Cannot find adaptec raid controllers on the vmware hardware comaptibility list (HCL)

Looks like Adaptec is now PMC-Sierra. I didn't know that and I'm sure a lot of other people aren't aware of this as well. The fact that adaptec, a staple of raid controllers is listed as  another company is mind boggling. Why mess around with such a well known name.



Greetings from Adaptec by PMC!

Sorry for the confusion, []! Our cards are listed under PMC-Sierra in the "Brand Name" column on the compatibility search. Per the compatibility list, our 6405 card is compatible with the following ESX versions:

ESXi 5.0 U1
ESXi 5.0
ESX / ESXi 4.1 U2
ESX / ESXi 4.1 U1
ESX / ESXi 4.1
http://communities.vmware.com/message/2107732 

Read More

Storage Vmotion completes in zero seconds : no actual svmotion

Here was someone on the forums trying to storage vmotion out their vms and it would not do anything but it would complete.
The user was storage vmotioning the virtual machine to the same datastore.
He was attempting to move it from thick to thin.
When ever you svmotion a vm to the same datastore it will complete because the vm is already there, even if you attempt to change the disk type.

If you look at the image, you can see the svmotion tasks finishes immediately.
That would be nice but not possible.


If you need to change the vmdk type of file from thin to thick, thick to thin, etc you have to use a different datastore.

http://communities.vmware.com/message/2107202


http://sparrowangelstechnology.blogspot.com/2012/07/convert-thick-disk-to-thin-using.html
If you want to convert the disk from thick to thin on the same datastore use the link above

Read More

Esxi : do logs persist after reboots if there is a local disk?

Logs don’t persist after reboots but lets check that.
That should be for usb installs and autodeploy.
Here is a host with a local hard disk:




Im going to check the system syslog of my esxi host and see what the 1st item is







Press w on your keyboard until you reach the 1st line.
W goes up a page in the console logs.
This is before the reboot











So the 1st line is 2012-08-28
Lets reboot and then see what the first line is
Well what do you know, the logs stayed.
Below is the first line of the log and this is after a reboot.









Conclusion: if you have a local disk the logs stay around after a restart of the host
I tried the same with a shutdown, same results.

Read More

What’s New in VMware vSphere 5.1?

There are some interesting things in vsphere 5.1
I'm surprised  there is a new virtual machine format already.
One interesting thing is VMware tools updates without reboots in the future, vi client seems to be on the depreciated path, and vmotion without shared storage?
Will have to dive deeper in to the release when more info is out.






Virtual machines:
1.  New virtual machine format : version 9
2.  New features  include support for larger virtual machines, CPU performance counters and virtual shared graphics acceleration designed for enhanced performance.
3. Virtual machines can now have up to 64 virtual CPUs (vCPUs) and 1TB of virtual RAM (vRAM).
4.  Zero-downtime upgrade  for VMware  Tools: no reboots will be required for  subsequent VMware Tools upgrades.
You will need to reboot when you upgrade to this version though










Networking:
5.  vSphere Distributed Switch  (VDS)– Enhancements such as Network Health Check, Configuration Backup and Restore, Roll Back and Recovery, and Link Aggregation Control Protocol support






Availability
• vSphere vMotion – vMotion without the need for shared storage configurations.
That will be interesting
• vSphere Data Protection –  VDR replacement  : newly architected solution based EMC Avamar technology built-in deduplication.
• vSphere Replication – vSphere Replication enables efficient array-agnostic replication of virtual
machine data over the LAN or WAN.  vSphere Replication simplifies management enabling replication
at the virtual machine level and enables RPOs as low as 15 minutes.




