Configuring The Settings To Stop Vmware When A Failure Occurs; Taking A Memory Dump With Vmware - Hitachi Compute Blade 2500 Getting Started Manual

Configuring the settings to stop VMware when a failure occurs

The standard settings of VMware ESX 4.0 or later prevent VMware from
stopping even if an MNI is issued. In VMware ESX 4.0 or later, perform the
following procedure to set the parameters to stop the system when an MNI is
issued.
1 Log in to VMware with the vSphere client.
.
2 In the Configuration tab of the host, in Software, select Advanced
.
Settings.
3 Select VMkernel and then change the value of
.
VMkernel.Boot.nmiAction to 2.
4 Click the OK button to close the window of the vSphere client.
.
5 Restart ESX/ESXi.
.
If you used the VMware Installation Service, the necessary settings were
already set at shipping time.

Taking a memory dump with VMware

Use the following procedure to take a memory dump with VMware.
Triggers for taking a memory dump
When a purple diagnostic screen (error message displayed on a purple
screen) is displayed on the local console, a memory dump is taken
automatically. Also, when VMware becomes unresponsive, the management
module issues an NMI to take a memory dump. Perform the following
procedure to issue an NMI.
1 Write down the information in the VMware console window.
.
2 Use another computer to check via the network whether the VMware
.
virtual machine is operating. If the VMware virtual machine is operating,
shut it down.
3 Issue an NMI from the management module.
.
While a memory dump is being taken
When the memory dump is complete, the message "Escape" for local
debugger is displayed in the lower part of the VMware console window.
After a memory dump is taken
• For ESXi 5.0 Update 1 or later
a
.
b
.
• For ESXi 5.0 or earlier
a
.
B-6
Press the Esc key.
In vmkernel debugger, type "reboot" and then press the Enter key.
Press the Esc key.
Taking a Memory Dump of the OS Running on a Server Blade
Hitachi Compute Blade 2500 Series Getting Started Guide