The EAM Sample Solution uses an OVF template to deploy ESX agent virtual machines from an application server onto ESXi hosts.

The EAM Sample Solution enables an ESX agent, creates a resource pool, creates a virtual machine folder, deploys an OVF template, and powers on the virtual machine.

The ESX agents that the EAM Sample Solution deploys from OVF are empty. The ESX agents do not add functions to the ESXi server on which you deploy them. The EAM Sample Solution demonstrates how a solution deploys ESX agents on compute resources. A solution deploys agents on a standalone host or on a cluster of hosts. If you deploy the EAM Sample Solution on a cluster of hosts, then it deploys ESX agents on all the hosts in the cluster.

The EAM Sample Solution displays information about the virtual machines that it creates, and how you can monitor and manage ESX agents in ESX Agent Manager. The EAM Sample Solution also demonstrates how ESX Agent Manager integrates with vSphere High Availability (HA), maintenance mode, Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS), and Distributed Power Management (DPM).

Prerequisites

  • Verify that you have set up and started the EAM Sample Solution in an application server.

  • Verify that you have configured the virtual infrastructure on which to deploy ESX agents.
    Important: If you have not configured the ESX agent network and datastore settings on the host, ESX Agent Manager sets the status to red and ESX agents do not deploy. See Configure the Virtual Infrastructure for ESX Agent Deployment.

Procedure

  1. Click Menu in the navigation bar of the vSphere Client, and then click Administration.
  2. Click vCenter Server Extensions.
  3. Click EAM Sample Solution in the list of running vCenter Server solutions.
  4. From the Summary tab, click the link from the Solutions portlet.
    The EAM Sample Solution Configuration page opens in a new window.
  5. In the Compute resources panel, select the host name of the ESXi host or cluster on which to deploy ESX agents and click Update Configuration.
    The Recent Tasks view at the bottom of the vSphere Client shows the progress of the EAM Sample Solution.
  6. Click Menu in the navigation bar of the vSphere Client and then click Hosts and Clusters.
    The EAM Sample Solution created a resource pool named ESX Agents and an ESX agent virtual machine named Sample Service (1) on the host that you selected. The virtual machine has an icon in the inventory that denotes that it is an ESX agent.
  7. Click the Sample Service (1) virtual machine icon, then click the Summary tab.
    vCenter Server added a panel labeled Managed by to the Summary tab, which shows that ESX Agent Manager manages this ESX agent virtual machine.
  8. (Optional) If you deployed the EAM Sample Solution on a cluster of hosts, put one of the hosts into maintenance mode.
    ESX Agent Manager powers off the ESX agent that is running on that host.
  9. (Optional) If you deployed the EAM Sample Solution on a cluster of hosts and you have configured DRS on the cluster, add a host to the cluster.
    1. From Agent VM Settings, select a datastore and network on the new host.
    ESX Agent Manager deploys an ESX agent on the new host and prevents any other virtual machines from migrating to the host until the ESX agent virtual machine is running.

Results

You used the EAM Sample Solution to deploy an ESX agent virtual machine from an OVF template that the solution defines. The EAM Sample Solution registered that ESX agent with ESX Agent Manager.

What to do next

Use EAM Sample Solution and ESX Agent Manager to monitor and manage the running ESX agent virtual machine.