Virtualization Manager Administration

Intended for use with Cassatt Active Response Premium Edition and Data Center Edition V5.1.

Virtualization introduces complexity when it comes to managing images. In this document I'll discuss special cases that are unique to managing images for VMMs and virtual application nodes. The guidelines and procedures in this document supercede the standard Cassatt Active Response image management procedures (described in Updating Images and Tiers) whenever you are working with a VMM or VM image or virtual application nodes.

Managing VMware VMs and their virtual application nodes

Updating VMDK-based VMware VM guest images

Follow these procedures to update a VMDK-based VMware VM guest image:

1. Identify an available virtual application node, or create one, as follows:
   
   

   If...	Then...
   An appropriate virtual application node is available in the free pool...	Continue with the next step.
   No appropriate virtual application nodes are available...	Create a VMware ESX Server host tier; set minimum, maximum, and target nodes to 1. Allocate and activate. In the free pool, disengage all of the virtual application nodes except one so they are not inadvertently allocated to tiers.

2. Create and activate a VM guest tier using the VM image you need to update, as follows:
   1. Set minimum, maximum, and target nodes to 1.
   2. Set all of the following to "Off":
      
      Automatic move to maintenance pool
      Reboot on failure
      Node harvesting
   3. Select an IP address and assign a hostname, or accept the defaults.
   4. Accept defaults for other tier values.
   5. Allocate and activate the tier.
   6. Note the node number of the virtual application node assigned to the tier, which is listed in the Slot column of the nodes list for the VM guest tier; for example, VM1.
   7. Note the IP address of the VMware host node, which is listed as the Power IP address on the node properties page for the virtual application node.
3. Configure the image as needed.
4. In the Controller, in the tier you created in step 2, disengage the virtual application node that is running the reconfigured image.
   
   
5. Using the VMware remote console, shut down the guest operating system in the VM that is running the reconfigured image (do not use the "Power Off" button). Ignore any Cassatt Active Response alerts.

Do not use the Controller to shut down the virtual application node; when Cassatt Active Response shuts down a virtual application node, it moves the .vmx file, so the capture fails.

6. Run the cccapture command:
1. Use the values in the blueprint for your application, making sure to select "windows" for your image type and specifying a new version number for the image.
2. At the image host prompt, type the IP address of the VMware host node.
3. At the prompt for the VM to capture, type the number associated with the VM slot number from Step 2f.
7. When capture is complete, restart the VM using the VMware console.
8. Deallocate and deactivate the VM guest tier you created for this procedure. Delete the tier.
9. If you created a VMware VM host tier for this procedure, deallocate and deactivate. Delete the tier.
10. Update any tiers that use the image in the usual way.

Importing VMware VM files into your Cassatt Active Response environment as VM guest images

Cassatt Active Response provides an option to the ccimport command specifically for importing VMware VM files that are stored outside your Cassatt Active Response environment, bypassing the creation and capture process on the image host. You may want to do that to save time when you need to reuse images you've archived or when you want to download "appliance" images.

Be aware, however, that importing a VMware VM file into the image matrix without running it first on an image host complicates debugging if the file does not run properly. Even if you are importing a VM file that you previously ran inside Cassatt Active Response, it may not function as expected after import.

Memory requirements are frequently the culprit when virtual application nodes fail to start or run as expected. If you intend to import VMware VM files as VM guest images, make sure the resource requirements for the VM files match the resources available to the virtual application nodes running in your Cassatt Active Response environment via their host nodes. Pay particular attention to these factors:

• VM host tier memory – Make sure the VM host tier minimum memory requirement is adequate to support the VMs defined in the VM host image. If minimum memory is not set, or is set too low, virtual application nodes may fail to boot when allocated to tiers.
• VM memory – Make sure you understand the minimum memory required for the application(s) in the VM file you intend to import as a VM guest image, and specify that minimum during cccapture.

If the VM files were created with VMware ESX Server, they must have been exported using vmkfstools, and not simply copied from the vmfs.

Follow this procedure to create a Cassatt Active Response VM image using existing VMware VM files.

Verify that sufficient disk space for the files is available in the image matrix; the ccimport command does not verify disk space before beginning the import process. If insufficient space is available, the command fails, and Cassatt Active Response deletes the partial image.

1. Create an archive file containing the vmx and vmdk files, for example:
   
   cd /var/lib/vmware/Virtual Machines/VMdirectory
   tar -zcvf /tmp/filename.tgz *.vm*
2. Log into the Cassatt Active Response control node as root.
3. Copy the archive file to /tmp on the control node.
4. Import the archive file into Cassatt Active Response as follows:
   
   /opt/cassatt/bin/ccimport -r -i w2k -n raw -f /tmp/filename.tgz -s -v
   
   The import kicks off the capture script, which allows you to provide all of the information about the image requirements to Cassatt Active Response. Refer to a Understanding image Creation and Capture or the blueprint for your application for more information about capture values.
5. If you don't have virtual application nodes available to run the new image, create and activate a VMware VM host tier to generate virtual application nodes as described in the blueprint for your VMware product and version.
6. Create and activate a VM guest tier to run the new VM image. Refer to Understanding Tier Configuration and Personalization or the blueprint for your application for more information about tier values.

