cbs44's Posts

Hi, I have a Windows 2008 SP2 64 bit VM that when I reboot I received the following error in the system log. Any ideas? Any help is appreciated! Log Name: System Source: Servic... See more...
Hi, I have a Windows 2008 SP2 64 bit VM that when I reboot I received the following error in the system log. Any ideas? Any help is appreciated! Log Name: System Source: Service Control Manager Date: 9/23/2009 5:26:57 PM Event ID: 7000 Task Category: None Level: Error Keywords: Classic User: N/A Computer: server01.abc.com Description: The Vstor2 vix Disk Tools Virtual Storage Driver service failed to start due to the following error: Windows cannot verify the digital signature for this file. A recent hardware or software change might have installed a file that is signed incorrectly or damaged, or that might be malicious software from an unknown source.
I have a Dell MD3000i along with 2 Dell 2950 hosts. Currently, I have a RAID 5 setup on the 3000 for three VMs I am using. I have just about consumed all the available space in the RAID. I a... See more...
I have a Dell MD3000i along with 2 Dell 2950 hosts. Currently, I have a RAID 5 setup on the 3000 for three VMs I am using. I have just about consumed all the available space in the RAID. I am getting ready to install more VMs and I'm not sure how to setup the new hard drives that I will be purchasing shortly. Should I extend the current RAID 5 array with more drives or create a new RAID 5 for the upcoming VMs. What is recommend and best practice. The upcoming VMs will be a file server, Blackberry Enterprise Server and a couple of DCs. Thanks in advance!
Hi, First, we have a Dell MD3000i with dual controllers. I have port 0 from each controller and port 1 from each controller on a different subnet for controller redundancy. How would this be... See more...
Hi, First, we have a Dell MD3000i with dual controllers. I have port 0 from each controller and port 1 from each controller on a different subnet for controller redundancy. How would this be setup in ESXi. Currently, I setup one vswitch for iSCSI and created to vmkernel ports...one for each subnet...but not sure if that is right. Suggestions on this or best practice. Second, the management network...what is the best practice for this as far as networking? I currently have my mgmt network on my production network. Should I change this and if so..how? I guess by default it is on your production network to obtain a DHCP address during setup. Thanks in advance!
How is your performance by the way?
Thanks for the info!!..couple questions...why do you have 2 VLANs for iSCSI traffic? Why not use just one? You're right on the NIC setup up. I have 2 onboard and 2 PCI 2 port NICs in each serv... See more...
Thanks for the info!!..couple questions...why do you have 2 VLANs for iSCSI traffic? Why not use just one? You're right on the NIC setup up. I have 2 onboard and 2 PCI 2 port NICs in each server. So are you splitting up the pNIC cabling for redundancy in case one switch fails?
So in your scenario...how do you have everything cabled and how do you have this configured within VMware?
"It is far easier (and possibly just as efficient, depending on traffic profiles, etc.) to just LACP the switches and stick with standard load balancing on the iSCSI ports with a single path.... See more...
"It is far easier (and possibly just as efficient, depending on traffic profiles, etc.) to just LACP the switches and stick with standard load balancing on the iSCSI ports with a single path." When you mentioned the above statement...what exactly are you stating here? According to HP I cannot LACP these switches together if I am understanding what you wrote. Would you mind clarifying this for me. Also, I am assuming that when you say, standard load balancing, you are referring to the VMware load balancing settings for a NIC team or something similiar to that? So by starting simple...basically I can just use one switch to begin with and go from there? thanks!
Well I called HP and LACP is not supported on multiple 2800 series Procurve switches which is what I have. So in that case...it might be best just use a single switch for everything that way I c... See more...
Well I called HP and LACP is not supported on multiple 2800 series Procurve switches which is what I have. So in that case...it might be best just use a single switch for everything that way I could at least setup LACP for iSCSI traffic. Maybe for redundancy I can just purchase another 2800 series switch and have it on stand by. Or maybe I can use both switches for redundancy like orginally planned...execept place both iSCSI cables into one switch. Suggestions at this point?
So if I have these two switches trunked together and the appropriate VLANs assigned to each switch then each switch should function just like the other in case one of them fails? Also, would it ... See more...
So if I have these two switches trunked together and the appropriate VLANs assigned to each switch then each switch should function just like the other in case one of them fails? Also, would it be smart to assign the iSCSI ports on each switch as LACP for link aggregation? Should I do all VMware ports like this or just for iSCSI? I also noticed spanning tree is disabled by default on these Procurve switches...good idea to enable this? Thanks again!!
Ok...so I could also create another link b/w the two switches for regular traffic...right?
Ok...I think I'm following you. Maybe I'm trying to make this more difficult than it needs to be then. Well, if I setup multiple VLANs on the physical switches, then each switch, if configured ... See more...
Ok...I think I'm following you. Maybe I'm trying to make this more difficult than it needs to be then. Well, if I setup multiple VLANs on the physical switches, then each switch, if configured alike, should recognize the VLANs created...right? In other words...if I create VLAN4 on one physical switch with two ports and then create VLAN4 on the other switch with two ports...then iSCSI traffic (which is VLAN4) will have redundant physical switches without any loop problems...right?
Thanks for the great info so far...please see the attached diagram I created. This is what I am thinking i want to do. Just still a little unclear as to how each one of these physical switches ... See more...
Thanks for the great info so far...please see the attached diagram I created. This is what I am thinking i want to do. Just still a little unclear as to how each one of these physical switches knows what the other is doing. I'm assuming from your posts it would be through port trunking/groups and VLANs. This is what I am a little confused on configuring. Any suggestions or comments are appreciated.
