Feb 14 2009 11:22PM GMT
Posted by: Raj Perumal
Windows Services for Unix,
Windows services for Unix 3.5,
NFS,
SFU,
MMC,
Mount Windows Share as NFS Share,
mount windows folder as NFS share,
NFS Server for Windows,
Windows 2003,
backups,
virtual machine backups,
VMware backups,
backup ESXi,
backups VMware ESXi,
VMware ESXi,
VMware ESX,
backup free vmware,
VCB,
backup without VCB,
backup script,
ghettoVCB,
ghetto VCB,
ghettoVCB.sh,
William Lam,
lamw,
http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-8760,
how to implement ghettoVCB,
how to backup virtual machine,
how to backup ESXi,
how to backup ESX,
how to backup VMware,
file level backup,
virtual machine level backup,
putty,
plink,
Allegro NFS,
how to backup virtual machines,
script to backup vmware
Hello again folks! As I had mentioned previously, I want to talk a little bit about configuring NFS in Windows. Since last we spoke I had mentioned using the Allegro NFS product and that I was considering purchasing it after my trial was over.
NFS is a great solution to use along with the ghettoVCB scripts I mentioned in my previous posts. This way you can backup your virtual machines to USB storage connected to a workstation or server.
Well my trial is over and I have now purchased it for use in my home lab. I have to say it works flawlessly. I experimented with some free NFS software that is out there but nothing seemed to work perfectly. I found that a lot of products would just stop working after a period of time and then you’d have to restart the service or program in question.
Allegro NFS is pretty easy to configure. You start the program, you specify the windows path name you want to share out via NFS, then you specify the hosts and rights you want to give to the share. Then you just go to your client computer and mount the NFS share as you normally would. Pretty straightforward, it doesn’t get any easier than this. This is a great solution for users using workstation operating systems such as Windows Vista to share out external USB drives as NAS storage.
However if you want to use a workable free solution in your server environment then I would suggest using the Windows Services for Unix download with your Windows 2003 install. To get this working please do the following:
- Download the files /etc/passwd and /etc/group from your ESX or ESXi server using WinSCP
- Create a folder on your C drive called c:\nfs and place the passwd and group files in there
- Download Windows Services for Unix 3.5 from here and install it
- Make sure you install the Server for NFS and User Mapping components during the install
- During the user mapping configuration portion of the install, choose Local User Name Mapping Server and choose Password and Group files
- In the User Name mapping screen type in the path name for the passwd and group files (c:\nfs\passwd and c:\nfs\group)
- After it’s installed, click on Start and Run then type MMC
- Add the Windows Services for Unix Snap-in to the MMC console
- Select User Name Mapping on the left hand pane and then select the MAPS section in the right hand pane
- Ensure Simple Maps is checked and then click on Show User Maps
- Then click on list Windows Users and list UNIX users
- Select Administrator from the Windows user list and select root from the UNIX users list and then click Add
- Check the Display simple maps in Mapped users list checkbox
- Click on Apply in the top right hand corner of the MMC console
- Close the MMC console
- Create a folder and right click on it and choose Sharing and Security
- Click on the NFS Sharing tab
- Click share this folder and give it a share name, in this example we’ll call it NFSBackup
- Click on permissions
- Check the Allow root access box
- Change the Type of Access drop down menu to Read-Write and then click OK and then click OK again
Now you can mount the share from VMware. When you go to add NFS storage just point it at the IP of the server and the path. So if the server’s IP address is 192.168.1.10 for example, then the serer name would be 192.168.1.10 and the NFS path would be /NFSBackup.
That’s it!
-Cheers, RP
Feb 8 2009 12:29AM GMT
Posted by: Raj Perumal
backups,
virtual machine backups,
VMware backups,
backup ESXi,
backups VMware ESXi,
VMware ESXi,
VMware ESX,
backup free vmware,
VCB,
backup without VCB,
backup script,
ghettoVCB,
ghetto VCB,
ghettoVCB.sh,
William Lam,
lamw,
http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-8760,
how to implement ghettoVCB,
how to backup virtual machine,
how to backup ESXi,
how to backup ESX,
how to backup VMware,
file level backup,
virtual machine level backup,
putty,
plink,
NFS,
Windows services for Unix 3.5,
Allegro NFS,
schedule ESXi ghettoVCB.sh,
schedule jobs in ESXi,
cron,
crond,
crontab,
cron jobs,
how to backup virtual machines
So continued from my previous blogs, I wanted to discuss scheduling jobs in ESXi. Due to the way ESXi is made, you cannot edit the cron jobs and expect them to still be there with their changes past a reboot. Rebooting an ESXi server clears the cron jobs. The cron jobs reset back to their default settings.
In my last blog post I spoke of a program called Plink. Plink is a command line interface to Putty. This allows us to connect to an SSH session from the command line. This can be leveraged using batch scripting and windows scheduled tasks to schedule ESXi jobs.
