vSphere Distributed Switch health check

July 20, 2023July 20, 2023 fabio1975ESXi, health check, MTU, network, vCenter, vDS, vLAN, vSphereLeave a comment

For us VMware systems engineers who every day find ourselves “dialoguing” with those who manage the network ecosystem, we can only find the vSphere Distributed Switch health check function useful.

What these checks allow us to highlight:

These are some of the common configuration errors that health check identifies:

Mismatched VLAN trunks between a vSphere distributed switch and a physical switch.
Mismatched MTU settings between physical network adapters, distributed switches, and physical switch ports.
Mismatched virtual switch teaming policies for the physical switch port-channel settings.

The network health check in vSphere monitors the following three network parameters at regular intervals:

VLAN: Checks whether vSphere distributed switch VLAN settings match trunk port configuration on the adjacent physical switch ports.
MTU: Checks whether the physical access switch port MTU setting based on per VLAN matches the vSphere distributed switch MTU setting.
Network adapter teaming: Checks whether the physical access switch ports EtherChannel setting matches the distributed switch distributed port group IP Hash teaming policy settings.

How to activate:

Access the network section of our vCenter

Select the vDS on which we want to activate health checks

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And enable the check that interests us:

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Where to check the outcome of the checks?

Wait a few minutes and already first feedback we can have it on ESXi hosts using the vDS in question, where if there are problems the classic red dot will be displayed

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For more details, access the network section of our vCenter and select the vDS in question

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And we can see that on the vmnic0 and vmnic3 of the first host, there are vLANs of which we have a Portgroup but which are not proposed correctly on all the ports of the switches to which we have attested our hosts. Then we have to have the configuration verified by our colleagues in the network.

How to turn it off:

Repeat the enabling steps but this time select disable.

Risks in activating it (we always consider activating it for a short time)

Depending on the options that you select, the vSphere Distributed Switch Health Check can generate a significant number of MAC addresses for testing teaming policy, MTU size, vLAN configuration, resulting in extra network traffic.
Ensure the number of MAC addresses to be generated by the health check will be less than the size of the physical switch(es) MAC table. Otherwise, there is a risk that the switches will run out of memory, with subsequent network connectivity failures. After you disable vSphere Distributed Switch Health Check, the generated MAC addresses age out of your physical network environment according to your network policy.

More info:

vDS Health Check reports unsupported VLANs for MTU and VLAN (2140503) (vmware.com)

Enabling vSphere Distributed Switch health check in the vSphere Web Client (2032878) (vmware.com)

Enable copy and paste between Guest Operating System and Remote Console

July 19, 2023July 19, 2023 fabio1975Console, Copy, Copy&Paste Console Workstation, ESXi, Paste, vCenter, vmware, VMware Workstation, vSphereLeave a comment

Copy and paste operations between the guest operating system and remote console are deactivated by default.

To enable it:

Browse to the virtual machine in the vSphere Client inventory
Right-click the virtual machine and click Edit Settings.
Select Advanced Parameters.
Add or edit the following parameters.

isolation.tools.copy.disable False
isolation.tools.paste.disable False
isolation.tools.setGUIOptions.enable True
These options override any settings made in the guest operating system’s VMware Tools control panel.
Click OK.
(Optional) If you made changes to the configuration parameters, restart the virtual machine.

vSphere DRS functionality was impacted due to an unhealthy state vSphere Cluster Service

March 2, 2023March 2, 2023 fabio1975CLuster Service Status, DRS, ESXi, unhealthy, vmware, vSAN, vSphere, vSphere DRS functionality was impacted due to an unhealthy state vSphere Cluster ServiceLeave a comment

If you see such an error on the Cluster object of a vSAN (in my case it appeared on two vSAN clusters managed by the same vCenter)

vSphere DRS functionality was impacted due to an unhealthy state vSphere Cluster Service …….

an unhealthy state of the Service cluster

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Errors such as the following in the EAM log. vCenter LOG

EAM.log:

