vCenter Clustering (vCenter HA) - in vCenter 6.5 - (Not HA of ESX) - VCHA

vCenter Clustering (vCenter HA) - in vCenter 6.5 - (Not HA of ESX)

New to vCenter Server 6.5, VCHA ensures high availability for a vSphere deployment with minimal impact on vCenter Server and vSphere host performance.

Refer more on below URL..

http://searchvmware.techtarget.com/tip/Prevent-software-failures-with-vCenter-Server-High-Availability

Have you ever wondered how to dump ESXi Diagnostic Core Dump on a VSAN 6.5 Node?? Yes it's a reality now..

EXTENDING AN ESXI DIAGNOSTIC CORE DUMP PARTITION ON A VSAN 6.5 NODE

http://cormachogan.com/2017/01/04/extending-esxi-diagnostic-core-dump-partition-vsan-6-5-node/

Extending an ESXi diagnostic coredump partition on a vSAN 6.5 node (2147881)

https://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=2147881

Upgrade ESXi 6.0 to 6.5 via VMware Update Manager

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/upgrade-esxi-60-65-via-vmware-update-manager-victor-wu

VMware ESXi Queue Depth – Overview, Configuration And Calculation

Source : http://www.teimouri.net/

http://www.teimouri.net/vmware-esxi-queue-depth-overview-configuration-calculation/

VMware VSAN 6.5 - Is it a Ceiling Breaker in Software Defined Storage??? Read on my blog..

VMware VSAN is all set to cater Non-VMware iSCSI Servers..
This is great news.. Till now VSAN Storage cater to only VMware ESX hosts.
With this release (VSAN 6.5)..

VMware opened doors to serve VSAN to your Traditional servers in the Data Center..
So, Building Enterprise Storage (VSAN) - few clicks (vmware simplicity again)..
Mapping iSCSI LUNs to Hosts is few clicks.. (Awesome)

1) Accelerate Responsiveness
Updaed VSAN API & Power CLI empower you better accelerate repeated jobs..

2) 20-50% Additional TCO Savings
Better licensing models of VSAN for small offices like ROBO also..

3) Increased Flexibility
This is what I mean by, VSAN is open to Non-VMwaer servers also.
(Ex: Map iSCSI volume to linux, windows, unix, etc) - Love this

4) Support of Next-Gen Products
Containers & Kubernate compatibility

5) Next-Gen Hardware Support
VSAN 6.5 supports 512e HDDs (Larger capacity suppport),
NVMe Disks - for high throughput of IOPS (150k IOPS per host)

De-Duplication, Compression, Erasure Coding, Storage Policy Based Mgmt, etc.. is still there..

Are you excited, Read further on below URL..
https://blogs.vmware.com/virtualblocks/2016/10/18/vmware-virtual-san-6-5-whats-new/

VMware On Premise Cloud & Dedicated ESX Servers at AWS (On Demand)

VMware On Premise Cloud & Dedicated ESX Servers at AWS (On Demand) - Makes together a Strong Hybrid Cloud.. VMware & AWS partnered to deliver wonderful Hybrid Cloud Experience.. What else you need.. it will be seamless IT Infrastructure.. 1) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUm9iRhQZJE (Demo Released on 13-Oct-2016)
a) Witness to "vmotion / migrate a Local data center VM to AWS" b) Behind the scenes, they are doing "linked vcenter mode" to achieve this.. c) Elastic DRS also will allow to load balance vms
(migrates vms from local data center ESX hosts to AWS ESX hosts) Love it Elastic (Amazon) DRS (VMware).. 2) https://techcrunch.com/2016/10/13/vmware-cloud-on-aws/ 3) https://aws.amazon.com/vmware/

VCSA is getting refined & becoming more stable.. True Enterprise Class

Some of the features mentioned in this Reddit thread based on VMware announcements in the break-out session INF8225 “vCenter and PSC guide to the galaxy” are:

1. Active/Passive HA functionality for vCenter (VCSA only)
2. Builtin monitoring web interface for the VCSA
3. Builtin backup/restore of all VCSA configuration.
4. VMware Update Manager integrated in VCSA (no Windows required)

Fore more info.. check out below URL

http://up2v.nl/2016/09/02/vmware-vsphere-6-5-to-be-announced-at-vmworld-barcelona/

VLAN Cheat Sheet for VMware & Cisco

Are you surprised, what Network Admin will do behind Scenes - Here you go.. ??

