Being awarded VMware vExpert and being part of the program has been a highlight of my professional career. It started as recognition for community involvement but has grown into something more impactful which shapes how I learn, how I approach my professional role and how I engage with the community. Invitations and deeper insight One … Continue reading How the vExpert Program has impacted my career
Author: Liam Curley
VMware ESXi Host Maintenance Mode blocked by stuck VM with connected device and ISO is not accessible
Putting a VMware ESXi host into maintenance mode is typically a routine task in vSphere environments but sometimes unexpected issues can derail the process. I encountered a scenario where a single virtual machine prevented the host from entering Maintenance Mode. Attempts to perform a manual vMotion migration failed and the root cause turned out to … Continue reading VMware ESXi Host Maintenance Mode blocked by stuck VM with connected device and ISO is not accessible
HTTP Status 500 – Internal Server Error caused by Expired vCenter machine cert
I’d left my home lab dormant for a period of time and when attempting to bring it back to life, I couldn’t access the vCenter using the vSphere Web GUI and was getting a HTTP Status 500 - Internal Server Error. Here is what I did to troubleshoot and resolve which turned out to an … Continue reading HTTP Status 500 – Internal Server Error caused by Expired vCenter machine cert
Deactivate Aria Operations HA (High Availability)
We can deactivate VMware Aria Operations High Availability which will convert the Primary Replica back to a Data Node Log in to an Aria Operations Node web admin interface > Note the High Availability is Activated with a green check mark and there is a Primary Replica Cluster Node > Click Deactivate HA Review the … Continue reading Deactivate Aria Operations HA (High Availability)
Activate Aria Operations HA (High Availability)
VMware Aria Operations supports high availability (HA) which creates a replica for the VMware Aria Operations primary node and protects against the loss of a node. To activate Aria Operations High Availability, you'll need to have one data node deployed. You can see my previous post here for a guide on how to deploy another Aria Operations Node … Continue reading Activate Aria Operations HA (High Availability)
Add a Node to an existing Aria Operations Cluster
Larger environments may require more Nodes in your Aria Operations Cluster. A Cluster can contain one primary node and one or more data nodes for additional data collection, storage, processing, and analysis. Note: You'll need to download the correct Node OVA from the Broadcom software portal and save it in a location you can access … Continue reading Add a Node to an existing Aria Operations Cluster
Configure vCenter Enhanced Linked Mode
vCenter Enhanced Linked Mode allows you to log in to any single instance of vCenter Server and view and manage the inventories of all the vCenter Server systems in the group. You can join up to 15 vCenter Server appliance deployments with vCenter Enhanced Linked Mode in a single vSphere Single Sign-On domain. This blog post covers how to join two … Continue reading Configure vCenter Enhanced Linked Mode
Enable Dell Secure Connect Gateway Connectivity for a VxRail cluster
Dell Secure Connect Gateway enabled on a cluster or hosts can send health data to the VxRail Support team and provide secure automated access between Support and your VxRail. This guide shows how I enabled Support Connectivity to one of my VxRail clusters by completing the follow tasks: Begin configuration from vCenter Test Gateway connection … Continue reading Enable Dell Secure Connect Gateway Connectivity for a VxRail cluster
Manually upgrade Aria Operations Cloud Proxy
I recently experienced Aria Operations Cloud Proxies failing to update automatically. The error was "Some Cloud Proxies in your organization were not automatically updated to the latest Cloud update because the download from AWS has failed." I confirmed the URL's required for the Cloud Proxy updates were accessible and did the usual reboots to try … Continue reading Manually upgrade Aria Operations Cloud Proxy
Link Azure AD Federated account to VMware Cloud Service Platform
I configured VMware Cloud Services Portal to use Azure AD federation for user accounts to be able to access VMware Cloud Services. It's worth nothing anyone with an existing native VMware Cloud Services account which may have been created at the same time as a VMware Customer Connect account need to link their Azure AD … Continue reading Link Azure AD Federated account to VMware Cloud Service Platform
Define The Data Centre 