For my example I will show you how to schedule the ghettoVCB.sh script I spoke about in my last blog entry. Please see my detailed instructions on how to do this in my blog post here.
-RP
Feb 7 2009 11:09PM GMT
Posted by: Raj Perumal
backups,
virtual machine backups,
VMware backups,
backup ESXi,
backups VMware ESXi,
VMware ESXi,
VMware ESX,
backup free vmware,
VCB,
backup without VCB,
backup script,
ghettoVCB,
ghetto VCB,
ghettoVCB.sh,
William Lam,
lamw,
http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-8760,
how to implement ghettoVCB,
how to backup virtual machine,
how to backup ESXi,
how to backup ESX,
how to backup VMware,
file level backup,
virtual machine level backup,
putty,
plink,
NFS,
Windows services for Unix 3.5,
Allegro NFS,
how to backup virtual machines,
script to backup vmware
Hello again, so here we go continued from my previous post. I am going to explain how to implement this script in VMware ESXi as this is the most likely way people will be using this script. Most peole using the full VMware ESX version will probably go with a commercial 3rd party product backup solution.
So in order to implement this script you will first have to enable SSH access to the ESXi server. You can do this by following my enable SSH instructions in my blog post here.
Then after you have enabled SSH, please follow my detailed instructions in my blog post here.
-Cheers, RP
Feb 7 2009 6:10AM GMT
Posted by: Raj Perumal
backups,
virtual machine backups,
VMware backups,
backup ESXi,
backups VMware ESXi,
VMware ESXi,
VMware ESX,
backup free vmware,
VCB,
backup without VCB,
backup script,
ghettoVCB,
ghetto VCB,
ghettoVCB.sh,
William Lam,
lamw,
http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-8760,
how to implement ghettoVCB,
how to backup virtual machine,
how to backup ESXi,
how to backup ESX,
how to backup VMware,
file level backup,
virtual machine level backup,
how to backup virtual machines,
script to backup vmware
Hello again folks! Today I wanted to talk a little bit about virtual machine backups. When backing up in a virtual environment there are two types of backups you are looking at. File level backups and virtual machine level backups.
File level backups are self explantory, they are the backups you run with backup software to backup the individual files, folders and system state data on a server. Everyone should already be doing these kinds of backups.
Virtual machine level backups are backups of the entire virtual machine itself. Virtual machine backups consist of the actual files that make up the entire virtual machine. For example in the case of VMware, the vmdk and vmx files for example. By backing these files up, you can restore the entire virtual machine to another location if your ESX server and the storage area that holds the virtual machine blows up. You can install a new ESX server and restore the entire virtual machine to a new storage location managed by a new ESX host.
One of my favorite products to do this is the free script from William Lam called GhettoVCB. You can read more details about it in my post here.
-RP
Feb 6 2009 4:54PM GMT
Posted by: Raj Perumal
VMware ESXi,
Enable SSH,
Enable SSH on ESXi,
Enable SSH on VMware ESXi,
shell access,
BusyBox,
Linux,
/etc/inetd.conf,
vi,
#ssh,
ESX,
VMware ESX,
script,
scripts,
scripting,
unsupported
For those of you that are used to having service console access in VMware ESX server, you might find yourself in for a bit of surprise when you try and do this with ESXi. By default you do not have access. However there is a way to enable access to the console.
Why do you need access to the console? With access to the console this gives you the ability to troubleshoot larger support issues when things aren’t working the way they should and it also enables you to run some pretty cool scripts that are available out there on the Internet.
The ESXi console uses BusyBox so it is different from ESX even after you get console access. To enable SSH access to the shell, please do the following:
- From the ESXi console hit Alt-F1
- Type in the word unsupported and hit enter (you will not see the characters appear on the screen)
- Type in your root password
- Edit the /etc/inetd.conf file by typing in vi /etc/inetd.conf
- Scroll through the file until you find the line that says #ssh and delete the # sign
- Save the file
- Now you can reboot the ESXi server and you will have shell access
- Alternatively you can run the /sbin/services.sh restart command to restart the management services without rebooting the box.
-RP
Jul 5 2008 7:30PM GMT
Posted by: Raj Perumal
server consolidation,
Virtualization,
VMWare,
HP,
blade servers,
UPS,
electricity,
virtual machines,
VMware ESX,
HP BladeSystem c3000,
power efficiency,
Power and cooling,
power planning,
circuits,
power calculator
One of the most overlooked items during a server implementation is power planning. I have seen many administrators get excited about ordering their new servers or other network equipment, plan the outage for the day of the install and then once they have all their equipment realize that they can’t even plug them in because they either have the wrong type of outlets or they don’t have enough circuits or UPS’.
Here are a few tips to follow when power planning:
- Always get dual power supplies for your servers, it doesn’t cost much more to purchase these and it’s worth the extra money.
