Huawei Virtualization Platform Management and Usage · Topic 4 of 4
FusionCompute Platform Management
Learn FusionCompute platform management: creating VMs, templates and clones, installing the Tools, monitoring, alarms, users and rights, and daily checks.
- 5 min
- All management is done centrally through the VRM web portal; VRM sends work to the CNA hosts.
- VMs are created new, deployed from a template, or cloned from a VM.
- Converting a VM to a template consumes the VM; cloning to a template keeps it.
What it is
Platform management is the daily work an administrator does in the FusionCompute web portal provided by VRM. It covers building and running VMs, keeping templates, watching the system, handling alarms, and controlling who may do what.
Everything is done centrally. The administrator does not log in to each host; VRM sends the work to the CNA hosts.
How it works
Ways to create a VM
| Method | How it works | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Create a new VM | Set vCPUs, memory, disks and NICs, then install the guest OS from an image | The first VM of a new kind |
| Deploy from a template | Copy a prepared VM template with its OS and software | Many identical VMs, fast and consistent |
| Clone a VM | Copy an existing VM | A one off copy of a running system |
When a VM is created, you choose its cluster or host, the datastore for its disks, and the port group for each NIC.
VM templates
A VM template is a master copy used to deploy VMs. A template cannot be started like a normal VM, which protects it from accidental change.
| Way to make a template | Effect on the source VM |
|---|---|
| Convert a VM to a template | The VM itself becomes the template and is no longer a VM |
| Clone a VM to a template | A copy becomes the template; the source VM stays |
| Import a template | A template file from elsewhere is added to the system |
Prepare the template VM well before converting it. Install the guest OS, patches, common software and the Tools first, and for Windows generalize it with Sysprep so that each deployed VM gets a unique identity.
The Tools
The Tools are a driver and agent package installed inside the guest OS. Many platform features depend on them.
| With the Tools | Without the Tools |
|---|---|
| Paravirtualized disk and NIC drivers give better I/O performance | Emulated devices, lower performance |
| Accurate in guest monitoring such as CPU and memory usage | Limited monitoring data |
| Safe shutdown and restart from the portal | Only forced power off works reliably |
| CPU and memory hot add, and memory ballooning | These features are not available |
Install the Tools right after the guest OS.
Daily VM operations and monitoring
- Start, safe stop, safe restart and forced stop. Safe operations ask the guest OS to shut down cleanly; forced stop is like pulling the power.
- Modify specifications: change vCPUs, memory, disks and NICs; some changes need the VM stopped unless hot add is supported.
- Migrate, snapshot and restore, as described on the compute and storage pages.
The portal shows CPU, memory, disk I/O, network and datastore usage for clusters, hosts, VMs and datastores. Watch trends, not single values.
Alarms, events and logs
| Item | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Alarm | A fault or threshold breach that needs attention; it stays until it is cleared |
| Event | A record that something happened, such as a VM start; no action needed |
| Operation log | Who did what and when in the portal, used for audit and troubleshooting |
| Task | A running or finished operation and its result |
Alarms have severities: critical, major, minor and warning. Handle critical and major alarms first, and use the alarm's suggested handling steps.
Users and rights
Access to the portal is controlled by users and roles. A role is a set of operation rights, and each user is given one or more roles.
Give each administrator their own account so the operation log shows who did what. Use least privilege: an operator who only starts and stops VMs does not need rights to delete datastores.
System settings and routine checks
- Time synchronization: point VRM and the hosts to the same NTP server. Wrong time breaks logs, alarms and authentication.
- License: the platform needs a valid license for its hosts and features.
- Routine checks: review alarms, host and datastore usage, and failed tasks every day.
A worked example
An administrator needs 20 identical web servers. She creates one VM, installs the OS, patches and the web software, installs the Tools and generalizes the OS. She clones it to a template and keeps the original VM for future updates.
She deploys 20 VMs from the template onto the web port group. Next morning a major alarm shows a datastore above its usage threshold. She migrates several disks to another datastore with storage migration, and the alarm clears.
How the exam asks about this
- "Which statement about converting a VM to a template is true?" -> The original VM no longer exists as a VM; it becomes the template.
- "Which functions need the Tools installed in the VM?" -> Better I/O through paravirtualized drivers, accurate monitoring, safe shutdown and hot add.
- "Which alarm severity is the most serious?" -> Critical.
What to remember for the exam
- All management is done centrally through the VRM web portal; VRM sends work to the CNA hosts.
- VMs are created new, deployed from a template, or cloned from a VM.
- Converting a VM to a template consumes the VM; cloning to a template keeps it.
- Install the Tools in every VM for performance, monitoring, safe shutdown and hot add.
- Alarm severities are critical, major, minor and warning; alarms stay until cleared, events are just records.
A forced stop is like cutting power and can corrupt data in the guest. Use safe stop, which needs the Tools, whenever the guest OS responds.
Common mistakes
Forgetting the Tools in the template. Every VM deployed from a template without the Tools starts without paravirtualized drivers, safe shutdown or hot add.
Treating events as alarms. An event only records that something happened. Alarms show faults that need action and remain until the cause is fixed.
Sharing one admin account. Shared accounts make the operation log useless for audit. Give each person an account and only the rights they need.
Check yourself
What is the difference between converting and cloning a VM to a template?
Converting turns the VM itself into the template, while cloning makes a copy as the template and keeps the source VM.
Why should the Tools be installed in a VM?
They provide paravirtualized drivers for better I/O, accurate monitoring, safe shutdown and restart, and features such as hot add.
Why must VRM and hosts use the same NTP server?
Consistent time keeps logs, alarms and authentication correct across the whole platform.
Topic 4 of 4 in Huawei Virtualization Platform Management and Usage
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