Category Archives: VMware

Checking logs

Ok, so its monday morning, I come in and there are an onslaught of emails (no change there) from some issues over the weekend.

It would seem there was ‘an issue with vmware’ and the virtual machines were restarting left right and center, imediately I think….Network issue.

To find the answer (for which I was correct) I used the following quick bit of code…

Connect-VIServer myviserver
$esx = Get-VMHost myhost
$log = Get-Log -Key “vmkernel” -VMhost $esx
$log.entries > c:\logs.txt

This showed that the service console nic had lost connection to the network, confirmed around 1hr later from our networks team saying the primary core had re-booted itself 🙂

Microsoft – Just plain nasty


OK, until now I have had respect for Microsoft, I have just read this article and a few others and I have to say, that’s completely below the belt, they are resulting to nasty underhand tactics to try and steal the virtualisation market.

Just proves that they cant do it with there software which is more comparable to VMware workstation than VI.

I cant wait for VI4 to come out and really kick some butt.

Rant over !

I would be interested in what your thoughts are on this subject.

Virtual Datacenter Operating System

VMWare has made its first anouncement of the week, expect many more with VMWorld starting today….

Virtual Datacenter Operating System

The traditional IT stack with its tight coupling of software and hardware falls short of supporting customers’ needs. The accelerating rate of business change, non-negotiable requirements for 24X7 business resiliency and inexorable pressure to reduce cost are increasing the pressure on IT. At the same time, IT has dramatic opportunity to change the status quo by leveraging the immense power and attractive economics of x86 hardware, the maturing of virtualization technologies, increasing choice in new application architectures and the availability of vast new clouds of cheap and readily accessible computing power.

Check out more information from VMware and Scott Lowe

Its coming…VI4

Looks like VI4 is on the horizon and coming soon, there is a beta out there at the moment for a select few, some new features include:

  • 64bit kernel and console operating system (COS)
  • clustered VirtualCenter Servers
  • ESX hosts profile management
  • cross-hosts virtual networking
  • 8-way virtual SMP
  • virtual machines fault tolerance across multiple hosts (the famous Continuous Availability presented last year)
  • VMs and media library
  • alarms on physical hardware faults
  • access control on storage resources
  • configuration change tracking
  • full support for SATA local storage

Read more information here

VI Toolkit Competition Winners

I might not have won but at least I get a mug and a T-shirt, check the honorable mentions!

http://blogs.vmware.com/vipowershell/2008/09/announcing-the.html

Have to say I can see why the second place reporting script was in the winning slots but I’m not sure people really want to install that much extra to get a report, I think our reports were aiming at two different audiences.

Well done to the winners, great job.

Also I had a really nice mention on Carter Shanklin’s blog here….

http://blogs.vmware.com/vipowershell/2008/09/and-the-winner.html

If you ask me, thats better than winning (although VMworld would have been nice :))

VI Errors one-liner

A quick one-liner that would be usefull in an email to you each morning via a scheduled task….

For the whole VI….

Get-VIEvent -Type Error | Format-Table CreatedTime, FullFormattedMessage

For a specific cluster…

Get-Cluster “MYCLUSTER” | Get-VIEvent -Type Error | Format-Table CreatedTime, FullFormattedMessage

I might even do a daily health check script which gives you performance stats and errors, complete with email options and instructions on how to setup as a scheduled task, please let me know if this will be usefull.

Find this and other great one-liners here