VSphere

Breaking Enhanced Linked Mode is one of those changes where the technical command is not the hardest part. The hard part is making sure administrators, service accounts, and external products can still log in and do their jobs after the vCenters no longer share the same SSO domain. In this post I will walk through a repeatable way to export and restore vCenter 8.x RBAC data before splitting Enhanced Linked Mode. The focus is on three permission layers: ...

While reviewing an SOS support bundle from a VMware Cloud Foundation environment, I noticed every ESXi host in the management cluster was logging the same warning, over and over, right up to the moment the bundle was collected: [vob.visorfs.ramdisk.full] Cannot extend visorfs file /vsantraces/vsantracesLSOMVerbose--...zst because its ramdisk (vsantraceFailover) is full. These are -INFO level VOB events, not errors, and they do not touch your data or VMs. But when the same symptom appears on all hosts at once, fires continuously, and never clears on its own, it is worth understanding what is actually happening and fixing it cluster-wide rather than logging into each host by hand. This post walks through the diagnosis and a small Bash script that queries, fixes, and reclaims space on every host in parallel. ...

With the latest release of ESXi 9 i wanted to get my lab up to date. I don’t have enough resources in my lab to migrate the vCenter to another ESXi server so i want to perform the upgrade via cli. More details about the release can found here The first step was to open the firewall for outgoing traffic for http esxcli network firewall ruleset set -e true -r httpClient Second step was to list the updates by executing ...

The Problem When trying to connect to a vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) using WinSCP, many admins encounter the following error: Received too large (1433299822 B) SFTP packet. Max supported packet size is 1024000 B This occurs because the default shell used by the vCenter appliance (/bin/appliancesh) is not compatible with SFTP, which WinSCP attempts to use by default. The Solution To successfully connect to VCSA and transfer files using WinSCP, you need to: ...

With the latest release of ESXi8U3b i wanted to get my lab up to date. I dont have enough resources in my lab to migrate the vCenter to another ESXi server so i want to perform the upgrade via cli. More details about the release can found here The first step was to open the firewall for outgoing traffic for http esxcli network firewall ruleset set -e true -r httpClient Second step was to list the updates by executing ...

With the release of vCenter 7 Update 1, VMware introduced the vCLS (vSphere Clustering Service). More information can be found here. Looking at the error details it looks like it is looking for a feature called cpuid.mwait Reviewing the VMX file it seems like EVC is enabled on the vCLS VMs. I didnt want to enable EVC on the whole cluster so i wanted to do it only on the specific VMs. ...

Introduction Logs play a pivotal role in the management and troubleshooting of IT environments. Aria for Logs (formerly known as vRealize Log Insight) provides powerful log management capabilities, enabling deep analytical insights and real-time monitoring of data from various sources, including vSphere. To ensure Aria for Logs effectively collects and analyzes log data, it requires specific permissions within your vCenter Server. This blog post will guide you through creating a custom role in vCenter tailored for the Aria for Logs service account. ...

In the evolving landscape of VMware ESXi environments, maintaining compatibility and ensuring that systems adhere to specific boot requirements is essential. As more environments transition towards UEFI, there might still be a need to check or enforce legacy BIOS boot methods on certain ESXi servers, especially for compatibility with older hardware or specific operational requirements. This blog post will guide VMware administrators on how to automate the process of checking the boot option (UEFI or Legacy BIOS) on multiple ESXi hosts using PowerShell and Plink. ...

In today’s dynamic IT environments, maintaining a secure and efficient infrastructure is paramount. For VMware vSphere administrators, managing the firewall settings on vCenter servers is a critical task that ensures the security of the entire virtualized infrastructure. Ansible, an open-source automation tool, offers a streamlined approach to managing firewall settings across multiple vCenter servers. This blog post will guide you through automating vCenter server firewall configurations using Ansible, showcasing how to apply these changes across multiple servers seamlessly. ...

In the realm of VMware vSphere management, securing your vCenter Server is critical to maintaining a robust and secure infrastructure. SaltStack Config, integrated into VMware’s vRealize Automation suite, offers a powerful way to automate and manage configurations across your VMware environment, including firewall settings. This blog explores how to leverage SaltStack Config to automate firewall adjustments on your vCenter servers, ensuring consistent security policies and simplifying the process across multiple instances. ...