Tips

Tips

• Ease into ESXi with the VMware Management Assistant

  The VMware Management Assistant, or vMA, could help you ease into COS-less ESXi as it utilizes many of the same commands. Learn more about it and get an installation step-by-step tutorial.  Continue Reading

• Loading ESXi Installable on a USB drive: The requirements

  Loading ESXi Installable on a USB drive has many advantages. But before you proceed, learn the pros and cons of the process and your system requirements.  Continue Reading

• The mechanics of VMware Site Recovery Manager resignaturing

  Learn about the inner workings of resignaturing, which is one of VMware Site Recovery Manager's (SRM's) most important operations that's typically clouded in mystery.  Continue Reading

• The top 10 VMware tools an admin can't live without

  You wouldn't expect to build a house without a hammer, saw and nails, and you shouldn't expect to manage a VMware environment without the appropriate tools, either. Check out our top ten list of tools a VMware admin shouldn't live -- or work -- ...  Continue Reading

• When should you enable VMware Fault Tolerance?

  Fault Tolerance is a great tool for availability -- provided your servers meet the stringent hardware requirements, and your use case really makes sense.  Continue Reading

• Using PowerShell and PowerCLI to work with host servers

  Learn how to query your VMware host servers with this PowerShell Primer.  Continue Reading

• Configuring VMware vCenter Server Linked Mode: A walkthrough

  VMware vCenter Server's new Linked Mode capability allows administrators to manage complex vSphere virtual environments.  Continue Reading

• Customizing VMware Site Recovery Manager recovery plans with VMware PowerCLI scripts

  Using VMware PowerCLI scripts with VMware Site Recovery Manager can help you create a more robust, customized recovery plan. We show you how.  Continue Reading

• Upgrading to VMware vSphere: Five pros and five cons

  Increased performance, scalability and new features top the list as to why you should upgrade to vSphere, but proven product stability, third-party product and hardware compatibility are reasons you may want to stay with VMware Infrastructure 3 for ...  Continue Reading

• Licensing virtual machines: Windows 2008 Standard, Enterprise or Datacenter edition?

  Now that most machines are virtual rather than physical, Windows licensing can get a bit complicated. In this tip, learn exactly how many Microsoft licenses you need to cover your infrastructure and prevent the Business Software Alliance from ...  Continue Reading

• What is the free VMware OVFTOOL and how can it help you?

  VMware's OVFTOOL is a conversion program that eases distribution of virtual machines, converting them from the OVF format to .VMX, .OVA, .VMX files and others.  Continue Reading

• Using VMware's new vSphere command-line interface vCLI

  VMware updated the Remote Command-Line Interface (Remote CLI) with vSphere, renaming it vCLI. It offers many new commands, IPv6 support, the ability to run esxtop through vCenter, new options for vicfg-route and more.  Continue Reading

• Reviewing the five official VMware vCloud Express providers

  There are currently five official vCloud Express providers. Our contributor tested each of them. Read through the multi-part series to discover the surprising results.  Continue Reading

• Using the new VMware vSphere Management Assistant (vMA)

  When VMware released vSphere, it also updated what was formerlly known as the VMware Infrastructure Management Assistant, or VIMA. Now called vMA, it offers more than its predecessor. We go over how to install and use it here.  Continue Reading

• Virtual-to-physical conversions: Why and how

  Physical-to-virtual or P2V conversions are well-known in the virtualization field. Virtual-to-physical, or V2P, may be less so. But V2P conversions are still important to know how to do -- especially when it comes to application vendor support ...  Continue Reading

• VMware vSphere PowerCLI: Learn it, love it

  Getting on the vSphere PowerCLI bandwagon makes sense for administrators fed up with the time sink and error-prone nature of some administrative tasks.  Continue Reading

• Downloading, configuring and using VMotion in vSphere 4

  VMotion moves virtual machines to new hosts without creating downtime -- a win for admins and end users alike. Here's how to download, configure and use VMotion in vSphere.  Continue Reading

• VMware vSphere hot-add RAM and hot-plug CPU: Not so 'hot,' but still cool

  In theory, hot-add RAM and hot-plug CPU should allow you to easily add RAM and CPU as necessary while your virtual machine is running ("hot") to meet your workloads' needs. Not so, but the two are still useful add-ons.  Continue Reading

• PowersHell: Enabling “Management Traffic” on VMKernel port for ESXi

  Describes the steps you must follow in order to enable "Management Traffic" on VMKernel port for ESXi.  Continue Reading

