Technical Stuff

PowerCLI command to change VM from e1000 to VMXNET3

2021-01-29T12:51:00.001-08:00

PS C:\Windows\System32> Get-VM VD-SGTemplate-ws_v1

Name PowerState Num CPUs MemoryGB

---- ---------- -------- --------

VD-SGTemplate-ws_v1 PoweredOff 2 6.000

PS C:\Windows\System32> Get-VM VD-SGTemplate-ws_v1 | Get-NetworkAdapter

Name Type NetworkName MacAddress WakeOnLan

Enabled

---- ---- ----------- ---------- ---------

Network adapter 2 e1000e Production 3 (… 00:50:56:bd:79:35 True

PS C:\Windows\System32> Get-VM VD-SGTemplate-ws_v1 | Get-NetworkAdapter | Set-NetworkAdapter -Type Vmxnet3

Confirm

Are you sure you want to perform this action?

Performing the operation "Setting Type: Vmxnet3" on target "Network adapter 2".

[Y] Yes [A] Yes to All [N] No [L] No to All [S] Suspend [?] Help (default is "Y"): Y

Name Type NetworkName MacAddress WakeOnLan

Enabled

---- ---- ----------- ---------- ---------

Network adapter 2 Vmxnet3 Production 3 (… 00:50:56:bd:79:35 True

PS C:\Windows\System32> Get-VM VD-SGTemplate-ws_v1 | Get-NetworkAdapter

Name Type NetworkName MacAddress WakeOnLan

Enabled

---- ---- ----------- ---------- ---------

Network adapter 2 Vmxnet3 Production 3 (… 00:50:56:bd:79:35 True

Pluggable Storage Architecture and Path Management

2020-05-25T21:55:00.000-07:00

PSA -Pluggable Storage Architecture

To manage multipathing, ESXi uses a special VMkernel layer, Pluggable Storage Architecture (PSA). The PSA is an open and modular framework that coordinates various software modules responsible for multipathing operations. These modules include generic multipathing modules that VMware provides, NMP and HPP, and third-party MPPs.

NMP - Native Multipathing Plug-in

The NMP is the VMkernel multipathing module that ESXi provides by default. The NMP associates physical paths with a specific storage device and provides a default path selection algorithm based on the array type. The NMP is extensible and manages additional submodules, called Path Selection Policies (PSPs) and Storage Array Type Policies (SATPs). PSPs and SATPs can be provided by VMware, or by a third party.

PSPs - Path Selection Plug-ins

The PSPs are submodules of the VMware NMP. PSPs are responsible for selecting a physical path for I/O requests.

SATPs - Storage Array Type Plug-ins

The SATPs are submodules of the VMware NMP. SATPs are responsible for array-specific operations. The SATP can determine the state of a particular array-specific path, perform a path activation, and detect any path errors.

MPPs -Multipathing Plug-ins

The PSA offers a collection of VMkernel APIs that third parties can use to create their own multipathing plug-ins (MPPs). The modules provide specific load balancing and failover functionalities for a particular storage array. The MPPs can be installed on the ESXi host. They can run in addition to the VMware native modules, or as their replacement.

HPP - VMware HighPerformance Plug-in

The HPP replaces the NMP for high-speed devices, such as NVMe PCIe flash. The HPP improves the performance of ultra-fast flash devices that are installed locally on your ESXi host. The plug-in supports only singlepathed devices

Claim Rules

The PSA uses claim rules to determine whether an MPP or NMP owns the paths to a particular storage device. The NMP has its own set of claim rules. These claim rules match the device with a specific SATP and PSP

reference

https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/6.7/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-67-storage-guide.pdf.pdf

vsphere6.7 vmware Standard Switch vs vDSS Distributed Switch

2020-05-25T18:48:00.001-07:00

These features are available with both types of virtual switches:

Can forward L2 frames
Can segment traffic into VLANs
Can use and understand 802.1q VLAN encapsulation
Can have more than one uplink (NIC Teaming)
Can have traffic shaping for the outbound (TX) traffic

These features are available only with a Distributed Switch:

Can shape inbound (RX) traffic
Has a central unified management interface through vCenter Server
Supports Private VLANs (PVLANs)
Provides potential customization of Data and Control Planes

vSphere 5.x provides these improvements to Distributed Switch functionality:

