This wasn’t the case, the new ESXi 4.1 wouldn’t install, it kept freezing during the extract of the cim.vgz file.
The problem occurred on both the Dell custom of ESXi 4.0 U1 and the standard ESXi 4.1.
We googled and googled but didn’t find a solution – in the end we blamed the error on the old bios version 1.1.4.

To my luck the customer still had the CD we installed the server with 9 months ago – ESXi 4.0.

We installed ESXi using the old CD and then everything was working – but we still needed to upgrade to ESXi 4.1.

So now what to do …….

Normally you use the hostupdate utility or the Remote CLI but the hostupdate utility is not included in the free version of ESXi and the we didn’t want to install the Remote CLI on the computer.
To my luck I had the hostupdate utility installed but i kept getting this error when trying to upgrade the ESXi host.

“Failed to read the upgrade package metadata.xml”

The solution to our problem was:

1. Since it was a ESXi free with out support, we decided to use the “ESXi command line interface”, witch is unsupported.
   Follow this guide to enable it (http://www.bauer-power.net/2010/04/vmware-esxi-hack-to-allow-ssh.html).
2. Download and extract the upgrade ZIP file from VMware.
3. From the VIclient, upload the extracted files to the host datastore, using the “datastore browser”
   - I uploaded the files to a folder named “upgrade”
4. Put the ESXi host in “Maintance Mode”
   - Since it is a ESXi, this can only be done when all VM’s are powered off.
5. Connect the the ESXi console using ex. Putty.exe.
6. Navigate to the upgrade directory.

   cd /vmfs/volumes/local-datastore/upgrade

7. Begin the upgrade process

   esxupdate update -m metadata.zip
   

8. When the upgrade is finished, reboot the host.

   reboot

9. To verify the new build number:
   - Connect to the host using the VIclient
   - Select the host
   - Choose the “Summery” tab
   - Verify that the ESXi version number and build has been updated

Read about the script and it’s features here.

Download it here.

I have seen it a few times and every time it’s during a weekend

So to make sure your vCenter service (or other) is always running you could use this powershell script to check if a service is running, and if not start it.
To make sure you know if the service wasn’t started after a reboot or other cause, I have added a mail function to the script

function FuncCheckService{
    param($ServiceName)
    $arrService = Get-Service -Name $ServiceName
    if ($arrService.Status -ne "Running"){
        Start-Service $ServiceName
        FuncMail -To "to-email@domain.com" -From "from-mail@domain.com"  -Subject "Servername : ($ServiceName) service started." -Body "Service $ServiceName started" -smtpServer "relay.mailserver.com"
    }
}

function FuncMail {
    #param($strTo, $strFrom, $strSubject, $strBody, $smtpServer)
    param($To, $From, $Subject, $Body, $smtpServer)
    $msg = new-object Net.Mail.MailMessage
    $smtp = new-object Net.Mail.SmtpClient($smtpServer)
    $msg.From = $From
    $msg.To.Add($To)
    $msg.Subject = $Subject
    $msg.IsBodyHtml = 1
    $msg.Body = $Body
    $smtp.Send($msg)
}

FuncCheckService -ServiceName "VMware VirtualCenter Server"

Create a PS1 file and schedule it to run every 15 or 30 minutes.

It works great and is simple….

• Get-VMHostNtpServer
• Remove-VMHostNtpServer
• Add-VMHostNtpServer
• Get-VMHostService
• Set-VMHostService
• Get-VmhostFirewallException
• Restart-VMHostService

Get a list of NTP servers on a host.

Get-VMHostNtpServer -VMHost "esx01.lab.local"

To remove a specific NTP server from a host NTP server list.

Remove-VMHostNtpServer -VMHost "esx01.lab.local" -NtpServer '127.127.1.0' -Confirm:$false

To remove all NTP servers on a hosts NTP server list.

$arrNTPList = Get-VMHostNtpServer -VMHost "esx01.lab.local"
Remove-VMHostNtpServer -VMHost "esx01.lab.local" -NtpServer $arrNTPList -Confirm:$false

To add a single NTP server to a hosts NTP server list.

