Change duplex setting on vSphere Service Console

During a training a student accidentally changed the duplex setting of the vmnic for the service console to fixed 1000Mbit full duplex. This isn’t so bad, if the vmnic wasn’t on a 100Mbit switch!

So I had to go to the service console to change the duplex setting back to auto.
I expected to use the esxcfg-vswif command. But with this command you cannot change the duplex setting. After some investigation I discovered to use normal Linux command like ethtool.

To see the current settings:

ethtool vmnic1

To change the settings to 1000Mbit full duplex:

ethtool -s vmnic1 autoneg off
ethtool -s vmnic 1 speed 1000 duplex full

To change it backup again to auto:

ethtool -s vmnic1 autoneg on

Twitter

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It took a while but inspirited by a girlfriend Maggie van Kempen I registered for a Twitter account. I plan to use my Twitter not to let you all know if I go to the toilet or something like that, but just to announce new interesting blog articles written by me. So if you like to get notified through Twitter, please click the follow me link!

Configuring a SLES DHCP failover

In most networks DHCP is one of the single-point-of-failures. If DHCP failes, every devices relying on DHCP cannot function.

In order to  provide a high availability to your DHCP server, set up a backup DHCP server running the same Linux distribution and version, as follows:

1. Stop DHCP on both DHCP servers (rcdhcpd stop).
2. On your primary DHCP server, add lines to the /etc/dhcpd.conf file, similar to following example:

   failover peer "dhcp" {
      primary;
      address 192.168.1.10;          # local host IP address
      port 647;                      # make sure this port is not used by other
                                       programs
      peer address 192.168.1.11;     # backup host IP address
      peer port 647;
      max-response-delay 60;
      max-unacked-updates 10;
      mclt 600;
      split 128;
      load balance max seconds 3;
   }
   include "/etc/dhcpd.master";

   On your backup DHCP server, add lines to the /etc/dhcpd.conf file, similar to following example:

   failover peer "dhcp" {
      secondary;
      address 192.168.1.11;         # local host IP address
      port 647;                     # make sure this port is not used by other
                                      programs
      peer address 192.168.1.10;    # primary host IP address
      peer port 647;
      max-response-delay 60;
      max-unacked-updates 10;
   }
   include "/etc/dhcpd.master";

3. Add the following lines to the end of /etc/dhcpd.master on both DHCP servers. On SUSE Linux Enterprise Server, copy this file to /var/lib/dhcp/etc.

   subnet 192.168.1.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
     pool {
       failover peer "dhcp";
       range 192.168.1.100 192.168.1.200;
       deny dynamic bootp clients;
     }
     option routers 192.168.1.1;
   }

4. Start DHCP on both DHCP servers (rcdhcpd start.

After these configurations are complete, the primary DHCP server, which is usually a management server or install server, responds to DHCP client requests. If the primary DHCP server goes offline, the backup DHCP server automatically takes its place and provides DHCP service.

VMware and Novell Expand Strategic Partnership to Deliver and Support SUSE Linux Enterprise Server for VMware vSphere Environments

Just a quick copy-past from a press release

VMware and Novell today announced an expansion to their strategic partnership with an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) agreement through which VMware will distribute and support the SUSE Linux Enterprise Server operating system. Under the agreement, VMware also intends to standardize its virtual appliance-based product offerings on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.
Read whole article

Of course I think this is great! For the last 5 years now, my main target is SLES/OES on VMware. So that VMware will be using SLES for the Virtual Appliances.. Great!

Move ZCM10 embedded Sybase database to a external server

I wanted to move a embedded Sybase database of a existing ZCM10 installation  to a external (SLES11) server for better performance.

In this example I’m assuming you have already installed a SLES11 server.