Increased visibility of inter-virtual machine traffic through Netflow.
Improved monitoring through port mirroring (dvMirror).
Support for LLDP (Link Layer Discovery Protocol), a vendor-neutral protocol.
The enhanced link aggregation feature provides choice in hashing algorithms and also increases the limit on number of link aggregation groups.
Additional port security is enabled through traffic filtering support.
Improved single-root I/O virtualization (SR-IOV) support and 40GB NIC support.

vSphere 6.x provides these improvements to Distributed Switch functionality:

Network IO Control New support for per virtual machine Distributed vSwitch bandwidth reservations to guarantee isolation and enforce limits on bandwidth.
Multicast Snooping - Supports IGMP snooping for IPv4 packet and MLD snooping for IPv6 packets in VDS. Improves performance and scale with multicast traffic.
Multiple TCP/IP Stack for vMotion - Allows vMotion traffic a dedicated networking stack. Simplifies IP address management with a dedicated default gateway for vMotion traffic.

Virtual Machine Conditions and Limitations for vMotion

2020-05-20T22:14:00.002-07:00

To migrate virtual machines with vMotion, the virtual machine must meet certain network, disk, CPU, USB, and other device requirements.

The following virtual machine conditions and limitations apply when you use vMotion:

• The source and destination management network IP address families must match. You cannot migrate a virtual machine from a host that is registered to vCenter Server with an IPv4 address to a host that is registered with an IPv6 address.

• Using 1 GbE network adapters for the vMotion network might result in migration failure, if you migrate virtual machines with large vGPU profiles. Use 10 GbE network adapters for the vMotion network.

• If virtual CPU performance counters are enabled, you can migrate virtual machines only to hosts that have compatible CPU performance counters.

• You can migrate virtual machines that have 3D graphics enabled. If the 3D Renderer is set to Automatic, virtual machines use the graphics renderer that is present on the destination host. The renderer can be the host CPU or a GPU graphics card. To migrate virtual machines with the 3D Renderer set to Hardware, the destination host must have a GPU graphics card.

• Starting with vSphere 6.7 Update 1 and later, vSphere vMotion supports virtual machines with vGPU.

• vSphere DRS supports initial placement of vGPU virtual machines running vSphere 6.7 Update 1 or later without load balancing support.

• You can migrate virtual machines with USB devices that are connected to a physical USB device on the host. You must enable the devices for vMotion.

• You cannot use migration with vMotion to migrate a virtual machine that uses a virtual device backed by a device that is not accessible on the destination host. For example, you cannot migrate a virtual machine with a CD drive backed by the physical CD drive on the source host. Disconnect these devices before you migrate the virtual machine.

• You cannot use migration with vMotion to migrate a virtual machine that uses a virtual device backed by a device on the client computer. Disconnect these devices before you migrate the virtual machine.

2020-05-05T07:44:00.000-07:00

Azure Certification paths

AWS Certification Path

2020-04-22T18:57:00.002-07:00

AWS CERTIFICATION ROADMAP

AWS Ramp-Up Guide: Operations For Systems Administrators and Systems Operations Professionals

Certification Path

2020-04-22T18:46:00.000-07:00

VMware popular certifications

VCP Data Center Virtualization

https://www.vmware.com/education-services/certification.html

CheckPowershell version

2016-02-15T22:21:00.003-08:00

There are serveral ways to check the install version of Powershell:

$PSVersionTable variable

or
user the automatic $PSVersionTable variable, and check the PSVersion property,

Get-Host

Check Heartbleed bug vulnerability

2014-04-09T13:45:00.003-07:00

check if our linux version is affected by:

check openssl version
type :
openssl version

how to check linux OS version:
cat /etc/issue

Heartbleed test free tool:
http://filippo.io/Heartbleed/

the following OpenSSl libraries are afected :

OpenSSL 1.0.1 through 1.0.1f (inclusive) are vulnerable
OpenSSL 1.0.1g is NOT vulnerable
OpenSSL 1.0.0 branch is NOT vulnerable
OpenSSL 0.9.8 branch is NOT vulnerable

Add CPU memory to an existing ESXi Virtual Machine via Powercli

2014-02-12T12:12:00.003-08:00

At the Powercli cmd prompt type the following:

