Syslog

When you clone a Linux VM or deploy it from a template/OVF, the hypervisor allocates it a new vNIC automatically. When the OS boots, it’s immediately confused because ifcfg-eth# file has a different MAC address than the actual vNIC’s MAC address. There is also a UUID in the ifcfg-eth# file given to the vNIC by universal device manager (i.e. udev), which further confuses the OS. The result of this is that networking doesn't work and the ifconfig command wont even list the vNIC as being present. The quickest way to fix this on a modern Linux VM is to do the following.

1. Open up a shell and type “vi /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules”

2. Delete all entries with MAC addresses that are no longer associated with the VM’s vNIC(s). The vNIC MAC address can be verified in the VM’s “Edit Settings” window in vSphere. The only remaining entries should refer to vNICs that are connected to the current instance of the VM. Also ensure that the NAME value is set to an eth# that has a corresponding ifcfg-eth# file. If there is only one vNIC attached to the VM, then this is ifcfg-eth0. It should look similar to the picture below if you only have one vNIC. Save the file and exit.

3. Open up a shell and type “vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth#” (replace the # with the actual number of the vNIC).

4. Delete the UUID line and adjust the MAC address to the one in the vNIC entry in the udev file from step 2. Also, make any IP adjustments you need if you’re using static IP addresses. It should look similar to the picture below when you’re done. Save the file and exit.

5. Open up a shell and type “start_udev”

Your networking should now work and show up when you run “ifconfig”.

Great resources that I have been reading for a paper I’m writing in my Operating Systems class:

https://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-4960

Especially useful when there are orphaned VMs that you don’t know about. I really which vCenter would scan datastores and say “hey, you’re not using this VM, but it’s taking space on one of your datastores.” This script will take care of it for you. Almost positive I took this from the Internet at some point, but can’t find the source. Sorry for the lack of reference.

# Traverses all folders of a data store and adds all VMX files to the inventory # # Example: # # .\Add-VMXToInventory.ps1 -DatastoreName My_Datastore -VMFolder VDI -vCenter vcentername -ESXHost host.domain.com #

param (   [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)] [string] $DatastoreName, # Case sensitive   [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)] [string] $VMFolder,   [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)] [string] $vCenter,   [Parameter(Mandatory=$true)] [string] $ESXHost )

# # General options # #Requires -Version 2

Set-StrictMode -Version 2

# # Functions # # Loads snapins function LoadSnapins([string[]] $snapins) {   $loaded = Get-PSSnapin -Name $snapins -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | % {$_.Name}   $registered = Get-pssnapin -Name $snapins -Registered -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue  | % {$_.Name}   $notLoaded = $registered | ? {$loaded -notcontains $_}

  if ($notLoaded -ne $null)   {      foreach ($newlyLoaded in $notLoaded)  {         Add-PSSnapin $newlyLoaded      }   } }

# # Start of script # # Load snapins LoadSnapins @("VMware.VimAutomation.Core")

# Avoid stupid questions Set-PowerCLIConfiguration -DefaultVIServerMode multiple -Confirm:$false

# Connect to vCenter Connect-VIServer $vCenter

# Set up search for .VMX files in datastore $ds = Get-Datastore -Name $DatastoreName | %{Get-View $_.Id} $SearchSpec = New-Object VMware.Vim.HostDatastoreBrowserSearchSpec $SearchSpec.matchpattern = "*.vmx" $dsBrowser = Get-View $ds.browser $DatastorePath = "[" + $ds.Summary.Name + "]"

# Find all .VMX file paths in datastore, filtering out ones with .snapshot (useful for NetApp NFS) $SearchResult = $dsBrowser.SearchDatastoreSubFolders($DatastorePath, $SearchSpec) | where {$_.FolderPath -notmatch ".snapshot"} | %{$_.FolderPath + ($_.File | select Path).Path}

# Get data about vmdk and format # Niklas Åkerlund / RTS # source: http://vniklas.djungeln.se/2011/12/05/virtual-machine-vmdk-file-report-with-powercli/

