How to easily update your VMware vCenter Server Appliance from 6.5.x to 6.5 Update 1f (VCSA 6.5 U1f) for Meltdown/Spectre-1 mitigation

Important Update - On Mar 20 2018, VMware VMSA-2018-0004.3 announced that CVE-2017-5715 (Spectre-2) mitigation is now included in the latest patch that you should be using instead of the older patch featured in the original article below. You'll find the newer article here: How to easily update…

Feb 20 2018

Intel Xeon D-2100 announced, a promising choice for efficient home lab datacenters?

This article will be updated as I collect information, after a couple of days of personal travel to see a launch that happened to coincide with this Intel launch. It's been just one month shy of 3 years since I first wrote about the Intel Xeon D here at TinkerTry, which promised to deliver what I…

Feb 8 2018

Skylake-D information shows up on Intel's Price List

This article has largely been replaced by the Xeon D-1200 announcement that arrived on Feb 08 2018, see details at Intel Xeon D-2100 announced, a promising choice for efficient home lab datacenters. Article as it originally appeared below. This morning, Chris Parker dropped this comment: right…

Feb 2 2018

Intel SSD 760p Series M.2 NVMe will be available in up to 2TB capacity at near SATA pricing and double 600p performance

Introduction This article takes a quick look at Intel's latest SSD specs, and their potential for use in a VMware virtualization home lab environment. I do not currently have a sample of the 760p for first-hand testing. The information here is based on a briefing I recently received from an Intel…

Jan 23 2018

How to easily update your VMware Hypervisor from 6.x to 6.5 Update 1 Patch Release ESXi650-201801001 (ESXi Build 7388607) for Meltdown/Spectre remediation (patch has been pulled)

*Jan 14 2018 Update - This patch has been pulled, details here. Important Update - On Mar 20 2018, VMware VMSA-2018-0004.3 announced that CVE-2017-5715 (Spectre-2) mitigation is now included in the latest patch that you should be using instead of the older patch featured in the original article…

Jan 13 2018

How to easily update your VMware vCenter Server Appliance from 6.5.x to 6.5 Update 1e (VCSA 6.5 U1e)

Important Update - On Mar 20 2018, VMware VMSA-2018-0004.3 announced that CVE-2017-5715 (Spectre-2) mitigation is now included in the latest patch that you should be using instead of the older patch featured in the original article below. You'll find the newer article here: How to easily update…

Jan 13 2018

Google Project Zero (Spectre and Meltdown) patch and flash info for VMware vSphere (ESXi/VCSA) on Intel Xeon D Supermicro SuperServers

This story continues to develop. Please expect that the information in the article below may be updated at any time, especially these first few days. I suggest that you to revisit and refresh. For example, it appears that No image profile found with name 'ESXi-6.5.0-20180104001-standard' has been…

Jan 9 2018

How to easily update your VMware Hypervisor from 6.x to 6.5 Update 1 Patch 02 (ESXi Build 7388607)

Important Update - On Mar 20 2018, VMware VMSA-2018-0004.3 announced that CVE-2017-5715 (Spectre-2) mitigation is now included in the latest patch that you should be using instead of the older patch featured in the original article below. You'll find the newer article that features an even easier…

Dec 23 2017

How to easily update your VMware vCenter Server Appliance from 6.5.x to 6.5 Update 1d (VCSA 6.5 U1d)

Important Update - On Mar 20 2018, VMware VMSA-2018-0004.3 announced that CVE-2017-5715 (Spectre-2) mitigation is now included in the latest patch that you should be using instead of the older patch featured in the original article below. You'll find the newer article here: How to easily update…

Dec 23 2017

NAKIVO Backup & Replication v7.3 released with faster backup speeds for deduplication appliances

click to view "What's New in v7.3" Full NAKIVO v7 install/configure demo video below is available, using my home lab's vSphere 6.5 environment! I haven't had a chance to test v7.3 yet, as it just came out today, and I haven't gotten my hands on the NFR version yet. The trial version is…

Nov 28 2017

Intel announcements include details about benchmarking Optane P4800X in VMware ESXi, new 750GB capacity, and 3D XPoint fab expansion

There are three recent Intel announcements that are quite interesting. The first is about 4 recent detailed technical publications, the second is about a maximum Optane capacity doubling, and the third is about a new 3D XPoint fab, in collaboration with Micron. Of most interest to me personally is…

Nov 13 2017

Supermicro Xeon D SuperServer BIOS 1.2c / IPMI 3.58 released

The only change in this release is "Added patch for Intel SPI vulnerability," seen in the release notes, not to be confused with Intel® AMT Critical Firmware Vulnerability. Supermicro has confirmed to me that 1.2c is their Xeon D fix for CVE-2017-5701. Initial testing of BIOS 1.2c has …

Oct 21 2017

VMUG Advantage just added the latest VMware Workstation 14 Pro and Fusion 10 Pro to EVALExperience

