The backup is configured to index the files of the backup so if there is a need to restore a file the customer can search through the backup and select the file that’s need to be restored.
After the upgrade I ran an test backup, this job failed with an error. The backup went fine, but the indexing of the backup file failed. The error was:

Failed to index guest file system. Details: Error: Cannot read data from volume Win32 error:The handle is invalid. Code: 6

In my case both servers where converted from a physical server to a virtual server on an VMware vSphere 4.1 platform. Both servers where running Windows 2003 Server.

I started looking for a solution on internet, Google is your best friend. I found a Veeam Forum article called Guest file indexing. See http://forums.veeam.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9721
This article describes exactly my problem. Also a converted Windows 2003 server. With Veeam version 5 no problems, with Veeam version 6 indexing error.

After reading the whole article my solution for the fix is patch 2 for Veeam 6. How to get this Patch 2, because it is not available for public download. So I created a support case. I uploaded the log files, and after a few hours I received an e-mail with the link to the patch that I need to install. After installing the patch my index error message went away, so the patch worked. Great work Veeam Support for the fast response.

Things that get fixed with patch 2 (http://forums.veeam.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=9533#p41806) are:

• Issue 1. Direct SAN Access processing mode does not work for certain SAN makes and models.
• Issue 2. Virtual Appliance (Hot Add) processing mode does not work when backup proxy is installed on localized version of Microsoft Windows.
• Issue 3. Upgrade related issues affecting jobs created in v5 – poor incremenal backup performance, and large VIB file created on the first incremental run.
• Issue 6. Guest file system indexing fail on certain VMs with the “Win32 error:The handle is invalid” error.
• Issue 8. For v6 backup servers that were upgraded from v5, jobs fail to send email notifications if SMTP server requires authentication.
• Issue 9. Reversed incremental backup mode jobs scheduled to run on specific days only will also start on synthetic full backup day (as set under incremental backup mode options in the advanced job settings). Due to the same bug, Replication and VM Copy jobs will always start on Saturday (which is the default day for synthetic full backup).
• Issue 10. For jobs writing to CIFS-based backup repositories, backup results are not set in the selected VM attribute upon job completion.
• Issue 11. Added support for Cisco Nexus 1000V switch (port groups were not visible in UI).
• Issue 13. Added VM heartbit check for Migration jobs. Original VM files will not be removed until the heartbit is received. This was needed because it was reported that under certain circumstances (we were not able to reproduce this to date), the migration job fails to copy the virtual disk contents correctly, but nevertheless deletes the original.
• Issue 15. Under certain circumstances, the job fails with the following error: “Client error: Cannot allocate memory for an array. Array size: [4198400].”
• Issue 16. For VMs configured to use VMware DVS (Distributed Virtual Switch), restore and replication into a different vCenter server will fail.

The result is that I cannot change any drivers or devices.

The solution is very simple but not obvious. My computer name is longer than 15 characters. This is a problem for NetBIOS computers. It turns out this is also a problem for the device manager. So I changed my computer name to a name with less than 15 characters, now everything works normal again.

Just as last year, Veeam has a Christmas gift for us as nerds…. A free Veeam Backup & Replication v6 license for in our home lab!! Great…

See http://www.veeam.com/news/holiday-gift-from-veeam-free-veeam-backup-and-replication-v6-licenses-for-your-lab155.html

Holiday gift from Veeam: free Veeam Backup & Replication v6 licenses for your lab

Free NFR Licenses for Evaluation and Demonstration Use available to VMware vExperts, VMware Certified Professionals, VMware Certified Instructors VMUG members, Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals, and Microsoft Certified Professionals

Click to Tweet: Free holiday gift from @Veeam for vExperts, VCPs, VCIs, VMUG members, MVPs, MCPs http://vee.am/freenfr

Columbus, OH – Dec. 14, 2011

Who: Veeam Software, innovative provider of data protection, disaster recovery and management solutions for virtual datacenter environments,  today announced a holiday gift for VMware vExperts, VMware Certified Professionals,  VMware Certified Instructors, VMUG members, Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals, and  Microsoft Certified Professionals.

