Neverfail for VMware vSphere 6.5 Plug-ins - Release Notes

Neverfail for VMware vSphere 6.5 Plug-ins - Release Notes

About Neverfail for vSphere 6.5 Plug-ins

Neverfail for vSphere 6.5 Plug-in consists of four plug-ins bundled together to support VMware vCenter Server 6.5. Each plug-in addresses specific functions and services for the various components of VMware vCenter Server 6.5 protected by Neverfail IT Continuity Engine. 

Neverfail for vSphere 6.5 Plug-ins proactively monitor the VMware vCenter Server 6.5 environment. Neverfail for vSphere 6.5 Plug-ins provide protection for all associated VMware vCenter Server 6.5 configuration data, services, and application data files.

 

Supported Versions and Platforms

  • VMware vCenter Server 6.5 up to and including Update 1d       
    • on Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, on Windows Server 2016
    • using one of the following Databases either local or remote (where compatible)
      • SQL Server 2008R2 up to SP3, SQL Server 2012 up to SP3, SQL Server 2014 up to SP2, SQL Server 2016 up to SP1
      • vPostgres 9.4 (embedded with vCenter 6.5) 
      • Oracle 12c Standard/Enterprise Edition Release 1 (starting from Neverfail Continuity Engine v8.5 Update 3 which bundles Neverfail for Oracle Database Plug-in)
  • VMware vCenter Server 6.0 up to and including Update 3c           
    • on Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2
    • using one of the following Databases either local or remote (where compatible)
      • SQL Server 2008R2 up to SP3, SQL Server 2012 up to SP3, SQL Server 2014 up to SP1
      • vPostgres 9.3 (embedded with vCenter 6.0)
      • Oracle 12c Standard/Enterprise Edition Release 1 (starting from Neverfail Continuity Engine v8.5 Update 3 which bundles Neverfail for Oracle Database Plug-in)  

 

Known Issues

Sometimes, VMware Service Lifecycle Manager service fails to start its vCenter child processes following a switchover. 

Workaround: Procedure is documented in  How to start the vCenter Server 6.x services on the active server when VMware Service Lifecycle Manager (vmon) service fails to start them  (EN-3399)

 

Install/Uninstall the Neverfail for vSphere Plug-ins Via the Neverfail Advanced Management Client

The Neverfail for vSphere 6.5 Plug-ins can be installed either via the Neverfail CE deployment process or by using Application -> Plugins in the Neverfail Advanced Management Client using the procedure below. Neverfail recommends that for initial deployments of Neverfail for vSphere 6.5 Plug-ins, installation should be performed using Engine Management Service.

Important: After installation of the VMware vCenter Server Plug-in you must add a username and password for the plug-in via the Edit Plug-ins dialog. 

To manually install the Neverfail for vSphere 6.5 Plug-ins, follow the steps below:

  1. Unzip the Neverfail for vSphere 6.5 Plug-ins to the desired location.
  2. Launch the Neverfail Advanced Management Client.
  3. Navigate to Application-> Plugins.
  4. Click on the Installbutton.
  5. Click the Browsebutton and navigate to the location of the <plug-in name>.dll file.
  6. Click OKto complete the installation.
  7. Repeat this process for each of the five individual plug-ins.

To remove/uninstall the Neverfail for vSphere 6.5 Plug-ins, follow the steps below:

  1. Launch the Neverfail Advanced Management Client.
  2. Navigate to Application-> Plugins.
  3. Select the desired plug-in to be removed/uninstalled.
  4. Click on the Uninstallbutton 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:
  6. Copy the contents of the r2\plugins\<sponsor>\<version>folder to a different location (e.g. C:\temp).
  7. Delete the contents of the r2\plugins\<sponsor>\<version>folder.
  8. 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 vSphere 6.5 Plug-ins, monitoring consists of the following:

  • Service Availability Monitoring
  • Application and Performance Monitoring

 

Service Availability Monitoring

Neverfail Engine monitors services specified by the plug-ins to ensure application availability. In the event that a specified service stops or fails, Neverfail Engine 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 vSphere 6.5 Plug-ins:

 

