This section describes the functional differences of each server virtualization product when used with Resource Orchestrator.
Display of VM Guest Names
The names of VM guests displayed in Resource Orchestrator vary according to the server virtualization product used.
[VMware]
The ROR console displays either a VM guest's VM name (as defined within VMware), or the hostname of its guest OS.
The guest OS hostname is displayed only after VMware Tools have been installed and the VM guest has been restarted once. The following conditions illustrate this behavior.
VMware Tools were not installed yet: the VM name is displayed
VMware Tools were installed, but the VM guest was not restarted yet: the VM name is displayed
VMware Tools were installed, and the VM guest restarted: the hostname of the guest OS is displayed
If symbols were used in the VM name, those may be shown as percent signs ("%") or a pair of hexadecimal characters (example: "%5c"). Such behavior is similar to that of some parts of VMware's management console.
[Hyper-V]
The ROR console displays either a VM guest's VM name (as defined within Hyper-V), or the hostname of its guest OS.
The guest OS hostname is displayed after the VM guest has been started up at least once.
[Xen] [Citrix Xen]
The ROR console displays the Xen VM names obtained at the time of VM host registration.
Once a VM guest is registered, VM name changes made from the Xen admin client will not be reflected in the ROR console.
[KVM]
The VM guest name displayed in the ROR console is the VM name specified during VM creation.
[Solaris Zones]
The VM guest names displayed on the ROR console are the Solaris zone names set when creating Solaris zones.
[OVM for SPARC]
The VM guest names displayed on the ROR console are the guest domain names.
[OVM for x86 3.x]
The VM guest names displayed on the ROR console are the VM guests' VM names (as defined within Oracle VM).
Power Control of VM Guests
[Xen] [Citrix Xen] [KVM]
When using Citrix XenServer in a high-availability configuration, VM guests cannot be shut down if the automatic reboot option (for VM guests) is enabled.
For details, refer to the manual of server virtualization software.
When using Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Virtualization (Xen-based), Resource Orchestrator cannot perform power operations on suspended VM guests. Suspended VM guests should first be resumed directly from the VM host console.
[OVM for SPARC]
When starting the OS when starting a VM guest, specify "true" for the auto-boot? variable of the guest domain.
When the function is not supported by OVM for SPARC, stopping and rebooting of the VM guest cannot be performed.
Based on the virtual machine status, either directly operate the virtual machine, or perform a forced stop or forced reboot.
When executing power control of VM guests in Resource Orchestrator, binding/unbinding of resources is also executed.
When starting a VM guest
Binding of resources is executed
When stopping a VM guest
Unbinding of resources is executed
When restarting a VM guest
Binding/unbinding of resources is not executed
VM Guest Statuses [Solaris Zones]
The Solaris zone from before installation of the OS is not displayed as the VM guest.
High-Availability Features of Each Product
Each server virtualization product provides its own high-availability feature. For details about such features, refer to the manual of each product.
Server Virtualization Products | High-availability Feature |
|---|---|
VMware | VMware HA |
Hyper-V | Failover clustering |
Xen/KVM | HA |
Solaris Zones/OVM for SPARC | None |
OVM for x86 3.x | HA function of server pool |
Sharing of Spare Servers between Physical Servers and VM Guests
Resource Orchestrator allows sharing of spare servers between physical servers and VM guests by combining its own spare server functionality with the high-availability features available in each server virtualization product. This can be done using the following procedure.
Choose a VM host that is not running any VM guest, and set it as a VM guest recovery server using the high-availability feature of the virtualization product used
In Resource Orchestrator, set the server chosen in a as the spare server of other physical servers
Refer to "11.1 Deciding Server Virtualization Software" for details on which server virtualization product can be used to share a common spare server with Resource Orchestrator.
Backup and Restore of VM Hosts when VM Guests are Stored on their Boot Disk
Depending on the virtualization product used, the behavior of backup and restore functions differs whether or not VM guests are stored on the VM host's boot disk.
[VMware]
VM guests are not included in the VM host's backup and restore.
