My Virtual Ramblings
Announcing VMware’s Developer Program: VMware {code} #vmwarecode
VMware {code} keeps developers up to date with emerging topics such as Microservices, Cloud-Native Applications and Agile Development & Deployment. Join us as we build, deploy and run!
VMware All Flash VSAN Implementation (Home Lab)
I’ve been waiting for a while to be able to implement an all flash VSAN in my lab and now that VSAN 6.2 has been announced, I thought it would be time to upgrade my capacity disks from HDD’s to SSD’s and get cracking..! (note: despite the announcement, VSAN 6.2 binaries are NOT YET available to download. I’m hearing it would be available in a week or two on My VMware though so until then, mine is based on VSAN 6.1 – ESXi 6.0U1 binaries)
How vRealize Automation 7 builds on previous versions
VMware vRealize Automation 7 improves upon older versions with a simplified installation process and new tools to offer administrators greater control over automation.
vExpert 2016 Award Announcement
First we would like to say thank you to everyone who applied for the 2016 vExpert program. I’m pleased to announce the list 2016 vExperts. Each of these vExperts have demonstrated significant contributions to the community and a willingness to share their expertise with others. Contributing is not always blogging or Twitter as there are many public speakers, book authors, script writers, VMUG leaders, VMTN community moderators and internal champions among this group.
CloudCredibility.com invites you to get ready for VMware’s upcoming Launch Events, February 9 & 11!
CloudCredibility.com invites you to get ready for VMware’s upcoming Launch Events, February 9 & 11! One lucky attendant and CloudCred player** who completes Task 3065 will be selected at random to win an event pass to VMworld 2016 !
VMware Integrated Containers critical to company’s #DevOps strategy (via @TechRepublic)
As DevOps adoption increases, VMware is attempting to drive interest in vSphere with VMware Integrated Containers.
As some of you know, I’ve recently accepted a new position as a Senior System Engineer, mostly focusing on virtualization and networking. The genre of the blog will stay the same but I expect it to also expand to some different technologies that I’ll be working with now including Citrix and some new Compellent storage systems.
And as I encounter issues and document them, I’ll continue to share them with the web as well.
Cheers!
Upon upgrading SSO in vCenter, I ran into a failure during the process. The process would fail halfway through and hang at configuring SSO Components (shown below). Upon the failure and investigating the msi log, it was showing a DNS type error.
This only affects you if you are upgrading from 5.1. Anyone upgrading from 5.5, 4.x or a fresh install of 5.1 update 1a or later will not experience this issue. And obviously, does not affect you if you are doing a fresh install of 5.5.
The fix is actually rather simple but confusing by the wording. The change is made in the registry at the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\VMware, Inc.\VMware Infrastructure\SSOServer\FQDNIp
If the value inside this registry key is an IP, you must change it to the actual FQDN of your SSO server. For me, mine was on my vCenter server, so it was set to its FQDN.
The actual key name is FQDNIp, but it needs to be the name. Hence the confusion!
More information can be found in the following VMware KB.
At today’s keynote during the 10th annual VMworld in San Francisco, CEO Pat Gelsinger made some announcements to where VMware is heading and the updates to its current product line. As VMware’s road-map has continually pointed to the Software-Defined Data Center, they have solidified this premise with some incredible announcements today. Let’s get started:
vSphere 5.5
vSphere 5.5 will be the next update to their vSphere platform that currently sits at 5.1. This includes upgrading the virtual hardware version to 10 and includes enhancements to AHCI and new graphics support for Intel and AMD GPUs. Hardware version 10 also includes support for CPU-C states which will take advantage of new CPU enhancements. Finally, they have added support for hot swappable SSD PCIe devices no longer requiring the host to be offline.
Changes to vSphere 5.5 also include new limits to the physical hosts hardware setup:
The vCenter Server and Appliance have also seen some significant changes as well. The appliance will now support as many as 500 vSphere hosts and up to 5000 virtual machines. The vSphere Web Client has been updated to now support OSX for console access to your VMs, deploying templates and attaching client devices (about time considering most VMware employees are rocking Macbooks). The Web Client updates include new drag and drop functionality as well as filtering your searches inside the client.
There were finally many improvements to the SSO functionality within vSphere Server. Most admins will admit this is the most painful part of any vSphere server install or update. VMware has listened and has improved the integration between SSO and Microsoft Active Directory and a more simplified installation process.
Virtual SAN
One other piece that has caught my attention is the new Virtual SAN that is currently in its beta phase. The Virtual SAN will allow you to use the local storage on your hosts to create a shared datastore for them to use. Many of you may recognize this as VMware’s Virtual Storage Appliance or VSA. However, the difference is that the Virtual SAN will be built into the ESXi 5.5 hypervisor. At this time, it will still require an additional license and is expected to be released within the first half of 2014.
VMware NSX
NSX is VMware’s new network virtualization layer. NSX will be the network hypervisor of sorts that will provide the virtual layer over your physical network. This will enable you to virtualize your network. NSX will be implemented as an extension of the Virtual Switch and will work with all existing network hardware. VMware is expecting to release NSX by the end of 2013.
Overall, there are some very exciting things coming from VMware in the very new future and they are absolutely changing the face of the data center. I have already signed up for the Virtual SAN beta and looking forward to getting it setup and tested in my environment.
After over 7 years in the IT business, I felt it appropriate to start my own blog to store my ideas and problems that I run into during my work. This will be my place to share knowledge with the world and others in the IT industry. I hope this blog will help you and I will continue to update content regularly with tips, how-to’s and news in the virtual world.
