VMware

Lab Manager 3.0 Release Notes

Notes on VMware Lab Manager, Build 2063

The release notes contain these topics:

For more information on the product, see the Lab Manager documentation Web page and the VMware Knowledge Base (KB). To view Lab Manager KB articles, choose VMware Lab Manager in the Product menu and click Search.

Key Features

Review the key features of Lab Manager 3.0.
  • VirtualCenter Awareness

    • Integrates with VirtualCenter to allow for the full benefits of VMware Infrastructure 3.
    • Resource pools managed by Lab Manager can have DRS, VMotion, and HA turned on and Lab Manager virtual machines will be able to take advantage of these capabilities.
    • VirtualCenter will push the Lab Manager agent software onto ESX hosts managed by Lab Manager, eliminating the need to manually install the agent.
    • Easy import of virtual machines from VirtualCenter.
  • Enterprise Application Features

    • Ability to create organizations within Lab Manager. Organizations are a method of creating groups of users in Lab Manager with either separate or shared resources (compute, storage) and user objects (configurations, templates, and media).
    • Customizable roles and rights. Lab Manager 3.0 introduces the ability to define custom user roles with varying rights. In this way, an organization can define users with different capabilities and levels of access to resources and objects.
    • Expanded LDAP support. Lab Manager 3.0 supports OpenLDAP for user authentication, in addition to Active Directory. LDAP groups and users are mapped to Lab Manager organizations.
    • More granular sharing. Objects can be shared with specific users, all users in an organization, or across the entire installation.
  • Platform Improvements

    • "Gold Master" library configurations. Reference configurations can be labeled as gold masters by users that have the right to do so, distinguishing them from other configurations in the library.
    • Forced deployment modes. User roles can be assigned rights that require or prevent the use of network fencing when deploying Workspace configurations. In addition, you can specify a fencing policy for a configuration or physical network.
    • Directed Deployment. You can deploy virtual machines to specific resource pools. This functionality is helpful for performance testing or situations requiring deployment to hosts with specific hardware, peripherals, or network setups.
    • VMFS Media Store support. A VMFS media store will be set up as the default media store for a new installation.
    • Storage Utility. A storage tool (SSMove) allows you to move virtual machine files between datastores for maintenance purposes.
  • Use Case Expansion

    • Multiple NICs, networks, and subnets. Lab Manager 3.0 allows for the definition of multiple physical and virtual networks, each with their own subnet. Virtual machines can have multiple virtual NICs that attach to those networks. In addition, you can set VLAN tags on physical and virtual networks. This greatly expands the number of network topologies that Lab Manager can support.
    • Configuration combining and splitting. In Lab Manager 3.0, you can combine configurations and move virtual machines from one configuration to another.
    • Selective checkout. When you check out a Library configuration, you can select which virtual machines you want to add to a new configuration. In this way, entire test matrices can be stored in a single Library configuration.

Requirements

Lab Manager requires VMware Infrastructure 3 Standard or Enterprise (VMware ESX 3.5 Update 1 or Update 2 and VMware VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 1 or Update 2). Lab Manager does not work with VMware Infrastructure 3 Foundation or VMware ESXi 3.5. For details on all requirements and procedures to set up the product, see the Lab Manager Installation and Upgrade Guide.

Make sure to review the hardware compatibility list (HCL) guides for ESX 3.5 at http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vi_pages/vi_pubs_35.html.

Upgrading Lab Manager

For information about upgrading from Lab Manager 2.5.x, see the Lab Manager Installation and Upgrade Guide. After you upgrade the Lab Manager server, but before you launch the Lab Manager Web console, you must clear the cache in you Web browser.

  • In Internet Explorer, choose Internet Options in the Tools menu and delete the temporary internet files.
  • In Firefox, choose Clear Private Data in the Tools menu and clear only the browser cache.
To upgrade from the beta version of Lab Manager 3.0 (build 3.0.1624), use the following procedure.

To upgrade from Lab Manager 3.0 beta:
  1. Uninstall Lab Manager Server 3.0.0.1624 (Program Files only).
  2. Install Lab Manager Server 3.0.0.2056, using VMware-labmanager-server-3.0.0.2056.exe. Make sure the option to migrate the old database is selected in the installation wizard.
  3. Log in to the Lab Manager Web console.

If you used an Active Directory LDAP connector and schema with build 3.0.0.1624, and you did not install a hot patch from VMware during the beta period, you must download and run a utility on the Lab Manager server. The utility is available here. Download the LdapGuidConverter.zip file, extract the contents, and run LdapGuidConverter.exe on the Lab Manager server.

Known Issues

Review the known issues for this release.

Lab Manager Does Not Support Active Directory Built-In or Predefined Groups
Active Directory includes a number of built-in groups (for example, Account Operators, Administrators, Backup Operators, and so on) and predefined groups (for example, Domain Admins, Domain Users, Enterprise Admins, and so on). Although you can add these groups to a Lab Manager organization, Lab Manager does not support these groups, and members of these groups will not be able to log in to the Lab Manager Web console.

Using Lab Manager with HA Clusters
If you are using HA clusters with Lab Manager, VMware recommends that you disable admission control.

When VMware HA moves deployed virtual machines in a configuration using fencing, Lab Manager may display the following system message: Virtual router external physical network adapter manipulated. To restore network connectivity to the configuration:
  • Undeploy the configuration, saving its state.
  • Redeploy the configuration.
Windows Vista and Windows 2008 Virtual Machines Report Incorrect Guest OS
Windows Vista and Windows 2008 virtual machines created in Lab Manager 2.5.x, ESX Server 3.0.x, or Virtual Center 2.x will have an "unrecognized" guest OS in Lab Manager 3.0. This may cause problems with customization. To address the problem, modify the virtual machine properties.