Usually VMware admins, create port group (with vlans) on Standard vSwitch or distributed virtual switch, But how the vlan Traffic will be across physical switches, How is the configuration on Physical switches.. read on..

http://www.42u.ca/2016/05/12/vlan-cheat-sheet-for-vmware-cisco/

Few VM memory pages are swaped, can we unswap them and ask to use Real Memory (after fixing memory crunch)??

Most of VMware administrators might have faced this before..
In few cases, VM's get SWAP Memory from DataStore (Instead of memory - from ESX DIMMs).

1) This could happen due to Multiple ESX hosts are down in cluster at same time (though abnormal),
2) Some time, Improper Sizing issues on Cluster level. (Design problems)
3) Unintended Memory reservations on Multiple VM's (May be by mistake / improper calculations)
4) Any other Memory issues on ESX hosts, etc..

Either of the above cases, ESX could not supply Real Memory (via ESX DIMM) to respective VM's.
Instead they supply Memory from "Datastore - Swap space"..

Previously we faced this issue, few VM's went into SWAP (memory from datastore space)..
But the real issue got resolved like "Recovered ESX hosts, Added Memory to Cluster, Adjust Abnormal Memory Reservations, etc".. By doing so, We should have enough free Memory on ESX Memory Pool / Cluster Memory Pool. But the VM's already taking memory from "Datastore SWAP", will not revert & they dont grab memory from "ESX DIMMs"..

In order to resolve this problem (VM's using SWAP memory from datastore), we had to Reboot the Specific vms, But now something is out there as per VMware (though it's not fully supported), but working decently.. Read at below URL for more details..

http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2016/06/02/memory-pages-swapped-can-unswap/

Docker Volume Driver for vSphere

will allow customers to address persistent storage requirements for Docker containers in vSphere environments.

http://cormachogan.com/2016/06/01/docker-volume-driver-vsphere/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+cormachogan+(CormacHogan.com)

How to launch a Micro VM via VMWare Photon..

http://www.virtuallyghetto.com/2016/04/test-driving-vmware-photon-controller-part-2-deploying-first-vm.html

MicroSD card RAID 1 as VMware ESXi boot device - Awesome & Need of the Hour for Enterprise Grade OS

If you install ESXi on a microSD card and if you use HP Proliant Servers you may be interested in the “HP Dual 8GB MicroSD Enterprise Midline USB” (HP P/N: 741281-002).

This dual-microSD card module provides data redundancy through a mirrored RAID 1 configuration. You connect the module to the internal USB port and install ESXi as usual!

More to read here..

http://www.running-system.com/microsd-card-raid-1-vmware-esxi-boot-device/

vmware https://www.cloudcredibility.com - Must visit

https://www.cloudcredibility.com

CloudCred is the hub for all things cloud related. The game is your gateway to building your cloud expertise, broadening your professional network and earning rewards and certifications based on your CloudCred score.

Earn rewards for the things you know about the cloud and learn the things you don’t.

CloudCred is more than a fun way to flex your cloud skills and earn bragging rights. It’s a way to rack up on rewards and get certifications that can help you grow professionally.

Getting started with Photon OS and vSphere Integrated Containers - by

• Photon OS – a minimal Linux container host designed to boot extremely quickly on VMware platforms.
• vSphere Integrated Containers – a way to deploy containers on vSphere. This allows developers to create applications using containers, but have the vSphere administrator manage the required resources needed for these containers.

Part 1: Deploy Photon OS

Part 2: Deploy vSphere Integrated Containers (VIC) v0.1

Part3: See the Live Action - Container in vCenter Server (Just like a VM Right!!)

Learn more at below URL :

http://cormachogan.com/2016/04/07/getting-started-photon-os-vsphere-integrated-containers/

Microsoft DiskSpd – Freeware to test speed of your storage system

DiskSpd is new tool from Microsoft which allows testing the speed of your storage. You can test different storage like DAS, SAN, NAS ….. or SMB share. You can also install it in a VM and test the speed of a VM.

A feature-rich and versatile storage testing tool, Diskspd (version 2.0.12) combines robust and granular IO workload definition with flexible runtime and output options, creating an ideal tool for synthetic storage subsystem testing and validation.

Microsoft DiskSpd Features:

• Ability to target physical disks in addition to partitions and files
• Variable read/write IO percentage settings
• Custom CPU affinity options
• Consumable XML output option
• Synchronization and tracing functionality

The page also gives an example how to test (it’s a CLI based tool).

Example 1

    Diskspd.exe -b256K -d10 -o8 -t4 -a0,1 #0

http://www.vladan.fr/microsoft-diskspd-freeware-to-test-speed-of-your-storage-system/

VMware Labs Fling - ESXtopNGC Plugin for WebClient

Summary

ESXtopNGC Plugin is an enhanced, plugin-version of ESXtop for the vSphere Web Client. The plugin displays ESX server stats in new and more powerful ways by tapping into the GUI capabilities of the Web Client.

