VMware Communities: Essential ESX 3.5 & VC 2.5 links ...

6,794 posts since
Oct 23, 2006

I've put together this link compilation for the new versions, it will also be posted on my website. New additional links will also be added to my website as a I gather them.

Compatibility & Version Info:
VI3 Key Features & Benefits Summary by Version - http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/key_features_35.pdf
VMware Infrastructure Compatibility Matrixes - http://vmware.com/pdf//vi3_35/esx_3/r35/vi3_35_25_compat_matrix.pdf
Details of What's New and Improved In VI3 Version 3.5 - http://www.vmware.com/support/vi3/doc/whatsnew_esx35_vc25.html

Must Read:
RTFM Upgrade guide for ESX 3.5 and VirtualCenter 2.5 - http://tinyurl.com/3722dz

Release Notes/Install, Upgrade and Patch Guide:
ESX Server 3.5 and VirtualCenter 2.5 Release Notes - http://www.vmware.com/support/vi3/doc/vi3_esx35_vc25_rel_notes.html
ESX Server 3 Installation Guide - http://vmware.com/pdf/vi3_35/esx_3/r35/vi3_35_25_installation_guide.pdf
Upgrade Guide - http://vmware.com/pdf/vi3_35/esx_3/r35/vi3_35_25_upgrade_guide.pdf
ESX Server 3 Patch Management Guide - http://vmware.com/pdf/vi3_35/esx_3/r35/vi3_35_25_esxupdate.pdf

Additional downloads:
Remote CLI Download - http://www.vmware.com/download/download.do?downloadGroup=VI-RCLI
License Server for ESX 3.5 - http://download3.vmware.com/software/vi/VMware-licenseserver-64192.exe
CPU Compatibility Tool for ESX 3.5 - http://download3.vmware.com/software/vi/CPU_Compatibility-64557.zip

Converter:
VMware Converter Enterprise for VirtualCenter 2.5 Admin Guide - http://vmware.com/pdf/vi3_vec_10_admin_guide.pdf
VMware Converter Enterprise for VirtualCenter 2.5 Release Notes - http://vmware.com/support/vi3/doc/vi3_vec_10_rel_notes.html

Update Manager:
VMware Update Manager Release Notes - http://vmware.com/support/vi3/doc/vi3_vum_10_rel_notes.html
VMware Update Manager Admin Guide - http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi3_vum_10_admin_guide.pdf
VMware Update Manager Sizing Estimator - http://vmware.com/support/vi3/doc/vi3_vum_10_sizing_estimator.xls

Latest Hardware Compatibility Guides:
Systems - http://vmware.com/pdf/vi3_systems_guide.pdf
I/O - http://vmware.com/pdf/vi3_io_guide.pdf
Storage/SAN - http://vmware.com/pdf/vi3_san_guide.pdf
Backup Software - http://vmware.com/pdf/vi3_backup_guide.pdf

Blog & News Articles:
VMware ESX 3.5 goes live with key new features - http://searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid94_gci1285629,00.html
What's new in ESX 3.5 & VC 2.5? -
http://virtualgabe.wordpress.com/2007/12/08/what%e2%80%99s-new-in-esx-35-vc-25-part-2/
http://virtualgabe.wordpress.com/2007/12/08/what%e2%80%99s-new-in-esx-35-vc-25-part-3/
http://virtualgabe.wordpress.com/2007/12/08/what%e2%80%99s-new-in-esx-35-vc-25-part-4/
VMware VI Client 2.5 does not support 64-bit workstations - http://www.dabcc.com/article.aspx?id=6674

Relevant KB Articles:
Licensing:
Updates to your VMware VI3 Starter Licenses - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003299
Changes in licensing for VI3 Standard Edition When upgrading to VI 3.5 - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003301
Understanding VI 3.5 Licensing: Server and Host-based Licensing Models - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003295

