I’m currently revising for an EMC exam and part of the course material involves doing some training on the Navisphere simulator. No problems, except where on earth do you download the simulator software? I searched for ages before finding out that you only get access to it on EMC PowerLink if you are an EMC employee, partner or you have bought the relevant training. I had done the latter but still couldn’t get it downloaded for some reason, that’s when a google search turned up a link to the following page which required no credentials, EMC Education Services product simulators.
I managed to download the latest version for EMC Flare release 28 without issue. I was however asked for my EMC PowerLink credentials when I first opened the simulator so perhaps that’s how it’s authenticated against the training purchased. It’s a really good learning aid and I’ve been able to find out how to do things on it that I wouldn’t have dared to attempt on our actual CLARiiON implementation. Hope this link helps someone who’s searching for this, took me ages to find it.
Certifications, Storage
Certification, EMC, Navisphere
I was purusing twitter the other day (as you do) when I came across a link shared by @Stevie_Chambers of VMware. The link was for a new free tool from EMC called Compliance Checker for VMware ESX, which as you might guess does exactly what it’s title suggests. The tool though EMC branded is actually by Configuresoft who EMC bought outright earlier this year following an existing OEM relationship.
Now some of you may be familiar with the Tripwire Config Check tool which allows you to scan your ESX servers security configuration, which in itself is a very handy tool. This new tool from EMC appears to be a little more comprehensive in that it checks your ESX servers against both the VMware VI3 Security Hardening Guidelines and the Centre for Internet Security VMware ESX Server 3.x benchmark. Test results against both are backed with an extensive knowledge base of what the check is and the actions required to rectify the issue.
Included below are some screenshots of the Main interface, the reports returned and the knowledgebase articles you recieve when you click on any item in the report.
I must admit that these compliance checkers are handy because my Linux experience only began with ESX and sometimes the areas of security being checked are ones I wouldn’t have a clue about. This is where the knowledgebase is great because it explains a little about what the check actually is as well as the actions required to rectify the issue. Very handy because it would appear that a standard build of ESX 3.5 U4 is only 73% compliant as far as this piece of software is concerned.
To get your free copy of Compliance Checker for VMware ESX, click the link, you’ll need to register but it’s a small price to pay for this handy tool.
ESX, New Products, VMware
EMC, esx
Later this year I’ll be looking at moving our VMware environment across to a EMC CX4 system. I saw these posted before somewhere but could not remember who did it, so I had to search for them all over again. I’m personally interested in the Clariion document but the following links may come in handy for anyone else that is using Vmware on the Symmetrix or Celerra ranges.
These were all found using EMC’s documentation search which I will be adding to my favourites for future use.
TechBook: VMware ESX Server Using EMC Celerra Storage Systems Solutions Guide
TechBook: VMware ESX Server Using EMC CLARiiON Storage Systems Solutions Guide
TechBook: VMware ESX Server using EMC Symmetrix Storage Systems Solutions Guide
For my own personal reference, I found some interesting documents on using EMC and QLogic HBA’s in both a Linux (ESX) and Windows environment. These will come in handy as we use HP based Qlogic HBA’s and EMC storage, maybe someone else may find them useful.
** Please note that these documents appear to relate to a specific driver, please check before using the content within **
EMC Fibre Channel and ISCSI with QLogic Host Bus Adapters in the Windows Environment
EMC Fibre Channel with QLogic Host Bus Adapters for the Linux Environment
General
EMC, QLogic, Storage
