vThinkBeyondVM's Accepted Solutions

As there is no any cluster feature offered in Essentials license, it is not going to help if you create cluster of ESXi host.  Refer: vSphere Editions, What is vSphere? Leading Virtual Infras... See more...
As there is no any cluster feature offered in Essentials license, it is not going to help if you create cluster of ESXi host.  Refer: vSphere Editions, What is vSphere? Leading Virtual Infrastructure | United States
This is possible without any downtime to the VM. However, as you are going to deploy new fresh vCenter again, you will have to configure HA/DRS settings again. Also, Since you do not have control... See more...
This is possible without any downtime to the VM. However, as you are going to deploy new fresh vCenter again, you will have to configure HA/DRS settings again. Also, Since you do not have control on old vCenter, performance data from old vCenter you may not get as well. If you do not bother about performance data, you are good to go. Here is how you can do this migration: 1. Deploy new vCenter: For your requirement : vCenter appliance will work just fine: Refer:http://www.virten.net/2013/09/vmware-vcenter-server-appliance-5-5-vcsa-limitations/ 2.Create the cluster on new vCenter, configure the same.  first add your new ESXi host 5.5 into cluster. Make sure shared storage on old ESXi host is visible on new host as well. If it is not possible, you can perform vMotion without shared storage as well. Refer:VMware vSphere 5.1 3. Now you can add your old host into new cluster, make sure vMotion requirement are configured already : vSphere 5.5 Documentation Center 4. Add your old host to new cluster. once you add these ESXi host in new vCenter, both will be disconnected automatically from old vCenter. if your hosts CPUs are different, you will have to enable EVC: Make sure you understand impact of EVC, configuring the same. Refer: VMware vSphere 5.1 VMware KB: Enhanced vMotion Compatibility (EVC) processor support VMware KB: EVC and CPU Compatibility FAQ VMware KB: Enabling EVC on a cluster when vCenter Server is running in a virtual machine 5. you can migrate your old host VMs to new host, once migration is over, you can keep your old host into maintenance mode, and remove the same.
If all checks are satisfied, you can go ahead & unmount it with no any issue. I re-iterate below checks: -No VM resides on the datastore -The datastore is not part of Datastore cluster -T... See more...
If all checks are satisfied, you can go ahead & unmount it with no any issue. I re-iterate below checks: -No VM resides on the datastore -The datastore is not part of Datastore cluster -The datastore is not managed by storage DRS -SIOC is disabled for this datastore -The datastore is not used for vSphere HA heartbeat. Specially highlighted 2 checks. Plz note that SIOC can be enabled on datastore without SDRS in picture 
Yes, We have two modes: 1. Manual load balancing 2. Automatic load balancing We do not have partially automated the way we do fro DRS cluster. Note that: Automated initial placemen... See more...
Yes, We have two modes: 1. Manual load balancing 2. Automatic load balancing We do not have partially automated the way we do fro DRS cluster. Note that: Automated initial placement is excluded in both modes: SDRS generates an initial placement recommendation that always requires a manual confirmation.
Is there anyway I can change the datastore heatbeat to the new datastores? Yes, you can change : Right click on cluster>>edit settings>><if HA is enabled, you will get option :"Datastore hea... See more...
Is there anyway I can change the datastore heatbeat to the new datastores? Yes, you can change : Right click on cluster>>edit settings>><if HA is enabled, you will get option :"Datastore heartbeating"> >> Once you click on ":"Datastore heartbeating", you will get datastore ticked for heartbeating. >>Now you can un-tick the datastore that you want to unmount & select other new datastore which is listed there.
When you load a file or program, the file is stored in the random access memory (RAM). Since RAM is finite, some files cannot fit on it. These files are stored in a special section of the hard d... See more...
