How to deal with the virtual machines from the cli:

View number of virtual machines on host and location:

# vmware-cmd -l

Start a virtual machine:

# vmware-cmd ubuntu start

Stop a virtual machine:

# vmware-cmd ubuntu stop

View if a virtual machine is running:

# vmware-cmd ubuntu getstate

View how long a virtual machine has been running in seconds:

# vmware-cmd ubuntu getuptime

Reboot the virtual machine:

# vmware-cmd ubuntu reset trysoft

Create a snapshot and quiesce in the process:

# vmware-cmd ubuntu createsnapshot snap1 "first snapshot" 1 1 

Revert to a previous snapshot:

# vmware-cmd ubuntu revertsnapshot

Remove snapshots:

# vmware-cmd ubuntu removesnapshots

How to administer the service console's ip address

How to repair the ip address of the service console:

1. View the current state of the vswif interface by typing:
# esxcfg-vswif -l ; ifconfig vswif0

2.  Modify the ip address by typing:
# esxcfg-vswif -i 10.1.1.1 -n 255.255.255.0 vswif0

3. Add the vswif interface if needed by typing:
# esxcfg-vswif -a vswif0 -p "Service Console" -i 10.1.1.1 -n 255.255.255.0

4. Verify vswif information by typing:
# cat /etc/sysconfig/network

Note: Esxi uses a vmkernel port so the commands are different.
On esxi, type esxcfg-vmknic and notice the examples at the end
of the output.

vcli examples

vcli examples:

Note: All these examples assume that the server has an ip address of 10.1.1.1

To backup and restore esxi settings:

# vicfg-cfgbackup.pl --server 10.1.1.1 -s C:\esxibackup
 # vicfg-cfgbackup.pl --server 10.1.1.1 -l C:\esxibackup

To modify and view hostname and dns information:

# vicfg-dns.pl --server 10.1.1.1 --hostname wesker
# vicfg-dns.pl --server 10.1.1.1 --domain example.com
# vicfg-dns.pl --server 10.1.1.1 --dhcp yes
# vicfg-dns.pl --server 10.1.1.1 --dhcp no
# vicfg-dns.pl --server 10.1.1.1 --dns 10.1.1.2,10.1.1.3
# vicfg-dns.pl --server 10.1.1.1 --vnic vmnic0
# vicfg-dns.pl --server 10.1.1.1

To modify and view ntp information:

# vicfg-ntp.pl --server 10.1.1.1 -l
# vicfg-ntp.pl --server 10.1.1.1 -a 10.1.1.2
# vicfg.ntp.pl --server 10.1.1.1 -d 10.1.1.2
# vicfg.ntp.pl --server 10.1.1.1 --start
# vicfg.ntp.pl --server 10.1.1.1 --stop

To modify nfs/nas information:

# vicfg-nas.pl  --server 10.1.1.1 --list
# vicfg-nas.pl --server 10.1.1.1 --add nfs1 --nasserver 10.1.1.2  --share /music
# vicfg-nas.pl --server 10.1.1.1 --delete nfs1

How to add users in esx//esxi

Adding users in esxi:

1. Log in as root
2. Create the /home directory with mkdir /home
3. Create the user with adduser user_name_here
4. When asked, enter the username's password
5. Take a look at the account with the command cat /etc/shadow; cat /etc/passwd

Adding users in esx:

1. Log in as root
2. Create the user with useradd -md /home/user_name
3. Give the user a password with the command passwd user_name
4. Verify the account by loggin in as the user or the su - username command
5. Type the exit command to be root again (if su was used) or log out.

How to enable webaccess in esx

What is webAccess:

WebAccess is a feature found in esx only (no esxi) that allows a user to access the virtual machines consoles via a browser. This feature is disabled by default.

To enable this feature, log in as root on the service console and perform the
following steps:

1. service vmware-webAccess start
2. service vmware-webAccess status
3.  chkconfig --level 345 vmware-webAccess on

How to recover from forgotten root password in esx

Recovery in 5 easy steps:

1. Power on your server
2. When faced with the grub menu, type "a" to stop the automatic boot sequence
3. Add the word "single" to the boot sequence shown and press enter
4. When faced with the recovery prompt, type "passwd" to change your password
5. Type "reboot" after changing your password

Note:
If your server has a grub password, an alternative is to boot from a live
linux cd, mount the /boot partition into /mnt and edit the grub.conf file in the
grub directory.