Esxi
• vSphere Auto Deploy™ – Two new methods for deploying
That will be something to look at


Management (with vCenter Server)
• vSphere Web  Client –The vSphere Web Client is now the core administrative interface for vSphere.
So this will be replacing the vi client?
• vCenter  Single Sign-On – Dramatically simplify vSphere admin- istration by allowing users to log
in once to access all instances or layers of vCenter without the need for further
authentication.




http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/products/vsphere/vmware-what-is-new-vsphere51.pdf

Read More

ESXi How to backup restore the host configuration with powercli

Why powercli?
A lot of what I've seen out there for backing up the host configuration uses VMA or Vcli but I use powercli more consistently as I know a lot of other people do also.




Here is the code to backup your esxi host via powercli


Get-VMHostFirmware -VMHost $host -BackupConfiguration -DestinationPath C:\DownloadFolder

Set-VMHostFirmware -VMHost $Host -Restore -SourcePath c:\bundleToRestore.tgz -HostUser user -HostPassword pass






*note: that the backup config files can be restored only to the same version of esxi and same build.
I havent tested otherwise but posts on different blogs confirm that.








Pre-backup evidence
Test host: before backing up
Here are some configs that I want to see go over after restoring














Backing up the config
Connect to your host/vcenter first


Using:
Get-VMHostFirmware -VMHost $host -BackupConfiguration -DestinationPath C:\Downloads
Pasted from <http://www.vmware.com/support/developer/PowerCLI/PowerCLI41U1/html/Get-VMHostFirmware.html>











Here is what is backed up, its tiny!











Installing ESXi









Here is the new install booting from dhcp









Restoring Using:
Set-VMHost -VMHost Host -State 'Maintenance'

Set-VMHostFirmware -VMHost Host -Restore -SourcePath c:\bundleToRestore.tgz -HostUser user -HostPassword pass


Pasted from <http://www.vmware.com/support/developer/PowerCLI/PowerCLI501/html/Set-VMHostFirmware.html>




Connected to esxi host
Place into maintenance mode


















I had to use the force optionotherwise I was getting  Restore failed: fault.MismatchedBundle.summary
Figuredd that out thanks to here : http://www.php2s.com/virtualization/esxi-4-backup-and-restore-configuration.html







Server came up by itself:
Here is the console









Here are the settings in the vmware client


Looks like I will have to add the nic manually to the switch labeled vswitch1









It knows the NTP time setting









Conclusion:
It can be a great timesaver if you have a lot of settings to redo.




*notes:
*Note was readig that  this cant be used to restore the config to a different system because you will get a fault.MismatchedBundle.summary because the nic macs are different
I havent tried that with the force option so it might work…..

Read More

Adding a SCSI controller to a virtual machine (VM) in esxi

So you want to add a scsi controller and don’t see the option to install it?







1. Power off your vm.
If you don’t you will get this greyed out Virtual Device Node





2. Go to Edit and select a select a hard disk that you would like to have a different SCSI controller .
In this case its hard disk 2


3. Under virtual device node select a different scsi controller id
In this case its SCSI (1:0)
Hit ok









4. Now you should see the new controller
Click ok

Read More

Dell server PCIE card not working with esxi install

Saw this over at the forums
http://communities.vmware.com/message/2103207#2103207


Someone was unable to get their broadcom pcie card to be recognized by Esxi, even when using the Dell ISO install of esxi.
It was avaialble in bios.

" some servers going out with the PCIE slot disabled"
Looks like Dell has been shipping servers with pcie slot turned off so the card wont work even though it is recognized by bios.

12th gen servers now have an ability to disable PCIE slots.  And they are disabled apparently by default, even if you order the server prepopulated with a card.  
What makes it even tougher to diagnose is that the iDRAC can still report and see the card, even if it's in a disabled PCIE slot.

-vertices

Read More

Can a virtual machine (vm) have more ram allocated than the esxi host physical memory?

Yes but you will need enough disk space for the swap file.








Example:
Host has 32GB physical ram











Yet the vm has 64gb allocated to it















If you don’t have enough swap space you get this error:









Here 1tb of ram was allocated to the vvm.
I don’t have 1tb on the store nor do I have 1tb or ram.
So it couldn't power on.

