Alarasheed Blog

The purpose of this blog post is to provide the guidance and the steps needed to install, setup, and configure a VMware Skyline Collector. Release notes can be found here and the VMware Skyline Collector User Guide can be found here. Download the VMware Skyline Collector appliance here. At the time these instructions were put together, v3.4.0 was the current version. Click on Go To Downloads to proceed: Download VMware Skyline Collector Select Download Now: Download Product If you’re not already logged into the VMware Customer Connect portal with your VMware credentials, you’ll be prompted to do so: VMware Customer Connect...

The purpose of this blog post is to provide the guidance and the steps needed to update the DSM (DiskStation Manager) on my Synology DS723+. DSM is the operating system that powers every Synology NAS. It’s use cases includes Multimedia, File Management, Productivity, Data Protection, Virtualization, Surveillance, and much more! In order to determine which DSM version you’re currently running and what version is available for download, please log into your Synology NAS, select Control Panel, followed by Update & Restore. As you can see from the image below, I’m currently on v7.1.1-42962 Update 4 (released last February) and Update 5 (released on April 4th, 2023) for this...

I’m always interested in learning and one of the biggest takeaways from being a member of the tech community, is learning from your fellow peers. A few weeks back, I stumbled upon Dave Stevens post describing how he connected two Synology Arrays. Dave and I discussed this in Tim Smith’s Discord channel, and I have finally decided to give this a try. This is no way trying to take credit for Dave’s work and time, but more of a way to describe my experience and also share any differences I may come across. Dave is a super nice guy and...

I’d like to take a few moments and recognize those that helped make this happen for the 5th year in a row. I am truly honored to be included as a Cisco Champion for 2023 and none of this is possible without Cisco, Lauren Friedman, Amilee San Juan, Danielle Carter, and fellow Cisco Champions. If you’re interested in learning more about the Cisco Champion program, please click here. The Cisco Champion benefits include: Gain early insight into the latest Cisco innovations and access to Cisco’s engineering rock stars. Expand your own network of technology enthusiasts. Last year, we had Cisco Champions from 60+ countries covering all architectures...

Per Synology, “Cloud Sync integrates the advantages of public cloud and private cloud, enabling you to effortlessly connect your Synology NAS to public cloud services, such as BackBlaze B2, Dropbox, Google Cloud Storage, Microsoft Azure, OpenStack Swift, and more” The purpose of this blog post is to provide the guidance and the steps needed to install and configure Synology Cloud Sync for your respective Synology NAS. In my case, I will be doing so for my Synology DS723+. Once you’ve successfully logged into your Synology NAS, select Package Center from the desktop interface and proceed with the installation. Synology Desktop...

The purpose of this blog post is to provide the guidance and the steps needed to configure MFA for Veeam Backup and Replication. For the purpose of this demo, I am currently using v12 of Veeam Backup and Replication (VBR). Once VBR has been successfully launched, please select the Menu option in the upper left hand corner and then click on Users and Roles. Shortly thereafter, a small pop-up window (Security) should appear that will include a list of accounts with their respective roles. At the bottom of this pop-up window, you should have two options to select from. Please select Require Two-Factor...

The purpose of this blog post is to provide the guidance and the steps needed to update my ESXi 7 environment (ESXi 7.0.3, build number 21313628). Release notes for VMware ESXi 7.0 Update 3l can be found here. Below is a screenshot of my current environment prior to update 3k. Previous build numbers can be found here. I decided to use the ESXCLI command method to proceed with the ESXI Host update and there is no better resource to act as a guide than Paul Braren‘s blog post found here. ESXi 7.0.3 Build 21313628 In order to use the command provided by Paul, the first step is to...

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 8.0c can be found here. Below is a screenshot of my current environment and previous build numbers can be found here. VMware vCenter Server 8.0b Log into your VCSA and then select Update. Select Stage and Install to proceed with the update. Stage and Install Accept the terms, followed by Next. End User License Agreement Pre-Update Checks will begin. Pre-Update Checks Ensure your backups are in place, then select Finish to proceed with the upgrade. The installation begins and can take up to one...

Thanks to the good people at Veeam including the Veeam Vanguard Program, I wanted to show my appreciation for the upcoming opportunity to attend VeeamON in Miami by sharing a few thoughts that may be beneficial to those interested in the various programs and technologies provided by Veeam. A special thanks goes to Rick Vanover , Nikola Pejková, Madalina Cristil,  Safiya Mohamed, and many others in the Veeam Community for their continued support of my efforts and also for those in the #vCommunity for doing the same. As I’ve stated many times, if you’re not involved in the #vCommunity in some capacity, you’re missing out! Rick provided me the...

The purpose of this blog post is to provide the guidance and the steps needed to create a Backup Repository in Veeam Backup & Replication (v12) using my Synology DS723+. I recently blogged about my new DS723+ and the links are found below for your convenience: Synology DS723+ (Initial Setup) Synology DS723+ (Network Attached Storage) Let’s resume with Creating a Backup Repository in Veeam Backup & Replication v12: Log into your Veeam Backup and Replication v12 Console. Veeam Backup & Replication User Credentials Once you have successfully logged into the VBR console, please select Backup Infrastructure (in the lower left hand corner) and then select Backup Repositories in the...