Let's say you need to reconfigure your ESXi host's iDrac. Assuming you have OpenManage installed on the ESXi host, this is very simple... Log into OpenManage (be sure to check ignore certificates when logging in). The username and password will be the same as your ESXi root credentials. Expand System > Main System Chassis > … Continue reading Changing iDrac Settings via OMSA on an ESXi host
Is Microsoft making it more painful to move from VMware to Hyper-V?
There used to be a day when VMware's ESXi was the "go-to" solution general virtualization workloads. Some would argue this is still the case. However, the major players in the hypervisor space have matured, largely making the hypervisor a commodity for the simplest of scenarios. Now, if you're considering moving from VMware to Hyper-V, you … Continue reading Is Microsoft making it more painful to move from VMware to Hyper-V?
Setting the multi-writer flag on a VMDK
Clustered applications often need to be configured in such a way where multiple servers perform read/write operations to the same volume. One such example is Oracle RAC. With VMware virtual machines, VMDK multi-writer sharing is turned off by default. However, it can be turned on without much trouble. As the use case is quite specific, … Continue reading Setting the multi-writer flag on a VMDK
VMWare vSAN 2-node + Witness Deployments & vSphere Essentials Plus licensing…
Recently, my team started looking into potentially spec'ing vSAN for a client hardware refresh. While doing our due diligence, I came across an interesting point about licensing here. To sum up the scenario: The Essentials and Essentials Plus kits provide licensing for 3 hosts Each host in your 2-node cluster consume a license. Since the … Continue reading VMWare vSAN 2-node + Witness Deployments & vSphere Essentials Plus licensing…
Fixing Unknown Health Status in ESXi
The scenario: When an ESXi host is originally installed, the health status shows green and all is well. After a while, health status' begin reporting unknown. Here are a few fixes I've used to address this in a variety of scenarios. In vSphere client, Configuration > Security Profile > Services > Restart CIM Server service. … Continue reading Fixing Unknown Health Status in ESXi
Configuring USB passthrough to a VM in ESXi 6.0
Sometimes it's neccessary to configure USB passthrough to a VM on an ESXi host. On situation where that would be necessary is a USB licensing dongle. Right-click in the intended VM and Edit Settings... On the Hardware tab, click Add... Select USB controller, then click Next I recommend xHCI with modern devices as it supports … Continue reading Configuring USB passthrough to a VM in ESXi 6.0
vCenter Server MS SQL Express database is full
This is something that I encounter more commonly with older versions of vCenter where the MS SQL Express 2008 that came bundled with vCenter was used. I've stumbled on to this when you can't login to vCenter and the VirtualCenter Server service won't stay started. **I have found that in some cases it might make … Continue reading vCenter Server MS SQL Express database is full
Moving a VCenter VM to another Host with shared storage
I had to do this today, and while it was very simple, it's not something I come across needing to do every day. To move vCenter Server between hosts when there is shared storage: Shut down vCenter Server after making a note of the host on which it is running and the datastore on which it is residing. Both … Continue reading Moving a VCenter VM to another Host with shared storage
Methods for migrating VMs to a new host without shared storage. Part 4: Backup Restore Method
If you haven't reviewed Parts 1, 2, or 3 of this series, check them out. A lot of image-based backup systems today offer the option of restoring a server, by providing a VMDK for you to attach to a virtual machine or restoring to a host directly. This method is sometimes used when moving between … Continue reading Methods for migrating VMs to a new host without shared storage. Part 4: Backup Restore Method
Methods for migrating VMs to a new host without shared storage. Part 3: DoubleTake Move
Welcome to Part 3 of Methods for migrating VMs to a new host without shared storage. If you haven't read Parts 1 and 2, you may want to go back and review those as well. Now, on to a particularly interesting method, DoubleTake Move. From here: DoubleTake Move migrates server workloads over any distance using patented, … Continue reading Methods for migrating VMs to a new host without shared storage. Part 3: DoubleTake Move
JUSTIN | BLOG 