Add-VMHostNtpServer -VMHost "esx01.lab.local" -NtpServer "dk.pool.ntp.org" -Confirm:$false

To add a a list of NTP servers to a hosts NTP server list.

$arrNTPServers = ("dk.pool.ntp.org","de.pool.ntp.org","us.pool.ntp.org")
Add-VMHostNtpServer -VMHost "esx01.lab.local" -NtpServer $arrNTPServers -Confirm:$false

To set the NTP deamon (service) to start automatic.

Set-VMHostService -HostService (Get-VMHostservice -VMHost (Get-VMHost "esx01.lab.local") | Where-Object {$_.key -eq "ntpd"}) -Policy "Automatic"

Open firewall to allow the NTP deamon to communicate with the NTP server.

Get-VmhostFirewallException -VMHost "esx01.lab.local" -Name "NTP Client" | Set-VMHostFirewallException -enabled:$true

To restart the NTP deamon (service) after you have configured it – without restarting the host.

$ntpd = Get-VMHostService -VMHost "esx01.lab.local" | where {$_.Key -eq 'ntpd'}
Restart-VMHostService $ntpd -Confirm:$false

Porting the script from VBS presented me with a few challenges.

• A reported error in the Get-Date cmdlet in Powershel 2.0.
  Had to use a workaround.

A few words on the scrips functionality.

• Control vRanger backups from vCenter (simple – one interface).
• Perform a FULL backup of DiskO of a VM.
• Perform a FULL backup of all disks of a VM.
• Backup a VM on a specific weekday.
• Control what week (Even/Odd).
• Create a log file.
• Delete previous backup files from repository.
• Delete previous savepoints.
• Send an email when the jobs are completed – incl. succes/errors.
• Offload the files to tape – TSM
• Send mail when TSM is finished offloading backup files.
• And many more…..

When I started coding the script, I found, that if I used functions for all functionality the script was easier to read. Using functions also supplied me with the opportunity of reusing functions – less work .

Some of the functions was created using examples posted and mailed by Scott Harold from Quest and TheVesi./vEcoShell.

Prerequirements

• Powershell 1.0 or 2.0 form Microsoft.
• Vizioncore vRanger 4.x
• A VMware vCenter server, a host and a few VMs.

The script can be downloaded here.

A quick overview of the functions.
Include the right PSSnapins

function LoadSnapin{
    Add-PSSnapin vRanger.API.PowerShell -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
    Add-PSSnapin vmware.VimAutomation.core -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
}

LoadSnapin

Delete all previous savepoints – from the repository.

function RemoveAllSavePoints{
	param ($RASP_RepoName)
	$RASP_repoID = Get-Repository | where {$_.Name -eq $RASP_RepoName}
	$RASP_SPlist = Get-RepositorySavePoint -ID $RASP_repoID.Id

	foreach ($RASP_SP in $RASP_SPlist){
		#write $RASP_SP
		Remove-SavePoint -SavePointsToRemove $RASP_SP
	}
}

RemoveAllSavePoints "Remote-Location"

Is a backup job exist with the same name as the one to create – delete it.

function Del-vRangerBackupJobs {
	param ($delJobName)
	$delTemplateID = Get-JobTemplate | where {$_.JobName -eq $delJobName}
	# Verify that a BackupJob named XXX is present before deleting it.
	if ($delTemplateID){
		#write $delTemplateID.JobName
		Remove-JobTemplate -id $delTemplateID.Id
	}
}

Del-vRangerBackupJobs "$Wednesday-Even"

Create the list of VMs to exclude.

function Filter-VMbyCF {
    param ($customF, $val)
    foreach ($vm in $vmlist) {
        $vm.CustomFields | ForEach-Object {
            $cf = $_
            if ($_.Key -like $customF -and $_.Value -like $val){
                    return $vm.name
            }
        }
    }
}

function New-vRangerExcludeList {
    param ($exclude, $include)
    $excludeArray = @()
    $exclude | ForEach-Object {
        if ($include -notcontains $_.Name){
            $excludeArray += ($_.Config.Uuid)
        }
    }
    return $excludeArray
}

$vmlist = Get-VM
$tmplist = Get-Template
$vmlist= $vmlist + $tmplist
$vmFilter = Filter-VMbyCF $customField $CFValue
$vmlistview = $vmlist | Get-View
$excludeList = New-vRangerExcludeList -exclude $vmlistview -include $vmFilter

