Iasimp At002 en p

8/12/2019 Iasimp At002 en p

1/32

Technical Data

Virtualization Performance Considerations WithAllen Bradley Products

Introduction

This document introduces basic virtualization concepts and provides suggestions to optimize performance on systemsutilizing VMware and Allen Bradley products. Many of the suggestions are by their nature generally applicable to VMwarebased systems.

Not all of the suggestions will apply depending on your application requirements. Choose the ones that fit your needs.

Although this document focuses on Hosted Virtualization with VMware Workstation, most of the guidelines presentedhere also apply to VMware Server and VMware Player.

Topic Page

Introduction 1

Basic Virtualization Concepts 2

VMware Workstation/ VMware Player Considerations 4

Optimizing VMware Performance 6

FactoryTalk Activation Considerations 28

Default Hot Key Combinations 29

Glossary 30


2/32

# Rockwell Automation Publication IASIMP-AT002A-EN-P - September 2012

Virtualization Performance Considerations With Rockwell Automation Products

Basic Virtualization Concepts

Non Virtualized Systems

Traditionally the OS and its applications were tightly coupled to the hardware they were installed on.

Hosted Virtualization

Virtualization breaks the link between operating system and physical hardware by introducing a Hypervisor application(Example -VMware WorkstationorVMware Server) that runs on the Host Operating System. This allows multipleinstances of an OS with independent applications to run on the same hardware. This is known as Hosted Virtualization.


3/32

Rockwell Automation Publication IASIMP-AT002A-EN-P - September 2012 #


Hosted Virtualization

Bare Metal Virtualization

Another option is to have the Hypervisor replace the Host Operating System entirely (Example VMware ESXi) andmanage the host hardware and resources. This is known as Bare Metal Virtualization.

This allows the ability to change hardware without replacing the OS or applications.

Bare Metal Virtualization is used to host production servers and desktops in a thin-client environment.


4/32



VMware Workstation/ VMware Player Considerations

VMware Workstation

General

Quickly and easily build and run multiple VMs

Basic server functions for sharing VMs

Aimed at developers and engineers that need to build a multi-tiered application in a test environment.

Snapshot Feature

Take snapshots of existing image to isolate damage from botched software installations

Allows user to make a complete restoration point of the current VM

Everything is retained in the snapshot (files, applications, settings, etc.)

Shared Folders

Share files between Guest OS and Host OS through a mapped drive

Easily transfer files to and from Host or Guest

Memory Swapping

Allows user to allocate more memory for Guest OS than is available

VMware Workstation will only consume memory actively required for Guest

If more memory is required for Guests than is available on Host, memory paging occurs (save VM memory to thehard disk)

Integration with VMware vSphere


5/32



VMware Player

General

Free hosted Hypervisor solution, which is not licensed for commercial use

Available for download on VMwares website

Built on the same Hypervisor technology as VMware Workstation

Allows basic creation, modification and use of one or more virtual machines

VM Editing

Allows modification of basic hardware features including:

Change number of CPUs exposed to the VM

Change amount of RAM allocated to the VM

Add or remove disks


6/32



Optimizing VMware Performance

Overview

This section discusses system resources, configuration and settings as they relate to performance. Make sure that when youmake your performance optimization decisions you consider other issues important to you such as system security.

The performance of your Virtual Machines is dependent on the resources, configuration and settings of the entire system,including:

System Hardware/Host Operating System

VMware Workstation Virtual Machine Configuration

Guest Operating System

Guest/Host Applications

System Hardware/Host Operating System Settings

CPU

Make a note of the type/number of processors your computer has (dual/quad core), because you will need this when youconfigure the VM. Consider the following tips:


7/32



Enable Hyperthreading if it is available in the System BIOS

Hyperthreading technology allows a single physical processor core to behave like two logical processors, essentiallyallowing two independent threads to run simultaneously. Unlike having twice as many processor cores, which canroughly double performance, hyperthreading can provide anywhere from a slight to a significant increase in systemperformance by keeping the processor pipeline busier. Therefore, if the hardware and BIOS support hyperthreading,

make sure it is enabled per the instructions of your computer manufacturer. Hardware-Assisted Virtualization

Many recent processors, like Intel EPT and AMD RVI, include hardware features to assist virtualization. Whenpurchasing a new computer that will run VMware, make sure your system uses processors with second-generationhardware-assist features like CPUs with Memory Management Unit (MMU) virtualization.

