Merry Christmas....

 

Wish you all a Very Happy Christmas and Happy holidays.

Have a great day. J

 

 

No more Windows Patching via VMware Update Manager 5.

Messing around the new VMware Update Manager and I noticed this little piece of information.  Update Manager 5.0 does not support VM patching.  Prior versions of Update Manager used to allow you to update Virtual Machines with Microsoft or Linux patching.  I don’t think many people used this feature so I doubt it will be missed much (or at all).  I used to use it in the home lab to patch my ‘golden images’ and keep them up to date.  Since Update Manager was fully virtualization aware, it had a unique feature that would allow it to power up VMs and patch them off the network.  This worked out great for keeping those VM templates up to date since they were mostly powered off and inaccessible by traditional tools like Microsoft WSUS or System Center Configuration Manager.  Saved some time when deploying an older image.

Of course, Host patching is still in full gear and Update Manager is by far the easiest way to keep your ESX hosts up to date.  It is really a well made piece of software that works practically flawlessly for me.  If you are not running it, you are definitely missing out.  I’m actually very pleased to see them remove some of the lesser known/used features and focus in on the core needs of Virtualization Administrators.

They haven’t gotten rid of the VM baseline tab though.  It’s now used to create Tools, Hardware and Virtual Appliance upgrade baselines. 

Five big changes in VMware vSphere 5

Five big changes in VMware vSphere 5 to consider before updating

VMFS 5
With VMFS 5, you can now create 2 TB virtual disks, but you can only use 1 MB block sizes to create new VMFS volumes. For years, VMware administrators had to deal with various block sizes and limit virtual disks sizes. VMFS 5 solves a lot of those problems.

Upgrading an existing VMFS 3 volume to VMFS 5 is easy and non-destructive. (Previously, if you upgraded from an earlier version of VMFS, it would destroy all the data and VMs on the volume.) Upgrading to VMFS 5 will also retain the previously configured block size.

While VMFS 5 supports larger block sizes, certain vStorage APIs for Array Integration features require data stores to have the same block size. One such feature is copy-offload, which offloads certain storage-related functions from the hypervisor to the array. So if your VMFS 3 volumes don’t use the 1 MB block size, it’s probably best to create a new VMFS 5 volume.

VMFS 5 is also compatible with logical unit numbers (LUNs) up to 64 TB without the need for extents, which connect multiple LUNs together.

SplitRx Mode
With the vSphere 5 release, VMware didn’t give much love to networking. But SplitRx is one of the vSphere 5 features that I find interesting. It’s a new method for network packet receive processing, which is the act of processing the packets sent to a Network Interface Card (NIC) from other network devices.

Previously, VMs processed network packets in a single, shared context, which could become constrained. It’s now possible to split the receive packet processing into multiple, separate contexts. (Imagine that packets had to wait in a single line, but now there’s a special VIP line with direct access to the VM.)

With SplitRx Mode, you can specify which virtual NICs (vNICs) process network packets in a separate context, instead of on the traditional, shared network queue. But you can enable SplitRx Mode only on vNICs that use the VMXNET3 adapter.

This vSphere 5 feature also adds host CPU overhead, so be careful how you deploy it. VMware recommends SplitRx Mode for multicast workloads, which have multiple, simultaneous network connections.

Network I/O Control
VMware also enhanced Network I/O Control in vSphere 5 so you can prioritize VM traffic. Introduced in vSphere 4, Network I/O Control allows you to create resource pools and set priorities for host-specific, network-traffic types -- such as Network File System, iSCSI, Management Console and vMotion. But VM traffic was lumped together in a single pool, so you could not prioritize individual VM traffic to ensure that critical workloads received enough network bandwidth.

In vSphere 5, however, that issue is resolved, with new resource pools that are based on 802.1p networking tags. Now you can create multiple VM resource pools that allocate network bandwidth differently to multiple VMs running on a host. This feature is great for multitenant environments or hosts that share a mix of noncritical and critical VMs. It will ensure that important VMs obtain the networking resources they need.

Storage vMotion enhancements
VSphere 5 features a redesigned mechanism for Storage vMotion, making it more efficient. It no longer uses Change Block Tracking to record disk changes during the Storage vMotion process. Instead, Storage vMotion now performs a mirrored write, which means that any writes during a migration are written to both the source and destination disks at the same time. To ensure that both disks stay in sync, the source and destination disk both acknowledge each write.

VMware also made another big enhancement to Storage vMotion: You can now live-migrate a VM that has active snapshots, which wasn’t possible in vSphere 4. It’s a big deal, because Storage vMotion operations will be common in vSphere 5. And the new Storage Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) feature will move VMs between data stores on a regular basis to redistribute storage I/O loads.

vMotion Enhancements
VMotion is a core technology that many vSphere 5 features rely upon, and VMware made a few performance and usability enhancements to this technology.

Perhaps the biggest upgrade is that vMotion can now utilize multiple physical NICs (pNICs) to perform a migration, instead of just one. Now the VMkernel will utilize all pNICs assigned to VMkernel port groups to automatically load-balance vMotion traffic. VMotion can use up to 16 1 GB pNICs or four 10 GB pNICs to saturate all of the connections, which will greatly increase the speed of migrations.