• PowersHell: Factory Reset of ESXi

  During the course of my travels in powersHell with VMware – I’ve begun to put together my own JACS (Just-Another-Configuration-Script). The idea is to take a clean-factory set ESXi build, and use purely powersHell to configure it.  Continue Reading

• PowersHell: Enabling DPM Settings (IPMI/iLO/BMC)

  In vSphere4 there’s a new method enabling the “Distributed Power Management” options for a DPM enabled cluster.  Continue Reading

• Controlling vSphere administrative rights with Windows Active Directory groups

  Accountability, authentication and authorization are placed in limbo when all administrators are logging in to vSphere with the same account, but you can avoid those issues by configuring vSphere to use Windows Active Directory groups.  Continue Reading

• ESXi: To DHCP or not to DHCP, that is the question

  Discussing the issue of using DHCP to configure ESXi.  Continue Reading

• Configuring an ESXi host – Sample PS1 file - More PowerShell

  I set myself the task of trying to do everything I would do with PowerShell that would I normally do the %post script on kickstart install of an ESX host  Continue Reading

• VMware vShield Zones: What it is and how it works

  One of the new technologies VMware released with vSphere is a security tool called vShield Zones. Learn how it works in the first part of this three-part series.  Continue Reading

• Installing VMware ESXi on a physical server

  In this two-part series, we show you how to convert an existing physical server into a virtual machine, then how to install VMware ESXi on the server hardware and load the virtual machine back onto it.  Continue Reading

• Converting a physical server into a VMware ESXi virtual server

  With VMware Converter, convert underused physical servers into free VMware ESXi-based virtual machines running multiple applications.  Continue Reading

• From VMware beginner to VMware expert: The must-have resources

  If you're a VMware beginner, there is no 'easy button' to get VMware expertise. But the VMware resources listed here can jump-start your journey to VMware expert status.  Continue Reading

• Safely implementing VMsafe-aware virtual appliances in your data center

  VMsafe-aware virtual appliances can subject a virtualization environment to security risks, but smart administration can help you avoid a breach.  Continue Reading

• Reclaiming unused VMDK space with storage thin provisioning

  With a few tweaks to your thin provisioning process, you can free up previously allotted but unused VMDK storage space for other applications.  Continue Reading

• Power options for graceful VMware virtual machine power-offs

  If you configure related settings properly, you can avoid the damaged data associated with harsh virtual machine power-off, reset and suspend controls.  Continue Reading

• Installing VMware Tools on Linux

  Installing VMware Tools on a Linux virtual machine with the Linux command-line interface can be tricky, but this article offers step-by-step directions on the process.  Continue Reading

• Solving driver installation problems: Windows XP on VMware ESX

  Installing Windows XP on VMware ESX can pose problems, because XP doesn't include an ESX Virtual Hard Disk controller driver. But you can avoid problems by installing the right driver.  Continue Reading

• PowerShell example starter scripts for VMware ESX

  You can use these five PowerShell starter scripting examples as a guide for scripting VMware ESX administrative tasks, such as powering on a virtual machine.  Continue Reading

• VMware vSphere: Got 64-bit hardware?

  If you're considering VMware vSphere, you need to know whether your servers are powered by 64-bit processors and your chips can support 64-bit guest OSes.  Continue Reading

• P2V conversions and DR with Vizioncore vConverter

  Today's conversion tools surpass the capabilities of first-generation physical-to-virtual (P2V) converters. Learn how Vizioncore's multiplatform vConverter converts guest OSes serves as a solid disaster recovery tool.  Continue Reading

• The top 10 cons of VMware virtualization: Challenging VMware critics

  VMware may be the market leader, but skeptics remain hesitant to purchase VMware virtualization. Here are 10 cons lodged against VMware and an expert's rebuttals.  Continue Reading

• PowerShell scripting for VMware ESX: Using Quest's PowerGUI PowerPack script editor

  The PowerGUI PowerPack presents PowerShell code in a more digestible manner than traditional methods and enables you to write original PowerShell scripts for a VMware ESX environment.  Continue Reading

• Salvaging corrupt VMware guest OS data with VMDK snapshots

  Reverting to a snapshot can fix a crashed guest OS, but without a backup copy of the guest OS, you can still lose important data. By moving VMDK snapshots to a new guest OS, however, you can save the data.  Continue Reading

• Five options for installing CD or DVD data on VMware virtual machines

  There are several methods for accessing a CD or DVD from a VMware ESX host virtual machine, but it's best to use ISO files of the OSes or applications on the CD or DVD and store them on a SAN.  Continue Reading