Physical Memory

Optimally the system should have more memory than required by the following:

The Host Operating System plus any host applications

The Guest Operating Systems and applications on all the virtual machines that will be running at any one time

Note that if the totals above exceed the total physical memory of the system, VMware Workstation Memory Swapping canbe used, but at a cost to system performance.

Operating System

Use a 64-bit OS as the host to take advantage of the extra memory that it can recognize and work with. Thirty-two-bitoperating systems can only recognize and utilize up to 4 GB of memory. Many computers support 6 or 8 GB.

Hard Drives

On the Host Operating System drive leave about 20 to 30% of the total space available as recommended by Microsoft.Other tips include:

Use Multiple Drives

When possible, a separate drive or partition should be used for VMware files. The Host OS and page file should beon C drive and VMware files should be on D drive (or other drive). This can also reduce the chance of running out ofdisk space.

Use High Performance Solid State Drives

Startup time for SSD drives is almost instantaneous. Transfer rate can get as high as five times faster than HDD.Maximum read and write speeds are also much faster than HDD and not affected by fragmentation. They are more

resistant to environmental factors, have no moving parts, silent and consume less power. They can be significantlymore expensive though.


8/32



VMware Workstation Settings

Memory Allocation for the Virtual Machine

The Host OS and the Guest OS share the available resources including memory. Over allocating resources to the guest can

be as bad as not allocating enough resources. It is important to find the balance in resource allocation.

CD/DVD Drive Configuration for the Virtual Machine

Some Windows operating systems poll the CD/DVD drives approximately every second to see if a disc is present. Thispolling allows the operating systems to execute auto run programs. Polling can also cause the Workstation to connect to thehost CD/DVD drive, which can increase CPU usage and can make the virtual machine appear to pause while the drivespins up. To avoid such pauses, remove the CD/DVD drive from your virtual machine unless you need it for yourapplication.


9/32



Another option is to configure your virtual machine to start with the CD/DVD drive disconnected. This way the virtualmachine seems to have a virtual CD/DVD drive containing no disc (and the Workstation does not connect to your hostCD/DVD drive). To make this change, select CD/DVD (IDE) and deselect Connect on Power Onas shown below.

Serial Port Configuration for the Virtual Machine

Disable the Connect on Power On setting if enabled.

Disk Defragmentation

Defragment your disks on a regular basis for the best performance. This defragmentation must be done in stages, frominside the Guest Operating System out to the Host Operating System.

1. Defragment the virtual disks in the booted-up virtual machine using a Guest Operating System utility. For example,in a virtual machine running Windows XP, use the Windows XP Disk Defragmenter tool from within that virtualmachine. When complete, shut down the Guest OS.

2. Use the Workstation Defragmentation tool. Click Edit virtual machine settings.


10/32



3. In the Virtual Machine Settings window, under the Hardwaretab, select Hard Disk (SCSI).

4. On the right-hand side, click Utilities.

5. Note the Defragmentoption.

6. Once that is complete, it is recommended to defragment the Host OS.

Disk Space Allocation

When creating a virtual machine, you have to decide between ease of moving an image around and performance. To viewdisk space is allocation, perform the following steps:

1. Open the Virtual Machine Settings window, select the Hardwaretab, and highlight Hard Disk (SCSI).

2. Under Disk Informationon the right the following text displays:

Disk Space is not pre-allocated for this hard disk

Hard disk contents are stored in multiple files

Unless you are running out of hard drive space, you will get better performance by pre-allocating disk space, but the imagewill be hard to move or hand over to someone else.

When Disk space is not pre-allocated and you happen to delete a lot of files, or uninstall a lot of programs within a virtualmachine, there is a way to Compact a virtual disk. Compacting a virtual hard disk reclaims unused space in the disk. If adisk has empty space, this process reduces the amount of space the virtual hard disk occupies on the host drive. You mustpower off a virtual machine before you compact its virtual hard disk. As mentioned before, you cannot compact a virtualhard disk if disk space is pre-allocated.

To compact a virtual hard disk for a selected virtual machine,

1. SelectVM > Settings.

2. Click the Hardwaretab.

3. Select the virtual hard disk.

4. Select Compactfrom the Utilitiesmenu.


11/32



Memory Swapping

Swapping virtual memory allows more virtual machines to run but can degrade system performance.

1. Open VMware Workstation, then click Edit > Preferencesfrom the main menu.

2. Select Memoryand make sure to select Fit all virtual machine memory into reserved host RAMas shown below.

Snapshots and Clones

It is highly recommended to minimize the number of snapshots maintained. It is highly recommended to shut down an image before creating a snapshot.

It is highly recommended to create a clone based on snapshot (complete - not linked clone) before deploying toreduce the overall footprint.