What: Free software for home labs. In an expansion of last year’s program, any VMware vExpert, VCP, VCI, VMUG member, Microsoft MVP or MCP can receive a free two-CPU socket Not for Resale (NFR) license of Veeam Backup & Replication™ v6 for evaluation and demonstration use.

Where: NFR licenses are available at http://www.veeam.com/nfr/free-nfr-license and http://www.veeam.com/nfr/free-nfr-license-hyper-v.
“Veeam Backup & Replication v6 was downloaded more than 15 thousand times in its first week of availability, and with new support for Hyper-V, we are glad to extend our offer of NFR licenses to the Microsoft community as well as the entire VMUG community,” explained Doug Hazelman, Vice President of Product Strategy for Veeam Software.
“Access to free NFR licenses of Veeam Backup & Replication is another great perk of VMUG Membership. Thank you, Veeam, for supporting the VMUG Community,” said Jim Millard, VMUG member in the Midwest. Derek Schauland, Microsoft MVP said, “Veeam for the Microsoft Community?  Awesome! Having a program giving NFR licenses of Veeam software to the Microsoft community will be invaluable to the home lab and test needs of IT pros in pursuit of training, blogging and other activities. I look forward to this program.”

How to become a VCP.

There are different paths to VCP5 certification based on your background. Choose your path and complete the three core validation components:

Attend a qualifying VMware authorized course.
Already a VCP4? There is no course requirement until February 29, 2012.
Gain hands-on experience with VMware vSphere 5.
Pass the VCP5 Exam.

Source: http://mylearn.vmware.com/mgrReg/plan.cfm?plan=12457&ui=www_cert

Exam Blueprint.

VMware created a blueprint for the VPC5 exam. This document describes what to know, how many points are needed etc. Link to the Blueprint: http://mylearn.vmware.com/register.cfm?course=103110 or http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-16726

Exam Objectives.

These are the objectives discussed in the Exam Blueprint, these are the topics for the VCP5 exam.

Section 1 – Plan, Install, Configure and Upgrade vCenter Server and VMware ESXi

• Objective 1.1 – Install and Configure vCenter Server
• Objective 1.2 - Install and Configure VMware ESXi
• Objective 1.3 - Plan and Perform Upgrades of vCenter Server and VMware ESXi
• Objective 1.4 – Secure vCenter Server and ESXi
• Objective 1.5 - Identify vSphere Architecture and Solutions

Section 2 – Plan and Configure vSphere Networking

• Objective 2.1 - Configure vNetwork Standard Switches
• Objective 2.2 - Configure vNetwork Distributed Switches
• Objective 2.3 - Configure vSS and vDS Policies

Section 3 – Plan and Configure vSphere Storage

• Objective 3.1 - Configure Shared Storage for vSphere
• Objective 3.2 - Configure the Storage Virtual Appliance for vSphere
• Objective 3.3 - Create and Configure VMFS and NFS Datastores

Section 4 – Deploy and Administer Virtual Machines and vApps

• Objective 4.1 - Create and Deploy Virtual Machines
• Objective 4.2 - Create and Deploy vApps
• Objective 4.3 - Manage Virtual Machine Clones and Templates
• Objective 4.4 - Administer Virtual Machines and vApps

Section 5 – Establish and Maintain Service Levels

• Objective 5.1 - Create and Configure VMware Clusters
• Objective 5.2 - Plan and Implement VMware Fault Tolerance
• Objective 5.3 - Create and Administer Resource Pools
• Objective 5.4 - Migrate Virtual Machines
• Objective 5.5 – Backup and Restore Virtual Machines
• Objective 5.6 – Patch and Update ESXi and Virtual Machines

Section 6 – Perform Basic Troubleshooting

• Objective 6.1 - Perform Basic Troubleshooting for ESXi Hosts
• Objective 6.2 - Perform Basic vSphere Network Troubleshooting
• Objective 6.3 - Perform Basic vSphere Storage Troubleshooting
• Objective 6.4 - Perform Basic Troubleshooting for HA/DRS Clusters and vMotion/Storage vMotion

Section 7 – Monitor a vSphere Implementation and Manage vCenter Server Alarms

• Objective 7.1 - Monitor ESXi, vCenter Server and Virtual Machines
• Objective 7.2 - Create and Administer vCenter Server Alarms

VMware documentation.

