Esxi : Recovering from a bad update : Last known good configuration for vmware

Recovering from a bad update.

Press Shift+R at the boot prompt.

Esxi should fall back to the last known good state.

You have t o be real fast!

From Gleed

ESXi is a dual-image hypervisor in that it stores two copies of the ESXi image at any one time.  If you install a patch and something breaks, you can press [Shift+R]  at the boot prompt during boot to have it automatically fall back to the last known good state.

Pasted from <http://communities.vmware.com/message/2090467#2090467>

Pic 1: Shows you where to press Shift-R

Pic2:  If you had multiple versions of the hyper visor available it would come up here.

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convert thick disk to thin using a command line via the vmkfstools on the esxi host

So you have a thick provisioned disk and you want to convert it to a thin provisioned disk.
Another issue you have is that you don’t have storage vmotion.
Well, what do you do then?




Here is out think provisioned disk











Step 1: power off you virtual machine.
Step 2: ssh in to the esxi host.
Step 3: go to the directory where you have your vmdk disk







Step 4:  convert the thick disk to think using this command
vmkfstools -i SERVERNAME.vmdk -d thin thinSERVERNAME.vmdk
So in the above example it will be
vmkfstools -i Convert3.vmdk -d thin thinConvert3.vmdk







Step 5: Move original vmdk out of the way
mv SERVERNAME-flat.vmdk orig-SERVERNAME-flat.vmdk
So the example it will be
mv Convert3-flat.vmdk orig-Convert3-flat.vmdk


Step 6 . Move new thin .vmdk flat file into place
mv thinSERVERNAME-flat.vmdk SERVERNAME-flat.vmdk
So the example it will be
mv thinConvert3-flat.vmdk Convert3-flat.vmdk











Step 7: remove the vm from inventory and readd. Then power on
(right click vm and remove from inventory via vsphere client )




Now your vm is thin provisioned:







based on : http://communities.vmware.com/message/1668191

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Setup NTP for your ESXi host

1. Go to esxi configuration tab
2. Go down to the time configuration tab
3. Click properties
4. When the time configuration box opens click Options
5. When the NTP daemon options shows up click on  NTP settings
6. Add your NTP server
1. Check the restart NTP service when you are finished. 

 
 
 
 
 

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Boot virtual machine from ISO : tips on if you are having trouble :: set bios boot delay

If you have problems booting from an ISO or installing form and ISO here are some tips.


Settings for deploying ISO:
EDIT the vm settings
Click  Options
Go to Boot options
Change Boot on Power Delay to 9000.
This is so you get a 9 second delay in the boot. You can increase it more if you need more time.
Click OK .









Start your VM
Press escape to enter the boot menu











Now attach your CD ISO
Click the cd drive and "connect to iso image on the local disk"
Then select your ISO.
Now highlight the CDROM DRIVE and press enter











Now you are booting from your  cd

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Best practices for using VMware Converter : Checklist

This is my checklist for conversions of windows operation systems, along with best practices.

Its not a direct 1,2,3 step because some things are assumed known.

Conversion Preparation : Windows OS and applications


1. Windows operating system: Recommended  perform a hot migration with VMware Converter installed locally.
2. Domain controller :: not recommend  virtualizing : build a new one from scratch
3.  Database server:  Exchange, SQL, etc : Stop application (Microsoft Exchange/SQL) and database services  prior to conversion. (minimizes any chance of corrupted database tables or stale data)




Conversion Prep : Windows general
4. Disable the real-time antivirus scanning during the conversion.
5. Uninstall Previous versions of vmware converter before installing a new one. Restart before installing newer version.
6. TOE NIC: disable recommended : use  netsh int tcp set global chimney=disabled  
7. Need 200 MB minimum of free disk space on its system volume. 
8. Run VMware Converter as a local administrator. 




Conversion : Destination:
9. ESX host: Connect to the server using its IP address instead of DNS host name. Host name of the ESX host may expose issues with DNS name resolution that can prevent the Converter from connecting.
10. ESX host: Confirm source can access destination ESX host directly using ports 443 and 902, even if using VirtualCenter.