Defragment the virtual disks before taking the first snapshot. When you defragment a heavily fragmented disk aftera snapshot, every sector that is moved in the defragmentation process is recorded in the redo log , making the virtualmachine redo log extremely large.

Keep VMware Tools Current

VMware Tools provide better video performance and mouse behavior. Installing the latest VMware Tools in Windowsguests updates the BusLogic SCSI driver included with the Guest Operating System to the VMware-supplied driver. TheVMware driver has optimizations that guest-supplied Windows drivers do not.

Run the Latest Version of VMware Workstation

VMware Workstation 8 is the current version, and there are many reasons to run the newer versions of VMwareWorkstation.

With earlier versions of Workstation, you experienced different performance when in full screen mode versus normal(windowed) mode. Today, with version 7 and newer, there is no longer any performance-based reason to choose one mode

over the other.

VMware has made it easier today to expand a virtual hard disk as compared to earlier versions.

To expand or add storage space to a virtual hard disk for a selected virtual machine,

1. SelectVM > Settings.

2. Click the Hardwaretab.

3. Select the virtual hard disk.


12/32



4. Select Expandfrom the Utilitiesmenu.

Note that when you expand a virtual hard disk, the added space is not immediately available to the virtual machine.To make the added space available, you must use a disk management tool to increase the size of the existing partitionon the virtual hard disk to match the expanded size. The disk management tool that you use depends on the virtualmachine guest operating system. Many operating systems, including Windows Vista, Windows 7, and some versions

of Linux, provide built-in disk management tools that can resize partitions. Third-party disk management tools arealso available, such as Symantec/Norton PartitionMagic.

Network Performance

Avoid using more physical network interface cards than absolutely necessary. This avoids the unnecessary overheadassociated with processing broadcast packets, protocol control packets, and so forth. To dedicate a Network Interface forvirtual machines:

1. Open VMware Workstation

2. Click Edit > Virtual Network Editorfrom the main menu.

3. Use the drop-down menu to select the desired network interface for VMware to use.

Networking with Hosted Virtualization

VMware provides three options for Virtual Machine Networking:

Bridged Networking

NAT (Network Address Translation) Networking

Host-only Networking


13/32



Bridged Networking

Direct connection from Virtual Machine to network

Each VM has a different external IP address

NAT Networking

Routed connection from Virtual Machine to network

Each VM shares external IP address of host

VMware directs traffic to virtual machines or host machine as appropriate Default setting for new Virtual Machines


14/32



Host-only Networking

Virtual machines can onlycommunicate with the host and other VMs

Host can communicate over external network

Guest Operating System

You can optimize VMware performance via the Guest OS Settings. Choose only the ones that make sense for yourapplication.


15/32



Network Adapters Power Management Configuration

1. From the Device Manager, right-click on the appropriate network connection and select Propertiesfrom thecontext menu.

The Connection Properties window displays.

2. From the Connection Properties window on the Power Managementtab, disableAllow the computer to turn offthis device to save power.

3. Click OK.


16/32



Visual Effects Performance Settings

1. From the System Properties window, select theAdvancedtab.

2. From the Performance group click Settings.

3. Select theVisual Effectstab.

The Performance Options Window opens.

4. SelectAdjust for Best Performance

5. Click OK.


17/32



Processor Resource Scheduling

1. From the Performance Options window, select theAdvancedtab.

2. From the Processor Schedulinggroup, select anAdjust for best performance of option.

If this VM is to be used as a Workstation, select Programs.

If this VM is to be used as a Server, selectBackground services.

3. Click OK.


18/32



Virtual Memory Allocation

1. From the Performance Options window, select theAdvancedtab.

2. From theVirtual Memorygroup, click Change.

The Virtual Memory window opens.

3. Select a page file size option, based on the Guest OS in use.

If Windows 7 is the Guest OS, selectAutomatically manage paging file size for all drives.

If Windows XP is the Guest OS, set the page file size to double the actual memory installed.

4. Click OK.


19/32



Data Execution Prevention

1. From the Performance Options window select the Data Execution Preventiontab.

2. Select Turn on DEP for essential Windows programs and services only.

3. Click OK.


20/32



System Startup Settings

1. From the System Properties window, select theAdvancedtab.

2. From the Startup and Recovery area, click Settings.

The Startup and Recovery window opens.

3. Deselect Time to display list of operating systems.

4. Click OK.


21/32



System Protection

Consider if you can disable this.

1. From the System Properties window, select the System Protectiontab.

2. Click Configure.

The System Protection for Local Disk window opens.