List of VMware software included in EVALExperience, as of October 2017. There have been many enhancements to this invaluable $200-a-year EVALExperience program lately, including the additions of vSAN 6.6 / NSX 6.3.1 and vRealize Automation Enterprise. Don't forget that your $20 discount is still…

Oct 12 2017

How to easily update your VMware Hypervisor from 6.5.x to 6.5 Update 1 Express Patch 4 (ESXi 6.5 U1 EP4)

Important Update - On Mar 20 2018, VMware VMSA-2018-0004.3 announced that CVE-2017-5715 (Spectre-2) mitigation is now included in the latest patch that you should be using instead of the older patch featured in the original article below. You'll find the newer article that features an even easier…

Oct 8 2017

Supermicro Xeon D SuperServer BIOS 1.2b / IPMI 3.58 released

Looking to ignore release notes and disclaimers/warnings to get right to the downloads and detailed upgrade procedures? There's no big fix or issue we're trying to resolve here, but if you're still in a hurry to try anyway, jump below. Here's the current Supermicro Xeon D-1500 systems with X10SDV…

Sep 11 2017

VMworld 2017 US VMTN Community Blogger - VMware vSphere 6.5U1 home datacenter demo

I realize a vast majority of my readers can't make it to VMworld: Meet me at the VMworld 2017 US PEX and HCI Zone booths, or at the TinkerTry Virtualization Hardware Discussion Zone in the VMTN Community Blogger area Tue. Aug. 29 11am-2pm Aug 17 2017 This video helps you feel a little like you…

Sep 2 2017

How to configure VMware ESXi 6.5.x for VMDirectPath I/O pass-through of any NVMe SSD, such as Windows Server 2016 installed directly on an Intel Optane P4800X booted in an EFI VM

There was a little-discussed and finally mature capability that arrived with VMware ESXi 6.5, back in November of 2016. With last month's release of ESXi 6.5 Update 1, it's only gotten easier to configure your ESXi server to allow you to pass a single NVMe storage device, such as an Intel Optane…

Aug 24 2017

Veeam Availability Suite 9.5 Update 2 has full vSphere 6.5 Update 1 support, free NFR also available for Veeam Agent for Windows, Linux, and Backup for MS Office 365

Turns out the question of what backup solution to use to protect a home lab's VMs in a home lab comes up a lot here at TinkerTry, especially when a major new release of vSphere arrives on the scene. It's become such an important thing to consider for IT Pros working off the NFR code…

Aug 23 2017

World's First Close Look at Intel Optane SSD DC P4800X Series - PCIe NVMe arrives with 375GB of 3D XPoint!

Disclosure This SSD is on a temporary loan from Intel, and it appears to be an engineering sample, in the 375GB size that is planned for product launch. This loaner was made with no formal expectations or stipulations, just a brief chance to TinkerTry this datacenter technology in my own VMware…

Aug 11 2017

How to find NVMe SSD firmware versions on VMware ESXi using ESXCLI

Keeping this one short-and-simple, to really encourage you to visit the source article to read through details and tips found at: New ESXCLI Commands in vSphere 6.5 Nov 19 2016 by Florian Grehl at Virten.net If you're wondering if your NVMe drive might need a firmware update, and you're running…

Aug 5 2017

VMUG Advantage just added the latest vRealize Automation Enterprise to EVALExperience!

On a closely related note, see also: VMUG Advantage just added the latest NSX 6.3.1 and All Flash vSAN 6.6 bits to EVALExperience, great for vSphere home labs, just $200 a year! May 01 2017 vSphere 6.5 Update 1 No word yet on when VMUGAdvantage EVALExperience downloads will offer last week's big…

Aug 3 2017

10G networking for your Laptop - Promise SANLink3 T1 NBaseT Adapter blesses your Thunderbolt 3/USB-C desktop or laptop with 1.0/2.5/5.0/10GbE speeds

Shop The Promise SANLink3 T1 NBaseT Adapter is available on: Amazon - Promise SL3T1GL Thunderbolt 3 to Base-T Ethernet Bus Powered Adapter Dell - Dell part #A9623557 eBay - All items with SL3T1GL in the description Newegg - Promise Thunderbolt 3 to Base-T Ethernet Bus Powered Adapter (SL3T1GL) …

Jul 30 2017

See "What's inside VMware vSphere 6.5 Update 1" by Florian Grehl at virten.net featuring historical ESX/ESXi graph

Sometimes there's a post that is so perfect as it is that I just have to call it out, hoping to extend the readership of the author's source article. Simple, elegant, and to the point, not exactly my strengths. I therefore present to you, with little words to say other than "read this"…

Jul 28 2017

How to easily update your VMware Hypervisor from 6.5.x to 6.5 Update 1 (ESXi 6.5 U1)

Important Update - On Mar 20 2018, VMware VMSA-2018-0004.3 announced that CVE-2017-5715 (Spectre-2) mitigation is now included in the latest patch that you should be using instead of the older patch featured in the original article below. You'll find the newer article that features an even easier…

Jul 28 2017