lamw / vsphere-automated-lab-deployment

vSphere Automated Lab Deployment for vSphere 6.x (6.0, 6.5 & 6.7)

vSphere Automated Lab Deployment

Table of Contents

• Description
• Changelog
• Requirements
• Supported Deployments
• Scripts
• Configuration
• Logging
• Verification
• Sample Execution

Description

Automated deployment of a fully functional vSphere 6.x environment that includes a set of Nested ESXi Virtual Appliance(s) configured w/vSAN as well as a vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) using PowerCLI. For information, you can refer to this blog post here for more details.

Changelog

• 11/22/16

  • Automatically handle Nested ESXi on vSAN

• 01/20/17

  • Resolved "Another task in progress" thanks to Jason M

• 02/12/17

  • Support for deploying to VC Target
  • Support for enabling SSH on VCSA
  • Added option to auto-create vApp Container for VMs
  • Added pre-check for required files

• 02/17/17

  • Added missing dvFilter param to eth1 (missing in Nested ESXi OVA)

• 02/21/17

  • Support for deploying NSX 6.3 & registering with vCenter Server
  • Support for updating Nested ESXi VM to ESXi 6.5a (required for NSX 6.3)
  • Support for VDS + VXLAN VMkernel configuration (required for NSX 6.3)
  • Support for "Private" Portgroup on eth1 for Nested ESXi VM used for VXLAN traffic (required for NSX 6.3)
  • Support for both Virtual & Distributed Portgroup on $VMNetwork
  • Support for adding ESXi hosts into VC using DNS name (disabled by default)
  • Added CPU/MEM/Storage resource requirements in confirmation screen

• 05/08/17

  • Support for patching ESXi using VMware Online repo thanks to Matt Lichstein for contribution
  • Added fix to test ESXi endpoint before trying to patch

• 04/18/18

  • Added support for vCenter Server 6.7, some of the JSON params have changed for consistency purposes which needed to be updated
  • Added support for new Nested ESXi 6.7 Virtual Appliance (will need to download that first)
  • vMotion is now enabled by default on vmk0 for all Nested ESXi hosts

• 02/10/2020

  • Added support for deploying basic vSphere environment (ESXi VM + VCSA) into VMware Cloud on AWS (Nested vSAN not supported)

Requirements

• 1 x Physical ESXi host or vCenter Server running at least vSphere 6.0u2 or later
• DRS-enabled Cluster (not required but vApp creation will not be possible)
• Windows system
• PowerCLI 6.5 R1
• PowerNSX installed and loaded (required if you plan to do NSX 6.3 deployment)
• vCenter Server Appliance (VCSA) 6.x extracted ISO
• Nested ESXi 6.x Virtual Appliance OVA
• NSX 6.3 OVA (optional)
  • ESXi 6.5a offline patch bundle (extracted)

Supported Deployments

The scripts support deploying both a vSphere 6.x environment and there are two types of deployments for each:

• Standard - All VMs are deployed directly to the physical ESXi host
• Self Managed - Only the Nested ESXi VMs are deployed to physical ESXi host. The VCSA is then bootstrapped onto the first Nested ESXi VM

Here is a quick diagram to help illustrate the two deployment scenarios. The pESXi in gray is what you already have deployed which must be running at least ESXi 6.0 Update 2. The rest of the boxes is what the scripts will deploy. In the "Standard" deployment, three Nested ESXi VMs will be deployed to the pESXi host and configured with vSAN. The VCSA will also be deployed directly to the pESXi host and the vCenter Server will be configured to add the three Nested ESXi VMs into its inventory. This is a pretty straight forward and basic deployment, it should not surprise anyone. The "Self Managed" deployment is simliar, however the biggest difference is that rather than the VCSA being deployed directly to the pESXi host like the "Standard" deployment, it will actually be running within the Nested ESXi VM. The way that this deployment scenario works is that we will still deploy three Nested ESXi VM onto the pESXi host, however, the first Nested ESXi VM will be selected as a "Bootstrap" node which we will then construct a single-node vSAN to then deploy the VCSA. Once the vCenter Server is setup, we will then add the remainder Nested ESXi VMs into its inventory.