Features

• Separate tabs for CPU, memory, network and disk performance statistics
• Flexible batch output
• Flexible counter selection
• Advanced data grid for displaying stats (sortable columns, expandable rows, etc.)
• Configurable refresh rate
• VM-only stats
• Embedded tooltip for counter description

More Details & Toll Download @ below URL

https://labs.vmware.com/flings/esxtopngc-plugin
 

VMware VSAN & 2.0 (beta) now..

What is VMware VSAN?

VSAN (Virtual SAN) is a "Software Defined Storage", which will combine all "SSD's (for Cache)/ Spindles". Extremely Simple to Configure on "vSphere integrated GUI - VC". No more LUNs / NFS / External SAN is needed.  You may expect 2 Million IOPS in a 32 Node cluster.

http://www.vmware.com/products/virtual-san
http://cormachogan.com/vsan/

It's more improved now with VSAN 2.0 (Beta), supports upto 64 Nodes.

Does not it trigger your senses, to go try the product first handed, Yes????
Try the Free (Yes it's free) VMware VSAN Labs on below URL..

http://labs.hol.vmware.com/HOL/catalogs/catalog/129

Start this Lab -> HOL-SDC-1408 - VMware Virtual SAN 101

VMware released fix for ShellShock (Bash Bug) for various products..

WHAT IS SHELLSHOCK?
Shellshock is a hole in Bash that, when carefully accessed, lets an outsider's code be processed and executed on a user's computer.
Linux specialist Stephane Schazelas discovered the bug this week, but it's likely existed in the system for at least 20 years.

HOW CAN HACKERS EXPLOIT SHELLSHOCK?
An attacker could use the hole to insert code into a victim's computer, running commands and prompting the machine into action. That means an outsider could control a computer remotely. The attacker could access files, copy and delete data, and run programs.
"Using this vulnerability, attackers can potentially take over the operating system, access confidential information, make changes,

HOW  TO FIX SHELL-SHOCK ON VMWARE PRODUCTS?
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=2090740

VMware labs New Fling: PowerActions for vSphere Web Client (Run PowerCLI within Web Client)

PowerActions is a  Free Plugin can be added to vSphere Web Client and let users Run "PowerCLI" Scripts within "Web Client".. Doesn't it exciting.. You have the Power of GUI + CLI Automation with in Single Interface..

Eager to know more about Requirements, How to Install & Download URL's..
Please go through below link..

http://blogs.vmware.com/PowerCLI/2014/09/poweractions.html#more-1860

Updating from ESXi 5.1 to ESXi 5.1 Update1 with PowerCLI

http://www.virtu-al.net/2013/07/24/updating-from-esxi-5-1-to-esxi-5-1-update1-with-powercli/

New Fling "DrmDiagnose" from VMware Labs

New Fling "DrmDiagnose" from VMware Labs

VMware vCenter has provided sophisticated resource management controls
(to set resource reservations, limits, shares, etc.) for virtual machines since vCenter 2.0. However, we have noticed that not everyone uses these controls
due to confusion about how these features can affect other virtual machines in the resource pool.
For instance, what happens when you increase the CPU size of a VM?
How does that affect the other VMs in the same cluster?

This Fling attempts to make this easier by providing resource management recommendations based on inventory dumps of the existing environment. It compares the current resource demands of a VM and suggests changes to the resource allocation settings to achieve the performance you are looking for. It will also let you know how it impacts the other VMs.

http://labs.vmware.com/flings/drmdiagnose

VMware acquired Virsto - Software Defined Storage (SDDC approach)

Introducing the Virsto Storage Hypervisor

VMware is Geared up & taking big leap on "Software Defined Data Center" by acquiring Virsto.
Virsto has developed a new approach for storage in virtualized environments. Virsto delivers purpose-built software defined storage with its VM-centric storage hypervisor, which provides a set of high-performance data services.

Traditional Method to access Storage..


The Hypervisor (applicable to ESX, ESXi and Hyper-V) acts as a multiplexer to the VMs’ I/O, interleaving the I/O of all the VMs on the host.  As a result, the I/O coming from the Hypervisor is mixed up.  This I/O is what is presented to the underlying storage layer.

When this I/O stream hits the storage layer, it looks like random I/O.  Random I/O presents a challenge for traditional storage because with spinning disks, the mechanics of laying down random writes on disk causes rotational latencies and prolongs seek times.  The consequence of this type of I/O is that storage performance, particularly write performance, degrades.



