What is Enterprise Manager VE?

Enterprise Manager Virtual Edition (VE) is a version of the Enterprise Manager system that runs as a virtual machine, packaged to run in a VMware^® hypervisor environment. Enterprise Manager VE includes all features of Enterprise Manager, running on standard Enterprise Manager platforms.

Enterprise Manager Virtual Edition compatibility with VMware hypervisor products

Enterprise Manager Virtual Edition (VE) is compatible with VMware ESX^® 4.0 and 4.1, and VMware ESXi^®4.0 and 4.1, and 5.0 hosts.

VMware guest environment

The virtual machine guest environment for Enterprise Manager VE includes these characteristics:

• 2 CPU cores
• 2 GB RAM
• 250 GB hard disk

Note: When you use the VMware vSphere client system to deploy Enterprise Manager VE on the ESX or ESXi host system, it is important that you retain the guest environment characteristics as shown here. Modifying these characteristics can produce unexpected results. Also note that the guest environment does not support vmmemctl, the memory balloon driver.

Deployment overview for Enterprise Manager Virtual Edition on VMware ESX or ESXi

To deploy the Enterprise Manager VE system on a VMware ESX or ESXi server, you perform the following tasks:

• Verify the host machine requirements.
• Create an instance of the Enterprise Manager system as a virtual machine on a host system.
• Power on the Enterprise Manager VE virtual machine.
• Assign a management IP address to the Enterprise Manager VE virtual machine.

After you complete these tasks, you can log in to Enterprise Manager VE system and run the Setup utility. Using the Setup utility, you can perform basic network configuration tasks such as assigning VLANs to interfaces.

Enterprise Manager Virtual Edition host machine requirements and recommendations

There are specific requirements for the host system on which the Enterprise Manager VE system can run.

To successfully deploy and run the Enterprise Manager VE system, the host system must contain the following:

• VMware ESX 4.0 or 4.1, or VMware ESXi 4.0, 4.1 or 5.0
• VMware vSphere Client
• Connection to a common NTP source. This is especially important for each host in a redundant system configuration. For more information, see Best practices for deploying Enterprise Manager Virtual Edition.
• Virtual hardware version 7

F5 Networks highly recommends that the host system contain CPUs based on AMD-V or Intel-VT technology.

Creating the Enterprise Manager Virtual Edition virtual machine

The first steps in deploying Enterprise Manager VE are to download the Zip file to your local system. You can then run the Deploy OVF Template wizard from within VMware vSphere Client. This wizard copies the file to the ESX/ESXi server and configures some network interface settings. Note that the Zip file contains a virtual disk image based on an Open Virtual Format (OVF) template. By following the steps in this procedure, you create an instance of the Enterprise Manager system that runs as a virtual machine on the host system.

Important: Do not modify the configuration of the VMware guest environment. This includes the settings for the CPU, RAM, and network adapters. Doing so can produce unexpected results.

1. In a browser, open the F5 Downloads page, https://downloads.f5.com/.
2. Download the Enterprise Manager VE package.
3. Extract the files from the Zip archive.
4. Start VMware vSphere and log in.
5. From the File menu, choose Deploy OVF Template.
   The Deploy OVF Template wizard starts.
6. On the Source screen, click Deploy from file, and, using the Browse button, locate the OVA file. For example:
   \MyDocuments\Work\Virtualization\<EM_OVA_filename>
7. Click Next. The OVF Template Details screen opens.
8. Verify that the OVF template details are correct, and click Next. This displays the End User License Agreement.
9. Read and accept the license agreement and click Next.
   The Name and Location screen opens.
10. In the Name box, type a name for the Enterprise Manager virtual machine, such as: virtual_2.3.0.1-45.
11. In the Inventory Location pane, select a folder name. Click Next.
12. If the host system is controlled by VMware vCenter, the Host Cluster screen opens. Choose the desired host and click Next. Otherwise, proceed to the next step.
13. Map the source network Management Network to the name of a destination management network in your inventory.
    An example of a destination management network is Management.
14. Map the source network Internal Network to the name of a destination non-management network in your inventory. An example of a destination internal network is Private Access.
15. Map the source network External Network to the name of an external network in your inventory. An example of a destination external network is Public Access.
16. Click Next. The Ready to Complete screen opens.
17. Verify that all deployment settings are correct, and click Finish.

Powering on the Enterprise Manager VE virtual machine

You must power on the Enterprise Manager VE virtual machine.

1. From the main vSphere Client window, click the Administration menu.
2. In the left pane, select the virtual machine that you want to power on.
3. Click the Summary tab, and, in the Commands area, click Power On.

Assigning a management IP address to a Enterprise Manager Virtual Edition virtual machine

Enterprise Manager VE needs an IP address assigned to its virtual management port.

1. From the main vSphere Client window, click the Administration menu.
2. In the left pane, select the virtual machine to which you want to assign the management IP address.
3. Click the Console tab.
4. After a few seconds, a login prompt appears.
5. At the <user name> login prompt, type root.
6. At the Password prompt, type default.
7. Type config and press Enter.
   The F5 Management Port Setup screen opens.
8. Click OK.
9. If you want DHCP to automatically assign an address for the management port, click Yes. Otherwise, click No and follow the instructions for manually assigning an IP address and netmask for the management port.

Tip: F5 Networks highly recommends that you specify a default route for the virtual management port.

Best practices for deploying Enterprise Manager Virtual Edition

When deploying Enterprise Manager Virtual Edition on a VMware ESX or ESXi host, you should follow these best practices.

Fixes

This release contains the following fixes.

VMware ESXi support (ID 371757)
Enterprise Manager VE now supports VMWare ESXi 5.0.

Labeling errors (ID 353549)
Previously, when you started up Enterprise Manager Virtual Edition, the initial start screen incorrectly displayed BIG-IP LTM Virtual Edition even though the system is running Enterprise Manager Virtual Edition. The system is now correctly displayed upon startup.

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Known issues

This release contains the following known issues.

Virtual Edition disk resources (ID 349454)
In certain instances, on an Enterprise Manager Virtual Edition deployment, you may encounter TMM errors due to the way Enterprise Manager uses its database. To help avoid this scenario, set disk resources as a high priority when configuring resources.

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Contacting F5 Networks

For additional information, please visit http://www.f5.com.

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