How to Remove Inaccessible vSAN Objects in vSphere: Step-by-Step Guide

This post is about how to remove such an inaccessible object within vSAN.

Afbeelding met tekst, schermopname, nummer, Lettertype Automatisch gegenereerde beschrijving

Open an SSH session to the vCenter and enter the command rvc localhost in the command line.

Navigate to the destinated vSAN cluster where you want to remove the inaccessible objects using cd and utilize ls to list in each step like this one:

Verify the state of vSAN objects using the command vsan.check_state -r . This check involves three steps:

  • Checking for inaccessible vSAN objects
  • Verifying invalid or inaccessible VMs, and
  • Checking for VMs for which VC/hostd/vmx are out of sync

During this check, as you can see in the next screenshot, there are four inaccessible objects with the same UUID as those listed in Virtual Objects within the vSphere Client.

Afbeelding met tekst, schermopname, Lettertype Automatisch gegenereerde beschrijving

To remove them, open an SSH session to any ESXi in the cluster and use the following command /usr/lib/vmware/osfs/bin/objtool delete -u <UUID> -f replacing UUID with the one you want to remove. Afbeelding met tekst, schermopname, Lettertype Automatisch gegenereerde beschrijving

After you remove all inaccessible objects and run the (vsan.checkstate -r .) once again, you should no longer see any inaccessible objects. Afbeelding met tekst, schermopname, software, Lettertype Automatisch gegenereerde beschrijving

‘Ineligible for use by VSAN’ can’t be added to VSAN disk groups

I had the opportunity to test a Dell vSAN node. I had a older unattend install esxi iso.
This installed the ESXi OS on the wrong disk. After a correct install vSAN did not see this this disk ready for use for vSAN. Combining the following articles Dell VXRai vSAN Drives ineligible and identify-and-solve-ineligible-disk-problems-in-virtual-san/
I solved this problem with the following steps:

Step 1: Identify the Disk with vdq -qH

Step 2: Use partedUtil get “/dev/disks/<DISK>” to list all partitions:

partedUtil get “/dev/disks/t10.NVMe____Dell_Ent_NVMe_CM6_MU_3.2TB______________017D7D23E28EE38C”

Step 3: Use This disk has 2 partitions. Use the partedUtil delete “/dev/disks/<DISK>” <PARTITION> command to delete all partitions:

Afbeelding met tekst, Lettertype, schermopname Automatisch gegenereerde beschrijving

Step 4:

When all partitions are removed, do a rescan:

~ # esxcli storage core adapter rescan –all

Afbeelding met tekst, schermopname, software, Computerpictogram Automatisch gegenereerde beschrijving

Step 5: Claim Unused Disks

Afbeelding met tekst, software, Lettertype, nummer Automatisch gegenereerde beschrijving

ESXi Unattend Install on Dell BOSS controller

I had the opportunity to test a Dell vSAN node. I had a older unattend install esxi iso.
This installed the ESXi OS on the wrong disk.

I hate to type a very complex password twice.
So automation is the key.
I love de ks.cfg install option

Sow following the following guide did not the trik:
https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000177584/automating-operating-system-deployment-to-dell-boss-techniques-for-different-operating-systems

VMware ESXi Automated Install

This did not work:
install –overwritevmfs –firstdisk=”DELLBOSS VD”

After doing a manual install:
Afbeelding met tekst, schermopname Automatisch gegenereerde beschrijving

What works:

# For Dell Boss Controller “Dell BOSS-N1″

install –overwritevmfs –firstdisk=”Dell BOSS-N1”

My HomeLab anno 2024

My home lab is manly used for testing new stuff released by VMware (70%) en Microsoft (20%) other stuff (10%)

For the Base I use my Home PC

Intel i5 12600k
128 GB Memory
2 x 2TB Samsung 980 and 990 Pro SSD.
Windows 11 Pro
VMware Workstation Pro

On my Home PC running
Server 2022 (Eval for DC)
ESXi801 (16 GB) (NSX Demo Cluster)
ESXi802 (16 GB) (NSX Demo Cluster)
ESXi803 (64 GB) (General Cluster) )
ESXi804 (64 GB) (General Cluster)
ESXi805 (24 GB) (Single Node vSAN Cluster)
ESXi806 (16 GB) (4 Node vSAN Cluster)
ESXi807 (16 GB) (4 Node vSAN Cluster)
ESXi808 (16 GB) (4 Node vSAN Cluster)
ESXi809 (16 GB) (4 Node vSAN Cluster)

ESXi701 (24GB) (General Cluster)
ESXi702 (24GB) (General Cluster)

In general cluster there a running the most VM’s. Also here I am testing Packer and Terraform.

