Posted by Brian on Jul 14, 2010 in VMware, vSphere | 3 comments
For anyone that has been running or played with ESXi in the previous versions you should have a good idea of what Tech Support Mode is. The Tech Support Mode or TSM is a sort of simple version of the system console that was available on the classic versions of ESX. Except that the TSM mode is not Linux based and does not have all the capabilities that the old COS had. But you can now access Tech Support Mode locally or via SSH if you follow the instructions below to enable them. I have become very comfortable with the old console access and that’s probably my biggest complaint about having to use ESXi. I’ve been playing around with the vMA or virtual management appliance that can be used to remotely manage ESXi hosts in the lab but its just not the same. I guess it will become second nature the more that I use it since classic ESX will no longer be offered in ESX 5.0 when it is released in the future.
To enable local or remote TSM from the Direct Console User Interface (DCUI):
- At the DCUI of the ESXi host, press F2 and provide credentials when prompted.
- Scroll to Troubleshooting Options, and press Enter.
- If you want to enable local TSM, select Local Tech Support and press Enter once. This allows users to login on the virtual console of the ESXi host.
If you want to enable remote TSM, select Remote Tech Support (SSH) and press Enter once. This allows users to login via SSH on the virtual console of the ESXi host.
- Optionally, if you want to configure the timeout for TSM:
-
- Select Modify Tech Support timeout and press Enter.
- Enter the desired timeout value in minutes and press Enter.
- Press Esc three times to return to the main DCUI screen.
To enable local or remote TSM from the vSphere Client:
- Select the host and click the Configuration tab.
- Click Security profile > Properties.
- Click Local Tech Support or Remote Tech Support (SSH) and click Options.
- Choose the desired startup policy and click Start, then click OK.
- Verify that the daemon selected in step 3 shows as running in the Services Properties window.
To configure the TSM timeout value using the vSphere Client:
- Select the host and click the Configuration tab.
- Click Advanced Settings.
- Change the UserVars.TSMTimeOut field to the desired value in minutes.
- Click OK.
To access the local TSM:
- At the main DCUI screen, press ALT+F1 simultaneously. This opens a virtual console window to the host.
- Provide credentials when prompted.
Note: When typing the password, characters are not displayed on the console.
To access the remote TSM:
- Open an SSH client.
- Specify the IP address or domain name of the ESX host.
Notes:
-
- Directions may vary depending on what SSH client you are using. For more information, consult vendor documentation and support.
- By default, SSH works on TCP port 22.
- Provide credentials when prompted.
Brian is a Technical Architect for a VMware partner and owner of this website. He is active in the VMware community and is helps lead the Chicago VMUG group. This blog Virtualize Tips was started to document and remember things that I come across while working with tech.
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Posted by Brian on Jun 28, 2010 in Tools, VMware, vSphere, Workstation | 0 comments
I’ve seen a few other guides for this same type of install. I just wanted to put something together to save for myself. I will show you how to use the EDA deployment appliance to install vSphere in VMware Workstation. You can follow most of the same steps for a physical machine install with just a few changes.
For this I was testing things for my home lab and created this on my laptop just using Workstation 7.0. I created two virtual machines, one for the EDA appliance and one blank that will get ESX 4.0 installed from the Deployment script.
Step 1: Download the EDA appliance http://www.vmware.com/appliances/directory/va/89313/download
Step 2: Import the EDA virtual appliance into VMware workstation.
Step 3: After the input I had to add in a CD-Rom to the VM and attached the vSphere .iso file to the CD drive.
Step 4: You can then start up the EDA appliance and choose Reconfigure.
Step 5: Fill out your network information on the screen shown below. Then press enter or click on OK.
Step 6: You can now log into the configuration web page for the EDA appliance. In my configuration it was http://192.168.1.19
The default login for the page is root - root. You will be presented with several sections that will allow you to configure options for the install. I will briefly cover these parts as I did not change much on them for this test. The Post installation commands section allows you to script any custom changes or adds that you want to make for your install. The General settings section is used for basic network and disk settings for each install, this section is pretty easy to understand.
Step 7: Now you are ready to prepare the Host specific details. Refer to the image below as I describe the steps. You can either modify the sample host that is loaded by default. By clicking on the host name or selecting “new host” you will get a screen like the 2nd picture below. This will allow you to specify host name and IP addresses needed for your base install. Once created if you click on the “ks” link for the hostname you will see what the kick start file contains for commands.
Step 8: Now you will need to setup the options for the DHCP server. Upon clicking on the “configure DHCP server” link from the top menu you will be presented with the following configuration file. I highlighted a few of the important lines that I changed to work for my setup. You will need to make sure all of the normal DHCP options are set in this file.
Step 9: Now you will need to “import PXE files” so that you can boot the server that you will be installing ESX onto. You need to make sure that the ESX CD or .iso file is mounted to your EDA appliance. If the ESX disc or file is properly mounted you will see the confirmation in the top right just like the image below. Then you select the “Import PXE bootfiles” from the menu and you will see a screen like the second image below.
Step 10: If you are using a physical server to install onto you can start now and have the machine PXE boot.
If you are going to use a virtual machine you need to create a VM with the proper OS select, disk size, memory and number of Nic’s that you wish to use. Once this is done you will see a screen like the one below you start the install. I trust that you know what settings need to be used for installing ESX into VMware workstation, if not there are plenty of good guides for it. If you are using Workstation 7.x the process is now built in and very easy to select from the OS choices.
Note: If you created multiple host install names you will get presented with the options and can type the name of the one you wish to install. I circled in red above as an example.
