vShield Endpoint SVM status vCenter alarm

by Harold Preyers | Mar 23, 2017 | ESXi, Trend Micro, VMware, vShield, vSphere

vCenter is showing an alarm on the TrendMicro Deep Security Virtual Appliance (DSVA): ‘vShield Endpoint SVM status’

Checking vShield for errors:

The DSVA VA console window shows: (as to where it should show a red/grey screen)

Let’s go for some log file analysis

To get a login prompt: Alt + F2

The log file we are going to check is the messages log file at /var/log/messages

less /var/log/messages

1	less /var/log/messages

(why less is more: you get almost all the vi commands)

To go to the last line:

G

For some reason the ovf file is not like it is expected. The appliance is not able to set some ovf settings, in this case the network interfaces.

To exit the log file display mode:

q

To gain root privileges:

sudo -s

sudo -s

Enter the dsva user password

Navigate to the /var/opt/ds_agent/slowpath directory

cd /var/opt/ds_agent/slowpath

1	cd /var/opt/ds_agent/slowpath

Create the dsva-ovf.env file (if the file exists, delete the existing file first):

touch dsva-ovf.env

1	touch dsva-ovf.env

Reboot the appliance, once rebooted give it 5 minutes and the alarm should clear automatically:

reboot

reboot

Start or stop ESXi services using PowerCLI

by Harold Preyers | Mar 3, 2017 | PowerCLI, VMware, vSphere

Start the ssh service on all hosts:

Get-VMHost | Foreach {
	Start-VMHostService -HostService ($_ | Get-VMHostService | Where {$_.Key -eq "TSM-SSH"})
}

Get-VMHost | Foreach {

Start-VMHostService -HostService ($_ | Get-VMHostService | Where {$_.Key -eq "TSM-SSH"})

}

Thanks to Alan Renouf at virtu-al.net, where I found this snippet: https://www.virtu-al.net/2010/11/23/enabling-esx-ssh-via-powercli/

If you want to start the ssh service on a single host, change ESXiHostName to your ESXi FQDN:

Get-VMHost -Name ESXiHostName | Foreach {
	Start-VMHostService -HostService ($_ | Get-VMHostService | Where {$_.Key -eq "TSM-SSH"})
}

Get-VMHost -Name ESXiHostName | Foreach {

Start-VMHostService -HostService ($_ | Get-VMHostService | Where {$_.Key -eq "TSM-SSH"})

}

If you want to stop the ssh service on all hosts:

Get-VMHost | Foreach {
	Stop-VMHostService -HostService ($_ | Get-VMHostService | Where {$_.Key -eq "TSM-SSH"})
}

Get-VMHost | Foreach {

Stop-VMHostService -HostService ($_ | Get-VMHostService | Where {$_.Key -eq "TSM-SSH"})

}

If you have multiple cluster in vCenter, are connected to multiple vCenters, be sure to launch the command only to the necessary hosts:

Get-Cluster -Name ClusterName will filter to the specified Cluster
Get-VMHost -Name ESXiHostName will filter to the specified ESXi
Get-VMHost -Server vCenterServerName will filter to the specified vCenter server

Get-Cluster -Name ClusterName | Get-VMHost -Name ESXiHostName -Server vCenterServerName | Foreach {
   Stop-VMHostService -HostService ($_ | Get-VMHostService | Where { $_.Key -eq "TSM-SSH"} )
}

Get-Cluster -Name ClusterName | Get-VMHost -Name ESXiHostName -Server vCenterServerName | Foreach {

Stop-VMHostService -HostService ($_ | Get-VMHostService | Where { $_.Key -eq "TSM-SSH"} )

}

These are other services I frequently use:

DCUI (Direct Console UI)
lwsmd (Active Directory Service)
ntpd (NTP Daemon)
sfcbd-watchdog (CIM Server)
snmpd (SNMP Server)
TSM (ESXi Shell)
TSM-SSH (SSH)
vmsyslogd (Syslog Server)
vmware-fdm (vSphere High Availability Agent)
vpxa (VMware vCenter Agent)
xorg (X.Org Server)

There are other services available but I have never used them in this context (yet):

lbtd (Load-Based Teaming Daemon)
pcscd (PC/SC Smart Card Daemon)
vprobed (VProbe Daemon)

Change the startup policy for a service:

Automatic: Start automatically if any ports are open, and stop when all ports are closed
On: Start and stop with host
Off: Start and stop manually

Get-VMHost | Foreach {
	Set-VMHostService -HostService ($_ | Get-VMHostService | Where {$_.key -eq "TSM-SSH"}) -policy On
}

Get-VMHost | Foreach {

Set-VMHostService -HostService ($_ | Get-VMHostService | Where {$_.key -eq "TSM-SSH"}) -policy On

}

From IOmeter to VMware I/O Analyzer fling

by Harold Preyers | Nov 9, 2016 | VMware, vSAN, vSphere

VMware I/O Analyzer is a tool to launch orchestrated tests against a storage solution available from the VMware flings website. It can be used as a single appliance where the worker process and the analytics is done within. Additional appliances can be deployed to act as Worker VMs. The Analyzer VM launches IOmeter tests (on the Worker VMs) and after test completion it collects the data. All configuration is done from a web interface on the Analyzer VM.

