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VMware® Lab Manager User’s Guide
VMware Lab Manager 2.4
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2 VMware, Inc.
VMware® Lab Manager User’s Guide
VMware® Lab Manager User’s Guide
Revision: 20070330
Item: VL-ENG-Q406-273
VMware, Inc. 3
Contents
Preface 9
1 IntroducingLabManager 13
LabManagerComponents 14
LabManagerBenefitsandFeatures 15
UsingLabManagerwithVirtualCenter
ManagementServer 16
2 GettingStartedwith
LabManager 17
SettingInternetExplorerOptions 18
AccessingtheLabManagerConsole 19
ReviewingtheLabManagerUserInterface 20
DefaultLandingPage 20
SpecificAreasandOperations 22
InterfaceFeatures 23
MouseoverMenus 23
BreadcrumbTitles 23
TextSearchFilter 24
ColumnSorting 24
VMwareToolsandMouseControl 24
ReviewingtheGeneralWorkflowinLabManager 24
3 WorkingwithVirtualMachines 25
AccessingVirtualMachines 26
AccessingaVirtualMachineConsolefortheFirstTime 27
InstallingtheActiveXControl 27
InstallingtheVMwareRemoteMKSPluginforFirefox 28
ReviewingtheVirtualMachineConsolePage 29
ChangingtheConsoleDisplaySize 30
ReviewingVirtualMachineOperations 31
SummaryofVirtualMachineOperations 31
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SummaryofVirtualMachineStates 33
ChangingIPorMACAddresses 33
SettingUpRemoteDesktopConnections 35
TakingSnapshotsandRevertingtheSnapshots 36
InsertingCDs 36
EjectingCDs 38
InsertingFloppyDisks 38
EjectingFloppyDisks 39
AddingVirtualHardDiskstoVirtualMachines(Templates) 39
AddingSCSIVirtualHardDisks 41
EditingVirtualMachineProperties 42
ReviewingthePropertiesList 42
4 WorkingwithMachineTemplates 45
AboutTemplates 46
AccessingtheTemplatesPage 46
ReviewingTemplateOperations 47
SummaryofTemplateOperations 47
SummaryofTemplateStatesandAttributes 49
CreatingTemplates 50
ImportingTemplates 50
ImportingaTemplatefromSMBStorage 51
ImportingaTemplatefromVMFSStorage 52
CreatingTemplatesfromScratch 53
CreatingaBlankTemplate 54
DeployingaTemplate 55
InstallingtheGuestOperatingSystem 56
InstallingVMwareTools 57
InstallingAdditionalSoftware 58
Installing
LMTools 58
PublishingaTemplate 62
SharingaTemplate 62
ShuttingDownaTemplate 63
CreatingTemplatesfromActiveVirtualMachinesinLabManager 63
CloningTemplates 63
CopyingTemplates 65
UndeployingTemplates 66
SharingTemplates 66
ExportingTemplates 66
ConsolidatingTemplates 67
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Contents
EditingTemplateProperties 68
DeletingTemplates 70
5 WorkingwithConfigurations 71
AboutConfigurations 72
AccessingConfigurations 72
ReviewingConfigurationOperations 75
SummaryofConfigurationOperations 75
SummaryofConfigurationStatesandAttributes 77
CreatingConfigurations 78
ManuallyConfiguringtheIPAddressfortheVirtualMachine 80
AddingVirtualMachinestoExistingConfigurations 80
DeployingConfigurations 82
DeployOptions 83
DeploywithDefaultsOption 84
UndeployingConfigurations 85
CapturingConfigurationstotheLibrary 85
CheckingOutConfigurationsfromtheLibrary 86
StoppingConfigurations 86
Cloning
Configurations 87
CopyingConfigurations 88
ExportingConfigurations 89
ImportingConfigurations 91
SharingConfigurations 92
CreatingandRestoringConfigurationLiveLinks 92
TakingSnapshotsandRevertingtoSnapshots 94
EditingConfigurationProperties 95
ViewingDetailsonVirtualMachinesinaConfiguration 96
AccessingaVirtualMachineConsole 98
AccessingAllVirtualMachineConsolesinaConfiguration 98
