vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

vSphere 6.0

This document supports the version of each product listed and

supports all subsequent versions until the document is
replaced by a new edition. To check for more recent editions
of this document, see http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.

EN-001666-03
vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware Web site at:
http://www.vmware.com/support/
The VMware Web site also provides the latest product updates.
If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to:
[email protected]

Copyright © 2009–2015 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. Copyright and trademark information.

VMware, Inc.
3401 Hillview Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94304
www.vmware.com

2 VMware, Inc.
Contents

About vCenter Server Appliance Configuration 5

Updated Information 7

1 vCenter Server Appliance Overview 9

2 Configuring the vCenter Server Appliance by Using the vSphere Web Client 11
Join the vCenter Server Appliance to an Active Directory Domain 11
Leave an Active Directory Domain 12
Add a User to the SystemConfiguration.BashShellAdministrators Group 13
Edit Access Settings to the vCenter Server Appliance 13
Edit the DNS and IP Address Settings of the vCenter Server Appliance 14
Edit the Firewall Settings of the vCenter Server Appliance 16
Edit the Startup Settings of a Service 17
Start, Stop, or Restart Services in the vCenter Server Appliance 17
View the Health Status of Services and Nodes 18
Edit the Settings of Services 18
Export a Support Bundle 19
Redirect vCenter Server Appliance Log Files to Another Machine 20

3 Configuring the vCenter Server Appliance by Using the Appliance Shell 23

Access the Appliance Shell 23
Enable Bash Shell Access From the Appliance Shell 24
Keyboard Shortcuts for Editing Commands 24
Get Help About the Plug-Ins and API Commands in the Appliance 25
Plug-Ins in the vCenter Server Appliance Shell 25
API Commands in the vCenter Server Appliance Shell 26
Browse the Log Files by Using the showlog Plug-In 30
Configuring SNMP for the vCenter Server Appliance 30
Configuring Time Synchronization Settings in the vCenter Server Appliance 37
Managing Local User Accounts in the vCenter Server Appliance 39
Monitoring Hardware Health Status and Statistics in the vCenter Server Appliance 41
Using the vimtop Plug-In to Monitor the Resource Usage of Services 41

4 Configuring the vCenter Server Appliance by Using the Direct Console User
Interface 45
Log In to the Direct Console User Interface 45
Change the Password of the Root User 46
Configure the Management Network of the vCenter Server Appliance 46
Restart the Management Network of the vCenter Server Appliance 47
Enable Access to the Appliance Bash shell 47

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vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

Access the Appliance Bash Shell for Troubleshooting 48

Export a vCenter Server Support Bundle for Troubleshooting 48

Index 49

4 VMware, Inc.
About vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

vCenter Server Appliance Configuration provides information about configuring the vCenter Server Appliance.

Intended Audience
This information is intended for anyone who wants to use the vCenter Server Appliance. The information is
written for experienced Windows or Linux system administrators who are familiar with virtual machine
technology and data center operations.

VMware Technical Publications Glossary

VMware Technical Publications provides a glossary of terms that might be unfamiliar to you. For definitions
of terms as they are used in VMware technical documentation, go to
http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.

VMware, Inc. 5
vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

6 VMware, Inc.
Updated Information

This vCenter Server Appliance Configuration is updated with each release of the product or when necessary.

This table provides the update history of the vCenter Server Appliance Configuration.

Revision Description

EN-001666-03 n Updated topics “Use VMware Tools Time Synchronization,” on page 37, “Add or Replace NTP
Servers in the vCenter Server Appliance Configuration,” on page 37, and “Synchronize the Time in
the vCenter Server Appliance with an NTP Server,” on page 38 to add optional steps for verifying
that the commands are successfully executed and implement other minor improvements.
n Updated topic “Create a Local User Account in the vCenter Server Appliance,” on page 39 to
correct the command syntax by adding a required parameter.

EN-001666-02 Updated topic “Join the vCenter Server Appliance to an Active Directory Domain,” on page 11 to
correct the order of the steps in the procedure and implement other minor improvements.

EN-001666-01 n Updated the information in Chapter 1, “vCenter Server Appliance Overview,” on page 9 to state
that the vCenter Server Appliance can be deployed on hosts running ESXi 5.0. Included information
in the Chapter 1, “vCenter Server Appliance Overview,” on page 9 topic about the expiration
period of the password of the root user.
n Updated topic “Change the Password of the Root User,” on page 46 with information about the
expiration period of the password of the root user and how to change the expiration period.

EN-001666-00 Initial release.

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vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

8 VMware, Inc.
vCenter Server Appliance Overview 1
The vCenter Server Appliance is a preconfigured Linux-based virtual machine, which is optimized for
running vCenter Server and the associated services on Linux.

You can download the vCenter Server Appliance installer, install the VMware Client Integration Plug-In
and deploy the vCenter Server Appliance. During the deployment of the appliance, you select whether you
want to deploy vCenter Server Appliance with an external Platform Services Controller or
vCenter Server Appliance with an embedded Platform Services Controller. You can also join the
vCenter Server Appliance to the same vCenter Single Sign-On domain as another vCenter Server Appliance
or vCenter Server on Windows. See vSphere Installation and Setup.

The vCenter Server Appliance is supported on ESXi 5.0 and later. The appliance package contains the
following software:

n SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 Update 3 for VMware, 64-bit edition

n PostgreSQL database

n vCenter Server 6.0 and vCenter Server 6.0 components

n Platform Services Controller that contains all of the necessary services for running vCenter Server, such
as vCenter Single Sign-On, License service and VMware Certificate Authority.

For detailed information about the Platform Services Controller, see vSphere Installation and Setup.

The vCenter Server Appliance has the following default user names:

n root user of the appliance Linux operating system with a password that you enter during the
deployment of the virtual appliance.

IMPORTANT The password for the root account of the vCenter Server Appliance expires after 365 days.
You can change the expiry time for an account by logging as root to the vCenter Server Appliance Bash
shell, and running chage -M number_of_days -W warning_until_expiration user_name. To increase the
expiration time of the root password to infinity, run the chage -M -1 -E -1 root command.

n administrator@your_domain_name which is the vCenter Single Sign-On user with the password and
domain name that you enter during the deployment of the appliance.

In vSphere 5.5, this user was [email protected]. In vSphere 6.0, when you install
vCenter Server or deploy the vCenter Server Appliance with a new Platform Services Controller you
can change the vSphere domain. Do not name the domain name with your Microsoft Active Directory
or OpenLDAP domain name.

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vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

Initially, only the user administrator@your_domain_name has the privileges to log in to the
vCenter Server system in the vCenter Server Appliance. By default, the
administrator@your_domain_name user is a member of the SystemConfiguration.Administrators group
and can add an identity source in which additional users and groups are defined to vCenter Single
Sign-On or give permissions to the users and groups. For more information, see vSphere Security.
There are three main ways to access the vCenter Server Appliance and to edit the vCenter Server Appliance
settings:

n You can use the vSphere Web Client.

You can navigate to the system configuration settings of the vCenter Server Appliance and modify
various settings such as access, network, and firewall settings. This is the preferred way for editing the
appliance.

n You can use the appliance shell.

You can use TTY1 to log in to the console or can use SSH and run configuration, monitoring, and
troubleshooting commands in the vCenter Server Appliance.

n You can use the Direct Console User Interface.

You can use TTY2 to log in to the vCenter Server Appliance Direct Console User Interface to change the
password of the root user, configure the network settings, or enable access to the Bash shell or SSH.

10 VMware, Inc.
Configuring the
vCenter Server Appliance by Using
the vSphere Web Client 2
After you deploy the vCenter Server Appliance, you can log in to the vSphere Web Client and edit the
appliance settings.

This chapter includes the following topics:

n “Join the vCenter Server Appliance to an Active Directory Domain,” on page 11

n “Leave an Active Directory Domain,” on page 12

n “Add a User to the SystemConfiguration.BashShellAdministrators Group,” on page 13

n “Edit Access Settings to the vCenter Server Appliance,” on page 13

n “Edit the DNS and IP Address Settings of the vCenter Server Appliance,” on page 14

n “Edit the Firewall Settings of the vCenter Server Appliance,” on page 16

n “Edit the Startup Settings of a Service,” on page 17

n “Start, Stop, or Restart Services in the vCenter Server Appliance,” on page 17

n “View the Health Status of Services and Nodes,” on page 18

n “Edit the Settings of Services,” on page 18

n “Export a Support Bundle,” on page 19

n “Redirect vCenter Server Appliance Log Files to Another Machine,” on page 20

Join the vCenter Server Appliance to an Active Directory Domain

After you deploy the vCenter Server Appliance, you can log in to the vSphere Web Client and join the
vCenter Server Appliance to an Active Directory domain.

You can join only a Platform Services Controller or a vCenter Server Appliance with an embedded
Platform Services Controller to an Active Directory domain.

Prerequisites
Verify that the user name you use to log in to the vCenter Server instance in the vCenter Server Appliance is
a member of the SystemConfiguration.Administrators group in vCenter Single Sign-On.

Procedure
1 Use the vSphere Web Client to log in as administrator@your_domain_name to the vCenter Server
instance in the vCenter Server Appliance.

The address is of the type http://appliance-IP-address-or-FQDN/vsphere-client.

2 Under Deployment, click System Configuration.

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vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

3 Under System Configuration, click Nodes.

4 Under Nodes, select a node and click the Manage tab.

5 Under Advanced, select Active Directory, and click Join.

6 Type the Active Directory details.

Option Description
Domain Active Directory domain name, for example, mydomain.com. Do not
provide an IP address in this field.
Organizational unit Optional. The name of the organization unit.
IMPORTANT Use this field only if you are familiar with LDAP.
User name User name in User Principal Name (UPN) format, for example,
[email protected].
IMPORTANT Down-level login name format, for example,
DOMAIN\UserName, is unsupported.
Password Password of the user.

7 Click OK to join the vCenter Server Appliance to the Active Directory domain.

The operation silently succeeds and you can see that the Join button turned to Leave.

8 Right-click the node you edited and select Reboot to restart the appliance so that the changes are
applied.

IMPORTANT If you do not restart the appliance, you might encounter problems when using the
vSphere Web Client.