VMotion will also scale better with the introduction of Metro vMotion. This type of vMotion increases the acceptable round-trip latency to 10 milliseconds between the VMkernel interfaces on each host. Prior to this adjustment, the maximum supported latency was 5 milliseconds, which limited the usability of vMotion to fast local area networks.

Metro vMotion still requires a fairly fast, low-latency network connection between hosts. But it opens the door for using vMotion over extended distances, such as metropolitan area networks, which are typically hosted within a geographical region.

Because the distances between sites in metro networks are usually less than 100 miles, the latency is sufficient to support vMotion. But networks that span longer distances typically have higher latency and still aren’t suitable for vMotion.

 

VMware changes vRAM licensing on vSphere 5 after customer feedback

The New Licensing on Vsphere 5 is probably going to be as below.

It’s just like a Roumor yet to get confirmed.

 

The new policy:

• VMware vSphere 5 Essentials will give a 24GB vRAM entitlement
• VMware vSphere 5 Essentials Plus will give a 32GB vRAM entitlement
• Max vRAM in Essentials / Essentials Plus will be maxed at 192GB vRAM
• VMware vSphere 5 Standard vRAM entitlement has changed to 32GB ( <- my assumption)
• VMware vSphere 5 Enterprise vRAM entitlement will be doubled to 64GB
• VMware vSphere 5 Enterprise Plus vRAM entitlement will be doubled to 96GB

 

VMwareEXI Pricing.

 

Whats new in Vsphere 5.0 VMFS 5.0

Lot has changed with vSphere 5.0 and so has one of the most under-appreciated “features”…. VMFS. VMFS has been substantially changed VMFS-5 uses GPT instead of MBR

• VMFS-5 supports volumes up to 64TB
• This includes Pass-through RDMs!
• VMFS-5 uses a Unified Blocksize –> 1MB
• VMFS-5 uses smaller Sub-Blocks
• ~30.000 8KB blocks versus ~3000 64KB blocks with VMFS-3
• VMFS-5 has support for very small files (1KB)
• Non-disruptive upgrade from VMFS-3 to VMFS-5
• ATS locking enhancements

VMware Unveils VMware vSphereR 5 and Comprehensive Cloud Infrastructure Suite

With nearly 200 new and enhanced capabilities, VMware vSphere 5 will continue to set the standard in virtualization, delivering better application performance and availability for all business-critical applications while automating the management of an increasingly broad pool of datacenter resources. VMware today also announced VMware vShield™ 5, VMware vCenter™ Site Recovery Manager 5, and VMware vCloud® Director 1.5, products that together with VMware vSphere 5 will amplify the value customers can realize from virtualized resources by enabling cloud-scale operations.

The VMware cloud infrastructure suite will help organizations build intelligent virtual infrastructures, which infuse highly virtualized environments with the automation, self-service and security capabilities customers need to:

• Deploy Business-Critical Applications with Confidence – Dramatic performance and scalability gains in VMware vSphere 5 will enable customers to run even the most resource-intensive business-critical applications in virtual and cloud environments.
• Respond to the Needs of the Business Faster with Cloud Agility – From rapidly provisioning new resources to intelligently managing ongoing operations, VMware's cloud infrastructure suite will radically simplify infrastructure management.

·         Move to Cloud Computing with Trust – VMware is evolving security from a physical model to a virtual software model, driven and managed by policy, enabling customers to trust in the security of their applications and data regardless of where they reside or how frequently they move across various private, public and hybrid cloud environments.

·         VMware vSphere 5: Advancing the Cloud Infrastructure Foundation
VMware vSphere, the most trusted, most widely deployed virtualization platform in the world, forms the foundation of VMware's cloud infrastructure suite. Architected to support the broadest range of virtual and cloud infrastructure needs, VMware vSphere is broadly utilized by enterprises, small and midsized businesses (SMBs), public cloud service providers and as the foundation for the growing virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) market. An increasing number of customers are standardizing on VMware vSphere as their strategic IT platform.

·         VMware vSphere 5 will support virtual machines (VMs) that are up to four times more powerful than previous versions with up to 1 terabyte of memory and 32 virtual CPUs. These VMs will be able to process in excess of 1 million I/O operations per second, which will far surpass the requirements of even the most resource-intensive applications. When combined with VMware vSphere 5's enhanced, simplified High Availability, these VM scalability and performance gains will allow customers to run their most business-critical applications with confidence in their performance and availability.

·         VMware vSphere 5 will also introduce three new flagship features that extend the platform's unique datacenter resource management capabilities, delivering intelligent policy management to support an automated "set it and forget it" approach to managing datacenter resources, including server deployment and storage management. Customers define policies and establish the operating parameters, and VMware vSphere 5 does the rest. VMware vSphere 5's new Auto-Deploy, Profile-Driven Storage and Storage DRS features can save a customer with a 1,000-VM environment up to a full year of administrator time.

