Virtualization: vCPU Provisioning Best Practices

I had always been of the mindset that when provisioning new VMs it is best to start out with less vCPUs and add more as they are required (unless you specifically know that you will be using and needing more for such things as sql server or exchange). I had even recently felt some vindication of this provisioning best practice in reading a book recently (Critical VMware Mistakes You Should Avoid)

ESX + MSCS 2008 R2 + SQL Server 2008

Just a quick note on this little combo. Should you be looking to setup a windows 2008 R2 cluster in a virtual environment (details on specific vmware configuration left to the reader) here are some quick notes that I have on some caveats.

1.)    Either keep vmware tools un-uninstalled or make certain not to install the Shared Folder component of vmware tools.

2.)    Don’t clone the second node from the first using vmware. Even if it changes the SID it does NOT change athe NIC card underlying GUID which causes issues in the cluster validation wizard.

ESX 4.0: Post-Install Script

Sure there are better ways to mass deploy ESX servers, but this way will save the one off farm deployment person some time 🙂 I took liberties in assuming you would be able to fill in the blanks for variables so or _VARIABLE_ will need to be replaced ad-lib style. Just for you my friend, served up proper on a hyper-link plate….. esx4_postinstall

Vmware: RVTools

This sly bastard wrote an excellent little .NET app for enumerating esx farm information. Any sysadmins working with VMware should definitely check this out. I really like the vHealth tab which will show possible zombie vmdks. Add the ability to export to csv and you have a nice tool for on the fly farm enumeration for the boss.

Go get RVTools now!

CentOS/Redhat 5.x Kickstart Deployment

Not too long ago I was tasked with deploying a decent number of CentOS 5.3 and Redhat servers to BL490 blades and VMs in our datacenter (part of a massive environment deployment with HP C7000 enclosures, virtual connect, and a lot of patience). I hate manual configuration so I figured now is as good of time as any to get on the kickstart bandwagon. Here is how I did it: