Recently I got myself into position where I lost a VMFS partition containing some vital lab VMs. Unfortunately, this was during a quick migration, where the words “what’s the worst that can happen?” were used. Continue reading
ESXi
Implementing a VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure with Horizon View 6.2 – Part 4: Configuring the RDS hosts
In part 3 we configured the templates that will be used by our desktops pools. In this part I demonstrate how to provision the RDS hosts that will provide applications to remote users without the need for a full desktop. I will also install the applications ready for them to be added to a View Application Farm. Continue reading
Implementing a VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure with Horizon View 6.2 – Part 3: Creating the templates
In part 2 we installed the VMware Horizon View Connection Servers and View Composer in preparation for deploying our virtual desktops.
In this part we configure our two templates which will be used by all members of the business. Continue reading
Implementing a VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure with Horizon View 6.2 – Part 2: Installing the Connection Servers and Composer
In part 1 of this series, I outlined the design for implementing a virtual desktop infrastructure solution using VMware View. In this part, I demonstrate how to install and configure the VMware View Connection Server and View Composer in preparation for deploying virtual desktops. Continue reading
Implementing a VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure with Horizon View 6.2 – Part 1: Design
In September 2015 VMware released version 6.2 of their Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) offering, Horizon View. View enables enterprises to virtualise their desktop estate, potentially saving thousands in hardware costs in the process. Other benefits, such as greater flexibility are also realised. Continue reading
Cloning the ESXi boot volume
Since ESXi was introduced it has been possible to install it to a USB key. Initially it was always a hack… I remember getting a 3.5 image and using dd in a very unsupported way to write an image. It was only when ESXi 4.0 came along were USB keys officially supported as a boot volume. Continue reading
Using vSphere Auto Deploy to reduce configuration drift in the enterprise – Part 2
In part 1 of this short series we discussed configuration drift with regards to ESXi hosts. In this part, we complete the series by configuring answer files, host profiles, and various other settings needed to successfully Auto Deploy ESXi hosts. Continue reading
Using vSphere Auto Deploy to reduce configuration drift in the enterprise – Part 1
A common challenge facing enterprise deployments of vSphere is configuration drift. When the hardware or software configuration changes, manageability becomes increasingly difficult. This in turn results in higher support costs. Continue reading
Fixing Emulex 10GbE on ESXi 5.5
Last year at VMworld in San Francisco I bought two Emulex OCe10102 10GbE cards for my home lab, and used two Dell/Force10 cables to connect them together. One card went into my Dell PowerEdge T710, and one in my HP Microserver Gen7. Continue reading
Create a Microsoft SQL 2014 Failover Cluster on Windows Server 2012 R2 Server Core
When it first came out last year, I installed Microsoft SQL 2014 and configured an Availability Group to host my vCenter database (despite it not being supported).
Unfortunately it has never worked perfectly, and today I decided it was time to do the job right. I still need high availability for my SQL Server, and Microsoft Clustering Services would be ideal. Continue reading
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