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MegaRAID Storage Manager Online Help System |
Installing MegaRAID Storage Manager Support on the VMWare ESX Operating System
This section describes the product requirements needed to support the VMWare ESX operating system. Classic VMWare includes a Service Console that is derived from the Linux 2.4 kernel, but with reduced functionality.
The MSM server part cannot be installed directly in VMWare ESX 3i. Management is possible only through Common Information Model (CIM) providers. These CIM providers integrated into the ESX 3i system build an interface between the hardware driver of the LSI MegaRAID controller and remote applications, such as MSM. Management is performed through MSM installed on a remote machine (Linux/Windows). See VMWare ESX 3i Management through CIM and CMPI for more information.
The Linux rpm of MSM works under console with minimal changes. Hardware RAID is currently supported in ESX 3.x.
The network communication is a key element for a proper setup. The communication between the ESXi CIM provider and the LSI management software is an active/passive combination, which requires a highly reliable network. Therefore, we recommend that you install the management on a VM within the ESXi. Follow these steps to install and configure MSM support on the VMWare ESX operating system:
1. Network Configuration of the ESXi Host:
- Assignment of an ESXi hostname:
- Configuration of a virtual network environment:
- Option #1: Use the already existing Vswitch, which has a VMkernel port already attached for the communication.
- Option #2: Build a new Vswitch without a link to the Host network card.
The application you use determines which option to choose. Make sure that you chose the applicable option at an early stage. Creating a new Vswitch with VMkernel requires a reboot to make sure a proper communication between the CIM provider and the new interface. If you want to reach the target as quickly as possible, no change is recommended.- Configuration of the IP address:
2. VM Installation:
Install the operating system as usual, including the VMWare guest tools. The virtual network card should be linked to a Vswitch that has a VMKernel port attached. For a quick installation, no change is recommended.
3. MSM Installation:
Install MSM with the option “complete”.
4. VM Network Configuration:
5. Reboot and Login:
Reboot the VM and start MegaRAID Storage Manager. The ESXi server should now appear in the list of the found hosts. You can now log in with the root account name and password of the ESXi Host.
Host Overview:
Figure 2 shows the name of the host ESXi server. In this example, the host ESXi server name is
local.lsi.com
.Figure 2 Host ESXi Server Name
On the screen shown in Figure 3, you can enter the user name and password to log in on the ESXi Host.
Figure 3 Login on the Host Server
After you log in, you can view the drives connected to the controller (the physical view), as shown in Figure 4.
Figure 4 Physical View
Click the Logical tab to view the virtual drives connected to the controller (the logical view), as shown in Figure 5.
Figure 5 Logical View
Limitations of the Installation and Configurations
For more information about these limitations, see Differences in MSM for VMware ESXi.
DB09-000202-02 37857-00 Rev. C August 2009 Copyright© 2009 by LSI Corporation. All rights reserved. You can find a list of the LSI U.S. distributors, international distributors, sales offices, and design resource centers on the LSI web site at: http://www.lsi.com/cm/ContactSearch.do |