vRanger 7.8.3 - User Guide

Adding vCenter and host information

Adding vCenter and host information

The VirtualCenter and Host Information page appears. Before vRanger can add source objects to the My Inventory pane, you must configure a connection to a VMware® vCenter™ or a VMware® ESXi™ Server, or both.

To add vCenter and host information, complete the following tasks as necessary:

•	Adding a vCenter: Complete this task to add a vCenter and all associated hosts.

•	Entering host credentials: Complete this task to add credentials to hosts that appeared after adding a vCenter.

•	Adding hosts: Complete this task to add individual hosts not associated with a vCenter.

Adding a vCenter

Adding a vCenter

Complete the following steps to add a VMware® vCenter™ to your vRanger configuration.

To add a vCenter:

1	In the VirtualCenters section, click Add.

The Add VirtualCenter Credentials dialog box appears.

2	In the DNS Name or IP field, enter the FQDN or IP address of the vCenter Server™.

3	In the User Name field, enter the name of an account with privileges on the vCenter Server.

For the required permissions for a vRanger vCenter account, see the Quest vRanger Installation/Upgrade Guide.

 

NOTE: The user name for the vCenter credential should be entered in the username@domain format, rather than domain\username. Sometimes, the domain might not be required. Avoid special characters in the user name. If these credentials are changed in the future, you must restart the Quest vRanger Service to recognize the changes.

4	In the User Password field, enter the password for the preceding account.

 

NOTE: Avoid special characters in the password.

5	In the Port Number field, enter the port to use for communication — the default is 443.

6	Click Connect.

The dialog box closes, and the vCenter appears in the VirtualCenters section and on the VirtualCenter and Host Information page. The hosts managed by that vCenter appear in the Hosts section.

The hosts displayed show the icon . There are four key indicators shown in the icon:

▪	The large gold key indicates that the host has been issued a vRanger license.

▪	The green dot indicates that the host has been assigned a backup license.

▪	The blue dot indicates that the host has been assigned a replication license.

▪	The authentication method for the host is indicated by the icon superimposed on the host icon:

▫	If the host is authenticated with vCenter credentials only, the vCenter icon appears superimposed over the host icon: .

▫	If the host is authenticated with host credentials, a gold key is superimposed over the host icon: .

 

CAUTION: vCenter credentials are sufficient for operations that use only the vStorage API.

Entering host credentials

Entering host credentials

Complete the following steps to enter the credentials required to connect to the host or hosts.

To enter host credentials:

1	In the Hosts section, select one or more hosts.

 

TIP: To select all hosts, select the upper-most check box.

2	Click Edit.

The Host Connections dialog box appears. If you have selected multiple hosts, the DNS Name or IP section displays “[multiple connections].”

3	In the User Name field, enter an account for the host.

You may use the root account if connections through the root are enabled, or a non-root account. If the account does not yet exist on the host, select Add user if user does not exist.

4	In the User Password field, enter the password for the preceding account.

5	In the Root Password field, enter the root password for the selected hosts.

If your hosts use different root passwords, configure them in like groups based on the root password.

6	In the Port Number field, enter the port to use for communication — the default is 22.

7	Click Connect.

The icon next to the host changes to , showing that the vCenter icon has been replaced with a key.

If there is an authentication problem, such as connections through the root account being disabled, the status icon displays an alarm. If alarm appears, edit the host connection to use a non-root user account. Make sure that the Add user if user does not exist option is selected.

 

NOTE: VMware® ESXi™ requires the use of the root account. You cannot use a non-root account with ESXi.

8	When all connections have been made and verified, click Next.

Adding hosts

Adding hosts

If you have hosts that are not managed by a VMware® vCenter™, you can add them individually.

To add hosts:

1	In the Hosts section, click Add.

2	In the DNS Name or IP field, enter the FQDN or IP address of the Host.

3	In the User Name field, enter an account for the host.

You may use the root account if connections through the root are enabled, or a non-root account. If the account does not yet exist on the host, select Add user if user does not exist.

4	In the User Password field, enter the password for the preceding account.

5	In the Root Password field, enter the password for the root account.

6	In the Port Number field, enter the port to use for communication — the default is 22.

7	Click Connect.

The host appears in the Hosts section.

8	To continue in the wizard, click Next.