VMware error on HP Proliant “Host Baseboard Management Controller status”
KB ID 0000418 Problem Saw this today on a HP Proliant DL380 G7 Server. Solution 1. It’s a simple one to solve, the server was built with the HP ESXi build, and the management agents are complaining because the iLO is not connected to the network. 2. When you connect the iLO socket to the network the alarm should change as shown below. 3. Once you have connected or disabled it you can reset the alarm. 4. Take the opportunity to...
VMware VIM (vCenter) Where to put the sysprep files in Server 2008?
KB ID 0000420 Problem For newer servers I don’t really use templates anymore, but if you are deploying a lot of 2003 Windows servers in vSphere, then they can save you some time. Back in the days of vCenter 2.5 you just uploaded those sysprep files to the relevant folder in, C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersApplication DataVmwareVmware Virtual Centersysprep But that location no longer exists (since Server 2008). Solution The...
VMware – {hostname} could not reach isolation address: none specified
KB ID 0000445 Problem Seen on vSphere: Error Host {hostname} could not reach isolation address:none specified. Solution 1. In my case the host did NOT have a default gateway, (this had occurred because the subnet mask of the server had been entered incorrectly when the server was built. So the default gateway appeared to be on a different network). 2. With the offending host selected, Configuration > DNS and Routing >...
vSphere – Virtual Center Server Service Stops
KB ID 0000479 Problem If your VC Database reaches 4GB, the VMware Virtual Centre Server service will stop. A restart of it will result in the service stopping again within a minute. You will also see see this event logged. Description: Could not allocate space for object ‘dbo.VPX_HOST_VM_CONFIG_OPTION’.’PK_VPX_HOST_VM_CONFIG_OPTION’ in database ‘VIM_VCDB’ because the ‘PRIMARY’ filegroup...
ESX 4 to ESX 5 Upgrade Warning ‘Custom VIB Warning’
KB ID 0000500 Problem Seen when upgrading ESXi 4.1 U1 to ESX 5. Error: <3RD_PARTY_SOFTWARE_WARNING: Host contains third-party VIB(s) that have no substitute on the ISO. [‘oem-vmware-esx-drivers-net-vxge’, ‘oem-vmware-esx-drivers-scsi-3w-9xxx’]> If attempting to upgrade with VMware update manager you will see the following; Solution Luckily this was on a test box so I was somewhat more cavalier in my...
vSphere – The ‘VMware VirtualCenter Service’ will not start
KB ID 0000526 Problem I tried to logon to my vCenter this afternoon (Server 2008 R2) and could not get on, I connected to the server to find it was up but the “VMware VirtualCenter Server” service was not running. So I tried to start it and got the following error, Error: Windows could not start the VMware VirtualCenter Server on Local Computer. For more information, review the System Event Log. If this is a non-Microsoft...
Upgrade vSphere 4 Environment to vSphere 5
KB ID 0000543 Problem I will probably have a ton of these to do next year! The following process runs right through the entire migration process of vCenter, the ESX/ESXi hosts, The Datastores, The VM Tools, VMHardware, and finally re licencing everything with your new vSphere 5 keys. Solution Step 1 Verify your Software and Hardware Requirements 1. vCenter 5 Hardware Requirements: CPU: Requires Dual CPU (At least 2GHz – IA64...
vSphere 5 – Install and Configure the Web Client
KB ID 0000551 Problem The ability to administer vCenter via a web browser is nothing new, vCenter has had a web console in previous versions. vCenter vSphere 4 Web Client (Web Access) The version with vSphere 5 is much more feature rich. Like the VMware vSphere client it talks directly to the vCenter vSphere API, but unlike previous web access, the component needs to be installed and configured before you can use it. What the Web...
VMware ESXi – Converting ‘Thick’ Provisioned Drives to ‘Thin’, and ‘Thin’ to ‘Thick’
KB ID 0000579 Problem Thin provisioning of hard drives is pretty cool stuff, full support for thin provisioning was brought in with vSphere version 4. Put simply a thin proviosioned drive is as big as it needs to be, and a thick provisioned drive is set to its maximum size when it’s created. The virtual machines that use these hard drives don’t know, and assume that their hard drive is a set size (even if it is thin...
VMware ESXi 5 – Applying Patches and Updates
(ESXi 5 Update 1 and Patches) KB ID 0000623 Problem When VMware released ESX 4.1, they took away the “Host update utility”, (which was a mistake!). For people without VMware Update Manager, you now have to either put in the CD/DVD and do an ‘in place upgrade’, or grow a ginger pony tail and put some socks/sandals on and do some Linux. Below I’ve got a build of ESX with no updates on it, I’m going to...