Installation Guide LoadMaster - VMware

Generated on: 7 April 2025

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 Contents

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Chapter 2: Best Practices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Chapter 3: Installing Virtual LoadMaster (VLM) using vSphere . . . . . . 10

Static MAC Addresses Must Be Configured . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Download the OVF File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Deploy the OVF File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Check the Virtual Machine Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Power On the LoadMaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Chapter 4: Configure the LoadMaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Obtain/Set the LoadMaster IP Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Configure the LoadMaster Using the Console . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

Obtain the LoadMaster IP Address if Using DHCP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

License and Configure the LoadMaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Chapter 5: Upgrading Your Virtual Machine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Chapter 6: Troubleshooting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

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 Contents

Chapter 7: Best Practices for Backups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Chapter 8: References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

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 1
Introduction
The Virtual LoadMaster is a version of the LoadMaster that runs as a virtual machine within a hypervisor and
can provide all the features and functions of a hardware-based LoadMaster.

This document describes the installation of the Virtual LoadMaster (VLM) within a VMware hypervisor
environment.

The Virtual LoadMaster is VMware ready.

The Virtual LoadMaster is supported and has been tested with:

• VMware ESXi 5.5 through ESXi 7.0 Update 3c (7.0.3)

• vCenter Server 5.5 through vCenter Server 7.0 Update 3c (7.0.3)

There are several different versions of the VLM available. Full details of the currently supported versions are
available on our website: [Link].

The VMware virtual machine guest environment for the VLM, at minimum, must include:

• 2 x virtual CPUs (reserve 2 GHz)

• 4 GB RAM
• 16 GB disk space (sparse where possible)

There may be maximum configuration limits imposed by VMware such as maximum RAM per VM, Virtual

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 Introduction

NICs per VM and so on. For further details regarding the configuration limits imposed by VMware, refer to
the relevant VMware documentation.

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Best Practices
Some best practices to be aware of before deploying a LoadMaster on VMware are below:

• Configure an existing or new load balancing port group for the relevant VLAN to avoid port flooding
• Use the VMXNET3 network adapter type when deploying the VLM

Note: Reordering happens only when using 4 or more VMNET3 network adapters. This issue does not
occur if using e1000 network adapters.

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 Best Practices

• When using High Availability (HA), ensure that MAC address changes and Forged transmits are both
set to Accept. Ensure this is forced (hard coded) on the port group as any changes to the vSwitch will
affect all port groups by default.

Note: Starting with vSphere version 7.0, the default values for MAC Address Changes and Forged
Transmits are set to Reject by default; in previous vSphere releases, these parameters were set to
Accept by default. While it has always been a step in the VMware HA configuration process to ensure
that these parameters are set to Accept for LoadMaster, extra care will need to be taken with vSphere
version 7.0 and later releases. To mitigate against any security concerns about changing these default
values, create a separate management plane subnet for LoadMaster HA using a dedicated vSwitch or
separate port groups.

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 Best Practices

• When using HA and the LoadMasters are on different hosts: to prevent the transmission of RARP packets
from being sent every time a Virtual Machine is powered on, set the Notify Switches option to No.

Note: vMotion and snapshotting are not supported.

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 3
Installing Virtual LoadMaster (VLM) using
vSphere
The following instructions describe how to install a Virtual LoadMaster in a VMware ESXi environment using
the VMware vSphere client.

Contents

• Static MAC Addresses Must Be Configured

• Download the OVF File
• Deploy the OVF File
• Check the Virtual Machine Settings
• Power On the LoadMaster

Static MAC Addresses Must Be Configured

If you move a VLM system to a different Virtual Machine, ensure that the MAC addresses of the Virtual
Machine’s NICs stay the same. Static MAC addresses must be configured for all NICs within Virtual
Machines.

For further information on configuring static MAC addresses, refer to the relevant VMware documentation.

A static MAC address is needed due to the license being tied to the MAC address. If the MAC address
changes, the license can break and you must contact Progress Kemp Support to restore your license.

