SRM Purchasing Options

Both a-la-carte editions of vCenter Site Recovery Manager are licensed per protected virtual machine.

Both editions are sold per pack of 25 virtual machines.

Site Recovery Manager Enterprise can also be licensed on a “per CPU” basis as part of vCloud Suite Enterprise.

Source:-

Vmware

Assigning dcui User Permissions

The dcui user runs on hosts and acts with Administrator rights. This user’s primary purpose is to configure hosts for lockdown mode from the direct console.

This user acts as an agent for the direct console and must not be modified or used by interactive users.

 Caution

Do not change the dcui user in any way and do not change its permissions. If you do so, you might experience problems in working with the ESXi host through the local user interface.

Understanding vpxuser Permissions

The vpxuser permission is used for vCenter Server when managing activities for the host. The vpxuser is created when an ESXi host is attached to vCenter Server.

vCenter Server has Administrator privileges on the host that it manages. For example, vCenter Server can move virtual machines to and from hosts and perform configuration changes needed to support virtual machines.

The vCenter Server administrator can perform most of the same tasks on the host as the root user and also schedule tasks, work with templates, and so forth. However, the vCenter Server administrator cannot directly create, delete, or edit users and groups for ESXi hosts. These tasks can only be performed by a user with Administrator permissions directly on each ESXi host.

Note

You cannot manage the vpxuser using Active Directory.

 Caution

Do not change vpxuser in any way and do not change its permissions. If you do so, you might experience problems in working with ESXi hosts through vCenter Server.

Source:-

Vmware Documentation

Vmware Tools Installation not starting with this message "the application has failed to start because the application configuration incorrect reinstalling the application may fix the problem "

I was getting this error message while trying to install the vmware tools

This Issue was due to corrupted ISO image of vmware tools. Now how you can verify this ISO image is correct or not? For this check procedure is given below:-

To determine if a VMware Tools ISO image is corrupt:

1. Connect to the ESX/ESXi host using an SSH client. For more information, see Enabling root SSH login on an ESX host (8375637) or Using Tech Support Mode in ESXi 4.1 (1017910)
2. Log in as a user that has root priviledges.
3. Change directory to /vmimages/tools-isoimages for VMware ESX/ESXi 3.5.x and above hosts.  For older versions of ESX, change the directory to /usr/lib/vmware/isoimages .
4. Type md5sum xxx.iso and press Enter.
   Where xxx is the name of the ISO image.
   
5. Record the output for md5sum.

Follow the above procedure from Step 1 and connect to a different ESX/ESXi host of the same version where the VMware Tools are working fine and compare the md5sum output. If the output is different, the file is corrupt.

Note: If the ISO image is corrupt, copy the image from a working ESX/ESXi host to the location for VMware Tools. In the event all ISO packages are corrupt on all host, you will have to download the VMware tools packages for various ESX/ESXi manually.

Source:-

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1004820

Powering on a virtual machine fails with the error: Cannot open the disk (1038189)

Symptoms

• Cannot power on the virtual machine
• Powering on the virtual machine fails
• You see the error:
  An unexpected error was received from the ESX host while powering on VM VM_name.
  Reason: ReasonCannot open the disk disk_name or one of the snapshot disks it depends on.
  Where Reason is one of these:
  
  • Reason: Failed to lock the file.
  • Reason: The file specified is not a virtual disk.
  • Reason: The parent virtual disk has been modified since the child was created.

Resolution

• The error Failed to lock the file means that another process is opening the file and the process you are using cannot open the file properly.
  
  This typically occurs if you:
  
  • Start two copies of the .vmx file
  • Power on a virtual machine with mounted disks (via the vmware-mount utility)
  • Try to turn on a virtual machine through the user interface during a snapshot operation
  • Try to add the same virtual disk to the machine twice.

To resolve this issue, see Investigating virtual machine file locks in ESX/ESXi (10051).

• The error The file specified is not a virtual disk can occur if the file you are pointing at is not a virtual machine.
  To resolve this issue, remove the disk from the virtual machine and re-add it. When you re-add it, you can use the datastore browser to locate the disk on one of your datastores.
  
• The error The parent virtual disk has been modified since the child was created occurs when snapshots are in a bad state, either through manual intervention or through a system failure.
  To resolve this issue, see Resolving the CID mismatch error: The parent virtual disk has been modified since the child was created (1007969). 

Source:-

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1038189

Disabling vNetwork Distributed Switches (1010718)

Details

This article provides steps to disable vNetwork Distributed Switches from vCenter Server.

 

You may want to do this if:

• You need to move the Virtual Machines from a vNetwork Dirtributed Virtual (vDS)/Nexus 1000v Switch to a Standard vSwitch
• You need to remove vNetwork Distributed Switches from vCenter.
• You are downgrading a license, vNetwork Distributed Switches might not be supported by the downgraded license.
• You need to migrate all virtual machine, VMkernel, and service console networking from vNetwork Distributed Switches to vNetwork Standard Switches so that network connectivity is not lost.

Solution

To migrate virtual machine networking from a vNetwork Distribued Virtual Switch to a vNetwork Standard Switch:

1. In the vSphere Client, activate the Networking inventory view and select the vNetwork Distributed Switch.
2. Navigate to Inventory > Networking to go to the Networking View.
3. Right Click on the Distributed Virtual Switch in the inventory pane and then Click Migrate Virtual Machine Networking.
4. In the Select Source Network dropdown, select the dvPort group to migrate from.
5. In the Select Destination Network dropdown, select the port group to migrate to.
6. In the Select Virtual Machines field, select all virtual machines, and click OK.

To migrate VMkernel or service console networking from a vNetwork Distributed Switch to a vNetwork Standard Switch:

1. Log in to the vSphere Client and select the host from the inventory panel.
2. In the Configuration tab, click Networking.
3. Select the Distributed Virtual Switch view.
4. Click Manage Virtual Adapters.
5. Select the VMkernel or service console adapter to migrate, and click Migrate to Virtual Switch.
6. Select the vSwitch to migrate the adapter to, and click Next.
7. Enter a Network Label and optionally a VLAN ID for the adapter and click Next.
8. Click Finish.

To remove a vNetwork Distributed Switch from vCenter:

1. In the vSphere Client, activate the Networking inventory view and select the vNetwork Distributed Switch.
2. Navigate to Inventory > Distributed Virtual Switch and click Remove.

To remove a host from vNetwork Distributed Switch in vCenter:

1. Ensure that no virtual machine is connected to the Distributed Virtual Switch.
2. Navigate to Inventory > Networking and click Distributed Virtual Switch.
3. Click the Host tab.
4. Right-click the host to be removed and click Remove.
   
   
   Source:-
   http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1010718

Resolving the CID mismatch error: The parent virtual disk has been modified since the child was created (1007969)

riptor files affected

There are several methods to log into an ESX host to review content of utilized datastores, depending on the version of ESX utilized. For more information, see Editing configuration files in VMware ESXi and ESX (1017022).

Notes:

• The datastore browser provided in the VMware vSphere Client or VMware Infrastructure Client do not distinguish between virtual machine descriptor (1) and flat or delta files (2). They are collapsed into singular entities to make datastore browsing simpler. As you need to distinguish between the two files, use the additional access methods provided in the referenced article.
• The web-based Datastore Browser, accessible via https://server-ip, is used to browse VMFS datastores and distinguish between the virtual machine descriptor files and their corresponding associated binary files. You can copy the relevant file from the Datastore Browser for editing. The edited file can be uploaded to the datastore again via the vSphere Client.
• Due to the nature of the problem experienced, the quickest method for resolving the issue is with the Command Line Interface available on the individual ESX host. Utilize this method if you have sufficient background knowledge on command-line usage. Alternatively, you can use the VMware vSphere Command Line Interface (CLI) or VMware vSphere Management Assistant appliance (vMA) to obtain the virtual machine disk descriptor files for review.
• If you are unable proceed, please file a support request with VMware Technical Support. For more information, see Filing a Support Request in My VMware (2006985).
  

After locating the virtual machine's files and directory:

1. The virtual machine's vmware.log file contains information which identifies the specific disk chain affected. Review the logs and note the location and files affected.
   
   Example:
   
   vmx| DISKLIB-LINK : Attach: Content ID mismatch (d0fdb25b != ef4854ee).
vmx| DISKLIB-CHAIN : "/vmfs/volumes/4a365b5d-eceda119-439b-000cfc0086f3/examplevm/examplevm.vmdk" : failed to open (The parent virtual disk has been modified since the child was created).
vmx| DISKLIB-VMFS : "/vmfs/volumes/4a365b5d-eceda119-439b-000cfc0086f3/examplevm/examplevm-000002-delta.vmdk" : closed.
vmx| DISKLIB-VMFS : "/vmfs/volumes/4a365b5d-eceda119-439b-000cfc0086f3/examplevm/examplevm-000001-delta.vmdk" : closed.
vmx| DISKLIB-VMFS : "/vmfs/volumes/4a365b5d-eceda119-439b-000cfc0086f3/examplevm/examplevm-flat.vmdk" : closed.
vmx| DISKLIB-LIB : Failed to open '/vmfs/volumes/4a365b5d-eceda119-439b-000cfc0086f3/examplevm/examplevm-000002.vmdk' with flags 0xa (The parent virtual disk has been modified since the child was created).
vmx| DISK: Cannot open disk "/vmfs/volumes/4a365b5d-eceda119-439b-000cfc0086f3/examplevm/examplevm-000002.vmdk": The parent virtual disk has been modified since the child was created (18).
vmx| Msg_Post: Error
vmx| [msg.disk.noBackEnd] Cannot open the disk '/vmfs/volumes/4a365b5d-eceda119-439b-000cfc0086f3/examplevm/examplevm-000002.vmdk' or one of the snapshot disks it depends on.
vmx| [msg.disk.configureDiskError] Reason: The parent virtual disk has been modified since the child was created.----------------------------------------
vmx| Module DiskEarly power on failed.
   Note: This indicates that the file examplevm-000002.vmdk references its parent (which in itself references another parent file), one of which has been modified some time after examplevm-000002.vmdk was created. You must take corrective measures on any of these files: examplevm.vmdk, examplevm-000001.vmdk , and examplevm-000002.vmdk.
   
2. With the problem point (or points) determined, make backup copies of the disk descriptor files that require corrections or editing. In the example above, backups of examplevm.vmdk, examplevm-000001.vmdk , and examplevm-000002.vmdk are required.
   
3. Review the contents of each affected descriptor file and compare the mismatching values. For example:
   
   

   examplevm.vmdk: CID= 12a9ffab parentCID=ffffffff

   examplevm-000001.vmdk: CID=69a1c662 parentCID= 7b7644b2

   examplevm-000002.vmdk: CID=59fab513 parentCID=69a1c662

   
   Disk examplevm-000002.vmdk links to examplevm-000001.vmdk without error. However, the base disk examplevm.vmdk has been modified, causing the error.

Correcting the Content ID mismatch

At this point, the problem point has been identified, the virtual machine's files have backups, and corrections must be applied.

To correct the Content ID mismatch:

Warnings:

• The CID mechanism is in place to prevent data corruption. Depending on the changes incurred upon the parent file or files, the guest operating system may be unable to boot successfully even after making corrections. A backup recovery should be made available for such circumstances.
• The steps outlined here are potentially hazardous for your environment if they are not followed exactly. If you are not comfortable performing these steps, contact VMware Technical Support and work with them to resolve the issue.