Read More

VMDK : Thin vs thick disks : is there a performance difference?

modern versions of the hypervisor show almost no performance difference between thick and thin for 99% of workloads. -mcowger
Pasted from <http://communities.vmware.com/message/2100863#2100863>




Question : How different is the performance between thick and thin?
So I was thinking most cases thin is as good as thick, but thick is for that extra performance bump.
But things change a lot so I was looking for some hard data to back it up








*This test from planet zorg benchmarks thin vs thick lazy vs thick eager
Comparing the latency and iops they are very similar


1.     I/O of a Thick Provision Lazy Zeroed disk

Test name	Latency	Avg iops	Avg MBps	cpu load
Max Throughput-100%Read	0.00	3491	109	3%
RealLife-60%Rand-65%Read	12.87	4490	25	11%
Max Throughput-50%Read	101.44	6190	193	15%
Random-8k-70%Read	13.96	5681	44	17%

2. I/O of a Thick Provision Eager Zeroed disk

Test name	Latency	Avg iops	Avg MBps	cpu load
Max Throughput-100%Read	0.00	3511	109	1%
RealLife-60%Rand-65%Read	12.78	4460	34	30%
Max Throughput-50%Read	102.88	6261	195	2%
Random-8k-70%Read	14.19	5770	45	34%

3. I/O of a Thin Provision disk

Test name	Latency	Avg iops	Avg MBps	cpu load
Max Throughput-100%Read	0.00	3530	110	0%
RealLife-60%Rand-65%Read	13.06	4566	35	30%
Max Throughput-50%Read	102.36	6243	195	2%
Random-8k-70%Read	14.17	5767	45	36%



Pasted from <http://planetzorg.wordpress.com/2011/08/25/vmware-5-0-disk-io-performance-thick-provision-lazy-zeroed-vs-thick-provision-eager-zeroed-vs-thin-provision/>






White paper from Vmware
This is referenced a lot on the web
Essentially the performance of thin disks is on par with the tick disks
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsp_4_thinprov_perf.pdf




Conclusion:
Using data from the web, It seems that thin is just as good as thick in possibly all but the most exteme cases.
Ill run my own tests in the future just to have data, but the evidence points to always using thin disk unless recommended by vmware (or your application vendor).

Read More

Increase disk space of vmdk with snapshots : possible?

While vmware recommends removing snapshots before increasing diskspace I was wondering if its possible to leave the snap.


http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1004047






The E drive is 10GB





Took a snapshot







Trying to Increase drive space to 15gb
Hard disk properties are grayed out.









Removing all snapshots









After removing the snap I can increase the disk space













Verdict: cannot have snaps if increasing disk space

Read More

windows notes: Teamviewer free for home users

Found out about this screen share remote control software called teamviewer that is like webex or livemeeting remote control but free for non-commercial use.


 http://www.teamviewer.com/en/download/windows.aspx

 it can be used on windows, linux , or mac and an install isnt even needed.

Read More

Can you vmotion the vpshere vcenter server host to a different esxi server?

The answer is that the vcneter server is like any other vm and vmotioning it is not a problem.
This is a proof of concept that it works.


Earlier I also did a POC that storage vmotion (svmotion) also works on the vcenter host.
http://sparrowangelstechnology.blogspot.com/2012/07/can-you-storage-vmotion-svmotion-your.html






Here is the vcenter server on host 2









Now its being vmotioned over to host 1























Now the server is on host 1 as expected

Read More

How to update a esxi host that is not connected to the internet.

There may be some hosts that are disconnected from the internet for secutiry purposes
Here is how to update them.


1. Get the patches from the download portal: http://www.vmware.com/patchmgr/download.portal
Leave release data alone, unless you are searching for a update released on a specific date
Patches are normally cumulative

















Here is the latest download







Here are the contents of the vib, but you will actually need the zip you downloaded from the site.





