Category: VMware

ESXi is the hypervisor in a vSphere environment. The hypervisor provides physical hardware resources dynamically to virtual machines as needed to support the operation of the virtual machines. The hypervisor allows virtual machines to operate with a degree of independence from the underlying physical hardware. For example, a virtual machine can be moved from one physical host to another, or its virtual disks can be moved from one type of storage to another, without affecting the functioning of the virtual machine.
Because virtual machines are decoupled from specific underlying physical hardware, virtualization allows you to consolidate physical computing resources such as CPUs, memory, storage, and networking into pools of resources that can be dynamically and flexibly made available to virtual machines. With appropriate management software, such as vCenter Server, you can also use a number of features that increase the availability and security of your virtual infrastructure.

Use Remove-Snapshot to get rid of snapshots for all VMs > 2 snapshots

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To remove snapshots from all VMs that have more than two snapshots using VMware PowerCLI (PowerShell module for managing VMware environments), you can use the following PowerShell script as a starting point:

# Connect to your vCenter Server
Connect-VIServer -Server YourVCenterServer -User YourUsername -Password YourPassword

# Get all VMs with more than two snapshots
$VMs = Get-VM | Where-Object { $_.ExtensionData.Snapshot.RootSnapshotList.Count -gt 2 }

# Loop through VMs and remove snapshots
foreach ($VM in $VMs) {
    $Snapshots = $VM | Get-Snapshot
    $Snapshots | Sort-Object -Property Created -Descending | Select-Object -Skip 2 | Remove-Snapshot -Confirm:$false
    Write-Host "Snapshots removed from $($VM.Name)"
}

# Disconnect from the vCenter Server
Disconnect-VIServer -Server * -Confirm:$false

Please note the following points about this script:

  1. Replace YourVCenterServer, YourUsername, and YourPassword with your actual vCenter Server details.
  2. The script retrieves all VMs with more than two snapshots using Get-VM and filters them using Where-Object.
  3. The snapshots are sorted by their creation date in descending order, and the two most recent snapshots are skipped (to retain the two most recent snapshots).
  4. The -Confirm:$false parameter is used with Remove-Snapshot to avoid confirmation prompts for each snapshot removal.

Before running this script, make sure you have VMware PowerCLI installed and that you are using it in a controlled environment, as removing snapshots can impact VMs and their data. Test the script on a smaller scale or non-production environment to ensure it behaves as expected.

Always ensure you have backups and a proper understanding of the impact of snapshot removal on your VMs before performing such operations in a production environment.

Install VAAI plugin using Powershell to all the Esxi hosts in one VC

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Install VMware PowerCLI: If you haven’t installed PowerCLI already, you can download and install it from the PowerShell Gallery. Open a PowerShell session with Administrator privileges and run the following command:

Install-Module -Name VMware.PowerCLI

Connect to vCenter: Connect to your vCenter server using PowerCLI. Replace “vcenter_server” with the IP or FQDN of your vCenter server and enter your vCenter credentials when prompted:

Connect-VIServer -Server vcenter_server

Get a List of ESXi Hosts: Run the following command to retrieve a list of all ESXi hosts managed by the vCenter server:

$esxiHosts = Get-VMHost

Install VAAI Plugin on Each ESXi Host: Loop through each ESXi host and install the VAAI plugin using the “esxcli” command. Replace “esxi_username” and “esxi_password” with the ESXi host’s root credentials:

foreach ($esxiHost in $esxiHosts) {
    $esxiConnection = Connect-VIServer -Server $esxiHost -User esxi_username -Password esxi_password
    if ($esxiConnection) {
        $esxiHostName = $esxiHost.Name
        Write-Host "Installing VAAI plugin on $esxiHostName..."
        $installScript = "esxcli software vib install -v /path/to/vaaipackage.vib --no-sig-check"
        Invoke-SSHCommand -SSHHost $esxiHostName -SSHUser esxi_username -SSHPassword esxi_password -SSHCommand $installScript
    }
}

Make sure to replace “/path/to/vaaipackage.vib” with the actual path to the VAAI plugin file (e.g., “esxcli software vib install -v /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/vaaipackage.vib –no-sig-check”).

  1. Disconnect from vCenter: Finally, disconnect from the vCenter server when the installation process is complete:
Disconnect-VIServer -Server $esxiHosts.Server -Force -Confirm:$false

Handling Component Loss in VSAN

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In a vSAN environment, data is distributed across multiple hosts and disks for redundancy and fault tolerance. If some components are lost, vSAN employs various mechanisms to ensure data integrity and availability:

  1. Automatic Component Repair:
    • vSAN automatically repairs missing or degraded components when possible.
    • When a component (e.g., a disk or a host) fails, vSAN automatically starts rebuilding the missing components using available replicas.
  2. Fault Domains:
    • Fault domains are logical groupings of hosts and disks that provide data resiliency against larger failures, such as an entire rack or network segment going offline.
    • By defining fault domains properly, vSAN ensures that data replicas are distributed across different failure domains.
  3. Policy-Based Management:
    • Use vSAN storage policies to specify the level of redundancy and performance required for your VMs.
    • Policies dictate how many replicas to create, where to place them, and what to do in case of failures.
  4. Health Checks and Alerts:
    • Regularly monitor the vSAN cluster’s health using vSAN Health Check and other monitoring tools.
    • Address any alerts promptly to prevent further issues.
  5. Recovery from Complete Host Failure:
    • In the event of a complete host failure, VMs and their data remain accessible if enough replicas exist on surviving hosts.
    • Replace the failed host and vSAN automatically resyncs the data back to the new host.

Automatic Component Repair in vSAN is a critical feature that helps maintain data integrity and availability in case of component failures. When a component (such as a disk, a cache drive, or an entire host) fails, vSAN automatically initiates the process of rebuilding the affected components to restore data redundancy. Let’s understand how Automatic Component Repair works in vSAN with some examples:

Example 1: Disk Component Failure

  1. Initial Configuration:
    • Let’s assume we have a vSAN cluster with three hosts (Host A, Host B, and Host C) and a single VM with RAID-1 (Mirroring) vSAN storage policy, which means each data object has two replicas (copies).
  2. Normal Operation:
    • The VM’s data is distributed across the three hosts, with two replicas on different hosts to ensure redundancy.
  3. Disk Failure:
    • Suppose a disk on Host A fails, and it contains one of the replicas of the VM’s data.
  4. Automatic Component Repair:
    • As soon as the disk failure is detected, vSAN will automatically trigger a process to rebuild the lost replica.
    • The surviving replica on Host B will be used as the source to rebuild the missing replica on another healthy disk within the cluster, which could be on Host A or Host C.
  5. Recovery Completion:
    • Once the new replica is created on a different disk within the cluster, the VM’s data is fully protected again with two replicas.

Example 2: Host Failure

  1. Initial Configuration:
    • Similar to the previous example, we have a vSAN cluster with three hosts (Host A, Host B, and Host C) and a VM with RAID-1 vSAN storage policy.
  2. Normal Operation:
    • The VM’s data is distributed across the three hosts with two replicas for redundancy.
  3. Host Failure:
    • Let’s say Host B experiences a complete failure and goes offline.
  4. Automatic Component Repair:
    • As soon as vSAN detects the host failure, it will trigger a process to rebuild the lost replicas that were residing on Host B.
    • The replicas that were on Host B will be recreated on available disks in the cluster, such as on Host A or Host C.
  5. Recovery Completion:
    • Once the new replicas are created on the surviving hosts, the VM’s data is again fully protected with two replicas.

Automatic Component Repair ensures that vSAN maintains the desired level of data redundancy specified in the storage policy. The process of rebuilding components may take some time, depending on the size of the data and the available resources in the cluster. During the repair process, vSAN continues to operate in a degraded state, but data accessibility is maintained as long as the remaining replicas are available.

It’s important to note that vSAN Health Checks and monitoring tools can provide insights into the status of the cluster and any ongoing repair activities.