DeletingConfigurations 98
6 WorkingwithMedia 99
AccessingtheMediaLibrary 100
ReviewingMediaOperations 101
AddingMediatotheLibrary 101
SynchronizingLabManagerwithMediaStorage 102
DeletingMediafromtheLibrary 103
SharingMediaFiles 103
PrivatizingMediaFiles 103
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EditingMediaProperties 104
7 AdministeringandMonitoringLabManager 105
MonitoringLabManager 106
MonitoringtheActivityLog 106
MonitoringtheServerPool 107
MonitoringDeployedMachines 109
ManagingUsers 111
SettingUserPreferences 111
DefaultsTab 111
PasswordTab 113
ViewingUsers 113
AddingNewUsers 115
DeletingUsers 117
EditingUserProperties 117
AuthenticatingUserNamesandPasswords 119
UsingtheLDAPBindingString 119
MarkinganLDAPUserWithoutAuthentication 119
MarkinganLDAPUserWithAuthentication 119
ManagingManagedServerSystems 121
ViewingManagedServerSystems 121
AddingManagedServerSystems 122
RemovingManagedServerSystems 125
EditingManagedServerProperties 125
ReviewingAdditionalManagedServerOperations 127
ManagingStorageServers 128
ViewingStorageServers 128
MovingtheContentsofaSANServer 129
AddingMediaStoragetoLabManager 130
MediaStorageRequirements 130
SettingUpSMBMediaStorageforLabManager 131
CreatingaShareforLab
ManagertoSetPermissions 131
AttachingMediaStoragetoLabManager 131
RemovingStorageServers 133
AdditionalTasksforRemovinganNFSMediaServer 134
EditingStorageServerProperties 134
ReviewingAdditionalStorageServerOperations 136
ConfiguringNetworkSettings 137
ViewingNetworkSettings 137
ReviewingtheSettingstab 137
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Contents
ReviewingtheIPPoolTab 138
UnderstandingIPAddressManagement 139
AddingIPAddressestotheLabManagerIPPool 139
RemovingIPAddressesfromtheLabManagerIPPool 141
ConfiguringLabManagerSettings 142
AccessingLabManagerSettings 142
ReviewingtheGeneralTab 142
ServerPreferences 143
EmailPreferences 144
DefaultUserPreferences 144
DefaultDeploymentOptions 145
ReviewingtheLicenseTab 145
ReviewtheLMTools
Tab 147
ReviewingtheSupportLinkTab 149
8 TroubleshootingLabManager 151
BlankScreenAppearsWhenAccessingLabManager 152
LabManagerDoesNotDisplayVirtualMachineConsole 152
DuplicateIPAddressErrorsAppear 153
AdditionofSCSIVirtualHardDiskFails 153
MouseNavigationonVirtualMachineConsoleFails 153
RemoteAccesstoVirtualMachineFails 154
LiveLinkURLErrorAppears 154
HostServerCDDriveCannotInstallSoftware 154
ImportingaVirtualMachine
asaTemplateFails 155
ImportfromVMFSOperationFails 155
InsertingMediafromNFSServerFails 155
LabManagerServerFails,LosesConnectivity,orRebootstheSystem 157
SMBMediaStorageServerFails 157
PermanentFailureofManagedServerOccurs 158
TemporaryFailureofManagedServerOccurs
(RebootorTurnOff) 159
TemporaryFailureofManagedServerOccurs
(Networking) 160
A NetworkFencing 161
WhyShouldIFenceConfigurations? 162
HowDoesFencingWork? 162
FencingOptions 162
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ProcessorTypeIncompatibility 163
ViewingVirtualSwitchesforFences 164
ReviewingAdditionalFencingOperations 164
B ExtendingLMTools 165
HowdoesLMToolswork? 166
ExtendingtheLMToolsScript 167
ExtendingtheLMToolsScriptonaWindowsGuestOS 167
ExtendingtheLMToolsScriptonaLinuxGuestOS 167
Index 169
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ThisprefaceprovidesinformationabouttheVMwareLabManagerUser’sGuideand
linkstoVMware
®
technicalsupportandeducationalresources.