·         "With VMware vSphere® 5 and the cloud infrastructure suite, the task of virtualizing our business-critical applications will be greatly simplified," said YP Chien, information intelligence manager, Kingston Technology. "This will help accelerate Kingston Technology's journey into cloud computing to achieve ultimate operational performance and business agility."

More details can be found in below link.

 

http://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-cloud-infrastructure-071211.html

Ho To negotiate like a Pro...

Whether it's buying a house, getting the best business deal, disputing your cell phone bill, haggling in a shop, or paying off your credit card, the basic principles of negotiation are the same. Just remember that even the most skilled and experienced negotiators will feel discomfort when negotiating. The only difference is a skilled negotiator has learned to recognize, and suppress the outward signs of these feelings.

Here are some useful steps, tips and warnings on how to negotiate like a pro!

Steps

1. Decide on your breakpoint (the lowest amount or cheapest price you will accept in the deal, the "worst-case scenario").
• If you are representing someone else in a negotiation, get your client's agreement in writing to a target deal before hand. Otherwise, when you get them a great deal, they may decide they don't like it after all. Your credibility is the one that takes the hit.
2. Know what you're worth. How much does the other party need you? Is what you're offering hard to come by, or a dime a dozen? How desperate are they? Who needs who more? And if you need them more than they need you, how can you give yourself an edge?
3. Plan how you will move in your proposals. Your moves should be in ever-decreasing steps, which will give the impression that you are being "bled" and there is increasingly less bargaining range to be had.
4. Open extreme. Open at your maximum sustainable position (the most you can logically argue for). Ask for what you want, and then some. When starting off a negotiation, don't be scared to make an outrageous request. You never know–you might get it! And what's the worst that could happen? They might think you're vain, or delusional; but they'll also know you have guts, and you value yourself, your time, and your money. Are you worried about insulting them, especially if making a very low offer to buy something? Remember that this is business, and if they don't like your offer, then can always counter-offer. Just be bold. If your opening offer is too close to your breakpoint, then you will not have enough bargaining range to concede to the other party as a way of giving satisfaction.
5. Offer or request extras. What else can they give you that is of low value to them, and high value to you? Or what can you offer that is of low value to you, and high value to them? This is why retail stores offer employee discounts. Think along the lines of bartering, andbe creative . What do you have a lot of, or what can you offer with ease, that they would find valuable? Make a list of your skills and your stuff. Calculate how much they cost you, then find out how much they sell for.
6. Research their costs (retail versus wholesale). Let's say you're doing business with a winery, for instance, and they want to pay you 5000 to perform there. You want 7500. Why not suggest that they pay you 5000 and give you a 3500 bottle of wine? It's worth 3500 bucks to you because that's how much you'd have to pay to buy it, but it costs them much less to produce that bottle. (This is, of course, assuming you like their wine!) Or, you can ask them for a 5% or 10% discount on all their wine. Presuming you buy wine regularly anyway, you'll save money, and they'll still make money from your purchases (just not as much).
7. Offer to pay up front. An up front payment is always desirable to a seller, especially in situations where most people do not pay up front (such as car dealerships). As the buyer, you can also offer to buy in bulk, paying in advance for a certain number of products or services, in exchange for a discount. One tactic is to come into the negotiation with a pre-written check; ask to buy the product or service for that amount, and tell them that's your final offer. They may accept it, since the lure of an immediate payment is hard to resist. Finally, paying in cash rather than with a check or credit card, can be a useful negotiation tool because it reduces risk & transaction cost to the seller.
8. Shop around, and bring proof. If you are buying a car and you know the other dealer will sell you the same car for $200 less, tell them so. Tell them the name of the dealer and salesman. If you'renegotiating a salary and you've researched how much people in equivalent positions get paid in your area, print out those statistics and have them handy.
9. Always hold back a closer or two: One or two facts or arguments you can use when you sense the other side is close to a deal but needs that final push. If you are a broker and your client is going to buy this week whether this seller is willing or not, that is a great deal closer.
10. Be ready to walk away. You know what your breakpoint is, and you know if that's not what you're getting. Be willing to walk out the door if that's the case. You might find that the other party will call you back, but you should feel happy with your efforts if they don't.

Tips

• If they surprise you with a very appealing offer, don't let on that you expected something less favorable.
• Preparation is 90% of negotiation. Gather as much information about the deal as you possibly can, evaluate all the key variables, and understand which concessions you can trade.
• Even when you are unsure, speak with authority, speaking louder than usual and giving the impression that you have done this many times before will close deals with people who are not experienced.
• Avoid soft exposing language when making your proposal. E.g. "the price is -about- £100″ or "I'm looking for £100″. Be firm in your proposals – "the price is £100″ or "I'll give you £100″

Warnings

• Never talk about their figure or price, as this subconsciously validates it- always talk about your figure instead.
• Acrimony is a deal killer. People will refuse deals just because they are pissed. This is why divorces drag on for years. Avoid hostility at all costs. Even if there has been hostility in the past, start each contact upbeat, positive, don't hold a grudge.
• Watch your body language – a skilled negotiator will pick up on non-verbal signals which may give away your true feelings.
• Never negotiate after receiving an unscheduled phone call. They're ready but you are not. State that you are not currently able to talk and ask to reschedule. This will give you time to plan ahead about responses to questions and to perform simple research.
• If someone is totally unreasonable, don't negotiate. Tell them to keep you in mind if they come down in price (or whatever). Negotiating when they are way out of line starts you out at way too weak a position.