3. From the Restore Settings area, select Turn off system protection.

4. Click OK.


22/32



NET IE Security Settings

For applications based on .NET, there is an Internet Explorer security setting that by default attempts to validatecertificates. This results in a delayed startup of a component until this request times out.

To disable this operation, deselect the following settings form the Internet Options window Advanced tab:

Check for publishers certificate revocation

Check for server certificate revocation

Other Tips

Disk Cleanup Use available utilities to free up disk space.

Power Management Select options that optimize performance over power savings.

Screen Saver Disable if not needed.

Automatic Update/Messaging Options Consider which of these you can turn off.


23/32


24/32



3. From the Explorer frame, right-click on the alarm and select Propertiesfrom the context menu.

The server Properties window opens.

4. From the Startup type area, selectWhen first client connects.

5. Click OK.


25/32



FactoryTalk View Administration Console

Modify your Alarms and Events Servers to start on demand instead of when the OS initializes.

1. From the Explorer frame, right click on the server and select Propertiesfrom the context menu.


2. From the Startup type area, selectWhen first client connects.


26/32



Microsoft SQL FactoryTalk Server Memory Allocation

Change from the default value to an actual value.

1. From the context menu, select Properties.



27/32



2. From the Server memory options area, adjust the Minimumand Maximum server memory.

3. Click OK.


28/32



FactoryTalk Activation Considerations

FactoryTalk Activation is fully supported in a virtual environment.

Considerations for a virtualized activation server:

MAC addresses on virtual network adapters can change

Use disk serial number as host ID instead

Use concurrent activations centralized on an activation server for easy management


29/32



Default Hot Key Combinations

Shortcut Action

Ctrl+G Grab input from the keyboard and mouse.

Ctrl+Alt Release the mouse cursor.

Ctrl+Alt+Insert Shut down or, depending on the guest operating system, log out of the guest operating system. This command is received solely by the virtualmachine.

Ctrl+Alt+Delete Shut down or, depending on the operating system, log out of the guest operating system. This command is received solely by the virtual machine.

On a Windows host, if you do not want to use the enhanced virtual keyboard feature, both the host operating system and the virtual machine receivethis command, even when the Workstation has control of input. Cancel the ending of the host operating system session and return to the virtualmachine to log out, shut down, or perform administrative tasks.

Ctrl+Alt+Enter Enter full screen mode.

Ctrl+Alt+spacebar Send any command to the virtual machine so that workstation does not process it. Hold down Ctrl+Alt as you press and release the spacebar, andcontinue to hold the Ctrl+Alt keys down as you press the next key in the combination.

Ctrl+Tab

Ctrl+Shift+Tab

(Windows hosts only) Switch among tabs.

Ctrl+Alt+right arrow In full-screen mode, switch to the next powered-on virtual machine.

Ctrl+Alt+left arrow In full-screen mode, switch to the previous powered-on virtual machine.

Ctrl+Shift+U In Unity mode, give access to your virtual machine Startor Applicationsmenu.

You can change the Unity hot-key combination by modifying Unity preference settings.


30/32



Glossary

Clone- A copy of a virtual machine. See also Full Clone and Linked Clone.

Full clone- A copy of the original virtual machine that has no further dependence on the parent virtual machine.

Full-screen mode- A mode of operation in which a virtual machines display occupies the host computers entire screen.

Growable disk- A type of virtual disk in which only as much host disk space as is needed is initially set aside, and the diskgrows as the virtual machine uses the space.

Guest- A virtual machine running within Workstation. See also Virtual Machine.

Guest operating system- An operating system that runs inside a virtual machine. See also Host Operating System.

Host-only networking- A type of network connection between a virtual machine and the host. Under host-onlynetworking, a virtual machine is connected to the host on a private network, which normally is not visible outside the host.

Multiple virtual machines configured with host-only networking on the same host are on the same network.

Host operating system- The operating system running directly on the host computer. Workstation runs within the hostoperating system.

Host system (or host)- A computer system on which Workstation software is running.

Linked clone- A copy of the original virtual machine that must have access to the parent virtual machines virtual disk(s).The linked clone stores changes to the virtual disk(s) in a set of files separate from the parents virtual disk files. See also FullClone.

Native system- A computer running a single operating system, and in which the applications run directly in that operating

system.

Network address translation (NAT)- A type of network connection that allows you to connect your virtual machines toan external network when you have only one IP network address, and that address is used by the host computer. If you useNAT, your virtual machine does not have its own IP address on the external network. Instead, a separate private network isset up on the host computer. Your virtual machine gets an address on that private network from the VMware virtual DHCPserver. The VMware NAT device passes network data between one or more virtual machines and the external network. Itidentifies incoming data packets intended for each virtual machine and sends them to the correct destination. See alsoHost-Only Networking.

