Entries from Eric Sloof

http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003734 This video helps you troubleshoot a situation where VMware VMotion fails at 10%. The video shows you how to perform some of the more common tasks associated with resolving the failure. For more information, you can visit the VMware knowledge base article. The article provides a few more troubleshooting steps for less common issues.

Today I attended the VMware Virtualization Forum event in Nijkerk. It’s a free, interactive full day event where you could learn about virtual infrastructure from experts and industry analysts. I’ve met some good old friends and had a lot of fun. I’ve made some pictures and recorded a 15 minute video so you can get an impression of this great day. Viktor van den Berg over at the Dutch VMUG also created a real video extravaganza.

Continue reading "VMware vForum 2010: Photos - Interviews" »

Gabrie van Zanten about EMC's Avamar - EMC Avamar backup and recovery solutions utilize patented global data deduplication technology to identify redundant data at the source, minimizing backup data before it is sent over the LAN/WAN. With Avamar, you can achieve new levels of data reduction and enable fast, secure backup for your VMware environments, remote offices, LAN/NAS servers, and desktop/laptop systems. In the process, you’ll reduce backup time, growth of secondary storage, and network utilization. I’ve recorded an interview with Gabrie ->

Continue reading "Gabrie van Zanten about EMC's Avamar" »

TrainSignal has released a new VMware video training product, the VMware vSphere Pro Series Training Volume I. This course is taught by three vExperts VCPs and it covers three distinct hot-topics in virtualization.

VMware View & ThinApp, VMware's Desktop & Application Virtualization solutions, authored by David Davis.

VMware PowerCLI, VMware's implementation of Microsoft PowerShell, used to manage your vSphere infrastructure from the command-line, authored by Hal Rottenberg.

Cisco Nexus 1000V, the 3rd party add-in distributed virtual switch for vSphere, authored by Rick Scherer.

Here’s What You Get When You Order VMware vSphere Pro Series Training Vol. 1:

20 Videos (10 hrs: 39mins: 50secs) will be provided in High-Quality AVI and WMV format. In other words, you get perfect quality and replication of your instructors’ screens. An easy-to-use table of contents allows you to navigate to key areas you wish to focus on.

20 iPod video files to watch Train Signal on the go! A popular request amongst our students who wish to study while they commute (i.e. train, plane, bus). These 320x240 M4V files are compressed versions of the original course, and play on any iPod that supports video. Also great for reviewing and refreshing your mind "on the job."

20 MP3 audio files to listen to Train Signal anytime, anywhere. Some of our students have requested this option. Now, you can listen in the car or while working out. Our MP3 files can be burnt to a CD or copied to a portable device.

Instructor Notes - These PDF documents, which can be printed out, contain the slides used by the instructors throughout the videos. These documents allow the user a quick easy reference to the instructors’ notes on the slides, and provides a place to make additional notes.

One of the first things I did after I signed-up for the Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) was downloading Visual Studio 2008. I’ve installed Visual Studio 2008 in a newly created Windows 2008 virtual machine and copied the vSphere Web Service SDK to the root of this VM.

Before you can start with building the Samples (C:\Web Service SDK\SDK\samples\DotNet) you have to generate the stubs, Paul Davey over at Xtravirt has created a real good work around for Visual Studio 2008.

• Open the visual studio command prompt.
• Enter the following: set VSINSTALLDIR="C:\All My Apps\Microsoft Visual Studio 9"
• Copy the two WSDL files that you want to use (either 2.5 or 2.0) to the \SDK\samples\DotNet folder
• In the visual studio command prompt, change directory to the \SDK\samples\DotNet folder
• Enter the following command: genvimstubs.cmd .\

If you don’t want to hassle with building your own (VimService2005.dll) and (VimService2005.XmlSerializers.dll) or you’re a bit lazy, there’s an alternative. You can install Xtravirt’s RDP plug-in and copy the two dll files from the program files directory (C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\Virtual Infrastructure Client\Plugins\XtravirtRDP) to the Samples DotNet directory (C:\Web Service SDK\SDK\samples\DotNet). Now you can start build the C# (.NET) samples using Microsoft Visual Studio 2008.

• Start Visual Studio 2008
• Go to the menu option File – Open – Project/Solution
• Navigate to the C:\Web Service SDK\SDK\samples\DotNet\cs\ Samples2005.sln file.

You’re now about to start the Visual Studio Conversion Wizard because the Samples2005.sln was created in a previous version of Visual Studio. It must be converted to the format used by Visual Studio 2008. Click <Next> to proceed.