When you load a file or program, the file is stored in the random access memory (RAM). Since RAM is finite, some files cannot fit on it. These files are stored in a special section of the hard drive called the "swap file". swapping is a mechanism in which a process can be swapped temporarily out of memory to a backing store (Swap OUt) and then brought back into memory for continued execution.(Swap In). In other words, when the amount of physical memory (RAM) is full. If the system(say one process) needs more memory resources and the RAM is full, inactive pages in memory are moved to the swap space(part of hard disk) & these inactive pages will be brought back for further execution. bit more detailed: Suppose there is a situation where a process needs to have one of its virtual page into the physical memory but the physical memory has no room for any more pages to be brought in. What will happen in this case? Well, the OS will have to manage this situation by allowing this page to be in physical memory. But for this to happen, a page already residing in physical memory needs to be discarded. Now, if the page to be discarded is from an executable image or data file and the page has not been written to, then it can easily be discarded as whenever required, the same page can easily be brought back into physical memory from the same executable image or data file. But lets suppose the page which the OS is going to discard is the one which has been written to, then this kind of page is known as a dirty page. A dirty page has to be preserved so as to be used at some later stage. When dirty pages are discarded from physical memory then they are saved in a special file known as swap files. This is known as swapping. Swap cache: As already discussed above, only dirty pages are swapped as we need to retain the pages that have been modified. Also, suppose if a page was modified and was swapped, now if the same page was brought back into physical memory and now there is a need to swap it again but the page has not been modified any further then there is no need to swap this page. Just discard it as this version of the page is already there in the swap file. This saves a good amount of time which otherwise would have been wasted. Reference: Linux Memory Management &amp;#8211; Swapping, Caches and Shared VM
I assume you have one HA cluster with 2 ESXi host & hosts have some VMs running on them. Now you have another vCenter & you would want to create new cluster with 2 ESXi host from old vCenter + yo... See more...
I assume you have one HA cluster with 2 ESXi host & hosts have some VMs running on them. Now you have another vCenter & you would want to create new cluster with 2 ESXi host from old vCenter + you want to add one new ESXi host. Here is the recommended way to do the same: 1. ON old vCenter HA cluster >>Right click>>edit settings>>Disable HA 2. Once you disable HA on the old vCenter, HA agent will be de-installed as well. 3. Dis-connect the host from old cluster or straightway delete the cluster. 4. Create new cluster >>add all 3 hosts (2 removed from old cluster + 1 new host) into new cluster. 5. Enable HA on new cluster>>this will install HA agent on all 3 host. 6. Configure the new HA cluster the way you need (admission control policies,,datastore heartbeating etc) Note: Your VMs will be still running on hosts which were removed/disconnected from old cluster. Plz note that until you add to the new Vcenter cluster, there is chance that disconnected host may go down due to some reason & your VMs may face downtime. Hence, first keep up the new vCenter, create cluster in advance >>configure HA & then remove old cluster.
As you have only ESXi host (No vCenter): Steps that you are planning makes sense. I am assuming : -You have a VM with 2 VMDKs : one VMDK on DS1 & another VM on DS2. Now you want to all VM ... See more...
As you have only ESXi host (No vCenter): Steps that you are planning makes sense. I am assuming : -You have a VM with 2 VMDKs : one VMDK on DS1 & another VM on DS2. Now you want to all VM files (both VMDKs + vmx etc) 1. Power off the VM. 2. Delete snapshots 3. Go to datastore where VMDK to be moved is there. 4. Right click the VMDK & click MOVE ( Copy may not work across datastores from VI client) 5. select the other datastore where you want to keep that VMDK. Wait till the VMDK is migrated. 6. Edit seetings>>>Click on VMDK that was moved (it will have earlier VMDK PATH, hence now VM may not power on)>>Remove that VMDK 7. Again edit settings >>Click add>> hard disk >>select existing virtual disk >>select the VMDK that was moved earlier. >>OK 8. Now you should be able to power on the VM. Note: It should work with primary VMDK as well. Let me know if you have any question
No downside. Go ahead and clone the one & make appropriate configuration (SID/IP etc)
Affinity rules those you are planning makes sense. These rules will avoid these VMs to be on the same host most of the time. Note: 1. As VM-Host rule is configured as "SHOULD" , in extre... See more...
