The process of replacing the default SSL certificates on ESXi 6.x/6.5 is a simple process involving around 5-10 steps. We would need a seperate linux host to generate the openssl self-signed certificate (NOTE: we are not using any CA). Host needs to be in Host Maintenance mode during the process. Please plan downtime.
Its a very quick process to update ESXi version to the latest. This procedure is completed via esxcli going through a SSH session to the Server. The update takes around 5-10mins depending on the hardware resources of the server and the failure is minimal. But not to say that the things wont go wrong so please make a BACKUP before you proceed.
It is possible to use DCUI (Direct Console User Interface) via SSH session to ESXi. At the command prompt just type in “dcui” and then you would be able to see the same screen as given below. You need to resize the SSH window BIG enough otherwise the DCUI window tends to crash if you resize after logging in. You can restore the console session by pressing Ctrl+C.
This article will explain how to go about installing VMWare Tools for CentOS/Red hat v6 & above. The install can be done via SSH Putty session but the recommended method is doing it via VMware console session and reason being that as it updates drivers that include Network there is a chance you might get disconnected during the process.
Its possible to change the interface name in Linux and reload without a reboot. It usually happens in Virtual environment where you add / remove interfaces frequently. You need to take note of the interfaces before you do any changes. Make sure that there are no active connections going to the NIC as you are going to restart the network service for the chagesz to take effect. Again you would not need a reboot.
At home Lab I came across this error while adding a previously used Windows disk to ESXi. It appears half way while adding the disk via “Add Storage Wizard”. The error can be resolved by formatting the disk in DOS format using Parted utility inbuilt into Esxi. You need to SSH into the Esxi hosts for fixing.