Tag Archives: ESXi

Manually Remove I/O Filters From vSphere VM

I was attempting to move a VM from one host to another, and received the fallowing error: “Host does not support the virtual hardware configuration of virtual machine. The IO Filters(s) XXXX configured on the VM’s disk are not installed on the destination host.

At one point, I was using a VM accelerator solution that was not cleanly removed. It took me awhile to figure out how to remove the IO filter from the VM, so hopefully this guide will save you some time.

Part 1 – Remove setting from the VM

After searching the config files of the VM, I came across the VM’s VMDK descriptor file. This is not the storage VMDK file itself, but the 1KB sized descriptor file which I had to edit.

There are two lines that contain configurations for the IO filter, and both need to be removed. These are the ddb.iofilters and ddb.sidecars settings. Both lines can just be removed and the file saved.

Upon trying to migrate the VM after removing these lines, I received the same error as before. I needed to make the host aware of these changes somehow. This was achieved by right-clicking the VM –> VM Policies –> Edit VM Storage Policies..

I didn’t have to change anything, but just needed to click OK.

After doing those tasks, I was able to successfully migrate the VM!

Part 2 – Remove setting from the Host

Although I probably could have done this first, I was in a hurry and didn’t want to impact production VMs. The process to remove the IO filter from the host is fairly quick and easy, but will require the host to be in maintenance mode, and a reboot is probably useful afterwards.

Put the host into maintenance mode.
SSH into the host.
Run “esxcli software vib list” to view a list of all installed filters.
Run “esxcli software vib remove -n filtername” (replacing filter name) to remove the filter.
While a reboot isnt required, it is suggested.

Reset HPE ILO Password from vSphere ESXi Host

Changing the login password of the ILO Out-of-Band Management with an ESX host can be done by doing the following:

  1. Enable SSH on the host you need the ILO IP from
  2. SSH into the host using Putty or another SSH client
  3. Type: cd /opt/hp/tools

From here, we will create a new file that will contain the new credentials you want to use on the iLO going forward. You can create this file and copy to the above location using WinSCP,or use Vi to do this all within putty

4. Type: vi pwreset.xml
5. Type: i
(this will put you into insert mode and allow you to copy the below text so you don’t have to type it. Please use your own password on line 5)

<RIBCL VERSION="2.0">
<LOGIN USER_LOGIN="Administrator" PASSWORD="unknown">
<USER_INFO MODE="write">
<MOD_USER USER_LOGIN="Administrator">
<PASSWORD value="Enter-Your-Password-Here"/>
</MOD_USER>
</USER_INFO>
</LOGIN>
</RIBCL>

6. Press the Esc key
7. Type: :wq to save and exit the file
8. Type: ./hponcfg -f pwreset.xml to reset the iLO

You should now be able to login with your new credentials. The last step is to remove the file you just created.

9. Type: cd /opt/hp/tools
10. Type: rm -rf pwreset.xml

Create Bootable VMware ESXi Installer USB Drive

Getting ESXi installed on a server today is more often done through the servers BMC (iLO, iDRAC, CMC, etc). But this guide might be helpful when installing vSphere on a standalone server. The tool of choice for any bootable USB is my friend Rufus.

There are three things you will need to do this:

  • Download Rufus Here
  • Download whatever .iSO image you want to be bootable (whether its WIndows, ESXi, or Linux).
  • Use a somewhat quality USB Flash Drive (1GB or larger). For some reason, I will run into some cheap-o thumb drives that do not boot anything. If your boot drive doesn’t work, try a different flash drive

 

Here are the easy steps:

  • Insert your blank (or soon to be formatted) flash drive into your PC
  • Open Rufus

  • Under Device, select the flash drive you wish to format and use
  • Select MBR partition Scheme for BIOS or UEFI
  • Filesystem = Fat32
  • Use default Cluster Size (4096 bytes)
  • Click the icon next to FreeDOS and select your ISO image
  • Rename the New Volume Label to whatever you wish to see when you insert the flash drive into a PC
  • Click Start

  • When prompted to replace menu.c32, select Yes

  • Finally, click Yes to the warning that this flash drive will be formatted (destroyed)

 

That’s it. It will take a couple of mins, but you should have a bootable flash drive.

