Discover and monitor VMware hypervisor-based virtual networks

If you want to discover and monitor virtual networks running on VMware hypervisors, you must perform the following additional tasks.

Task 1: Make sure the prerequisites are met

Make sure the prerequisites to discovering virtual networks are met.

• Make sure the hypervisor supports SNMP communication and is accessible from NNMi using SNMP.
• VMware only. You must replace the VMware default certificate (localhost.localdomain) with a certificate that is generated using the host name of the ESXi server. For more information, see the VMware documentation. See an example.
• VMware only. If you want NNMi to use HTTP to communicate with VMware, perform additional configuration steps.
• If you need to use HTTP to communicate with hypervisors, see Additional steps for using HTTP to communicate with hypervisors.

Example: Replacing the default VMware certificate

1. Make sure the /etc/hosts file has the following format for resolving the host:

   #/etc/hosts

   127.0.0.1 localhost.localdomain localhost

   ::1 localhost.localdomain localhost

   10.78.xx.xxx hostname.domain.com hostname

2. Make sure SSH is enabled on the ESXi server.

3. Log in to the ESXi Shell as a user with administrator privileges.

4. Navigate to following directory:

   /etc/vmware/ssl

5. Back up any existing certificates by renaming them using the following commands:

   mv rui.crt orig.rui.crt

   mv rui.key orig.rui.key

6. To generate new certificates, run the following command:

   /sbin/generate-certificates

7. Restart the host.

8. Confirm the host successfully generated new certificates:

   1. Use the following command to list the certificates:

      ls -la

   2. Compare the time stamps of the new certificate files with orig.rui.crt and orig.rui.key. if the original files are available.

Additional steps for using HTTP to communicate with hypervisors

By default, NNMi uses the HTTPS protocol to communicate with hypervisors.

If you need to use HTTP, follow these steps:

1. Go to the server.properties file:

   Windows:

   %NnmDataDir%\nmsas\NNM\server.properties

   Linux:

   $NnmDataDir/nmsas/NNM/server.properties

2. Add the following line:

   nms.comm.soap.targetconfig.HTTP_ENABLED=true

3. Restart the NNMi management server by running the following commands:

   1. ovstop -c
   2. ovstart -c

Task 2: Configure NNMi to poll SNMP agents on hypervisors

You must configure NNMi to be able to poll SNMP agents on hypervisors by providing the write SNMP community string or authentication values (for SNMPv3). You can complete this task with the Communication Configuration form of NNMi.

Use the Communication Configuration form to perform this configuration task.

Task 3: Configure NNMi to communicate with VMware hypervisors

For each VMware hypervisor that you want to discover, provide the access credentials by using the Device Credentials form. These credentials help NNMi connect with VMware hypervisors. Also, to facilitate HTTPS communication between NNMi and hypervisors, you must upload VMware or CA-trusted certificates to the NNMi management server.

Follow these steps to complete this task:

1. Determine how many hypervisors will be monitored in the environment.

2. Obtain read-only access credentials for the vSphere API on those hypervisors.

3. Obtain all trusted certificates for use with hypervisors.

   You can use a set of certificates where each certificate is specific for a particular ESXi host; you can use CA-signed certificates; you can use a combination of the two.

   By default, NNMi communicates with virtual machines running on hypervisors by using the HTTPS protocol. If your ESXi servers are specifically configured to support HTTP communication, you can configure NNMi to use the HTTP protocol while communicating with virtual machines, and in that case, you do not need trusted certificates.

4. Configure NNMi to communicate with hypervisors by accessing the vSphere API.

   You can follow one or more of the following procedures:

   • Add Configuration for a Region
   • Add Configuration for a Specific Hypervisor
   • Add Configuration to the Default Node Communication Settings

   Add Configuration for a Region

   Use this procedure if you want the configuration to take effect across a region. This procedure is useful when you have:

   • A set of credentials that can be used on all hypervisors in a region
   • A CA-trusted certificate that can be used with all hypervisors in a region
   1. In the Communication Configuration form, go to the Regions tab.

   2. Create a new region.

      In the Regions tab, click New, and then define a new region in the Communication Region form.

      Or, double-click an existing region.

   3. In the Communication Region form, go to the Device Credentials tab.

   4. Click New.

   5. In the Region Device Credentials form, select Type as VMware, and then specify credentials to access the vSphere API.

      

   6. Click  Save & Close.

   7. (Skip this step if you want to configure HTTP communication.) Upload trusted certificates.

      1. In the Communication Region form, go to the Trusted Certificates tab.

      2. Click .  Upload Certificate. The Open window appears.

         

      3. In the Open window, select a certificate, and then click Open.

         This configuration takes effect across the region.

         You can upload multiple certificates for a single region. If the region contains multiple ESXi hosts, you can use any one of the following:

         • A CA-signed certificate to communicate with all the ESXi hosts in the region
         • ESXi host-specific VMware certificates—one certificate for each ESXI host in the region
         • Multiple CA-signed certificates
         • A combination of all three

         Uploading multiple certificates leads to longer initial discovery time.