[Hyper-V]
VM guests are included in the VM host's backup and restore. However, only the data stored on the VM host's boot disk is subject to backup and restore.
[Xen] [Citrix Xen] [KVM]
VM guests are included in the VM host's backup and restore. However, only the data stored on the VM host's boot disk is subject to backup and restore.
[Solaris Zones] [OVM for SPARC]
Not supported.
Disk | Partition | Backup and Restore Target | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
VMware | Hyper-V | Xen | KVM | Solaris Zones | OVM for SPARC | ||
First disk | VM host | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
swap | No (*1) | - | No (*1) | No (*1) | No | No | |
VM guest | No (*2) | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Data | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | |
Second disk | VM guest | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Data | No | No | No | No | No | No | |
*1: During backup, data cannot be collected from the swap area. During restoration, the partition settings of the swap area are restored.
*2: VMFS partitions are not subject to backup and restore.
VM Guest Migration
For VMware or Hyper-V environments, VMware vCenter Server or System Center Virtual Machine Manager should be registered as VM management software to enable VM guest migrations.
Depending on the server virtualization software used, the following remarks apply. For details, refer to the manual of server virtualization software.
[VMware]
The source and destination VM hosts should be registered as part of the same cluster on the VM management software.
For details on clusters on VM management software, refer to the server virtualization software manual.
[Hyper-V]
The source and destination VM hosts should be part of the same Windows failover cluster.
For details on failover clusters, refer to the Windows operating system manual.
[Citrix Xen]
With Citrix XenServer, a migrated VM guest may be temporarily suspended before migration. Refer to the Citrix XenServer manual for details on the migration process for VM guests and the conditions behind this behavior.
[KVM]
When cold migration is specified for migration from the powered on status, the migration may fail.
Turn off the power, perform migration, and then wait for a while before turning on the power.
To perform migration in Resource Orchestrator, it is necessary to specify "lun" for the disk device in the XML configuration file of the device.
Configure the XML configuration file of the VM guest as below.
<devices>
...
<disk type='block' device='lun'>
...
</disk>
...
</devices> |
For details on how to edit the XML configuration file, refer to the manual of the server virtualization software.
The terminology used to describe different types of VM guest migration may differ depending on each virtualization vendor. For unification purposes, Resource Orchestrator uses the following terminology.
Resource Orchestrator Terminology | VMware Terminology | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
Live migration | VMotion | Migration of an active virtual machine (without interruption) |
Cold migration | Cold migration | Migration of a powered off virtual machine |
VM Guest Statuses
Displayed VM guest statuses may differ depending on the configuration of its server virtualization environment.
[VMware]
If no VM management software was registered in Resource Orchestrator
VM guest statuses can be one of the following: "normal", "unknown", or "stop".
If VM management software was registered in Resource Orchestrator
VM guest statuses can be one of the following: "normal", "warning", "error", "unknown", or "stop".
[Hyper-V]
If no VM management software was registered in Resource Orchestrator
VM guest statuses can be one of the following: "normal", "unknown", or "stop".
If VM management software was registered in Resource Orchestrator
VM guest statuses can be one of the following: "normal", "stop", "unknown", or "error".
[Xen] [Citrix Xen] [KVM]
VM guest statuses can be one of the following: "normal", "stop", "unknown", or "error".
[Solaris Zones]
VM guest statuses can be one of the following: "normal", "unknown", or "stop".
[OVM for SPARC]
VM guest statuses can be one of the following: "normal", "stop", "unknown", or "error".
[OVM for x86 3.x]
VM guest statuses can be one of the following: "normal", "warning", "error", "unknown", or "stop".
VM Maintenance Mode
The terminology used to describe VM maintenance mode may differ depending on each virtualization vendor. For details on VM maintenance mode settings and their requirements, refer to the manual of each product.
Server Virtualization Products | Vendor Terminology |
|---|---|
VMware | Maintenance mode |
Hyper-V | Maintenance mode (*1) |
Xen | Maintenance mode (*2) |
Solaris Zones/OVM for SPARC | None |
OVM for x86 3.x | Maintenance mode |
*1: Only available with System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM). Maintenance mode for Hyper-V is made available in Resource Orchestrator by integrating directly with SCVMM.
