New Vembu BDR Suite Release (version 5.2.0)

Earlier this month, April 2022, Vembu released version 5.2.0. This version has some great new features I thought I’d feature here. Restore to Microsoft Azure BDRSuite now allows restoring the VMware VMs, Hyper-V VMs, Windows Server & Workstation backups to Microsoft Azure. You can initiate the restore directly from your BDRSuite Backup server or Offsite DR Server. BDRSuite 360 Server…

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Deploying Vembu BDR Suite (Part 2 – Installation)

Next in my Vembu series, we’ll take on the task of Installing Vembu BDR Suite. To do this, I followed the installation guide found here. The first step is to make sure you’re downloading the most recent version. Visit the link here to download the latest version. In this post, I’ll be installing Vembu BDR Suite version 5.1.0. After launching…

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Running VMFS Unmap via PowerCLI

Starting in vSphere 5.5, VMware introduced a new command in the esxcli namespace that allows deleted blocks to be reclaimed on thin provisioned LUNs that support the VAAI UNMAP primitive. You can run the command without any maintenance window, and the reclaim mechanism has been enhanced: Reclaim disk space size can be specified in blocks instead of a percentage value…

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Using PowerCLI to set the Global System Log Location

Are you seeing an error stating that the System Logs on your host(s) are stored on non-persistent storage. Following THIS VMware KB article, I knew I had to change the Global Logdir. What we did was create a shared datastore called ESXiScratch. On this datastore, we created folders for each host. .locker-lab01.locker-lab02etc. Next, I ran the following PowerCLI command to…

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Deploying Vembu BDR Suite (Part 1 – System Requirements)

To go along with my Partnership with Vembu, I’ve decided to install the Vembu BDR Suite in my home lab. Since this involves deploying a new VM for the BDR Backup Server, I thought I’d start with going over the Vembu BDR Suite System Requirements. You can see below, the Vembu BDR Backup Server supports multiple versions of Windows and…

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Partnering with Vembu

I’m happy to announce the Vembu has agreed to sponsor my blog again! If you go to the Partners section, you’ll see an updated page about Vembu! Look for new posts from me about Vembu as I’ll be deploying it in my home lab environment and using it to backup my lab environment! Ben Liebowitz, VCP, vExpertNJ VMUG Leader

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A New Home

I apologize to anyone who has been trying to access this blog for the last week or so. I was in the process of migrating from GoDaddy to the blogs new home at Dreamhost! Migrating the blog not only saved me a few bucks but also adds some speed (hosted on SSD storage) as well as security (SSL Cert)! I’d…

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Change is afoot!

Some people are afraid of change. Sheldon Cooper from The Big Bang Theory (above) was afraid of change. I’m not! Working in IT, things change around you all the time. If you don’t adapt, you get left behind! So, after working for Turbonomic for the past 2 years in Professional Services, I’ve decided it was time for a change. I…

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VMware Top 100 Influencers

Back in December, I was contacted by Noell Grier, with the VMware communities team, to join the VMware Influencer 100 Club Welcome and Kickoff Meeting! I was shocked to be included in this list. It’s been fun being part of this program! Thank you to Noell and VMware for the honor of being a part of this program! I’ve known…

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PowerCLI Script to Change Tag Assignment

I have an environment where, using tags, unused VMs are automatically shutdown. This is done by creating a Tag Category called “Suspend Date” and when the current value is in the past, your VM gets shutdown. I don’t have many VMs that I own in this “test” environment, but the ones that I DO have there, I want to be…

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