2023-01-26T13:16:39.996Z |  INFO | vim-monitor | VcListener.java | 131 | Retrying in 10 sec.
2023-01-26T13:16:41.432Z | ERROR | vlsi | DispatcherImpl.java | 468 | Internal server error during dispatch
com.vmware.vim.binding.eam.fault.EamServiceNotInitialized: EAM is still loading from database. Please try again later.
        at com.vmware.eam.vmomi.EAMInitRequestFilter.handleBody(EAMInitRequestFilter.java:57) ~[eam-server.jar:?]
        at com.vmware.vim.vmomi.server.impl.DispatcherImpl$SingleRequestDispatcher.handleBody(DispatcherImpl.java:373) [vlsi-server.jar:?]
        at com.vmware.vim.vmomi.server.impl.DispatcherImpl$SingleRequestDispatcher.dispatch(DispatcherImpl.java:290) [vlsi-server.jar:?]
        at com.vmware.vim.vmomi.server.impl.DispatcherImpl.dispatch(DispatcherImpl.java:246) [vlsi-server.jar:?]
        at com.vmware.vim.vmomi.server.http.impl.CorrelationDispatcherTask.run(CorrelationDispatcherTask.java:58) [vlsi-server.jar:?]
        at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor.runWorker(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:1149) [?:1.8.0_345]
        at java.util.concurrent.ThreadPoolExecutor$Worker.run(ThreadPoolExecutor.java:624) [?:1.8.0_345]
        at java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:750) [?:1.8.0_345]
2023-01-26T13:16:50.007Z |  INFO | vim-monitor | ExtensionSessionRenewer.java | 190 | [Retry:Login:com.vmware.vim.eam:b55a7f93b59f0f7e] Re-login to vCenter because method: currentTime of managed object: null::ServiceInstance:ServiceInstance failed due to expired client session: null
2023-01-26T13:16:50.007Z |  INFO | vim-monitor | OpId.java | 37 | [vim:loginExtensionByCertificate:913aec585658e328] created from [Retry:Login:com.vmware.vim.eam:b55a7f93b59f0f7e]
2023-01-26T13:16:51.440Z | ERROR | vlsi | DispatcherImpl.java | 468 | Internal server error during dispatch
com.vmware.vim.binding.eam.fault.EamServiceNotInitialized: EAM is still loading from database. Please try again later.

And you see the lack of vCLS VMs in the two vSANs

To resolve the anomaly you must proceed as follows:

vCenter Snapshots and Backup
Log in to the vCenter Server Appliance using SSH.
Run this command to enable access the Bash shell:

shell.set --enabled true

Type shell and press Enter.
Run this command to retrieve the vpxd-extension solution user certificate and key:

mkdir /certificate

/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getcert --store vpxd-extension --alias vpxd-extension --output /certificate/vpxd-extension.crt

/usr/lib/vmware-vmafd/bin/vecs-cli entry getkey --store vpxd-extension --alias vpxd-extension --output /certificate/vpxd-extension.key

Run this command to update the extension’s certificate with vCenter Server.

python /usr/lib/vmware-vpx/scripts/updateExtensionCertInVC.py -e com.vmware.vim.eam -c /certificate/vpxd-extension.crt -k /certificate/vpxd-extension.key -s localhost -u "Administrator@domain.local"

Note: If this produces the error “Hostname mismatch, certificate is not valid for ‘localhost'”, change ‘localhost’ to the FQDN or IP of the vCenter. The process is checking this value against the SAN entries of the certificate.

Note: The default user and domain is Administrator@vsphere.local. If this was changed during configuration, change the domain to match your environment. When prompted, type in the Administrator@domain.local password.

Restart EAM and start the rest of the services with these commands:

service-control --stop vmware-eam

service-control --start --all

Copy file to VCSA with SCP

December 23, 2021December 23, 2021 fabio1975APPLIANCESH, BASH, SCP SSH, SSH, vCenter, vSphereLeave a comment

Well, in recent weeks we have often talked about how to heal vCenters from the log4j vulnerability.
I guess the first thing we all thought was “What a show VMware support released scripts to run to solve the problem …” and then every one to use WinSCP or similar tools/commands to copy the file …. but many will have found it impossible to copy files using the Root user …. but how SSH works but the SCP command does not work!
Well, the problem comes from the shell associated with the Root user. It is not the classic BASH but the APPLIANCESH.
Then we proceed as follows:

Let’s connect in SSH to the vCenter Virtual Appliance

We access the Bash SHELL with the command SHELL

We enable BASH as the default shell for the root user

We run our SCP
We re-enable APPLIANCESH for the root user

LDAP Identity source and vCenter

October 31, 2021October 31, 2021 fabio1975Active DIrectory, ESXi, LDAP, vCenter, vmware, vSphereLeave a comment

Whenever we installed a new vCenter the activity always included integration with Active Directory and normally IWA (Integrated Windows Authentication) was used.
Since vSphere 7.0 version this possibility has been deprecated
so it is good to start with the integration of the vCenter with Active Directory via LDAP.
In our case, we will use LDAPS which uses a certificate

For first the step we need to create the certificate:

Use SSH to vCenter connection

On shell use this command

openssl s_client -connect <DC FQDN>:636 -showcerts

Copy the certificate output with —–BEGIN CERTIFICATE—– and —–END CERTIFICATE—–

Past on Notepad and save with .crt extension

Now we will go to configure the Identity Sources on vCenter:

Login as Single Sign-On Administrator to vCenter
Navigate to Menu > Administration > Single Sign-On > Configuration
In the Identity Provider tab, open Identity Sources
Click ADD
Select Active Directory over LDAP or OpenLDAP, depending on your directory type.