To modify the guest OS for a virtual machine:
  1. In the left pane, click Workspace.
  2. Move the pointer over the configuration name and choose Open from the menu.
  3. Move the pointer over the virtual machine name and choose Properties from the menu.
  4. Set the correct guest OS.
  5. Click Update.
To modify the guest OS for a virtual machine template:
  1. In the left pane, click VM Templates.
  2. Move the pointer over the undeployed virtual machine template name and choose Properties from the menu.
  3. Set the correct Guest OS.
  4. Click Update.
Guest Operating System Not Being Customized in Imported Configuration Virtual Machines
If you export a configuration that has never been deployed (and therefore, never customized) and then import it, the virtual machines in the configuration will not be customized when you deploy them.
Workaround: Deploy each virtual machine in the configuration using the Force Re-customization option.

UNIX Guest OSes Taking a Long Time to Boot
When you remove virtual NICs from virtual machines running a UNIX guest OS, Lab Manager does not correctly remove references to the deleted NIC(s). This can cause delays in booting the guest OS.
Workaround: Wait for the guest OS to boot, or remove the files (ifcfg-ethn) that reference the deleted NIC(s) from the guest OS.

Guest Customization Fails in SLES 9 Virtual Machines
When you install SLES 9 on a virtual machine template, the guest operating system creates a file that interferes with guest customization in virtual machines based on the template.
Workaround: Remove the file ifcfg-eth-idMAC from the guest OS of the virtual machine template.

SuSEPlugger Conflicts Using SuSEPlugger in virtual machines can cause problems with Lab Manager guest operating system customization. To avoid conflicts, manually disable SuSEPlugger in all virtual machine templates.

To disable SuSEPlugger:
  1. Open the file ~/.kde/share/config/susepluggerrc.
  2. Remove the section that starts with [network ctrl].
IP Forwarding Conflicts Using IP forwarding in virtual machines can cause problems with Lab Manager networking. To avoid conflicts, disable IP forwarding in all virtual machine templates.

Antivirus Software Blocks SMTP Email Alerts From Lab Manager
Antivirus software can generate errors such as this one:
The SMTP settings are not properly configured. Failed to send email: The message could not be sent to the SMTP server. The transport error code was 0x800ccc15. The server response was not available.

To address the error, disable the antivirus software from blocking outgoing email or install a mail server on the same system as the one that Lab Manager Server runs on. Make sure that Lab Manager sends email through the local SMTP server.

Sample Virtual Machine Template and Configuration Not Available
When you install Lab Manager, the installation includes a sample virtual machine template, ttylinux-4-ESX3, and a sample configuration, Sample Configuration. If Lab Manager is unable to prepare any ESX Hosts during installation, the sample files are not installed.

Customization Script and the Sample Virtual Machine Template
The sample virtual machine template, ttylinux-4-ESX3, does not support the Customization Script option in the virtual machine template pop-up menu.

NFS Media Store Directory Path Limitations
Lab Manager does not support using symbolic links or root (/) when specifying the directory path for an NFS media store.

Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Setup Error
If you cancel the Lab Manager installer before it completes installing SQL Server 2005 and launch the installer again, the following error displays: An installation package for the product Microsoft SQL Server Native Client cannot be found. Try the installation again using a valid copy of the installation package 'sqlncli.msi'.

Before you can install Lab Manager successfully, you must remove any installed SQL Server 2005 components.

To remove SQL Server 2005 components:
  1. On the Lab Manager server, choose Start > Control Panel > Add or Remove Programs.
  2. Remove the following SQL Server 2005 components:
    • Microsoft SQL Server Native Client
    • Microsoft SQL Server Setup Support Files (English)
    • Microsoft SQL Server VSS Writer
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Guest OS Not Supported
The Lab Manager user interface incorrectly allows you to select Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional as the guest OS for a virtual machine or virtual machine template. Do not select it, since Windows 2000 Professional is not a supported guest OS.

Microsoft Windows NT Guest OS Does Not Support the None Network
Do not connect any of the NICs for Windows NT virtual machines or virtual machine templates to the None network.

Naming Physical Networks and Network Templates
Although Lab Manager allows you to create multiple physical networks and network templates with the same name, VMware does not recommend doing so. If you try to import a configuration that contains two or more physical networks with the same name or two or more virtual networks with the same name, the import operation fails and Lab Manager reports The configuration XML file is in an invalid format.

Changing the Lab Manager Installation ID
Lab Manager uses an installation ID to generate MAC addresses and create virtual switches (vSwitches). If you have multiple Lab Manager installations, make sure to enter a unique installation ID in the Web Initialization wizard. If you need to change the installation ID later, use the following procedure.

To change the Lab Manager Installation ID:
  1. In the left pane, choose Resources and click the Hosts tab.
  2. Move the pointer over each host name and choose Unprepare from the menu.
  3. In the left pane, click Settings, change the Lab Manager Installation ID, and click OK.
  4. In the left pane, choose Resources and click the Hosts tab.
  5. Move the pointer over each host name and choose Prepare from the menu.
  6. Click the Physical Networks tab.
  7. Move the pointer over each physical network name and choose Properties from the menu.
  8. Specify a vSwitch for each host that uses the physical network and click OK.
Error message: Virtual Machine VM_Name.vmx does not have ethernet device with MAC address nn:nn:nn:nn:nn:nn
You may see this error message when you try to deploy a virtual machine that did not have a MAC address before it was upgraded to Lab Manager 3.0.
Workaround: Reset the MAC address for the virtual machine and deploy again.

Networks With Overlapping IP Pools
You should not create networks with overlapping IP pools. If you create physical or virtual networks with overlapping IP pools and use these networks in the same configuration, you could end up with more than one virtual machine or virtual NIC with the same IP address.