Power On VM with vMA When VM Power On Needs an Input

When sometime we are trying to power on the VM from vSphere Client VM needs some input like this:-

Now how we can power on this VM from vMA and Can Provide the Answer

1. First you need to PowerOn the VM using below cmd

vmware-cmd <cfg> start

2. It will be hung at question prompt Press Ctrl+C and then enter the below command

vmware-cmd <cfg> answer

Answering a virtual machine related question from the command line(1026835)

Symptoms

• You are unable to start a virtual machine after you copy or move it to a different host.
• You are unable to start a virtual machine after resolving a problem with a datastore.
• No questions are displayed in the vSphere Client.

Resolution

This issue may occur if:

• You do not have vSphere Client.
• vSphere Client cannot connect to the host to answer the initial question.
• vSphere Client cannot connect to vCenter Server to answer the initial question.

To resolve this issue, run a vim-cmd command that sends the answer for the startup question to the virtual machine.

 

To run the command:

1. Check for the question in the vmware.log file in the virtual machine directory. For example:
   
   Mar 30 06:03:52.988: vmx| Msg_Question:
   Mar 30 06:03:52.988: vmx| [msg.uuid.altered] This virtual machine may have been moved or copied.
   Mar 30 06:03:52.988: vmx|
   Mar 30 06:03:52.988: vmx| In order to configure certain management and networking features VMware ESX needs to know which.
   Mar 30 06:03:52.988: vmx|
   Mar 30 06:03:52.988: vmx| Did you move this virtual machine, or did you copy it?
   Mar 30 06:03:52.988: vmx| If you don't know, answer "I copied it".
   Mar 30 06:03:52.988: vmx|
   Mar 30 06:03:52.988: vmx| ----------------------------------------
   
2. If you have received the question, run this command to determine the virtual machine ID:
   
   [root@user ~]# vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms
   80 VC4.1-user [datastore1] VC4.1-user/VC4.1-user.vmx winLonghorn64Guest vmx-07
   
   For example, in this output, the virtual machine ID is 80.
   
3. Run this command to get the question ID:
   
   root@user ~]# vim-cmd vmsvc/message 80
   
   You see output similar to:
   
   Virtual machine message 12:
   msg.uuid.altered:This virtual machine may have been moved or copied.
   
   To configure certain management and networking features VMware ESX needs to know which.
   
   Did you move this virtual machine, or did you copy it?
   If you don't know, answer "I copied it".
   
   0. Cancel (Cancel)
   1. I _moved it (I _moved it)
   2. I _copied it (I _copied it) [default]
   
   In this example the question ID is 12, and there are three choices: 0, 1, 2.
   
4. To answer the question, run this command with the virtual machine ID and the Question ID followed by the choice number.
   
   [root@user ~]# vim-cmd vmsvc/message VM_ID 12 2
   For example to answer the question with choice 2, run:
   
   [root@user ~]# vim-cmd vmsvc/message 80 12 2
   The parameters in order are: 80 is the virtual machine ID, 12 is the question ID, and 2 is the choice number.
   
   Note: In vSphere Client 5.x, if you see Virtual machine message _vmx1, run the command:
    
   [root@user ~]# vim-cmd vmsvc/message VM_ID _vmx1 2
   
   
   Source:-
   http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1026835

No Performance Data available in Overview Performance Graph in vSphere Client running on Windows Server 2003

When you will try to access Overview Performance Graph  in vSphere Client running on Windows Server 2003 you will get this message

Now to resolve this Issue you need Windows Server 2003 Hotfix. In my case i was using the Windows Server 2003 -64 Bit so i downloaded it for this version. Link for the hotfix is

(http://hotfixv4.microsoft.com/Windows%20Server%202003/sp3/Fix192447/3790/free/351403_ENU_x64_zip.exe)

I installed this hotfix on my vSphere Client Machine and Restarted the machine after installing it and after that Performance Data is available in the Overview Performance Graph.

ESXi "Management Network" Checkbox. What is the use of this?

The feature described as “Management traffic” does nothing more than enabling that VMkernel NIC for HA heartbeat traffic. Yes that is it. Even if you disable this feature, management traffic, you can still use the VMkernel’s associated IP address for adding it to vCenter Server. You can still SSH that VMkernel associated IP address if you have SSH enabled. So keep that in mind.

Yes I fully agree, very confusing but there you have it: the “management traffic” enables the HA heartbeat network, nothing more and nothing less.

Special Thanks to Duncan Epping 

vCenter Lookup Service

vCenter Lookup Service is a component of vCenter Single Sign On. Lookup Service registers the location of vSphere components so they can securely find and communicate with each other.

The vCenter Single Sign-On installer also deploys the VMware Lookup Service on the host. The Lookup Service enables different components of vSphere to find one another in a secure way. When you install vSphere components after vCenter Single Sign-On, you must provide the Lookup Service URL. The Inventory Service and the vCenter Server installers ask for the Lookup Service URL and then contact the Lookup Service to find vCenter Single Sign-On. After installation, the Inventory Service and vCenter Server are registered in Lookup Service so other vSphere components, like the vSphere Web Client, can find them.

Manage Default Domains for vCenter Single Sign On

Each identity source known to vCenter Single Sign On is associated with a domain. You can specify one or more default domains. vCenter Single Sign On uses default domains to authenticate users when a user name is provided without a domain name.

If a user name exists in more than one of the specified default domains, Single Sign On attempts to authenticate the user against each domain in the order listed. Authentication succeeds with the first domain that accepts the credentials that the user provided. By default, Single Sign On first validates the user against the local operating system identity source.

Procedure

1	Browse to Administration > Sign-On and Discovery > Configuration in the vSphere Web Client.
2	On the Identity Sources tab, select a domain and click Add to Default Domains.
3	Click the Save icon. The domain is added to the list of default domains.
4	(Optional) To change the order of the default domains, use the Move Up and Move Down arrows and click Save.
5	To remove a domain from the list, select the domain and click Remove.
6	Click the Save icon. The domain is removed from the Default Domains list, but it remains in the list of identity sources.

VMFS UUID Components

The UUID is comprised of four components as you can see in this example VMFS UUID: 4fbfff40-d0358207-e61a-d067e5face92

System Time (4fbfff40)

CPU Timestamp (d0358207)

Random Number (e61a)

MAC Address – Management Port uplink of the host used to resignature or create the datastore (d067e5face92)

Network port diagram for vSphere 5.x (2054806)

This article provides a network diagram and reference sheet for vSphere 5.x.

Link for this PDF is:-
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/viewAttachment.do?attachID=NetworkPortDiagram-vSphere5x-ReferenceTable-v2.pdf&documentID=2054806

Authentication Scenario's in Vmware

SSO Unavailability Impact on vCenter Server Login when Connecting with vCenter via vSphere Client

This article is to explain the SSO Unavailability Impact on vCenter Server Login when Connecting with vCenter via vSphere Client
In my test lab SSO is running in the appliance and vCenter Server is Windows Based Machine and on vCenter Server to a Domain User (named admin01) administrator role is given by me and my domain name is vclass.local.

Test Performed when SSO is not available:-

1. To Make the SSO unavailable i stopped the service of the sso in Appliance. For this
     a. I Connected with the appliance through putty.
     b. Then i checked the sso Service with this command:-
           chkconfig --list

     c. Then following command is executed by me to stop the vCenter SSO Service

2. Then From the vSphere Client i tried to connect with my windows based vCenter Server. Then i got this message

Test Performed when SSO is available:-

1. To Make the SSO unavailable i stopped the service of the sso in Appliance. For this
     a. I Connected with the appliance through putty.
     b. Then i checked the sso Service with this command:-
           chkconfig --list



  c. Then following command is executed by me to start the vCenter SSO Service

2. Then From the vSphere Client i tried to connect with my windows based vCenter Server and it was successful

That's Done !!!!!!!!

Change vSphere Web Client Default Port from 9443 to any other port

You can change the vSphere 5.1 Web Client Frontend port post-install by editing the following config file on the Web Client server:

C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\vSphereWebClient\server\config\tomcat-server.xml

Find the entry below and edit the port accordingly:

<Connector port="9443" protocol="HTTP/1.1" SSLEnabled="true" maxThreads="500" scheme="https" [...]

Restart the Web Client service afterwards for the change to take effect.

That's Done!!!!!!

Configuring the speed and duplex of an ESXi/ESX host network adapter (1004089)

Purpose

Configuring the speed and duplex of a network link is important for reliable network operation. This article shows how to configure these parameters on an ESXi/ESX host.

Resolution

ESXi/ESX recommended settings for Gigabit-Ethernet speed and duplex while connecting to a physical switch port:

• Auto Negotiate <-> Auto Negotiate (For 1 Gbps)
• Auto Negotiate <-> Auto Negotiate (For 10 Gbps, supported only by ESXi/ESX 3.5 Update 1 and above)
  
  Note: When working with 10 GB Fiber Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) configurations, Auto Negotiate may not be supported or recommended.
  
• 1000 MB / Full Duplex <-> 1000 MB / Full Duplex
• VMware does not recommend mixing a hard-coded setting with Auto-negotiate.
• Fast Ethernet – 100 MB /Full Duplex <-> 100 MB /Full Duplex
• For more information on Virtual Switch properties, see this section in the vSphere Networking Guide:
  
      Advanced Networking > Virtual Switch properties > Editing Virtual Switch properties

Duplex Mismatch

• A common issue with speed/duplex is when the duplex settings are mismatched between two switches, between a switch and a router or between the switch and a workstation or server.
• This can occur when manually hard coding the speed and duplex or from auto negotiation issues between the two devices.
  
