johnnynz

The Gareth Emery Podcast

2010-04-16T02:06:00.000-07:00

The Gareth Emery Podcast

VMware: VMware View: May 2009 - Client Information Variables

2010-03-01T00:46:00.000-08:00

VMware: VMware View: May 2009

Daryl Hunter - Church IT Guy: VMWare View - Part 4 - A Few Tips And Tricks

2010-02-25T00:42:00.000-08:00

Daryl Hunter - Church IT Guy: VMWare View - Part 4 - A Few Tips And Tricks

Log Composer Errors - VMware Communities: View 3.1 - recompose results in "Failed ...

2010-02-24T22:42:00.000-08:00

VMware Communities: View 3.1 - recompose results in "Failed ...

Log Composer Errors - VMware Communities: View 3.1 - recompose results in "Failed ...

2010-02-24T22:41:00.000-08:00

VMware Communities: View 3.1 - recompose results in "Failed ...

VMware KB: Provisioning a linked clone desktop pool fails with the error: Virtual machine with Input Specification already exists

2010-02-24T22:16:00.000-08:00

VMware KB: Provisioning a linked clone desktop pool fails with the error: Virtual machine with Input Specification already exists

ZVM Bounded Buffers

2009-05-05T00:57:00.000-07:00

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/zvm/v5r3/topic/com.ibm.zvm.v53.dmsd0/hcsi6b0039.htm

Linux - VM Timer Patch - Enabled or Verify is set?

2009-02-24T23:20:00.000-08:00

Note: The on demand timer patch can be enabled by changing the kernel config option
CONFIG_NO_IDLE_HZ=n and a kernel recompile. Alternatively, the on demand timer
patch can be activated and deactivated permanently with the following convenient method.
Use the sysctl command to switch the setting in the proc file system:

1. 'sysctl -w kernel.hz_timer=1' enables the 100 Hz timer. The on demand timer patch is
deactivated.

2. 'sysctl -w kernel.hz_timer=0' disables the 100 Hz timer. The on demand timer patch is
activated.

Enable & disable “on demand” timer patch on the fly (no reboot required but not a
permanent change, lost after reboot) echoing values 0 or 1 into /proc/sys/kernel/hz_timer.

Oracle on Linux - Displaying I/O Statistics - The iostat command - Displaying Input/Output Statistics

2009-02-24T22:52:00.000-08:00

Displaying I/O Statistics - The iostat command - Displaying Input/Output Statistics

Cisco 7200 Simulator - IPFlow Netflow Collector

2008-12-09T02:20:00.000-08:00

Cisco 7200 Simulator - IPFlow Netflow Collector

FreeWyseMonkeys - Downloads

2008-12-02T18:53:00.000-08:00

FreeWyseMonkeys - Downloads

Principled Technologies, Inc. Home - great whitepapers - consolidation - virtualization etc

2008-11-26T00:56:00.001-08:00

Principled Technologies, Inc. Home

Principled Technologies, Inc. Home - great whitepapers - consolidation - virtualization etc

2008-11-26T00:56:00.000-08:00

Principled Technologies, Inc. Home

NetApp - ESX Storage Nuts & Bolts: November 2007

2008-10-30T02:52:00.000-07:00

NetApp - Storage Nuts & Bolts: November 2007

ESX Queuedepth, how and when » Yellow Bricks

2008-10-30T02:51:00.000-07:00

Queuedepth, how and when » Yellow Bricks

VMware Enhanced VMotion Compatibility (EVC)

2008-10-30T02:03:00.000-07:00

http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/vmotion_info_guide.pdf

VMware Enhanced VMotion Compatibility (EVC)—available in VMware Infrastructure 3 beginning with
version 3.5 Update 2—facilitates VMotion between different CPU generations, taking advantage of Intel Flex
Migration and AMD‐V Extended Migration technologies. When enabled for a cluster, EVC ensures that all
CPUs within the cluster are VMotion compatible. CPUs starting with Intel 45nm Core 2 (Penryn) and AMD
Second Generation Opteron (revision E or F) incorporate FlexMigration and Extended Migration technologies,
respectively.
The EVC feature allows the virtualization layer to mask or hide certain features by modifying the semantics
of the CPUID instruction and hides certain CPUID feature bits, even from nonprivileged code. For example,
with support from hardware, the virtualization layer modifies the semantics of the CPUID instruction to mask
or hide the SSE4.1 feature from any code (privileged or nonprivileged) to make CPUs differing in this feature
compatible for VMotion. Specifics on CPU compatibility with the Enhanced VMotion Compatibility feature
are available in the Basic System Administration guide for each ESX release starting with version 3.5 Update 2.