These tools assist in identifying potential issues, optimizing performance, and ensuring data integrity. Here are some essential vSAN monitoring tools:

  1. vSAN Health Check:
    • The vSAN Health Check is an integrated tool within the vSphere Web Client that provides a comprehensive health assessment of the vSAN environment.
    • It checks for potential issues, misconfigurations, or capacity problems and offers remediation steps.
    • You can access the vSAN Health Check from the vSphere Web Client by navigating to “Monitor” > “vSAN” > “Health.”
  2. Performance Service:
    • The vSAN Performance Service provides real-time performance metrics and statistics for vSAN clusters and individual VMs.
    • It allows you to monitor metrics like throughput, IOPS, latency, and other performance-related information.
    • You can access the vSAN Performance Service from the vSphere Web Client by navigating to “Monitor” > “vSAN” > “Performance.”
  3. vRealize Operations Manager (vROps):
    • vRealize Operations Manager is an advanced monitoring and analytics tool from VMware that provides comprehensive monitoring and capacity planning capabilities for vSAN environments.
    • It offers in-depth insights into performance, capacity, and health of the entire vSAN infrastructure.
    • vROps also provides customizable dashboards, alerting, and reporting features.
    • vRealize Operations Manager can be integrated with vCenter Server to get the vSAN-specific analytics and monitoring features.
  4. esxcli Commands:
    • ESXi hosts in the vSAN cluster can be monitored using various esxcli commands.
    • For example, you can use “esxcli vsan cluster get” to view cluster information, “esxcli vsan storage list” to check disk health, and “esxcli vsan debug perf get” to retrieve performance-related data.
  5. vSAN Observer:
    • The vSAN Observer is a tool that provides advanced performance monitoring and troubleshooting capabilities for vSAN clusters.
    • It collects detailed performance metrics and presents them in a user-friendly format.
    • The vSAN Observer can be accessed from an SSH session to the ESXi hosts, and you can run “vsan.observer” to initiate the collection.
  6. VMware Skyline Health Diagnostics for vSAN:
    • VMware Skyline is a proactive support technology that automatically analyzes vSAN environments for potential issues and sends recommendations to VMware Support.
    • It provides insights into vSAN configuration, hardware compatibility, and other relevant information to improve the health of the environment.

I personally use vSAN Observer a lot in my daily VSAN checks.

Accessing VSAN Observer: To use VSAN Observer, you need to access the ESXi host via an SSH session. SSH should be enabled on the ESXi host to use this tool. You can use tools like PuTTY (Windows) or the Terminal (macOS/Linux) to connect to the ESXi host.

  1. Start VSAN Observer: To initiate the VSAN Observer, run the following command on the ESXi host:
vsan.observer
  1. View VSAN Observer Output: After running the command, VSAN Observer starts collecting performance statistics and presents an output similar to the top command in a continuous mode. It updates the performance statistics at regular intervals.
  2. Navigating VSAN Observer: The VSAN Observer output consists of multiple sections, each displaying different performance metrics related to vSAN.
  • General Overview: The initial section provides a general overview of the vSAN cluster, including health status and disk capacity utilization.
  • Network: This section displays network-related performance metrics, such as throughput, packets, and errors.
  • Disk Groups: Information about each disk group in the cluster, including read and write latency, cache hit rate, and IOPS.
  • SSD: Performance statistics for the SSDs used in the disk groups.
  • HDD: Performance statistics for the HDDs used in the disk groups.
  • Virtual Machines: Performance metrics for individual VMs using vSAN storage.
  1. Navigating VSAN Observer Output: Use the arrow keys and other keyboard shortcuts to navigate through the different sections and information displayed by VSAN Observer.
  2. Exit VSAN Observer: To exit VSAN Observer, press “Ctrl + C” in the SSH session.

Example: Using VSAN Observer to Monitor Disk Group Performance:

Let’s use VSAN Observer to monitor the performance of disk groups in a vSAN cluster.

  1. Access the ESXi host via SSH.
  2. Start VSAN Observer by running the following command:
vsan.observer
  1. Navigate to the “Disk Groups” section using the arrow keys.
  2. Observe the performance metrics for each disk group, such as read and write latency, cache hit rate, and IOPS.
  3. Monitor the output for any anomalies or performance bottlenecks in the disk groups.
  4. To exit VSAN Observer, press “Ctrl + C” in the SSH session.

Clone Operation (New-VM) and Storage vMotion(Move-VM)

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In VMware PowerCLI, New-VM and Move-VM are two distinct cmdlets used for different purposes related to virtual machines. VAAI (vStorage APIs for Array Integration) is a VMware feature that offloads certain storage operations to the storage array to improve performance and efficiency. While VAAI is not directly related to the New-VM and Move-VM cmdlets, I will provide examples of how these cmdlets are used, and then explain the relationship between VAAI and storage operations.

