Yesterday I decided it was time to rebuild my VCSA. Being a brand new one, I thought it would be a good opportunity to replace the default untrusted SSL certificates with genuine ones issued from my in-house Microsoft Certificate Authority. Continue reading
vCenter
It’s not good to mix dvSwitch uplinks of different speeds for VSAN
I’ve long been an advocate for using Distributed vSwitches (dVS) in vSphere. The single point of management, coupled with added functionality such as load-based teaming and NIOC, is a huge advantage over Standard vSwitches.
However, there’s always Continue reading
Wednesday Tidbit: Migrating an embedded PSC to an external PSC
Recently I deployed a new vSphere 6 vCenter with an embedded Platform Services Controller to the home lab for a PoC. Whilst the deployment was only meant to be temporary, it has evolved into a permanent feature. Unfortunately I need scalability with my PSC (high availability and across sites), so the embedded just wasn’t going to work. I needed to migrate it to an external PSC. 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
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
Wednesday Tidbit: Create an alert for ESXi host profile deviation
In vCenter, I’ve always found it strange that by default if an ESXi host deviates from its host profile, then the only notification an administrator would receive is a red cross in the GUI. I don’t know about you, but we regard that as a serious issue, as any deviation could lead to unplanned downtime. Continue reading
Wednesday Tidbit: Adding the SQL Server Agent to a Windows Failover Cluster
Yesterday I decided it was time to patch my VMware vCenter 5.5 hosts to the recently released Update 3. As I make use of properly configured SSL certificates, each component (SSO, Web Client, Inventory and vCenter Server) has to be installed separately. However when I came to install the last one, I ran into an issue. Continue reading
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