This is Part 3A of a series of posts on how to configure VMware vSphere 6.x to use Certificates from Microsoft Windows Server Certificate Services. The following assumes you have completed the steps within the series: Part 1 - Installing Microsoft Windows 2012 R2 Certificate Services Part 2 - Configuring an Enterprise Root Certificate Authority The high level steps below are taken from the VMware KB Article Creating a Microsoft Certificate Authority Template for SSL certificate creation in vSphere 6.

Written by Christopher Lewis on March 24, 2016 .

Active Directory Certificate Authority Certificates Microsoft

This is Part 2 of a series of posts on how to configure VMware vSphere 6.x to use Certificates from Microsoft Windows Server Certificate Services. The following assumes you have completed the steps within the series: Part 1 - Installing Microsoft Windows 2012 R2 Certificate Services Instructions Click Configure Active Directory Certificate Services to run the AD CS Configuration Post-deployment configuration wizard. If required, click Change to choose a different account with the appropriate administration rights (i.

Written by Christopher Lewis on March 22, 2016 .

Active Directory Certificate Authority Certificates Microsoft

This is Part 1 of a series of posts on how to configure VMware vSphere 6.0 to use Certificates from Microsoft Windows Server Certificate Services. I have heavily invested into my Home Lab over the last few months and as part of building my new VMware vSphere 6.0 Home Lab. I have decided that creating an Enterprise Root CA is a good idea so that I can work with certificates in my home lab.

Written by Christopher Lewis on March 22, 2016 .

Active Directory Certificate Authority Certificates Microsoft

On the 26th February (afternoon), I failed at my first attempt to gain my VCAP5-DCD with a score of 279. Beforehand I did say to myself that I would rather have failed hard than nearly get there with a close to passing score. Put simply, I ran out of time. Like most exams i take i go in with a game plan, i’d read a lot on the internet and been told by a lot of people - do the Master and Visio style questions first.

Written by Christopher Lewis on February 27, 2016 .

VCAP VCAP-DCD

I have recently been completing some study for the Microsoft 70-417 exam (upgrading to MCSA Windows 2012) and whilst I have not had a lot to do with implementing Group Policy Objects (GPOs) in the recent past, I still find it is important to know how and when they get applied. The following is some of my notes from my study. Processing Order Assuming there is no type of filtering or enforcement applied, GPOs are applied/processed in the following order:

Written by Christopher Lewis on February 16, 2016 .

Active Directory Group Policy Objects

Today I start my journey to obtain my VMware Certified Advanced Professional 5 - Data Center Design certification. I have been designing and supporting VMware products for a lot of years, so I thought it was about time I got my VCAP certifications! Note: Let me just say I realise the VMware Certified Advance Professional 6 - Data Center Virtualization Design is currently in BETA and I will be taking this exam as well.

Written by Christopher Lewis on February 14, 2016 .

Certification VCAP VCAP5-DCD

Ok so the bits and bobs have started to arrive and I have put together one of the hosts and after a little work, I now have one host up and running with he following: The components in ESX-Host-1 are:- 1 x SuperMicro MBD-X11SH-LN4F-0 Motherboard (4 x 1GbE, 64GB, Socket 1151, M.2 PCIe, IMPI 2.0, 8 x SATA3) I chose this motherboard for multiple reasons; a) the 4 x 1GbE network ports mean that I don’t need a separate card, b) IPMI means i can remote controller the server to build it once plugged in c) supports 64GB RAM, d) its MicroATX so i can build it into a small case!

Written by Christopher Lewis on February 9, 2016 .

Home Lab

Grant Orchard ( @grantorchard ) has just released a new version of the vRealise Automation 7 API reference documentation as a Docker container called Platypus ! For all those guys who, like me, don’t run a Mac laptop and cannot use the VMware’s AppCatalyst to run Photon, I thought I would write a quick post on how to get Platypus working within a Docker Container upon the Synology NAS (if you have one).

Written by Christopher Lewis on February 4, 2016 .

API Docker Synology vRA vRealize vRealize Automation

I have finally taken the first steps in upgrading my home lab and over the next few posts I’ll go through what I have purchased. I have started with just a single host so I can check all the components, some of which are not the on the official VMware HCL, actually work. At a high level this includes: Compute 1 x Supermicro X11SSH-LN4F Motherboard 1 x Intel Xeon E3 1275 V5 “skylake” (4C/8T) 4 x 16GB Crucial DDR4 EUDIMM 1 x Samsung 850 EVO 250GB SSD (M.

Written by Christopher Lewis on January 29, 2016 .

Home Lab

Welcome to thecloudxpert.net, a space for my many musings around my experience and journey in the world of technology, specifically looking at virtualisation, cloud automation and orchestration. Enjoy the ride!

Written by Christopher Lewis on January 29, 2016 .