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.

VMware vSphere Update Manager 6.0 – Installing the vSphere Update Manager Client

March 30, 2016 Noel Alvarez

Virtualization VMware vSphere 6.0 VMware vSphere Update Manager 6.0

The following is a step by step guide for installing the vSphere Update Manager Client.

On the vSphere Client navigate to Plug-ins > Manage Plug-ins….
On the Plug-in Manager dialog box click the blue Download and Install link to install the VMware vSphere Update Manager Extension.
On the Open File – Security Warning dialog box click Run.
On the VMware vSphere Update Manager Client 6.0a – InstallShield … dialog box click OK.
On the VMware vSphere Update Manager Client 6.0a dialog box click Next >.
On the End User License Agreement dialog box select the check box for I accept the terms in the license agreement and click Next >.
On the Read to Install the Program dialog box click Install.
On the InstallShield Wizard Completed dialog box click Finish.
On the Plug-in Manager dialog box verify the VMware vSphere Update Manager Extension is Enabled.

VMware vCenter Server 6.0 – Verify the Status of Critical Services

March 25, 2016 Noel Alvarez

Scripting Services VMware vCenter Server 6.0 VMware vSphere 6.0

The script below will query the status of the VMware VirtualCenter Server (vpxd), VMware Inventory Service (invsvc) and VMware vSphere Web Client (vspherewebclientsvc) services on the specified server hosting an instance of VMware vCenter Server 6.0.

<#
.SYNOPSIS
This script will provide the status of the VMware VirtualCenter Server (vpxd), VMware Inventory Service (invsvc) and VMware vSphere Web Client (vspherewebclientsvc) services on VCENTER01.ROOT.SYSADMIN.NET.
.DESCRIPTION
This script will automate the process of providing the status of the VMware VirtualCenter Server (vpxd), VMware Inventory Service (invsvc) and VMware vSphere Web Client (vspherewebclientsvc) services on VCENTER01.ROOT.SYSADMIN.NET.
.EXAMPLE
N/A.
.AUTHOR
Written by Noel Enrique Alvarez on Friday, March 25, 2016.
#>

#Query the status of the VMware VirtualCenter Server (vpxd), VMware Inventory Service (invsvc) and VMware vSphere Web Client (vspherewebclientsvc) services on VCENTER01.ROOT.SYSADMIN.NET
Get-Service -ComputerName VCENTER01 | Where-Object {$_.name -eq “vpxd”}
Get-Service -ComputerName VCENTER01 | Where-Object {$_.name -eq “invsvc”}
Get-Service -ComputerName VCENTER01 | Where-Object {$_.name -eq “vspherewebclientsvc”}

VMware vCenter Server 5.0 – Verify the Status of Critical Services

March 25, 2016 Noel Alvarez

Scripting Services VMware vCenter Server 5.0 VMware vSphere 5.0

The script below will query the status of the VMware Virtual Center Server (vpxd) and vCenter Inventory Service (vimQueryService) services on the specified server hosting an instance of VMware vCenter Server 5.0.

<#
.SYNOPSIS
This script will provide the status of the VMware Virtual Center Server (vpxd) and vCenter Inventory Service (vimQueryService) services on VCENTER01.ROOT.SYSADMIN.NET.
.DESCRIPTION
This script will automate the process of providing the status of the VMware Virtual Center Server (vpxd) and vCenter Inventory Service (vimQueryService) services on VCENTER01.ROOT.SYSADMIN.NET.
.EXAMPLE
N/A.
.AUTHOR
Written by Noel Enrique Alvarez on Friday, March 25, 2016.
#>

#Query the status of the VMware Virtual Center Server and vCenter Inventory Service services on VCENTER01.ROOT.SYSADMIN.NET
Get-Service -ComputerName VCENTER01 | Where-Object {$_.name -eq “vpxd”}
Get-Service -ComputerName VCENTER01 | Where-Object {$_.name -eq “vimQueryService”}

vSphere Update Manager 6.0 – Installation

March 24, 2016 Noel Alvarez

VMware vSphere 6.0 VMware vSphere Update Manager 6.0

The following is a step by step guide for installing vSphere Update Manager (VUM) 6.0.

On the VMware vCenter Installer dialog box select Server under the vSphere Update Manager section and click Install. Additionally, this is a lab environment so Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Express will be utilized.
On the VMware vCenter Installer dialog box click No.
On the VMware vSphere Update Manager – InstallShield … dialog box select a language and click OK.
On the VMware vSphere Update Manager dialog box click OK.
On the Welcome to the InstallShield Wizard for VMware vSphere Update Manager dialog box click Next >.
On the License Agreement dialog box select the check box for the option that states I accept the terms in the license agreement and click Next >.
On the Support Information dialog box accept the default settings and click Next >.
On the vCenter Server Information dialog box enter the information for an instance of vCenter Server and click Next >.
On the VMware vSphere Update Manager Port Settings dialog box select the hostname or Internet Protocol (IP) address from the drop down box and click Next >.
On the Destination Folder dialog box change the drive letters to E: and click Next >.
On the Ready to Install the Program dialog box click Install.
On the InstallShield Wizard Completed dialog box click Finish.