In a very random situation that most customers probably wouldn’t even encounter, we’ve came across a bug while importing an OVF that has a VMDK with a SCSI Address of X:15 (ie: SCSI 0:15, SCSI 1:15, etc). It appears that vSphere doesn’t take kindly to virtual machines being imported that have virtual disks addressed as X:15 and will issue the fatal error “Unsupported value ’15′ for element ‘addressOnParent’. I’ve tested this with different SCSI Adapters thinking it was perhaps tied to LSI Parallel, this was not the case as it failed with all other adapters.

This issue actually came up initially while attempting to import an OVF into a Catalog within vCloud Director. A similar error appears stating “The following error was encountered while processing the OVF file you provided: Unsupported value ’15′ for element ‘addressOnParent’.”

You can see the offending line within the actual OVF file shown below, this is tied back to the actual VMDK and what SCSI Bus it resides on, as shown in the picture below the OVF file.

I’ve raised the question to VMware Engineering and will hopefully be able to post their response to this issue shortly.

Created on June 14, 2011 by Rick Scherer

Posted under Cloud, vSphere.

This blog has 196 views and no responses.

Tags: import, ovf, scsi, vcloud, vsphere

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Wow, this year is flying by and before you know it VMworld will be here! Until then, and all of the great things EMC has planned to show you, you should definitely check out these upcoming webcasts, including Chad’s Choice which is guaranteed to be jam-packed with great things all focused on virtualization.

Click here to register now!

Performance and Provisioning for Virtualized Oracle
Thursday, June 9, 2011 – 8 am PT / 11 am ET / 16:00 BST
Hear from EMC and VMware Solutions Architects on how to leverage server and storage virtualization to greatly improve Oracle performance as well as accelerate and simplify provisioning of new Oracle environments.
Hosts: Sam Lucido, Solutions Architect, EMC and Vas Mitra, Solutions Architect, VMware

Accelerate Your Journey to a Virtualized Data Center
Thursday, June 16, 2011 – 8 am PT / 11 am ET / 16:00 BST
Learn how EMC’s Ionix Unified Infrastructure Management, a leading cloud infrastructure management solution for Vblock, can help you deliver IT services 5 times faster and 80% more efficiently with full compliance across your virtualized infrastructure.
Host: Tom Hayes, Senior Manager, Ionix Marketing, EMC

Automate Virtual Machine Recovery in VNX-based Vblock Environments
Thursday, June 23, 2011 – 8 am PT / 11 am ET / 16:00 BST
Discover how EMC RecoverPoint, integrated with VNX in Vblock configurations, delivers comprehensive business continuity and disaster recovery for virtual data center deployments.
Host: Rick Walsworth, Director, Product Marketing, EMC

Chad’s Choice – Virtually Any Virtualization Topic!
Thursday, June 30, 2011 – 8 am PT / 11 am ET / 16:00 BST
Find out the latest virtualization topics from Chad Sakac, VP VMware Technology Alliance, EMC. Get key updates on new technologies, hear honest answers to your most demanding questions, and see intriguing technical demos.
Host: Chad Sakac, VP VMware Technology Alliance, EMC

Click here to register now!

Created on June 6, 2011 by Rick Scherer

Posted under EMC, Good Reading.

This blog has 69 views and no responses.

Tags: EMC, integration, ionix, management, oracle, vblock, vce, vcenter, virtualize, VMware, vnx

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it’s that time of year again! vmworld 2011 is fast approaching and some great sessions are now up for public vote! Included in all of those great sessions are (5) sessions that I’m part of and I’d love for you to review and vote on them if you’d like to see them in the agenda.

Session details are below and you can vote for them by visiting http://www.vmworld.com/cfp.jspa

1425 – Ask the Expert vBloggers
Rick Scherer, Duncan Epping, Scott Lowe, Frank Denneman, Chad Sakac

1426 – Designing Virtualized Desktops for Success
Rick Scherer, Tyler Baker, Asif Khan

1427 – Battle of the Storage Experts
Rick Scherer, Chad Sakac, Vaughn Stewart, Eric Schott, Mike Koponen

1712 – Virtualizing SAP for Private Cloud
Rick Scherer, Eric Walter

2820 – Real World Storage API for Array Integration Effects, Design and Planning with VMFS and NFS
Rick Scherer, David Robertson

Once again, please check out my session abstracts and vote! http://www.vmworld.com/cfp.jspa

Created on May 12, 2011 by Rick Scherer

Posted under Conferences, VMworld.

This blog has 144 views and no responses.

Tags: ask the experts, conference, sap, vaai, vdi, view, virtualization, VMworld

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Tomorrow starts another great series of VMware Focused webcasts from EMC. This month we cover everything from Virtualizing Oracle to Simplified Management, these weekly webcasts should not be missed. Be sure to register for them today!

Next week we’ll be hosting EMC World live from Las Vegas, if you’re not attending live be sure to check out all of the great content we’ll be releasing online. Some have described the announcements we’ll be releasing as face melting and mind blowing. Don’t miss out!

Register Now for these great EMC Webcasts!