This post is describing how I deployed VMware I/O Analyzer and how I got to a test with maximized IOs. The first tests were conducted launching a IOmeter from within a virtual machine on the vSAN datastore and showed more or less 300 IOs being generated. In the end 18 Worker VMs with 8 disks each on a 6 host vSAN cluster were used generating 340K+ IOPS. The purpose was to create a baseline for a VSAN datastore maximum IOPs.

Hardware used

6 hosts
1 disk group
1 800GB SSD drive5 1,2 TB 10K SAS
vSphere 5.5 U3

General

The VM OS disks should not be put on the vSAN datastore you want to test, if not the generated IOPs will be part of your report. To keep the Analyser VM IOPS out of the performance graphs, put it on a different datastore.

Deploy one Analyser VM. Deploy a Worker VM per ESXi host. You should end up with as much Worker VMs as you have hosts in your cluster.

I changed the IP of all VMs to static as there was no DHCP server available in the subnet. This means that no DNS entries were required.

Preferably you will want to change the Analyser VM to a static IP as you will manage the solution from a web browser. The Worker VMs you can leave as is if there is DHCP server available. You will need dns entries and change the configuration used here.

To work easily set the Worker VMs on static IPs or create dns aliases as you will be doing a lot of work on the Worker VMs. I prefer static IPs because they add no complexity due to name resolving, etc…

Prerequisites

Download ova from: https://labs.vmware.com/flings/i-o-analyzer

Deploy

Deploying the Analyser VM:

Deploy ovf template. Choose your settings in regards to the recommendations above.

Delete the 100MB disk (second disk) from the virtual machine.

Start the Analyser VM via vSphere client and the open console

A terminal window will be opened upon login

To configure static IP:

Change /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-eth0 with your preferred text editor.

vi /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-eth0

1	vi /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-eth0

Assuming the subnet you’re deploying the vm is 192.168.1.0/24

Change the following lines highlighted to your needs:

BOOTPROTO=’static’
BROADCAST=’192.168.1.255’
ETHTOOL_OPTIONS=''
IPADDR=’192.168.1.20’
MTU=’1500’
NAME='82545EM Gigabit Ethernet Controller (Copper)'
NETMASK=’255.255.255.0’
NETWORK=’192.168.1.0’
REMOTE_IPADDR=''
STARTMODE='auto'
USERCONTROL='no'

BOOTPROTO=’static’

BROADCAST=’192.168.1.255’

ETHTOOL_OPTIONS=''

IPADDR=’192.168.1.20’

MTU=’1500’

NAME='82545EM Gigabit Ethernet Controller (Copper)'

NETMASK=’255.255.255.0’

NETWORK=’192.168.1.0’

REMOTE_IPADDR=''

STARTMODE='auto'

USERCONTROL='no'

Leave the other lines as is.

Save and close the file (:wq)

Now we will configure the default gateway

Assuming your default gateway is 192.168.1.1

vi /etc/sysconfig/network/routes (The file will be created if it doesn’t exist)

1	vi /etc/sysconfig/network/routes (The file will be created if it doesn’t exist)

Add / Change the following line:

Default 192.168.1.1 - -
(Default space GW space hyphen space hyphen)

1 2	Default 192.168.1.1 - - (Default space GW space hyphen space hyphen)

Save and close the file (:wq)

Restart the network service:

service network restart

1	service network restart

Check if the VM is reachable.

Now shutdown the VM.

Deploying the Worker VM:

Clone the Analyser VM.

Add a Hard Disk of 1GB.

Choose advanced and put the 1GB disk on the VSAN datastore.

I needed to configure static IPs on the Worker VMs, so I had to start each VM and change the IP address. After changing the network settings, shut down the VM and create a new clone. Not changing the IPs will give duplicate IPs.

Ease of access configuration

Two ease of access configurations were applied. The first is configured for easy copying from the Analyzer VM to the Worker VMs. The second because all appliances need to be logged onto for the VMware IO Analyzer solution to work. All commands are executed on the Analyzer VM and then copied to the Worker VMs.

