Davoud Teimouri - Virtualization and Data Center Blog

C70000 0

Server Hardware / Virtualization

HPE FlexFabric 650FLB Adapter May Cause PSOD on ESXi 6.x

Seems, there is an issue on HPE Blade Servers when a specific adapter is installed on server. If there is any server of the below models in your virtual environment that you should consider to this post: HPE ProLiant BL460c Gen10 Server Blade HPE ProLiant BL460c Gen9 Server Blade HPE ProLiant BL660c Gen9 Server HPE servers running VMware ESXi 6.0, VMware ESXi 6.5 or VMware ESXi 6.7 and configured with an HPE FlexFabric 20Gb 2-port 650FLB Adapter with driver version 12.0.1211.0 (or prior), a “wake NOT set” message is logged in the Vmkernel logs. Then after 20 to 30 days of server run time, a Purple Screen of Death (PSOD) may display a brcmfcoe: lpfc_sli_issue_iocb_wait:10828 message. The following errors are displayed in the VMkernel logs after approximately 50 to 70 days of server run time: 2019-07-20T00:46:10.267Z cpu33:69346)WARNING: brcmfcoe: lpfc_sli_issue_iocb_wait:10828: 0:0330 IOCB wake NOT set, Data x24 x0 2019-07-20T01:10:14.266Z cpu33:69346)WARNING: brcmfcoe: lpfc_sli_issue_iocb_wait:10828: 0:0330 IOCB wake NOT set, Data x24 x0 2019-07-20T02:16:25.801Z cpu33:69346)WARNING: brcmfcoe: lpfc_sli_issue_iocb_wait:10828: 0:0330 IOCB wake NOT set, Data x24 x0 2019-07-20T02:22:26.957Z cpu33:69346)WARNING: brcmfcoe: lpfc_sli_issue_iocb_wait:10828: 0:0330 IOCB wake NOT set, Data x24 x0 2019-07-20T03:26:39.057Z cpu11:69346)WARNING: brcmfcoe: lpfc_sli_issue_iocb_wait:10828: 0:0330 IOCB wake NOT set, Data x24 x0 2019-07-20T04:06:46.158Z cpu11:69346)WARNING: brcmfcoe: lpfc_sli_issue_iocb_wait:10828: 0:0330...

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Virtualization / Free Tools

Kubewise, Multi-Platform Desktop Client for Kubernetes

Kubewise is a simple multi-platform desktop client for Kubernetes. In the same way the kubectl command requires only a valid kubeconfig file to run commands against a Kubernetes cluster, Kubewise requires you just to configure one or more valid kubeconfig files to interact with the corresponding Kubernetes clusters. Main features: Support for multiple kubeconfig files. UI-driven interaction with the most frequently used Kubernetes entities. One-click terminal with the proper KUBECONFIG env variable set. Generation of custom kubeconfig files for a given namespace. Highlight sustaniability and security-related data. Requirements Kubewise is a desktop application built with HTML, JavaScript, CSS and Node.js, and it runs on Electron, a framework for building cross platform apps using web technologies. So for running it, basically, all you need is: Any modern macOS, Windows or Linux (Debian-based) OS. kubectl v1.14.0+ installed to access Kubernetes v1.14.0+ clusters. External Links Kubewise

vmco screenshot 0

Free Tools / News

Virtual Machine Compute Optimizer Version 2.0.0

The Virtual Machine Compute Optimizer (VMCO) is a Powershell script that uses the PowerCLI module to capture information about the hosts and VMS running in your vSphere environment, and reports back on whether the VMs are configured optimally based on the Host CPU and memory. It will flag a VM as “YES” if it is optimized and “NO” if it is not. For non-optimized VMs, a recommendation is made that will keep the same number of vCPUs currently configured, with the optimal number of virtual cores and sockets. Note that the VMCO will not analyze whether your VMs are configured with the correct number of vCPUs based on the VM’s workload. A more in-depth analysis tool such as VMware vRealize Operations Manager can make right-sizing determinations based on workload and actual performance. Changes in Version 2.0.0 Priority of the findings are captured Details on the findings are included Cluster information is captured to determine if Host HW is not consistent across the cluster Report if a VM spanning pNUMA nodes actually has the pNUMA exposed to the guest OS Report if advanced settings have been changed on the VM or host level to expose pNUMA to the guest OS Reports...

