VMware ESX and ESXi Comparison

source: http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1006543

VMware ESX and ESXi Comparison

Purpose

This article provides a detailed comparison of VMware ESX and VMware ESXi. The article is separated in to capabilities or features and compared at that level.

Resolution

Capability

VMware ESX

VMware ESXi

Service Console Service Console is a standard Linux environment through which a user has privileged access to the VMware ESX kernel. This Linux-based privileged access allows you to highly customize your environment by installing agents and drivers and executing scripts and other Linux-environment code. VMware ESXi is designed to make the server a computing appliance. Accordingly, VMware ESXi behaves more like firmware than traditional software. To provide hardware-like security and reliability, VMware ESXi does not support a privileged access environment like the Service Console of VMware ESX. To enable interaction with agents, VMware has provisioned CIM Providers through which monitoring and management tasks – traditionally done through Service Console agents – can be performed. VMware has provisioned RCLI to allow the execution of scripts.
Remote CLI VMware ESX Service Console has a host CLI command through which VMware ESX can be configured. ESX 3.5 Update 2 supports RCLI. VMware ESX Service Console CLI has been ported to a Remote CLI (RCLI) for VMware ESXi. RCLI is a virtual appliance that interacts with VMware ESXi hosts to enable host configuration through scripts or specific commands. Note

  • RCLI is limited to read-only access for the free version of VMware ESXi. To enable full functionality of RCLI on a VMware ESXi host, the host must be licensed with VI Foundation, VI Standard, or VI Enterprise.
  • The VMware Infrastructure toolkit for Windows and the Perl toolkit access ESXi through the same API as RCLI. Similarly, these toolkits are limited to read-only access for the free version of VMware ESXi. When the host is upgraded to VI Foundation, VI Standard, or VI Enterprise, these toolkits have write-access and provide a scriptable method for managing ESXi hosts.
  • The following Service Console CLI commands have not been implemented in RCLI:
  • ESXcfg-info
  • ESXcfg-resgrp
  • ESXcfg-swiscsi 
Scriptable Installation VMware ESX supports scriptable installations through utilities like KickStart. VMware ESXi Installable does not support scriptable installations in the manner ESX does, at this time. VMware ESXi does provide support for post installation configuration script using RCLI-based configuration scripts.
Boot from SAN VMware ESX supports boot from SAN. Booting from SAN requires one dedicated LUN per server. VMware ESXi may be deployed as an embedded hypervisor or installed on a hard disk.   In most enterprise settings, VMware ESXi is deployed as an embedded hypervisor directly on the server. This operational model does not require any local storage and no SAN booting is required because the hypervisor image is directly on the server.

 

The installable version of VMware ESXi does not support booting from SAN.

Serial Cable Connectivity VMware ESX supports interaction through direct-attached serial cable to the VMware ESX host. VMware ESXi does not support interaction through direct-attached serial cable to the VMware ESXi host at this time.
SNMP VMware ESX supports SNMP. VMware ESXi supports SNMP when licensed to a VI Foundation, VI Standard, or VI Enterprise edition. The free version of VMware ESXi does not support SNMP.
Active Directory Integration VMware ESX supports Active Directory integration through third-party agents installed on the Service Console. VMware ESXi with a Virtual Infrastructure license and in conjunction with VirtualCenter allows users to be authenticated via Active Directory. In this configuration, users can log in directly to an ESXi host and authenticate using a local username and password. The free version of VMware ESXi does not support Active Directory integration at this time.
HW Instrumentation Service Console agents provide a range of HW instrumentation on VMware ESX. VMware ESXi provides HW instrumentation through CIM Providers. Standards-based CIM Providers are distributed with all versions of VMware ESXi. VMware partners may inject their own proprietary CIM Providers in customized versions of VMware ESXi. To obtain a customized version of VMware ESXi, you typically have to purchase a server with embedded VMware ESXi through a server vendor. At this time, HP also offers its customized VMware ESXi Installable on www.vmware.com. Dell, IBM, and FSC will soon offer their customized version of VMware ESXi on www.vmware.com.