Create the new backup job.

function New-vRangerBackupJob {
	param ($customJobName, $customCFValue, $customFieldName, $customRepoName, $customExcludeList, $customEmail)
        $jobDesc = "This backup job is created by Logica for use in DR.  All VMs with a Custom Field labeled: $customFieldName with a value of: $customCFValue will be backed up"
        $jobEntity = Get-InventoryEntity -Type VirtualCenter
	$jobRepos = Get-Repository | where {$_.Name -eq $customRepoName}
        $jobFlag = New-BackupFlag -CheckDestinationFreeSpace:$true -UseCompression:$true -PerformNetworkBackupOnFailure:$true

	# Check if all disks or just disk 0
	if ($customJobName -like "*-All*"){
		#write "All - Disks"
		#Add-BackupJobTemplate -JobName $customJobName -JobDescription $jobDesc -JobEntity $jobEntity -ExcludedVMList $customExcludeList -NotificationList $email -TargetRepository $jobRepos -Flags $jobFlag -NumberOfSavePoints 1 -SpaceSavingTechnologyTypeFlag None
		Add-BackupJobTemplate -JobName $customJobName -JobDescription $jobDesc -JobEntity $jobEntity -ExcludedVMList $customExcludeList -NotificationList $customEmail -TargetRepository $jobRepos -Flags $jobFlag -NumberOfSavePoints 1 -SpaceSavingTechnologyTypeFlag None -SpaceSavingCountThreshold 6 -SpaceSavingPercentSizeThreshold 50
	}
	else{
		#write "Only Disk 0"
		#Add-BackupJobTemplate -JobName $customJobName -JobDescription $jobDesc -JobEntity $jobEntity -ExcludedVMList $customExcludeList -NotificationList $email -IncludedDiskList 0 -TargetRepository $jobRepos -Flags $jobFlag -NumberOfSavePoints 1 -SpaceSavingTechnologyTypeFlag None
		Add-BackupJobTemplate -JobName $customJobName -JobDescription $jobDesc -JobEntity $jobEntity -ExcludedVMList $customExcludeList -NotificationList $customEmail -IncludedDiskList 0 -TargetRepository $jobRepos -Flags $jobFlag -NumberOfSavePoints 1 -SpaceSavingTechnologyTypeFlag None -SpaceSavingCountThreshold 6 -SpaceSavingPercentSizeThreshold 50
	}
}

New-vRangerBackupJob "Wednesday-Even" "Wednesday-Even" "Backup" "Remote-Location" $excludeList "to@email.com"

Start the backup job.

function Run-BackupJob{
	param ($runJobName)
	$runTemplateID = Get-TemplateID $runJobName
	Run-JobsNow $runTemplateID
}

Run-BackupJob "Wednesday-Even"

Wait for the backup job to finish.

function Get-TemplateID{
	param($tmpJobName)
	$arrTemplate = get-jobtemplate | where {$_.JobName -eq $tmpJobName}
	return $arrTemplate.ID
}

function WaitForJobToFinish{
	param ($strWaitJob)
	$strCompleted = "NotStarted"
        Start-Sleep -Seconds 300	# 5 minutes
	$jobTemplates = get-JobTemplate | where {$_.JobName -eq $strWaitJob}
	foreach ($job in $jobTemplates){
		do{
			$tasksinfo = get-job |where {$_.ParentJobTemplateID -eq $job.TemplateVersionID}
			foreach ($task in $tasksinfo){
				Start-Sleep -Seconds 300	# 5 minutes
				$strCompleted = $task.JobState

                # Make sure job is running - if not start it...
                if ($task.JobState -eq $NULL -or $task.JobState -eq "NotStarted"){
                    Run-BackupJob $strWaitJob
                    Start-Sleep -Seconds 120	# 2 minutes
                }
			}
		}
		while ($strCompleted -notmatch "Completed")
	}
}

WaitForJobToFinish "Wednesday-Even"

Send TSM finished mail.

function FuncMail {
	#param($strTo, $strFrom, $strSubject, $strBody, $smtpServer)
	param($To, $From, $Subject, $Body, $smtpServer)

