Geek Projects – Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP, DNS A Linux Sysadmin

November 12, 2009

Update From ESXi 3.5 to ESXi 4.0 without VirtualCenter

Filed under: Virtualization — Matt @ 7:00 pm

The centerpiece of my lab is white box ESXi host. It’s been running ESXi 3.5 without issue for about a year now. A lot of my clients also run ESXi, with a few potential 3.5 to 4.0 updates coming down the pipe, so I decided it was time to update the lab to ESXi 4.0. Since I’m using the free version of ESXi in my lab, here’s what I did to perform the upgrade without VirtualCenter:

  1. Go to VMware’s ESXi Download Page. You’ll need to log in with your existing account, or create a new one to continue
  2. Download and install VMware vSphere Client and Host Update Utility on a Windows based system
  3. Save the VMware ESXi 4.0 (upgrade ZIP) file
  4. Log into your ESXi host using vSphere Client, and shutdown all VMs, then right click on the host, and select Enter Maintenance Mode
  5. Start up the VMware vSphere Host Update Utility, and follow the wizard. You’ll be asked to select which host to update, browse to the VMware ESXi 4.0 (upgrade ZIP) file that you downloaded earlier, and confirm that you want to proceed. The ESXi host will reboot during the upgrade process.
  6. Once the update is complete, log back into your ESXi host using vSphere Client, then right click on the newly updated ESXi host, and select Exit Maintenance Mode

August 12, 2009

Logging into a VMware Server stuck on the “Loading…” Page

Filed under: Linux,Virtualization — Matt @ 8:45 pm

VMware Server is a handy app to run in places where server virtualization is needed, but you can’t justify the expense or effort required to setup a VMware ESXi or Xen host. One of the reoccurring problems that I run into, even on lightly loaded servers is when trying to log into the VMware Infrastructure Web Access interface, the browser gets stuck at “Loading…”, and never brings up the login form. I’ve observed this on Firefox in Linux, Mac OS X and Windows; as well as within Internet Explorer.

It turns out that the fix for this doesn’t involve the browser at all, but rather a VMware Server settings. Some Googling turned up this thread in VMware Communities, which spells out the following fix:

  1. Edit /etc/vmware/webAccess/proxy.properties
  2. Change the following line:proxy.noCache = false…to:

    proxy.noCache = true

  3. Restart the vmware-mgmt service:
    /etc/init.d/vmware-mgmt restart

That’s it! You may need to refresh your browser one more time after this, but after completing these steps, you should now be prompted to login to VMware Infrastructure Web Access.

Powered by WordPress