Scripts

Script Function	Script Download
vSphere 6.5 Standard Deployment	vsphere-6.5-standard-lab-deployment.ps1
vSphere 6.0u2 Standard Deployment	vsphere-6.0-standard-lab-deployment.ps1
vSphere 6.5 Self Managed Deployment	vsphere-6.5-self-manage-lab-deployment.ps1
vSphere 6.0u2 Self Managed Deployment	vsphere-6.0-self-manage-lab-deployment.ps1
vSphere 6.7 Standard Managed Deployment	vsphere-6.7-standard-lab-deployment.ps1

Configuration

This section describes the location of the files required for deployment. The first two are mandatory for the basic deployment. For advanced deployments such as NSX 6.3, you will need to download additional files and below are examples of what is required.

$NestedESXiApplianceOVA = 'C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\VMC-Customer0\Nested_ESXi6.7u3_Appliance_Template_v1.ova'
$VCSAInstallerPath = 'C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\VMC-Customer0\VMware-VCSA-all-6.7.0-15132721'
$NSXOVA =  "C:\Users\primp\Desktop\VMware-NSX-Manager-6.3.0-5007049.ova"
$ESXi65aOfflineBundle = "C:\Users\primp\Desktop\ESXi650-201701001\vmw-ESXi-6.5.0-metadata.zip"

This section describes the credentials to your physical ESXi server or vCenter Server in which the vSphere lab environment will be deployed to:

$VIServer = "himalaya.primp-industries.com"
$VIUsername = "root"
$VIPassword = "vmware123"

This section describes whether your deployment environment (destination) will be an ESXi host, vCenter Server or VMware Cloud on AWS. You will need to specify either ESXI, VCENTER or VMC keyword:

$DeploymentTarget = "ESXI"

This section defines the number of Nested ESXi VMs to deploy along with their associated IP Address(s). The names are merely the display name of the VMs when deployed. At a minimum, you should deploy at least three hosts, but you can always add additional hosts and the script will automatically take care of provisioning them correctly.

$NestedESXiHostnameToIPs = @{
    "vesxi67-1" = "192.168.1.51"
    "vesxi67-2" = "192.168.1.52"
    "vesxi67-3" = "192.168.1.53"
}

This section describes the resources allocated to each of the Nested ESXi VM(s). Depending on the deployment type, you may need to increase the resources. For Memory and Disk configuration, the unit is in GB.

$NestedESXivCPU = "2"
$NestedESXivMEM = "6"
$NestedESXiCachingvDisk = "4"
$NestedESXiCapacityvDisk = "8"

This section describes the VCSA deployment configuration such as the VCSA deployment size, Networking & SSO configurations. If you have ever used the VCSA CLI Installer, these options should look familiar.

$VCSADeploymentSize = "tiny"
$VCSADisplayName = "vcenter67-1"
$VCSAIPAddress = "192.168.1.50"
$VCSAHostname = "vcenter67-1.vmware.corp" #Change to IP if you don't have valid DNS
$VCSAPrefix = "24"
$VCSASSODomainName = "vsphere.local"
$VCSASSOPassword = "VMware1!"
$VCSARootPassword = "VMware1!"
$VCSASSHEnable = "true"

This section describes the location as well as the generic networking settings applied to BOTH the Nested ESXi VM and VCSA.

$VirtualSwitchType = "VDS" # VSS or VDS
$VMNetwork = "sddc-cgw-network-1"
$VMDatastore = "WorkloadDatastore"
$VMNetmask = "255.255.255.0"
$VMGateway = "192.168.1.1"
$VMDNS = "192.168.1.100"
$VMNTP = "pool.ntp.org"
$VMPassword = "VMware1!"
$VMDomain = "vmware.corp"
$VMSyslog = "192.168.1.200"

# Applicable to Nested ESXi only
$VMSSH = "true"
$VMVMFS = "false"

# Applicable to VC Deployment Target only
$VMCluster = "Cluster-1"

# Defaults for VMC
$VMDatacenter = "SDDC-Datacenter"
$VMFolder = "Workloads"
$VMResourcePool = "Compute-ResourcePool"

This section describes the configuration of the new vCenter Server from the deployed VCSA.

$NewVCDatacenterName = "Datacenter"
$NewVCVSANClusterName = "vSphere-Cluster"

This section describes the NSX configuration if you choose to deploy which will require you to set $DeployNSX property to 1 and fill out all fields.

$DeployNSX = 0
$NSXvCPU = "2" # Reconfigure NSX vCPU
$NSXvMEM = "8" # Reconfigure NSX vMEM (GB)
$NSXDisplayName = "nsx63-1"
$NSXHostname = "nsx63-1.primp-industries.com"
$NSXIPAddress = "172.30.0.250"
$NSXNetmask = "255.255.255.0"
$NSXGateway = "172.30.0.1"
$NSXSSHEnable = "true"
$NSXCEIPEnable = "false"
$NSXUIPassword = "VMw@re123!"
$NSXCLIPassword = "VMw@re123!"

This section describes the VDS and VXLAN configurations which is required for NSX deployment. The only mandatory field here is $PrivateVXLANVMnetwork which is a private portgroup that must already exists which will be used to connect the second network adapter of the Nested ESXi VM for VXLAN traffic. You do not need a routable portgroup and the other properties can be left as default or you can modify them if you wish.

# VDS / VXLAN Configurations
$PrivateVXLANVMNetwork = "dv-private-network" # Existing Portgroup
$VDSName = "VDS-6.5"
$VXLANDVPortgroup = "VXLAN"
$VXLANSubnet = "172.16.66."
$VXLANNetmask = "255.255.255.0"

This section describes some advanced options for the deployment. Th first setting adds the ESXi hosts into vCenter Server using DNS names (must have both forward/reverse DNS working in your environment). The second option will upgrade the Nested ESXi 6.5 VMs to ESXi 6.5a which is required if you are deploying NSX 6.3 or if you just want to run the latest version of ESXi, you can also enable this. Both of these settings are disabled by default

# Set to 1 only if you have DNS (forward/reverse) for ESXi hostnames
$addHostByDnsName = 0
# Upgrade vESXi hosts to 6.5a
$upgradeESXiTo65a = 0

Once you have saved your changes, you can now run the PowerCLI script as you normally would.

Logging

There is additional verbose logging that outputs as a log file in your current working directory either vsphere60-lab-deployment.log or vsphere65-lab-deployment.log depending on the deployment you have selected.

Verification

Once you have saved all your changes, you can then run the script. You will be provided with a summary of what will be deployed and you can verify that everything is correct before attempting the deployment. Below is a screenshot on what this would look like:

Sample Executions

Here is an example of running a vSphere 6.5 "Standard" deployment including NSX 6.3:

Here is an example of running a vSphere 6.5 "Self Managed" deployment:

If everything is succesful, you can now login to your new vCenter Server and you should either see the following for a "Standard" deployment:

or the following for "Self Managed" deployment:

vsphere-automated-lab-deployment's Issues

NSX OVA 6.4+ property "VSMgmt" now "Management_Network"

NSX OVA from 6.4+ property VSMgmt has been replaced with Management_Network
Script fails with

The property 'value' cannot be found on this object. Verify that the property exists and can be set.
At F:\Dropbox\code\vghetto-vsphere-automated-lab-deployment-master\vsphere-6.7-vghetto-standard-lab-deployment.ps1:617 
char:9
+         $ovfconfig.NetworkMapping.VSMgmt.value = $VMNetwork
+         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : InvalidOperation: (:) [], RuntimeException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : PropertyNotFound

Shouldn't be there 172.16.66.0 ?

https://github.com/lamw/vghetto-vsphere-automated-lab-deployment/blob/13f8253a9707a1aa4f4938f9f4e57a16e377a0c1/vsphere-6.7-vghetto-standard-lab-deployment.ps1#L116

NSX Manager NTP

I suggest to add ntp as an NSX OVF deployment parameter

$ovfconfig.common.vsm_ntp_0.value

VCSA deplyment

On the latest vCenter download ISO..
Looks like the field names on the vcsa deploy json files have changed names slightly. .

_ have replaced .

Feature Suggestion: Open log file in separate window while deployment runs

How about adding something like this to the script:

start-process powershell.exe -argument '-nologo -noprofile -executionpolicy bypass -command Get-Content .\vsphere65-vghetto-lab-deployment.log -Tail 2 -Wait'

This opens a new powershell window and runs Get-Content to display the log file as the script runs.

This is useful as it contains more progress information than the output of the script itself:

Add change log

Add this line into change log:

Add a function (preCheck) to check correct path of OVA image and VSCA PATCH

NSX Manager DNS settings

Hi William,
During my tests, I realized that NSX manager DNS fields shown as empty. Is it same for you ?

What about deployment target esxi?