9 Navigate to Administration > Single Sign-On > Configuration.

10 On the Identity Sources tab, click the Add Identity Source icon.

11 Select Active Directory (Integrated Windows Authentication), enter the identity source settings of the
joined Active Directory domain, and click OK.

On the Identity Sources tab, you can see the joined Active Directory domain.

What to do next
You can configure permissions for users and groups from the joined Active Directory domain to access the
vCenter Server components. For example, to enable a user from the joined Active Directory domain to log in
to the vCenter Server instance in the vCenter Server Appliance by using Windows session authentication,
you must add a permission and assign the Administrator role to this user. For information about managing
permissions, see the vSphere Security documentation.

Leave an Active Directory Domain

After you joined the vCenter Server Appliance, you can log in to the vSphere Web Client and set up the
vCenter Server Appliance to leave the Active Directory domain.

Prerequisites
Verify that the user name you use to log in to the vCenter Server instance in the vCenter Server Appliance is
a member of the SystemConfiguration.Administrators group in vCenter Single Sign-On.

Procedure
1 Use the vSphere Web Client to log in as administrator@your_domain_name to the vCenter Server
instance in the vCenter Server Appliance.

The address is of the type http://appliance-IP-address-or-FQDN/vsphere-client.

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 Chapter 2 Configuring the vCenter Server Appliance by Using the vSphere Web Client

2 On the vSphere Web Client Home page, click System Configuration.

3 Under System Configuration, click Nodes.

4 Under Nodes, select a node and click the Manage tab.

5 Under Advanced, select Active Directory and click Leave.

6 Type the Active Directory user name and password.

7 Click OK to leave the Active Directory domain.

8 Click the Actions menu, and select Reboot to restart the appliance so that the changes are applied.

Add a User to the SystemConfiguration.BashShellAdministrators

Group
To enable access to the vCenter Server Appliance Bash shell by using the vSphere Web Client, the user you
use to log in must be a member of the SystemConfiguration.BashShellAdministrators group. By default, this
group is empty and you must add a user to the group manually.

Prerequisites
Verify that the user you use to log in to the vCenter Server instance is a member of the
SystemConfiguration.Administrators group in the vCenter Single Sign-On domain.

Procedure
1 Use the vSphere Web Client to log in as administrator@your_domain_name to the vCenter Server
instance in the vCenter Server Appliance.

The address is of the type http://appliance-IP-address-or-FQDN/vsphere-client.

2 Click Administration.

3 Under Single Sign-On, click Users and Groups.

4 On the Groups tab, select the SystemConfiguration.BashShellAdministrators group.

5 In the Group Members pane click the Add member icon.

6 Double-click users from the list or type names in the Users text box.

7 Click OK.

Edit Access Settings to the vCenter Server Appliance

You can use the vSphere Web Client to enable local and remote access to the appliance.

Prerequisites
Verify that the user name you use to log in to the vCenter Server instance in the vCenter Server Appliance is
a member of the SystemConfiguration.Administrators group in vCenter Single Sign-On.

To enable access to the vCenter Server Appliance Bash shell, verify that the user name you use to log in to
the vCenter Server instance in the vCenter Server Appliance is a member of the
SystemConfiguration.BashShellAdministrators group. For information about adding a user to the
SystemConfiguration.BashShellAdministrators group, see “Add a User to the
SystemConfiguration.BashShellAdministrators Group,” on page 13.

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vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

Procedure
1 Use the vSphere Web Client to log in as administrator@your_domain_name to the vCenter Server
instance in the vCenter Server Appliance.

The address is of the type http://appliance-IP-address-or-FQDN/vsphere-client.

2 On the vSphere Web Client Home page, click System Configuration.

3 Under System Configuration, click Nodes.

4 Under Nodes, select a node and click the Manage tab.

5 Under Common, select Access and click Edit.

6 Select how you can access the vCenter Server Appliance.

Option Description
Enable local login Enables local login to the vCenter Server Appliance console.
Enable SSH login Enables SSH access to the vCenter Server Appliance.
Enable Bash shell access Enables Bash shell access to the vCenter Server Appliance for the number
of minutes that you enter.
This option is available only when the user name you use to log in to the
vCenter Server instance in the vCenter Server Appliance is a member of
the SystemConfiguration.BashShellAdministrators group.

7 Click OK to save the settings.

Edit the DNS and IP Address Settings of the vCenter Server Appliance
After you deploy the vCenter Server Appliance, you can edit the DNS settings and specify which DNS
server to use. You can also edit the IP address settings of the vCenter Server Appliance, specify whether to
use IPv4 and IPv6 or only IPv6, and how the appliance obtains the IP address.

You can edit these settings by using the vSphere Web Client.

Prerequisites
Verify that the user name you use to log in to the vCenter Server instance in the vCenter Server Appliance is
a member of the SystemConfiguration.Administrators group in vCenter Single Sign-On.

Procedure
1 Use the vSphere Web Client to log in as administrator@your_domain_name to the vCenter Server
instance in the vCenter Server Appliance.

The address is of the type http://appliance-IP-address-or-FQDN/vsphere-client.

2 On the vSphere Web Client Home page, click System Configuration.

3 Under System Configuration, click Nodes.

4 Under Nodes, select a node and click the Manage tab.

5 Under Common , select Networking, and click Edit.

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 Chapter 2 Configuring the vCenter Server Appliance by Using the vSphere Web Client

6 Expand DNS and edit the settings.

Option Description
Obtain DNS server address Obtains the DNS settings automatically from the network.
automatically
Enter settings manually Lets you specify the DNS address settings manually. If you select this
option, you must provide:
n Hostname

Name of the vCenter Server Appliance machine.

n Preferred DNS server

IP address of the preferred DNS server.

n Alternate DNS server

IP address of the alternate DNS server.

n Search domains

Restricts the domain when looking up an address. Domains that you

type, are searched in the order you list them, and the search stops
when a valid name is found.

7 Expand the network interface name to edit the IP address settings.

8 Edit the IPv4 address settings.

Option Description
No IPv4 settings Disables the IPv4 address. The appliance uses only IPv6 address.
Obtain IPv4 settings automatically Obtains the IPv4 address for the appliance automatically from the
network .
Use the following IPv4 settings Uses an IPv4 address that you set up manually. You must type the IP
address, subnet prefix length, and the default gateway.

9 Edit the IPv6 settings.

Option Description

Obtain IPv6 settings automatically Assigns IPv6 addresses to the appliance automatically from the network by
through DHCP using DHCP.

Obtain IPv6 settings automatically Assigns IPv6 addresses to the appliance automatically from the network by
through Router Advertisement using router advertisement.

Static IPv6 addresses Uses static IPv6 addresses that you set up manually.
1 Click the Add icon .
2 Enter the IPv6 address and the subnet prefix length.
3 Click OK.
4 (Optional) Edit the default gateway.

You can configure the appliance to obtain the IPv6 settings automatically through both DHCP and
router advertisement. You can assign static IPv6 address at the same time.

10 (Optional) Delete a dynamic IPv6 address.

a Click Remove addresses.

b Select the IP address to delete and click the Delete icon ( ).

c Click OK.

11 Click OK to save your edits.

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vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

Edit the Firewall Settings of the vCenter Server Appliance

After you deploy the vCenter Server Appliance, you can edit the firewall settings of the
vCenter Server Appliance and can create firewall rules. You can edit the firewall settings by using the
vSphere Web Client.

By using the firewall rules, you can allow or block the traffic between the vCenter Server Appliance and
specific servers, hosts, or virtual machines. You cannot block specific ports, you block all of the traffic.

Prerequisites
Verify that the user name you use to log in to the vCenter Server instance in the vCenter Server Appliance is
a member of the SystemConfiguration.Administrators group in vCenter Single Sign-On.

Procedure
1 Use the vSphere Web Client to log in as administrator@your_domain_name to the vCenter Server
instance in the vCenter Server Appliance.

The address is of the type http://appliance-IP-address-or-FQDN/vsphere-client.

2 On the vSphere Web Client Home page, click System Configuration.

3 Under System Configuration, click Nodes.

4 Under Nodes, select a node and click the Manage tab.

5 Under Advanced, select Firewall and click Edit.

6 Edit the firewall settings.

Option Action
Add a firewall rule a Click the Add icon ( ) to create a new firewall rule.
b Select a network interface of the virtual machine .
c Type an IP address of the network to apply this rule on.

The IP address can be IPv4 and IPv6 address.

d Type a subnet prefix length.
e From the Action drop-down menu, select whether to block or to allow
the connection between the vCenter Server Appliance and the network
that you specified.
f Click OK.
Edit a firewall rule a Click the Edit icon ( ) to edit a firewall rule.
b Edit the settings of the rule.
c Click OK.
Prioritize the rules a Click the down or up arrows to move a rule downwards or upwards
in the list of rules.
Delete a firewall rule a Select a rule from the list, and click the Delete icon ( ).
b Click OK.

7 Click OK to save your edits.

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 Chapter 2 Configuring the vCenter Server Appliance by Using the vSphere Web Client

Edit the Startup Settings of a Service

The Message Bus Configuration, ESXi Dump Collector, and Auto Deploy services are optional services in
the vCenter Server Appliance and they are not running by default. You can edit the startup settings of these
services in the vCenter Server Appliance.

Prerequisites
Verify that the user name you use to log in to the vCenter Server instance in the vCenter Server Appliance is
a member of the SystemConfiguration.Administrators group in vCenter Single Sign-On.

Procedure
1 Use the vSphere Web Client to log in as administrator@your_domain_name to the vCenter Server
instance in the vCenter Server Appliance.

The address is of the type http://appliance-IP-address-or-FQDN/vsphere-client.

2 On the vSphere Web Client Home page, click System Configuration.

3 Under System Configuration click Nodes and select a node from the list.

4 Click the Related Objects tab.

You see the list of services running in the node you selected.

5 Right-click a service, such as Auto Deploy, ESXi Dump Collector, or Message Bus Configuration
Service, and select Edit Startup Type.

6 Select how the service should start.

Option Description
Automatic The service starts automatically when the Operating System starts.
Manual The service should be started manually after the Operating System starts.
Disabled The service is disabled.

