Author Archives: Alan

About Alan

Alan Renouf has a role of Automation Frameworks Product Manager at VMware responsible for providing the architects and operators of the cloud infrastructure with the toolkits/frameworks and command-line interfaces they require to build a fully automated software-defined datacenter. Alan is a frequent blogger at http://blogs.vmware.com/vipowershell and has a personal blog at https://virtu-al.net. You can follow Alan on twitter as @alanrenouf.

PowerGUI – Get started the easy way

Are you using PowerGUI and the VMware Powerpack yet, if the answer is no then why not ?
If you think its something that you will have to learn and you just dont have the time then please stop making excuses right now because VMGuru has just released some great new videos that not only show you how to get started but will also convert you into a guru.
The following videos are available from VMGuru’s site here

1. Establishing Connections to your VMware Infrastructure using the PowerGUI Console
2. Navigate your VMware Infrastructure using the PowerGUI Console
3. Execute Links and Actions in the PowerGUI Console
4. Create and Save Filters using the PowerGUI Console
5. Using the PowerGUI Script Editor

vCenter Converter 4.0 – Out Now

I’ve been using the beta for a while now and have to say, its amazing, if you have used the previous versions of VMware Converter then make sure you download the new version from http://www.vmware.com/download/converter/

Now you can convert physical machines running Windows and Linux operating systems to VMware virtual machines quickly, reliably and without any disruption.

Simplify integration by converting third-party formats such as Parallels Desktop, Symantec Backup Exec System Recovery, Norton Ghost, Acronis, StorageCraft and Microsoft Virtual Server/ Virtual PC to VMware virtual machines.

Eliminate source server downtime and reboot with non disruptive conversions through hot cloning.

For free you can’t go wrong. Download it now if you have any P2V’s planned.

VMworld Europe – Come say Hi

I have now had confirmation that I will be able to attend VMworld Europe, both from VMware and the wife, I wont tell you which one was harder to get.

If you will be attending make sure you come and say Hi, I am willing to talk about the VI Toolkit and powershell in general, if your looking to get started I can even take you a few of the tips and tricks to get you in and scripting.

If you are wondering where to find me amongst all the of the French people I will be hanging around the VMTN session hoping that some of there expert skills will rub off on me, so come and see me in the community lounge at the following times:

  • Tuesday 24th – 13.00 – 14.00
  • Wednesday 25th – 13.00 – 14.00

You will be able to meet the following people and pick there brains on any of the Virtualisation topics you can think of.
The following experts will be there to answer your questions…

  • Duncan Epping, – http://www.yellow-bricks.com/
  • Gabrie van Zanten, – http://www.gabesvirtualworld.com/ ( I think he is swedish)
  • Jason Boche, – VMTNModerator and http://www.boche.net/blog/
  • Steve Beaver, – Tripwire andVMTN Moderator and Published Author
  • Scott Herold, – http://www.vmguru.com/ ( I think he is Canadian)
  • Thomas Bryant, – VizionCore, and VMTN Moderator
  • Wil van Antwerpen, – http://www.vi-toolkit.com
  • Eric Sloof, -http://www.ntpro.nl/blog/ (He will probably have a video camera in his hand)
  • Tom Howarth – http://planetvm.net/ (The loud guy on the VMwarecommunities podcast)
  • Alan Renouf, – Not French

So please come and say hello.
P.S. Payback time !

VMware Infrastructure PowerPack 2.1 for PowerGUI

Do you want to get some of the benefits of the VI Toolkit without the learning curve (even though its very easy to pickup)?

Well Kirk (Poshoholic) Munro has just updated the VMware Infrastructure PowerPack.  This is a great GUI way to access the power of the VI Toolkit and the skills of a Powershell Expert rolled into one smooth, easy to use application.

The VMware Infrastructure Management PowerPack for PowerGUI has just been updated to version 2.1 adding lots of new features and improving the already brilliant features.  This PowerPack facilitates management and automation of VMware Infrastructure servers using the VMware VI Toolkit with PowerGUI’s expandable administrative console.

Version 2.1 of the VMware Infrastructure Management PowerPack includes the following highlights:

  • Significant performance improvements when loading datacenters and clusters.
  • New top-level container nodes to facilitate viewing objects without having to browse into the Managed Hosts node.
  • Links allowing you to browse into log files from hosts.
  • Support for the VMware VI Toolkit 1.5 release.
  • VMotion support for virtual machines.

In addition to these changes, several links have been added and quite a few defects have been fixed.

You can learn more about this PowerPack, including version history and other details here. Great job Kirk and team.