Affinity rules those you are planning makes sense. These rules will avoid these VMs to be on the same host most of the time. Note: 1. As VM-Host rule is configured as "SHOULD" , in extreme cases DRS may violate these rules. However, in the next DRS invocation, DRS will try to resolve the violations.  2. Note that: when you keep either of host into maintenance mode (ESX1 or ESX2), you will have to migrate VM manually to other host due to VM-VM anti affinity rule. Even DRS is in fully automated mode, VM will not be migrated automatically. This will apply only if there are only 2 host in the cluster. 3. Yes, HA should fine with this: However HA is not aware of "SHOULD" rules and in case of host failure it may not respect "SHOULD" rule. 4. VM-VM anti-affinity rule can be made HA aware by using advanced option. Let me know if you want help on this. 5. Yes, in case of outage other hosts in the cluster will be used but please aware on impact due to rules & licenses. 6. "There is also a dev-environment which looks the same." I did not follow what exactly you mean here: 7. DRS migration threshold settings also matters. 8.   DRS gives higher precedence to preventing violations of VM-VM anti-affinity rules than violations of affinity rules. (this is just for your info.) Nonetheless, 1. If ESX1 goes down or VM-Host affinity rule that VM1 SHOULD run on ESX1 gets violated : VM1 may get migrated to other hosts in the cluster. As you do not have SQL licenses (more than 2), how this would be handled (I am not much aware about SQL licenses) 2. Above point applies to second VM-HOST rule as well.
Answers are A D B F Message was edited by: Vikas
Yes, I had tried this once on 2 vCenter 5.5 instances and It works fine. Same template can be registered on 2 different vCenter instances & VMs can be deployed from that template on both vCen... See more...
Yes, I had tried this once on 2 vCenter 5.5 instances and It works fine. Same template can be registered on 2 different vCenter instances & VMs can be deployed from that template on both vCenter (inside cluster or on standalone host).
Yes, I can confirm here that: VCP5-DCV covers all 3 : 5.0 + 5.1 + 5.5. They all are lumped under one certification. If you have already passed VCP5-DCV on 5.1,  VCP 5.5 exam will be just to g... See more...
Yes, I can confirm here that: VCP5-DCV covers all 3 : 5.0 + 5.1 + 5.5. They all are lumped under one certification. If you have already passed VCP5-DCV on 5.1,  VCP 5.5 exam will be just to get updated/learn/revise  new/old features.  Certification that you will receive would be same, only change can be validity. (2 years)
Plz read below lines: It is worth to read : It is often the case that an older release of vSphere supports a new processor but not the corresponding new EVC baseline that exposes the maximum ... See more...
Plz read below lines: It is worth to read : It is often the case that an older release of vSphere supports a new processor but not the corresponding new EVC baseline that exposes the maximum guest-visible features of that processor. A newer vSphere release usually supports both the processor and the new EVC baseline. This is because the older release can only support those features of the new processor that are in common with older processors. Therefore, support of an EVC baseline is not identical to the support of the corresponding processor. Tables 2.1 and 2.2 indicate the earliest vSphere release that supports each EVC baseline. As an example, consider the Intel® “Sandy Bridge” Generation EVC baseline and the Intel® Xeon e5-2400 (a processor based on the Intel® “Sandy Bridge” architecture). The processor is supported by both vSphere 4.1 Update 2 (and later) and vSphere 5.0 (and later). But because vSphere 4.1 update 2 lacks support for advanced “Sandy Bridge” features such as AVX, the Intel® “Sandy Bridge” Generation EVC baseline is only supported starting with the vSphere 5.0 release. However, vSphere 4.1 Update 2 does support lower level EVC baselines on the Intel® Xeon e5-2400, such as Intel® “Westmere” Generation and Intel® “Merom” Generation. Ref: http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1003212 Now you might have got clear idea on why EVC compatibility mode is westmere even when CPus are from sandy bridge. As per me, in you case EVC is not required as feature set/instruction set  in both the CPU are same. Just some difference in clock speed/performance. Ref: Intel Xeon E5-2660 vs E5-2650
To start with: Learn how SCSI works: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/scsi.htm Learn how ISCSI works:What is iSCSI (Internet Small Computer System Interface)? - Definition from WhatI... See more...