Afbeelding met tekst, schermopname, software, Lettertype Automatisch gegenereerde beschrijving

For a while I used a 2TB Samsung SSD a Storage for ESXi Server through Truenas
But I wanted a larger storage for all my VM’s.

After reading on William Liam blog Synology DS723+ in Homelab and Synology NFS VAAI Plug-in support for vSphere 8.0

So I did a nice upgrade. Afbeelding met tekst, schermopname, software, nummer Automatisch gegenereerde beschrijving

I used not the original Synology Parts. Following parts works fine.
Kingston 16 GB DDR4-3200 notebook memory
WD Red SN700, 500 GB SSD
WD Red Pro, 8 TB

* For Read-Write caching you need 2 SSD devices.

For mouting the NFS shared I created a little powercli script.

https://github.com/WardVissers/VMware-Powercli-Public/blob/main/Add%20NFS%20DataStore%20Github.ps1

My Favorites Visual Studio Code Plugins

When i begon with scripting using PowerShell ISE for Coding.

PowerShell ISE and Visual Studio Code are free coding tools from Microsoft.

But when Visual Studio Code was released back in 2015 i was switching to that. Powershell ISE i still use on a daily base for some basic tasks.

But with de Extenions list for Visual Studio Code getting better and better scripting is much faster and without errors and easyer to read.

The list with favo extensions is getting bigger en bigger.
Which makes my live a little easyer and helpfull.

So the list of my Favorites:
Prettier – Code Formatter
TODO Highlight
Code Spell Checker
Dutch – Code Spell Checker
Code Snap
Error Lens
Hashicorp HCL
HashiCorp Terraform

Because AI is hot I ám currently testing the following plugins
ChatGPT
GitHub CoPilot
GitHub CoPilot Chat

Using the ChatGPT/CoPilot plugins makes scripting even faster

Updated ouut-of-band (OOB) updates are released for March 2024 for Windows Server Domain Controllers

Microsoft has identified an issue that affects Windows Server domain controllers (DCs), and has expedited a resolution that can be applied to affected devices. Out-of-band (OOB) updates have been released for some versions of Windows today, March 22, 2024, to addresses this issue related to a memory leak in the Local Security Authority Subsystem Service (LSASS). This occurs when on-premises and cloud-based Active Directory domain controllers service Kerberos authentication requests.

This issue is not expected to impact Home users, as it is only observed in some versions of Windows Server. Domain controllers are not commonly used in personal and home devices.

Updates are available on the Microsoft Update Catalog only. These are cumulative updates, so you do not need to apply any previous update before installing them, and they supersede all previous updates for affected versions. If your organization uses the affected server platforms as DCs and you haven’t deployed the March 2024 security updated yet, we recommend you apply this OOB update instead. For more information and instructions on how to install this update on your device, consult the below resources for your version of Windows:

  • Windows Server 2022: KB5037422
  • Windows Server 2019: Available soon
  • Windows Server 2016: KB5037423
  • Windows Server 2012 R2: KB5037426

Note: The OOB release for Windows Server 2019 will be released in near term.

Windows Server 2025 “Preview” deployment with Packer

As Windows Server 2025 Preview is officially released, I wanted to test a  automated build of the Windows Server 2025 Preview release. So that I can deploy this in my home lab and going to test the new features if I can find the time….

About Hashicorp Packer

Hashicorp Packer is a self-contained executable producing quick and easy operating system builds across multiple platforms. Using Packer and a couple of HCL2 files, you can quickly create fully automated template(s) with latest Windows Updates en VMware Tools. When you schedule a fresh builds after patch Tuesday  you have always an up-to-date and fully secured template.

When using VMware customization tools. You can spin up vm’s in minutes.