• Determining the right size for your VMware VMFS data stores

  Sizing your VMware virtual machine file system (VMFS) data stores correctly can prevent I/O-related performance issues.  Continue Reading

• Using VMware Distributed Power Management: The basics

  VMware Distributed Power Management, a part of VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler, can reduce energy use by putting unused virtual servers into a standby state. But be aware of some High Availability and system monitoring caveats.  Continue Reading

• Using the esxtop tool to identify VMware ESX memory use

  Use the esxtop tool to measure which VMware ESX processes and virtual machines use memory and you can identify where to free up disk space.  Continue Reading

• Why you should delete outdated vCenter Server data

  With SQL commands, you can delete superfluous vCenter Server database information and save disk space and boost system performance. But you need to monitor database table size.  Continue Reading

• Choosing a virtual disk type for VMware ESX: Raw, thick and thin disks

  VMware ESX virtual machines use three disk types for file storage: raw, thick and thin disks. Here's how to determine which disk type makes most sense for your VMware infrastructure.  Continue Reading

• Recovering RDM data with VMware ESX troubleshooting

  Accidentally deleting important VMware ESX partitions cost our expert raw device mapping data. But a last attempt with an unlikely solution finally saved the day – and the data.  Continue Reading

• Special considerations for VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager deployment

  VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager enables virtualized data centers to reduce downtime and automate failover in a disaster recovery plan. But these three considerations are musts for a successful installation.  Continue Reading

• PowerShell scripting with VMware ESX tutorial: Installing and using the PowerShell tool

  Recent VMware VI Toolkit releases include PowerShell scripting functionality, which can ease VMware management tasks. In this tutorial, learn how to install PowerShell and the VI Toolkit.  Continue Reading

• Connecting VMware ESX to LeftHand's virtual storage appliance

  Adding a virtual storage appliance (VSA) to your VMware infrastructure enables you to take full advantage of technologies like VMware High Availability and VMotion. Get step-by-step instructions to connect ESX Server with LeftHand Networks' iSCSI ...  Continue Reading

• The top 10 free VMware tools of 2008

  If the economic downturn has prompted your shop to cut its IT budget, you to search for lower-cost virtualization management tools, this guide features the top 10 free virtualization management tools of 2008.  Continue Reading

• Assessing VMware ESX server security with TripWire ConfigCheck

  An out-of-the-box VMware ESX Server can fail 45 out of 77 security parameters set forth by the VMware Infrastructure 3 security hardening guide. TripWire ConfigCheck can alert you to vulnerabilities and provide directions for remediation.  Continue Reading

• Managing virtual networks with VMware's Workstation and the Virtual Network Editor

  VMware Workstation's Virtual Network Editor can be intimidating and difficult to master, but it's an important tool for creating and managing virtual networks.  Continue Reading

• Manipulating VMware log file space via log file rotation settings

  VMware ESX and vCenter log files are crucial for troubleshooting and need to be readily available, but log files can be space hogs. You can tweak log rotation settings to prevent log files from taking up too much space and designate additional space...  Continue Reading

• Preventing VMware virtual machine errors and security breaches

  Virtual machine drivers can cause crashes and the VMware backdoor can leak version information. But you can prevent these problems by choosing appropriate paravirtualized drivers and securing the VMware backdoor with VMware's advanced settings.  Continue Reading

• Aligning disk partitions to boost virtual machine performance

  When it comes to performance tuning for virtual machines, you need to consider system volume partition alignment. This step-by-step guide indicates how to align partitions.  Continue Reading

• Creating virtual machine clones and templates without vCenter Server

  Even if you don't have vCenter Server's virtual machine (VM) cloning feature, you can create VM templates with tools such as vConverter, vmkfstools and VMware Infrastructure Client – and a little technological prowess.  Continue Reading

• Avoid high-risk data commingling with VMware virtual networks to prevent security vulnerabilities

  Avoid security vulnerabilities caused by placing VMware ESX and ESXi data of varying security and classification levels on a converged network by understanding how storage and virtual machine data interoperates over various networks.  Continue Reading

• Preventing VMware ESX or ESXi network security breaches in DMZs

  Beware networking breaches if you place VMware ESX or ESXi virtual machines in a demilitarized zone (DMZ). VMware networks can circumvent firewall and router security measures that separate a DMZ from an external network.  Continue Reading

• Minimizing promiscuous mode port group security breaches

  Several virtualization security products require promiscuous mode port groups, but enabling such port groups can harm a VMware infrastructure. Even so, there are ways to decrease VM security vulnerabilities.  Continue Reading

