Syntax to install HP CIM Providers on ESX4i

First, download and install the vCLI tools from vmware.com on your desktop.

Second, download the CIM Providers from HP.com

Third, Place host in Maintenance Mode and then scan the ESXi host for the Bulletin ID to be installed

c:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware vSphere CLI\bin>vihostupdate.pl -server -username root - scan - bundle

should return a name like

hpq-esxi4.1uX-bundle-1.0 (note: this is case sensitive)

Fourth, install the bulletin

c:\program files (x86)\VMware\VMware vSphere CLI\bin>vihostupdate.pl -server -username root -bundle c:\hpq-esxi4.1uX-bundle-1.0.zip -install - bulletin hpq-esxi4.1uX-bundle-1.0

Fifth, reboot the host.

A Truly Virtual ESX Environment

Here is a training environment that I am almost done building on my laptop. I am running Windows 7 x64 with 8GB RAM and VMware Workstation 7.
Guests are:
1. Openfiler NAS (iSCSI Target)
2. ESX 4.1 Host
3. ESX 4.1 Host
4. XP
5. vCenter Server

In the past I always put the vCenter box on the ESX hosts however 4.1 requires a 64 bit OS and that is not possible yet in a nested virtual environment.



Up next DRS needs configured and I will have a ready to roll ESX Cluster.

Issues Configuring VMware ESX HA

I got the following error when attempting to add my ESX hosts to a vCenter Cluster: "Cannot complete the configuration of the HA agent on the host. Misconfiguration in the host network setup." This was caused because I don't have a default gateway since it is a small test environment. It appears that you have to be able to ping your default gateway to enable HA. For my test environment I now have a VM that is a guest under my test ESX host that is on the DG IP. Problem solved.

Side note: If you have a VMware ESX cluster and one of the nodes fails and your default gateway is unavailable your HA will fail...

SSRS 2008 Domain User Issue

Scenario: I have a new SQL Server Reporting Services 2008 R2 x64 instance that works if you are the local administrator. Once I switch to another user who is an implied administrator via an AD group I get the following error when attempting to access SSRS in a browser:

"User 'TESTDOM\user' does not have required permissions. Verify that sufficient permissions have been granted and Windows User Account Control (UAC) restrictions have been addressed."

The user is a member of the domain admins group which is obviously a member of the local admins. Also if I right click on IE8 and say "Run As Administrator" it works. The quick fix is to disable the UAC. If you don't want to do that then just do the below:

1. Launch IE8 using "Run As Administrator" and in SSRS (http://servername/Reports) click on Site Settings. In Site Settings navigate to "Security" and add your user "TESTDOM\user" as a System Administrator.

2. Click on "Home" and then "Folder Settings". Now add your account again this time assigning yourself all the roles (Browser, Content Manager, My Reports, Publisher, Report Builder).

3. Close Administrative IE session and open a normal IE8 window and your SSRS should work.

Removing BitLocker on Windows 7

When attempting to remove BitLocker drive encryption from your Windows 7 machine you would naturally right click on the drive in question and say "Manage BitLocker". This brings up a couple options but none of them will allow you to remove BitLocker and decrypt the drive. What you need to do is go Control Panel > System and Security > BitLocker Drive Encryption and select the option to remove BitLocker.

Killing a hung VM in LabManager (ESX)

First find the machine name which in LabManager is usually proceeded by a 6 digit number. Then from the console type
"ps -auxwww | grep -i (######-machine name).vmx"

This will give you the PID which you can kill using
"kill -9 (PID)"

Windows Update Issue

I just won against a Windows Update issue on XP that had me quite puzzled. The error that I was getting with both Microsoft and Windows Update was "Error Number: 0x8024402C The website has encountered a problem and cannot display the page you are trying to view." and "Error Number: 0x8024402C The website has encountered a problem and cannot display the page you are trying to view."

Looking at the WindowsUpdate.log file under "c:\Windows\" I found a line that says

"WARNING: SendRequest failed with hr = 80072ee7. Proxy List Used <proxy.company.com:1234> Bypass List Used : <null>"

The proxy however in IE has been removed so that there is no proxy under Tools > Internet Options > Connections > LAN Settings. Here is the catch, if you open a command prompt and type in "proxycfg" you will see that the proxy listed in the WindowsUpdate.log error is still in the registry. To clear this type in the following

proxycfg -d
net stop wuauserv
net start wuauserv

Once you have cleared that cached proxy MS update and Windows Update will work again. MS has a document on this proceedure on their website.