Understanding L1 Terminal Fault Mitigation

This article is a summary of a newly disclosed CPU vulnerability. It's a little like Spectre and Meltdown, but it's also quite different, as is the PowerShell based remediation for VMware Hypervisor. I tried to summarize the explainer articles and videos in my series of my tweets from @paulbraren…

Aug 15 2018

#vBrownBag Supermicro Build Day Live on Aug 2 2018 at 12:00 ET features a BigTwin vSAN Cluster

Alastair Cooke @DemitasseNZ is a consultant, writer, trainer, producer of the popular #vBrownBag TechTalks at VMworld, and famed creator of AutoLab, with AutoLab 3.0 just released featuring vSphere 6.7 support! He's also a New Zealander who has apparently flown to the bay area, presumably to…

Aug 1 2018

NAKIVO Backup & Replication v7.5 arrives with VMware vSphere 6.7 support

Turn Your QNAP, Synology, ASUSTOR, WD, or Netgear NAS into a VM Backup Appliance, claiming to improve backup performance by up to 2X and offload your IT infrastructure It's no secret that I appreciate the simplicity of installing the NAKIVO Backup & Replication appliance in my home's personal…

Aug 1 2018

Veeam Backup & Replication 9.5 Update 3a RTM is now available featuring VMware vSphere 6.7 support

If you've been watching my article: Status of VMware vSphere 6.7 support by VM backup companies Apr 19 2018 you already know what's been happening with the VM backup companies trying to get full vSphere 6.7 support out the door within about 60 to 90 days of its announcement and release: …

Jun 26 2018

I'm going to VMworld 2018 US, my 7th time attending, and I get to present!

Just want to jump down below to my VMworld 2018 US session list? Click here. I just got approval and booked my trip to VMworld yesterday, awesome! Like last year's retrospective, here's a summary look back at the variety of roles and activities I've done at VMworld over the years, ending with my…

Jun 13 2018

Hands-on the new Supermicro SuperServer SYS-E300-9D featuring 4 core Intel Xeon D-2123IT: testing and analysis

There’s a newer article about a significantly updated -9D model you may want to read at: New 1U Supermicro SuperServer SYS-E300-9D 4 and 8 core Xeon D-2100 models bring back the E300-8D's M.2 slot and network ports Oct 31 2018 The optional PCIe riser adapter and OC-SLG3-2M2 2x M.2 NVMe adapter s…

May 24 2018

VeeamON 2018 Recap

Image above adapted from Anthony Spiteri's excellent VeeamON 2018 Recap. See also my extensive, picture-filled @paulbraren #VeeamON timeline. I may not have been VMware's first choice to cover this Other Veeam Vanguards from VMware's Technical Marketing team were unable to attend due to…

May 21 2018

How to download your VMUG Advantage EVALExperience VMware vSphere 6.7 VCSA and ESXi ISOs and 365 day license keys

If you are wondering exactly where to find your coveted, legitimate VCSA 6.7 and ESXi 6.7 ISOs VMware-VCSA-all-6.7.0-8217866.iso VMware-VMvisor-Installer-6.7.0-8169922.x86_64.iso and license keys for your non-production home lab, then you've come to the right place! I've done the hardest part for…

May 4 2018

VMware Product Interoperability Matrices for VMware vSphere Hypervisor (ESXi)

I haven't spotted this table out there recently, with all the vSphere 6.7 discussion these past few days since launch on Tue Apr 17 2018. So I figured I'd give it some visibility, since you may not have read these three documents carefully enough: Important information before upgrading to vSphere…

Apr 22 2018

Status of VMware vSphere 6.7 support by VM backup companies

Above image adapted from What's New with vSphere 6 HOL. Table of Contents, in alphabetic order: Altaro VM Backup Commvault Micro Focus VM Explorer Virtual Machine Backup NAKIVO Backup & Replication Unitrends Backup Veeam Backup & Replication This short article is really just about one of…

Apr 19 2018

Supermicro SuperServer Xeon D-1500 Bundle mini-tower and 1U rack mount are already on the VMware Compatibility Guide for ESXi 6.7

Two years and 2 months ago, I enthusiastically announced the first time Supermicro Xeon D-1500 systems arrived on the VCG (VMware Compatibility Guide): Supermicro SuperServer SYS-5028D-TN4T mini-tower now ready for business as the first Intel Xeon D-1500 in the VMware HCL (Compatibility Guide)…

Apr 19 2018

How to easily update your VMware Hypervisor from 6.x to 6.7 (ESXi 6.7 Build 8169922) using ESXCLI or VUM