Virsto Method (Software Defined Storage)


The I/O Optimization data service addresses the I/O randomness due to the server Hypervisor.

The Virsto Storage Hypervisor sits on each host and presents a virtual storage appliance (VSA) to the VMs on the host.  The VMs see Virsto as a new storage mount point, which means Virsto is in the I/O path for the VMs.  Virsto offloads the I/O from the Hypervisor in a more efficient manner.

With the I/O Optimization data service, the Virsto Storage Hypervisor will perform a set of actions on the I/O so it is sequentialized and sent to the storage layer in orderly, logical blocks.

References

http://virsto.com/products/virsto-overview/
http://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-virsto-021113.html

VMware KBTV - vCenter Heartbeat Installation & Validation

Are you interested to check How to install & validate -> vCenter Server Heartbeat.
Check out below VMware KBTV video.

VMware vCenter Server Heartbeat delivers high availability for VMware vCenter Server,

Protecting virtual infrastructure from application, configuration, operating system, network and hardware-related problems. Protect VMware vCenter Server and its database against all types of planned and unplanned downtime with seamless, rapid failover and failback on both physical and virtual platforms. Proactively monitor VMware vCenter Server and ensure seamless failover and failback of for in local and remote locations.

In a Nutshell, vCenter Heartbeat is “Cluster suite” to provide HA for vCenter Server.

HOTLINK SUPERVISOR - Heterogeneous Hypervisors – All under one Roof i.e VMware vCenter

HotLink SuperVISOR for VMware vCenter is a certified VMware Ready solution that extends the robust management capabilities of VMware vCenter to natively support all major enterprise Hypervisors — including Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix XenServer and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (KVM).

Unlike overlay solutions that provide only basic cross-platform features on top of multiple native management toolsets, HotLink SuperVISOR abstracts the virtual infrastructure, so you can support other hypervisors utilizing the underlying capabilities of VMware vCenter. No additional management console is required — even to support advanced features like live migration and DRS!

With HotLink SuperVISOR you can:

• Manage multi-hypervisor natively with VMware vCenter!
• Clone, snapshot and migrate heterogeneous workloads
• Utilize existing templates cross-platform
• Automate any-to-any workload conversions
• Eliminate redundant native management toolsets
• Leverage existing VMware skills & investment

http://hotlink.com/technology/supervisor-vmware.html

Free edition Supports 1 Hypervisor, 3Hosts, 15 VM's. - 

A Short Video on HotLink SuperVISOR - by David Davis - from TrainSignal

What is CTK file in Datastore (VM's folder)?

CTK file is created on VM's folder, when CBT is enabled on VMDK level (VM -> Edit Settings -> Options - General -> Confg paramaters) -> Refer below KB's for details.

Changed Block Tracking (CBT) is a VMware feature that helps perform incremental backups.
VMware Data Recovery uses this technology, and so can developers of backup and recovery software.

What is CBT and how it helps backup software?

If you look at the VM Aware backup software, Incremental Backups also  takes backup of Full VMDK size – If the file is modified after last Full Backup. In case of CBT is enabled assume few blocks are changed/added on VMDK -> CBT Helps to take only modified / added blocks not entire Giant VMDK. You may compare this to “Block level Incremental backups” (Not File Level incremental backups)

If CBT (Change Block Tracking) is enabled on a VM (we need to enable on each VMDK separately),
CBT feature will create additional files like vmname-cbt.vmdk, vmname-1-cbt.vmdk. (one CTK for one VMDK) in the same directory where it stores VMDK Descriptior & Flat Files

Once CBT is enabled on VMDK, since then ->
If any block changed on that VMDK - it will be recorded on associated .CTK map file of that VMDK. This map file (.CTK) helps VM Aware backup softwares to identify,
Since last Full backup, What are the blocks changed/added on that VMDK,
So Backup S/w does not need to backup whole VMDK - only backup the changed/added blocks.

By the way, What do mean by Block here and what would be the size of each Block??
Here the blocks are the small portions of VMDK (No relation with 1MB/8MB block size of VMFS)
CBT perspective, Block size (small portion of VMDK) - start from 64KB and varies if VMDK is big.

CBT is on a per VMDK level and not on a VMFS level.
CBT has variable block sizes which are dictated by the size of the VMDK.
CBT is a feature that lives within the VMKernel and not within VMFS.
CBT is a FS Filter as shown in the VMworld slide below

References
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1020128

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1031873

http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/virtualization-pro/what-is-changed-block-tracking-in-vsphere/

http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2009/12/21/changed-block-tracking/