deduplication 0

Data Center / Data Storage / Operating System / Reviews

Linux Deduplication and Compression: The Ultimate Guide to Saving Space

Cost of storage is the biggest piece of IT budget in any company (Of course not EMC, HPE or other like them 😀 ) and the storage spaces is eating by databases, other data files and backup files as well. Lot of those data file not be used once generated!. I have serious issue with these types of data and especially log files that one of dark data types. I can’t stop generating those data and the related teams are always crying about free space on their servers. They want just Linux servers (Seems, they don’t know Windows has NFS services as well), because they are using shared space on application servers to storing log files and others via NFS. I have offered other solutions such as using Windows as NFS server and use deduplication on Windows Servers, this feature is really good. I have used Windows deduplication on our backup proxy servers and result was incredible. Anyway, they want to Linux server (Not even other Unix-Like!), so I started to googling these: Don’t panic, most Linux’s modern file systems have no native deduplication and transparent compression and must be enabled with third-party software. Let’s see what is deduplication and...

EMC Unity 0

Data Center / Data Storage

Some Lower-End Unity Models Could Experience Single or Dual SP Reboots When Running Unity OE 5.0

This is warning and workaround about EMC Unity OE 5.0 on some Unity systems with fewer memory capacity. Let’s see what happened? The lower-end Unity systems, in particular the Unity 300 and 300F, contain less physical memory than the higher-end Unity models.  The lower available system memory makes them more vulnerable to experience an SP reboot brought about by the “mergelogs” component of NGTRiiAGE which is run by uDoctor on SRS enabled arrays.   It is also run periodically on non-SRS enabled arrays. If your Unity system is SRS enabled, “mergelogs” will run at least once per day. Changes intro-duced in Unity OE 5.0.x make the “mergelogs” function more memory intensive, which causes the process to run closer to the limits of the available memory budget.  If the available memory is exceeded, the SP may reboot. A hotfix is available for this issue if you are running Unity OE 5.0.0.0.5.116.  To acquire this hot-fix, please contact Dell EMC Technical Support or your authorized service vendor and reference KB article 536786.  This knowledge base article also stipulates a work-around available to customers who have service credentials. You can disable the daily triage service within uDoctor by connecting to your system via SSH...

EMC Unity 1

Reviews

Manage Dell EMC Unity via PowerShell

Let’s be wise, PowerShell is one of most popular and easiest scripting languages for automation. Why!? Because other guys have made PowerShell module for you. EMC Unity command-line tool (UEMCLI) actually is on my nerves. There is a PowerShell module for managing EMC Unity arrays (Physical or VSA) written by ” Erwan Quelin”. You can do most of operations which you need as a storage administrator by that. It’s little bit old but useful. You can find the latest version at the below link: https://www.powershellgallery.com/packages/Unity-Powershell/0.16.1 Here is GitHub project home page: https://github.com/equelin/Unity-Powershell

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Operating System / News

CentOS Linux 8 and CentOS Streams

Today, CentOS Linux 8.0.1905 has been released and available to download now. The version is first version of CentOS Linux 8. Same as previous version, the new version is based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux source codes but it’s totally free. CentOS 8 end of life is May 2029 (10 years, same as previous versions). Improvements and fixes are same as RHEL 8 and CentOS 8.0.1905, CentOS includes all new features actually. But there is a big change! Read more on CentOS-8 (1905) Release Notes. What’s CentOS Streams? CentOS Stream is available based on CentOS Linux 8 software packages the project has been building over the summer combined with the latest Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 8 development kernel. CentOS Stream will be a rolling-release Linux distro that exists as a midstream between the upstream development in Fedora Linux and the downstream development for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). It is a cleared-path to contributing into future minor releases of RHEL while interacting with Red Hat and other open source developers. This pairs nicely with the existing contribution path in Fedora for future major releases of RHEL. Read more on Presenting CentOS Stream. Download CentOS 8.0.1905 CentOS 8.0.1905 is available...