  1. New-VM: The New-VM cmdlet is used to create a new virtual machine (VM) within a specified host or cluster. It allows you to define various configuration settings for the new VM, such as the VM name, guest operating system, CPU, memory, disk, network settings, and more.

Example of New-VM:

# Create a new virtual machine
New-VM -Name "NewVM" -VMHost "ESXiHost" -Datastore "Datastore1" -MemoryGB 4 -NumCPU 2 -NetworkName "VM Network" -DiskGB 50

In this example, the New-VM cmdlet is used to create a new VM named “NewVM” on the host “ESXiHost,” with 4GB of memory, 2 CPUs, connected to the “VM Network” for networking, and a 50GB virtual disk on “Datastore1.”

  1. Move-VM: The Move-VM cmdlet is used to migrate a VM from one host or datastore to another. It allows you to perform live migrations (vMotion) or cold migrations (Storage vMotion) of VMs across hosts or datastores in a vSphere environment.

Example of Move-VM:

# Migrate a virtual machine to a different datastore
Move-VM -VM "MyVM" -Datastore "NewDatastore"

In this example, the Move-VM cmdlet is used to migrate the VM named “MyVM” to a different datastore named “NewDatastore.”

Now, let’s briefly discuss VAAI:

VAAI (vStorage APIs for Array Integration): VAAI is a set of APIs provided by VMware that allows vSphere to offload certain storage operations from the ESXi hosts to the storage array. This offloading improves performance and efficiency by leveraging the capabilities of the underlying storage hardware.

Examples of storage operations offloaded to VAAI-enabled storage arrays include:

  • Hardware Accelerated Copy (HWCOPY): Improves VM cloning and snapshot operations by using the storage array to perform data copies.
  • Zero Block Detection (Zero): Allows the storage array to automatically handle zeroed-out blocks, reducing the burden on the ESXi host and improving storage efficiency.
  • Full Copy (HWFCOPY): Facilitates storage vMotion by performing fast and efficient data movement between datastores using the storage array’s capabilities.

In VMware PowerCLI, the Move-VM cmdlet automatically leverages VAAI (vStorage APIs for Array Integration) if the underlying storage array supports VAAI and the necessary VAAI primitives are enabled. VAAI allows the storage array to offload certain storage operations, making VM migrations faster and more efficient. Let’s take a look at an example of using Move-VM with VAAI:

# Connect to vCenter Server
Connect-VIServer -Server "vcenter.example.com" -User "username" -Password "password"

# Define the source VM and its current datastore
$sourceVM = Get-VM -Name "MyVM"
$sourceDatastore = Get-Datastore -VM $sourceVM

# Define the destination datastore
$destinationDatastore = Get-Datastore -Name "NewDatastore"

# Perform the VM migration using VAAI (Storage vMotion)
Move-VM -VM $sourceVM -Datastore $destinationDatastore -Force -DiskStorageFormat Thin

# Disconnect from vCenter Server
Disconnect-VIServer -Server "vcenter.example.com" -Confirm:$false

In this example, we perform a Storage vMotion using the Move-VM cmdlet with VAAI. Here’s what each step does:

  1. We start by connecting to the vCenter Server using Connect-VIServer.
  2. We define the source VM ($sourceVM) for the migration and get the current datastore ($sourceDatastore) where the VM is located.
  3. Next, we define the destination datastore ($destinationDatastore) where we want to move the VM.
  4. Finally, we use the Move-VM cmdlet to perform the VM migration. The -DiskStorageFormat Thin parameter specifies that the virtual disks should be moved with thin provisioning. The -Force parameter is used to suppress any confirmation prompts during the migration.

The Move-VM cmdlet will automatically utilize VAAI primitives if they are supported and enabled on the underlying storage array. VAAI accelerates the data movement between datastores, resulting in faster and more efficient VM migrations.

Re-IP’ing ESXi hosts in vCenter using a PowerShell script

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Re-IP’ing ESXi hosts in vCenter using a PowerShell script involves several steps and should be handled with caution, as it can disrupt the virtualized environment. The following script assumes you have VMware PowerCLI installed and connected to your vCenter server.

Before running the script, ensure you have a backup of your current configuration, and understand the implications of re-IP’ing your ESXi hosts.

