How to convert VMDK to OVF file format

January 27, 2020February 4, 2020 VMware

Here is a quick and easy way to convert a VMDK to OVF file format using the OVF Tool from VMware.

First download and install the VMware OVF Tool for your operating system.
Open a command prompt as Administrator and navigate to the OVF Tool install directory:
```
cd C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware OVF Tool
```
Next, type in the following command to convert VMDK to OVF:
```
ovftool.exe \virtualmachine.vmx \virtualmachine.ovf
```

After a few minutes time you should you should see a “Transfer Completed, Completed successfully” message and your VMDK to OVF file conversion is complete and ready for use.
convert vmdk to ovf complete

Upgrade VCSA 6.5 to VCSA 6.7 Update 1

October 29, 2018October 30, 2018 VMware

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VMware vCenter 6.7 U1 has recently been released. Last week I posted how to upgrade VCSA 6.7 to 6.7 Update 1, this post will walk you though upgrading VMware vCenter Server Appliance 6.5 to VCSA 6.7 Update 1!

When doing a VCSA version upgrade the upgrade process is much different, than going from say 6.7 to 6.7 U1. When going from 6.5 to 6.7 the upgrade is actually broken up into two stages.

The first stage involves deploying a brand new vCenter 6.7 appliance. Then the second stage will copy the data from your 6.5 VCSA into the newly deployed 6.7 VCSA from stage 1.

Set default printer for View floating desktop and Persona Management

December 11, 2013 VMware

5 Comments

Sometime ago I asked a question over at the VMware forum about how to set default network printers on a VMware View 5.0 floating pool that used Persona Management as Persona Management wasn’t keeping this user setting on it’s own. The printers would be added to the VM just not remember the default printer setting. I’ll admit I forgot to update the thread, but a work around was devised which I’ll share below.

How to easily add an ESXi SSH login message banner

July 16, 2015 VMware

2 Comments

Preparing for some upcoming audits, I noticed one of the checkpoints was to ensure each ESXi host was configured with a warning banner stating the machine is being monitored and audited when someone logs into the ESXi host via SSH. This type of message is something you see on most any company or government computer before you login.

There are two message types that can be used to achieve this, the first being login banner (/etc/issue) and MOTD (/etc/motd). The difference between the two are where they are shown. The login banner is shown between the username and password inputs during login, while the MOTD is displayed after a user has successfully logged into SSH.

vSphere 5.1 and View 5.1 are finally compatible

October 26, 2012 VMware

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As mentioned before, I mentioned vSphere 5.1 currently not compatible with any VMware View version. As of yesterday, VMware has finally released a patch (ESXi510-201210001) to correct the incompatibility issues.

Alternatively you can also download an updated ESXi 5.0 ISO. To download the ISO:

Navigate to the vSphere Download Center.
Click View Download for the VMware ESXi 5.1.0 Installable for your version of ESXi.
On the Product Downloads tab, download VMware-VMvisor-Installer-201210001-838463.x86_64.iso.

KB 2035268

vSphere 5.1 currently not compatible with any VMware View version

September 13, 2012September 13, 2012 VMware

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Before you go updating your vSphere to the new 5.1 version that was just released, VMware had just released this alert yesterday (9/12) that vSphere 5.1 is currently NOT compatible with any version of VMware View.

vSphere 5.1 is in the process of being certified against VMware View. We recommend that you do not upgrade vSphere above the supported versions listed in the VMware View 5.1 Release Notes.

For further updates and more information on this alert, refer to KB article:
vSphere 5.1 is not compatible with any versions VMware View (2035268).

If you don’t use VMware View, and are ready to upgrade to vSphere 5.1 be sure to check out the Installing vCenter Server 5.1 best practices from VMware.

vCenter server service won’t start after upgrading 5.5 to Update 3b

January 5, 2016 VMware

1 Comment

Just a quick heads up! Over the last week I’ve been upgrading our vCenter servers from version 5.5 to the most recent 5.5 Update 3b version and have ran into a small hiccup.

The upgrade of SSO, Web Client, Inventory Service and even vCenter server all went as expected without any issues. Then I rebooted the vCenter server and after the reboot noticed that the vCenter server service hadn’t started and when I tried to start it manually I then received the following error:

Error 1053: The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion.