VMware Support Assistant browser incompatibility
VMware Support Assistant is a must have FREE tool for your VMware vSphere installation.
Look at the VMware Site for more info on the VMware Support Assistant appliance.
The installation procedure can be found here or on YouTube.
During the installation at a customer site I found out that configuring the applicanse not always works as it should be. During the installation wizard where we make a connection to the SSO server I got following error:
Something failed. Try again.
A general error occured while attempting to acquire token from SSO service; will wrap and re-throw the exception. Re-trying the request might solve the problem; check the error details for more info A general error occured while attempting to acquire token from SSO service; will wrap and re-throw the exception. Re-trying the request might solve the problem; check the error details for more info Error communicating to the remote server https://MyServer:7444/sts/STSService/vsphere.local
Error communicating to the remote server https://MyServer:7444/sts/STSService/vsphere.local
com.ctc.wstx.exc.WstxIOException: Invalid null character in text to output Invalid null character in text to output Invalid null character in text to output
After some research I found out that it was a browser issue.
It does NOT work in the newest Chrome (version 37) on MAC and NOT on Internet Explorer on Windows 7.
It works on Internet Explorer 10 on a Windows 2008 R2 server.
After the configuration it is working perfectly now.
Convert RDM to VMDK
In preparation for a SRM project we had to check and migrate all RDM files to VMDK.
Check which VM has RDM using PowerCLI
Get-VM | Get-HardDisk -DiskType “RawPhysical”,”RawVirtual” | Select Parent,Name,DiskType,ScsiCanonicalName,DeviceName
Verify how RDM is connected
Edit the settings of the virtual machine in the VMware web client (while the machine is running) to verify if the RDM is connected physical or virtual.
The field compatibility tells how the RDM is connected, Physical or Virtual
-
Convert Physical RDM to VMDK
A physical connected RDM cannot be converted online to a VMDK. Before that we need to convert the Physical RDM to a Virtual RDM. (VMware KB)
- Write down the drive letter of the disk in the guest OS
- Stop the Virtual Machine by doing a shutdown of the guest OS
-
Note-down the LUN ID of the RDM by going into the multipath settings of the RMD connected to the VM
-
Remove the RDM, and check “Delete fr
-
Re-Add the RDM but change the compatibility mode to Virtual. Be sure the RDMs are connected to a separate SCSI-Controller (VM-PARAVIRTUAL). Select the same LUN ID as the LUN disconnected.
- Power on the virtual machine
-
Go into storage management and check if the disk is online. Default it will be offline, bring it back online and connect it to the correct drive letter.
- No your server is up and running with a Virtual RDM wich can be migrated online to a VMDK (see Convert Virtual RDM to VMDK)
-
Convert Virtual RDM to VMDK
A Virtual connected RDM can be migrated to a VMDK while the machine is running. (VMware KB)
-
Check if the RDM is connected virtual. Edit the VM settings and check compatibility mode of the disk
-
Start the Storage migration of the virtual machine
-
Be sure you change the disk mode to Thin or Thick provisioned.
- If you select “Same format as source” then the RMD link file will be moved and NO migration to VMDK will happen.
-
If needed you can select this setting for each disk (and VMX config file) if you go into the advanced
-
Change the setting for each individual disk and start the migration
- After the migration check the disk to see it is a VMDK and not a RDM.
Allow Virtual machines with duplicate MAC address on vSphere 5.5
In a migration project to VMware vSphere 5.5 I bumped into duplicate MAC address issue (I found out after some investigation).
Some info on the setup.
There are ESXi hosts that we are migrating from 5.0 to 5.5. Some VM’s where 2 VM’s (VM1 and VM2) share the same MAC address (production and test machine).
On ESXi 5.0 these 2 VM’s can run together on the same ESXi host.
I want to move the VM’s to an already upgraded ESXi 5.5 host, the first VM (VM1 moves without any problems. ) For the second VM (VM2) I get following error during vMotion. Same error happens when I cold migrate the VM2 to the same host (ESXi 5.5) as VM1 and try to power VM2 on.
After some Google research I came across following blog
http://jasonnash.com/2008/08/30/disabling-mac-address-checking-in-vmware/
And adding the advanced setting to VM2 fixed the problem.
Where to find VMware version information
Here some links to find version information about VMware vSphere products
http://vsphere-land.com/vinfo/release-build-info
and about VMware Tools versions
http://packages.vmware.com/tools/versions
How long can an ESXi host run?
Before starting an upgrade at a customer site I was surprised how long an ESXi host can run. Here the proof.
Upgrade VMware vCenter Appliance 5.1 to 5.5
A lot of my customers are running the vCenter Appliance version 5.1. Now they start to ask to upgrade this appliance to the newest version.
Here I will show you step by step the upgrade process. This is based on the VMware KB article 2058441
Prerequisites
- Verify the time set on the old (VMware vCenter 5.1) appliance and the new (VMware vCenter 5.5) appliances are in sync. Be aware that from version 5.5 the clock on the appliance is always set to the UTC time zone. In the older version you could select your own tome zone. (see VMware KB)
- Be sure SSO (if installed on separate machine) is on the same version of the vCenter you want to upgrade to.
- If the vCenter database is external, make backup on the Database server. For backing up the embedded database look at this KB
- Create a snapshot of the OLD vCenter appliance before you start the upgrade procedure.
Upgrade Procedure
- First step of the upgrade procedure is deploying a fresh VM of the latest vCenter Appliance.
- Next is to configure the VM so that network connectivity is possible. The only thing that needs to be configured is IP address, subnet and gateway. The Original vCenter hostname and IP settings will be configured (copied) in the NEW vCenter Appliance based on the setting of the old vCenter.