Conversion: Optimizing
11. Diagnostic partitions: Do not convert
12. Unrecognized file systems. : Do not convert
13. If you are experiencing cloning phase failures, do not choose to resize the partitions.  (resize is much slower)
14. Number of virtual network cards : Leave  default NICs unaltered. Change after conversion has completed.
15. VMware Tools: Deselect the option to install .
16. Customization on the virtual machine: Deselect the option to perform




Post: Conversion
17.  virtual NICs: leave all NICs disconnected but present  If you need to customize host name or IP.
18. Other hardware : Remove any unnecessary devices such as USB controllers , COM ports or floppy drives
19. Start the virtual machine in Safe Mode
20. Unnecessary hardware programs :  Remove hardware management tools like , raid, nic, etc.
21. Devices or device drivers: : Remove any additional devices or device drivers that were used to support hardware on the physical server. Use either the Device Manager or Control Panel,
• To remove the hidden devices from the Windows OS use the instructions in the Microsoft KB article 315539.
22. Event log:  view the Event Log to clear any remaining device startup failure messages.
23. CPU change: change the HAL in the virtual machine to uniprocessor if the source server is  multi-CPU and the destination virtual machine is a single CPU vm.
• see Modifying the Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) for a Windows virtual machine (1003978).
24. Install VMware Tools
25. Customize the virtual machine's identity : if changing , VMware recommends using the Microsoft Sysprep .
• Can also do manually  via changing   host name, IP address, and  other required unique identification.
26. Reconnect any disconnected virtual NICs, as required.






Other notes:
27. ESXi direct conversions:  conversions jobs will fail if the number of disks on the source machine is more than nine . Perform conversions in multiple steps.
28. Vcenter conversions: the number of source disks is limited to  23 for ESXi hosts.
29. Source has  SCSI and IDE disks:  Converter only checks the first IDE disk in such configurations. : Converter is unable to detect the system volume if the system volume resides on a SCSI disk.
30. Conversion fails if the datastore name contains the @ symbol
31. Converter Standalone does not support cloning powered-on Windows Server 2008 sources with FAT/FAT32 volume file system
32. Converting Windows Server 2008 images with more than one disk results in all disks being offline except the disk on which the operating system exists
• Serious. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971436
33. Do not run more than 20 concurrent conversion jobs.














Taken from ::
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1004588
https://www.vmware.com/support/converter/doc/conv_sa_50_rel_notes.html

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Iometer test of USB flash drive connected to a Vmware virtual machine

Reason for these test:
I wanted to see if adding a usb device has speed differences if a usb device is connected to a vm from the host directly or from a client pc.




Drive: Nano Pro 4gb flash drive by Imation


Where to get iometer:  sourceforge.net/projects/iometer/
Go to Greg Porter's site if you don’t know how to setup iometer: http://greg.porter.name/wiki/HowTo:iometer




Test 1

Test name:	Usb connected to vm via vpshere client.
Usb location:	Usb drive on client.
notes:	1GB connection between client and host.
Total I/Os  sec	Seems to be under  25 slightly
Total MBs sec	.32
Average io response	Just under 41ms





Test 2

Test name:	Usb connected to vm via host.
Usb location:	Usb drive on host.
notes:
Total I/Os  sec	Seems to be around 85 slightly
Total MBs sec	1.09
Average io response	Just under 12ms









Result: USB drive connected to the host is MUCH faster




Side test: running iometer on same usb drive on my desktop

Test name:	Iometer running on client pc itself
Usb location:	Usb drive on client.
notes:	XP client
Total I/Os  sec	Seems to be under  146 slightly
Total MBs sec	1.86
Average io response	Just under 69ms











Sites I looked at
http://cosonok.blogspot.com/2010/03/brief-guide-to-using-iometer-sample.html?showComment=1342810591729#c8262658551953392153
http://4sysops.com/archives/iometer-measure-disk-performance/
http://greg.porter.name/wiki/HowTo:iometer

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Can you storage vmotion (svmotion) your virutalized vcenter server?

Being that vcenter is just another virtual guest os, there isn't any limitation documented that says vcenter itself cannot be moved via storage vmotion.


Someone seemed to have a problem doing so.
This is a proof of concept that it is doiable.
I believe they have other underlying issues.






Vcenter server is on  250Stor02











Moving to 250stor01







Looks like the storage vmotion of the vcenter server worked fine…













If there are problems it is most likely some other underlying problem.
 

