Host CPU is incompatible...

Ups... i forgot somethign basic: If i power on a Windows 2008 R2 virtual machine within a ESX testing environment i get the following error:

Host CPU is incompatible with the virtual machine's requirements at CPUID level 0x80000001 register 'edx'.
Host bits: 0000:1100:0001:0000:0000:1000:0000:0000
 Required: xx1x:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx:xxxx
Mismatch detected for these features:
* Longmode; required when a virtual machine is configured for a 64-bit guest OS. For systems with Intel CPUs, enabling VT in the BIOS is required for longmode support.
 
For incompatibilities other than NX/XD or longmode: if possible, use a cluster with Enhanced vMotion Compatibility (EVC) enabled; see KB article 1003212. In the absence of EVC, see KB article 1993.

The solution is so simple that i forgot it the second time during the last months: Enable "virtualisation technology" and "Execute Disable" within the servers bios. After a reboot you should be able to power on the VM.

SnapManager SQL RPC error on initial configuration wizard setup

 If you get the following error during the initial configuration wizard you should verify if all required SQL Server services are running even if the databases are running fine. Some of the services are set to manual start by default.

[SQL-DMO API Error]: The RPC server is unavailable

Dell iDRAC 6 IP port requirements

I got a "connection failed" error if i opened the console redirection within the Integrated Dell Remote Access Controller 6 (iDRAC6)  of a customers server. Two days ago i was able to get the connection.


Solution simple: The firewall between me and the server was turned on yesterday, so that the port for the redirection got blocked: 


If you check the dell manuals (support.dell.com) you'll find these default ports used by the iDRAC:

• 80 (HTTP) 
• 443 (HTTPS)
• 22 (SSH)
• 23 (Telnet)
• 161(SNMP)
•  5900, 5901 (Console Redirection)

SnapManager VI fails to create snapshots

Currently troubleshooting the backup of a brand new VMware 4.1.0 installation... 

VMware shows up with the following error:

Cannot create a quiesced snapshot because the create snapshot operation exceeded the time limit for holding off I/O in the frozen virtual machine

After some research[1][2] i found a hint to follow these steps:

1. Backup the following regkey: _HKLM\Software\Microsoft\EventSystem _
2. Erase the regkey HKLM\Software\Microsoft\EventSystem{26c409cc-ae86-11d1-b616-00805fc79216} an below
3. Reboot
4. Verify that things are working by running

Even if it might worke well you never should follow these steps!

Better: Uninstall the VMware Tools and Reinstall them using the custom installation option. Disable the VMware VSS provider component and retry the backup.


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[1] http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-11987
[2] https://kb.netapp.com/support/index?page=content&id=2014932