After the conversion go to the menu option Project/ Add Reference, click the Browse tab and locate the (VimService2005.dll) and (VimService2005.XmlSerializers.dll) files.
Check out the label of the namespace, if namespace name is not 'Vim25Api' you have to do a quick Find and Replace from the edit menu. For instance, replace “Vim25Api” with “VimApi”.
Go to your Solution Explorer and locate the SimpleClient2005, this is a simple standalone client whose purpose is to demonstrate the process for Logging into the Webservice, and get Container contents starting at the root Folder available in the ServiceInstanceContent. Right click it and choose for the Build option. After the build is complete open a command prompt and navigate to the newly build executable.  Execute te following command:

C:\Web Service SDK\SDK\samples\DotNet\cs\SimpleClient\bin\Debug>SimpleClient.exe "https://192.168.178.250/sdk" "administrator" "vmware"

A list with all your virtual machine will scroll over the screen. I’ve created some screen dumps of te whole process, have fun and don’t forget to sign up VMware's Script-O-Mania contest.

If you want to relocate your vCenter database from a local express SQL server to a central Microsoft SQL Server 2008, you can use the SQL Server Import and Export Wizard to copy and transform data between supported data sources and destinations.

The purpose of the SQL Server Import and Export Wizard is to copy data from a source to a destination. The wizard can also create a destination database and destination tables for you. However, if you have to copy multiple databases or tables, or other kinds of database objects, you should use the Copy Database Wizard instead.

I’ve created a little Jing movie which demos the migration from a local SQL express database to a central Microsoft SQL Server 2008. Continue reading "How to migrate the vCenter database to..." »

The Cisco Nexus 1000V Switch delivers VN-Link services to virtual machines hosted on its server. It takes advantage of the VMware vSphere framework to offer tight integration between server and network environments, and to help ensure consistent, policy-based network capabilities to all servers in your data center.

Learn more about this software switch at the Nexus 1000V Switch Spring 2010 Seminar Series. The series has two tracks: Sales and Technical.

Topics include:

• Nexus 1000V Switch Business Impact and Return on Investment
• Basic Nexus 1000V Switch Features
• Accelerating Data Center Virtualization with Nexus 1000V Switch
• Advanced Nexus 1000V Switch Features
• Nexus 1000V Customer Panel
• Virtualize DMZ with Nexus 1000V Switch
• Analyst Panel Roundtable Discussion: Nexus 1000V Switch
• Approach Payment Card Industry (PCI) Compliance with Nexus 1000V Switch
• Ecosystem Partners & Products
• VN-Link and the Future of Virtual Networking
• Channel Partner Roundtable Discussion
• Interoperability with VMware Products
• Infrastructure as a Service Reference Architecture
• Cisco Nexus 1010 Virtual Services Appliance
• Advanced Networking in a Virtualized Environment

If you’re a VMware Partner, you should check if your company has completed all of the requirements necessary to remain at the Professional level in the VMware Partner Network.

Recently VMware introduced new benefits to best support your organization with a go-to market business model that is right for you. As a Professional partner in the Solution Provider program, your organization has access to sales & marketing tools, education through Partner University, presence on Partner Locator, not-for-resale licenses, select internal use licenses and much more in order to best support your VMware business needs.

At the 11th of February I’ll deliver a two day VMware Technical Sales Professional (VTSP) boot camp. This is your last change to get VTSP certified in just two days.

11 and 12 februari - Utrecht

Continue reading "Join me at the Dutch VMware VTSP4 Training" »

The VMware Virtualization Forum event is a free, interactive full day event where you will learn about virtual infrastructure from experts, industry analysts and companies like yours. No matter what your company size, there's a virtualization solution for you—from the desktop to the datacenter. You’ll hear from companies of all sizes discuss their virtualization solutions for everything from the desktop to the data center.

Give IT a break. Imagine the day when IT can shift its focus from maintenance to driving efficiency and innovation — and help grow the business. And imagine doing this while fully optimizing financial resources throughout IT, shifting human energy and conserving the earth’s energy.

Rest assured. VMware and its Partners get you there. From the datacenter to the desktop, out to the cloud. Don’t miss your change and see how VMware delivers the world’s most trusted, flexible and dynamic solutions for Business Infrastructure Virtualization.

Learn about: 

• Building an Internal Cloud that is ready for the external Cloud
• Improve Business Continuity with Virtualization
• Transform the Management of Your Virtualized Datacenter
• Desktops as a Managed Service
• Deploy and Run Applications without Conflict

Date : 9 Feb 2010
Place : Nijkerk

http://www.vmware-forum.com/vforum/nijkerk/index.php

Continue reading "Dutch VMware vForum 2010" »