3BSE056141-510 I en System 800xa 5.1 Virtualization With VMware VSphere ESXi

System 800xA
Reference
Virtualization with VMware vSphere ESXi System Version 5.1
System 800xA
Reference
Virtualization with VMware vSphere ESXi
System Version 5.1
Document Number: 3BSE056141-510

Document Revision: I
Release: May 2019
NOTICE
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The system/product owners must establish and maintain appropriate measures, including, but not
limited to, the installation of firewalls, application of authentication measures, encryption of data,
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
1 About this User Manual

1.1 User Manual Conventions ........................................................................................ 12
1.1.1 Warning, Caution, Information, and Tip Icons .......................................... 12
1.2 Terminology ............................................................................................................. 13
1.3 Released User Manuals and Release Notes .............................................................. 13
2 Introduction
2.1 Prerequisites ............................................................................................................. 15
2.1.1 Overview of Virtualization ........................................................................ 16
3 800xA Server and Client Node Consolidation

3.1 Non-virtualized 800xA System ................................................................................ 19
3.2 Consolidated 800xA System .................................................................................... 20
4 System Planning
4.1 Software Versions ..................................................................................................... 23
4.2 System Overview ..................................................................................................... 23
4.3 System Planner ......................................................................................................... 23
4.4 Server Provisioning .................................................................................................. 23
4.5 Client Virtualization ................................................................................................. 24
4.6 Determine Required VMware ESXi Server Hardware ............................................ 24
4.6.1 Local or SAN Storage ................................................................................ 25
4.7 Server and System Dimensioning ............................................................................ 25
4.7.1 Terminology ............................................................................................... 26
4.7.2 Guideline for CPU ..................................................................................... 26
4.7.3 Guideline for RAM ................................................................................... 27
4.7.4 Guideline for Hard Disk ............................................................................ 27
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Table of Contents
4.8 Determine Additional Hardware .............................................................................. 30

4.8.1 800xA Licensing Dongle ........................................................................... 30
4.8.2 Using the ABB USB Dongle Over the Network ....................................... 31
4.8.3 Adding adapters to the ESXi server .......................................................... 31
4.8.4 800xA for Advant Master and 800xA for MOD 300 ................................ 32
5 ESXi Installation
5.1 Installation ESXi 6.0 Server .................................................................................... 33
6 ESXi Configuration Console

6.1 ESXi Login ............................................................................................................... 41
6.2 Configure Management Network ............................................................................ 43
7 VMware vSphere Client

7.1 Installation ................................................................................................................ 49
7.2 Log into an ESXi Server .......................................................................................... 53
7.3 Log into VMware vCenter Server ............................................................................ 56
8 Basic Configuration
8.1 Adding Disks ............................................................................................................ 59
8.2 Configure Networks ................................................................................................. 63
8.3 Set the Time Server .................................................................................................. 68
8.4 ESXi USB/SD Install: System Logs Location ......................................................... 74
9 Create Virtual Machines

9.1 Create a Virtual Machine .......................................................................................... 80
9.2 Install the Guest Operating System .......................................................................... 94
9.2.1 Add ISO file to the Virtual Machine ......................................................... 95
9.3 Install VMware Tools ............................................................................................... 100
9.4 Virus Scanning ......................................................................................................... 107
10 Upgrade ESXi 4.x/ESXi 5.x to ESXi 6.0

10.1 Upgrade to ESXi 6.0 ................................................................................................ 109
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Table of Contents
11 Sphere Command Line Interface

11.1 Overview .................................................................................................................. 125
11.2 Download ................................................................................................................. 125
11.3 Install VMware vSphere CLI ................................................................................... 125
12 USB Licensing Dongle

12.1 Connecting the 800xA USB Licensing Dongle to the CLS Server .......................... 131
13 Backup and Restore

13.1 Backup and Restore of an ESXi Server .................................................................... 133
13.2 Backup and Restore of Virtual Machines ................................................................. 134
14 Security
14.1 Roles ......................................................................................................................... 135
14.2 Users ......................................................................................................................... 136
14.3 Permissions ............................................................................................................... 136
15 Optimization
15.1 Virtual CPUs ............................................................................................................ 139
15.2 Allocate Virtual CPUs to Physical Cores ................................................................. 140
16 VMware CLI, Drivers, Updates and Upgrades

16.1 VMware Command Line Interface ........................................................................... 141
16.2 Prepare the ESXi Server ........................................................................................... 142
16.3 Drivers ...................................................................................................................... 142
16.4 Apply Patches/Updates ............................................................................................ 143
17 Storage Area Network

17.1 Hardware .................................................................................................................. 147
17.2 Configuration ........................................................................................................... 148
17.3 Networking ............................................................................................................... 149
17.4 ESX Server Network Configuration ........................................................................ 155
17.4.1 Add Datastores .......................................................................................... 157
17.5 Performance ............................................................................................................. 159
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18 VMware vCenter
18.1 Licensing .................................................................................................................. 165
18.2 Single Sign-On ......................................................................................................... 165
18.3 Web Client and Desktop Client ................................................................................ 165
19 VMware vCenter Installation

19.1 vCenter 6.0 Supported Operating Systems ............................................................... 167
19.2 Hardware .................................................................................................................. 167
19.3 Pre-configuration ...................................................................................................... 168
19.4 Install vCenter ......................................................................................................... 168
19.5 Basic Configuration through the vSphere Web Client ............................................. 178
20 VMware High Availability

20.1 Configure VMware High Availability ...................................................................... 191
20.1.1 Add a Cluster Object ................................................................................. 192
20.1.2 Add ESXi Servers to the Cluster ............................................................... 193
20.1.3 Specify Failover Host ................................................................................ 193
21 VMware Advanced Functionality

21.1 VMware vMotion ..................................................................................................... 195
21.2 VMware Storage vMotion ........................................................................................ 195
21.3 VMware Fault Tolerance .......................................................................................... 195
22 800xA in the IT Infrastructure

22.1 Considerations for 800xA in the IT Infrastructure ................................................... 197
23 800xA Virtual Client

23.1 Virtual Clients ........................................................................................................... 199
23.2 Benefits of Virtual 800xA Workplaces ..................................................................... 200
23.3 Operating Area Planning .......................................................................................... 201
23.4 Graphical Presentation and Physical Server Speed .................................................. 202
23.5 Thin Clients .............................................................................................................. 202
23.6 Multiple Screen ........................................................................................................ 202
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Table of Contents
24 Check Lists
24.1 ESXi Host Setup Check Lists ................................................................................... 203
24.2 ESXi Guest Setup Check List .................................................................................. 203
25 Further Technical Information on VMware ESXi

25.1 VMware Community ................................................................................................ 205
26 Revision History
3BSE056141-510 I 9
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Any security measures described in this user manual, for example, for user access,
password security, network security, firewalls, virus protection, and so on, represent
possible steps that a user of an 800xA System may want to consider based on a
risk assessment for a particular application and installation. This risk assessment,
as well as the proper implementation, configuration, installation, operation,
administration, and maintenance of all relevant security related equipment,
software, and procedures, are the responsibility of the user of the 800xA System.
The System 800xA Safety AC 800M High Integrity Safety Manual (3BNP004865*)
must be read completely by users of 800xA High Integrity. The recommendations
and requirements found in the safety manual must be considered and implemented
during all phases of the life cycle.
This User Manual provides an overview of virtualization and how it is to be used
with 800xA through the following topics:
• Overview of virtualization.
• 800xA server node consolidation based on VMware ESXi.
• Consolidating 800xA server nodes on VMware ESXi servers.
• System planning, installation, and configuration using VMware ESXi.
• Creating Virtual Machines.
• Backup and Restore of a virtualized system.
• Security.
• Optimizations.
• Upgrading from ESXi 4.x/ESXi 5.x to ESXi 6.0.
• SAN Storage Server.
• vCenter Server.
• VMware High Availability.
3BSE056141-510 I 11
1 About this User Manual 1.1 User Manual Conventions
With the progressive support for the latest releases of VMware ESXi, this User Manual
has been updated to remove content that was only applicable to ESX 4.0.
1.1 User Manual Conventions

Microsoft Windows conventions as defined in the Microsoft Manual of Style are
normally used for the standard presentation of material when entering text, key
sequences, prompts, messages, menu items, screen elements, and so on.
1.1.1 Warning, Caution, Information, and Tip Icons

This user manual includes Warning, Caution, and Information where appropriate
to point out safety related or other important information. It also includes Tip to point
out useful hints to the reader. The corresponding symbols should be interpreted as
follows:
Electrical warning icon indicates the presence of a hazard which could result in
electrical shock.
Warning icon indicates the presence of a hazard which could result in personal
injury.
Caution icon indicates important information or warning related to the concept

discussed in the text. It might indicate the presence of a hazard which could result
in corruption of software or damage to equipment/property.
Information icon alerts the reader to pertinent facts and conditions.
Tip icon indicates advice on, for example, how to design your project or how to
use a certain function.
Although Warning hazards are related to personal injury, and Caution hazards are
associated with equipment or property damage, it should be understood that operation
of damaged equipment could, under certain operational conditions, result in degraded
process performance leading to personal injury or death. Therefore, fully comply
with all Warning and Caution notices.
12 3BSE056141-510 I
1 About this User Manual 1.2 Terminology
1.2 Terminology
A complete and comprehensive list of terms is included in System 800xA Terminology
and Acronyms (3BSE089190). The listing includes terms and definitions that apply
to the 800xA System where the usage is different from commonly accepted industry
standard definitions.
1.3 Released User Manuals and Release Notes

A complete list of all User Manuals and Release Notes applicable to System 800xA
is provided in System 800xA Released User Documents (3BUA000263*).
System 800xA Released User Documents (3BUA000263*) is updated each time a
document is updated or a new document is released.
It is in pdf format and is provided in the following ways:
• Included on the documentation media provided with the system and published
to ABB Library and myABB/My Control System portal when released as part
of a major or minor release or System Revision.
• Published to ABB Library and myABB/My Control System portal when a User
Manual or Release Note is updated in between any of the release cycles listed in
the first bullet.
3BSE056141-510 I 13
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2 Introduction 2.1 Prerequisites
2 Introduction
As the use of virtualization has expanded dramatically in the business and financial
sector amongst others, ABB is now providing the ability to take advantage of
virtualization in the process industries. Virtualization can be used in 800xA systems
to combine multiple 800xA server nodes onto a single computer. The total number
of physical computers required in an installation is reduced significantly. This also
reduces the required space for the computers, hardware acquisition cost for computers
and cabinets, and the operating costs (such as energy costs).
ESXi 6.0 is now supported for 800xA 5.1 FP4. This user guide targets 800xA on
ESXi 6.0 hence, restrictions that were applicable to previous versions of ESXi have
been removed.
Refer to 3BUA000447-600 System 800xA 6.0 PC Network and Software Monitoring
Configuration for information monitoring of ESXi servers.
2.1 Prerequisites
The following are the prerequisites to be considered for virtualization:
• Guest Nodes:
– Use Hardware Version 11
– 800xA supported Network Adapters are E1000 with the exception that
for DCI connectivity servers, only use VMXNET 3 virtual network adapters.
• Licensing
– It is essential for the end customer to purchase the ESXi license. This ensures
that the end customer has direct access to VMware Support. It also provides
access to patches and updates through the VMware website.
3BSE056141-510 I 15
2.1.1 Overview of Virtualization

VMware ESX is a virtualization technology that enables running multiple virtual
machines (VM) on the same physical computer. Each VM represents a computer and
its hardware components (CPU, RAM, disk drives, network adapters, etc.). Each VM
requires an operating system and applications to be installed in the same manner as
a physical computer. The VM appears to the operating system as a physical computer.
Each VM requires a licensed copy of the Windows® operating system.
Figure 2.1: VMware ESX Virtualization Overview
While ESXi can provide the environment that represents a computer, there are
limitations for the types of resources made available. When planning a virtual
environment, only server nodes that communicate over the network should be included.
Interaction with the virtual machines is normally performed through a dedicated client
to create, modify, start and stop the virtual machines. It also enables the opening of
a console to takeover the virtual machine.
VMware vSphere encompasses the VMware ESXi server with the advanced
functionality of VMotion, High Availability, Fault Tolerance and Storage Motion.
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vCenter Server provides central administration of the ESXi servers. VMware vSphere
Client is a Windows application used to log on to the ESXi server, or the vCenter
Server, for administration purposes.
3BSE056141-510 I 17
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3 800xA Server and Client Node 3.1 Non-virtualized 800xA System
3 800xA Server and Client Node Consolidation
This topic describes the details of 800xA Server Node Consolidation.
3.1 Non-virtualized 800xA System

The difference between a non-virtualized 800xA system and a VMware ESXi system
is that some, or all, of the 800xA server nodes, run inside VMs.
For example, a non-virtualized 800xA system is shown in Figure 3.1: Example of a
Non-virtualized 800xA System
Figure 3.1: Example of a Non-virtualized 800xA System
The components of the non-virtualized 800xA system are as follows:

