Andrew Clement's Blog

Boot ESXI ARM from TrueNAS

Fri, 10 Nov 2023 10:34:25 -0600

If your Raspberry Pi is fresh out of the box. You will need to boot into Pi OS and run the following commands.

sudo apt update sudo apt full-upgrade

Then, update the firmware with:

sudo rpi-update sudo rpi-eeprom-update -d -a wget https://github.com/raspberrypi/rpi-eeprom/raw/master/firmware/stable/pieeprom-2023-01-11.bin --no-check-certificate rpi-eeprom-config ./pieeprom-2023-01-1l.bin> bootconf.txt sed -i s/0x1/0x21/g bootconf.txt rpi-eeprom-config --out pieeprom-2023-01-11.bin-netboot.bin --config bootconf.txt pieeprom-2023-01-11.bin sudo rpi-eeprom-update -d -f ./pieeprom-2023-01-11.bin-netboot.bin

Now on your TrueNAS Server where you have TFTP boot folder created from create a folder with last 8 serial of board. The serial number can be found from booting your Raspbery Pi with no boot media.

sudo chmod -R a+rwx (serialnumberfolder)/ sudo chown admin (serialnumberfolder)

Copy the Raspbery PI UEFI Files to the folder.

Create isci drive

Now naviate to the TrueNAS interface, you will need to make an iSCI drive for the raspberry pi to use once it boots.

Tho techically you can do this whole process without any usb, I find install from a USB easier. Write the ESXI ARM install to a usb drive. Leave this unconnected as we will need it later.

You will need to modify the UEFI setting that limits ram to 3GB. Since ESXI requires at minium 4GB. You will add a iSCI drive. This is your TrueNAS server that you created a iSCI drive eariler. target: and lun reboot

Now boot from the USB drive. Install ESXI. Make sure to point to the ISCI drive and not the USB.

VMUG UserCon 2023

Thu, 26 Oct 2023 11:34:25 -0500

This past Tuesday, I had the opportunity to attend the VMUG User/Con Nashville. The event commenced with an opening speech by Amanda Blevins, VP & CTO Americas at VMware, gave a presenations titled “ There’s No Substitute for Hard Work”.

Following this impactful morning keynote, the program featured several diverse breakout sessions, encompassing topics ranging from Kubernetes to vSphere. Amid these sessions, I had the chance to reconnect with colleagues and establish new connections. Additionally, I enjoyed some delectable tacos and had the privilege of listening to a presentation by Steve Athanas. While at UMASS Lowell he had experienced a Cyber Attack in 2021. He highlighted the importance of disaster recovery preparedness and discussed the common lack of readiness among many individuals.

The day continued with a few more informative sessions, ultimately concluding with a pleasant happy hour. This provided a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with college acquaintances, make new connections, and gain further insights into the various aspects of the VMware community.

Links: https://www.vmug.com/usercons/

Morning Keynote: Amanda Blevins, VP and CTO, Americas, VMware https://octo.vmware.com/author/ablevins/

Steve Athanas - Associate CIO, System … University of Massachusetts Lowell https://www.transformationaltechnologist.com/about

Quick Hits: Linux-Image-ARM64 issues when updating DietPi

Tue, 01 Aug 2023 00:34:20 -0500

As I discussed in a previous post, my homelab services are powered by DietPi Linux Virtual machines. These VMs serve as the backbone of my setup, allowing me to manage and maintain a range of essential services. However, a recent challenge emerged as I embarked on an attempt to update my DietPi installation. The process that had been smooth sailing before suddenly presented unforeseen issues. In the face of this unexpected hurdle, I delved into troubleshooting mode to uncover the root cause and find a solution that would restore the seamless functionality I had come to rely on. In the following sections, I’ll share my experiences with this update ordeal and the steps I undertook to fix the issues I faced. I got the following error trying to update DietPi

Errors were encountered while processing: /var/cache/apt/archives/linux-image-5.10.0-23-arm64_5.10.179-2_arm64.deb E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1) [ FAILED ] DietPi-Update | APT upgrade

Outlined below are a set of concise steps designed to swiftly restore your working OS. However, it’s important to approach this process with caution due to its potential to trigger additional complications within your Linux install. Safeguard your data by ensuring you have a backup in place or by creating a snapshot of the virtual machine prior to proceeding with the following steps.

Find all linux-images installed on your machine:

dpkg --list |grep linux-image

Adjust this as needed to clean up. You may just need to clean up linux-image-arm64. You may need to clean linux-image-5.10.x.x.x.

Like so:

sudo apt purge linux-image-5.10.0-1*

Now it is important that you do not restart. install the latest with “sudo apt install linux-image-arm64” I also recommend running:

apt-get -y --with-new-pkgs upgrade\

Please proceed to run Dietpi-Update once more. Afterward, restart your system and verify that everything is functioning as expected.

