Virtual Infrastructure 3

On this day in 2006, VMware releases Virtual Infrastructure 3 which included ESX 3.0 and VirtualCenter 2.0. Key features included NAS and iSCSI shared storage support, clusters, DRS, HA, Resource Pools, VCB, and a FlexLM centralized license server.
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Enable SSH access to ESX3i

How to enable SSH access to ESX3i (unsupported):
1) On the ESXi console press ALT+F1
2) Type the word unsupported
3) Type the root password
4) Use the vi editor: vi /etc/inetd.conf
5) Find the line with #ssh and remove the # symbol
6) Save the file with the keystrokes :wq!
7a) ESX3.5 or U1: Restart the management service with /sbin/services.sh restart
7b) ESX3.5U2 & newer: Restart the host or kill the inetd process
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Configuration Maximums Comparison

Configuration Maximums Comparison

Virtual CPUs per VM:
ESX(i) 4.0: 8 vCPUs
ESX(i) 3.5 Update 4: 4 vCPUs
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100% CPU

Server administrators were programmed to believe 90% CPU utilization was way over utilized. The truth of the matter is that any server not running at 100% CPU utilization is wasting time executing idle threads. This is one of the reasons we virtualize. To contrast that statement a bit, some CPU headroom should exist for HA failover and N+1 configurations. Find a good balance.
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Service Console on ESX

The Service Console on ESX is eventually going away. The writing is on the wall. I estimate the next major version of ESX won't offer a Service Console. While many of the tips in this calendar are geared towards administration via the Service Console, it would be beneficial for you start exploring alternative management and automation techniques (such as host profiles, vMA, and PowerShell) sooner rather than later.
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HA restart policy

It's important to note that the HA restart policy for VMs is designed to work only when the VMs are powered off. Technically this is due to file locking, but logically speaking, if the isolation policy for an HA host is configured to leave the VMs running, then for obvious reasons we don't want HA to come along and recycle the VMs.
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What's New in VMware vSphere 4.0

What's New in VMware vSphere 4.0
VMware Paravirtualized SCSI (PVSCSI) — Paravirtualized SCSI adapters are high-performance storage adapters that offer greater throughput and lower CPU utilization for virtual machines. These adapters are best suited for environments in which guest applications are very I/O intensive. See vSphere Basic System Administration http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_admin_guide.pdf
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