Overview of virtualization support

This topic provides an overview of the types of TrueSight Server Automation Console management tasks you can perform in each of the supported virtual environments. The Virtual Guest Package (VGP) and Virtual Guest Job (VGJ) let you create a new virtual machine according to a specific configuration that you define or one you base on an existing virtual asset. This topic includes the following sections:

Note

The TrueSight Server Automation administrator must install and configure the virtual environment. For more information, see Setting-up-TrueSight-Server-Automation-for-virtual-environments.

Supported virtual environments

As a virtual infrastructure administrator, you may have requests for new virtual machines. Depending on the request, you can create the new virtual machine and add it to the host server in any of the following ways:

After you have built the new virtual machine, you can apply compliance checks to it to ensure that it was built according to policy. The VGP and VGJ are available for the following virtualization environments:

Virtual Environment

What's supported

VMware vSphere

You can create a new virtual system based on a VMware vCenter template or virtual machine, or on parameters that you define by creating a VGP in the Depot workspace. You can then use the VGJ to deploy a new VMware virtual machine on the VMware vCenter server (which must be a TrueSight Server Automation managed server).

You can deploy a VM with the maximum number of virtual disks (60) allowable for a VMware VM.

Note: Beginning in BMC Server automation 8.8, versions of VMware ESX server prior to version 5.0 are no longer supported.

IBM PowerVM

You can create a new LPAR or VIO based on an existing LPAR or VIO server, or based on parameters that you define by creating a VGP in the Depot workspace. You can then use the VGJ to deploy a new LPAR/VIO on the IBM frame server, which must be a TrueSight Server Automation agentless managed object (AMO).

TrueSight Server Automation can support objects that do not have an RSCD agent installed, such as an IBM frame. TrueSight Server Automation calls these objects AMOs

The system manages AMOs through other servers that are equipped with a custom configuration object that can communicate with the agentless device. This documentation refers to those other servers as AMO proxies.

Solaris Zones

You can create a new non-global zone based on parameters that you define by creating a VGP in the Depot workspace. You can then use the VGJ to deploy a new non-Global Zone on the Solaris global zone server (which must be a TrueSight Server Automation managed server).

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization

You can create a new virtual machine based on an existing virtual machine or on parameters that you define by creating a VGP in the Depot workspace. You can then use the VGJ to deploy a new virtual machine on the RHEV Manager server (which must be a TrueSight Server Automation managed server).

Citrix XenServer

You can create a new virtual machine by creating a VGP in the Depot workspace, based on a XenServer template, a custom template or a virtual machine. You can then use the VGJ to deploy a new virtual machine on the XenServer host (which must be a TrueSight Server Automation AMO).

Microsoft Hyper-V

You can create a new virtual system based on a Microsoft Hyper-V template, or on parameters that you define by creating a VGP in the Depot workspace. You can then use the VGJ to deploy a new virtual machine on the Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) server (which must be a TrueSight Server Automation managed server).

  • For version 8.6 and earlier, TrueSight Server Automation supports provisioning virtual machines only from Hyper-V generation 1 templates.
  • For version 8.7 and later, TrueSight Server Automation supports provisioning virtual machines from Hyper-V generation 1 and generation 2 templates.

Management tasks supported for virtual environments

The following table lists the types of TrueSight Server Automation Console management tasks you can perform in each supported virtual environment.

Virtual environment

Supported actions

VMware vSphere

  • Live browse a virtual node inventory (vCenter, virtual host, and virtual machine)
  • Snapshot on all nodes of clusters, inventory, hosts, templates and virtual machines
  • Audit on all nodes of clusters, inventory, hosts, templates and virtual machines
  • Compliance on all nodes of clusters, inventory, hosts, templates and virtual machines
  • Support for live browse and use of VMware templates
  • Deploy for VMware virtual machines and ESX host configurations
  • Creation of VMware virtual machine, using existing virtual machine
  • Creation of VMware virtual machines, using a repeatable process (using the Virtual Guest Package and Virtual Guest Job)
  • Discover virtual machines with Virtual Infrastructure Discovery Job
  • Discover templates and create Virtual Guest Packages automatically using the Virtual Guest Template Enrollment Job.
  • Ability to modify the SCSI controller type using a VGP or a BLPackage. Note that if you are creating the BLPackage via Live Browse, you must create the package on the SCSI controller node, not on the hard disk node.

Solaris Zones

  • Live browse a virtual node inventory (nonglobal zone, projects and resource pools)
  • Snapshot on all nodes of nonglobal zone, projects and resource pools
  • Audit on all nodes of nonglobal zone, projects and resource pools
  • Compliance on all nodes of nonglobal zone, projects and resource pools
  • Creation of nonglobal zone, using a repeatable process (using the Virtual Guest Package and Virtual Guest Job)
  • BLPackage Deploy on nonglobal zone
  • Discover local zones with Virtual Infrastructure Discovery Job

IBM PowerVM

  • Live browse a virtual node inventory (LPARs, VIO servers, shared pools, shared storage pools)
  • Snapshot of Frame Configuration, LPARS, VIO servers, pools
  • Audit of Frame Configuration, LPARs, VIO servers, pools
  • Compliance of frame configuration, LPARs, VIO servers, pools
  • Creation of LPAR or VIO server, using a repeatable process (using the Virtual Guest Package and Virtual Guest Job)
  • BLPackage Deploy of frame configuration, LPARs, VIO servers, shared pools, shared storage pools
  • Discover LPARS with Virtual Infrastructure Discovery Job

Hyper-V

  • Live browse for virtual node inventory (clusters, host, and virtual machine)
  • Snapshot of virtual machine, host, or cluster
  • Audit of virtual machine or host
  • Creation of virtual machines, using a repeatable process (using the Virtual Guest Package and Virtual Guest Job)
  • Deploy for virtual machine configurations using a BLPackage:
    • Ability to modify memory, CPU, and power state (power state modification is supported only for VMs in the Running and Stopped states)
    • Ability to add and delete VM disks and NICs using a BLPackage
      Note: Modifying an existing NIC through a BLPackage is not supported.
  • Discover templates and create Virtual Guest Packages automatically using the Virtual Guest Template Enrollment Job.

Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization

TrueSight Server Automation supports Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization.

  • Live browse a virtual node inventory (hosts, guests)
  • Snapshot on host configuration
  • Audit on host configuration
  • Compliance on host configuration
  • Creation of guests, using a repeatable process (using the Virtual Guest Package and Virtual Guest Job)
  • Deploy for RHEV virtual guest configurations (modify memory, CPU, add new disk or NIC to a virtual machine)

Citrix XenServer

  • Live browse a virtual node inventory (hosts, virtual machines, custom templates, XenServer templates, pools, storage repositories)
  • Snapshot on XenServer configuration
  • Audit on XenServer configuration
  • Compliance on XenServer configuration
  • Creation of virtual machines, using a repeatable process (using the Virtual Guest Package and Virtual Guest Job)
  • BLPackage Deploy on virtual machines
  • Discover templates and create Virtual Guest Packages automatically using the Virtual Guest Template Enrollment Job.

Where to go from here

Discovering-and-registering-assets-in-a-virtual-environment

 

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