Automated Windows Server 2025 “Preview” Build

Files you need?
The files and versions I am using at the time of this writing are as follows:

Outside of downloading both Packer and Windows Server 2022 Preview build, you will need the following files:

  • windowsserver2025.auto.pkrvars.hcl – houses the variable values you want to define.
  • windows2025.json.pkr.hcl – the Packer build file
  • Answer file – Generated with Windows System Image Manager (SIM) you can download the file below
  • Custom script file(s) – optional

Other considerations and tasks you will need to complete:

  • Copy the Windows Server 2025 ISO file to a vSphere datastore

Windows Server 2025 unattend Answer file for the automated Packer Build

Like other automated approaches to installing Windows Server, the automated Windows Server 2025 Packer build requires an answer file to provide answers to the GUI automatically and other installation prompts that you normally see in a manual installation of Windows Server.

You will find the scripts here: https://github.com/WardVissers/Packer-Win2025

The only problem that I had was: Switching from Nic from Public to Private

# Set network connections profile to Private mode.

Write-Output ‘Setting the network connection profiles to Private…’

do {

    $connectionProfile = Get-NetConnectionProfile

    Start-Sleep -Seconds 10

} while ($connectionProfile.Name -eq ‘Identifying…’)

Set-NetConnectionProfile -Name $connectionProfile.Name -NetworkCategory Private

Windows Server 2025 Preview (Build: Canary 26052)

I had some time to check out the new version of Server 2025.

For the full upcomming features check: https://ignite.microsoft.com/en-US/sessions/f3901190-1154-45e3-9726-d2498c26c2c9?source=sessions

Download Server 2025 Preview: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windowsinsiderpreviewserver

Server 2025 will come with a lot of features (My Top 20+):

  • General – Server 2022 upgrade to .vNext (Controled bij GPO)
  • Hot Patching (Arc Enabled, Monthly Subscription)
  • Active Directory – 32k page
  • Active Directory – Numa
  • Active Directory – LDAP TLS 1.3
  • Active Directory – Improved Security for Confidential Attributes
  • Active Directory – Active Directory LDAP prefers Encryption bij Default
  • Active Directory – Kerberos Support for AES/SHA256/384
  • Active Directory – Changes to Default behavior of legacy SAM RPC Spassword change methods
  • Active Directory – Kerberos en KPINT Support cryptographic agility
  • Active Directory – New AD Forest en Domein Level (Minimal Server 2016 requirement)
  • Storage – NVME 70%/90% peformance increase
  • File Server – SMB over Internet (Quick Protocol)
  • File Server – More Control over SLTM
  • File Server – SMB Limitor (Enabeld bij Default)
  • File Server – Signing by Default
  • File Server – Minimum version SMB
  • File Server – More Secure Bij Default (Netbios disabled bij default)
  • RDS – M365 Apps stil supported for every Windows Server release 2-3 years
  • Finance – General support and Pay-as-you-go Support

Need to find some time to dig in

Handy link: https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-server-insiders/announcing-windows-server-preview-build-26040/m-p/4040858

Excalidraw replacement for Microsoft Visio?

Sometimes you want to make a design of something.
A whiteboard is then very handy. In most cases you would to like to use Microsoft Visio.
But on my home pc I don’t have Visio. A free alternative is Excalidraw.

You can draw some thing cool like this: (This for Demo only has no function)

A diagram of a computer network Description automatically generated

Highlight some libraries.excalidraw.com:

IT icons
Microsoft 365 icons
VMware Architecture Design
Veeam
Veeam unofficial
Technology Logos
Fortinet
Kubernetes Icons Set
Microsoft Azure cloud icons
Misc Azure Icons
Azure General
Azure Compute
Azure Storage
Azure Containers
Azure Network
Azure cloud services icons
Cloud

Would be nice if we see more venders on the list.

Deploy Windows Core Server 2022 with Server Core App Compatibility Feature on Demand with Packer

I while ago I started with parker to create simple templates for use in my homelab.

It take some time to find the rights scripts and learning en understanding the HCL2 coding

But in related to Security reasons I want to use a Windows Core Server the smaller footprint.

What is Server Core App Compatibility Feature on Demand: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/get-started/server-core-app-compatibility-feature-on-demand

Installing Features on Demand through Powerschell contains a bug. You may see “failure to download files”, “cannot download”, or errors like “0x800F0954” or file not found.

To Solve that I created I powerschell script to run the install twice: featuresondemand.ps1

You can find al the needed files on my Public Github Packer repository: https://github.com/WardVissers/Packer-Public

When running is showing like this:

A blue screen with white squares Description automatically generated

It works for now, but there is one thing that would the hole thing a quiet nicer.
Passwords encrypted in a separate file.

Translate »