The ccimport command with the -r option is not supported for Xen VM guest images.

Removing virtual application nodes from your Cassatt Active Response environment

You can remove virtual application nodes from your Cassatt Active Response environment by decreasing capacity in your VM host tier. You may want to do this to shift physical application nodes from one application to another.

Cassatt Active Response does not deallocate a physical application node when any of its hosted virtual application nodes are active in VM guest tiers. So, when you decrease capacity in a VM host tier, Cassatt Active Response may not be able to respond right away: Cassatt Active Response waits until a physical application node is available with no virtual application nodes running in tiers. When no virtual application nodes are running on a physical application node, Cassatt Active Response removes the physical application node from the VM host tier to meet the new operational target, and deletes the virtual application nodes that the node had been hosting.

You might find, however, that you need to remove a physical application node from a VM host tier right away, and you can't wait for a physical application node to become completely free so that Cassatt Active Response can remove it automatically. In that case, follow these steps:

1. In the Controller, decrease the operational target for the VM host tier.
   
   If a physical application node is free, Cassatt Active Response deallocates the node from the tier. If a physical application node is not free, continue with the next step.
2. Identify the physical application node you want Cassatt Active Response to remove from the VM host tier. In most cases, you'll want to pick the node that has the fewest virtual application nodes active in VM guest tiers. You might have other selection criteria, however, such as amount of RAM or local disk size.
3. Using the Controller, disengage the physical application node.
4. Using the Controller, shut down the physical application node.
   
   Cassatt Active Response issues a warning for each virtual application node that is active in a VM guest tier.
5. Accept the warnings and continue with the shutdown.
   
   Cassatt Active Response deletes all of the virtual application nodes running on the host node, replacing any virtual application nodes that had been active in tiers with virtual application nodes from the free pool.
6. Engage the physical application node you shut down.
   
   Cassatt Active Response removes it from the tier to meet the operational target you selected in step 1.

Managing Xen VM guest images

NFS root images: use the standard steps in Updating Images and Tiers.

VBD images: You cannot update a Xen VBD guest image inside Cassatt Active Response because the XenEnterprise Administrator Console is disabled for VMs in the Cassatt Active Response environment. Why? XenEnterprise Administrator Console operations conflict with Cassatt Active Response automation. Using a tool other than Cassatt Active Response to change virtual application node deployment to physical machines or to start or stop virtual application nodes could cause service disruptions as these changes are overridden by Cassatt Active Response.

To update a Xen VBD guest image, follow the blueprint steps. During capture, specify the same image name with a new image version number. Update the VM guest tier to use the new image version as described in Updating Images and Tiers.

Managing VMM host images

Special care must be taken when refining or managing a VMM host image with Cassatt Active Response: making some types of changes to the VMM image using the Cassatt Active Response image management procedures, as described in Tier and Image Management, will fail or will not have the desired effect.

In general, you can safely make the following kinds of changes to a VMM host image using the standard Cassatt Active Response image and tier update procedures:

• Performing standard Linux administration tasks, such as adding users and turning Linux services on or off
• Loading software or files that are unrelated to the VMM software
• Changing Cassatt Active Response SLA parameters and settings such as service startup time, hardware requirements, and monitoring collectors
• VMware only: Using VMware tools, such at the VMware web interface, to change the configuration of a VM.
  
  After changing a VM configuration, disengage the host node, power it off, power it back on, and reengage to force Cassatt Active Response to delete its virtual application nodes and rediscover with the new configuration information.
• Personalization (inactive tiers only)

If you need to make any of the following kinds of changes, you cannot update your VMM host image—you must recapture the image for the changes to take effect in Cassatt Active Response:

• XenEnterprise only: Use XenEnterprise remote console to change the VM configuration
• VMware only: Upgrade the VMware patch level

Follow these steps, as needed:

1. Start by reserving a physical application node as the image host, or use the current image host if you have not returned it to the free pool. Follow the VMM blueprint through installing the software. Install any additional patches or other updates. Finish all procedures in the software installation step.
2. Capture the image by running cccapture as described in the blueprint. Use the same image name as your original image, but select a new version number.
3. In the Controller, deactivate the VM host tier.
   
   The virtual application nodes hosted by the tier are deleted, causing any VM guest tiers to issue alerts and attempt to reallocate. (To avoid seeing these alerts, you can deactivate the VM guest tiers prior to deactivating the VM host tier.)
4. Update the VM host tier to the new image version.
5. Activate the VM host tier.
   
   Cassatt Active Response rediscovers the virtual application nodes, inventories them, and moves them to the free pool (depending on your automation settings), and then allocates to any VM guest tiers that require them.

Updating host and guest tiers

Use the standard tier update procedures provided in Updating Images and Tiers.

Troubleshooting

Issues with a VMware host tier

See VMware: Troubleshooting.

Issues with VMs after allocation to tiers

See VMs: Troubleshooting.

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