Normal (windowed) mode- A mode of operation in which a virtual machines display resides within the Workstationconsole screen.

Physical CPU- A processor within a physical machine. See also Virtual CPU.

Pre-allocated disk- A type of virtual disk in which all the host disk space for the virtual machine is allocated at the timethe virtual disk is created. See also Growable Disk.

Snapshot- A snapshot preserves the virtual machine just as it was when you took that snapshot including the state of thedata on all the virtual machine's disks and whether the virtual machine was powered on, powered off, or suspended.Workstation lets you take a snapshot of a virtual machine at any time and revert to that snapshot at any time.


31/32



Virtual CPU- A processor within a virtual machine. Workstation currently supports up to two virtual CPUs per virtualmachine.

Virtual disk- A virtual disk is a file or set of files that appears as a physical disk drive to a guest operating system. These filescan be on the host machine or on a remote file system. When you configure a virtual machine with a virtual disk, you caninstall a new operating system into the disk file without the need to repartition a physical disk or reboot the host.

Virtual machine- A virtualized x86 PC environment in which a guest operating system and associated applicationsoftware can run. Multiple virtual machines can operate on the same host system concurrently.

VMware Tools- A suite of utilities and drivers that enhances the performance and functionality of your guest operatingsystem. Key features of VMware Tools include some or all of the following, depending on your guest operating system: anSVGA driver, a mouse driver, the VMware Tools control panel, and support for such features as shared folders, shrinkingvirtual disks, time synchronization with the host, VMware Tools scripts, and connecting and disconnecting devices whilethe virtual machine is running.

VMware virtual machine console- An interface that provides access to one or more virtual machines running on the host.You can view the virtual machines displays to run programs within them or modify guest operating system settings. Inaddition, you can change the virtual machines configurations, install a guest operating system, or choose to run a virtualmachine in full screen mode.


32/32

Allen-Bradley, Rockwell Software, Rockwell Automation, and LISTEN. THINK. SOLVE are trademarks of Rockwell Automation, Inc.

Trademarks not belonging to Rockwell Automation are property of their respective companies.

Important User Information

Solid-state equipment has operational characteristics differing from those of electromechanical equipment. SafetyGuidelines for the Application, Installation and Maintenance of Solid State Controls (publication SGI-1.1available fromyour local Rockwell Automation sales office or online at http://www.rockwellautomation.com/literature/ ) describes some

important differences between solid-state equipment and hard-wired electromechanical devices. Because of this difference,and also because of the wide variety of uses for solid-state equipment, all persons responsible for applying this equipmentmust satisfy themselves that each intended application of this equipment is acceptable.

In no event will Rockwell Automation, Inc. be responsible or liable for indirect or consequential damages resulting from theuse or application of this equipment.

The examples and diagrams in this publication are included solely for illustrative purposes. Because of the many variablesand requirements associated with any particular installation, Rockwell Automation, Inc. cannot assume responsibility orliability for actual use based on the examples and diagrams.

No patent liability is assumed by Rockwell Automation, Inc. with respect to use of information, circuits, equipment, or

software described in this manual.

Reproduction of the contents of this manual, in whole or in part, without written permission of Rockwell Automation,Inc., is prohibited.

Documentation Feedback

Your comments will help us serve your documentation needs better. If you have any suggestions on how to improve thisdocument, complete this form, publication RA-DU002, available at http://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/

groups/literature/documents/du/ra-du002_-en-e.pdfwww.rockwellautomation.com/literature/.

Rockwell Otomasyon Ticaret A.., Kar Plaza Merkezi E Blok Kat:6 34752 erenky, stanbul, Tel: +90 (216) 5698400
http://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/in/sgi-in001_-en-p.pdfhttp://www.rockwellautomation.com/literature/http://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/du/ra-du002_-en-e.pdfhttp://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/du/ra-du002_-en-e.pdfhttp://www.rockwellautomation.com/literature/http://www.rockwellautomation.com/literature/http://www.rockwellautomation.com/literature/http://www.rockwellautomation.com/literature/http://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/du/ra-du002_-en-e.pdfhttp://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/du/ra-du002_-en-e.pdfhttp://www.rockwellautomation.com/literature/http://literature.rockwellautomation.com/idc/groups/literature/documents/in/sgi-in001_-en-p.pdf

Documents

Iasimp At002 en p