Of course VMware created a lot of documentation, manuals and whitepapers. These are the most important ones. Read them en learn them.

New Features and Release Notes

• What’s New in VMware vSphere 5.0
• VMware vSphere 5.0 Release Notes

Compatibility and Configuration Limits

• Hardware, Host, and Guest Operating System Compatibility Guides
• VMware Product Interoperability Matrix
• Configuration Maximums for VMware vSphere 5.0

ESXi and vCenter Server Product Documentation

Online Archive vSphere 5 Documentation Centre. http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/index.jsp

What’s new whitepapers.

• What’s New in VMware vSphere 5.0 Platform
• What’s New in VMware vSphere 5.0 Storage
• What’s New in VMware vSphere 5.0 Performance
• What’s New in VMware vSphere 5.0 Networking
• What’s New in VMware vSphere 5.0 Availability

Books.

There are some very good books that provide you with a lot of knowledge that can be used to prepare for the exam. These are. I have both books and I find them extremely useful.

Mastering VMware vSphere 5Virtualization is hotter than ever. VMware vSphere is the most widely deployed virtualization platform, and this indispensable book by VMware vExpert and VCDX Scott Lowe is your key to harnessing the newest version. Using step-by-step instruction and real-world examples, he takes you under the hood of VMware vSphere 5 and shows you how to get the very most out of all its components. Learn how to install, configure, operate, monitor, secure, and automate your virtual infrastructure from a leading expert and with the leading virtualization solution.ISBN: 9780470890806 | 0470890800 Also available as Kindle e-book

VMware vSphere 5.0 Clustering Technical DeepdiveVMware vSphere 5.0 Clustering Technical Deepdive zooms in on three key components of every VMware based infrastructure and is by no means a “how to” guide. It covers the basic steps needed to create a vSphere HA and DRS cluster and to implement Storage DRS. Even more important, it explains the concepts and mechanisms behind HA, DRS and Storage DRS which will enable you to make well educated decisions. This book will take you in to the trenches of HA, DRS and Storage DRS and will give you the tools to understand and implement e.g. HA admission control policies, DRS resource pools, Datastore Clusters and resource allocation settings.ISBN: 1-4610-4032-9 | 1461040329 Also available as Kindle e-book

Training videos.

David Davis and Elias Khnaser have created an excellent video based training for Trainsignal. This training will help you prepare for the exam. When you watch all the chapters you get familiar with all the new features that vSphere 5 will offer. I have seen them all, and I’ve learned a lot.For more information, see http://www.trainsignal.com/VMware-vSphere-5-Training.aspx

VCP5 Resource Blogs

• Gregg Robertson The Saffegeek VCP5 blog: http://thesaffageek.co.uk/vcp5/
• Andrea Mauro blog: http://vinfrastructure.it/certifications-on-virtualization/vcp/vcp5/
• Daniel Petri blog: http://www.petri.co.il/vcp5-exam.htm
• Forbes Guthrie blog: http://www.vreference.com/vsphere-5-notes/ <- Must Read!
• Scott Vessey blog: http://vmwaretraining.blogspot.com/2011/10/studying-for-vcp5-exam.html
• Preetam Zare blog: http://vcp5.wordpress.com/
• Chad King blog: http://virtualnoob.wordpress.com/2011/11/09/vcp-510-study-guide-prepping-up-vcp5/
• Damian Karlson blog: http://damiankarlson.com/2011/11/01/vmware-vcp-5-resources/
• Jason Langer blog: http://virtuallanger.com/vcp5/

VCP5 practice exams.