VMware Communities: VDI. Sound Question ...

2008-10-24T13:48:00.000-07:00

VMware Communities: New in VDI. Sound Question ...

Benchmark Performance, Server Consolidation, Virtual Infrastructure - VMware

2008-10-20T21:54:00.000-07:00

Benchmark Performance, Server Consolidation, Virtual Infrastructure - VMware

VMWare Knowledgebase Document -Clock in a Linux Guest Runs More Slowly or Quickly Than Real Time

2008-10-20T21:50:00.000-07:00

VMWare Knowledgebase Document -Clock in a Linux Guest Runs More Slowly or Quickly Than Real Time

How to enable verbose startup, shutdown, logon, and logoff status Messages in the Windows Server 2003 family

2008-10-19T22:29:00.000-07:00

How to enable verbose startup, shutdown, logon, and logoff status Messages in the Windows Server 2003 family

Benchmark Performance, Server Consolidation, Virtual Infrastructure - VMware

2008-09-25T17:06:00.000-07:00

Benchmark Performance, Server Consolidation, Virtual Infrastructure - VMware

Benchmarks for Virtual Machine, Virtual Desktop, Hypervisor - VMware

2008-09-24T04:48:00.000-07:00

Benchmarks for Virtual Machine, Virtual Desktop, Hypervisor - VMware

VMWARE LINKS

2008-09-17T17:24:00.000-07:00

VMWARE LINKS

Think Thin

2008-09-11T17:53:00.000-07:00

Think Thin

Terminal Services - performance issues

2008-09-11T17:21:00.000-07:00

Terminal Services - performance issues

VMware Communities: Critique my VDI design - 1500 XP VMs, ...

2008-08-29T04:23:00.000-07:00

VMware Communities: Critique my VDI design - 1500 XP VMs, ...

Creating Linux Diskless Client For Windows 2k/2003 Terminal Service LG #93

2008-08-28T23:42:00.000-07:00

Creating Linux Diskless Client For Windows 2k/2003 Terminal Service LG #93

Zoning Two MDS Switches After Connecting with an ISL or EISL Link [Cisco MDS 9000 Series Multilayer Switches] - Cisco Systems

2008-08-26T03:50:00.000-07:00

Zoning Two MDS Switches After Connecting with an ISL or EISL Link [Cisco MDS 9000 Series Multilayer Switches] - Cisco Systems

HP Neoware c50 (Windows XPe) Details

2008-08-21T17:19:00.000-07:00

HP Neoware c50 (Windows XPe) Details

IBM Redbooks | Implementing the Cisco MDS 9000 in an Intermix FCP, FCIP, and FICON Environment

2008-08-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

IBM Redbooks | Implementing the Cisco MDS 9000 in an Intermix FCP, FCIP, and FICON Environment

config_options_2300.pdf

2008-07-21T03:16:00.000-07:00

http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/~aloftus/FibreChannel/Qlogic/config_options_2300.pdf

Execution Throttle. This setting specifies the maximum number of commands
executing on any one port. When a ports execution throttle is reached, no new
commands are executed until the current command finishes executing. The valid
options for this setting are 1256. The default is 16.

>4GByte Addressing. This option should be Enabled if the system has more
than 4 GB of memory available. The default is Disabled.

