vToolbelt – November 2019

byArron King 11.27.2019 vToolBelt

Hello everyone!  I can’t believe it is the end of November already.  Thanksgiving is nearly upon us so I’ll keep the virtualization news light.  A few key things this month:

  • A number of core vSphere products are nearing the end of General Support (particularly vSphere 6.0 & vCenter Server 6.0).  You can find out the exact date in the Product Watch section.
  • The last Ohio SLED VMUG for 2019 is on 12/3.  We will be talking about VMware Skyline and a recap of VMworld.  Arctic Networks is sponsoring and will be presenting on the Security Operations offering. We hope to see you there!  You can register at VMUG.COM.
  • Earlier this month I sent out a message about a new Speculative Execution bug (VMSA-2019-0020).  The full remediation for this issue has 2 parts (patch the code and make a config change to enable the full fix).  The required config change is noted in the advisory but unfortunately is a bit buried.  You can find the details in KB 59139.  This is linked in the overall advisory but isn’t called out as well as it could be.  Please read the full document.  There are performance impacts – particularly for anyone running Nested Virtualization.

Upcoming Events

Ohio SLED VMUG
Date: Tuesday, December 3rd
Time: 8:30AM – 11:30AM

Topics:

  • VMware Skyline – This is a free tool available to anyone with valid support contract.  It can help make the support experience better.  If you hate uploading log bundles you need to check this out!
  • VMworld 2019 recap
  • Arctic Wolf – they are sponsoring the event and will discuss their Cyber Security Operations offering

Register at VMUG.COM

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Central Ohio VMUG – December 2019

byArron King 11.20.2019 VMUG

The last SLED VMUG of 2019 will be held on the morning of December 3rd at Tree of Life (5000 Arlington Centre Blvd Columbus, OH 43220)

Agenda:

8:30 AM – Networking and Morning Refreshments – Sponsored by Artic Wolf Networks
9:00 AM – Welcome & Introductions – VMUG Leaders & Steve Gruetter, Expedient
9:10 AM – Sponsor Presentation, Artic Wolf Networks
9:55 AM – Break
10:00 AM – VMworld Recap, VMware TAM Team
10:20 AM – Break
10:30 AM – VMware Skyline, VMware TAM Team
11:30 AM – Q & A, Wrap Up

Background on Arctic Wolf:

Arctic Wolf provides a Cyber Security Operations Center for companies that do not want to invest the time and money to build a solution.  The AWN CyberSOC differs from traditional managed security services. It is a dynamic combination of world-class Concierge Security Team (CSTs), advanced machine learning, and comprehensive, up-to-the-minute threat intelligence. Your CST conducts both routine and non-routine tasks to protect you from known and emerging threats.

We want to see you there!  Register at VMUG.COM today!

Home Lab Update – Adding a NAS

byArron King 10.22.2019 Home Lab

It has been a while since I have written about my home lab.   While the initial purpose was to help me learn, I have been using it more and more to allow me to assist customers.  It has been really useful when talking on the phone or researching topics for them.  So when I had to reconfigure it earlier this summer to brush up on the new release of Site Recovery Manager for booth duty at VMworld, I began to miss it quickly.

My lab is comprised of 3 white-box ESX hosts in a cluster with vSAN.  While each host has a local disk, the only shared storage I have is vSAN.  Normally this works just fine for my needs; but SRM requires 2 separate vSphere environments and in my 3 host scenario it meant that vSAN had to temporarily come down.  I’ve reconfigured the environment back to a single cluster with vSAN; but the exercise has made me wish I had some type of shared storage capability outside of my vSphere environment.  I know SAN/NAS for home labs isn’t a new topic these days; but I learned a few things along the way and I thought I would share in case there are others who are still doing this for the first time.

I had resisted the idea for a while mostly due to cost; but also because I wasn’t sure that I would fully utilize another piece of gear.  TL;DR  Now that I have have it – I love it and in the space of about 10 days have it setup and am getting far more out of it than I had anticipated.  Let’s break down what I am doing…

Use Cases

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vToolbelt – October 2019

byArron King 10.02.2019 vToolBelt

Hello everyone!   It may not feel like fall yet; but it is October already!  A few key things in the VMware Virtualization space this month:

  • A number of core vSphere products are nearing the end of General Support (particularly vSphere 6.0 & vCenter Server 6.0).  You can find out the exact date in the Product Watch section.
  • On October 16th, VMware will host the vForum, a live on-line virtual event that you can attend for free.  Get more details below

Upcoming Events

 

On-Line vForum (October 16th)

vForum is VMware’s largest virtual event and will provides access to the latest information on VMware technology.  It is a live on-line event that is free and does not require travel.  There will be 38 technical breakout sessions, live Q&A Video chats and Instructor Led Hands-On Labs.

