Category: VMware

Configure an NFS Datastore From the CLI – VCDX Prep

Posted on by

Like the last post, this one also hails from objective 1.1 of the VCDX Blueprint, and is part of my exam prep. Task: Configure an NFS Datastore using command line tools. Solution: [root@ProfessionalVMware root]# esxcfg-nas esxcfg-nas <options> [<label>] -a|–add                Add a new NASc filesystem to /vmfs volumes.                          Requires –host and –share options.                         Use
-> Continue reading Configure an NFS Datastore From the CLI – VCDX Prep

Setting the ESX 3.5 Multi-Pathing Policy From the CLI

Posted on by

This one is taken from the first objective in the VMware Enterprise Admin Exam Blueprint. Specifically from the skills section: – Perform advanced multi-pathing configuration — Configure multi-pathing policy — Configure round-robin behavior using command-line tools After logging into the host via SSH, and getting to root, this can be done with the “esxcfg-mpath” command.
-> Continue reading Setting the ESX 3.5 Multi-Pathing Policy From the CLI

Installing ESX 3.5 in VMware Fusion

Posted on by

While this actually requires no special settings, I figure it’s worth noting, if for nothing more than to state that in VMware Fusion 3, ESX 3.5 requires no additional settings to be operational. Basically it works as follows: Download the ESX ISO (vmware.com/download/vi) In VMware Fusion create a new virtual machine, choosing said ISO: The
-> Continue reading Installing ESX 3.5 in VMware Fusion

VMware Enterprise Admin / VCDX Prep Brown Bags

Posted on by

Some folks in the community have expressed an interest in expanding my quazi regular VCP brown bags into some additional brown bags to support those seeking their VCDX, starting with the Enterprise Admin exam. This post then, is to serve two functions: 1) Is there interest? – Basically, If I built it, would y’all come?
-> Continue reading VMware Enterprise Admin / VCDX Prep Brown Bags

New Blogs You Should be Reading

Posted on by

Perhaps they’re not new, exactly. They are new to me, however. They’re also good enough that you should be reading them as well! With that said, onto the blogs! VMDEV.info – http://www.vmdev.info/ This is put together by Keshav Attrey, a software dev with VMware. The blog concentrates on the vSphere APIs and automation around virtual
-> Continue reading New Blogs You Should be Reading

VMware Fusion – All About the Bundles

Posted on by

Along with the last Fusion related post, this post also takes a slight tangent from our normal ESX/vSphere centric coverage to document something for myself that others may indeed also find useful. Setting the story: Thanks to some awesome folks at work, I recently acquired a MacBook Pro with VMware Fusion installed. While awesome (Both
-> Continue reading VMware Fusion – All About the Bundles

PowerCLI Script of the Week – Set-Keydelay.ps1

Posted on by

Ever have to log into a the console of an ESX VM… over a slow connection? Then you’ll know all about the character repeat that comes along with that. If you haven’t experienced this… consider yourself lucky. It is especially interesting when trying to type passwords. So how do you defeat this? You set the
-> Continue reading PowerCLI Script of the Week – Set-Keydelay.ps1

Time Is Marching On… Disabling TimeSync, Completely.

Posted on by

Time is critical. In VMs this criticality is even more pronounced. Time slips… CPU instructions go askew, and things get weird. That said, there are situations when you may wish to disable the built in VMware Tools Time sync service… completely. What do I mean by completely? Well, even with the tools time sync set
-> Continue reading Time Is Marching On… Disabling TimeSync, Completely.

Workstation 7 RC – With A Side of Awesome

Posted on by

I caught wind of VMware Workstation 7 having been released today from VM/Etc. It can be downloaded from here. Amongst the exciting features are a few that caught my eye: AutoProtect This one had me do a double take actually: The AutoProtect interval can be set to half-hourly, hourly, and daily. From there you can
-> Continue reading Workstation 7 RC – With A Side of Awesome

Best Tools You Didn’t Know You Needed – vscsiStats

Posted on by

While going over TA1541 – Cool Little Things Marketing Did Not Tell You About vSphere 4.0 from this years VMworld, and came across this gem, a service console tool, that’s been there since ESX 3.5, and will report on all sorts of SCSI statistics. [root@esxServerOfDoom root]# /usr/lib/vmware/bin/vscsiStats -? /usr/lib/vmware/bin/vscsiStats: invalid option — ?   VscsiStats
-> Continue reading Best Tools You Didn’t Know You Needed – vscsiStats

Scheduling VMware’s FT (Fault Tolerance)

Posted on by

What is VMware Fault Tolerance (FT)? I’d start with reviewing the overview page. VMware Fault Tolerance, based on vLockstep technology, provides zero downtime, zero data loss continuous availability for your applications, without the cost and complexity of traditional hardware or software clustering solutions. Pretty awesome no? FT has it’s limits (1 vCPU, etc) and it
-> Continue reading Scheduling VMware’s FT (Fault Tolerance)

Four PowerCLI One-Liners That Saved The World!

Posted on by

Ok, So maybe they didn’t save the world, but the sure saved my weekend. Rather than spend a lot of time on the intro, let’s dive right in. These will be in Problem/PowerShell/Output format. The Problem: More spaghetti environments, this time we need to count some resources. The first counts CPU, the second Memory. Yes
-> Continue reading Four PowerCLI One-Liners That Saved The World!

VMware FT (Fault Tolerance) Requirements & Limits

Posted on by

In doing some background research for a post on FT vs. MSCS, I stumbled upon a wonderful write up by Brian Atkinson aka. “VMRoyale”, on FT’s laundry list of requirements, limits, and other considerations. The original post is here. He does an excellent job of pulling together data from various VMware docs and puts together
-> Continue reading VMware FT (Fault Tolerance) Requirements & Limits

Spending an Afternoon with the Host Update Utility

Posted on by

One of the great things about working in IT, is that software will always need to be updated. If it didn’t, some of us would need to find a new line of work. Just because it needs updating, does not mean we have to like it. In fact, most vendor update processes are needlessly obtuse.
-> Continue reading Spending an Afternoon with the Host Update Utility