Clone a VMware ESX

[cerosunos]

Hi all,

I`m affraid, because, one of my customers has bought 60 ESX 3.01... so we need to install 60 ESX + upgrade patch of this 60 ESX.... I think the time to do that goes out of the period time.

We are thinking some solutions.

My question is?? There is any solution to do that more quickly??

Can we clone the disk?? The ESX are going to be installed over HP Blade C-Class so we have a smart array in each Blade. So can we clone the disk, one peer one?

I know the problem coul be the IPs so we can change it manually later, the same with the host name /etc/hosts, /etc/sysconfig/network

But, the question is... there is any other file in an ESX wich needs to be changed if we clone the operating system??

Well anithing you can tell us, will help a lot. So thank in advice.

[MayurPatel]

Cloning of ESX servers is not recommended, it is not only IP/host name details you will have to change there are also certificates that have to be recreated.

The fastest method of deploying large number of ESX servers is to use the un-attended method using either industry solutions like Altiris or you can devise your own KS.CFG files with a NFS or HTTP file source and slipstream the VI3 updates as a post installation.

You can acheive a complete updated ESX server in 1 hour, you could have concurrent installs running so you could deploy many machines in one day.

There is a very good solution available from http://www.rtfm-ed.co.uk/?page_id=366

Message was edited by:

MayurPatel

[DonalB]

Not cloned ESX servers before but off the top of my head the type of things you'd need to be wary of are the ssl keys generated for communication with VC and for us by the mui (what little there is of it). /etc/vmware/esx.conf would also need to be changed, in fact I'd have a good look around in /etc/vmware/ for other files that might need to be changed.

What i have done before is Kickstart configs and I think you get some deployment tools (Altiris??) with HP blades that would allow you use the KS file to install ESX on the blades.

You can enable KS config on the ESX server itself or use something like this:

http://www.xtravirt.com/index.php?option=com_remository&Itemid=75&func=fileinfo&id=8

Might give some better options.

Maybe this post may help here:

http://www.vmware.com/community/thread.jspa?messageID=685801&#685801

Cheers

DB

[cerosunos]

Ok, I understand you, but here http://www.vmware.com/community/thread.jspa?messageID=697861&#697861 someone tells that it posible to clone it.

Well, I only want to do the best thing, logically spending the less time and effort.

There isn`t another method to patch the ESX. Because the installation, doesn`t matther for me. The problem is the 3 hours of patching... one reboot, after another reboot, is too borring, over 60 Blades, you know?

Thanks a lot, for your replyes, we are considering all the posibilities.

[Net1Pro]

I think you need to break this into two jobs: Deploying the OS to the blades (for which Altiris can help you greatly, as mentioned above) and then patching all the blades current.

For patching, there are several scripts that you can use (just do a search on the subject in this forum and you'll find multiple options).

You certainly do not need to reboot each blade after each patch; the scripts available for this allow for only one reboot after the final patch.

If you can find a way to slipstream the patches at time of installation, that would be great, but it might complicate the process so much that it might not be worth the extra research and testing.

Good luck!

[DonalB]

Basically i think cloning is possible to do but as mentioned the ssl cert/key regeneration would be your problem and I'd personally hate to have to track down problems with communcation of the VIC or with VC because of ssl errors, reckon it'd be pretty nasty .

For the patching, as someone post on the other post you mention there, VMTS Patch Manager is a good bet to look at for your environment as even if you cloned, you still have to manage updating them later. There are other sripts utilites for patching around the forums and most of them don't need you to reboot repeatedly, basically you can blast all the patches onto the box one after the othr and only reboot at the end.

Cheers

DB

[MayurPatel]

You will be surprised to learn that the scripted unattended install of ESX will be faster then deploying an Image even if you are able to automated the renaming and recreating of the ssl certs amoungst other things.

[acmcnick]

Try the UDA posted on Lavericks site.

www.rtfm-ed.co.uk

It may assist you in your unattended install work.