Connect-VIserver Servername

Locate the VM that you want to modified using:Get-VM

then use the following syntax

get-vm ServerName | set-vm -MemoryGB 4096 -NumCpu 2 -Notes "H/W modified $(Get-Date)" -confirm:$false

commands:
Get-VM
Set-VM
parameters:
MemoryMB = Specify the memory size in megabytes (MB
NumCpu = Specify the number of virtual CPUs.
Notes = Provide a description of the virtual machine. The alias of this parameter is Description

Reference:
https://www.vmware.com/support/developer/PowerCLI/PowerCLI51/html/Set-VM.html

2012-12-04T15:54:00.001-08:00

Best practices for virtual machine snapshots in the VMware environment

Snapshots are not backups. As the snapshot file is only a change log of the original virtual disk, do not rely upon it as a direct backup process. The virtual machine is running on the most current snapshot, not the original vmdk disk files.
Snapshots are not complete copies of the original vmdk disk files. The change log in the snapshot file combines with the original disk files to make up the current state of the virtual machine. If the base disks are deleted, the snapshot files are useless.
Snapshot files can grow to the same size as the original base disk file, which is why the provisioned storage size of a virtual machine increases by an amount equal to the original size of the virtual machine multiplied by the number of snapshots on the virtual machine.
The maximum supported amount in a chain is 32. However, VMware recommends that you use only 2-3 snapshots in a chain.
Use no single snapshot for more than 24-72 hours. This prevents snapshots from growing so large as to cause issues when deleting/committing them to the original virtual machine disks. Take the snapshot, make the changes to the virtual machine, and delete/commit the snapshot as soon as you have verified the proper working state of the virtual machine.

Be especially diligent with snapshot use on high-transaction virtual machines such as email and database servers. These snapshots can very quickly grow in size, filling datastore space. Commit snapshots on these virtual machines as soon as you have verified the proper working state of the process you are testing.|

If using a third party product that takes advantage of snapshots (such as virtual machine backup software), regularly monitor systems configured for backups to ensure that no snapshots remain active for extensive periods of time.
Snapshots should only be present for the duration of the backup process.
Snapshots taken by third party software (called via API) may not show up in the vCenter Snapshot Manager. Routinely check for snapshots via the command-line.
An excessive number of snapshots in a chain or snapshots large in size may cause decreased virtual machine and host performance.
Confirm that there are no snapshots present (via command line) before a Storage vMotion. If snapshots are present, delete them prior to the Storage vMotion. For more information, see Migrating an ESX 3.x virtual machine with snapshots in powered-off or suspended state to another datastore might cause data loss and make the virtual machine unusable (1020709).
Confirm that there are no snapshots present (via command line) before increasing the size of any Virtual Machine virtual disk or virtual RDM. If snapshots are present, delete them prior to increasing the size of the disk/s. Increasing the size of a disk with snapshots present can lead to corruption of the snapshots and potential data loss. For more information, see Increasing the Size of a Virtual Disk.
Reference:
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1025279

Configuring additional gateways for vmkernel ports on an ESXi host

2012-11-05T13:26:00.002-08:00

To configure a second gateway for the management network:
Open a console to the ESX or ESXi host.

Run this command:

esxcfg-route -a target network netmask gateway

For example, to add a route to 192.168.100.0 network through 192.168.0.1
run one of these command:

esxcfg-route -a 192.168.100.0/24 192.168.0.1
esxcfg-route -a 192.168.100.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.0.1

The command esxcfg-route -l lists the current routing table. VMware KB article

rename ESX host

2012-01-17T15:49:00.000-08:00

To rename a VMware ESX host:
*If the ESX host is part of a Cluster, remove it from the cluster.
*If the ESX host is managed by VirtualCenter / vCenter, disconnect and remove the ESX host from the cluster.
*Make the modifications in your DNS environment to reflect the correct name and IP association for the new name.
*Log in as root to the console of ESX host.
*Using a text editor (I prefer nano ) change the name and domain name, if applicable, of the host in these files:

nano /etc/hosts
nano /etc/sysconfig/network

Execute this command where hostname is the new FQDN hostname for the ESX host:

esxcfg-advcfg -s hostname /Misc/HostName

Reboot the ESX host.
Note:
The iSCSI Qualified Name used for iSCSI storage configuration is based on the hostname of the ESX host. If you change the hostname of the ESX host, make sure to review your iSCSI software initiator configuration
Join the ESX host to VirtualCenter / vCenter and clusters

reference:
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1010821

Windows 2008 R2 Best Practice Analyzer (BPA)

2012-01-04T15:47:00.000-08:00

How to install:
BPA is installed by default on all editions of Windows Server 2008 R2 except the Server Core installation option.

