Category: Tech

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How to enable NTP on the vCenter appliance

VMware vCenter Server Appliance 5.1.0.10200 Build 1235310
root@10.10.10.10’s password:
Last login: Mon Oct  7 17:18:29 2013 from vrtx-vcenter
vrtx-vcenter:~ # yast2 ntp-client add server=210.173.160.27

Error:
Cannot update the dynamic configuration policy.

vrtx-vcenter:~ # ls -l /etc/resolv.conf*
-rw-r–r– 1 root root  22 Oct  8  2013 /etc/resolv.conf
-rw-r–r– 1 root root 795 Oct  7 17:35 /etc/resolv.conf.netconfig
vrtx-vcenter:~ # cp -p /etc/resolv.conf /etc/resolv.conf.orig
vrtx-vcenter:~ # !ls
ls -l /etc/resolv.conf*
-rw-r–r– 1 root root  22 Oct  8  2013 /etc/resolv.conf
-rw-r–r– 1 root root 795 Oct  7 17:35 /etc/resolv.conf.netconfig
-rw-r–r– 1 root root  22 Oct  8  2013 /etc/resolv.conf.orig
vrtx-vcenter:~ # cat /etc/resolv.conf.netconfig > /etc/resolv.conf
vrtx-vcenter:~ # !ls
ls -l /etc/resolv.conf*
-rw-r–r– 1 root root 795 Oct  7 17:38 /etc/resolv.conf
-rw-r–r– 1 root root 795 Oct  7 17:35 /etc/resolv.conf.netconfig
-rw-r–r– 1 root root  22 Oct  8  2013 /etc/resolv.conf.orig
vrtx-vcenter:~ # yast2 ntp-client add server=210.173.160.27
vrtx-vcenter:~ # yast2 ntp-client enable
vrtx-vcenter:~ # sntp -P no -r 210.173.160.27
vrtx-vcenter:~ # date
Mon Oct  7 17:39:25 JST 2013
vrtx-vcenter:~ # cp -p /etc/resolv.conf.orig /etc/resolv.conf
vrtx-vcenter:~ # !ls
ls -l /etc/resolv.conf*
-rw-r–r– 1 root root  22 Oct  8  2013 /etc/resolv.conf
-rw-r–r– 1 root root 795 Oct  7 17:35 /etc/resolv.conf.netconfig
-rw-r–r– 1 root root  22 Oct  8  2013 /etc/resolv.conf.orig
vrtx-vcenter:~ #

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vCenter AD authentication

When enabling Active Directory authentication on the vCenter appliance, ensure that DNS name resolution is working first. Set the DNS settings and hostname and then ensure that resolution and reverse-lookup of the FQDN works. It may be necessary to add the Host(A) record and pointer for the vCenter appliance on the DNS server itself.

Failed AD activation (no DNS entry, and vCenter doesn’t register itself it seems):

vCenter_network_config_1

After adding host and reverse lookup records on the DNS server:

vCenter_network_config_2

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vCenter appliance: “No networking detected”

If after deploying and booting the vCenter appliance, automatic network configuration fails, the vCenter console will display “No networking detected” in red. To configure networking:

1. Access the appliance VM console via the the vSphere client / web client

2. Login using “root” and “vmware” as password

3. At the command prompt, enter “/opt/vmware/share/vami/vami_config_net”

4. The below screen will be shown, allowing for network configuration

vCenter_network_config_0

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Deploy OVF directly from local datastore / SAN

When deploying OFV files vCenter allows for either browsing files locally on the client or specifying a URL. The latter can be handy when one wants to deploy an OVF file stored somewhere on the VMware clusters datastores.

1. Navigate to the any ESXi box in the cluster which has the datastore containing the OVF mounted and select “browse datastore”

install_from_url_0

2. Navigate to the datastore and folder containing the OVF file

install_from_url_1

3. Copy the URL from the browser address bar into a text editor. Also copy and paste the filename of the OVF you want to deploy and insert it in the folder path

Original URL:

https://10.6.26.1/folder/ISO?dcPath=ha-datacenter&dsName=vmfs1

Changes to:

https://10.6.26.1/folder/ISO/VMware-vCenter-Server-Appliance-5.1.0.10100-1123965_OVF10.ova?dcPath=ha-datacenter&dsName=vmfs1

4. Copy and paste the  new URL into the path box in vCenter when deploying the OVF

install_from_url_2

You may need to enter the credentials for the ESXi server used to provide the file

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Fullscreen with rdesktop / rdesktop-vrdp

It’s extremely useful to use rdesktop (or virtualbox the rdesktop-vrdp) for RDP connections to Windows hosts from your Linux workstation. This is how to use the fullscreen mode:

jonas@erebus:~$ rdesktop 10.6.26.40 -f &

Exit fullscreen mode using CTRL+ALT+Enter

Alternatively, set a percentage for the screen real estate you’re willing to give the RDP session like so:

jonas@erebus:~$ rdesktop 10.6.26.40 -g 90% &