Power restored before full shutdown - Best way to calculate & reduce host shutdown times?

[BillP]

We ran a test that demonstrated a graceful shutdown of all VMs within the target timeframe. Unfortunately, it took another 15+ minutes before the hosts powered down, and power was restored in that period.

1.  The vCenter log shows the first host getting a shutdown trigger at least 15 minutes after power was restored. Is there a way to abort the host shutdown during the waiting period, or signal just to shut down the VMs but not the ESXi hosts?

2. Is there a non-obvious setting that has the host delay set so far out from VM shutdowns?

[BillP]

Hi,

On 10/21/2019 2:05 PM, John said:

1.  The vCenter log shows the first host getting a shutdown trigger at least 15 minutes after power was restored. Is there a way to abort the host shutdown during the waiting period, or signal just to shut down the VMs but not the ESXi hosts?

No. The purpose of PowerChute is to power down hosts and if configured power off VMs. 

On 10/21/2019 2:05 PM, John said:

2. Is there a non-obvious setting that has the host delay set so far out from VM shutdowns?

The basic shutdown is, VM Migration, VMs/vApps shutdown, vCenter Server shutdown, Hosts shutdown. PCNS will wait the delay for migration, then power off VM delay, wait the delay for vCenter Server to power off, and finally power off hosts. 

The shutdown process is listed in Application Note 180. You will find the setting in the GUI or you can edit the setting in pcnsconfig.ini

[HostConfigSettings]
VMware_connect_timeout = 10
VMware_read_timeout = 15
vm_prioritization_enabled = false
delay_after_exit_maintenance_mode = 30
delay_after_vcsa_powered_on_and_connected = 30
enable_guest_vm_migration = true
guest_vm_migration_duration = 120
enable_custom_target_vm_migration = false
custom_target_hosts =
enable_guest_vm_vapp_shutdown = true
guest_vm_vapp_shutdown_duration = 120
enable_guest_vm_vapp_startup = true
guest_vm_vapp_startup_duration = 120
vm_startup_delay_duration = 0
force_VApp_shutdown = true
delay_maintenance_mode = true
delay_maintenance_mode_timeout = 15
vm_startup_rescan_hba_duration = 15
enable_plugin = false
plugin_type =
startup_waits_for_all_hosts_online = true
VCSA_shutdown_duration = 240
hostlist = 10.0.0.20|10.0.0.21|10.0.0.22

[VMPrioritization]
vm_list_high =
vm_list_medium =
vm_list_low =
vm_list_group_1 =
vm_list_group_2 =
vm_shutdown_duration_high = 0
vm_shutdown_duration_medium = 0
vm_shutdown_duration_low = 0
vm_shutdown_duration_group_1 = 0
vm_shutdown_duration_group_2 = 0
vm_shutdown_duration_none = 0
vm_migration_duration_high = 0
vm_migration_duration_medium = 0
vm_migration_duration_low = 0
vm_migration_duration_group_1 = 0
vm_migration_duration_group_2 = 0
vm_migration_duration_none = 0
vm_startup_duration_high = 0
vm_startup_duration_medium = 0
vm_startup_duration_low = 0
vm_startup_duration_group_1 = 0
vm_startup_duration_group_2 = 0
vm_startup_duration_none = 0

[BillP]

Thanks, Bill. That was clear & helpful.

I'm not sure of how to access the pcnsconfig.ini - I assume that's on the "PowerChute Network Shutdown 4.1 for VMware" virtual appliance. I can see that in vSphere Client along with the VMs on that host in the cluster: what's the best way to access it? 

We want to add a command file to execute: from what I've seen in earlier responses (saw a few of yours, from 2018), the file will have to be placed "locally" - also on the pcns appliance?  

- I've seen that the command file can have a .cmd or .bat extension; is it a regular batch file with Windows syntax?

[BillP · Accepted solution]

Hi,

On 10/22/2019 3:03 PM, John said:

I'm not sure of how to access the pcnsconfig.ini - I assume that's on the "PowerChute Network Shutdown 4.1 for VMware" virtual appliance. I can see that in vSphere Client along with the VMs on that host in the cluster: what's the best way to access it? 

You can open the VM in vShpere client, VSphere web client, or using an SSH program. I user the web client and SSH. The .ini file will be found in /opt/APC/PowerChute/group1

I recommend you upgrade to PCNS 4.3 as there have been many improvements made since 4.1. 

On 10/22/2019 3:03 PM, John said:

We want to add a command file to execute: from what I've seen in earlier responses (saw a few of yours, from 2018), the file will have to be placed "locally" - also on the pcns appliance?  

- I've seen that the command file can have a .cmd or .bat extension; is it a regular batch file with Windows syntax?

The file should be stored on the PCNV VM and since the VM is a Linux OS the file extension needs to be .sh. A .bat or .cmd file will not run. We have FAQ FA159559