How to use BPA:
You can open BPA in the Server Manager console by opening the home page for a server role that supports BPA.
To open BPA in Server Manager
1.Open Server Manager. To open Server Manager, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Server Manager.

2.In the tree pane, open Roles, and then select the role for which you want to open BPA.

3.In the details pane, open the Summary section, and then open the Best Practices Analyzer area.

ow BPA works

BPA works by measuring a role’s compliance with best practice rules in eight different categories of a role’s effectiveness, trustworthiness, and reliability. Results of measurements can be any of the three severity levels described in the following table.

*Severity level

Description
Noncompliant
Noncompliant results are returned when a role does not satisfy the conditions of a rule.

Compliant
Compliant results are returned when a role satisfies the conditions of a rule.
Warning
Warning results are returned when a role is compliant as operating currently, but may not satisfy the conditions of a rule if changes are not made to its configuration or policy settings.
Reference:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd759260.aspx

Ubuntu vmware image template

2012-01-04T11:27:00.000-08:00

these are the steps to configure a newly deploy Ubuntu VM , in my case I use a std template
1.- Remove PCI using the following command:

Sudo nano /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules

2.-Re-ip the VM
Sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces

Rename host

Sudo nano /etc/hostname

sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart

Restart computer
Sudo reboot

Shavlik 8026 Problem

2012-01-04T11:17:00.000-08:00

I'm seeing the following error on my Windows Servers with Hsavlik Netprotect installed:

Event Type: Information
Event Source: ShavlikPatchMgmt
Event Category: (8)
Event ID: 8206
Date: 9/8/2009
Time: 3:47:54 PM
User: XX\XX
Computer: XXXX
Description:
The description for Event ID ( 8206 ) in Source ( ShavlikPatchMgmt ) cannot be found. The local computer may not have the necessary registry information or message DLL files to display messages from a remote computer. You may be able to use the /AUXSOURCE= flag to retrieve this description; see Help and Support for details. The following information is part of the event: \\XXX.XXX.XXX.X\C$\WINDOWS\ProPatches\Patches\, C:\WINDOWS\ProPatches\Patches\.

instructions:

1. Open a CMD prompt and navigate to C:\Windows\ProPatches\Scheduler
2. Run STSchedEx.exe /remove
3. Delete the \Propatches folder
4. Open regedit and delete: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Shavlik\Scheduler
try running the job again.

reference:
http://forum.shavlik.com/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=540&p=34323

How to install OMSA on Dell R710 with ESX 4.0

2011-12-29T15:56:00.001-08:00

Donwload file
http://ftp.us.dell.com/sysman/OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-Web-LX-6.4.0-1266.ESX40.i386_A00.5.tar.gz
Extract Files [NOTE: This assume you have placed the .tar.gz file on the ESX host somewhere]

1.Browse to the location where you downloaded the file and unzip the package using the following command:
gunzip OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-Web-LX-6.4.0-1266.ESX40.i386_A00.5.tar.gz
2.Untar the package using the following command: tar -xvf OM-SrvAdmin-Dell-Web-LX-6.4.0-1266.ESX40.i386_A00.5.tar

Installation
1.Change current directory to the location where the files were extracted.
2.Run the following command to perform an express install:
sh linux/supportscripts/srvadmin-install.sh --express
3.Start the applicable services by running the following command:
sh linux/supportscripts/srvadmin-services.sh start

esxcfg-firewall -o 1311,tcp,in,OpenManageRequest

to access :
https://Server Name or IP:1311/

reference:
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1007617

Disable Firewall Server Core 2008 R2

2011-04-05T23:14:00.000-07:00

to disable FireWall use:
Netsh firewall set opmode disable

to reenable the firewall use:

Netsh firewall set opmode enable.