NetApp Tech OnTap

2008-07-20T18:54:00.000-07:00

NetApp Tech OnTap

Iozone Filesystem Benchmark

2008-07-18T16:15:00.000-07:00

Iozone Filesystem Benchmark

Oracle® Database Performance Tuning Guide 8 I/O Configuration and Design

2008-07-15T04:00:00.000-07:00

8 I/O Configuration and Design

Week 8: Oracle Database 10g - ASM Top 20 Features for the DBA

2008-07-15T03:56:00.000-07:00

Week 8: Oracle Database 10g Top 20 Features for the DBA

EVA_ORACLE_paper.pdf

2008-07-15T03:53:00.000-07:00

http://www.oracle.com/technology/deploy/performance/pdf/EVA_ORACLE_paper.pdf

Oracle Server Architecture and Metrics

2008-07-15T03:52:00.001-07:00

Oracle Server Architecture and Metrics

IT Resource Center forums - LVM Layout for Oracle under SAN EVA 5000

2008-07-15T03:52:00.000-07:00

IT Resource Center forums - LVM Layout for Oracle under SAN EVA 5000

Oracle IOPS and HBA Queue Depth : Ardent Performance Computing

2008-07-11T03:37:00.000-07:00

Oracle IOPS and HBA Queue Depth : Ardent Performance Computing

IT Resource Center forums - peak disk at 100 for oracle 11iERP , EVA5000

2008-07-11T03:11:00.000-07:00

IT Resource Center forums - peak disk at 100 for oracle 11iERP , EVA5000

Change Owner of an Object in SQL Server 2000 - Erik Porter's Blog

2008-07-09T03:28:00.000-07:00

Change Owner of an Object in SQL Server 2000 - Erik Porter's Blog

SQL Table Ownership Changes, Quick and Easy - Scott Forsyth's Blog

2008-07-08T23:20:00.000-07:00

SQL Table Ownership Changes, Quick and Easy - Scott Forsyth's Blog: "DECLARE @old sysname, @new sysname, @sql varchar(1000)

SELECT
@old = 'oldOwner_CHANGE_THIS'
, @new = 'dbo'
, @sql = '
IF EXISTS (SELECT NULL FROM INFORMATION_SCHEMA.TABLES
WHERE
QUOTENAME(TABLE_SCHEMA)+''.''+QUOTENAME(TABLE_NAME) = ''?''
AND TABLE_SCHEMA = ''' + @old + '''
)
EXECUTE sp_changeobjectowner ''?'', ''' + @new + ''''

EXECUTE sp_MSforeachtable @sql"

Installing Oracle RAC 10g on Linux x86

2008-07-08T20:54:00.000-07:00

Installing Oracle RAC 10g on Linux x86

Using Multiple blocksizes in Oracle

2008-07-07T06:24:00.000-07:00

Using Multiple blocksizes in Oracle

Installing Oracle RAC 10g on Linux x86

2008-07-07T06:12:00.000-07:00

Installing Oracle RAC 10g on Linux x86

Chapter 11. Database Configuration - tuning pages size to maximise i/o efficiency

2008-07-07T06:05:00.000-07:00

Chapter 11. Database Configuration

DABCC | Citrix and Terminal Services Tweaks, Tips and Suggestions - Methodology in a Box 4.0

2008-07-06T01:17:00.000-07:00

DABCC | Citrix and Terminal Services Tweaks, Tips and Suggestions - Methodology in a Box 4.0

Registry Keys for Terminal Services :: Chapter 6: Registry :: Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services :: Microsoft Products :: eTutorials.org

2008-07-06T00:45:00.000-07:00

Registry Keys for Terminal Services :: Chapter 6: Registry :: Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Terminal Services :: Microsoft Products :: eTutorials.org

Milliseconds and microseconds to seconds second - milli micro mikro µs ms to s time calculation conversion prefix milisecond - sengpielaudio

2008-07-02T13:53:00.000-07:00

Milliseconds and microseconds to seconds second - milli micro mikro µs ms to s time calculation conversion prefix milisecond - sengpielaudio

Pegasus error after installing ESX 3.5 update 1 » Yellow Bricks

2008-07-01T02:48:00.000-07:00

Pegasus error after installing ESX 3.5 update 1 » Yellow Bricks

ESX 3.5 is running on Workstation 6.5 Build 91182 !!! - NTPRO.NL

2008-06-23T05:46:00.000-07:00

ESX 3.5 is running on Workstation 6.5 Build 91182 !!! - NTPRO.NL

TipsAndTricks/KickStart - CentOS Wiki

2008-06-19T18:55:00.000-07:00

TipsAndTricks/KickStart - CentOS Wiki

vmprofessional - esx scripted install

2008-06-18T14:53:00.000-07:00

vmprofessional: "Partitioning is mostly a personal preference and everyone does it slightly differently. Here is my reasoning for setting up the partition table as it is displayed above:"

vmprofessional - kick start

2008-06-18T04:41:00.000-07:00

vmprofessional

Gabes Virtual World

2008-06-18T04:35:00.000-07:00

Vote for ESX in a VM !!!

