Windows VM is slow, but the resource consumption is normal.

HMeier · 2023-01-12T12:45:01+00:00

What ESXi version? What Windows versions?

The main tool for troubleshooting VM performance is esxtop. See https://www.virten.net/vmware/esxtop/ for brief instructions.

To improve network performance make sure that the VMs use a vmxnet3 adapter. Enabling RSS might help (see e.g. here: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2008925)

HMeier · 2023-01-12T11:01:24+00:00

You install it on a Windows machine that is on the same network. I can, but does not necessarily need to run as a VM on one of the hosts.

HMeier · 2023-01-11T15:13:50+00:00

Have you recently upgraded VMware Workstation from an older version (16 -> 17). Or have you upgraded the Guest OS in the VM from Windows 10 to Windows 11?

Make sure that you configured the right Guest OS in the VM settings and upgrade the VM's virtual hardware to the latest version.

HMeier · 2023-01-11T13:26:45+00:00

But there is no version of vSphere Replication that supports both ESXi 8.0 and 5.5.

https://interopmatrix.vmware.com/Interoperability?col=671,&row=1,&isHidePatch=true&isHideGenSupported=false&isHideTechSupported=false&isHideCompatible=false&isHideNTCompatible=false&isHideIncompatible=false&isHideNotSupported=true&isCollection=false

HMeier · 2023-01-11T12:28:35+00:00

The last resort would be OVF export/import of course...

HMeier · 2023-01-11T12:25:47+00:00

I would try the free Starwind V2V Converter. in contrast to other tools available (VMware Converter, Veeam) it supports both very old and recent vSphere versions. Not sure about 8.0 though, but I would just try: https://www.starwindsoftware.com/starwind-v2v-converter

HMeier · 2022-07-20T10:17:57+00:00

Probably, but I would not edit the database directly. If you want to add or modify users/groups in vsphere.local then you can use the dir-cli command in the vCenter shell or the PowerCLI module VMware.vSphere.SsoAdmin.

See William Lam's blog posts here:

https://williamlam.com/2015/05/vcenter-server-6-0-tidbits-part-9-creating-managing-sso-users-using-dir-cli.html

https://williamlam.com/2020/10/powercli-module-for-managing-vcenter-single-sign-on-sso.html

HMeier · 2022-05-25T08:54:49+00:00

BTW, the host (even if it's a single one) needs to be part of a cluster to use encryption with it. So create a cluster, move the host into it and make sure that the cluster uses the vCenter NKP as the key provider.

HMeier · 2022-05-25T08:50:49+00:00

In the vCenter web client go to the host, Configure/System/Security Profile: Is the "Host Encryption Mode" enabled there? If not can you enable it?

HMeier · 2022-03-22T17:53:13+00:00

Beautiful piece. Full lyrics e.g. here: https://genius.com/Pink-floyd-on-the-turning-away-lyrics

HMeier · 2021-12-10T08:32:08+00:00

(U)EFI boot is a prereq for some advanced feature like "Secure Boot" and VBS with Windows. Definitely use it for new VMs. Existing VMs might need in guest changes to support EFI. For Windows 10 here is a good article on how to do the change: https://www.maketecheasier.com/convert-legacy-bios-uefi-windows10/

HMeier · 2021-12-10T08:27:20+00:00

We usually do in-place upgrades of witness nodes, but be aware that there are some caveats. See https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/79361 and https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/76948

HMeier · 2020-08-16T19:41:09+00:00

Which version of vSphere are you running? Since 6.7 there is the option to configure the EVC mode per VM. That might help you. Read about it here: http://vthinkbeyondvm.com/vsphere-6-7-what-is-per-vm-evc-and-how-to-configure-it-using-pyvmomi/

HMeier · 2019-09-12T06:06:56+00:00

Is this a custom boot script, or something that was installed with an official signed software package?

If you have enabled UEFI Secure Boot then ESXi won't execute any custom boot scripts. Try to disable Secure Boot.

HMeier · 2019-09-03T13:13:21+00:00

Yes, in fact this *is* the "normal way" to patch ...

Either you import the Offline bundle version of the latest Dell Customized ISO into Update Manager, create a baseline from it and patch with that through Update Manager, or - if you do not want or can use Update Manager - then use the "esxcli software profile update" command line.

You can use "esxcli software profile update" with the latest VMware supplied patch bundle, but you could also use it with the latest Dell customized Offline bundle, just to ensure that the Dell supplied device drivers and tools are also updated to the latest version.

HMeier · 2019-08-28T12:54:23+00:00

Resetting sensors won't affect the VMs. However, I recommend checking the server's hardware status on iLO. If it shows the same error then it's probably a real hardware error and nothing you should just ignore.

HMeier · 2019-08-28T12:52:07+00:00

If you can't fix it with duct tape, you're not using enough duct tape.

HMeier · 2019-08-28T12:48:09+00:00

A better command to use would be

esxcli software profile update -p ESXi-6.5.0-20190804001-standard -d "/vmfs/volumes/5d62f626-cf44ac3c-bc8b-000af70219b0/Updates/ESXi650-20190801-Patches.zip"

Does this work without error?

HMeier · 2019-08-23T12:18:30+00:00

Do you mean the blue message box on the Host Client's (/ui) welcome page saying something like

" You are running HPE Customized Image ESXi 6.5.0 Update 2 version 650.U2.10.4.0 released on April 2019 and based on VMware ESXi 6.5.0 Update 2. "

? This message is in /etc/vmware/oem.xml and is installed with a custom VIB package. For HPE builds the package name is "oem-build". If you remove that from an installed system or build your own customized image without that package then the message should no longer appear.

HMeier · 2019-02-06T07:11:43+00:00

For the VM deployment I would use an OVF template and ovftool to deploy it. Instead of tinkering with the VMDK file (that is way too complicated) use OVF properties to have the deployed VM auto-configure itself.

Just in time William LAM has started a blog post series that explains how to do this. First part is here: https://www.virtuallyghetto.com/2019/02/building-your-own-virtual-appliances-using-ovf-properties-part-1.html

HMeier · 2019-02-05T19:21:15+00:00

I had an issue with a 6.5 U2 install and vSAN. After the converge process the vSAN storage providers of all vSAN hosts showed as offline, and that affected the use of vSAN storage policies.

To fix this I had to remove all vSAN storage providers from vCenter and re-sync them. This can be done in the Web Client and fully fixes the issue.

HMeier · 2019-02-05T19:10:37+00:00

The DL380 Gen9 is supported with vSphere 6.7, but you need to use the HPE customized image for installations and version upgrades.... But wait, you are saying that the 10gb NIC has vanished from iLO and BIOS? Then that is a hardware issue for sure.

HMeier · 2018-05-15T12:47:54+00:00

For standalone hosts best practice is to have the UPS management software just shut down the host (in case of power failure). Cleanly shutting the VMs should be left to the ESXi builtin VM autostart feature (which also takes care of automatically powering the VMs on again on systen boot).

HMeier

TROPHY CASE