By Writer

Recreate a Corrupt Vmdk file

To create a virtual machine disk:

1. Log in to the terminal of the VMware ESX host.
2. Navigate to the directory that contains the virtual machine disk with the missing descriptor file using the command:

cd /vmfs/volumes/vmfsvolume/dir

Note:

• If you are using a version of VMware ESXi, you can access and modify files and directories using the VMware vSphere client Datastore Browser or the vifs utility included with the vSphere CLI. For more information, see the section Performing File System Operations in vSphere CLI documentation.
• If you are using VMware Fusion, the default location for the virtual machine files is <home>/Documents/Virtual Machines.localized/<virtual machine>/ folder where <home> is your home folder, and <virtual machine> is the name of the virtual machine.

 

3. Identify the type of SCSI controller the virtual disk is using. You can do this by examining the virtual machine configuration file (.vmx). The controller is identified by the line scsi#.virtualDev, where # is the controller number; there may be more than one controller and controller type attached to the virtual machine. This example uses lsilogic:

scsi0.present = "true"
scsi0.sharedBus = "none"
scsi1.present = "true"
scsi1.sharedBus = "virtual"
scsi1.virtualDev = "lsilogic"

 

4. Identify and record the exact size of the -flat file using a command similar to:

# ls -l mydisk0-flat.vmdk
-rw------- 1 root root 1048576 Oct 11 12:30 mydisk0-flat.vmdk

 

5. Use the vmkfstools command to create a new virtual disk:

# vmkfstools -c 1048576 -a lsilogic -d thin temp.vmdk

This command uses these flags:

-c <size> (This is the size of the virtual disk).
-a <virtual controller> (Whether the virtual disk was configured to work with BusLogic or LSILogic).
-d thin (This creates the disk in a thin-provisioned format).

Note: To save disk space, we create the disk in a thin-provisioned format using the type thin. The resulting flat file then consumes minimal amounts of space (1MB) instead of immediately assuming the capacity specified with the -c switch. The only consequence, however, is the descriptor file contains an extra line that must be removed manually in a later step.

The files temp.vmdk and temp-flat.vmdk are created as a result.

6. Delete temp-flat.vmdk, as it is not needed. Run the command:

# rm temp-flat.vmdk

7. Rename temp.vmdk to the name that is required to match the orphaned .flat file (or mydisk0.vmdk, in this example):

# mv temp.vmdk mydisk0.vmdk

8. Edit the descriptor file with a text editor:

1. Under the Extent Description section, change the name of the .flat file to match the orphaned .flat file you have.
2. Find and remove the line ddb.thinProvisioned = "1" if the original .vmdk was not a thin disk. If it was, retain this line.

# Disk DescriptorFile
version=1
CID=fb183c20
parentCID=ffffffff
createType="vmfs"

# Extent description
RW 8388608 VMFS "mydisk0-flat.vmdk"

# The Disk Data Base
#DDB

ddb.virtualHWVersion = "4"
ddb.geometry.cylinders = "522"
ddb.geometry.heads = "255"
ddb.geometry.sectors = "63"
ddb.adapterType = "lsilogic"
ddb.thinProvisioned = "1"

The virtual machine is now ready for power on. Verify your changes before starting the virtual machine.

VMware ESX and ESXi 4.0 Comparison

http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1023990

 

 