# Connect to vCenter

Connect-VIServer -Server cits-vcenter

# Replace * in line below with portion of VM names if you want a specific subset of VMDKs collected (e.g. VM-Test-*) $VMs = Get-VM -Name * $Data = @()

foreach ($VM in $VMs){ $VMDKs = $VM | get-HardDisk foreach ($VMDK in $VMDKs) { if ($VMDK -ne $null){ $CapacityGB = $VMDK.CapacityKB/1024/1024 $CapacityGB = [int]$CapacityGB $into = New-Object PSObject Add-Member -InputObject $into -MemberType NoteProperty -Name VMname $VM.Name Add-Member -InputObject $into -MemberType NoteProperty -Name Datastore $VMDK.FileName.Split(']')[0].TrimStart('[') Add-Member -InputObject $into -MemberType NoteProperty -Name VMDK $VMDK.FileName.Split(']')[1].TrimStart('[') Add-Member -InputObject $into -MemberType NoteProperty -Name StorageFormat $VMDK.StorageFormat Add-Member -InputObject $into -MemberType NoteProperty -Name CapacityGB $CapacityGB $Data += $into } }

}

Amateur PowerShell script. Feel free to improve it and I will re-post giving credit. Performs a mass OVF export of VMs from vCenter when given vCenter IP, VM folder path, and a string of text contained in the VM(s) name. Broken up into two files (probably can be done in one using functions, but again I’m not a PowerShell pro). I took get-vmfolderpath.ps1 from somewhere on the Internet. I cant remember where I found it though.

File 1: VMs-to-OVF.ps1

# This script is very close to working. For whatever reason, when I build the ovftool command for powershell to # run it returns with an "invalid object" error. However, when I copy the ovftool command built in the script # and paste it directly into a Powershell window it runs properly.

# How to use: # .\VMs-to-OVF.ps1 -vcenter <vcenter_IP/DNS> -vmPath </DC/vm/path/to/VM> -vmNamingScheme <test-vm-name|test-vm-*>

# The command we are trying to construct for the ovftool looks like this: # ovftool vi://my_vc_server/my_datacenter/vm/my_vm_folder/my_vm_name c:\ovfs\

# Parameters that the script is expecting

param ( [string]$vcenter = $(throw " vCenter address required.`n Example:`n .\VMs-to-OVF.ps1 -vcenter <192.168.1.200>`n .\VMs-to-OVF.ps1 -vcenter <vcenter.test.com>"), [string]$vmPath = $(throw " VM path required.`n Example:`n .\VMs-to-OVF.ps1 -vcenter <vcenterIP/DNS> -vmPath </DATACENTER/vm/`n test/>`n Note:`n - vmPath is the same path displayed in the vSphere 'VMs and Templates'`n view`n - the vmPath must always include 'vm/' in between the datacenter`n and next folder"), [string]$vmNamingScheme = $(throw " VM naming scheme required.`n Example:`n .\VMs-to-OVF.ps1 -vcenter <vcenterIP/DNS> -vmPath </DATACENTER/vm/`n test/> -vmNamingScheme <test-vm-1>`n .\VMs-to-OVF.ps1 -vcenter <vcenterIP/DNS> -vmPath </DATACENTER/vm/`n test/> -vmNamingScheme <test-vm-*>`n"), [string]$exportLocation = $(throw " Export location required.`n Example:`n .\VMs-to-OVF.ps1 -vcenter <vcenterIP/DNS> -vmPath </DATACENTER/vm/`n test/> -vmNamingScheme <test-vm-1> -exportLocation 192.168.1.100:\`n .\VMs-to-OVF.ps1 -vcenter <vcenterIP/DNS> -vmPath </DATACENTER/vm/`n test/> -vmNamingScheme <test-vm-*> -exportLocation X:\`n") #[string]$username = $( Read-Host "Please input user name" ), #[string]$password = $( Read-Host "Please input user password" -AsSecureString) )

# Connect to vCenter

#Connect-VIServer -Server $vcenter

# $VMs is an array of VM names that will be exported # $vmNamingScheme gives the pattern we are looking for

$VMs = $(get-vm -name $vmNamingScheme | select name | format-list | out-string) $VMs = $VMs.replace("Name : ","") $VMs = $VMs.replace(" ","") $VMs = $VMs.split("`n") $VMs = $VMs|?{$_ -ne $VMs[1]}

