ESX 3i + Active Directory + Agents

[Fpwr]

Hi,

Few questions regarding ESX 3i

- Is it possible to link 3i with AD authentication infrastructure ? Now that PAM has disappear with Linux layer?

- Is it possible to install agents (backup and hardware monitoring)?

- For the 3i embedded (on a ship), this solution come with "hot spare" ? Because for disk version we setup boot disks in RAID 1 but what about embedded solution ?

Thanks for your helps

Regards

Message was edited by: Badsah (added tags for RCLI tag group)

[jguidroz]

Is it possible to link 3i with AD authentication infrastructure ? Now that PAM has disappear with Linux layer?

More than likely no. There shouldn't be much of a need to "login". You may be inquiring about this for RCLI commands. These can be directed at the individual ESX server or run through Virtual Center, according to this PDF http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/ESXServer3i_management.pdf .

Is it possible to install agents (backup and hardware monitoring)?

No. But you can use the new vicfg-cfgbackup command RCLI command to backup the system. Also talked about in PDF above.

For the 3i embedded (on a ship), this solution come with "hot spare" ? Because for disk version we setup boot disks in RAID 1 but what about embedded solution ?

This is up to the hardware vendors on how they will setup their servers. Using flash memory, there is no worries about it crashing, as it can happen with a hard disk. I think the dual flash memory banks is more for aiding in updating the server, as you can load a new image on the second bank, boot from it, but still have the old image available if there are problems.

[joncellini]

• For the 3i embedded (on a ship), this solution come with "hot spare" ? Because for disk version we setup boot disks in RAID 1 but what about embedded solution ?

HP ships their embedded solutions on a single flash key. I can't speak for the other OEMs as I don't have any non-HP systems to play with. The ESXi image is stored on the key and used to boot the system. The key itself has 2 boot partitions (primary / backup); however, the key itself is non-redundant. The HP diagnostics at this time lack the maturity of the hard disk counterparts so a key failures are not predicted or alerted upon. Since the key itself is a tangable part (with a finite lifespan) you will want to ensure your OEM stocks spares so you can have them replaced in a resonable timeframe.

In our shop we've had pretty mixed results with key reliability (using several different OEM keys) so if unavailabilty is a concern for you a RAID setup may be more approrpiate.

[Texiwill]

Hello,

Moved to ESXi Forum.

- Is it possible to link 3i with AD authentication infrastructure ? Now that PAM has disappear with Linux layer?

No. It is a Posix layer now, not a GNU/Linux layer.

- Is it possible to install agents (backup and hardware monitoring)?

No. There is an HP version of the ESXi to help it work with HPSIM.

- For the 3i embedded (on a ship), this solution come with "hot spare" ? Because for disk version we setup boot disks in RAID 1 but what about embedded solution ?

EMbedded solution has 2 USB keys. If one fails the other takes over after a reboot.

Best regards,

Edward L. Haletky

VMware Communities User Moderator

====

Author of the book 'VMWare ESX Server in the Enterprise: Planning and Securing Virtualization Servers', Copyright 2008 Pearson Education.

SearchVMware Blog: http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/virtualization-pro/

Blue Gears Blogs - http://www.itworld.com/ and http://www.networkworld.com/community/haletky

As well as the Virtualization Wiki at http://www.astroarch.com/wiki/index.php/Virtualization