Create Custom Names with vRealize Automation 8
In the latest version of vRealize Automation (vRA), version 8, when you create a new blueprint for deploying a Virtual Machine, you probably noticed once you deploy the Virtual Machine it gets a standard machine name something like Cloud_Machine_1-mcmxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx. But most customers use their own…
vRealize Operations 6.x certificate expires soon
Normally I don’t replicate VMware KB articles or bug reports with clear instructions on how to fix your problems. But in this case I want to warn vRealize Operations users and prevent that they run into an issue soon. Why? The vRealize Operations 6.x certificate expires…
Opensource Configuration Management tools integration with vRealize Automation Cloud – Part 2
This is part 2 of opensource Configuration Management tools integration with vRealize Automation Cloud. In part 1 I wrote about using Puppet Bolt together with VMware Cloud Automation Services for installing and configuring software on a deployed VM. A lot has changed since, Cloud Automation…
Surviving VMworld Europe 2019
Going to VMworld in Barcelona this year? Here are some tips and tricks that will benefit you and help you survive the awsome experiance that is VMworld. Some tips I wrote down in 2015 are still valid and I will repeat a couple of them…
My First VMworld
VMworld US is already in the past but for us, European people, VMworld EU is closing fast. Just another 7 weeks before the most important show of the season kicks off. Okay, I might be slightly biased For many people, VMworld is part of their…
Frequently asked questions for the vSphere Client (HTML5)
As you all may know, the vSphere Client (HTML5) is the preferred client these days for managing your vSphere environment. With the deprecation of the vSphere Client for Windows (aka the C# client) and the vSphere Web Client (aka the Flash client) there is really…
Opensource Configuration Management tools integration with Cloud Automation Services – Part 1
In some earlier posts I wrote about the advantages of Configuration Management tools as Puppet Enterprise for installing software and desired state configuration and how easy it is to integrate it with automation solutions as VMware vRealize Automation and Cloud Automation Services. But what if…
The game is On! vMA & vNS TechCon 2019 Call for Papers
The game is on! On October 1st the second edition of the vMA & vNS Technology Conference (TechCon) will take place at Inn-Style in Maarssen. New this year is that we’ve combined both events on one day, so you have the chance to attend both…
Cloud Automation Services in action
On March 21 I presented at the Dutch VMUG. If you don’t know the Dutch VMUG, it’s the biggest VMware User Group event in the world and this year there were about 900 attendees. I had two sessions on VMware Cloud Automation Services (CAS), a…
Using Puppet Bolt to install vRealize Endpoint Operations agents
When you read my previous posts you probably know I’m a fan of Puppet. During the holidays I finally had the time to learn more about Puppet Bolt. If you don’t know what Bolt is I encourage you try it out asap. It’s an amazing…
Getting started with Photon OS
Dimitri and Erik have been talking about Photon and the integration into vRealize Automation, but how do you go about creating a container host with Photon OS, for example for OTNSX? Deploying Photon OS For deployment of Photon OS you basically have two options: download…
Using input parameters to create dynamic blueprint requests in Cloud Automation Services
In my previous post, I integrated Puppet Enterprise with Cloud Assembly to be used with my vSphere blueprint for software installation during deployment. In this post I will walk you through how to use input parameters to make the blueprint more dynamic at request. For example,…
Using VMware and Veeam? Update VBR 9.5 to Update 3a now
Veeam just released their latest update for Veeam Backup & Replication 9.5 Update 3a with lots of support for new VMware platform versions! Are you already running or planning to update to VMware vSphere 6.5 Update 2 or vSphere version 6.7? Make sure you update…
Best Practices for Hardening the Veeam Backup Repository (Windows)
A good way of hardening the backup repository is by running it on a standalone Windows Server with storage attached to it. Create/Use a local account with administrative access and make sure only this (newly created) account has access rights to the location where the…
New Lab Stuff
Some time ago, back in December of 2015, I started a three-part story on how to have a supported SMB or lab environment. It consisted of a couple of Hewlett Packard Enterprise Microserver Gen 8’s and a NAS by QNAP. Check out the three part…