Alarasheed Blog

The purpose of this blog post is to provide the guidance and the steps needed to update my current ESXi 8 environment (ESXi 8.0 Update 2 build 22380479) to ESXi 8.0 Update 2b build 23305546. Release notes for ESXi 8.0 Update 2b build 23305546 can be found here. Below is a screenshot of my current environment (ESXi 8.0 Update 2 build 22380479) prior to update 1a build 21813344. Previous build numbers can be found here. ESXi 8.0 Update 2 build 22380479 ** Please keep in mind, this guides applies to my personal home lab environment so please proceed with caution and take the appropriate...

Thank you vExpert Program, Corey Romero, Eric L Nielsen, Franky Barragan, and the #vCommunity! The @vExpert Program overview can be found here and the list of perks is listed below: Invite to our private #Slack channel. vExpert certificate. Private forums on communities.vmware.com. Permission to use the vExpert logo on cards, website, etc for one year. Access to a private directory for networking, etc. Exclusive gifts from various VMware partners. Private webinars with VMware partners as well as NFRs. Access to private betas (subject to admission by beta teams). 365-day eval licenses for most products for home lab / cloud providers. Private pre-launch briefings via our blogger briefing pre-Expore (subject to admission...

Thank you Veeam, the Veeam Vanguard Program, Rick Vanover, Nikola Pejková, Madalina Cristil, Safiya Mohamed, and fellow 2024 Veeam Vanguards for allowing me to be a part of your community for the sixth year in a row. Time is just a blur these days, but I’m forever thankful for this opportunity. 2024 Veeam Vanguard As a member of this wonderful program, the following benefits are provided to each of the members: Access to Veeam Product teams A forum to provide feedback and perspective Sharing of unique perspectives in the industry and exclusive networking opportunities NFR licenses for all Veeam products. Access to pre-releases and betas. Exclusive access...

The purpose of this blog post is to provide the guidance and the steps needed to update my VCSA 8 environment. Release notes for VMware vCenter Server 8 Update 2b can be found here. Below is a screenshot of my current environment and previous build numbers can be found here. VMware vCenter Server 8 Update 2b ** Please keep in mind, this guides applies to my personal home lab environment so please proceed with caution and take the appropriate steps including documentation to ensure you have a successful backup. ** Log into your VCSA and then select Update. Select Stage and Install to proceed with the update:...

The purpose of this blog post is to provide the guidance and the steps needed to access vSphere Replication v8.8.0.3. Please keep in mind, you’ll need to install and configure the appliance first. Once you’ve met these requirements, please proceed with the remainder of this blog post: Log into the vCenter where you configured vSphere Replication for. Next, select Shortcuts from the drop-down menu and you’ll notice a new plug-in for Site Recovery: vSphere Shortcuts If you receive an error similar to the one below, please modify the NTP settings on your vSphere Replication Appliance: Once the NTP issue has been...

The purpose of this blog post is to provide the guidance and the steps needed to configure vSphere Replication v8.8.0.3 after it’s been successfully installed (see installation blog post here). ** This guides applies to my personal home lab environment so please proceed with caution and take the appropriate steps including documentation to ensure you have a successful backup. ** Log into your VMware VRMS Appliance Management using the assigned hostname or IP address: VMware VRMS Appliance Management Select Launch vSphere Replication Appliance Management at the Getting Started page: Launch vSphere Replication Appliance Management At the Summary window, please select Configure...

The purpose of this blog post is to provide the guidance and the steps needed to install and configure vSphere Replication v8.8.0.3. Release notes can be found here. ** This guides applies to my personal home lab environment so please proceed with caution and take the appropriate steps including documentation to ensure you have a successful backup. ** In order to begin, the vSphere Replication Appliance must be downloaded from the VMware Customer Connect Portal in order to obtain the latest ISO. At the time of this post, v8.8.0.3 was available. VMware Customer Connect Portal Once the ISO has been...

The purpose of this blog post is to provide the guidance and the steps needed to configure Snapshot Alarms in vSphere. ** This guides applies to my personal home lab environment so please proceed with caution and take the appropriate steps including documentation to ensure you have a successful backup. ** Log into your vSphere client. Select your vCenter Server object. Select Configure, Alarm Definitions, followed by Add. 4. Provide an Alarm Name, Description, and select Virtual Machine from the Target Type drop-down list. 5. Define your parameters (see below for an example): 6. Select Next: 7. Select Create: 8....

As defined by Synology, Virtual Machine Manager (Synology VMM) lets you build a cost-effective and easily managed virtualization environment by combining computing, storage, and networking resources on a single hardware platform. The purpose of this blog post is to provide the guidance and the steps needed to install and configure the Synology Virtual Machine Manager application on my Synology DS723+. Log into your Synology NAS and then select Package Center from the Synology Desktop: The Synology apps currently installed on my Synology DS723+ include the following: Search for Virtual Machine Manager and double-click the shortcut to proceed with the installation:...

The topic of how to create a WriteOnce Shared folder on a Synology NAS recently came up and it’s something I’ve read about but never dug deep into so I figured why not do so now. Defined by Synology is a WORM (Write Once, Read Many) based technology that restricts changes and deletions of your data within a specified period of time. In order to take advantage of this capability, your Synology NAS environment must be running on version 7.2 of DSM (Diskstation Manager) and a Synology NAS model that supports immutable snapshots. My Synology DS920 falls under the 20-series...