VMworld.com: Sessions & Labs – Europe 2008

2008-06-17T01:44:00.001-07:00

VMworld.com: Sessions & Labs – Europe 2008

VMware Communities: Unable to monitor ESXi with HP SIM ...

2008-06-17T01:44:00.000-07:00

VMware Communities: Unable to monitor ESXi with HP SIM ...: "https:///wsman"

VDM 2 is much more than just a connection broker | VM /ETC

2008-05-29T18:26:00.000-07:00

VDM 2 is much more than just a connection broker | VM /ETC

ESXServer 3i management

2008-05-27T22:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/ESXServer3i_management.pdf

Citrix Support, VMware support, Microsoft Virtualization resources, Terminal Services, MS Server 2008 News and Support

2008-05-27T03:56:00.001-07:00

Citrix Support, VMware support, Microsoft Virtualization resources, Terminal Services, MS Server 2008 News and Support

2008-05-27T03:56:00.000-07:00

Citrix Support, VMware support, Microsoft Virtualization resources, Terminal Services, MS Server 2008 News and Support

VMworld.com: The Online Virtualization Destination

2008-05-11T15:10:00.000-07:00

VMworld.com: The Online Virtualization Destination

RTFM Education » Blog Archive » VCB - Backup all running VMs

2008-05-04T00:28:00.000-07:00

RTFM Education » Blog Archive » VCB - Backup all running VMs: "As student on my course last week gave me a little one line batch file that will backup every running VM on VC. This is it here:
for /f “tokens=2 delims=:” %%i in (’vcbvmname -h virtualcenter.rtfm-ed.co.uk -u administrator -p password -s Powerstate:on ^| find “name:”‘) do @rd /s /q “D:\Backups\All\%%i” &vcbmounter -h virtualcenter.rtfm-ed.co.uk -u administrator -p password -a name:”%%i” -r “D:\Backups\All\%%i” -t fullvm > “D:\Backups\All\%%i.log”
This use the vcbvmname command to search for just the VMs that currently powered on. It then pipes that information to the vcbMounter command to start a FullVM style backup. The progress of each backup is recorded in the LOG files for each VM."

IBM - Setting up Lotus Sametime behind a WebSEAL junction

2008-05-02T01:33:00.000-07:00

IBM - Setting up Lotus Sametime behind a WebSEAL junction

VKernel -- World's first VMware certified virtual appliance for Capacity and Chargeback

2008-05-02T01:02:00.000-07:00

VKernel -- World's first VMware certified virtual appliance for Capacity and Chargeback

YouTube - VMwareELearning's Channel

2008-05-01T23:33:00.000-07:00

YouTube - VMwareELearning's Channel

Wireshark

2008-04-30T15:21:00.000-07:00

SourceForge.net: Downloading ...

VDM - Setting an Externally Resolvable Name on a Connection Server

2008-04-30T01:34:00.000-07:00

http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vdm20_manual.pdf

Setting an Externally Resolvable Name on a Connection Server
If VDM clients cannot directly access a VDM Connection Server by using
https:// where is the hostname of the VDM Connection Server,
you must specify an externally resolvable name for the VDM Connection Server. If the
VDM Connection Server is accessed from the Internet, set the name to something that
resolves on the Internet. This name can be something like
https://vdmservername.mycompany.com. Whenever this situation arises, you must set
the name for each VDM Connection Server that is unresolvable.
The process of setting the name is not the same for all installation types. For standard
or replica installations, you can set the name by using the Administrator user interface.
For a security server installation, you must edit or create a file with the settings and save
it on the security server.
To set the name on a standard or replica installation
1 On the Configuration page, in VDM Servers, select the VDM Connection Server to
set the name for.
2 Click Edit.
3 Enter the name in the External URL field.
4 Click OK.
5 Restart the VDM Connection Server service so that the changes take effect. Click
Start>Administrative Tools>Services and select the VMware VDM Connection
Server from the list of services. If the service is running, click Restart the service.
If the service is not running, click Start the service.
VMware, Inc. 41
Chapter 3 Installing and Configuring VDM
To set the name on a security server installation
1 Create or edit the properties file (locked.properties) so that it contains entries for
the externally resolvable name of the security server, the port number and the
client protocol.
The properties file is a text file. If it already exists, it is located at C:\Program
Files\VMware\VMware VDM\Server\sslgateway\conf\locked.properties.
always save this file in the same place, whether it already exists or not.
As an example, if the security server’s externally resolvable name is
vdmservername.mycompany.com, the port number is 443, and the client protocol
is https, you use a text editor to edit or create the properties file with the following
entries:
􀂄 clientHost=vdmservername.mycompany.com
􀂄 clientPort=443
􀂄 clientProtocol=https
If a properties file already exists containing entries with these key words, replace
the entries with new entries from this list.
2 Save the file.
3 Restart the VDM Security Server service so that the changes take effect. Click
Start>Administrative Tools>Services and select the VMware VDM Security
Server from the list of services. If the service is running, click Restart the service.
If the service is not running, click Start the service.

