Downgrading new VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF) or VMware Cloud Foundation...
When you access your new VMware vSphere Foundation (VVF) or VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) license in the Broadcom Support Portal (BSP), it is delivered using the new solution license key type which...
View ArticleNested ESXi Virtual Appliance & USB Network Native Driver for ESXi for...
With the release of vSphere 8.0 Update 3 now generally available (release notes and direct download links below): ESXi 📒...
View ArticleRetrieving CPU Microcode revision from ESXi in vSphere 8.0 Update 3
Whether you are applying a CPU microcode update through a hardware vendor's BIOS update or an ESXi update/upgrade, verifying the CPU microcode revision within ESXi is not as easy as it could be. Today,...
View ArticleVM snapshot retention-based removal in vSphere 8.0 Update 3
VM snapshots are an extremely useful feature in vSphere but they can also be miss-used and retained for much longer than they should, sometimes weeks, months and even years! Sadly, having a forgotten...
View ArticleAutomating deployment of vSAN Data Protection OVA with PowerCLI
vSphere 8.0 Update 3 introduces a new vSAN Data Protection capability for the vSAN Express Storage Architecture (ESA) and it is currently delivered as a standalone VMware OVA (see Duncan's post in case...
View ArticleIncorrect guestOS type for Nested ESXi causes vCLS issues with VMware Cloud...
Several months back, I started noticing an increase number of folks reporting problems powering on their vSphere Cluster Services (vCLS) VM when using the VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) Holodeck Toolkit...
View ArticleQuick Tip - Updating Intel ixgben driver enables Multi-gigabit (2.5gbE /...
Here is a nice protip from one of my readers, Peter, who recently came across an issue with an Intel x550 network adaptor and ESXi not listing any of the Multi-gigabit (2.5GbE or 5GbE) options even...
View ArticleExploring the new vSAN Data Protection API in vSphere 8.0 Update 3
I have been spending some time with the new vSAN Data Protection (DP) capability that was just introduced with the latest vSphere 8.0 Update 3 release and if you are interested in what you can do with...
View ArticleQuickly deploying vSphere IaaS (formerly vSphere with Tanzu) Control Plane...
I recently deployed the Local Consumption Interface (LCI) which is a new vSphere IaaS (formerly vSphere with Tanzu) Control Plane Service that was just introduced with the release of vSphere 8.0 Update...
View ArticleImproved vSAN capacity usage reporting APIs in vSphere 8.0 Update 3
As with any new VMware software release, I always love geeking out and taking a look at the new APIs have been added and/or updated that can benefit our users. Having spent some time automating various...
View ArticleManaging vSAN internet connectivity configuration using the vSAN API
I recently received an inquiry from a vSAN customer who was looking to disable the vSAN internet connectivity, which is used pull down the latest vSAN HCL catalog updates and is also used as part of...
View ArticleAutomating the retrieval & reclamation of VM MAC address blocklist for...
As shared in this blog post HERE and HERE, vCenter Server has a built-in mechanism for managing VM MAC addresses where the original VM has been migrated to a different vCenter Server (regardless of the...
View ArticleSlick Jonsbo D31 computer case with embedded LCD screen for homelab
Last month, I noticed a very interesting DIY (Do it Yourself) computer build from fellow colleague Cyprien Laplace, who you might know from the ESXi-Arm team. No surprise, the build was for a new...
View ArticleUseful vSphere Automation techniques for assisting with CrowdStrike remediation
By now, you have probably heard about or have directly been impacted by the recent CrowdStrike software update to Microsoft Windows system causing an unprecedented global outage. I know IT...
View ArticleQuick Tip - Disable network traffic monitoring (promiscuous) UI prompt in...
While working on some demos planned for my VMware Explore session, Tech Deep Dive: Automating VMware ESXi Installation At Scale [CODEB1574LV], I kept getting this network monitoring prompt when...
View ArticleEasily audit ESXi boot options programmatically in vSphere 8.0 Update 3
ESXi (kernel) boot options can be added during ESXi boot up (by pressing SHIFT+O) or by updating the ESXi boot.cfg configuration to influence specific configurations and/or behaviors. In the past, it...
View ArticleAuditing vGPU Profile Reconfigurations in vSphere
vCenter Server Events are extremely powerful and contains a ton of useful information, especially for auditing and compliance purposes. As of vSphere 8.0 Update 3, there are over 2.1K+ out of the box...
View ArticleQuick Tip - VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 5.2 provisioning fails with Update...
Since the introduction of the License Later feature with VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 5.1.1, I typically deploy my VCF lab without needing any license keys and simply take advantage of the built-in 60...
View ArticleAutomated VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 5.2 Import Lab Deployment Script
VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 5.2 had just GA'ed last week and it is a packed release with a ton of new capabilities! Creating a brand new VCF environment (greenfield) is generally much easier than...
View ArticleNVMe Tiering in vSphere 8.0 Update 3 is a Homelab game changer!
As someone who is always on the lookout for interesting and clever ways to make the most out of your vSphere homelab investment, I was surprised there has not been more noise about the new NVMe Tiering...
View Article