Plain Virtualization

The annual vExpert program for 2021 will open its application once again. Application open: 21st Nov (US)  Closing date:  8th January 2021 Results will be announced on: 11th February 2021 (US). For those who have have gotten their vExpert accreditation  on the 2nd round application in 2021, will need to apply again. As mentioned, vExpert program is an annual accreditation and will require yearly application this is to ensure, every individual are awarded for your personal contribution to the VMware communities. If you are not familiar with the requirement, please head over to http://vexpert.vmware.com and also check out my previous article . If you need further clarification, do not hesitate to contact with your nearest vExpert Pro for assistance. Update 21st Nov 2020 The official blog post is out .

It has been sometime that I last did any installation and decide to rebuild my home lab.  I will skip the installation or upgrade of ESX server as this is pretty straight forward either using VMware vCenter Update Manager or via booting up from CD. I will document the vCenter components as well as the databases requirements.  The SQL query are all tested during my installation.  I have record a simple video to show that the SQL query are error free and allows vCenter to install without any errors. I might miss out some stuff here since I am not a DB guy or a SQL expert so to speak. vCenter 64bit DSN after user and rights assigned Check out support Database from here Adobe Flash required for machine access web client  Similarly to what I have documented year before on vCenter 5.1 here , the SQL scripts did not change other than the requirements of SSO database is no longer required. Extracted from vCenter installation guide which can be found in t...

I am just happen to be one of those who just a die hard fan of Google and like to use this new tool.  Since I am outside US I am pretty out of luck. Well many have shared to use proxy VPN to hide your location to US.  I did lots of search, tried lots of VPN clients and eventually the only one that works for me was Security Kiss . Its very easy to use and just try out some of the available servers.  Just have to make sure its either US or UK and test it out with some website.  If it works, the server is working.  You might just need to play around to make sure. Before you head to the Google Play Store to do your activation for the Google Music Manager, you would need to do something first which none of the site mention.  You need a US address.  Yes so you can use any of the delivery hub e.g. ComsGateway, Borderlinx, etc. Next use the US address and add your billing address for Google Play Store in Google Wallet .  You can use your own Cred...

There are a few good resources on using the vCenter Web Client.  One of them contains the use of the whole web client interface which you can find here . This KB states the requirements for the Web Client. This blog shows you the installation of Web Client. To access the web client the URL address would be as follows with the default port: https:// :(hostname or ip):9443/vsphere-client Below is a video on a simple setup of the Web Client and installation.  Do note that the Web Client would require Adobe Flash to access via any of the web browsers namely Firefox, Internet Explorer and Chrome. Features now available in Web Client but not on C# Client vSphere Replication vMotion with no shared storage SR-IOV, BDPU, Port allocation to Elastic Network Healthcheck Backup and Rollback for vDS Port mirroring (IPFX) and Netflow new enhancements for vDS (ESPAN, RSPAN) I came across this blog post on the vDS enhancements on vSphere 5.1.  Do take a look. 1...

After the installation of vCenter 5.1, you can then proceed with the Update Manager if yu do use it and its strongly you use it to scan and check for update and apply these updates or patches to your VMware environment. Refer to the vCenter Update Manager documentation page .  Here you will find the installation guide and the requirements for the database rights requirement.  I am using MS SQL in my demo here.  For other database please refer to the installation document.  In short for MS SQL, you need either a sysadmin role or db_owner of the database for the upgrade or installation.  In a corporate environment, typically sysadmin role is not allowed that leads to only the db_owner. Also the requirement for MSDB is need as sysadmin or dbo_owner during installation or upgrade only. Create vCenter Update Manager database with the rights.  The revoke of dbo role for the vumuser is at the bottom of the script commented out. ==========================...

To upgrade, you can refer to the Best Practice KB here . If you have any problem hit installing SSO, you can refer to this KB .  If you hit an error for vCenter installation after installing SSO, vCenter Inventory Service successfully, you may want to refer to this KB .   If you encounter an error during vCenter Installation and its show in vm_ssoreg.log "java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: The local OS identity source is not registered with the SSO installation" Resolution: You might need to quit and rejoin your domain for the vCenter server if time on both the vCenter and Domain Controller is within not more than 5 minutes difference. For a more detailed installation including certificates installation you may refer to this other blog . To start with, I have make this guide simply easy for someone who have not done any vCenter installation before and using MS SQL for the database. Here is a video on the installation and below are the detailed instructions and ...

I realize that there isn't any guide on updating the vC Ops vApp anyway in the guide or on the internet.  Updating the vApp is pretty easy.  You just need to browse to vC Ops in VMware site and download the update file which end with .pak. Access the Admin page to upload the update file and after which just double check after the update is done.

The release of vCenter Configuration Manager 5.5 on Mar 15, 2012 brought to some attention that there is license update to be done.  The change from license file to serial key make some steps required in updating for those upgrading from previous version to 5.5 My colleague, Clement Wong informed that there is a need and I did also encounter this post in communities. So to simple update the license file, you just need to browse to the folder in command prompt: CL\Program FIles (x86)\VMware\VCM\Tools To see what commands and options are available: >jlicense.cmd /? To update your license: > jlicense.cmd -k xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx Where xxxx is your serial key.

After been designated as a vExpert 2012, a few people came to ask me how to apply and what must be done to be a vExpert. Though I may not know how the assessment is been done but the application did list down a few things which will be used as a consideration. I read up the vExpert 2012 application here .  I will also list down what allows you to be consider a vExpert in order to apply before the page get removed since results of vExpert 2012 has already been released.  The shorter criteria description can be found here . Below are the three ways you can be assessed and the benefits of been designated: Evangelist Path The Evangelist Path includes book authors, bloggers, tool builders, public speakers, and other IT professionals who share their knowledge and passion with others with the leverage of a personal public platform to reach many people. Employees of VMware can now also apply via the Evangelist path. Customer Path The Customer Path is for internal evangelists...

Attached with this post is a sample BOM and high level architecture details on how you can setup a vCloud lab with 4 hosts (16GB of RAM, 1TB of storage and 2 CPU - Quad core). The lab will be useful for System Integrators (or individuals with the monetary resources) to build a lab that can be used for the following: 1. Sales can use it to demonstrate VMware solutions. 2. Pre-sales can use for demonstration or learning the capabilities of vCloud. 3. Post-Sales can use the setup for design validation/testing. Caution/Disclaimer: 1. This is a lab and the setup is not a reference design for a vCloud deployment or for production use. 2. The lab architecture described here is also not setup based on best practices but for individuals to be able to install and get familiar with VMware solutions using spare or old hardware. Link to Document: https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B6ewbl4byY17bVBFRktMbXBKc2M