 

Remote console applications like Dell DRAC, HP iLO, IBM RSA, and FSC iRMC S2 are supported with ESXi.

 

Note: COS agents have a longer lineage than CIM Providers and are therefore more mature. VMware is actively working with its 250+ partners to close the CIM Provider–Service Console agent gap.

Software Patches and Updates VMware ESX software patches and upgrades behave like traditional Linux based patches and upgrades. The installation of a software patch or upgrade may require multiple system boots as the patch or upgrade may have dependencies on previous patches or upgrades. VMware ESXi patches and updates behave like firmware patches and updates. Any given patch or update is all-inclusive of previous patches and updates. That is, installing patch version “n” includes all updates included in patch versions n-1, n-2, and so forth.
VI Web Access VMware ESX supports managing your virtual machines through VI Web Access. You can use the VI Web Access to connect directly to the ESX host or to the VMware Infrastructure Client. VMware ESXi does not support web access at this time.
Licensing VMware ESX hosts can be licensed as part of a VMware Infrastructure 3 Foundation, Standard, or Enterprise suite.  VMware ESXi hosts can be individually licensed (for free) or licensed as part of a VMware Infrastructure 3 Foundation, Standard, or Enterprise suite. Individually licensed ESXi hosts offer a subset of management capabilities (see SNMP and Remote CLI).

 

 

ESXi – Free License

(ESX not available without VI)

VI Foundation

(with ESX or ESXi)

VI Standard

(with ESX or ESXi)

VI Enterprise

(with ESX or ESXi)

Core hypervisor functionality

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Virtual SMP

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

VMFS

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

VirtualCenter Agent

 

Yes

Yes

Yes

Update Manager

 

Yes

Yes

Yes

Consolidated Backup

 

Yes

Yes

Yes

High Availability

 

 

Yes

Yes

VMotion

 

 

 

Yes

Storage VMotion

 

 

 

Yes

DRS

 

 

 

Yes

DPM

 

 

 

Yes

Errors when gathering disk information during a physical to virtual conversion

KB Article: 1010341

Symptoms

When gathering disk information during a physical to virtual conversion, you may see the following errors:

  • Fatal error occurred. The most common reason for this is loss of network connection.
  • The wizard will now be closed.
  • Please check your network connection and try again.
  • Exception getting Disks and Volumes
  • sourceStorageInfo is missing

Purpose

This article provides troubleshooting steps for converting a physical Windows source computer to a virtual machine. It assists you in eliminating common causes for this issue by verifying that networking is still in place between the Converter server and the the Windows source, and that the Windows source is not using any virtual disks.

Resolution

Please validate that each troubleshooting step below is true for your environment. Each step will provide instructions or a link to a document, in order to eliminate possible causes and take corrective action as necessary. The steps are ordered in the most appropriate sequence to isolate the issue and identify the proper resolution. Please do not skip a step.

Note: If you perform corrective action in any of the following steps, attempt the conversion again.

  1. Verify that networking is still in place between the Converter server and the source computer. For more information, see Required VMware vCenter Converter ports (1010056).
  2. Confirm that there are no virtual disks appearing as disk devices in the Disk Management utility.
    1. Click Start > Run.
    2. Type diskmgmt.msc and press Enter.
    3. Review the list of drive letters and devices in the bottom window. If there is a drive that is not associated with a physical device then remove it.

      Note:  You must determine what software process has mounted this virtual drive and consult with its product documentation.

