afokkema Microsoft, VMware, Windows, Workstation

Error Joining Domain: The Endpoint format is invalid.


Ik had een VM binnen VMware Workstation opgebouwd. Deze heb ik daarna via de VMware Converter overgezet naar mijn ESX omgeving met het vinkje: Install VMware Tools.

Door deze optie treed er een fout op binnen de VMWare Tools waardoor ik de volgende foutmelding kreeg bij het Joinen van het domein.

joindomain error

De oplossing vond ik op de blog van david hochstaetter. Het is vrij simpel. De VMWare Tools deïnstalleren. De VM opnieuw opstarten. Toevoegen aan het domein. Vervolgens de VM weer opnieuw opstarten. En als laatste installeer je de VMware Tools weer.

afokkema Virtualization, VMware

Website: The virual Search


http://www.thevirtualsearch.com/ is een search enginge gebasseerd op de google en zoekt in 200+ websites/blogs (inclusief https://ictfreak.wordpress.com 😉 ). De website is opgezet door Thomas van de weblog http://scalethemind.com/.

Op de website vind je onder de tools knop de volgende drie tools:

  • Firfox/Internet Explorer 7 Search Plugin
  • Google Gadget
  • Web Site/Blog Search Box

Bron: http://www.ntpro.nl/blog/

afokkema Virtualization, VMware

How to: Install VMware ESX 3.0.2 update 1


In deze post lees je hoe je de nieuwe update voor ESX kunt installeren.

Vanaf het console via esxupdate:

  1. Upload het esx-upgrade-from-esx3-3.0.2-61618.tar.gz bestand via Win of FastSCP naar de /tmp folder op je ESX host.
  2. Kijk of de MD5SUM klopt. Dit doe je met het volgende commando: md5sum esx-upgrade-from-esx3-3.0.2-61618.tar.gz de volgende md5sum moet er uit komen: 43b3617c401e71622c72b10cfcdbc5fe esx-upgrade-from-esx3-3.0.2-61618.tar.gz.
  3. Zodra de md5sum overeenkomt kun je het bestand uitpakken. Dit doe je met het volgende commando: tar zxvf esx-upgrade-from-esx3-3.0.2-61618.tar.gz
  4. Open nu de nieuwe directory CD /61618
  5. Voer het volgende commando uit om de upgrade te starten: esxupdate -n update (blz: 164 vi3_installation_guide.pdf)
  6. Het upgrade process is gestart:
    [root@esx3srv1 61618]# esxupdate -n update
    INFO: No repository URL specified, going with file:/tmp/61618
    INFO: Configuring…
    INFO: Preparing to install VMware ESX Server 3.0.2-61618…

    Aan het einde zie je als het goed is de volgende melding verschijnen:

    INFO: — TOTALS: 9 packages installed, 0 pending or failed, 0 removed, 0 excluded —
    INFO: Install succeeded – please come again.

  7. Reboot de server via het commando: reboot -n

Meer informatie over het installeren / upgraden en patchen van VMware ESX vindt je in deze manual: http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi3_installation_guide.pdf

Via de ISO (CD-Rom)

  1. Download het ISO bestand
  2. Bekijk of de md5sum overeen komt md5sum upgrade-esx-3.0.2-61618.iso
  3. Het volgende zou eruit moeten komen: b532310bfd1a785a4a7e9b4bb20b703f upgrade-esx-3.0.2-61618.iso
  4. Als de md5sum klopt, brand je de iso en start je de server op vanaf de iso.
  5. Meer informatie vind je op blz: 164 van vi3_installation_guide.pdf

Bron: http://www.vmware.com/support/vi3/doc/releasenotes_esx302_update1.html#whatsnew

afokkema Virtualization, VMware

Tool: VI3 PatchDownloader 2.1


patchdownloader2-case-240x320

Op 12 Oktober is er een nieuwe versie vrijgegeven van deze handige tool.

The latest follow up to the well received VI3 PatchDownloader tool is now a Windows command line executable meaning that it can be scripted and scheduled as a routine task. Additional functionality means that it is now easier than ever to keep up to date with VMware® ESX patch downloads.

Change Log:

2.1

– Updated for ESX 3.0.2

2.0.1.2

– Fixed minor bug which meant patches released in the month of July were not being downloaded.

2.0.1.1

– Fixed minor bug which meant the script did not exit cleanly after downloading the last of the 3.0.1 patches.