7 Click OK.

Start, Stop, or Restart Services in the vCenter Server Appliance

In the vSphere Web Client, you can start, stop, or restart the services that are running in the
vCenter Server Appliance.

Prerequisites
Verify that the user you use to log in to the vCenter Server instance is a member of the
SystemConfiguration.Administrators group in the vCenter Single Sign-On domain.

Procedure
1 Log in as administrator@your_domain_name to the vCenter Server instance in the
vCenter Server Appliance by using the vSphere Web Client.

2 On the vSphere Web Client Home page, click System Configuration.

3 Under System Configuration click Nodes and select a node from the list.

4 Click the Related Objects tab.

You see a list of services running in the node you selected.

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vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

5 From the Actions menu, select an operation.

You can start, stop, and restart the service.

View the Health Status of Services and Nodes

In the vSphere Web Client, you can view the health status of vCenter Server services and nodes.

vCenter Server instances and machines that run vCenter Server services are considered nodes. Graphical
badges represent the health status of services and nodes.

Prerequisites
Verify that the user you use to log in to the vCenter Server instance is a member of the
SystemConfiguration.Administrators group in the vCenter Single Sign-On domain.

Procedure
1 Log in as administrator@your_domain_name to the vCenter Server instance by using the
vSphere Web Client.

2 On the vSphere Web Client Home page, click System Configuration.

You can view the health status badges for the services and nodes.

Table 2‑1. Health States

Badge Icon Description

Good. The health of the object is normal.

Warning. The object is experiencing some

problems.

Critical. The object is either not functioning

properly or will stop functioning soon.

Unknown. No data is available for this

object.

3 (Optional) In the Services Health and Nodes Health panes, click the hyperlink next to the health badge
to view all services and nodes in this health state.

For example, in the Services Health pane, click the hyperlink of the Warning health status, and in the
dialog box that pops up, select a service to view more information about the service and attempt to
resolve the health issues of the service.

Edit the Settings of Services

The vSphere Web Client lists all manageable services running on vCenter Server. You can edit the settings
for some of the services.

The vSphere Web Client displays information about all manageable services running in vCenter Server and
the vCenter Server Appliance. A list of the default services is available for each vCenter Server instance.

Prerequisites
Verify that the user you use to log in to the vCenter Server instance is a member of the
SystemConfiguration.Administrators group in the vCenter Single Sign-On domain.

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 Chapter 2 Configuring the vCenter Server Appliance by Using the vSphere Web Client

Procedure
1 Log in as administrator@your_domain_name to the vCenter Server instance by using the
vSphere Web Client.

2 On the vSphere Web Client Home page, under Administration, click System Configuration.
3 Under System Configuration click Nodes and select a node from the list.

4 Click the Related Objects tab.

You see the list of services running in the node you selected. Editable settings are not available for all
manageable services.

5 Right-click a service from the list and click Settings.

Editable settings are not available for all manageable services.

6 On the Manage tab click the Edit button.

7 Edit the service configuration properties.

8 Click OK to save the settings.

9 (Optional) From the Actions menu, select Restart.

You should restart the service only if a restart of the service is required so that the configuration
changes are applied.

Export a Support Bundle

If you have deployed the vCenter Server Appliance with an embedded Platform Services Controller, you
can export a support bundle containing the log files for a specific product included in the
vCenter Server Appliance or for a specific service in the Platform Services Controller. If you have deployed
the vCenter Server Appliance with an external Platform Services Controller, you can export support bundles
for specific services or for specific products, depending on the node that you select in the
vSphere Web Client.

Prerequisites
Verify that the user name you use to log in to the vCenter Server instance in the vCenter Server Appliance is
a member of the SystemConfiguration.Administrators group in vCenter Single Sign-On.

Procedure
1 Use the vSphere Web Client to log in as administrator@your_domain_name to the vCenter Server
instance in the vCenter Server Appliance.

The address is of the type http://appliance-IP-address-or-FQDN/vsphere-client.

2 On the vSphere Web Client Home page, click System Configuration.

3 Under System Configuration, click Nodes.

4 Select a node from the list.

5 Click the Actions menu and select Export Support Bundle.

6 In the Export Support Bundle window, expand the trees to view the services running in the appliance
and deselect the services for which you do not want to export log files.

All of the services are selected by default. If you want to export the support bundle and send it to
VMware Support, leave all check boxes selected. The services are separated in two categories: a Cloud
infrastructure category, which contains the services of specific products in the appliance, and a Virtual
appliance category, which contains the services specific for the appliance and the vCenter Server
product.

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vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

7 Click the Export Support Bundle and save the bundle on your local machine.

You saved the support bundle to your machine and can explore it.

Redirect vCenter Server Appliance Log Files to Another Machine

You can redirect the vCenter Server Appliance log files to another machine for example, when you want to
preserve storage space on the vCenter Server Appliance.

Prerequisites
Verify that the user you use to log in to the vCenter Server instance is a member of the
SystemConfiguration.Administrators group in the vCenter Single Sign-On domain.

Procedure
1 Log in as administrator@your_domain_name to the vCenter Server instance in the
vCenter Server Appliance by using the vSphere Web Client.

2 On the vSphere Web Client Home page, click System Configuration.

3 Under System Configuration click Nodes and select a node from the list.

4 Click the Related Objects tab.

You see a list of services running in the node you selected.

5 Right-click VMware Syslog Service and select Settings.

6 Click Edit.

7 From the Common Log Level drop-down menu select the log files to redirect.

Option Description
* All log files are redirected to the remote machine.
info Only informational log files are redirected to the remote machine.
notice Only notices are redirected to the remote machine.
Notice indicates normal but significant condition.
warn Only warnings are redirected to the remote machine.
error Only error messages are redirected to the remote machine.
crit Only critical log files are redirected to the remote machine.
alert Only alerts are redirected to the remote machine.
Alert indicates that action must be taken immediately.
emerg Only emergency log files are redirected to the remote machine.
Emergency indicates that the system stopped responding and cannot be
used.

8 In the Remote Syslog Host text box, enter the FQDN or IP address of the machine on which you want
to export the log files.

9 In the Remote Syslog Port text box enter the port number to use for communication with the machine
on which you want to export the log files.

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 Chapter 2 Configuring the vCenter Server Appliance by Using the vSphere Web Client

10 From the Remote Syslog Protocol drop-down select the protocol to use.

Option Description
TCP Transmission Control Protocol
UDP User Datagram Protocol
TLS Transport Layer Security

11 Click OK.

12 From the Actions menu, click Restart so that the configuration changes are applied.

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vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

22 VMware, Inc.
Configuring the
vCenter Server Appliance by Using
the Appliance Shell 3
You can access all of the vCenter Server Appliance API commands and plug-ins that you can use for
monitoring, troubleshooting, and configuring the appliance by using the appliance shell.

You can run all commands in the appliance shell with or without the pi keyword.

This chapter includes the following topics:

n “Access the Appliance Shell,” on page 23

n “Enable Bash Shell Access From the Appliance Shell,” on page 24

n “Keyboard Shortcuts for Editing Commands,” on page 24

n “Get Help About the Plug-Ins and API Commands in the Appliance,” on page 25

n “Plug-Ins in the vCenter Server Appliance Shell,” on page 25

n “API Commands in the vCenter Server Appliance Shell,” on page 26

n “Browse the Log Files by Using the showlog Plug-In,” on page 30

n “Configuring SNMP for the vCenter Server Appliance,” on page 30

n “Configuring Time Synchronization Settings in the vCenter Server Appliance,” on page 37

n “Managing Local User Accounts in the vCenter Server Appliance,” on page 39

n “Monitoring Hardware Health Status and Statistics in the vCenter Server Appliance,” on page 41

n “Using the vimtop Plug-In to Monitor the Resource Usage of Services,” on page 41

Access the Appliance Shell

To access the plug-ins included in the appliance shell and to be able to see and use all of the API commands,
first access the appliance shell.

Procedure
1 Access the appliance shell.

n If you have direct access to the appliance console, press Alt+F1.

n If you want to connect remotely, use SSH or another remote console connection to start a session to
the appliance.

2 Enter a user name and password recognized by the appliance.

You are logged in to the appliance shell and can see the welcome message.

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vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

Enable Bash Shell Access From the Appliance Shell

If you log in to the appliance shell as a user who has a super administrator role, you can enable access to the
Bash shell of the appliance, by using the appliance shell.

Procedure
1 Access the appliance shell and log in as a user who has a super administrator role.

The default user with a super administrator role is root.

2 Run the command to enable access the Bash shell.

shell.set --enabled true

3 To access the Bash shell run shell or pi shell.

Keyboard Shortcuts for Editing Commands

You can use various keyboard shortcuts to enter and edit commands in the appliance Bash shell.

Table 3‑1. Keyboard Shortcuts and Function

Keyboard Shortcut Details

Tab Completes the current command. If you enter a part of the command name and press
the Tab key, the system completes the command name.
To view the commands that match a set of characters that you enter, type a character
and press the Tab key.

Enter (at the command line) Runs the command that you entered.

Enter (at the --More-- prompt) Displays the next page of output.

Delete or Backspace Deletes the character that is on the left of the cursor.

Left arrow or Ctrl+B Moves the cursor one character to the left.
When you enter a command that extends beyond a single line, you can press the Left
Arrow or Ctrl-B keys to go back to the beginning of the command.

Right arrow or Ctrl+F Moves the cursor one character to the right.

Esc, B Moves the cursor one word back.

Esc, F Moves the cursor one word forward.

Ctrl+A Moves the cursor to the beginning of the command line.

Ctrl+E Moves the cursor to the end of the command line.

Ctrl+D Deletes the character on which the cursor is.

Ctrl+W Deletes the word next to the cursor.

Ctrl+K Deletes the line forward. When you press Ctrl+K, everything that you entered starting
from the character on which the cursor is till the end of the command line is deleted.

Ctrl+U or Ctrl+X Deletes the line backward. When you press Ctrl+U, everything from the beginning of
the command line till the character on which the cursor is deleted.

Ctrl+T Changes the places of the character to the left of the cursor with the character on
which the cursor is.

