VMware

The vimsh command documented by Xtravirt has now been updated to include the recently uncovered vmware-vim-cmd. This command replaces the need to enter the vimsh interactive shell, increasing performance and simplifying its use. vimsh is a highly useful API which can be used to report, configure and tweak many aspects of ESX server. This version has been fully re-written for ESX 3.5 and has been simplified in many areas. It also contains over 35 working examples.

VMware has removed the option to run ESX 3.5 on Workstation 6.5 but there is some light at the horizon. Jim Mattson  over at VMware didn’t make a promise but the final version of Workstation 6.5 might include support for ESX 3.5, in the beta I’m using at the moment it didn’t work tough.

The code to support this mode of execution no longer exists. However, as kma said earlier, "please stay tuned." No promises, but Workstation 6.5 is not fully cooked yet, and something may yet appear that suits your needs.

Brugh posted a nice "VA" on the Virtual Appliance Marketplace. EDA is an appliance dedicated to deploying ESX servers fast and easy. It has a scriptbuilder to quickly create %postscripts.

ESX Deployment Appliance (EDA) is a small and easy to use appliance that makes deploying ESX servers a breeze. It has a very intuitive web-interface that can configure and deploy dozens of ESX servers in minutes. It has a script-builder that will allow any admin to create %post-scripts that will do most anything one needs to get the ESX hosts up and running! Even if deploying with RDP/Altiris or the UDA, this script-builder can help setting those up very quickly.

To set it up, just attach a ESX3 iso to it. It will automatically mount it and with one click, import the PXE bootfiles and strip the HBA drivers to do a save install while SAN LUNs are attached!

This appliance is still in beta stage because there's a todo list. But it's fully functional and has been tested to work at least on HP DL380's, BL460, BL480 and Dell 2950 servers.

The VMware Virtualization Forum 2008 is for IT professionals and business decision makers interested in learning more about transforming a traditional, expensive IT environment into a fully optimized, cost-effective, virtualized environment.
Dates & venues (Spain, South Africa coming soon):
Stockholm, Sweden - 02 October 2008
Paris, France - 08 October 2008
Rotterdam, Netherlands - 15 October 2008
Dusseldorf, Germany - 22 October 2008
Vienna, Austria - 29 October 2008
Zurich, Switzerland - 05 November 2008
Milan, Italy - 12 November 2008
Warsaw, Poland - 13 November 2008
London, United Kingdom - 19 November 2008

Please note that VMware is planning to have partner days around the virtualization forum – more information to come soon. Partner Day is a one-day event which showcases the latest partner programs, training programs and marketing initiatives.

I selected some PortableApps tools and installed them on my VMware ESX 3i memory stick I received in San Francisco. Yes it’s definitely broken now ;-) Here is my selection that might become handy when you are the administrator at an ESX environment. I’m still trying to package the VI Client and make it PortableApps compatible.










InfraRecorder Portable - full-featured CD and DVD burner

7-Zip Portable - File archiver and compressor

WinSCP Portable - SFTP, FTP and SCP client

PuTTY Portable - lightweight telnet and SSH client

Mozilla Firefox, Portable Edition - the award-winning web browser

FileZilla Portable - the full-featured FTP client

Notepad++ Portable - A full-featured text editor with syntax highlighting

vmSight™, the leader in business intelligence for virtual systems, today announced the 3.5 release of its product suite. The Virtual Network Intelligence product suite, built on patented technology, allows customers to easily monitor, alert and report on application and user activity in virtual environments. The vmSight product suite includes VMware®-certified virtual appliances for policy management and reporting and for monitoring.

vmSight Virtual Network Intelligence 3.5 adds the following key capabilities:

Application Performance Management – gather data on application response time, application uptime and network latency for all virtualized applications. Monitor, report and alert on service levels for specific applications, user groups and times of day. Measure end user experience and spot problems based on user satisfaction analytics and performance trends.

VM Sprawl Control – Sometimes referred to as “sprawl,�? the uncontrolled proliferation of virtual machines can reduce the value and performance of Virtual Infrastructure. vmSight works to automatically and continuously monitor application performance trends and usage statistics to identify under-utilized applications and VMs. It identifies resources for reallocation and applications for consolidation to increase the cost savings of VM utilization.

VDI Diagnostics – continuously monitor VMware VDI deployments and infrastructure to ensure the success of VDI deployments. Capture information on RDP bandwidth, RDP connection results, network latency, and VMware VDM messaging results, as well as track all application activity from virtual desktops and bandwidth consumption by specific applications such as print jobs.