vCenter VM operations error: The operation is not allowed in current state

Today while trying to take snapshot of one the VM, end up with following error,

“The operation is not allowed in current state”

Then I tried to vMotion the VM to any other host but no luck, same was true for any other task however I didn’t see any issue with other VMs on this host.

I also checked for any associated running task but couldn't find any.

I had seen such errors earlier and most of the time such error occur because either the ESXi host or a virtual machine is in an unexpected state and to work around this, we just need to restart the host management agents.

Note: Before restarting the host management agents, make sure no Virtual machine is configured to poweron/off with host otherwise it may reboot.

To restart the VMware host management agent, connect to host over ssh using putty and run following commands,

/etc/init.d/hostd restart

/etc/init.d/vpxa restart

Reference: Related VMware kb# 1003829

That’s it… J

VMware vExpert 2017 Announced

VMware just announced the vExpert 2017…. I am very honored to be named a VMware vExpert again…..Congrats to all those who named as a 

Here is the full list of vExpert 2017... https://blogs.vmware.com/vmtn/2017/02/vexpert-2017-award-announcement.html 

That's it... :)

vimtop: To Monitor the performance and Resource Usage of services on vCenter Server Appliance

Vimtop is a tool similar to esxtop, which runs in the environment of the vCenter Server Appliance. By using the text-based interface of vimtop in the appliance shell, we can view the performance information and statistics about VCSA and the applications running under it and a list of vSphere services and their resource usage.

If you have ever used esxtop before with ESXi, then you would have a similar experience here. This will definitely be a handy a tool to be aware of when needing to troubleshoot performance issues or bottlenecks in the VCSA as useong vimtop we can monitor vCenter services in real time.

To launch vimtop, we first need access Appliance direct console or SSH to a VCSA 6.x system and type "vimtop" in either the appliance shell or in a regular bash shell.

To access the appliance shell, press ALT+F1 when you are accessing Appliance console (same like accessing DUCI of ESXi).

As you can see, when it launches, shows combination of cpu and memory related information and also the processes running on the appliance with resources used. Notice at the top we see the uptime, load averages, cpu breakdown, memory and swap related information.

As highlighted in last image, on this screen we can access Help by pressing H, Disk related info using K, Network info using O, Pause and refresh by pressing P and R keys etc.

When running in interactive mode, vimtop recognizes several other single-key command

All interactive mode panels recognize the commands listed on this page.

For detailed info about vimtop usage, please have a look at vimtop related topics in VMware Documentation Here.

That's it... :)

PowerCLI script to get list of Snapshots older then x days as a mail atachment

This script would sent you a list of Snapshots older than x days(replace x with the the number of days as required) in html table format as a mail attachment.

To run this script, copy the content of it to notepad file and save it as file_name.ps1 now you can run it from any system which have Windows Powershell and VMware PowerCLI installed.

<# ==================================================================
Title: Get_Snapshot_list.ps1
Description: List Snapshots older than x days and then email it as an attachment
Requirements: Windows Powershell with PowerCLI installed
Usage: .\Get_Snapshot_list.ps1
==================================================================== #>
Add-PSSnapin VMware.VimAutomation.Core

$viserver = Connect-VIServer vCenter_Server_Name_or_IP -user "userName" -password "your vCenter Password"

$SnapshotReport = Get-VM  | Get-Snapshot | where { $_.Created -lt (Get-Date).AddDays(-15)} | select VM, Name, Powerstate, SizeMB, Created | ConvertTo-Html | Set-Content SnapshotReport.html

$EmailFrom = "from_mail_id"

$EmailTo = "to_mail_id"

$subject = "Snapshots older then x days"

$body = "Please find the enclosed snpshot report: SnapshotReport.html"

$smtp = "smtp_server_address"

$viserver; $SnapshotReport; Send-MailMessage -From $EmailFrom -To $EmailTo -Subject $subject -Body $body -SmtpServer $SMTP -Attachments "snapshotreport.html" -Priority "High"

Remove-Item SnapshotReport.html

Disconnect-VIServer "vCenter_server_name_or_IP" -Confirm:$false

By scheduling this script using task scheduler we can get the snapshot report on weekly basis. To schedule this script, please check the following post, How to run Powershell script as a scheduled task.

