Installing APC Network Shutdown for ESXi – Part 3

In Part 3 we are going to install Powerchute Network Shutdown on the OVA that we deployed, then we are going to configure it to shut down the VMs in case of a problem.

  • See APC pdf FA159776. Open Putty.exe, insert the name or IP of the VMA you just deployed, and then click “Open“. Click “Yes” if you get a security alert. Login with vi-admin and your password that you set earlier.
  • Create a temp directory in opt using the command (You will be prompted for the vi-admin password): sudo mkdir /opt/temp
  •   Next we need to change the permissions to this temp directory: sudo chmod 777 /opt/temp
  • Now to check the permissions: ls -la /opt The permissions should now read drwxrwxrwx
  • Now using WINSCP we need to transfer the .tar.gz file that we downloaded earlier up to the ESXi host. Enter the appropriate information and then click “Login“. Click “Yes” or “Proceed” if prompted with a security warning.
  • Check the “Never show this banner again” box and then click “Continue“. You should now see a screen with two windows. The window on the left is your local computer and the screen on the right is the VMA. Navigate on the left window until you find the .tar.gz file.
  • On the right window the drop down where it says “vi-admin“. Change this to /<root>. Then navigate to “opt–>temp 
  • Drag the .tar.gz file from the left window to the right window. Click “Copy” when prompted.
  • Verify that the file has been copied successfully.
  • Now go back to Putty.exe and we are going to uncompress the file. The commands are: gunzip pcnsname.tar.gz then: tar -xvf pcnsname.tar
  • Use the ls-la command and you should see a new ESXi folder. Use the command cd ESXi to change to this folder.
  • List the contents of ESXi with the ls -la command. We need to change the permissions for the installation file: sudo chmod 777 install_en.sh
    Now do another ls -la to see that the permissions have changed to rwxrwxrwx.
  • Now we are ready to install PCNS. Use the command: sudo ./install_en.sh
    Press “Enter” and then use the “z” key to scroll to the end of the agreement. If you agree then type “yes” and then press “Enter“.
  • Accept the default installation path (or insert a different one if you prefer). Press “Enter“. Type “yes” and “Enter” that you are sure about the path.
  • Take the default for the java directory. Press “Enter“.
  • Next the installation looks for the ESXi host that will be shut down. First add the IP of the host and then it will ask for the username and password for the host to make this change.  Update:  Almost all of the deployments failed to add the ESXi host here, so I would choose “q” to skip and then at the command line do: sudo vifp addserver <hostname/ IP address of ESXi host>
  • Verify that the server has been added with the command: vifp listservers
  • To ensure Powerchute can shutdown the VMs on the host, we need to add the ESXi host to the fasspass. Use the command: vifptarget -s <server name or ipaddress>
    Now type the command: vicfg-nics -l
    You should see a list of nics on the ESXi host.
  • One the server has been added you should be able to open a browser and go to the powerchute configuration wizard: https://vmahostnameorip:6547
  • Click “Next” and you should see the Configuration Wizard: Security page. Insert the username and password and the authentication phrase. This must match the card in your APC device. By default this is apc/apc with the passphrase: “admin user phrase” then click “Next“.
  • On the UPS Electrical Configuration page choose the correct configuration for your company and then click “Next“.
  • On the UPS Details page choose the protocol, port, and IP for the APC network card.
  • On the Miscellaneous page check the box for “Automatically check for updates to PCNS” and then click “Next“.
  • Confirm the details and then click “Apply“.
  • Hopefully you see that the computer is now protected. Click “Next“.
  •  You should now see that the wizard is complete, now click “Finish”.
  • You will now see the main page for the Network Shutdown. Click “Configure Events” and then click the check box for “Shutdown System” on “UPS: On Battery“.
  • The “Shut Down Operating System” page will display and input 300 into the “Shut down the PCNS operating system only when the event lasts this long (seconds)
  • Finally, we need to set up the virtual machine shutdown options on the ESXi host. Open the vSphere Client, select the host, and then choose the “Configuration” tab. Under the “Software” pane click on “Virtual Machine Startup/Shutdown“.
  • In the top right corner click “Properties“. Click the box “Allow virtual machines to start and stop automatically with the system“. Set the shutdown delay (120 default) and then set the shutdown action to “Guest Shutdown“.
  • Leaving VMs under the Manual startup will make it so when the host turns back on, the VMs will not start up by themselves. Usually you want to make sure power is restored and stable before bringing up VMs. You can change your VMs to start automatically if you really wanted to. 