Setup ssh keyless authentication

Generate a key pair

ssh-keygen (with an empty passphrase)

1	ssh-keygen (with an empty passphrase)

ssh-copy-id will copy your public key to the target machine

ssh-copy-id -i id_rsa.pub root@192.168.1.21
ssh-copy-id -i id_rsa.pub root@192.168.1.22
ssh-copy-id -i id_rsa.pub root@192.168.1.23
ssh-copy-id -i id_rsa.pub root@192.168.1.24
ssh-copy-id -i id_rsa.pub root@192.168.1.25
ssh-copy-id -i id_rsa.pub root@192.168.1.26

ssh-copy-id -i id_rsa.pub root@192.168.1.21

ssh-copy-id -i id_rsa.pub root@192.168.1.22

ssh-copy-id -i id_rsa.pub root@192.168.1.23

ssh-copy-id -i id_rsa.pub root@192.168.1.24

ssh-copy-id -i id_rsa.pub root@192.168.1.25

ssh-copy-id -i id_rsa.pub root@192.168.1.26

The root account password of the destination will need to be supplied for each of the above lines.

BE AWARE: This has the following security downside. If the root account is compromised on the Analyzer vm all worker vms should be considered compromised too.

Autologon

Change autologon=”” to autologon=”root” in the displaymanager (/etc/sysconfig/displaymanager) file with the following command:

sed -i ‘s/AUTOLOGIN=””/AUTOLOGIN=”root”/g’ /etc/sysconfig/displaymanager

1	sed -i ‘s/AUTOLOGIN=””/AUTOLOGIN=”root”/g’ /etc/sysconfig/displaymanager

This will force the machine to login with root after boot.

Copy the file to all workers:

scp /etc/sysconfig/displaymanager root@192.168.1.21:/etc/sysconfig/
scp /etc/sysconfig/displaymanager root@192.168.1.22:/etc/sysconfig/
scp /etc/sysconfig/displaymanager root@192.168.1.23:/etc/sysconfig/
scp /etc/sysconfig/displaymanager root@192.168.1.24:/etc/sysconfig/
scp /etc/sysconfig/displaymanager root@192.168.1.25:/etc/sysconfig/
scp /etc/sysconfig/displaymanager root@192.168.1.26:/etc/sysconfig/

scp /etc/sysconfig/displaymanager root@192.168.1.21:/etc/sysconfig/

scp /etc/sysconfig/displaymanager root@192.168.1.22:/etc/sysconfig/

scp /etc/sysconfig/displaymanager root@192.168.1.23:/etc/sysconfig/

scp /etc/sysconfig/displaymanager root@192.168.1.24:/etc/sysconfig/

scp /etc/sysconfig/displaymanager root@192.168.1.25:/etc/sysconfig/

scp /etc/sysconfig/displaymanager root@192.168.1.26:/etc/sysconfig/

Affinity rules

TIP: Create affinity rules in vCenter to keep the Worker VMs on dedicated hosts, otherwise the configuration on the VMware I/O Analyzer dashboard will be outdated soon. The consequence is that certain Worker VMs will not be launching their IOmeter profiles and therefor the reports will not be correct.

Configuration

Prerequisites

Enable the SSH service on the ESXi hosts via the vSphere (Web) Client or through Powershell.

The powershell way: (be aware to filter your hosts if needed). There is a dedicated post about starting and stopping ESXi services through powershell here.

Get-VMHost | Foreach {
   Start-VMHostService -HostService ($_ | Get-VMHostService | Where { $_.Key -eq "TSM-SSH"} )
}

Get-VMHost | Foreach {

Start-VMHostService -HostService ($_ | Get-VMHostService | Where { $_.Key -eq "TSM-SSH"} )

}

Dashboard

Add the hosts to the host list.

Search for the Worker VMs in the list and add preferred IO test.

There are a lot of standard tests included in the appliance. The one that should be generating the most IOPs is 4k, 100% read and 0% random.

Optimized setup

To reach an optimized setup, three Worker VMs per host were deployed and 7 additional disks were added.

Adding the extra disks via PowerCLI:

$VMs = Get-VM -Name "*IOW*"

ForEach ($vm in $VMs) {ForEach ($num in 1..7) { New-HardDisk -CapacityGB 1 -datastore vsan* -VM $vm.name}}

$VMs = Get-VM -Name "*IOW*"

ForEach ($vm in $VMs) {ForEach ($num in 1..7) { New-HardDisk -CapacityGB 1 -datastore vsan* -VM $vm.name}}

The following specification was created on the Analyzer VM…

'TEST SETUP ====================================================================
'Test Description
	4k_100Read_0Rand_cust
'Run Time
' hours minutes seconds
	0 1 0
'Ramp Up Time (s)
	0
'Default Disk Workers to Spawn
	NUMBER_OF_CPUS
'Default Network Workers to Spawn
	0
'Record Results
	ALL
'Worker Cycling
' start step step type
	1 1 LINEAR
'Disk Cycling
' start step step type
	1 1 LINEAR
'Queue Depth Cycling
' start end step step type
	1 32 2 EXPONENTIAL
'Test Type
	NORMAL
'END test setup
'ACCESS SPECIFICATIONS =========================================================
'Access specification name,default assignment
	4k; 100% Read; 0% Random, NONE
'size,% of size,% reads,% random,delay,burst,align,reply
	4096,100,100,0,0,1,4096,0
'END access specifications
'MANAGER LIST ==================================================================
'Manager ID, manager name
	1,IOA-manager
'Manager network address
	127.0.0.1
'Worker
	IOA-worker
'Worker type
	DISK
'Default target settings for worker
'Number of outstanding IOs,test connection rate,transactions per connection
	16,DISABLED,1
'Disk maximum size,starting sector
	0,0
'End default target settings for worker
'Assigned access specs
	4k; 100% Read; 0% Random
'End assigned access specs
'Target assignments
'Target
	sdb
'Target type
	DISK
'End target
'End target assignments
'End worker
'Worker
	IOA-worker
'Worker type
	DISK
'Default target settings for worker
'Number of outstanding IOs,test connection rate,transactions per connection
	16,DISABLED,1
'Disk maximum size,starting sector
	0,0
'End default target settings for worker
'Assigned access specs
	4k; 100% Read; 0% Random
'End assigned access specs
'Target assignments
'Target
	sdc
'Target type
	DISK
'End target
'End target assignments
'End worker
'Worker
	IOA-worker
'Worker type
	DISK
'Default target settings for worker
'Number of outstanding IOs,test connection rate,transactions per connection
	16,DISABLED,1
'Disk maximum size,starting sector
	0,0
'End default target settings for worker
'Assigned access specs
	4k; 100% Read; 0% Random
'End assigned access specs
'Target assignments
'Target
	sdd
'Target type
	DISK
'End target
'End target assignments
'End worker
'Worker
	IOA-worker
'Worker type
	DISK
'Default target settings for worker
'Number of outstanding IOs,test connection rate,transactions per connection
	16,DISABLED,1
'Disk maximum size,starting sector
	0,0
'End default target settings for worker
'Assigned access specs
	4k; 100% Read; 0% Random
'End assigned access specs
'Target assignments
'Target
	sde
'Target type
	DISK
'End target
'End target assignments
'End worker
'Worker
IOA-worker
'Worker type
	DISK
'Default target settings for worker
'Number of outstanding IOs,test connection rate,transactions per connection
	16,DISABLED,1
'Disk maximum size,starting sector
	0,0
'End default target settings for worker
'Assigned access specs
	4k; 100% Read; 0% Random
'End assigned access specs
'Target assignments
'Target
	sdf
'Target type
	DISK
'End target
'End target assignments
'End worker
'Worker
	IOA-worker
'Worker type
	DISK
'Default target settings for worker
'Number of outstanding IOs,test connection rate,transactions per connection
	16,DISABLED,1
'Disk maximum size,starting sector
	0,0
'End default target settings for worker
'Assigned access specs
	4k; 100% Read; 0% Random
'End assigned access specs
'Target assignments
'Target
	sdg
'Target type
	DISK
'End target
'End target assignments
'End worker
'Worker
	IOA-worker
'Worker type
	DISK
'Default target settings for worker
'Number of outstanding IOs,test connection rate,transactions per connection
	16,DISABLED,1
'Disk maximum size,starting sector
	0,0
'End default target settings for worker
'Assigned access specs
	4k; 100% Read; 0% Random
'End assigned access specs
'Target assignments
'Target
	sdh
'Target type
	DISK
'End target
'End target assignments
'End worker
'Worker
	IOA-worker
'Worker type
	DISK
'Default target settings for worker
'Number of outstanding IOs,test connection rate,transactions per connection
	16,DISABLED,1
'Disk maximum size,starting sector
	0,0
'End default target settings for worker
'Assigned access specs
	4k; 100% Read; 0% Random
'End assigned access specs
'Target assignments
'Target
	sdi
'Target type
	DISK
'End target
'End target assignments
'End worker
'End manager
'END manager list

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'TEST SETUP ====================================================================

'Test Description

4k_100Read_0Rand_cust

'Run Time

' hours minutes seconds

0 1 0

'Ramp Up Time (s)

