esxcfg and vmkload_mod

esxcfg-module and the older school vmkload_mod both provide about the same information when listing loaded VMkernel modules. However, a few of the differences that set the tools apart are:

Only esxcfg-module can enable/disable modules
Only vmkload_mod can interactively load/unload modules
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Build a network boot disk

Build a network boot disk for VMware guest VMs
Save time and effort by using Bart’s Network Boot Disk. This especially holds true if you're not interested in modifying network boot disk files by hand which was one of the purposes behind Bart’s solution. You must own a Microsoft Windows 98 operating system license.

http://www.boche.net/blog/index.php/2008/11/25/build-a-network-boot-disk-for-vmware-guest-vms/
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VMware vSphere 4.0

What's New in VMware vSphere 4.0
Performance Charts Enhancements — Performance charts are now enhanced to provide a single view of all performance metrics, such as CPU, memory, disk, and network without navigating through multiple charts. See the Performance Charts Online Help and vSphere Basic System Administration http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_admin_guide.pdf
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License per CPU

Applications that license per CPU will cost extra money in a vSMP VM. The following unsupported tweak may allow the application to see logical CPUs instead of physical CPUs:
1. Power off the VM & Edit the VM settings
2. Options tab
3. General (in the Advanced options section)
4. Configuration Parameters
5. Add Row
6. Enter "cpuid.coresPerSocket" in the Name column
7. Enter a value of 2 or 4 in the Value column
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Lab Manager Media Library

Files that are uploaded to the Lab Manager Media Library are not automatically seen by the Lab Manager users. The Media Library must be synchronized first. Synchronization updates the Lab Manager database with the files that exist on the datastore. One of the purposes behind this is so that files become objects in the Lab Manager database and Lab Manager can control permissions to the objects.
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What's New in VMware vSphere 4.0

What's New in VMware vSphere 4.0
VMware Data Recovery — VMware Data Recovery leverages virtual machine snapshots to make a precise copy in a short amount of time, and it includes data deduplication to save on disk storage that is consumed by backups. See the VMware Data Recovery Administrator’s Guide http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vdr_10_admin.pdf
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VMware network communication ports

VMware Network Communication Ports (ESX 3.5 & VC 2.5)
443, 902, 903, 2049, 2050-2250,
3260, 8000, 8042-8045, 27000, 27010

For a few different diagrams, see:
http://www.boche.net/blog/index.php/2008/12/12/new-vmware-vi-network-port-diagram-request-for-comments/
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vCenter 4.0 license keys

vCenter 4.0 license keys do not license VI3 legacy hosts. A VI3 license server or host based license keys must be plugged into vCenter 4.0 in order to properly license VI3 legacy hosts.
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How to recover the root password

How to recover the root password on an ESX 2.x host in single user mode

Reboot the host.
At the LILO prompt select "linux" adding -s to the end of the line (it should read linux -s).
At the bash prompt, type the command 'passwd' to reset the root password.
http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1317898
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VMware VMotion & CPU Compatibility

VMware VMotion & CPU Compatibility
This document discusses CPU compatibility & outlines the checks performed by VMware vCenter before allowing migration with VMotion. It details differences in features amp; extensions in current CPUs & describes procedures that could be used to relax some CPU compatibility constraints to facilitate VMotion.
http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/vmotion_info_guide.pdf
See also http://bit.ly/hgRRg
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Timekeeping best practices for Linux

Timekeeping best practices for Linux
The following recommendations include specifics on the kernel command line options to use for the Linux operating system. Descriptions are included for NTP time sync, configuration of VMware Tools time synchronization, and Virtual Hardware Clock configuration, to achieve best timekeeping results.
http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1006427
See also: http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1011771
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Virtualization Quote of the Day

Each Lab Manager 3 installation should have a unique system name. The system name is used through various Lab Manager tasks. It is important to select an appropriate system name during installation because the system name cannot be changed later.
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Compressed tarball of files and sub-folders

At the ESX Service Console, to create a compressed tarball of files and sub-folders, use the following command:
tar -czf tarballname.tar.gz /directory/

To list the files in a compressed .tgz file:
tar -tzf tarballname.tgz

To extract a tarball:
tar -xzvf tarballname.tar.gz
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VI3 License File Locations

VI3 License File Locations

Centralized server based license files are located on the vCenter License Server in the default directory of C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware License Server\Licenses