THAT’S IT!!

Installing APC Network Shutdown for ESXi – Part 2

In Part 2 we are going to configure the OVA that we just deployed

  • Click on your new VMA and then click the “Open Console” button.
  •  There should be a Network Configuration menu. I have found that if I set the gateway first that it will not save when I set the IP. I am going to set that last. Choose option “3” to set the hostname.
  •   Make your hostname match your VM name.
  •  Select option “4” to set the DNS servers. Type the appropriate primary (Server 1) DNS IP and then press “Enter“. If used, also add your secondary (Server 2) DNS IP and press “Enter” again.
  • Select option “6” to set the IP for eth0. I only use IPv4 so type “n” to not configure IPv6, then “y” to configure IPv4, and then “n” to not use DHCP. Type the IP and Subnet for your VMA and then “y” to confirm it is correct.
  • Now I set the Gateway. Choose option “2” and the press “Enter” to set the gateway for eth0. Type the IP of your IPv4 Default Gateway and the press “Enter“. Press “Enter” again to skip the gateway for IPv6.
  • Choose option “1” to “Exit this program“. This will boot the VMA with the network settings that we just configured.
  • Next the VMA will ask for the old password for the vi-admin account. Press “Enter” for the Old Password. Then type your new password “Enter” and then retype it when prompted. “Enter” again.
  • The VMA should boot and you should see the following screen. Browse to https://VMA-IP:5480 to verify connectivity. 

Great, now you have configured the new VMA, it is now time to install Powerchute in Part 3.

Installing APC Network Shutdown for ESXi – Part 1

Preparation:

  •  Create a password for the vi-admin account.
  • Download VMA OVA from VMware.
  • Download the Powerchute Network Shutdown for ESXi from www.apc.com. The most current version at the time of writing this is v3.0.1.
  • Download and install putt.exe.
  • Install WinSCP on your local machine. This will be used to put the tar.gz file that you just downloaded from APC on your Esxi host.
  • Make sure the vSphere Client is installed on your machine.

Installation:

  •  On your vCenter server click “File–>Deploy OVF Template“.  
    Choose the location of your ovf. Click “Next“.

  • Verify the details and click “Next“.
  •  Click “Accept” and then “Next“.
  •  Name your VM and then choose the inventory location for the VM. Click “Next“.
  •  Choose the host you wish to deploy to and then click “Next“.
  •  We don’t use resource pools. Select the top level cluster and then click “Next“.
  •  Select the datastore to deploy the VM to and then click “Next“.
  •  I prefer thin provisioning…especially for the VMA’s. Click the “Thin Provisioning” radio button and then click “Next“.
  •  Choose the appropriate source network and destination network and then click “Next“.
  •  Choose the “Fixed” radio button and then click “Next“.
  •  Enter the IP address for the new VMA and then click “Next“.
  •  Verify all of the settings, click the “Power on after deployment” box, and then click “Finish“.
  •  You will see the OVF start to deploy.

Everything look good? Proceed to Part 2

Part 2 — vCenter 5.1 U1 — Creating and installing SSL certs for SSO.

Installing Certificates with the VMware SSL Certificate Automation Tool

  1. From and administrative prompt run c:\vmwarecerttool\ssl-environment.bat.  This is important because it sets the variables that we edited early on.
    sslenvironment
  2. Next run c:\vmwarecerttool\ssl-updater.bat
    Step2
  3. At this point backup all VMware Databases (VCDB, RSA, and VCU).  Also take a VMware snapshot of the three VMware VMs.
  4. Select Option 1 and then Option 8.  Print out the Detailed Plan.
    Detailedplan
  5. Press 9 to go back to the main menu and then choose option 3, “Update Single Sign-on”.  Say a huge prayer and then press 1 to “Update the Single Sign-on SSL Certificate.  You will be prompted for the Single Sign-on master password.  Did you remember to write down your single sign-on master password?  You will need this many times during this install.
    Step1

