VMware vSphere SDKs and Tools 6.5

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Configure an ESX Agency and ESX Agents
Last Updated December 19, 2024

You must define the configuration of the ESX agencies in the implementation of the solution. You set the configuration for ESX agencies and ESX agents in the
AgencyConfigInfo
 and
AgentConfigInfo
 data objects.
  • Verify that you have set up and started the EAM Sample Solution in an application server.
  • Open
    eam_work_folder
    \src\com\vmware\eam\sample\solution\AgentHandler.java
     in a text editor.
When you create ESX agencies, you provide the
AgencyConfigInfo
 object with an array of
AgentConfigInfo
 objects for each version of ESX Server on which the agency deploys ESX agents. You also define the name of the ESX agency and of the ESX agents and the scope of the ESX agency in the
AgencyConfigInfo
 object.
You define the deployment of the ESX agent virtual machines in the
AgentConfigInfo
 object. You set the following information in the
AgentConfigInfo
 object.
  • Whether or not hosts require a DvFilter virtual switch to run the ESX agent.
  • A URL to the Open Virtualization Format (OVF) file from which to deploy the ESX agent.
  • A URL to an optional vSphere Installation Bundle (VIB) that adds function to the ESX Server, for example a VMkernel module or a custom ESX application that you developed.
The URL to the ESX agent virtual machine OVF and the URL to an optional VIB must lead to a server that ESX Agent Manager can access. ESX Agent Manager downloads the ESX agent virtual machine from the URLs that you provide and deploys the virtual machines on the ESX hosts. ESX Agent Manager installs one ESX agent instance per agency per host.
To install VIBS, all
hosts must have configured the firewall so that they can access the HTTP port on the vCenter Server.
Setting the
ovfEnvironment
 property allows a solution to provide OVF properties specific to the ESX agent virtual machine. ESX Agent Manager sets the OVF properties when it deploys an ESX agent. A typical use of the
ovfEnvironment
 field is to specify the IP address and credentials of the solution so that ESX agents can connect back to the solution when they are running.
  1. Create a program to configure and create ESX agencies and agents.
    The EAM Sample Solution defines the configuration and creation of ESX agencies and agents in the
    AgentHandler.java
     class. 
    public AgentHandler(String selfUrl,
                    String selfIp,
                    String ovfUrl4x,
                    String ovfUrl50,
                    String vibUrl4x,
                    String vibUrl50,
                    boolean deployVibs,
                    Map<String, String> ovfEnvironment,
                    VcUtils vcUtils) {
   _vcUtils = vcUtils;

   _agentConfigInfo4x = new AgentConfigInfo();
   _agentConfigInfo50 = new AgentConfigInfo();

   [...]
}
  2. Create
    AgentConfigInfo
     instances for each type of ESX agent that the ESX agency deploys.
    The EAM Sample Solution defines ESX agents for ESX Server 4.x and for ESX Server 5.0. 
    public AgentHandler([...]) {
   [...]
   _agentConfigInfo4x = new AgentConfigInfo();
   _agentConfigInfo50 = new AgentConfigInfo();
   [...]
}
  3. Set the URLs to the OVF files from which the solution deploys ESX agent virtual machines by calling the
    AgentConfigInfo.setOvfPackageUrl()
     method.
    The EAM Sample Solution constructs the URLs to OVF files from information that you set in the
    eamri.properties
     file. 
    public AgentHandler([...]) {
   [...]

   _agentConfigInfo4x.setOvfPackageUrl(urlPrefix + ovfUrl4x);
   _agentConfigInfo50.setOvfPackageUrl(urlPrefix + ovfUrl50);

   [...]
   }
  4. Set the URLs to the optional VIB files from which the solution adds functions to the ESX Server by calling the
    AgentConfigInfo.setVibUrl()
     method.
    When you deploy the EAM Sample Solution you can set a variable in the
    eamri.properties
     file to deploy a DvFilter switch from a VIB. The solution constructs the URLs to VIB files from information that you set in the
    eamri.properties
     file. 
    public AgentHandler([...]) {
   [...]