# This loop iterates through the $VMs array and performs an OVF export, to the location specified below, for each VM name in the array # $vmPath gives the path to the VM and $vmNamingScheme gives the pattern we are looking for

foreach ($VM in $VMs){ if ($VMs -ne $null){ $ovftoolCmd = "&'C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware OVF Tool\ovftool.exe' vi://$vcenter$vmPath$VM $exportLocation" # Line below assumes default ovftool install path, specifies the user name, target vCenter, location of the VM, and specifies where the OVF should be output to #&'C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware OVF Tool\ovftool.exe' $ovftoolCmd $ovftoolCmd #Invoke-Expression $ovftoolCmd } }

File 2: get-vmfolderpath.ps1

# If this returns a CommandNotFoundException then you need to add the current # directory location to your PATH variable using the command: # $env:PATH=$env:PATH+";."

get-vm 'cal-tsip-log1' | get-vmfolderpath

function Get-VMFolderPath { <#   .Synopsis

   Get vm folder path. From Datacenter to folder that keeps the vm.

  .Description

   This function returns vm folder path. As a parameter it takes the current folder in which the vm resides. This function can throw either 'name' or 'moref' output. Moref output can be obtained using the -moref switch.

.Example

   get-vm 'vm123' | get-vmfolderpath

   Function will take folderid parameter from pipeline   .Example

   get-vmfolderpath (get-vm myvm123|get-view).parent

   Function has to take as first parameter the moref of vm parent folder. DC\VM\folfder2\folderX\vmvm123 Parameter will be the folderX moref   .Example

   get-vmfolderpath (get-vm myvm123|get-view).parent -moref

   Instead of names in output, morefs will be given.

.Parameter folderid

   This is the moref of the parent directory for vm.Our starting point.Can be obtained in serveral ways. One way is to get it by: (get-vm 'vm123'|get-view).parent   or: (get-view -viewtype virtualmachine -Filter @{'name'= 'vm123'}).parent   .Parameter moref

   Add -moref when invoking function to obtain moref values

  .Notes

   NAME:  Get-VMFolderPath

   AUTHOR: Grzegorz Kulikowski

   LASTEDIT: 09/14/2012 NOT WORKING ? #powercli @ irc.freenode.net

  .Link

   https://psvmware.wordpress.com

#>

param( [Parameter(Mandatory=$true, ValueFromPipelineByPropertyName=$true)] [string]$folderid, [switch]$moref )

Simple little script. Nothing too exciting.

#!/bin/bash

# IMPORTANT: in order to get per-core usage information from top do the following: # - Run top in a command line # - While top is running, press 1 # - Again, while top is running, press W (capital W) to write to the top.rc file # Now whenever you run top it will default to the per-core output, which will be # used by this script

rm ./iostat.log rm ./top.log rm ./free.log

# Burn the first iostat since it includes an average from when the system first # booted. Subsequent iostat commands show averages between iostat commands iostat > /dev/null

#Snapshots output of iostat, top, and free every 2 seconds for 10 minutes while [ $SECONDS -lt 600 ]; do iostat -x >> ./iostat.log echo $'\n---\n' >> ./iostat.log

# sed only grabs lines that start with 'Cpu' top -bn 1 | sed -n '/^Cpu/p' >> ./top.log echo $'\n---\n' >> ./top.log

free >> ./free.log echo $'\n---\n' >> ./free.log

#!/usr/bin/python # # This script outputs: # - Infoblox-formatted CSV with the number of A records specified # - dnsperf-formatted TSV to query all of the A records in the CSV file # # Requirements: # - Python (only tested with version 3.4) # - Infoblox temporary/permanent license # - Infoblox model that accommodates the number of A records being #   queried and clients querying them # - Text file in the same directory as the script that contains words #   desired in the A records separated by newlines. I used this one: #   http://www-01.sil.org/linguistics/wordlists/english/ # - dnsperf (optional) - http://nominum.com/measurement-tools/ # # Sample dnsperf command to query records: # "dnsperf -s <dns_IP> -d </path_to_TSV> -c <num_clients> -Q #  <num_queries_per_sec> -v > <output_file>" # # IMPORTANT: explicitly allow DNS queries from end devices in # 'Grid > Grid Manager > Edit > Queries' in the Grid interface # # IMPORTANT: once CSV is imported to Infoblox, make sure to associate a # name server with the lab authoritative zone

import sys import random import os import errno

def main():

