Yellow Bricks

by Duncan Epping

Archives for January 2010

RVTools 2.8

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Rob de Veij just released a brand new version of RVTools. Download it while it is still hot! Please note that this application supports ESX(i) Server 3.5 and vCenter 2.5. vSphere 4 is in experimental support.

Latest Version: 2.8 | January 31, 2010
Download | Documentation

  • On vHost tab field “# VMs” now only powered on VMs are counted.
  • On vHost tab field “VMs per core” now only powered on VMs are counted.
  • On vHost tab field “vCPUs per core” now only powered on VMs are counted.
  • On vDatastore tab field “# VMs” now only calculated for VM’s which are powered on.
  • Health check “Number of running virtual CPUs per core” now only powered on VMs are counted.
  • Health check “Number of running VMs per datastore” now only powered on VMs are counted.
  • During Installation there will be an application event source created for RVTools. This to fix some security related problems.
  • Some users run into a timeout exception from the SDK Web server. The default web service timeout value is now changed to a higher value.
  • New fields on vHost tab: NTP Server(s), time zone information, Hyper Threading information (available and active), Boot time, DNS Servers, DHCP flag, Domain name and  DNS Search order
  • New Health Check: Inconsistent folder names.
  • Improved exception handling on vDisk, vSwitch and vPort tab pages.

VMware vCenter Lifecycle Manager (LCM) 1.1

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VMware has just released LCM 1.1.

What’s new?

VMware vCenter Lifecycle Manager (LCM) 1.1 release enhances the performance, robustness, and scalability of LCM and resolves a number of known issues.

The LCM 1.1 release runs on VMware vCenter Orchestrator 4.0.1. To run LCM 1.1, you must install the version of Orchestrator (4.0.1 Build 4502) that accompanies the LCM 1.1 download. See the vCenter Lifecycle Manager 1.1 Installation and Configuration Guide for installation instructions.

Download now.

http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/lcm_pubs.html

VMware vCenter Lifecycle Manager Release Notes
VMware vCenter Lifecycle Manager Installation and Configuration Guide
VMware vCenter Lifecycle Manager Administration Guide
VMware vCenter Lifecycle Manager User’s Guide

Remove the ESXi web welcome screen

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I received a question from a customer who wanted, for security reasons, to remove the ESXi web welcome screen. This is the screen that enables you to download the vSphere Client and RCLI and even browse datastores.

I’ve tested it and removing (or renaming) the following file will lead to a blank page when the ESXi host is accessed via http(s):

/usr/lib/vmware/hostd/docroot/index.html

<edit>

William Lam created another work around which is definitely a more elegant solution: Remove the ESXi web welcome screen.

</edit>

Available now: Foundation for Cloud Computing with VMware vSphere 4

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Usenix/Sage has just officially publised our new book in the Short Topics series: “Foundation for Cloud Computing with VMware vSphere 4”.

Before reading the rest of this article be aware that the target audience for this book is IT Management. It’s an overview of VMware products / technology which enable Cloud Computing. It is by no means intended as a blueprint for cloud computing. If you are a techie this might not be the book for you, we are however working on a more technical book which will detail the process of designing a cloud infrastructure based on VMware products.

Book #21, Foundation for Cloud Computing with VMware vSphere 4, by John Arrasjid, Duncan Epping, and Steve Kaplan, is now online for members and available for purchase. Virtualization is recognized as a foundation for Cloud Computing. This book is an overview of the VMware technologies and how they can support the various services and management pieces required for Cloud architecture. Without diving overly deeply into specific design patterns, it provides insight into the tools to fit your design criteria. Take a look now!

Complete PDF version of the booklet can be found here (Usenix/Sage members only) or purchase the print version.

Open PDFs can be found here:

  • Covers/About the Authors PDF
  • Frontmatter/Table of Contents PDF
  • Acknowledgments PDF
  • Glossary PDF
  • Foreword by Dr. Stephen Alan Herrod PDF

I want to thank both of my co-authors for allowing me to work with them. Both Steve and John have an unseen drive and expertise. Thanks guys!