Check Connection to vCenter Platform Services Controller

VMware vCenter Server 

  • Check Connection to vCenter Platform Services Controller
  • Check that vCenter can contact and query the database 
  • Check vCenter license
  • Check Platform Service Controller Web Interfacestatus
  • Check vSphere Web Clientstatus
  • Check vSphere Client (HTML5)status

VMware vPostgres

  • I/O Data Operations Per Sec
  • Maximum Connections
  • Cache Hit Rate
  • Index Cache Hit Rate 
  • Database size

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

  1. Using the Neverfail Advanced Management Client, click on Application-> Rules.
  2. Select the desired 'Rule'.
  3. Click on the Editbutton at the top of the 'Rules' pane.
  4. Configure/modify the desired fields (listed below).

o    Condition: (the condition being evaluated) for example, see the Note above.

o    Inverval: (the length of time the condition exists)

o    On Failure: (action to take upon first failure) Note: The default is set to 'Log Warning'.

  1. Click OKto save the changes.

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

Tasks - The following 'Tasks' are installed by Neverfail for vSphere 6.0 Plug-ins: 

  • Pre Start
  • Periodic 
    • Protected Services Discovery
    • File Filter Discovery
    • Registry Filter Discovery

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

  1. Using the Neverfail Advanced Management Client, click on Application-> Tasks.
  2. Select the desired 'Task'.
  3. Click on the Editbutton 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 OKto save the changes.

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

 

Neverfail for vSphere 6.5 Plug-ins  

 

VMware vCenter Server 6.5 Plug-in

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

VMware vCenter Server 6.5

  • VMware Afd Service
  • VMware vCenter Configuration Service
  • VMware Service Lifecycle Manager 

VMware vCenter Server 6.0

  • VMware afd Service
  • VMware Component Manager
  • VMware Content Library Service
  • VMware ESX Agent Manager
  • VMware HTTP Reverse Proxy
  • VMware Inventory Service 
  • VMware Message Bus Config Service
  • VMware Performance Charts
  • VMware Service Control Agent
  • VMware Syslog Collector
  • VMware System and Hardware Health Manager
  • VMware vAPI Endpoint
  • VMware vCenter Configuration Service
  • VMware vCenter Workflow Manager
  • VMware VirtualCenter Server
  • VMware Service Manager
  • VMware vSphere Auto Deploy Waiter
  • VMware vSphere ESXi Dump Collector 
  • VMware vSphere ESXi Dump Collector Web Server
  • VMware vSphere Profile-Driven Storage Service
  • VMware vSphere Web Client
  • VMware Virtual SAN Health Service 

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

 

VMware Platform Service Controller 6.5 Plug-in

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

 VMware Platform Services Controller 6.5

  • VMware Afd Service
  • VMware Certificate Service
  • VMware Directory Service
  • VMware Identity Management Service
  • VMware Secure Token Service
  • VMware vCenter Configuration Service
  • VMware Platform Service Controller Client
  • VMware DNS Service
  • VMware Service Lifecycle Manager 

 

VMware Platform Services Controller 6.0

  • VMware afd Service
  • VMware Certificate Service
  • VMware Component Manager
  • VMware Directory Service
  • VMware HTTP Reverse Proxy
  • VMware Identity Management Service
  • VMware License Service
  • VMware Security Token Service
  • VMware Service Control Agent
  • VMware vCenter Configuration Service
  • VMware Platform Services Controller Client

 

VMware Update Manager 6.5 Plug-in

 VMware Update Manager 6.5 and 6.0

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

  • VMware vSphere Update Manager Service
  • VMWare vSphere Update Manager UFA Service

 

VMware Authentication Proxy 6.0 Plug-in

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

VMware vSphere Authentication Proxy

  • VMware vSphere Authentication Proxy
  • VMware vSphere Authentication Proxy Adapter

 

VMware vPostgres Plug-in

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

  • VMware Postgres (apply only for vSphere 6.0)

 

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-ins at the time of install.

VMware vSphere 

  • All registry data, 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:

  • These plug-ins do not support deployments with a local Oracle database except the scenario and versions mentioned in Supported Versions and Platforms section from above.
  • These plug-ins do not protect user preference settings for Virtual Infrastructure Client programs when installed on the vCenter Server.

 

Applies To

Neverfail for vSphere 6.5 Plug-ins

 

Related Information

None

KBID-3023

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