PowerCLI @ VMworld Europe from Alan Renouf on Vimeo.

I am so looking forward to this, PowerCLI-MAN is my hero! PS: Add PowerCLI-MAN on Facebook!

1. Add-EsxSoftwareDepot c:\tmp\VMware-Esxi-5.0.0-<buildnumber>-depot.zip
2. Add-EsxSoftwareDepot http://<vcenter server>/vSphere-HA-depot
3. New-EsxImageProfile -CloneProfile "ESXi-5.0.0-<buildnumber>-standard" -name "ESXiStatelessImage"
4. Add-EsxSoftwarePackage -ImageProfile "ESXiStatelessImage" -SoftwarePackage vmware-fdm
5. New-DeployRule -Name "FirstBoot" -Item "ESXiStatelessImage" -AllHosts
6. Add-DeployRule -DeployRule "FirstBoot"
7. Boot one of the hosts
8. Configure the host
9. Create Host Profile based on “first host” named “ESXiHostProfile”
10. New-DeployRule -name "ProductionBoot" -item "ESXiStatelessImage", ESXiHostProfile, <target_cluster> -Pattern "vendor=<unique hw identifier>"
11. Add-DeployRule -DeployRule "ProductionBoot"
12. Remove-DeployRule -DeployRule FirstBoot -delete
13. Boot all hosts
14. Assign Host Profiles to all hosts
15. Provide the “user input” aka create an Answer File per host
    
16. Reboot hosts –> done
17. Before you leave your PowerCLI session make sure you save your newly create image profile as a Software Depot so you can make changes later if and when needed! Otherwise the data will be saved in your image profile cache but you will not be able to make changes!
    Export-EsxImageProfile -ImageProfile "ESXiStatelessImage" -ExportToBundle -FilePath c:\tmp\ESXiStatelessImage.zip

That seems a bit more simplistic than my previous post doesn’t it.

** update: added step 17 **

Anyway, I gave the PowerCLI Reference Book 5 stars as I truly believe it is one of a kind, here’s my justification for it:

I received the paper-version of the book last week and started reading it straight away. The authors are THE number one PowerCLI experts in the world and take you through the trenches of vSphere automation.
Although I know vSphere inside out I am a novice when it comes to PowerCLI. The main reason being that I never gave myself the time to actually learn PowerCLI as I figured I could do things faster using the UI. Although this might be true in some cases the first thing the book tought me was that my perception was wrong. The book shows you how to optimize your day-to-day operations by taking advantage of what PowerCLI has to offer out of the box, but it also teaches you how to create your own functions. The amount of examples in there in terms of PowerCLI scripts are such a valuable asset that I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning PowerCLI and/or optimizing their operational procedures. We are not talking about reporting only, for instance configuring vSwitches or restricting the amount of snapshots is all shown in this book. Be warned though, don’t expect a step-by-step Learning PowerCLI Guide, this is 700+ pages of pure PowerCLI automation at its best which will enable you to get the most out of your environment.

Not included on Amazon, but I do feel it would have been nice if the structure of the book was slightly different. I would have personally started with an Introduction chapter, followed “in-box” reporting functionality and finishing it off with deepdive functions and pages of script. But than again, this is a reference book and not course material. All in all, this book is more than worth it.

You can buy it here if you are interested.
(yes it contains an affiliate link)

Release date: 28th of March
Authors: Luc Dekens, Alan Renouf, Glen Sizemore, Arnim van Lieshout, Jonathan Medd
ISB: 0470890797

Connect-VIServer : 8/12/2010 11:51:36 Connect-VIServer
Could not connect using the requested protocol.

I discovered that this was due to a change in the Proxy Server settings on the client. After removing this proxy address everything was back to normal.

-ray

Out-GridView : To use the Out-GridView cmdlet, install the Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment feature from Server Manager. (Could not load file or assembly ‘Microsoft.PowerShell.GraphicalHost, Version=1.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=31bf3856ad364e35′ or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified.)