Thisprefacecontainsthefollowingtopics:
“A b o u t ThisBook”onpage 9
“TechnicalSupportandEducationResources”onpage 10
About This Book
TheVMwareLabManagerUser’sGuideprovidesdetailedinformationabouttheVMware
LabManagersystemanditscomponents,commands,operations,configuration,and
userinterface.
Intended Audience
Theguideisintendedforexperienceddevelopersandtestersofsoftwareapplications.
Thisdocumentassumestheuserhassomefamiliaritywiththesetopics:
Virtualmachinetechnology
Basicconceptsofdistributed,multitieredsystems
Currentdevelopmentandtestingpractices
WindowsandLinuxoperatingsystems
Preface
VMware Lab Manager User’s Guide
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Document Feedback
Ifyouhavecommentsaboutthisdocumentation,submityourfeedbackto:
Conventions
Table P‐1illustratesthetypographicconventionsusedinthismanual.
Technical Support and Education Resources
Thefollowingsectionsdescribethetechnicalsupportresourcesavailabletoyou.
Self-Service Support
UsetheVMwareTechnologyNetwork(VMTN)forself‐helptoolsandtechnical
information:
Productinformation–http://www.vmware.com/products/
Technologyinformation–http://www.vmware.com/vcommunity/technology
Documentation–http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs
VMTNKnowledgeBase–http://www.vmware.com/support/kb
Discussionforums–http://www.vmware.com/community
Usergroups–http://www.vmware.com/vcommunity/usergroups.html
FormoreinformationabouttheVMwareTechnologyNetwork,goto
http://www.vmtn.net.
Table P-1. Conventions in this Manual
Style Elements
Blue(onlineonly) Cross‐referencesandemailaddresses
Blueboldface(onlineonly) Links
Blackboldface Userinterfaceelementssuchasbuttonnamesandmenuitems
Monospace Commands,filenames,directories,andpaths
Monospace bold Userinput
Italic Documenttitles,glossary terms,andoccasionalemphasis
<Name> Variableandparameternames
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Preface
Online and Telephone Support
Useonlinesupporttosubmittechnicalsupportrequests,viewyourproductand
contractinformation,andregisteryourproducts.Goto
http://www.vmware.com/support.
Customerswithappropriatesupportcontractsshouldusetelephonesupportforthe
fastestresponseonpriority1issues.Goto
http://www.vmware.com/support/phone_support.html.
Support Offerings
FindouthowVMwaresupportofferingscanhelpmeetyourbusinessneeds.Goto
http://www.vmware.com/support/services.
VMware Education Services
VMwarecoursesofferextensivehands‐onlabs,casestudyexamples,andcourse
materialsdesignedtobeusedason‐the‐jobreferencetools.Formoreinformationabout
VMwareEducationServices,gotohttp://mylearn1.vmware.com/mgrreg/index.cfm.
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1
VMwareLabManagerprovidesarobustsolutionformanagingvirtualmachinesina
testlab.LabManagerdoesnotassumeextensiveknowledgeofvirtualizationand
allowssoftwaredevelopersandQAengineerstoquicklyprovision,share,andtear
downmultimachinetestcasesorconfigurations.
Specifically,LabManagerstreamlinesthesetup,capture,storage,
andsharingof
multimachinesoftwareconfigurationsinvirtualizedenvironments.Youcanusea
self‐serviceinterfaceandlibraryfromwhichuserscanaccessvirtualmachineimages
todeployacrossmultipleservers.
Thischaptercoversthesetopics:
“LabManagerComponents”onpage 14
“LabManagerBenefitsandFeatures”onpage 15
“UsingLabManagerwithVirtualCenterManagementServer”onpage 16
Introducing Lab Manager
1
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Lab Manager Components
Figure1‐1illustratesthecomponentsofLabManager.
Figure 1-1. Lab Manager Components
LabManagerServer–AserverthatprovidesWebandSOAPinterfacesfortheLab
Managersystem.LabManagerServermanagesanddeploysconfigurationsagainsta
poolofManagedServersystems.
LabManagerManagedServer–AserverrunningVMwareESXServer
andManaged
Serversoftware.TheLabManagerServerusestheManagedServertodeploy
configurationsandtheirvirtualmachines.YoucanhavemultipleManagedServer
systems.
LabManagerstorageserver–Storageforvirtualmachines(forexample,anESXServer
SAN)andstorageprimarilyformedia(CDandfloppyimages).You
canhavemultiple
storageservers.