    Hopefully it was successful…
    successfulmessage
  6. Switch to the vCenter Inventory Service Server.  From an administrative prompt run c:\vmwarecerttool\ssl-environment.bat and then c:\vmwarecerttool\ssl-updater.bat.  Select Option 4 “Update Inventory Service” and then option 1 “Update the Inventory Service Trust to Single Sign-On.
    Step3
  7. Select option 3, “Update the Inventory Service SSL Certificate”.  You will be prompted for the SSO admin password.
    Step4
  8. Login to the vCenter Server.  From an administrative prompt run c:\vmwarecerttool\ssl-environment.bat and then run c:\vmwarecerttool\ssl-updater.bat.  Choose option 5, “Update vCenter Server” and then option 1, “Update the vCenter Server Trust to Single Sign-On”.
    Step5
  9. Make sure that you created an administrator account within vCenter to use for this install.  This will be needed for the next step!
  10. Select option 2, “Update the vCenter Server SSL Certificate”.  You will need the passwords for your vcenter administrator, SSO admin, and the vCenter system database password.
    Step6
  11. Next, select option 3, “Update the vCenter Server Trust to the Inventory Service”.
    Step7
  12. Go back to the Inventory Service Server and choose option 2, “Update the Inventory Service Trust to vCenter Server”.
    Step8

  13. Switch again to the vCenter Server and select option 5 to get to the main menu, and then option 6, “Update vCenter Orchestrator (vCO)”.  Select option 1, “Update the vCenter Orchestrator Trust to Single Sign-On”.
    Step9
  14. Select option 2, “Update the vCenter Orchestrator Trust to Single Sign-On”.
    Step10
  15. Select option 3, “Update the vCenter Orchestrator (vCO) SSL Certificate”.
    Step11
  16. Select option 5 to go back to the main menu.  Select option 7, “Update vSphere Web Client and Log Browser”.  Now select option 1, “Update the Web Client Trust to Single Sign-On”.  You will be prompted for the SSO admin password.
    Step12
  17. Now choose option 2, “Update the Web Client Trust to Inventory Service”.
    Step13
  18. Continue with option 3, “Update the Web Client Trust to vCenter Server”.
    Step14
  19. Next choose option 4, “Update the Web Client SSL Certificate”.  You will be prompted for the SSO admin password.
    Step15
  20. Continue by selecting option 5, “Update the Log Browser Trust to Single Sign-On”.  This will ask you for the SSO admin password.
    Step16

The last item for the certification tool is to choose option 6, “Update the Log Browser SSL Certificate”.  This will ask you for the SSO admin password.

Updating VUM SSL Certificate

  1. Backup all the files in the directory below.  Copy the rui.key, rui.crt, and rui.pfx files from the c:\certs\vum directory to c:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\Infrastructure\Update Manager\SSL
  2. Stop the VMware vSphere Update Manager Service.
    Step18
  3. In the C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\Infrastructure\Update Manager directory launch the VMwareUpdateManagerUtility.exe application.
  4. Login to the vCenter server using proper credentials.
    Step19
  5. Click on the SSL Certificate option on the left side then check the box on the right side and click Apply.
    Step21
  6. If all goes well you should see the window below.  Restart the service as directed.
    Step22Go Back to Part 1
    https://favoritevmguy.wordpress.com/2013/06/17/part-1-vcenter-5-1-u1-creating-and-installing-ssl-certs-for-sso/

 

Part 1 — vCenter 5.1 U1 — Creating and installing SSL certs for SSO.

There is a lot of information out there for installing vCenter 5.1, but the information is lacking for getting SSL certs working properly.  I first want to thank Derek Seaman over at www.derekseaman.com for his posts regarding what to do.  I have tried to shorten this a little bit for my own recollection.  Here is what I did to get SSL certs working.

Preparation

  1. Make sure you have installed the SSO Server, Inventory Service Server, and vCenter Server.  I used three separate machines for my environment, but you can use just one if you wanted to.
  2. Download and install the Visual C++ 2008 Redistributables (x64) and Win64 OpenSSL v0.9y from http://slproweb.com/products/Win32OpenSSL.html on your SSO server.
    Create a c:\certs folder on the SSO server containing the following subfolders:
    certsfolders
  3. Download the SSL Certificate Automation Tool from https://my.vmware.com/group/vmware/get-download?downloadGroup=SSL-TOOL-10.  Unzip this to c:\vmwarecerttool folder.
  4. Following Derek Seaman’s blog post http://www.derekseaman.com/2012/09/create-vmware-windows-ca-certificate.html , create a VMware-SSL template on your CA server.
  5. You will need the following information during the install:

SSO Administrator

Username: admin@System-Domain

Password:

 vCenter Administrator

Username:

Password:

 Original Database Password

 

Creating Certificates

 1.  Edit the ssl-environment.bat file located in c:\vmwarecerttool and fill in the appropriate information:

set sso_cert_chain=c:\certs\sso\chain.pem
set sso_private_key=c:\certs\sso\rui.key
set sso_node_type=single
set sso_admin_is_behind_lb=no

set is_cert_chain=c:\certs\inventory\chain.pem
set is_private_key_new=c:\certs\inventory\rui.key

set vc_cert_chain=c:\certs\vCenter\chain.pem
set vc_private_key=c:\certs\vCenter\rui.key

set ngc_cert_chain=c:\certs\WebClient\chain.pem
set ngc_private_key=c:\certs\WebClient\rui.key

set logbrowser_cert_chain=c:\certs\LogBrowser\chain.pem
set logbrowser_private_key=c:\certs\LogBrowser\rui.key

set vco_cert_chain=c:\certs\Orchestrator\chain.pem
set vco_private_key=c:\certs\Orchestrator\rui.key

set vum_cert_chain=c:\certs\UpdateManager\chain.pem
set vum_private_key=c:\certs\UpdateManager\rui.key

set sso_admin_user=admin@system-domain
set vc_username=corp\vminstaller

2.  Next, create the following configuration files in their respective folders.  Make sure that you name the files correctly.  Do not include the .cfg filename in the .cfg file.  I have done this…J  Do not change the organizationalUnitName!  I have created an example of the Inventory.cfg.  I got these from http://www.derekseaman.com/2012/09/vmware-vcenter-51-installation-part-2.html .

EXAMPLE: Inventory.cfg
[ req ]
default_bits = 2048
default_keyfile = rui.key
distinguished_name = req_distinguished_name
encrypt_key = no
prompt = no
string_mask = nombstr
req_extensions = v3_req

[ v3_req ]
basicConstraints = CA:FALSE
keyUsage = digitalSignature, keyEncipherment, dataEncipherment
extendedKeyUsage = serverAuth
subjectAltName = DNS:VCINV1, DNS:VCINV1.DOMAIN.LOC

[ req_distinguished_name ]
countryName = US
stateOrProvinceName = Missouri
localityName = Saint Louis
0.organizationName = IT
organizationalUnitName = vCenterInventoryService
commonName = VCINV1.DOMAIN.LOC


Inventory.cfg
[ req ]
default_bits = 2048
default_keyfile = rui.key
distinguished_name = req_distinguished_name
encrypt_key = no
prompt = no
string_mask = nombstr
req_extensions = v3_req

[ v3_req ]
basicConstraints = CA:FALSE
keyUsage = digitalSignature, keyEncipherment, dataEncipherment
extendedKeyUsage = serverAuth
subjectAltName = DNS:(Your Inventory Server), DNS:(FQDN of your Inventory Server)

[ req_distinguished_name ]
countryName = (Country Code)
stateOrProvinceName = (State)
localityName = (City)
0.organizationName = (Organization)
organizationalUnitName = vCenterInventoryService
commonName = (FQDN of your Inventory Server)

SSO.cfg
[ req ]
default_bits = 2048
default_keyfile = rui.key
distinguished_name = req_distinguished_name
encrypt_key = no
prompt = no
string_mask = nombstr
req_extensions = v3_req

[ v3_req ]
basicConstraints = CA:FALSE
keyUsage = digitalSignature, keyEncipherment, dataEncipherment
extendedKeyUsage = serverAuth
subjectAltName = DNS:(Your SSO Server), DNS:(FQDN of your SSO Server)

[ req_distinguished_name ]
countryName = (Country Code)
stateOrProvinceName = (State)
localityName = (City)
0.organizationName = (Organization)
organizationalUnitName = vCenterSSO
commonName = (FQDN of your SSO Server)

vCenter.cfg

[ req ]
default_bits = 2048
default_keyfile = rui.key
distinguished_name = req_distinguished_name
encrypt_key = no
prompt = no
string_mask = nombstr
req_extensions = v3_req

[ v3_req ]
basicConstraints = CA:FALSE
keyUsage = digitalSignature, keyEncipherment, dataEncipherment
extendedKeyUsage = serverAuth
subjectAltName = DNS:(Your vCenter Server), DNS:(FQDN of your vCenter Server)