Decentralized host based server license files are located on the ESX host at /etc/vmware/vmware.lic
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What's New in VMware vSphere 4.0

What's New in VMware vSphere 4.0
IPv6 Support — Adds support for IPv6 for the ESX/ESXi VMkernel, service console, and vCenter Server. Manage ESX and ESXi hosts through vCenter Server in mixed IPv4/IPv6 environments. See the ESX Configuration Guide and the ESXi Configuration Guide http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_esx_server_config.pdf http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_esxi_server_config.pdf
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BIOS setting for stable operation

Virtrix blogger Vincent Vlieghe pulled some information together on running ESX on Compaq/Proliant servers. He talks about a recommend BIOS setting for stable operation.

System Options - OS Selection: Select Windows 2000
Advanced Options - MPS Table Mode: Select Full Table APIC
For DL740 & 760 servers, set the OS to Linux

Take a look:
http://virtrix.blogspot.com/2006/07/hp-proliant-and-compaq-mps-table-bios.html
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VMware IPO

On this day in 2006, EMC Corporation releases 10% of the company's shares in VMware in an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock debuted at $29 per share and closed the day at $51 per share.
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VMware IPO

On this day in 2006, VMware, Inc. announced that the IPO of 33,000,000 shares of its Class A Common Stock has been priced at $29 per share. Shares will begin trading August 14, 2007 on the NYSE under the ticker symbol "VMW".
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What's New in VMware vSphere 4.0

What's New in VMware vSphere 4.0
vCenter Server Linked Mode - vCenter Server systems can be interconnected in Linked Mode, which allows administrators to share roles and licenses across multiple connected vCenter Servers. Administrators get an overview of all inventory by launching a single vSphere Client session. See vSphere Basic System Administration http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_admin_guide.pdf
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RDM versus a traditional non-RDM

In most cases, there are no performance benefits to using an RDM versus a traditional non-RDM virtual disk in a VM. There are 2 exceptions:

1) For sequential reads and writes, RDM provides slightly better I/O performance at smaller I/O block sizes.

2) As I/O block size increases, CPU cycles per I/O increases for VMFS compared to RDM.
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VMware ESX and ESXi Comparison

VMware ESX and ESXi Comparison

One of the most frequently asked questions and perhaps the most inconsistently or incompletely answered is "ESX and ESXi - what's the difference?". The following KB article explains on a feature by feature basis. The biggest differences are lack of a service console and generally thinner perception of ESXi, however, there exists many more subtle differences.

http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1006543
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DRS: Decisions.. Decisions...

DRS: Decisions.. Decisions...

Virtual Infrastructure revolves around 4 core resources: CPU, Memory, Disk, & Network. DRS is a service that balances the workload of an ESX cluster based on resource utilization. However, DRS only evaluates 2 of the 4 core resources: CPU & Memory which are the 2 biggest bottlenecks, with Disk being a close 3rd.

DRS examines the cluster workload balance every 5 minutes, or 12 times per hour.
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Virtualizing Existing Domain Controllers

Virtualizing Existing Domain Controllers

Contrary to some beliefs, Domain Controllers make fine virtualization candidates with the right sizing and adherence to best practices. There are two approaches to DC virtualization: Creating new virtual DCs from scratch, and converting physical DCs to virtual. The following URL contains information for virtualizing existing domain controllers:

http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1006996
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VMware vSphere 4.0

What's New in VMware vSphere 4.0
3rd Party Distributed Switch Support — The vNetwork Distributed Switch (vDS) includes support for 3rd party distributed virtual switches. For more information on 3rd party distributed virtual switches, please visit the documentation page for Cisco Systems, Inc. at http://www.cisco.com/go/1000v
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Fusion 1.0

On this date in 2007, VMware releases Fusion 1.0, a VMware Workstation like product for the Apple Mac. Fusion was the first VMware product to introduce Unity view - a technology which takes the guest VM start menu and application windows and presents them as a seamless window the Mac as if it was running PC applications.
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Virtualization Quote of the Day

How to create a second root user account

1) Run the following command:
adduser -u 0 -o -g 0 -G 0,1,2,3,4,6,10 -M root2
(omit the -M if you want a home directory created)

2) Create a password for the new account with the following command:
passwd root2

http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1005278
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