Installing Cisco APIC-EM on a VMware Virtual Machine

20 Pages·2016·2.38 MB·English

Installing Cisco APIC-EM on a VMware Virtual
Machine
InadditiontoacquiringadedicatedCiscoAPIC-EMphysicalappliancewiththeISOimagepreinstalledand
tested,youcanalsoinstalltheCiscoAPIC-EMISOimageinasupportedvirtualenvironment.Youmay
wanttodothisfortestingthecontrollerwithinyournetwork,priortosettinguptheappliance.
ThischapterdescribesthesystemrequirementsandproceduresforinstallingCiscoAPIC-EMonaVMware
virtualmachine.
• CiscoAPIC-EMVMwarevSphereRequirements, page 1
• PreparingaVMwareSystemforCiscoAPIC-EMDeployment, page 3
Cisco APIC-EM VMware vSphere Requirements
ThefollowingtableliststheminimumsystemrequirementsforasuccessfulCiscoAPIC-EMVMwarevSphere
installation.
Inadditiontotheminimumsystemrequirementslistedbelow,werecommendthatyoualsoconfigurespecific
resourcepoolsforthevirtualmachine(s).Forinformationabouttheseadditionalrecommendedconfigurations,
seethefollowingsectionaboutpreparingyourvirtualmachinesfortheCiscoAPIC-EM.
Note Youmustconfigureataminimum32GBRAMforthevirtualmachinethatcontainstheCiscoAPIC-EM
whenasinglehostisbeingdeployed.Thesinglehostserverthatcontainsthevirtualmachinemusthave
thismuchRAMphysicallyavailable.Foramulti-hostdeployment(2or3hosts),32GBofRAMisrequired
foreachofthevirtualmachinesthatcontainstheCiscoAPIC-EM.Threeserversarerequiredforhigh
availabilityandredundancy
Note Aswithrunninganapplicationonanyvirtualizationtechnology,youmightobserveadegradationin
performancewhenyouruntheCiscoAPIC-EMinavirtualmachinecomparedtorunningtheCisco
APIC-EMdirectlyonphysicalhardware.
Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller Enterprise Module Hardware Installation Guide
1
Installing Cisco APIC-EM on a VMware Virtual Machine
Cisco APIC-EM VMware vSphere Requirements
Table 1: Cisco APIC-EM VMware vSphere Requirements
VirtualMachineOptions VMwareESXiVersion 5.1/5.5/6.0
ServerImageFormat ISO
VirtualCPU(vCPU) 6(minimum)
Note 6vCPUsistheminimum
numberrequiredforyour
virtualmachine
configuration.Forbetter
performance,we
recommendusing12
vCPUs.
Datastores Werecommendthatyoudonot
shareadatastorewithanydefined
virtualmachinesthatarenotpart
ofthedesignatedCiscoAPIC-EM
cluster.
Ifthedatastoreisshared,thendisk
I/Oaccesscontentionmayoccur
andcauseasignificantreduction
ofdiskbandwidththroughputand
asignificantincreaseofI/Olatency
tothecluster.
HardwareSpecifications CPU(speed) 2.4GHz
Memory 32GB(minimumsinglehost
deployment)
ForspecificCiscoAPIC-EMscale
requirements,seetheReleaseNotes
fortheCiscoApplicationPolicy
InfrastructureController
EnterpriseModule.
Note Foramulti-host
deployment(2or3hosts)
32GBofRAMis
requiredforeachhost.
DiskCapacity 500GB
DiskI/OSpeed 200MBps
NetworkAdapter 1
Networking WebAccess Required
Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller Enterprise Module Hardware Installation Guide
2
Installing Cisco APIC-EM on a VMware Virtual Machine
Preparing a VMware System for Cisco APIC-EM Deployment
Browser Thefollowingbrowsersare
supportedwhenviewingand
workingwiththeCiscoAPIC-EM:
•GoogleChrome,version50.0
orlater
•MozillaFirefox,version46.0
orlater
NetworkTiming Toavoidconflictingtimesettings,
werecommendthatyoudisablethe
timesynchronizationbetweenthe
guestVMrunningtheCisco
APIC-EMandtheESXihost.
