inc.