Thanks for your response...would you mind elaborating on your comment "If you want to use different vlans, configure ports as trunk ports and specify vlan_id property on portgroup"? Exactly wh... See more...
Thanks for your response...would you mind elaborating on your comment "If you want to use different vlans, configure ports as trunk ports and specify vlan_id property on portgroup"? Exactly what do you mean by this and could you provide more detail? Thanks a lot! BTW...I called HP Procurve support and they said if I am trying to use redundant switches I may have a problem with creating a loop...he recommended maybe using spanning tree...but that seems a little more advanced than what I am aiming to do here. He may not have understood my goal.
I am in the process of planning my network setup for introducing VMware ESXi into my environment. I have two Dell 2950 hosts with 6 NICs on each. Also, I have two HP Procurve switches. What ... See more...
I am in the process of planning my network setup for introducing VMware ESXi into my environment. I have two Dell 2950 hosts with 6 NICs on each. Also, I have two HP Procurve switches. What is the best way to setup these switches with VMware for redundancy without creating a loop problem? I am also aiming for NIC redundancy as well. Any help or advice on how to set this up is appreciated.
Greetings! I am still attempting to wrap my brain around the physical network side of introducing ESXi (VI3 Enterprise) into my network. My existing network is comprised of 8 Windows 2003... See more...
Greetings! I am still attempting to wrap my brain around the physical network side of introducing ESXi (VI3 Enterprise) into my network. My existing network is comprised of 8 Windows 2003 servers (Exchange, Sharepoint, Blackberry Ent. Server, two DCs, file/print server, backup server, etc.). Also, we are using a HP Procurve 48port switch. I have all the hardware ready to begin installing and configuring ESXi into my enviroment. I have two Dell PE2950s for hosts, MD3000i iSCSI SAN, and an additional HP Procurve 24port switch. My goal is to virtualize all 8 of my servers(eventually) plus add more. Each 2950 host has 6 physical NICs (2 onboard and two 2port NICs). My first question is what would be the best way to cable everything up? I would like redundancy if possible. Once all harware is cabled correctly...how do I go about assigning ip addresses and subnets to each network that is needed? I have read that all iSCSI traffic needs to have it's own subnet as well as the VMs, management, etc. Currently, my internal network is 172.20.xxx.xxx w/ subnet mask 255.255.224.0. I do realize VLANs will be needed in this setup...just not quite sure how to set them up with redundant switches. As far as the servers needed for vCenter, licensing, VCB....can vCenter and licensing reside on one server? In the end...how many servers do I really need? Two ESX hosts, vCenter server, licensing server, server for extra DC?? Would it be best to begin virtualizing one server at a time not starting with a DC? I will not be able to convert(P2V) several of my servers as they are Dell OEM. I have been viewing webcasts and reading white papers quite a bit lately but just really haven't found the information I need in order to feel comfortable with the physical networking/server side of everything. I know this is a loaded question but I would appreciate any feedback so I can start to feel a little more comfortable with getting this project off the ground. Thank you in advance!!! I came across the network diagram below which really illustrates quite a bit! However, I need to see a chart with IP addresses and VLAN structure. Does anyone have a link for that? http://vmwaretips.com/wp/wp-content/gallery/misc/vi3-network_diagram.jpg
Thanks...I beleive this is some awesome info for getting me going on the switch/NIC side of things! One more question concerning the physical setup or shall I say VMware introduction...When in... See more...
Thanks...I beleive this is some awesome info for getting me going on the switch/NIC side of things! One more question concerning the physical setup or shall I say VMware introduction...When introducing VMware ESXi (which will consist of two hosts and an iSCSI SAN to begin with) into an existing environment with 8 servers (two DCs)....is it wise to begin virtualizing member servers one at a time and then eventually working towards virtualizing the DCs? Should my goal be to virtualize all 8 servers so that in the end there are only 3 servers (two hosts and one for Vcenter)? Currently, I have one Exchange box, one Sharepoint box, two DCs, file server, BES server, etc. Wasn't sure if a physical server needs to stick around for DNS, DHCP, AD or anything of that nature. Your thoughts on introducing VMware into an existing infrastructure would be appreciated! chris
These posts are excellent! Thank you! However...I am still having a hard time wrapping my brain around the actual physical to virtual network design with VLANs. Maybe I'm just a better visual ... See more...
These posts are excellent! Thank you! However...I am still having a hard time wrapping my brain around the actual physical to virtual network design with VLANs. Maybe I'm just a better visual learner...does anyone have a link with diagrams or network charts that would illustrate what has been discussed here? Thanks again.
ok...so in the scenario with two physcial switches...doesn't the iscsi storage traffic need to be on its own physical network or subnet? If that is the case then VLANs would still be necessary..... See more...
ok...so in the scenario with two physcial switches...doesn't the iscsi storage traffic need to be on its own physical network or subnet? If that is the case then VLANs would still be necessary...right?
Thanks for the great info so far! So...would it be best practice to have two physical switches or three....or just use one with VLANs?
Thanks for the response! Yes, I will be using iSCSI storage (Dell MD3000i). When you say use two physical switches for redundancy of all traffic...could you please explain that a little more ... See more...
Thanks for the response! Yes, I will be using iSCSI storage (Dell MD3000i). When you say use two physical switches for redundancy of all traffic...could you please explain that a little more in detail? I assuming you mean setup VLANs to separate each subnet?? How would a redundant physical switch play into this scenario? thanks again!