Yellow Bricks

by Duncan Epping

3i

Support for Microsoft Cluster Server (MSCS) in 3.5 update !

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I received an email stating the following:

Microsoft Cluster Server is supported with VMware ESX 3.5 Update 1. Support is similar to ESX 3.0.1 with the following additions:

  • Both 64 bit and 32 bit Windows 2003 guests are supported with MSCS.
  • Boot from SAN for VMs using MSCS is now supported.
  • Majority Node Set clusters with application-level replication (for example, Microsoft Exchange 2007 Cluster Continuous Replication (CCR)) is now supported.

For details regarding MSCS support, including a number of important restrictions, please see the document “Setup for Microsoft Cluster Service.” For information concerning supported storage arrays, refer to the Storage/SAN Compatibility Guide for ESX Server 3.5 and ESX Server 3i.

3i is gone, welcome ESXi

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VMware seems to have ditched the product name “3i” and silently introduced “ESXi”. I noticed it when the download page was updated today. But you can also read it on the “product section” of the VMware website. I think this is a better name instead of differentiation in versions, keeping the versions alligned and changing the name makes more sense to me and probably most customers.

Besides this they’ve also ditched the “server” part in VMware ESX Server, for more info check out the blog by John Troyer!

New iso’s/builds coming up for 3i / 3.5 / VirtualCenter

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There are new iso’s / builds coming up for 3i, 3.5 and VirtualCenter:

VMware ESX 3.5 Update 1
Latest Version: 3.5 | 4/10/2008 | Build: 82663

VMware VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 1
Latest Version: 2.5 | 4/10/2008 | Build: 79820

VMware ESXi 3.5 Installable Update 1
Latest Version: 3.5 | 4/10/2008 | Build: 82664

Unfortunately the iso’s aren’t available for download yet and the release notes aren’t updated. I guess someone just made a mistake updating this page cause the release date isn’t for another 10 days. We will just have to wait and see.

VMReference Card 1.1!

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Forbes just uploaded a brand new version of the VMReference Card. Download it, print it and keep it close!

Source: http://vmreference.com/

Here is version 1.1 in all its shining glory.

I’ve made several corrections (thanks everyone), added a few extra snippets and dusted it with a sprinkling of handy tips and tricks.

The biggest change is a small 3i section. I have been wanting to do this for a while, but I haven’t had a chance to play with it since its beta. There is quite lot of information around about 3i now, but I just wanted to add the sort of stuff people would actual use.

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.