# Connect to vCenter server
Connect-VIServer -Server YOUR_VCENTER_SERVER -User YOUR_USERNAME -Password YOUR_PASSWORD

# Define the old and new IP addresses
$oldIP = "OLD_IP_ADDRESS"
$newIP = "NEW_IP_ADDRESS"
$subnetMask = "NEW_SUBNET_MASK"
$gateway = "NEW_GATEWAY"

# Retrieve all ESXi hosts managed by vCenter
$esxiHosts = Get-VMHost

# Reconfigure network settings for each ESXi host
foreach ($esxiHost in $esxiHosts) {
    Write-Host "Reconfiguring network settings for $($esxiHost.Name)..."
    $esxiHostNic = Get-VMHostNetworkAdapter -VMHost $esxiHost | Where-Object { $_.Type -eq "Management" }

    # Set new IP address, subnet mask, and gateway
    $esxiHostNic | Set-VMHostNetworkAdapter -IP $newIP -SubnetMask $subnetMask -Gateway $gateway -Confirm:$false

    # Test the new connection and make sure it is responding
    if (Test-Connection -ComputerName $newIP -Count 1 -Quiet) {
        Write-Host "ESXi host $($esxiHost.Name) has been reconfigured successfully."
    } else {
        Write-Host "Failed to reconfigure ESXi host $($esxiHost.Name). Please verify the new network settings manually."
    }
}

# Disconnect from vCenter server
Disconnect-VIServer -Server $null

Replace the placeholders YOUR_VCENTER_SERVER, YOUR_USERNAME, YOUR_PASSWORD, OLD_IP_ADDRESS, NEW_IP_ADDRESS, NEW_SUBNET_MASK, and NEW_GATEWAY with appropriate values.

This script will loop through all ESXi hosts managed by vCenter, reconfigure the network settings for the management interface with the new IP address, subnet mask, and gateway, and then test the new connection to ensure it is responsive.

Again, exercise extreme caution when using this script, and always have a backup and a rollback plan ready before making any changes to your production environment.

To check and generate a report of backup, cloning, snapshot, or any other task of VM/ESXi/datastore in vSphere using PowerCLI

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  1. Install VMware PowerCLI: If you haven’t installed VMware PowerCLI yet, download and install it from the official VMware website: https://code.vmware.com/web/dp/tool/vmware-powercli/12.5.0
  2. Connect to vCenter Server: Open PowerShell or PowerShell ISE and connect to your vCenter Server using the Connect-VIServer cmdlet. Replace 'YOUR_VCENTER_SERVER' with the IP address or FQDN of your vCenter Server:
Connect-VIServer -Server 'YOUR_VCENTER_SERVER' -User 'YOUR_USERNAME' -Password 'YOUR_PASSWORD'

Generate the report for tasks: You can use the Get-VIEvent cmdlet in PowerCLI to retrieve events and filter them based on the task type (e.g., backup, clone, snapshot, etc.). Here’s a PowerShell script to generate the report:

# Define the output file path for the report
$outputFile = "C:\Path\To\Your\Report.txt"

# Get all VMs
$vms = Get-VM

# Initialize an empty array to store the events
$taskEvents = @()

# Get events for each VM and filter the ones related to tasks (backup, clone, snapshot, etc.)
foreach ($vm in $vms) {
    $events = Get-VIEvent -Entity $vm | Where-Object { $_.GetType().Name -match "TaskEvent" }
    $taskEvents += $events
}

# Generate a report and write it to the output file
$report = @()

foreach ($event in $taskEvents) {
    $vmName = $event.Vm.Name
    $eventType = $event.GetType().Name
    $eventFullType = $event.GetType().FullName
    $eventCreated = $event.CreatedTime
    $eventUserName = $event.UserName
    $eventFullData = $event | Format-List | Out-String

    $reportLine = @"
VM Name: $vmName
Event Type: $eventType
Event Full Type: $eventFullType
Event Created: $eventCreated
Event User Name: $eventUserName
Event Details:
$eventFullData
"@

    $report += $reportLine
}

# Save the report to the output file
$report | Out-File -FilePath $outputFile

# Display success message
Write-Host "Report generated successfully. Check $outputFile for the report."

Disconnect from vCenter Server: After generating the report, it’s a good practice to disconnect from the vCenter Server using the Disconnect-VIServer cmdlet:

Disconnect-VIServer -Server 'YOUR_VCENTER_SERVER' -Force -Confirm:$false

Please make sure to replace 'YOUR_VCENTER_SERVER', 'YOUR_USERNAME', and 'YOUR_PASSWORD' in the script with your vCenter server details. Additionally, modify the $outputFile variable to specify the path and filename for the generated report. The script will search for task-related events for each VM, extract relevant details, and save the report to the specified output file.