	$msg = new-object Net.Mail.MailMessage
	$smtp = new-object Net.Mail.SmtpClient($smtpServer)
	$msg.From = $From
	$msg.To.Add($To)
	$msg.Subject = $Subject
	$msg.IsBodyHtml = 1
	$msg.Body = $Body
	$smtp.Send($msg)
}

FuncMail -To "to@email.com" -From "from@email.com" -Subject "vRanger Pro: TSM backup finished" -Body "Your Body" -smtpServer "your.mailserver.com"

The script creates a snapshot of a VM (from a CSV file) and creates a Thin Provisioned clone based on the snapshot, on a specified datastore (from the CSV file).

This a smart and simple way to create a backup of a list of VM’s.

It’s a must read for PowerCLI users.

There is more than 100 guidelines to choose from, divided between

• Introduction
• Virtual Machines
• Host (both ESXi and ESX)
• vNetwork
• vCenter
• Console OS (for ESX only)

http://blogs.vmware.com/security/2010/04/vsphere-40-hardening-guide-released.html

Download it from vmwaresupport.toolbar.fm

To help you, VMware has maintained a KB on the subject.

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1318

The KB presents best practices for achieving accurate timekeeping in Windows Guest operating systems. These recommendations include a suggested configuration for timesynchronization in the guest and on the host.

A more specific guide also exists for Windows and Linux servers:
For Windows read:
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&externalId=1318&sliceId=1&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1&dialogID=73678717&stateId=0%200%2078515868
For Linux read:
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/microsite.do?cmd=displayKCPopup&docType=kc&externalId=1006427&sliceId=1&docTypeID=DT_KB_1_1

It’s great reading, but very nerdy

I highly recommend that all people using powershell check it out.

Get the latest and the archived podcasts at
http://get-scripting.blogspot.com/search/label/podcast

I hope you like it, I’ll try to personalize it during the next couple of weeks .

This creates a list of all usernames connected to the vCenter server through a vCenter Client.

$svcRef = new-object VMware.Vim.ManagedObjectReference
$svcRef.Type = "ServiceInstance"
$svcRef.Value = "ServiceInstance"
$serviceInstance = get-view $svcRef
$sessMgr = get-view $serviceInstance.Content.sessionManager
foreach ($sess in $sessMgr.SessionList){
   write "$($sess.UserName)"
}

If you want to see a witch clients have been idle for 60 minutes try this.

$svcRef = new-object VMware.Vim.ManagedObjectReference
$svcRef.Type = "ServiceInstance"
$svcRef.Value = "ServiceInstance"
$serviceInstance = get-view $svcRef
$sessMgr = get-view $serviceInstance.Content.sessionManager
foreach ($sess in $sessMgr.SessionList){
    if (($sess.LastActiveTime).addminutes(60) -lt (Get-Date)){
        write "$($sess.UserName)"
      }
}

If you the want to terminate the sessions that have been inactive  for more than 60 minute

$svcRef = new-object VMware.Vim.ManagedObjectReference
$svcRef.Type = "ServiceInstance"
$svcRef.Value = "ServiceInstance"
$serviceInstance = get-view $svcRef
$sessMgr = get-view $serviceInstance.Content.sessionManager
$oldSessions = @()
foreach ($sess in $sessMgr.SessionList){
    if (($sess.LastActiveTime).addminutes(60) -lt (Get-Date)){
        $oldSessions += $sess.Key
      }
}
$sessMgr.TerminateSession($oldSessions)

You can modify the hell out of this script to suit your needs and be my guest….

You can download the full script here.

The scripts are based on code found  at the PowerCLI community by LucD.
http://communities.vmware.com/message/914858#914858

Kenneth Mazie. (kcmazie aka. kcmjr) has done a huge job in updating and adding new features to the script.

• Added automatic detection for ESX 3 or ESX 4
• Added corrections for changes with ESX4
• Added Cisco CDP info listing (from user Carson)
• Added corrections to v4 tomcat server

To read more about the ESXHealthScript please visit the project web site.
https://sourceforge.net/projects/esxhealthscript/

If you are using the script, and have ideas for new features/functions, please let us know on the projects website or even better post the needed code

For more info and the latest download, visit http://xtravirt.com/xd10132

These code sniplets will help you manage your VMware environment and give you some ideas of how powerful the VMware PowerCLI really is.