- Always plug dual power supplies into separate UPS’ and plug the UPS’ into separate circuits. There is no point plugging them into the same UPS and/or circuit. This gives you a single point of failure and basically defeats the purpose of having two power supplies in the first place.
- Power strips for racks with readouts for the amount of amps being drawn are great for seeing how much of a load your are placing on circuit. Many different companies sell these.
- A cheap meter for measuring the draw on a piece of equipment can be your best friend in troubleshooting issues. Sometimes a large enough power spike during boot up can trip a breaker and you can use a meter to determine what’s going on.
- Use an online power calculator before your installation day to determine how many circuits, UPS’, power cords, etc. you will need for all of your equipment. Then budget accordingly. It can be quite embarrasing if you don’t think about this beforehand and you get stuck up the creek without a paddle on the implementation day.
- If you are worried about increased power costs, look into blade systems and virtualization. The amount of money and energy you can save is quite substantial.
- Do some reading on electricity if you don’t understand all the terms. There are plenty of resources out there on the web.
-RP
Jul 4 2008 1:54PM GMT
Posted by: Raj Perumal
Microsoft Windows,
Virtualization,
VMWare,
virtual machines,
VMware ESX,
Windows Server 2008,
IT consultant,
Windows Server 2008 Core,
VMWare tools
Hi folks, if you have ever used VMWare before, then you will be familiar with the VMWare Tools. This is a set of tools you can install into a guest os in VMWare to allow better functionality with your virtual machine. However this is a graphical install and it isn’t exactly clear how to run VMWare Tools if you have installed Windows Server 2008 in Core mode in your virtual environment.
Just recently I ran into this problem while running some testing and was able to do it by choosing to install VMWare tools first and then changing drive letters to the d:. Then I ran the setup.exe file to start the VMWare Tools installer.
This started the VMWare Tools gui. However this throws a DLL error on the screen. Just go to task manager during the install and kill the rundll process. Then click past any errors and the install should finish without a hitch. I used the “typical” install mode.
Then reboot the virtual machine and when the server comes back up you should have a working guest os with Windows Server 2008 Core and VMWare Tools installed!
-RP
Jul 2 2008 3:09PM GMT
Posted by: Raj Perumal
Virtualization,
VMWare,
BlackBerry,
virtual machines,
BES,
VMware ESX,
Blackberry Enterprise Server,
IT consultant,
ESX Server
Hi folks, today I’d like to talk about BES installations. I find that BES is one of those server installations that lends itself well to virtualization. You see I like to run BES on it’s own server so if you need to reboot it or perform any maintenance, it won’t affect other services.
Of course buying a brand new server just for BES isn’t exactly cost effective. This is where virtualization comes in. Using VMWare you can easily setup a tiny VM with minimal resources just for BES. The downside to this however is that how are you going to plug in a BlackBerry directly to the BES server via USB cable if you need to troubleshoot a BlackBerry device that isn’t synchronizing properly wirelessly?
Well the solution to this is actually pretty straightforward. In most virtualized environments you will usually have one server that is not virtual (a management server as I like to call them), that allows you to manage the virtualized environment with all the administration tools installed on it and perhaps even backup software to backup or replicate the virtual machines to another location. On this same server you can just install the Blackberry Management console and point it at the BES server. This way you can plug in USB devices to the physical management server and the devices will communicate with your virtual BES server.
-RP
Jun 28 2008 5:40PM GMT
Posted by: Raj Perumal
server consolidation,
VMWare,
HP,
blade servers,
blades,
virtual machines,
VMware ESX,
virtual,
HP BladeSystem c3000,
ESX Server,
power efficiency,
thermal,
Power and cooling
There is one commonality here in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Lots of servers, using a lot of power. Being a province that generates our own Hydro, we have pretty cheap electricity without having to worry about the expense of power like other provinces or states do. However this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be a little more green to help out the rest of the world.
It is quite often I will see server rooms filled with racks and racks of servers with no heed paid to virtualization at all. A lot of people believe it or not, still haven’t even heard of it as they are busy focusing on other things in their business and don’t keep their ear to the ground in the IT world. It’s at times like these that I like to point out the benefits of virtualization.
You can easily take an HP C3000 blade enclosure (this enclosure, aka the “shorty” is targeted at the SMB market) and fill it with server blades, a tape blade and a storage blade, and consolidate racks worth of servers down into 6U of space. Then you can install VMWare ESX Server on the server blades and potentially have tons of virtual machines per blade server. If you haven’t looked into these technologies lately I suggest you do, they are the next big thing in IT and have just been getting better and better.
By doing this you can save your company money on power, thermal, physical space constraints, and sheer amount of servers and racks you have to buy. Also by implementing VMWare on a blade enclosure, you increase the level of redundancy you have greatly over what you would typically have in standard configuration of one server installation per rack mounted server by taking advantage of the features available to you in VMWare and in the blade enclosure.
-RP
