vSphere 6.7 Plug-ins consist in a set of plugins bundled together to support VMware vCenter Server 6.7. Each plug-in provides specific functions and services for the various components of VMware vCenter Server, when protected by Neverfail Continuity Engine.
vSphere 6.7 Plug-ins proactively monitor the VMware vCenter Server 6.7 environment, providing protection for all associated VMware vCenter Server 6.7 configuration data, services, and application data files.
Supported Versions and Platforms
- VMware vCenter Server 6.7 up to and including Update 1
- 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, SQL Server 2017
- vPostgres 9.6 (embedded with vCenter 6.7)
- Oracle 12c Standard/Enterprise Edition Release 1
- 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
- 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
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 vSphere Plug-ins Via the Neverfail Advanced Management Client
The vSphere 6.7 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 vSphere 6.7 Plug-ins, installation should be performed using Engine Management Service.
Important: After installation of the VMware vCenter Server Plug-in you must configure a valid vCenter Server account for the plug-in via the Edit Plug-ins dialog.
To manually install the vSphere 6.7 Plug-ins, follow the steps below:
- Unzip the vSphere 6.7 Plug-ins to the desired location.
- Launch the Neverfail Advanced Management Client.
- Navigate to Application-> Plugins.
- Click on the Install button.
- Click the Browse button and navigate to the location of the <plug-in name>.dll file.
- Click OKto complete the installation.
- Repeat this process for each individual plug-in.
To remove/uninstall the vSphere 6.7 Plug-ins, follow the steps below:
- Launch the Neverfail Advanced Management Client.
- Navigate to Application-> Plugins.
- Select the desired plug-in to be removed/uninstalled.
- Click on the Uninstall button in the 'Plugins' pane.
- 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:
- Copy the contents of the r2\plugins\<sponsor>\<version>folder to a different location (e.g. C:\temp).
- Delete the contents of the r2\plugins\<sponsor>\<version>folder.
- 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 and Data Protection
vSphere 6.7 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
Rules - The following 'Rules' are installed by vSphere 6.7 Plug-ins:
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 Interface status (up to vCenter 6.5)
- Check vSphere Web Client status
- Check vSphere Client (HTML5) status
Note: For a correct functionality, the above rules require that VMware vCenter Server Plug-in is configured with a vSphere user account which has at least vCenter Server log-in permission.
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:
- Using the Neverfail Advanced Management Client, click on Application-> Rules.
- Select the desired 'Rule'.
- Click on the Edit button at the top of the 'Rules' pane.
- Configure/modify the desired fields (listed below).
o Condition: (the condition being evaluated) for example, see the Note above.
o Interval: (the length of time the condition exists)
o On Failure: (action to take upon first failure) Note: The default is set to 'Log Warning'.
- Click OK to save the changes.
Note: This dialog is also used to Enable/Disable the selected 'Rule'.
Tasks
Tasks - The following 'Tasks' are installed by vSphere Plug-ins:
- Pre Start
- Periodic
- Protected Services Discovery
- File Filter Discovery
- Registry Filter Discovery
To configure/modify Periodic 'Tasks', follow the steps below:
- Using the Neverfail Advanced Management Client, click on Application-> Tasks.
- Select the desired 'Task'.
- Click on the Edit button at the top of the 'Tasks' pane.
- Configure/modify the 'Interval' field.
Note:'Interval' is the only field available for configuration/modification and is measured in seconds (secs). - Click OK to save the changes.
Note: This dialog is also used to Enable/Disable the selected 'Task'.
Protected Data
The protected data set for a vCenter Server application component is determined by its corresponding plug-in. Please note that exact data replication filters will depend upon the configuration of the application plug-ins at the time of install.
VMware vCenter Server Plug-ins Suite define a protected data set which covers:
- All registry data, security certificates, and configuration files.
- All VMware vCenter Server database instances discovered at install time.
vSphere 6.7 Plug-ins - Protected services
VMware vCenter Server Plug-in
This is the list of all services protected by this plug-in:
VMware vCenter Server 6.7 and 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 Plug-in
This is the list of all services protected by this plug-in:
VMware Platform Services Controller 6.7
- VMware Afd Service
- VMware Certificate Service
- VMware Directory Service
- VMware Identity Management Service
- VMware Secure Token Service
- VMware vCenter Configuration Service
- VMware DNS Service
- VMware Service Lifecycle Manager
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 Plug-in
VMware Update Manager 6.7, 6.5 and 6.0
This is the 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 the list of all services protected by this plug-in (applies only for vCenter Server 6.0):
- VMware vSphere Authentication Proxy
- VMware vSphere Authentication Proxy Adapter
VMware vPostgres Plug-in
This is the list of all services protected by this plug-in (applies only for vCenter Server 6.0):
- VMware Postgres
Unsupported Components or Features
- Local Oracle database deployments: these plug-ins support only the Oracle versions mentioned in Supported Versions and Platforms section from above, when deployed with a local Oracle database
- These plug-ins do not protect user preference settings for the vSphere Client programs when installed on the vCenter Server.
Applies To
vSphere 6.7 Plug-ins