TBKing's Posts

In your VMs and Templates view, do you have a "Discovered virtual machine" object? When I attached my VI3 boxes to this vCenter, the VMs ended up under there. I only use that view to quickly ... See more...
In your VMs and Templates view, do you have a "Discovered virtual machine" object? When I attached my VI3 boxes to this vCenter, the VMs ended up under there. I only use that view to quickly find a template.  Besides that, I agree, the Hosts and Clusters view is more realistic.
vCenter 5 / vUM 5 ESXi 5 Error msg in vCenter console when trying to Stage patches or Patch a server: "Cannot download software packages from patch source.  Check the events and the Update M... See more...
vCenter 5 / vUM 5 ESXi 5 Error msg in vCenter console when trying to Stage patches or Patch a server: "Cannot download software packages from patch source.  Check the events and the Update Manager log for download details" This is a new setup, so this is the first time trying. I have 3 baselines: Critical Host Non-Critical Host HP Baseline I DO NOT get the error when I stage or patch Just the Critical Host baseline. I get the error when trying to stage the Non-Critical or HP patches. And I can remediate the non-critical (maybe this is an order of execution issue .. remediate critical first...?) But I get the same error if I try to stage or remediate the HP patches. VUM did successfully connect and download the patches from the websites.  I can see the files and metadata on the vUM server. It seems the error refers to moving the patches from vUM server to the host. I looked at the logs, but I don't see anything apparent. Any ideas? Thanks
I downloaded and installed the SQL Native Client, rather than the SQL driver that came with Windows,  and created another 32-bit DSN, and it listed! .. I don't recall seeing that requirement ... See more...
I downloaded and installed the SQL Native Client, rather than the SQL driver that came with Windows,  and created another 32-bit DSN, and it listed! .. I don't recall seeing that requirement in the docs.
Yes, completely restarted install.  - even had a reboot (for ms patches) in between some of the attempts. Yes, using syswow64\odbcad32. Validating it's 32-bit (in a way) by not seeing the D... See more...
Yes, completely restarted install.  - even had a reboot (for ms patches) in between some of the attempts. Yes, using syswow64\odbcad32. Validating it's 32-bit (in a way) by not seeing the DSNs when using the 64-bit off the menu. Thanks for the quick reply!
Trying to install vUM on a (virtual) Server - W2k8r1 sp1 separate from the vCenter 5.0 server. I have more than 5 hosts and 50 guests (no local sql express) Used odbcad32.exe to create Sys... See more...
Trying to install vUM on a (virtual) Server - W2k8r1 sp1 separate from the vCenter 5.0 server. I have more than 5 hosts and 50 guests (no local sql express) Used odbcad32.exe to create System DSN using SQL driver v6.01.7601.17514 file name SQLSRV32.DLL. ...twice... SQL authentication, connectivity test was successful. When I get to the point of selecting the DSN to use to connect to a remote SQL database, nothing shows in the drop down. Most of the search hits I get are about version 4 or commenting about the 32-bit driver. Any hints? Thanks
One note to the above steps:  Upgrade the VMTools before upgrading the VMHardware.
Host36 shows No Data Available for the one day view in the vCenter Performance tab.  It does display realtime data. It looks to have flatlined around midnight of 3/23, and then no more data (no ... See more...
Host36 shows No Data Available for the one day view in the vCenter Performance tab.  It does display realtime data. It looks to have flatlined around midnight of 3/23, and then no more data (no line) about midnight 3/25 And Host37 shows data, but going back, it is flat-lined up Until midnight 3/23.  It's almost as if they have swapped identities in the db for performance. Host 36 and 37 are new to the cluster as of 3/6. The rest of the cluster was upgraded from 3.5 to 5 over Monday and Tuesday, and data is collecting and displaying. Any ideas where to look, or what to look for? Thanks
Starting to get vS5 hosts into the cluster. Obviously, guests still have tools at vi3 level, so when they sit on a vS5 host it registers an "Unsupported" error. Is there any issue if the VMTo... See more...
Starting to get vS5 hosts into the cluster. Obviously, guests still have tools at vi3 level, so when they sit on a vS5 host it registers an "Unsupported" error. Is there any issue if the VMTools were upgraded to vS5 level and the guest moves back to a vi3 host? .. I'm NOT upgrading the virtual hardware yet. Thanks
Just did it a few minutes ago  Yes, you can Disconnect from one, and go to the other and Add. Previously, I was trying to Remove - which threw the Maintenance Mode alert. .... one oth... See more...