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vCenter and Hosts Disconnected -- Reason: Cannot verify the SSL thumbprint

Just saw this over on the forums, but if your hosts are getting this error:

Cannot syncronize the host <hostname.fqdn>, Reason: Cannot verify the SSL Thumbprint

you might need to update to  vCenter Server 5.0 Update 1

see here: 

http://www.vmware.com/support/vsphere5/doc/vsp_vc50_u1_rel_notes.html#resolvedissues

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Network configuration not updated in configuration networking / 2 port groups appear for 1 nic

Here we have this server with one nic but two port groups.
Here we have the 2 port groups.











But there is only 1 nic.



 




So why is there two network connections/ 2 network labels associated with this?


The server had its port group updated from vmnetwork to vmnetwork New.
Yet both appear.




The reason is that there is a snapshot that has the old port group associated with it


If we look in snapshot manager we will see a snap.
Lets remove it


Before Snapshot removal







After removal







Now there is only 1 portgroup.

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There are issues communicating with the following vCenter Server(s) : Failure to authenticate with the server

 Getting this error.  Tests 1-3 are vmware suggested, the rest are from me, the last one is from searching.

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=2004720

Cause

This issue may occur as a result of an incorrect name resolution, or if an nslookup results in an error for one of the vCenter Server's Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN).

Resolution

Steps To resolve this issue:

1. Verify if there are any DNS issues using nslookup. Correct any invalid DNS entries for the vCenter Server that reports the nslookup error.

NO DNS issues

2. When the DNS entry is corrected, check if the vSphere Client connection to both the vCenter Servers shows both the instances in the vCenter inventory.

Nope

3. If the issue still exists, dis-join (Isolate) the vCenter instance from the Linked Mode, then join it back.
   

Note: For more information on Linked Mode DNS and how to isolate and re-join a vCenter Server to a Linked Mode Group, see the vSphere Datacenter Administration Guide.

Nope removed and reconnected same thing.

4. Firewall off?

Turned off firewall at other vcenter host.

Same thing…

5. Restarting both vcenter servers

Nope same thing.

6. Is the PC you are using the vCenter client on a member of the domain that the vSphere vCenter servers are a part of?

Pasted from <http://communities.vmware.com/message/1680745>

No it isnt. Hmmm…..

That was it! Lol.

The vsphere client ALSO has to be able to resolve both vcenter servers, not just the vcenter servers resolving one another….

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"The Fully Qualified Domain Name cannot be resolved. If you continue the installation, some features might not work correctly." when installing vsphere vcenter

When I was installing vpshere vcenter  on one of my boxes I got this error


"The Fully Qualified Domain Name cannot be resolved. If you continue the installation, some features might not work correctly."











I know the server was found in DNS by checking nslookup
I turned off firewall too just in case.







Still the same error.
Then I found this article by vmadmin, aka Andy Barnes


I didn’t have a reverse DNS pointer for the machine
So I added it.







No more errors!
should have remembered... ;p

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Notes: Linked-mode vsphere vcenter pre-requisites quick checklist

1. Vsphere 5 cannot mix with previous versions
2. All the vpshere servers must be part of a domain.
1. vCenter Server instances in a Linked Mode group can be in different domains if the domains have a two-way trust relationship. Each domain must trust the other domains on which vCenter Server instances are installed.
3. To join a Linked Mode group the vCenter Server must be in evaluation mode or licensed as a Standard edition. 
4. DNS must be operational for Linked Mode replication to work.
5. All vCenter Server instances must have network time synchronization. Should not be more than five minutes apart.
6. You can join a system to a Linked Mode group during the vCenter Server installation or after you install vCenter Server.
7. The installer must be run by a domain user who is an administrator on both the machine where vCenter Server is installed and the target machine of the Linked Mode group.
8. **important if you get errors::: turn off the firewall so that RPC can communicate  From virutalizationteam






Notes from the vsphere  5.0  documentation center

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What to the DCUI console logs show

The DCUI is made of these logs




1. Syslog.log
2. Vmkernal.log
3. Config  ((sysboot.log))
4. Management Agent (hostd.log)
5. Virutalcenter agent (vpxa.log)
6. Vmware esxi observation log (vobd)




