Posted by admin on Sep 14, 2009 in vCenter Server, VMware | 0 comments
If you plan on upgrading your existing Virtual Center server to 4.0 or standing up a new one. You have to remember about the differences in the licensing methods. The vSphere hosts now use license keys and the ESX 3.x hosts will require a license server to remain active while they are still in your environment.
You can download the VMware license server for no charge and install on a server. Point it to your license file and then all you have to do is point vCenter server to it. In vCenter server under Administration and vCenter server settings there is a Licensing section that you need to complete. Point it to the IP or name of your license server and you will now be able to add in those older hosts.
If you do not setup a license server you will get an error when trying to add the host in explaining that it could not find a license server. You can download the license from here.
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Posted by admin on Sep 12, 2009 in Tools | 0 comments
I know that RVTools has been around for awhile, but for those of you who have not had a look at this tool should download it. Its a nice little tool that you can install on your workstation and point it to your Virtual Center server or a single ESX host. The app then pulls down a ton of valuable information about your virtual machines and different status items about the ESX host. Most of these settings can be adjusted to meet your thresholds.
To list just a few of the items you can look at. You can see a list of VM’s with expired VM tools, datastores with low free space and many other settings.
You can download this tool from Rob’s site here. The application is free but be sure to spread the word and you can toss him a few dollars on paypal also.
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Posted by admin on Sep 11, 2009 in VMware | 0 comments
For those of you who have not used Lifecycle Manager, it’s the little tool that combats the “sprawl”. The “sprawl” is what happens when your users find out that you can deploy a new machine in minutes. That’s when new server requests increase dramatically. Lifecycle Manager (LCM) organizes the requesting process into an organized workflow. You can also track the inventory of your current VMs to know who the application owner is and how long they need it for.
You can read the full release notes here. I have listed a few of the highlights below.
VMware vCenter Lifecycle Manager (LCM) 1.0.2 release enhances the performance, robustness, and scalability of LCM and resolves a number of known issues.
The LCM 1.0.2 release runs on an updated version of VMware vCenter Orchestrator 4.0. To run LCM 1.0.2, you must install the version of Orchestrator (4.0.0 Build 4439) that accompanies the LCM 1.0.2 download.
If you want to download LCM just head on over to here.
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Posted by admin on Sep 10, 2009 in VMware | 0 comments
Today I feel both good and a bit humble. Last night I had a technical call with Andrew from VMware, he is a Senior VCI that works with candidates seeking VCI status. We talked for about an hour which consisted of a wide range of technical questions. While I think that I did pretty well, the range of questions included Windows, Storage, Networking and Linux/Unix material. Lets face the facts I never claimed to be a Linux admin but I do have a desire to continue to improve in this area.
I’m very commited to improving my skills in all areas and will keep striving to become a VMware VCI. I regard this as a prestigious level and would be honered to become a member of such an elite club. For now I will be waiting a couple of weeks to hear back from VMware. While waiting I will take time to improve areas that I felt needed some work.
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Posted by admin on Sep 8, 2009 in VMware | 0 comments
VMware dropped a great KB article about restarting the management agents on ESX servers. For those of you that are new or don’t have to do this often you’ll want to bookmark this and save it for later. It will get you going in the right direction ASAP. VMware
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