To start with: Learn how SCSI works: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/scsi.htm Learn how ISCSI works:What is iSCSI (Internet Small Computer System Interface)? - Definition from WhatIs.com Once you go through these useful links, you will get better idea: let me know if you have any doubt
Please refer : White paper on vSphere storage in detail: End-to -end configuration : Especially refer chapter 3 to 9 for fiber channel. http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-55/topic/com.vmware.ICbas... See more...
Please refer : White paper on vSphere storage in detail: End-to -end configuration : Especially refer chapter 3 to 9 for fiber channel. http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-55/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-55-storage-guide.pdf
A typical VMware Sphere datacenter consists of basic physical building blocks such as x86 virtualization servers, storage networks and arrays, IP networks, a management server, and desktop client... See more...
A typical VMware Sphere datacenter consists of basic physical building blocks such as x86 virtualization servers, storage networks and arrays, IP networks, a management server, and desktop clients. Hence you need to configure servers (ESXi hosts) with required storage, network etc. You need to take help from your SAN/Network admin for the same As per as management of datacenter is concerned : Datacenter can be created from VMware vCenter server., you can create datacenter object from  either VI client , web client or by using APIs Once you create datacenter on vCenter server, you can add configured servers (ESXi hosts) to created datacenter and manage your datacenter from single UI (either VI or web client)
Become VCP5-DT Certified There are two paths to earning your VCP5-DT certification. Path 1 Attend a qualifying course VMware Horizon View: Install, Configure, Manage [V6.0] VMware Horizon V... See more...
Become VCP5-DT Certified There are two paths to earning your VCP5-DT certification. Path 1 Attend a qualifying course VMware Horizon View: Install, Configure, Manage [V6.0] VMware Horizon View: Install, Configure, Manage [V5.2] VMware View: Install, Configure, Manage [V5.1] VMware View: Install, Configure, Manage [V5.0] VMware View: Desktop Fast Track [V5.1] VMware View: Desktop Fast Track [V5.0] Pass the VMware VCP-Desktop (VCPD510) Exam Path 2 Hold any valid VCP level certification Pass the VMware View (VCP510-DT) Exam or VCP-Desktop (VCPD510) Exam If you are going for path 2, there is no need to go for any course : Refer:(VCP5-DT) VMware Certified Professional - Desktop
Default SSL certificates would be installed automatically. However, you can configure third party SSL certificates to make environment even more secured.  Plz refer: vSphere Documentation Ce... See more...
Default SSL certificates would be installed automatically. However, you can configure third party SSL certificates to make environment even more secured.  Plz refer: vSphere Documentation Center http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-51/topic/com.vmware.ICbase/PDF/vsphere-esxi-vcenter-server-51-security-guide.pdf
Hi Friend, Visualize this: You are in a supermarket and some bonehead pulls out a checkbook to write a check. You have a gallon of milk and a $5 bill in your hand. The cashier puts t... See more...
Hi Friend, Visualize this: You are in a supermarket and some bonehead pulls out a checkbook to write a check. You have a gallon of milk and a $5 bill in your hand. The cashier puts the first transaction on hold while the old lady writes the check, and processes your transaction. You walk out, she finishes with the check writer. That is the theory behind HT. If one thread stalls it can run a second thread on the same core. But the problem is it can only handle one thread on any cycle, so it depends on inefficiencies in the execution to "slip in that second instruction." Now, imagine that the grocery store stops taking checks. Efficiency is increased, the main thread has more efficiency, but there is less likelihood for that second transaction to happen. So you wait longer with your milk. Would you rather have a multitasking cashier or more open lanes? If business is light in the store and transactions are small, the multitasking cashier might be ok. But if it is saturday afternoon you want more lanes open because of the heavy traffic. HT works ok in light workloads where traffic is "bursty" and inefficient. But if workloads get heavy (and I believe we all have more work to do on our systems than ever before) then the benefits of HT start to slip and the benefits of dedicated cores really shines. Refer: really liked above explanation that I got from this thread: 4 Cores With Hyperthreading vs. 8 Physical Cores? - Performance - CPUs