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Virtualization

How to kill an Unresponsive VM (ESXi 5.x)

When a Virtual Machine crashed it might happen that you cannot power it off with the vSphere Client. In that case, you have to kill the VM through the ESXi command-line.

Connect to the ESXi host with SSH. (If a virtual machine crashed in a cluster and you cannot identify where it is running, you have to identify the ESXi Hosts where the VM is running)

Locate the World ID with esxcli vm process list or vmdumper -lRead More »How to kill an Unresponsive VM (ESXi 5.x)

Patch ESXi to a Specific Version with the Command-line

This post describes how to patch an ESXi host to a specific version with the command-line. It is highly recommended to use the vSphere Update Manager (VUM) for patch management, but there are some cases where you need an alternative. It's probably noting you would do in production, but you might need a specific version to reproduce problems or to comply with policies.

In this example, I am going to patch a standalone ESXi 5.5 host with internet access to build number 2068190. The host is currently running ESXi 5.5.0 Build 2302651. (It's a downgrade)

Read More »Patch ESXi to a Specific Version with the Command-line

FreeNAS on HP Microserver N54L - Shared Storage for your ESXi

The HP Microserver N54L and its predecessors N40L and N36L are widely spread home servers. I've written about using it as ESXi host in my Homelab about 2 years ago. Today it is still a great system to be used with ESXi but there are better alternatives, especially due to its limited memory and CPU power. That was the reason why I rededicated my N40L to be a central storage and file server with FreeNAS. This post describes what you need to use the N40L as resilient storage and how to configure it properly for ESXi usage. I will talk about NFS sync writes or performance issues with NFS vs. iSCSI and how to work around them.

freenas-on-hp-microserver-n36l-n40l-n54l

Read More »FreeNAS on HP Microserver N54L - Shared Storage for your ESXi

Last opportunity to recertify your VCP - Only 3 month left!

On March 2014 VMware announced that VCP-level certifications will expire after 2 years. The deadline for certificates to expire is March 10, 2015. Do not forget to recertify!

VMware supports you on your recertification process and offers a Delta Recertification Exam with great advantages:vcp5-dcv

  • No course requirements
  • Exam available online
  • Far less expensive (EUR 90,- here)
  • 65 question exam with 75 minutes time limit

Read More »Last opportunity to recertify your VCP - Only 3 month left!

How to Create a Cron Job on vMA

The vMA (vSphere Management Assistant) is a virtual appliance provided by VMware that allows to manage vCenter Server or ESX Hosts and run scripts. You can also use it to run script periodically with cron. It is a small linux appliance delivered with all necessary tools out of the box. I usually deploy a vMA on each platform. This post describes how to prepare scripts to be used with cron and how to create cronjobs. The process is very similar on all vMA versions from vSphere 4.0 to vSphere 5.5.

Read More »How to Create a Cron Job on vMA

ESXi 5.5 - ESXCLI Command Mindmap

In vSphere 5.5 the command line interface esxcli has 3 new namespaces. The esxcli is a complete set of commands that you can use for troubleshooting, configuration or kickstart files. I have created and printed a mindmap to navigate through the namespaces more quickly. This post covers only basic namespaces, available on all ESXi 5.5 hosts. If you've installed additional software you might see more namespaces. I've also created a Mindmap for ESXi 5.1 some time ago.

ESXCLI in version 5.5 has 13 namespaces:Read More »ESXi 5.5 - ESXCLI Command Mindmap

ESXi 5.5 - ESXCLI Command Reference

ESXCLI is the most powerful command line tool on an ESXi host. You may need it for troubleshooting, configuration or for ESXi installations by using a kickstart file. I'm having this command line reference on my desktop since a couple of month and I am using it quite often. Maybe someone else is able to make use of it too. It's a collection of help pages from all esxcli commands.

Download: esxcli-550-command-reference.txt

Read More »ESXi 5.5 - ESXCLI Command Reference