April 2016 – Noel Alvarez

Dell – Get Service Tag

April 22, 2016 Noel Alvarez

You may use the command below, from Microsoft Windows Powershell or command prompt, to retrieve the service tag of a Dell device.

wmic bios get serialnumber

VMware vSphere Update Manager 6.0 – Remediating a VMware ESXi 6.0 Host

April 11, 2016 Noel Alvarez

Virtualization VMware vCenter Server 6.0 VMware vSphere Update Manager 6.0

The following is a step by step guide for remediating (i.e. patching) a VMware ESXi 6.0 host.

On the home page of the VMware vSphere Client select Hosts and Clusters.
Select a VMware ESXi 6.0 host from the inventory tree on the left.
Select the Update Manager tab on the VMware vSphere Client.
Click Remidiate… in the lower right portion of the Update Manager tab.
On the Remediation Selection dialog box select the baselines or baseline groups to apply and click Next >.
On the Patches and Extensions dialog box deselect any patches you would like to exclude then click Next >.
On the Schedule dialog box enter a Task Name:, Task Description: and Remediation Time: then click Next >.
On the Host Remediation Options dialog box accept the default settings and click Next >.
On the Ready to Complete dialog box review the configuration settings and click Finish.
Review the Recent Tasks pane to verify the host was remediated.
Verify the host is compliant on the Update Manager tab.

VMware vSphere Update Manager 6.0 – Staging Patches

April 7, 2016 Noel Alvarez

Virtualization VMware vCenter Server 6.0 VMware vSphere Update Manager 6.0

The following is a step by step guide for staging patches to VMware ESXi 6.0 hosts. This is a useful feature if your VMware ESXi 6.0 hosts are located across lethargic wide area network (WAN) links.

On the VMware vSphere Client home page select Hosts and Clusters.
From the inventory list select a VMware ESXi 6.0 host.
On the content area of the VMware vSphere Client select the Update Manager tab.
On the Update Manager tab content area click Stage….
On the Baseline Selection dialog box select the baselines for the patches to be staged and click Next >.
On the Patch and Extension Exclusion dialog box deselect any patches or extension you would not like to be staged and click Next >.
On the Ready to Complete dialog box click Finish to being staging the patches.
View the Recent Tasks pane to verify the patches have been staged.

VMware vSphere Update Manager 6.0 – Scanning a VMware ESXi 6.0 Host

April 7, 2016 Noel Alvarez

Virtualization VMware vCenter Server 6.0 VMware vSphere Update Manager 6.0

The follow is a step by step guide for performing a VMware vSphere Update Manager 6.0 scan on a VMware ESXi 6.0 host.

On the home page of the VMware vSphere Web Client select the Hosts and Clusters view.
On the inventory tree select the VMware ESXi 6.0 host you would like to scan.
On the content area of the VMware vSphere Web Client select the Monitor tab then select Update Manager.
On the content area of the Update Manager section click Scan….
On the Confirm Scan dialog box select both check boxes and click OK.
On the Recent Tasks pane verify that a Scan entity task completed.
Review the Update Manager tab to verify if the VMware ESXi 6.0 host is compliant or non-compliant with the attached baseline.

VMware vSphere Update Manager 6.0 – Attaching a Baseline to a VMware ESXi Host

April 7, 2016 Noel Alvarez

Virtualization VMware vSphere 6.0 VMware vSphere Update Manager 6.0

The following is a step by step guide for attaching a vSphere Update Manager 6.0 baseline to a VMware ESXi 6.0 host.

On the VMware vSphere Web Client home page select Hosts and Clusters.
On the inventory tree select the VMware ESXi 6.0 host you would like to attach the baseline to.
On the content area of the VMware vSphere Web Client select the Monitor tab then select Update Manager.
On the content area of the Update Manager section click Attach….
On the Attach Baseline or Group dialog box select the Individual Baseline or Baseline Groups of your choice then click OK.
On the content area of the Update Manager verify the baseline is listed under the Attached Baselines: list.

VMware vSphere Update Manager 6.0 – Create a Dynamic Baseline

April 6, 2016 Noel Alvarez

Virtualization VMware vSphere 6.0 VMware vSphere Update Manager 6.0

The following is a step by step guide for creating VMware vSphere Update Manager 6.0 dynamic baseline. A dynamic baseline is updated dynamically and may be used to verify that your vSphere infrastructure is up to date or out or date, regarding patches.

On the vSphere Client home page under Solutions and Applications click Update Manager.
On the Update Manager Administration page click the Baseline and Groups tab and View Baselines for: Hosts.
On the Baselines section click Create….
On the Baseline Name and Type dialog box enter a name for the baseline and select the check box for Host Patch, then click Next >.
On the Patch Options dialog box select Dynamic and click Next >.
On the Criteria dialog box select the criteria and click Next >.
On the Patches to Exclude dialog box select any patches to exclude and click Next >.
On the Additional Patches dialog box select any patches that did not meet the criteria of step (6) but you would like to include and click Next >.
On the Ready to Complete dialog box click Finish.
On the Baselines and Groups tab verify the baseline has been created.