Tag Archives: vSphere 5

In Part 3 we are going to install Powerchute Network Shutdown on the OVA that we deployed, then we are going to configure it to shut down the VMs in case of a problem.

• See APC pdf FA159776. Open Putty.exe, insert the name or IP of the VMA you just deployed, and then click “Open“. Click “Yes” if you get a security alert. Login with vi-admin and your password that you set earlier.

• Create a temp directory in opt using the command (You will be prompted for the vi-admin password): sudo mkdir /opt/temp

•   Next we need to change the permissions to this temp directory: sudo chmod 777 /opt/temp

• Now to check the permissions: ls -la /opt The permissions should now read drwxrwxrwx

• Now using WINSCP we need to transfer the .tar.gz file that we downloaded earlier up to the ESXi host. Enter the appropriate information and then click “Login“. Click “Yes” or “Proceed” if prompted with a security warning.

• Check the “Never show this banner again” box and then click “Continue“. You should now see a screen with two windows. The window on the left is your local computer and the screen on the right is the VMA. Navigate on the left window until you find the .tar.gz file.

• On the right window the drop down where it says “vi-admin“. Change this to /<root>. Then navigate to “opt–>temp“ 

• Drag the .tar.gz file from the left window to the right window. Click “Copy” when prompted.

• Verify that the file has been copied successfully.

• Now go back to Putty.exe and we are going to uncompress the file. The commands are: gunzip pcnsname.tar.gz then: tar -xvf pcnsname.tar

• Use the ls-la command and you should see a new ESXi folder. Use the command cd ESXi to change to this folder.

• List the contents of ESXi with the ls -la command. We need to change the permissions for the installation file: sudo chmod 777 install_en.sh
  Now do another ls -la to see that the permissions have changed to rwxrwxrwx.

• Now we are ready to install PCNS. Use the command: sudo ./install_en.sh
  Press “Enter” and then use the “z” key to scroll to the end of the agreement. If you agree then type “yes” and then press “Enter“.

• Accept the default installation path (or insert a different one if you prefer). Press “Enter“. Type “yes” and “Enter” that you are sure about the path.

• Take the default for the java directory. Press “Enter“.

• Next the installation looks for the ESXi host that will be shut down. First add the IP of the host and then it will ask for the username and password for the host to make this change.  Update:  Almost all of the deployments failed to add the ESXi host here, so I would choose “q” to skip and then at the command line do: sudo vifp addserver <hostname/ IP address of ESXi host>

• Verify that the server has been added with the command: vifp listservers

• To ensure Powerchute can shutdown the VMs on the host, we need to add the ESXi host to the fasspass. Use the command: vifptarget -s <server name or ipaddress>
  Now type the command: vicfg-nics -l
  You should see a list of nics on the ESXi host.

• One the server has been added you should be able to open a browser and go to the powerchute configuration wizard: https://vmahostnameorip:6547

• Click “Next” and you should see the Configuration Wizard: Security page. Insert the username and password and the authentication phrase. This must match the card in your APC device. By default this is apc/apc with the passphrase: “admin user phrase” then click “Next“.

• On the UPS Electrical Configuration page choose the correct configuration for your company and then click “Next“.

• On the UPS Details page choose the protocol, port, and IP for the APC network card.

• On the Miscellaneous page check the box for “Automatically check for updates to PCNS” and then click “Next“.

• Confirm the details and then click “Apply“.

• Hopefully you see that the computer is now protected. Click “Next“.
•  You should now see that the wizard is complete, now click “Finish”.

• You will now see the main page for the Network Shutdown. Click “Configure Events” and then click the check box for “Shutdown System” on “UPS: On Battery“.

• The “Shut Down Operating System” page will display and input 300 into the “Shut down the PCNS operating system only when the event lasts this long (seconds)“

• Finally, we need to set up the virtual machine shutdown options on the ESXi host. Open the vSphere Client, select the host, and then choose the “Configuration” tab. Under the “Software” pane click on “Virtual Machine Startup/Shutdown“.

• In the top right corner click “Properties“. Click the box “Allow virtual machines to start and stop automatically with the system“. Set the shutdown delay (120 default) and then set the shutdown action to “Guest Shutdown“.

• Leaving VMs under the Manual startup will make it so when the host turns back on, the VMs will not start up by themselves. Usually you want to make sure power is restored and stable before bringing up VMs. You can change your VMs to start automatically if you really wanted to. 

THAT’S IT!!