Virtualization is the new buzz that is on the lips of everyone from IT professionals to executives. Everyone benefits in his or her own way. This guide introduces the option of installing the CiscoWorks LAN Management Solution (LMS) 3.x bundle on a virtualized platform. We will look at each solution, its associated configuration, special considerations, and required hardware.
Intended Audience
Prior general knowledge of virtualization would be beneficial to understand some key concepts discussed in this white paper. This guide should not be considered a starting point for either of these virtualized platforms.
Supported Virtual Platforms for LMS
Virtualization support in CiscoWorks LMS started with CiscoWorks Common Services (3.1.1), part of LMS 3.0.1. Traditionally, LMS was supported only on Windows and Sun Solaris operating systems. When LMS went on the virtualization route, we continued with the same OSs for easier adoption. Table 1 shows the support for various CiscoWorks LMS versions.
Table 1. Virtualization Support Matrix for LMS
Virtualization Platform
LMS 3.0.1
LMS 3.1
VMware® ESX (Windows Guest OS)
Yes
Yes
VMware ESXi (Windows Guest OS)
No
Yes
Solaris 10 (Zones/LDoms/ZFS)
Yes
Yes
Let's look at each of the solutions for deploying CiscoWorks LMS 3.x in more detail.
VMware Virtual Infrastructure 3 (VI3) Software Suite
Figure 1. VMware Infrastructure 3 Software Suite
VMware Infrastructure 3 (Figure 1) simplifies IT environments so that customers can use their storage, network, and computing resources to control costs and respond quickly to changing business needs. The VMware Infrastructure approach to IT management creates virtual services out of the physical infrastructure, helping to enable administrators to allocate these virtual resources quickly to the business units that need them most.
VMware Infrastructure 3 is the next generation of industry-leading infrastructure software that virtualizes servers, storage, and networking, allowing multiple unmodified operating systems and their applications to run independently in virtual machines while sharing physical resources. This document uses the two central VMware Infrastructure software components: VMware ESX Server and VMware VirtualCenter.
Figure 2. VMware ESX Server
VMware ESX Server
VMware ESX Server (Figure 2) abstracts processor, memory, storage, and networking resources into multiple virtual machines, giving IT greater hardware utilization and flexibility. ESX Server 3.5 or later supports CiscoWorks LMS 3.0.x and later.
Figure 3. The VirtualCenter Management Server]
VMware VirtualCenter
VirtualCenter (Figure 3) facilitates rapid provisioning of virtual machines and performance monitoring of physical servers and virtual machines. VirtualCenter intelligently optimizes resources, helps ensure high availability to all applications in virtual machines, and makes IT environments more responsive with virtualization-based distributed services such as VMware high availability and VMware VMotion.
Special Consideration for CiscoWorks LMS
Requirements for CiscoWorks LMS on VMware should be treated the same as those on any Windows OS. VMware virtualization of LMS is supported with the following configuration:
• Guest OS: Windows Server 2003 Standard/Enterprise Edition (if managing up to 1500 devices)
• Guest OS: Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition (if managing between 1500 and 5000 devices)
• Scalability up to 5000 devices if a single virtual machine (VM) is deployed for each ESX server
• Scalability up to 1500 devices if multiple VMs are deployed on the same ESX server
• (However, this is not a recommended configuration.)
• Advanced features such as VMotion, disaster recovery system (DRS), and high availability are currently not supported for LMS deployments.
Solaris-Based Virtualization
As an integral part of the Solaris 10 operating system, Solaris Containers isolate software applications and services using flexible, software-defined boundaries. Solaris Containers let many private execution environments be created within a single instance of the Solaris OS. Each environment has its own identity, separate from the underlying hardware, yet behaves as if it is running on its own system, making consolidation simple, safe, and secure.
What Is the Difference between Containers and LDoms?
The Solaris 10 OS incorporates an entirely new aspect of Solaris Containers technology. Solaris Zones technology facilitates the creation of new virtual environments that are run on a single operating system kernel. Solaris Zones are part of a Solaris Container (that is, a Zone is "contained"), delivering security, application fault, and namespace isolation. The addition of Solaris Zone functionality to Solaris Containers allows the creation of a Solaris Container that is fully customized for an application. Logical domains (LDoms) provide built-in and no-cost virtualization capabilities for Sun's CoolThreads Servers. Figure 4 highlights how different resources are portioned between Containers and LDoms. Note how the resources can be dynamically shared in the LDoms, but are fixed with Containers.
