ESXi 4

The ping vs vmkping for ESXi

When troubleshooting console issues, and in particular iSCSI connectivity problems, you may read the documentation that will suggest that you use both ping and vmkping to test connectivity to your iSCSI target. With ESX this is necessary as the service console will handle discovery and authentication to the iSCSI target (and thus you using ping) …

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Command-Line Options for the VI Client

If you start the VI client from the command prompt or with a shortcut, you can add several options to bypass the login screen. If you’re using vCenter server you can use –usePassthroughAuth and –server to login to your vCenter server. Instead of –server you can also use the -s option. C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\Virtual Infrastructure Client\Launcher>vp xclient –PassthroughAuth –server <vCenter_hostname_or_IP> If you connect to …

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ESXi Reset System Configuration

At some point, you may find it necessary to reset the configuration of your ESXi host. A full reinstall may not be warranted plus you may want to preserve an existing local VMFS datastore. When you reset the configuration of your host any configuration changes made will be removed and the password will be deleted …

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ESXi 4.0 Password Complexity

Some have noticed that the password requirements for ESXi 4.0 logins have become more stringent. In some cases, it may be desirable to edit those settings to make the password standards for ESXi 4.0 either stronger or weaker. Password requirements for ESXi are controlled by the file /etc/pam.d/common-password. Changes to this file will take effect immediately …

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