   # Check if user entered one argument    if len(sys.argv) != 2:        print("Usage: infoblox_arecord_gen <number of records to generate>")        sys.exit(1)    else:        numRecsToGen = sys.argv[1]

   # Check if user specified an integer for number of records to generate    try:        numRecsToGen = int(numRecsToGen)    except ValueError:        print("Error: number of records to generate must be an integer")        sys.exit(1)

   # Generate a list of random hostnames and a list of random IPs    randHostnameList = genRandHostnameSet(numRecsToGen)    randIPList = genRandIPList(numRecsToGen)

   # Generate Infoblox CSV and dnsperf data file        genInfobloxCSV(randHostnameList,randIPList)    genDnsperfFile(randHostnameList)

def genRandHostnameSet(numHostnamesToGen):

   # Use wordList to generate random hostnames on the .lab domain and store them    # in a set to ensure they are all unique, and then convert the set to a list    # on return

   with open('./words.txt') as f:        wordList = f.read().splitlines()

   randHostnameSet = set()

   while len(randHostnameSet) < numHostnamesToGen:

       # Generate random words until they consist of only alphabetical characters        while True:            tempWord1 = wordList[random.randint(0, len(wordList)-1)]            if tempWord1.isalpha():                break        while True:            tempWord2 = wordList[random.randint(0, len(wordList)-1)]            if tempWord2.isalpha():                break

       randHostnameSet.add(tempWord1 + "-" + tempWord2 + ".lab")

   return list(randHostnameSet)

def genRandIPList(numIPsToGen):

   # Generate random IPs and store them in a set to ensure they are all unique,    # and then convert the set to a list on return

   randIPSet = set()

   while len(randIPSet) < numIPsToGen:        randIPSet.add(str(random.randint(0, 255)) + "." + str(random.randint(0, 255)) + "." + str(random.randint(0, 255)) + "." + str(random.randint(0, 255)))

   return list(randIPSet)

def genInfobloxCSV(randHostnameList,randIPList):

   infobloxCSVRowList = []

   # Insert forward zone for .lab    infobloxCSVRowList.append("header-authzone,fqdn*,zone_format*")    infobloxCSVRowList.append("authzone,lab,FORWARD")

   # Begin inserting A records    infobloxCSVRowList.append("header-arecord,address*,fqdn*")

   counter = 0    while counter < len(randHostnameList):        infobloxCSVRowList.append("arecord," + randIPList[counter] + "," + randHostnameList[counter])        counter += 1

   # Delete the file if it already exists and then write infobloxCSVRowList to a CSV file    filename = "Infoblox_" + str(len(randHostnameList)) + "_Records.csv"

   try:        os.remove(filename)    except OSError:        pass

   file = open(filename, "w+")

   for item in infobloxCSVRowList:        file.write(item + "\n")

   file.close()

def genDnsperfFile(randHostnameList):

   # Delete the file if it already exists and then write randHostnameList to a TSV file    filename = "dnsperf_" + str(len(randHostnameList)) + "_Records.tsv"

   try:        os.remove(filename)    except OSError:        pass

   file = open(filename, "w+")

   for item in randHostnameList:        file.write(item + " A\t\n")

If you’re running into this issue, and you’ve tried all of the VMware KB article recommendations to no avail, then there’s a good chance that it’s an NTP issue. In order for all performance metrics to be properly collected the vCenter server, ESXi host, and VM all have to be using the same NTP source. Try the following:

Choose your NTP source. If your vCenter server is Windows-based, then set the NTP server in the Windows time settings (right-click the time in the lower right-hand corner). If you’re using the vCenter appliance, then set the NTP server by going to “https://<vCenter_IP>:5480″

Set the ESXi NTP server by going to the host’s configuration tab and selecting Time Configuration

Set your VM’s NTP server. If it’s Windows, then use the same method you used in step 1. If it’s Linux, then modify “/etc/ntp.conf”

Restart the vCenter service, or reboot the appliance.