Capability	VMware ESX	VMware ESXi
Service Console	Service Console is a standard Linux environment through which a user has privileged access to the VMware ESX kernel. This Linux-based privileged access allows you to manage your environment by installing agents and drivers and executing scripts and other Linux-environment code.	VMware ESXi is designed to make the server a computing appliance. Accordingly, VMware ESXi behaves more like firmware than traditional software. VMware has created APIs through which monitoring and management tasks – traditionally done through Service Console agents – can be performed. VMware has provided remote scripting environments such as vCLI and PowerCLI to allow the remote execution of scripts and commands. Tech Support Mode (TSM) provides a command-line interface that can be used by the administrator to troubleshoot and correct abnormal conditions on VMware ESXi hosts.
CLI-Based Configuration	VMware ESX Service Console has a host CLI through which VMware ESX can be configured. VMware ESX can also be configured using vSphere CLI (vCLI) or vSphere PowerCLI.	The vSphere CLI (vCLI) is a remote scripting environment that interacts with VMware ESXi hosts to enable host configuration through scripts or specific commands. It replicates nearly all the equivalent COS commands for configuring ESX. VMware vSphere PowerCLI is a robust command-line tool for automathing all aspect of vSphere management, including host, network, storage, virtual machine, guest operating system, and more. Notes: vCLI, PowerCLI, and vSphere SDk for Perl are limited to read-only access for the free vSphere Hypervisor edition. To enable full functionality of vCLI on a VMware ESXi host, the host must be licensed with vSphere Essentials, vSphere Essential Plus, vSphere Standard, vSphere Advanced, vSphere Enterprise, or vSphere Enterprise Plus. Certain COS commands have not been implemented in the vCLI because they pertain to the management of the COS itself and not ESXi. For details, please see the vSphere Command-Line Interface Documentation.
Scriptable Installation	VMware ESX supports scriptable installations through utilities like KickStart.	VMware ESXi supports scriptable installations using a mechanism similar to Kickstart, and includes the ability to run pre- and post-installation scripts. VMware ESXi also provides support for post installation configuration using PowerCLI- and vCLI-based configuration scripts.
Boot from SAN	VMware ESX supports boot from SAN. Booting from SAN requires one dedicated LUN per server.	VMware ESXi may be booted from SAN. This is supported for Fibre Channel SAN, as well as iSCSI and FCoE for certain storage adapters that have been qualified for this capability. Please check the Hardware Compatibility List for supported storage adapters.
Serial Cable Connectivity	VMware ESX supports interaction through direct-attached serial cable to the VMware ESX host.	VMware ESXi does not support interaction through direct-attached serial cable to the VMware ESXi host at this time.
SNMP	VMware ESX supports SNMP.	VMware ESXi supports SNMP when licensed with vSphere Essentials, vSphere Essential Plus, vSphere Standard, vSphere Advanced, vSphere Enterprise, or vSphere Enterprise Plus. The free vSphere Hypervisor edition does not support SNMP. For related information, see Configuring SNMP Traps for ESX/ESXi 3.5 and 4.x(1008065).
Active Directory Integration	VMware ESX provides native support for Active Directory integration.	VMware ESXi provides native support for Active Directory integration.
HW Instrumentation	Service Console agents provide a range of HW instrumentation on VMware ESX.	VMware ESXi provides HW instrumentation through CIM Providers. Standards-based CIM Providers are distributed with all versions of VMware ESXi. VMware partners include their own proprietary CIM Providers in customized versions of VMware ESXi. These customized versions are available either from VMware’s web site or the partner’s web site, depending on the partner. Remote console applications like Dell DRAC, HP iLO, IBM RSA, and FSC iRMC S2are supported with ESXi.
Software Patches and Updates	VMware ESX software patches and upgrades behave like traditional Linux based patches and upgrades. The installation of asoftware patch or upgrade may require multiple system boots as the patch or upgrade may have dependencies on previous patches or upgrades.	VMware ESXi patches and updates behave like firmware patches and updates. Any given patch or update is all-inclusive of previous patches and updates. That is, installing patch version “n” includes all updates included in patch versions n-1, n-2, and so forth. Furthermore, third party components such as OEM CIM providers can be updated independently of the base ESXi component, and vice versa.
vSphere Web Access	vSphere Web Access is only experimentally supported in VMware ESX.	VMware ESXi does not support web access at this time.
Licensing	For licensing information, see the VMwareSphere Editions Comparison.	For licensing information, see the VMwareSphere Editions Comparison.
Diagnostics and Troubleshooting	VMware ESX Service Console can be used to issue command that can help diagnose and repair support issues with the server.	VMware ESXi has several ways to enable support of the product: Remote command sets such as the vCLI include diagnostic commands such as vmkfstools, resxtop, and vmware-cmd. The console interface of VMware ESXi (known as the DCUI or Direct Console User Interface) has functionality to help repair the system, including restarting of all management agents. Tech Support Mode, which allows low-level access to the system so that advanced diagnostic commands can be issues. For more information, see Using Tech Support in ESXi 4.1 (1017910).
Jumbo Frames	VMware ESX 4.1 fully supports Jumbo Frames.	VMware ESXi 4.1 fully supports Jumbo Frames.

 

 

ThinApp'd vSphere Client -- Much awaited exe now made available.

VMware Fling : ThinApp’d vSphere Client

Finally!  I’ve been wishing for this for a WHILE now and VMware has finally come through.  Straight out of VMware Labs is a ThinApp’d version of the vSphere Client.  ThinApp in my opinion is one of those great little pieces of software that gets no love.  Partially because it gets no publicity or recognition.  If more people knew about it and what can be done with it, more people would use it.  It has always irked me that VMware did not distribute ThinApp’d versions of their own utilities to increase exposure to this gem.

That’s all history now though.  VMware Labs (which produces internally home grown ‘side’ projects that are not officially supported by VMware) has released a ThinApp’d vSphere 4.1 Client.

http://labs.vmware.com/flings/thinapp-vpshere

No more installing the vSphere client on Desktops, vDisks, XenApp servers or Windows servers.  Just download the EXE and drop it on the machine.  Double click and run.  No install required!  All settings and personalization are stored neatly and portably in your windows profile application data directory.  Of course, the ThinApp’d version is identical to the installed version with the exception of it being completely install free and portable.

