VMware VirtualCenter 1.1 Support Documentation

Features | Documentation | Knowledge Base | Discussion Forums

Accessing Properties and Settings

There are five sets of properties and settings dialog boxes. Each set makes adjustments to the corresponding VirtualCenter environment. These are described in the following sections:

VMware VirtualCenter Settings

To access the VMware VirtualCenter settings, select File > VMware VirtualCenter Settings.

Note: Changes to this setting apply to the current VirtualCenter server only. If you log out and log on to another VirtualCenter server, the settings are specific to that VirtualCenter server only.

This dialog box has three tabs:

Performance — Lists the interval settings used to collect performance data that appears on the Performance tab in the information panel.
Templates — Displays the field for specifying the template upload directory. This directory stores templates that are not stored on a shared datastore.
Advanced — Lists a variety of fields.

The Advanced tab fields are:

instance.id — Generates unique MAC addresses and UUIDs for virtual machines.
In some cases, it is possible to have more than one VirtualCenter running in the same company. Each of these VirtualCenters must have its own unique instance.id. By default, an ID value is generated randomly. However, this value is editable. The only requirement is that it be a unique number from 0 to 63.
snmp.receiver.n.name/snmp.receiver.n.port/snmp.receiver.n.community — Used for alarm notification. Refer to Preparing for SNMP Alarm Notification for information on setting these values.
mail.sender/mail.smtp.sender/mail.smtp.port — Used for alarm notification. Refer to Preparing for Email Message SMTP Alarm Notification for information on setting these values.
host.reconnectThreshold — Specifies how long, in minutes, VirtualCenter should continue to try to connect automatically to a host. The default value is 30 minutes.
client.timeout.normal — Specifies how long, in seconds, the VirtualCenter client waits for a response from the VirtualCenter server before timing out. The default is 30 seconds.
client.timeout.long — Specifies how long, in seconds, the VirtualCenter client waits for a response from the VirtualCenter server for long operations. The default is 120 seconds.
perf.numThreads — Specifies the number of threads used for collecting performance statistics from managed hosts.
task.interval — Specifies how often, in seconds, VirtualCenter checks if any scheduled tasks are ready to be executed or alarms should be triggered. The default is 5 seconds.
server.options — Used for advanced debugging and troubleshooting. Use this field only when directed by VMware technical support.

To view a tool tip on each field: Drag your mouse over a data field.

VMware Management Interface

Selecting a host > Host Configuration activates a link in VirtualCenter, starts a browser, and requests permission to access the VMware Management Interface for the selected host. Configuration and management of ESX Server or GSX Server hosts is done through the VMware Management Interface.

Host Properties

Selecting a host > Properties displays the <host_machine> Properties dialog box. The host Properties dialog box has two tabs:

VMotion — This option is available for ESX Server hosts. Use this dialog to configure VMotion settings for the selected host. Refer to Enabling VMotion for information on setting up a host for VMotion.

Datastore — This option is available for GSX Server.Use this dialog to configure datastore settings for the selected host. Refer to Configuring Datastores on GSX Server Hosts for information on setting up a host datastore.

Advanced — Provides an option to restart the host's VirtualCenter agent.

Virtual Machine Resources

Selecting a host > Virtual Machine Resources displays the Virtual Machine Resource dialog box. This is a list of all the virtual machines running on the selected host and the percentage of resources allocated to the virtual machine. Refer to Allocating Host Resources for information on allocating host resources to virtual machines.

Virtual Machine Properties

Selecting a virtual machine > Properties displays the Virtual Machine Properties dialog box. This dialog box has three tabs:

Hardware — Use this tab to add hardware elements to your virtual machine.
Options — This tab lists some general virtual machine settings, actions to take during a power state change, and actions taken for debugging during a process
Resources — Use this tab to modify the resource shares on the host of a virtual machine. The modifiable resources are CPU, memory, disk, and network.

Refer to Editing an Existing Virtual Machine Configuration for more information about editing the configuration of a virtual machine.

Schedule Task Properties

Selecting Tasks Navigation > task > Edit > Properties displays the Scheduled Task Properties dialog box. From this box modify the time, date, and frequency of a scheduled activity.

Template Properties

Selecting Templates Navigation > template > Edit > Properties displays the Template Properties dialog box. From this box change the name and description of the template.

Alarm Properties

Selecting File > New > Alarm displays the Alarm Properties dialog box for creating and modifying alarms.

Prev Contents Last Next

VMware VirtualCenter 1.1 Support Documentation

Support Resources