Ctrl+R or Ctrl+L Displays the system prompt and command line.

Ctrl+V or Esc, Q Inserts a code to indicate to the system that the following keystroke must be treated as
a command entry, not as an editing key.

Up arrow, or Ctrl+P Recalls commands in the history buffer, beginning with the most recent command.

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Table 3‑1. Keyboard Shortcuts and Function (Continued)

Keyboard Shortcut Details

Down arrow or Ctrl+N Returns to more recent commands in the history buffer after you use the Up arrow or
Ctrl+P to recall commands.

Ctrl+Y Recalls the most recent entry in the delete buffer. The delete buffer contains the last
ten items you have cut or deleted.

Esc, Y Recalls the next entry in the delete buffer. The delete buffer contains the last ten items
you have cut or deleted. Press Ctrl+Y first to recall the most recent entry, and then
press Esc, Y up to nine times to recall the remaining entries in the buffer.

Esc, C Capitalizes the character on which the cursor is.

Esc, U Changes the casing for all characters in the word on which the cursor is, up to the next
space, to uppercase.

Esc, L Changes the capitalized letters in a word from the character on which the cursor is till
the end of the word to lowercase.

Get Help About the Plug-Ins and API Commands in the Appliance
You can access the vCenter Server Appliance plug-ins and API commands from the appliance shell. You can
use the plug-ins and commands for monitoring, troubleshooting, and configuring the appliance.

You can use the Tab key to autocomplete API commands, plug-in names, and API parameters. Plug-in
parameters do not support autocompletion.

Procedure
1 Access the appliance shell and log in.

2 To get help about the plug-ins, run the help pi list or the ? pi list command.

You receive a list with all of the plug-ins in the appliance.

3 To get help about the API commands, run the help api list or the ? api list command.

You receive a list with all of the API commands in the appliance.

4 To get help about a particular API command, run the help api api_name or the ? api api_name
command.

For example, to receive help about the com.vmware.appliance.version1.timesync.set command, run

help api timesync.set or ? api timesync.set.

Plug-Ins in the vCenter Server Appliance Shell

The plug-ins in the vCenter Server Appliance provide you with access to various administrative tools. The
plug-ins reside in the CLI itself. The plug-ins are standalone Linux or VMware utilities, which do not
depend on any VMware service.

Table 3‑2. Plug-Ins Available in the vCenter Server Appliance

Plug-In Description

com.vmware.clear A plug-in that you can use to clear the terminal screen.

com.vmware.dcli vAPI based CLI client.

com.vmware.nslookup A plug-in that you can use to query the Domain Name
System (DNS) to obtain domain name or IP address
mapping or for any other specific DNS record.

com.vmware.ntpq A standard NTP query program.

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vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

Table 3‑2. Plug-Ins Available in the vCenter Server Appliance (Continued)

Plug-In Description

com.vmware.pgrep A plug-in that you can use to search for all named
processes.

com.vmware.pgtop A plug-in that you can use to monitor the PostgreSQL

database.

com.vmware.ping A plug-in that you can use to ping a remote host. Accepts
the same arguments as bin/ping.

com.vmware.ping6 A plug-in that you can use to ping a remote host. Accepts
the same arguments as bin/ping6.

com.vmware.portaccess A plug-in that you can use to troubleshoot the port access
of a host.

com.vmware.ps A plug-in that you can use to see statistics on running

processes.

com.vmware.rvc Ruby vSphere Console

com.vmware.service-control A plug-in that you can use to manage VMware services.

com.vmware.shell A plug-in that allows access to the appliance Bash shell.

com.vmware.showlog A plug-in that you can use to browse the log files.

com.vmware.shutdown A plug-in that you can use to restart or power off the
appliance.

com.vmware.software-packages A plug-in that you can use to update the software packages
in the appliance.

com.vmware.support-bundle A plug-in that you can use to create a bundle on the local
file system and export it to a remote Linux system. If you
use the plug-in with the stream command, the support
bundle is not created on the local file system, but is directly
exported to the remote Linux system.

com.vmware.top A plug-in that displays process information. Accepts the

same arguments as /usr/bin/top/.

com.vmware.tracepath A plug-in that traces path to a network host. Accepts the

same arguments as /sbin/tracepath.

com.vmware.tracepath6 A plug-in that traces path to a network host. Accepts the

same arguments as /sbin/tracepath6.

com.vmware.vimtop A plug-in that you can use to view a list of vSphere

services and their resource usage.

API Commands in the vCenter Server Appliance Shell

The API commands in the vCenter Server Appliance let you perform various administrative tasks in the
vCenter Server Appliance. The API commands are provided by appliance management service in the
vCenter Server Appliance. You can edit time synchronization settings, monitor processes and services, set
up the SNMP settings, and so on.

Table 3‑3. API Commands Available in the vCenter Server Appliance

API Command Description

com.vmware.appliance.version1.access.consolecli.get Get information about the state of the

console-based controlled CLI (TTY1).

com.vmware.appliance.version1.access.consolecli.set Set enabled state of console-based

controlled CLI (TTY1).

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Table 3‑3. API Commands Available in the vCenter Server Appliance (Continued)
API Command Description

com.vmware.appliance.version1.access.dcui.get Get information about the state of the

Direct Console User Interface (DCUI
TTY2).

com.vmware.appliance.version1.access.dcui.set Set enabled state of the Direct Console

User Interface (DCUI TTY2).

com.vmware.appliance.version1.access.shell.get Get information about the state of Bash

shell, that is, access to Bash shell from
within the controlled CLI.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.access.shell.set Set enabled state of Bash shell, that is,

access to Bash shell from within the
controlled CLI.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.access.ssh.get Get enabled state of the SSH-based

controlled CLI.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.access.ssh.set Set enabled state of the SSH-based

controlled CLI.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.localaccounts.user.add Create a new local user account.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.localaccounts.user.delete Delete a local user account.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.localaccounts.user.get Get the local user account information.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.localaccounts.user.list List local user accounts .

com.vmware.appliance.version1.localaccounts.user.password.updat Update the password of a logged in

e user or of the user that you specify in
the username parameter.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.localaccounts.user.set Update local user account properties,

such as role, full name, enabled status,
and password.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.monitoring.snmp.disable Stop an enabled SNMP agent.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.monitoring.snmp.enable Start a disabled SNMP agent.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.monitoring.snmp.get Return an SNMP agent configuration.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.monitoring.snmp.hash Generate localized keys for secure

SNMPv3 communications.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.monitoring.snmp.limits Get SNMP limits information.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.monitoring.snmp.reset Restore settings to factory defaults.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.monitoring.snmp.set Set SNMP configuration.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.monitoring.snmp.test Send a warmStart notification to all

configured traps and inform
destinations (see RFC 3418).

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.dns.domains.add Add domains to DNS search domains.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.dns.domains.list Get a list of DNS search domains.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.dns.domains.set Set DNS search domains.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.dns.hostname.get Get the Fully Qualified Domain Name.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.dns.hostname.set Set the Fully Qualified Domain Name.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.dns.servers.add Add a DNS server. This method fails if

you use DHCP.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.dns.servers.get Get DNS server configuration.

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Table 3‑3. API Commands Available in the vCenter Server Appliance (Continued)
API Command Description

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.dns.servers.set Set the DNS server configuration. If

the host is configured to acquire DNS
servers and host name by using
DHCP, a DHCP refresh is forced.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.firewall.addr.inbound. Add a firewall rule to allow or deny

add access from an incoming IP address.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.firewall.addr.inbound. Delete a specific rule at a given

delete position or delete all rules.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.firewall.addr.inbound. Get an ordered list of inbound IP

list addresses that are allowed or denied
by a firewall rule .

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.interfaces.get Get information about a particular

network interface.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.interfaces.list Get a list of available network

interfaces, including those that are not
yet configured.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.ipv4.get Get IPv4 network configuration for

interfaces.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.ipv4.list Get IPv4 network configuration for all

configured interfaces.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.ipv4.renew Renew IPv4 network configuration on

interfaces. If the interface is configured
to use DHCP for IP address
assignment, the lease of the interface
will be renewed.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.ipv4.set Set IPv4 network configuration for an

interface.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.ipv6.get Get IPv6 network configuration for

interfaces.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.ipv6.list Get IPv6 network configuration for all

configured interfaces.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.ipv6.set Set IPv6 network configuration for an

interface.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.routes.add Add static routing rules. A

destination/prefix of the type 0.0.0.0/0
(for IPv4) or ::/0 (for IPv6) refers to the
default gateway.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.routes.delete Delete static routing rules.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.routes.list Get routing table. A destination/prefix

of the type 0.0.0.0/0 (for IPv4) or ::/0
(for IPv6) refers to the default
gateway.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.proxy.delete Delete the proxy configuration for a

protocol that you provide as input.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.proxy.get Get proxy configuration information

for all protocols.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.networking.proxy.set Set proxy configuration for a protocol

that you provide as input.

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Table 3‑3. API Commands Available in the vCenter Server Appliance (Continued)
API Command Description

com.vmware.appliance.version1.ntp.get Get NTP configuration settings. If you

run the tymesync.get command, you
can retrieve the current time
synchronization method (by using
NTP or VMware Tools) . The ntp.get
command always returns the NTP
server information, even when the
time synchronization method is not set
to NTP. If time synchronization
method is not set by using NTP, the
NTP status is displayed as down.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.ntp.server.add Add NTP servers. This command adds

NTP servers to the configuration. If the
time synchronization is NTP-based,
then NTP daemon is restarted to
reload the new NTP servers.
Otherwise, this command just adds
servers to the NTP configuration.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.ntp.server.delete Delete NTP servers. This command

deletes NTP servers from the
configuration. If the time
synchronization mode is NTP-based,
the NTP daemon is restarted to reload
the new NTP configuration.
Otherwise, this command just deletes
servers from the NTP configuration.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.ntp.server.set Set NTP servers. This command

deletes old NTP servers from the
configuration and sets the input NTP
servers in the configuration. If the time
synchronization is set by using NTP,
the NTP daemon is restarted to reload
the new NTP configuration.
Otherwise, this command just replaces
the servers in NTP configuration with
the NTP servers that you provide as
input.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.resources.cpu.stats.get Get CPU statistics.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.resources.load.health.get Get load health .

com.vmware.appliance.version1.resources.load.stats.get Get load averages (over 1, 5, and 15

minute intervals).

com.vmware.appliance.version1.resources.mem.health.get Get memory health.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.resources.mem.stats.get Get memory statistics.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.resources.net.stats.get Get network statistics.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.resources.net.stats.list Get network statistics for all interfaces

that are up and running.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.resources.processes.stats.list Get statistics on all processes.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.resources.storage.health.get Get storage health statistics.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.resources.storage.stats.list Get storage statistics for each logical

disk.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.resources.swap.health.get Get swap health.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.resources.swap.stats.get Get swap statistics.

