3.5 Tested Platforms and Installation Methods for Virtual Machine Management Components

The following table represents the components added to ZENworks Orchestrator with the addition of Virtual Machine Management (VM Management).

Table 3-5 VM Management Components and Supported Operating Systems

Component

Type

Supported Operating Systems

Installation Method

VM Management Interface

Console

  • SLES 10 SP1 (32-bit and 64-bit)

  • Windows XP (32-bit only)

DVD /SLE10/nvmminst

DVD \Windows2003\nvmminst.exe

DVD \WindowsXP\nvmminst.exe

VM Warehouse

Server

  • SLES 10 SP1 (32-bit and 64-bit)

YaST Install

VM Builder1(CIM Provider and Command Line Interface)

n/a

  • SLES 10 SP1 (32-bit and 64-bit)

YaST Install

Monitoring Server

Server

  • SLES 10 SP1 (32-bit and 64-bit)

YaST Install

Monitoring Agent

Agent

  • SLES 9 SP3 (32-bit and 64-bit)

  • SLES 10 SP1 (32-bit and 64-bit)

  • RHEL 4 (32-bit and 64-bit)

  • RHEL 5 (32-bit and 64-bit)

YaST Install or RPMs on DVD

Xen Host

Server

  • SLES 10 SP1 (32-bit and 64-bit)

  • RHEL 5 (32-bit and 64-bit)

YaST Install or RPMs on DVD

1 The VM Builder can be installed on the host operating system of the Orchestrator Server and Orchestrator Agent nodes, or on its own server. It cannot be installed on (or inside) a Virtual Machine. A VM cannot be the host of another VM.

VM Builder supports automated building of Xen VMs on host machines that are running SLES 10 SP1 (32 bit and 64 bit) with the Orchestrator Agent and the VM Builder packages installed.

3.5.1 Hardware Guidelines for the VM Management

You can install ZENworks Virtual Machine Management (the VM Warehouse and VM Builder server +patterns) on the same computer as the Orchestrator Server. However, for better scale and performance we recommend that you install these Virtual Machine Management patterns on a separate server. The following is a list of supported hardware configurations for these two server components:

Table 3-6 Minimum and Recommended Hardware Requirements for VM Management

Operating System

Minimum Requirements

Recommended Hardware

SLES 10 SP 1

  • 2 GHz x86 Processor

  • 2 GB RAM

  • 350 MB Hard Drive Space

  • Gig-E Network Connection

  • 4 GHz Intel Xeon

  • 4 GB RAM

  • 1 GB Hard Drive Space

  • Gig-E Network Connection

  • Multiple network interface cards to accommodate large VM file transfers.

  • VM Warehouse should use high-speed SCSI disk or fibre channel storage (iSCSI is also supported).

3.5.2 Hardware Guidelines for VM Builder Agent Machines

While it does not matter which operating system you have on your VM Builder Agent machine, the hardware does matter. A better machine is recommended to have the VM Builder Agent installed on it. If you intend to make a machine part of your VM Builder pool, it needs to have a processor that matches the intended VM (x86 and x86_64 chips are the only ones supported in the 1.1 release). Most VMs take 2 GB or more of disk space. The following table displays the requirements for a machine to be used in the VM Builder pool as a build machine:

Table 3-7 Minimum and Recommended Hardware Requirements for VM Builder Machines

Operating System

Minimum Requirements

Recommended Hardware

SLES 10 SP 1

  • x86 or x86_64

  • 2 GB RAM

  • 30 GB Hard Drive Space

  • x86 or x86_64

  • 4+ GB RAM

  • 100+ GB Hard Drive Space

3.5.3 Hardware Guidelines for VM Host Machines

We recommend that computers designated as VM hosts in your data center be able to host the VM and run it according to designated parameters of the specific VM. The processor architecture must match the designated VM’s processor in architecture though not in number. In order for a machine to serve as a host machine, it must also have a hypervisor installed along with the operating system. For a detailed table of the supported hypervisors, see Table 4-2.

Table 3-8 Minimum and Recommended Hardware Requirements for VM Host Machines

Host Operating System

Minimum Requirements

Recommended Hardware

SLES 10

  • x86 or x86_64

  • 2 GB RAM

  • 30 GB Hard Drive Space

  • x86 or x86_64

  • 4+ GB RAM

  • 100+ GB Hard Drive Space

SLES 10 SP 1

  • x86 or x86_64

  • 2 GB RAM

  • 30 GB Hard Drive Space

  • x86 or x86_64

  • 4+ GB RAM

  • 100+ GB Hard Drive Space

RHEL 4

  • x86 or x86_64

  • 2 GB RAM

  • 30 GB Hard Drive Space

  • x86 or x86_64

  • 4+ GB RAM

  • 100+ GB Hard Drive Space

RHEL5

  • x86 or x86_64

  • 2 GB RAM

  • 30 GB Hard Drive Space

  • x86 or x86_64

  • 4+ GB RAM

  • 100+ GB Hard Drive Space