Hi William,

In the line 613 there is only vcenter as a deployment type. I am deploying on single esxi and I don't have NSX installed.

https://github.com/lamw/vghetto-vsphere-automated-lab-deployment/blob/13f8253a9707a1aa4f4938f9f4e57a16e377a0c1/vsphere-6.7-vghetto-standard-lab-deployment.ps1#L613

Error at importing ESXi OVA

At line 479 of the script it is failing.

$vm = Import-VApp -Server $viConnection -Source $NestedESXiApplianceOVA -Name $VMName -VMHost $vmhost -Datastore $datastore -DiskStorageFormat thin

Solutiuon is provided https://readysetvirtual.wordpress.com/2018/04/09/powercli-import-vapp-ova-hostname-cannot-be-parsed/ but should be fixed.

[10-10-2018_03:02:19] Connecting to 192.168.255.50 ...
[10-10-2018_03:02:20] Deploying Nested ESXi VM lab02-esxi01 ...
Import-VApp : 10.10.2018 15:02:22 Import-VApp Invalid URI: The hostname could not be parsed.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:479 char:19

• ... $vm = Import-VApp -Server $viConnection -Source $NestedESXiAppl ...

•             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (:) [Import-VApp], ViError
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : Client20_NfcLease_RunNfcTask_Error,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.ImportVA
    pp

[10-10-2018_03:02:22] Updating VM Network ...
Get-NetworkAdapter : 10.10.2018 15:02:22 Get-NetworkAdapter NetworkAdapter with name 'Network adapter 1' was not found
using the specified filter(s).
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:482 char:19

• ... $vm | Get-NetworkAdapter -Name "Network adapter 1" | Set-N ...

•                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : ObjectNotFound: (:) [Get-NetworkAdapter], VimException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : Core_OutputHelper_WriteNotFoundError,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.Virtua
    lDevice.GetNetworkAdapter

Get-NetworkAdapter : 10.10.2018 15:02:27 Get-NetworkAdapter NetworkAdapter with name 'Network adapter 2' was not found using the specified filter(s).
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:486 char:23

• ... $vm | Get-NetworkAdapter -Name "Network adapter 2" | Set-N ...

•                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : ObjectNotFound: (:) [Get-NetworkAdapter], VimException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : Core_OutputHelper_WriteNotFoundError,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.VirtualDevice.GetNetworkAdapter

[10-10-2018_03:02:27] Updating vCPU Count to 4 & vMEM to 20 GB ...
Set-VM : 10.10.2018 15:02:27 Set-VM Value cannot be found for the mandatory parameter VM
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:492 char:13

•         Set-VM -Server $viConnection -VM $vm -NumCpu $NestedESXiv ...
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (:) [Set-VM], VimException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : Core_BaseCmdlet_UnknownError,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.SetVM

[10-10-2018_03:02:27] Updating vSAN Caching VMDK size to 20 GB ...
Get-HardDisk : Cannot validate argument on parameter 'VM'. The argument is null. Provide a valid value for the argument, and then try running the command again.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:495 char:52

•         Get-HardDisk -Server $viConnection -VM $vm -Name "Hard di ...
  

•                                                ~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidData: (:) [Get-HardDisk], ParameterBindingValidationException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : ParameterArgumentValidationError,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.VirtualDevice.GetHardDisk

[10-10-2018_03:02:27] Updating vSAN Capacity VMDK size to 100 GB ...
Get-HardDisk : Cannot validate argument on parameter 'VM'. The argument is null. Provide a valid value for the argument, and then try running the command again.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:498 char:52

•         Get-HardDisk -Server $viConnection -VM $vm -Name "Hard di ...
  

•                                                ~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidData: (:) [Get-HardDisk], ParameterBindingValidationException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : ParameterArgumentValidationError,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.VirtualDevice.GetHardDisk

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:541 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$b
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:542 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$c
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:543 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$d
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:544 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$e
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:545 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$f
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:546 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$g
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:547 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$h
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:548 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$i
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:549 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$j
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:550 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$k
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:551 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$l
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:552 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$m
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

[10-10-2018_03:02:27] Adding guestinfo customization properties to lab02-esxi01 ...
You cannot call a method on a null-valued expression.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:558 char:13

•         $task = $vm.ExtensionData.ReconfigVM_Task($spec)
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (:) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : InvokeMethodOnNull

Get-Task : 10.10.2018 15:02:27 Get-Task The identifier Task- resulted in no objects.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:559 char:22

•         $task1 = Get-Task -Id ("Task-$($task.value)")
  

•                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : ObjectNotFound: (:) [Get-Task], VimException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : Client20_OutputTracker_ReportNotFoundLocators_LocatorNotProduced,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.GetTask

[10-10-2018_03:02:27] Powering On lab02-esxi01 ...
Start-VM : Cannot validate argument on parameter 'VM'. The argument is null or empty. Provide an argument that is not null or empty, and then try the command again.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:563 char:48

•         Start-VM -Server $viConnection -VM $vm -Confirm:$false |  ...
  