• One redundant pair of Domain Controllers.
• One redundant pair of Aspect Servers.
3BSE056141-510 I 19
3 800xA Server and Client Node 3.2 Consolidated 800xA System
• Three redundant pairs of Connectivity Servers for AC800M, including two Asset
Optimization Servers.
• One redundant pair of Foundation Fieldbus Connectivity Servers, including one
Asset Optimization Server.
• Two Information Management Servers.
• Client nodes.
3.2 Consolidated 800xA System

Using VMware ESXi, the same system can be set up (consolidated) as follows:
• One primary VMware ESXi server containing all primary 800xA server nodes
as VMs.
• One secondary VMware ESXi server containing all secondary 800xA server
nodes as VMs.
• Main operator clients are not virtualized and remain on physical computers.
Ancillary and engineering clients can be virtualized.
A separate client application (VMware vSphere Client) is used for configuring the
VMware ESXi server (for creating VMs or changing their virtual hardware). The
vSphere Client is required to be installed on at least one physical computer running
Microsoft Windows. This can be an 800xA Client node, preferably an Engineering
Client node.
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The resulting 800xA system configuration based on VMware ESXi is shown in Figure
3.2: Example of a Virtualized 800xA System.
Figure 3.2: Example of a Virtualized 800xA System
Compared to the non-virtualized system shown in Figure 3.1: Example of a

Non-virtualized 800xA System, which requires 14 physical servers, the virtualized
system requires only two physical servers. 800xA server nodes are installed and
configured into the VMs the same way physical computers are by using the 800xA
System Installer tool. However, setting up virtualized 800xA server nodes requires
added steps to initially set up the VMware ESXi servers. This procedure is outlined
in Figure 3.3: Setup Procedure for VMware ESXi 800xA System.
3BSE056141-510 I 21
Figure 3.3: Setup Procedure for VMware ESXi 800xA System
The steps of this procedure are discussed in detail in the following topics:
• Section 4: System Planning
• Section 5: ESXi Installation
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4 System Planning 4.1 Software Versions
4 System Planning
This topic describes how to plan the features, size, and configuration of the VMware
ESXi-based 800xA system. The objective is to determine the hardware and software
requirements for VMware ESXi servers to make the right purchases.
4.1 Software Versions

The first stage of planning the system is to confirm that the required server node types
are supported for virtualization. This is documented in the System 800xA 6.1, 6.0,
5.1, 5.0, 4.1, 3.1 Third Party Software (3BUA000500*). From 800xA 5.1 Rev B,
PNSM SNMP Trap support can be used to monitor ESXi servers.
4.2 System Overview

Essentially, the configuration and dimensioning rules for 800xA server nodes stated
in the System 800xA, System Guide Technical Data and Configuration (3BSE041434*)
instruction should be kept the same when the node is installed inside virtual machines.
Given that these rules are followed, with additions and limitations given in this
document, the performance data stated in the system guide will be fulfilled.
4.3 System Planner

Use the 800xA System Planner tool to determine the types and number of 800xA
nodes for a system.
4.4 Server Provisioning

Servers are provisioned based on the summation of the resources required for the
virtual machines. For high system reliability, it is required to use two VMware ESXi
servers - one primary and one secondary (see Figure 3.2: Example of a Virtualized
800xA System ). Place all primary 800xA server nodes on the primary VMware ESXi
3BSE056141-510 I 23
4 System Planning 4.5 Client Virtualization
server and place the secondary 800xA server nodes on the secondary VMware ESXi
server. If one VMware ESXi server fails, all redundant 800xA server nodes on the
other VMware ESXi server are available.
Do not place primary and secondary 800xA server nodes on the same VMware
ESXi server (single point of failure).
4.5 Client Virtualization

Virtual clients are System 800xA nodes that run as virtual machines. Connection to
the virtual clients is through standard Microsoft Remote Desktop. Typically, a thin
client which is a small PC with embedded Windows is used at the operator desk.
To decide how many virtual clients you should restrict to, refer System 800xA System
Guide Technical Data and Configuration (3BSE041434*). More graphical content
produces higher loading on the virtual client CPU, which may cause graphic response
(call up time) issues.
It is recommended to use separate ESXi servers for the virtual clients. That is, ESXi
servers that do not have System 800xA Server virtual machines running. This
minimizes the risk of resource interference of the virtual clients due to their higher
CPU usage.
VMware View is not supported for System 800xA.
4.6 Determine Required VMware ESXi Server

Hardware
Refer ABB certified hardware listings for supported hardware.
Where there is a requirement for using non-ABB listed server hardware, the
following issues must be understood clearly:
• Technical support from ABB will be limited.
• The hardware chipset must be Intel based.
• The hardware must be in VMware's approved compatibility listings.
• There will be no support for monitoring the ESXi server using 800xA PNSM.
This must be handled by an alternative method.
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4 System Planning 4.7 Server and System Dimensioning
The 800xA system configuration rules state that some server nodes may not be
combined, such as, Information Management with Foundation Fieldbus. However,
it is possible to combine these nodes as separate VMs on the same physical VMware
ESXi server, because they still run as separate nodes (separate VMs). Combined
server node types with heavy resource usage should be split into separate VMs to
prevent resource starvation. Refer the System 800xA System Guide Technical Data
and Configuration (3BSE041434*) instruction for more information.
4.6.1 Local or SAN Storage

Virtual machines can be located in local storage (disks mounted in the ESXi servers),
or in SAN Storage (connected on a separate network). SAN storage is essential for
VMware High Availability.
There are many different possible configurations for SAN storage such as redundant
SAN storage. These are not supported for System 800xA. It is critical to ensure that
any SAN solution can be correctly maintained. Typical concepts for redundant storage
are:
• Is there a master SAN.
• How to move/add master status to a slave.
• What is the procedure for replacing a SAN.
• Was the failed SAN a master.
• What is the procedure for replacing a disk.
4.7 Server and System Dimensioning

Dimensioning of ABB 800xA Virtual Hosts follows the node function based guidelines
that apply to the ABB 800xA Physical Servers. For example, the same maximum
number of node functions apply to virtual servers as it does for physical servers.
ABB 800xA virtualization guidelines has maintained that for every virtual CPU, there
should be a physical logical processor (hyperthreaded core). This is reinforced in the
node function based dimensioning where each node function must have at least one
virtual CPU. That is, for each node function, the virtual machine should have one
virtual CPU, and for each virtual CPU, there should be a physical logical processor.
3BSE056141-510 I 25
4.7.1 Terminology
Each CPU of a physical computer has number of cores which execute programs. Intel
also has hyperthreaded cores, there are 2 locations to run programs simultaneously,
these are called Logical Processors. Refer Figure 4.1: Relationship between Processor,
Core, Hyper-threaded Core and ESXi Server Properties .
Figure 4.1: Relationship between Processor, Core, Hyper-threaded Core and ESXi Server
Properties
4.7.2 Guideline for CPU

When a virtual machine executes, all the virtual CPUs must have access to CPU
resources at the same time. To ensure that every virtual CPU can execute with minimal
delay, there should be a physical Logical Processor available. Hence, the sum of
virtual CPUs in the virtual machines should be less than or equal to the sum of the
physical Logical Processors. The formula is represented as follows:
∑(Virtual CPU) ≤ ∑(Physical Logical Processors)
Recommended Maximum of 2 Quad Core CPU per ESXi Server (16 Logical
Processors => 16 vCPU)
Recommended Maximum of 4 vCPU Per VM.
1 vCPU per Physical Logical Processor.
For the virtual clients, the virtual CPU (hence the server CPU) produces the graphics.
Hence, a faster CPU is recommended (a 2.4GHz or 3.0 GHz CPU is preferable over
a 2.0 GHz CPU).
26 3BSE056141-510 I
Whilst the hyper-threaded cores share core resources and may result in the few
percent performance impact, the critical advantage is to increase the number of
execution locations for the virtual machines. This minimizes latency in virtual
machine execution (being allocated a physical location to execute) and improves
performance reliability. Increasing the number of virtual CPUs in a virtual machine
also increases the number of available execution locations (physical CPU logical
cores) required to run the virtual machine. Since the ABB guideline is not to have
more virtual CPUs than physical logical processors, this issue is minimized.
The CPU usage of ESXi is negligible and hence does not need to be calculated in as
one of the logical core users.
4.7.3 Guideline for RAM

The RAM required for an ESXi server is based on RAM for the ESXi server
(approximately 2GB), and the sum of the RAM required for the virtual machines.
There is also overhead RAM (approximately 0.5 GB) for running each virtual machine.
In general the following formula should be considered for minimum RAM
requirements, for an ESXi server:
ESXi RAM GB = 2GB +∑ (VM RAM) + (0.5GB)x(No. VMs)
RAM typically comes in 4GB, 8GB, 16GB increments.
If there are two processors, then the memory areas for each processor should be
loaded with the same amount of RAM.
When a server has two CPUs, there are two areas for memory. One for each of
the CPUs. Each of these areas should be populated with the same amount of
memory. For example, if it is decided to have 20GB of memory, this would be 5
x 4GB modules. There would be 2 modules for one CPU and 3 modules for the
other. The correct configuration is to have 24GB of memory, in two sets of 3
modules.
4.7.4 Guideline for Hard Disk

Physical hard disk configurations for ESXi servers must be a redundant RAID. For
example, RAID1, RAID5, RAID6 and RAID10. It is preferable to have a hotspare
3BSE056141-510 I 27
allocated to return the RAID set to full redundancy as quickly as possible if a disk
failure occurs.
If the ESXi server is installed on the local hard disks, it typically uses less than 4GB
of the hard disk space and can be ignored in storage capacity calculations.
The actual capacity is dependent on the RAID type, and is mentioned in the Table4.1:
RAID Storage Capacity .
Table 4.1: RAID Storage Capacity
RAID Type Minimum No. of Disks Capacity

RAID1 2 1 x Disk Size
RAID5 3 (No. of Disks - 1) x Disk Size
RAID6 4 (No. of Disks - 2) x Disk Size
RAID 1 or RAID 6 are highly recommended. RAID 1 provides a simple configuration

and maintains performance if a disk failure occurs. RAID6 provides a larger capacity
and allows for 2 disks to fail. A hot swap spare is highly recommended to provide
rapid recovery in the event of disk failure.
Each running virtual machine has hard disk space allocated as swap space, which
equals the amount of RAM allocated to the virtual machine. The amount of hard disk
storage required for the ESXi server is the sum required for the virtual machines and
the RAM allocated to the virtual machine.
Each virtual machine should have a hard disk defined based on the virtual machines
requirements. That is, a domain controller would not require as much as a history
server. Also, there must be space in the virtual machine hard disk for typical usage
(log files, data storage), and additional functionality (adding programs/hotfixes,
etc). Hence, if a VM requires 20GB of disk space, 40GB is allocated, else if the
VM requires 40GB, then 60GB to 80GB is allocated.
Approximately 200GB should be available for anticipated requirements. This may
be more based on future plans. In general, the following formula provides a guideline
for calculating the hard disks requirement:
ESXi Hard Disk GB = 200GB + ∑ (VM Hard Disk + VM RAM)
(VM Hard Disk + VM RAM)
28 3BSE056141-510 I
Based on RAID configurations, more hard disks will be required than the storage
required to run the VMs.
For Example:
10 VMs, each requiring 60GB of hard disk and allocated 6GB of RAM.
If the storage is to be RAID6 with a hot spare,
Basic storage = 200GB + 10 x (60GB + 6GB)
That is, the basic storage is 860GB
RAID6 => (4 x 300GB) + (2 x 300GB) + (1 x 300GB)
=> 7 x 300GB Hard Disks
Table 4.2: RAID6 with hot spare Hard Disk Setup
RAID6
Base Storage Raid Overhead Hotespare
4 x 300GB = 1200GB 2 x 300GB 1 x 300GB
ESXi Hard disk requirement is 7 x 300GB.

and
If the storage is to be RAID1 with a hot spare,
Basic storage = 200GB + 10 x (60GB + 6GB)
That is, the basic storage is 860GB
RAID1 => (2 x 300GB) + (2 x 300GB)+ (2 x 300GB) + (1 x 300GB)
=> 7 x 300GB Hard Disks
Table 4.3: RAID1 with hot spare Hard Disk Setup
RAID1
Base Storage Raid Overhead Hotespare
3 x 300GB = 900GB 3 x 300GB 1 x 300GB
ESXi Hard disk requirement is 7 x 300GB.
3BSE056141-510 I 29
4 System Planning 4.8 Determine Additional Hardware
A formatted disk has approximately 6% smaller capacity than the stated disk
capacity, hence, the storage is scaled up to help ensure adequate capacity after the
disks are formatted in the ESXi server.
Guideline for Networking
One separate gigabit Ethernet port is required for each physical network in which the
VMware ESXi server should be connected to. Additionally, one more gigabit Ethernet
port is required for the VMware ESXi Service Console.
The number of physical network ports is limited by the hardware, and by the number
of ports on the network cards used. The actual verification case described in this
document used 10 hardware ports. In some cases, the configuration may require more
physical ports.
The theoretical maximum given by the hardware limitation may be overridden by
other resource limitations. From ESX 4.0 each virtual machine can have a maximum
of ten virtual ports.
Refer to the VMware Compatibility Guide
(http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php) for any specific VMware
ESXi hardware configuration constraints that account for the VMware ESXi server
model.
4.8 Determine Additional Hardware