Fill out the remaining fields as follows:
Identity Source Name: Label
Base DN for users: The Distinguished Name (DN) of the starting point for directory server searches. Example: “DC=pollaio,DC=lan”.
Base DN for groups: The Distinguished Name (DN) of the starting point for directory server searches.
Domain name: Your domain name. Example: “pollaio.lan”
Domain alias: Your NetBIOS name. Example: “pollaio.lan”
Username: Domain user with at least browse privileges. Example: “pollaio\administrator”.
Connect to: “ldaps://<DC FQDN>”.

Click Browse next to SSL Certificate
Select the .cer file created in before step

Now we are ready to login to the vCenter with domain user (remember to assign the correct permission to domain group or user group)

If you want check the correct use of SSL certificate on the authentication to Active Directory with LDAP connection check the websso.log:

VMware Skyline Advisor

October 16, 2021October 16, 2021 fabio1975cloud, Skyline, Skyline Advisor, vmware, vSphereLeave a comment

VMware has had a product for a while now called VMware Skyline that provides proactive monitoring, analysis, and support for your VMware environment. It monitors your VMware installation and will notify you when issues arise.

Skyline Advisor will be available to customers and partners with active Production and Premier Support, VMware Success 360 and vRealize Cloud Universal subscriptions at no additional cost.

Create a Cloud Services Organization

https://console.cloud.vmware.com/

After clicking Get Started, a new web browser page, or tab, will open. You will be asked to sign-in

with your VMware account. If you have an existing My VMware account, you can use those same

account details (email address/password) to sign in to Cloud Services.

If you are existing VMware Cloud Services customer, you can choose an existing Cloud Services

Organization for Skyline. If you have never used VMware Cloud Services, click Create New

Organization.

Enter a Organization Name.

Name your Organization something meaningful, that can be easily

referenced by both you, and VMware. For example, name your Organization after you Company, or

Business name. You can also append a line-of-business, division, or team, to the end of your

Company or Business name.

The following are example Organization Names:

The company, LOB, Company LOB, Company-vSphere, Company-Desktop

Enter an Address for your Organization.

Click Add Address. You can also choose an existing

address if one was found for your account. If you choose an existing address, skip to substep f.

During the creation of your Cloud Services Organization, your country currency, and Tax ID, may be

displayed. The displaying of this information is a construct of Cloud Services. Skyline is available at

no additional cost, and you will not be required to enter any payment details while adopting Skyline.

Select a Country from the drop-down menu.
Enter your street address on Address Line 1, and Address Line 2 (optional).
Enter your City.
Enter your State/Province.
Enter your Zip/Postal Code.
Review the Cloud Services Terms of Service. Click the checkbox to agree to the Terms of Service.
Click Continue.

Now on service, we have Skyline Advisor, click on this service

Link the Entitlement

Now, after clicking on LINK, we have the correct status LINKED

**Deploy Skyline Collector and configure the connection to Cloud Services**

Now we download the Skyline collector
https://vmware.com/go/skyline-collector-download

To deploying the Skyline Collector Virtual appliance on our vSphere infrastructure we have need:

And these are the Network Requirements

Account permission for vCenter, we need to create a Domain Account to use to permit access to vCenter from skyline.

Let’go we are starting with the OVF Deploy

After deployed the Connector virtual appliance we need to configure the Skyline Collector for communicating with Cloud Services

Test the network configuration

And now we have to insert the token create on Cloud Service

Get Token from Vmware Cloud Services Platform

Download VMware Skyline Collector
Select Version:
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Product
VMware Skyline is an innovative proactive support offering that brings high-performing technology and tools to the workbench to
radically transform customer support
Automatically and securely collect product usage data with VMware Skyline Collector. Environment-specific analytics based on
configuration, feature, and performance data are executed against this data. The resulting information may radically improve
Read More
Product Resources
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Product Info
Documentation
Community
Drivers & Tools
Open Source
Custom ISOS
VMware Skyline Collector 28.0
OEM Addons
Release Date
2021-07-15
GO TO DOWNLOADS — **Deploy Skyline Collector and configure the connection to Cloud Services**

Now we download the Skyline collector
https://vmware.com/go/skyline-collector-download

To deploying the Skyline Collector Virtual appliance on our vSphere infrastructure we have need:

And these are the Network Requirements

Account permission for vCenter, we need to create a Domain Account to use to permit access to vCenter from skyline.