These are some practice exams I’ve found online. I should be noted that these do not necessarily indicate the types and styles of questions you will get in the real exam, and the accuracy of these practice exams cannot be guaranteed either.

• VMware Mock exam: http://mylearn.vmware.com/quiz.cfm?item=24908&ui=www_cert
• Simon Long’s practice exam: http://www.simonlong.co.uk/blog/vcp5-practice-exams/
• Kalen Arndt practice exam: http://www.kalenarndt.com/vcp-510-quiz/
• Paul McSharry practice exam: http://www.elasticsky.co.uk/2011/08/vsphere-5-configuration-maximums-practice-tests-series/
• Robert Stothards practice exam: http://www.classmarker.com/online-test/start/?quiz=kmh4e272723524e2

VCP5 Exam experience

Of course there are other people that already taken the exam, these are there experiences.

• Eric Sloof on NTPro.nl: http://www.ntpro.nl/blog/archives/1865-Eric-Sloofs-VCP5-exam-experience.html
• James Burd: http://www.burdweiser.com/?p=542
• Virtual Nomad: http://vmnomad.blogspot.com/2011/10/my-vcp-5-exam-experience.html
• Jason Ventresco : http://www.vjason.com/2011/08/29/vcp5-exam-passed/
• Maish Saidel-Keesing: http://technodrone.blogspot.com/2011/09/vcp-5-beta-exam-pass-but-it-aint-easy.html
• Craig: http://malaysiavm.com/blog/vcp-5-exam-experience/

Harry was fine using Outlook for email and meeting reminders. But new responsibilities in his job began to overwhelm his schedule and make him feel lost in email. Harry’s co-worker, Renee, knows how to use Outlook to control email and scheduling, and begins to show Harry some best practices. (First part of a 9 video training series)

1. Getting Started

 2. Folders

3. Categories

4. Tasks

5. Search folders

6. Rules

7. The four Ds

8. Schedule Management

9. Maintain the system

I immediately was searching for an option to turn it off and put it back to the normal old style of desktop icons. After a few hours of searching I didn’t find an option to turn it off.

Today I ran in to a Tweet with my solution of how to turn it off, see http://deploymentbunny.com/2011/09/18/windows-8-developer-server-preview-switch-to-classic-start-menu/

It turns out it’s a simple registry key that needs to be set to turn everything back to normal. Change the key: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer

change the RPEnabled value from 1 in to 0 and everything is back to normal again.

When I run the All Tests at the diagnostics Tasks, the Cache Status was Corrupt.

I searched the internet for a solution and I didn’t find anything. I contacted HP about this problem and they send me an e-mail with the solution.

The solution is as follows. Go to the Storage tab on the node with the problem. Select Reconfigure RAID…

Note! This was a new HP P4300 device, brand new out of the box with no data on it. If there is data on it, please contact HP for another solution.

Select the correct RAID configuration, in my case RAID 5. Acknowledge the warning. This takes a few minutes, and when it finishes, go to the diagnostics again. Do the same diagnostic test and now the corrupt cache error message is gone. Problem solved.

What’s New Whitepapers

What’s New in VMware vSphere 5.0 Platform (VMware)
What’s New in VMware vSphere 5.0 Storage (VMware)
What’s New in VMware vSphere 5.0 Performance (VMware)
What’s New in VMware vSphere 5.0 Networking (VMware)
What’s New in VMware vSphere 5.0 Availability (VMware)
What’s New in VMware vCloud Director 1.5 (VMware)
What’s New in VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager 5.0 (VMware)
What’s New in VMware Data Recovery 2.0 (VMware)

Documentation

VMware vSphere product documentation (VMware)
VMware vSphere Basics Guide
vSphere Installation and Setup Guide
vSphere Upgrade Guide
vCenter Server and Host Management Guide
vSphere Virtual Machine Administration Guide
vSphere Host Profiles Guide
vSphere Networking Guide
vSphere Storage Guide
vSphere Security Guide
vSphere Resource Management Guide
vSphere Availability Guide
vSphere Monitoring and Performance Guide
vSphere Troubleshooting
VMware vSphere Examples and Scenarios Guide

Licensing.