   _agentConfigInfo4x.setOvfPackageUrl(urlPrefix + ovfUrl4x);
   _agentConfigInfo50.setOvfPackageUrl(urlPrefix + ovfUrl50);

   if (deployVibs) {
      _agentConfigInfo4x.setVibUrl(urlPrefix + vibUrl4x);
      _agentConfigInfo50.setVibUrl(urlPrefix + vibUrl50);

      [...]
   }
}
  5. If your solution requires a DvFilter virtual switch on the ESXi hosts on which it runs, set the
    dvFilterEnabled
     property by calling the
    AgentConfigInfo.setDvFilterEnabled()
     method.
    If your solution uses a DvFilter virtual switch, you must also configure the OVF descriptor file from which you deploy the ESX agent virtual machine.
    The EAM Sample Solution deploys an optional DvFilter switch, so it sets the
    dvFilterEnabled
     property to true if you set this option in the
    eamri.properties
     file. 
    public AgentHandler([...]) {
   [...]

   if (deployVibs) {
      _agentConfigInfo4x.setVibUrl(urlPrefix + vibUrl4x);
      _agentConfigInfo50.setVibUrl(urlPrefix + vibUrl50);

      _agentConfigInfo4x.setDvFilterEnabled(true);
      _agentConfigInfo50.setDvFilterEnabled(true);

      [...]
   }
}
  6. Set any OVF environment properties that the solution requires by creating an instance of the
    AgentOvfEnvironmentInfo
     object and passing it to the
    AgentConfigInfo
     object for each ESX agent.
    The EAM Sample Solution sets some dummy properties in the
    eamri-webapp.xml
     file. 
    public AgentHandler([...]) {
   [...] 
   AgentOvfEnvironmentInfo ovfEnv = new AgentOvfEnvironmentInfo();
   for (final Map.Entry<String, String> entry : ovfEnvironment.entrySet()) {
      ovfEnv.getOvfProperty().add(new AgentOvfEnvironmentInfoOvfProperty() {
         {
            setKey(entry.getKey());
            setValue(entry.getValue());
         } 
      });
   }
   _agentConfigInfo4x.setOvfEnvironment(ovfEnv);
   _agentConfigInfo50.setOvfEnvironment(ovfEnv);
   [...]
}
  7. Create an instance of
    AgencyConfigInfo
     to define the ESX agency that the solution deploys. 
    public AgentHandler([...]) {
   [...] 

   _agencyConfigInfo = new AgencyConfigInfo();
   [...]
}
  8. Provide names for the ESX agency and the ESX agents by calling the
    AgencyConfigInfo.setAgencyName()
     and
    setAgentName()
     methods.
    The EAM Sample Solution names the ESX agency and the ESX agents Sample Service. 
    public AgentHandler([...]) {
   [...] 

   _agencyConfigInfo = new AgencyConfigInfo();
   _agencyConfigInfo.setAgencyName("Sample Service");
   _agencyConfigInfo.setAgentName("Sample Service");
   [...]
}
  9. Add an array of ESX agent configurations to the ESX agency configuration by calling the
    AgencyConfigInfo.getAgentConfig()
     method. 
    public AgentHandler([...]) {
   [...] 

   _agencyConfigInfo = new AgencyConfigInfo();
   _agencyConfigInfo.setAgencyName("Sample Service");
   _agencyConfigInfo.setAgentName("Sample Service");
   _agencyConfigInfo.getAgentConfig().add(_agentConfigInfo4x);
   _agencyConfigInfo.getAgentConfig().add(_agentConfigInfo50);
   [...]
}
  10. Set the scope of the ESX Agency by calling the
    AgencyConfigInfo.setScope()
     method.
    Users of the EAM Sample Solution set the scope of the ESX agency by selecting
    hosts from the EAM Sample Solution Configuration page. Consequently, the scope is empty until the EAM Sample Solution updates it according to the user interaction. 
    public AgentHandler([...]) {
   [...] 
   _agencyConfigInfo.setScope(null);
   [...]
}
You set the configuration properties for an ESX agency and the ESX agents that it contains.
Call the
createAgency()
 method to create the ESX agency.

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