Apart from the requirements mentioned in the various subtopics previously, there are
also additional hardware required. These are explained in the subtopics below.
4.8.1 800xA Licensing Dongle

This ESXi supports physical USB devices being recognized in virtual machines.
Previously, an AnywhereUSB device was required for this functionality.
Note that where the virtual machine is to be moved to another server, the USB
dongle must be moved and the configuration must be reviewed in the ESXi server
and the virtual machine. In some circumstances, it still may be beneficial to have
the USB dongle available over the network.
VMware ESXi does not support a physical parallel port connection. The ABB Parallel
Port License Dongle cannot be used for ESXi.
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4.8.2 Using the ABB USB Dongle Over the Network

Where it may be likely to move the license server to another ESXi server, using the
ABB dongle over the network is an advantage. With this configuration, it would not
be necessary to move the dongle to the new ESXi server.
As shown in Figure 4.2: Connection of 800xA USB License Dongle to CLS Server
Using AnywhereUSB, the AnywhereUSB is a device which has ports for USB dongles
and an Ethernet port for network connectivity.
Figure 4.2: Connection of 800xA USB License Dongle to CLS Server Using AnywhereUSB
Tying the 800xA License to a network card MAC address is not supported when
running in a virtual environment.
4.8.3 Adding adapters to the ESXi server

Addition of non-ethernet adapters such as the 800xA for AC 100 CI527A is not
supported for 800xA.
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4.8.4 800xA for Advant Master and 800xA for MOD 300
In the case of physical Connectivity Server nodes for 800xA for Advant Master and
800xA for MOD 300, an RTA board or RTA unit is used to provide connectivity to
respective networks.
Hardware requiring separate drivers is usually not supported in virtual environments.
This is solved by using the PU410 respectively PU412 RTA Units which is external
to the ESXi server and communicates with it via an Ethernet link.
Figure 4.3: Example Connection of 800xA for Advant Master Connectivity Server to MasterBus
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5 ESXi Installation 5.1 Installation ESXi 6.0 Server
5 ESXi Installation
This topic describes how to install the VMware ESXi server for virtual 800xA server
nodes. When installing a new server, the vendors custom ESXi installation media
should be used as this has the drivers required for the hardware.
Before using virtualization in any computer, the BIOS should be checked to ensure
that virtualization support has been enabled. If not enabled, then enable the options
Execute Disable and Virtualization VT.
5.1 Installation ESXi 6.0 Server

While servers can come pre-installed in the ESXi, the procedures outlined are for
new installations.
Many modern servers are designed with internal USB or SD slots. When extracted
with a memory device, they can be used for the installation destination of ESXi.
Perform the following to install VMware ESXi server software:
1. Boot the computer with the VMware ESXi server installation media to start the
VMware ESXi Installer.
If the ESXi boot menu does not appear, then the server BIOS settings should be
set to boot from CD.
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2. Select the Standard Installer from the ESXi Installer.
Figure 5.1: ESXi installation boot menu
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3. Press Enter to install on the Welcome to the VMware ESXi 6.0.0 Installer
dialog box.
Figure 5.2: ESXi installation welcome screen
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4. Read the End User License Agreement and press F11 to accept and continue.
Figure 5.3: ESXi installation EULA
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5. Select the Local Storage Device to install ESXi. This can be a USB disk. Use
the arrow keys to select the device and press Enter.
If a warning message that the device contents will be deleted, think again if there
is any data on the storage device that will be lost. If there is, cancel the installation
and move the data from the server.
Figure 5.4: ESXi installation destination selection
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6. Use the arrow keys to select the keyboard layout and press Enter.
Figure 5.5: Setting keyboard option for installation
7. Type the Root password (administrator) and confirm. Press Enter to continue.
Figure 5.6: Setting the ESXi root password
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8. Press F11 at the Confirm install dialog box.
Figure 5.7: Confirmation to begin the installation
9. Remove the installation media and press Enter to reboot after the installation is
complete.
Figure 5.8: Completion of the ESXi installation
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10. After installation, the console provides information of the current IP address and
provides the ability to perform basic configurations, such as, change the IP
address, network adapter, or change the ESXi sever host name:
Figure 5.9: Basic console interface of ESXi
After installation, the host name of the ESXi server should be configured. On many
systems, a DHCP server will not be present to provide an initial IP address. A static
IP address can also be configured through the ESXi console. Refer to ESXi
Configuration Console for the examples of configuring the ESXi server through the
ESXi console.
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6 ESXi Configuration Console 6.1 ESXi Login
6 ESXi Configuration Console
This topic describes how to configure the ESXi console. The ESXi console provides
the ability to configure the network properties use for the management interface. The
interface is cursor based, where selection and changing of properties is performed
using the keyboard. Once the network has been established, the VMware vSphere
client is used to interact with the ESXi sever.
6.1 ESXi Login

Perform the following to log on to the ESXi server:
1. Press F2 for the ESXi server dialog box.
Figure 6.1: Login into the ESXi server by pressing the F2 key
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6 ESXi Configuration Console 6.1 ESXi Login
2. Type the root password and press Enter.
Figure 6.2: Providing the root password for login to the ESXi server
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6 ESXi Configuration Console 6.2 Configure Management Network
6.2 Configure Management Network

To configure the management network, perform the following:
1. Use the arrow keys to select Configure Management Network and press Enter.
Figure 6.3: Selecting the Configure Management Network option
2. Use the arrow keys to select the Network Adapters option and press Enter.
Figure 6.4: Selecting the Network Adapters configuration
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3. Select the Network Adapters marked with X by pressing the Spacebar, and then
press Enter.
Figure 6.5: Selecting the management network adapter
4. Use the arrow keys to select IP Configuration, and press Enter to change the
IP address of the ESXi management interface.
Figure 6.6: Selecting the IP Configuration
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5. Use the arrow keys to select Set static IP address and network configuration
and then the Spacebar to enable the option.
Use the arrow keys to set the IP Address, Subnet Mask, and Default Gateway.
Press Enter to accept the values.
Figure 6.7: Specifying management network settings
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6. Configuring the ESXi Server host name

It is important to set the hostname to a value other than localhost to ensure that
SNMP Traps sent from the ESXi server contains the IP address and not 127.0.0.1.
To change the host name, select the DNS Configuration and press the Enter key:
Figure 6.8: Access the DNS Configuration to specify the host name
7. If not already selected, select the Use the following DNS server addresses and
hostname option, specify the hostname, and press the Enter key to accept the
changes:
Figure 6.9: Specifying the hostname
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8. Applying changes
To apply the changes, press the Esc key at the Configure Management Network
interface. This will trigger a request to restart the management network:
Figure 6.10: Exiting the Configure Management Network to apply the changes
9. At the request to restart the management network, press the Y key:
Figure 6.11: Restarting the management network to have the changes take effect
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10. Finally, logout of the ESXi server by pressing the Esc key:
Figure 6.12: Logging out of the ESXi sever console interface
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7 VMware vSphere Client 7.1 Installation
7 VMware vSphere Client
This topic describes how to install the VMware vSphere Client and how to log on to
the ESXi server using the VMware vSphere Client. The VMware vSphere Client is
the graphical interface used to interact with the ESXi server to configure the server
itself and the virtual machines in the server.
7.1 Installation
Perform the following to install VMware vSphere Client software:
1. Download the VMware vSphere Client from www.vmware.com.
Figure 7.1: Running the VMware vSphere Client installation program
2. Run the .exe file on the client to be used to configure the ESXi server.
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3. Select the appropriate language from the drop-down list and click OK.
Figure 7.2: Selecting the language for installation of the VMware vSphere Client
4. Click Next on the welcome screen dialog box.
Figure 7.3: VMware vSphere Client installation welcome screen
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5. Select I accept the terms in the license agreement and click Next.
Figure 7.4: Accepting the VMware End User License Agreement terms
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6. Leave the destination folder to the default path and click Next.
Figure 7.5: Accepting the default location for the installation
7. Click Install at the Ready to Install the Program dialog box.
Figure 7.6: Ready for the installation of the VMware vSphere Client program
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7 VMware vSphere Client 7.2 Log into an ESXi Server
8. Click Finish to complete the installation.
Figure 7.7: Completed installation of the VMware vSphere Client
7.2 Log into an ESXi Server

Perform the following to log on to the ESXi server:
1. Double-click the on the desktop icon to start the VMware vSphere Client:
Figure 7.8: VMware vSphere Client desktop icon
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2. In the VMware vSphere Client dialog box, type the IP address, User Name
and Password of the ESXi server, and click Login.
Figure 7.9: Providing login details to an ESXi server
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3. Click Ignore on the Security Warning message. It is recommended to install a

trusted certificate in the ESXi server.
Figure 7.10: Ignoring the untrusted SSL certificate
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7 VMware vSphere Client 7.3 Log into VMware vCenter Server
4. vSphere Client displays the host with virtual machines in the left pane, and a set
of tabs to provide more interaction with the host, or virtual machine.
Figure 7.11: vSphere Client Example
7.3 Log into VMware vCenter Server

When logging into a VMware vCenter Server, it is essential to use the SSO (Single
Sign On) credentials. During the vCenter Server quick install, a default domain of
vSphere.local is created. This is not a Microsoft Active Directory domain.
To login, the correct user, domain, and password have to be used.
The format for the user is: username@ssodomain.
The password is same as the password for the administrator user, it is configured
during the installation of the vCenter Server.
The same credentials also apply for logging on to an ESXi server that is a member
of an VMware vCenter Server.
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7 VMware vSphere Client 7.3 Log into VMware vCenter Server
Perform the following to log on to a VMware vCenter Server:

1. In the VMware vSphere Client dialog box, type the IP Address, User name
and Password, and then click Login.
Figure 7.12: VMware SSO Credentials to Log into the vCenter Server
2. By logging in to the vCenter Server, the vSphere Client shows the vCenter Object,
data center, Clusters, and hosts.
Figure 7.13: vSphere Client Interface When Logged into a vCenter Server
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8 Basic Configuration 8.1 Adding Disks
8 Basic Configuration
This topic describes the basic configuration that needs to be done after installing ESXi
in a server to add the virtual machines.
8.1 Adding Disks

Adding the additional storage is done using the vSphere Client. Perform the following
to add additional storage:
1. Open the vSphere Client. Click Configuration tab. In the Hardware pane, select
Storage and click Add Storage.
Figure 8.1: Configuring storage to the ESXi server
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2. Select Disk/LUN and click Next.
Figure 8.2: Selecting Disk/LUN storage to add
3. Select the available storage to add, and click Next.
Figure 8.3: Selecting storage to add
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4. Review the configuration change and click Next.
Figure 8.4: Reviewing the storage configuration change
5. Enter a datastore name and click Next.
Figure 8.5: Providing the new storage with a datasource name
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6. Select Maximum available space, and click Next.
Figure 8.6: Specifying the maximum capacity
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8 Basic Configuration 8.2 Configure Networks
7. Review the changes and click Finish. The Recent Tasks pane shows the status
of adding a storage is completed. The new data storage is available in the list of
data stores.
Figure 8.7: Final review before adding the storage
8.2 Configure Networks

Prior to setting up VMs, it is good practice to setup the virtual network using virtual
switches. A virtual switch is an emulation of a physical switch. In VMware ESXi, it
is possible to create virtual switches and to connect VMs to these virtual switches to
form a virtual network.
In Figure 8.8: ESXi Virtual Switches and Physical Network Adapters Connection two
virtual switches plant network 1 (PN1) and a control network 1 for area 20 (CN1
A20) are connected to various VMs.
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Figure 8.8: ESXi Virtual Switches and Physical Network Adapters Connection
A virtual switch can be bridged to a physical network adapter of the VMware ESXi
server. This is shown in Figure 8.8: ESXi Virtual Switches and Physical Network
Adapters Connection by the dotted lines. The VMware ESXi server itself is connected
to the physical plant and control networks through these physical adapters. By doing
so, virtual switches provide a means for connecting virtual 800xA server nodes to
the physical system networks.
From VMware ESXi version 4.0, each VM can have a maximum of ten virtual network
adapters. Therefore, a VM can be connected to a maximum of ten virtual switches.
In the example shown in Figure 8.8: ESXi Virtual Switches and Physical Network
Adapters Connection, the virtual CS ID1001CS1A is connected to the plant network
PN1 and to the control network CN1 A20. In the same manner, create a separate
virtual switch for each physical plant or control network to which virtual 800xA server
nodes require a connection.
It is suggested to name a virtual switch like the physical network it is bridged to (for
example, PN1 for the virtual switch bridged to the Physical PN1 as shown in Figure
8.8: ESXi Virtual Switches and Physical Network Adapters Connection. For network
redundancy, create a second virtual switch (for example, named PN2).
It can be difficult to know how the physical network adapters are related to the
VMware ESXi virtual network adapters. To make this easier, connect each additional
network adapter to a physical switch, then setup the virtual switch. This will result
in an unused (in ESXi) adapter which is connected.
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Perform the following to add a virtual switch to the ESXi server:

