• Setting EVC Level on a Cluster with a VCSA and no shared storage

    calendar Aug 30, 2016 · 4 min read · vmware esxi vcenter  ·
    Share on: linkedin copy

    Problem A second host has been added to a one-node vSphere cluster which has no shared storage and EVC cannot be enabled. Details as follows: A vSphere environment consists of an existing cluster containing a single host running ESXi 6. On this host is (amongst other things) the vCenter Server Appliance VM. *A second …


    Read More

  • Automated Deployment in the HomeLab- Part 1

    calendar Jun 21, 2016 · 3 min read · vmware esxi powercli homelab  ·
    Share on: linkedin copy

    I’m commencing a project with my HomeLab- I’m going to build a system whereby I can produce custom mini-lab environments by means of a script. There are off the shelf solutions to do this (see AutoLab as an example) but if I build this myself I get something tailored exactly to my needs (and available resources) and …


    Read More

  • The Open HomeLab Project

    calendar May 10, 2016 · 2 min read · homelab vmware  ·
    Share on: linkedin copy
    The Open HomeLab Project

    If you run a HomeLab, or have ever considered setting one up, you should check out the new Open HomeLab Project. This is a new wiki-based initiative to collect together information on the Home Lab ecosystem for newbies and hardened enthusiasts alike. The Project was kicked off by Alex Galbraith following the London …


    Read More

  • ESXi Host Web Client

    calendar Mar 26, 2016 · 2 min read · vmware esxi xbox  ·
    Share on: linkedin copy
    ESXi Host Web Client

    A few days ago I tweeted about managing my ESXi HomeLab from the Xbox. Whilst this is a bit of a novelty (I’m holding out for the Minecraft ESXi plugin fling), it highlights the management possibilities that the new HTML-based (rather than Flash or Windows based) client creates. In addition to working via the Edge …


    Read More

  • Virtual Machine Backups with Veeam

    calendar Mar 21, 2016 · 4 min read · vmware veeam  ·
    Share on: linkedin copy

    So, I’ve got my Home Lab on a NUC setup and running the VMware ESXi 6 Hypervisor. Before I get too carried away “experimenting” I want to be a good sysadmin and ensure that I can backup (and restore) my Virtual Machines. Even though on the whole they are test/dev environments there is still plenty of work going into …


    Read More

  • Home Lab Upgrade to 6.0u2

    calendar Mar 18, 2016 · 1 min read · vmware esxi powercli  ·
    Share on: linkedin copy

    VMware have released vSphere 6.0 Update 2 - this brings with it many new features, but amongst the most exciting for my home lab was the host-based web client. I no longer need to rely on the functionality of the traditional Windows application to manage my virtual environment. Here’s how I installed it: Download the …


    Read More

  • Home Lab VPN Connection

    calendar Feb 15, 2016 · 3 min read · vmware openvpn esxi  ·
    Share on: linkedin copy

    I wanted to be able to connect to my new home lab from off-premises (that’s a technical way of saying “when I’m not at home”). My solution to this was to setup an Ubuntu VM running OpenVPN, following the comprehensive instructions here and configuring my home broadband router to forward UDP port 1194 to the VM. Whilst …


    Read More

  • Installing ESXi on the NUC

    calendar Feb 12, 2016 · 2 min read · intel nuc vmware esxi  ·
    Share on: linkedin copy

    Welcome to Part 2 of my Home Lab series (it’s now twice as long!) where I install the Hypervisor. The 6th Generation Intel NUC hardware is all assembled and working, so now it’s time to put some software into the mix. I’ve chosen to start with VMware vSphere ESXi 6- the VMware Hypervisor is the one I’m most hands-on …


    Read More

  • New NUC Based Home Lab

    calendar Feb 12, 2016 · 2 min read · intel nuc  ·
    Share on: linkedin copy

    Inspired by the folks at the London VMUG, I finally got round to starting on a proper home-lab for the bits of hands-on IT learning that I can’t do with a Virtual Machine on my laptop, VMware Hands on Labs and the like. I’ve based this around the 6th Generation Intel NUC (“Next Unit of Computing”) platform. Hopefully …


    Read More

  • New Media Centre Part 1

    calendar Jun 21, 2012 · 3 min read · xbmc  ·
    Share on: linkedin copy
    New Media Centre Part 1

    I’m building a new home media centre to sit in my living room and play video and music through my TV. Today the hardware for my media centre arrived from Ebuyer. The delivery consisted of a HP Proliant Microserver, some replacement DIMMs to upgrade the RAM to 8GB and a Sapphire Radeon HD5450 Graphics card. The server …


    Read More