*2: Only available with Citrix XenServer. Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 Virtualization (Xen-based) does not provide similar functionality.
Moreover, the following restrictions may apply depending on the server virtualization product used.
[VMware]
When a VM host is set to VM maintenance mode, VM guests on the VM host will migrate automatically.
To set a VM host to VM maintenance mode without migrating the VM guests, perform the setting from a VMware vCenter Server.
The behavior after setting will depend on the VM guest's status as shown below.
vSphere DRS Enabled | vSphere DRS Disabled | |
|---|---|---|
There are powered on VM guests | VM guests migrate and the VM host will be set to maintenance mode. | VM guests do not migrate and setting of the VM host maintenance mode will fail. |
There are no powered on VM guests | VM guests migrate and the VM host will be set to maintenance mode. | VM guests migrate and the VM host will be set to maintenance mode. |
[Hyper-V]
Target VM hosts should be registered in SCVMM and SCVMM in turn properly registered in Resource Orchestrator.
[Citrix Xen]
With Citrix XenServer, a VM host assigned as a pool master cannot be put into maintenance mode.
To put such a VM host into VM maintenance mode, the pool master role should first be assigned to a different VM host (within the same Citrix XenServer resource pool).
Migration Conflicts
VM guest migration may fail if another migration was already launched from outside (*) or Resource Orchestrator. In this case, the operation of Resource Orchestrator has failed but the operation of the coordinated server virtualization software may have been completed successfully. As the server virtualization software status is reflected onto Resource Orchestrator when periodical update is performed, check the status after a while and take corrective action.
When using the ROR console, select [Operation]-[Update] from the ROR console menu to refresh the screen and check that the VM guest is not already being migrated.
[Citrix Xen]
With Citrix XenServer, "Home server" should be set for VM guests running on the VM hosts registered in the Citrix XenServer resource pool. Otherwise, powered off VM guests will no longer be recognized by Resource Orchestrator. If a VM guest is no longer displayed in the ROR console after a screen update, confirm that "Home server" is set.
* Note: This may happen when using an automatic migration feature within the server virtualization software, or when a migration was run directly from a VM management console. Refer to the virtualization software manual for details on automatic migration features.
Notes on Citrix XenServer Resource Pool Usage [Citrix Xen]
When using a Citrix XenServer resource pool in a Citrix XenServer environment, if the pool master becomes inaccessible from the Resource Orchestrator manager, the statuses of VM hosts and VM guests belonging to that Citrix XenServer resource pool will change to "unknown", and the affected VM guests will no longer be manageable from Resource Orchestrator. In such cases, check the status of the pool master, and resolve any communication problem that may prevent the manager from communicating with it (if necessary, change the pool master to another VM host that is accessible from the manager). If the pool master is not reachable, resolve any communication problem that may prevent the manager from communicating with it (if necessary, change the pool master to another VM host).
When using Citrix XenServer in a high-availability configuration, the pool master is automatically changed to another VM host if it becomes unreachable. As a result, VM guests can then be controlled normally from Resource Orchestrator.
For details on the Citrix XenServer resource pool and high availability configurations, refer to the Citrix XenServer manual.
Regarding VM Host Names when VM Management Software Has Been Registered
This section explains the names of the VM hosts displayed in Resource Orchestrator when VM management software has been registered, based on the server virtualization product used.
When VM management software has been registered, the host names displayed in the ROR console will be the names of the VM hosts acquired from VM management software.
[VMware]
The VM host names that are recognized for vCenter Server are the host names displayed when connecting to vCenter Server using vSphere Client or vSphere Web Client.
[Hyper-V]
The VM host names that are recognized for SCVMM are the host names shown when displaying hosts in the SCVMM administrator console.
[OVM for x86 3.x]
The VM host names that are recognized for Oracle VM Manager are the host names shown when displaying hosts in the Oracle VM Manager.
Generation 2 Virtual Machines [Hyper-V]
Generation 2 virtual machines are not supported. Only generation 1 virtual machines are supported.
