Author: Ben Liebowitz
Using vSphere Tags to Check for Pending Reboot State
You may have seen my blog post on the Test-PendingReboot PowerShell module. I’ve been using it a lot lately and had the thought to use vSphere Tags to check pending reboot state. In my environment, we normally check for pending reboot states before patching. If a server is in a pending reboot state, it won’t receive the patches from SCCM,…
The Pending Reboot Nightmare… PowerShell to the Rescue!
My company has been having issues dealing with servers in a pending reboot state for quite a while. Part of it stems from using SCCM to deploy patches and having the patch deployment set to suppress the reboot and our Operations Team reboots the servers manually. Well, some months require multiple reboots and we get stuck in the rabbit hole…
How working in IT changes you…
In the past, in relationships, I’ve been told that I’m a very negative person. However, I don’t feel that I am. I once had a neighbor that said, “Ben always has a smile on his face… except when he’s mowing the lawn!” I know that I am an introvert, but that doesn’t make me a negative person, just that I…
Headed to VMworld? These are my suggestions…
VMworld 2018 is coming up fast! VMworld US will be in Las Vegas again this year from August 26th through August 30th. VMworld Europe will be November 5th through the 9th. This will be my third VMworld conference. I went in 2015 (San Francisco) and again in 2016 (Las Vegas). Here are a few things I’ve learned over the years……
PowerShell Script To Get vMotion Events
Recently, I had the need to get a list of vMotion events to pass to management. I attempted to use the Get-VIEvent cmdlet for this, but found it wasn’t easy to only pull logs from one specific cluster. I attempted to use the -Entity option and direct it to the cluster I wanted, but that didn’t work well. So I…
Create an ISO file with PowerShell!
I received a request at work to transfer 5+gb from the internal network, to a server in the DMZ. Our DMZ networks are locked down, so I cannot copy the files directly. I have the trial version of UltraISO that I’ve used for tasks like this in the past, but it’s limited to 300mb in the trial version. Previously, we’ve…
I finally have a Home Lab!!
I’ve been wanting a home lab for quite a long time! A few years ago, on an old PC, I used AutoLab to deploy a home lab. It used the internal HD in my PC to automatically deploy 2 nested hosts inside VMware Workstation, along with a virtual switch VM, a NAS VM, etc. The PC only had 16gb of…
Handy PowerShell command to stop Task Manager Process!
Have you ever needed to stop multiple processes at once? I use a product by Devolutions called Remote Desktop Manager. If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you probably already know that. When I launch the VMware vCenter Web Client via RDM, I do so via Chrome and it opens the Client Integrated Plugin. The problem is, when I…
Do you have Cisco Switches? Are you using CDP?
In my office, we use Cisco gear for networking. Cisco has it’s own protocol called the Cisco Discovery Protocol (CDP). CDP allows you to identify information about the device you’re connected to. Be it from a server to see what port you’re plugged into on the switch, or from the device! There’s a program for Windows called CDP Monitor that…
Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager – My IT Tool of Choice
If you follow me on Social Media, you’ll see that I’m a strong supporter of Remote Desktop Manager by Devolutions. I’ve been using the tool for many years. By being able to manage all my remote connections in one place, it saves a lot of time and makes my job a LOT easier! I’ve told the story before, but I…