After I have written the VxRail Update Guide I wanted to write about major version upgrades as well since there are still some companies out there running VxRail Version 4.7.xxx (which is by now End of General Support). Usually upgrades between major versions are a little bit more complex than updates within the same major …
vSAN 8
Finally I had some time to catch up with all the VMware Explore US 2022 news. For vSAN 8 the biggest thing has been that there will be a new, single tier architecture called the Express Storage Architecture (ESA). The Orginal Storage Architecture (OSA, vSAN as we know it) will remain! I have put together …
Bye bye SRS/SCG!?
As of version 7.0.350, you no longer need a Secure Remote Service (SRS) or a Secure Connect Gateway Appliance (CG) to set up the Call Home functionality for your VxRail cluster. It is now possible to set it up directly via the VxRail Manager:https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/de-de/000196945/dell-vxrail-next-generation-connectivity-with-vxrail-7-0-350-and-later?lang=en There are a two things to consider when planning the upgrade …
Debug VxRail vCenter script
Another month, another tool. Many people probably don’t know it but there is a Dell script which you can use to check the vCenter Server (internally or externally) which manages the VxRail Cluster. It is especially helpful in case of troubleshooting or right before doing an VxRail update or upgrade because it gathers information about …
vSphere Diagnostic Tool (vdt)
The occasion was anything but desirable but this week I had the pleasure to work with a very skilled VMware Support guy to fix a broken vCenter ELM replication at a customer’s site. In this session I really learned a lot. But what stood out the most was this pretty new VMware Fling: https://flings.vmware.com/vsphere-diagnostic-tool vSphere …
vExpert 2022
I have received the vExpert award this week! How awesome is this! A huge thank you to VMware! I’m truly honored to be part of the program. Also I want to say big congrats to all new and renewed vExperts! Keep learning and sharing knowledge! ? vCommunity
VxRail update guide
Last week a customer asked me to write a guide he can use to update his VxRail clusters on his own in the future. Because I think this guide could also be useful for others out there I decided to share a more or less generalized version on my blog. // important notes This guide …
vSAN cluster shutdown & startup
Since the vSphere/vSAN version 7 Update 3 has been withdrawn and is about to be re-released shortly (but hopefully not installed in production very soon!), I had to use the “traditional” way to manually shutdown and startup two vSAN clusters of a customer due to power maintenance using the VMware procedure: Manually Shut Down and …
As Built Report
I am a really big fan of the As Built Report and have often used the default vSphere module in my projects especially when the customer has not ordered (resp. paid) an installation documentation. That’s why I wanted to write about it. Some time ago I had seen that the VxRail module has been released. …
vSphere SSO domain replication topology
Last week I had a customer request to integrate a 3rd vCenter (Version 7 with embedded PSC) into his existing vSphere SSO domain where he already had 2 similar vCenters. His main use case was to have all vCenters in a single pane of glass using the vCenter Enhanced Linked Mode (ELM). As far as …