5.1

Table Of Contents
Managing Cloud Cells
You manage cloud cells mostly from the vCloud Director server host on which the cell resides, but you can
delete a cloud cell from the vCloud Director Web console.
Table 5-12 lists the basic commands for controlling a cloud cell.
Table 5-12. Cloud Cell Commands
Command Description
service vmware-vcd start
Starts the cell
service vmware-vcd restart
Restarts the cell
service vmware-vcd stop
Stops the cell
When you stop a cell, you may want to display a maintenance message to users that attempt to access that cell
using a browser or the vCloud API. See “Turn On Cloud Cell Maintenance Message,” on page 96.
Adding Cloud Cells
To add cloud cells to a vCloud Director installation, install the vCloud Director software on additional Cloud
Director server hosts in the same vCloud Director cluster.
For more information, see the VMware vCloud Director Installation and Configuration Guide.
Delete a Cloud Cell
If you want to remove a cloud cell from your vCloud Director installation, in order to reinstall the software,
or for some other reason, you can delete the cell.
You can also delete a cell if it becomes unreachable.
Prerequisites
You must stop the cell using the service vmware-vcd stop command.
Procedure
1 Click the Manage & Monitor tab and click Cloud Cells in the left pane.
2 Right-click the cell name and select Delete.
vCloud Director removes information about the cell from its database.
Turn On Cloud Cell Maintenance Message
If you want to stop a cell and let users know that you are performing maintenance, you can turn on the
maintenance message.
When the maintenance message is turned on, users who try to log in to the cell from a browser see a message
stating that the cell is unavailable because of maintenance. Users who try to reach the cell using the vCloud
API receive a similar message.
Procedure
1 Stop the cell by running the service vmware-vcd stop command.
2 Run the /opt/vmware/vcloud-director/bin/vmware-vcd-cell maintenance command.
Users cannot access the cell by using a browser or the vCloud API.
vCloud Director Administrator's Guide
96 VMware, Inc.