esod on vNinja.net | VMware, VCF & Homelab

Upgrading to ESXi 7.0 build 18426014 U2c. ESXi stuck in Not responding from vCenter

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Well, not directly related to the new ESXi 7 U2c build, BUT if you're one of the lucky ones (like me), you've been experiencing big issues with SD/USB device since ESXi U1/U2, hence the vCenter <> ESXi (at least the configurations, tokens, etc.) has not been working for a while. I mean, last time vCenter talked successfully with my host was back in May 2021, when the USB dropped. That's like four (4!) months ago. Today, VMware finally released the ESXi 7 U2c, which has included an updated module for the **vmkusb**. Hopefully this will fix the previous experienced SD/USB device issues, but before that - let's talk patching!

ESXi 7.0 SD Card/USB Drive Issue Temporary Workaround

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This is a guest post by Espen Ødegaard: As VMware has not released a fix yet (regarding issues with SD card and USB drive), I'm still experiencing issues with [ESXi 7.0 U2a Potentially Killing USB and SD drives](https://vninja.net/2021/05/18/esxi-7.0-u2a-killing-usb-and.sd-drives/), running from USB or SD card installs. As previous workaround (copying VMware Tools to RAMDISK with option `ToolsRamdisk`) only worked for 8 days (in my case), I needed something more permanent, to get the ESXi-hosts more stable (e.g. host being able to enter maintenance mode, move VMs around, snapshots/backup, doing CLI-stuff/commands, etc.).

Searching vCenter Tasks and Events via PowerShell and GridView

Wed, 19 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This is a guest post by Espen Ødegaard: As searching and filtering for events in vCenter Server trough vSphere Client somewhat limited (OK, it really sucks, to be honest), it's usually much faster using PowerCLI, to retrieve, filter & searching events.

ESXi 7.0 U2a Potentially Killing USB and SD drives!

Tue, 18 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This is a guest post by Espen Ødegaard: After upgrading my 4-node vSAN-cluster (homelab) to ESXi 7.0 build 17867351 U2a, I detected that ESXi had issues talking to the USB device, where the ESXi was installed. I found a related KB from VMware, outlining issues with the new VMFS-L, which started my baseline for troubleshooting [VMFS-L Locker partition corruption on SD cards in ESXi 7.0 (83376)](https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/83376) In short, it says that the VMFS-L partition may have become corrupt, and a re-install is needed. **There is no resolution for the SD card corruption as of the time this article was published**

ESXi: Error Occurred While Saving Snapshot Msg.changetracker

Tue, 18 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

This is a guest post by Espen Ødegaard: I recently ran into a strange issue in my home lab, **running ESXi 7.0.2, build 17867351** where Veeam Backup & Replication v10 reported the following error: Failed to create VM snapshot. Error: CreateSnapshot failed, vmRef vm-4013, timeout 1800000, snName VEEAM BACKUP TEMPORARY SNAPSHOT, snDescription Please do not delete this snapshot. It is being used by Veeam Backup., memory False, quiesce False