About Neverfail for vCenter Server 5.x Plug-in (v201.5.5)

Neverfail for vCenter Server Plug-in proactively monitors the VMware vCenter Server environment. Neverfail for vCenter Server Plug-in provides protection for all associated VMware vCenter Server configuration data, services, application data files, and log files.

Neverfail for SQL Server provides protection for the database if it is present on the same server. Please note that SQL Server instances added after Neverfail for SQL Server is installed will not be protected.

Supported Versions and Platforms

• vCenter Server 5.1 Update 2, vCenter Server 5.1 Update 3, vCenter Server 5.5 Update 1a, vCenter Server 5.5 Update 2, vCenter Server 5.5 Update 3, vCenter Server 5.5 Update 3a, and vCenter Server 5.5 Update 3b.
  
  • on Windows Server 2008 SP2, Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2
  • using one of the following SQL Server Database version either local* or remote (where compatible)
    
    • SQL Server 2008 SP2 & SP3, SQL Server 2008R2 up to SP3, SQL Server 2012 up to SP2, SQL Server 2014 up to SP1

Note: For a correct protection of vCenter Server deployments with SQL Server installed locally, Neverfail for SQL Server Plugin must be deployed together with Neverfail for vCenter Server Plug-in.

Install/Uninstall the Neverfail for vCenter Server Plug-in Via the Neverfail Heartbeat Management Client

The Neverfail for vCenter Server Plug-in can be installed either via the Neverfail Setup process or by using Application -> Plugins in the Neverfail Heartbeat Management Client using the procedure below. Neverfail recommends that for initial installations of Neverfail for vCenter Server, installation should be performed using the Neverfail Setup.exe.

To install the Neverfail for vCenter Server Plug-in, follow the steps below:

1. Unzip the Neverfail for vCenter Server Plug-in to the desired location.
2. Launch the Neverfail Heartbeat Management Client.
3. Navigate to Application -> Plugins.
4. Click on the Install button.
5. Click the Browse button and navigate to the location of the 'VirtualCenterNFPlugin.dll' file.
6. Click OK to complete the installation.

To remove/uninstall the Neverfail for vCenter Server Plug-in, follow the steps below:

1. Launch the Neverfail Heartbeat Management Client.
2. Navigate to Application -> Plugins.
3. Select the desired plug-in to be removed/uninstalled.
4. Click on the Uninstall button in the 'Plugins' pane.
5. When the plug-in is uninstalled, the files are not removed. This is by design for future functionality and therefore the following workaround is provided:
   
   1. Copy the contents of the r2\plugins\<sponsor>\<version> folder to a different location (e.g. C:\temp).
   2. Delete the contents of the r2\plugins\<sponsor>\<version> folder.
   3. To reinstall the plug-in, when prompted for the location of the plug-in files, navigate to the new folder location (e.g. C:\temp).

Note: As an alternative, reinstallation can be accomplished by using the downloaded files from the original download location after removing the plug-in.

Monitoring

For Neverfail for vCenter Server Plug-in, monitoring consists of the following:

• Service Availability Monitoring
• Application and Performance Monitoring

Service Availability Monitoring

Neverfail Heartbeat monitors services specified by the plug-in to ensure application availability. In the event that a specified service stops or fails, Neverfail Heartbeat can take up to three pre-configured actions to remedy the issue.

Application and Performance Monitoring

Rules - The following 'Rules' are installed by Neverfail for vCenter Server Plug-in:

• Check Connection to vCenter
• Check health of Tomcat Server
• Check vCenter license

To configure/modify these 'Rules', follow the steps below:

1. Using the Management Client, click on Application -> Rules.
2. Select the desired 'Rule'.
3. Click on the Edit button at the top of the 'Rules' pane.
4. Configure/modify the desired fields (listed below).
   
   1. Condition: (the condition being evaluated) E.g. see the Note above.
   2. Inverval: (the length of time the condition exists)
   3. On Failure: (action to take upon first failure) Note: The default is set to 'Log Warning'.
5. Click OK to save the changes.

Note: This dialog is also used to Enable/Disable the selected 'Rule'.

Tasks - The following 'Tasks' are installed by Neverfail for vCenter Server Plug-in:

• Pre Start
• Post Start
• Rule Action - RestartTomcatService
• Periodic
  
  • Protected Services Discovery
  • File Filter Discovery
  • Registry Filter Discovery

To configure/modify Periodic 'Tasks', follow the steps below:

1. Using the Management Client, click on Application -> Tasks.
2. Select the desired 'Task'.
3. Click on the Edit button at the top of the 'Tasks' pane.
4. Configure/modify the 'Interval' field.
   Note: 'Interval' is the only field available for configuration/modification and is measured in seconds (secs).
5. Click OK to save the changes.

Note: This dialog is also used to Enable/Disable the selected 'Task'.

Protected Services

This is a list of all services protected by this plug-in:

• VMware vCenter Server and components
• VMware vCenter Inventory Service
• VMware ADAM
• VMWare VCMSDS
• VMware USB Arbitration Service
• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware VirtualCenter Server
• VMware vSphere Client
• VMware vSphere Web Client
• VMware vCenter Update Manager
• VMware vSphere Update Manager Service
• VMware vSphere Update Manager Download Service
• VMware vSphere Update Manager UFA Service
• VMware vCenter Orchestrator Configuration
• VMware vCenter Orchestrator Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi Dump Collector
• VMware vSphere ESXi Dump Collector Web Server
• VMware Syslog Collector
• VMware vSphere Syslog Collector
• VMware vSphere Auto Deploy
• VMware vSphere Auto Deploy Waiter
• VMware vSphere Authentication Proxy
• VMware vSphere Authentication Proxy Adapter
• VMware vCenter Management Web Server
• VMware VirtualCenter Management Webservices
• VMware vSphere Host Update Utility
• VMware vCenter Host Agent Pre-Upgrade Checker
• VMware vCenter Single Sign-On
• vCenter Single Sign-On
• VMware Log Browser
• VMware vSphere Profile-Driven Storage Service
• RSA SSPI Service

When the plug-in is installed, all protected services will be set to manual unless otherwise stated.

Protected Data

This is a description of the protected data set determined at plug-in install time. Please note that exact filters will depend upon the configuration of the application plug-in at the time of install.

VMware vCenter Server

• All registry data, log files, security certificates, and configuration files.
• All VMware vCenter Server database instances discovered at install time.

Unsupported Components or Features

The plug-in does not protect the following application features or components:

• This plug-in does not support deployments with a local Oracle database.
• This plug-in does not protect the Oracle client configuration files present on a vCenter Server deployed with a remote Oracle Database.
• The plug-in does not protect user preference settings for Virtual Infrastructure Client programs when installed on the vCenter Server.
• This plug-in does not protect the VMware license server log file 'lmgrd.log'.

Applies To

Neverfail for vCenter Plug-in

Related Information

None

KBID-2720