- Connect to the old and new vCenter appliance via a supported web browser. (personal experience is that IE works and Chrome not! For the upgrade process.
-
On the NEW vCenter, Accept the EULA
- Next step in the upgrade process is to specify that you want to upgrade from a previous version
- Still in the NEW appliance, copy the local appliance code to the clipboard
-
On the OLD vCenter appliance, go to the Upgrade tab and paste the clipboard content in the text box and press the import button.
-
If the import was successful you get a notice and then copy the upgrade key back to the clipboard
-
On the NEW server paste the upgrade key in the bottom text box and proceed by clicking the next button.
-
There is an option to replace the SSL certificates on the NEW with those ones from the OLD vCenter Appliance
-
Now the new SSO password must be entered for the SSO administrator account administrator@vsphere.local. (this was admin@system-domain in pre 5.5 versions)
-
Select now all the servers that need to check for compatibility with the new vCenter
-
After pressing next we see that we are ready to start the migration.
-
Pressing next will get following screen where you have to confirm that the upgrade process can proceed.
-
When you hit the start, the migration process start.
-
When you start the migration you will notice that the OLD vCenter server will be shut downed and the NEW vCenter server will have the IP configuration (hostname, IP settings) of the OLD ESX host.
After a successful upgrade you can start upgrading the ESXi hosts to the latest ESXi version.
- Can you login in the new vCenter Appliance via the Web Client and everything works fine you can remove the old vCenter Appliance from the inventory and from disk.
How to get the VMware VCA-DCV Certification
Since the last VMworlds VMware has re-launched the VCA certification. This blog will help you to get through the procedure of registration en starting the exam.
UPDATE: The Voucher code mentioned later in de blog is only giving 50% discount insted of 100% discount since 2 decmber 2013
Here the links to all e VCA certifications VMware has launched.
- VMware Certified Associate – Data Center Virtualization (VCA-DCV)
- VMware Certified Associate – Cloud (VCA-Cloud)
- VMware Certified Associate – Workforce Mobility (VCA-WM)
First of all you need to get trained to do get the certification. Use the links below on the above pages to get the FREE E-Learnings from the VMware Mylearn website. To get access you need to get a Mylearn account. Create account or login using following link.
Check the Blue Prints to see what the required knowledge is for each VCA exam by clicking on the following screen
After the preparations we are ready to register for the exam. You can do the exam online and do not need to go to a Pearson Vue center.
Use the links below to start the certification process for your VCA exam.
Following steps will guide you to the registration and start of examination for the VCA-DCV
-
Login into mylearn.vmware.com
-
Enter user and contact information
-
Registration is done. Give Pearson Vue up to 15 min to authorize you for the exam.. Also on the last screen you get a link that brings you to the trainings plan for this VCA exam.
-
Go to http://www.pearsonvue.com/vmware and login with your Pearson account to proceed the certification process
-
If the authorization is not yet happened you get following screen
-
After some refreshes of above screen the authorization came trhough
-
Click on the link to proceed.
- You see the exam normally cost some money. Later on in the registration process you can use above voucher code to get this for free. Read the requirements to execute the exam and proceed with the registration
-
Select the language and proceed with next
-
Proceed to the checkout and use the voucher code VMRT7B204E2E
-
Modify some personal info in step 1 of the checkout process and continue
-
In step 2 of the Checkout process you will agree with the policies
-
On the payment step DO NOT FORGET to enter the voucher code VMRT7B204E2E
-
Submit the order and get the receipt to start the exam
- On the receipt page you see the availability of the exam (24h) and the start button
Success with the certification and keep on going with VMware Certifications
When you succeed you will see following screen
Lost your VMware vCenter Operations password
Today on a customer site I had to upgrade the vCenter Operations Manager to the latest version.
The problem was that the password of the admin account was not known.
After some research on the internet (google is my friend) I found a VMware KB article that describes step by step how to recover.
The VMware KB number is 2013358
We had already vCenter Operations manager 5.7 running but the resetadminpwd.sh was not on the machine. I had to follow the steps as described for version 5.0.
Hope this will help you.
vSphere 5.5 Quick stats not up to date
After doing a upgrade from mixed VMware vSphere environment to a clean 5.5 environment we noticed the warning “Quick Stats on HOSTNAME is not up to date” on each ESX hosts summary page.
Below you can see the screens with the warning.
Webclient
vSphere Client
After some googling I found this VMware KB: KB 2061008
In this KB the ask you to add some extra advanced settings in the vCenter. Below the setps to add these settings.
After this change is done, the vCenter service needs to be restarted.
According to the KB this should be enough but my experience is that the VPXA agent needs to be restarted on all ESX hosts in the vCenter. This can be done manually or via PowerCLI.
Manually
- Go to the configuration tab of an ESX host and select the Security Profile
- Select properties
- Select the VPXA agent
- Select options
- Restart the service.
NOTE: you will get some error popups because the vCenter looses the connection for a second with the ESXi host.
PowerCLI
$VMhosts = Get-Datacenter “Your DataCenter” | Get-VMHost
foreach ($VMhost in $VMhosts)
{
Get-VMHostService -VMHost $VMhost |
where {$_.Key -eq “vpxa”} |
Restart-VMHostService -Confirm:$false -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}
How to solve “DRS Invocation Not Completed”?
Today I received an email from a customer with the message that a message appeared on the Cluster summary tab.
Also on each host separately I saw that the information on CPU used and Memory used was frozen and set to ZERO
After some research on the VMware KB site, I did not find any solution.
Then I started to play with the DRS settings. I tried to set it from Fully Automatic to Manual with no result.
After that I disconnected the host and reconnected the host again, the CPU and Memory usage meters were getting active again.
Also the message on the DRS cluster disappeared.
Problem fixed and again a happy customer.