VMware Communities: How to setup VDI to use it through a ...

2008-04-30T01:18:00.000-07:00

VMware Communities: How to setup VDI to use it through a ...

2008-04-30T00:25:00.000-07:00

VMware Communities: How to setup VDI to use it through a ...

VKernel - Capacity and Chargeback Virtual Appliance for ESX Servers

2008-04-29T03:57:00.000-07:00

VKernel - Capacity and Chargeback Virtual Appliance for ESX Servers

VMworld.com: Sessions & Labs

2008-04-29T02:45:00.000-07:00

VMworld.com: Sessions & Labs

Internet.com Storage - real-time Storage, Security and Networking news and information for the IT professional

2008-04-29T02:44:00.000-07:00

Internet.com Storage - real-time Storage, Security and Networking news and information for the IT professional

VMblog.com - Virtualization Technology News and Information for Everyone

2008-04-29T02:38:00.000-07:00

VMblog.com - Virtualization Technology News and Information for Everyone

InternetNews Realtime IT News - Sun Broadens Virtualization Support For Legacy OSes

2008-04-29T02:31:00.000-07:00

InternetNews Realtime IT News - Sun Broadens Virtualization Support For Legacy OSes

Citylink to roll fibre to Petone - New Zealand's source for technology news on Stuff.co.nz

2008-04-29T02:30:00.000-07:00

Citylink to roll fibre to Petone - New Zealand's source for technology news on Stuff.co.nz

IdoNotes (and sleep)

2008-01-28T16:35:00.000-08:00

New configuration setting prevents access to mail attachments

Use the NOTES.INI setting iNotes_WA_ReadAttachments to prevent access to an attachment in an e-mail.

Syntax: iNotes_WA_ReadAttachments=value

Description: Use this setting to prevent (turn off) access to attachments in e-mail. By default, any user can access an attachment in an e-mail. Using this setting prevents a users from accessing and copying sensitive information in an attachment at an unsecured workstation.

0= off (prevents access to attachments)

1= on (allows access to attachments)

Applies to: All Domino Web Access clients

Default: 1

IdoNotes (and sleep)

Domino Web Access 7 Customization
http://www.redbooks.ibm.com/redpieces/pdfs/redp4188.pdf

iNotes_WA_ReadAttachments
When set to 0, Domino Web Access users will not be able to read attachments. When set to
1, Domino Web Access users will be able to read attachments. The default is 1. There is also
functionality in Domino 7 to disable the ability to read attachments via an argument on the
URL. If &ra=0 is placed on the URL, the Domino Web Access user will not be able to read
attachments. The URL argument might be used to block particular users via a reverse proxy
rule or custom web page.
iNotes_WA_WriteAttachments
When set to 0, Domino Web Access users will not be able to write attachments. When set to
1, Domino Web Access users will be able to write attachments. The default is 1. There is also
functionality in Domino 7 to disable the ability to write attachments via an argument on the
URL. If &wa=0 is placed on the URL, the Domino Web Access user will not be able to write
attachments.

VMware Hints and Tips - Storage

2007-12-16T00:01:00.000-08:00

http://download3.vmware.com/vmworld/2006/tac9567.pdf

ESXGuide - esxcfg VMware console tool

2007-12-15T23:54:00.000-08:00

ESXGuide - esxcfg VMware console tool
esxcfg tool Management in the console

esxcfg-rescan
esxcfg-rescan vmhba1
esxcfg-rescan vmhba2

Rescan vmhbas
esxcfg-mpath -l

VMware ESX Server multipathing information

Disk vmhba1:3:6 /dev/sdu (225280MB) has 2 paths and policy of Most Recently Used
FC 2:1.0 210000e08b0246af<->201400a0b81167e2 vmhba1:3:6 On active preferred
FC 4:1.0 210000e08b02e4a0<->201500a0b81167e2 vmhba2:3:6 Standby

