Using the Configure VMware Integration Wizard

This chapter includes the following sections:

Overview of the Configure VMware Integration Wizard

The Configure VMware Integration wizard provides a single access to perform the basic configuration steps that are specific to Cisco UCS Manager. The wizard does not address every vCenter configuration. For example, it does not create a DVS structure that includes a vCenter server folder that contains the datacenter. If you want a folder between the vCenter server and the datacenter, do not use this wizard.

You cannot use this wizard to complete the configuration steps that must be performed in VMware vCenter to complete the integration.

Through the Configure VMware Integration wizard, you can perform the following configuration steps:

  1. Export the vCenter extension files to establish a connection to VMware vCenter. You must register the vCenter extension key as a plug-in in VMware vCenter. You cannot perform that step in the Configure VMware Integration wizard.
  2. Define the structure for one VMware vCenter Distributed Virtual Switch (DVS), including the vCenter server, datacenter, DVS folder, and DVS.
  3. Define the port profile and profile client.
  4. Apply the configuration to VMware vCenter.

When you have completed the integration steps through the wizard, you must log in to VMware vCenter and associate the VMs and port profiles with the DVS. The port profiles are shown as port groups in VMware vCenter.

Configuring the VMware Integration with the Wizard

If you prefer not to use this wizard, you can perform each of these steps individually.

Before You Begin

Before you use the Configure VMware Integration wizard, complete the following:

  • Configure the VMware ESX host for VM-FEX.
  • Configure a VMware vCenter instance for VM-FEX.
  • Configure a certificate for VM-FEX.
Procedure
    Step 1   In the Navigation pane, click the VM tab.
    Step 2   On the VM tab, expand the All node.
    Step 3   In the Work pane, click the General tab.
    Step 4   In the Actions area, click Configure VMware Integration.
    Step 5   In the Configure VMware Integration wizard, complete the following:

    Page 1: Establishing the Connection to vCenter Server

    This procedure directly follows the steps in Configuring the VMware Integration with the Wizard. It describes how to establish a connection to VMware vCenter through the Configure VMware Integration wizard.

    You can skip this page and move onto the next page if you have already exported and registered the vCenter extension key files.

    Before You Begin
    • If you want to use a custom extension key, you must modify the extension key before performing this step as described in (Optional) Modifying the vCenter Extension Key.
    • The vCenter server must have network connectivity to the Cisco UCS management port and to the uplink Ethernet port(s) being used by the ESX host. Specifically, the HTTP and HTTPS ports (normally TCP 80 and 443) must not be blocked by any device or policy in the network path.
    Procedure
      Step 1   To export the vCenter extension files, click one of the following:
      Option Description

      Export

      For VMware vCenter version 4.0 update 1 and later.

      Exports a single vCenter Extension Key file.

      Export Multiple

      For VMware vCenter version 4.0.

      Exports nine vCenter Extension Key files.
      Step 2   In the Export vCenter Extension dialog box, do the following:
      1. In the Save Location field, enter the path to the directory where you want to save the extension file or files.

        If you do not know the path, click the ... button and browse to the location.

      2. Click OK.

      Cisco UCS Manager generates the extension file(s) and saves them to the specified location.
      Step 3   Copy the downloaded file to a location on the VMware vCenter.
      Step 4   Register the vCenter extension file(s) in VMware vCenter.

      For more information, see Registering a vCenter Extension File in VMware vCenter, and the instructions on this page in the Configure VMware Integration wizard.
      Step 5   Click Next.
      What to Do Next

      Complete the steps in Page 2: Defining a VMware vCenter Distributed Virtual Switch.

      Page 2: Defining a VMware vCenter Distributed Virtual Switch

      This procedure directly follows the steps in Page 1: Establishing the Connection to vCenter Server. It describes how to define the components of a distributed virtual switch in VMware vCenter through the Configure VMware Integration wizard.

      Procedure
        Step 1   In the vCenter Server area, complete the following fields to define the connection to VMware vCenter:
        Name Description

        vCenter Server Name field

        The user-defined name for the vCenter server.

        This name can be between 1 and 16 alphanumeric characters. You cannot use spaces or any special characters other than - (hyphen), _ (underscore), : (colon), and . (period), and you cannot change this name after the object has been saved.

        Description field

        The description of the vCenter server.

        Enter up to 256 characters. You can use any characters or spaces except ` (accent mark), \ (backslash), ^ (carat), " (double quote), = (equal sign), > (greater than), < (less than), or ' (single quote).

        vCenter Server Hostname or IP Address field

        The hostname or IP address of the vCenter server.

        Note   

        If you use a hostname rather than an IP address, you must configure a DNS server. If the Cisco UCS domain is not registered with Cisco UCS Central or DNS management is set to local, configure a DNS server in Cisco UCS Manager. If the Cisco UCS domain is registered with Cisco UCS Central and DNS management is set to global, configure a DNS server in Cisco UCS Central.

        Step 2   In the Datacenter area, complete the following fields to create the datacenter in VMware vCenter:
        Name Description

        vCenter Datacenter Name field

        The name of the vCenter Datacenter.

        This name can be between 1 and 16 characters. You can use spaces and any other ASCII characters except for ` (accent), \ (back slash), ^ (carat), " (double quote), / (forward slash), > (greater than), < (less than), or ' (single quote).

        Description field

        The user-defined description of the Datacenter.