Note: If your problem still exists after trying the steps in this article, please:

Network Load Balancing Manager does not work with imaged servers

Source
Symptoms:
When you try to use the Network Load Balancing Manager to configure Network Load Balancing, the first node is configured successfully and comes online, but subsequent nodes do not join the Network Load Balancing cluster. You may receive the following error message:

 No interfaces are available for installing a new cluster

Cause:
This problem may occur if the subsequent nodes are on servers that were created by using an image. The problem occurs because the servers that are created by using an image may have the same Network GUIDs in their registry if the network adapter is installed as part of the image. The Network Load Balancing Manager uses this GUID to attach and configure Network Load Balancing on the servers. The Network Load Balancing Manager detects the GUID of the first server, and then does not register subsequent network adapters that have the same GUID.

Resolution:
To resolve this problem, remove, and then re-install the network adapter that you want to use for Network Load Balancing for subsequent nodes on servers that were created by using an image. After you remove and re-install the network adapter, configure Network Load Balancing by using the Network Load Balancing Manager.

INGRES installation corrupt

When rebooting a server with problems, it could lead to a corrupt ingress installation.

This leads to all kind of problems. When starting the Ingres Visual Manager you get an error: “II_INSTALLATION must be set before the configuration utility is run”.

To fix this problem you need to restore the symbols.tbl file located in the ingres\files directory. If you want to restore them manually, you need to know the original settings. You can get them back with the utility: ingsetenv.exe

If you restore the file, make sure ingres is down and run after the restore the following command: ingsetenv II_GCNI2_PORT “”

If you do not know the exact settings, you can try to take a look at the install.log. The settings of the ingres environment are also mentioned their.

Mailbox and other printer-specific settings are saved with an Excel file

source

SYMPTOMS

When you send a Microsoft Excel workbook to another user account in an e-mail message or store the file on a network share, with the print settings set to print to your mailbox or to a local printer with specialized settings, these settings may still be in effect for the other users. If they print the workbook, it may either print to your mailbox, not theirs, or it may try to print by using certain settings for your local printer.

RESOLUTION


To resolve this issue, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Remove the printer file settings for a workbook

Excel 2003 and Excel 2002

  1. Change the default printer to a different printer.
  2. In Excel, open the workbook that is experiencing the problem.
  3. On the File menu, click Print.
  4. In the Print dialog box, click Cancel.
  5. On the File menu, click Save.

Method 2: Add a registry key

Excel 2003

Warning If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.
A software update has not been created for this issue in Microsoft Office Excel 2003. However, you can add the QFE_Sitka registry key to work around the issue. When you set the value of the QFE_Sitka registry key to 1, the printer settings are not saved in the file.

Follow these steps, and then quit Registry Editor:

  1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
  2. Locate and then click the following key in the registry:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Excel\Options
  3. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD value.
  4. Type QFE_Sitka, and then press ENTER.
  5. On the Edit menu, click Modify.
  6. Type 1, and then click OK.

Excel 2002 Service Pack 2 (SP2) or later service packs

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. If the hotfix is available for download, there is a “Hotfix download available” section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, submit a request to Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix. Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support (http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support)  

Note The “Hotfix download available” form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language. The global version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel.

Date (UTC)        Time (UTC)   Version            File Name
--------------------------------------------------------------
2003-Oct-06     21:43     4747816     EXCELop.msp
2003-Oct-06     22:51     16571988     EXCELff.msp

After the hotfix is installed, the global version of this fix will have the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table:

Date (UTC)       Time (UTC)   Version            Size               File Name
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2003-Oct-03     01:08     10.0.5730.0     9181752     EXCEL.EXE

How to Obtain the Hotfix

This issue is fixed in the Excel 2002 Hotfix Package that is dated October 6, 2003. For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

829340 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/829340/ ) Excel 2002 Post-Service Pack 2 Hotfix Package: October 6, 2003

After you install the Excel 2002 hotfix, you must add the QFE_Sitka registry key to activate the hotfix. When you set the value of the QFE_Sitka registry key to 1, printer settings are not saved in the file.

Warning If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.
Follow these steps, and then quit Registry Editor:

  1. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
  2. Locate and then click the following key in the registry:
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\10.0\Excel\Options
  3. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD value.
  4. Type QFE_Sitka, and then press ENTER.
  5. On the Edit menu, click Modify.
  6. Type 1, and then click OK.