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Table 3‑3. API Commands Available in the vCenter Server Appliance (Continued)
API Command Description

com.vmware.appliance.version1.resources.system.health.get Get the overall health of the system.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.resources.system.stats.get Get the system status.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.resources.system.time.get Get the system time.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.services.list Get list of all known services.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.services.restart Restart a service.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.services.status.get Get the status of a service.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.services.stop Stop a service.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.system.version.get Get the version of the appliance.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.timesync.get Get the time synchronization

configuration.

com.vmware.appliance.version1.timesync.set Set the time synchronization

configuration.

Browse the Log Files by Using the showlog Plug-In

You can browse the log files in the vCenter Server Appliance to examine them for errors.

Procedure
1 Access the appliance shell and log in.

2 Type the showlog command, add a space, and press the Tab key to view all the contents of the /var/log
folder.

3 Run the command for viewing the firstboot log files of the vCenter Server Appliance.

showlog /var/log/firstboot/cloudvm.log

Configuring SNMP for the vCenter Server Appliance

The vCenter Server Appliance includes an SNMP agent that can send trap notifications and receive GET,
GETBULK, and GETNEXT requests.

You can use the appliance shell API commands to enable and configure the vCenter Server Appliance
SNMP agent. You configure the agent differently depending on whether you want to use SNMP v1/v2c or
SNMP v3.

In vSphere 6.0 SNMP v3 informs are not supported. The vCenter Server Appliance supports only
notifications such as v1 and v2c traps, as well as v3 traps with all security levels.

Configure the SNMP Agent for Polling

If you configure the vCenter Server Appliance SNMP agent for polling, it can listen for and respond to
requests from SNMP management client systems, such as GET, GETNEXT, and GETBULK requests.

By default, the embedded SNMP agent listens on UDP port 161 for polling requests from management
systems. You can use the snmp.set --port command to configure an alternative port. To avoid conflicts
between the port for the SNMP agent and the ports of other services, use a UDP port that is not defined
in /etc/services.

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Procedure
1 Access the appliance shell and log in as a user who has the administrator or super administrator role.

The default user with super administrator role is root.

2 Run the snmp.set --port command to configure the port.

For example, run the following command:

snmp.set --port port

Here port is the port for the SNMP agent to use for listening for polling requests.

IMPORTANT The port you specify must not be already in use by other services. Use IP addresses from
the dynamic range, port 49152 and up.

3 (Optional) If the SNMP agent is not enabled, enable it by running the snmp.enable command.

Configure the vCenter Server Appliance for SNMP v1 and v2c

When you configure the vCenter Server Appliance SNMP agent for SNMP v1 and v2c, the agent supports
sending notifications and receiving GET requests.

In SNMP v1 and v2c, community strings are namespaces that contain one or more managed objects.
Namespaces can act as a form for authentication, but this does not secure the communication. To secure the
communication, use SNMP v3.

Procedure
1 Configure SNMP Communities on page 31
To enable the vCenter Server Appliance SNMP agent to send and receive SNMP v1 and v2c messages,
you must configure at least one community for the agent.

2 Configure the SNMP Agent to Send v1 or v2c Notifications on page 32

You can use the vCenter Server Appliance SNMP agent to send virtual machine and environmental
notifications to management systems.

Configure SNMP Communities

To enable the vCenter Server Appliance SNMP agent to send and receive SNMP v1 and v2c messages, you
must configure at least one community for the agent.
An SNMP community defines a group of devices and management systems. Only devices and management
systems that are members of the same community can exchange SNMP messages. A device or management
system can be a member of multiple communities.

Procedure
1 Access the appliance shell and log in as a user who has the administrator or super administrator role.

The default user with super administrator role is root.

2 Run the snmp.set --communities command to configure an SNMP community.

For example, to configure public, east, and west network operation center communities, run the
following command:

snmp.set --communities public,eastnoc,westnoc

Each time you specify a community with this command, the settings you specify overwrite the previous
configuration.

To specify multiple communities, separate the community names with a comma.

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vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

Configure the SNMP Agent to Send v1 or v2c Notifications

You can use the vCenter Server Appliance SNMP agent to send virtual machine and environmental
notifications to management systems.

To send SNMP v1 and v2c notifications with the SNMP agent, you must configure the target, that is the
receiver, unicast address, community, and an optional port. If you do not specify a port, the SNMP agent
sends notifications to UDP port 162 on the target management system by default.

Procedure
1 Access the appliance shell and log in as a user who has the administrator or super administrator role.

The default user with super administrator role is root.

2 Run the snmp.set --targets command:

snmp.set --targets target_address@port/community

Here target_address, port, and community are the address of the target system, the port number to send
the notifications to, and the community name, respectively. The port value is optional. If you do not
specify a port, the default port,161, is used.

Each time you specify a target with this command, the settings you specify overwrite all previously
specified settings. To specify multiple targets, separate them with a comma.

For example, run the following command for configuring the targets 192.0.2.1@678/targetcommunity
and 2001:db8::1/anothercom:

snmp.set --targets 192.0.2.1@678/targetcommunity,2001:db8::1/anothercom

3 (Optional) If the SNMP agent is not enabled, enable it by running the snmp.enable command.

4 (Optional) To send a test trap to verify that the agent is configured correctly, run the snmp.test
command.

The agent sends a warmStart trap to the configured target.

Configure vCenter Server Appliance for SNMP v3

When you configure the SNMP agent for SNMP v3, the agent supports sending traps. SNMP v3 also
provides stronger security than v1 or v2c, including cryptographic authentication and encryption.

In vSphere 6.0 SNMP v3 informs are not supported. The vCenter Server Appliance supports only
notifications such as v1/v2c traps and v3 traps with all security levels.

Procedure
1 Configure the SNMP Engine ID on page 33
Every SNMP v3 agent has an engine ID, which serves as a unique identifier for the agent. The engine
ID is used with a hashing function to generate localized keys for authentication and encryption of
SNMP v3 messages.

2 Configure SNMP Authentication and Privacy Protocols on page 33

SNMP v3 optionally supports authentication and privacy protocols.

3 Configure SNMP Users on page 34

You can configure up to five users who can access SNMP v3 information. User names must be no
more than 32 characters long.

4 Configure SNMP v3 Targets on page 34

Configure SNMP v3 targets to allow the SNMP agent to send SNMP v3 traps.

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Configure the SNMP Engine ID

Every SNMP v3 agent has an engine ID, which serves as a unique identifier for the agent. The engine ID is
used with a hashing function to generate localized keys for authentication and encryption of SNMP v3
messages.

If you do not specify an engine ID before you enable the SNMP agent, when you enable the standalone
SNMP agent, an engine ID is generated.

Procedure
1 Access the appliance shell and log in as a user who has the administrator or super administrator role.

The default user with super administrator role is root.

2 Run the snmp.set --engineid command to configure the target.

For example, run the following command:

snmp.set --engineid 80001adc802417e202b8613f5400000000

Here, 80001adc802417e202b8613f5400000000 is the ID, a hexadecimal string between 5 and 32 characters

in length.

Configure SNMP Authentication and Privacy Protocols

SNMP v3 optionally supports authentication and privacy protocols.

Authentication is used to ensure the identity of users. Privacy allows for encryption of SNMP v3 messages
to ensure confidentiality of data. The privacy protocols provide a higher level of security than is available in
SNMP v1 and v2c, which use community strings for security.

Both authentication and privacy are optional. However, you must enable authentication if you plan to
enable privacy.

The SNMP v3 authentication and privacy protocols are licensed vSphere features and might not be available
in some vSphere editions.

Procedure
1 Access the appliance shell and log in as a user who has the administrator or super administrator role.

The default user with super administrator role is root.

2 (Optional) Run the snmp.set --authentication command to configure authentication.

For example, run the following command:

snmp.set --authentication protocol

Here, protocol must be either none, for no authentication,SHA1, or MD5.

3 (Optional) Run the snmp.set --privacy command to configure privacy protocol.

For example, run the following command:

snmp.set --privacy protocol

Here, protocol must be either none, for no privacy, or AES128.

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vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

Configure SNMP Users

You can configure up to five users who can access SNMP v3 information. User names must be no more than
32 characters long.

While configuring a user, you generate authentication and privacy hash values based on the user's
authentication and privacy passwords and on the SNMP agent's engine ID. After configuring users, if you
change the engine ID, the authentication protocol, or the privacy protocol, the users are no longer valid and
must be reconfigured.

Prerequisites
n Verify that you have configured the authentication and privacy protocols before configuring users.

n Verify that you know the authentication and privacy passwords for each user that you plan to
configure. Passwords must be at least seven characters long. Store these passwords in files on the host
system.

Procedure
1 Access the appliance shell and log in as a user who has the administrator or super administrator role.

The default user with super administrator role is root.

2 If you are using authentication or privacy, get the authentication and privacy hash values for the user
by the running snmp.hash --auth_hash --priv_hash command.

For example, run the following command:

snmp.hash --auth_hash secret1 --priv_hash secret2

Here, secret1 is the path to the file containing the user's authentication password and secret2 is the path
to the file containing the user's privacy password. Alternatively, you can specify the flag --raw-secret
and specify the passwords directly on the command line.

The authentication and privacy hash values are displayed.

3 Configure the user by running snmp.set --users.

For example, run the following command:

snmp.set --users userid/authhash/privhash/security

The parameters in the command are as follows.