•                                            ~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidData: (:) [Start-VM], ParameterBindingValidationException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : ParameterArgumentValidationError,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.StartVM

[10-10-2018_03:02:27] Deploying Nested ESXi VM lab02-esxi02 ...
Import-VApp : 10.10.2018 15:02:29 Import-VApp Invalid URI: The hostname could not be parsed.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:479 char:19

• ... $vm = Import-VApp -Server $viConnection -Source $NestedESXiAppl ...

•             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (:) [Import-VApp], ViError
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : Client20_NfcLease_RunNfcTask_Error,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.ImportVApp

[10-10-2018_03:02:29] Updating VM Network ...
Get-NetworkAdapter : 10.10.2018 15:02:29 Get-NetworkAdapter NetworkAdapter with name 'Network adapter 1' was not found using the specified filter(s).
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:482 char:19

• ... $vm | Get-NetworkAdapter -Name "Network adapter 1" | Set-N ...

•                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : ObjectNotFound: (:) [Get-NetworkAdapter], VimException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : Core_OutputHelper_WriteNotFoundError,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.VirtualDevice.GetNetworkAdapter

Get-NetworkAdapter : 10.10.2018 15:02:34 Get-NetworkAdapter NetworkAdapter with name 'Network adapter 2' was not found using the specified filter(s).
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:486 char:23

• ... $vm | Get-NetworkAdapter -Name "Network adapter 2" | Set-N ...

•                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : ObjectNotFound: (:) [Get-NetworkAdapter], VimException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : Core_OutputHelper_WriteNotFoundError,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.VirtualDevice.GetNetworkAdapter

[10-10-2018_03:02:34] Updating vCPU Count to 4 & vMEM to 20 GB ...
Set-VM : 10.10.2018 15:02:34 Set-VM Value cannot be found for the mandatory parameter VM
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:492 char:13

•         Set-VM -Server $viConnection -VM $vm -NumCpu $NestedESXiv ...
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (:) [Set-VM], VimException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : Core_BaseCmdlet_UnknownError,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.SetVM

[10-10-2018_03:02:34] Updating vSAN Caching VMDK size to 20 GB ...
Get-HardDisk : Cannot validate argument on parameter 'VM'. The argument is null. Provide a valid value for the argument, and then try running the command again.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:495 char:52

•         Get-HardDisk -Server $viConnection -VM $vm -Name "Hard di ...
  

•                                                ~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidData: (:) [Get-HardDisk], ParameterBindingValidationException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : ParameterArgumentValidationError,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.VirtualDevice.GetHardDisk

[10-10-2018_03:02:34] Updating vSAN Capacity VMDK size to 100 GB ...
Get-HardDisk : Cannot validate argument on parameter 'VM'. The argument is null. Provide a valid value for the argument, and then try running the command again.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:498 char:52

•         Get-HardDisk -Server $viConnection -VM $vm -Name "Hard di ...
  

•                                                ~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidData: (:) [Get-HardDisk], ParameterBindingValidationException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : ParameterArgumentValidationError,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.VirtualDevice.GetHardDisk

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:541 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$b
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:542 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$c
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:543 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$d
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:544 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$e
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:545 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$f
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:546 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$g
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:547 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$h
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:548 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$i
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:549 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$j
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:550 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$k
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:551 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$l
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:552 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$m
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

[10-10-2018_03:02:34] Adding guestinfo customization properties to lab02-esxi02 ...
You cannot call a method on a null-valued expression.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:558 char:13

•         $task = $vm.ExtensionData.ReconfigVM_Task($spec)
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (:) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : InvokeMethodOnNull

Get-Task : 10.10.2018 15:02:34 Get-Task The identifier Task- resulted in no objects.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:559 char:22

•         $task1 = Get-Task -Id ("Task-$($task.value)")
  

•                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : ObjectNotFound: (:) [Get-Task], VimException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : Client20_OutputTracker_ReportNotFoundLocators_LocatorNotProduced,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.GetTask

[10-10-2018_03:02:34] Powering On lab02-esxi02 ...
Start-VM : Cannot validate argument on parameter 'VM'. The argument is null or empty. Provide an argument that is not null or empty, and then try the command again.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:563 char:48

•         Start-VM -Server $viConnection -VM $vm -Confirm:$false |  ...
  

