Apply ESXI Patches from vsphere
Make sure you have taken a backup of the config from the esxi host
Select the updates tab from the host in vsphere
Select attach and create baseline in attached baselines options and then create the baseline with the patches you want to install. If baseline already exists then select attach baseline and select.
Click on the baseline tickbox and select check compliance and wait for checks to complete.
If no errors select the pre-check remediation option and look for errors
If no problems then select the baseline and click on remediate then follow through the options and click remediate.
Apply ESXI patch from console
Copy patch to datastore accessible from esxi shell using winscp
esxcli software vib update -d "<Path to patch>"
Access ESXI console
Access ESXI console via ssh session:
dcui
Backup ESXI Host config
Backup from Shell
Sync running config with stored config:
vim-cmd hostsvc/firmware/sync_config
Backup Config:
vim-cmd hostsvc/firmware/backup_config
Copy the download location into web browser to download and save the config
https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2042141
Backup from PowerCLI
Connect to Host:
Connect-VIServer ESXi_IP_address -user user_name -password your_password
Backup Config:
Get-VMHostFirmware -VMHost ESXi_host_IP_address -BackupConfiguration - DestinationPath output_directory
Restore ESXI config
Restore from Shell
Restoring ESXi host configuration data
The configBundle-HostFQDN.tgz should be renamed as configBundle.tgz before initiating the restore command.
Put the host into maintenance mode by running the below command:
vim-cmd hostsvc/maintenance_mode_enter
Copy the backup configuration file to the ESXi host or an available datastore.
Reboot the host. This step is required, otherwise the restore workflow might not finish completely
Once ESXi has rebooted, move the config bundle file to /tmp/configBundle.tgz.
Then run this command to restore the ESXi host configuration:
vim-cmd hostsvc/firmware/restore_config 0
Restore with PowerCLI
Put the host into maintenance mode by running the command:
Set-VMHost -VMHost ESXi_host_IP_address -State 'Maintenance'
Reboot the host. This step is required, otherwise restore might not finish completely and needs to be repeated:
Restart-VMHost -VMHost ESXi_host_IP_address -Confirm:$false
Restore the configuration from the backup bundle by running the command:
Set-VMHostFirmware -VMHost ESXi_host_IP_address -Restore -SourcePath backup_file -HostUser username -HostPassword password
Vcenter and ESXI logs
Identify and clear down logs using info here:
https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/76563
Way to clear high disk usage in logs:
cd /storage/log/vmware/content-library/
echo > content-library-runtime.log.stdout
Access VCSA - vCenter appliance
vCenter Server Appliance Management Interface can be accessed in the web interface on the following port and url:
Connect with winscp
Specify the location of the sftp server bin to be able to connect to vcenter appliance v7:
In winscp specify the following as the directory of the sftp server:
- shell /usr/libexec/sftp-server
Compatibility Check PCIE
Get device IDs to check for compatibility on PCIE devices:
- lspcie
Check more info:
- lspcie -vvv
- lspcie -vvv | grep -A 1 "Network"
PCIE GPU Passthrough
To get passthrough working on esxi host to VM you will need to change a few settings. This works for HP ML350 Gen9 Host:
Add the correct configuration to the /etc/vmware/passthru.map file on the esxi host: There will be a line like this:
# NVIDIA 10de ffff bridge false Add beneath: 10de <Code for your GPU> d3d0 false
The codes can be found here: https://devicehunt.com/view/type/pci/vendor/10DE/device/11C6
Then modify the following parameters of the VM (can be done in the edit settings > VM advanced section on in the .vmx file)
- hypervisor.cpuid.v0 = FALSE
- pciPassthru0.msiEnabled = FALSE
If the GPU has a lot of memory you may want to enable the following parameter:
- pciPassthru.use64bitMMIO="TRUE"
USB Passthrough
For USB passthrough of devices it can be a pain. For HID devices you will need to specify that it should not be controlled by the host.
You will need to find the details of all the USB devices with the following command:
- lsusb -v | grep -E '(^Bus|HID)'
then locate the vendor id and the device id (vvvv:dddd) in results next to the device name.
In the VM advanced settings add in the following parameters:
- usb.generic.allowHID = "TRUE"
- usb.quirks.device0 = "0xVVVV:0xDDDD allow"
Then in /etc/vmware/config file on the host add the following line:
- usb.quirks.device0 = "0xVVVV:0xDDDD allow"
Then add in a line to the boot config located here: /bootbank/boot.cfg to disable the host from taking control of the device:
- CONFIG./USB/quirks=0xVVVV:0xDDDD::0xffff:UQ_KBD_IGNORE
Reboot the Host.
VM Recovery
If a windows VM is not booting and needs to be recovered you may need to sideload the PVSCSI drivers - these can usually be loaded from a virtual cdrom drive in vmware during the windows installation/recovery process when you have booted from installation media. The drivers should be in vmware in a windows.iso located in vmimages\tools-isoimages
Delete problem files
If there are any files that are not deleting run through this guide to check for locks on the hosts:
Expired vcenter certificates
Renew the cert: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/82332
Reconnect vCloud Director: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/78885
Can also use the vmware tool: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2097936
Troubleshoot iscsi host connections
Check paths
Check dynamic discovery
Check vmk ports are assigned to physical adapter ports that are showing as online
Ping the storage array from the vmk port assigned to the storage adapters:
vmkping -I <vmkport> <IP address of SAN controller/ VIP of controller>
eg
vmkping -I vmk2 10.20.30.40
Configure VMware Tools Repository
1: Copy vmware tools software bundle to a folder on an existing or new shared datastore
2: Update the "UserVars.ProductLockerLocation" on each VMware ESXI Host
3:Reboot or manually make the changed configuration effective by removing the ./productLocker symlink and recreating it in the vcenter MOB to point to the extracted directory under the datastore.
Boot From USB Passthrough
Can boot a VM from a USB drive attached to host by using another bootloader that allows to then boot from USB drive. We can use https://www.plop.at/en/bootmanager/download.html for this.
lsdoctor
Can use the lsdoctor tool to fix ssl cert issues with the vsphere services:
Performance monitoring on ESXI host
You can use the "esxtop" tool on the esxi shell to see and monitor resources on the esxi top. You can also run this remotely as the "resxtop" tool
Disable vCLS and DRS for vSphere
vCLS can be disabled by adding the following setting to the advanced settings of the vSphere. on the vSphere opject in vCenter select Configure and advanced settings. This will make vSphere delete the vCLS vms from the hosts and due to this no DRS functions will be available.
Add the following key:
config.vcls.clusters.domain-c<domain number found in url on vcenter>.enabled | False
eg
config.vcls.clusters.domain-c1002.enabled | False