Check it out to get a flavor for the goodness that is ThinApp and let’s hope VMware begins to officially distribute their utilities and clients in this neat packaged format.

 

Required ports for configuring an external firewall to allow ESX and vCenter Server traffic

You might be in a Scenario where in you would like to allow ESX and vCenter server to communication through firewall.

Below is the list of mandatory and optional ports needed to be opened on the Firewall.

You will have to contact your firewall administrator to get this done.

 

These ports are mandatory:

• 22 - SSH port
• 53 - DNS Quesry
• 80 - HTTP
• 902 - vCenter Server / VMware Infrastructure Client - UDP for ESX Heartbeat
• 903 - Remote Console
• 443 - Web Access
• 27000, 27010 - License Server

These ports are optional:

• 123 - NTP
• 161, 162 - SNMP
• 88 - Kerberos
• 464 - Active Directory
• 3260 - Software iSCSI

VCP 4: Doing it the hard way

VCP 4: Doing it the hard way

If you’re interested in trying to pass the VCP 4 without using the study guides or test samplers, you can expect to have a much more difficult time. I have been working with VMware software’s but I doubt to get the VCP cleared if I had not used any of the tutorials or Brain dumps.
However, if you want to study the “official way” here’s a the Topics of what you’ll need to know:

Deploying a new VMware installation:
o Identify minimum hardware requirements
o ESX Hardware Reqs – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_esx_vc_installation_guide.pdf#page=13
o ESXi Hardware Reqs – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_esxi_i_vc_setup_guide.pdf#page=13
o Download, prepare and validate installation media
o Download media – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_esx_vc_installation_guide.pdf#page=25
o Determine appropriate ESX/ESXi configuration in a given situation
o Obtain required information for environment: IP info, LUN info, boot information, service console memory, user accounts, ntp server IP, etc.
o Verify hardware against the VMware Hardware Compatibility Guide: Server, hard drives, san, HBAs, nics, procs, etc. all on HCL
o Perform a custom installation
o Booting ESX installer – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_esx_vc_installation_guide.pdf#page=27
o Graphical Install – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_esx_vc_installation_guide.pdf#page=39
o Text Install – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_esx_vc_installation_guide.pdf#page=42
o Scripted Install – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_esx_vc_installation_guide.pdf#page=45
o Customize storage layout for given situations
o Required Partitions – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_esx_vc_installation_guide.pdf#page=61
o Optional Partitions – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_esx_vc_installation_guide.pdf#page=62
o Configure ESXi from the direct console
o Install ESXi – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_esxi_i_vc_setup_guide.pdf#page=22
o Direct Console User Interface – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_esxi_i_vc_setup_guide.pdf#page=26
o Configure ESX/ESXi NTP
o ESX NTP During Install – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_esx_vc_installation_guide.pdf#page=24
o Configuration tab, Time Configuration, Properties
o Manage ESX/ESXi licensing
o Compare/Contrast VMware vSphere editions
o Edition Comparison Chart – http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1010579
o Manage license keys – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_esx_vc_installation_guide.pdf#page=107
Upgrading an existing VMware installation:
o Plan a VMware vSphere upgrade
o Backup/Restore ESX/ESXi host configuration
o Backup host configuration – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_upgrade_guide.pdf#page=71
o Restore host configuration – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_upgrade_guide.pdf#page=83
o Understand Virtual Machine backup options
o VMotion, storage VMotion, vcb, converter, vdr, third party
o Determine if existing hardware meets upgrade requirements
o Hardware Requirements – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_upgrade_guide.pdf#page=27
o Understand VMware ESX/ESXi upgrade scenarios
o Host Upgrades – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_upgrade_guide.pdf#page=67
o Release Upgrade Support – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_upgrade_guide.pdf#page=72
o Perform upgrade to ESX 4.0
o Upgrade VMware ESX/ESXi
o About Host Updates – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_upgrade_guide.pdf#page=101
o Update Manager Upgrade Baseline – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsp_vum_40_admin_guide.pdf#page=53
o esxupdate/vihostupdate – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_upgrade_guide.pdf#page=104
o ESX Upgrade – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_upgrade_guide.pdf#page=75
o ESXi Upgrade – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_upgrade_guide.pdf#page=77
o Upgrade virtual machine hardware
o Virtual Hardware Upgrade – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_upgrade_guide.pdf#page=97
o Upgrade VMware Tools
o Tools Upgrade – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_upgrade_guide.pdf#page=86
o Verify success of upgrade
o Upgrade Logs – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_upgrade_guide.pdf#page=79
o Understand upgrade roll back options
o Roll Back an ESX Upgrade – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_upgrade_guide.pdf#page=82
o Roll Back an ESXi Upgrade – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_upgrade_guide.pdf#page=83
Understand VMware security:
o Identify default security principles
o Default Roles – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_admin_guide.pdf#page=214
o General Security – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_esx_server_config.pdf#page=179
o ESXi Lockdown Mode – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_esxi_server_config.pdf#page=168
o Understand Service Console firewall operation
o Service Console Security Level
o COS Security – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_esx_server_config.pdf#page=142
o Firewall Security Level – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_esx_server_config.pdf#page=180
o Opening/Closing ports in the firewall using the vSphere Client
o Configuration, Security Profile, Properties
o Set up user/group accounts
o Host Users/Groups – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_admin_guide.pdf#page=212
o Understanding Users/Groups – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_esx_server_config.pdf#page=167
o Working With Users & Groups – http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_esx_server_config.pdf#page=170
o Determine applications needed for accessing the service console in a given scenario: vSphere client, ssh client, vCenter, VCB/VDR, Update Manager, Converter, etc.
Know these tools:
o VMware Hardware Compatibility Guide
o VMware ESX/ESXi and vCenter Server Installation Guide
o Configuration Maximums Guide
o Product Documentation
o VMware Virtualization Toolkit
o vSphere Host Update Utility
o vCenter Update Manager
o vSphere Upgrade Guide
o ESX 4 Patch Management Guide
o Product Documentation
o esxupdate
o vSphere Client
o ESX/ESXi Configuration Guides
o Product Documentation

