Datasheet

32
|
CHAPTER 1 VMware VSphere 4 OVerView
any vCenter instance. Note that a user needs to have valid permissions to be able to see a vCenter
Server instance.
The vCenter Linked Mode feature’s visibility across multiple vCenter instances applies only
to view and search operations. Other operations are confined within a single vCenter inventory.
For example, you cannot drag and drop a host between vCenter instances or a virtual machine
between hosts on two different vCenter instances.
You can join a vCenter instance to a Linked Mode group at the time of installation or after-
ward by modifying an existing deployment. Both of these methods are described in the vSphere
Installation Guide.
ha r d w a r e Mo n i t o r i n g w i t h ciM
vCenter Sever 4 provides a Hardware Status plug-in to monitor and manage the health of your
VMware ESX servers, including key components such as fans, system boards, and power sup-
plies (Figure 1.19). The vCenter Hardware Status plug-in uses the industry-standard Common
Information Model (CIM) interface to display this health information. It implements the System
Management Architecture for Server Hardware (SMASH) profiles defined by the Distributed
Management Task Force (DMTF).
The vCenter Hardware Status plug-in provides you with an integrated, centralized view of
both the physical and virtual assets in your vSphere environment. The plug-in is also integrated
into the vCenter alarm interface so you can be alerted when hardware failures occur. You can
also trigger automated alarm workflows based on these vCenter alarms to preempt and remedy
hardware problems. For example, if vCenter detects that the host temperature is getting too hot,
it could trigger an alarm action that automatically puts the VMware ESX host into maintenance
mode (migrating the VMs off the host using VMware DRS in the process) to allow the server to
cool down.
Figure 1.19
vSphere hosts’
hardware status
563601c01.indd 32 6/29/10 4:41:04 PM