Hello all,
I think many of us are scrambling to be ready for VMworld - right? Some for meetings, or demo’s, or presentations. It is a very exciting time, both to meet people you have not seen for a while, but also to meet new people, and also to learn. I love to learn and there is so much possible at VMworld for that. I would love to meet anyone that reads my blog, so if you see me please say hi. If you want some suggestions on sessions at VMworld check out this article, as well this article has some, and even this podcast. Here is an article about some suggestions around performance and database.
I was able to get a couple of articles done in this very busy week. The first was on a very odd issue that impacted my wife and TV’s, and it was about DHCP being filtered in my Wifi and the other one is cool and about how you can do some very good documentation about your vSphere Environment. I do know that RVTools does nice documentation too, but it is good to have options.
I can confirm that Veeam 9.5 Update 2 is fully supported on Update 1 of vSphere 6.5. Got it right from the guy who makes the decision.
I can also confirm that when you upgrade to Update 1 of vSphere 6.5 you should check that your root password, NTP, and TZ settings are all what you want them to be. In my case the expiry was re-enabled for the root password.
BTW, on a personal note, I saw an article about soldiers and how they contribute to workplaces, and while I always thought I was more successful because I used to be a solder I had never thought too much of why. That article does talk about it nicely.
But lots to share, and I have a lab to rebuild some important parts of it!
Michael
vExpert VSAN 2017
You can find the announcement of the vExperts in the sub-group VSAN and congrats to everyone. I did not do a good job of convincing Corey about why I should be in this group so next year I will need to do a better job of that!
VMFS-6 Large and Small File blocks - what are they?
Cormac will help you understand what SFB and LFB are and of note he uses the vmkfstools utility which wee used to do a lot with in the old days. Sort of surprised me to see it actually.
vSAN 6.6.1 Performance Diagnostics Demo
Duncan has a nice demo of a new feature in vSphere 6.5 Update 1 and vSAN 6.6.1 that I think many customers might use over time.
NSX Bytes: NSX-V 6.3.3 Released - Upgrade Notes and Enhancements
Anthony has an article about the latest release of NSX and it sounds like it is pretty good release.
Client Integration Plugin, vCloud Director and Compatible Browsers
A nice article on a subject that is a little frustrating for us all. The CIP has at times caused some serious frustration for me and others.
What PowerCLI Version Am I On Anyways?
Kyle did a nice article on how to tell what version of PowerCLI you are on and it is interesting and a little different.
Collecting diagnostic information for VMware vCenter Server and ESXi using PowerCLI
I needed this article to help me pull a support bundle recently. Thanks to Jake Robinson of VMware for finding it and sharing it with me.
Sample vSAN Encryption Report
Jase has done a cool PowerShell script on vSAN encryption. You can find it here. Very nicely done Jase.
In-Guest UNMAP, EnableBlockDelete and VMFS-6
Cody has another very interesting article about stuff that applies to many of us. How you can have in-guest and VMFS level reclamation when files are deleted in your guest. Very good info and great learning. I know Cody from his EMC days and I can say most every time we chat I learn. And he is a cool dude too.
Who created these VM snapshots???
I heard someone asking about this recently so it is cool I found this article about how you can tell - if you are lucky - who owns the snapshots!
VMware Licensing - details!
Here is a doc on the subject of VMware Licensing. Just in case! Not really interesting normally but if you need details on license stuff it might help.
Zero to Windows Domain Controllers in 4 reboots!
Mike has a very useful article that will help you mostly automate your build out of a domain controller. Very handy script!
Configuring NTP on Windows Server 2012
I helped someone with time on Win2K12 recently and this article was a big help - it helped with setting time source and testing it in Win2K12.
Veeam > HPE Nimble integration, A Case Study
A nice write up on getting the Veeam and Nimble parts working at a school. Nice job.
Veeam B&R 9.5 U2 - failed to index guest file system
If you have this Veeam error you can learn more about it, and in fact solve it too.
Non-disruptively upgrading ONTAP
An interesting article about how you can upgrade ONTAP without impact to users. Turns out that functionality was added in 9.2 and is certainly welcome.
Understanding SSD endurance: drive writes per day …..
If you want to learn more about SSD endurance this article is what you need. This is related to Storage Spaces Direct.
Why snapshots alone are not backups
I have said this quite often myself and so it is nice to see it in writing. Snapshots are really not backups.
Touring Acropolis with Veeam Backup
We announced this a while back but it is not GA yet so I have not seen it, but it sounds pretty good - Hal talks about how Nutanix customers will in fact be able to use Veeam for the backups in the near future.
Dell ESXi 6.5 Update I image
You can find it here if you need it.
US Airman forced to belly-land A-10 Warthog after Canopy blows, landing gear fails
A fascinating article about how a cannon in an A-10 explodes, and causes landing gear issues, and blows the canopy, and yet the pilot lands it fine. Amazing.
You’re going to hear a lot of FUD about Apple’s Secure Enclave being hacked. It wasn’t.
I did hear about this - in fact from an Android guy so it was good to see this article and find out what is actually true. The Secure Enclave is where your fingerprint resides and is very well protected. Good to hear that is still true.
Apple Releases iOS 11 and iPad How-To Videos
I have been running iOS 11 on one of my old iPads and it is pretty nice. What it does for productivity for iPad users is pretty useful. I look forward to it in fact quite a lot. Here is a link to some How-To videos by Apple. Makes me think the GA is not that far off!
Cops can force you to unlock your phone with your fingerprint but not your passcode
I was in a meeting yesterday or the day before when this subject came up. People were surprised so I thought I would share this article so more people would know the facts. This is fact in the US, and is sometimes also true in Canada but that is starting to change.
Thanks for reading or skimming this far,
Michael
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