Posts tagged ESX
Getting started with the Update Manager Cmdlets
Mar 11th
Last night I needed to update some of my hosts with the latest patches that have been released recently, this gave me the ideal opportunity to look at the recently released VMware Update Manager cmdlets for PowerCLI.
For a full list of cmdlets or to download click here.
Whilst upgrading one of my hosts I shot a short video which will take you through some of the basics like:
- Adding a baseline to a host
- Scanning the host
- Listing the patches which will be applied
- Remediating a host
When watching the video don’t think about how you can do this to a single host, keep in mind that this could be run against multiple hosts or added to the end of a configuration script to ensure your hosts are up to date with the latest security patches after being deployed. More >
Another reason to upgrade to ESXi
Mar 5th
The reasons why not to upgrade to ESXi are getting less and less recently, I think I knocked the automated configuration on the head at the London VMUG with my recent presentation which can be seen here.
With the improved vSphere API’s and using PowerCLI we are slowly able to replace most of the things which used to be performed at the service console, a few of these can be read about here.
But what happens when PowerCLI can not help ?
At a recent engagement with a customer we pretty much got rid of all reasons why we couldn’t move to ESXi apart from one.
Being based on Dell hardware the customer needed to be able to send a detailed report on what the issue was with the physical host, the Dell readers amongst you will be familiar with a Dell System Extraction Tool (DSET), this is a utility which is run on the host (through the service console) which looks at the logs, the Dell management agents and the system to create a packaged hta file which can be sent to Dell, in our case the customer often found it very hard to get hardware components replaced unless a DSET was sent, if not impossible.
The obvious part of this statement was the fact that it ran in the service console, when checking the Dell documentation it was clearly stated that the DSET application was not supported in ESXi:
So when reading the above statement “The server can be rebooted to a supported Linux environment to use DSET” gave me an idea: Live-CD.
After searching for a while I managed to find a nice repository of Dell Live boot CD’s with various different versions of the Dell Open Manage Client already pre-installed, just booting from this CD not only enabled the web interface which you can normally view by accessing the https://<ip address>:1311 url but also allowed me to design a support mechanism where we could boot to a supported operating system via the live boot CD and copy the DSET app over to the box which runs and produces our hardware report for us.
This might sound simple but believe me, it was nearly a show stopper when moving to ESXi, I hope this post helps others in the same predicament this customer was in.
Virtualising XenApp – What’s the magic number ?
Feb 26th
In the past I have virtualised a number of different applications and types of servers, among these have been several Citrix WinFrame/MetaFrame/Presentation Server or as it is currently known XenApp Servers.
Recently I have been asked about this on a number of occasions and the question is always the same:
How many users can you get on a Virtualised XenApp Server ?
That’s like saying how long is a piece of string ! – The answer to this question is the same to most IT related questions I get asked…. It depends !
To be able to give this subject the full attention that is needed I plan on creating a series of blog posts which will enable us to discuss the different configuration types and I will hopefully aid you in working out what your magic number is, how many users you can get on a virtual XenApp server.
The series of blog posts will probably change as I start to delve into the different subjects but all will eventually link from this post.
| Introduction Why Virtualise XenApp ? Design Factors • Sizing • Citrix Desktops • Seamless Applications • Redundancy • Licensing • Cost Cutting Testing • Strategy • Applications • Tweaking Implementation • Templates • Deployment Monitoring Upgrade strategy |
Hopefully this will help with some of the questions I have received recently, if there is anything missing which you would also like me to include then please do let me know via the comments of this post !
If you are also into podcasts then make sure you listen to the recent discussion I had with the Chinwagger himself – Mike Laverick, this can be found on his blog here.
PowerCLI: Configured Maximums – Storage
Feb 11th
With vSphere introduced some new maximum’s which we not only have to memorise for the exams but also have to keep in mind when designing and using your infrastructure.
In the back of your mind when adding a new host to a cluster you should always be thinking, how many hosts should be in this cluster ? or when adding another LUN to your clustered hosts, how many datastores should I have as a maximum before it starts impacting my performance and how many paths are supported ?
