My Stuff

Using CommVault 1-touch restore

2012-02-03T11:57:00.000-08:00

I have been attempting on and off for a few weeks to get CommVault's "Virtualize Me" feature working in my environment. My environment is a little unique in the fact that the DR VMware systems are isolated from the CommServe. Because the CommServe needs access to Virtual Center to use Virtualize Me, there is a problem. We looked at differnt options such as moving servers and creating static NAT rules, but none of them were very flexible or secure.

A little searching and I found a great post about CommVault 1-Touch. Virtualize Me is essentially 1-Touch, but automated for VMware deployments. The benefit of 1-Touch is that it is used to restore to any system, not just VMware.

To use 1-Touch you have to pre-create and configure the VM hardware (CPU, RAM, disk, network, etc...) Then boot to the ISO and walk through the setup process..

Step-by-step recovery processes can be found at http://blog.lewan.com/2011/12/04/commvault-1-touch-bare-metal-restore-to-vmware-vm/

Another method to extract music from YouTube

2012-02-03T08:22:00.000-08:00

Previously I created a post that described how to extract music from YouTube using a variety of Linux tools. I am getting ready for a road-trip and needed some theme music (Mustang Sally, Slow Ride, etc...), but didnt have a Linux system available. So here is another method using Windows tools.

DISCLAIMER: I am not fully aware of the legality of this. I am assuming that it is OK since I am not doing any hacking or breaking of cryptography, but your mileage may vary.

Tools needed

Windows computer
VLC player - http://www.videolan.org/
Free YouTube Download - http://dvdvideosoft.com

Step 1: Find the video you want

This is the easy part, just search YouTube for the video you want.

It may be a good idea to listen to it before hand to ensure it is the version you want. There are a lot of remixes and covers by other bands (professional or otherwise). You wouldn't want to download a heavy metal song and find out later that its a polka remix

Step 2: Download the video

Use Free YouTube Download to download the video to your computer. I found the default quality and format settings to work fine.

Step 3: Extract the audio

Using VLC, walk through the Convert process to extract the music as an MP3.
If you have a lot of files, you can use the following command to bulk convert them.
for %i in (*.mp4) do "c:\program files\videolan\vlc\vlc.exe" "%i" --sout #transcode{acodec=mp3}:duplicate{dst=std{access=file,mux=raw,dst=\""%i.mp3"\"},select=\"novideo\"} vlc://quit

Monitoring wireless networks

2012-02-01T13:07:00.000-08:00

I just rebuilt my laptop and was in the process of reinstalling all my normal tools (7zip, Chrome, wireshark, etc...) I suddenly remembered that I had a great wireless monitoring tool that allowed me to see what networks were nearby, what channel they were on, and how strong their signals were over time, but I couldn't remember its name.

A little googling and I found it - inSSIDer (http://www.metageek.net/products/inssider/).

The really great thing however, is that I found several other methods to do the same thing. For my Android phone there is WiFi Analyzer (http://a.farproc.com/wifi-analyzer), and Windows can even perform similar tasks natively by running netsh wlan show networks mode=bssid

Uploading to WebDAV using powershell

2012-01-24T16:12:00.000-08:00

Its not commonly used, but I find WebDAV to be one of the more useful file transfer methods on the internet. It is secure (as secure as SSL can be), it can be accessed via web browsers, and drives can be mapped to it.
The only problem is that (under Windows) it is normally access by a user profile, and not the entire system. This can be a problem if you are trying to automate copy jobs or backups to the WebDAV share.

I found a great post at http://www.vnext.be/2010/05/20/powershell-upload-file-to-webdav-server/, that shows how to use PowerShell to copy to WebDAV. Its not an entirely elegant solution, but it can be scripted and user/password credentials can be stored to allow automated tasks to access it.