1. Open the vSphere Client. Click Configuration tab.
In the Hardware pane, select Networking, and click Add Networking... .
Figure 8.9: Accessing the ESXi networking configuration
2. In Add Network Wizard dialog box, for the Connection type, select Virtual
Machine and click Next.
Figure 8.10: Adding a new virtual switch for virtual machine communication
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3. For Network Access, select vmnic1 check box under Create a vSphere standard
switch, and click Next.
Figure 8.11: Selecting the network adapter to be connected to the virtual switch
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4. For Connection Settings, enter a name in the Network Label text box and click
Next.
Figure 8.12: Providing a name for the new virtual switch
5. Click Finish.
Figure 8.13: Completing the network configuration addition
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8 Basic Configuration 8.3 Set the Time Server
6. The new network switch is seen in the network configuration tab of the ESXi
server.
Figure 8.14: Network Switch Added
Repeat Step 2 through Step 5 to add more virtual switches.
8.3 Set the Time Server

When a virtual machine starts, it initially takes the time from the ESXi server. If there
is a time synchronization inside the guest, the time will then be updated by its time
source. If the ESXi server is not synchronized to a reliable time server, this creates a
step change in the time in the guest node which could interfere with the applications
running inside the guest. It is important that the VMware tools are not synchronizing
time with the ESXi server. This is the default setting and should not be changed.
The ESXi server internal clock must be synchronized to a reliable NTP server. This
NTP server must have the same time as the 800xA system and be accessible by the
ESXi management network. Configuring of the NTP client in the ESXi server is
performed through the vSphere Client.
With ESXi 6.0, NTP time sync can be setup to sync to a Windows Sever ntp time
service without addition command line configuration. That is, configuration via the
vSphere Client is sufficient.
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Perform the following to configure the NTP client in the ESXi server:
1. Open the vSphere Client. Click Configuration tab. Click Configuration tab.
In the Software pane, select Time Configuration, and click Properties... .
Figure 8.15: Accessing the ESXi time synchronization configuration
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2. In Time Configuration dialog box, click Options… button to access the NTP
servers configuration.
Figure 8.16: Accessing the NTP servers configuration
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3. In NTP Daemon (ntpd) Options dialog box, to add an NTP server. Select the
NTP Settings and click Add…. Enter address in Add NTP Server dialog box
and click OK.
Figure 8.17: Adding an NTP server to the ESXi time configuration
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4. In NTP Daemon (ntpd) Options dialog box, select General. Click Start and
select Start and Stop with host option. Select Start to start the service. Click
Ok.
Figure 8.18: Starting the NTP Daemon and selecting it to Start/Stop with the host
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5. In Time Configuration dialog box, select NTP Client Enabled and click OK.
Figure 8.19: Enabling the NTP client
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8 Basic Configuration 8.4 ESXi USB/SD Install: System Logs Locatio
6. The ESXi shows the NTP client running and NTP servers have been added along
with the Data and Time.
Figure 8.20: Running ESXi NTP Client
8.4 ESXi USB/SD Install: System Logs Location

When ESXi is installed to a USB or SD memory card, the ESXi log files are setup
to be stored on the USB or SD memory card. Since the storage capacity is limited,
the size of the log files is also restricted by ESXi to prevent the file system from being
filled up.
ESXi warns that the log files are being stored on the USB or SD memory card by the
following message:
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Figure 8.21: Warning that the ESXi log files are being stored on the USB or SD memory card
Perform the following to address the warning about the storage of the log files:
1. In vSphere Client Data Browser, click the folder icon to create a folder on one
of the hard disk datastores to store the log files
Figure 8.22: Folder created to store ESXi log files
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2. Open the vSphere Client. Click Configuration tab. In the Software pane, select
Advanced Settings.
Figure 8.23: Accessing the advanced options of the ESXi server
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3. In the Advance Settings dialog box, select global under Syslog, enter a name
in the Syslog.global.logDir text box and click OK
Figure 8.24: Specifying the ESXi syslog destination
Follow a naming convention while giving a name to the log directory (see Figure
8.24: Specifying the ESXi syslog destination). This directory is stored in the
datastore folder.
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4. Go to the folder in the vSphere Client Datastore browser to confirm the settings
are correct. A number of log files are present:
Figure 8.25: Confirmation that the ESXi logs are being written to the defined folder in
the datastore
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This topic describes how to create a virtual machine through the vSphere Client
interface. A wizard assists the creation of the virtual machine, where the most
important configuration items are specified, such as, the hard disk size. Whilst most
of the virtual machine can be customized after it is created, the hard disk size is more
troublesome to reconfigure, hence, the size should be planned based on typical usage
of the node type. The data that the applications will create must be taken into account.
Space should also be available for the operating system for log files, temporary files,
etc.
For example, Operating System = 20GB, Application = 10GB, Expected Data =
20GB, Free space = 20GB, then the virtual hard disk should be around 70GB to 80GB.
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9 Create Virtual Machines 9.1 Create a Virtual Machine
9.1 Create a Virtual Machine

Perform the following to create a virtual machine:
1. Open the vSphere Client. Right-click on VMware ESXi server and select New
Virtual Machine…
Figure 9.1: Creating a new virtual machine
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2. In Create New Virtual Machine dialog box, select Custom and click Next.
Custom option is selected to provide advanced selection of the virtual machine
configuration.
Figure 9.2: Specifying Custom virtual machine creation for access to more advanced
configuration
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3. Enter a name and click Next.
Figure 9.3: Specifying a name for the new virtual machine
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4. Select the location of storage for the virtual machine and click Next.
There should be enough free space for the size of the virtual machine disk and a
swap file which will be the size of the RAM allocated to the virtual machine.
Figure 9.4: Specifying the storage location of the virtual machine
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5. Select Virtual Machine Version and click Next.
Figure 9.5: Specifying the Virtual Machine Version that is applicable to ESXi 6.0 and
later
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6. Select Windows as Guest Operating System and Microsoft Windows Server

2008 R2 (64-bit) from the drop-down list, and then click Next.
Figure 9.6: Specifying guest operating system
Use the following table for guest selection:

Table 9.1: VMware ESXi guest operating selection
Guest Operating System VMware ESXi Guest Version

Microsoft Windows 7 (32-bit) Microsoft Windows 7 (32-bit)
Microsoft Windows 7 (64-bit) Microsoft Windows 7 (64-bit)
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 SP2 Microsoft Windows Server 2008 (32-bit)
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2
SP1 (64-bit)
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7. Select the Number of virtual sockets, and Number of cores per virtual socket
from the drop-down list, and click Next.
The total number of cores indicates the number of vCPU allocated to the virtual
machine. The software to be run in the virtual machine is licensed on sockets, it
may be a cost advantage to specify only one socket and multiple cores.
Figure 9.7: Specifying number of vCPU in the virtual machine
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8. Select or type the value for Memory Size and type from the drop-down list, and
click Next.
The sum of the RAM allocated to all of the running virtual machines should be
less than the physical RAM of the ESXi server.
Figure 9.8: Specifying the RAM allocated to the virtual machine
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9. Under Create Network Connections select a suitable value for the following
from the drop-down list and click Next:
Up to 4 NICs can be added initially to the virtual machine. More can be
added/removed/edited once the virtual machine has been created.
Figure 9.9: Specifying the initial network adapters
The virtual adapter to be used in 800xA 5.x and 800xA 4.x is E1000.
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10. Select the LSI Logic SAS as SCSI Controller and click Next.
Figure 9.10: Specifying the SCSI controller type
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11. Select Create a new virtual disk and click Next.
Figure 9.11: Creating a new virtual disk for the new virtual machine
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12. Select the Disk Size from the drop-down list.

Select Thick Provision Lazy Zeroed under Disk Provisioning.
Select Store with the virtual machine under Location, and click Next.
Figure 9.12: Specifying the size of the virtual machine disk
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13. Leave the Virtual Device Node and Mode to default settings, and click Next.
Figure 9.13: Specifying the Virtual Device Node and the Mode of the virtual disk
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14. Review the settings and click Finish to complete the setup. Creation of the virtual
machine will take a few seconds and then appear in the ESXi inventory.
Figure 9.14: Reviewing the virtual machine configuration prior to creation
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9 Create Virtual Machines 9.2 Install the Guest Operating System
15. The creation of the virtual machine will take a few seconds and then appear in
the ESXi inventory:
Figure 9.15: Newly created virtual machine
The new virtual machine will not have an operating system or applications installed.
These will have to be installed in a similar manner to that used to install a physical
computer.
9.2 Install the Guest Operating System

Whilst it is possible to connect the virtual machine to a CD/DVD which has the
installation media, a more efficient method is to upload the ISO image of the media
to one of the datastores and point the virtual machine CD/DVD to the ISO image.
Perform the following to upload the ISO file to the datastore:
1. Browse one of the datastores.
2. Create a folder and name it ISO.
3. Upload the ISO image into the folder.
Figure 9.16: Uploaded operating system iso image to ESXi datastore for virtual machine
installation
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9.2.1 Add ISO file to the Virtual Machine

After the ISO file has been uploaded to the datastore perform the following to upload
the ISO file to the virtual machine:
1. Open vSphere client.
2. Right-click on the new virtual machine (here it is 800xA_AS1) and select Edit
Settings....
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3. To edit the virtual machine settings,

Click Hardware tab and select CD/DVD drive 1 (edited).
Select Connect power on under Device Status.
Under Device type, select Datastore ISO file and click Browse to upload the
suitable ISO file, and then click OK.
Figure 9.17: Setting CD/DVD to use an uploaded ISO image for the operating system
installation
It is recommended to set the Video card memory to at least 64MB. This provides
the ability to resize the virtual machine console to larger sizes.
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Operating System Installation

Perform the following to start the operating system installation:
1. Open vSphere Client.
2. Right-click on the virtual machine and select Open Console.
Figure 9.18: Accessing the virtual machine console
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3. Click the Start button to start the virtual machine.
Figure 9.19: Starting the virtual machine
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4. Install the Windows operating system in the virtual machine in the same manner
as that of a physical computer.
Figure 9.20: Installation of the Windows operating system in the virtual machine
VMware tools should be installed after the operating system is installed. Prior to
this, it is required to press the Ctrl and Alt buttons at the same time to release the
mouse and keyboard focus from the virtual machine. VMware tools will also assist
in making the mouse cursor more responsive.
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9 Create Virtual Machines 9.3 Install VMware Tools
9.3 Install VMware Tools

VMware tools provides drivers and services to the guest operating system which also
enhances the user interaction with the virtual machine. For example, without VMware
Tools installed, to move the mouse and keyboard focus from the virtual machine
console, it is required to press the Ctrl + Alt keys. With VMware Tools installed, the
mouse moves freely between the computer running the vSphere Client and virtual
machine console. Graphics drivers installed by VMware tools improve the
responsiveness of the mouse in the virtual machine console.
Perform the following to install the VMware tools:
1. Perform Step 1 and Step 2 in Operating System Installation to open the virtual
machine console.
2. Click on VM and point to Guest and select Install/Upgrade VMware Tools.
Figure 9.21: Initiating the installation of VMware Tools
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3. Click Ok on the Install VMware Tools message.
Figure 9.22: VMware Tools installation notification
4. In the virtual machine, open a Windows explorer, and double-click on the DVD
Drive(D:) VMware Tools to start the installation.
Figure 9.23: Initiating the installation of VMware Tools
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5. Click Next on the VMware Tools Setup dialog box.
Figure 9.24: VMware tools installation welcome screen
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6. For Setup type, select Typical and click Next.
Figure 9.25: Selecting VMware Tools installation type
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7. Click Install at Ready to install VMware Tools.
Figure 9.26: Installing VMware Tools
8. Click Finish to complete the installation.
Figure 9.27: Completed installation of VMware Tools
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9. Click Yes on the VMware Tools Setup machine to restart the machine.
10.
Figure 9.28: Restarting the virtual machine after the installation of VMWare Tools
Once restarted, it is now possible to resize the virtual machine desktop size. To resize
perform the following:
1. Perform Step 1 and Step 2 in Operating System Installation to open the virtual
machine console.
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2. Click View and select Fit Guest Now.
Figure 9.29: Resizing the guest desktop to fit the virtual console size
If it there are difficulties in resizing the desktop, check that the virtual machine
video adapter has to be allocated at least 64MB.
The virtual machine desktop should fit the size of the virtual machine console.
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9 Create Virtual Machines 9.4 Virus Scanning
Figure 9.30: Resized virtual machine desktop
After Windows and the VMware Tools are installed, install and configure 800xA
software into the VM the same way as on physical computers by using the 800xA
System Installer tool. For more information, refer 3BSE034678-
511_D_en_System_800xA_5.1_Feature_Pack_Manual_Installation and
3BSE034679-511_D_en_System_800xA_5.1_Feature_Pack_Automated_Installation
user guides.
9.4 Virus Scanning

Virus scanning of computers is a CPU and disk intensive activity. It is best practice
to stage schedule hard disk scanning in virtual machines so that there is not more than
one virtual machine scanning its hard disk in an ESXi server at a time.
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10 Upgrade ESXi 4.x/ESXi 5.x t 10.1 Upgrade to ESXi 6.0
10 Upgrade ESXi 4.x/ESXi 5.x to ESXi 6.0
10.1 Upgrade to ESXi 6.0