Get the maximum size of VMDKs (Virtual Machine Disk) in a vCenter environment

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To get the maximum size of VMDKs (Virtual Machine Disk) in a vCenter environment using PowerCLI and print the information to a file, you can use the following PowerShell script:

# Connect to the vCenter Server
Connect-VIServer -Server vcenter.example.com -User administrator -Password your_password

# Output file path to save the results
$outputFile = "C:\Path\To\Output\File.txt"

# Get all VMs in the vCenter
$allVMs = Get-VM

# Create an empty array to store the maximum VMDK sizes
$maxVmdkSizes = @()

# Loop through each VM and get the maximum size of its VMDKs
foreach ($vm in $allVMs) {
    $vmdks = Get-HardDisk -VM $vm
    $maxVmdkSizeGB = $vmdks | Measure-Object -Property CapacityGB -Maximum | Select-Object -ExpandProperty Maximum
    $maxVmdkSizes += [PSCustomObject]@{
        "VM Name" = $vm.Name
        "Maximum VMDK Size (GB)" = $maxVmdkSizeGB
    }
}

# Export the results to a CSV file
$maxVmdkSizes | Export-Csv -Path $outputFile -NoTypeInformation

# Disconnect from the vCenter Server
Disconnect-VIServer -Server vcenter.example.com -Confirm:$false

Write-Host "Maximum VMDK sizes have been saved to $outputFile."

In this script, replace "vcenter.example.com" with the hostname or IP address of your vCenter Server. Also, provide the correct path for $outputFile to save the results.

The script connects to the vCenter Server using Connect-VIServer, retrieves all VMs using Get-VM, and then loops through each VM to get the VMDKs using Get-HardDisk. It calculates the maximum VMDK size in gigabytes (GB) using Measure-Object, stores the results in the $maxVmdkSizes array as a custom PowerShell object, and finally exports the results to a CSV file using Export-Csv.

The script then disconnects from the vCenter Server using Disconnect-VIServer. The maximum VMDK sizes for each VM are saved in the specified output file, and a message is displayed on the PowerShell console to indicate the completion of the script.

To get the maximum size VMDKs in a vCenter environment and print them to a file using Python, you’ll need to use the VMware vSphere API. We can achieve this by using the pyVmomi library, which is a Python SDK for the VMware vSphere API. First, you’ll need to install the pyVmomi library:

pip install pyVmomi

Next, you can use the following Python script to connect to your vCenter server, retrieve the virtual machines, and find the largest VMDK size for each VM:

from pyVim.connect import SmartConnect, Disconnect
from pyVmomi import vim
import ssl

def get_max_vmdk_size(virtual_machine):
    max_vmdk_size = 0
    for device in virtual_machine.config.hardware.device:
        if isinstance(device, vim.vm.device.VirtualDisk):
            size_bytes = device.capacityInBytes
            if size_bytes > max_vmdk_size:
                max_vmdk_size = size_bytes
    return max_vmdk_size

def main():
    # Set your vCenter server details
    vcenter_server = 'YOUR_VCENTER_SERVER'
    username = 'YOUR_USERNAME'
    password = 'YOUR_PASSWORD'

    # Ignore SSL certificate verification
    context = ssl.SSLContext(ssl.PROTOCOL_TLSv1)
    context.verify_mode = ssl.CERT_NONE

    try:
        # Connect to vCenter
        service_instance = SmartConnect(host=vcenter_server, user=username, pwd=password, sslContext=context)
        if not service_instance:
            raise SystemExit("Unable to connect to vCenter server.")