Block out your calendar for the afternoon of October 16th and register today!

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vToolbelt – August 2019

byArron King 08.04.2019 vToolBelt

I’ve been on Summer Hiatus; but summer break is one of those good things that must eventually come to an end.    I hope that everyone has found some time to get away and re-charge your batteries during the busy summer season.

Upcoming Events

Central Ohio VMUG – 8/6/19
COVMUG is doing a hands-on lab with Docker & Kubernetes.  Bring your laptop for this 8a-2p meeting where you will get hands on keyboard lab time with containers.  Go to VMUG.COM and register

Ohio SLED VMUG – 8/13/19
The Ohio SLED VMUG meeting will have presentations on Day 2 Operations  by the OARnet TAMS (Matt Lydy for Gov and Arron King for EDU).  There will also be a group discussion on IT Careers in SLED.  Register at VMUG.COM

Product Watch

The following products are nearing the End of General Support.  You can find the full list on the VMware Lifecycle Product Matrix.

AirWatch Console 9.3 – 9/14/19 App Volumes 2.13 – 10/13/19
Identity Manager 3.2 – 9/14/19 NST-T
2.0, 2.1 – 9/7/19
2.2 – 9/18/19
ThinApp 4.7.3 – 10/31/19 User Environment Manager 9.3 – 1/4/19
vCenter Converter Standalone 6.2 – 12/14/19 vRealize Automation 7.3 – 12/17/19
Log Insight 4.6 – 8/23/19 vRealize Network Insight 3.9 – 12/20/19
vRealize Operations Manger 6.6 – 8/23/19 Workspace ONE UEM Console
9.4 – 11/2/19
9.5 – 1/2/20

Continue reading “vToolbelt – August 2019”

Ohio SLED VMUG Meeting – August 13

byArron King 08.03.2019 VMUG

Make plans to attend the SLED VMUG on August 13, 2019 for a meeting focused on ​what makes VMUG awesome –  its members. 

Topics

  • Introduction to Trace3 – Ben St. John & Sean Voice
  • Day 2 Operations Tips and Tricks – Arron King & Matt Lydy
  • Career Panel Discussion – Ohio SLED IT Community

When

Tuesday, August 13, 2019

8:30am-12pm

 

Where

Tree of Life

5000 Arlington Centre Blvd

Columbus, OH 43220

Tree Of Life Center

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to attend

Go to VMUG.COM and register

Central Ohio VMUG Meeting – August 6 2019 – Docker & Kubernetes

byArron King 07.24.2019 VMUG

The next Central Ohio VMUG (COVMUG) will be held on August 6, 2019. The focus of this meeting will be Docker & Kubernetes in a VMware environment. If this interests you, block off your calendar and register today for this hands-on event!

Don’t forget to bring your laptop and your VMware MyLearn account.  During this meeting you will:

  • Be very hands-on
  • Learn basic Docker and Kubernetes fundamentals
  • Use that knowledge in hands-on labs
  • Deploy, operate, and troubleshoot applications in those Docker & Kubernetes environments

Note:  This is a six-hour event and lunch will be provided.

When

Tuesday, August 6, 2019

8am-2pm

 

Where

Tree of Life

5000 Arlington Centre Blvd

Columbus, OH 43220

Tree Of Life Center

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to attend

Go to VMUG.COM and register

Bring your laptop, power cord and your VMware MyLearn account

Adding Async VMware Tools versions to Update Manager

byArron King 06.14.2019 Update Manager VMware Tools vSphere

Why aren’t VMware Tools at the right version on patched hosts?

A customer called with a question about updating VMware Tools as part of a recent security patch (https://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2019-0009.html).    The patch resolves an address out-of-bounds vulnerability in VMware Tools that was present in certain versions of the software (10.2.x and 10.3.x prior to 10.3.10).  He wanted to install the new version; but the VMware Tools installations on his VMs indicated they were current; but still were running an affected version.  His hosts were patched and up-to-date.  He knew he could manually update VMware Tools on each of his VMs; but was hoping there was an easier way – and there is!

The status of VMware Tools on a virtual machine is relative to the the host.  Typically VMware Tools updates are delivered through an ESXi patch.  In this case, the VMware Tools 10.3.10 release hasn’t been rolled into an ESXi patch yet.  It will be shortly.  The amount of testing that goes into an ESXi patch requires a good amount of time.  When VMware patches VMware Tools like they did in the case of this vulnerability, they release it to customers so they can deploy the fix sooner if they choose.  VMware calls this an Async release.

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