HP VMware ESXi management environment integration note
Operating systems and virtualization software support for
ProLiant servers
HP delivers and supports a wide range of VMware products certified on ProLiant server platforms. For
a complete and up-to-date listing of supported operating systems and versions, visit the ProLiant OS
Support Matrix at http://h71028.www7.hp.com/enterprise/us/en/servers/4x-servers.html
.
VMware ESXi integration with HP Systems Insight Manager
On its own, VMware ESXi provides a simplified approach to managing server compute nodes with a
robust set of standards-based management capabilities, freeing the administrator from day-to-day
tasks. Administrators can also use the vCLI for storage, network, and host configuration, as well as for
patch maintenance and updates. HP enhances VMware ESXi manageability with HP Systems Insight
Manager (HP SIM) integration, the industry’s only unified storage and server management platform.
ESX users typically use the service console to run hardware agents for performance and health
monitoring. However, ESXi enables an agent-less approach to monitoring through industry-standard
protocols like Common Information Model (CIM)
1
. VMware ESXi Embedded incorporates HP Insight
Management Web-based Enterprise Management (WBEM) providers, which use the CIM standard to
represent systems, networks, applications, devices, and other managed components in an object-
oriented fashion. HP bases its providers on the SMASH and SMI-S standards, extending those data
models as necessary to support features specific to ProLiant platforms. These providers are also
bundled with VMware ESXi Installable to provide seamless, out-of-the box integration with a large
variety of HP systems.
Figure 1 shows the Systems Management software included with the VMware ESXi. HP SIM and
vCenter Server are available separately.
Figure 1. Software included with HP VMware ESXi
1
More information about CIM, Systems Management Architecture for Server Hardware (SMASH), and Storage Management Initiative
Specification (SMI-S) is available in Appendix A.
3