Here’s a quick guide on how to query and change the Platform Services Controller (PSC) being used by vCenter. Querying for the in-use PSC is possible on vCenter 6.0, but changing the PSC is only possible on 6.0 Update 1 or newer. Note that I performed these steps on the vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA), and while I have also included some commands for a Windows-based vCenter server, I haven’t tested them myself.
Increasing the disk size on a vCenter Server Appliance in vSphere 6.0
As VMware continues to push in the direction of unix-based appliances for their vSphere management components, those without a Unix background (like myself) are having to come to grips with the Unix versions of common administrative tasks. Increasing the disk size on a vCenter Server appliance (VCSA) is one such task. In vCenter 6.0 VMware has introduced Logical Volume Management (LVM) which really simplifies the process of increasing the size of a disk, and allows it to be done while the appliance is online. VMware KB 2126276 covers all the steps required to increase the size of a disk, but this guide will cover it in slightly more detail.
Useful Unix commands for managing disk space on VMware appliances
Coming from a Windows background without much knowledge of Unix commands, I often find myself at a loss when trying to figure out how to do things on VMware’s vSphere appliances. Managing disk space from the command line on an appliance is something I’ve had to do more than a few times, so I thought I’d create a quick list of the Unix commands I use most often to identify which partitions are filling up, and then which folders and files on that partition are consuming the most space.
Resolving the “host is not communicating for more than 15 seconds” error when connecting to a vSphere 6.0 appliance with WinSCP
If you’ve set up a vCenter 6.0 appliance or a Platform Services Controller and tried to connect via WinSCP, you will have noticed the following error:
Host is not communicating for more than 15 seconds. Still waiting…