        Enter up to 256 characters. You can use any characters or spaces except ` (accent mark), \ (backslash), ^ (carat), " (double quote), = (equal sign), > (greater than), < (less than), or ' (single quote).

        Step 3   In the DVS Folder area, complete the following fields to create a folder to contain the distributed virtual switch in VMware vCenter:
        Name Description

        Folder Name field

        The name of the folder that contains the distributed virtual switch (DVS).

        This name can be between 1 and 16 characters. You can use spaces and any other ASCII characters except for ` (accent), \ (back slash), ^ (carat), " (double quote), / (forward slash), > (greater than), < (less than), or ' (single quote).

        Description field

        The user-defined description of the folder.

        Enter up to 256 characters. You can use any characters or spaces except ` (accent mark), \ (backslash), ^ (carat), " (double quote), = (equal sign), > (greater than), < (less than), or ' (single quote).

        Step 4   In the DVS area, complete the following fields to create the distributed virtual switch in VMware vCenter:
        Name Description

        DVS Name field

        The name of the DVS.

        This name can be between 1 and 16 characters. You can use spaces and any other ASCII characters except for ` (accent), \ (back slash), ^ (carat), " (double quote), / (forward slash), > (greater than), < (less than), or ' (single quote).

        Description field

        The user-defined description of the DVS.

        Enter up to 256 characters. You can use any characters or spaces except ` (accent mark), \ (backslash), ^ (carat), " (double quote), = (equal sign), > (greater than), < (less than), or ' (single quote).

        DVS field

        This can be one of the following:

        • disable
        • enable

        If you disable the DVS, Cisco UCS Manager does not push any configuration changes related to the DVS to VMware vCenter.
        Step 5   Click Next.
        What to Do Next

        Complete the steps in Page 3: Defining a Port Profile.

        Page 3: Defining a Port Profile

        This procedure directly follows the steps in Page 2: Defining a VMware vCenter Distributed Virtual Switch. It describes how to define the components of a distributed virtual switch in VMware vCenter through the Configure VMware Integration wizard.

        Procedure
          Step 1   In the Port Profile area, complete the following fields to define the port profile:
          Name Description

          Name field

          The user-defined name for the port profile.

          This name can be between 1 and 31 ASCII alphanumeric characters. You cannot use spaces or any special characters other than - (hyphen), _ (underscore), and : (colon), and you cannot change this name after the object has been saved.

          Description field

          The user-defined description for the port profile.

          Enter up to 256 characters. You can use any characters or spaces except ` (accent mark), \ (backslash), ^ (carat), " (double quote), = (equal sign), > (greater than), < (less than), or ' (single quote).

          QoS Policy drop-down list

          The quality of service policy associated with this port profile.

          Network Control Policy drop-down list

          The network control policy associated with this port profile.

          Max Ports field

          The maximum number of ports that can be associated with this port profile. The default is 64 ports.

          The maximum number of ports that can be associated with a single distributed virtual switch (DVS) is 4096. If the DVS has only one associated port profile, that port profile can be configured with up to 4096 ports. However, if the DVS has more than one associated port profile, the total number of ports associated with all of those port profiles combined cannot exceed 4096.

          Host Network IO Performance field

          This can be one of the following:

          • None—Traffic to and from a virtual machine passes through the DVS.
          • High Performance— Traffic to and from a virtual machine bypasses the DVS and hypervisor and travels directly between the virtual machines and a virtual interface card (VIC) adapter.

          Pin Group drop-down list

          The pin group associated with this port profile.
          Step 2   In the VLANs area, do the following to assign one or more VLANs to the port profile:
          1. In the Select column, check the check box in the appropriate row for each VLAN that you want to use in the port profile.
          2. In the Native VLAN column, click the radio button in the appropriate row for the VLAN that you want to designate as the native VLAN.
          Step 3   In the Client Profile area, do the following to create a profile client for the port profile:
          Name Description

          Name field

          The user-defined name for the profile client.

          This name can be between 1 and 16 ASCII alphanumeric characters. You cannot use spaces or any special characters other than - (hyphen), _ (underscore), and : (colon), and you cannot change this name after the object has been saved.

          Description field

          The user-defined description of the client.

          Enter up to 256 characters. You can use any characters or spaces except ` (accent mark), \ (backslash), ^ (carat), " (double quote), = (equal sign), > (greater than), < (less than), or ' (single quote).

          Datacenter drop-down list

          Choose a datacenter from the drop-down list or choose All if this profile client applies to all datacenters.

          Folder drop-down list

          Choose a folder from the drop-down list or choose All if this profile client applies to all folders.

          Distributed Virtual Switch drop-down list

          Choose a virtual switch from the drop-down list or choose All if this profile client applies to all virtual switches.

          Step 4   Click Next.
          What to Do Next

          Complete the configuration of the virtual machines in VMware vCenter.

          Page 4: Applying Port Profiles and Configuration to vCenter Server

          This procedure directly follows the steps in Page 3: Defining a Port Profile. It describes how to apply the port profiles to vCenter Server through the Configure VMware Integration wizard.

          Procedure
            Step 1   Review the text on the page in the Configure VMware Integration wizard.
            Step 2   Click Finish.

            Cisco UCS Manager connects to the vCenter Server, creates the specified DVS, and applies the port profiles.
            What to Do Next

            In VMware vCenter, associate the VMs and port profiles with the DVS. The port profiles are shown as port groups in VMware vCenter.