Help to restore a lost vmx-file from a *.vmsn

A *.vmss file = Virtual machine snapshot is a binary file with metadata for the snapshot.
It has a copy of the vmx-file at a fixed location and so we use dsfo.exe again - or dd on Linux.

dsfo.exe vm1.snapshot.vmsn 100 10000 vm1.vmx

Use the below command to edit and reinject the vmx-file into the *.vmsn use
dsfi.exe vm1.snapshot.vmsn 100 10000 vm1.vmx

On Linux extract with
dd if= vm1.snapshot.vmsn of=vm1.vmx bs=1 skip=100 count=10000

To inject use
dd if=vm1.vmx of= vm1.snapshot.vmsn bs=1 skip=100 count=10000

How to restore a lost vmx-file from a *.vmss

A vmss-file = Virtual machine suspended state also has a copy of the vmx file that was used.
The location inside the binary file varies so no extraction command can be given.

 

VMware vSphere 4 Thin Provisioning: Pros & Cons

vSphere 4′s thin provisioning is a pretty cool feature, but it has downsides, too.

Pros & cons for a customer, especially given all the thin provisioning talk lately.

Pros:

• Saves disk space where it isn't really being used by permitting over commitment, meaning:
• more VMs per datastore, which, for local datastores, means more VMs per host.
• better utilization of expensive storage.
• Smaller disk allocations translate into faster storage VMotion s, clones, snapshot operations. You are only copying what needs to be copied.
• Incredibly easy to convert to and from thin-provisioned disks, on the fly, using Storage VMotion.
• More flexible disk allocation strategies. VMs could have extra, unallocated space built into them, making it easy to grow later without adding additional virtual disks but not consuming all that space initially.

Cons:

• Changed block tracking is a VM v.7 feature, but thin provisioning can be done with v.4 hardware, too.
• Cannot use other advanced features of vSphere 4, such as Fault Tolerance.
• Normal maintenance operations, such as defragmentation, use of sdelete, etc., rapidly & irreversibly negate thin provisioning by causing blocks to be changed. This is especially important as strategies to maximize deduplication by zeroing filesys! tem blocks negate almost all benefits of thin provisioning.
• Over commitment of storage adds the risk that a volume may fill, causing a denial-of-service for other VMs. This can be through malicious behavior by a customer, through normal day-to-day use of VMs, or through well-intentioned but uninformed behavior (such as running a defragmenter, etc.).
• Thin provisioning may have performance concerns:
• The gradual growth of a VMDK file will likely cause fragmen! tation, which may be a performance issue. On disk arrays that are already subject to fragmentation, such as those from NetApp, the effect may be more severe. However, Storage VMotion operations also serve to defragment virtual disks.
• More VMs per LUN may introduce storage I/O performance issues.
• General understanding of how filesystems work is low. Add to that a general lack of understanding of how thin provisioning works, and how it would interact with other technologies like deduplication and snapshots, and I can see the potential for colossal mishaps.

Some of the cons are mitigated with better monitoring strategies. vCenter has a number of new ways to monitor thin provisioned VMs, and notify when datastores fill. However, if you're doing deduplication on your storage array you might have to choose which technology to go with. Many people use sdelete or custom scripts to zero out empty filesystem space so that deduplication can identify and deduplicate free space. Running "sdelete -c" on a thin-provisioned 40 GB VMDK file causes it to grow to 40 GB, though. On the back end I know it's being deduplicated very well, but on the front end it isn't thin anymore, and can't be made thin again with Storage VMotions because all those blocks have been "touched." Coupled with fragmentation and other performance issues, users of deduplicating arrays (NetApp, etc.) might consider not thin provisioning for now, a! nd work to improve their back-end deduplication rates instead.

P.S. if thin provisioning were coded to recognize zeroed blocks it'd be a different story altogether. Then normal filesystem use (file creates, deletes, etc.), or use of sdelete, defragmenters, etc. wouldn't be a problem at all.