LabManagerclientuser–ClientswhocanusetheLabManagerWebconsoleandthe
LabManagerSOAPAPI.FromaWindowsmachine,clientscanaccesstheLabManager
WebconsolewithInternetExplorer5.5orhigher.(ExperimentalFirefoxsupportis
available.)
virtual machine
storage
default media
storage
additional media
storage (NFS)
Lab Manager
Managed Server
Lab Manager
Managed Server
Lab Manager
Managed Server
Lab Manager
client user
Lab Manager
client user
Lab Manager
client user
Lab Manager Server
administrator
network
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Chapter 1 Introducing Lab Manager
LabManagerWebconsole–Thebrowser‐basedconsolethatenables
managementforalltestingactivities,regardlessofphysicallocation.Youcan
accessthiscomponentusingstandardHTTPprotocols.
UsetheLabManagerWebconsoletoorganizegroupsofvirtualmachinesinto
configurationsbasedonmachinetemplates,tostoreconfigurationsand
their
stateinlibraries,andtoquicklycopyandusemultiplecopiesoflibrary
configurationssimultaneouslywithoutrequiringknowledgeofthe
networkingenvironment.Copiesoflibraryconfigurationsareavailable
withinseconds.
Whenyoucheckoutalibraryconfiguration,theconfigurationretainsthe
networkprofile(IPaddress,name,MACaddress,securityidentifiers,
and
more),whichpreservestherunningsoftwareanddataonthemachine.Virtual
machinescreatedfromtemplatesaregivennewnetworkprofilesastheyjoin
aconfiguration.ThisprofilechangesthroughtheLMToolsutilityinstalledon
thetemplateoperatingsystem.
LabManagerSOAPAPI–ASOAPAPIWebservicethatenablesyouto
accessLabManagerprogrammatically.Thisallowseasyintegrationwith
buildmanagementsystemsandwithautomatedtestingtoolsfromMercury,
IBM,Segue,andothercompanies.
“LabManagerservers”collectivelyreferstotheLabManagerServer,ManagedServer
systems,
andstorageservers.
Lab Manager Benefits and Features
LabManagerenablesuserstolowerdevelopment,test,andintegrationcosts,aswellas
tapintoasharedpoolofserverandnetworkingresources,eliminatemanualsetup,
decreasesoftwaredevelopmenttimes,andimprovesoftwarequality.
Reviewthesespecificbenefits:
Productivity–Savestimeforwhenprovisioningmachines.
Processimprovement–Assistswithcommunicationbetweentestingand
developmentteams.
Serverconsolidation–Includespoolandshareservers,storage,andothertesting
anddevelopmentresources.
Computeraccess–Providesaccesstomorecomputersthanavailablephysical
machines.
Self‐help–Allowsengineerstoindividuallycreate,setup,andteardown
configurationswithoutrelyingonIT.
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Outsourcinganddistributeddevelopment–Allowsgeographicallydispersed
teamstoworkonthesamemachinesandconfigurationsovertheInternet.
Reviewthesespecificfeatures:
Templates–Createnew,fullyconfiguredvirtualmachinesinseconds.
Configurations–Run,manage,andmonitormultipleconfigurations
simultaneously.
Configurationlibrary–Storeconfigurationstopersistentstorageforteamuse.
Statecapture–Capturethelivestateofallthemachinesinaconfiguration.You
cancaptureandsharebugsintheirrunningstate.
Networkfencing–Runcopiesofconfigurationswithidenticalnetworkprofiles
simultaneouslyusingthisnetworkisolationtechnology.
Resourcemanagement–Manageapoolofcomputingandstorageresources.
Deltatreemanagement–Savevirtualmachinefilechangestoefficientand
high‐performancestorage.
Applicationintegration–IntegratetestapplicationswiththeLabManagerWeb
serviceSOAPAPI.
Monitoring–Viewandcontrolserverfarmutilizationinrealtime.
Browseraccess–RemotelyaccessLabManagerfromanylocation.
Automation–Automatetestmatricesend‐to‐end.