I’m sure VMware will add even more CMDLETS to the PowerCLI in the feature.

Get the latest PowerCLI here.
A function to load different PSSnapins.
Put it in the beginning of all you Powershell scripts,
to load the different PSSnapin you need.

function LoadSnapin{
  param($PSSnapinName)
  if (!(Get-PSSnapin | where {$_.Name   -eq $PSSnapinName})){
    Add-pssnapin -name $PSSnapinName
  }
}
LoadSnapin -PSSnapinName   "VMware.VimAutomation.Core"

Clone a VM to template.

$VMToClone = "vm_name"
$TemplateName = "TemplateName"
$Datacenter = "Training"
get-vm $VMToClone| stop-vm
New-Template -VM $VMToClone -Name $TemplateName
   -Location $(Get-Datacenter $Datacenter)

Convert Template to VM – without changing the name.

$TemplateName = "TemplateName"
Set-Template -Template $(get-template $TemplateName) -ToVM

Convert VM to Template – without changing the name.

$VMtoTemplate = "vm_name"
$vm = Get-VM $VMtoTemplate | Get-View
$vm.MarkAsTemplate()

Deploying a VM from template.

$strNewVMName = "NewVM_01"
$strTemplate = "TemplateName"
$strDestinationHost = "ESX01"
New-VM -Name $strNewVMName -Template $(get-template   $strTemplate)
   -VMHost $(Get-VMHost $strDestinationHost)

Deploying a VM from template using a Customization Specification and using Thin provisioning.
Make sure the CustomSpec has been created beforehand.

$strNewVMName = "NewVM_01"
$strTemplate = "TemplateName"
$strDestinationHost = "ESX01"
$strCustomSpec = "TEST-CustomSpec"
New-VM -Name $strNewVMName -Template $(get-template $strTemplate)
   -VMHost $(Get-VMHost $strDestinationHost) -DiskStorageFormat
   Thin -OSCustomizationSpec $(Get-OSCustomizationSpec $strCustomSpec)

Moving a VM to a specific folder.

$strDistinationFolder = "MyFolder"
$strDatacenter = "Training"
$VMToMove = "MyVM"
move-vm -VM $(get-vm $VMToMove) -Destination $(Get-Folder
    -Name $strDistinationFolder -Location $(Get-Datacenter $strDatacenter))

Copying a file to a Windows VM (With or without network access)
Requires VMware tools to be running.

$VM = get-vm -name "myVM"
$target = "C:\MY_DIR\"
$source = "C:\MY_DIR\test.txt"
Copy-VMGuestFile -Source $source -Destination $target -vm $VM
   -LocalToGuest -HostUser "root" -HostPassword "password"
   -GuestUser "myVM\administrator" -GuestPassword "password"
   -Force:$true

Copying a file from a Windows VM (With or without network access)
Requires VMware tools to be running.

$VM = get-vm -name "myVM"
$target = "C:\MY_DIR\"
$source = "C:\MY_DIR\test.txt"
Copy-VMGuestFile -Source $source -Destination $target -vm $VM
   -GuestToLocal -HostUser "root" -HostPassword "password"
   -GuestUser "myVM\administrator" -GuestPassword "password"
   -Force:$true

Listing the content of “C:\Windows\System32″ from a VM – remotely

$VM = get-vm -name "myVM"
Invoke-VMScript -VM $VM -ScriptText "dir" -HostUser "root"
   -HostPassword "password" -GuestUser "myVM\administrator"
   -GuestPassword "password"

Run msinfo32 on a guest VM and pipe the output to a TXT file – Using PowerShell.

$VM = get-vm -name "myVM"
$script = '&"$env:ProgramFiles\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\
   MSInfo\msinfo32.exe" /report "$env:Tmp\inforeport.txt"'
Invoke-VMScript -VM $VM -ScriptText $script -HostUser "root"
   -HostPassword "password" -GuestUser "myVM\administrator"
   -GuestPassword "password"

Open the above output file in the guest VM – Using PowerShell.