1. Confirm that the disks reference each other:
   
   

   Example descriptor file for a base disk examplevm.vmdk: # Disk DescriptorFile version=1 CID= 12a9ffab parentCID=ffffffff createType="vmfs" # Extent description RW 20971520 VMFS " examplevm-flat.vmdk" # The Disk Data Base #DDB ddb.toolsVersion = "0" ddb.adapterType = "lsilogic" ddb.geometry.sectors = "63" ddb.geometry.heads = "255" ddb.geometry.cylinders = "1305" ddb.uuid = "60 00 C2 9f ae de ba e9-95 4e a7 a6 4e 95 c1 c1" ddb.virtualHWVersion = "4"

   Example descriptor file for delta diskexamplevm-000001.vmdk: # Disk DescriptorFile version=1 CID= 69a1c662 parentCID= 7b7644b2 createType="vmfsSparse" parentFileNameHint= "examplevm.vmdk" # Extent description RW 20971520 VMFSSPARSE "examplevm-000001-delta.vmdk" # The Disk Data Base #DDB ddb.toolsVersion = "7302"

   Example descriptor file for child delta disk examplevm-000002.vmdk: # Disk DescriptorFile version=1 CID=59fab513 parentCID= 69a1c662 createType="vmfsSparse" parentFileNameHint= "examplevm-000001.vmdk" # Extent description RW 20971520 VMFSSPARSE "examplevm-000002-delta.vmdk" # The Disk Data Base #DDB ddb.toolsVersion = "7302"

   
   Note: The linking or chain references are highlighted in blue. This example shows that examplevm-000002.vmdk as a child ofexamplevm-000001.vmdk, which in turn is a child of examplevm.vmdk. These three disk files make up a singular virtual disk from the perspective of the virtual machine and guest operating system.
   
2. Using a text editor, correct the mismatch at either of the two problem points. For more information, see Preferred Editors in Editing configuration files in VMware ESXi and ESX (1017022). You may either correct examplevm.vmdk, per this example, or theexamplevm-000001.vmdk disk file. In either circumstance, the parentCID and CID relationship must be valid.
   
   Example: examplevm.vmdk can have its CID changed to 7b7644b2, making it match examplevm-000001.vmdk's expectedparentCID value. Alternatively, examplevm-000001.vmdk's parentCID value can be changed to 12a9ffab to matchexamplevm.vmdk's base disk descriptor file's CID. You may also consider creating a CID value on your own.
   
   Note: The CID consists of eight (8) hexadecimal lower-case digits (00000000-ffffffff) with no delimiter characters.
   

Verifying the CID corrections

The corrections made to the virtual machine files are usually not immediately acknowledged in the remainder of the product. As such, subsequent power-on attempts may not succeed as yet.

To verify the CID corrections:

1. Log into the VMware vSphere Client or VMware Infrastructure Client.
2. Select the virtual machine in the Inventory and click the Summary tab.
3. Under Resources, right-click the datastore that contains the virtual machine's configuration file and select Browse. The Datastore Browser opens.
4. Locate the virtual machine's directory and files. You can minimize it for now, as it will be used in step 7.
5. Right-click the virtual machine and choose Remove from inventory.
6. When prompted, confirm your selection by clicking Yes. The virtual machine disappears from the inventory on the left.
7. Restore the Datastore Browser from step 4, right-click the virtual machine's configuration file (for example, examplevm.vmx), and choose Add to Inventory.
8. Follow the on-screen prompts to bring the virtual machine back into the inventory.
   
   Warning: Do not power on the virtual machine unless you have a valid copy or backup of all of its files. When the virtual machine has been powered on, further irreversible changes are applied to the disk structure.
   
9. When ready, power on the virtual machine and verify the guest operating system's status. A file system integrity check may be performed to seek out and repair any complications that arise from the disk chain changes that caused the initial CID mismatch.

