VMware on Support Tools

Enterprise ESXi Custom Installer Automation: Comprehensive Guide to Production VMware Deployment and Advanced Driver Integration

Tue, 17 Jun 2025 10:00:00 -0500

Enterprise ESXi deployment requires sophisticated installer customization, automated driver integration, and robust deployment frameworks to ensure consistent infrastructure provisioning across diverse hardware platforms. This guide covers comprehensive ESXi image building automation, enterprise deployment strategies, advanced driver management, and production-grade installation frameworks for large-scale VMware environments.

VMware Default Passwords and Credentials: Complete Security Reference Guide

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 10:00:00 -0500

Understanding VMware’s default credentials is crucial for initial deployment and security hardening. This comprehensive guide covers default usernames, passwords, and security best practices across VMware’s virtualization infrastructure components, including critical security warnings and modern authentication recommendations.

Removing vCenter from died Active Directory

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 22:21:00 +0000

I lost both of my domain controllers earlier this week, even after I restored one from a VM backup. There was too much corruption. As a result, I rebuilt my domain with new domain controllers, joined all my Windows virtual machines to the new domain, recreated my user accounts, etc. One of the challenges I ran into was getting my vCenter to leave the old domain so it could join the new domain. The old domain was no longer available, so I could not leave it.

When trying to “Leave Active Directory Domain” in the GUI, I got the following error:

ldm client exception: Error trying to leave AD, error code [1332], user [mmattox@ad.support.tools]

ESXi boot stuck at iscsi_vmk load successfully

Sun, 24 Oct 2021 01:50:00 +0000

Problem: ESXi boot slow/stalled/stuck at “iscsi_vmk loaded successfully”

Unlock Root Account on ESXi

Wed, 08 Sep 2021 04:53:00 +0000

If the root account gets locked out, you won’t be able to access ESXi using SSH or the vSphere Web Client. Follow the steps below to unlock the account.

Common Symptoms

You receive an “incorrect username/password” error even though the credentials are correct.
By default, ESXi 6.x has the following lockout behavior:
- Maximum Attempts: After 10 failed login attempts, the account is locked.
- Lockout Applies To: SSH and the vSphere Web Services SDK.
- Lockout Does Not Apply To: Direct Console User Interface (DCUI) and the ESXi Shell.

vSphere 7 – Certificates with VMCA as Subordinate

Tue, 07 Sep 2021 07:46:00 +0000

For enterprises that need fully trusted SSL certificates for the vSphere 7.0 environment, you have two basic options:

Full Custom Mode: Manually replace all certificates for vCenter and the ESXi hosts with your trusted certificates. Subordinate CA Mode: Use the built-in VMCA service as an official subordinate CA of your existing PKI infrastructure. After the initial configuration, automates the issuing of SSL certs for your vSphere environment. This is the method covered in this blog post. VMware offers two other certificate options: Fully Managed and hybrid mode, for a total of four certificate options. You can find out more about all of them in this VMware blog post.

In a high-security environment, it is very likely the security team will NOT let you configure the vCenter VMCA as a subordinate CA. So, you will be left with the full custom mode if you want 100% of the certificates trusted. However, if you are in a situation where you can configure the VMCA as a subordinate CA, this post is for you!

Note: Before you do this replacement in production, I strongly urge you to set up a test vCenter instance and run this entire procedure. Botched certificate replacements can lead to bad days. And another tip for a lab test is to snapshot the vCenter VM before you try the process. That way, you can easily roll back should things go south.

How to Fix 'Migrate greyed out in vCenter for a single VM'

Tue, 22 Dec 2020 10:56:00 +0000

While migrating some VMs to a new storage array, I ran into an issue while moving the last VM, which, of course, was my vCenter appliance. When I right-clicked the VM in vCenter, then went to migrate. The migration option was greyed out, which blocked the migration.

TL;DR Follow VMware’s KB 1029926