        # Get all virtual machines in the vCenter environment
        content = service_instance.RetrieveContent()
        container = content.rootFolder
        viewType = [vim.VirtualMachine]
        recursive = True
        containerView = content.viewManager.CreateContainerView(container, viewType, recursive)
        virtual_machines = containerView.view

        # Find the maximum size VMDK for each virtual machine
        vm_max_vmdk_sizes = {}
        for virtual_machine in virtual_machines:
            vm_max_vmdk_sizes[virtual_machine.name] = get_max_vmdk_size(virtual_machine)

        # Print the results to a file
        with open('max_vmdk_sizes.txt', 'w') as f:
            for vm_name, max_vmdk_size in vm_max_vmdk_sizes.items():
                f.write(f"{vm_name}: {max_vmdk_size / (1024 ** 3)} GB\n")

        print("Maximum VMDK sizes saved to 'max_vmdk_sizes.txt'.")

    except Exception as e:
        print("Error:", e)

    finally:
        # Disconnect from vCenter
        if service_instance:
            Disconnect(service_instance)

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Replace 'YOUR_VCENTER_SERVER', 'YOUR_USERNAME', and 'YOUR_PASSWORD' with your vCenter server details. The script will connect to your vCenter server, retrieve all virtual machines, find the largest VMDK size for each VM, and then print the results to a file named max_vmdk_sizes.txt in the same directory as the script. The VMDK sizes will be printed in gigabytes (GB).

Virtual Machine (VM) running on VMware ESXi is not getting an IP address

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When a virtual machine (VM) running on VMware ESXi is not getting an IP address, it indicates a network connectivity issue. Troubleshooting this problem involves checking various settings and configurations to identify the root cause. Here are some common steps to troubleshoot a VM not getting an IP address on ESXi:

1. Verify Network Adapter Configuration:

  • Ensure that the VM has a network adapter attached and that it is connected to the correct virtual switch in ESXi.
  • Check the network adapter settings within the VM’s operating system. Ensure that it is set to obtain an IP address automatically (DHCP) unless you have a specific reason to use a static IP address.

2. Check DHCP Server:

  • Ensure that the DHCP server is operational and running in the network.
  • Check if there are enough available IP addresses in the DHCP pool to assign to the VM.
  • If the DHCP server is a separate virtual machine, ensure it is running and reachable from the VM.

3. Check VLAN and Network Segmentation:

  • If VLANs are used in the network, verify that the VM is on the correct VLAN and that the virtual switch is properly configured to handle VLAN tagging.
  • If the network is segmented, ensure that the VM is placed in the correct network segment and has the appropriate network access.

4. Check ESXi Networking Settings:

  • Verify that the ESXi host has functional network connectivity. Check the physical NICs, virtual switches, and port group configurations.
  • Check the VMkernel adapters used for management and VMotion to ensure they are functioning correctly.

5. Check Security Settings:

  • If there are any firewall or security settings in place, ensure that they are not blocking DHCP traffic or VM network communication.

6. Verify MAC Address:

  • Make sure that there are no conflicts with the MAC address of the VM’s network adapter. Duplicate MAC addresses can cause IP assignment issues.

7. Restart VM and Network Services:

  • Try restarting the VM and see if it acquires an IP address upon boot.
  • If the issue persists, try restarting the network services on the ESXi host.

8. Check Logs:

  • Review the logs on both the VM and the ESXi host to look for any errors or warnings related to network connectivity.
  • Check the DHCP server logs for any relevant information on the VM’s attempts to obtain an IP address.

9. Test with a Different VM:

  • Create a new VM and connect it to the same virtual switch to see if it can get an IP address. This will help determine if the issue is specific to the problematic VM or a more general network problem.

10. Check Physical Network:

  • If the VM is not getting an IP address on multiple ESXi hosts, check the physical network infrastructure, such as switches and routers, for any issues or misconfigurations.

Example Troubleshooting Steps:

1. Verify Network Adapter Configuration:

Example:

  • Log in to the vSphere Web Client or vSphere Client.
  • Select the VM in question, go to “Edit Settings,” and check the network adapter settings.
  • Ensure that the network adapter is connected to the correct virtual switch, and the “Connect at power on” option is enabled.

2. Check DHCP Server:

Example:

  • Verify that the DHCP server is operational and serving IP addresses to other devices on the same network.
  • Log in to the DHCP server and check its logs for any errors or issues related to IP assignment for the VM’s MAC address.

3. Check VLAN and Network Segmentation:

Example:

  • If VLANs are in use, ensure that the VM’s virtual network adapter is assigned to the correct VLAN.
  • Verify that the physical network switch ports and ESXi host’s virtual switch are correctly configured for VLAN tagging.

