Yellow Bricks

by Duncan Epping

Server

ESX 3i backdoor

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According to this new KB article there’s a backdoor for ESX3i:

  1. Log in to your ESX Server 3i at the console.
  2. Press Alt+F1 to switch to the console window.
  3. Enter unsupported to start the Tech Support Mode login process. Note that no text will appear on the console window.
  4. Enter the password for the root user. Tech Support Mode is now active.
  5. Complete tasks in Tech Support Mode.
  6. Enter the command exit to exit Tech Support Mode.
  7. Press Alt+F2 to return the server to DCUI mode.

For more info check the KB article. I will be checking out this feature over the next couple of days to see what’s possible in this mode.

VirtualCenter 2.0.2 Update 3

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VMware just announced VirtualCenter 2.0.2 update 3:

Resolved Issues include:
Virtual Machine Management Issues
PR:219126 – Virtual Machine Alarms Not Triggered This release fixes an issue where VirtualCenter alarms are not triggered when the alarm conditions are met.

PR:225357 – Host and Virtual Machine Alarms Stop Updating Over Time This release fixes an issue where some alarms that are configured for a virtual machine can fail to update. This issue is usually encountered after the virtual machine has changed power state.

PR:163019 – Virtual Machines Do Not Show Correct Status This release fixes an issue where the status indicators of some virtual machines do not accurately reflect the virtual machine’s status. This issue usually occurs after a restart of the VirtualCenter Server.

Licensing Issues
R:229629 – VirtualCenter Does Not Correctly Display New License Format This release fixes an issue where earlier versions of VirtualCenter are not able display licenses from license files issued since the release of VirtualCenter 2.5. On versions of VirtualCenter before 2.0.2 Update 3, the license files appear to install normally but log warnings such as “Chunk ‘desc=ESX Server Enterprise’ was not well formed, skipping” in the log files when license files of the new format are displayed in VirtualCenter.

The release notes aren’t online yet, so we will have to wait for a more detailed view on what has changed in this release.

Two times VCP 3

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Two weeks ago I finally received my VCP welcome kit with my VCP number. It took a while but I’m glad I finally received it. For some reason VMware decided to send me another VCP kit with another VCP number. Weird… Well it’s better to have two than none I guess…

Performance counters bug for the cluster?

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Today I noticed the following in a ESX 3.5 and Virtual Center 2.5 environment: When you check the performance of the memory(past day) on the cluster the minimum and maximum is way more than expected. In this case the minimum is 66,9% and the maximum 106,01%. This cluster has around 64GB of memory and there’s only around 30GB assigned, nowhere near the 66,9% or the 106,01% for that matter. Anyone who can confirm this behavior or even better explain it. I’m afraid it’s a bug…