So Say SMEs in Virtualization and Cloud with Kong Yang & Todd Muirhead

So Say SMEs in Virtualization and Cloud with Kong Yang & Todd Muirhead. An uncut look at Virtualization & Cloud from a Dell dude and a VMware guru.

VCP & VCAD Exam Discount Code for Those Not at VMware PEX 2013 .

Below are VCP and VCAD Exam Discount Codes for those who couldn’t attend VMware PEX 2013.

1. For VMware VCP, use PEX25 at pearsonvue.com/vmware. Terms: Register by 03/15 & take by 05/30. 
2. For VMware VCAD, use PEXADV25 at pearsonvue.com/vmware. Terms: Register by 03/15 & take by 05/30.

Dell Customized Bits for VMware vSphere 5.1 and VMware Auto Deploy

There is a great Dell resource that covers configuring stateless boot using the Dell customized VMware ESXi 5. It basically covers how to create a zipped file of the Dell customized image and use it with VMware Auto Deploy.

Per VMware policy, Dell is not allowed to provide the zipped version of the Dell customized image. But customers can create one using the instructions provided in the Dell whitepaper linked on this wiki article: 

• http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/virtualization/w/wiki/3808.configuring-stateless-boot-using-dell-customized-vmware-esxi-5-0.aspx.

The direct URL to whitepaper is here: 

• http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/extras/m/white_papers/20135932.aspx.

The pages of interest are pages 4-6. It provides step-by-step details on creating an offline image depot for VMware Auto Deploy. Lastly, this Dell whitepaper was tested by and is a supported config per the Dell Hypervisor Enablement team.

Extending Dell Customized Bits for VMware vSphere 5.1 to Have Compatibility with VMware View

All the credit for this post goes to blog commenter – Vincent Wu.

VMware recent released a Knowledge Based (KB) article 2035268 that states support for VMware View 5.1.x with vSphere 5.1. It shows two ways to enable support:

1.  You can deploy the updated VMware ESXi 5.1 ISO image. Instructions are in the KB article.

 OR

 2. You can apply Patch ESXi510-201210001 from the Patch Download Center.

If you are using the Dell Customized Bits for VMware vSphere 5.1, then you will need to apply Patch ESXi510-201210001 from the Patch Download Center in order to support View 5.1.x.

Error 0x8007007B While Activating Windows 8 Enterprise

While activating Windows 8 Enterprise downloaded from Microsoft TechNet, I encountered the following error: “Windows can’t activate right now. Error 0x8007007B  The File name, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.“

To resolve this error and correctly activate Windows 8 Enterprise, I did the following:

1. Launch Task Manager.
2. Click on File -> Run new task.
3. In the Create new task window,
   1. Type cmd.
   2. Click the Create this task with administrative privileges button.
   3. Click Ok.
4. From the administrative command prompt, run the following two commands to unistall the product key and then, install the new product key by replacing the XXXXdesignation below.
   1. slmgr -upk
   2. slmgr -ipk XXXX-XXXX-XXXX-XXXX

Slmgr is a Windows script that can be used to change product keys, activate a system, and determine a system’s license type. Slmgr options can be found on technet.microsoft.com.

Now Available: Dell Customized Bits for VMware vSphere 5.1

Dell Customized bits for VMware vSphere 5.1(ESXi 5.1) is now available:

• UPDATED with Direct Download URL Dell | VMware ESXi 5.1 Recovery Image Build #799733 v. A00  from DellTechCenter.com -or- Dell | VMware ESXi 5.1 Recovery Image Build #799733 v. A00 from Dell.com contains the ISO image to recover/re-install the ESXi image to SD card or USB Key on Dell PowerEdge servers.
• UPDATED with two direct download locations below. Please note that you can also choose any of the supported Dell PowerEdge Servers listed in the Compatible section and also select ESXi 5.1 to get the Enterprise Solutions option, which contains the ISO bits. Please let me know if you if you have any further download issues. Please try the first URL for downloads outside of the US. 
  • Direct Download from DellTechCenter.com
  • Direct Download from Dell.com

Compatible Dell PowerEdge Servers Include:

PowerEdge 1950 PowerEdge 2900 PowerEdge 2950 PowerEdge 2970 PowerEdge M420 PowerEdge M520 PowerEdge M610 PowerEdge M610x PowerEdge M620 PowerEdge M710 PowerEdge M710HD PowerEdge M805 PowerEdge M820 PowerEdge M905 PowerEdge M910 PowerEdge M915 PowerEdge R320 PowerEdge R420 PowerEdge R510 PowerEdge R520 PowerEdge R610 PowerEdge R620 PowerEdge R710 PowerEdge R715 PowerEdge R720 PowerEdge R720xd PowerEdge R805 PowerEdge R810 PowerEdge R815 PowerEdge R820 PowerEdge R900 PowerEdge R905 PowerEdge R910 PowerEdge T320 PowerEdge T420 PowerEdge T605 PowerEdge T610 PowerEdge T620 PowerEdge T710