You can also verify if the CID mismatch has been corrected by running this command against the highest level snapshot .vmdk :

vmkfstools -q snapshot_ xxxxxx#.vmdk -v10 | less

or

For ESXi 5.1:

vmkfstools -e snapshot_ xxxxxx #.vmdk

Note: If there are failed messages in the results, the CID mismatch has not been corrected or there is still a mismatch in the snapshot hierarchy.

Alternative procedure

At this point, the virtual machine should start successfully if the changes incurred were minimal. The guest operating system can exhibit varying symptoms, depending on what occurred in the snapshot.

However, if the virtual machine is not in an acceptable state, you may be required to restore from a backup copy. If one is not available, you can consider starting the virtual machine on older disks.

Example: The virtual disk referenced for the provided example is examplevm-000002.vmdk . If necessary, the virtual machine's configuration file can be modified to boot from examplevm-000001.vmdk, permanently invalidating examplevm-000002.vmdk. This may allow the guest operating system to proceed as intended, but at the cost of losing all information contained in the examplevm-000002.vmdk delta file.

You can log into a VMware ESX or VMware Command Line Interface to edit the virtual machine's configuration file, and you can copy the file from the datastore for editing on another system using a preferred text editor.

For additional information on this topic, see Editing configuration files in VMware ESXi and ESX (1017022).

If you are unable proceed, please file a support request with VMware Technical Support. For more information, see Filing a Support Request in My VMware (2006985).

THE CONTENT OF THIS ARTICLE IS PROVIDED "AS-IS," AND TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, VMWARE DISCLAIMS ALL OTHER REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THIS CONTENT, INCLUDING THEIR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, THEIR MERCHANTABILITY, OR THEIR NONINFRINGEMENT. VMWARE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OF THIS CONTENT, INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF VMWARE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Source:-
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1007969

Resource Pool Tree Depth

How many nested resource pools you can create in an ESXi Host?

Answer is 8

This is what i tested when i tried to create 9th nested resource pool then i got this message

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Opening a console to a virtual machine fails with the error: Unable to connect to the MKS: Console access to the virtual machine cannot be granted since the connection limit of 0 has been reached (2015407)

Symptoms

When you open the console of a powered on virtual machine from vCenter Server or directly on the ESXi/ESX host, you see a black screen with a message at the top of the console screen similar to:

Unable to connect to the MKS: Console access to the virtual machine cannot be granted since the connection limit of 0 has been reached.

Cause

The issue occurs because the limit on the number of simultaneous console connections set in the vSphere Web Client impacts the vSphere client console connection limit.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, deselect Limit the number of simultaneous connections to this Virtual Machine on the affected virtual machine.

 

To deselect Limit the number of simultaneous connections to this Virtual Machine:  

1. Open a session to the vSphere Web Client.
   
   https:// vcenter_server_name:9443/vsphere-client
   
2. After connecting, right-click the affected virtual machine.
3. Click Configuration > Edit Settings.   
4. Click VM options.
5. Click VMware Remote Console Options, then deselect Limit the number of simultaneous connections to this Virtual Machine.
6. Click OK.
7. Open a new console window to the virtual machine in the vSphere Client to verify.

To work around this issue, add an entry to the configuration parameters of the virtual machine.

 

To add an entry to the configuration parameters of the virtual machine:

1. Power off the virtual machine.
2. Right-click the affected virtual machine and click Edit Settings.  
3. Click the Options tab, then click General under Advanced.
4. Click Configuration Parameters.
5. Look for an entry named RemoteDisplay.maxConnections:
   
   
   • If the entry exists, set the Value to 1 or higher.
   • If the entry does not exist, click Add Row to add the parameter. The parameter details are:
     
     Name: RemoteDisplay.maxConnectionsValue: 10
     Note: Value can be set to 1 or more.
     
6. Power on the virtual machine.

Source:-

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=2015407