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Operating System / Reviews

What’s FreeDOS?

FreeDOS is an open source DOS-compatible operating system that you can use to play classic DOS games, run legacy business software, or develop embedded systems. Any program that works on MS-DOS should also run on FreeDOS. It doesn’t cost anything to download and use FreeDOS. You can also share FreeDOS for others to enjoy! And you can view and edit our source code, because all FreeDOS programs are distributed under the GNU General Public License or a similar open source software license. FreeDOS Software Since 1998, each program included in the FreeDOS distribution is made available as a “package.” The distribution divides these FreeDOS software packages into groups, sometimes called “sets.” The BASE package group contains only those programs that reproduce the functionality of classic DOS systems. The other package groups contain software that you may find useful, such as games, editors, and developer tools. BASE Programs that provide the functionality of classic DOS Archivers Tools to compress files and create archives. Boot tools Utilities to help you boot your computer Development Development tools such as compilers and assemblers Editors Editors and simple word processors that let you edit text files Emulators Programs that emulate other systems Games Fun games that you can...

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Server Hardware

Hyper-Threading vs SMT: Which One has Better Performance?

Join me to review Intel Hyper-Threading and AMD SMT. In the past but not so long, just before 2001 and before design first multi-core CPU, processors had one core. Intel, AMD and others they tried to increase transistors and frequency in processors. Result of one core CPU was processing single thread at time, the thread might not take all CPU time. Multi-Core processors and multi-threading helping to processing more than one task or process at a time. Today, processors have more cores and also have features to doing multi-threading. Intel Hyper-Threading This technology is a form of simultaneous multithreading technology introduced by Intel, while the concept behind the technology has been patented by Sun Microsystems. Architecturally, a processor with Hyper-Threading Technology consists of two logical processors per core, each of which has its own processor architectural state. Each logical processor can be individually halted, interrupted or directed to execute a specified thread, independently from the other logical processor sharing the same physical core. Unlike a traditional dual-processor configuration that uses two separate physical processors, the logical processors in a hyper-threaded core share the execution resources. These resources include the execution engine, caches, and system bus interface; the sharing of resources allows two logical...

VMware Ports and Protocols 0

Virtualization

VMware’s Tool for Find VMware’s Products Ports and Protocols

VMware’s products needs to communicate together or communicate with other components of services via network, administrators must know that components will communicate via which ports and protocols. VMware has provided a tool to find port and protocol of popular VMware’s products which called ” VMware Ports and Protocols”. Currently, you can find ports and protocols which the below products used: vSphere vSAN NSX for vSphere vRealize Network Insight vRealize Operations Manager vRealize Automation Note: The recent versions of the mentioned products and not out of support products. External Links VMware Ports and Protocols

Linux Distribution 0

News

New Release, Knoppix 8.6

One of my firsts Linux experiences was Knoppix, I forget that what was exact version but I guess, it was Knoppix 3.1 or older version. After 17 years, I am still one of fans. Knoppix is one of most popular and firsts live Linux distributions on CD/DVD. What’s New in Knoppix 8.6? Version 8.6 of KNOPPIX is based on Debian/stable (buster), with some packages from Debian/testing and unstable (sid) for newer graphics drivers or desktop software packages. It uses Linux kernel 5.2.5 and Xorg 7.7 (core 1.20.4) for supporting current computer hardware. Changes in Knoppix 8.6: Updated Kernel and System software (Debian buster+sid), LXDE, the lightweight Knoppix standard desktop including file manager pcmanfm 1.3.1. Gnome 3 (Bootoption knoppix64 desktop=gnome). KDE 5 (knoppix64 desktop=kde). Accessible Adriane Audio Desktop. Wine 4.0 prerelease for directly installing and running Windows applications on Linux, also Windows 10. Qemu-kvm 3.1 as scriptable virtualization solution. Privacy-enhanced tor browser, upgradeable and startable via the Knoppix-menu. Web-Browser Chromium 76.0.3809.87, Firefox 68.0.1 with ad blocker Ublock Origin and Noscript. Libre Office 6.3.0-rc2, Gimp 2.10.8. Maths/Algebra-Software for teachers, solving equations etc.: Maxima 5.42.1 with direct integration of Maxima sessions into Texmacs, creating documentation directly during live lessions. 3D Productivity-Software Blender 2.79.b, Freecad 0.18, Meshlab 1.3.2, Open Scad...