[ req_distinguished_name ]
countryName = (Country Code)
stateOrProvinceName = (State)
localityName = (City)
0.organizationName = (Organization)
organizationalUnitName =vCenterServer
commonName = (FQDN of your vCenter Server)

WebClient.cfg

[ req ]
default_bits = 2048
default_keyfile = rui.key
distinguished_name = req_distinguished_name
encrypt_key = no
prompt = no
string_mask = nombstr
req_extensions = v3_req

[ v3_req ]
basicConstraints = CA:FALSE
keyUsage = digitalSignature, keyEncipherment, dataEncipherment
extendedKeyUsage = serverAuth
subjectAltName = DNS:(Your vCenter Server), DNS:(FQDN of your vCenter Server)

[ req_distinguished_name ]
countryName = (Country Code)
stateOrProvinceName = (State)
localityName = (City)
0.organizationName = (Organization)
organizationalUnitName =vCenterWebClient
commonName = (FQDN of your vCenter Server)

VUM.cfg

[ req ]
default_bits = 2048
default_keyfile = rui.key
distinguished_name = req_distinguished_name
encrypt_key = no
prompt = no
string_mask = nombstr
req_extensions = v3_req

[ v3_req ]
basicConstraints = CA:FALSE
keyUsage = digitalSignature, keyEncipherment, dataEncipherment
extendedKeyUsage = serverAuth
subjectAltName = DNS:(Your vCenter Server), DNS:(FQDN of your vCenter Server)

[ req_distinguished_name ]
countryName = (Country Code)
stateOrProvinceName = (State)
localityName = (City)
0.organizationName = (Organization)
organizationalUnitName =VMwareUpdateManager
commonName = (FQDN of your vCenter Server)

LogBrowser.cfg

[ req ]
default_bits = 2048
default_keyfile = rui.key
distinguished_name = req_distinguished_name
encrypt_key = no
prompt = no
string_mask = nombstr
req_extensions = v3_req

[ v3_req ]
basicConstraints = CA:FALSE
keyUsage = digitalSignature, keyEncipherment, dataEncipherment
extendedKeyUsage = serverAuth
subjectAltName = DNS:(Your vCenter Server), DNS:(FQDN of your vCenter Server)

[ req_distinguished_name ]
countryName = (Country Code)
stateOrProvinceName = (State)
localityName = (City)
0.organizationName = (Organization)
organizationalUnitName =vCenterLogBrowser
commonName = (FQDN of your vCenter Server)

Orchestrator.cfg

[ req ]
default_bits = 2048
default_keyfile = rui.key
distinguished_name = req_distinguished_name
encrypt_key = no
prompt = no
string_mask = nombstr
req_extensions = v3_req

[ v3_req ]
basicConstraints = CA:FALSE
keyUsage = digitalSignature, keyEncipherment, dataEncipherment
extendedKeyUsage = serverAuth
subjectAltName = DNS:(Your vCenter Server), DNS:(FQDN of your vCenter Server)

[ req_distinguished_name ]
countryName = (Country Code)
stateOrProvinceName = (State)
localityName = (City)
0.organizationName = (Organization)
organizationalUnitName =VMwareOrchestrator
commonName = (FQDN of your vCenter Server)

3.  You should now have one configuration file in each of the certificate folders you created earlier.  Next, we need to pull down the root certificate.  I am using Microsoft CA, so that is the only example I can give.  Open a browser and go to https://yourcaserver/certsrv/.  Make sure you fill in your CA server.  Click on Download a CA certificate, certificate chain or CRL. Change the encoding method to Base 64 and click Download CA certificate chain. Change the file name to cachain.p7b.

4.  Double click on the downloaded certificate, then locate the certificate in the console. If you have more than one certificate in the console, skip to step 3 below. If you have just one certificate, right click on the certificate and select All Tasks -> Export. Select Base-64 encoded and save the certificate with a filename of Root64.cer in the root of the Certs directory.