Figure 4. How Different Resources Are Portioned between Containers and LDoms
Supported Solaris Platforms
Virtualization for CiscoWorks LMS is supported for both LDoms and Containers on Solaris 10 only. CiscoWorks LMS 3.0.x as well as LMS 3.x is supported in the whole-root nonglobal zone only as well as default global zones. Sparse root zone is not supported.
Hardware and Software Requirements
Table 2. LMS 3.1 Server Sizing for VMWare ESX based VM with windows guest OS
Number of Devices
Server Type
OS
CPU Quantity
CPU Speed
Memory
SWAP
Server Quantity
Hard Drive
Concurrent Users
100
Solution
Windows
1
2.0+ GHz
2 GB
4 GB
1
25 GB
3
300
Solution
Windows
1
2.0+ GHz
2 GB
4 GB
1
25 GB
3
1500
Solution
Windows
2
2.0+ GHz
4 GB
8 GB
1
35 GB
20
5000
Solution
Windows
4
2.0+ GHz
8 GB
16 GB
1
35 GB
20
10,000*
Solution
Windows
4
2.0+ GHz
8 GB
16 GB
2
35 GB
20
5000
Standalone
Windows
2
2.0+ GHz
4 GB
8 GB
1
35 GB
20
10,000*
Standalone
Windows
2
2.0+ GHz
4 GB
8 GB
2
35 GB
20
LMS 300 and Health Utilization Monitor (HUM) 50
LMS and HUM Solution
Windows
1
2.0+ GHz
2 GB
4 GB
1
45 GB
20
LMS 1500 and HUM 300
LMS and HUM Solution
Windows
2
2.0+ GHz
4 GB
8 GB
1
85 GB
20
HUM 50
Standalone
Windows
1
2.0+ GHz
2 GB
4 GB
1
20 GB
20
HUM 300
Standalone
Windows
1
2.0+ GHz
2 GB
4 GB
1
20 GB
20
HUM 1000
Standalone
Windows
2
2.0+ GHz
4 GB
8 GB
1
50 GB
20
Table 3. LMS 3.1 Server Sizing for Zones/LDoms/Containers
Number of Devices
Server Type
OS
CPU Quantity
CPU Speed
Memory
SWAP
Server Quantity
Hard Drive
Concurrent Users
100
Solution
Solaris 10
-
-
-
-
-
-
300
Solution
Solaris 9
1
2.0+ GHz
2 GB
4 GB
1
25 GB
3
300
Solution
Solaris 10
1
2.0+ GHz
4 GB
8 GB
1
25 GB
3
1500
Solution
Solaris 10
2
2.0+ GHz
4 GB
8 GB
1
35 GB
20
5000
Solution
Solaris 10
4
2.0+ GHz
8 GB
16 GB
1
35 GB
20
10,000*
Solution
Solaris 10
4
2.0+ GHz
8 GB
16 GB
2
35 GB
20
5000
Standalone
Solaris 10
2
2.0+ GHz
4 GB
8 GB
1
35 GB
20
10,000*
Standalone
Solaris 10
2
2.0+ GHz
4 GB
8 GB
2
35 GB
20
LMS 300 and HUM 50
LMS and HUM Solution
Solaris 9
1
2.0+ GHz
2 GB
4 GB
1
45 GB
20
LMS 300 and HUM 50
LMS and HUM Solution
Solaris 10
1
2.0+ GHz
4 GB
8 GB
1
45 GB
20
LMS 1500 and HUM 300
LMS and HUM Solution
Solaris 9
2
2.0+ GHz
2 GB
4 GB
1
45 GB
20
LMS 1500 and HUM 300
LMS and HUM Solution
Solaris 10
2
2.0+ GHz
4 GB
8 GB
1
85 GB
20
HUM 50
Standalone
Solaris 9
1
2.0+ GHz
2 GB
4 GB
1
20 GB
20
HUM 50
Standalone
Solaris 10
1
2.0+ GHz
4 GB
8 GB
1
20 GB
20
HUM 300
Standalone
Solaris 10
2
2.0+ GHz
4 GB
8 GB
1
20 GB
20
HUM 1000
Standalone
Solaris 10
4
2.0+ GHz
8 GB
16 GB
1
50 GB
20
* For 10,000 devices, two servers are required unless only the Common Services and Resource Manager Essentials (RME) modules are