Instead,configurethetimingofthe
guestVMtoaNTPserver.
Important Ensurethatthetime
settingsontheESXi
hostarealso
synchronizedtothe
NTPserver.Thisis
especiallyimportant
whenupgradingthe
CiscoAPIC-EM.
Failuretoensure
synchronizationwill
causetheupgradeto
fail.
Preparing a VMware System for Cisco APIC-EM Deployment
ToensurethattheCiscoAPIC-EMworkswellwithinavirtualenvironment,configurethevirtualmachine
withrecommendedresourcepoolvalues.Aresourcepoolisalogicalabstractionforthevirtualmachinesthat
canbeusedtomanageresources.Resourcepoolscanbegroupedintohierarchiesandthenusedtopartition
CPUandmemoryresources.
YoucanconfigureandpreparethevirtualmachineusingeithertheVMwarevSphereClientorWebClient.
WerecommendthatyouusetheVMwarevSphereWebClient,sincetheLatencySensitivitysettingfor
resourcepoolsmustbeconfiguredasHigh.TheLatencySensitivitysettingcanonlybeconfiguredusing
theVMwarevSphereWebClient.
Note WhendeployingtheCiscoAPIC-EMinavirtualenvironment,youmustfirstconfiguretheVMware
systembeforeinstallingCiscoAPIC-EM.ToinstallCiscoAPIC-EM,youneedtodownloadtheISO
imagecontainingthecontrollerfromCisco.comandthenmaptheISOimagetotheVMwaresystemand
bootfromit.
Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller Enterprise Module Hardware Installation Guide
3
Installing Cisco APIC-EM on a VMware Virtual Machine
Virtual Machine Configuration Recommendations
Virtual Machine Configuration Recommendations
ThefollowingtableliststherecommendedconfigurationsettingsforasuccessfulCiscoAPIC-EMVMware
vSphereinstallation,includingresourcepools.WheninstallingCiscoAPIC-EMonasupportedvirtualmachine,
werecommendthatthefollowingconfigurationsettingsareused.
Note WhenpreparingthevirtualmachinefortheCiscoAPIC-EM,theconfigurationsettingsterminologymay
differdependingupontheVMwareapplicationandGUIthatyourareusing.
Table 2: Virtual Machine Configuration Recommendations (Including Resource Pools)
ResourcePool:CPUResources Reservation—14400MHzisminimumconfiguration
settingforthisvalue
Limit—Unlimited
Shares—Normal
vCPU 6(minimum)
Note 6vCPUsistheminimumnumberrequired
foryourvirtualmachineconfiguration.For
betterperformance,werecommendusing
12CPUs.
ResourcePool:Memory Memory—32GBor64GBistheminimum
configurationsettingforthisvalue,dependingupon
yourhardware.
Reserveallguestmemory—Enable
SCSIcontrollervalue VMwareParavirtual
Newnetworkvalue Newnetworkvalue—Enterthenetworkthatthe
controllerwillconnectto.
Status—Connectatpoweron
Adaptertype—VMXNET3
Advanced ChooseHighfortheLatencysensitivity
Configuring Resource Pools Using vSphere Web Client
ToensurethattheCiscoAPIC-EMworkswellwithinavirtualenvironment,youshouldconfigureresource
poolswiththerecommendedvalues.Aresourcepoolisalogicalabstractionforthevirtualmachinesthatcan
beusedtomanageresources.ResourcepoolscanbegroupedintohierarchiesandthenusedtopartitionCPU
andmemoryresources.
Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller Enterprise Module Hardware Installation Guide
4
Installing Cisco APIC-EM on a VMware Virtual Machine
Configuring Resource Pools Using vSphere Web Client
Note Youshouldfirstcreateanewresourcepoolwiththerecommendedconfigurationvaluesasdescribedin
thisprocedure,andthensubsequentlycreateavirtualmachine(wheretheCiscoAPIC-EMwillbeinstalled)
onthatresourcepool.
Before You Begin
YouhavereviewedyourVMwaredocumentationconcerningresourcepoolsandtheirconfiguration.
YouarefamiliarwiththeVMwarevSphereWebClientandhaveabasicknowledgeofhowtocreate,manage
andtroubleshootvirtualmachinesusingit.