Notice that I have a root CA and a Subordinate CA
CACHAIN

5.  If you have a root and intermediate CAs (two or more certs in the console), you have some extra work. Export each certificate from the console as Base-64 and save into different files (e.g. Root64-1.cer and Root64-2.cer). You MUST save your Root CA as Root64-1.cer and the intermediary CA as Root64-2.cer.
RootCert

6.  We also need a concatenated file of the CAs (Root64.cer), in reverse order. Reverse order means the root is at the bottom of the file, and the subordinate CA is at the top.  From an administrative command prompt in the c:\certs folder run:
copy Root64-2.cer+Root64-1.cer Root64.cer
Combineroot

7.  Create a batch file in c:\certs called create_csr.bat.  Paste the following into this file:

Set OpenSSL_BIN=c:\OpenSSL\bin\openssl.exe

Set Cert_Path=C:\Certs

CD /d %Cert_Path%\vcenter\

%OpenSSL_BIN% genrsa 2048 > rui.key

%OpenSSL_BIN% req -out rui.csr -key rui.key -new -config vcenter.cfg

CD /d %Cert_Path%\Inventory\

%OpenSSL_BIN% genrsa 2048 > rui.key

%OpenSSL_BIN% req -out rui.csr -key rui.key -new -config inventory.cfg

CD /d %Cert_Path%\SSO\

%OpenSSL_BIN% genrsa 2048 > rui.key

%OpenSSL_BIN% req -out rui.csr -key rui.key -new -config SSO.cfg

CD /d %Cert_Path%\UpdateManager\

%OpenSSL_BIN% genrsa 2048 > rui.key

%OpenSSL_BIN% req -out rui.csr -key rui.key -new -config VUM.cfg

CD /d %Cert_Path%\webclient\

%OpenSSL_BIN% genrsa 2048 > rui.key

%OpenSSL_BIN% req -out rui.csr -key rui.key -new -config webclient.cfg

CD /d %Cert_Path%\LogBrowser\

%OpenSSL_BIN% genrsa 2048 > rui.key

%OpenSSL_BIN% req -out rui.csr -key rui.key -new -config LogBrowser.cfg

CD /d %Cert_Path%\Orchestrator\

%OpenSSL_BIN% genrsa 2048 > rui.key

%OpenSSL_BIN% req -out rui.csr -key rui.key -new -config Orchestrator.cfg

8.  Open an administrative command prompt and then browse to c:\certs.  Run the create_csr.bat.  This will create two files in each of the cert folders.  If the files don’t create, check the configuration files that you created earlier.

Example: Inventory Folder
inventoryexample

9.  Now it is time to mint the certificates using these two files.  Under c:\certs create another batch file.  This time call the batch file vCenter5.1_CertRequest.bat.  Paste in the following and make sure that you change the Certificate Authority Name.  This batch file can be found here http://www.derekseaman.com/2012/09/vmware-vcenter-51-installation-part-2.html .

:: Script to request vCenter 5.1 SSL certificates from a Microsoft CA
:: Modify these variables for your paths and CA information
:: Place your root64-1.cer and root64-1.cer (if using an intermediate CA)
:: in the Cert_Path directory. OpenSSL config files must already exist.
:: Also creates the chain.pem files for the VMware Certificate automation tool
::
:: Written by Derek Seaman, derekseaman.com
::

:: Certificate Authority Template name
Set Cert_Template=VMware-SSL

:: Certificate Authority Name
Set CA_Name=D001DC01\Contoso-D001DC01-CA
:: Path to OpenSSL
set OPENSSL_CONF=c:\OpenSSL\bin\openssl.cfg
Set OpenSSL_BIN=c:\OpenSSL\bin\openssl.exe

:: Path to your vcenter services directory with the config files
Set Cert_Path=C:\certs

:: Do not change anything below here
Set Root_CA_Cert=%Cert_Path%\Root64-1.cer
Set Sub_CA_Cert=%Cert_Path%\Root64-2.cer
Set CA_Chain=%Cert_Path%\Root.cer

if exist %Sub_CA_Cert% (
copy /B  %Sub_CA_Cert% + %Root_CA_Cert% %CA_Chain%
Set CA_Cert_Chain=%CA_Chain%
) Else (
Set CA_Cert_Chain=%Cert_Path%\root64.cer
)