'Default Disk Workers to Spawn

NUMBER_OF_CPUS

'Default Network Workers to Spawn

'Record Results

ALL

'Worker Cycling

' start step step type

1 1 LINEAR

'Disk Cycling

' start step step type

1 1 LINEAR

'Queue Depth Cycling

' start end step step type

1 32 2 EXPONENTIAL

'Test Type

NORMAL

'END test setup

'ACCESS SPECIFICATIONS =========================================================

'Access specification name,default assignment

4k; 100% Read; 0% Random, NONE

'size,% of size,% reads,% random,delay,burst,align,reply

4096,100,100,0,0,1,4096,0

'END access specifications

'MANAGER LIST ==================================================================

'Manager ID, manager name

1,IOA-manager

'Manager network address

127.0.0.1

'Worker

IOA-worker

'Worker type

DISK

'Default target settings for worker

'Number of outstanding IOs,test connection rate,transactions per connection

16,DISABLED,1

'Disk maximum size,starting sector

0,0

'End default target settings for worker

'Assigned access specs

4k; 100% Read; 0% Random

'End assigned access specs

'Target assignments

'Target

sdb

'Target type

DISK

'End target

'End target assignments

'End worker

'Worker

IOA-worker

'Worker type

DISK

'Default target settings for worker

'Number of outstanding IOs,test connection rate,transactions per connection

16,DISABLED,1

'Disk maximum size,starting sector

0,0

'End default target settings for worker

'Assigned access specs

4k; 100% Read; 0% Random

'End assigned access specs

'Target assignments

'Target

sdc

'Target type

DISK

'End target

'End target assignments

'End worker

'Worker

IOA-worker

'Worker type

DISK

'Default target settings for worker

'Number of outstanding IOs,test connection rate,transactions per connection

16,DISABLED,1

'Disk maximum size,starting sector

0,0

'End default target settings for worker

'Assigned access specs

4k; 100% Read; 0% Random

'End assigned access specs

'Target assignments

'Target

sdd

'Target type

DISK

'End target

'End target assignments

'End worker

'Worker

IOA-worker

'Worker type

DISK

'Default target settings for worker

'Number of outstanding IOs,test connection rate,transactions per connection

16,DISABLED,1

'Disk maximum size,starting sector

0,0

'End default target settings for worker

'Assigned access specs

4k; 100% Read; 0% Random

'End assigned access specs

'Target assignments

'Target

sde

'Target type

DISK

'End target

'End target assignments

'End worker

'Worker

IOA-worker

'Worker type

DISK

'Default target settings for worker

'Number of outstanding IOs,test connection rate,transactions per connection

16,DISABLED,1

'Disk maximum size,starting sector

0,0

'End default target settings for worker

'Assigned access specs

4k; 100% Read; 0% Random

'End assigned access specs

'Target assignments

'Target

sdf

'Target type

DISK

'End target

'End target assignments

'End worker

'Worker

IOA-worker

'Worker type

DISK

'Default target settings for worker

'Number of outstanding IOs,test connection rate,transactions per connection

16,DISABLED,1

'Disk maximum size,starting sector

0,0

'End default target settings for worker

'Assigned access specs

4k; 100% Read; 0% Random

'End assigned access specs

'Target assignments

'Target

sdg

'Target type

DISK

'End target

'End target assignments

'End worker

'Worker

IOA-worker

'Worker type

DISK

'Default target settings for worker

'Number of outstanding IOs,test connection rate,transactions per connection

16,DISABLED,1

'Disk maximum size,starting sector

0,0

'End default target settings for worker

'Assigned access specs

4k; 100% Read; 0% Random

'End assigned access specs

'Target assignments

'Target

sdh

'Target type

DISK

'End target

'End target assignments

'End worker

'Worker

IOA-worker

'Worker type

DISK

'Default target settings for worker

'Number of outstanding IOs,test connection rate,transactions per connection

16,DISABLED,1

'Disk maximum size,starting sector

0,0

'End default target settings for worker

'Assigned access specs

4k; 100% Read; 0% Random

'End assigned access specs

'Target assignments

'Target

sdi

'Target type

DISK

'End target

'End target assignments

'End worker

'End manager

'END manager list

… and copied over to the Worker VMs

scp ./VSAN_4k_100read_0rand.icf root@192.168.1.21:/var/www/configs/
scp ./VSAN_4k_100read_0rand.icf root@192.168.1.22:/var/www/configs/
scp ./VSAN_4k_100read_0rand.icf root@192.168.1.23:/var/www/configs/
scp ./VSAN_4k_100read_0rand.icf root@192.168.1.24:/var/www/configs/
scp ./VSAN_4k_100read_0rand.icf root@192.168.1.25:/var/www/configs/
scp ./VSAN_4k_100read_0rand.icf root@192.168.1.26:/var/www/configs/