Step 1 Installing the Sybase database server

1. Mount the iso file in (for example) /mnt/iso by giving the command mount -o loop /tmp/ZENworks10_sp3.iso /mnt/iso
2. Give the command sh /mnt/iso/setup.sh -c –zcminstall
   The -c option provides additional options that you do not have when installing the Primary Server, especially if you want to make your OEM database a remote database. You can view the SQL files generating the ZENworks database, create access users, view creation commands (OEM Sybase only), and so on.
   The –zcminstall tells the installation that ZCM is already installed and you want to use the device to configure another instance of the ZENworks database (on the same device or on another device) by using the external database installation program.
3. Select you language and click on next.
4. If you want you can read the welcome message, after you did this click on next.
5. Accept the license Agreement and click next.
6. Select the type of database (in my case OEM Sybase SQL Anywhere) you want to use. The lower section is from the documentation site:

• OEM Sybase SQL Anywhere: Installs the default Sybase 10 database for ZENworks. It is configured as a service, the database user is created, and the required tables for the Primary Server are established.

  If you select this option, you must use the -o (or –sybase-oem) parameter with the setup.exe installation executable in order to successfully install to the database when you install the Primary Server software. This parameter allows ZENworks to authenticate the database prior to performing any operations on it.

  You should use the -o parameter only when you are using the Sybase installation that is provided on the Novell ZENworks 10 Configuration Management SP3installation DVD.

  You must also select the Remote Sybase SQL Anywhere option during installation of the Primary Server.

• Sybase SQL Anywhere: Sets up an existing Sybase database for writing ZENworks information to it.

• Microsoft SQL Server: Creates a ZENworks database on a Microsoft SQL Server.

• Oracle: Specifies a user schema that you can use to set up an external Oracle 10g database schema for use with ZENworks.

7. Select the where the database will run on (default 2638).
8. Specify the Sybase Access Configuration:
   Database Name: (default zenworks_database)
   Username: (default zenadmin)
   Password: (whatever you want)
   Database Server Name: (default zenworks_database_server)
9. Select the folder where the database will be installed (default /opt/novell/zenworks/database).
10. Accept the default database configuration.
11. You will get a overview op the SQL scripts that will be executed as part ot the database creation. Click on Next in order to proceed with the database creation.
12. You will get a overview of the database creation command information. Click Next.
13. You will receive a message that over you click on OK the database installation starts.
14. After a while the Sybase database is installed. Now we are ready to move the existing database.

Step 2 Move the existing embedded Sybase database to external

1. First we have to stop de Sybase deamon on the ZCM server where we want to migrated the database from and the new database server. You can do does by entering /etc/init.d/sybase-asa stop as root.
   In step 4 you’ll start the database on the new server. When I tried this the first time I got a error “A database server with that name has already started”. The cause of this error was that ZENworks restarted the database. So the original database was in the air again. I resolved this by renaming the /var/opt/novell/zenworks/database directory to database-org. Now the Sybase database cannot find the file and cannot start the database.
2. Copy the file zenworks_database.conf located in /etc/opt/novell/zenworks to the destination server. In this file the options and database file are configured.
3. Copy the database directory located in /var/opt/novell/zenworks to the destination server. In this directory the actual database file are located.
4. Start the database on the new database server by entering the command /etc/init.d/sybase-asa start and make sure the database starts when the servers starts by entering the command insserv /etc/init.d/sybase-asa
5. Make sure the database is started successful by looking at /vat/log/messages and by checking the deamon by /etc/init.d/sybase-asa status
6. On the source server where the embedded Sybase database was installed edit the zmd.xml file located in /etc/opt/novell/zenworks/datamodel
   • Change the value of the Embedded key to false
   • Change the value of the server key to the ip adres of new Sybase database server
   • Make sure that the value of the port key is matching the port where the new database runs on.
     You can check this by looking at the port value by giving the command:
     /etc/opt/novell/zenworks/zenworks_database.conf
     on the new database server.
7. Restart the ZCM deamons
   • /etc/init.d/novell-zenmntr restart
   • /etc/init.d/novell-zenserver restart
   • /etc/init.d/novell-zenloader restart

The Zen server is now pointing to the new Sybase database