Importing VMware flat.vmdk file

2012-01-19T13:09:00.000-08:00

Someone sent me a file today and told me to import it into VMware. I looked at it briefly and noticed that it was a single file named server-flat.vmdk.
Normally VMware uses multiple files, a VMX, a VMDK, and a -FLAT.VMDK, but here I was just given the one. The FLAT file contains all the disk, so this was the most important file. But the other files are descriptors that tell VMware how to use the disk - What OS, what controller, disk geometry, etc...

A little googling and I found my solution at http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1002511. The basic steps are below:

Import the VMDK file to a datastore
Create a VM with the OS and RAM characteristics needed - dont create/attach a disk
Putty to an ESX host
Find the datastore the VMDK was imported into and do an LS -LA to view the file size in bytes
In the VM folder, run vmkfstools -c 4294967296 -a lsilogic -d thin temp.vmdk

The size, name, and controller type will vary

Delete the new -FLAT.VMDK file
Move the original -FLAT.VMDK file into this folder
Add the newly created VMDK to the VM

SVmotion individual harddisks via PowerShell

2012-01-17T14:12:00.000-08:00

I ran into an issue today where I wanted to SVmotion several large virtual disks to different datastores. I didnt want to use the VC because I would either have to 1) Kick off all migrations at the same time, or 2) wait and watch for each disk to finish before launching the next migration.

I knew I could move the whole VM using Powershell, and then I came across this link: http://mrpointy.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/storage-vmotion-only-one-harddisk-via-powershell/. This shows how to identify a single disk and move it to a separate datastore. Queue up these commands in notepad and then past them into PS and they will automatically launch one after the other. Below is an example command



get-harddisk -vm cvmedia51 | where {$_.Name -eq "Hard disk 3"} | % {set-harddisk -harddisk $_ -Datastore TKPD_T3_L070001_02 -Confirm:$false}

Restoring from an alternate library in CommVault

2011-12-21T13:34:00.000-08:00

CommVault is a great product that allows you to perform backups at a primary location, and then send a deduplicated copy to a DR location for recovery. But what if you need to perform a test recovery at the DR location, how do you tell the restore which library to restore from?

Step 1: Identify the number of the copy

Your basic setup should include a Storage Policy with 2 copies, a primary and a (at least 1) secondary. The secondary is updated either on schedule or on demand.
To view the copy number

Browse to Policies | Storage Policies
Right-click your policy and select Properties
On the Copy Precedence tab, note the Precedence number associated with the target Copy Name

Step 2: Browse for backup data

Browse to Client Computers | | |
Right-click the subclient and select Browse Backup Data
Specify a time frame if needed
Change Use MediaAgent to the MA in the DR location
Click Advanced
On the Advanced Browse Options, change the Copy Precedence to the precedence number previously identified
Click OK, OK

Finish your restore as normal

Decrypting NT passwords

2011-12-12T08:41:00.000-08:00

If you have been in the tech realm for long, you realize there is a need to recover forgotten passwords. Normally this is difficult (as it should be), but I just found a shortcut.
The website http://www.md5decrypter.co.uk/ntlm-decrypt.aspx, has an online database of NTLM hashes and their accompanying passwords. Once you have the hash (via pwdump or other tools), just copy and past the hash into the site and viola!

Standard warnings apply. Many countries consider unauthorized access to computers illegal, so only use this process if you have a legitimate reason.

Working with an Iomega StorCenter ix2-200

2011-12-06T10:20:00.001-08:00

I just got a 4 TB Iomega StorCenter ix2-200 for use with VMware. The idea is that we can send it to customer locations, copy backups/VMDKs on it, and then ship it back. Previously we had done this with USB drives, but connecting a USB drive to a server is often problematic.

Basic setup for VMware NFS datastores:

Don't enable security

If you do, you have to work through enabling networks to see the individual shares

Enable NFS under Protocols
On the Shares page, under each share there is now a NFS item with the export name

When I was setting this up the first time I ran into some issues. Due to the posts and comments at http://www.krausam.de/?p=33, I was able to use SSH to get a better understanding of the configuration and review logs. To enable SSH,

Go to http://IOMEGAURL/diagnostics.html (a hidden page)
Under Support Access, click Allow remote access for support
SSH to the device

User: root
Password: sohoadmin
If you enabled security on the device, the password is soho + yourpassword

Problems making NFS work.

