Runecast 2.7.0 with ESXi Upgrade Simulator

If you’ve ever had the task to upgrade a number of ESXi servers, you’ll know that it’s a hell lot of work to be done even before you can upgrade the first host. Is the host still on the VMware Hardware Compatibility List (HCL)? Are my PCIe cards (NIC, HBA, SCSI-controller) still supported? Does the current firmware match the future driver?

Finding answers all of these questions might take hours of research. Especially if you have non-uniform clusters.

Runecast got you covered

We have good news for those of you who already use Runecast-Analyzer to scan their cluster against KB issues. The latest beta (2.7.0) of the HW compatibility tool can now simulate host upgrades. Wow cool is that!

2. May 20192. May 2019

New publications in IT-Administrator Magazine

Optimization, troubleshooting and monitoring of virtual infrastructures is like a scientific subject in itself and one of my IT-passions. Together with my buddy Dr. Jens Söldner I have published two articles in german IT-Administrator magazine (German Language), which cover the subjects above.

First article covers strategies for vSphere troubleshooting, best practises and useful tools like VeeamOne, RVTools, vRealize Log Insight or Runecast-Analyzer.

Second article covers vSphere management, administration, automatization and deployment.

IT-Administrator – Special Edition 01/2019

This special edition is available well-assorted magazine stores or can be obtained directly from the publisher’s website.

9. April 20199. April 2019

Enable SSH cluster-wide with PowerCLI

This article shows how to quickly enable SSH service on one, more or all hosts in a cluster.

Start service

Connect-VIServer <myVC>

The command below will activate SSH on all hosts registered in in your vCenter.

Get-VMHost | Get-VMHostService | Where Key -EQ "TSM-SSH" | Start-VMHostService

TSM means “Technical Support Mode”

Stop SSH service

To stop SSH service on all hosts, use the command below.

Get-VMHost | Get-VMHostService | Where Key -EQ "TSM-SSH" |  Stop-VMHostService -Confirm:$False

Selective activation

It’s possible to limit the scope of the command to one host. Just add the FQDN after Get-Host.

Get-VMHost myESX.myDomain.local | Get-VMHostService | Where Key -EQ "TSM-SSH" | Start-VMHostService

7. March 20197. March 2019

Runecast (beta) with Hardware Compatibility Checks

Fully automated VMware HCL checks in Runecast Analyzer

Runecast opened a beta testing program for early adopters to try their latest feature. In a future release of Runecast Analyzer users will not only be able to scan their environment against VMware KB issues, but also to check their hardware against VMware hardware compatibility list (HCL).

I’ve been talking a lot with the Runecast team about this ‘missing’ feature. Now I’m lucky to be one of the beta testers and can get a glimpse to the future. 🙂

The challenge

Getting information about software and configuration issues in your vSphere cluster is priceless. But what about hardware?

Look how a future release of Runecast Analyzer can help. It will check your current hardware configuration against VMware HCL. Continue reading “Runecast (beta) with Hardware Compatibility Checks”