Provison ESX Hosts through Powershell

The VI Toolkit community has been getting busier and busier of late, I think even LucD is taking 5 minutes to respond rather than his normal 2 minute answers!

There is one area of the VI Toolkit communities that I feel does not get enough publicity, there have been many scripts written by the community and members of VMware that are stored in the documents area of the community.

I will make it my aim to try and bring some of these fantastic scripts out into the open as the scripts and the people who wrote these scripts have done some amazing coding to help everyone else.

For example: NAEPS (Not Another ESX Provisioning Script) by SCampbell
Continue reading →

Veeam Backup and FastSCP

I was looking for a way to transfer some VM’s from a Linux VMware 2.0 server to a VMware ESX 3.5 server as fast as possible to minimise the amount of downtime.

As these files would need to be copied to a windows share first for the converter to import i started with WinSCP, when it told me it was going to take 5 hours I looked elsewhere, I have used the Free Veeam FastSCP program before and new that unfortunately I could not copy files from a Linux server to the local windows machine.

During the previous week I was made aware, courtesy of @VMDoug that there was a new Beta of this product, I downloaded it and installed it and to my surprise look at what I found….

A nice new shiny ‘My Computer Node’.

As it turns out, that VM that was going to take 5 hours to transfer was done and dusted in 45 minutes !

Very, Very Impressive, and this is still a beta !

But as Duncan at Yellow Bricks makes clear in his post, this is not necessarily the most secure method of transferring the data, but as I was on the same network and not worried about the security it worked out great !

Go download Veeam Backup and FastSCP from the Veeam site now, every VI admin should have it !

Next London VM User Group announced

The next Vmware user group has been announced in London to be held on Tuesday 10th March 2009.

I will be there so please come over and say Hi as I normally know no-one !

The details released are as follows….

The Steering Committee are pleased to announce the next UK London VMware User Group meeting (sponsorship pending :-), to be held on Tuesday 10th March 2009. We hope to see you at the meeting, and afterwards for a drink or two.Our meeting will be held at the Thames Suite, London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, 33 Queen Street, London EC4R 1AP, +44 (0)20 7248 4444. The nearest tube station is Mansion House, location information is available here.

PLEASE NOTE: As well as the date changing from the previously-published one, the day has also changed to Tuesday, and we’re in a different part of the venue from normal (out of the lift, turn right). Rest assured, the usual UG staples of great content and me banging on about Powershell will be present and correct.

Reception is from 1230 for a prompt 1pm start, to finish around 5pm. Our agenda for is not final at the moment, but looks something like this:

12:30 – 13:00 Arrive & Refreshments
13:00 – 13:15 Welcome & News
13:20 – 14:05 Sponsor Presentation – TBA
14:10 – 14:55 Presentation on real world Site Recovery Manager experience
15:00 – 15:20 Refreshments Break
15:25 – 16:00 Committee-moderated, user-generated content and discussion (some good stuff being lined up here)
16:05 – 16:45 VMworld Cannes debrief
16:45 – 17:00 Close
17:00 – Pub

Please feel free to contribute to the ‘UG content ideas’ forum thread running here. We won’t be able to incorporate all of the ideas for this coming meeting, but will do our best to include some of them.

To register your interest in attending, please reply with up to two named attendees from your organisation. If you do not receive a confirmation mail from us, please don’t just turn up since we will not be able to admit you to the meeting. Content from the meetings will continue to be uploaded to http://public.box.net/londonug, NDA permitting.

Sincerely, and with regards,

The UKLVMUG Steering Committee

New Blog layout

OK, I have finally stopped messing with my new blog layout so hopefully everyone will agree it looks better.

Any comments or suggestions please do not hesitate to leave me a comment below.

vDiagram – VMGuru Style

Scott Herold (VMGuru) has done it again, he has a habit of taking my scripts and then improving them beyond reality.

I think next time I will be asking him to check it out before I release it on the public.

Firstly he has amended the VMware Twits script and created a really neat PowerGui action which you can import into the VMware PowerGui Power Pack and allows you an easy way to keep up to date with all the VMware related twitters, Check it out here

addvirtutwitter2

As if that wasn’t enough he has now made some AMAZING improvements to the vDiagram script showing off his new shapes and also advising of new plans for it within PowerGui, how amazing would that be to be able to right click on a cluster and say ‘vDiagram it’ or to be able to right click a PortGroup and draw all VM’s attached to it and its relations with vSwitches.

The new shapes are absolutely gorgeous, make sure you check out the VMGuru site to keep updated on some of the great things he has planned with the VI Toolkit and general VMware related updates.

Check his article out here

Thanks Scott (And no I am not French :))

vmguru_lab