After some troubleshooting I discovered that this can be resolved easily by installing PowerShell ISE, which is an optional feature and requires .Net 3.5 SP1, to install this on Windows Server 2008 R2, use the Add Features Wizard or run the following Powershell command:

Import-Module ServerManager; Add-WindowsFeature PowerShell-ISE

-ray

VMware vSphere PowerCLI is a must-have tool for any administrator managing VMware vSphere in a Windows environment. Having to repeat vSphere administrative tasks can be time consuming and error-prone, but PowerCLI—created specifically for Windows environments—allows VMware administrators to automate tasks. Written to the latest PowerCLI, this handy guide shows you step by step how to use the PowerCLI cmdlets for daily administration procedures and frequently performed tasks for VMware vSphere X. The reference is organized by vSphere tasks, providing a practical approach to accessing the information you need while you are on the job. Supported by real world examples and no-nonsense instruction, coverage includes installation, configuration, and management of a vSphere environment, management of the virtual machine life-cycle, security, and monitoring and reporting.

Pre-order NOW!

While I was scavenging the internet for a screenshot of the cover, which I did not manage to find by the way, I noticed something else. It seems that these 5 guys are literally planning to take over the PowerCLI Community:

• Twitter : PowerCLIbook (start following them!)
• URL: PowerCLIbook.com

It seems that PowerCLIbook.com will primarily be used as a mechanism to offer readers updated versions of scripts, to enable them to ask the authors questions around the book itself and even to download a full Powerpack. Judging by the fact that is hasn’t been formally announced yet I expect the guys are still working on the forum/site.

Anyway, go out and pre-order the book… it is worth it,

If you are in London on the 8th October 2010 then you could be in for a treat, VMware are arranging a fantastic event, well worth the visit and best of all its free !

The event is called: Managing vSphere in large environments using APIs and PowerCLI

There are limited spaces available so act now or you will miss out, some of the most fantastic minds of VMware will be gracing London with their presence before heading out to VMworld Copenhagen.

Think of this as a taster of the kind of things you can expect from Technology Exchange, the contents are listed below, I would recommend this to any VMware admins who are managing large implementations of vCenter, there will be some great detail in these sessions.

If you would like to attend please send an email to PowerCLIEvent@virtu-al.net with your name and company, this will strictly be on a first come first serve basis as there are limited numbers.

Exploring VMware APIs

Speaker: Preetham Gopalaswamy

vSphere APIs for Performance Monitoring

Speaker: Balaji Parimi, Ravi Soundararajan

Of course Alan really focussed on the API part of the event, but that is not all there is. If you thought my esxtop page was useful, make sure to attend this event as this is the best part of the day in my opinion:

Advanced performance troubleshooting using esxtop

Level: Advanced

Length: 60 minutes

This talk will teach you how to spot tricky performance issues using the various counters in esxtop.

Speaker: Krishna Raj Raja, Staff Engineer, Performance Team

If you are in the UK and can’t make it to VMworld, this is your chance to catch some of the top experts and get to know the API and esxtop inside out!

The first one is the Virtu-Al VESI & PowerGui Powerpack. If you are like me, not a powercli hero, this is what you were looking for all along. Alan has bundled all his script into a Powerpack which enables you to import all his scripts at once and run them with a single click. All scripts are placed into categories which makes them easy to find. Not only can you use them you can also modify them to your needs. Of course if you do improve these scripts give some feedback to Alan so that he might be able to incorporate it into the Powerpack.

The second one is Version 3 of the daily report or vCheck as it is called as of v3. I wrote about version 1 and many people have downloaded it and are using it in their environment. The script just got better and a whole set of new features have been added. Alan was smart enough to ask around in the community what his report was lacking and incorporated all these tips in Version 3 of vCheck(previously known as the Daily Report). Again, if you feel there is anything missing don’t hesitate to leave a comment and ask Alan if he can add it… Here’s the list of new features:

• Status report to screen whilst running interactively
• At the top of the script you can now turn off any areas you do not want to report on (this makes it faster to run)
• VMs on Local storage has been changed to report VMs stored on datastores attached to only one host
• VM active alerts
• Cluster Active Alerts
• If HA Cluster is set to use host datastore for swapfile, check the host has a swapfile location set
• Host active Alerts
• Dead SCSI Luns
• VMs with over x amount of vCPUs
• vSphere check: Slot Sizes
• vSphere check: Outdated VM Hardware (Less than V7)
• VMs in Inconsistent folders (the name of the folder is not the same as the name)
• Added the number of issues to each title line

Carter can you please hand over your crown to Alan?! Thanks,