Microsoft Cluster Service (MSCS) support on ESX

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/documentLink.do?externalID=1004617

ESX Server 3 Release MSCS Supported? Documentation
3.0 Yes Setup for Microsoft Cluster Service (PDF)
3.0.1 Yes Setup for Microsoft Cluster Service (PDF)
3.0.2 Yes Setup for Microsoft Cluster Service (PDF)
3.0.2 Update 1 Yes VMware Infrastructure 3 Release Notes

see also Setup for Microsoft Cluster Service (PDF)

3.5 No VMware Infrastructure 3 Release Notes
3.5 Update 1, 2, 3, 4 Yes VMware Infrastructure 3 Release Notes

see also  Setup for Microsoft Cluster Service (PDF)

vSphere 4.0 Yes What’s New in VMware vSphere 4.0

see also  Setup for Failover Clustering and Microsoft Cluster Service(PDF)

Restore Snapshot to vmdk file – Part 1

With no tools available, i needed to restore a snapshot image to a vmware virtual disk. Normally a bartpe with snapshot integrated and network working is used for this, but this time i did not had access to my bartpe iso file to restore the snapshot image.

What did i do to restore the snapshot image to a vmdk (the vmdk was not partitioned yet)?

Dowloaded vdk and mounted the disk in a command line with:

  1. VDK open 0 Virtualdisk.vmdk /RW
    After answering a few errors with i (ignore), the disk was mounted
  2. Started snapshot and went to the selection process of the restore option
  3. When i reached the option to select the disk, selected the mounted disk
  4. Right click and choose “Create primary Partition” on the mounted disk
  5. Restore the disk image to the mounted disk
  6. Close vdk “vdk close 0”
  7. Start the virtual machine

Used the following site as a reference: http://www.drivesnapshot.de/en/tips.htm

Extend boot volume on Windows Server 2000/2003

source

Before you begin, make sure that you do not have an active snapshot on the VM, extending a virtual disk with a snapshot will cause corrpution

Extend the boot volume of Windows Server 2003 Virtual Machine
To start, I have a Windows Server 2003 Virtual Machine that has a 5.3G disk allocated to it, I need to expand this disk to 10G.

1

Step 1: Power off the virtual machine that holds the boot volume that you want to extend.

Step 2: Make a backup copy of your virutal disk, this is optional but if you mess up don’t call me unless you’re willing to pay.

Step 3: From the service console, increase the size of the .dsk or .vmdk virtual disk file. This can also be accomplished through the Virtual Infrastructure Client if you are using VirtualCenter 2.x+.

[root@esx-test local]# ls -lah test.vmdk

-rw------- 1 root root 5.4G Jul 18 13:57 test.vmdk

Extend the virtual disk with vmkfstools. The input to the -X switch is the size that you want the disk file to be not the size you want to extend the disk file by.

[root@esx-test local]# vmkfstools -X 10G test.vmdk

View the new size of test.vmdk

[root@esx-test local]# ls -lah test.vmdk

-rw-------    1 root     root          10G Jul 18 13:57 test.vmdk

Step 4: For this step you will need an additional Virtual Machine running Windows Server 2003. Power off the second Virtual Machine, and add the disk from the first Virtual Machine to it through the mui. Power up the second Virtual Machine and verify that the imported disk has unallocated space on it.

 2

From the run menu type “diskpart.exe” to enter the command line utility to resize disk partitions in Windows Server 2003.

 3

The command list volume will show you all the available volumes. Select your volume as shown below. select volume 1 corresponds to the “D” volume that I want to exntend. Finally extend the volume with the extend command.

4

If all goes well, the partition will be immediately exnteded under the Disk Management snap in.

5

Step 5: Shut down the second Virtual Machine and remove the disk from the second Virtual Machine. Power on the first Virtual Machine and check out your new space.

 6