As you navigate through the intricacies of your projects and endeavors, I extend my warmest wishes for a fantastic end of the summer season. May your days be filled with productivity, exploration, and moments of rejuvenation. Remember to prioritize safety in all your undertakings, ensuring that this season becomes a memorable chapter in your journey. Here’s to a remarkable summer, brimming with accomplishments and well-deserved enjoyment. Stay safe!

Mastodon

Wed, 14 Dec 2022 23:34:25 -0600

I’m excited to invite you to join me on Mastodon, a vibrant and inclusive social media platform that encourages meaningful conversations and connections. By following me at @anclement on Mastodon.World, you can stay updated with my latest posts, engage in discussions, and be part of a thriving community of like-minded individuals. Mastodon offers a refreshing alternative to the “Birdsite”, with a strong focus on user privacy, decentralization, and open-source development.

To join me on Mastodon, simply visit the following link: https://mastodon.world/@anclement. Once you’re there, click on the “Follow” button to start receiving updates from me directly in your Mastodon feed. I look forward to engaging with you on Mastodon, where we can foster meaningful connections, exchange ideas, and contribute to a positive online community. See you there!

VMUG User/Con 2022

Thu, 06 Oct 2022 00:34:25 -0500

I recently had the incredible opportunity to attend the VMUG User/Con 2022 event, organized by our local VMUG Group. This gathering of passionate VMware professionals proved to be an enriching experience that left me both energized and inspired.

One of the highlights of the conference was the morning keynote delivered by none other than Chris McCain, a renowned authority in the field. His presentation titled “Designing and Managing a Multi-Cloud Security Solution” was nothing short of remarkable. Through his insightful speech, Chris talked on the complexities and nuances of securing multi-cloud environments.

The event served as an excellent platform to foster connections and build relationships within the local VMware community. It was heartwarming to reconnect with familiar faces and engage in meaningful conversations about our shared passion for virtualization and cloud technologies. In addition to the enlightening keynote, User/Con offered a diverse range of sessions and workshops that catered to various interests and skill levels. Whether it was diving into the latest advancements in virtualization, exploring best practices , or delving into cutting-edge cloud solutions, there was something for everyone.

Beyond the educational aspect, the conference also provided ample opportunities for networking and collaboration. I had the privilege of engaging in lively discussions with like-minded individuals who shared similar challenges and aspirations.

As I reflect on my time at VMUG User/Con 2022, I am filled with gratitude for the opportunity to participate in such a remarkable event. The knowledge gained, connections made will undoubtedly have a lasting impact on my professional journey. I am eagerly looking forward to future editions of this conference and the continued growth and evolution of the VMUG community as a whole.

If you’re passionate about VMware technologies or seeking to expand your knowledge and network in this domain, I highly recommend attending a local VMUG User/Con. It is an experience that will leave you inspired, informed, and equipped with the tools and connections necessary to thrive in the dynamic world of virtualization and cloud computing.

Here are some pictures from the event:

_{Trying out the Selfie Station}

_{Russell Hamker giving a presenation}

Amazon Web Services Certified Cloud Practitioner

Sat, 25 Jun 2022 06:34:25 -0500

I am thrilled to share that I successfully completed the Amazon Web Services Certified Cloud Practitioner (CLF-C01) exam recently. It was a challenging and allowed me to deepen my understanding of AWS cloud concepts. In this blog post, I would like to offer some valuable tips that can help you in your preparation for this certification. Here is the Offical Exam guide: Exam Details
Here are some of the core areas and terms you should prioritize in your study:

-AWS Global Infrastructure: Familiarize yourself with AWS regions, availability zones, and edge locations. Understand their purpose, how they are interconnected, and how they contribute to AWS’s global infrastructure.

-AWS Services Overview: Gain a comprehensive understanding of AWS’s extensive range of services, including compute, storage, database, networking, security, and management tools. Recognize the unique features and benefits of each service and their relevance in different scenarios.

-AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM): Learn the fundamentals of IAM, which plays a crucial role in controlling access to AWS resources. Understand concepts such as users, groups, roles, policies, and permissions, and how they are utilized to maintain a secure and well-managed AWS environment.

-Security Best Practices: Explore AWS’s security measures and best practices for safeguarding your cloud resources.

-AWS Billing and Pricing: Acquaint yourself with the various pricing models and cost optimization strategies available in AWS. Understand the concept of AWS Billing and Cost Management, including the different billing methods, cost allocation tags, and tools for monitoring and controlling expenditure.

-AWS Well-Architected Framework: Understand the six pillars that serve as guiding principles for building and maintaining well-designed systems on AWS.

-Four Principles: Agility, Elasticity, Security, and Flexibility.

