Virtually Boring

VMware Horizon View 7: Create Events Database [Part 3]

May 28, 2016April 22, 2016 by Daniel

Part 3 of the series will be creating the Events database. Horizon View uses the events database as a repository to store logging information such as user connections. Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle database servers are supported. For my environment I will be using SQL Server 2014. This step can be skipped if you do not want to log these events.

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Creating Events Database in SQL 2014:

First we need to create the database. Login to your SQL server, launch the SQL Server Management Studio, right click Database then click New Database:

VMware Horizon View 7: Apply SSL Certificates [Part 2]

June 14, 2016April 22, 2016 by Daniel

In Part 2 of this series I will be switching the Connection & Security Servers default SSL certificates to trusted SSL certificates. Once you obtain the replacement certificates the swap is very simple and easy! You can jump to Part 3 if you are just testing View in your environment and have no care if the certificate is valid.

VMware Horizon View 7: Deployment and Installation [Part 1]

May 28, 2016April 22, 2016 by Daniel

VMware Horizon View enables users to access virtual desktops and applications through a single pane of glass. There have been many improvements added to the release of Horizon View 7 such as Blast Extreme protocol, Instant Clone, enhanced security and policy management. VMware Horizon 7 What’s New. In this blog series I will be going through installation and configuration of Horizon View 7 in my lab environment.

vBoring Blog Series:

Operation Jumbo Frames – MTU 9000 for VMware Networking

April 23, 2016April 15, 2016 by Daniel

Wanted to make a quick post about enabling Jumbo Frames in my VMware environment! My switches (Cisco SG-200 & SG-500) support Jumbo Frames so I thought why not? It would surely help push more data through the network for faster for VSAN and vMotions. I’ll do some speed tests later to compare!

Hardware Requirements:

Before you start out on this quest ensure your physical switch support jumbo frames. When enabling it on my Cisco switches a switch reboot was required:

The next step is to ensure the NICs in your servers support jumbo frames. If they are server NICs then they should. My Dell T620/R520 both have Broadcom NetXtreme 5709 which in fact support Jumbo Frames.

Deploying VMware vRealize Log Insight

April 14, 2016 by Daniel

In this post I will be deploying VMware vRealize Log Insight version 3.3 appliance in my home lab. Log Insight is part of the vRealize suite of VMware management products. It provides real time log monitoring of your vSphere environment and can even integrate with vRealize Operations Manager. Normally your vCenter/host logs are collected but you never get use out of them, now with Log Insight it gives you a visual way to see any issues that could be happening behind the scenes. Basically vRealize Log Insight gives you structure for your unstructured logs!

An important announcement with 3.3 release is all users with a supported vCenter Server 6.0 license are entitled to a 25-OSI pack of Log Insight! Log Insight will accept the license key of vCenter 6.0 Standard, Enterprise or Enterprise Plus. If you have vCenter Server 5.x a license key can be obtained from the Log Insight download page then select Read More. Check out VMware Blog – Log Insight for vCenter FAQ for additional information about this release.

Deploying Microsoft SQL 2014 Standalone Server

April 12, 2016 by Daniel

In this blog I will be installing Microsoft SQL 2014 in a Standalone configuration. I needed to setup a SQL server for my home lab so thought i’d document the installation process.

Before You Start:

For a complete list of hardware and software requirements:
- Hardware and Software Requirements for Installing SQL Server 2014
Recommended Hardware Requirements: 4 GB Memory, 2 vCPU, and at least 6 GB of free space for SQL installation.
.NET Framework 3.5 needs to be installed, for two install methods click here and here.

Deploying VMware Update Manager 6.0 Update 2

March 23, 2016 by Daniel

With the release of vSphere 6.0 Update 2 I needed to update my hosts! VMware Update Manager [VUM] makes updating and patching your environment very easy. It can also be used to upgrade VMTools and VMHardware versions on your virtual machines. In this post I will be installing VUM on Windows Server 2012 R2 VM using the SQL Express database and attaching it to my VCSA 6.0 U2 appliance. Once installed then I will use VUM to update my environment!