Syslog.log    
Management service initialization, watchdogs, scheduled tasks and DCUI use.
Check to see what happens in the console.
Check scheduled tasks,
vmware-watchdog: watches over hostd and restarts it if things go wrong.
Also viewable as https:// [ YOURESXhostIP] /host/syslog.log


Vmkernal.log
Core VMkernel logs, including device discovery, storage and networking device and driver events, and virtual machine startup.
The VMkernel is the kernel used by VMware ESX. It provides basic operating system services needed to support virtualization: hardware abstraction, hardware drivers, scheduler, memory allocator, filesystem (vmfs), and virtual machine monitor (vmm).
Pasted from <http://www.quora.com/What-is-the-VMkernel>
Also viewable as https:// [ YOURESXhostIP] / host/vmkernel.log




Config (sysboot.log)
Early VMkernel startup and module loading.
Also viewable as https:// [ YOURESXhostIP] /host/sysboot.log
**Weird right?  Config in DCUI is actually sysboot.log if you browse for it.




Management Agent (hostd.log)
Host management service logs, including virtual machine and host Task and Events, communication with the vSphere Client and vCenter Server vpxa agent, and SDK connections.
hostd is an app that runs in the Service Console that is responsible for managing most of the operations on the ESX machine.  It knows about all the VMs that are registered on that host, the luns/vmfs volumes visible by the host, what the VMs are doing, etc.  Most all commands or operations come down from VC through it.  ie, powering on a VM, vmotion'ing it, creating it, etc.
Pasted from <http://communities.vmware.com/message/572225>
Also viewable as https:// [ YOURESXhostIP] /host/hostd.log




Virtualcenter agent (vpxa.log)
vCenter Server vpxa agent logs, including communication with vCenter Server and the Host Management hostd agent
Vpxa runs if you are connected to  a vsphere server. Standalone esxi wouldn’t use it.
vpxa also runs on the Service Console and talks to VC.  I believe it acts as an intermediary between VC and hostd.  Pasted from <http://communities.vmware.com/message/572225>
Also viewable as https:// [ YOURESXhostIP] /host/vpxa.log


Vmware esxi observation log (vobd)
VMkernel Observation events, similar to vob.component.event.
Also contains logs for failed login attempts.
Pasted from <http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&externalId=2000540>
Also viewable as https:// [ YOURESXhostIP] /host/vobd.log




**
mgmt-vmware is just a simple script that starts up hostd and vpxa.


***
Also reference: http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?cmd=displayKC&externalId=2004201

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Browsing Vmware logs in the DCUI (view esxi logs via console)

Why would you view your logs in the console?
Well sometimes it's the only place that is accessible if there is an error.




Go to your DCUI , which is the console, and logon
You will have to press F2 to get this





 Go down to view system logs
On the right side you will see the different logs you can browse.







The logs you can choose:
1. Syslog.log
2. Vmkernal.log
3. Config.log
4. Management Agent (hostd.log)
5. Virutalcenter agent (vpxa.log)
6. Vmware esxi observation log (vobd)




Press 1 to view the syslog
This is what will come up











How to navigate the log.
Standard stuff
Press the down arrow to go down
Press the up arrow to go up
Press the right arrow to go right
Press the left arrow to move left.
Page down is down a page
Page up is up a page


The above might seem ridiculous to say, but some people are confused by the interface.


The good stuff:
Press G to go to the end of the log. That’s a CAPITAL G, yes uppercase.
Press g to go back to the beginning of the log. That is lowercase  g


To search:
Press /  then the text you want to search for down the log
Press ? Then the text you want to search for up the log
Hit n lower case to find the next instance forward
Hit N uppercase to find the next instance backwards
Example: looking for pam_per_user
Typ e in:  /pam_per_user   then press enter


**note search is case sensitive














You can see the pam_per_user highlighted.
If I keep hitting lowercase n I will get to the last one.













If the words were not found OR you already went past the last instance of the term you will get this at the bottom









You can search for multiple words with spaces in them too.




















Press H  upper or lower for more help.
Press escape if you are stuck somewhere

There are 5 screens worth of commands and what they do if you go into the help menu. Most of them are not relevant for diagnosing so I wouldn't take the time out to learn them, unless you feel you might be in the DCUI log screen a lot. Hopefully you wont!

For what the logs do go here: http://sparrowangelstechnology.blogspot.com/2012/07/what-to-dcui-console-logs-show.html

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