scp ./VSAN_4k_100read_0rand.icf root@192.168.1.21:/var/www/configs/

scp ./VSAN_4k_100read_0rand.icf root@192.168.1.22:/var/www/configs/

scp ./VSAN_4k_100read_0rand.icf root@192.168.1.23:/var/www/configs/

scp ./VSAN_4k_100read_0rand.icf root@192.168.1.24:/var/www/configs/

scp ./VSAN_4k_100read_0rand.icf root@192.168.1.25:/var/www/configs/

scp ./VSAN_4k_100read_0rand.icf root@192.168.1.26:/var/www/configs/

Troubleshooting

I found that looking at the console of the Worker VMs is interesting for troubleshooting. You can see the IOmeter tests being launched. This was very usefull in the process of creating the IOmeter profile. You don’t need to wait untill the test is finished to see it has failed. Stopping IOmeter tests from the console gives the opportunity to look at, edit and save the launched profile.

Failed to clear bootbank content /altbootbank: [Errno 9] Bad file descriptor: ‘/altbootbank/state.xxxxxxx’

by Harold Preyers | Aug 20, 2016 | ESXi, VMware, vSphere

In a VSAN project the VMware Compatibility Guide mentioned a different driver version for the raid controller than the one that was installed. So I tried to install a driver update for the raid controller through the CLI. This did not work out as expected because the /altbootbank was in a corrupted state. There were two ways to go ahead, either reinstall from scratch or try to rebuild the /altbootbank from the /bootbank contents. This was not a production server so I had the freedom to apply a more experimental approach and therefor I chose the not supported, not recommended approach to rebuild the /altbootbank from the /bootbank contents.

I ran the following command to install the driver:

esxcli software vib install -d /vmfs/volumes/datastore/patch.zip

1	esxcli software vib install -d /vmfs/volumes/datastore/patch.zip

I got the following error message:

[InstallationError]
Failed to clear bootbank content /altbootbank: [Errno 9] Bad file descriptor: '/altbootbank/state.xxxxxxx'

Please refer to the log file for more details.

[InstallationError]

Failed to clear bootbank content /altbootbank: [Errno 9] Bad file descriptor: '/altbootbank/state.xxxxxxx'

Please refer to the log file for more details.

I found the following two links describing the issue:

https://communities.vmware.com/thread/413441?start=0&tstart=0

https://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=2033564

The vmware KB is going through the steps to solve this, which in this case didn’t. The better solution is to repair or reinstall but this is a time consuming task.

The steps in the KB didn’t solve it, so I tried to delete it with:

rm /altbootbank/state.5824665/

1	rm /altbootbank/state.5824665/

rm –rf /altbootbank/state.5824665/

1	rm –rf /altbootbank/state.5824665/

The ghost file/directory would not delete. The first command returned ‘This is not a file’, the second ‘This is not a directory’.
I repeated the same commands after a reboot with the same results. As the server was still booting well I knew the /bootbank was still ok. I wanted to replace the /altbootbank with the contents of the /bootbank partition.

THE FOLLOWING IS NOT RECOMMENDED NOR SUPPORTED! DO NOT EXECUTE ON A PRODUCTION ENVIRONMENT !

Identity the naaID and partition number of the /altbootbank:

vmkfstools -Ph /altbootbank

1	vmkfstools -Ph /altbootbank

Scratch the partition through recreating the file system:

vmkfstools -C vfat /dev/disks/naaID:partitionNumber

1	vmkfstools -C vfat /dev/disks/naaID:partitionNumber

Remove the /altbootbank folder:

rm –rf /altbootbank

1	rm –rf /altbootbank

Create a symlink to the newly created vFat volume with /altbootbank:

ln –s /vmfs/volumes/volumeGUID /altbootbank

1	ln –s /vmfs/volumes/volumeGUID /altbootbank

Copy all the contents from /bootbank to /altbootbank:

cp /bootbank/* /altbootbank

1	cp /bootbank/* /altbootbank

Change the bootstate=3 in /altbootbank/boot.cfg

vi /altbootbank/boot.cfg

1	vi /altbootbank/boot.cfg

Run /sbin/autobackup.sh script to update the changes

/sbin/autobackup.sh

1	/sbin/autobackup.sh

PowerCLI goodies

by Harold Preyers | Apr 12, 2016 | PowerCLI, VMware

These are powercli goodies I use on a regular base. I have collected them here to find them easily. Some I wrote myself, some are copied from other sites. If I didn’t reference the source, I don’t know anymore where I found it.