It is recommended that the upgrade of ESXi and the update of the 800xA system be
performed in the same maintenance schedule.
Consider that older servers may not support ESXi 6.0. Consult the VMware
Compatibility Guide (http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php)
as part of the planning to upgrade the servers to ESXi 6.0. Where the same servers
are to be used, the BIOS/firmware should also be upgraded.
If upgrading from ESXi 4.x, the ESXi server must be upgraded to ESXi 5.5 first.
Then upgraded to ESXi 6.0
Where online update of the 800xA system is supported, the 800xA system must be
redundant. Review ABB 800xA documentation on 800xA upgrade or update
procedures.
It is required that the primary 800xA Servers and the redundant 800xA servers are
running on different ESXi Servers. The primary 800xA nodes should not be running
on the same ESXi server as the redundant 800xA nodes. An example is shown in
Figure 10.1: Primary and Redundant 800xA servers on separate ESXi servers
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Figure 10.1: Primary and Redundant 800xA servers on separate ESXi servers
It is recommended to upgrade ESXi server first. This will provide support for newer
operating systems.
The workflow is outlined in Figure 10.2: Workflow for updating ESXi servers to ESXi
6.0. Each ESXi server should be upgraded and stable prior to moving to the next
ESXi server. The ESXi servers with redundant 800xA servers should be upgraded
first. Prior to upgrading an ESXi server, all the virtual machines must be shut down,
and the ESXi server placed in Maintenance Mode. Maintenance Mode prevents virtual
machines from starting up as per the startup configuration of virtual machines. This
enables the review and correction of issues prior to starting the virtual machines.
After the ESXi servers have been upgraded, the 800xA should be upgraded at earliest
available time.
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Figure 10.2: Workflow for updating ESXi servers to ESXi 6.0
The upgrade of an ESXi server requires all virtual machines to be shutdown, it is

essential to ensure that there is no risk to production, that is, the upgrade is performed
during a factory maintenance shutdown if the 800xA System does not have redundant
servers.
Before upgrading an ESXi server to ESXi 6.0, consider the following:
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• All virtual machines running on the ESXi server must be shut down. This is done
inside Windows in the virtual machine in the same manner as shutting down a
physical computer.
• Ensure that the server vendor supports ESXi 6.0 before upgrading.
• Use the server vendor custom ESXi installer which is available from the vendors
support web site.
• Upgrade the BIOS/firmware as part of the server upgrade procedure.
• After migration, the vSphere Client 6.0 needs to be installed on the client
computer. Previous versions can remain on the client.
• Upgrade the Virtual Machine Hardware Version to 11. This requires that the
virtual machine is shutdown.
• Upgrade VMTools on each virtual machine.
• An ESXi 6.0 license will need to be installed.
The process for upgrading an ESXi server is the same for the different versions of
ESXi.
It is important to ensure that an upgrade of the existing installation is made which
preserves existing VMFS (VMware File System) partitions.
Perform the following to upgrade to ESXi 6.0:
1. Open vSphere Client.
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2. Check that the virtual machines on ESXi have been shut down.
Figure 10.3: Checking that all virtual machines have been shutdown
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3. Right-click on the ESXi server and select Enter Maintenance Mode.

You must opt for the ESXi server into maintenance mode to ensure that the virtual
machines will be started in a controlled manner. This will prevent the virtual
machines from starting automatically when the upgraded ESXi server starts.
Figure 10.4: Placing the ESXi server into maintenance mode
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4. Click Yes on the Confirm Maintenance Mode message.
Figure 10.5: Confirmation to place the ESXi server into maintenance mode
5. Insert ESXi 6.0 installation media into the server.

6. Right-click on the host in vSphere Client and select Reboot.
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7.
Figure 10.6: Rebooting the ESXi server
8. The ESXi boot menu appears if the server has been correctly setup in the BIOS
to boot from the CD:
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Figure 10.7: Booting the Server from the Installation Media
9. Press Enter to continue.
Figure 10.8: ESXi installation welcome screen
10. Press F11 to accept the License and continue.
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Figure 10.9: Accepting the VMware end user license agreement
11. If the correct disk has been selected, the disk details will show that an ESXi
installation has been found. Use arrow keys to select the disk, and press the F1
to display the disk details.
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Figure 10.10: Selecting one of the ESXi server hard disks
12. If the correct disk has been selected, the disk details will show that an ESXi
installation has been found. Press Enter for the Disk Details dialog box.
Figure 10.11: Disk details showing that the ESXi installation to be upgraded has been
found
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13. Press Enter to continue the ESXi upgrade.
Figure 10.12: Continuing with the ESXi upgrade after the correct hard disk has been
selected
14. Select the Migrate ESX, preserver VMFS datastore using the arrow keys, and
press Enter to maintain the existing settings and datastores of the ESXi server.
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Figure 10.13: Selecting to upgrade ESX and preserve datastores
15. Review the migration settings and press F11.
Figure 10.14: Confirmation of migration of the ESX server to ESXi
16. After completion of the migration, remove the installation media from the drive
and press Enter to reboot the server.
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Figure 10.15: Completion of the ESXi to ESXi 6.0 migration
17. Ensure that the VMware vSphere Client 6.0 has been installed in the client.
After the server has restarted, open vSphere Client, and review the configuration.
Right-click on host and select Exit Maintenance Mode, and power on the virtual
machines.
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Figure 10.16: Exiting maintenance mode to enable the virtual machines to be started
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11 Sphere Command Line Interfa 11.1 Overview
11 Sphere Command Line Interface
11.1 Overview
This topic describes how to install vSphere Command Line Interface (CLI). The
VMware ESXi interface and the vSphere Client does not have the ability to execute
commands in the ESXi Server. This functionality is provided by vSphere CLI, allowing
the execution of administration commands on the ESXi Server. Where additional
files are required, these can be uploaded to a datastore prior to executing the
commands.
Typical usage for the vSphere CLI is to install patches and setting SNMP trap
configurations.
11.2 Download
The VMware CLI is downloaded from VMware website and installed on a computer
that has network connectivity to the management interface on the ESXi server. The
version should be same version as the ESXi servers that are to be administrated.
Download VMware vSphere CLI 6.0 from www.vmware.com.
11.3 Install VMware vSphere CLI

The VMware vSphere CLI is installed on computer that is also connected to the ESXi
management interface. While this could be a virtual machine, the management interface
should have limited restricted access over the network to minimize security threats.
To install the VMware vSphere CLI 6.0:
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11 Sphere Command Line Interfa 11.3 Install VMware vSphere CLI
1. Double-click on the VMware vSphere CLI installation program.
Figure 11.1: VMware vSphere CLI installation program
2. Click Next at the welcome screen dialog box.
Figure 11.2: VMware vSphere CLI installation welcome screen
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3. Select I accept the terms in the license agreement and click Next.
Figure 11.3: Accepting the VMware license agreement
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4. Leave the destination folder for the installation to the default location and click
Next.
Figure 11.4: Default location of the VMware vSphere CLI installation
5. Click Install at the ready to install dialog box.
Figure 11.5: Beginning the installation of the VMware vSphere CLI
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6. Click Finish to complete the VMware vSphere CLI 6.0 installation.
Figure 11.6: Completion of the VMware vSphere CLI
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12 USB Licensing Dongle 12.1 Connecting the 800xA USB Licensing Dong
12 USB Licensing Dongle
This topic describes the details of adding a USB License Dongle in the ESXi server
and in the virtual machines.
In physical 800xA nodes, ABB 800xA USB licensing dongle is attached to the
computer where the 800xA CLS service is running.
12.1 Connecting the 800xA USB Licensing Dongle to

the CLS Server
To enable the virtual machine to access the USB dongle perform the following:
1. Edit the Settings of the virtual machine.
2. Add Hardware of Device Type USB Controller. Select the Controller type
EHCI+UHCI.
The configuration must be allowed to complete before adding USB devices.
3. Insert the ABB USB Dongle into the ESXi Server.
4. Add Hardware of Device type USB Device.
5. Add relevant ABB License Dongle USB device type from the listed devices.
6. Click Next, and click Finish
7. Click OK.
8. Start the virtual machine.
For more information on Central Licensing Server, refer System 800xA Licensing
Information (2PAA111691*).
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13 Backup and Restore 13.1 Backup and Restore of an ESXi Server
13 Backup and Restore
This topic describes the details of backup and restore activities performed in the ESXi
server and in the virtual machines.
Whilst there are many virtual machine backup solutions, it is important to understand
that the backups are usually made when the virtual machine operating system has
open files. This results in a backup where the integrity of the files cannot be
guaranteed. During the backup operation, there is a high level of disk access. This
may impact the performance of the node. If multiple backups are made at the same
time, there is a risk that there is an impact on other nodes in the system. These solutions
are not supported for System 800xA.
13.1 Backup and Restore of an ESXi Server

Backing up an ESXi server is a different concept to backing up a Windows computer.
Virtual machines running in an ESXi server are backed up individually as described
in Backup and restore of virtual machines.
To install a replacement ESXi server as an assistance, the following configuration
details should be noted:
• Virtual switch configuration. For example, switch names, parameters, and
connected VMs.
• Storage adapter configuration. For example, iSCSI addresses.
• NTP server details.
• DNS and routing configuration.
• User and Groups configuration.
• Virtual machine configuration such as resource allocation and user security
details.
After the virtual machines have been moved to the new server, it is important to check
that the network has been correctly set for each virtual machine.
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13 Backup and Restore 13.2 Backup and Restore of Virtual Machines
When powering on a virtual machine which has been moved to the new server, a
question may be asked if it has been copied or moved. Answering ‘moved’ will keep
the unique identity (for example NIC MAC addresses) the same. Answering ‘copied’
will change these unique identities.
13.2 Backup and Restore of Virtual Machines

Using snapshots is not a supported method for 800xA server nodes. There is a
reduction in performance when running a virtual machine that has snapshots. If a
snapshot has been made of a running virtual machine it can take longer to start the
virtual machine. It is also possible to accidentally snapshot back to a previous state
of the virtual machine which could interfere with production and potentially loose a
great deal of data.
Virtual machines running in an ESXi server are backed up as if they are physical
computers.
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14 Security 14.1 Roles
14 Security
When an ESXi server is installed, the root user is setup as the administrative user on
all objects in the ESXi server. Items such as virtual machines, that are added, have
the root user added to their permissions by default.
A problem with this is that, mistakes or abuse of the system is possible by those who
have knowledge of the root password. To limit this, additional users who have limited
roles in the ESXi server should be added. These limited roles would only allow the
user to start the virtual machine, but not stop, delete, or modify it. The roles should
be applied to those virtual machines which are relevant to the user.
14.1 Roles
Roles are a group of privileges that can be allocated to a user and applied as
permissions to the objects in the ESXi server. These privileges are grouped into
categories such as Datastore and Virtual Machine.
By default, there are three roles in an ESXi server. These cannot be edited and new
roles need to be created to define the required set of privileges.
Creating a role with a limited set of permissions through the following actions:
1. Login to the ESXi server using the vSphere Client.
2. Select Home > Administration > Roles in the taskbar.
3. Click Add Role.
4. Provide a name for the new role. By default, the new role has no privileges.
5. Add the minimal level of privileges required. For example, expand the tree
structure of:
All Privileges >Virtual machine >Interaction
Select the item: Power On.
6. Click OK.
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14 Security 14.2 Users
14.2 Users
Users are either those defined in the ESXi server, or via vCenter which uses Windows
users. Once the users are defined, they are added to objects in the ESXi server and
assigned permissions. When the user logs into the ESXi Server, only those virtual
machines which have the user assigned to are visible.
Users are added through the following procedure:
2. Select the ESXi server icon in the tree structure.
3. Select the Users & Groups tab group.
4. Right-click in the blank area of the Users & Groups tab.
5. Select Add... from the context menu.
6. Provide a Login, User Name and Password. The login name should have
alphanumeric characters with no spaces. The password should meet the minimum
complexity which is a minimum of 6-8 characters which have upper case, lower
case, numeric values and do not contain phrases in the login name. If the password
does not meet the minimum complexity, an invalid format message is shown.
14.3 Permissions
Permissions are added to objects, such as, the virtual machines, to allow the users for
limited interaction with the virtual machine. They can be allowed to propagate to
child objects.
Permissions are added to a virtual machine using the following procedure:
2. Select the virtual machine which requires permission modification.
3. Click Permissions tab.
4. Right-click in the blank area of the Permissions tab.
5. Select Add Permission... from the context menu.
6. Select Add... to select a user.
7. Select the user name in the list.
8. Click Add and then OK.
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14 Security 14.3 Permissions
9. In the Assign Permissions dialog box, select the permission from the Assigned
Role drop-down box.
If the ESXi server is being managed using vCenter Server, the users of the computer
running vCenter Server, or the domain it is a member of, can be used to add
permissions to the ESXi server objects.
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15 Optimization 15.1 Virtual CPUs
15 Optimization
This topic describes the optimizations required in virtual CPUs.
15.1 Virtual CPUs

As an initial guideline, it is recommended to have two virtual CPUs in each virtual
machine and to have at least one logical processor per virtual CPU. In some cases,
where there are a number of processes in the virtual machine which consume high
processor load, it may be necessary to add additional virtual CPUs to achieve target
performance levels.
To add an additional CPU to a virtual machine, it must first be shut down. The
hardware configuration is then edited, and the number of CPUs are adjusted to the
required count. If a virtual machine has been configured with one processor, Windows
will use the uniprocessor kernel. When more than one processor is found, Windows
will then install the multiprocessor kernel and associated drivers. After this installation,
the virtual machine needs to be restarted.
To provide CPU resources to the virtual machines, there should be one logical
processor for each virtual CPU. For example, if the computer has 2 Quad Core CPUs
(8 cores) and each virtual machine has 2 virtual CPUs, then there should be only 4
virtual machines running on the ESXi server (8 virtual CPUs). With hyper threading
enabled, there are twice as many logical cores, hence, there can be twice as many
virtual CPUs (16 virtual CPUs).
Whilst hyper-threaded cores have a small performance reduction caused by sharing
core resources, they provide more execution locations for virtual CPUs, which
minimizes delays in virtual machine execution.
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15 Optimization 15.2 Allocate Virtual CPUs to Physical Cores
15.2 Allocate Virtual CPUs to Physical Cores

It is highly recommended to allow the ESXi Server to allocate resources. However,
if it is required to allocate virtual machine to physical cores, the identifier convention
in the ESXi server must be understood.
In VMware ESXi server, the first hyper-thread of the first core is logical processor
0, the next hyper-thread of the first core is logical processor 1. This is summarized
in Figure 15.1: Core Numbering in ESXi
Figure 15.1: Core Numbering in ESXi
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16 VMware CLI, Drivers, Update 16.1 VMware Command Line Interface
16 VMware CLI, Drivers, Updates and

Upgrades
When setting up an ESX server, additional drivers or updates may be required.

