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vRA 7.3 PhysicalHostPingService: ignoring exception. IAAS Service error MSDTC Issue

doj1983 Uncategorized , , , , , , ,

Pretty much EVERY time I install vRA Version 7.* I always get an error relating to the vRA IAAS Service.

It stops Endpoint Compute Services from being displayed, stops data collection of all added endpoints and generally makes vRA a paperweight.

The error can be found under Infrastructure>Monioring, you’ll know you have issues if you have hundreds\thousands of the same error!

5.JPG

The full error looks like this…

6.JPG

The error is related to the MS DTC service, if your Windows SQL Server and Windows IAAS Manager Servers have been rolled out from the same vSphere template then you will likely get the error, I read a large number of blogs that say this only happens if Sysprep hasn’t been run, however I see this issue whether SYSPREP is run or not. The GUID of MS DTC doesn’t seem to change and the duplicate GUID entries of the SQL & IAAS Manager Server results in the issue.

Uninstalling\Re-Installing\Re-Configuring MS DTC seems to be the most appropriate resolution to this issue, I run the following commands on all IAAS Manager Servers and SQL Servers. I then restart The SQL, IAAS MAnager & vRA Appliance for good measure.


Uninstall-Dtc -confirm:$false



Install-Dtc



Set-DtcNetworkSetting -DtcName "Local" -RemoteAdministrationAccessEnabled:$False -RemoteClientAccessEnabled:$True -InboundTransactionsEnabled:$True -OutboundTransactionsEnabled:$True -LUTransactionsEnabled:$True -XATransactionsEnabled:$False -AuthenticationLevel Mutual -Confirm:$False
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vRO Remove CD ROM Workflow

doj1983 Uncategorized, vRO , , , , , , , , , ,

The following can be used to remove a CDROM drive from a powered on Virtual Machine using vRO, vRealize Orchestrator.

Paste the following into a Scriptable task and create an input Parameter of type VC:VirtualMachine called workflowVM

 


var configSpec = new VcVirtualMachineConfigSpec();
var deviceConfigSpecs = new Array();
var deviceConfigSpec = new VcVirtualDeviceConfigSpec();
var devices = workflowVM.config.hardware.device;

for ( var ii in devices) {
var device = devices[ii];
if ( device instanceof VcVirtualCdrom) {
deviceConfigSpec.device = device;
deviceConfigSpec.operation = VcVirtualDeviceConfigSpecOperation.remove;
deviceConfigSpecs.push (deviceConfigSpec);
configSpec.deviceChange = deviceConfigSpecs
}
}

workflowVM.reconfigVM_Task(configSpec);

VMware VCIX 6 Exam Details Released

doj1983 Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rejoice details on the VCIX 6 exams for Data Centre Virtualization & Cloud have finally been released!

I’d originally held off sitting the VCAP-DCD 5 exam back in Feb 2015 (im already a VCAP-DCA holder) as the VCIX 6 exams were supposedly imminent, that wait is finally over and study can begin in earnest.

Details of the beta have been posted on VMwares blog site in 3 parts here

Part 1 – https://blogs.vmware.com/education/2015/12/vcix6-certification-announcement-part-1-of-3.html

Part 2 – https://blogs.vmware.com/education/2015/12/vcix6-certification-announcement-part-2-3-updated-structure-paths.html

Part 3 – https://blogs.vmware.com/education/2015/12/vcix6-certification-announcement-part-3-of-3-exam-guides.html

Exam registration is expected early to mid-January with first beta appointments in late January.

However, questions still remain on the prerequisites for the VCIX/VCAP6 exams.

It isn’t clear whether VCAP5 holders can jump straight into upgrading to VCIX

or whether they first need to sit and pass the VCP6 exam.

Blog post part 2 states the following

“From VCAP5 Administration to VCIX6 → Earn the VCAP6 Design certification by passing the VCAP6 Design Exam”

“From VCAP5 Design to VCIX6 → Earn the VCAP6 Deployment certification by passing the VCAP6 Deployment Exam (lab)”

However the official exam guide states

“Candidates are required to obtain a valid VMware Certified Professional 6 certification prior to attempting this certification”

Personally I feel the VCP6 cert should only be a pre-req for non VCAP holders, hopefully when the new VCIX sites go live things will become clearer…

For now, I’m concentrating on bringing up my lab & study, I’ll update this blog when the prerequisites become a little clearer…

 

 

 

Horizon 6.1 NVIDIA GRID vGPU

doj1983 Uncategorized , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

VMware Horizon 6.1 now supports NVIDIA GRID vGPU for their virtual desktop users, but before jumping on the rich graphic bandwagon there are some considerations to be made, for instance NVIDIA GRID VGPU doesnt support vMotion or HA because of the direct-path access to the hardware.

in addition to that there is no support for vGPU in a Linux guest as NVidia drivers are not availble

https://gridforums.nvidia.com/default/topic/285/nvidia-grid-drivers/grid-driver-for-ubuntu-and-centos-/

A handy comparison of vSGA, NVDIA GRID vGPU and vDGA is shown below

GRID

Before using the hardware-based (GPU) virtual Shared Graphics Acceleration (vSGA) feature in vSphere, you must install and configure the NVIDIA GPU VIB (vSphere Installation Bundle) on ESXi.

More information can be found here

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=2033434

I’m sure there will be some use cases for GRID, but I’d imagine the lack of vMotion & HA support will be a deal breaker for most.