Multipathing of HBAS listing and configure

esxcfg-vmhbadevs -m

See the relationship between vmhba and devnames. This produces an output like so:

vmhba1:3:6:1 /dev/sdu1 44ebf538-51cc7998-2525-00145e1b556a

vdf

/vmfs/volumes/44ebf538-51cc7998-2525-00145e1b556a
230424576 44748800 185675776 19% /vmfs/volumes/CoreDomain

Relationship between Vmhbas and devname

ls /vmfs/devices/disks/

list all your disks/luns like so:vmhba0:0:0:0

vmhba0:1:0:0
vmhba1:2:0:0
vmhba1:3:0:0
vmhba1:4:0:0
vmhba1:5:0:0
vmhba1:6:0:0
vml.02000000003343453035595041202020203731303638315430535831373334
vml.0200000000334345303634504b202020203731303545464853535831373334
vml.0200000000334345304150415420202020373131384b51305a535831373334
vml.0200000000334345304244584e202020203731313835485231535831373334
vml.0200000000334345304446543230303030373132314e4c5a57535431373334
vml.02000000005546413350323330375352544d414e333336
vml.02000000005546413350323330375442444d414e333336

You can then use fdisk to work out if the disks are blank of partitioned with:

fdisk /vmfs/devices/disks/vmhba1:5:0:0

Not an esxcfg command but very useful
Identify the LUN Disk and Partition

vmhbax:y:z:v

x=Hostbusadapter (0=mostly internal SCSI Adapter, 1=mostliy fibrechannel 1...x)
y=LUN
z=Disk
v=Partition

esxcfg-firewall
esxcfg-firewall --openPort
esxcfg-firewall --closePort

port: Apllication Port
Protocol:tcp or udp
Direction: in or out
name: Descriptive name of rule

esxcfg-firewall -q to query settings

Example:

esxcfg-firewall --openPort 14247,tcp,out,IBMDirector

You cannot configure unsupported services through the VI Client.

Firewall settings

esxcfg-vmhbadevs

vmhba0:0:0 /dev/sda
vmhba0:1:0 /dev/sdb
vmhba0:2:0 /dev/sdc

Map of VMkernel storage devices to service console devices

VMkernel storage devices to service console devices

esxcfg-vswitch
esxcfg-vswif -i 192.168.1.55 -n 255.255.255.0 vswf0

Creates and updates virtual machine network settings
Change IP Address and Subnetmask

Round-Robin Load Balancing - VMware ESX Server 3.5, VMware ESX Server 3i version 3.5, VMware VirtualCenter 2.5

2007-12-15T23:18:00.000-08:00

http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi3_35_25_roundrobin.pdf

The following options are supported and discussed in more detail in Table 1.
esxcfg-mpath --lun [--policy [mru|rr|fixed|custom]]
[--custom-hba-policy|-H [mru|preferred|any|minq]] |
[--custom-target-policy|-T [mru|preferred|any]] |
[--custom-max-commands|-C ] |
[--custom-max-blocks|-B ]
Notes
If you set the custom-max-blocks and custom-max-commands, options, the system attempts to switch paths
as soon as one of the limits is reached.
If you set the target or the HBA policy to preferred, the system chooses the target or the HBA of the preferred
path when possible. If a preferred policy is set on an active/passive SAN array, and the preferred target is not
on the active SP (Storage Processor), the system does not select the preferred target but a target on the active SP.
Path switching is not performed if an outstanding SCSI reservation is on the target, or if a path failover is
underway. Path switching is delayed until an I/O request is performed when no reservations or path failovers
are pending.
Table 1. Policy Options for esxcfg-mpath
Option Description
--policy
-p
[mru|rr|fixed|custom]
Set the policy for a given LUN to mru, rr, fixed, or custom. This option requires that
the --lun option is also passed to indicate the LUN to set the policy for.
􀂄 Most recently used (mru) selects the path most recently used to send I/O to a device.
􀂄 Round robin (rr) uses the mru target selection policy and the any HBA selection
policy to select paths.
􀂄 Fixed (fixed) uses only the active path.
􀂄 Custom (custom) sets the LUN to expect a custom policy.
NOTE After you’ve set the policy to custom for a LUN, you can specify one or more of
the other options. For any LUN, you set the policy to custom only once.
--custom-hba-policy
-H
Selection policy for the HBA. Use one of the following:
􀂄 preferred — Use the HBA that’s part of the preferred path.
􀂄 mru – Use the most recently used HBA.
􀂄 minq – HBA that has the smallest number of outstanding I/O commands when the
ESX Server system does the path selection.
􀂄 any – Use any available HBA.
--custom-target-policy
-T
Selection policy for the target. Use one of the following:
􀂄 preferred – Use the target that is part of the preferred path.
􀂄 mru – Use the most recently used target.
􀂄 any – Use any available target.
--custom-max-commands
-C
Maximum number of I/O requests to be issued on a given path before the system tries
to select a different path. A setting of zero (0) disables switching based on commands.
Specify the number of commands as an integer. Default is 50.
--custom-max-blocks
-B
Maximum number of I/O blocks to be issued on a given path before the system tries to
select a different path. A setting of zero (0) disables switching based on blocks.
Specify the number of blocks as an integer. Default is 2048.