Typically, this would be for network adapters. Additional updates may also be required.
These tasks can be achieved from the Windows computer which is used as a client
to the ESX server.
Due to the difficulty in identifying hardware which ESXi does not automatically
detect, it is mandatory to have an inventory of the computers configuration. This
should contain details on, for example, additional NIC cards including the chipset.
This information is used to identify the correct driver in the VMware website.
VMware has produced a software utility, which provides the functionality to have
patches saved on the Windows client be applied to the ESX server through simple
commands. To make it easier to identify the updated files when typing the commands,
they should be placed in a simple folder, for example, C:\ESXUpdates.
Most vendors provide ISO images which are used to create bootable CDs/DVDs to
enable the firmware to be upgraded. The relevant offline bundle is extracted for the
installation in the ESXi server.
16.1 VMware Command Line Interface

The VMware Command Line Interface (CLI) provides the ability to perform
maintenance operations, such as, applying patches, drivers and updates from a
Windows client. This removes the necessity to understand the Unix based command
required when logging in through the text based terminal console for these tasks. It
also provides the ability to apply updates to ESXi when there is no text based console
to log on to. Installation of the VMware Command Line Interface (CLI) is described
in Install VMware vSphere CLI.
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16 VMware CLI, Drivers, Update 16.2 Prepare the ESXi Server
16.2 Prepare the ESXi Server

Installing drivers or ESXi updates typically will require the ESXi server to be restarted.
Hence, it is highly recommended to shut down the virtual machines and put the ESXi
server into maintenance mode prior to upgrading the ESXi server.
16.3 Drivers
Perform the following to download the drivers:
1. Go to http://www.vmware.com and download the driver.
2. Save the ISO file to disk.
3. Open the ISO file using Winzip and extract the offline bundle.
Figure 16.1: Extracting the offline bundle from an ESXi driver installation media
4. ESXi patches and updates can be downloaded from VMware website.

https://my.vmware.com/group/vmware/patch#search
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16 VMware CLI, Drivers, Update 16.4 Apply Patches/Updates
5. Click the drop-down and select a suitable version of ESXi.
Figure 16.2: Specifying ESXi version when searching for updates
6. Select the update and click Download.

7.
Figure 16.3: Downloading an ESXi update
16.4 Apply Patches/Updates

Perform the following to apply the patches/updates:
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The VMware CLI Command Prompt must be used for the commands shown below.
The directory for the command prompt should be:C:\Program Files
(x86)\VMware\VMware vSphere CLI
1. Upload the patch/update to a datastore in the ESXi server so that it is used for
the patch/updates installation commands.
As seen in the figure below, a folder named Updates is created in the datastore
to assist in keeping the datastore organized.
Figure 16.4: Update Uploaded to Datastore in the ESXi Server
2. The VMware CLI requires the server SHA1 thumprint as a commandline

argument.
To determine the thumbprint, execute a command without the thumbprint:
esxcli -s 192.168.64.26 -u root -p rootPassword
The execution result is shown below:
Connect to 192.168.64.26 failed. Server SHA-1 thumbprint:
18:3B:37:F6:BE:70:81:18:A6:05:E4:22:CF:A9:D9:2B:8A:E8:CC:C4
(not trusted).
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3. Install the update typing the following in the command prompt.

All 4 lines shown below are to be entered for the same command execution:
esxcli -s 192.168.64.26 -u root -p rootPassword --thumbprint
18:3B:37:F6:BE:70:81:18:A6:05:E4:22:CF:A9:D9:2B:8A:E8:CC:C4
software vib update -d /vm
fs/volumes/datastore1/updates/ESXi600-201703001.zip
The start of the successful execution is shown below:
Installation Result
Message: The update completed successfully, but the system
needs to be rebooted for the changes to be
effective.
Reboot Required: true
VIBs Installed:
VMware_bootbank_esx-base_6.0.0-3.58.5224934,
VMware_bootbank_vsan_6.0.0-3.58.5224737,
VMware_bootbank_vsanhealth_6.0.0-3000000.3.0.3.58.5224738
VIBs Removed: VMware_bootbank_esx-base_6.0.0-3.57.5050593,
VMware_bootbank_vsan_6.0.0-3.57.5050595,
VMware_bootbank_vsanhealth_6.0.0-3000000.3.0.3.57.5050596
VIBs Skipped:
VMWARE_bootbank_mtip32xx-native_3.8.5-1vmw.600.0.0.2494585,
VMware_bootbank_ata-pata-amd_0.3.10-3vmw.600.0.0.2494585,
VMware_bootbank_ata-pata-atiixp_0.4.6-4vmw.600.0.0.2494585,
...
4. After completion of the installation of the update, the ESXi server will need to
restart. Since this means also shutting down the virtual machines first, care must
be taken to ensure there is no interference to production.
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17 Storage Area Network 17.1 Hardware
17 Storage Area Network
Virtual machines can either be stored on hard disks, local in the ESXi server, or on
a network storage device such as a Storage Area Network (SAN) server. In both cases,
the storage is added to the ESXi server and seen as datastores.
One advantage of having the virtual machines stored on a SAN server is that, the
virtual machines can be moved from one ESXi server to another. Since both ESXi
servers have access to the same shared storage, it is only the execution context that
needs to be moved rather than the much larger virtual machine hard disk.
This topic provides an overview of SAN and how it is used with VMware vSphere.
While SAN servers support either Fibre Channel, iSCSI, or both, this topic provides
information only on iSCSI. Most major server vendors also supply SAN servers. The
specific configuration of each SAN type is not documented. Refer to the vendors
specific guides for individual device configuration details.
It is essential that the configuration used is confirmed to function as expected
before used for production. This includes using the performance monitors in the
ESXi servers to ensure that load balancing is operational, and to ensure that network
redundancy is working by temporarily disconnecting the network connections.
17.1 Hardware
SAN servers are highly redundant disk arrays that provide storage over a network.
Each SAN has redundant power supplies, redundant controller modules, redundant
network connections per controller module and redundant disks.
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17 Storage Area Network 17.2 Configuration
Figure 17.1: Rear View of an SAN Device
The following parts as numbered in the figure above are:

1. Power Supplies.
2. Fiber Channel host ports.
3. iSCSI ports (host or replication).
4. CLI port (mini-USB).
5. Reserved for future use.
6. Management Ethernet port.
7. SAS expansion port.
17.2 Configuration
SAN servers typically consists of 12 to 24 hard disks. These are usually configured
as one or more RAID 5 (block-level striping with distributed parity) disk groups with
a number of disks set as hot spares or hot standby, used as a failover mechanism to
provide reliability in System Configurations. The SAN server vendor may have best
practices for allocation of the storage.
When combining disks to create RAID arrays, a storage item is created which is used
to create virtual disks. These are the entities that become available as datastores in
ESXi.
When formatting datastores, the file block size needs to be changed to accommodate
the largest file that is created in the datastore.
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17 Storage Area Network 17.3 Networking
Figure 17.2: SAN Server Storage Configuration
17.3 Networking
The figures below provide an overview of the networking required for a SAN server
implantation.
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Figure 17.3: SAN Storage iSCSI Network
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Figure 17.4: SAN Storage Management Network
One or more ESXi servers are connected to multiple network switches through multiple
network connections. The SAN server is also connected to the switches through
multiple network connections.
There are two types of network traffics in this configuration. One is to access the
shared storage through iSCSI and the other is for configuration and management of
the servers. To provide security and reliability, the two types of traffics are separated
using a VLAN.
To reduce single point of failures, separate network adapters should be used in the
ESXi servers for the storage network as shown in the figure below.
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Figure 17.5: Multiple Network Adapter Connection for Higher Reliability
The multiple network connections provide redundancy, it also provides load balancing.
The figure below is an example of IP addresses for the storage network.
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Figure 17.6: IP Address for the Storage Network
When configuring the IP addresses in the SAN server, the VLAN settings are in the
advanced settings, as shown in the figure below.
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Figure 17.7: Setting the VLAN ID for the iSCSI Ports
In the figure below, it is observed that the SAN server does not support VLAN. In
this case, separate network switches for iSCSI and management traffic should be
used.
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17 Storage Area Network 17.4 ESX Server Network Configuration
Figure 17.8: SAN Server iSCSI IP Configuration
17.4 ESX Server Network Configuration

Implementation of networking for the virtual solution involves separating functionality
and implementing redundancy. There should be separate networks for the management
and SAN iSCSI storage networks. This prevents management network traffic from
interfering with the storage network traffic. The figure below shows the network
configuration. Hardware vendor guidelines may recommend different configurations,
but the configuration should always verify that network utilization is optimized.
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Figure 17.9: ESXi Server Network Configuration
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17.4.1 Add Datastores

This description is based on using the iSCSI Software Adapter in the ESX Server.
Perform the following steps in the ESXi Server:
1. Select Configuration > Storage Adapters Configuration.
2. Select iSCSI Software Adapter.
3. On the Details dialog box, select Properties.
4. In the iSCSI Initiator Properties dialog box, select Configure.
5. Select Enabled and click OK.
6. On the Dynamic Discovery tab, for each SAN IP Addresses, perform the
following steps.
a. Select Add.
b. Enter the IP Address of the iSCSI Server and click OK.
c. Click Close once all the IP Addresses are added.
d. Click Yes to re-scan, on the message stating the rescan of the Host Bus
Adapter.
If the iSCSI storage server is not used before, the datastores must be added and
formatted. The procedure is same as adding a local storage disk.
When formatting the datastores it is important to consider the largest file size and
set an appropriate block size.
If the iSCSI storage server is already been used in an ESX server, then the
datastores appears in the storage configuration without the intervention of the user.
Load Balancing
Perform the following steps to manage the paths:
1. Select the iSCSI Software Adapter.
3BSE056141-510 I 157
2. Select a device from the list in the Details dialog box.
Figure 17.10: iSCSI Device Details
3. Right-click on the selected device and select Manage Paths.
158 3BSE056141-510 I
17 Storage Area Network 17.5 Performance
4. On the Manage dialog box, select Round Robin from the Path Selection
drop-down list.
Figure 17.11: iSCSI Path Selection Policy
17.5 Performance
It is essential that the configuration provides the best performance before using in a
production environment. This involves monitoring the throughput to the datastores
and ensuring that all networks are being used.
In the network performance chart, 4 network adapters that are supporting the SAN
server 1,3,4,7 are all providing throughput to the SAN sever.
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Figure 17.12: Load balancing of SAN Servers
If the configuration is not correctly setup, not all the network connections are used
for communication with the SAN server. It displays the network traffic. It is important
to check the average/maximum values as there may be instances where the network
traffic is sampled when there is no traffic.
The following are the areas that must be checked:
• Are the network switches in the ESXi server configured correctly?
• Are the VLANs setup correctly in the ESXi server and the SAN server?
• Can the SAN server be pinged on each of the IP addresses from the ESXi server.
The vmkping is used from the console of the ESXi server?
• Is it iSCSI Path Selection Policy set to Round Robin?
160 3BSE056141-510 I
• Does the SAN server has a preferred path that needs to be reset or reconfigured?
• Contact the SAN supplier for additional information regarding configuration.
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162 3BSE056141-510 I
18 VMware vCenter
18 VMware vCenter
VMware vCenter provides a centralized platform for administrating ESXi servers.