cockpit system 0

Free Tools

Cockpit – Powerful Monitoring and Administration Tool

Monitoring and administration on Linux servers are not too easy, you need to some advanced experiences to managing Linux servers properly. Also most Linux advanced administrators using command-line to doing their tasks, using command-line to configuring, monitoring and troubleshooting is not too easy as well. There is some useful tools for managing Linux servers via web based portal. Cockpit is one of most powerful web based management for Linux system. Cockpit Supported OS Cockpit will install on the below Linux systems and it can manage those distributions: Fedora Red Hat Enterprise Linux CentOS Debian Ubuntu Project Atomic Clear Linux Arch Linux Cockpit is included in the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Extras repository in versions 7.1 and later. Cockpit is included in Ubuntu 17.04 and later, and available as an official backport for 16.04 LTS and later. Backports are enabled by default, but if you customized apt sources you might need to enable them manually. Cockpit packages are included in Oracle Linux 7.x (It’s not mentioned on official website). I have installed Cockpit on CentOS. Cockpit Installation Note: Some Cockpit features may be depended to Linux distribution and version. Fedora Cockpit comes installed by default in Fedora Server. To install Cockpit on other variants of Fedora use...

HPE Power 3

Virtualization / Server Hardware

HPE G10 Servers: Best and Optimized Setting for VMware vSphere

Optimizing HPE server configuration is always one of biggest challenges for virtual environments administrators. The administrators always trying to provide best performance by changing configurations on hypervisor, virtual machines or other components or virtual infrastructure. There are best practices which published by server vendors to achieve best performance on their server platform. Server hardware is one most important component in every environment, server provides main power and resource: Computing Resources. Processor and memory and other server’s component made to work almost like as human brain. Some Important Things! Human brain needs consumes about 20 percent of the body’s energy. Consume more energy is equal to more heat in human body. Server components needs energy and cooling, like human body. Energy and cooling needs money. So there is a challenge to keep balance between performance and cost of services in any IT environments. What’s Important About Server Hardware? In fact, processors and cooling system consume most power which provided by power modules. Don’t think about single server, think about hundreds of servers and thousands processors, thousand x 200W! (At least). Best performance has more cost for any environment also needs more maintenance. What’s Best Practices? Best practices are depended to workload...

HPE 0

Server Hardware / How To

Change Administrator’s Password for All HPE C7000 Device Bays

HPE C7000 Blade System using Onboard Administrator (OA) KVM module to manage devices and interconnects in chassis. To manage devices directly, OA will redirect to iLO of each device. OA use single sign-on to logon to iLO administration web page. But each server has own administrator user and the user has default password, so if iLO addresses are reachable via network, it’s better to change default password. Think about two or more C7000 chassis with half high blade servers, changing password on 64 servers would be difficult! Onboard Administrator has builtin tool to configure device bays iLO. HPONCFG can change almost all iLO configuration. HPONCFG is also available for different systems and operating systems. Configuration should be as XML format. Example 1: Change Administrator’s Password The below code will change administrator’s password to what you want, just replace “Y0ur Passw0rd” with your password. I’ve tested it on iLO5 and BL460c G10. If you have empty bays, you should run it again after installing new bade server. Also to run on single bay, just replace “all” with bay number. The code must be run via OA, so you should open SSH session to OA module of each C7000 chassis. Example 2:...