VMWare Control Center Deployment¶
This document contains instructions for deploying a Virtual Machine version of the Lantronix Control Center on a compatible VMware server.
These instructions are applicable for both the production Virtual Control Center and the non-production, Evaluation Virtual Control Center.
Requirements¶
- Virtual Control Center OVA file (download from level.lantronix.com/software)
- VMWare host running ESX/ESXi version 6.5 or higher (Virtual Machine Version 13)
- Two IP addresses on the same network with subnet mask and gateway
- Maximum of 520 GB of storage space on SAS/SSD drive (SATA spinning drives are not recommended)
- 8 GB memory
- 4 CPU cores
Recommended / Default Resource Allocation¶
Recommend resource allocations have been simplified for version 6.2
- Storage: 520 GB (Thin provisioned)
- Memory: 8 GB
- CPU: 4 Cores
Note
Due to the nature of VM environments, some resource allocations can be adjusted for smaller deployments. See Advanced Resource Tuning for more information.
ESXi Version¶
To deploy the Virtual Control Center, choose your version of ESXi below.
- Deploying a Virtual Control Center to ESXi 7
- Deploying a Virtual Control Center to ESXi 6.7 or Earlier
Advanced Resource Tuning¶
Starting with 6.2, the default resource allocation has been targeted to support 500 Local Managers. Previous releases targeted up to 2,000 Local Managers. Smaller deployments will use fewer resources, so VM administrators may elect to set lower limits for storage, memory, and CPU. By growing the data disk, deployments of up to 2,000 Local Managers can still be supported.
Estimated Resource Usage¶
| Deployment Size | Storage | Memory | CPUs (2+ GhHz) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1000+ | 825 GB | 12 GB | 8 (or more) cores |
| 500 - 999 | ~650 GB | 8 GB | 8 cores |
| 100 - 500 | ~480 GB | 8 GB | 4 cores |
| 1 - 99 | ~450 GB | 4 GB* | 2 cores |
| Evaluation vCC | ~65 GB | 1 GB* | 2 cores |
*Using less than the default 8 GB for memory requires software changes.
Storage¶
The Control Center will initially use about 430 GB of space after initial deployment. The total disk space used will grow as more Local Managers are added (up to a total of 500) but will not exceed 520 GB.
The Evaluation Control Center will initially use 50 GB and can grow to a maximum of 100 GB.
SSDs are recommended for maximum performance, though SAS drives can be used in smaller (<250) deployments. SATA drives should only be used on non-production, Evaluation CCs.
Memory¶
If only 4 GB is allocated for memory, you will need to update the Control Center's memory configuration.
- Enter vi /etc/sysconfig/embassy.overrides
- Move the cursor over the number 8 on the line which reads RAM=8
- Press r, then enter 4
- Type :wq to save the file and exit from the editor
- Restart the vCC application by entering the commands ucc stop and ucc start.
CPUs¶
The number of CPUs allocated to the Control Center can be modified without any changes to the internals of the CC. The VM must be stopped before modifying the CPU allocation.
Virtual Machine Version¶
Lantronix configures the Control Center to use VM version 13 for backwards compatibility to ESXi version 6.5. You may optionally upgrade the VM version to match the version of ESXi in your environment. VMware recommends creating a snapshot or backup before upgrading in case there are issues post upgrade. You can use the web client to upgrade the VM while it is powered down (Actions > Upgrade VM Compatibility). Lantronix has tested most of the versions from 13 to 17, which is compatible with ESXi 7.0.
Updating the VM version will also enable you to update the Guest OS associated with the VM (Edit > VM Options > General Options > Guest OS Version).
Lantronix recommends a Guest OS Version of "CentOS 8 (64-bit)" for versions 6.1 & 6.2.
Please contact Lantronix Support if you have any question about configuring the VM version or Guest OS.