         You can use only the following certificate formats:

         • .pem

         • .crt

         • .cer

         • .der

   You can follow the above steps to add configuration for another region.

   Add Configuration for a Specific Hypervisor

   This procedure is useful when you have:

   • A set of credentials that can be used only on one hypervisor
   • A VMware-generated certificate that can be used only on one hypervisor

   1. In the Communication Configuration form, go to the Specific Node Settings tab.

   2. Add a new node.

      In the Specific Node Settings tab, click New, and then define a new region in the Specific Node Settings form.

      Or, double-click an existing node.

   3. In the Specific Node Settings form, go to the Device Credentials tab.

   4. Click New.

   5. In the Specific Node Device Credentials form, select Type as VMware, and then specify credentials to access the vSphere API.

      

   6. Click  Save & Close.

   7. (Skip this step if you want to configure HTTP communication.) Upload trusted certificates.

      1. In the Specific Node Settings form, go to the Trusted Certificates tab.

      2. Click . Upload Certificate. The Open window appears.

      3. In the Open window, select a certificate, and then click Open.

         You can use any one of the following:

         • A CA-signed certificate to communicate with the ESXi host
         • A VMware certificate specific for the ESXi host

         You can use only the following certificate formats:

         • .pem

         • .crt

         • .cer

         • .der

   You can follow the above steps to add configuration for another ESXi host.

   Add Configuration to the Default Node Communication Settings

   Adding the VMware details to the default node configuration enables NNMi to connect to only one hypervisor. To be able to discover additional ESXi hosts and other devices on your network, you must provide additional configuration details by using the Communication Region or Specific Node Settings form.

   1. Obtain the access credentials of the hypervisor.

   2. In the Communication Configuration form, go to the Specific Node Settings tab.

   3. Add a new node.

      In the Specific Node Settings tab, click New, and then define a new region in the Specific Node Settings form.

      Or, double-click an existing node.

   4. In the Specific Node Settings form, go to the Device Credentials tab.

   5. Click New.

   6. In the Specific Node Device Credentials form, select Type as VMware, and then specify VMware credentials.

      

   7. Click  Save & Close.

   8. (Skip this step if you want to configure HTTP communication.) Upload trusted certificates.

      1. In the Specific Node Settings form, go to the Trusted Certificates tab.

      2. Click . Upload Certificate. The Open window appears.

      3. In the Open window, select a certificate, and then click Open.

         You can use any one of the following:

         • A CA-signed certificate to communicate with the ESXi host
         • A VMware certificate specific for the ESXi host

         You can use only the following certificate formats:

         • .pem

         • .crt

         • .cer

         • .der

Task 4: Enable monitoring

To be able to detect faults in one of the discovered virtual networks, you must enable SNMP and web polling of hypervisors and virtual machines.

1. Configure NNMi to monitor VMware ESXi servers (hypervisors).

   1. In the Monitoring Configuration form, go to the Node Settings tab.
   2. Click New. The Node Settings form opens.
   3. In the Node Settings form, select VMware ESX Hosts as Node Group, and then specify a unique order number.

   4. Select the following check boxes in addition to the default selection of options:

      Enable IP Address Fault Polling: This option enables pinging of IP addresses and helps NNMi monitor network availability.

      Enable Interface Performance Polling: This selection enables NNMi to collect performance data from VMware ESXi interfaces, which is exported to NPS for building performance reports.

      Poll Unconnected Interfaces: This selection ensures that all virtual network components like virtual switches are monitored.

   5. Click Save and Close.

      

2. Configure NNMi to monitor virtual machines that run on hypervisors.

   1. In the Monitoring Configuration form, go to the Node Settings tab.
   2. Click New. The Node Settings form opens.
   3. In the Node Settings form, select Virtual Machines as Node Group, and then specify a unique order number.

   4. Select the following check boxes in addition to the default selection of options:

      Enable IP Address Fault Polling: This option enables pinging of IP addresses and helps NNMi detect a virtual machine on which the SNMP agent is not running.

      A virtual machine must be running VMware Tools for NNMi to discover IP addresses.

   5. Click Save and Close.

Task 5: Configure and run discovery

Configure NNMi to seed all hypervisors in the environment that host virtual machines and networks. While configuring seeding, use fully qualified domain names of hypervisors (and not IP addresses).

Wait for NNMi discovery to gather information.

Task 6: Verify discovery

To verify that NNMi discovery has successfully discovered virtual machines and virtual networks on hypervisors:

1. From the Node View, double-click one of the discovered hypervisors to launch the Node Form.

2. If the Node Form shows both the SNMP agent and the Web Agent, the hypervisor is successfully discovered and NNMi will be able to monitor the virtual network hosted on the hypervisor.

   

Related topics

• Configure communication protocol
• Monitor Network Health