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 Installing Virtual LoadMaster (VLM) using vSphere

Download the OVF File

The VLM is packaged with an .ovf file for ease of deployment. This file can be freely downloaded from
Progress Kemp for a 30 day evaluation period. To download the VLM please follow these instructions:

1. Go to [Link]
2. Click the Download Now button.
3. Within the Select your hypervisor section, select the option for VMware (OVF).
4. Select your country from the drop-down list provided.
5. Read the End User License Agreement.
6. To proceed with the download, ensure the I agree to the End User License Agreement terms check
box is ticked.
7. Click the Download button.
8. Unzip the contents of the file to an accessible location.

Deploy the OVF File

To deploy the VLM we initiate a Deploy OVF Template wizard that gathers all the information required to
correctly deploy the machine. Ensure to extract the file you downloaded so that you can select the OVF and
VMDK files.

1. Open the VMware vSphere client.

2. Right-click the Resource Pool that you want to install the VLM within and click Deploy OVF Template.

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 Installing Virtual LoadMaster (VLM) using vSphere

3. Select Local file.

4. Click Browse and select the downloaded files. Ensure to select both the OVF and VMDK files.
5. Click Next.
6. Enter a name for the machine in the Virtual machine name field.

Note: The name can be up to 80 characters long. It should be unique within the Virtual Machine folder.
Names are case sensitive.

7. If required, select the folder location within the inventory where the machine will reside.
8. Click Next.

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 Installing Virtual LoadMaster (VLM) using vSphere

9. Select the resource pool where the machine will run.

Note: This screen is only displayed if the cluster contains a resource pool and if you had not selected a
resource pool within the inventory tree before initiating the deployment wizard.

10. Click Next on the Review details screen.

11. Click Next.

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 Installing Virtual LoadMaster (VLM) using vSphere

12. Select whether you wish to use thin provisioned format or thick provisioned format.

Note: We recommend you using the thick provisioned format option. The estimated disk usage is
approximately 16 GB.

13. Click Next.

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 Installing Virtual LoadMaster (VLM) using vSphere

14. Select which networks in the inventory should be used for the machine.

Note: Network is the eth0 network and Farm is the eth1 network on initial deployment.

15. Click Next.

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 Installing Virtual LoadMaster (VLM) using vSphere

16. Ensure that all the details are correct.

17. Click Finish.

Once Finish is clicked, the machine starts to deploy.

Check the Virtual Machine Settings

Verify that the Virtual Machine settings are configured with the recommended values:

• 2 x virtual processors

• 4 GB RAM

• 16 GB virtual hard disk capacity (sparse where possible)

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 Installing Virtual LoadMaster (VLM) using vSphere

Power On the LoadMaster

To power on the Virtual LoadMaster, follow the steps below:

1. In the left panel of the client, select the LoadMaster Virtual Machine.

2. Click the play icon to power on the LoadMaster.

3. Click the Launch Console icon and wait for the Virtual Machine to finish booting.

4. When the Virtual Machine finishes booting, a screen similar to the one above appears that shows the IP
address. If your LoadMaster is DHCP-enabled, refer to the Obtain the IP Address if Using DHCP
section. If your LoadMaster is not DHCP-enabled, refer to the Configuring Using the Console section.

To change the IP address using the console view, follow the steps in the Configuring Using the Console
section.

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Configure the LoadMaster
After you power on the Virtual Machine, you must either obtain or set the IP address of the LoadMaster to
access the WUI. You must then license the LoadMaster. Refer to the sections below for instructions on how
to do this.

Contents

• Obtain/Set the LoadMaster IP Address

• License and Configure the LoadMaster

Obtain/Set the LoadMaster IP Address

You need to know the IP address of the LoadMaster to access the WUI. The IP address can be manually set
using the console if you are not using DHCP. If you are using DHCP, the IP address is automatically
assigned to the LoadMaster. Depending on your configuration, refer to the following sections for further
details.

