Yellow Bricks

by Duncan Epping

Archives for November 2009

vSphere 4.0 Quick Start Guide: Shortcuts down the path of Virtualization

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It took us longer than expected, my apologies for that, but the vSphere 4.0 Quick Start Guide is finally available! Time lines got extended as we decided to go with Booksurge instead of Lulu. Booksurge is an Amazon company which means Amazon sells it as of today.

So what is the vSphere Quick Start Guide? 256 Pages of tips and hints on how to get around with vCenter, the Service Console and Powershell. Or as Amazon describes it: “vSphere 4.0 Quick Start Guide continues from an idea started several years ago by a few engineers. The idea was simple, provide an easy to use reference guide for all level administrators, consultants and architects. Recently VMware introduced many new features in vSphere 4.0 and with this handy pocket guide you will learn about each of these new features. With each chapter, the pages in this essential guide will answer common questions while giving you unprecedented insight into: Expert tips & tricks Pitfalls to avoid RemoteCLI & PowerCLI (PowerShell) scripts Configuration how to’s Virtualization best practices.”

Just to make it absolutely clear, although Alan Renouf is not mentioned on Amazon he is one of the six Authors and responsible for all Powershell scripts included in the book. For some weird reason Amazon does not take more than 5 authors and Alan got cut off but we are working on getting Alan listed as we speak.

vMA Patch 2

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vMA 4.0 Patch 2 has just officially been released. This release contains multiple bugfixes and security patches. Make sure to install the patch. KB article 1014689 describes how to do the upgrade from within the appliance.

VMware View is available!

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VMware View has just officially been released. (VMware View Manager 4.0 | 11/20/09 | Build 210939) Key features are:

  • VMware View with PCoIP – PCoIP provides an optimized desktop experience for the delivery of the entire desktop environment including applications, images, audio, and video content for a wide range of users on the LAN or across the WAN. PCoIP can compensate for an increase in latency or a reduction in bandwidth, to ensure that end users can remain productive regardless of network conditions.
  • PCoIP includes VMware View Display with support for up to four monitors and the ability to deliver the optimal resolution and pivot orientation to each monitor independently.
  • VMware vSphere Support – VMware vSphere 4 support enables improved virtual machine scalability, performance, and management, with continued support for VMware Infrastructure 3.x.
  • Enhanced single sign-on – The Log in as current user feature is integrated with Active Directory and smart cards to help simplify the process of logging in to a VMware View desktop.
  • Restricted entitlements – Administrators can control user access to virtual desktops based on the View Connection Server being used for authentication.
  • Smart card policies – Administrators can set group policies to force desktop disconnection and require reconnection when users remove smart cards.
  • Domain filtering – You can use vdmadmin.exe to control the accessibility of domains and traverse trust relationships more quickly.

The full release notes can be found here.

ESX(i) 4.0 -> ESX(i) 4.0 U1 update

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My colleague Lee Dilworth just emailed me the following. Those who are running vSphere ESX(i) and have the Cisco Nexus1000v installed might want to read this:

If your customers are on ESXi/ESX 4.0 and want to update to U1 using the vihostupdate then first they need to read this new KB:

http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1015879

From here you will see mention of a file VEM-4.0.0-update01.zip which is not on the U1 download page. One useful addition to the KB article would be to remind customers that to obtain this VEM update you need to navigate to: http://support.vmware.com/selfsupport/download/

From here select “VEM” and “4.0.0” and search. You will then see VEM-4.0.0-update01.zip. Copy this to the same folder as your ESXi patch file (ESXi-4.0.0-update01.zip) and then run:

vihostupdate --server <server> --username <uname> --password <passwd> --bundle
ESXi-4.0.0-update01.zip,VEM-4.0.0-update01.zip --bulletin
VEM400-200911014-BG,ESXi400-200911201-UG –install

Let the install run….that’s it.

C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware vSphere CLI\bin>vihostupdate.pl --server
192.168.1.1 --bundle C:\Install\U1\ESXi-4.0.0-update01.zip,
C:\Install\U1\VEM-4.0.0-update01-v100.zip --bulletin VEM400-200911014-BG,
ESXi400-200911201-UG --install
Enter username: root
Enter password: vmware
Please wait patch installation is in progress ...

The update completed successfully, but the system needs to be rebooted for the changes to be effective.

Solutions for Remote and Branch Offices

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VMware just released two new editions of vSphere which are specifically targeted at retail store / branch office environments. A PDF describing these package can be found here and the solution page on VMware.com can be found here.

  • VMware vSphere Essentials for Retail and Branch Offices offers a package solution for each of a customer’s branch offices to scale agility, security, and efficiency across the organization.
  • VMware vSphere Essentials Plus for Retail and Branch Offices provides a turnkey solution for complete business agility and continuity at all remote sites by adding high availability and data protection.