When trying to mount the NFS partition, my ESX server kept erroring out. The vmkernel log reported "WARNING: NFS: 946: MOUNT RPC failed with RPC status 13 (RPC was aborted due to timeout) trying to mount". The logs on the Iomega showed the mount request was being authenticated, but the mount never succeeded.

A little more googling and I found http://fojta.wordpress.com/2011/01/16/iomega-vmware-esx-nfs-datastore-issue/. It turns out the Iomega attempts to resolve the DNS address of the requesting system. Normally this wouldnt be a problem, but I was on a network that didnt have access to a DNS server. Adding a hosts entry fixed the problem

Quick VMotion in VMware

2011-11-16T13:04:00.001-08:00

I ran into an issue today where I was unable to VMotion a VM due to host issues. While troubleshooting, I remembered how Microsoft first dealt with its inability to support VMotion - Quick VMotion.
The idea is that instead of migrating the VM while online, pause the VM, then migrate it, then restart the VM on the target. Though this causes some outage, it allows movement of VMs will less impact than actually powering off the VM (or allowing HA to recover a failed host)

Quick VMotion powershell code:

$vm = get-vm vmName
$Myhost = get-vmhost hostName
suspend-vm -VM $vm -Confirm:$False
move-vm -VM $vm -destination $Myhost -Confirm:$False
start-vm -VM $vm -Confirm:$False

VCP5 - Configure network security policies

2011-11-14T15:50:00.001-08:00

There are 3 basic network security policies: Promiscuous mode, MAC address changes, and Forged transmits. These policies allow for customization of the networking layer to allow network sniffing, clustering, and load-balancing

Changing policies on a Distributed Switch

Open vSphere client and select Networking
Right-click the Port Group and select Edit Settings
Under Policies | Security, change the policies as needed

Changing policies on a Standard Switch

Open vSphere client and select Hosts and Clusters
Select a host and click the Configuration tab
Under Hardware | Networking, click Properties for a Virtual Switch
Select the switch or a port group and click Edit
Under Security, change the policies as needed

http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/topic/com.vmware.vsphere.networking.doc_50/GUID-D6EF211D-0028-4CED-970F-9FF8FA528EF4.html
http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/topic/com.vmware.vsphere.security.doc_50/GUID-D53632D3-EEBC-4A47-A7F8-53E2560039AC.html

VCP5 - Enable Lockdown Mode

2011-11-14T15:41:00.001-08:00

Lockdown mode blocks direct access to the ESXi host and forces all configuration to be done via the Virtual Center. This can be used to secure your VMware environment and ensure security protocols are followed.

Enabling Lockdown Mode via DCUI

Log onto the ESXi host console as root
Select Configure Lockdown Mode
Use the spacebar to check the box and hit Enter to accept

Enabling Lockdown Mode via vSphere

Open the vSphere console and select Hosts and Clusters
Choose a host and click the Configuration tab
Select Software | Security Profile
Next to Lockdown Mode, click Edit
Check the box and click OK

Enable/Configure/Disable services in the ESXi firewall

2011-11-14T15:19:00.001-08:00

Unlike prior versions of ESX, v5 uses an XML file to describe the firewall configurations. These files are stored in the /etc/vmware/firewall directory and are automatically loaded. Firewall rules should be installed as part of a VIB package.
More information on creating rules: http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/index.jsp?topic=/com.vmware.vsphere.vcenterhost.doc_50/GUID-E1D90120-73EB-4B00-9F89-8650EBE911F7.html

Once installed, the firewall rules and service is managed via the vSphere client.