Contents

• Configure the LoadMaster Using the Console

• Obtain the LoadMaster IP Address if Using DHCP

Configure the LoadMaster Using the Console

If the LoadMaster does not automatically obtain an IP address using DHCP, or if you would prefer to

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 Configure the LoadMaster

configure the LoadMaster using the console, then you must complete the following configuration steps before
starting the LoadMaster.

1. Log in into the LoadMaster using the console with the following settings:

• lb100 login: bal

• Password: 1fourall

2. Enter the IP address of the eth0 interface, the network facing interface of the LoadMaster, in the input
field within the IP address dialog box.
3. Press OK.

4. Enter the IP address of the default gateway in the input field of the Default Gateway dialog box.
5. Press OK.

6. Enter a space separated list of nameserver IP addresses.

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 Configure the LoadMaster

7. Enter the HTTP(S) proxy server and port (if required).

8. Once these are set, a prompt will appear asking to connect to the web interface at the newly configured
IP address. In an internet browser enter the IP address of the eth0 entered in Step 2.

Note: Ensure to enter https:// before the IP address.

9. A warning may appear regarding website security certificates. Click the continue/ignore option to
proceed.
10. The LoadMaster End User License Agreement (EULA) screen appears.
11. Read the license agreement and (if you are willing to accept the conditions), click Agree to proceed.
12. If the machine has shipped with a temporary license, a warning appears informing that a temporary
license has been installed on the machine and for how long the license is valid.
13. Click OK.
14. The home screen of the LoadMaster should appear.

The LoadMaster is now fully installed and ready to use.

For further information on how to configure and implement the Virtual LoadMaster, refer to the: LoadMaster
documentation.

Obtain the LoadMaster IP Address if Using DHCP

On initial deployment, DHCPv4 and DHCPv6 both run to attempt to obtain an IP address. If the LoadMaster
obtains an IP address using DHCP, take note of it because this is how you will access the LoadMaster.

If the LoadMaster does not obtain an IP address using DHCP, the static IP address of [Link] is
assigned and the LoadMaster must be manually configured using the console. Refer to the Configure the
LoadMaster Using the Console section for instructions on how to manually set the IP address.

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 Configure the LoadMaster

License and Configure the LoadMaster

You must now configure the LoadMaster to operate within the network configuration.

1. In an internet browser, enter the IP address that was previously noted.

Note: Ensure to enter https:// before the IP address.

2. A warning may appear regarding website security certificates. Click the continue/ignore option to
proceed.
3. The LoadMaster End User License Agreement (EULA) screen appears.

Rread the license agreement and (if you are willing to accept the conditions), click Agree to proceed.

4. If using the Online licensing method, fill out the fields and click License Now.

Note: If you are starting with a trial license, there is no need to enter an Order ID. If you are starting with
a permanent license, enter the Order ID# if this was provided to you.

Note: If using the Offline Licensing method, select Offline Licensing, obtain the license text, paste it
into the License field and click Apply License.

Note: For detailed instructions on how to register for a Progress ID (formerly Kemp ID) and license the
LoadMaster, refer to the Licensing, Feature Description on the Documentation Page.

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 Configure the LoadMaster

5. If you entered an Order ID, a screen appears that provides a list of available licenses for that order ID, in
addition to any licenses registered for the Progress ID based on the LoadMaster platform type. Select the
license type you want to apply to this LoadMaster.

Note: If the license type you want is not displayed, please contact your Progress Kemp representative.

6. Click Continue.

7. The login screen appears. Enter the bal user name and the password.
8. In the screen informing you that the password has changed, click Continue.
9. If your machine has shipped with a temporary license you should get a warning informing you that a
temporary license has been installed on your machine and for how long the license is valid.

10. Click OK .

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 Configure the LoadMaster

11. You should now connect to the Home screen of the LoadMaster.
12. Go to System Configuration > Network Setup in the main menu.
13. Click the eth0 menu option within the Interfaces section.

14. In the Network Interface 0 screen, enter the IP address of the eth0 interface, the network facing
interface of the LoadMaster, in the Interface Address input field.
15. Click Set Address.
16. Click the eth1 menu option within the Interfaces section.
17. In the Network Interface 1 screen, enter the IP address of the eth1 interface, the farm-side interface of
the LoadMaster, in the Interface Address input field.

Note: You cannot have two interfaces on the same subnet.

18. Click Set Address.

This interface is optional, depending on the network configuration.

19. Go to System Configuration > Network Setup > Host & DNS Configuration.

20. In the Hostname configuration screen, enter the hostname in the Current Hostname field.
21. Click Set Hostname.
22. Click the System Configuration > Network Setup > Host & DNS Configuration menu option.

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 Configure the LoadMaster

23. In the DNS configuration screen, enter the IP address(es) of the DNS Server(s) that is used to resolve
names locally on the LoadMaster into the DNS NameServer input field.
24. Click Add.
25. Enter the domain name to be prepended to requests to the DNS nameserver into the DNS NameServer
field.
26. Click Add.
27. Click the System Configuration > Network Setup > Default Gateway menu option.

28. In the DNS configuration screen, enter the IP address of the default gateway into the IPv4 Default
Gateway Address input field.

If you have an IPv6 Default Gateway, enter the value in the IPv6 Default Gateway Address field.

29. Click Set IPv4 Default Gateway.

The LoadMaster is now fully installed and ready to be used.

For further information on how to configure and implement the Virtual LoadMaster, refer to the: LoadMaster
documentation.

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 5
Upgrading Your Virtual Machine
The VMware VLM is delivered as a hardware version 10 virtual machine. You can upgrade to a higher virtual
machine number as needed. Before upgrading, first take a backup of the virtual machine. If you do this, you
can reverse the upgrade if needed.

Note: If you have the VMware Tools package installed on LoadMaster, you must upgrade to the appropriate
version of VMware Tools for the target hardware version before you upgrade the virtual hardware. Ensure
that the version of VMware Tools is appropriate for the target hardware version.

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 6
Troubleshooting
Refer to the following sections for troubleshooting details.

Factory Reset
If you perform a factory reset on your Virtual LoadMaster (VLM), all configuration data (including the
machine's IP address) is deleted. During the subsequent reboot, the VLM attempts to obtain an IP address
using DHCP. If the VLM is on a different subnet to the DHCP server then an IP address will not be obtained
and the IP address is set to the default [Link].

The VLM may not be accessible using this address. If this is the case then you must run through the quick
setup using the console as described in the Configuring Using the Console section.

VMware Tools
The VLM supports integration with VMware Tools.

For more information, refer to the VMware Tools Add-On Package, Feature Description.

Working with VMware Virtual Switches

When working with VMware Virtual Switches within your configuration, ensure that the value of the Forged
Transmit Blocking option is Accept. If this option's value is Reject, the LoadMaster is prevented from
sending traffic because it appears to come from nodes on the network other than the LoadMaster.

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 Troubleshooting

Refer to the VMware documentation for further details on how to configure the VMware Virtual Switch.

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Best Practices for Backups
Hypervisor snapshots cannot be used to restore a LoadMaster to a working state. The best way to back up
your LoadMaster settings is by using the native backup and restore facility in the LoadMaster WUI or API.

To back up your LoadMaster configuration, follow these steps:

1. In the main menu, go to System Configuration > System Administration > Backup/Restore.
2. Click Create Backup File.

You can create a remote host for automated backups using SCP to save backups to a remote server.

For further details on backing up and restoring the LoadMaster configuration, including certificates and cipher
sets, refer to the following links:

• Backup and Restore Technical Note

• How to Create and Restore a LoadMaster Configuration or Certificate Backup

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References
The below documents can be found at [Link]

VMware Tools Add-On Package, Feature Description

Licensing, Feature Description

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