Copyright © xtravirt.com

Download de tool hier: http://www.xtravirt.com/

afokkema VMware

VMware: Announces VI 3.5


Hieronder een quote van de press release:

Virtualization platform enhancements help deliver new levels of performance, scalability and compatibility for running the most demanding workloads in virtual machines:

  • Expanded storage and networking choices such as support for SATA local storage, 10 Gig Ethernet, and Infiniband expand storage and networking choices for virtual infrastructure
  • Support for TCP Segment Offload and Jumbo frames reduce the CPU overhead associated with processing network I/O
  • Support for hardware nested page tables such as in processor assists for memory virtualization
  • Support for paravirtualized Linux guest operating systems enables higher levels of performance through virtualization-aware operating systems
  • Support for virtual machines with 64GB of RAM and physical machines with up to 128GB of memory

New virtual infrastructure capabilities help deliver increased infrastructure availability and resilience:

  • VMware Storage VMotion enables live migration of virtual machine disks from one data storage system to another with no disruption or downtime. VMware VMotion has become an indispensable tool for many infrastructure administrators to dynamically balance their server workloads and eliminate planned downtime for server maintenance. Storage VMotion extends VMotion to storage resources of a virtual machine, namely virtual disks. Using Storage VMotion, administrators can dynamically balance the storage workload and address performance bottlenecks by migrating virtual machine disks to the best available storage resource. Administrators can minimize service disruption previously incurred for upgrading storage arrays and free storage administrators to improve and manage the storage infrastructure without having to co-ordinate extensively with application and server owners.
  • VMware Update Manager automates patch and update management for VMware ESX Server hosts and virtual machines. Update Manager addresses one of the most significant pain points for every IT department: tracking patch levels and manually applying the latest security/bug fixes. Patching of offline virtual machines enforces higher levels of patch standards compliance than physical environments. Integration with VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) enables zero-downtime VMware ESX Server host patching capabilities.

New virtual infrastructure management solutions help deliver increased automation for streamlined managed of IT environments.

  • VMware Distributed Power Management is an experimental feature that reduces power consumption in the data center through intelligent workload balancing. Working in conjunction with VMware DRS, Distributed Power Management is designed to automatically power off servers not currently needed in order to meet service levels, and automatically power on servers as demand for compute resources increases.
  • VMware Guided Consolidation, a feature of VMware VirtualCenter enables companies to get started with server consolidation in a step-by-step tutorial fashion. A wizard discovers physical servers, identifies consolidation candidates, converts them to virtual machines, and leveraging intelligently places them onto the best VMware ESX Server or VMware Server hosts. Guided Consolidation helps to make the consolidation process quick and easy for users with little knowledge of virtualization.

Availability, Packaging and Pricing
The new release of VMware Infrastructure will be available later in 2007.  Updated packaging and pricing for VMware Infrastructure will go into effect concurrent with the general availability later in 2007. VMware Infrastructure will be available for purchase in the following editions:

  • VMware ESX Server 3i, providing single server partitioning, will be delivered embedded as firmware in server systems or as a standalone purchase for hard-drive installation. If purchased standalone for hard-drive installation, ESX Server 3i list price will be $495 per 2 processors.
  • VMware Infrastructure 3 Foundation (previously called “Starter”) will include VMware  ESX Server, VMware ESX Server 3i, VMware Consolidated Backup and the new VMware Update Manager. Unlike the previous VMware Infrastructure 3 Starter, VMware Infrastructure 3 Foundation will have no restrictions on shared storage connectivity, memory utilization or number of CPUs of the physical server. VMware Infrastructure Foundation list price will be $995 per 2 processors.
  • VMware Infrastructure 3 Standard is designed to bring higher levels of resiliency to IT environments at greater value. In addition to the capabilities of VMware Infrastructure 3 Foundation, VMware Infrastructure 3 Standard will include VMware HA which provides automated restart of virtual machines affected by hardware failure.  VMware Infrastructure 3 Standard list price will be $2995 per 2 processors.
  • VMware Infrastructure 3 Enterprise contains the entire array of virtual infrastructure capabilities for resource management, workload mobility, and high availability. In addition to the capabilities in VMware Infrastructure 3 Standard, it also includes VMware VMotion, VMware Storage VMotion, and VMware DRS with Distributed Power Management (DPR). VMware Infrastructure 3 Enterprise list price will be $5750 per 2 processors.
  • VMware VMotion, Storage VMotion and DRS with DPM will also be available for standalone purchase with VMware Infrastructure 3 Foundation and Standard.
  • Existing VMware Infrastructure customers with valid support and subscription contracts will receive the new products and features included in each edition at no additional cost.

