Tag Archives: #Check-HCL

PowerCLI Script to get ESXi Network/Storage Firmware and Driver Version

For a healthy vSphere virtualization infrastructure and to receive support from VMware it is important to verify that IO devices are listed in VMwares Compatibility Guide/Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) with their correct driver and firmware version. Gathering firmware details and comparing them to the HCL is very time-consuming. I made a small script that automatically gathers the following information:

IO Devices (NICs, HBAs and RAID Controllers)
Driver Version
Firmware Version
Official HCL Link

VMware IO Devices HCL in JSON Format

Posted by fgrehl on January 3, 2017 3 comments

For a healthy platform and to receive support from VMware it is important to verify that all IO devices are listed in VMwares Compatibility Guide or Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) with their correct driver and firmware version. The HCL is currently only provided as a website which is a problem for automated reports. Therefore I've transformed the VMwares IO Devices HCL into the JSON format, which works great in scripts. Here is the result:

VMware HCL in JSON Format News and PowerCLI Function

Posted by fgrehl on January 1, 2017 No comments

A few month ago I created a VMware HCL in JSON Format. This file should allow you to use the information provided by VMware in their HCL in an automated way. Recently I made some improvements to the JSON HCL and created a working PowerCLI function that can match about 80% of all systems.

Currently, the JSON files are generated every 2-3 days. I also created two filtered versions because the full HCL is very large and contains outdated information: Read more »

PowerCLI Script to verify ESXi 6.5 support

Posted by fgrehl on November 16, 2016 18 comments

VMware vSphere 6.5 is here and a lot of systems are no longer supported. Use the following script to verify that ESXi hosts in your environment are certified for running ESXi 6.5. The script generated the following output for all hosts connected to the vCenter.
esxi65-check-support-powercli-output

vSphere 5.0 and 5.1 End of Support 2016-08-24

Posted by fgrehl on August 24, 2016 3 comments

vsphere-5 Today, 5 years after the release vSphere 5.0 and vSphere 5.1, end of support for both products has been reached and enters the technical guidance phase starts.

If not are not aware of the EOS, I encourage you to use my VMware Product End Of Support Countdown to keep an eye on EOS dates (It also supports ics based calendar reminders).

Currently, the only fully supported versions are

vSphere 5.5
vSphere 6.0

Script to verify ESXi 5.5 and 6.0 support

Posted by fgrehl on July 30, 2016 7 comments

End of Support for vSphere 5.0 & 5.1 is reached soon. Use the following script to verify that you ESXi hosts are supported for 5.5 and 6.0. The script generated the following output that explains which releases are supported for all ESXi hosts connected to the vCenter. supported-releases Read more »

vSphere 5.0 & 5.1 End of Support soon - Upgrade your ESXi Hosts

Posted by fgrehl on July 28, 2016 1 comment

You might be aware that General Support for VMware vSphere 5.0 and 5.1 ends in about 4 weeks at August 24th. If not, I encourage you to use my VMware Product End Of Support Countdown to keep an eye on EOS dates (It also supports ics based calendar reminders).

If you are not running on ESXi 5.5 or ESXi 6.0, it is time to upgrade now. Prior to upgrade, please check VMware Compatibility Guide (HCL) to verify that your server is supported for the targeted vSphere release.

VMware HCL Check with PowerCLI (Proof of Concept)

Posted by fgrehl on May 25, 2016 2 comments

Announced in my VMware HCL in JSON Format post a few days ago, here is now a working version of my script. The script does not create a fancy report at the moment, it just writes some output and the result. It's only intended to show that it actually works. Here is an example:

vmware-hcl-check-script

There are still some problems, but especially with HP, Dell or IBM Systems, it produces good results.

VMware HCL in JSON Format

Posted by fgrehl on May 22, 2016 6 comments

When you want to upgrade ESXi hosts, or just want do create health reports, you might want to verify that the system is listed in VMwares HCL. The HCL is currently only provided as website which might be a problem for automated reports. To make HCL checks, I've transformed the HCL into the JSON format, which works great in scripts. Here is the result:

vmware-hcl-json

Check VMware HCL with PowerCLI (half-done, need assistance)

Posted by fgrehl on May 3, 2016 8 comments

It's on my to-do list for quite a long time: Create a Script that checks hardware against VMwares HCL. There are some problems that needs to be solved to automate the process. My main problems are matching the installed ESXi version to the release Level (eg. 5.5 U2, 6.0, 6.0 U1,...), integrating the HCL into a script and matching HCL to the physical hardware.

This is what I can do today with PowerCLI, basically by running "Get-VMHost | Check-HCL":
check-vmware-hcl-with-powercli
I'm not sure if anyone is interested in automating HCL checks because I couldn't find any scripts online. If you are interested, nice! I need assistance...

I need a larger pool of hardware information to know how hardware identifies itself. So if you want to support me, please run the following PowerCLI command and send me the output (Just Copy/Paste CSV file contents to my Contact Form, or send me an eMail. I will respond with the output of my script as shown above). If you don't want to disclose your hostnames, just remove the "Name" part in the command, or replace the content with dummy-names.

Get-VMHost |select Name,Build,Manufacturer,Model,ProcessorType |Export-Csv hosts.csv -NoTypeInformation

If you are interested in how the script works, or the script/function itself, feel free to contact me. (It's unfinished spaghetti code....)

Some additional features:

check-vmware-hcl-with-powercli-including-link

Display VMware HCL link (For further verification)

check-vmware-hcl-with-powercli-including-supported-releases

Display all supported ESXi versions for the hardware

Virten.net