  
  
  The advantages of utilizing auto negotiation on Gigabit-Ethernet Interfaces:
• Auto negotiation is highly recommended on ESXi/ESX Gigabit-Ethernet Interface cards and physical Gigabit switch ports for these reasons:
  
  
  • Although hard coding the speed and duplex will work and is in the documentation, in some cases there are performance issues after an ESXi/ESX upgrade 3.5 – setting the configuration to Auto Negotiate seems to resolve performance issues.
    
  • It resolves issues with iSCSI, vMotion, network performance, and related network issues.
    
  • Duplex settings: While Cisco devices only support full duplex, the IEEE 802.3z standard does have support for half duplex Gigabit-Ethernet. Because of this, duplex is negotiated between Gigabit-Ethernet devices.
    
  • Flow Control: Because of the amount of traffic that can be generated by Gigabit-Ethernet, there is a PAUSE functionality built into Gigabit-Ethernet.
    
    The PAUSE frame is a packet that tells the far-end device to stop the transmission of packets until the sender is able to handle all the traffic and clear its buffers. The PAUSE frame has a timer included, which tells the far-end device when to start to send packets again. If that timer expires without getting another PAUSE frame, the far-end device can then send packets again. Flow Control is an optional item and must be negotiated. Devices can be capable of sending or responding to a PAUSE frame, and it is possible they will not agree to the flow-control request of the far-end.
• Fast Ethernet – 100 / Full <–> 100 / Full: VMware recommends forcing the network adapter on the ESX server host and the physical switch port to which it connects to 100 / Full when using 100 MB links with an ESX server host.

Configuring the speed and duplex of the ESXi/ESX server network adapter using the vSphere / Virtual Infrastructure Client

To configure the speed and duplex of the ESXi/ESX host network adapter using the vSphere Client:

1. Log into the ESXi/ESX host using the vSphere Client as the root user or a user with equivalent permissions.
   
2. Highlight the ESXi/ESX server host and click the Configuration tab.
   
3. Click the Networking link.
   
4. Click Properties next to the appropriate virtual switch.
   
5. Click the Network Adapters tab.
   
6. Highlight the desired network adapter, and click Edit.
   
7. Select appropriate speed and duplex from the dropdown.
   
   
   

About the esxcfg-nics command, which is used to configure Network Interface Cards

• esxcfg-nics <options> [nic] 
  
  The esxcfg-nics command provides information about the physical NICs in use by the VMkernel.
  
  This will print the VMkernel name for the NIC, its PCI ID, driver, link state, speed, duplex, and a short PCI description of the card. It also allows users to set speed and duplex settings for a specific NIC.
  
  OPTIONS
  
  • -s --speed speed 
    Set the speed at which a given card should run. It must be one of 10, 100, 1000, or 10000.
    
  • -d --duplex duplex 
    Set the duplex value which a given card should run.
    
  • -a --autoSet the given NIC to auto-negotiate its speed and duplex settings.
    
  • -l --listList the NICs in the system, and print their current and configured speed and duplex.
    
  • -r --restore 
    Restore NIC settings from persistent storage. This should only be used only on system startup and should not be used by users.
    
  Note: For information on ESX 2.5 and earlier, see Setting Network Adapter Speed in ESX Server (813).

Configuring the speed and duplex of the ESXi/ESX host network adapter at the service console

To configure the speed and duplex of the host network adapter using the service console:

1. Log into the ESXi/ESX host as the root user.
   
   
   • For more information on the ESX Service Console, see Unable to connect to an ESX host using Secure Shell (SSH) (1003807).
   • For more information on ESXi Tech Support Mode for 3.5 and 4.0, see Tech Support Mode for Emergency Support (1003677).
   • For more information on ESXi Tech Support Mode for 4.1 and 5.0, see Using Tech Support Mode in ESXi 4.1 and ESXi 5.x (1017910).
     
2. To list the available network adapters and their current settings, run this command:
   
   [root@server root]# esxcfg-nics -l
   
   Name PCI Driver Link Speed Duplex Description
   vmnic0 04:04.00 tg3 Up 1000Mbps Full BCM5780 Gigabit Ethernet
   vmnic1 04:04.01 tg3 Up 1000Mbps Full BCM5780 Gigabit Ethernet 
   
3. These examples illustrate how to change the speed and duplex of a host network adapter:
   
   
   • Configure vmnic1 for auto negotiation:
     
     [root@server root]# esxcfg-nics -a vmnic1
     
   • Force vmnic1 to operate at 100 / Full:
     
     [root@server root]# esxcfg-nics -s 100 -d full vmnic1 
     Note: Type esxcfg-nics without parameters to get full usage information.
     
4. For ESXi 5.0, use this command:
   
   esxcli network nic set -n vmnic# -S speed -D duplex 

Source:-

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1004089