For those of you that have been wondering about the capabilities of the vCenter Orchestrator (vCO), that one component that gets installed under the hood with vCenter Server 4.o. Well now you don’t have to wonder about it anymore really…the vCenter Orchestrator Team is now sharing their knowledge, skills, and resources on the web. I was fortunate enough to collaborate with Burke Azbill on an engagement for vCenter Orchestrator, and VMware Lifecycle Manager recently, when he told me about the site. just to give you everyone a bit of info o the person I’m referring to here, Burke Azbill is a VMware Senior Consultant, and one of the experts of vCenter Orchestrator, and VMware Lifecycle Manager, and also the master mind behind the vCO Team Site. Some of the ways on which VMware is going to be using the vCenter Orchestrator, I can’t really talk about yet, but vCO it’s definitely going to be another one of really awesome plugable applications that will integrate deeply into the rest of the vSphere, and future platforms. I’ll say this… the vCenter Orchestrator is not just limited to the virtual infrastructure, or just VMware related products. There are just so many things that this application can be used for, and it’s pretty cool. Check out the site and contribute if you can, ask questions, make request. I know there are a lot of people out there wondering how to configure that service they see in Windows Services after the vCenter server is installed. You can watch videos of configuration, and installations and much more there. Everyone will be amazed by what this product will bring to the internal and external cloud in the very near future. vCenter Orchestrator is one of my favorite products so check it!
VMworld 2010 is going to be loaded with an incredibly interesting amount of presentations. This year there many new things planned, but this year VMworld is bringing something truly special… the virtualization’s dynamic duo, the Chips (TV Show) of virtualization, the John & Ponch of virtualization, AKA Chris McCain, and I (being funny). We have a couple of interesting topics for VMworld, and now that the VMworld sessions are now available for public voting, go and check all the sessions out and what’s going to be possibly available this years, and vote for ours if you want to see them at VMworld 2010. We’ve submitted the following session:
VMworld 2010 Session:
Private Cloud – Business Continuity Section
Exploring the vSphere 4 Business Continuity Spectrum
Session Id: BC7521
This session will explore all of the business continuity options available within a vSphere 4 virtual infrastructure. The session will define the various types of data tragedies that can occur and how to plan and react to these events. Attendees will learn how to apply defined Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs) and Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) to the various vSphere 4 business continuity features.
Technology and Architecture Session
Breaking Down the Distributed Virtual Switch Starring the Nexus 1000v
Session Id: TA7523
This session will break down the components of the distributed virtual switch. Attendees will learn how to implement and manage a DVS including a look at implementing the Cisco Nexus 1000v. Topics covered will include VLANs, PVLANs, DVS security, and granular DVS port management.
Virtualization 101 Section
Managing vCenter Server Certificates
Session Id: V17522
This session will detail certificate management for vCenter Server. Attendees will learn how to implement a trusted Public Key Infrastructure using Microsoft Active Directory Certificate Services along with the steps to allow vCenter to use self-issued certificates.
We’ll also be around to discuss some of the punching topics about the vSphere Resource Kit , and some other cool projects. Check out Chris’s blog, which is yet another dynamic duo creation. Hopefully we will see you all at VMworld 2010.
Alright folks, here is another class from VMware Education. vSphere Manage for Performance. The much anticipated, and needed class that will teach attendees how to manage, and monitor performance in the vSphere environments. This class is categorized as an advanced class as there is a certain level of knowledge, and expertise expected from all attendees. The completion, and or equal knowledge of the topic covered in the courses listed below are require as well as a fair amount of administration experience of ESX/ESXi and vCenter Servers.
- VMware vSphere 4: Install, Configure, Manage
- VMware vSphere: Fast Track
- VMware vSphere 4: What’s New
There will be a great deal of time spend in the Service Console, and Console like utilities in this class, so if you’re command line junky, this is right for you. The targeted audience are system administrators, systems engineers, and consultants that are responsible to monitoring performance of vSphere installations.
Course Objectives
- Explain the performance impact of using different monitor modes
- Use vSphere tools to monitor the performance of ESX/ESXi hosts
- Diagnose performance problems relating to CPU, memory, network,and storage on an ESX/ESXi host
- Discuss how to achieve an optimal virtual machine configuration Discuss guide lines for monitoring application performance
For more information about this class, and schedule go to the VMware Education site.
While working on a multi-site deployment of vCenter Site Recovery Manager 4, I came across an error that seems to be caused by the Storage Replication Adapter (SRA). I encountered this error while installing both the SRA and the vCenter 4 onto a HP that was running Windows Server 2008 32bit operating system.
The issue seems to arise when you launch the installation for this particular vendor’s SRA. The application starts to install and then halts with an error that reads “The $PRODUCT_NAME$ is not supported on this platform.” as shown in the below screen shot.
SRA Error Message under Windows Server 2008
A note about the environment: The vCenter Server was also installed on that version of the operating system. If you’re operating in an environment that requires the use of the latest versions of Microsoft’s operating systems, such as Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2, and you’re attempting to configure SRM, then this problem will happen.
That message is problematic, since nearly all of the VMware vSphere applications are supported and compatible with the latest version of Windows. When you get the message, you may be forced to use an older version of Windows Server, which would then require you to rebuild, re-install, and configure the vCenter server onto a new system.
After researching the issue, I came across a useful work around. Cormac Hogan, one of VMware’s finest, provided this particularly helpful approach: He instructed me to run the HP LeftHand SRA application in Windows Server 2003 SP1 comparability mode. After doing so the SRA was installed successful. To setup the HP LeftHand SRA to run in the Windows Server 2003 SP1 do the following:
- Right click on the application package
- Go to Properties
- Select the comparability tab
- Select the Run this program in comparability mode for, in the comparability mode window
- From the list of modes choose (Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1)
Windows Server 2003 SP1 Comparability Mode
So, if you ever come across this issue, don’t rush to change or reinstall vCenter and SRM on an older version of Windows. Instead, just follow the instructions mentioned above. Hopefully these issues will be addressed and resolved by the respective companies in the near future. Keep me posted if you run into an other issues. Enjoy : )
VMware Education keeps pumping out new training for the vSphere platform. A new class which focuses on virtual machine management, and configuration called Skills for Operators will be available to anyone interested. This two day instructor led class is targeted towards systems administrators who’s focus is to deal virtual machines up keep, performance monitoring, and maintenance. The vSphere platform introduces a great deal of new features for virtual machines including new virtual machine hardware type. The new hardware type version 7 provides much greater resource capacities than previous versions. Learning about how to monitor, maintain, and deploy this new types of virtual machines is very beneficial to any virtualized environment.
Course Objectives
- Create, deploy, and manage virtual machines
- Use vCenter Server to monitor virtual machines resource usage
- Use VMware vCenter Update Manager to apply patches to virtual machines
- Use VMware vMotion and Storage vMotion to migrate virtual machines
- Troubleshoot problems with virtual machines configurations
For more information about this class, and schedule go to the VMware Education site.
