Category: VMware

HS22V ESXi 5.5 Upgrade 10Gb Network Problem

This post is applicable to customers using IBM BladeCenter HS22 and HS22V blades with the Emulex 10Gb adapter cards that connect to the IBM 10Gb Virtual Fabric Switch (formerly BNT).

Problem:

  1. HS22V blade running ESXi 5.1
  2. Mount ESXi 5.5 Update 1 Driver Rollup 2 ISO image
  3. Upgrade ESXi 5.1 to 5.5
  4. Reboot the blade
  5. All networking on the 10Gb vmnic appears OK (module loads, 10Gb links come up, CDP works, vSwitches report working uplinks), but traffic is not carried.  vmkping from any VMkernel interfaces bound to the Emulex adapter will fail, you can only ping yourself.
  6. Run the command “esxcli software vib list | grep elxnet” and verify that the “elxnet” driver version is 10.0.783.13.
  7. Run the command “esxcli network nic list” and verify that the 10Gb vmnics use the driver “elxnet” (new native driver).

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vCenter 5.5 Upgrade with Windows Server 2012 R2 – Part 5 – Integrating vUM and Syslog

This is part 5 of the vCenter 5.1 to 5.5 Update 1c upgrade, detailing the installation of vSphere Update Manager and vSphere Syslog Collector for vCenter 5.5.

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VMware Education – VCDX-NV, but no VCAPs

VCDX-NV In a previous post I have talked about the expected VCDX program announcements at VMworld 2014.  There is now a very strong rumour that the first VCDX-NV candidates will be defending their designs next week.  The first batch of newly minted VCDX-NVs will likely be celebrated at the VMworld US – VCDX/vExpert party.  This was intimated by the “VCDX-NV” option present in the VCDX/vExpert party registration.

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VMware Press – “Virtualising SQL Server with VMware – Doing It Right”

I have just finished reading “Virtualising SQL Server with VMware – Doing It Right” by Michael Corey, Jeff Szastak and Michael “WebScale” Webster.  What a great read!  For anyone who has business critical applications that use SQL Server and they want to virtualise with vSphere, this book is for you.

On a personal note, Michael Webster assisted my company in 2013 with a business critical SQL Server 2012 implementation, so I can attest to the efficacy of the methodology and techniques described in this tome.

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PowerCLI – How do I use it?

PowerCLI is an incredible tool that you can use to automate many of your operational procedures, particularly useful if you are constrained by budget and you are competent in scripting with Windows PowerShell.  This post covers setting up and using PowerCLI, the operational risks entailed, how to use Virtu-al.net’s vCheck script and a “Delete Snapshot, notify by email” script.

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