Posts Tagged ‘VMware ESXi 5.0’

HOW TO: Backup an ESXi installation on an USB Flash Drive or SD card, for security or redundancy.

Tuesday, January 10th, 2012

How to Backup ESXi installation on a USB flash drive or SD card.

Requirements

1. A valid ESXi installation on a USB flash drive or SD card.
2. A copy of Winimage for Windows.
3. A Windows computer.
4. Optional Blank DVD for making backup.
5. Optional USB flash drive or SD card for flash backup.

1

Download Winimage from the Internet

Using your internet browser, Internet Explorer or Mozilla, download a copy of Winimage from http://www.winimage.com/download.htm.

WinImage is a shareware product. You may copy, distribute, and try it for free, but if you use for longer than the evaluation period, you must register. You will receive a valid license, a registration code and the latest release.

2

Install Winimage

Install Winimage as per the vendors instructions on your Windows computer you need to backup the USB flash drive or SD card.

3

Insert the ESXi USB flash drive or in USB port on computer

Insert the ESXi USB flash drive or SD card inserted in a card reader into the computer you have installed Winimage on.

4

Start Winimage
Winimage Startup

Winimage Startup

Start Winimage from the Start Menu on your Windows computer.

5

From the disk menu
Create Virtual Hard Disk

Create Virtual Hard Disk

From the disk menu, in Winimage, select Creating Virtual Hard Disk Image from Physical Drive.

6

Select the USB flash drive or SD card

See picture below
Select a physical drive in the list

Select a physical drive in the list

Select the USB flash drive or SD card, from the list, in this example, I’m using a Flash LUXIO USB flash drive.

7

Select Create Fixed Size Virtual Hard Disk
Select usb flash drive

Select usb flash drive

Select the Fixed Size Virtual Hard Disk, ensure there is a dot in this selection. This ensures that the saved backup image is exactly the same size as the flash drive, you are copying example 2GB for a 2GB USB flash drive, 4GB fort a 4GB flash drive.

8

Click OK

Click OK

9

Specify a disk location and select Save
Select save location

Select save location

Once you have specified a location, a progress bar will continue on screen showing the progress of the copy.
Progress Bar

Progress Bar
10

Partiton to connect to

When prompted to connect to partition, click okay and Exit Winimage

11

The USB flash drive or SD contents will be saved as a complete image.

The contents will be saved to disk.

12

Complete.

The operation is complete and you can exist Winimage, and Safely remove your USB flash drives or SD cards, from the computer, by selecting the Safely remove hardware icon, in the system Smart tray.

13

Backup to DVD

If you image size is less than the size of a DVD (4.5GB), I also backup the USB/SD card installation image to a DVD, and if you have a spare USB flash drive, it doesn’t hurt writing the contens to another USB flash drive or SD card. (and make sure you label with date, time, and version and build of ESX, and what server it is for!)

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Installing Microsoft Windows 8 on VMware ESXi 5.0 using Nested Hypervisors

Thursday, September 29th, 2011
Microsoft Windows 8 on VMware ESXi 5.0

Microsoft Windows 8 on VMware ESXi 5.0

Not being able to run Microsoft Windows 8 (Developers Preview) on ESXi 5.0 directly, I decide to try out the new Nested functions that exist within VMware ESXi 5.0. With VMware ESXi 5.0, it makes it easier to run Nested 64bit Operating Systems.

and all you need to do is the following:-

Add vhv.allow = “TRUE”‘  to /etc/vmware/config

Create a new virtual machine, I selected Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2. Once you have created your new Virtual Machine, Power Down, and change the following Options.

Edit the Virtual Machine Properties, Select Options, General Options, and Change the Guest Operating System type to Other: – VMware ESXi 5.0.

Guest Operating System Version VMware ESXi 5.0

Guest Operating System Version VMware ESXi 5.0

This changes the OS, so you can run Nested Hypervisors, and makes the Intel VT or AMD-V functions available to your Guest OS.

Then I installed VMware Workstation 8.0 in the VM, and voila!

It’s a little cheat! But proves Nested Hypervisors works correctly in ESXi 5.0!

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Windows 8 Preview vcpu-0:NOT_IMPLEMENTED! error in your Hypervisor!

Wednesday, September 14th, 2011

Windows 8 Preview vcpu-0:NOT_IMPLEMENTED! error in your Hypervisor!

Microsoft Windows 8 Developer vcpu-0:NOT_IMPLEMENTED!

Microsoft Windows 8 Developer vcpu-0:NOT_IMPLEMENTED!

Avoid the vcpu-0:NOT_IMPLEMENTED! error in your Hypervisor, and use the following:-

VMware Workstation 8.0 Download (trial)
http://downloads.vmware.com/d/info/desktop_end_user_computing/vmware_workstation/8_0

Microsoft Windows 8 Developer Preview Boot

Microsoft Windows 8 Developer Preview Boot

Oracle Virtualbox 4.0
http://www.virtualbox.org/

Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 with Service Pack 1 (SP1)
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/dd776191.aspx

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Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 and Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 on VMware ESXi 5.0

Friday, August 26th, 2011

I’ve categorised this blog post as Vintage, well I think Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 and Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0, deserve Vintage status, it’s over 15 years since it’s release, and I still remember the day, when I was the only Senior Analyst in a new job, that had installed Windows New Technology, so the first task of the day (week) was to sit with a pile of floppy disks, because they had not purchased the CDROM version, and install on 10 computers, I was still waiting for my “Top Secret Security Clearance” to be approved, so I was locked in the Datacentre! On reflection now, it would seems a very odd place to lock someone on a Ministry Of Defence site, that did not have clearance! If I needed to take a comfort break, I had to be escorted around the site!

Windows NT 4.0 License Agreement

Windows NT 4.0 License Agreement

If you’ve never read the Windows NT 4.0 License Agreement, it states 8. “…. Java Technology is not fault tolerant and is not designed, manufactured, or intended for use or resale as on-line control equipment in hazardous environments or nuclear facilities, aircraft navigation or communication systems…..”.

So Windows NT Workstation 4.0  is not supposed to be used for a messaging system? (best not say anymore about that!).

Windows NT Workstation 4.0 and Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 install so fast in a virtual environment, after many many many, manual installations and deployments on physcal servers and workstations, installation is over in 60 seconds. (it’s just rather anyonying that SP6 is require to install VMware Tools!, all of 32MB!).

Windows NT Workstation 4.0

Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0

Microsoft Windows NT Server Version : 4.0

Microsoft Windows NT Server Version : 4.0

You are probably wondering at this point, why am I installing and testing Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 and Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 on VMware ESXi 5.0!

Ah, well good reason, Boot Ferrule Man, who works in the Semiconductor Industry, one of their semiconductor robots, lets call him “Cheese”, which is controlled by an NT 4.0 PC with SSD installed in 1995, has gone wrong! So I’m just testing the media! (well okay, ISOs, the media is archived!).

Told you it had a reason!!!

and final shout-out, All the very Best Steve. I wish you and your family well.

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VMware ESXi 5.0 tested on HP ProLiant MicroServer N36L

Saturday, August 13th, 2011

Just confirming that VMware ESXi 5.0 tests out okay on the  HP ProLiant MicroServer N36L, ideal for labs or testing, I don’t expect to see this HP ProLiant MicroServer N36L on the Hardware Compatibility List, when VMware ESXi 5.0 is finally launched Q3 2011, but ideal for labs or testing, on this small low powered server.

VMware ESXi 5.0 tested on HP ProLiant MicroServer N36L

VMware ESXi 5.0 tested on HP ProLiant MicroServer N36L

As with ESXi 4.1, no support for the “fake RAID controller”, so ESXi 5.o detects both SATA disks, and does not detect as a RAID 1 set. But the Broadcom NetXrtreme BCM5723 Gigabit Etherner network interface is supported.

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