Virtuozity

VMware announced the end of life (EOL) for its Consolidated Backup (VCB) framework. The company states that the next version of vSphere, due later this year, will not support VCB and will solely rely on the new vStorage APIs for Data Protection (VADP) introduced with vSphere 4.0.

VCB binaries will be still available and supported on VI 3.x and vSphere 4.0 according to the support policy, but they will not be included in the new platform. Most partners with a strong focus on backup/restore already support VADP. VMware promises that even more vendors will offer VADP-based solutions in time for the next vSphere release.

The standard for Service Console (SC) RAM in ESX 3.5 server is 272MB. This minimum is fine for the standard server that does not have installed any other software. But you might have proprietary hardware agents, backup solutions or other software installed, and you might run into serious trouble you are unaware of, if do not expand the SC memory (e.g. HA agent errors). 512MB should be enough for most scenarios, but if you don't mind you can go for the maximum of 800MB. You have to configure the RAM size in the ESX configuration file

/etc/vmware/esx.conf

Just search for /boot/memSize = "272" and enter your value. After that you will have to deal with GRUB and the init process, because the settings are boot-relevant. ESX server has proprietary aliases for that, the command is esxcfg-boot. You have to run it twice: First time to regenerate the GRUB configuration files, the second time to recreate the initrd file with the new settings. You might want to use this short shell script, that does it all for you:

sed -i 's/memSize = "[0-9][0-9][0-9]"/memSize = "800"/' /etc/vmware/esx.conf
esxcfg-boot -g
esxcfg-boot -b

Because you have to reboot the host to take effect, so you should plan this for your next ESX patch day.

Link: http://communities.vmware.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/1118727-16763/VMware%20Enterprise%20Administration%20Exam%20study%20guide%203.pdf

Peter van den Bosch released a very fine summary of all topics that are mentioned in the official VCDX blueprint. If you are serious about taking the exam, you should read it to make sure you are prepared. I had some problems printing the PDF (especially page 18), but this could be a driver problem of my printer. Good luck with your exam!

Link: http://www.vmreference.com/vi3-card/

Forbes Guthrie created a great overview of VMware specs and figures. He calls his project the "vmreference card". Very useful if you are preparing for a VMware exam, but also for your EEE (Everyday ESX Experience).

Link: http://www.icomasoft.com/powerscripter

Dennis Zimmer emigrated from Germany to Switzerland and founded his new company "icomasoft". Their product "VI PowerScripter" is a GUI that simplifies the use of PowerShell scripts and comes along with a bunch of handy templates to start from. Definitely not for PS gurus but if you don't have the time to script or to work yourself into the PowerShell, this tool will make a real difference for your daily administrative routine. Just check it out, there is a 15 day trial period.