Open vSphere and select Hosts and Clusters
Select a host and click the Configuration tab
Select Software | Security Profile
Next to Firewall, click Properties to enable or disable specific rules

VCP5 - Describe how permissions are applied and inherited in vCenter Server

2011-11-14T14:48:00.001-08:00

Permissions in vSphere are applied on managed entities (datacenters, folders, VMs, etc...) Permissions are propagated from the managed entity to child identities.

Permissions applied at the same level are summed to include both sets of permission.
Unlike other permission inheritance schemes (which sum permissions at different levels), permissions applied at lower levels over-ride inherited permissions.
Permissions applied directly to a user over-ride group and inherited permissions

http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/index.jsp?topic=/com.vmware.vsphere.vcenterhost.doc_50/GUID-E1D90120-73EB-4B00-9F89-8650EBE911F7.html

VCP5 - Identify common vCenter Server privileges and roles

2011-11-14T14:19:00.001-08:00

There are 9 default roles in vSphere - 6 sample roles, and 3 standard.

Default Roles

Role

Role Type

Description of User Capabilities

No Access

system

Cannot view or change the assigned object.

vSphere Client tabs associated with an object appear without content.

Can be used to revoke permissions that would otherwise be propagated to an object from a parent object.

Available in ESXi and vCenter Server.

Read Only

system

View the state and details about the object.

View all the tab panels in the vSphere Client except the Console tab. Cannot perform any actions through the menus and toolbars.

Available on ESXi and vCenter Server.

Administrator

system

All privileges for all objects.

Add, remove, and set access rights and privileges for all thevCenter Server users and all the virtual objects in the vSphere environment.

Available in ESXi and vCenter Server.

Note

Users who are in the Active Directory group ESX Admins are automatically assigned the Administrator role.

Virtual Machine Power User

sample

A set of privileges to allow the user to interact with and make hardware changes to virtual machines, as well as perform snapshot operations.

Privileges granted include:

■	All privileges for the scheduled task privileges group.
■	Selected privileges for global items, datastore, and virtual machine privileges groups.
■	No privileges for folder, datacenter, network, host, resource, alarms, sessions, performance, and permissions privileges groups.

Usually granted on a folder that contains virtual machines or on individual virtual machines.

Available on vCenter Server.

Virtual Machine User

sample

A set of privileges to allow the user to interact with a virtual machine’s console, insert media, and perform power operations. Does not grant privileges to make virtual hardware changes to the virtual machine.

Privileges granted include:

■	All privileges for the scheduled tasks privileges group.
■	Selected privileges for the global items and virtual machine privileges groups.
■	No privileges for the folder, datacenter, datastore, network, host, resource, alarms, sessions, performance, and permissions privileges groups.

Usually granted on a folder that contains virtual machines or on individual virtual machines.

Available on vCenter Server.

Resource Pool Administrator

sample

A set of privileges to allow the user to create child resource pools and modify the configuration of the children, but not to modify the resource configuration of the pool or cluster on which the role was granted. Also allows the user to grant permissions to child resource pools, and assign virtual machines to the parent or child resource pools.

Privileges granted include:

■	All privileges for folder, virtual machine, alarms, and scheduled task privileges groups.
■	Selected privileges for resource and permissions privileges groups.
■	No privileges for datacenter, network, host, sessions, or performance privileges groups.

Additional privileges must be granted on virtual machines and datastores to allow provisioning of new virtual machines.

Usually granted on a cluster or resource pool.

Available on vCenter Server.

Datastore Consumer

sample

A set of privileges to allow the user to consume space on the datastores on which this role is granted. To perform a space-consuming operation, such as creating a virtual disk or taking a snapshot, the user must also have the appropriate virtual machine privileges granted for these operations.

Usually granted on a datastore or a folder of datastores.

This role is available on vCenter Server.

Network Consumer

sample

A set of privileges to allow the user to assign virtual machines or hosts to networks, if the appropriate permissions for the assignment are also granted on the virtual machines or hosts.

Usually granted on a network or folder of networks.