As here the login credentials are written in plain text so if are planing to schedule this script then instead of using login credentials in script, it would be better to schedule it using credentials which already have login rights on vCenter and as PowerShell supports passthrough authentication so that will also work.

That's it... :)

VMware vCenter Server 6.x Appliance services: how to find svc status or start/stop

In VMware vCenter Server 6.0 and later, VMware recommends to use the vSphere Web Client or Service Control command-line tool to check, stop, start, or restart vCenter Server Appliance services.
Status of vCenter appliance services can be checked either from vCSA appliance shell or by using web client.

Note: To access vCSA appliance shell, same like ESXi, access to the appliance console and press Alt+F1, we can also access appliances shell over ssh using putty but for that we should have enabled ssh first and that can be done either from vCSA direct console or from web client console.

Listing the vCenter Server Appliance services

To list the vCenter Server Appliance services within the vSphere Web Client:

1. Log in to the vSphere Web Client with a vCenter Single Sign-on administrator account.
2. Navigate to Administration > Deployment >  System Configuration.
3. Click Nodes, select the vCenter Server Appliance node and click the Related Objects tab.

To list the vCenter Server Appliance services using the command-line:

1. Log in as root through an SSH or console session on the vCenter Server Appliance.
2. Run this command to enable the shell:
   
   shell.set --enabled true
3. Run this command to launch the shell:
   
   shell
4. Run this to change directories to /bin:
   
   cd /bin
5. Run this command to list the vCenter Server Appliance services:
   
   service-control --list

6.  To view the current status of the vCenter Server Appliance services, type the command:

service-control --status

To check the status of any specific service, for ex. vmware-vpxd

service-control --status vmware-vpxd

To Start / Stop or Restart a vCenter Server Appliance services

To start/stop/restart the vCenter Server Appliance service using the vSphere Web Client:

1. Log in to the vSphere Web Client with a vCenter Single Sign-on administrator account.
2. Navigate to Administration > Deployment >  System Configuration.
3. Click Nodes, select the vCenter Server Appliance node and click the Related Objects tab.
4. Right-click on the service you would like to start/stop/restart and select desired option.

To start the vCenter Server Appliance service if it is was stopped using the command-line:

1. Log in as root through an SSH or console session on the vCenter Server Appliance.
2. Run this command to enable the shell:
   
   shell.set --enabled true
3. Run this command to launch the shell:
   
   shell
4. Run this command to change directories to /bin:
   
   cd /bin
5. Run this command to list the vCenter Server Appliance services:
   
   service-control --list

Now, Run this command to start a specific service:

service-control --start servicename

or

Run this command to stop a specific service:

service-control --stop servicename

You may also start all services by typing the command:

service-control --start --all

or

Stop all services by typing the command:

service-control --start --all

To perform a dry run of the command, add the option --dry-run to the command, doing so will display what actions the command will run without executing the actions. For example, type the command:

service-control --stop --all --dry-run     or   service-control --start --all --dry-run

Note: To restart a vCSA appliance server you first need to stop and then start the services as there is no restart switch via shell cmd.

Reference: VMware kb# 2109887, VMware vSphere 6.5 Documention 

Note: For VCSA 5.x appliance services, please refer to kb# 2054085

That's it... :)

How to Reset vCenter SSO admininstrator password in vSphere 6.x

You might have faced this, specially in you homelab env ;) , where after a long time when you tried to login on to vCenter SSO and couldn't recall the SSO administrator account "administrator@vsphere.local" password.

Here the good things is, the process of resting SSO administrator account password is pretty state forward, and we can easily reset the "administrator@vsphere.local" password.