HP StorageWorks 5000 Enterprise Virtual Array - Advisory: HP StorageWorks 3000 and 5000 Enterprise Virtual Array EVA System Software Release VCS v4.007 - c00864124 - HP Business Support Center

2007-11-29T15:33:00.000-08:00

HP StorageWorks 5000 Enterprise Virtual Array - Advisory: HP StorageWorks 3000 and 5000 Enterprise Virtual Array EVA System Software Release VCS v4.007 - c00864124 - HP Business Support Center

Windows Server 2003 Benchmarks

2007-11-29T01:15:00.000-08:00

Windows Server 2003 Benchmarks

Are full backups dead? - Storage Magazine

2007-11-28T15:14:00.000-08:00

Are full backups dead? - Storage Magazine

SQL always on and MSSRA Windows Server System Reference Architecture

2007-11-28T10:59:00.001-08:00

Failover Clustering

Failover Clustering provides server-level redundancy on a certified Microsoft
Cluster Services configuration. The shared disk array is configured to allow all
nodes access to the disk resources with only one node actively processing.
When the server node fails, the failover cluster automatically moves the control of the shared resources to a working node and restarts SQL Server.
This configuration allows seamless failover capabilities in the event of a CPU, memory or other non-storage hardware failures.

Geographically Dispersed Failover Clustering

Geographically Dispersed Failover Clustering provides server-level redundancy on a certified Microsoft Geographically Dispersed Cluster Services configuration with one or more storage array at each site. If the site, the server node or the disks fail, the complete system and disk redundancy allows the failover cluster to handle sequent activities on the working site. This configuration removes the single-point of failure potential in a typical failover cluster configuration.

http://www.microsoft.com/sql/alwayson/overview.mspx

http://download.microsoft.com/download/d/4/c/d4cc681a-d51c-4f69-8c89-1198bee335d2/SQLServerAlwaysOnBrochure.pdf

http://www.databasejournal.com/features/mssql/article.php/3456991

These data stores do not need to be part of either the OLTP or the data warehouse environments because they are not mission critical. To prevent the data stores from affecting the performance and reliability of the other data service environments, the data stores exist on separate servers. While the data store databases do not have the same mission critical requirement as the OLTP environment, a level of availability ensures continued processing in the event of failure.

Database mirroring enables a level of availability without the hardware requirements of a separate failover cluster. The use of multiple instances has a number of benefits, one of which is the ability to make performance-tuning configuration on an
instance-by-instance basis. This enables control of the environments resource usage into the future as the data services requirement grows.

OLTP, OLAP , Data Warehouse, Data Stores, and Extranet.

Windows Server System Reference Architecture

2007-11-28T00:52:00.000-08:00

Windows Server System Reference Architecture

Windows Server System Reference Architecture Design Considerations for SQL Server 2005 High Availability

2007-11-28T00:51:00.001-08:00

Windows Server System Reference Architecture Design Considerations for SQL Server 2005 High Availability

