VMware - 49

VMware would like to inform you that they are experiencing a delay in releasing the new version of ESX/ESXi 3.5 Update 2. Their testing of this release is taking longer than anticipated. They are now targeting to release the update between 2:00 AM PDT (0700 UTC) August 14 and 8:00 AM (1500 UTC) August 14 PDT. They apologize for the delay. VMware engineering teams are working around the clock to deliver this new version. They will continue to keep you informed of developments until this issue is fully resolved.

In our last update, we referred to an initiative by our support and engineering teams to find an option to apply the patch without the necessity of entering maintenance mode and VMotion of VM’s to other servers, or VM power-off and re-power-on. Our earlier tests have not found a consistently successful way to address this. We continue to investigate this possibility, as we know that it would reduce the maintenance burden on our customers who may not have a patched server available for VMotion.

An issue has been uncovered with ESX/ESXi 3.5 Update 2 that causes the product license to expire on August 12.  VMware engineering has isolated the root cause of this issue and will reissue the various upgrade media including the ESX 3.5 Update 2 ISO, ESXi 3.5 Update 2 ISO, ESX 3.5 Update 2 upgrade tar and zip files in the next 36 hours (by noon, August 13, PST).  They will be available from the page: http://www.vmware.com/download/vi.  Until then, VMware advises against upgrading to ESX/ESXi 3.5 Update 2.

A new white paper which details the installation of ESX 3.5 Update 2 on Workstation 6.5 BETA, Build 99530 and run a fully working Virtual Infrastructure. In 2007, like others in the global VMware community, Xtravirt developed a common methodology to install and run VMware ESX 3.x on VMware Workstation 6 together with a shared storage solution based upon an iSCSI software target. They called it ‘VI3 in a box’. This allowed users and professionals in the IT community to create simple and cost effective VI3 infrastructures to test, learn about and demonstrate these environments.

Upon the release of VMware ESX 3.5 we found that this methodology did not continue to hold true. Although still possible to install ESX 3.5, when attempting to start a nested Virtual Machine on the ESX VM, the ESX VM panics, and a stop message appears. However, with the release of VMware Workstation 6.5, build release 99530, a revised solution now exists. This white paper documents the process to install and configure ‘VI3.5 in a box’. (Via ICT-Freak)

VMware announced new educational services and certification programs designed to help IT professionals build world-class virtual environments. The programs are designed for varied positions, including systems administrators, design architects, operators and managers who are interested in enhancing their knowledge and skills of VMware Infrastructure for datacenter and desktop environments. New education offerings include the VMware Certified Design Expert (VCDX) and Live Online and Flex Online courses.

Danny Kort launched the ultimatewhitebox.com website. Not all the hardware is supported but on the other hand, it’s cheap and you can use it to create your own home lab. The database contains several motherboards, network interface cards, I/O controllers, CPU's and memory. When you want to add your own hardware, the only thing you have to do is register and add your configuration.

Searching for a cheap supported configuration isn’t an easy job. You have to find a supported motherboard, network card and SATA controller. I have found a desktop with all these items combined. You can use The HP Compaq d530 - Small form factor (SFF)  DG755A desktop.  My model has a CPU from Intel Pentium 4 CPU 2.8 GHz, a NIC from Broadcom Corporatoin NetXtreme BCM5782 Gigabit Ethernet and a SATA 82801EB (ICH5) SATA Controller. I added a 512 Mb memory bank so I have 1 Gigabyte in total. Enough to host a few virtual machines.

Share operational processes to understand all organizational steps required to implement a virtualization solution. Improve on both new and existing models for enterprise virtualization.