CD /d %Cert_Path%\vcenter
%OpenSSL_BIN%  genrsa 2048 > rui.key
%OpenSSL_BIN%  req -out rui.csr -key rui.key -new -config vcenter.cfg
certreq -submit -q -f -config “%CA_NAME%” -attrib “CertificateTemplate:%Cert_Template%” rui.csr rui.crt
%OpenSSL_BIN%  pkcs12 -export -in rui.crt -inkey rui.key -certfile %CA_Cert_Chain% -name rui -passout pass:testpassword -out rui.pfx

copy /B rui.crt + %CA_Cert_Chain% chain.pem
CD /d %Cert_Path%\Inventory
%OpenSSL_BIN%  genrsa 2048 > rui.key
%OpenSSL_BIN%  req -out rui.csr -key rui.key -new -config inventory.cfg
certreq -submit -f -q -config “%CA_NAME%” -attrib “CertificateTemplate:%Cert_Template%” rui.csr rui.crt
%OpenSSL_BIN%  pkcs12 -export -in rui.crt -inkey rui.key -certfile %CA_Cert_Chain% -name rui -passout pass:testpassword -out rui.pfx

copy /B rui.crt + %CA_Cert_Chain% chain.pem
CD /d %Cert_Path%\SSO
%OpenSSL_BIN%  genrsa 2048 > rui.key
%OpenSSL_BIN%  req -out rui.csr -key rui.key -new -config SSO.cfg
certreq -submit -f -q -config “%CA_NAME%” -attrib “CertificateTemplate:%Cert_Template%” rui.csr rui.crt
%OpenSSL_BIN%  pkcs12 -export -in rui.crt -inkey rui.key -certfile %CA_Cert_Chain% -name rui -passout pass:testpassword -out rui.pfx
copy /B rui.crt + %CA_Cert_Chain% chain.pem

CD /d %Cert_Path%\UpdateManager
%OpenSSL_BIN%  genrsa 2048 > rui.key
%OpenSSL_BIN%  req -out rui.csr -key rui.key -new -config VUM.cfg
certreq -submit -f -q -config “%CA_NAME%” -attrib “CertificateTemplate:%Cert_Template%” rui.csr rui.crt
%OpenSSL_BIN%  pkcs12 -export -in rui.crt -inkey rui.key -certfile %CA_Cert_Chain% -name rui -passout pass:testpassword -out rui.pfx

copy /B rui.crt + %CA_Cert_Chain% chain.pem
CD /d %Cert_Path%\webclient
%OpenSSL_BIN%  genrsa 2048 > rui.key
%OpenSSL_BIN%  req -out rui.csr -key rui.key -new -config webclient.cfg
certreq -submit -f -q -config “%CA_NAME%” -attrib “CertificateTemplate:%Cert_Template%” rui.csr rui.crt
%OpenSSL_BIN%  pkcs12 -export -in rui.crt -inkey rui.key -certfile %CA_Cert_Chain% -name rui -passout pass:testpassword -out rui.pfx

copy /B rui.crt + %CA_Cert_Chain% chain.pem
CD /d %Cert_Path%\LogBrowser
%OpenSSL_BIN%  genrsa 2048 > rui.key
%OpenSSL_BIN%  req -out rui.csr -key rui.key -new -config LogBrowser.cfg
certreq -submit -f -q -config “%CA_NAME%” -attrib “CertificateTemplate:%Cert_Template%” rui.csr rui.crt
%OpenSSL_BIN%  pkcs12 -export -in rui.crt -inkey rui.key -certfile %CA_Cert_Chain% -name rui -passout pass:testpassword -out rui.pfx
copy /B rui.crt + %CA_Cert_Chain% chain.pem

CD /d %Cert_Path%\Orchestrator
%OpenSSL_BIN%  genrsa 2048 > rui.key
%OpenSSL_BIN%  req -out rui.csr -key rui.key -new -config Orchestrator.cfg
certreq -submit -f -q -config “%CA_NAME%” -attrib “CertificateTemplate:%Cert_Template%” rui.csr rui.crt
%OpenSSL_BIN%  pkcs12 -export -in rui.crt -inkey rui.key -certfile %CA_Cert_Chain% -name rui -passout pass:testpassword -out rui.pfx
copy /B rui.crt + %CA_Cert_Chain% chain.pem

You should see a bunch of messages like this:
successfulmessage

All of the certs folders should now contain some new files:
certsnewfiles

10.  Copy the c:\certs and c:\vmwarecerttool folder from the SSO server to both the Inventory and vCenter Server.  Part 2 will fail if you forget to do this.

Continue on with part 2.  https://favoritevmguy.wordpress.com/2013/06/17/part-2-vcenter-5-1-u1-creating-and-installing-ssl-certs-for-sso

Can’t power off/on a VM — VM is stuck

We had an issue the other day with our filers and because of it, some our machines orphaned themselves and VMware didn’t know what to do with them.  If I tried to power off the machine I would get the error,

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Basically, I don’t even think the machine was on, but my vCenter server showed it as being powered on.  Luckily I found a KB article that deals with this.    http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1014165.