VMware vSphere 5.0 Licensing, Pricing and Packaging (VMware)
vSphere 5 Purchase Advisor (VMware)
vSphere 5 Entitlement Mapping (VMware)
Upgrading to VMware vSphere License Keys (VMware)
vSphere Desktop – vSphere Edition to host Desktop Virtualization FAQ (VMware)
Understanding the vSphere 5 vRAM Licensing Model (VMware – Rethink IT)

Storage

vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 1 – VMFS-5 (VMware vSphere Blog)
vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 2 – Storage vMotion (VMware vSphere Blog)
vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 3 – VAAI (VMware vSphere Blog)
vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 4 – Storage DRS – Initial Placement (VMware vSphere Blog)

Upgrade

VMware vSphere Upgrade Center (VMware)
Ivo Beerens upgrade blog (IvoBeerens.nl)

Best Practices

Performance Best Practices for VMware vSphere 5.0
VMware vSphere vMotion Architecture, Performance and Best Practices in VMware vSphere 5
VMware vSphere 5.0 Upgrade Best Practices

vCenter Server

vSphere 5 – vCenter as a linux VM (ESX Virtualization)
vSphere vCenter 5 Design Considerations (Kendrick Coleman)
vCenter 5 – To Appliance or Not? (Kendrick Coleman)
vSphere 5 vCenter Server Virtual Appliance Quick-Start Guide (VMwire)
VMware vCenter Server Virtual Appliance (VCSA) features and benefits (VMwire)

Books

Announcing Mastering VMware vSphere 5 (Scott Lowe)
Hot of the press: vSphere 5.0 Clustering Technical Deepdive (Yellow Bricks)

Certification & Training

vSphere 5 – New Training Courses: What’s New [V5.0] and VCP5 (NTPro.nl)
VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage [V5.0] Training Course by VMware Education (ESX Virtualization)
VCP5 vs VCP4: Comparing exam blueprints (vmDK)

Download

vSphere 5 download link.

• Explain relationship between vDS and logical vSSes

Skills and Abilities

• Understand the use of command line tools to configure appropriate vDS settings on an ESX/ESXi host
• Determine use cases for and apply Port Binding settings
• Configure Live Port Moving
• Given a set of network requirements, identify the appropriate distributed switch technology to use
• Use command line tools to troubleshoot and identify configuration items from an existing vDS

Tools

• ESX Configuration Guide
• ESXi Configuration Guide
• vSphere Command-Line Interface Installation and Scripting Guide
• Product Documentation
• vSphere Client
• vSphere CLI
  • vicfg-*

Notes

Explain relationship between vDS and logical vSSes

vDS stands for Virtual Distributed Switch
vSS stands for Virtual Standard Switch

Both standard (vSS) and distributed (vDS) switches can exist at the same time.

You can view the switch configuration on a host (both vSS and dvS) using esxcfg-vswitch -l. It won’t show the ‘hidden’ switches used under the hood by the vDS although you can read more about those in this useful article at RTFM or at Geeksilver’s blog.

Source Geeksilver’s Blog: http://geeksilver.wordpress.com/2010/05/21/vds-vnetwork-distributed-switch-my-understanding-part-1/ and http://geeksilver.wordpress.com/2010/05/21/vds-vnetwork-distributed-switch-my-understanding-part-2/

So What is vDS? What’s difference between vSS and vDS from configure file structure?

vDS is a new Virtual Switch introduced by Vmware. The old vSS is more like local Host property. All switch data saved in the local Host. Other Host is not aware what kind of vSS other Host has. Not only vCenter can’t do anything about it, it causes trouble when you do vMotion. vDS is saved in both vCenter and Host. One copy in the vCenter, vDS is saved in the SQL database. In the local host, vDS has another local database cache copy sits at /etc/vmware/dvsdata.db. This local cache will be updated by vCenter every 5 minutes.

