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JDisc’s improved VMware vCenter Discovery

By: Thomas Trenz | Date: June 16, 2015 | Comment: 0 | Category: Virtualization

team4 Improved VMware Discovery through vCenterDear JDisc Friends,

virtualization is a commodity today and VMware is definitely one of the big players in this arena.

JDisc has been able to scan VMware ESX(i) servers since its beginnings and we are able to get detailed hardware and software information as well as the list of virtual machines running on the physical server. Over time, we added the capability to discover VMware clusters via the managing vCenter installation. So far so good as long as you have root accounts for the ESX(i) servers and a read-only account for the vCenter installation.

However, we experienced several times in that last couple of months the situation where IT asset manages do not get the required root accounts for the ESX(i) servers or where remote access is completely disabled. In thise case, the vCenter installation is the only source of information. Luckily, the vCenter installation provides all information about the ESX(i) server hardware and installed virtual machines. Therefore, direct access to the VMware ESX(i) servers themselves is not required anymore.

So what are the actual changes in the software?

Separation of Linux and VMware/Citrix XenServer Default Accounts

Up to now, JDisc Discovered handled default accounts for Linux, VMware, and Citrix XenServers in one single list. Actually, this is not very effective, because we might try Linux accounts on VMware servers and vica versa. Therefore, we added a new tab for the VMware/vCenter accounts and a new tab for the Citrix XenServers.

team6 Maintain the list of default accounts for VMware Installations

New Relation between the vCenter installation and the managed ESX servers

A new relation indicates the relation between the server running the vCenter installation and the ESX servers that are managed by the vCenter installation. As usual, the relation works in both directions. So the ESX server has a link to its managing vCenter installation and the vCenter installation has a list of managed ESX servers.

team8 The list of managed VMware ServerAnd of course, we show the relation from the ESX server to its managing vCenter installation:

ManagingVCenterInstallation Managing vCenter Installation

New Relation between the vCenter installation and the managed virtual machines

Indirectly via the managed ESX servers, JDisc Discovery can show the list of managed VMs for each vCenter installation.

ManagedVirtualMachines Managed VMware virtual machines

Stay tuned, there is a lot more to come…

Cheers,
Thomas

About The Author

Thomas Trenz

Thomas Trenz is one of the founders and CEO of JDisc GmbH, the company behind JDisc Discovery, an enterprise-class agentless network discovery and IT asset management solution used by organizations around the world.

With more than 25 years of experience in network discovery, IT asset management, and enterprise infrastructure, Thomas has dedicated his career to helping organizations gain complete visibility into increasingly complex IT environments. Since founding JDisc in 2009, he has led the development of a platform that combines deep technical capabilities with a strong focus on usability, accuracy, and customer success.

Thomas regularly writes about network discovery, IT inventory, CMDB, cybersecurity, software asset management, cloud migration, and emerging trends in enterprise IT. His articles focus on practical solutions that help IT teams improve visibility, strengthen security, and make better infrastructure decisions.

When he's not working on the next JDisc Discovery release, Thomas enjoys exploring new technologies and discussing the future of enterprise IT with customers and partners worldwide.

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