To reset the administrator@vsphere.local password:

On a Windows Platform Services Controller or vCenter Server with Embedded Platform Services Controller:

1. Log in to vCenter Server with a domain administrator account. If the Platform Services Controller is installed separate from vCenter Server, log in to the Platform Services Controller server.
2. Open an elevated command prompt.
3. Run C:\> "%VMWARE_CIS_HOME%\vmdird\vdcadmintool.exe".
   
   This console loads:
   
   ===============================
   Please select:
   0. exit
   1. Test LDAP connectivity
   2. Force start replication cycle
   3. Reset account password
   4. Set log level and mask
   5. Set vmdir state
   ===============================


4. Press 3 to enter the Reset account password option.
5. When prompted for the Account UPN, enter: administrator@vSphere_Domain_Name.localBy default, this is: administrator@vSphere.localA new password is generated.

Notes:

• If you customized your vSphere Domain name, provide the customized domain name.
• If the prededing steps fail with a domain administrator account, use a local administrator account.

    6. Use the generated password to log in to the administrator@vSphere.local account.
    7. After the password is regenerated, log in to vSphere Web Client and change the password.

On the Platform Services Controller or vCenter Server with Embedded Platform Services Controller Appliance

1. Log in to vCenter Server Appliance using SSH as the root user.
2. Run this command to enable access the Bash shell:
   
   shell.set --enabled true
3. Type shell and press Enter.

      4.  Now run /usr/lib/vmware-vmdir/bin/vdcadmintool

        

        5. Press 3 to enter the Reset account password option.

        6. When prompted for the Account UPN, enter: administrator@vSphere_Domain_Name.local

            By default, this is: administrator@vSphere.local

Once you press enter, a new password is generated.

Note: If your vSphere Domain name is customized, provide the customized domain name.

      7. Use the generated password to log in to the administrator@vSphere.local account.
      8. Once you log in to the vSphere Web Client, change the password.

Reference: VMware kb# 2034608

That's it... :)

Useful links to know more about VMware Cloud on AWS

As most of us would be aware, in Oct this year VMware and AWS announced a partnership where VMware Cloud would run on AWS infra…This VMware vSphere-based cloud service running on AWS that will make it easier to run any application and can be also connected to inhouse existing VMware virtual infrastructure…for detailed info please refer to below listed links.

VMware and Amazon Web Services Announce Strategic Partnership

VMware Cloud on AWS – A Closer Look

In the Works – VMware Cloud on AWS

VMware Cloud on AWS

VMware Cloud on AWS: The Only Way to Extend Your VMware Environment into AWS

VMware on AWS: A one-way ticket to the cloud

VMware Cloud on AWS - Overview

                                   

Components of VMware Cloud on AWS

                                                   Thanks to Amazon/VMware for this nice Graphic

VMware Cloud on AWS Demo…

For more videos – check out the VMware Cloud on AWS YouTube Playlist HERE.

Note: As per the information available so far, As part of the deal, VMware will be AWS's preferred private cloud partner and Amazon will be VMware's preferred partner in the public cloud and VMware Cloud on AWS will go live sometime in 2017.

I would add more related links here in future.....

That's it for now..........Wish you all A VERY Happy New Year ... :)

VMware Product Walkthroughs site - self-paced demos with screenshots

I am not sure how many of us aware of VMware Feature Walkthrough Site, I personally found it very useful as its a great resource for stepping through a self-paced demo of a particular VMware product or feature.

This site (https://featurewalkthrough.vmware.com) provides great technical overviews and step-by-step guidance for installing, configuring and managing VMware solutions. The content here has some great info including product demos which help to explain what a given product does and what it offers. .

Currently following VMware Solutions are listed here,

vSphere 6
vSphere 6.5
vSphere with Operations Management
vRealize Suite
vRealize Network Insight
Virtual SAN
vCenter Site Recovery Manager
NSX
vCloud Air
VMware Integrated OpenStack
SAP on SDDC

Each walkthrough includes screen shots with relevant steps highlighted and text explaining the process.

That's it... :)