Administrative access to the ESXi servers is provided without having to separately
log on to the ESXi servers. User access rights in the ESXi servers can be applied from
a common user access definition.
VMware vCenter is installed in to a computer which does not run ABB 800xA
software.
VMware vCenter is required for accessing functionalities such as VMware High
Availability, vMotion, Storage vMotion, and Fault Tolerance. Only VMware High
Availability is approved for ABB 800xA production systems. These functionalities
typically require common storage of the virtual machines, such as, an external SAN
storage.
There are two methods to login to the vCenter Server; through the vSphere Web
Client, or the vSphere Desktop client. The web client is only available with vCenter
as it provides the services for the web client access.
With the introduction of ESXi 5.5, some functions are only available through the
vSphere Web Client that comes with vCenter.
When ESXi servers in a computing environment increases, the time and effort to
maintain the individual servers also increases. Changes in user access are to be applied
to each ESXi server individually. To make this easier, VMware developed the vCenter
Server.
Additional capabilities are also unlocked once the ESXi servers have been added to
the vCenter server. These include VMware High Availability, vMotion, Storage
vMotion, and Fault Tolerance. Inclusion of the capability depends on the license
applied to the ESXi server.
To facilitate these advanced functionalities, the virtual machines need to be stored
on a Storage Area Network (SAN) device. This is a highly redundant disk storage
unit which uses either Fiber Channel, or Internet SCSI (iSCSI) to communicate to
the ESXi servers. The folder that represents the virtual machine (including the virtual
3BSE056141-510 I 163
18 VMware vCenter
hard disk, and configuration files) is stored in the SAN device. Typically, the SAN
device has RAIDed storage, redundant controller cards, redundant power supplies,
and multiple network connections per controller card.
Figure 18.1: Enterprise Virtualization Components
vCenter Server is not included in VMware vSphere ESXi and must be purchased
separately to implement VMware vSphere advanced functionality, such as, VMware
High Availability.
It is important to remember that the free version of ESXi cannot be added to a
vCenter Server. License must be purchased and used.
vCenter Server is a product that runs on Windows Server (64-bit) and should be
installed on to a computer dedicated to run the vCenter Server. Hence, vCenter Server
should not be installed on a domain controller, or 800xA Server or 800xA Client
164 3BSE056141-510 I
18 VMware vCenter 18.1 Licensing
Node. vCenter Server stores information into Microsoft SQL Server database. For
installations of small number of ESXi servers, it is better to install Microsoft SQL
Server Express that is included in the vCenter Server installation media.
While it is not a pre-requisite to have external storage for vCenter Server, advanced
functionality such as VMware High Availability requires virtual machines stored in
an external storage unit accessible over the network.
The same VMware vSphere Client that is used to interact with the individual ESXi
servers is also used to interact with the vCenter Server. When logging into the vCenter
Server, Windows accounts for the computer where vCenter Server is running.
18.1 Licensing
Each vCenter server requires a vCenter license.
Each ESXi server to be added requires a full license. that is. the free ESXi license
cannot be used.
18.2 Single Sign-On

vCenter Single Sign-On (SSO) is introduced in vCenter Server 5.1. It is a mandatory
component of the VMware Cloud Suite which deals with identity management for
administrators and applications that interact with the vSphere platform. This is separate
from Microsoft Active Directory (AD). Hence, it can be installed in a computer that
is a member of a workgroup. SSO can have multiple AD domains added to it.
When logging into the vCenter Server to perform administrative tasks, the SSO
administrative account is used which is defined during the installation. This includes
access from either the VMware Web Client, or the VMware Desktop Client.
It is recommended to use the simple install option which includes vCenter Single
Sign-On.
18.3 Web Client and Desktop Client

The VMware Web Client is only available when vCenter is installed. There are some
functionalities that are only available through the web client and some that are only
available through the desktop client. ABB 800xA system installations do not require
the advanced functionality that is restricted to the web client.
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166 3BSE056141-510 I
19 VMware vCenter Installation 19.1 vCenter 6.0 Supported Operating System
19 VMware vCenter Installation
This topic describes how to install VMware vCenter 6.0.
19.1 vCenter 6.0 Supported Operating Systems

The following operating systems are supported by VMware (only 64-bit versions):
• Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 1 64bit.
• Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 64bit.
• Windows Server 2008R2 64bit
• Windows Server 2008R2 Service Pack 1 64bit.
• Windows Server 2012 64bit.
• Windows Server 2012R2 64bit
• Windows Server 2016 64bit
The installation operation fails if a user tries to install on other operating systems.
19.2 Hardware
The VMware recommended minimum hardware configuration for Simple Install
deployment of vCenter Single Sign-On, the vSphere Web Client, vCenter Inventory
Service, and vCenter Server. Following table lists the hardware configuration:
Table 19.1: Hardware Configurations
Components Capacity
CPU 2GHz Dual Core
RAM 12GB
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19 VMware vCenter Installation 19.3 Pre-configuration
Table 19.1: Hardware Configurations

(Continued)
Components Capacity
Hard Disk 40GB - 60GB free space (that is 80GB Hard Disk)
Network 1Gbps
19.3 Pre-configuration
Ensure that the computer where vCenter is to be installed has the following
pre-configurations made to minimize installation difficulties:
1. Ensure that the network adapters have static IP addresses.
2. It is critical that the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) is pinged.
In the Command Prompt enter ping -4 vcenter.ld.local. The ping statistics is
displayed.
ping -4 vcenter.ld.local
Figure 19.1: Successful ping response
3. On Windows Server, the User Interfaces and Infrastructure - Desktop Experience

feature is required for Flash support of the Web Client
19.4 Install vCenter

Perform the following procedure to install vCenter Server:
1. Insert the vCenter Server installation media into the computer.
168 3BSE056141-510 I
19 VMware vCenter Installation 19.4 Install vCenter
2. Double click on the DVD drive to start the installation process.
Figure 19.2: Starting the vCenter installation program
3. At the VMware vCenter Installer dialog box, click Install:
Figure 19.3: VMware vCenter installer interface
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4. Click Next at the Welcome to the vCenter Server 6.0.0 Installer Setup dialog
box.
Figure 19.4: vCenter Server welcome screen
5. Select I accept terms in the license agreement and click Next:
Figure 19.5: Accepting the End-User License Agreement
170 3BSE056141-510 I
6. Click Next at the Select deployment type dialog box.
Figure 19.6: vCenter Server deployment type
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7. Enter the System Network Name and click Next:
Figure 19.7: Specifying the System Network Name
8. An information dialog box may appear indicating that the IPv6 address could
not be found. Installations typically use IPv4. Click OK to continue:
Figure 19.8: IPv6 address information
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9. Specify the domain name, and administrator password. Then click Next:
Figure 19.9: Specifying the domain and administrator password
The password must have at least:

Eight characters
One special character
One lowercase character
One uppercase character
One number
It cannot have any of the following special characters:
^*$;"')<>&|\_
A trailing " " space
Non-ASCII characters
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10. Use the Windows Local System Account for the service account and click Next:
Figure 19.10: Specifying vCenter Server Service Account
11. Using the embedded database for the vCenter server installation and click Install:
Figure 19.11: Using the embedded database for the vCenter server installation
174 3BSE056141-510 I
12. Leave the ports as default and click Next:
Figure 19.12: vCenter Server port configuration
3BSE056141-510 I 175
13. Leave the destination directory as default and click Next:
Figure 19.13: vCenter Server installation destination directory
14. Deselect the vCenter Server installation customer experience improvement

program option if desired and click Next:
Figure 19.14: Installation of the VMware vCenter Inventory Service
176 3BSE056141-510 I
15. At the Ready to install screen, review the configuration and click Install:
Figure 19.15: Installation of the vCenter Server
16. At the Setup Completed, click Launch vSphere Web Client.

On Windows Server, the User Interfaces and Infrastructure - Desktop Experience
feature is required for Flash support of the Web Client
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19 VMware vCenter Installation 19.5 Basic Configuration through the vSphere
Figure 19.16: Completion of the vCenter Server installation
19.5 Basic Configuration through the vSphere Web

Client
This sub-topic consists an example of some of the basic configuration of the vCenter
Server through the vSphere Web Client. This is only to provide familiarity with the
interface, and not an in-depth process.
Perform the following procedure for configuration:
1. Using Windows client on the same network which has successfully installed
Flash Player, open vSphere Web Client address using the following example:
https://vcenter.vn.local/vsphere-client/?csp.
178 3BSE056141-510 I
2. Click Continue to this website.
Figure 19.17: Accessing the vSphere Web Client from a Windows client
3. Use Single Sign-On credentials and click Login to log on to the vSphere Web
Client.
Figure 19.18: Logging into the vCenter Web Client
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4. The vSphere Web Client starts at the home screen. Navigation is provided in the
Navigator panel.
Figure 19.19: vCenter Server home screen
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5. A data center is a top-level container for hosts and clusters. Select the data centers
resource in the Navigator panel, and the add new data center icon to begin adding
a new data center:
Figure 19.20: Adding a new data center
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6. Enter a data center name and select the vCenter server to contain the data center,
and click OK.
Figure 19.21: Adding a new data center
182 3BSE056141-510 I
7. Add a host to data center by clicking the add new host icon.
Figure 19.22: Adding a new host to the data center
8. Enter IP address and click Next.
Figure 19.23: Providing IP address for the new host to be added to the data center
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9. Enter the administrative User name and Password credentials of the host to be
added, and click Next. For an ESXi server, this is typically the root user.
Figure 19.24: Specifying the administrative credentials for the host to be added to the
data center
184 3BSE056141-510 I
10. Click Yes on the Security Alert message.
Figure 19.25: Accepting the host SHA1 thumbprint
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11. In the summary, review the host details to ensure that the correct host is being
added, and click Next.
Figure 19.26: Reviewing the host to be added to the data center
186 3BSE056141-510 I
12. Select the License and click Next. Each host requires a full license to be added
to the vCenter Server.
Figure 19.27: Selecting the ESXi license require for the host to be added to the vCenter
server
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13. Leave the Lockdown mode disabled and click Next. The Lockdown mode
prevents logging directly into the ESXi server.
Figure 19.28: Leaving the lockdown mode disabled
14. Select VM Location > data center and click Next.
Figure 19.29: Specifying the location for the virtual machines to be added in vCenter
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15. Review the configuration and click Finish.
Figure 19.30: Reviewing the configuration changes to vCenter
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16. The vCenter Home shows the updated inventory in the vCenter.
Figure 19.31: Updated vCenter Inventory
190 3BSE056141-510 I
20 VMware High Availability 20.1 Configure VMware High Availability
20 VMware High Availability
This topic describes how to improve the VMware high availability.

VMware High Availability is not a substitute for 800xA redundancy.
The VMware High Availability (HA) functionality is designed to recover ESXi servers
automatically from a hardware failure. Virtual machines that are running on the failed
server are automatically restarted on another ESXi server. The virtual machines are
offline for few minutes to the restarted virtual machines. The configuration of VMware
HA allows the specification of the ESXi server that hosts the restarted virtual machines.
VMware HA requires the virtual machines to be stored on an external storage server,
such as, a SAN server, and also requires the ESXi Servers to be added to a vCenter
Server. The storage network and the management network must be redundant.
With the introduction of USB support in ESXi 4.1, it is possible to have the ABB
USB dongle connected directly into the ESXi server and available in the guest.
However, when a virtual machine is moved from one ESXi server to another, it is
necessary to move the dongle as well. Here, it would be beneficial to use a USB over
IP device, such as, AnywhereUSB, so as to maintain continuity of functionality when
moving virtual machines.
20.1 Configure VMware High Availability

Before configuring VMware HA, the network setup should be reviewed. Refer to
ESXi Configuration Console.
When a virtual machine is moved from one ESXi server to another, the vSwitches
must have the same set of names. For example, if the plant network is named PN1
on ESX1, then it must also be named PN1 on ESX2 and ESX3.
The ESXi servers that are part of the VMware HA configuration, must also be part
of a cluster in the vCenter Server as shown in the figure below.
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Figure 20.1: Cluster in vCenter
20.1.1 Add a Cluster Object

Perform the following steps to add the cluster:
1. Log in to the vCenter Server.
2. If there is no data center, right-click on the vCenter object in the left pane and
select New data center.
3. Provide a name for the data center.
4. Right-click on the data center object, and select New Cluster to create a cluster.
5. Enter a name for the cluster.
6. Select the Turn On VMware HA option and click Next.
7. Let the Host Monitoring Status and Admission Control properties be default and
click Next. These can be adjusted later.
8. Let the Cluster Default settings be default and click Next.
9. Let the VM Monitoring Status and Default Cluster Settings be default and click
Next.
10. Leave the Enhanced vMotion Compatibility (EVC) disabled.
11. Let the Swapfile Policy for Virtual Machines be default and click Next.
12. Review the summary of settings and click Finish.
192 3BSE056141-510 I
20.1.2 Add ESXi Servers to the Cluster

To add ESXi servers to the cluster, the following procedure is repeated for each ESXi
server:
1. Right-click on the cluster object and select Add Host.
2. Enter the Host name or IP address, Username and Password.
3. Click Next.
If the name is used, the vCenter and ESXi hosts must have a functioning DNS
server.
4. Click Yes on the Security Alert dialog box.
5. Click Next on the Host Summary dialog box.
6. Enter the license for ESXi server if it is not entered previously and click Next.
This cannot be the free ESXi host license.
7. Leave the Enable Lockdown Mode unchecked on the Lockdown Mode window
and click Next.
8. Click Finish on the Ready to Complete dialog box.
20.1.3 Specify Failover Host

In Storage Area Network , there are three ESXi servers in the configuration. The
primary server is used for the primary 800xA nodes, while the secondary server is
used for the redundant 800xA nodes. The third server in the configuration is the
failover host (Virtual Machines Restarting on the Failover Server) that is not running
virtual machines. If either the primary or secondary server fails, the virtual machines
that are running on the failed server are started on the third server.
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Figure 20.2: Virtual Machines Restarting on the Failover Server
To ensure that the failed nodes on the primary server are not started on the secondary,
or visa-versa, it is important to specify the third server as the failover server:
1. Right-click on the Cluster object and select Edit Settings.
2. Select VMware HA on the left pane.
3. Select Do not power on VMs that violate availability constraints for the
Admission Control in the right pane.
4. Select Specify a failover host and select the third ESXi server from the
drop-down list on the Admission Control Policy.
5. Click OK to complete.
194 3BSE056141-510 I
21 VMware Advanced Functionali 21.1 VMware vMotion
21 VMware Advanced Functionality
21.1 VMware vMotion

VMware vMotion must not be used during production or engineering. The 800xA
System must be stopped and no afw processes running.
VMware vMotion is the ability to move virtual machines from one ESXi server to
another while it is running. It is required that the ESXi servers are members of a
vCenter server and the virtual machines are stored on a SAN server.
When a vMotion operation is performed, the memory of the virtual machine is
progressively transferred to the other ESXi server. Changes in the memory of the
original virtual machine are tracked and transferred. When the remaining memory to
be transferred is small enough to be performed in one last operation, the virtual
machine stops, the remaining memory is transferred, and the virtual machine execution
is continued on the other server. This generally results in a loss of one ping on the
network. Depending on the network speed and the CPU activity of the virtual machine,
the time may be more or less.
The loss of network connection may be in the order of a few seconds, but the
applications and services on the computer transferred, or communication with the
computer transferred may take longer to return to normal operations.
To assist in minimizing interference with the storage network communication, a
separate network should be used for vMotion operations.
21.2 VMware Storage vMotion

VMware Storage vMotion is not supported for System 800xA.
21.3 VMware Fault Tolerance

VMware Fault Tolerance is not supported for System 800xA.
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196 3BSE056141-510 I
22 800xA in the IT Infrastruct 22.1 Considerations for 800xA in the IT Infr
22 800xA in the IT Infrastructure
22.1 Considerations for 800xA in the IT Infrastructure

Many companies have an IT infrastructure and have already taken advantage of
virtualization for consolidating server functionality. Moving the 800xA Server
environment to the IT infrastructure is a logical progression for optimizing both
hardware and IT expertise.
Prior to planning the installation of the 800xA System in the IT Infrastructure, the IT
infrastructure administrators must be consulted to establish feasibility. The following
must be understood:
• ABB 800xA Systems should have their own domain, and not attached to the
corporate domain.
• ABB 800xA Systems use multicast communication which is typically blocked
in IT infrastructure environments.
There is a diverse hardware range in the IT infrastructure, yet only VMware vSphere
ESXi servers that are running on Intel servers are supported for 800xA. Typically,
these types of environments make heavy usage of SAN storage.
Generally, monitoring of the server hardware is already in place, but not integrated
into 800xA in these installations. The procedure to notify production environments
of server issues needs to be reviewed.
While the 800xA server nodes can share resources with other servers, it should be
considered as a best practice to have the 800xA server nodes residing on ESXi servers.
If there is some sharing, the resource usage should be reviewed. This includes the
typical loading of scheduled or unscheduled activities, such as, weekend backup
operations.
The 800xA is a 24/7 system and should have resources accordingly.
Those who are responsible for maintaining the infrastructure must be aware that the
800xA System is a 24/7 System, which cannot be treated in the same fashion as other
3BSE056141-510 I 197
22 800xA in the IT Infrastruct 22.1 Considerations for 800xA in the IT Infr
servers. Maintenance must always be coordinated with production to ensure that no

downtime occurs.
Due to the diversity of configurations, ABB cannot fully support various
configurations. The project and customer must be in agreement regarding support
responsibilities before the project is undertaken. This includes the required knowledge
and resources to assume the responsibility of support.
198 3BSE056141-510 I
23 800xA Virtual Client 23.1 Virtual Clients
23 800xA Virtual Client
800xA workstations are dedicated physical computer workstations running Windows

7 and 800xA as an operator client. Moving the physical clients to the virtual
environment allows the benefits of virtualization to be extended to the clients.
Virtual clients do not benefit from physical graphic adapter acceleration. The should
not be used for main operator workplaces, or operator workplaces that control safety
critical systems (such as boilers).
23.1 Virtual Clients

The figure below provides a comparison of physical workstations running 800xA
and virtual clients which are running Windows 7 and are accessing the 800xA client
node over the network using Microsoft's Remote Desktop Protocol. Access to the
virtual client desktop is done over the network through a thin client which has 1 to 2
monitors, a keyboard and a mouse attached. In the first release of virtual client support
for 800xA, only Microsoft remote desktop protocol is supported.
Thin clients are purpose built computers from hardware vendors such as HP and Dell.
These devices normally have low power consumption and runs without a fan.
The thin clients must be 800xA IIT certified and support RDP 8.1.
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23 800xA Virtual Client 23.2 Benefits of Virtual 800xA Workplaces
Figure 23.1: Physical Client to Virtual Client Comparison
Microsoft allows multiple screen remote sessions in the following versions of

Windows:
• Windows 7 Enterprise - 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64)
• Windows 7 Ultimate - 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64)
23.2 Benefits of Virtual 800xA Workplaces

The following are the benefits of virtual 800xA workplaces:
• Reduced operator room space requirements.
• Reduced operator room power and heating requirements.
• Reduced operator room cooling requirements.
• Reduced operator room noise.
• Fast replacement of thin client.
• Ability to move virtual client to new hardware without reinstall.
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23 800xA Virtual Client 23.3 Operating Area Planning
• Standard installation without messing the drivers.

• Added security by setting up virtual client without USB.
• Clients now in server room with cost effective remote solutions.
When considering relatively small number of clients that are involved in an 800xA
solution compared to the enterprise client virtualization, the initial cost of a virtual
client solution is at a disadvantage. However, the subsequent maintenance benefits
are a continuous benefit that should always be considered when engineering solutions.
23.3 Operating Area Planning

When consolidating hardware into virtual systems, availability must always be
considered. If a area has all clients consolidated into one virtual server host and that
host becomes unavailable, there will be no clients available. Hence, there must be at
least two ESXi servers supporting the control area clients.
Figure 23.2: Control Room Support from Multiple Physical Servers
A separate network for the remote access must be configured. This enables secured
firewall configurations, which improves security by keeping the remote access separate
from plant and control networks.
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23 800xA Virtual Client 23.4 Graphical Presentation and Physical Ser
23.4 Graphical Presentation and Physical Server Speed

Graphical rendering that is presented using the thin client is created in the virtual
node using virtual and physical CPU resources. The virtual machine does not take
advantage of the physical server graphics adapter capabilities. Specifying the physical
server CPU should take this into account. If the 800xA workplaces are expected to
be heavily loaded, then a faster CPU would provide more capability to handle the
load.
23.5 Thin Clients

These are small computers that are 800xA IIT certified and support RDP 8.1.
One or more monitors, keyboard, mouse and networking are connected to the thin
client. Thin client establishes communication with the virtual client using client
software, such as, Microsoft's Remote Desktop Client. Minimal configuration is
required to configure thin client software. This makes it easy to replace the unit.
Thin clients may be initially configured for screen and power saving. For
production systems, these features must be turned off.
As thin client uses a flash disk, configuration of the device requires the disk to be
placed in read-write mode. This is described in the device user manual. Once the
configuration is complete, the device must be switched to read-only mode.
Currently, thin clients are designed with a single interface. Hence, network redundancy
using 800xA RNRP is not possible. It is possible to use a standard approved 800xA
workstation PC as a thin client. In this case, RNRP can be installed. While the
advantages of a true thin client are lost, the workstation needs only minimal software
installation and configuration. Hence, replacement becomes a much easier task.
23.6 Multiple Screen

Primary considerations for multiple screens are that the operating system in the virtual
client supports multiple screens. For example, if the virtual machine is running
Windows 7 Pro, a thin client can open a multiple monitor remote desktop session.
They can provide higher levels of loading as there is more screen real estate to bring
up more objects.
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24 Check Lists 24.1 ESXi Host Setup Check Lists
24 Check Lists
24.1 ESXi Host Setup Check Lists

Item Setting ESX1 ESX2
BIOS VT Enabled
BIOS VT-d Enabled
BIOS Execution Enabled
Hyper Threading Enabled
Hard Disk Configuration Setup as RAID1, RAID5 or
RAID6
Time Correct local time
Only vSphere Client Connected
All vSwitches Gigabit Connection
24.2 ESXi Guest Setup Check List

Item Setting Guest1 Guest2 Guest3 Guest4
Machine Name Note: No spaces
Virtual Machine 8
Version
Guest OS Windows 7,
Windows Server 2008
SP2 or
Windows Server 2008
R2 SP1 for 800xA 5.1
No. of virtual 2
processors
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24 Check Lists 24.2 ESXi Guest Setup Check List
Memory 8GB
Virtual Network Based on
Adapter documentation
SCSI Controller Use default
Hard Disk Based on node
requirements
Disk Provisioning Thick
Mode Independent
de-selected
Video RAM 64MB
Floppy drive Removed
VMware Tools Installed
Graphics Acceleration Full
in Guest
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25 Further Technical Informati 25.1 VMware Community
25 Further Technical Information on VMware

ESXi
25.1 VMware Community

VMware ESXi normally requires a support agreement to be able to provide the
required support.
The following links to a searchable VMware database for all technical documentation
on VMware ESXi: https://kb.vmware.com/s
VMware community can be accessed via the following link:
https://communities.vmware.com/welcome
Threads are answered by VMware ESX engineers, often within the same day. It is
highly possible that common VMware ESX issues that the user may have already
have been discussed and solved in this forum by others.
The revision index of this User Manual is not related to the 800xA 5.1 System
Revision.
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206 3BSE056141-510 I
26 Revision History
26 Revision History
The following table lists the revision history of this User Manual.
Revision Index Description Date

A Published for 6.0.1 release October 2015
B Published for 6.0.3 release September 2016
I Published for 5.1 May 2019
3BSE056141-510 I 207
Contact us
www.abb.com/800xA Copyright © 2019 ABB.

www.abb.com/controlsystems All rights reserved.
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1 About this User Manual

3 800xA Server and Client Node Consolidation

4.8 Determine Additional Hardware .............................................................................. 30

6 ESXi Configuration Console

7 VMware vSphere Client

9 Create Virtual Machines

10 Upgrade ESXi 4.x/ESXi 5.x to ESXi 6.0

11 Sphere Command Line Interface

12 USB Licensing Dongle

13 Backup and Restore

16 VMware CLI, Drivers, Updates and Upgrades

17 Storage Area Network

19 VMware vCenter Installation

20 VMware High Availability

21 VMware Advanced Functionality

22 800xA in the IT Infrastructure

23 800xA Virtual Client

25 Further Technical Information on VMware ESXi

1 About this User Manual

1.1 User Manual Conventions

1.1.1 Warning, Caution, Information, and Tip Icons

Caution icon indicates important information or warning related to the concept

1.3 Released User Manuals and Release Notes

2.1.1 Overview of Virtualization

Figure 2.1: VMware ESX Virtualization Overview

3 800xA Server and Client Node Consolidation

This topic describes the details of 800xA Server Node Consolidation.

3.1 Non-virtualized 800xA System

Figure 3.1: Example of a Non-virtualized 800xA System

The components of the non-virtualized 800xA system are as follows:

3.2 Consolidated 800xA System

Figure 3.2: Example of a Virtualized 800xA System

Compared to the non-virtualized system shown in Figure 3.1: Example of a

Figure 3.3: Setup Procedure for VMware ESXi 800xA System

4.1 Software Versions

4.2 System Overview

4.3 System Planner

4.4 Server Provisioning

4.5 Client Virtualization

4.6 Determine Required VMware ESXi Server

4.6.1 Local or SAN Storage

4.7 Server and System Dimensioning

4.7.2 Guideline for CPU

4.7.3 Guideline for RAM

4.7.4 Guideline for Hard Disk

RAID Type Minimum No. of Disks Capacity

RAID 1 or RAID 6 are highly recommended. RAID 1 provides a simple configuration

ESXi Hard disk requirement is 7 x 300GB.

ESXi Hard disk requirement is 7 x 300GB.

4.8 Determine Additional Hardware

4.8.1 800xA Licensing Dongle

4.8.2 Using the ABB USB Dongle Over the Network

4.8.3 Adding adapters to the ESXi server

5.1 Installation ESXi 6.0 Server

2. Select the Standard Installer from the ESXi Installer.

Figure 5.1: ESXi installation boot menu

Figure 5.2: ESXi installation welcome screen

Figure 5.3: ESXi installation EULA

Figure 5.4: ESXi installation destination selection

Figure 5.5: Setting keyboard option for installation