$VM = get-vm -name "myVM"
$script = '&"notepad.exe" "$env:Tmp\inforeport.txt"'
Invoke-VMScript -VM $VM -ScriptText $script -HostUser "root"
   -HostPassword "password" -GuestUser "myVM\administrator"
   -GuestPassword "password" -ScriptType Powershell

Run msinfo32 on a guest VM and pipe the output to a TXT file – Using batch commands.

$VM = get-vm -name "myVM"
$script = '&"%programfiles%\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\
   MSInfo\msinfo32.exe" /report "%tmp%\inforeport.txt"'
Invoke-VMScript -VM $VM -ScriptText $script -HostUser "root"
   -HostPassword "password" -GuestUser "myVM\administrator"
   -GuestPassword "password" -ScriptType Bat

Open the above output file in the guest VM – Using batch commands.

$VM = get-vm -name "myVM"
$script = '"notepad.exe"   "%Tmp%\inforeport.txt"'
Invoke-VMScript -VM $VM -ScriptText $script -HostUser "root"
   -HostPassword "password" -GuestUser "myVM\administrator"
   -GuestPassword "password" -ScriptType Bat

http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-9279

I’m using it to troubleshoot performance issues (poor response times) from clients in different locations, when using the remote console.

1. Login to the ESX host using SSH (or from COS)
2. Type service mgmt-vmware restart.
   CAUTION
   Before restarting the Management Agent make sure that Automatic Startup/Shutdown is Disabled
   For more info see
   Restarting hostd (mgmt-vmware) on ESX Server Hosts Restarts Hosted Virtual Machines Where Virtual Machine Startup/Shutdown is Enabled (1003312)
3. Type service vmware-vpxa restart.
4. Exit the SSH session or logout of COS

1. Download the Bios/Embedded Controller from IBM/Lenovo (Diskette version)
2. Rename the file UPDTFLSH.EXE to UPDTFLSH.EXE.OLD
3. Create a copy of QKFLASH:EXE and rename it to UPDTFLSH.EXE
4. Boot the labtop from the diskette
5. Follow normal procedure for updating BIOS/Embedded Controller
6. DON’T TURN OFF THE PC OR REMOVE POWER
7. When the BIOS/Embedded Controller is updated the PC will trun off
8. Poweron  and enter BIOS (F1) to verify that the new BIOS/Embedded Controller is installed.

In short the article states that you might have the disks go offline in a Windows 2008 VM if you

• Upgrade virtual hardware from version 4 to 7
• Installing a new VM with virtual hardware 7

There is two ways to get around this (taken from the VMware KB 103109)

————————

• VDS_SP_UNKNOWN = 0×0
• VDS_SP_ONLINE = 0×1
• VDS_SP_OFFLINE_SHARED = 0×2
• VDS_SP_OFFLINE = 0×3

C:\>DISKPART.EXE
DISKPART> san
SAN Policy : Offline Shared

DISKPART> exit

1. Log in to your system as an Administrator.
2. Click Computer Management > Storage > Disk Management.
3. Right-click the disk and choose Online.

• VMware vSphere ESXi Free Edition and VMware Go
• VMware vMA, vCLI (or command-line interface), PowerCLI, and scripts from the vGhetto script repository such as vSphereHealthCheck
• Veeam Monitor (free edition), FastSCP, and Business View
• Vizioncore Wastefinder, vConvert SC and Virtualization EcoShell
• SolarWinds’ VM Monitor
• Trilead VM Explorer
• TripWire ConfigCheck
• ConfigureSoft/EMC Compliance Checker
• ESX Manager 2.3 from ESXGuide (ESX 3i and 4i are not supported)
• vKernel SearchMyVM, SnapshotMyVM, and Modeler
• Hyper9 GuessMyOS Plugin, Search Bar Plugin, and Virtualization Mobile Manager
• XtraVirt vAlarm and vLogView

I still think that he is missing a few, like

• Project Onyx (Just released in Alpha)
• ESX HealthScript (ESXi not supported)
• Ultimate Deployment Appliance (UDA)
• Daily ESX Report (Script)
• Syslog Appliance
• PowerGUI VMware Power Pack
• PowerWF Studio

See the full article at
http://searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com