To Virtualize or not to Virtualize Oracle; Converting Skeptics to Supporters
Thursday, May 5, 2011 – 8 am PT / 11 am ET / 15:00 GMT
Hosts: David Welch, CTO, House of Brick Technologies and Jason Kotsaftis, Director, Strategic Alliances, EMC
Building a business case to virtualize Oracle? Hear from David Welch, CTO, House of Brick Technologies, on how to successfully architect and deploy Oracle databases on the EMC and VMware platform.

Cloud Meets Big Data at EMC World 2011
May 9-12, 2011 – Las Vegas, Nevada
We have freed up this week’s webcast schedule, so you can focus on EMC World. From advanced technical training to meet ups with some of the industry’s most influential thought leaders, EMC World is where it’s happening.

The Value of VMware Integration
Thursday, May 19, 2011 – 8 am PT / 11 am ET / 15:00 GMT
Host: Dave Henry, Senior Technical Marketing Manager, EMC/VMware Affinity Team, EMC
Learn about the benefits of tight VMware integration, and find out how EMC’s 70+ points of integration with VMware enhance the performance, scalability, security, and ease-of-management of virtual environments.

Simplify Management for Virtualized Applications with EMC Unisphere
Thursday, May 26, 2011 – 8 am PT / 11 am ET / 15:00 GMT
Hosts: Bob Abraham, Product Manager, EMC and Bruce Wolfeld, Principle Product Manager, Virtualization Solutions, EMC
EMC Unisphere redefines simplicity. See how the integration between Unisphere and VMware vCenter provides administrators easier access to data and reports. Learn more about EMC Unisphere’s fresh approach to managing storage.

Created on May 4, 2011 by Rick Scherer

Posted under EMC, Good Reading.

This blog has 118 views and no responses.

Tags: EMC, emc world, integration, management, oracle, unisphere, vcenter, virtualize, VMware

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Hey there you Linux (or Mac) Users! vmware Labs has released another fling, with RVC you can now manage your vSphere environment using your Linux or Mac CLI! RVC is built on Ruby (RbVmomi bindings to the vSphere API) and will require at least Ruby 1.8.7+ to run, the preferred version of Ruby is 1.9.2. The RVC is extremely simple to install and start using. You can download the code right now from http://labs.vmware.com/flings/rvc. As the development team states in the fling, “RVC doesn’t (yet) have every feature vSphere Client does, but for common tasks it can be much more efficient than clicking through a GUI.” this is still pretty darn cool and will allow you to potentially script some basic vSphere tasks with an extremely small Ruby footprint!

Created on April 30, 2011 by Rick Scherer

Posted under vSphere.

This blog has 975 views and no responses.

Tags: cli, Linux, mac, ruby, vsphere client

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vmware has recently released a patch for their vSphere 4.0 product line, which affects both ESX and ESXi.

Details from vmware;

We are pleased to inform you that a new VMware ESX 4.0 Patch is available as of April 28, 2011.

Improvements included in this patch:

• An update for the Certificate Revocation List (CRL) to revoke an RSA key that HP uses for code signing certain software components
• Remediation of a denial of service possibility. By sending malicious network traffic an attacker could exhaust the available sockets which would prevent further connections to the host
• Refinements in handling of shared folders

Detailed information regarding resolved and known issues and enhancements can be found at ESX 4.0 Patch Release Notes

• http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1037260
• http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1037261

VMware ESX 4.0 Patch is available for download at:
Download VMware ESX 4.0 Patch http://www.vmware.com/patch/download/.

Thanks,

VMware vSphere Product Management Team

One of the patches included (ESX400-201104401-SG for ESX and ESXi400-201104401-SG for ESXi) resolves a couple different issues, one updates the Certification Revocation List (CRL) to revoke a key that HP uses for code-signing certain software components. HP server contains a new key pair and has re-signed the affected software components with the new key. What this means is that if you apply this patch on a HP server and you are using specific HP management agents (like the HP Management Agent for VMware ESX 4.x) you will need to download the software with the updated key and re-install it.

The other fix within the above mentioned patch resolves a potential denial of service attack against the vmkernel over it’s management interface. When an attacker exhausts all available sockets the ESX(i) host will become inaccessible via vCenter or the vSphere client. Virtual Machines will continue to run and have network connectivity, but the ESX(i) host may need to be rebooted in order to be able to connect to the machine again. The ESX(i) system might intermittently lose connectivity caused by applications that do not correctly close sockets. If this occurs, an error message similar to the following might be written to the vpxa log file:
socket() returns -1 (Cannot allocate memory)
An error message similar to the following might be written to the VMkernel log file:
socreate(type=2, proto=17) failed with error 55
The Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures Project (cve.mitre.org) has assigned the name CVE-2011-1785 to this issue. More information on this patch can be found in KB 1037258 (ESX) and KB 1037259 (ESXi).

Another patch, specific to ESXi (ESXi400-201104402-BG), has also been released. The only information on this patch can be found in KB 1037553 which states “This patch improves the way shared folders are handled.”.

Created on April 30, 2011 by Rick Scherer

Posted under vSphere.