Using Lab Manager with VirtualCenter
Management Server
YoucanuseVMwareVirtualCenterManagementServer(VirtualCenterServer)to
monitorESXServersystemsmanagedbyLabManager.BeawarethatallVirtualCenter
ServeractionsthatregisterorderegisterLabManagervirtualmachines(including
thosetriggeredbyVMwareHAandVMwareVMotion™)breakLabManager.VMware
recommendsmanagingESXServersystems
withLabManagerorVirtualCenterServer,
butnotboth.
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2
TogetstartedwithLabManager,youcanbecomefamiliarwiththemainelements,
operations,andnavigationoftheLabManagerWebconsole.
Thischaptercoversthesetopics:
“SettingInternetExplorerOptions”onpage 18
“A c c e s s i n g theLabManagerConsole”onpage 19
“ReviewingtheLabManagerUserInterface”onpage 20
“ReviewingtheGeneralWorkflowinLabManager”onpage 24
Getting Started with
Lab Manager
2
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Setting Internet Explorer Options
ReviewtherequirementsforclientusermachinesintheVMwareLabManager
InstallationGuide.WhenaccessingtheLabManagerWebconsolewithIE,makesureto
setbrowsersettingstoenableclientoperation.
To set IE options
1IfyouareusingWindows2003,opentheControlPanelfromthedesktopandclick
Addor
RemovePrograms.
IfyouareusingaWindowsplatformotherthanWindows2003,proceedtoStep 4.
2ClickAdd/RemoveWindowsComponents.
3 DeselecttheEnhancedInternetExplorerSecurityConfigurationcheckboxand
clickNext.
4FromtheToolsmenuinIE,chooseInternetOptions.
5IntheSecuritytab,clickCustomLevel.
6Enablethesebrowser
options:
DownloadsignedActiveXcontrols
RunActiveXcontrolsandplug‐ins
AllowMETAREFRESH
Activescripting
Allowpasteoperationsviascript
7IntheAdvancedtab,enablethePlayanimationsinwebpagesoption.
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Chapter 2 Getting Started with Lab Manager
Accessing the Lab Manager Console
AfterinstallingLabManager,youcanaccesstheLabManagerWebconsoleand
Overviewpage.SeetheVMwareLabManagerInstallationGuideforcomplete
requirements,includingbrowsersettings,onclientusermachines.
To access the Lab Manager console
1 ObtainaLabManageraccount.
Ifyoudonothaveanaccountorneedaccountinformation,seeaLab
Manager
Administrator.
2OnaWindowsmachineconnectedtotheInternetoryourlocalintranet,launchIE
5.5orhigher.
ExperimentalsupportforFirefoxisavailable.
3ToconnecttoaLabManagerServer,gotohttps://<LabManagerserverdomain
nameorIPaddress>/.
4Enteryourusernameandpasswordtologintothe
console.
Passwordsfortheconsolerequireatleastsixcharacters.
5IntheOverviewpagethatappearsafterloggingin,usethecheckboxatthebottom
ofthepagetospecifywhetheryouwanttheconsoletoopentotheWorkspacepage
atstartup.
Forhighlightsonthispageandtheuser
interface,see“ReviewingtheLabManager
UserInterface”onpage 20.
N
OTE Thefirsttimeyouaccesstheconsole,anSSLwarningmightappear.Toavoid
thiswarninginthefuture,usefullyqualifieddomainnamesoraskyour
Administratorformoreinformation.
Toaddthecertificatetoyourtrustedcertificatelist,clickViewCertificatein
theIESSLalert,andclickInstall
Certificate.
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Reviewing the Lab Manager User Interface
TheLabManagerWebconsolehasanavigationpaneontheleftandamaindisplayarea
ontheright.Figure2‐1showsasamplepageintheconsole.
Figure 2-1. Sample Page in Lab Manager
Thenavigationpaneprovidesaccesstomajorconceptsandoperations:
MyLabManager
BuildandDeploy
Monitor
Manage(Administratoroperationsonly)
Support(Administratoroperationsonly)
Themaindisplayareashowsconfiguration,virtualmachine,machinetemplate,
server,andsystemadministrationinformationintableformat.Thisareaalso
displaysdataintabbedfoldersthatyoucannavigate.
Default Landing Page
ThedefaultlandingpageistheOverviewpage.
/