H.A. Slot Calculation in 4x

How to calculate h.a. slots in a cluster:

Start with the number of esx/esxi hosts. In this example, there are 3 esxi hosts.
You can see that in the "Total hosts in cluster" line. The next line shows you all three hosts are currently running.

Now look at the number of virtual machines running. In this case the number is 6. This is easy to see and notice that you see that value twice (Used slots and Total powered on vms in cluster).

Look at the size of the memory and cpu reservations of all of the machines and document the highest one. If no reservations are present, the defaults are 256mhzs and 0mbs of ram. This has been changed in 5x (nowadays 32mhz and 0mb plus overhead). In this case, notice the 345MB.

Now if you have 3 hosts, each would have 78. The idea here is one of them would go down. That would leave us with 156 (78 x 2). If you subtract 6 (the running vms), that leaves you 150.

How to increase the memory allocated to the service console

Increasing the memory allocated to the service console in ESX 4X from 300mb to 800mb requires editing of two files. The files are esx.conf in the /etc/vmware directory and grub.conf in the /boot/grub directory. 800mb is the maximum allowed. The swap partition should be changed as well from 600mb (twice the ram allocated to the service console by default) to 1600mb maximum.

# vi /etc/vmware/esx.conf
           uppermem=818176

# vi /boot/grub/grub.conf
          mem=800

Just a few VMware ESX commands

The power of the command line interface

ESX 4X Commands to make life easier:

Dealing with physical nics:

esxcfg-nics -l                                                                                                              
List available network cards

esxcfg-nics -s 100 -d full vmnic2                                                                           
Set card to full duplex, 100mbits

esxcfg-nics -a vmnic2                                                                                              
Set card to autonegociate

Dealing with virtual switches:

esxcfg-vswitch -l                                                                                                          
list all available virtual switches

esxcfg-vswitch -a vSwitch1                                                                                       
create a new virtual switch

esxcfg-vswitch -A "My VMs" vSwitch1                                                                  
add a port group to a vswitch

esxcfg-vswitch -L vmnic1 vSwitch1                                                                         
associate a nic to a switch

esxcfg-vswitch -U vmnic1 vSwitch1                                                                         
remove a nic from a switch

esxcfg-vswitch -d vSwitch1                                                                                         
remove a virtual switch

Dealing with routing:

esxcfg-route -l                                                                                                                
list the routing table

esxcfg-route 10.28.1.1                                                                                                  
set the gateway

esxcfg-route -a default 255.0.0.0 10.28.1.2                                                              
add a gateway

Dealing with the nfs server:

esxcfg-nas -l                                                                                                                    
list nfs mounts

esxcfg-nas -a -o 10.28.1.50 -s /test01 nfs01                                                                  
mount /test01 from an nfs server r/w and label the datastore nfs01
esxcfg-nas -a -o 10.28.1.50 -s /test02 nfs02 -y
mount a second nfs share read only
 esxcfg-nas -d nfs01
unmount the nfs01 datastore

Dealing with the firewall:

esxcfg-firewall -q                                                                                                           
query the firewall

esxcfg-firewall -e ntpClient                                                                                          
enable ntp service

esxcfg-firewall -d ntpClient                                                                                          
disable ntp service

esxcfg-firewall -allowIncoming                                                                                   
open all incoming ports

esxcfg-firewall -blockIncoming                                                                                   
block all incoming ports

esxcfg-firewall -allowOutgoing                                                                                   
open all outgoing ports

esxcfg-firewall -blockOutgoing                                                                                   
block all outgoing ports

Dealing with storage:

esxcfg-rescan                                                                                                                   
find newly added storag/rescan hbas

Dealing with the service console:

esxcfg-vswif -i 10.28.1.1 -n 255.255.255.0 vswif0                                                  
set the ip address of the service console

esxcfg-vswif -a vswif0 -p “Service Console” -i 10.28.1.2 -n 255.255.255.0       
add a service console

Dealing with vmkernel ports:

esxcfg-vmknic -a “VM Kernel” -i 10.28.1.10 -n 255.255.255.0                            

add the vmkernel nic and give ip

Dealing with iSCSI:

esxcfg-swiscsi -q
query the software initiator
esxcfg-swiscsi -e
enable the software initiator
esxcfg-swiscsi -d 
disable the software initiator

Dealing with the esxcli command:
esxcli swiscsi nic add -n vmk0 -d vmhba35
bind the vmkernel port to a particular hba
esxcli swiscsi nic list -d vmhba35
list bindings
esxcli nmp psp list
list available multipathing options