Lees de rest van het artikel hier: http://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/esx_35.html

afokkema Microsoft, VMware, Windows

VMWare: Install VMWare Tools on Windows Server 2008 Core


 

Ik zag de volgende post op de blog van Mike Laverick: http://www.rtfm-ed.co.uk/?p=451. In deze post word door Michael Maher word uitgelegd hoe je de VMware Tools kunt installeren in een Windows Server 2008 Core VM.

“For those unfamiliar with Server Core it is a command line only version of Windows Server 2008 (formerly Longhorn). I have been trying to install this on ESX 3.0. On the GUI version of Windows 2008 server, VMWare tools must be installed to get the NIC working. Server Core however is command line only. VMWareTools is a GUI installation so this is not an option for Server Core. The workaround is to transfer VMWareTools (contained in a file called windows.iso) from your ESX server to a local drive. This can be done using Winscp. Use Virtual Center to mount the windows.iso file as a CDROM drive in the Server Core VM. The driver files are located in \Program Files\VMWare\VMWare Tools\Drivers\VMXNet\w2k of the windows.iso file. The command used to install the drivers is

C:\Windows\System32>pnputil -i -a vmxnet.inf
Microsoft PnP Utility
Processing inf : vmxnet.inf
Successfully installed the driver on a device on the system.
Driver package added successfully.
Published name : oem2.inf

Next check the installation of the driver. Vmxnet should be displayed near the end of the list.

C:\Windows\System32>driverquery
ws2ifsl Winsock IFS driver Kernel 18/04/2007 04:52:40
vmxnet VMware Ethernet Adapte Kernel 22/04/2006 23:13:11

You can then enable remote access of Server Core with the command.


netsh advfirewall set allprofiles settings remotemanagement enable

To disable the firewall.
netsh advfirewall set allprofiles firewallpolicy allowinbound,allowoutbound”

In post word ook nog verwezen naar een ander blog van Justin Campbell. Daar vind je nog meer info over Server 2008 Core: http://cmsjustin.blogspot.com/2007/09/windows-server-2008-core-not-what-i-had.html

afokkema Virtualization, VMware

VMware: How to Secure your VMware ESX Server


Daniel Petri van de website http://www.petri.co.il/ heeft een artikel geschreven over de beveiliging van VMware ESX Server.

On a traditional server, you are only concerned with locking down the server OS. That OS could be Linux or Windows. Windows has, of course, been the favorite for security attacks so much of our time is spent securing it. So what if you put VMware ESX into this picture?

With VMware ESX being loaded on top of the server hardware, there are a few points of immediate concern:

  1. the VMKernel & its virtualization layer
  2. the VMware ESX Service console (based on Red Hat Linux Enterprise)

These two pieces are two very distinct parts of VMware ESX. VMware has periodically released patches for both of these different components although you probably just thought of them as “ESX patches”.

Concerning #1, the VMKernel and its virtualization layer is extremely secure. The Guest machines have hardware isolation in place and it seems impossible that a guest VM could somehow compromise the security of the host virtualization layer.

As for #2, with the services console being based on Linux, it will be affected by most of the Red Hat Linux vulnerabilities. Because the service console is a Linux OS with a direct link to the VMKernel, I will focus on securing the service console.

But first, what many admin’s forget about once they have virtualization software in place, is the underlying virtual guest operating systems. Because it is so easy to add a new server (in just seconds), it is easy to forget to add those servers to your patch distribution system (like SMS or WSUS), add anti-virus software, install the latest service packs, and or tweak security settings. In my opinion, the insecurity of those underlying virtual guest operating systems is the single largest source of concern for the security of your ESX servers. Fortunately, because ESX separates the guests from the host, if a guest is compromised it is unlikely it could affect the host except to perhaps take up more network bandwidth or server resources. My point being, don’t forget to secure your underlying Windows and Linux virtual guest operating systems!

With that, let’s get to securing your ESX Server service console… 

Lees de rest van het artikel hier: http://www.petri.co.il/secure-vmware-esx-server.htm

afokkema Random, Virtualization, VMware

VMware in de top vijf van de softwaresector


Computable heeft een leuk artikel geschreven over VMware na haar beursgang.

VMware’s IPO (initial public offering) deed voor virtualisatie wat senator Larry Craigs arrestatie bereikte voor sex in publieke toiletten: het bracht het fenomeen onder de aandacht van een groot publiek. Wie friemelt tussen de hardware en besturingssystemen komt echter onvermijdelijk in aanvaring met Microsoft.

Lees hier de rest van het artikel: http://www.computable.nl/artikel.jsp?id=2147741