vSphere Patch released to resolve APD errors

Finally VMware have patched the problem with the previous vSphere update that ended up causing All Paths Down errors with NFS storage which I blogged about here: https://thevirtualunknown.wordpress.com/2014/04/24/intermittent-nfs-all-paths-down-on-esxi-5-5-u1-upgrade/ ESXi 5.5 Express Patch 04 has resolved this issue and so any customers with NFS storage should be able to safely patch their VMware environment to resolve the … Continue reading vSphere Patch released to resolve APD errors

Resolving OpenSSL Heartbleed for ESXi 5.5

Following on from my previous blog I realised that I didn't actually put up the KB to explain how to patch ESXi 5.5 to combat the Heartbleed vulnerability. Detailed instructions on the patches required and how to re-mint the Open SSL certs can be found on the following KB: http://kb.vmware.com/kb/2076665

Intermittent NFS All Paths Down on ESXi 5.5 U1 upgrade

Those of you using NFS storage and planning to upgrade to the latest version of vSphere - 5.5 U1 - please hold off your upgrades as there is a bug within the code which is currently causing issues on paths to NFS volumes. The bug causes the intermittent loss of connectivity, which can lead to … Continue reading Intermittent NFS All Paths Down on ESXi 5.5 U1 upgrade

VMware Product Updates – OpenSSL Vulnerability (Heartbleed)

If anyone is concerned about the OpenSSL Vulnerability that was highlighted earlier this month, then pop along to the Security Advisory below: http://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2014-0004.html Updates for the majority of VMware products to combat the "Heartbleed" vulnerability is now available..... Please note that post upgrade of products, you will need to regenerate the OpenSSL certificates! vCenter … Continue reading VMware Product Updates – OpenSSL Vulnerability (Heartbleed)

Thick Provisioned virtual disks – Eager or Lazy?

It's been a while since I posted anything, and that's just mainly down to how busy I've been since the turn of the new year!!I guess it's good to be busy as it occupies the mind! =)Although really busy, the MTI TAMs still managed to fly over to Cork to visit EMC's factory..... it was … Continue reading Thick Provisioned virtual disks – Eager or Lazy?

Site Recovery Manager SSL error

Recently had to regenerate the SSL certificates on my vCenter Server Appliance as I had noticed they were originally created with localhost.localdom as the DNS name. Quite easy to regenerate the SSL certs, just log onto the admin page of the vCSA (http://ip-address:5480) and log in as root. Click on the Admin tab and by Certificate regeneration … Continue reading Site Recovery Manager SSL error

vCenter Site Recovery Manager – Shared Recovery Site

So a lot of customers use Site Recovery Manager as the tool to automate their Disaster Recovery Policy, usually it's deployed on an one-to-one relationship - i.e. a single protected site and a single recovery site where the SRM/vCenter server on the protected site is paired to a SRM/vCenter server on the recovery site. Not … Continue reading vCenter Site Recovery Manager – Shared Recovery Site

Cisco Announces its Software Defined Network – Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI)

So when I did my VMworld 2013 Europe round up, I mentioned that it was strange to see that Cisco were not one of the supported partners for NSX and I hinted at the possibility of Cisco having something SDN up their sleeves (also from rumours heard from Cisco employees)..... And so at the beginning … Continue reading Cisco Announces its Software Defined Network – Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI)

Getting Network Adapter information using PowerCLI

So recently I was asked for a list of MAC addresses for all the VMs in my demo environment... Didn't really want to do this manually by going into each VM and checking the hardware settings, so thought I'd see if I can find some PowerCLI commands that will do the job...... After a short … Continue reading Getting Network Adapter information using PowerCLI

vCenter Server 5.5.0a Released

Hmm.... an update to 5.5 already!Release notes here:https://www.vmware.com/support/vsphere5/doc/vsphere-vcenter-server-550a-release-notes.htmlIf you're using the vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) and have already upgraded from 5.1 to 5.5, then updating the appliance is a very simple process if your vCSA is able to connect out to the internet:Note: this update process will reboot your vCSA so you will lose connectivity … Continue reading vCenter Server 5.5.0a Released