When you copy or move the data store location of an existing VM running on VMware vSphere you will be presented with a message box (as seen below) in the vCenter Client asking if your VM has either been ‘moved’ or ‘copied’. As you can see the message box also mentions “msg.uuid.altered: This virtual machine may have been moved or copied”, but what does this actually mean? Figure 1. Has the VM been moved or copied? What is a VM’s UUID? Firstly, it is important to have an … [Read more...]
Call for Information! Compiling details on VMware ESX compatibility with HP Proliant ML110 and Ml115's models.
Hi all, I am looking at compiling information on, and presenting via the site, peoples experiences with running VMware ESX (versions 3.0-v3.5, including v3i) on HP Proliant ML110 and Ml115 servers. I get quite a few queries regarding what is compatible and what isn't so thought it be a good idea to compile this information, including workarounds, gotchas and hot deals in an easy to follow format. These are great little, cost effective servers that make an ideal ESX test environment. … [Read more...]
VMware ESX Hyperthreading is Inactive.
An area of confusion that seems to arise quite often is that around that of the Hyperthreading (HT) feature within ESX Virtual Infrastructure Client (VIC) being displayed as being 'Inactive'. Here is a link to Wikipedia that outlines what Hyperthreading is about and how it works. This is another article with easy to follow information on the different CPU architectures. If you see Hyperthreading within the VIC set to 'Inactive' you're probably thinking "Hey, what's going on here? I've got … [Read more...]
VMWare ESX – Creating a Windows XP VM and getting error: "Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer."
Trying to install Windows XP within VMWare ESX and getting the following error message? "Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer." If so not to worry - all that the Windows XP installation process is telling you, as the error message explains, is that it can't see any available hard disks on which to install XP. The reason for this is that the necessary hard disk controller drivers have not been installed. Within ESX there are two types of SCSI … [Read more...]
Linksys SLM2008 – A good Gigabit network switch for a VMware ESX test lab.
Looking for a fully featured but reasonably priced network switch for your ESX test lab? Check out the Linksys SLM2008. This 8 port Gigabit 'Smart' switch is an ideal candidate for small ESX test labs and contains a number of features found in larger, more expensive switches on the market. These features include: - 8 x 1Gb Auto sensing Ports -Web management interface. - Port Based VLAN Tagging. - Can run off of Power Over Ethernet (PoE). - IEEE 802.1Q VLANs - … [Read more...]
1 x VMware ESX Dual CPU License for 2 x Single CPU Physical Hosts
This may or may not be common knowledge but you can run two single CPU physical servers on one dual CPU ESX license. Here's a link to the VMware site that clarify's this license usage. Technorati Tags: vmware,vm,esx,license,dual,physical host,install … [Read more...]
Create ISO images for use with VMware ESX OS Guests
Check out the DoISO utility for creating ISO images that you can then use with your VMware ESX OS Guests. It's easy to use and best of all.. it's free! Technorati Tags: VMware,VM,ESX,ISO,create,DoISO,free,utility … [Read more...]
VMWare ESX – How to clear a hung VM guest OS.
I'm guessing that most ESX administrators have experienced at least one time where a VM decides to hang leaving them unable to shut down or restart it. You have half a dozen production VM's running, you don't have VMotion in place and this rogue VM that you need back up and running ASAP is sitting in a greyed out state. What do you do? Well you could give one of the following methods a go to try and stop the VM. DISCLAIMER: Try these commands at your own risk. As with any hung process file … [Read more...]
Top 10 VM Administrator Must-Have Tools
Since this original post I have been accumulating a list of useful VMware ESX related tools that I have come across in my travels. I have now created a dedicated page on the TechHead site to these tools and their associated links. The TechHead VMware Tools page can be found here. Now back to the original post… :) vinf.net put me on to this useful VMWare "Top 10" listing from the VMWare-Land site. It's definitely worth checking out as there are some very … [Read more...]