Using the UD Virtualization Service

Requirements and licensing:

  • All virtual machines (VMs) on the UD Central VM Cluster must use DHCP to assign their IP.
  • All VMs must have the latest version of VMware Tools installed.
  • Windows Server operating system licenses are now included with the virtual machine.

 

vCenter and vSphere Web Access Capabilities

  • The vCenter is a machine which provides the Web interface with virtual clusters, hosts, datastores, etc.
  • In previous versions of VMware vSphere, access to these resources was provided by the vSphere Client, which was run on local systems accessing vCenter. With version 5.5, the vSphere Client is only used for certain administrative tasks, so all access to vCenter for users is through the vSphere Web Client.
  • Note that the vSphere Web client does require a plug-in for full functionality and does not support all browsers.

 

Users can

  • Use Power On/Off, Pause, Restart and Shut Down
  • Open the Console on the virtual machine even if it does not have a network connection
  • Map media for installation
  • Install and upgrade VMware Tools
  • Monitor performance statistics and events.

 

Accessing virtual machines though vSphere Web Client

Notes:

  • With version 5.5 VMware is phasing out the locally installed vSphere Client in favor of the vSphere Web Client.
  • The URL for the vCenter Web Client is: https://vc-chp-c4.nss.udel.edu/. To access this URL from off-campus, you must log in to the UD VPN.
  • As of May 27, 2014, Internet Explorer 11 is not supported; please use Chrome, Firefox, Safari. You may experiment with other browsers at your own risk.
  • You should install the latest version of Adobe Flash. On Linux, Google Chrome can be used with the latest version of Pepper Flash.

 

Installing and Using vSphere Web client

In order to gain full functionally to all vSphere Web Client features, you must first install a plug-in. This plug-in only needs to be installed once on each machine accessing vSphere Web Client.

  1. Browse to https://vc-chp-c4.nss.udel.edu/. To access this URL from off-campus, you must log in to the UD VPN.
  2. Log in with your UDelNetID and password.
    • Do not use windows session authentication.
  3. Click vCenter, Hosts and Clusters, then double click VCDC Virtual Machines.
  • Ignore warnings that you have no privileges.
  1. Install the vCenter Plug-In:
    1. A listing of virtual machines you have access to will appear in the lower portion of the left pane.
    2. Click a machine's name.
    3. Select the Summary tab.
    4. Click Download Plug-In.
    5. After the VMware Client Integration plug-in downloads, close all browsers and run the installer.
    6. If the plug-in is successfully installed, it will no longer be listed on the summary page. The installed plug-in should be accessible from all supported browsers.

 

vSphere Web Client functionality

  • Certain tasks such as changing machine configurations can only be done by vSphere administrators. Requests for these items on existing machines should be made through the IT Support Center. Other items may be available but hidden in sub-menus. Plan on taking some time to get familiar with the new vSphere Web Client.

 

Menu Structure

  • The menu structure in version 5.5 is significantly different from that used in versions 4.1 and 5.5. You may need to go several levels deep to find a command. For example, the Power Off and Suspend commands used to be shown on the Power pop-up menu can now only be accessed under All vCenter Actions.
     
     

Snapshots

  • Users have the ability to take and manage snapshots. Be advised that because each snapshot splits the virtual file system into an additional file (base + incremental), performance degradation will occur if multiple snapshots are maintained.

IP address, DHCP and DNS

  • Access to many Internet resources is restricted by default. To access a restricted website submit a request to the IT Support Center with the VM IP address, target IP addresses, and services/ports needed.
  • When you request a virtual machine it is automatically issued and IP address and registered with DHPC.
  • These settings will be outlined in your virtual machine confirmation e-mail.
  • Please allow 15 minutes from the time of the confirmation e-mail for DHCP settings to propagate.
  • Set your machine's network configuration to DHCP for all settings (the default for Windows).
  • If you wish to have your fully qualified domain name (FQDN) listed in DNS please send a note to
    host-registry@udel.edu.

 

Installing an Operating System

In order to install an operating system, you must first mount an ISO. This can be done locally (i.e. from an ISO file on the machine you are using) or from an ISO file on the virtual cluster.

  • To mount from the datastore on the virtual cluster, right-click on the new machine, select Edit Settings then Datastore ISO File, then browse to the appropriate file.
     
  • After selecting OK, select Connect at Power On, then select OK to close the Edit Settings page.
  • Right click on the machine name and select Power On
  • Right click on the new machine again and select Open Console and proceed with the installation.
  • Note on key presses:
    • CTRL ALT DELETE can be sent to the client machine by pressing CTRL ALT INSERT on your keyboard.
    • Press CTRL ALT to release the cursor from the console window.

 

Installing VMware Tools

  • After installing the operating system, be sure to install VMware tools.
  • Go to the summary page and click on Install VMware Tools. That will dismount the operating system ISO and mount the VMware image.
  • In the console window, using the guest operating system open, the virtual DVD drive and run the installer.
  • Restart the system.

Details

Article ID: 107
Created
Mon 7/8/19 3:53 PM
Modified
Mon 2/7/22 4:42 PM