Requirements:

Must have a vCenter.
Software: .NET Framework 3.5 needs to be installed on the VUM server. For two install methods click here and here.
Hardware: 2 GB of RAM if separated from vCenter. 8 GB of RAM if installed on a Windows vCenter.
Storage: VMware recommends at least 120 GB of free space for the patching repository. Sizing Estimator for vSphere Update Manager 6.0.
Database:
- SQL Express: If you have a small environment (VMware says 5 hosts and 50 virtual machines or less) then the embedded SQL Express database is just fine.
- External: If you have a larger environment then you will want to use a external database. Click here and here to read more about having a external database.
For a full of requirements check out the VMware Update Manager 6.0 Update 2 Release Notes.
Click here for all VMware Update Manager documentation.

Updating vCenter Server Appliance 6.0 to Update 2

March 22, 2016 by Daniel

In this post i’ll go through how to upgrade the vCenter Server Appliance [VCSA] 6 to Update 2. To read about all the new features Update 2 adds check out my post VMware vSphere 6.0 Update 2 is available!

There are two sets of instructions, one if you already upgraded your VCSA to Update 1 and the other is if you are still running the initial 6.0.0 release. When scrolling down I made each upgrade type a super large header so you shouldn’t miss it!

In my environment I have the Platform Services Controller [PSC] embedded with the VCSA. If you deployed an external PSC separately from vCenter then this post will still work for you! The upgrade procedure is the exact same on both the vCenter and PSC just upgrade the PSC first before vCenter. To upgrade the PSC scroll down and use the second update method.

How to Upgrade if you are on VCSA 6 Update 1 or 1b:

If you already have your VCSA updated to 6.0 Update 1 then the upgrade is super simple! Log into the appliance Management User Interface [MUI] by opening a web browser and entering the following:

<strong>HTTPS://</strong><em>&lt;fqdn or ip&gt;</em><strong>:5480</strong>

1	<strong>HTTPS://</strong><em><fqdn or ip></em><strong>:5480</strong>

VMware vSphere 6.0 Update 2 is available!

March 21, 2016 by Daniel

It’s finally here! VMware vSphere Update 2 released on March 16th, 2016 and is available for download. With it comes many new features and of course bug fixes.

What’s New with vCenter 6.0 U2:

Download VMware vCenter Server 6.0 U2

Two-factor authentication for vSphere Web Client: Protect the vSphere Web Client using the following form of authentication:
- RSA SecurID
- Smart card (That is the UPN based Common Access Card)
Support to change vSphere ESX Agent Manager logging level: This release supports dynamic increase or decrease of vSphere ESX Agent Manager (EAM) logging levels without restarting EAM.
vSphere Web Client support: vSphere Web Client now supports Microsoft Windows 10 OS.
vCenter Server database support: vCenter Server now supports the following external databases:
- Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Service Pack 3
- Microsoft SQL Server 2014 Service Pack 1
Resolved Issues: This release of vCenter Server 6.0 Update 2 addresses issues that have been documented in the Resolved Issues section.
Read the full release notes here.

How to setup Microsoft Active Directory Certificate Services [AD CS]

March 15, 2016March 15, 2016 by Daniel

Microsoft Active Directory Certificate Services [AD CS] provides a platform for issuing and managing public key infrastructure [PKI] certificates. On top of securing application and HTTP traffic the certificates that AD CS provides can be used for authentication of computer, user, or device accounts on a network.

In this post I will be setting up a single AD CS server on my domain and configuring group policy to auto enroll my servers. For an enterprise environment you will deploy subordinate CA’s and shut down your root CA for security. For more information about this setup click here: PKI Design Options

Installing the AD CS Server Role:

Open Server Manager and click Manage -> Add Roles and Features:

Click Next:

Creating Events Database in SQL 2014:

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Hardware Requirements:

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Before You Start:

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How to Upgrade if you are on VCSA 6 Update 1 or 1b:

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What’s New with vCenter 6.0 U2:

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Installing the AD CS Server Role:

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