Change portgroup on a lot of vm’s

Testing with one vm

get-vm my_vm_name&nbsp;| Get-NetworkAdapter |where {$_.networkname -eq "current_network_label"} | set-networkadapter -portgroup "new_network_label" -confirm:$false

1	get-vm my_vm_name \| Get-NetworkAdapter \|where {$_.networkname -eq "current_network_label"} \| set-networkadapter -portgroup "new_network_label" -confirm:$false

Reconfigure all vm’s with the string “vdi” in the name

get-vm *vdi*&nbsp;| Get-NetworkAdapter |where {$_.networkname -eq "current_network_label"} | set-networkadapter -portgroup "new_network_label" -confirm:$false

1	get-vm vdi \| Get-NetworkAdapter \|where {$_.networkname -eq "current_network_label"} \| set-networkadapter -portgroup "new_network_label" -confirm:$false

Find all vm’s with more than 8 CPUs

(get-view -viewtype virtualmachine).summary.config | where {$_.numcpu -gt 8}

1	(get-view -viewtype virtualmachine).summary.config \| where {$_.numcpu -gt 8}

Reload Syslog via esxcli

While executing the NetApp MetroCluster testplan, the syslog service stops logging to the presented syslog datastore. To restart the logging reload the syslog service on all impacted hosts. The following command will reload the syslog service on all hosts in the connected vCenters. Check the $global:defaultviservers to know which vCenters are connected.

$server_list&nbsp;= Get-VMhost

Foreach ($srv in $server_list)
{
   $esxcli = Get-EsxCli -VMhost $srv
   $esxcli.system.syslog.reload()
}

$server_list = Get-VMhost

Foreach ($srv in $server_list)

{

$esxcli = Get-EsxCli -VMhost $srv

$esxcli.system.syslog.reload()

}

Speed-up the initialization of PowerCLI

This needs to be done for each registered version of PowerCLI. This one worked for me on Windows Server 2012 R2

C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\ngen.exe install “VimService55.XmlSerializers, Version=5.5.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=10980b081e887e9f” /ExeConfig:c:\windows\system32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\PowerShell_ISE.exe

Change the Power Management Policy for each host in cluster

#get connected esxi hosts
$vmhostlist = get-vmhost |sort|select name

#for each host show the power management policy setting
foreach ($entry in $vmhostlist) {
   #list power management policy on all connected esxi hosts
   get-vmhost |sort|select name, @{ N="CurrentPolicy"; E={$_.ExtensionData.config.PowerSystemInfo.CurrentPolicy.ShortName}},@{N="CurrenPolicyKey"; E={$_.ExtensionData.config.PowerSystemInfo.CurrentPolicy.Key}},@{N="AvailablePolicies";E={$_.ExtensionData.config.PowerSystemCapability.AvailablePolicy.ShortName}
}

#for each host change the power management policy to high performance
foreach ($entry in $vmhostlist) {
   $view=(get-vmhost $entry.name|get-view);(get-view $view.configmanager.powersystem).configurepowerpolicy(1)}
   #list power management policy on all connected esxi hosts
   get-vmhost |sort|select name, @{ N="CurrentPolicy"; E={$_.ExtensionData.config.PowerSystemInfo.CurrentPolicy.ShortName}},@{N="CurrenPolicyKey"; E={$_.ExtensionData.config.PowerSystemInfo.CurrentPolicy.Key}},@{N="AvailablePolicies";E={$_.ExtensionData.config.PowerSystemCapability.AvailablePolicy.ShortName}
}

#get connected esxi hosts

$vmhostlist = get-vmhost |sort|select name

#for each host show the power management policy setting

foreach ($entry in $vmhostlist) {

#list power management policy on all connected esxi hosts

get-vmhost |sort|select name, @{ N="CurrentPolicy"; E={$_.ExtensionData.config.PowerSystemInfo.CurrentPolicy.ShortName}},@{N="CurrenPolicyKey"; E={$_.ExtensionData.config.PowerSystemInfo.CurrentPolicy.Key}},@{N="AvailablePolicies";E={$_.ExtensionData.config.PowerSystemCapability.AvailablePolicy.ShortName}

}

#for each host change the power management policy to high performance

foreach ($entry in $vmhostlist) {

$view=(get-vmhost $entry.name|get-view);(get-view $view.configmanager.powersystem).configurepowerpolicy(1)}

#list power management policy on all connected esxi hosts

}

Update:

Apparently there were some errors (curly brackets missing or in the wrong place) in the previous code.

It also ran several times per host because per host there was a Get-VMHost in the ForEach iteration. So If you had three hosts it would run three times per host.