YouhaveyourhostandvirtualdatastoresalreadysetupandaccessibleinvSphereWebClientforthis
procedure.
Step 1 OpentheVMwarevSphereWebClienttoperformtheprocedure.
Figure 1: VMware vSphere Web Client
Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller Enterprise Module Hardware Installation Guide
5
Installing Cisco APIC-EM on a VMware Virtual Machine
Configuring Resource Pools Using vSphere Web Client
Step 2 ClickvCenterintheNavigator.
Figure 2: vCenter Home
Step 3 ClickonHosts.
Figure 3: Hosts
Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller Enterprise Module Hardware Installation Guide
6
Installing Cisco APIC-EM on a VMware Virtual Machine
Configuring Resource Pools Using vSphere Web Client
Chooseahostwhereyouwillcreatetheresourcepool.
Step 4 Right-clickontheselectedhostandclickAllvCenterActions|NewResourcePool.
Figure 4: New Resource Pool
Step 5 EnteranameandspecifyvaluesfortheresourcepoolintheNewResourcePooldialogbox.
Figure 5: New Resource Pool
Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller Enterprise Module Hardware Installation Guide
7
Installing Cisco APIC-EM on a VMware Virtual Machine
Configuring a Virtual Machine Using vSphere Web Client
Werecommendenteringthefollowingresourcepoolvaluesinthisdialogbox:
•CPUResources
◦Shares—ChooseNormalfromthedrop-downmenu
◦Reservation—14400MHzisminimumconfigurationsettingforthisvalue
◦ReservationType—CheckboxforExpandable
◦Limit—SettoMaximumLimit
•MemoryResources
◦Shares—ChooseNormalfromthedrop-downmenu
◦Reservation—32GBor64GBistheminimumconfigurationsettingforthisvalue,dependinguponyour
hardware.
◦ReservationType—CheckboxforExpandable
◦Limit—SettoMaximumLimit
Step 6 ClickOKtosavetheconfiguredresourcepoolvalues.
What to Do Next
Proceedtocreateanewvirtualmachineonthisresourcepool.Forassistancewiththisprocedure,seethe
followingprocedure,ConfiguringaVMwareServerUsingvSphereWebClient.
Configuring a Virtual Machine Using vSphere Web Client
ToensurethattheCiscoAPIC-EMproperlyfunctionsinavirtualenvironment,createthevirtualmachine(s)
followingtheproceduredescribedbelowwiththerecommendedsettings.
Note Youmustcreatethisvirtualmachineontheresourcepoolthatyouearlierconfigured,asdescribedinthe
previousprocedure.
Before You Begin
YouhavereviewedtheminimumsystemrequirementsforasuccessfulCiscoAPIC-EMVMwarevSphere
installation,aspreviouslydescribedinthisguide.
YouarefamiliarwiththeVMwarevSphereWebClientandhaveabasicknowledgeofhowtocreate,manage
andtroubleshootvirtualmachinesusingtheWebClient.
YouhaveyourhostandvirtualdatastoresalreadysetupandaccessibleinvSphereWebClientforthis
procedure.
Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller Enterprise Module Hardware Installation Guide
8
Installing Cisco APIC-EM on a VMware Virtual Machine
Configuring a Virtual Machine Using vSphere Web Client
Youhavealreadycreatedaresourcepoolonthehost,followingthestepsdescribedinthepreviousprocedure,
ConfiguringResourcePoolsUsingvSphereWebClient.
Step 1 OpentheVMwarevSphereWebClienttoperformtheprocedure.
Figure 6: VMware vSphere Web Client
Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller Enterprise Module Hardware Installation Guide
9
Installing Cisco APIC-EM on a VMware Virtual Machine
Configuring a Virtual Machine Using vSphere Web Client
Step 2 ClickvCenterintheNavigator.
Figure 7: vCenter
Step 3 ClickResourcePoolsintheInventoryListsinvCenter.
Step 4 Choosetheresourcepoolwhereyouwillinstallthevirtualmachinefromthelist.
Figure 8: Resource Pools
Cisco Application Policy Infrastructure Controller Enterprise Module Hardware Installation Guide
10