ESX 3.5:
Installing ESX Server throws an "Anaconda Error" in the Partitioning Options screen - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003217
VMFS Partition cannot be created for "Typical" ESX Server Installation if Prior installation is detected - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003309
IBM System x3850 M2 and System x3950 M2 Servers fail to connect to 100Mbps Networks - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003226
Installing the Tivoli Storage Manager Client on the Service Console results in an error - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003142
Virtual Machine on a RDM Shared Storage becomes invalid after migration from ESX Server 2.5.x to ESX Server 3.5 or 3i - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003092
Vmotion is disabled after ESX Server upgrade - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003060
Certain Special Characters cause software iSCSI Initiator CHAP Configuration corruption - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003095
Connection to ESX Server host through VI Client is lost if you attempt to delete several VM's at once from the Datastore Browser - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003250
Storage Devices connected to McData FC Switch through Qlogic adapters occasionally do not re-appear after reboot - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003250
Snapshot operations submitted directly to an ESX Server Host during Storage vMotion corrupts Virtual Machine data - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003114
Storage vMotion on a VM with I/O intensive workload may result incorrectly in a timeout error - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003276
Upgrading to ESX Server 3.5 when the Root Parition is nearly full might cause Incomplete System Configuration - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003311
Restarting Hostd (mgmt-vmware) on ESX Server hosts restarts Hosted Virtual Machines where VM Auto Startup/Shutdown is enabled - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003312
ESX Server becomes temporarily unresponsive under a Heavy I/O load - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003039
Consolidation of Large or Deeply Nested Snapshots using VirtualCenter, SDK or VCB might take longer on ESX Server 3.5 than on ESX Server 3.0.x - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003308

Consolidated Backup 1.1:
Upgrading Consolidated Backup version 1.0.x to 1.1 causes the installer to hang - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003045
Consolidated Backup cannot create Quiesced Snapshots of VM's running Windows Vista - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003074
VCB 1.1 Command Line utility connection to port 902 causes an error message - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003088

VC 2.5:
When you install SQL Server Express on a System where SQL Native Client is present the installation might fail with error - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003076
VirtualCenter Server Fails to Start after your replace Default SSL Ceritifcates with Custom Certificates - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003070
Error Message During Installation: error 1603: error installing Windows installer engine - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003036
Administrative Credentials are Required for Oracle and SQL Database when Installing or Upgrading VirtualCenter - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003052
Client-side CD-ROM or Floppy can become disconnected - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003118
VirtualCenter Server does not detect changes in Host IP Address unless SSL Certificate Verification has been enabled - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003066
Permission problem if host had been in lockdown mode - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003117
Virtual Machines might lose Network Connectivity when moved to a different Port Group - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003061
Powering on Virtual Machines with multiple PCI Devices might fail - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003048
Incorrect Device Paths for LUNs displayed in Storage Summary - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003064
VirtualCenter Consolidation service Usernames and Passwords must use only ASCII characters - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003096
VI Client installation fails on Windows Vista Business Edition with enabled Anti-virus software - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003079
VirtualCenter Server might crash in a cluster with Manual or Partially Automatic DRS and Automatic DPM - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003027
Deleting Snapshots of VM's with Heavy disk I/O might cause host to be Disconnected from VirtualCenter - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003024
Paravirtualization option is not Disabled for Unsupported Operating Systems - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003008
VirtualCenter Server installation fails or results in an error if your system does not have MDAC 2.8 SP1 or later installed - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003160
Installing Update Manager with Unified Installer might faile if Disparate Databases are used - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003277
Some Alarms may disappear after upgrading to VirtualCenter 2.5 - http://kb.vmware.com/selfservicekb/1003072
VirtualCenter Database upgrade fails with an exception when a Password that contains Apostrophes or Double Quotes is used - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003049
The VirtualCenter Server might Crash when using an older ODBC driver with Oracle 9i - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003049
Guest Operating System Standby feature removed in VirtualCenter Server 2.5 - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1002414
Cannot specify Destination Folder on Non-default Datacenter when Cloning Virtual Machines - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003075
VirtualCenter Service will not start on a machine with non-Ascii characters in it's Machine Name - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003075
vMotion from ESX Server 3.5 hosts to ESX Server 3.0.x hosts causes the console sessions of the migrated VM's to become blank - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003038
Automatic VMware Tools upgrade does not upgrade to the latest version on VM's with Insufficient space in the Root parition - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003051

Eric Siebert
VMware Communities User Moderator
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