http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40_u1/vsp_40_u1_availability.pdf

Network Isolation Addresses

A network isolation address is an IP address that is pinged to determine if a host is isolated from the network. This address is pinged only when a host has stopped receiving heartbeats from all other hosts in the cluster. If a host can ping its network isolation address, the host is not network isolated, and the other hosts in the cluster have failed. However, if the host cannot ping its isolation address, it is likely that the host has become isolated from the network and no failover action is taken.

By default, the network isolation address is the default gateway for the host. There is only one default gateway specified, regardless of how many service console networks have been defined, so you should use the das.isolationaddress[...] advanced attribute to add isolation addresses for additional networks. For example, das.isolationAddress2 to add an isolation address for your second network, das.isolationAddress3 for the third, up to a maximum of das.isolationAddress9 for the ninth.

When you specify additional isolation address, VMware recommends that you increase the setting for the das.failuredetectiontime advanced attribute to 20000 milliseconds (20 seconds) or greater. A node that is isolated from the network needs time to release its virtual machine’s VMFS locks if the host isolation response is to fail over the virtual machines (not to leave them powered on.) This must happen before the other nodes declare the node as failed, so that they can power on the virtual machines, without getting an error that the virtual machines are still locked by the isolated node.

For more information on VMware HA advanced attributes, see “Customizing VMware HA Behavior,” on page 26.

das.isolationaddress
Sets the address to ping to determine if a host is isolated from the network. This address is pinged only when heartbeats are not received from any other host in the cluster. If not specified, the default gateway of the console network is used. This default gateway has to be a reliable address that is available, so that the host can determine if it is isolated from the network. You can specify multiple isolation addresses (up to 10) for the cluster: das.isolationaddressX, where X = 1-10. Typically you should specify one per service console. Specifying too many addresses makes isolation detection take too long and can affect VMware HA behavior.

das.usedefaultisolationaddress
By default, VMware HA uses the default gateway of the console network as an isolation address. This attribute specifies whether or not this default is used (true|false).

VMware HA doesn’t work.

Verify that host name is lowercase: hostname; hostname -s
Verify that host name in /etc/hosts is lowercase
Verify that search domain in /etc/resolv.conf is in lowercase
Verify that host name in /etc/sysconfig/network is fqdn, all lowercase
Verify that the host name in esx.conf is fqdn, all lowercase
Verify that host name in DNS is lowercase: nslookup; <short hostname> (should properly resolve fqdn of host, all lowercase)
Verify that all primary service consoles have the same name.
Verify that all primary service consoles are in the same IP subnet.
If VMotion vmkernel port is on same vSwitch as primary service console, use das.allowVmotionNetworks=1
If host has multiple service consoles, use KB 1006541 and the das.allowNetwork0 HA option to ensure that only the primary service console is allowed.
Verify that customer has appropriate licensing for HA, and has available licenses: In LM Tools, perform a status inquiry, verify that cu is licensed for VC_DAS
Once you have met all of the above criteria, enable HA.
If, after you have verified all the above, and HA still won’t configure:

On the host, stop vpxa: service vmware-vpxa stop
The host will show not responding in VC after a while
Disconnect the host from VC
Re-connect the host to VC
This will force the VPXA package to re-deploy, as well as the HA packages to re-deploy.
Re-configure the hosts for HA.

Many thanks to: Kevin Riley [mailto:kriley@vmware.com]

http://blog.spudz.org/?p=388

http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1006541
As of VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 2 configuration of VMware High Availability fails.
An error similar to the following appears in the Tasks and Events detail:

HA agent on <esxhostname> in cluster <clustername> in <datacenter> has an error Incompatible HA Networks:

Cluster has network(s) missing on host: x.x.x.x

Consider using the Advanced Cluster Settings das.allowNetwork to control network usage.
das.allowVmotionNetworks
- Allows for a NIC that is used for VMotion networks to be considered
for VMware HA usage. This parameter enables a host that has only one
NIC configured for management and VMotion combined to be used in VMware
High Availability communication. By default, any VMotion network is
ignored.
das.allowNetwork[...] – Allows the use of port group names
to control the networks used for VMware HA. The value is set as the
name of the portgroup, for example, Service Console or Management
Network . When configured, the VMware HA cluster only uses the
specified networks for VMware HA communication.

To configure VMware HA to use the new settings:
Log in to VirtualCenter with the VI Client as an administrator.
Edit the settings of the cluster and deselect Enable VMware HA.
Click OK, and wait for the servers to unconfigure for VMware HA.
Click
ESX Server > Configuration > Networking on each of the ESX hosts
in the cluster and note the portgroups that are common between the
servers.
Edit the settings of the cluster, and select Enable VMware HA.
Click VMware HA.
Click Advanced Options.
Add the das.allowNetworkX option with a value of the portgroup name, where X is a number between 1 and 10,

IR: Wednesday, June 24, 2009

http://www.vmware.com/support/product_renaming.html

Old Name –> New Name

VMware VirtualCenter –> VMware vCenter Server

VMware Lifecycle Manager –> VMware vCenter Lifecycle Manager

VMware Converter –> VMware vCenter Converter
(for the version integrated into vCenter)

–> VMware vCenter Converter Standalone
(for the separately downloadable version)

VMware Lab Manager –> VMware vCenter Lab Manager

VMware Stage Manager –> VMware vCenter Stage Manager

VMware Update Manager –> VMware vCenter Update Manager

VMware Site Recovery Manager –> VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager

VirtualCenter Foundation –> vCenter Server Foundation

VMFS –> VMware vStorage VMFS

VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure –> VMware View

Virtual Desktop Manager (VDM) –> VMware View Manager

VMware Administrator Interface –> VMware View Administrator

VDM Agent –> VMware View Manager Agent

VDM Web Access –> VMware View Portal

VDM Client for Windows –> VMware View Client for Windows

VDM Client for Linux –> VMware View Client for Linux