SSH into the host that the VM is said to be running from.  Then run the command:

esxcli vm process list

This gives you a list of all the running VMs, and the important piece you want is the World ID.  Copy that, and then run the command:

esxcli vm process kill –type=[soft,hard,force] –world-id=WorldNumber

Note: Three power-off methods are available. Soft is the most graceful, hard performs an immediate shutdown, and force should be used as a last resort.

As you can see, I ran this command and it killed the VM.  After doing this, I was able to power on the VM without issue.  I used soft and it worked.

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That’s all I have for today.

VMWORLD 2012 HERE I COME!!!

I am all signed up and ready to go!! 

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Storage Vmotion Problem

We have two vCenter servers that are in linked mode.  After upgrading to Vsphere 5 I have been having problems deploying machines.  I get this error:

Image

Strange right…  Well, I then decided to do a vStorage migration of a machine and got the same error:

Image

Turns out that this is a bug with no fix right now when you link two vcenter servers together.  To get around this, make sure that your VIC client is logging into the vCenter server that you are going to do the vStorage migration or deplate deployment from.  If I have vCenter Server A and B and I want to deploy from a template on B; you would log into the B vCenter to deploy.

Here is the KB article http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=2013516

Host Disconnected from Vcenter

Had a very strange issue last night with one of my ESXi 4.1 Update 2 hosts.  In Vcenter, suddenly one of my hosts showed disconnected.  I could ping the host and remote into all virtual machines on the disconnected host, but for some reason Vcenter couldn’t see it.  Here were the troubleshooting steps I took yesterday.

1.  I used putty to SSH into the disconnected host.  I then restarted the service using the command “services.sh restart “.
2.  I still could not connect the host in Vcenter.  I then tried removing the host and re-adding to Vcenter.  It threw an error and would not add.
3.  I remoted into my Vcenter VM and tried pinging the disconnected host.  The Vcenter server was unable to ping either by name or IP.  What was strange is that I could ping another server at that location.  If I remoted into any other machine, it could ping the disconnected host…it was only the Vcenter server that couldn’t see it.  This was not dns or IP.  I restarted the Vcenter server to no avail.
4.  Luckily this disconnected host was on site and I was able to connect a monitor and keyboard to it.  Normally I would remote in using the ILO port, but that is not configured right now (another story altogether).  I restarted the management agents from here.  I was now able to ping from the host and from the Vcenter server.  YAY!

I don’t know why restarting the management agents from the console was any different that when I SSHed into the machine, but it was.

Manually Assigning a MAC in VMware

During our migration from ESXi 4.1 Update 2 to ESXi 5 Update 1 we decided to change all nics on VMs to VMXNET3.  Everything was fine until my users came in the next morning and couldn’t do some of the things that they needed to do.  It turns out that there were some programs tied to the old MAC address of the nic that I had removed from the virtual machine.  We had to get licenses tied to the new MAC addresses, and then the decision was made for the remaining VMs that I still had to work on, to keep the current MAC address.  How to do this…

1.  Install the latest VMware tools. (If you haven’t done this, you might not see VMXNET3 as an option for network card.
2. RDP into the virtual machine and take not of the IP information on all nics.  Then, change the IP to “Obtain an IP address automatically” and “Obtain DNS server address automatically”.  (This keeps you from getting weird messages later about IP addresses already being assigned to a nic.Image
3.  Shut down the VM.
4.  Edit Settings on the VM using the vSphere Client.
5.  Click on each network adapter and write down the current MAC address.  Then click on remove to remove the nic from the machine.
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6.  Click “Add” and then select “Ethernet Adapter”.
7.  Change the adapter type to VMXNET3 and then choose your network for the VM.
8.  Change the MAC to “Manual” and then enter the MAC that you wrote down before from the old nic.
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9.  Click “OK” and the old nic will be removed and the new nic added.  If you go back in and look at the nic you will notice that it has the MAC that you manually added.
10.  After powering on your VM, open the command prompt in administrative mode and type without quotes, “set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1”  Then type “devmgmt.msc”
11.  When device manager opens click “View –> Show Hidden Devices”.  Hidden devices, especially old nic need to be removed.  You will see unused devices showing greyed out.  Right click on them and choose “uninstall”.

Hopefully this saves someone from a licensing headache when upgrading your VMs.