VMware vSphere ISCSI Port Bindings – You’re Probably Doing it Wrong

As a Consultant, I have the opportunity of seeing a lot of different operating environments from a variety of customers. At a high-level, most customers have the same data center infrastructure (Servers, Storage, Running Virtualization, etc). Although the configurations of these environments vary, I see one configuration mistake made by many of these customers – “ISCSI Port Binding”.

For those unfamiliar with ISCSI Port Binding, Port Binding binds/glues the ISCSI Initiator interface on the ESXi Host to a vmknic to allow for ISCSI multipathing. Binding itself technically  doesn’t  “allow multipathing”, just having multiple adapters can do that. But if you have Multiple Adapters/VMkernel ports for ISCSI used in the SAME subnet/broadcast domain, it will allow multiple paths to the ISCSI array that broadcasts one single IP Address.

Why do I need to bind my Initiator to a VMkernel anyway?
When you have multiple ISCSI Adaptors on the same subnet, there is really no control on where data flows or how to control data broadcasts of the adapters. You literally flood that network with rouge packets.
* Note: I am trying to make this easy to understand for those that don’t have a deep technical experience on this subject. And in doing so, I am only telling half-truths here to keep things simple. Don’t call me out on this 🙂

When should you enable ISCSI Port Binding?

ISCSI Port Binding is ONLY used when you have multiple VMKernels on the SAME subnet.

Pictured above, you can see there are multiple VMkernel ports on the same subnet and broadcast domain. You MUST use port binding! If you do not, you may experience the following:
– Unable to see ISCSI Storage on ESXi
– Paths to storage are reported as Dead
– Loss of Path Redundancy Errors
ISCSI Port Binding bypasses some vSwitch Functionality. No Data Path, No Acceleration.
Array Target ports must reside in the same Broadcast Domain & Subnet as the VMkernel port
All VMkernel ports used for ISCSI must reside in the same broadcast domain & subnet
All VMkernel ports used for ISCSI must reside in the same vSwitch

When should you NOT enable ISCSI Port Binding?

Do not enable Port Binding if Array Target ports are in a different broadcast domain & subnet
ISCSI VMkernel ports exist in different broadcast domain, Subnet an/or vSwitch
Routing is required to reach the array
If LACP/Link Aggregation is used on ESXi host uplinks to the pSwitch

In the above example, you should NOT use Port Binding. In doing so, you may experience:
– Rescan times take longer than usual
– Incorrect number of paths per device are seen
– Unable to see any storage from the array

So why do I say you are probably doing it wrong? Most storage arrays use the second example as a best practice for multipathing to the array. Most customers follow those best practices and use two VMkernel Ports on different subnets to connect to their arrays. But most people still enable port binding!
If you are guilty of this, you can easily remove the existing Port Bindings. Doing so will cause a temporary loss to your storage, so make sure all VMs are shutdown, and you have a maintenance window.

Now you know!

 

 

View your VMware ESXi Host’s System Log, Config and Datastore via a Web Browser

Looking for an easy way to view your VMware ESXi host’s System LogsConfig Files andDatastore?  This rather nifty ESXi feature will save you the hassle of having to log onto the ESXi console to view any of these items.  All you simply have to do is open a web browser and enter in one of the two URLs (see below) – depending on what you’re wanting to access.  Keep in mind that what is displayed in the web browser is read-only.

ESXi Configuration Files & System Logs:

 

http://<insert ESXi host name or IP here>/host

 

Click on any of the displayed items to view their contents.

ESXi Datastores:

To view the ESXi host’s attached datastores and the total and consumed disk space enter:

 

http://<insert ESXi host name or IP here>/folder

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