-Agility vs Elasticity: It is a comparison between the ability to rapidly respond to change (agility) and the capability to scale resources up and down as needed (elasticity).

-Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2): Understand the usecases for the services. How EC2 provides scalable virtual servers in the cloud, allowing users to easily deploy and manage their applications.

-Elastic Block Store: Understand the usecase for a block-level storage service in AWS. Also how it provides persistent storage volumes for EC2 instances.

-Elastic File System: Know that tt is a scalable file storage service in AWS that provides shared file storage for use with EC2 instances.

-Simple Cloud Storage (S3): Familiarize yourself with the object storage service by AWS that offers scalable and durable storage for various types of data.

-Different Database Offerings: Know that AWS provides a range of database services, including RDS (Relational Database Service), DynamoDB (NoSQL database), ElastiCache (in-memory caching), and more.

Amazon offers an extensive array of services with numerous names, making it challenging to recall them all. Instead, prioritize understanding the core services listed above. Additionally, keep in mind that it is a marketing-level certification, so it is essential to familiarize yourself only with the terminology.

In addition to studying the theoretical aspects, I highly recommend practicing hands-on with AWS services. Take advantage of AWS Free Tier to gain practical experience and reinforce your understanding of concepts through real-world scenarios. Working on sample projects, tutorials, and labs can greatly enhance your comprehension and help you build confidence in your abilities.

Lastly, remember to manage your time effectively during the exam. Read questions carefully, eliminate obviously incorrect options, and prioritize your answers based on the level of certainty you have.

Wishing you the best of luck and an enriching learning experience on your path to becoming an AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner!
I will leave you witha few videos you can watch for addtonal study material.

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner 2022 FULL COURSE for Beginners (Youtube)

AWS Certified Cloud Practitioner Certification Course (CLF-C01) by FreeCodeCamp.org (Youtube)

VMware VMworld 2021 + Life Update

Sat, 02 Oct 2021 06:34:25 -0500

I just want to make a quick post. This week is VMworld 2021. I hope everyone is excited for it. Feel free to comment your favorite sessions this week.

Also if you are in the Nashville area, the VMUG is hosting a watch party. Check it out here vmugnash. I hope to see everyone there!

Life update: I have a had job change recently. I am really excited about the new opportunity. I have also had some personal life changes, so I have gotten behind on posting. I will try to catch back up on post very soon.

Quick Hit: VMware Error-7.0u2 Update

Sun, 08 Aug 2021 10:00:00 -0500

After my recent update to 7.0u2 in my Homelab. I faced two issues:
1) I got a “could not login” message when trying to access my VCSA.
2) The VCenter appliance displayed “vmdir.password is not set”

I am not 100% if they are related ( feel free to correct me in the comments or tweet me @VirtualAndrewC. I just wanted to share two articles that will help you resolve the issue if you happen to face it upon upgrading.

Article 1:Resetting root password in vCenter Server Appliance 6.5 / 6.7 / 7.x
Article 2:Error on VCSA Console after Applying Update Patch “vmdir.password is not set; aborting installation” or “Failed to Configure Network”

Good luck!

Quick Hit: DietPi GRUB Issue

Sat, 07 Aug 2021 10:00:25 -0500

I recently had a issue upgrading DietPi to the latest release. The VMs in my homelab are built using the instructions of Part 1 and Part 2 covered

I want to give a thanks to @Cypou and the official Diet Pi Twitter @Dietpi_ for giving me the steps to resolve this issue.

This is due to Debian kernal packages needing /boot to support symlink. On UEFI systems /boot/efi needs to be formatted to FAT partition. In the past blog, we will need to add the additional step of mounting the /boot partition at /boot/efi.

The steps to release this issue are as follows:

Change the mount point from /boot/ to /boot/efi

Save your changes.
Using CTRL-X

Then run

You should be good to go. Feel free to drop any feedback in the comments or on Twitter.

ESXi ARM v1.3 Released

Sat, 03 Apr 2021 10:00:25 -0500

Just a heads up. The latest version of ESXi ARM fling has been released, version number 1.3. It has the following improvements.
Changelog:
-Improved hardware compatibility (various bug fixes/enhancements)
-Add support for Experimental Ampere Altra (single socket systems only) (please see Requirements for more details)
-ACPI support for virtual machines
-NVMe and PVSCSI boot support in vEFI
-Workaround for ISO boot on some Arm servers
-Address VMM crash with newer guest OSes and Neoverse N1-based systems
-Improved guest interrupt controller virtualization
-Improved (skeletal) PMU virtualization
-Improved big endian VM support

Remember upgrade is not possible, you will have to do a fresh install of ESXi on ARM.
I have yet to upgrade my lab. I hope to do it in the next few days. I’ll be sure to post here or on my Twitter @VirtualAndrewC

ESXi ARM Fling Available Here