Available on vCenter Server.

http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/index.jsp?topic=/com.vmware.vsphere.vcenterhost.doc_50/GUID-E1D90120-73EB-4B00-9F89-8650EBE911F7.html

VCP5 - Upgrade an ESXi Host using vCenter Update Manager

2011-11-14T11:11:00.001-08:00

Upgrading ESXi host via VUM is an elegant process.

Install VUM
Open vSphere and open Update Manager
Select the ESXi Images tab
Click Import ESXi Image

Walk through process to import image

Open Hosts and Clusters and select the Update Manager tab
Click Scan to refresh compliance
Click Remediate to begin updating the hosts

VCP5 - Upgrade VMware Tools / Virtual Machine hardware

2011-11-14T10:45:00.001-08:00

This is a two-fer, two objectives listed in 1 post (since they are generally simple tasks).

Upgrading tools and hardware manually:

In vSphere, open VMs and Templates and select the VM
Right-click the VM and select Guest | Install/Upgrade VMware Tools
Select Automatic Tools Upgrade and click OK

This will upgrade the tools and reboot the VM

When finished upgrading the tools, shut down the VM
Right-click the VM and select Upgrade Virtual Hardware
Power on the VM

VCP5 - Upgrade from VMFS3 to VMFS5

2011-11-14T10:31:00.001-08:00

Upgrading from VMFS3 to VMFS5 is seamless and can be performed online with active VMs. Note however, that there are drawbacks to upgrading to VMFS5:

Datastores are accessible to ESXi 5 hosts only
The upgrade process will not take advantage of some of the VMFS5 improvements (such as universal block size)

Upgrading to VMFS5

In VSphere, browse to Datastores and Datastore Clusters
Select the datastore and click the Configuration tab
On the right, click Upgrade to VMFS-5
Click OK to start the upgrade

VCP5 - Upgrade a vNetwork Distributed Switch

2011-11-14T10:17:00.001-08:00

There are 3 versions of vNetwork Distribute Switches available: 4.0, 4.1, and 5.0. Each version provides new functionality, but also limits the interop with older versions

Upgrade Distributed Switch

In vSphere, browse to Networking
Select the switch and on the Summary tab, click Upgrade
Select the upgrade version and click Next
Confirm no hosts report as incompatible, click Next
Click Finish

Version Compatibility / Features

Version	Features	Compatibility
4.0	N/A	ESX 4.0 and later
4.1	Load-Based Teaming Network I/O Control	ESX 4.1 and later
5.0	User-defined network resource pools NetFlow Port Mirroring	ESX 5.0 and later

VCP5 - Identify steps required to upgrade a vSphere implementation

2011-11-14T10:11:00.001-08:00

Upgrading is generally a top-down process starting with the Virtual Center Server, then hosts, then VMs. This ensures that everything is properly supported during the upgrade process.

Make sure vSphere plug-ins are supported in vSphere 5

Upgrade or remove them if necessary

Confirm the environment meets the system requirements
Upgrade vCenter Server
Upgrade VMware Update Manager
Upgrade ESXi hosts
Reconfigure Licensing
Upgrade VMs

Note that this process will differ somewhat if using VMware View.

http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/index.jsp?topic=/com.vmware.vsphere.vcenterhost.doc_50/GUID-E1D90120-73EB-4B00-9F89-8650EBE911F7.html

VCP5 - Identify upgrade requirements for ESXi hosts

2011-11-14T09:31:00.001-08:00

ESXi 5 upgrade requirements are above and beyond the standard ESXi installation requirements - they determine the state the ESX host must be in prior to upgrade.