Just did it a few minutes ago  Yes, you can Disconnect from one, and go to the other and Add. Previously, I was trying to Remove - which threw the Maintenance Mode alert. .... one other "interesting" thing I found: My two consoles are on two different interfaces, two differnet subnets, two different gateways .... BUT If I change the default gateway for one console (vswif1) it changes the gw for the other console (vswif0) I'm not sure how I managed to roll from one vCenter to the other without losing contact.... I first verified the destination vC could ping the new console before I disconnected... but it worked   (whew!)
Thanks for the link. Does that still apply for v8 virtual hardware? .. looks like some long weekends coming up :smileyplain:
I'm going through the same fun! First - Make sure you have your licensing all squared away.  Not sure where you are coming from, but I had to install FlexLM on my vCenter5 server and register ... See more...
I'm going through the same fun! First - Make sure you have your licensing all squared away.  Not sure where you are coming from, but I had to install FlexLM on my vCenter5 server and register the vi3 license files and make sure vC5 saw and read them correctly. We're also changing the management network, so I created a 2nd console. If the hosts are in a cluster, you have to turn off HA/DRS, evacuate the host, put in Maintenance Mode, pull the host out of the cluster, Exit Maintenance Mode, push guests back to the non-clustered host, repeat, until the cluster is empty. Once all the hosts are non-clustered, you can Delete the host from vCenter3, and add the host to vCenter 5, while the guests are still running. Then reverse the steps to build your HA cluster in vCenter5. Then you can round-robin upgrade (fresh install) the hosts to vSphere 5. Enjoy the ride! 
Yes, I am on vCenter 5 .. and have the FlexLM running for vi3 host licensing   ... and hopefully caught all the other tips and tricks for going from 3 to 5. Thanks
I just dropped a new host into my environment, sensibly built as vS5, to increase capacity, and give us some breathing room as I upgrade from vi3 to vS5. I was able to add the vS5 host to a cl... See more...
I just dropped a new host into my environment, sensibly built as vS5, to increase capacity, and give us some breathing room as I upgrade from vi3 to vS5. I was able to add the vS5 host to a cluster with all other hosts as VI3, but a message pops up "vSphere HA Cluster Cluster01 in Datacenter contains ESX/ESXi 3.5 hosts and more recent host versions, which isn't fully supported." EVC, vMotion, DRS are enabled. All of the guests are still at virtual hardware v4. My upgrade plan was to shuffle hosts in and out of the cluster as I upgrade (fresh install) to vS5.  I planned on completing that over a period of a few days while I keep all of my guests up and on-line. I did find this article:  http://blogs.vmware.com/esxi/2011/10/mixing-esxesxi-versions-in-an-hadrs-cluster.html Basically says don't upgrade components (tools, vm hardware, vmfs) until all hosts are up to speed. Is there anything else to be aware of? Any features not supported? Thanks
I understand what you mean about the cost for small installations. Once you start looking into high-availability and fault tolerance for multiple apps, it gets a little easier to justify. In ... See more...
I understand what you mean about the cost for small installations. Once you start looking into high-availability and fault tolerance for multiple apps, it gets a little easier to justify. In order for vCenter5 to manage vmware3 hosts, I had to install the FlexLM product somewhere and point vCenter 5 to it - obviously it is easiest if FlexLM is on the same box as vCenter. For the vm5 licenses, I can just plug them directly into vCenter5. No separate license manager/server needed. Not real sure what to do regarding a license key vs file for FlexLM / vm3 For moving VMs - look at some tools from VEEAM (FastSCP ?). I haven't used them personally, but it looks like my predecessor did. vMotion - intended for use with shared storage - re-reading, I didn't see you mention that. Enjoy the ride!
Well, I can start off with "you get what you pay for" Yes, you need a license server for vC5 to manage VI3.  FlexLM is available somewhere around here.  It can be loaded on the vCenter serv... See more...
Well, I can start off with "you get what you pay for" Yes, you need a license server for vC5 to manage VI3.  FlexLM is available somewhere around here.  It can be loaded on the vCenter server. Is your standalone VI3 licensing by key or by file? I had several vCenters, and was able to copy-paste all of the license files together to get one FlexLM and vCenter to see all of the licenses. Hopefully your Essentials included vMotion licensing too. With vCenter, vMotion, and capacity, you can remove all the guests from one host, wipe and fresh install vS5, move guests back, and round-robin repeat to complete your farm without taking down a guest. I'm in the midst of the same process... with the added fun of combining 3 farms into one. We're licensed at Enterprise level with S&M  (support and maintenance)  So, I'm not sure what additional licensing hoops you may have to jump through. Validate your hardware against the HCL. Good Luck!