This blog has 468 views and 3 responses.

Tags: esx, esxi, patch, update, vsphere

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The VMware Labs team released a little gem of something that I’ve been wanting to do for quite some time. Taking the full install of the vSphere Client and creating a ThinApp package out of it…that’s right, the entire application in one small and easy to use executable file. The details on the flings page says it best…

Run vSphere client 4.1 in a snap. No install, just download the EXE and double-click. Place the ThinApped vSphere client on any network share and it will automatically stream to any Windows PC with no installation, agents, drivers, or specialized servers required. Carry ThinApped vSphere client and your customization on USB stick and now your vSphere client is available on the GO!

Download it for yourself from here today!

Created on April 11, 2011 by Rick Scherer

Posted under vCenter, vSphere.

This blog has 580 views and no responses.

Tags: client, thinapp, vsphere

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Just received notice this morning that EMC VNX Replicator has been approved for support for VMware Site Recovery Manager 4.0.x and 4.1.x. An excerpt of the message is below:

The EMC VNX Replicator 4.0.23 is now certified (re-test waiver) for SRM versions 4.0.x and 4.1.x. EMC has updated the 4.0.22 Celerra SRA to reflect new array support (VNX line), but have not had to change any of the code as the new array runs the same replication software as the old (Celerra line).

The SRA is available from the SRM 4.1.1 download page at
http://downloads.vmware.com/d/details/srm411/ZCVwYnRkZCpiZGpwKg.

Note that you must login to get the download page that contains the SRA files.

The updated SRM storage partner compatibility matrix is available at http://www.vmware.com/pdf/srm_storage_partners.pdf.

Created on March 16, 2011 by Rick Scherer

Posted under EMC, SRM.

This blog has 855 views and no responses.

Tags: dr, EMC, replication, replicator, site recovery manager, srm, vnx, vsphere

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At EMC we’re constantly growing…and with the launch of our VNX and VNXe storage lines, we’re growing like CRAZY!

So here’s a calling for all of you storage geeks out there….

Are you storage saavy? Not necessarily EMC, but perhaps NetApp, 3PAR, Compellent, HDS or IBM and want to work with a great team of storage specialists, learn all of the latest and greatest things from EMC and have fun while doing it all?

Currently in the Southern California area we have opened up a few new requisitions and are actively looking for some great talent to come on board! So if you are in the Los Angeles, Orange or San Diego County area please shoot me a message and I’ll get you in touch with a hiring manager ASAP!

Created on March 1, 2011 by Rick Scherer

Posted under Good Reading.

This blog has 155 views and one response.

Tags: EMC, job, Storage

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EMC Webcasts are in full effect! Over 20,000 viewers have registered for these webcasts, why haven’t you!? Every Thursday we cover the hottest topics hitting the virtualization scene, and this month isn’t going to be any different!

We have five hot topics for you this month, everything from Virtualizing Oracle to Delivering IT as a Service! And for a special treat we have Chad’s Choice at the end of the month where VMware Technology Alliance Vice President, Chad Sakac, delivers the hottest topics flowing around the virtualization ecosphere…this is one webcast you do not want to miss!

Want to hear them all? Register for the entire series and never miss an episode!

Delivering IT as a Service: Best Practices
Thursday, March 3, 2011 – 8 am PT / 11 am ET / 16:00 GMT
Explore how EMC Consulting can help you establish priorities for cloud services; create a unique portfolio of services to guide cloud management and automation; and reveal full visibility of business and IT service performance.

Top 5 Reasons to Deploy Virtualized Microsoft Applications on VNX Family
Thursday, March 10, 2011 – 8 am PT / 11 am ET / 16:00 GMT
Learn the top reasons why organizations have successfully implemented Microsoft applications like Exchange, SharePoint, and SQL databases on the new EMC VNX Family.

Optimize Your Data Paths with PowerPath/VE
Thursday, March 17, 2011 – 8 am PT / 11 am ET / 15:00 GMT
Discover the advantages of EMC PowerPath/VE with its comprehensive load balancing policies, path failover, path recovery, and path management capabilities.

Top 5 Reasons to Virtualize Oracle Databases
Thursday, March 24, 2011 – 8 am PT / 11 am ET / 15:00 GMT
Examine the top reasons to optimize Oracle database performance and maximize IT efficiency through tightly integrated EMC and VMware solutions.

Chad’s Choice – Virtually Any Virtualization Topic!
Thursday, March 31, 2011 – 8 am PT / 11 am ET / 15:00 GMT
Find out the latest virtualization topics from Chad Sakac, VP VMware Technology Alliance, EMC. Get key updates on new technologies, hear honest answers to your most demanding questions, and see intriguing technical demos.

Want to hear them all? Register for the entire series and never miss an episode!

Created on February 26, 2011 by Rick Scherer

Posted under EMC, Good Reading.

This blog has 109 views and no responses.

Tags: chad, chad sakac, EMC, exchange, it as a service, itaas, Microsoft, oracle, powerpath, powerpath/ve, sakac, sakacc, sharepoint, sql, VMware, vnx

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