Microsoft SQL Server: High Availability

2007-11-28T00:51:00.000-08:00

Microsoft SQL Server: High Availability

VMware Infrastructure 3 QLogic QDepth

2007-11-25T13:58:00.000-08:00

By default, VMware Infrastructure 3 uses the QLogic QDepth default value of 32 to act as an execution throttle. As a best practice, QDepth should be limited to around eight to retain some headroom for expansion. Refer to VMware Knowledge Base article 1267 on how to adjust the QDepth for performance tuning. In general, the following formula applies to each path between the host machine and the array: [Total number of LUNs] * QDepth < [Array queue depth] Refer to VMware Knowledge Base article #1267 at www.vmware.com/support/kb/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1267 for more information on tuning QDepth. • The default queue depth value of 32 is satisfactory for Emulex HBA cards. • If you are using Microsoft® Windows® 2000 or Windows Server 2003 check your operating system timeout values. For a VMware environment, the DiskTimeOutValue must be set to 60 seconds. • Dynamic load balancing is currently not supported by VMware Infrastructure 3. However, for active/active arrays with fixed failover policy, load balancing can be achieved by manually assigning a LUN to a specific path. For more information, refer to the VMware document, “Server Configuration Guide,” at http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi3_server_config.pdf.

VMware3_StorageWorks_BestPractice.pdf

2007-11-25T13:54:00.000-08:00

HP StorageWorks EVA - ESX

2007-11-25T13:52:00.000-08:00

SAN Configuration Guide : Setting Up SAN Storage Devices with ESX Server : HP StorageWorks Storage Systems : HP StorageWorks EVA

HP StorageWorks EVA

NUMA systems

2007-11-25T13:24:00.000-08:00

ESX Optimization for NUMA systems

Many of the interesting new hardware systems today are implemented using non-uniform memory architectures. This means that not all memory is of uniform speed – accessing memory that is closer topologically to the processor is faster than memory that is further away.

To ensure optimal performance, the VMware ESX hypervisor allocates memory for the guest operating systems from physical memory near the CPU on which the guest resides on.

Ten Reasons Why Oracle Databases Run Best on VMware - VMware VROOM!

2007-11-25T13:18:00.000-08:00

Ten Reasons Why Oracle Databases Run Best on VMware - VMware VROOM!

SQL 2005 Database Mirroring and Log Shipping

2007-11-25T13:02:00.000-08:00

SQL Server 2005 Books Online (September 2007)
Database Mirroring and Log Shipping
A given database can be mirrored or log shipped; it can also be simultaneously mirrored and log shipped. To choose what approach to use, consider the following:
How many destination servers do you require?If you require only a single destination database, database mirroring is the recommended solution. If you require more than one destination database, you need to use log shipping, either alone or with database mirroring. Combining these approaches gives you the benefits of database mirroring along with the support for multiple destinations provided by log shipping.
If you need to delay restoring log on the destination database (typically, to protect against logical errors), use log shipping, alone or with database mirroring.
This topic discusses considerations for combining log shipping and database mirroring.

SQL 2005 Database Mirroring and Log Shipping

Setting Up Mirroring and Log Shipping Together

Setting Up Mirroring and Log Shipping Together

To set up database mirroring and log shipping together, the following steps are required:

Restore backups of the principal/primary database with NORECOVERY onto another server instance to be later used as database mirroring mirror database for the principal/primary database. For more information, see Preparing a Mirror Database for Mirroring.

Set up database mirroring. For more information, see How to: Configure a Database Mirroring Session (SQL Server Management Studio) or Setting Up Database Mirroring.

Restore backups of the principal/primary database to other server instances to be later used as log shipping secondary databases for the primary database. For more information, see Configuring Log Shipping.

Set up log shipping on the principal database as the primary database for one or more secondary databases.
You should set up a single share as the backup directory (a backup share). This ensures that after role switching between the principal and mirror servers, backup jobs continue to write to the same directory as before. A best practice is to ensure that this share is located on a different physical server from the servers hosting the databases involved in mirroring and log shipping.
For more information, see How to: Enable Log Shipping (SQL Server Management Studio).

Set up log shipping on the mirror as the inactive primary database.
You must use the same backup share that is being used by the principal/primary and the secondary servers. Do not perform any setup from the secondary(s) for the mirror/primary. The primary server specified when configuring the secondary server is not used for the mechanics of shipping the logs to the secondary. Log shipping just copies files and a secondary server does not connect to the primary server instance defined on the secondary.
The Transaction Log Shipping interface in SQL Server Management Studio supports only one primary database per log shipping configuration. Therefore, you must use stored procedures to set up the mirror/primary. For more information, see How to: Enable

VMware - VMTN Blog

2007-11-25T12:04:00.000-08:00

VMware - VMTN Blog