Parameter Description

userid Replace with the user name.

authhash Replace with the authentication hash value.

privhash Replace with the privacy hash value.

security Replace with the level of security enabled for that user, which can be auth, for authentication only,
priv, for authentication and privacy, or none, for no authentication or privacy.

Configure SNMP v3 Targets

Configure SNMP v3 targets to allow the SNMP agent to send SNMP v3 traps.

You can configure a maximum of three SNMP v3 targets, in addition to a maximum of three SNMP v1 or
v2c targets.

To configure a target, you must specify a host name or IP address of the system that will receive the traps, a
user name, a security level, and whether to send traps. The security level can be either none, for no security,
auth, for authentication only, or priv, for authentication and privacy.

34 VMware, Inc.
 Chapter 3 Configuring the vCenter Server Appliance by Using the Appliance Shell

Procedure
1 Access the appliance shell and log in as a user who has the administrator or super administrator role.

The default user with super administrator role is root.

2 Run the snmp.set --v3targets command to set up the SNMP v3 target.

For example, run the following command:

snmp.set --v3targets hostname@port/userid/secLevel/trap

The parameters in the command are as follows.

Parameter Description

hostname Replace with the host name or IP address of the management system that will receive the traps.

port Replace with the port on the management system that will receive the traps. If you do not specify a
port, the default port, 161, is used.

userid Replace with the user name.

secLevel Replace with either none, auth, or priv to indicate the level of authentication and privacy you have
configured. Use auth if you have configured authentication only, priv if you have configured both
authentication and privacy, and none if you have configured neither.

3 (Optional) If the SNMP agent is not enabled, enable it by running the snmp.enable command.

4 (Optional) To send a test trap to verify that the agent is configured correctly, run the snmp.test
command.

The agent sends a warmStart trap to the configured target.

Configure the SNMP Agent to Filter Notifications

You can configure the vCenter Server Appliance SNMP agent to filter out notifications if you do not want
your SNMP management software to receive those notifications.

Procedure
1 Access the appliance shell and log in as a user who has the administrator or super administrator role.

The default user with super administrator role is root.

2 Run the snmp.set --notraps command to filter traps.

n To filter specific traps, run the following command:

snmp.set --notraps oid_list

Here, oid_list is a list of object IDs for the traps to filter, separated by commas. This list replaces any
object IDs that were previously specified using this command.

n To clear all trap filters, run the following command:

snmp.set --notraps reset

3 (Optional) If the SNMP agent is not enabled, enable it by running the snmp.enable command.

The traps identified by the specified object IDs are filtered out of the output of the SNMP agent, and are not
sent to SNMP management software.

VMware, Inc. 35
vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

Configure SNMP Management Client Software

After you have configured the vCenter Server Appliance to send traps, you must configure your
management client software to receive and interpret those traps.

To configure your management client software, specify the communities for the managed device, configure
the port settings, and load the VMware MIB files. See the documentation for your management system for
specific instructions for these steps.

Prerequisites
Download the VMware MIB files from the VMware Web site:
http://communities.vmware.com/community/developer/managementapi.

Procedure
1 In your management software, specify the vCenter Server Appliance as an SNMP-based managed
device.

2 If you are using SNMP v1 or v2c, set up appropriate community names in the management software.

These names must correspond to the communities set for the SNMP agent on the
vCenter Server Appliance.
3 If you are using SNMP v3, configure users and authentication and privacy protocols to match those
configured on the vCenter Server Appliance.

4 If you configured the SNMP agent to send traps to a port on the management system other than the
default UDP port 162, configure the management client software to listen on the port you configured.

5 Load the VMware MIBs into the management software to view the symbolic names for the
vCenter Server Appliance variables.

To prevent lookup errors, load these MIB files in the following order before loading other MIB files:

a VMWARE-ROOT-MIB.mib

b VMWARE-TC-MIB.mib

c VMWARE-PRODUCTS-MIB.mib

The management software can now receive and interpret traps from the vCenter Server Appliance.

Reset SNMP Settings to Factory Defaults

You can reset SNMP settings to factory defaults. You can also reset the value of a specific argument to the
factory default.

You can reset a specific arguments, such as the communities, targets, and so on. You can also reset the
SNMP configuration to the factory defaults.

Procedure
1 Access the appliance shell and log in as a user who has the administrator or super administrator role.

The default user with super administrator role is root.

2 To reset specific arguments, run the command snmp.set --arguments reset.

For example, to reset the communities that you configured, run the following command:

snmp.set --communities reset

3 To reset the whole SNMP configuration to the factory defaults, run the command snmp.reset.

36 VMware, Inc.
 Chapter 3 Configuring the vCenter Server Appliance by Using the Appliance Shell

Configuring Time Synchronization Settings in the

vCenter Server Appliance
You can change the time synchronization settings in the vCenter Server Appliance after deployment.

When you deploy the vCenter Server Appliance, you can choose the time synchronization method to be
either by using an NTP server or by using VMware Tools. In case the time settings in your vSphere network
change, you can edit the vCenter Server Appliance and configure the time synchronization settings by using
the commands in the appliance shell.

When you enable periodic time synchronization, VMware Tools sets the time of the guest operating system
to be the same as the time of the host.

After time synchronization occurs, VMware Tools checks once every minute to determine whether the
clocks on the guest operating system and the host still match. If not, the clock on the guest operating system
is synchronized to match the clock on the host.

Native time synchronization software, such as Network Time Protocol (NTP), is typically more accurate
than VMware Tools periodic time synchronization and is therefore preferred. You can use only one form of
periodic time synchronization in the vCenter Server Appliance. If you decide to use native time
synchronization software, vCenter Server Appliance VMware Tools periodic time synchronization is
disabled, and the reverse.

Use VMware Tools Time Synchronization

You can set up the vCenter Server Appliance to use VMware Tools time synchronization.

Procedure
1 Access the appliance shell and log in as a user who has the administrator or super administrator role.

The default user with super administrator role is root.

2 Run the command to enable VMware Tools time synchronization.

timesync.set --mode host

3 (Optional) Run the command to verify that you successfully applied the VMware Tools time
synchronization.

timesync.get

The command returns that the time synchronization is in host mode.

The time of the appliance is synchronized with the time of the ESXi host.

Add or Replace NTP Servers in the vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

To set up the vCenter Server Appliance to use NTP-based time synchronization, you must add the NTP
servers to the vCenter Server Appliance configuration.

Procedure
1 Access the appliance shell and log in as a user who has the administrator or super administrator role.

The default user with super administrator role is root.

2 Add NTP servers to the vCenter Server Appliance configuration by running the ntp.server.add
command.

For example, run the following command:

ntp.server.add --servers IP-addresses-or-host-names

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vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

Here IP-addresses-or-host-names is a comma-separated list of IP addresses or host names of the NTP

servers.

This command adds NTP servers to the configuration. If the time synchronization is based on an NTP
server, then the NTP daemon is restarted to reload the new NTP servers. Otherwise, this command just
adds the new NTP servers to the existing NTP configuration.
3 (Optional) To delete old NTP servers and add new ones to the vCenter Server Appliance configuration,
run the ntp.server.set command.

For example, run the following command:

ntp.server.set --servers IP-addresses-or-host-names

Here IP-addresses-or-host-names is a comma-separated list of IP addresses or host names of the NTP

servers.

This command deletes old NTP servers from the configuration and sets the input NTP servers in the
configuration. If the time synchronization is based on an NTP server, the NTP daemon is restarted to
reload the new NTP configuration. Otherwise, this command just replaces the servers in NTP
configuration with the servers that you provide as input.

4 (Optional) Run the command to verify that you successfully applied the new NTP configuration
settings.

ntp.get

The command returns a space-separated list of the servers configured for NTP synchronization. If the
NTP synchronization is enabled, the command returns that the NTP configuration is in Up status. If the
NTP synchronization is disabled, the command returns that the NTP configuration is in Down status.

What to do next
If the NTP synchronization is disabled, you can configure the time synchronization settings in the
vCenter Server Appliance to be based on an NTP server. See “Synchronize the Time in the vCenter Server
Appliance with an NTP Server,” on page 38.

Synchronize the Time in the vCenter Server Appliance with an NTP Server
You can configure the time synchronization settings in the vCenter Server Appliance to be based on an NTP
server.

Prerequisites
Set up one or more Network Time Protocol (NTP) servers in the vCenter Server Appliance configuration.
See “Add or Replace NTP Servers in the vCenter Server Appliance Configuration,” on page 37.

Procedure
1 Access the appliance shell and log in as a user who has the administrator or super administrator role.

The default user with super administrator role is root.

2 Run the command to enable NTP-based time synchronization.

timesync.set --mode NTP

3 (Optional) Run the command to verify that you successfully applied the NTP synchronization.

timesync.get

The command returns that the time synchronization is in NTP mode.

38 VMware, Inc.
 Chapter 3 Configuring the vCenter Server Appliance by Using the Appliance Shell

Managing Local User Accounts in the vCenter Server Appliance

If you log in to the appliance shell as a super administrator, you can manage the local user accounts in the
vCenter Server Appliance by running commands in the appliance shell. The default user with a super
administrator role is root.

User Roles in the vCenter Server Appliance

There are three main user roles in the vCenter Server Appliance.

The local users of the vCenter Server Appliance have the rights to perform various tasks in the
vCenter Server Appliance. Three user roles are available in the vCenter Server Appliance:

Operator Local users with the operator user role can read the appliance configuration.

Administrator Local users with the administrator user role can configure the appliance.

Super Administrator Local users with the super administrator user role can configure the
appliance, manage the local accounts, and use the Bash shell.

Get a List of the Local User Accounts in the vCenter Server Appliance
You can see the list of the local user accounts so that you can decide which user account to manage from the
appliance shell.

Procedure
1 Access the appliance shell and log in as a user who has a super administrator role.

The default user with a super administrator role is root.

2 Run the localaccounts.user.list command.

You can see a list of the local users. The information about a user includes the user name, status, role,
status of the password, full name and email.

NOTE The list of local users includes only the local users who have their default shell as appliance shell.

Create a Local User Account in the vCenter Server Appliance

You can create a new local user account in the vCenter Server Appliance.

For information about the user roles, see “User Roles in the vCenter Server Appliance,” on page 39.

Procedure
1 Access the appliance shell and log in as a user who has a super administrator role.

The default user with a super administrator role is root.

2 Run the localaccounts.user.add -- role --username --password command.

For example, to add the local user account test with the operator user role, run the following command:

localaccounts.user.add --role operator --username test --password

You can also set up a new local user account and specify an email and the full name of the user. For
example, to add the local user account test1 with the operator user role, full name TestName and the
email address [email protected], run the following command:

localaccounts.user.add --role operator --username test1 --password --fullname TestName --

email [email protected]

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vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

You cannot use spaces in full names.

3 Enter and confirm the password of the new local user when prompted.

You created a new local user in the appliance.

Update the Password of a Local User in the vCenter Server Appliance

You can update the password of a local user in the vCenter Server Appliance for security reasons.

Procedure
1 Access the appliance shell and log in as a user who has a super administrator role.

The default user with a super administrator role is root.

2 Run the localaccounts.user.password.update --username command.

For example, to change the password of a user with user name test, run the following command:

localaccounts.user.password.update --username test

3 Enter and confirm the new password when prompted.

Update a Local User Account in the vCenter Server Appliance

You can update an existing local user account in the vCenter Server Appliance.

For information about the user roles, see “User Roles in the vCenter Server Appliance,” on page 39.

Procedure
1 Access the appliance shell and log in as a user who has a super administrator role.

The default user with a super administrator role is root.

2 Run the localaccounts.user.set --username command to update an existing local user.

n To update the role of the local user, run the following command:

localaccounts.user.set --username user name --role new role

Here, user name is the name of the user that you want to edit and new role is the new role. The role
can be operator, admin, or superAdmin.

n To update the email of the local user, run the following command:

localaccounts.user.set --username user name --email new email address

Here, user name is the name of the user that you want to edit and new email address is the new email
address.

n To update the full name of the local user, run the following command:

localaccounts.user.set --username user name --fullname new full name

Here, user name is the name of the user that you want to edit and new full name is the new full name
of the user.

n To update the status of the local user, run the following command:

localaccounts.user.set --username user name --status new status

Here, user name is the name of the user that you want to edit and status is the new status of the local
user. The status can be either disabled or enabled.

40 VMware, Inc.
 Chapter 3 Configuring the vCenter Server Appliance by Using the Appliance Shell

Delete a Local User Account in the vCenter Server Appliance

You can delete a local user account in the vCenter Server Appliance.

Procedure
1 Access the appliance shell and log in as a user who has a super administrator role.

The default user with a super administrator role is root.

2 Run the localaccounts.user.delete --username command.

For example, to delete the user with user name test, run the following command:

localaccounts.user.delete --username test

The user is deleted.

Monitoring Hardware Health Status and Statistics in the

vCenter Server Appliance
You can monitor the hardware health status of the vCenter Server Appliance by using the API commands in
the appliance shell.

For a complete list of the API commands that you can use for monitoring statistics and hardware health of
the vCenter Server Appliance system, see “API Commands in the vCenter Server Appliance Shell,” on
page 26.

Procedure
1 Access the appliance shell and log in.

The user name that you use to log in can be of a user with an operator, administrator, or super
administrator user role.

2 View the health status of a particular hardware component.

n To view the health of the memory in the vCenter Server Appliance, run the mem.health.get
command.

n To view the health of the storage in the vCenter Server Appliance, run the storage.health.get
command.

n To view the health of the swap in the vCenter Server Appliance, run the swap.health.get
command.

n To view the overall health of the vCenter Server Appliance system, run the system.health.get
command.

3 To view statistics about a particular hardware component, run the respective command.

For example, to view storage statistics for each logical disk, run the storage.stats.list command.

Using the vimtop Plug-In to Monitor the Resource Usage of Services

You can use the vimtop utility plug-in to monitor vSphere services that run in the vCenter Server Appliance.

vimtop is a tool similar to esxtop, which runs in the environment of the vCenter Server Appliance. By using
the text-based interface of vimtop in the appliance shell, you can view overall information about the
vCenter Server Appliance, and a list of vSphere services and their resource usage.

n Monitor Services by Using vimtop in Interactive Mode on page 42

You can use the vimtop plug-in to monitor services in real time.

VMware, Inc. 41
vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

n Interactive Mode Command-Line Options on page 42

You can use various command-line options when you run the vimtop command to enter the plug-in
interactive mode.

n Interactive Mode Single-Key Commands for vimtop on page 42

When running in interactive mode, vimtop recognizes several single-key commands.

Monitor Services by Using vimtop in Interactive Mode

You can use the vimtop plug-in to monitor services in real time.

The default view of the vimtop interactive mode consists of the overview tables and the main table. You can
use single-key commands in interactive mode to switch the view from processes to disks or network.

Procedure
1 From an SSH client program, log in to the vCenter Server Appliance shell.

2 Run the vimtop command to access the plug-in in interactive mode.

Interactive Mode Command-Line Options

You can use various command-line options when you run the vimtop command to enter the plug-in
interactive mode.

Table 3‑4. Interactive Mode Command-Line Options

Option Description

-h Prints help for the vimtop command-line options.

-v Prints the vimtop version number.

-c filename Loads a user-defined vimtop configuration file. If the -c option is not used, the default
configuration file is /root/vimtop/vimtop.xml.
You can create your own configuration file, specifying a different file name and path by
using the W single-key interactive command.

-n number Sets the number of performed iterations before the vimtop exits interactive mode. vimtop
updates the display number number of times and exits. The default value is 10000.

-p / -d seconds Sets the update period in seconds.

Interactive Mode Single-Key Commands for vimtop

When running in interactive mode, vimtop recognizes several single-key commands.

All interactive mode panels recognize the commands listed in the following table.

Table 3‑5. Interactive Mode Single-Key Commands

Key Names Description

h Show a help menu for the current panel, giving a brief summary of commands, and the status of
secure mode.

i Show or hide the top line view of the overview panel of the vimtop plug-in.

t Show or hide the Tasks section, which displays information in the overview panel about the tasks
currently running on the vCenter Server instance .

m Show or hide the Memory section in the overview panel.

f Show or hide the CPU section which displays information in the overview panel about all
available CPUs.

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 Chapter 3 Configuring the vCenter Server Appliance by Using the Appliance Shell

Table 3‑5. Interactive Mode Single-Key Commands (Continued)

Key Names Description

g Show or hide the CPUs section which displays information in the overview panel about the top 4
physical CPUs.

spacebar Immediately refreshes the current pane.

p Pause the displayed information about the services resource usage in the current panels.

r Refresh the displayed information about the services resource usage in the current panels.

s Set refresh period.

q Exit the interactive mode of the vimtop plug-in .

k Displays the Disks view of the main panel.

o Switch the main panel to Network view.

Esc Clear selection or return to the Processes view of the main panel.

Enter Select a service to view additional details.

n Show or hide names of the headers in the main panel.

u Show or hide the measurement units in the headers in the main panel.

left, right arrows Select columns.

up, down arrows Select rows.

<,> Move a selected column.

Delete Remove selected column.

c Add a new column to the current view of the main panel. Use spacebar to add or remove columns
from the displayed list.

a Sort the selected column in ascending order.

d Sort the selected column in descending order.

z Clear the sort order for all columns.

l Set width for the selected column.

x Return the column widths to their default values.

+ Expand selected item.

- Collapse selected item.

w Write the current setup to a vimtop configuration file. The default file name is the one specified by
-c option, or /root/vimtop/vimtop.xml if the -c option is not used. You can also specify a
different file name on the prompt generated by the w command.

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vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

44 VMware, Inc.
Configuring the
vCenter Server Appliance by Using
the Direct Console User Interface 4
After you deploy the vCenter Server Appliance, you can reconfigure the network settings and enable access
to the Bash shell for troubleshooting. To access the Direct Console User Interface, you must log in as root.

The home page of the Direct Console User Interface contains a link to the support bundle of the
vCenter Server Appliance. The link to the support bundle is of the type https://appliance-host-name:
443/appliance/support-bundle.

This chapter includes the following topics:

n “Log In to the Direct Console User Interface,” on page 45

n “Change the Password of the Root User,” on page 46

n “Configure the Management Network of the vCenter Server Appliance,” on page 46

n “Restart the Management Network of the vCenter Server Appliance,” on page 47

n “Enable Access to the Appliance Bash shell,” on page 47

n “Access the Appliance Bash Shell for Troubleshooting,” on page 48

n “Export a vCenter Server Support Bundle for Troubleshooting,” on page 48

Log In to the Direct Console User Interface

The Direct Console User Interface lets you interact with the appliance locally by using text-based menus.

Procedure
1 Browse to the vCenter Server Appliance in the vSphere Web Client or the vSphere Client inventory.

2 On the Summary tab, click Launch Console.

3 Click inside the console window and press F2 to customize the system.
4 Type the password for the root user of the appliance and press Enter.

IMPORTANT If you enter invalid credentials thrice, the root account is locked for five minutes.

You logged in to the Direct Console User Interface. You can change the password of the root user of the
vCenter Server Appliance, edit the network settings, and enable access to the vCenter Server Appliance
Bash shell.

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vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

Change the Password of the Root User

To prevent unauthorized access to the vCenter Server Appliance Direct Console User Interface, you can
change the password of the root user.

The default root password for the vCenter Server Appliance is the password you enter during deployment
of the virtual appliance.

IMPORTANT The password for the root account of the vCenter Server Appliance expires after 365 days. You
can change the expiry time for an account by logging as root to the vCenter Server Appliance Bash shell, and
running chage -M number_of_days -W warning_until_expiration user_name. To increase the expiration
time of the root password to infinity, run the chage -M -1 -E -1 root command.

Procedure
1 Browse to the vCenter Server Appliance in the vSphere Web Client or the vSphere Client inventory.
2 On the Summary tab, click Launch Console.

3 Click inside the console window and press F2 to customize the system.

4 To log in to the Direct Console User Interface, type the current password of the root user and press
Enter.

5 Select Configure Root Password and press Enter.

6 Type the old password of the root user, and press Enter.

7 Set up the new password and press Enter.

8 Press Esc until you return to the main menu of the Direct Console User Interface.

You changed the password of the root user of the appliance.