Brian is a Technical Architect for a VMware partner and owner of this website. He is active in the VMware community and is helps lead the Chicago VMUG group. This blog Virtualize Tips was started to document and remember things that I come across while working with tech.
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Posted by Brian on Jun 2, 2010 in Troubleshooting, VMware | 0 comments
Whether your tracking down an issue on your own or collection data to submit a support request to VMware your gonna need to round up the necessary log files. I have collected and listed some of the main log locations from VMware and also linked to KB articles covering a full list of log file locations.
VMware ESX log files
- From the Service Console
- From the vSphere Client connected directly to the ESX host (click Home > Administration > System Logs)
- From the VMware Infrastructure Client connected directly to the ESX host (click Administration > System Logs)
The vmkernel logs (which log everything related to the kernel/core of the ESX) are located at /var/log/vmkernel.
The vmkwarning logs (which log warnings from the vmkernel) are located at /var/log/vmkwarning.
The vmksummary logs (which provide a summary of system activities such as uptime, downtime, reasons for downtime) are located at /var/log/vmksummary.
The hostd log (which is the log of the ESX management service of the ESX) are located at /var/log/vmware/hostd.log.
The messages log (which log activity on the Service Console operating system) is located at /var/log/messages.
The VirtualCenter Agent log is located at /var/log/vmware/vmware/vpx/vpxa.log.
The Automatic Availability Manager (AAM) logs are located at /var/log/vmware/aam/vmware_<hostname>-xxx.log.
The SW iSCSI logs are located at /var/log/vmkiscsid.log.
The System boot log is located at /var/log/boot-logs/sysboot.log.
The vmkernel, vmkwarning, and hostd logs are located at /var/log/messages.
The Host Management service (hostd = Host daemon) log is located at /var/log/vmware/hostd.log\.
The VirtualCenter Agent log is located at /var/log/vmware/vmware/vpx/vpxa.log.
The System boot log is located at /var/log/sysboot.log.
The Automatic Availability Manager (AAM) logs are located at /var/log/vmware/aam/vmware_<hostname>-xxx.log.
vCenter log files – (KB Article)
The SRM configuration files are located at:
- C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Site Recovery Manager\config\extension.xml
- C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Site Recovery Manager\config\vmware-dr.xmlOr
- C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager\config\extension.xml
- C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager\config\vmware-dr.xml
The SRM Logs (on vCenter Server for connection with SRM and on SRM for SRM workflow) are located at:
- %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\VMware\VMware Site Recovery Manager\Logs, which translates by default to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware Site Recovery Manager\LogsOr
- %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\VMware\VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager\Logs, which translates by default to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager\Logs
The SRM Installation Logs (on the SRM Server, which may not be the vCenter Server) are located at C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator\Local Settings\Temp\1.
The location of the SRA Logs (on the SRM server) depends on the SRA type and vendor. They may be located in:
- C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager\scripts\SAN\*\logOr
- C:\Program Files\<SRA Vendor or Name>\
Brian is a Technical Architect for a VMware partner and owner of this website. He is active in the VMware community and is helps lead the Chicago VMUG group. This blog Virtualize Tips was started to document and remember things that I come across while working with tech.
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Posted by Brian on May 11, 2010 in Knowledge Base, Troubleshooting, vCenter Server, VMware, vSphere | 0 comments
Recently while setting up a new cluster on vSphere I had an issue with adding one of the hosts to the cluster. It would fail the HA configuration piece each time I would try. The host would join the cluster but HA would have a Red alarm for its failure. Nothing seemed to be wrong with the host, hardware or configuration. I would get the error listed below on each attempt.
cmd addnode failed for primary node: Internal AAM Error agent could not start
I found the following VMware KB article to help troubleshoot these types of errors. My issue ended up being an issue with the cluster that was created. I created a new cluster and moved my ESX Hosts and Virtual Machines over to it and the issue was gone. Before trying this route I had examined several of the options listed in the KB article.
Brian is a Technical Architect for a VMware partner and owner of this website. He is active in the VMware community and is helps lead the Chicago VMUG group. This blog Virtualize Tips was started to document and remember things that I come across while working with tech.
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Posted by Brian on May 11, 2010 in VMware, vSphere | 2 comments
This is something that I’ve been meaning to post for a while now. It’s a simple thing but can save you from having to open up the vSphere client or allow you to use this in a script. The commands listed below will allow you to place a ESX host in and out of Maintenance mode from the command line or Service Console (what ever you like to call it).
To enter maintenance mode run the following command
vimsh -n -e /hostsvc/maintenance_mode_enter
To exit maintenance mode run the following command
vimsh -n -e /hostsvc/maintenance_mode_exit
So your probably wondering how do I know if the host is in Maintenance Mode, here you go:
vimsh -n -e /hostsvc/runtimeinfo | grep inMaintenanceMode | awk ‘{print $3}’
Update: March 1st 2011
I thought an update to cover the commands you can run from vMA to enter maintenance mode from vCLI. From the vMA command prompt you can enter the following command to enter maintenance mode.
vicfg-hostops -o enter –server 192.168.1.114
To exit maintenance mode from vMA enter the following.
vicfg-hostops -o exit –server 192.168.1.114
You can also issue shutdown or reboot commands from vMA.
vicfg-hostops -o shutdown –server 192.168.1.114
vicfg-hostops -o reboot –server 192.168.1.114
Also note that after entering any of the above commands from the vMA it will make you provide Username and Password for the Host that you are working on. Unless you choose to use Fast Pass or Passthrough authentication.
Brian is a Technical Architect for a VMware partner and owner of this website. He is active in the VMware community and is helps lead the Chicago VMUG group. This blog Virtualize Tips was started to document and remember things that I come across while working with tech.
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