Adding VMKernel ports to multiple hosts using PowerCLI

So, yesterday I was asked to quickly put together a script to add VMkernel ports to Multiple ESXi hosts. I have a script to add VM Port groups to multiple host, and this is easy. But the issue with the VMkernel ports is that they require a unique IP address.

So I put together the following CSV and Script

CSV File which includes the below information. Obviously the fields will be changed to suit your network


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Configuring NFS networking for a nested ESXi VM

I have just begun planning and building a lab for my ESXi / vSphere environment so that I can do a upgrade of our vSphere environment (more to come on this process), but I got stuck with an issue for NFS storage. The issue was that I could not mount the datastores on the nested ESXi host, I was not able to find any clear information quickly on the web, so I decided to do a “settings” process here.

A brief background of the environment:

  • Networking: Cisco 3850, with Trunk VLAN configured.
  • Storage: NetApp cDOT with NFS volumes
  • ESXi Version: 6.0U3

The important changes are in bold below and the reasoning is VERY well outlined in this “ancient”, yet 100% valid post by William Lam: Why is Promiscuous Mode Forged?

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Scripted configurations of SNMP v2

Today I went through the process of scripting the configuration of SNMP configurations for multiple OS/devices. The reason for this is that there has never been a formality or standardisation of this and sometimes we tend to forget this and or that. So, in case you would also like to script it, here is what we use.

The defaults:

sysLocation:
For this, you could either use “3rd floor, of some office” or, if you are a global company, with  monitoring system that makes use of the GoogleMaps API (e.g. Observium) and would like to show various location globally – use a google API name – e.g. London, UK or Cape Town, South Africa etc.

sysContact:
This could be a name or an email address or telephone number

Community:
Something that is configured on your server and on your device/workstation/server that allows communications. There is also a permission set that will get applied to this.

target:
This is the place you are sending information to

port:
This is by default, 161/UDP, unless you change it.

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Creating vSwitch Names for new vSwitches on ESXi Hosts using Host Web Client

A little while back, I wrote on Changing your vSwitch Names on ESXi Host.  I found another way to do this, but unfortunately, this method ONLY works for NEW vSwitches.

Once the vSwitch has been created, you cannot change the name to something else. If you made a mistake and need to change it, you would need to either:

a. Removing the vSwitch and recreating it
b. Doing the Changing your vSwitch Names on ESXi Host option.

login
Login to the ESXi Host directly – https://ip-or-hostname/ui/ (note the trailing “/” after ui)

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Changing your vSwitch Names on ESXi Hosts

So, yesterday I thought to myself, hey, wouldn’t it be cool if we could change the names of the vSwitches on ESXi hosts. That way, it will quickly allow any one to see the different categories of switches – e.g. storage/management etc.

Turns out, this is possible. Thanks to a little bit of “hacking”, you can change the names of your vSwitches.

 

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