How vRealize Operations can help with Right Sizing VMs

May 15, 2021 in - "Using vROPS Data to help show APP Owners Proper VM Sizing"

vRealize Operations does a good job to show you what the correct number for vCPU/Memory settings should be based on monitoring history. But instead of showing APP owners a screen that just shows what the current VM vCPU/Memory settings are and what the new settings “Should” be, I wanted to show the real data that proves why these changes should be made. It can still be hard for people to understand that taking away a VM resources can make performance better.

Automating Automation (Updated)

April 29, 2021 in - "Using vRO REST API. - (Updated for vRA 8.4)"

I recently had a use case where I wanted to execute a vRealize Orchestrator Workflow by using REST API. There is some documentation available but not a lot of details on how to get and use variables, sdk-objects and bearer token for permission. Here is how I made the vRO REST API calls with PowerShell using vRealize Orchestrator built-into vRA. Steps: Permission: Need to get a Bearer Token from vRO to make REST API Call to execute Workflow.

Open Ports - Zero Trust

April 24, 2021 in - "How to check if ports are open to a remote server"

PowerShell Code Use PowerShell to see if ports are open to a remote server. Living in a zero trust environment can be challenging. Here is some code that I have been using to test for open ports from a Windows server to any type of destination. Just change PortNumber and Destination for your use case. $PortNumber = '443' $Destination = 'Server.vCrocs.info' $socket = New-Object Net.Sockets.TcpClient $socket.Connect($Destination,$PortNumber) if($socket.Connected){ $PortOpened = 'Port: ' + $PortNumber + ' to ' + $Destination +' is Open!

Schedule RVTools Data Export

April 24, 2021 in - "Export RVTools xls Files Everyday"

PowerShell Code I like to create a Scheduled Task in vRealize Orchestrator to create RVTools files everyday. Here is a sample PowerShell script that could be used. The script is also on a 7 day rotation of files and automatically deletes old files. Start-Process -FilePath "C:\Program Files (x86)\Robware\RVTools\RVtools.exe" -ArgumentList '-s vCenter01.vCrocs.info -u administrator@vsphere.local -p "Enter RVTools encrypted Password between the double quotes" -c Exportall2xls -d "G:\RVTools\vCenter01"' -Wait Start-Process -FilePath "C:\Program Files (x86)\Robware\RVTools\RVtools.

vExpert Cloud Management - 2021

April 4, 2021 in - "Cloud Management"

vExpert Cloud Management I am very proud to be part of the VMware vExpert subprogram “Cloud Management”. This is the first year that I was accepted into the subprogram. Almost all my blog posts and talks that I give are about one of the vRealize Products. The (2) Products that I use the most are vRealize Automation and Operations but I will be writing about more of the other Products.

vRealize Operations 8.x - New Features

February 20, 2021 in - "The New Features I use the most."

Donut Charts. This is one of my favorite new features. The donut chart allows you to show a lot of information in a smaller space and makes the Dashboards look more modern and clean looking. I have been replacing the Heat Map Widgets on some of my custom Dashboards with Donut Charts. If you click on the colors of the Donut charts you will then get a list of the data that makes up that color.

vExpert 2021

February 13, 2021 in - "2020, 2021"

vExpert 2020, 2021 VMware vExpert 2020,2021 I am very proud to be part of the VMware vExpert program. This is the second year that I was accepted into the program. One part of the vExpert program that I think is great is that this recognizes people for sharing their knowledge and “Giving Back”. I have crossed paths with people throughout my career that didn’t like sharing what they know.

New Hugo Theme for Blog

February 6, 2021 in - "Tranquil Hugo Theme"

I am always looking at the Hugo Themes to see if there are any new Themes that I liked more than I was currently using. I started looking at the Tranquilpeak Theme and really like how it looked and worked. Tranquilpeak Hugo Theme So I changed my Blog site to the new theme. This Theme works well with all the screen sizes and devices. I also like how the Theme automatically shows the order that the “Posts” and all the “TAGs” that I assign to each article.

How to use PowerShell Modules with vRA 8.2

January 18, 2021 in - "Options to use PowerShell Modules"

I like to review VMware vRA (vRealize Automation) 8.2 as a Microsoft Windows Server Admin. Most of the reviews you see are creating Linux VMs and customizing the OS using tools for Linux. I create Windows/Linux VMs and customize the OS using a new feature added to vRA 8.x, Action Based Extensibility (ABX) with PowerShell. In my vRA 7.6 environment I use a PowerShell Host to run processes and on the PowerShell Host is where I install all the PS Modules that I use.

How to be successful with VMware vRealize Products in your environment

January 15, 2021 in - "Recipe for Success"

I often get asked to speak to different organizations about what I have accomplished with the VMware vRealize Suite of products. The one question that almost always gets asked is how are you able to do everything that you have setup in your environment. After being asked this question a lot I thought I would give my thoughts in a Blog Post. Here is my “Recipe for Success”: Ingredients: Enjoy what you do.

Dale Hassinger