Two questions re: PowerChute Network Shutdown in VMWare enviornment

[Anonymous user]

Hello,

I am just starting to connect a Smart-UPS 2200 to our recently migrated and P2Ved ESX  5.1 environment.  All of my servers are now VMs  running in ESX 5.1.

I've been reading the PDF  for PCNS  when working with virtual environment and have two questions:

1. The PDF  indicates that I should install PCNS  on a physical Windows host when dealing with one ESX  host in which all servers exist on that host. All that I have, however, are workstations that aren't guaranteed to be up continuously. Is there any major drawback to skipping the physical WIndows  host suggestion?

2. I see reference to a vCenter  Plug-In, but cannot find the download. Where is that?

Cheers,

Mike Whalen

[Anonymous user]

I've installed the Windows PCNS 3.1 on the main server (VM). It asked me for VMWare  Support, which I checked because I do want that.

But now I wonder if I should let PCNS  VMWare  Appliance handle that? If so, is it better to remove management duties from the Server? Is that a reinstall?

[BillP]

Mike,

I assume when you wrote VMware ESX 5.1 you mean ESXi 5.1. With ESXi 5.1 I recommend installing PCNS 3.1 appliance and have that handle the shutdown protection. PCNS 3.1 appliance is a VM running CentOS with PCNS 3.1 pre-installed so all you have to do is install the OVA file, set the network info, provide password, and then configure PCNS via the web interface. I do not recommend installing PCNS 3.1 on a Windows VM. There is a possibility that that VM could be powered down with the other VMs and therefore would not be available to power down the host.

If you are using vCenter Server you should review Application Note 180 pages 10 -13 of the PDF. This will help you understand what needs to be done to be sure that PCNS, vCenter Server and the host/s are powered down properly.

[Anonymous user]

On 1/7/2015 8:54 AM, Bill said:

I assume when you wrote VMware ESX 5.1 you mean ESXi 5.1. With ESXi 5.1

Thanks correct. Yes.

On 1/7/2015 8:54 AM, Bill said:

I recommend installing PCNS 3.1 appliance and have that handle the shutdown protection. PCNS 3.1 appliance is a VM running CentOS with PCNS 3.1 pre-installed so all you have to do is install the OVA file, set the network info, provide password, and then configure PCNS via the web interface.

Ok. I have done that. Thanks.

Do I also need to installed PCNS  agents on any VMs? Or is the appliance all that's required?

On 1/7/2015 8:54 AM, Bill said:

I do not recommend installing PCNS 3.1 on a Windows VM.

I believe that when you say this, you're talking about installing PCNS  3.1 on a Windows VM in order to control the shutdown sequence for VMs  and host. If that's the case -- and considering what I'm reading in AN180 -- then it's beginning to sound as if I should install the PCNS  Appliance (OVA) and set up local login  for shutdowns on the ESXi  host. I should then UNINSTALL  the PCNS  installs on any other VMs. 

Correct?

Thanks for your help!

m

[BillP]

Mike,

You only need to install the PCNS appliance (OVA) and configure that. If you have PCNS installed on any other VMs it should be uninstalled. To be sure all of the VMs and host/s are powered down properly you should create local login and configured each hosts and vCenter Server with this login.

I have attached a PDF that discusses how to create a local user on a Windows VM running vCenter Server and on ESXi host/s managed by vCenter Server.

[Anonymous user]

Ok, let me see if I understand.

1. Uninstall the PCNS  software installed on any VMs.

2. Create a LOCAL pcnsadmin  Administrator account on every VM I want to respond to a PCNS  shutdown command (Windows, Linux, whatever).

3. Create a Administrator-level account on both  my vCenter (VM) server and my ESXi  host.

4. Configure the OVA PCNS  Appliance to use pcnsadmin  to connect to vCenter.

That it?

And here's a follow up if my above steps are correct: What is there are VMs  in which I cannot make a local Administrator-level account? For instance, I have a couple of virtual appliances that will not allow me to create other users within.

[BillP]

Mike,

You do not need the pcnsadmin account on each VM. It only needs to be on the host, vCenter Server, and used as the credentials that PCNS uses to connect to vCenter Server. When PCNS see that the VMs and host need to power down it will follow these steps

1 Host is put into maintenance mode

2  VMs are commend down

3  vApps are command down (if any)

4 vCenter Server is commanded down

5 Host is commanded down

6 PowerChute starts the appliance shutdown and at the same time it will send a shutdown command to the UPS to power down the outlet group or UPS if configured to do so.

[Anonymous user]

Thank you again!

[Anonymous user]

Hello,

I'm afraid the first power-down test failed. And just to clear the air: This is ONE ESXi host with ONE vCenter VM Appliance on the _same_ host.

I set the On Battery shutdown command and pulled the plug. PCNS (the appliance) started to shutdown everything. However, PCNS shutdown the vCenter appliance and then complained it could not speak to vCenter.

The next test, I placed vCenter in the _last_ position on shutdown. That allowed more machines to get commanded to shut down, but still the vCenter shutdown was early and the other machines would not shut down. I can't swear that I waited 840 seconds (see below), but I am fairly certain I did.

There are five virtual machines on this ESXi host:

1. Windows Server 2012
2. Windows Server 2003
3. Dell OMSA Plug-in for vCenter
4. PowerChute Network Shutdown
5. VMWare vCenter

I have VM Shutdown in PCNS set to 120 seconds.
I have vCenter Server shutdown in PCNS set to 840 seconds, which I calculated from 120*5 + VMs + an additional 240 for ESXi host shutdown. (Again, I can't swear I waited a full 840 seconds.)

Additionally, I have to note that the Dell OMSA Vm will not respond to commands to shut it down. I don't have the ability to install VMWare Tools. I'll have to see if there's another way.

Initially, I wondered if I should reconfigure PCNS to point at the ESXi host and treat it as a standalone. In that situation, I think I would have to make sure PCNS is the last VM to shutdown. The problem is, I think, that once the PCNS appliance goes down, the ESXi host will never get a shutdown command.

Either that, or my timings are off.

Is this even a supported configuration?

Cheers,

m

[Anonymous user]

I spoke to tech support this morning. They suggested re-configuring the appliance to treat ESXi  as a standalone-host rather than vCenter-managed. I'll schedule another shutdown test.

[Anonymous user]

Did yoy manage to get this to work.

I have a similar situation a remote site with 2 ESX hosts + UPS and this site with the vCentre server.

I've created a local account on the windows vCentre server and added within vcentre, then gone to both remote hosts and added it there.

I've tried to test by moving the vCentre off the network and testing shutting down the UPS but Powerchute complains it can't see the VC and doesn't shutdown the host.

Andy

[BillP]

Andy,

What version of PowerChute are you running and is PowerChute running on a stand-alone Windows system or on a VM?

[Anonymous user]

version 4.1 and it is running on a physical windows 2008 box

Thanks

Andy

[Anonymous user · Accepted solution]

Andy,

Ultimately the last message I wrote was the key. I had to configure PCNS to only work with the ESX host, not vCenter. I then had to configured the startup/shutdown settings in ESX and make sure that VMs that depended on other VMs came up (or went down) in the proper order.

My situation may be different from yours, though. I was dealing with a single host that ran VCenter AND the PCNS virtual appliance on the ESX same host. Unless I mis-read your email, you have a different situation.