• Understanding VMware ESX virtual machine physical and virtual hardware

  You can better manage virtual machines by understanding the virtual hardware that makes up a VM. This tip explores VM physical and virtual hardware issues, including configuring virtual hardware and assigning virtual memory.  Continue Reading

• Keep your VMware ESXi warranty: Don't break the security shell

  If you have enabled Dropbear SSH or used technical support mode on VMware ESXi without a VMware support representative, you may have voided your ESXi warranty. Learn sanctioned ways to manage VMware ESXi connections.  Continue Reading

• Use SNMP with VMware ESX to monitor server statistics

  Newer monitoring tools such as VM Monitor need to be configured for use with VMware ESX. Learn how to enable Simple Network Management Protocol with SSH command line.  Continue Reading

• Make smart VMware server, capacity moves with VMware, PlateSpin tools

  An expert covers the pros and cons of two tools, VMware Capacity Planner and PlateSpin PowerRecon, that replace educated guesses about server buys with metrics. Consultant Paul Davey has seen guesswork about server buys for virtualization lead to ...  Continue Reading

• VMware ESX NetApp storage deduplication enhancements

  Although NetApp's deduplication feature for VMware environments requires no out-of-the-box configuration, optimizing it for VMware environments can enhance space savings.  Continue Reading

• VMware Server 2.0: New look, new Web interface

  VMware Server 2.0 boasts new features and a new Web-based interface called VMware Infrastructure Web Access. Learn how it stacks up against VMware ESXi and VMware Server 1.0.x.  Continue Reading

• VMware Workstation 6.5: Installation how-to's and notable features

  Take a first look at VMware's latest Workstation release. We review the most useful new features, such as unity mode and integration with VMware Converter 3.  Continue Reading

• Increasing virtual disk file partition size with DISKPART or GPartEd

  Expanding virtual disk space can be more effective than creating a new virtual machine. But expanding disk space requires increasing the virtual disk file partition size.  Continue Reading

• VMware ESX network redundancy via Fibre Channel multipathing

  With VMware ESX Fibre Channel multipathing, you can improve network redundancy to protect against path failure. This tip details ways to access multipathing controls and multipathing policies.  Continue Reading

• Using VMware Converter to resize virtual disk files

  Resizing virtual disk files enables virtualization administrators to use host server capacity more efficiently. This article provides step-by-step instruction on using VMware Converter and the vmkstools command to change virtual disk file sizes.  Continue Reading

• VMotion network and storage connectivity issues solved

  Using VMotion without attention to storage and network connectivity can create infrastructural management issues. One solution to simplify matters is infrastructure virtualization.  Continue Reading

• VMware VI Client plug-ins and how to manage them

  VMware VI Client plug-ins can provide a VirtualCenter implementation with a functionality boost. Discover more on plug-in management tactics and plug-in options, including the Juxtaposition RDP plug-in, in this tip.  Continue Reading

• Two methods for accessing VMware ESX data stores

  VMware ESX data stores can provide quick access to ISO images, FLP files and more. Learn two different ways of accessing and managing the ESX data stores with this tip.  Continue Reading

• Creating and using VMware ESX Server templates

  ESX Server templates save time by enabling IT admins to quickly deploy copies of a "golden image" of a virtual machine.  Continue Reading

• Obtaining server health status in VMware ESX and VMware ESXi

  VMware ESXi can easily provide you with information about a server's CPU, memory, storage and more, but getting this info from ESX Server requires some additional steps.  Continue Reading

• Storage options for virtual machines: Raw device mappings, VMFS

  Virtual Machine File System is VMware's preferred storage option for virtual machines, but raw device mapping provides similar performance and can be a better choice depending on the specific storage configuration.  Continue Reading

• VMware Site Recovery Manager: How it can help you

  VMware's Site Recovery Manager (SRM) application enhances the disaster recovery capabilities of your virtual environment. An expert discusses SRM implementation and use in this tip.  Continue Reading

• Improving VMware ESX Server performance: 10 best practices

  Follow these best practices regarding hardware considerations, virtual machine (VM) configurations and more to improve VM performance.  Continue Reading

• Avoiding storage array snapshot pitfalls in a VMware environment

  Storage array snapshots created from a VMware platform can be useless if you aren't aware of a few pitfalls that interfere with array snapshot consistency.  Continue Reading

• Troubleshooting common VMware ESX host server problems

  Get a grip on potential VMware ESX host server problems including the purple screen of death, a frozen service console, and rebuilding your network configurations after they've been lost.  Continue Reading