Configure the Management Network of the vCenter Server Appliance

The vCenter Server Appliance can obtain networking settings from a DHCP server, or use static IP
addresses. You can change the networking settings of the vCenter Server Appliance from the Direct Console
User Interface. You can change the IPv4, IPv6, and DNS configuration.

Prerequisites
To change the IP settings of the vCenter Server Appliance, make sure that the system name of the appliance
is an FQDN. If, during the vCenter Server Appliance deployment, you set up the appliance to use an IP
address as a system name, you cannot change the IP settings.

Procedure
1 Log in to the Direct Console User Interface of the vCenter Server Appliance.

2 Select Configure Management Network and press Enter.

3 Change the IPv4 settings from IP Configuration.

Option Description
Use dynamic IP address and Obtains networking settings from a DHCP server if one is available on
network configuration your network
Set static IP address and network Sets static networking configuration
configuration

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 Chapter 4 Configuring the vCenter Server Appliance by Using the Direct Console User Interface

4 Change the IPv6 settings from IPv6 Configuration.

Option Description
Enable IPv6 Enables or disables IPv6 on the appliance
Use DHCP stateful configuration Uses a DHCP server to obtain IPv6 addresses and networking settings
Use ICMP stateless configuration Uses a Stateless Address Autoconfiguration (SLAAC) to obtain IPv6
addresses and network settings

5 Change the DNS settings from DNS Configuration.

Option Description
Obtain DNS server address and Obtains the DNS server address and host name automatically.
hostname automatically Use this option if the IP settings of the appliance are obtained
automatically from a DHCP server .
Use the following DNS server Sets the static IP address and host name for the DNS server.
address and hostname

6 Set custom DNS suffixes from Custom DNS Suffixes.

If you do not specify any suffixes, a default suffix list is derived from the local domain name.

7 Press Esc until you return to the main menu of the Direct Console User Interface.

Restart the Management Network of the vCenter Server Appliance

Restart the management network of the vCenter Server Appliance to restore the network connection.

Procedure
1 Log in to the Direct Console User Interface of the vCenter Server Appliance.

2 Select Restart Management Network and press Enter.

3 Press F11.

Enable Access to the Appliance Bash shell

You can use the appliance Direct Console User Interface to enable local and remote access to the appliance
Bash shell. Bash shell access enabled through Direct Console User Interface remains enabled for 3600
seconds.

Procedure
1 Log in to the Direct Console User Interface of the vCenter Server Appliance.

2 Select Troubleshooting Options and press Enter.

3 From the Troubleshooting Mode Options menu, select to enable either Bash shell or SSH.

4 Press Enter to enable the service.

5 Press Esc until you return to the main menu of the Direct Console User Interface.

What to do next
Access the vCenter Server Appliance Bash shell for troubleshooting.

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vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

Access the Appliance Bash Shell for Troubleshooting

Log in to the vCenter Server Appliance shell for troubleshooting purposes only.

Procedure
1 Access the appliance shell using one of the following methods.

n If you have direct access to the appliance, press Alt+F1.

n If you want to connect remotely, use SSH or another remote console connection to start a session to
the appliance.

2 Enter a user name and password recognized by the appliance.

3 In the appliance shell, enter the command pi shell or shell to access the Bash shell.

Export a vCenter Server Support Bundle for Troubleshooting

If you want to export the support bundle of the vCenter Server instance in the vCenter Server Appliance for
troubleshooting, you can do that by using the URL displayed on the DCUI home screen.

You can also collect the support bundle from the vCenter Server Appliance Bash shell, by running the vc-
support.sh script.

The support bundle is exported in .tgz format.

Procedure
1 Log in to the Windows host machine on which you want to download the bundle.

2 Open a Web browser and enter the URL to the support bundle displayed in the DCUI.

https://appliance-fully-qualified-domain-name:443/appliance/support-bundle

3 Enter the user name and password of the root user.

4 Click Enter.

The support bundle is downloaded as .tgz file on your Windows machine.

48 VMware, Inc.
Index

A E
accessing Bash shell 24 email of a local user, changing in the vCenter
Active Directory domain, leaving 12 Server Appliance 40
Active Directory domain, joining 11 enabling Bash shell access in the vCenter
Server Appliance 13
API commands in the vCenter Server Appliance,
getting help 25 enabling HTTP port forwarding in the vCenter
Server Appliance 13
APIs 26
enabling local login in the vCenter Server
appliance console, logging in 45
Appliance 13
appliance password, changing 46
appliance shell enabling SSH in the vCenter Server
accessing 23 appliance 13
using to edit the vCenter Server Appliance 23 ESXi Dump Collector, setting up startup
appliance troubleshooting, enabling 47 settings 17
appliance
configure DNS settings 46 F
configure IPv4 46 filtering traps, SNMP agent 35
firewall, configuring in the vCenter Server
configure IPv6 46
Appliance 16
configure management network 46 firewall rules
configure static IP 46 adding in the vCenter Server Appliance 16
appliance Bash shell editing in the vCenter Server Appliance 16
enabling access 47
logging in 48 G
appliance DCUI, changing password 46 GET requests
appliance Direct Console User Interface, logging configuring the vCenter Server Appliance 30
in 45
configuring the vCenter Server Appliance
Auto Deploy, setting up startup settings 17
SNMP agent 30
glossary 5
B
Bash shell
accessing 24 H
hardware health status, in the vCenter Server
accessing for troubleshooting 48
Appliance 41
enabling access 24
enabling for troubleshooting 47 I
enabling users to edit access 13 intended audience 5
keyboard shortcuts 24 interactive mode, running vimtop 42
browsing the log files, showlog plug-in 30
IP address 14
IPv4 address, setting up for the appliance 14
C IPv6 address, setting up for the appliance 14
command-line management of the appliance 23
L
D local user accounts
DCUI, logging in 45 listing in the appliance 39
Direct Console User Interface, vCenter Server
managing in the appliance 39
Appliance 45
DNS settings, editing in the vCenter Server vCenter Server Appliance 39
Appliance 14 local user account
creating in the appliance 39

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vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

deleting from the vCenter Server SNMP agent

Appliance 41 clearing all traps 35
updating in the vCenter Server Appliance 40 configuring for sending v1 or v2c traps 32
log bundles, exporting 19 filtering traps 35
log files 30 SNMP communities, configuring 31
SNMP settings, resetting 36
M SNMP users 34
management network, restarting 47 SNMP v1 and v2c, configuring in the vCenter
Message Bus Configuration, setting up startup Server Appliance 31
settings 17 SNMP v1 and v2c configuration 31
monitoring, health status, services, nodes 18
SNMP v3, configuring the vCenter Server
Appliance 32
N
SNMP v3 agent engine ID, configuring 33
new local user account, vCenter Server
Appliance 39 SNMP v3 targets, configuring 34
NTP servers, adding 37 specifying DNS settings, vCenter Server
Appliance 14
NTP-based time synchronization 38
SSH, enabling 47
startup settings of a service 17
O
overview of, vCenter Server appliance 9 startup settings, editing 17
status of a local user, changing in the vCenter
P Server Appliance 40
password support bundle, exporting 48
changing 46 support bundles 19
updating for a local user 40 system configuration, editing service settings 18
Platform Services Controller SystemConfiguration.BashShellAdministrators
joining to an Active Directory domain 11 group, adding members 13
leaving an Active Directory domain 12
plug-ins, vCenter Server Appliance 25 T
plug-ins in the vCenter Server Appliance, getting time synchronization
help 25 NTP-based 38
polling, configuring in the vCenter Server VMware Tools-based 37
Appliance 30 time synchronization settings 37

R U
redirecting, log files 20
updated information 7
user roles, vCenter Server Appliance 39
S
services
monitoring in interactive mode 42 V
vCenter Server Appliance
restarting 17
adding a local user account 39
starting 17
adding NTP servers 37
startup settings 17
API commands 26
stopping 17
changing the email address of a user 40
showlog plug-in 30
changing the full name of a user 40
SNMP
changing the role of a user account 40
configuring in the vCenter Server
Appliance 30 configuration 45
management software 36 configuring access settings 13
SNMP agent in the vCenter Server Appliance, configuring IP address 14
configuring for polling 30 configuring SNMP 30
SNMP authentication, configuring in the vCenter configuring SNMP authentication 33
Server Appliance 33 configuring SNMP communities 31
SNMP configuration 30 configuring SNMP privacy protocols 33
SNMP privacy, configuring in the vCenter Server configuring SNMP users 34
Appliance 33

50 VMware, Inc.
 Index

configuring SNMP v1 and v2c 31

configuring SNMP v3 engine ID 33
configuring SNMP v3 targets 34
deleting a local user account 41
editing DNS settings 14
enabling or disabling a local user account 40
exporting support bundle 48
filtering traps 35
getting help 25
health monitoring 41
joining to an Active Directory domain 11
leaving an Active Directory domain 12
local user accounts 39
managing by using the vSphere Web
Client 11
managing local user accounts 39
managing through the appliance shell 23
NTP-based time synchronization 38
redirecting log files 20
resetting settings to factory defaults 36
restarting management network 47
time synchronization settings 37
updating a local user account 40
updating the password of a local user,
vCenter Server Appliance 40
user roles 39
utilities 25
VMware Tools-based time synchronization 37
vCenter Server Appliance, configuring for
polling 30
vCenter Server Appliance CLI 26
vCenter Server Appliance DCUI 45
vCenter Server Appliance firewall settings 16
vCenter Server Appliance, configuring the SNMP
agent to send traps 32
vCenter Server Appliance, editing 11
vCenter Server Appliance, configuring for SNMP
v3 32
vCenter Sever Appliance, replacing NTP
servers 37
viewing firstboot log files 30
vimtop
command-line options 42
interactive mode single-key commands 42
overview 41
using 42
VMware Tools-based time synchronization 37
vSphere Web Client, using to edit the vCenter
Server Appliance 11

W
Windows, export the support bundle 48

VMware, Inc. 51
vCenter Server Appliance Configuration

52 VMware, Inc.