Category Archives: VMware

Upgrade paths for ESX/ESXi hosts

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Purpose

There are several methods to upgrade ESX/ESXi. This article outlines the available upgrade paths.   Note: This is not a comprehensive guide on how to upgrade ESX/ESXi. For more information on performing an upgrade, see the links in this article.

Resolution

This table lists the methods available to upgrade your ESX/ESXi host, and identifies the version to which you can upgrade:

ESX/ESXi version that is currently installed Version that it can be upgraded to CD-ROM Installation Wizard *1 Using esxupdate from the Service Console *2 vSphere Remote CLI *3 Host Update Utility or Infrastructure Update *4 Update Manager *5 Offline Upgrade from Service Console *6
ESX 2.x ESX 3.0.x x x
ESX 3.0.x ESX 3.0.3, 3.0.3 U1, 3.5, 3.5 U1 – U5 x x
ESX 3.0.2 ESX 4.0 x x
ESX 3.0.3 ESX 3.5, 3.5 U1 – U5 x x x
ESX 3.0.3 ESX 4.0 x x x
ESX 3.5 ESX 3.5 U1 – U5 x x x x
ESX 3.5 ESX 4.1 x x
ESXi 3.5 ESXi 3.5 U1 – U5 x x x
ESX 3.5 ESX 4.0 x x x
ESXi 3.5 ESXi 4.0 x x
ESXi 3.5 ESXi 4.1 x
ESX 4.0 ESX 4.0 U1 – U2 x x x
ESX 4.0 ESX 4.1 x x x x
ESXi 4.0 ESXi 4.0 U1 – U2 x x x
ESXi 4.0 ESXi 4.1 x x

For more information about upgrading using:

Note: The Host Update Utility replaced Infrastructure Update and is available when you install the vSphere Client. It is a tool for upgrading ESX/ESXi hosts from 3.x to 4.0.x and for patching ESXi hosts only.  Patching ESX with this utility is not supported.  Also, as of vSphere 4.1 the Host Update Utility has been discontinued.

VMware vSphere 4.1 Released

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Today VMware released a new version of their virtualization product VMware vSphere 4.1. There are a lot of new things and features in this product. Eric Siebert has created a good article with all the new stuff that comes with this release. You can find the original article here: http://vsphere-land.com/news/vsphere-41-the-links.html

Downloads.

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Sysprep file locations and versions

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Symptoms

  • When attempting to customize the deployment of a virtual machine the radio buttons are disabled (grayed out)
  • When a virtual machine is deployed from a template, the SID is always the same, despite the fact that you chose the option to generate a new SID during template deployment and guest operating system customization
  • When attempting to create a new virtual machine from a template in ESX 3.5, you receive the following error message:
Warning: Windows customization resources were not found on this server
  • You see this error in the guestcust.log file:
deploy doesn't contain known sysprep files

Purpose

This issue may occur if Microsoft’s Sysprep files are not found on the VirtualCenter host, are not the correct version, or are not in the location they are expected.

This article guides you through the process of determining the correct version of Sysprep to use and the correct locations for these files.

Resolution

Microsoft has a different version of Sysprep for each release and service pack of Windows. You must use the version of Sysprep specific to the operating system you are deploying. The differences are not immediately visible in the packaging and documentation of the service packs, so it is necessary to manually investigate.

The contents of the Sysprep deploy.cab file must be extracted to the Sysprep Directory on the VirtualCenter Server host. If the file downloaded from the Microsoft Web Site is a .cab file, the Installing the Microsoft Sysprep Tools appendix of the Basic System Administration guide details how to install the Sysprep Tools.

If the file downloaded from the Microsoft Web Site is a .exe file the following additional steps must be executed to extract the files from the .exe:

  1. Open a Windows command prompt. For more information, see Opening a command or shell prompt (1003892).
  2. Change to the directory where the .exe file is saved.
  3. Enter the name of the .exe file with the /x switch to extract the files. For example: WindowsServer2003-KB926028-v2-x86-ENU.exe /x
  4. When prompted, choose a directory for the extracted files.
  5. Browse the directory and copy the extracted files directly to the Sysprep Directory or extract the files from the deploy.cab and copy to the Sysprep Directory.

When the contents of the of the Sysprep deploy.cab file have been extracted to the Sysprep Directory on the VirtualCenter Server:

  1. Log in to the VirtualCenter Server as Administrator.
  2. Click Start > Programs > Accessories > Windows Explorer.
  3. Navigate to the Sysprep Directory as listed in the table below.
  4. Right-click on the sysprep.exe file and choose Properties.
  5. Click the Version tab. Record the number at the top next to File Version:.

The table below lists the Sysprep Version for the Windows Versions that are supported for Image Customization. Compare the Sysprep Version number with the Windows Version it is intended for:

Windows Version Sysprep Directory Sysprep Version
Windows 2000 Server SP4 with Update Rollup 1
Download at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0c4bfb06-2824-4d2b-abc1-0e2223133afb		 <directory_path>\2k 5.0.2195.2104
Windows XP Pro SP2
Download at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=3E90DC91-AC56-4665-949B-BEDA3080E0F6		 <directory_path>\xp 5.1.2600.2180
Windows 2003 Server SP1
Download at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=A34EDCF2-EBFD-4F99-BBC4-E93154C332D6		 <directory_path>\svr2003 5.2.3790.1830(srv03_sp1_rtm.050324-1447)
Windows 2003 Server SP2
Download at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=93f20bb1-97aa-4356-8b43-9584b7e72556		 <directory_path>\svr2003 5.2.3790.3959(srv03_sp2_rtm.070216-1710)
Windows 2003 Server R2
Download at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=A34EDCF2-EBFD-4F99-BBC4-E93154C332D6		 <directory_path>\svr2003 5.2.3790.1830(srv03_sp1_rtm.050324-1447)
Windows 2003 x64
Download at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C2684C95-6864-4091-BC9A-52AEC5491AF7&displaylang=en		 <directory_path>\svr2003-64 5.2.3790.3959(srv03_sp2_rtm.070216-1710)
Windows XP x64
Download at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=C2684C95-6864-4091-BC9A-52AEC5491AF7&displaylang=en		 <directory_path>\xp-64 5.2.3790.3959(srv03_sp2_rtm.070216-1710)
Windows XP Pro SP3
Download at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=673a1019-8e3e-4be0-ac31-70dd21b5afa7&displaylang=en		 <directory_path>\xp 5.1.2600.5512
Windows Vista System Preparation tools are built into the Windows Vista operating system and do not have to be downloaded. Not Applicable Not Applicable
Windows Server 2008 System Preparation tools are built into the Windows Server 2008 operating system and do not have to be downloaded. Not Applicable Not Applicable
Windows Server 2008 R2 System Preparation tools are built into the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system and do not have to be downloaded. Not Applicable Not Applicable
Windows 7 System Preparation tools are built into the Windows 7 operating system and do not have to be downloaded. Not Applicable Not Applicable

Notes:

  • If vCenter Server is installed on Windows Server 2008, <directory_path> is %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\sysprep which translates to C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\sysprep by default.
  • If vCenter Server is installed on any other Windows operating system, <directory_path> is %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\VMware VirtualCenter\sysprep\ which translates to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\sysprep\ by default.

Additional Information

For additional information, see:

Source: VMware knowledge base http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1005593

VMware VCP 410 Exam passed.

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Today I passed my VMware VCP 410 examen, these are the study notes, blogs and Books I used for my exam preperation.

Important documentation links.

VMware vSphere 4.0 documentation : http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vs_pages/vsp_pubs_esx40_vc40.html
VMware Consolidated Backup Documentation : http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vcb_pubs.html
VMware vCenter Update Manager Documentation : http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vum_pubs.html
VMware vCenter Converter Documentation : http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/vcc_pubs.html

Important document links.

Configuration Maximum Guide : http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_config_max.pdf
ESX and vCenter Server Installation Guide : http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40_u1/vsp_40_u1_esx_vc_installation_guide.pdf
ESXi and vCenter Server Setup Guide : http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40_u1/vsp_40_u1_esxi_i_vc_setup_guide.pdf
vSphere Upgrade Guide : http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_upgrade_guide.pdf
ESX Configuration Guide : http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_esx_server_config.pdf
Fiber Channel SAN Configuration Guide : http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_san_cfg.pdf
iSCSI SAN Configuration Guide : http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_iscsi_san_cfg.pdf
vSphere Basic System Administration : http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_admin_guide.pdf
vCenter Converter Administration Guide : http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsp_vcc_41_admin_guide.pdf
Setup for Failover Clustering and Microsoft Cluster Services : http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_mscs.pdf
vSphere Availability Guide : http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_availability.pdf
VMWare Data Recovery Administrator’s Guide : http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vdr_10_admin.pdf

Books I used for preparation.

Mastering VMware vSphere 4 by Scott Lowe. Link

Links to Blogs about the VMware VCP 410 exam.

The Slog. Blog from Simon Long. Link.
Matthijs van den Berg Blog. Link.

Network Emulator Toolkit

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Searching for a tool to simulate a poor network connection? Here is the solution. It’s called Network Emulator Toolkit (NEWT) and is available in a 32 Bits version and a 64 Bits version.

Download.
Network Emulator Toolkit 32-Bits.
Network Emulator Toolkit 64-Bits.

There is a new version of this tool, see the comment from Lonny Kruger. He wrote a blog about it. http://blogs.msdn.com/lkruger/archive/2009/06/08/introducing-true-network-emulation-in-visual-studio-2010.aspx

Upgrading ESX 4.0 to 4.0 Update 1 on HP Proliant systems can fail

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Upgrading ESX 4.0 to 4.0 Update 1 on HP Proliant systems can fail or time out and leave the host in an unusable state if the host has HP Insight Management Agents running

Symptoms

On HP Proliant systems, when attempting to upgrade ESX 4.0 to ESX 4.0 Update 1 (U1), you may experience these symptoms:
  • Upgrade operation may fail or hang and can result in an incomplete installation
  • Upon reboot, the host that was being upgraded may be left in an inconsistent state and may display a purple diagnostic screen with the following error:

COS Panic: Int3 @ mp_register_ioapic

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ESXi 4 on a USB memory stick

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  1. First get the following tools: 7-Zip(Free), WinImage(Demo)
  2. Download the ESXi ISO (VMware-VMvisor-Installer-4.0.0-164009.x86_64.iso)
  3. Open the ISO with 7-Zip
  4. Open “image.tgz” with 7-Zip
  5. Browse to “\image.tgz.temptar\usr\lib\vmware\installer\VMware-VMvisor-big-164009-x86_64.dd.bz2\”
  6. Extract “VMware-VMvisor-big-164009-x86_64.dd”
  7. Open WinImage and go to Disk, click on “Restore Virtual Harddisk Image on physical drive”
  8. Select a physical drive
  9. Select “VMware-VMvisor-big-164009-x86_64.dd”
  10. And click “yes” to write the DD image to the USB Disk