2.  In the vmware client go to update manager.
Go to patch repository->import patches



3. Now add the zip from usb or iso











4. When its done just hit Finish to confirm the import
Here it is importing











5.  Patch as you would with normally
Here are the updates















*Source:
http://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2012/02/understanding-esxi-patches-finding-patches.html
http://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2012/03/understanding-esxi-patches-manually-adding-patches-to-update-manager.html

Read More

Misc powercli commands I have found useful

This script for powercli to get a vm's used disk space

get-vm winVM01| Select Name,UsedSpaceGB

-thx LucD

View a vm's , cluster, current esx host, and datastore:

Get-VM | Select Name, @{N="Cluster";E={Get-Cluster -VM $_}}, `
@{N="ESX Host";E={Get-VMHost -VM $_}}, `
@{N="Datastore";E={Get-Datastore -VM $_}}

Pasted from <http://ict-freak.nl/2009/11/17/powercli-one-liner-to-get-vms-clusters-esx-hosts-and-datastores/>

To export to a excel spreadsheet use the powershell command

Export-csv c:\temp\nameofexcelfile.csv

Example:

get-vm winVM01| Select Name,UsedSpaceGB | export-csv c:\temp\file22.csv

Read More

powershell script to move pc to a ou

Here is a script if you want to move an object to a ou where another server is located

 you can double click the bat file and that will start the powershell script.

I made this to automate a process

Bat:

PowerShell.exe -File c:\users\user1\desktop\moveobj.ps1

Ps1

Add-PSSnapin Quest.ActiveRoles.ADManagement

Connect-QADService -service 250-ad

Move-QADObject   -NewParentContainer (get-qadcomputer pc1).parentcontainer

*

To use: get the powershell commandlets from quest. It is possible without them but requires a lot more effort.

PowerShell.exe -File c:\users\user1\desktop\moveobj.ps1

The reason I added this line rather than .\moveobj.ps1 was because it was opening the ps1 in notepad. This way it forces the ps1 to load in powershell.

Add-PSSnapin Quest.ActiveRoles.ADManagement

Loads the powershell admanagement from quest into powershell. Otherwise the commands wont work.

Connect-QADService -service 250-ad

Forces  a connection to a particualr dc. Example if you are in ny and wanted to conenct to a cali DC

Move-QADObject   objectname  -NewParentContainer (get-qadcomputer pc1).parentcontainer

Moves object  objectname to the  ou where pc1 is loacted. you could also just add the path of the ou.

If you leave out objectname, a prompt will come up

Read More

performance issues and problems: set Write back mode for your storage array for ideal performance

For performance you should have a battery backed cache for write back mode, which tells the OS that a write happened before it does because its saved on the cache
If you use write through mode, you will slow down the array because the os is then waiting for the disks to complete a write before continuing.



It might seem that this is obvious but if you are having problems check that out.
A user on the vmware forums was experiencing problems with their riad throughput and it was a mis config on the raid.

http://communities.vmware.com/message/2090651#2090651


A explanation from IBM on write back vs write cache for those interested:

Write back

For the write-back setting, the operating system sends data to the controller to write to a storage device. Subsequently, the controller sends a confirmation to the operating system before actually writing the data to the storage device. Doing so increases performance, but also contains an element of risk. For example, if there is a power failure, the data currently in the controller cache is lost. This is no risk when using a controller with a battery-backup cache. The battery preserves the data in the controller cache in the event of a power failure.

Write through

For the write-through setting, the operating system sends data to the controller to write to a storage device. Subsequently, the controller writes the data to the storage device; then, sends a confirmation to the operating system. This setting can decrease performance, but contains no risk of losing data.

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/eserver/v1r2/topic/diricinfo/fqy0_cwrcache.html

Read More

Adding / increasing disk space of a vmdk, to power off or leave on the VM?

Its best to have no snapshots and power off the vm according to vmware

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1004047

But is it possible to increase disk space without powering off the vm?




Example: Disk is 35gb and the vm is active









Adding 15 more GB to make a total of 50GB









Rescanning disks and the extra space shows up



















Yes it is possible to increase a VM's disk space while powered on.

Read More