How to enable powershell on Windows 2008 R2 Server Core

2011-04-05T22:54:00.001-07:00

Method 1
Run SCONFIG.
Select option 4 (Configure Remote Management).
Select option 2 (Enable Windows PowerShell).
Click OK.
Back to the top
Method 2

Install the following features:
NetFx2-ServerCore
NetFx3-ServerCore
NetFx2-ServerCore-WOW64
NetFx3-ServerCore-WOW64
MicrosoftWindowsPowerShell
MicrosoftWindowsPowerShell-WOW64
The following are examples of the commands that install these features:
DISM.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:NetFx2-ServerCore
DISM.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:NetFx3-ServerCore
DISM.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:NetFx2-ServerCore-WOW64
DISM.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:NetFx3-ServerCore-WOW64
DISM.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:MicrosoftWindowsPowerShell
DISM.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:MicrosoftWindowsPowerShell-WOW64
Note Because Windows PowerShell is built on Microsoft .NET Framework, Microsoft .Net Framework must be installed correctly first for a successful Windows PowerShell installation

Enhanced vmxnet

2009-07-21T15:11:00.000-07:00

Enable the enhanced vmxnet option when configuring a new virtual machine

* In the New Virtual Machine wizard, on the Choose Guest Operating System page, select the version Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition (64-bit), even if you will install a different version of the operating system on the virtual machine.
* On the Choose Networks page of the wizard, select the adapter Enhanced vmxnet.
* Proceed through the wizard.
* Install the desired guest operating system on the virtual machine.
* Install VMware Tools on the virtual machine.

Enable the enhanced vmxnet option when configuring an existing virtual machine

* from the VI Client, power off the virtual machine.
* Right-click the virtual machine and select Edit Settings.
* In the Virtual Machine Properties dialog, select the Options tab.
* Click General Options, and change the guest operating system to Microsoft Windows * Server 2003, Enterprise Edition (64-bit).
* Click the Hardware tab, and then select the Network Adapter.
* Click Remove.

taken from http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1007195

descripton of CPL files

2009-07-08T14:13:00.000-07:00

File name	Purpose
Access.cpl	Accessibility properties
Appwiz.cpl	Add/Remove Programs properties
Desk.cpl	Display properties
FindFast.cpl	FindFast (included with Microsoft Office for Windows 95)
Inetcpl.cpl	Internet properties
Intl.cpl	Regional Settings properties
Joy.cpl	Joystick properties
Main.cpl	Mouse, Fonts, Keyboard, and Printers properties
Mlcfg32.cpl	Microsoft Exchange or Windows Messaging properties
Mmsys.cpl	Multimedia properties
Modem.cpl	Modem properties
Netcpl.cpl	Network properties
Odbccp32.cpl	Data Sources (32-bit ODBC, included w/ Microsoft Office)
Password.cpl	Password properties
Sticpl.cpl	Scanners and Cameras properties
Sysdm.cpl	System properties and Add New Hardware wizard
Themes.cpl	Desktop Themes
TimeDate.cpl	Date/Time properties
Wgpocpl.cpl	Microsoft Mail Post Office

HBR July-August 2009 Issue Highlights

2009-06-29T13:59:00.001-07:00

Recreate Service Console Interface

2009-02-25T15:13:00.000-08:00

Create a new switch

esxcfg-vswitch -a vSwitch0

Create a new portgroup

esxcfg-vswitch -p "Service Console" vSwitch0

Assign NIC

esxcfg-vswitch –L vmnic0 vSwitch0

Assign a vswif interface and set Ip address Subnet

esxcfg-vswif –a vswif0 -p "Service Console" i XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX –n 255.255.255.0

Changing your ESX Service Console IP

2008-11-17T15:01:00.000-08:00

At the command line with root privileges :

To view your current IP and Netmask type:
esxcfg-vswif –l

To change your IP and Subnet Mask type:
esxcfg-vswif –i 172.30.38.20 –n 255.255.255.0 vswf0

Also you will need to change you defaul gateway and DNS :
use:
nano –w /etc/sysconfig/network

DNS nano –w /etc/resolv.conf

once you are finished restart network using:

services network restart

Adding static route to an ESXi 5.0 host

2008-11-17T10:37:00.000-08:00

Use esxcfg-route command as follow:

esxcfg-route -a target_network_IP netmask default_gateway

ie:

esxcfg-route -a 192.168.100.0 255.255.255.0 192.168.0.1

Review the changes using:

esxcfg-route -l