Last week VMware has silently removed the download for the latest version of VMware NSX. Today the Support Insider blog, which is a great resource for first-hand… Read More »VMware NSX 6.2.3 has been pulled from distribution (DFW Issue)
In my latest post USB Devices as VMFS Datastore in vSphere ESXi 6.0 I had a problem with USB 3.0 devices that are detected as USB 2 in ESXi. I know that USB 3.0, also known as eXtensible Host Controller Interface (xHCI), is supported in ESXi 6.0 and ESXi 5.5 Build 2143827 or later. Unfortunately all of my devices are detected as USB 2.1, despite the USB 3 hub was visible. This problem applies to both, USB devices in path-through mode, and USB devices mounted from the command line with usbarbitrator disabled. The solution was quite simple and not related to an ESXi, but to a UEFI configuration.
Read More »USB 3.0 devices detected as USB 2 in ESXi 6.0 and 5.5
You might be aware of the 3 critical security issues that VMware has published and fixed a couple of days ago in VMSA-2015-0007. The information provided in the security advisory regarding the first issue, CVE-2015-5177 (ESXi OpenSLP Remote Code Execution), are:
VMware ESXi contains a double free flaw in OpenSLP's SLPDProcessMessage() function. Exploitation of this issue may allow an unauthenticated attacker to remotely execute code on the ESXi host.
Relevant Releases
VMware ESXi 5.5 without patch ESXi550-201509101
VMware ESXi 5.1 without patch ESXi510-201510101
VMware ESXi 5.0 without patch ESXi500-201510101
In this post I am trying to give a better understanding of the vulnerability and its consequences. Please note that the information in this post are my personal opinions. I cannot guarantee that these information are accurate. The main fact is that VMware has published a fix and you should install the patch to be on the safe side. In the real world, you might have something like a "change process" where you can't rollout the patch for hundreds of systems immediately. Or you have a single ESXi that you don't want to reboot at the moment. In this situation, this post tries to help...
Read More »More Information on CVE-2015-5177 (ESXi OpenSLP Remote Code Execution)
VMware has started October 2015 with a bunch of patches, a security advisory and a major bug in their latest ESXi 5.5 release.Read More »VMware: Thrilling Start to October 2015
Upgrading Windows 7, 8 or 8.1 to Windows 10 in VMware Workstation fails with the following error message:
Unsupported SVGA driver
The issue only applies to the Microsoft Update Validation Tool which has problems with the VMware SVGA driver. To resolve this issue, use the Windows 10 ISO to upgrade your Virtual Machine.
Read More »"Unsupported SVGA driver" during Windows 10 upgrade in VMware Workstation
VMware ESXi 5.x and 6.0 installed on a 5th gen Intel NUC (NUC5i7RYH, NUC5i5RYH, NUC5i5MYHE, NUC5i5RYK, NUC5i3RYH, NUC5i3MYHE and NUC5i3RYK) has a problem with SMBios system information.
A general system error occurred: at line number 7, not well-formed (invalid token)
To solve this problem you have to replace the BIOS. This post explains how to create a customized BIOS with changed SMBios variables and install it on your NUC.
Read More »How to fix ESXi on Intel NUC malformed Manufacturer and Model
Even though the bug has been fixed I still see it to come up. ESXi 5.x has two issues that might cause the ESXi host to fail with a purple diagnostic screen. Both PSOD look very similiar:
#PF Exception 14 in world wwww:WorldName IP 0xnnnnnnnn addr 0x0
PTEs:0xnnnnnnnn;0xnnnnnnnn;0x0;
0xnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnn]E1000PollRxRing@vmkernel#nover+ 0xdb9
0xnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnn]E1000DevRx@vmkernel#nover+0x18a
#PF Exception 14 in world wwww:WorldName IP 0xnnnnnnnn addr 0x0
PTEs:0xnnnnnnnn;0xnnnnnnnn;0x0;
0xnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnn]E1000PollRxRing@vmkernel#nover+0xeb7
0xnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnn]E1000DevRx@vmkernel#nover+0x18a
[...]
0xnnnnnnnn:[0xnnnnnnnn]Net_AcceptRxList@vmkernel#nover+0x157
Virtual Machine Migration (DRS or user initiated) fails with the following error message: A genereal system error occurred: The source detected that the destination failed… Read More »vMotion Fails - "The source detected that the destination failed to resume"
I recently had strange issues with Hewlett-Packard servers. ESXi hosts randomly have shown a couple of different symptoms:
Call "HostServiceSystem.Restart" for object "serviceSystem-[*]" on vCenter Server * failed.
Power On virtual machine *
A general system error occurred: The virtual machine could not start
VMK_NO_MEMORY
A general system error occurred: Command /bin/sh failed
/bin/sh cannot fork
sfcb-HTTPS-Daemon[*]: handleHttpRequest fork failed: Cannot allocate memory
crond[*]: can't vfork
cpu*:*)WARNING: Heap: *: Heap_Align(globalCartel-1, 136/136 bytes, 8 align) failed.
cpu*:*)WARNING: Heap: *: Heap globalCartel-1 already at its maximum size. Cannot expand)
WARNING: Heap: *: Heap globalCartel-1 already at its maximum size. Cannot expand.
I recently had an issues where a virtual machine crashed. VM Monitoring (VM HA) tried to restart it, but did not succeed. The virtual machine was greyed out in the inventory and could not be started because it was locked. Unfortunately, it was not possible to identify which ESXi host holds the lock. This post explains how to quickly identify which server is blocking the Virtual Machine.
Read More »Identify Virtual Machine Locks & Find ESXi Hosts by its MAC Address