The updated and optimized code:

$VMHosts = Get-VMHost

#for each host show the power management policy setting
ForEach ($entry in $VMHosts) {
   #list power management policy on all connected esxi hosts
   $entry | Select Name, @{ N="CurrentPolicy"; E={$_.ExtensionData.Config.PowerSystemInfo.CurrentPolicy.ShortName}},@{N="CurrenPolicyKey"; E={$_.ExtensionData.Config.PowerSystemInfo.CurrentPolicy.Key}},@{N="AvailablePolicies";E={$_.ExtensionData.Config.PowerSystemCapability.AvailablePolicy.ShortName}}
}

#for each host change the power management policy to high performance
ForEach ($entry in $VMHosts) {
   $view=($entry | Get-View);(Get-View $view.ConfigManager.PowerSystem).ConfigurePowerPolicy(1)
   #list power management policy on all connected esxi hosts
   $entry | Select Name, @{ N="CurrentPolicy"; E={$_.ExtensionData.Config.PowerSystemInfo.CurrentPolicy.ShortName}},@{N="CurrenPolicyKey"; E={$_.ExtensionData.Config.PowerSystemInfo.CurrentPolicy.Key}},@{N="AvailablePolicies";E={$_.ExtensionData.Config.PowerSystemCapability.AvailablePolicy.ShortName}}
}

$VMHosts = Get-VMHost

#for each host show the power management policy setting

ForEach ($entry in $VMHosts) {

#list power management policy on all connected esxi hosts

$entry | Select Name, @{ N="CurrentPolicy"; E={$_.ExtensionData.Config.PowerSystemInfo.CurrentPolicy.ShortName}},@{N="CurrenPolicyKey"; E={$_.ExtensionData.Config.PowerSystemInfo.CurrentPolicy.Key}},@{N="AvailablePolicies";E={$_.ExtensionData.Config.PowerSystemCapability.AvailablePolicy.ShortName}}

}

#for each host change the power management policy to high performance

ForEach ($entry in $VMHosts) {

$view=($entry | Get-View);(Get-View $view.ConfigManager.PowerSystem).ConfigurePowerPolicy(1)

#list power management policy on all connected esxi hosts

}

show connected vcenters/esxi’s

$Global:DefaultVIServers

1	$Global:DefaultVIServers

connect to previously connected vcenters/esxi’s

connect-viserver -menu

1	connect-viserver -menu

move vm storage vmotion

get-vm Win* | move-vm -Datastore (Get-Datastore sdc-t*)

1	get-vm Win* \| move-vm -Datastore (Get-Datastore sdc-t*)

Mounting and unmounting NFS datastores

Mount NFS datastore

get-vmhost | New-Datastore -Nfs -Name Datastore_Name -Path /vol/Name_on_NFS_host -NfsHost NFS_host_IP

1	get-vmhost \| New-Datastore -Nfs -Name Datastore_Name -Path /vol/Name_on_NFS_host -NfsHost NFS_host_IP

Remove NFS datastore

get-vmhost | Remove-Datastore -datastore Datastore_Name

1	get-vmhost \| Remove-Datastore -datastore Datastore_Name

Change the default ‘ESX Admins’ AD group to your group name

ESXi servers will by default search for the group ‘ESX Admins’ in Active Directory. The following command will change this to ‘my_group_name’.

get-vmhost | Get-AdvancedSetting "Config.HostAgent.plugins.hostsvc.esxAdminsGroup" | Set-AdvancedSetting -value "my_group_name" -Confirm:$false

1	get-vmhost \| Get-AdvancedSetting "Config.HostAgent.plugins.hostsvc.esxAdminsGroup" \| Set-AdvancedSetting -value "my_group_name" -Confirm:$false

Next Entries »

vShield Endpoint SVM status vCenter alarm

Start or stop ESXi services using PowerCLI

From IOmeter to VMware I/O Analyzer fling

Hardware used

General

Prerequisites

Deploy

Deploying the Analyser VM:

Deploying the Worker VM:

Ease of access configuration

Setup ssh keyless authentication

Autologon

Affinity rules

Configuration

Prerequisites

Dashboard

Optimized setup

Troubleshooting

Failed to clear bootbank content /altbootbank: [Errno 9] Bad file descriptor: ‘/altbootbank/state.xxxxxxx’

PowerCLI goodies

Change portgroup on a lot of vm’s

Find all vm’s with more than 8 CPUs

Reload Syslog via esxcli

Speed-up the initialization of PowerCLI

Change the Power Management Policy for each host in cluster

Update:

show connected vcenters/esxi’s

connect to previously connected vcenters/esxi’s

move vm storage vmotion

Mounting and unmounting NFS datastores

Change the default ‘ESX Admins’ AD group to your group name

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