Category : VMware
Written by Christopher Lewis on June 14, 2019 .
Out of the blue this week, I had a query from a colleague about being able to update the vCenter License key programmatically via PowerShell/PowerCLI. This is something I have done before so luckily I had a script.
Written by Christopher Lewis on May 3, 2019 .
Introduction
In this really short blog post we’re going to be showing the step by step process of upgrading your existing deploy of VMware vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager (vRSLCM) to the latest version (which at the time of writing is v2.1).
Why upgrade to vRSLCM 2.1?
- You can now manage the lifecycle of a VMware Identity Manager provider (i.e. change the vIDM configuration settings!).
- You can now remove single components/applications from a deployment without having to delete the whole deployment.
- You can now define product level certificates for vRealize Automation (i.e. separate IaaS Web and IaaS Manager certificates).
Full release notes for VMware vRealize Suite Lifecycle Manager 2.1 can be found here .
Written by Christopher Lewis on April 7, 2019 .
This is the sixth post in a series of posts covering the replacement of vRealize Automation SSL Certificates. In this post, we will tackle the replacement of the vRealize Automation Appliance VAMI Site Certificate.
This post is based on the VMware procedure and this is documented here .
Prerequisites
The following are expected prerequisites for this walkthrough:
- A fully deployed and working vRealize Automation solution.
- A set of certificate files:
- The RSA Private Key used to encrypt the vRA Appliance certificate.
- The Root CA Certificate file.
- The vRA Appliance Certificate file.
- The new Server.PEM file.
- The Root CA Certificate and any Subordinate/Intermediate CA Certificates are installed within the appropriate Certificate store on the local machine (normally the Trusted Root Certification Authorities and the Intermediate Certification Authority respectively).
The Problem
The issue we see is that when you browse to https://vra.fqdn:5480, the site is untrusted.
Written by Christopher Lewis on March 22, 2019 .
It has been nearly 20 years since I was last in Bristol, but on Wednesday 20th March I attended and presented at the UK ’s South West VMUG to a small but engaging crowd of IT professionals with a shared interest in VMware products.
Who are the UK South West VMUG?
The South West VMUG ( @swukvmug ) may not be the biggest VMware User Group in the UK (with about 20-30 people), but the calibre of the leadership team ( Barry Coombs , Megan Warren , Simon Eady and Jeremy Bowman ) meant the day was always going to be a success for its attendees.
Written by Christopher Lewis on February 26, 2019 .
TL;DR Yesterday morning (Monday 25th) I took the VMware Certified Advanced Professional (VCAP) 6.5 - Data Center Virtualization (DCV) Design Exam (3V0-624) at my local approved Pearson Vue Exam Centre. I’m disappointed with the score but I managed a pass. What this pass does mean, is that I also get the shiny new VMware Certified Implementation Expert 6.5 – Data Center Virtualization (VCIX-DCV) digital badge!
Exam Preparation
I have been putting this exam off for the last 12 months due to various reasons. That meant, apart from a few hours the day before, I did little or no real study for this exam. In fact I tried to move the exam on Sunday (for the 6th time) but was too late to do so. This meant I had no choice, I could either become a #**NoShow **or just take it. I have never purposefully been a #NoShow, so I decided to suck it up and just take it. The benefit being that I was using one of the free exam vouchers I had from VMware following some issues with other VCAP exams in 2018. So I wasn’t going to be out of pocket.
Written by Christopher Lewis on February 7, 2019 .
#WreckingCrewReunited
Today I was lucky enough to be able to present to a capacity crowd at the North East VMUG . There was an #EPIC line up that included the #WreckingCrewReunited Duncan Epping , Frank Denneman and Rawlinson Rivera #NoPressure. Presenting other community sessions along with me were Gareth Edwards (on Terraform) and Jorge del la Cruz (on Monitoring vSphere with opensource tools). We also heard from Kev Johnson around upgrading to vSphere 6.7.
Written by Christopher Lewis on December 15, 2018 .
In the beginning there was Code..
Like the previous 2 years, the first thing in my calendar, once I had registered and it was available on the Schedule Builder for VMworld Europe. was the VMware {Code} #Hackathon.
This year was a little different because the organising team (which didn’t seem to include Alan Renouf or William Lam), used HackerEarth to organise the event.
The Venue & Food
This year, the** #Hackathon **organisers took us to a new venue. I personally really liked the venue for the previous 2 years, Valkiria Hub Space , but I must say the new venue, Esferic , more than delivered!
Written by Christopher Lewis on December 11, 2018 .
TL;DR - I’m going to be joining VMware as a Senior Cloud Management Specialist Systems Engineer in February 2019. #BeyondExcited
From humble beginnings…
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Lao Tzu
My IT career started whilst still studying for my final year at University working for a major UK retail bank. I was happy there but not really fulfilled. Within 5 years I was TUPE’d into a large Service Provider. On day one, I remember the team being told by our new boss that we shouldn’t get any “grand ideas” about moving around the company because our skill-sets were not transferable outside the bank. That comment was taken with a pinch of salt and within a year, I got promoted from a** Lead Technical Specialist** to become a** Solutions Architect** (jumping 2 grades in the process). Six months later I was on a different account and I never looked back.
Written by Christopher Lewis on November 27, 2018 .
At this years VMworld Europe Hackathon, I was a part of Team #PowerVKE, founding members:
- Chris Porter ( @uprightvinyl ) (Team Leader)
- Christopher Lewis ( @thecloudxpert )
- Dave Simpson ( @bfd_diplomacy )
- Stephen Hackers ( @StephenHackers )
- Tony Cota ( @VMXBandit )
- Colin Westwater ( @cwestwater )
- Dominik Zorgnotti ( @DominikZ )
Team PowerVKE (Image courtesy of @StephenHackers)
Barcelona Hackathon PKS PowerVKE VMware VMworld VMworld 2018
Written by Christopher Lewis on November 8, 2018 .
VMworld 2018 started quickly for me. After taking the 10:20 BA Flight from Heathrow I landed at ~13:30 local time. I had just enough time to drop the bags at the hotel before heading to the #vRetreat. We were being hosted by Patrick Redknap and sponsored by Cohesity .
#vRetreat
This was my first experience of the #vRetreat concept and I wasn’t disappointed. The session was given by Cohesity’s charismatic CTO - Global Field, Rawlinson Rivera ( @punchingclouds ) who talked both about their current portfolio and Vision.
Barcelona Cohesity VMware VMworld VMworld 2018 VMworld2018 vRetreat
- Operating a Private Cloud - Part 3: Creating a Pricing Card in VMware Aria Automation
- Operating a Private Cloud - Part 2: Creating a Pricing Card in VMware Aria Operations
- Operating a Private Cloud - Part 1: Understanding Pricing Cards in VMware Aria
- Zero2Hero - Using Aria Automation to Deploy Multiple Machines with Multiple Disks - Part 5
- Zero2Hero - Using Aria Automation to Deploy Multiple Machines with Multiple Disks - Part 4