Auto ESXi Host Configuration Backups with PowerCLI

Regularly throughout the year, I like to take PIT (Point in Time) backups of my ESXi host configurations. These form part of my Critical Config backups that I hope I’ll never have to use. But like any backup, these are merely another safety net as we strive to have more Continue Reading

VMware ESXi CBT bug — FIXED, sort of.

I’ve previously posted in detail about the VMware ESXi CBT bug here It’s taken a while but VMware have today released patches to address this issue for older versions of ESXI 5.0 & 5.1 Disappointingly, still no fix for ESXI 4.0 and more importantly ESXi 5.5 (Rumoured to be coming Continue Reading

PowerCLI – Break glass in case of emergency

Nothing like a bit of Hyperbole, but some days are better than others! One thing I have learned over the years is to always expect the unexpected. Yesterday’s ‘unexpected‘ was one of these;               That’s cool, HA kicked in and the stranded guests began to Continue Reading

VAAI- Hear me now, believe me later

VAAI (vStorage API for Array Integration) was first introduced into vSphere in v4.1 with promises of deeper integration and control over supported storage Arrays.  Each feature (or Primitve) was designed to help us gain benefits from our Arrays. Vendors who didn’t support VAAI were frowned upon and those delivering on Continue Reading

VMware ESXi CBT Bug – Your data may be at risk

Changed Block Tracking (CBT) is a great feature introduced in ESXi 4.0, that effectively brought incremental backup technology to our virtual machines. Third parties were able to leverage this so backups would only require the processing of blocks that have changed rather than all blocks. This saved inordinate amounts of time, Continue Reading

EMC Recoverpoint+VMware SRM – ‘discover Arrays’ failed.

I noticed this little gem today whilst in the process of adjusting some SRM documentation and grabbing some screenshots;                 I hadn’t received any alerts so didn’t think it was a major issue, but sounded like it’s the sort of error that may be annoying during execution Continue Reading

vSphere 6 Release Candidate – Out now (Beta only)

http://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2014/10/vsphere-6-0-rc-now-live.html It’s here…or is it. The above link went live and was then pulled, the explanation being that the vSPhere 6.0 RC is available, but ONLY for BETA program members. Regardless, the features and improvements listed are worthy of being posted;   •Quality: Improved overall quality of the product, increased Continue Reading

VMware EVO:RAIL : SDDC in a box

Rumours of the VMware hyper-converged appliance have been riding high for some months under the guise of “Project Marvin”, now official, the details are out about EVO:RAIL VMware EVO:RAlL landing page is here. From the release; VMware EVO: RAIL™ combines compute, networking, and storage resources into a hyper-converged infrastructure appliance Continue Reading