How to use openssl to create a certificate (CER) and PFX file to connect to Azure using the App Controller

First create the certificate for upload to the Azure account via the Azure web page:
jonas@nyx:~$ openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 365 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout privateKey.key -out certificate.cer
It will ask for country, name, etc. Just enter something.

Next, create the pfx file required for the App Controller:
jonas@nyx:~$ openssl pkcs12 -export -in certificate.cer -inkey privateKey.key -out certificate.pfx

The App controller will also ask for Subscription ID This is listed under “settings” in your Azure account (far bottom on the left hand pane)

XenDesktop 7.5 mapped drive execute permission

By default it’s not possible to run executables (install software) from a client drive which has been mapped to a XenDesktop VM. A work around is to copy the files to a network share and run the installation from there, but it takes time and can be a fair bit of extra work.

Instead, it’s possible to enable execute permissions via a quick and simple registry modification on the VDA (the XenDesktop VM). No DDC or client PC changes are required.

  1. Start “regedit”
  2. Navigate to “HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Citrix\GroupPolicy\Defaults\”
  3. Add the key “CDMSettings”
  4. Add the following DWORD value: “ExecuteFromMappedDrive”
  5. Set “ExecuteFromMappedDrive” to “1”

A restart of the VM is required for the changes to take effect.

Tested on XenServer 6.2 with XenDesktop 7.5 on a Dell R720 with NVIDIA K2 GPU card (K240Q and K260Q vGPUs assigned to the VMs).

XenDesktop75_execute_from_mapped_drive

VMware default user names / logins and passwords

Consistency in user names and passwords would be nice, but unfortunately that isn’t always the case. While setting up VMware’s vCenter, vCOPS and vShield recently I came across a few default logins / passwords worth jotting down for reference:

VMware vCenter Operations Manager: UI VM console login

Admin account: admin

Password: admin

root account: root

Password: vmware

VMware vCenter Operations Manager: Web GUI login

User: admin

Password: admin

 

VMware vCenter appliance login (same for both local console and Web GUI):

User: root

Password: vmware

 

vCenter appliance URL for initial access and configuration

https://[vCenter IP]:5480

 

vCenter appliance URL for normal web access (the web client: alternative to using the vSphere client)

https://[vCenter IP]:9443

 

vShield Manager console:

User: admin

Password: default

 

 

Configuring iSCSI and management networks on a Dell EqualLogic PS-M4110 storage array

Quick instructions on setting up an EqualLogic PS-M4110 storage array.
In this case it’s a blade model located in a Dell M1000e chassis, slot 7 and 8.
Fabric B is the iSCSI fabric and fabric A is for management
We start by configuring fabric B, then A

Since there is no IP configured, we connect via serial.
Luckily the M1000e provides serial connectivity via the CMC as per the below:

SSH to CMC IP address:
==============================

Switch to the EQL serial interface (connect to the slot ID)
==============================

Log in (default user/pass: grpadmin/grpadmin)
==============================

Note: If creating a new group, just enter the desired group name and IP
==============================

Setting up the management network:
=====================================

The array can now be accessed via the web:
==============================
http://10.6.26.227