VMWare vCenter 5.5 Active Directory Join/Disjoin

Posted by on January 12, 2015 Comments Off

I had a vCenter 5.5 joined to the domain had its computer object deleted from Active Directory and therefore authentication/single sign-on would no longer work.

Initially I tried to remove it from the domain by un-ticking the “Active Directory Enabled” checkbox in VMware vCenter Server Appliance Web Console but I would always get the “Enabling Active Directory failed” error:
Enabling Active Directory failed
After some time searching, I tried the following commands to join the domain but without any luck:

# /opt/likewise/bin/domainjoin-cli join labdomain.local administrator@labdomain.local
# /usr/sbin/vpxd_servicecfg ad write administrator@labdomain.local PASSWORD labdomain.local

A quick look at vpxd_cfg.log (cat /var/log/vmware/vpx/vpxd_cfg.log) revealed the issue and this time a not so vague error message:

2015-01-12 10:31:46 3565: START locking... /usr/sbin/vpxd_servicecfg ad write
2015-01-12 10:31:46 3568: [3565]BEGIN execution of: /usr/sbin/vpxd_servicecfg 'ad' 'write' 'administrator@labdomain.local' CENSORED 'labdomain.local'
2015-01-12 10:31:46 3568: Testing domain (labdomain.local)
2015-01-12 10:31:46 3568: Enabling active directory: 'labdomain.local' 'administrator@labdomain.local'
2015-01-12 10:31:47 3568: ERROR: Enabling active directory failed: Joining to AD Domain:  labdomain.local
With Computer DNS Name: vCentervAPP01.labdomain.local

Error: ERROR_MEMBER_NOT_IN_GROUP 1
2015-01-12 10:31:48 3568: VC_CFG_RESULT=302
2015-01-12 10:31:48 3568: END execution

I did not want to rebuild vCenter as I configured on it vCOps and Update Manager so I thought I would try one last time to force join:

  1. Create the missing vCenter computer object in AD
  2. Logon to vSphere Web Client
    1. Go to Home > Configuration >Identity Sources tab
      • Remove any current domain identity sources that exist
    2. Click the green cross
    3. Select as Identity source type Active Directory as a LDAP Server
      • Complete the relevant fields with the required information

 

 

Install Android (Lollipop) 5.0 on HP TouchPad

Posted by on January 8, 2015 Comments Off

After many months on Android 4.4.4 for my HP TouchPad I decided to try out Lollipop, while I was hoping for an in place upgrade going in between ROMs is always tricky and dirty – in the sense that most of the time is never quiet right and you will get crashes etc.

First things first you will need the following downloaded and installed (only the USB drivers) before continuing.

!! Data will be lost therefore I am not responsible for anything if you brick your device, lose data etc!! Read more »

Official CyanogenMod ROM for LG G3 (855)

Posted by on January 8, 2015 Comments Off

CyanogenMod have made available on their servers earlier today official nightly builds for the LG G3 (855) which means great news for CyangenMod fans out there!

It is uncertain at the moment what features are in or missing in the ROM but expect this to be a fairly unstable release as it is the first nightly available for download.

You will need a custom recovery to test it out so if you are still on Android 4.4.2 you can follow my guide on how to root and install a custom ROM.

Download: CyanogenMod 12 for LG G3 (855)

LG G3 – Rooted Android (Lollipop) 5.0 (85520F) Update

Posted by on January 2, 2015 Comments Off

An update – D85520F – has been released for the LG G3 (855) a few days ago.

This assumes that you already have a rooted ROM either 4.x or 5.x as well as have a custom recovery installed.

Proceed at your own risk –  I am not responsible for anything that may happen!

Requirements:

Note:

  • If you are on stock (4.4.2) and not rooted then you can follow my guide on how to achieve a rooted Android (Lollipop) 5.0.
  • If you are coming from a different ROM then you need to do a full wipe (data, system, cache) before continuing
  • If you are running a rooted 85520D version from my previous guide then you can continue

Read more »

LG G3 – Root & Stock Android (Lollipop) 5.0

Posted by on December 9, 2014 Comments Off

I recently received my LG G3 (855) and moving from Nexus 5 running Android 5.0 (I just had to have it upgraded to 5.0 from 4.4.2) and couldn’t wait until released in my country via over-the-air (OTA) by LG. So what does one do, installs it! :D

Requirements:

Note: You cannot perform a restore to KitKat (4.4.x) via LG PC Suite if you upgrade to Lollipop (5.0)

Read more »

VMWare ESXi 5.5 Login Credentials Issue

Posted by on December 2, 2014 Comments Off

I had a user experience the following issue when logging on to a independent VMWare ESXi 5.5 host. After some troubleshooting the cause for this particular incident was that the users cached credentials:

Windows session credentials cannot be used to log into this server.

Enter a user name and password.

Dynamic DNS Providers (DDNS) List

Posted by on November 30, 2014 Comments Off

I came across this list of DDNS providers and usually I find myself that when I need a DDNS privder, I do not know who to chose. So the following list from DD-WRT is a good starting point:

Installing VMWare ESXi 5.5 with 2GB RAM

Posted by on November 27, 2014 Comments Off

How to install Mastering VMware vSphere 5.5 with 2GB of RAM instead of the usual 4GB limit.

Mount the ISO (VMware-VMvisor-Installer-5.5.0-1331820.x86_64.iso) and boot it up. At the welcome screen press ALT+F1 :

Once you have pressed ALT+F1 the screen will change to this

Read more »

Update VMWare ESXi Remotely

Posted by on November 7, 2014 Comments Off

You can update your VMWare ESXi 5.5 environment via the command line without having to download and upload any patch files manually. This can be all done automatically via the CLI:

~ # esxcli software sources profile list --depot=https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml

 

Read more »

Configuring iDRAC Remotely

Posted by on November 2, 2014 Comments Off

I recently had to configure over 100 iDRACs remotely and the last thing I wanted to do was to manually go into all of them via the web interface and configure different options!

I wanted to enable alerting via email for only Warning and Critical alerts on a variety of iDRAC version, 5, 6 and 7 hence why the below commands might look like they are duplicates but what I found is that if you start with the commands for the oldest version first and move to the newest you have all your bases covered:

racadm config -g cfgLanNetworking -o cfgDNSServer1 DNSIP
racadm config -g cfgLanNetworking -o cfgDNSDomainName DOMAIN
racadm config -g cfgIpmiLan -o cfgIpmiLanAlertEnable 1
racadm config -g cfgEmailAlert -i 1 -o cfgEmailAlertEnable 1
racadm config -g cfgEmailAlert -i 1 -o cfgEmailAlertIndex 1
racadm config -g cfgRemoteHosts -o cfgRhostsSmtpServerIpAddr SMTPIP
racadm config -g cfgRemoteHosts -o cfgRhostsSmtpServerIpAddr SMTPDNS
racadm config -g cfgEmailAlert -i 1 -o cfgEmailAlertAddress ITDEPARTMENTEMAIL
racadm eventfilters set -c idrac.alert.system.critical -a none -n email
racadm eventfilters set -c idrac.alert.system.warning -a none -n email