What’s difference between vSS and vDS on control level?

With vSS, everything should be controlled on local host. Basically, you go to Local Host->Configuration->Networking. Then, you start everything from there. But vDS is different. vDS divide control into 2 different level. I call them high level and low level.

High Level: High level is to create/remove, management teaming, distribution port group etc. This level sits at vCenter->Inventory->Networking.

Low Level: This level is to connect your vm, vmkernel, and your local physical cards to vDS. Please be aware that your vm, vmkernel, etc are connecting to distribute port group. Unlike local vSS (you have create same vswitch, same vswitch port group on all hosts), vDS is pushed from vCenter to all Hosts. As long as you are connecting to same vDS, you will have same distribute port group.

With local physical nic card, they need to connect to dvUPlink side. You can choose any number of local nics to connect or even no nic at all. But what you can’t do is to setup teaming (only work for 2 nics from same host), traffic shaping, VLAN because you need to setup on high level.

How does vDS work?

What will your instructor tell you? “Please don’t consider vDS is a switch connecting to Hosts. vDS is just a template” Well, that’s what you always heard from all your instructors. but template of what? The answer is vDS is template of HIDDEN vSwitch sitting on your local host. vDS(the template) is managed by vCenter(high level operation) and your local Host(low level operation). Let’s see a diagram.

From this diagram, you can see there are two hosts. Each host has hidden switch which received template (vDS) from vCenter. The local template will be updated every 5 minutes like what I mentioned in Part 1.

Now, let’s open this hidden switch and see what’s happening in there.

As you can see, the hidden switch has forwarding engine and teaming engine which will be configured and controlled by setting in vCenter. There are two IO filters (not just one) is to be used in VMSafe. So what VMSafe does is let third party software (for example, the Trend Micro) build a VM appliance and be certified by VMWARE to prove it won’t do any damage. That special VM will use special API to monitor traffice (like firewall) or check virus. Meaning, if you want to use VMSafe product, you have to use vDS, meaning you have buy Enterprise Plus license! I guess that’s why VMSafe product is not popular.

ok. Back to vDS. Let’s make a small conclusion. vDS is also a vSS. But it’s hidden in the Host. This hidden vSS is using template made by vCenter and Local Host so you can control traffic and share switch data between hosts.

Understand the use of command line tools to configure appropriate vDS settings on an ESX/ESXi host

See VMware KB1008127 Configuring vSwitch or vNetwork Distributed Switch from the command line in ESX/ESXi 4.x.

Apply these commands to vNetwork Distributed Switches:

esxcfg-vswitch -Q <vmnic> -V <dvPort ID of vmnic> <dvSwitch> #unlink a DVS uplink
esxcfg-vswitch -P <vmnic> -V <unused dvPort ID> <dvSwitch> #add a DVS uplink

To create the vswif and uplink it to the DVS port:
esxcfg-vswif -a -i <IP-address> -n <Netmask> -V <dvSwitch> -P <DVPort Id> vswif0

There are a few more command’s but not a lot for the vDS.

esxcfg-nics shows the physical nic information of the ESX host.

net-dvs is a debugging utility for the Distributed Switch. This is an unsupported command.

Determine use cases for and apply Port Binding settings

There are three types of Port Binding settings. Source: VMware KB1010593

• Static Static Binding (Default): means that the dvPort is assigned to the virtual machine at configuration time. When all the ports are booked by virtual machines, it is not possible to connect to any more virtual machines, regardless of whether the connected virtual machines are powered up or not, and an error message is displayed.
• Dynamic Dynamic Binding: means that the dvPort is assigned at the moment of powering the virtual machine up. This option allows for over committing the number of dvPorts.
• None (Ephemeral ports): (Ephemeral Ports or No Binding) this behavior resembles the behavior in the standard vSwitch. If you select this option, the number of ports are automatically set to 0, and the Portgroup allocates one port for each connected virtual machine, up to the maximum number of ports available in the Switch.