This article has largely been superceded/replaced by the newer version, see: How to easily update your VMware ESXi Hypervisor to the latest version with one ESXCLI command Aug 14 2018 See also Eric Siebert's Important information to know before upgrading to vSphere 6.7 and Brandon Lee's VMware…

Apr 18 2018

How to easily update your VMware vCenter Server Appliance from 6.x to 6.7 (VCSA 6.7 Build 8217866)

This article is a work-in-progress DRAFT, meanwhile, you can see how easy an upgrade is from 6.5 to 6.7 in this step-by-step article (spoiler, it's not VAMI, it's using a GUI wizard): How To Upgrade VCSA 6.5 to VCSA 6.7 Jul 12 2018 by Mayur Parmar at Mastering VMware As always, you need to…

Apr 18 2018

How to easily install VMware ESXi 6.7 on an Intel Xeon D Supermicro SuperServer

This is a basic overview document, highlighting the steps that I walk you right through in the accompanying video below. The video features my live recording done on the very day vSphere 6.7 was announced and released, so it's a bit rough around the edges and completely unrehearsed. All that aside,…

Apr 17 2018

VMware vSphere 6.7 released today, here's how to download it right away

Today, not only were we treated to the vSphere 6.7 announcement, but within a few hours, all the bits became available for download too! This includes vSAN 6.7 too, of course. Here's the main download link you need for all key vSphere 6.7 related items most likely to be running in your home lab: …

Apr 17 2018

VMware vSphere 6.7 featuring vSAN 6.7 announced!

It's a big day! See also virtuallyGhetto's All vSphere 6.7 release notes & download links, but note that not all the links are live quite yet. Meanwhile, VMware has a lot of detail in the press release and technical blog posts ready already. Enjoy! 2:00pm EDT Update - The vSphere 6.7 bits are…

Apr 17 2018

NAKIVO v7.4 beta is now open!

Turn Your QNAP, Synology, ASUSTOR, or WD NAS into a VM Backup Appliance - Improve backup performance by up to 2X and offload your IT infrastructure It's no secret that I quite enjoy the simplicity of installing the NAKIVO Backup & Replication appliance in a home lab. Getting your most precious…

Mar 21 2018

How to easily update your VMware Hypervisor from 6.x to 6.5 Update 1 Patch Release ESXi-6.5.0-20180304001-standard (ESXi Build 7967591) with Spectre mitigation

As covered earlier at TinkerTry, patching for the branch target injection vulnerability known as Spectre-2 requires you to patch your: My own home lab tests of these patches are going well so far. VCSA/vCenter ESXi server(s) (this article) Each VM operating system Each server('s) BIOS/firmware …

Mar 20 2018

How to easily update your VMware vCenter Server Appliance from 6.5.x to 6.5 Update 1g (VCSA 6.5 U1g) with Spectre mitigation

As covered earlier at TinkerTry, patching for the branch target injection vulnerability known as Spectre-2 requires you to patch your: VCSA/vCenter (this article) ESXi server(s) Each VM operating system Each server(s) BIOS/firmware This article is an update to my recent article that has the full…

Mar 20 2018

Supermicro SuperServer Xeon D-1500 Bundle mini-tower and 1U rack mount are finally on the VMware Compatibility Guide for ESXi 6.5U1

Just over 2 years ago, I enthusiastically announced: Supermicro SuperServer SYS-5028D-TN4T mini-tower now ready for business as the first Intel Xeon D-1500 in the VMware HCL (Compatibility Guide) Feb 10 2016 Then, I visited Supermicro's booth at VMworld 2016, I politely inquired why ESXi 6.5…

Mar 15 2018

How to replace your Windows 10 certificate so browser security warnings go away after replacing your VMware VCSA

I recently bumped into an issue after a public demonstration of my home lab. After the successful day, I routinely replaced the VCSA appliance I had been messing around with by deleting the old one and installing a new one. I re-used the same DNS name, which for my home lab is vcsa.lab.local,…

Mar 4 2018

Xeon D home lab success stories

So many Xeon D form factors There are so many form-factors for Xeon D out there, thanks to the System On a Chip design that allows for a variety of embedded and IoT centric-designs. See my recently updated: Intel Xeon D is a rather versatile platform, have a look! Xeon D home lab success…

Feb 28 2018

March 1st Connecticut VMUG UserCon - one lucky attendee will win a TinkerTry'd SuperServer, thanks to the VMware User Group!

March 1, 2018 - New Haven, Connecticut Don't forget to register, it's free. Don't forget to enter the raffle when you stop by my pedestal, and stick around for this very special end-of-day give-away! Connecticut VMUG UserCon was at the Connecticut Convention Center in 2016, and on March 1 2018,…

Feb 21 2018

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