Day: 5 March 2013 | Electric Monk

Archive for March 2013

Install and Configure Update Manager PowerShell Library

March 5, 2013 Objective 8 Perform Scripting and Automation No comments

Update Manager PowerShell Library

VMware Update Manager – PowerShell Library may be installed and used on any machine that has VMware Infrastructure Toolkit (for Windows) installed and access to a VirtualCenter server. It does not require to be installed on the same machine as the VMware Update Manager or the VirtualCenter Server.

You can install Update Manager – PowerShell Library the following ways

A stand-alone Windows installer
As a part of the installation process of the VMware Update Manager (Update Manager server or Update Manager plug-in)

Prerequisites

To install and use Update Manager – PowerShell Library 1.0 , you need to have installed the following:

.NET 2.0 SP1
Windows PowerShell 1.0
VI Toolkit (for Windows) 1.5 Download Here
Update Manager – PowerShell Library 1.0 works only with Update Manager 1.0 Update

Installing Update Manager – PowerShell Library Using the Stand-Alone
Installer

Install the VI Toolkit for Windows 1.5
Click on the exe. Click Next

Accept License Agreement

Select Destination folder and click Next

Create Desktop Shortcut if required

Click Install and say yes to the below message

Click Finish and Launch VMware VI Toolkit

Installing Update Manager – PowerShell Library Using Update Manager Installer

The VMware Update Manager (Server or User Interface Plugin) installer provides an option to install Update Manager – PowerShell Library if you already have VI Toolkit (for Windows) installed on the target system.
To install the VMware Update Manager – PowerShell Library as part of the VMware Update Manager (Update Manager Server or Update Manager plugin) installation

Launch the VMware Update Manager installer and follow the wizard instructions.
In the VMware Update Manager Toolkit page, select the Install VMware Update Manager Toolkit check box.
Proceed with the VMware Update Manager installation.

Getting Started with Update Manager – PowerShell Library

The VMware Update Manager – PowerShell Library provides a set of 13 cmdlets for downloading software updates, creating baselines, and for scanning and remediating virtual machines or hosts. These cmdlets are stored in the VMware.VUMAutomation plug-in, and are available through the VI Toolkit (for Windows) console.

To get started with Update Manager – PowerShell Library, launch the VI Toolkit (for Windows) console from the Windows Start menu or by clicking the VI Toolkit shortcut icon.
To get a list of all Update Manager – PowerShell Library cmdlets, run the Get-Command with the -PSSnapin parameter:

Install and Configure vSphere PowerCLI

March 5, 2013 Objective 8 Perform Scripting and Automation, PowerCLI No comments

What is vSphere PowerCLI?

vSphere PowerCLI provides easy-to-use C# and PowerShell interface to VMware vSphere APIs. It ships with a number of cmdlets that you can use to perform various administration tasks on VMware vSphere components

Installation Pre-Requisites

.NET 2.0 SP1
Windows PowerShell 1.0/2.0/3.0

Supported Operating Systems
VMware vSphere PowerCLI 5.0 is supported on the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the following Windows operating systems:

Windows 7
Windows Server 2008
Windows Vista
Windows XP Service Pack 2
Windows 2003 Server Service Pack 2

Supported VMware Environments

vSphere PowerCLI 5.0 is compatible with the following VMware environments:

VMware ESXi 5.0
vCenter Server 5.0
VMware ESX 4.1/vCenter Server 4.1
VMware ESXi 4.1
VMware ESX 4.0 Update 2/vCenter Server 4.0 Update 2
VMware ESX 4.0 Update 1/vCenter Server 4.0 Update 1
VMware ESX 4.0i Update 1
VMware ESX 3.5 Update 5
VMware ESXi 3.5 Update 5
VMware VirtualCenter 2.5 Update 6
VMware ESX 3.0.3 Update 1

Identify Cmdlet Concepts

PowerShell cmdlets use a consistent verb-noun structure, where the verb specifies the action and the noun specifies the object to operate on. PowerShell cmdlets follow consistent naming patterns, which makes it easy to figure out how to construct a command if you know the object you want to work with.
All command categories take parameters and arguments. A parameter starts with a hyphen and is used to control the behavior of the command. An argument is a data value consumed by the command.

PowerCLI Components

To use these snap-ins, you must add them using the add-pssnapin cmdlet.

Example

add-pssnapin vmware.vimautomation.core

Installing

Download PowerCLI from the VMware website
Click the exe and install
You may get a message such as below

And this message – Click Continue

Click Next

Click Next

Click Next

Keep the default selection

Click Install

Configuring PowerCLI

Set the properties for Remote Signing

For security reasons, Windows PowerShell supports an execution policy feature. It determines whether scripts are allowed to run and whether they must be digitally signed. By default, the execution policy is set to Restricted, which is the most secure policy. If you want to run scripts or load configuration files, you can change the execution policy by using the Set-ExecutionPolicy cmdlet. For more information about the execution policy and script digital signing in Windows PowerShell, run Get-Help About_Signing.

Right click on the PowerCLI icon and selecy Run as Administrator
Type Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

Slow Startup

I experienced a really slow start-up from PowerCLI. It had something to do with internet access and checking the certificates. I disabled this by doing the below

Open the Control Panel → Go To Internet Options → Go to the Advanced tab → Go to the Security Section
Un-check the “Check for publisher’s certificate revocation” check-box