4. Check ESXi Networking Settings:

Example:

  • Log in to the ESXi host using the vSphere Web Client or vSphere Client.
  • Go to “Networking” and verify the configuration of virtual switches, port groups, and VMkernel adapters.
  • Ensure that the VM’s port group has the correct VLAN settings and security policies.

5. Verify MAC Address:

Example:

  • Ensure that there are no MAC address conflicts in the network.
  • Check the DHCP server logs for any indications of a MAC address conflict with the VM.

6. Restart VM and Network Services:

Example:

  • Try restarting the VM to see if it can acquire an IP address upon boot.
  • Restart the network services on the ESXi host using the command-line interface (CLI):
/etc/init.d/networking restart

7. Check Security Settings:

Example:

  • Review any firewall rules or security settings that might be affecting network communication for the VM.
  • Temporarily disable any restrictive firewall rules and see if the VM gets an IP address.

8. Check Logs:

Example:

  • Check the VM’s operating system logs for any network-related errors or warnings.
  • Review ESXi host logs, such as /var/log/vmkernel.log and /var/log/vpxa.log, for any relevant information.

9. Test with a Different VM:

Example:

  • Create a new VM and attach it to the same virtual switch to see if it can get an IP address. This helps determine if the issue is specific to the problematic VM or a more general network problem.

10. Check Physical Network:

Example:

  • If the issue persists across multiple ESXi hosts, check the physical network infrastructure, such as switches and routers, for any issues or misconfigurations.

Conclusion:

Troubleshooting a VM not getting an IP address on VMware ESXi involves checking various settings, configurations, and logs to identify the root cause of the problem. By following these example troubleshooting steps, you can isolate and resolve the issue, ensuring proper network connectivity for the affected VM.

Esxcli and vim-cmd commands for VM related queries

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esxcli is a powerful command-line tool in VMware ESXi that allows you to manage various aspects of your virtual machines (VMs). It provides a wide range of commands to query and configure VM-related settings. Below are some commonly used esxcli commands for VM-related queries, along with examples:

1. List Virtual Machines:

To view a list of all virtual machines registered on the ESXi host:

esxcli vm process list

2. Display VM Information:

To display detailed information about a specific virtual machine:

esxcli vm process list | grep -i "Display Name"

Replace "Display Name" with the name of the virtual machine you want to query.

3. Power Operations (Start, Stop, Restart):

To power on a virtual machine:

esxcli vm process start --vmid=<VMID>

Replace <VMID> with the VM’s unique identifier (you can get it from the output of the previous esxcli vm process list command).

To power off a virtual machine:

esxcli vm process kill --type=soft --world-id=<WORLD_ID>

Replace <WORLD_ID> with the VM’s World ID (you can find it in the output of the previous esxcli vm process list command).

4. Check VM Tools Status:

To check the VM Tools status for a virtual machine:

esxcli vm process list | grep -i "Tools"

This will show you whether VM Tools are running, not running, or not installed for each VM.

5. Check VM Resource Allocation:

To view the CPU and memory allocation for a specific virtual machine:

vim-cmd vmsvc/get.summary <VMID> | grep -E "vmx|memorySizeMb"

Replace <VMID> with the VM’s unique identifier.

6. Query VM vCPUs and Cores:

To check the number of virtual CPUs and cores per socket for a virtual machine:

vim-cmd vmsvc/get.config <VMID> | grep -E "numvcpus|coresPerSocket"

Replace <VMID> with the VM’s unique identifier.

7. Query VM Network Adapters:

To list the network adapters attached to a virtual machine:

vim-cmd vmsvc/get.networks <VMID>

Replace <VMID> with the VM’s unique identifier.

8. List VM Snapshots:

To view the snapshots for a specific virtual machine:

vim-cmd vmsvc/snapshot.get <VMID>

Replace <VMID> with the VM’s unique identifier.

9. Query VM Disk Information:

To check the virtual disks attached to a virtual machine:

vim-cmd vmsvc/device.disklist <VMID>

10. Get VM IP Address:

To get the IP address of a virtual machine (requires VMware Tools running in the VM):

vim-cmd vmsvc/get.guest <VMID> | grep -i "ipAddress"

Replace <VMID> with the VM’s unique identifier.

Conclusion:

Using esxcli commands, you can easily query and manage various aspects of virtual machines on your VMware ESXi host. These commands provide valuable information about VMs, their configurations, resource allocation, and power states, allowing you to efficiently manage your virtual environment.