The answer to these questions (in my case anyway) is to use PowerCLI to check them 
I will of course add these to the next version of vCheck so they are automatically checked for but in the meantime here are some quick one-liners to check your infrastructure against the configured maximums for storage, I will add more as I write them:
ESX4 U1 & the Intel 82576 Gigabit Network Adapter
Jan 15th
Previously when installing ESX it has picked up all devices and automatically installed everything needed to use the server as an ESX host, recently whilst installing a new Dell R710 (a great review of the server can be found on the techhead.co.uk site here) I came across an issue where the additional Network Adapter in the PCI slot was not found by ESX.
The R710 has 4 internal adapters which were found as below:
Boot from Paravirtualized SCSI Adapter
Dec 2nd
From vSphere U1, VMware now support booting from a Paravirtualized SCSI adapter, why would you want to do this ? Well why not, check out the VMware Performance Blog where VMware have tested this adapter and shared their results.
VMware were able to achieve 350,000 I/O operations per second on a single vSphere host (ESX 4.0) and 3 virtual machines. From their findings the VMware Paravirtual SCSI (PVSCSI) adapter was able to achieve 12% more throughput with 18% less CPU cost compared to the LSI virtual adapter… Now you see why we should use it !
So in trying to test this the first thing I did was move one of my current virtual machines onto the adapter by clicking “edit settings” go to “SCSI controller 0” and click the change type button, from there you can select “VMware Paravirtual”. More >
vSphere 4.0 Quick Start Guide is here
Nov 27th
Its here, I’m an author, watch out JK Rowling !
Its been a while coming but the vSphere 4.0 Quick Start Guide is now available to buy on Amazon (US), we are working at getting it on the UK site but I’m just pleased to see it out there and available to buy.
This book is a co-authored publication bought to you from some of the leading names in VMware bloggers and admins, and they also asked me to contribute too
The book is designed for you to carry around with you, its not a heavy duty full novel but more of a VMware admins help book which can be referred to when you are in the damp dark datacenter at 4am in the morning with no internet connection !
Having said that there is definitely something in there for everyone, whether you are new to VMware or a seasoned Pro.
Throughout the book you will find great tips, real life situations and numerous PowerCLI examples.
If you haven’t yet heard of this book then please read these wonderful comments already left on the Amazon post.
If you have read it then please, leave your comments along with the others.
VMware Converter – VMXNET3 Issue
Nov 26th
How do you move your VMs from one vCenter to another ?
Today whilst moving a few VMs from my test vCenter server to my Non Production vCenter server I hit upon an issue with VMware converter, this is just a warning so you do not have the same issue.
I used VMware Converter (Latest version at this time: 4.0.1 build-161434) to move the VMs, as I have a thousand times before, but the machines in question was actually a Hardware Version 7 VM with a VMXNET3 network adapter, moving from ESX4 U1 to ESX 4U1. I have to say VMware Converter really is a great tool, I use it for many tasks from growing disks to P2Vs and the fact it is free is fantastic.
When going through the wizard Converter clearly found the VM as Hardware Version 7 as seen below… More >
ESX 3.5 Update 4 Released
Mar 31st
VMware ESX 3.5 Update 4 has been released, find the official download link here and the documentation here.
Scripted Install and Configuration of Dell OpenManage Client
Mar 3rd
I have installed a fair few Dell Open manage client’s on our ESX hosts to give us the nice hardware monitoring of the Dell Open Manage software, I have just found an easier way to install it here at the Dell Tech center.
This script will install and configure the OMSA agent on VMware ESX 3.x. It will also configure the SNMP settings, and open the default ports in the firewall to allow communication.
If you’ve never installed OMSA on ESX, don’t start with this script ! Read this piece of documentation first, “Installing Dell OpenManage in a VMware ESX Server Software Environment”.
Then once you have a grasp of the steps necessary, you can use this script as a standalone, or integrate it as part of your standard installation procedures.