Some more info and advantages and disadvantages can be found at the vexperienced.co.uk blog.

• Static port binding
  • Default binding method for a dvPortGroup
  • Assigned to a VM when it’s added to the dvPortGroup
  • Conceptually like a static IP address
  • Port assignment persists to the VM across reboots, vMotions etc
• Dynamic port binding
  • Used when you approach port limits (either on the particular dvPortGroup or on the vDS itself which has a maximum of 6000 dvPorts). If you have 10,000 VMs you only allocate a dvPort to powered on VMs
  • Conceptually like DHCP for a pool of desktops
  • dvPort assignment can change when VM is powered off. vCenter will attempt to use the same dvPort but no guarantee.
  • LIMITATION: Not all VMs can be powered on at the same time if you have more than 6000.
  • LIMITATION: vCenter must be available when powering on the VM, as it needs to assign a dvPort.
• Ephemeral port binding
  • Port binding does NOT persist.
  • Number of VMs can exceed the number of ports on a given dvPortGroup (but are still bound by the total number of dvPorts on a vDS)
  • Equivalent to standard vSwitch behaviour
  • You can power on a VM using either vCenter or the VI client connected directly to a host.

Configure Live Port Moving

Live port migration means a standalone dvPort can be moved to a dvPortGroup and thus acquiring the all the configuration of the dvPortGroup and a dvPort which is a part of a dvPortGroup can be moved out from a dvPortGroup, the subsequent config changes to the dvPortGroup does not apply to this dvPort.

Given a set of network requirements, identify the appropriate distributed switch technology to use

Learn the differences between using the Nexus 1000v vs. VMware distributed virtual switch (vDS).

See http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com.au/articles/38282-VMware-vSwitch-vs-Cisco-Nexus-1-V for more information about this.

Also take a look at a whitepaper from VMware and Cisco called: Virtual Networking features of the VMware vNetwork Distributed Switch and Cisco Nexus 1000V Switch. This whitepaper can be found: http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/technology/cisco_vmware_virtualizing_the_datacenter.pdf

Use command line tools to troubleshoot and identify configuration items from an existing vDS

See the Trainsignal Troubleshooting vSphere course lesson 14, lesson 15.

Another tool that can be used to troubleshoot is the net-dvs commandline tool. This is an unsupported command.

• Located in /usr/lib/vmware/bin (not in the PATH variable so just typing net-dvs won’t work)
• Can be used to see the vDS settings saved locally on an ESX/i host;
  • dvSwitch ID
  • dvPort assignments to VMs
  • VLAN, CDP information etc

Links

http://www.seancrookston.com/2010/09/09/vcap-dca-objective-2-4-administer-vnetwork-distributed-switch-settings/

http://www.kendrickcoleman.com/index.php?/Tech-Blog/vcap-datacenter-administration-exam-landing-page-vdca410.html

http://www.vexperienced.co.uk/2011/04/01/vcap-dca-study-notes-2-4-administer-vnetwork-distributed-switches/

http://damiankarlson.com/vcap-dca4-exam/objective-2-4-administer-vnetwork-distributed-switch-settings/

Documents and manuals

ESX Configuration Guide: http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r41/vsp_41_esx_server_config.pdf

ESXi Configuration Guide: http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r41/vsp_41_esxi_server_config.pdf

vSphere Command-Line Interface Installation and Scripting Guide: www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r41/vsp4_41_vcli_inst_script.pdf

Source

• http://www.rtfm-ed.co.uk/2009/07/24/what-i-learned-yesterday-dvsdata-folderview-all-ips-sysprep-guest-customization/
• http://geeksilver.wordpress.com/2010/05/21/vds-vnetwork-distributed-switch-my-understanding-part-1/
• http://geeksilver.wordpress.com/2010/05/21/vds-vnetwork-distributed-switch-my-understanding-part-2/
• http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1008127
• http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1010593
• http://www.vexperienced.co.uk/2011/04/01/vcap-dca-study-notes-2-4-administer-vnetwork-distributed-switches/
• http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com.au/articles/38282-VMware-vSwitch-vs-Cisco-Nexus-1-V
• http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/technology/cisco_vmware_virtualizing_the_datacenter.pdf
• http://www.trainsignal.com/VMware-vSphere-Troubleshooting-Training.aspx

The first one I tried in my own lab was the one that Daniel Petri describes in het Blog post at: http://www.petri.co.il/reset_domain_admin_password_in_windows_server_2003_ad.htm

There were some requirements for this trick.

• Local access to the domain controller (DC).
• The Local Administrator password.
• Two tools provided by Microsoft in their Resource Kit: SRVANY and INSTSRV. Download them from HERE (24kb).

The first one was no problem, but the second one in my case was a problem, we didn’t no the local administrator password.

So this is how I did it, first of all download the DART tools (Diagnostics and Recovery Toolset) from the Microsoft website, this is available for MDOP License owners. See http://www.microsoft.com/windows/enterprise/products/mdop/dart.aspx

There are other ways to get your hands on this tool, go to the Technet site and get a Technet Subscription. And if you don’t have access to both sources, go search Google.

I restarted the domain domain controller, and boot into the DART tool. Go to the Locksmith tool, and reset the password of the Administator account. Reboot the server, in Active Directory Recovery mode. This is important because now the Local accounts are available for logon. The local accounts are disabled on a Domain Controller, this is by design. In recovery mode logon with your new local Administrator password. Now do the trick that Daniel Petri describes in his post.

This is how it works globally.

Step 1

Restart Windows 2003 in Directory Service Restore Mode.

Note: At startup, press F8 and choose Directory Service Restore Mode. It disables Active Directory. When the login screen appears, log on as Local Administrator. You now have full access to the computer resources, but you cannot make any changes to Active Directory.

Step 2

You are now going to install SRVANY. This utility can virtually run any programs as a service. The interesting point is that the program will have SYSTEM privileges (LSA) (as it inherits the SRVANY security descriptor), i.e. it will have full access on the system. That is more than enough to reset a Domain Admin password. You will configure SRVANY to start the command prompt (which will run the ‘net user’ command).

Copy SRVANY and INSTSRV to a temporary folder, mine is called D:\temp. Copy cmd.exe to this folder too (cmd.exe is the command prompt, usually located at %WINDIR%\System32).

Start a command prompt, point to d:\temp (or whatever you call it), and type:

instsrv PassRecovery "d:\temp\srvany.exe"

(change the path to suit your own).

It is now time to configure SRVANY.

Start Regedit, and navigate to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\PassRecovery

Create a new subkey called Parameters and add two new values:

name: Application

type: REG_SZ (string)

value: d:\temp\cmd.exe

name: AppParameters

type: REG_SZ (string)

value: /k net user administrator 123456 /domain

Replace 123456 with the password you want. Keep in my mind that the default domain policy require complex passwords (including digits, respecting a minimal length etc) so unless you’ve changed the default domain policy use a complex password such as P@ssw0rd

Now open the Services applet (Control Panel\Administrative Tools\Services) and open the PassRecovery property tab. Check the starting mode is set to Automatic.

Go to the Log On tab and enable the option Allow service to interact with the desktop.

Restart Windows normally, SRVANY will run the NET USER command and reset the domain admin password.

Step 3

Log on with the Administrator’s account and the password you’ve set in step #2.

Use this command prompt to uninstall SRVANY (do not forget to do it!) by typing:

net stop PassRecovery

sc delete PassRecovery

Now delete d:\temp and change the admin password if you fancy.

Done!