Process: Evacuate guests from one host (host must be in maint mode to pull out of cluster) Pull host out of cluster, but keep in vC2 Move guests back Repeat until cluster is empty Disconne... See more...
Process: Evacuate guests from one host (host must be in maint mode to pull out of cluster) Pull host out of cluster, but keep in vC2 Move guests back Repeat until cluster is empty Disconnect hosts from vC2 Add hosts to vC5 Evacuate guests from one host Move host into cluster Move guests to clustered hosts Repeat until all hosts are in cluster Working great UNTIL I got an error when trying to move some guests into the cluster: "The host's CPU hardware should support the cluster's current Enhanced vMotion Compatibility mode, but some of the necessary CPU feature are missing from the host.  Check the host's BIOS configuration to ensure that no necessary features are disabled (such as XD, VT, AES, or PCLMULQDQ for Intel, or NX for AMD).  For more information, see KB article 1003212." All of the hosts were in a cluster with EVC set to Merom, which is what the new cluster is set to. I have two other hosts of the same generation and build that are in the cluster. (and some hosts that are newer) And the error shows when I'm trying to move certain Guests into the cluster - I haven't moved the host. During the migration, the guests that couldn't move came from a number of different hosts.  I did not keep track of what/where because I did not expect this to be an issue.  So for the time being, I put all the guests on one host   Which points out that I could still move the guests from host-to-host. And whichever hosts those guests came from moved into the cluster without issue. The only common factor I see between the guests is that they are all 32-bit, but I have plenty of other guests in the cluster running a 32-bit OS. The KB article is about the Host hardware, chips and compatibility - which are all supported. What have I run into, and how do I get my guests back into the cluster? Thanks
Not sure what it was exactly. Connected to host directly, it was tagged as having a hypervisor license (we have one unused in the farm).  Set it back to Eval. -Hypervisor does not include a... See more...
Not sure what it was exactly. Connected to host directly, it was tagged as having a hypervisor license (we have one unused in the farm).  Set it back to Eval. -Hypervisor does not include all the goodies vSphere Enterprise does  - like vCenter agent for host. rebooted host. vCenter still failed with same error. Fired up vCenter client right on vCenter server - and it errored out about some endpoint check. Restarted vCenter service. New Eval licenced host added to vCenter just fine. Do I get points for answering my own? 
Working through an upgrade from vSphere4 to vSphere5. vCenter 5 is properly licensed, and we have a number of hosts licensed for vSphere5 Enterprise. I'm waiting for our Asset Management t... See more...
Working through an upgrade from vSphere4 to vSphere5. vCenter 5 is properly licensed, and we have a number of hosts licensed for vSphere5 Enterprise. I'm waiting for our Asset Management team to upgrade some license keys from 4 to 5 In the mean time I removed a vSphere4 host, wipe, reload with vSphere5. I was able to add the host back into vCenter and tell it to use an eval key - while I'm waiting for AM. I went to do this to a second machine, but this time it throws and error: "The  license for vCenter Solution  does not include vCenter agent for VMware host. Upgrade the license." Is there a limit on how many eval-licensed hosts can be managed by a Licensed vCenter? Thanks
Thanks to all Yes, I've looked at HCL, upgrade guide, Checker, Licensing, Tools and virtual hardware upgrade ... and now another branch to follow - VMFS ...  the more you dig, the more you find.... See more...
Thanks to all Yes, I've looked at HCL, upgrade guide, Checker, Licensing, Tools and virtual hardware upgrade ... and now another branch to follow - VMFS ...  the more you dig, the more you find. Thanks
Am I correct in interpreting that this utility is NOT needed if I plan to do a wipe and fresh install of ESXi5  over a  VI3 environment? I *think* it just looks at patches installed on the hos... See more...
Am I correct in interpreting that this utility is NOT needed if I plan to do a wipe and fresh install of ESXi5  over a  VI3 environment? I *think* it just looks at patches installed on the hosts. ....Besides the inability to upgrade from esx3.x  directly to esxi5. Thanks