• Alternatives to VCB for VMware backup

  VMware Consolidated Backup (VCB) is an ideal backup method, but only if you have VMware 3.1, shared storage and the required scripts. Learn about alternatives, including block-level incremental backups.  Continue Reading

• Monitor physical server performance with VMmark benchmarking app

  VMware's free application VMmark can help you create benchmarks to determine the quality of hardware performance. An expert discusses how to download and successfully implement this new tool.  Continue Reading

• Using VirtualCenter maps to display VMware Infrastructure relationships

  The mapping feature in VMware VirtualCenter allows you to visually present your virtual infrastructure in a variety of ways. An expert explains how to better navigate your infrastructure and get the most out of this feature in this tip.  Continue Reading

• Teaming NICs achieves load balance and failover on VMware ESX

  By grouping, or teaming, network interface cards (NICs), you can achieve better load balancing and failover capabilities for VMware ESX guest virtual machines.  Continue Reading

• Using VMware's remote command line interface with ESX 3i

  The VMware remote command line interface (RCLI) in ESX 3i adds versatility to virtual servers through scripting for automation. Learn how to download, install and use it.  Continue Reading

• Installing Windows Server 2008 inside VMware Workstation

  Do you want to test Windows Server 2008 but remain hesitant to throw it on a production server? Test it for free with VMware Workstation.  Continue Reading

• Troubleshooting failed VMware Converter P2V migrations

  A failed VMware Converter physical-to-virtual migration has numerous sources of potential failure, and even your best-laid plans may not prevent a problem. But this tip offers detailed troubleshooting to identify the problem.  Continue Reading

• Conducting hot P2V migrations with VMware Converter

  Hot cloning is more burdensome than cold, because the servers are still online. But this step-by-step guide to hot cloning helps you circumvent some of the hassle.  Continue Reading

• Five considerations for a successful VMware deployment

  Deploying VMware is easy; doing it well may not be. These five considerations for successful deployment may point the way.  Continue Reading

• VMware DRS and VMotion: Improve workload balance, prevent problems

  Learn how both VMware DRS and VMotion work individually, how they work together, and get configuration tips for optimal virtual machine performance in an environment that takes advantage of both technologies.  Continue Reading

• VMware Server to ESX 3.5: Four steps for a successful migration

  Planning on migrating from VMware Server to VMware ESX 3.5? Make sure your upgrade is successful with these four steps: evaluate your current environment, design your virtual infrastructure, test your migrations, and perform the migrations.  Continue Reading

• VMware ESX Server networking with HP Virtual Connect

  Learn how to take advantage of Hewlett-Packard's Virtual Connect in a VMware ESX environment.  Continue Reading

• Microsoft Active Directory and the connection broker: VDI on VMware Infrastructure 3

  Learn how the connection broker in VMware Infrastructure 3 affects Microsoft Active Directory -- and how to keep your virtual desktop infrastructure environment running smoothly.  Continue Reading

• Basic networking options for VMware ESX on blade and rack servers

  Learn about VMware ESX networking configuration options for blade and rack servers.  Continue Reading

• How to get VMware ESX virtual machine redundancy without VMware HA or VMotion

  Learn how to get VMware ESX virtual machine (VM) redundancy without pricey VMware HA or VMotion. The first step is setting up file servers.  Continue Reading

• VLAN configuration on VMware Infrastructure 3: VST, EST and VGT tagging tips

  Dive into configuring virtual LANs (VLANs) on VMware Infrastructure 3 (VI3). Learn how and when to use virtual switch tagging (VST), external switch tagging (EST) and virtual guest tagging (VGT).  Continue Reading

• Paravirtualized Ubuntu shows early performance promise

  On the performance front VMI-enabled paravirtualization with Ubuntu and VMware Workstation 6 is delivering as promised, but it's no panacea just yet.  Continue Reading

• VDI on VMware Infrastructure 3 (VI3): Using three main components

  There is more to a VDI solution than just virtualization servers and hosted operating system instances. In this article, we'll take a closer look at the components of a VDI solution and their purpose within the overall VMware VI3 environment.  Continue Reading

• Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) and Virtual Desktop Manager (VDM): Extending virtualization to

  In this tip, you'll learn about the options and technologies for extending virtualization to the desktop in a VMware environment.  Continue Reading

• Configuring VLANs in VMware Infrastructure 3

  In this tip, Scott Lowe discusses how to configure your VI3 environment to support VLANs.  Continue Reading

• 10 tips: Using VMware Workstation as an admin console

  In this tip, Judith Myerson gives an example of a way VMware Workstation can be used as an administrator's console and 10 best practices for using it thusly.  Continue Reading