Minimum ESX version: 4.0 ESX or ESXi

An ESX 3 host can be upgraded to 4, and then upgraded to 5

Supported ESX upgrade path tools:

vSphere Update Manager
Interactive upgrade via DVD
Scripted upgrade

Non-supported configurations:

ESX 4 host with an incompatible disk partition

Often result from ESX 3 host upgraded to ESX 4

ESX 4 host with missing, inaccessible, or corrupt Service Console VMDK

NOTE: By definition, "upgrade" refers to updating the current system. Pay note that this is different than a new install, such as using vSphere Auto Deploy.

http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/index.jsp?topic=/com.vmware.vsphere.vcenterhost.doc_50/GUID-E1D90120-73EB-4B00-9F89-8650EBE911F7.html

VCP5 - License an ESXi host

2011-11-14T08:59:00.001-08:00

Once licenses are installed in Virtual Center, they need to be assigned to hosts

Open vCenter Server and go to Home | Administration | Licensing
Click Manage vSphere Licenses
On the Add License Keys screen, click Next
On the Assign Licenses screen, select the ESXi host and pair it with the appropriate license
Click Next, Next, Finish

VCP5 - Enable/Size/Disable memory compression cache

2011-11-14T08:47:00.001-08:00

Memory compression uses standard compression techniques (like ZIP or RAR) to extend the use of RAM instead of swapping to disk. Compression is enabled by default and improves performance when over-committing memory by limiting the amount of swap-to-disk, a process that can take considerable time.

Enabling/Disabling Memory Compression

Open the Virtual Center and select Hosts and Clusters
Select a host and click the Configuration tab
Select Software | Advanced Settings
Select Mem.MemZipEnable, 1 for on, 0 for off

Configuring Memory Compression

Open the Virtual Center and select Hosts and Clusters
Select a host and click the Configuration tab
Select Software | Advanced Settings
Select Mem.MemZipMaxPct

This defaults at 10% of the RAM for caching and can be altered from 5% to 100%

http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/index.jsp?topic=/com.vmware.vsphere.vcenterhost.doc_50/GUID-E1D90120-73EB-4B00-9F89-8650EBE911F7.html

VCP5 - Enable/Configure/Disable hyperthreading

2011-11-14T08:32:00.001-08:00

Hyperthreading has historically been a troublesome issue. The precursor to multiple cores, the idea is to run multiple commands through the same processor at the same time - thereby simulating multiple cores. This worked well with some applications, but caused nightmares for others. The good news is that Hyperthreading has been rebuilt with the latest generation of processors, and specifically tuned for VMware.

To enable/disable Hyperthreading in ESXi

Configure the system BIOS to enable/disable hyperthreading
Open Virtual Center and select Hosts and Clusters
Select the host and click the Configuration tab
Select Hardware | Processors - here you can view the current Hyperthreading settings
Click Properties to change the Hyperthreading

http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/index.jsp?topic=/com.vmware.vsphere.vcenterhost.doc_50/GUID-E1D90120-73EB-4B00-9F89-8650EBE911F7.html

Once enabled, Hyperthreading is defaulted to be used by all VMs in a fashion similar to multi-core processors. This sharing can be configured on a per-VM basis and be set to ANY (default), NONE (no hyperthreading), and Internal (hyperthreading only with itself). These configurations exist to stabilize individual VMs, but should be used with care.

Configuring Hyperthreading in ESXi

Open Virtual Center and select VMs and Templates
Select the VM and click Edit Settings
On the Resources tab, select Advanced CPU to change the settings

VCP5 - Configure DNS and Routing on an ESXi Host

2011-11-14T08:23:00.001-08:00

Although this objective sounds complicated, its simpler than you think, and you may already have completed it without realizing. This objective basically means, setting the default gateway, and DNS servers/suffixes - a step most likely completed during installation

Configuring DNS and Routing via DCUI

Log into the DCUI and select Configure Management Network
Select IP Configuration and enter the Default Gateway

NOTE: If you are using DHCP to assign the address, the Gateway should be assigned via DHCP as well

Select DNS Configuration to configure the DNS servers and local hostname
Select Custom DNS Suffixes to customize the FQDN

Configuring DNS and Routing via Virtual Center

Open the Virtual Center and browse to Hosts and Clusters
Select the ESXi host
Select the Configuration tab and Software | DNS and Routing
Click Properties to configure the name, DNS servers, FQDN, and default gateway