VMware NSX & OTRS – Automating Security with Help Desk Systems
Over the last couple of months, Sander, Anne Jan and I have been working on a security whitepaper that lays out a practical implementation of zero trust while interfacing with a helpdesk system. In this case, OTRS. It’s all about how engineers can get access…
vROPS Tenant App for vCloud Director
Earlier today Erik pointed me to something I totally missed: vROPS Tenant App for VCD. It’s already out there for a month! You probably guessed what is is, since the name gives a lot of clues: It is a tenant app that you can use…
How to solve your problem in 9 steps
One of the most important things in troubleshooting in general is that you follow a system or workflow. You have to attack the problem methodically and analytical. There’s nothing worse than trying all kinds of things and realize suddenly that it works and not knowing…
New releases, updates for vSphere and related
Yesterday was a big day on the release front. A lot of vSphere and related products received updates. I must admit I was pleasantly surprised by the large number of fixes in the various products and components. If you look at the release notes it…
VMware mobile apps: Getting more out of your infrastructure
While I was at a customers location I noticed an app that I completely forgot: vSphere Mobile Watchlist, a tool that allows you to monitor the virtual machines you care about in your vSphere infrastructure remotely on your phone. I wondered which mobile apps I forgot as well…
Correctly sizing your VMware infrastructure
A lot as been writting about sizing VMware environments. There are various opinions and ideas, like: Use the reference guide or architecture, then you’re safe Follow the sizing guides from the vendors you need to monitor the current workloads to correctly size your environment. Do…
Jeeves – your own VMGuru
Everyone is talking about it: Chatbots are going to be the next bing thing. If you don’t believe me, check out the Forbes article on why chatbots will be your new best friend. A quote from that article: Chatbots came on the scene in 2011…
VMware launches AirWatch Express
Yesterday VMware launched AirWatch Express. AirWatch Express is an Mobile Device Management (MDM) solution that enables you to manage Windows, Mac, iOS and Android devices from a simple, single, interface. It is positioned for organizations needing to manage 10-500 devices. Why AirWatch Express Two words: Simplicity and…
pyvmomi: Cross platform scripting for VMware
There is a lot of attention for PowerCLI for the day to day automation of your VMware infrastructure. But what if you don’t have or want Windows machines? When you are using your Mac or Linux machine for maintenance you have to create a virtual…
Linux Desktops with Horizon
Since version 6 Horizon has the possibility to use Linux desktops for VDI. There are other ways to access your Linux, like VNC,NX, X-terminals, or even SSH if you only need a text based session. By using Horizon to deliver your Linux desktop you get…
PowerShell Friday: Load PowerCLI from your own script
When you want to start your PowerCLI scripts or just use the cmdlets for VMware, you can start VMware vSphere PowerCLI from your start menu. From the window you get you can use all PowerCLI cmdlets that you need or your own scripts. But what if…
PowerShell Friday: Retrieving IP addresses for VMs
As I explained in the article about ExtensionData each VM object has a lot of information stored. If you want to know the IP addresses of a particular VM you can use PowerCLI to get those properties. You can get the IP addresses for VMs…
Upgrade to vRealize Log Insight 3.3
vRealize Log Insight 3.3 was released in March. Now that the first update for Log Insight (3.3.1) was released last week it is time to upgrade to the latest version. Log Insight 3.3 gives you some long awaited features and more IPv6 goodness. If you didn’t…
PowerShell Friday: ExtensionData
Did you know that VMware stores a lot of information about your virtual machines? And that you can retrieve all that data with PowerCLI? When you retrieve an object from vCenter or your ESXi host you get a lot of information. When you use Get-VM…
PowerShell Friday: Enabling SSH with PowerCLI
Even if you have all the graphic tools that you want to manage your virtual environment, sometimes you still want to use command line utilities for maximum control or for something that isn’t really supported. There are more than one way to enable SSH on…