Let’go we are starting with the OVF Deploy

After deployed the Connector virtual appliance we need to configure the Skyline Collector for communicating with Cloud Services

Test the network configuration

And now we have to insert the token create on Cloud Service

Get Token from Vmware Cloud Services Platform

VMware Cloud Services

I have already configured my organization

Copy and paste the token on Skyline Connect and register it.

Add source Data to Skyline Advisor

After complete the step 5 and 6 (I suggest to enable the auto-upgrade), we can access to skyline collector to configure the connection to vCenter (or multiple vCenter)

Go to https://<mySkylineCollectorFQDN/

Select Add a vCenter Server

Use the Account AD to whom assign the correct permission on vCenter

We are able to see the vSphere infrastructures if we access on Skyline Advisor Service on Cloud Service Link

https://console.cloud.vmware.com/

Now we will be waiting….. for data populate (72 hours for Findings)

After 72 hours we are able to see all info (wow I see six Critical alerts :-))

VMware Skyline Frequently Asked Questions (55928)

Skyline Collector User Accounts and Permissions (vmware.com)

Capture Code – vSphere Web Client

August 30, 2021August 30, 2021 fabio1975Code Capture, ESXi, HTML, powercli, Script, vCenter, vmware, vSphereLeave a comment

One of the conveniences of administering VMware solutions is being able to use code to create scripts to perform repetitive tasks or automate processes

One of the vSphere Web Client features that can help those new to the PowerCli is the Capture Code, it basically allows you to list and save the Powercli commands of the actions you are doing with the vSphere Web Client.

To activate it just access the vSphere Web Client, from the Menu select Developer Center

Select Code Capture and enable it by placing the “Enable Code Capture” flag on the right (which turns green)

At this point, a space will appear in our frame where the commands will be listed with some operations, such as Clear and start another, Copy and Download

Where the Download option generates you the ps1 file with the Powercli commands of the recorded operations

To start and stop a recording session you can use the buttons:

Or the red button that appears at the top of the WebClient once “Enable Code Capture” is enabled

Bye

VMware Skyline Health Diagnostics

August 25, 2021August 25, 2021 fabio1975Diagnostic, Diskgroup, log, Skyline, vSAN, vSphereLeave a comment

Last Year VMware release a Diagnostic Tool for Analyze vCenter, vSAN and ESXi infrastructure.

VMware Skyline Health Diagnostic is a Virtual Appliance (based on Photon OS) for analyzing our vSphere infrastructure.

In this link major info for install:

Introducing VMware Skyline Health Diagnostic Tool

but what can it be useful for?

Imagine you have a vSAN infrastructure and at some point, a diskgroup fails but errors are reported on the disks. With this tool, we can analyze the logs exported from the ESXi host on which the diskgroup resides and identify on which physical disks I / O errors have been highlighted

vSphere and Certificates

June 29, 2021 fabio1975Certificates, ESXi, PKI, VMCA, vSphereLeave a comment

vSphere use TLS Certificates for protect and security communication from vCenter to ESXi host and when the user access to vCenter WEB GUI.

There are many possible configurations:

Full Managed Mode -> All certificates are managed from VMCA
Hybrid Mode -> The communication certificates for traffic from vCenter to ESXi are managed from VMCA. The Admin user import from Private PKI only the SSL certificate for Access to WEB GUI
Subordinate CA Mode -> Configure the VMCA as a Subordinate CA of Private PKI
Full Custom Mode –> All Certificates are generated and managed from the local Private PKI

The best solution is Hybrid Mode for correct balance of Security and effort for implementation.

Prima impressione vSphere vCenter 7

July 6, 2020February 27, 2021 fabioESXi, HTML5, update, vCenter, vCenter 7, vmware, vSphereLeave a comment

Nel mio home lab ho installato la mia prima versione di vCenter 7.0

A caldo subito 2 impressioni:

– Finalmente ho solamente l’opzione di accesso HTML5

– Ho immediata visibilità se ho aggiornamento a dispisizione del vCenter

BIOLNX

vmvirtual.blog

vSphere

vSphere Distributed Switch health check

Enable copy and paste between Guest Operating System and Remote Console

vSphere DRS functionality was impacted due to an unhealthy state vSphere Cluster Service

Copy file to VCSA with SCP

LDAP Identity source and vCenter

Capture Code – vSphere Web Client

VMware Skyline Health Diagnostics

vSphere and Certificates

Prima impressione vSphere vCenter 7