 

VMware View 4.6 will launch sans profile management

VMware launched View 4.6 last week, it will include some needed improvements, such as PCoIP tunneling.

But the software won't have, and it may never include, the integrated profile management capabilities that VMware had promised its VDI customers.

VMware partners learned during the company's recent Partner Exchange that RTO Software will not be part of View 4.6. According to one New England-based VMware View integrator, "The problems are so major that [the RTO investment] has been totally deep-sixed." Another source close to VMware confirmed that the company has all but nixed its RTO integration plans.

The integrator, who preferred anonymity, tested RTO Software's Virtual Profiles last year and said that it works great with Windows XP, but with Windows 7, it "locks up and corrupts files."

Other sources confirmed problems with Windows 7, but VMware has denied that the lack of Windows 7 compatibility is the reason for the failed launch of the RTO technology. Meanwhile, the company hasn't offered customers an official reason.

VMware signed an OEM agreement with RTO Software in September 2009 to integrate Virtual Profiles technology with VMware View. It then acquired some of RTO's technologies in February 2010. VMware said profile management software would be built into View 4.5 and included it in the View 4.5 beta, but the company pulled the feature before releasing a second beta in June. VMware later said it would integrate RTO in future versions of View, but it has provided no timeline.

VMware recently stated in an email, "Profile management is a key component of VMware's strategy to modernize the enterprise desktop and will be offered in future releases of View." It also said that "customers can expect further innovation and integration of persona management."

 

What is in View 4.6?
View 4.6 does support secure PC-over-IP (PcoIP) tunneling.VMware View 4.5 lacks support for PCoIP sessions via the View Security Gateway, so remote users have had to use a secure virtual private network (VPN) tunnel, which adds latency. In addition, remote locations without a VPN could not use PCoIP.

View 4.6 also includes a number of bug fixes, better support for Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and enhanced USB device compatability, according to reports from the VMware Partner Exchange.

 

ESX vs. ESXi: Convincing your boss to move to ESXi --- By Eric Siebert

 

Dear [insert your boss' or /coworker's name]:

We should fully embrace the VMware ESXi architecture and migrate existing ESX hosts to it. I know that ESXi has a much different footprint and requires a different management style from the one we are used to and that it has had its limitations. But ESXi's limitations have mostly disappeared. While the management is different, ESXi can be managed just as effectively, once we adjust to the differences.

Prior to the release of vSphere 4.1, ESXi supported the major features of ESX, but not lesser ones. But with vSphere 4.1, VMware spent time closing the feature gap. It now supports booting from a storage area network, scriptable installations and Active Directory integration. So the lack-of-features argument is no longer a valid reason to avoid ESXi.

VMware also improved ESXi management by adding the full Tech Support Mode and improving the Direct Console User Interface. We all love the ESX service console. It provides hands-on method for administration and troubleshooting. But ESXi has a management console. While it may not be as powerful as the ESX service console, for most purposes it does the job. The vSphere Command-Line Interface and the vSphere Management Assistant are decent alternatives to the ESX service console. They were improved in vSphere 4.1, so they can better manage ESXi hosts. PowerCLI can also automate administration tasks, such as configuration and deployment.

ESXi also has several advantages over ESX. New versions, for example, are delivered as a single image file that completely replaces the previous version, much like a server BIOS upgrade. As a result, we no longer have to worry about patch dependencies or installing patches in a specific order. Patching is much simpler, fewer patches are required, and ESXi should reduce the time and effort required to keep our hosts patched.

Another advantage is that the ESXi management console code is much smaller than ESX's full Red Hat service console. Additionally, rolling back to previous ESXi versions is a breeze. The old version is automatically saved in a backup partition, so you can easily revert to it if needed.

Because of ESXi's small disk footprint, we can also install ESXi to flash drives and then boot and run ESXi hosts. This capability allows us to get ESXi up and running quickly and eliminates the need for local hard disks in our hosts, which can reduce purchasing costs. Even with a local disk, the ESXi installation process is quicker and simpler than ESX's installation, which can reduce deployment times for new hosts. Now that ESXi supports scriptable installations, we can streamline ESXi host deployments. In addition, ESXi boots much more quickly than ESX, which helps our hosts get back in action faster if a host fails or needs restarting.

Perhaps the most important reason to move to ESXi is that VMware will stop upgrading ESX as of the next major vSphere release. The company has said so publicly. This decision will force us to use ESXi at some point if we want to take advantage of newer vSphere releases. But why wait until we are forced? Let's make the transition in an orderly and well-planned-out manner. That way, when the next version of vSphere is released, we are prepared, and we won't have to deal with an architecture and version change simultaneously.

Converting ESX hosts to ESXi is not difficult, but the mental challenges can be. Change is difficult for some people, but once we get past it, we will realize that it's for the best. I propose that we start at a slow pace so everyone can get used to the new architecture and learn the management differences. Once we grow comfortable with ESXi and have the migration process down, we can proceed at a faster pace and convert our entire infrastructure to ESXi. VMware has set the stage for ESXi to be the star, and it's time we accept it and move in the same direction.

Best regards,