Important Release Notes:

You should use VirtualCenter 5.1 (latest build) with this release. The Dell Customized ESXi Factory image does not include Dell OpenManage Server Administrator. For detailed instructions to install and use Dell OpenManage Server Administrator, see the Dell OpenManage documentation at support.dell.com/manuals. Select Software, then Systems Management.

This image is customized by Dell which includes updated Driver/Provider versions. Dell also modifies the below files as part of customization.

- etc/vmware/oem.xml

- etc/vmware/support

The drivers included in this ESXi image by Dell as part of customization are:

Broadcom Network Adapter Drivers & its Versions(Available at vmware.com) ================================================================ tg3 – 3.123b.v50.1

bnx2 – 2.2.1l.v50.1

bnx2x – 1.72.54.v50.2

cnic – 1.72.50.v50.1

bnx2fc – 1.72.51.v50.1

bnx2i – 2.72.10.v50.2

misc-cnic-register – 1.72.1.v50.1

Storage Controller Driver & its Version(Available at vmware.com) =====================================================

mpt2sas – 14.00.00.00.1vmw

Brocade CNA Drivers & its Versions(Available at vmware.com) ====================================================

bfa – 3.1.0.0 bfa – 3.1.0.0

Intel Network Adapter Drivers & its Versions(Available at vmware.com) ===========================================================

igb – 3.4.7.3

Qlogic HBA Drivers & its versions(Available at vmware.com) ==================================================

qla2xxx – 911.k1.1-26vmw

qla4xxx – 624.01.43-1vmw

ima-qla4xxx – 500.2.01.31-1vmw

qlcnic – 5.0.746

qlge – 2.0.0.54

Emulex HBA Drivers & its versions (Available at vmware.com) ===================================================

be2iscsi – 4.1.334.3

ima-be2iscsi – 4.1.334.3

NOTE: The list of files appended/modified/customized by Dell may change during a later release.

Hope and Competition in the Stack Wars

Recent announcements in the cloud and virtualization industry have provided hope and competition in the Stack Wars. Similarly, my Seattle Seahawks have provided their 12th Man with hope as they have embraced Coach Carroll’s ‘Win forever’ and ‘Compete, compete, compete’ attitude.

Confessions of a Conference JBOB

Events and conferences are great for meeting face to face with customers, industry colleagues and community members. It’s also great to meet new folks interested in the IT themes and trends of the event or conference. Everyone has such unique experiences and stories to share. The congregation of influencers, thought leaders, innovators and customers make the events. For those of us, who deliver the experience, there’s a slightly different perspective than as an attendee.

Event work begins many months earlier. In some cases, a full year before the event. Meetings start showing up on the calendar and the cadence gets more pronounced as the event draws near. More meetings and more people to create the execution plans that cover deliverables, KPIs, and responsibilities. For all that work, there is nothing locked into place until the event actually takes place. Everything is fair game until payment is made. And even then, flexibility is key as schedules get shuffled and moved. The norm is usually a double shift at event to get work done and deliver world-class customer engagements. All in the life of a conference JBOB – just a bunch of bacon

The Aftermath of VMworld 2012

I’ve been catching up on expense reports, emails and daily ops. The following video provides some glimpses into the points of emphasis at VMworld 2012. It will be an interesting second half of the year as work flows & processes turn into execution of end-to-end solution stacks. The Stack Wars are in full swing.

VMworld 2012: Software Defined Data Center (SDDC)

VMworld 2011 provided the blues clues to where VMware was taking its next steps in innovation. 2012 continued that trend with key acquisitions and product launches most notably Nicira. I mentioned Nicira in one of my So Say SMEs in Virtualization and Cloud as a software defined networking (SDN) company with IP that would make noise in 2012. I just didn’t know that VMware would be the one to eventually gobble them up as part of their P2V of the data center.

All of these moves pave the way towards a software defined data center (SDDC), where work flows are orchestrated, provisioned & self-served across highly available networks of pooled resources. The hardware resources become abstracted in the sense that the Cloud provides as-needed resources to meet quality of service (QoS) requirements. The question becomes which features are the must-have ones and how much is one willing to pay for those features.