•                                            ~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidData: (:) [Start-VM], ParameterBindingValidationException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : ParameterArgumentValidationError,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.StartVM

[10-10-2018_03:02:34] Deploying Nested ESXi VM lab02-esxi03 ...
Import-VApp : 10.10.2018 15:02:36 Import-VApp Invalid URI: The hostname could not be parsed.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:479 char:19

• ... $vm = Import-VApp -Server $viConnection -Source $NestedESXiAppl ...

•             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (:) [Import-VApp], ViError
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : Client20_NfcLease_RunNfcTask_Error,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.ImportVApp

[10-10-2018_03:02:36] Updating VM Network ...
Get-NetworkAdapter : 10.10.2018 15:02:36 Get-NetworkAdapter NetworkAdapter with name 'Network adapter 1' was not found using the specified filter(s).
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:482 char:19

• ... $vm | Get-NetworkAdapter -Name "Network adapter 1" | Set-N ...

•                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : ObjectNotFound: (:) [Get-NetworkAdapter], VimException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : Core_OutputHelper_WriteNotFoundError,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.VirtualDevice.GetNetworkAdapter

Get-NetworkAdapter : 10.10.2018 15:02:41 Get-NetworkAdapter NetworkAdapter with name 'Network adapter 2' was not found using the specified filter(s).
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:486 char:23

• ... $vm | Get-NetworkAdapter -Name "Network adapter 2" | Set-N ...

•                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : ObjectNotFound: (:) [Get-NetworkAdapter], VimException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : Core_OutputHelper_WriteNotFoundError,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.VirtualDevice.GetNetworkAdapter

[10-10-2018_03:02:41] Updating vCPU Count to 4 & vMEM to 20 GB ...
Set-VM : 10.10.2018 15:02:41 Set-VM Value cannot be found for the mandatory parameter VM
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:492 char:13

•         Set-VM -Server $viConnection -VM $vm -NumCpu $NestedESXiv ...
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (:) [Set-VM], VimException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : Core_BaseCmdlet_UnknownError,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.SetVM

[10-10-2018_03:02:41] Updating vSAN Caching VMDK size to 20 GB ...
Get-HardDisk : Cannot validate argument on parameter 'VM'. The argument is null. Provide a valid value for the argument, and then try running the command again.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:495 char:52

•         Get-HardDisk -Server $viConnection -VM $vm -Name "Hard di ...
  

•                                                ~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidData: (:) [Get-HardDisk], ParameterBindingValidationException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : ParameterArgumentValidationError,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.VirtualDevice.GetHardDisk

[10-10-2018_03:02:41] Updating vSAN Capacity VMDK size to 100 GB ...
Get-HardDisk : Cannot validate argument on parameter 'VM'. The argument is null. Provide a valid value for the argument, and then try running the command again.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:498 char:52

•         Get-HardDisk -Server $viConnection -VM $vm -Name "Hard di ...
  

•                                                ~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidData: (:) [Get-HardDisk], ParameterBindingValidationException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : ParameterArgumentValidationError,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.VirtualDevice.GetHardDisk

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:541 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$b
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:542 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$c
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:543 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$d
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:544 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$e
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:545 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$f
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:546 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$g
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:547 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$h
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:548 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$i
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:549 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$j
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:550 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$k
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:551 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$l
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

Method invocation failed because [VMware.Vim.OptionValue] does not contain a method named 'op_Addition'.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:552 char:13

•         $orignalExtraConfig+=$m
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (op_Addition:String) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : MethodNotFound

[10-10-2018_03:02:41] Adding guestinfo customization properties to lab02-esxi03 ...
You cannot call a method on a null-valued expression.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:558 char:13

•         $task = $vm.ExtensionData.ReconfigVM_Task($spec)
  

•         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidOperation: (:) [], RuntimeException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : InvokeMethodOnNull

Get-Task : 10.10.2018 15:02:41 Get-Task The identifier Task- resulted in no objects.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:559 char:22

•         $task1 = Get-Task -Id ("Task-$($task.value)")
  

•                  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : ObjectNotFound: (:) [Get-Task], VimException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : Client20_OutputTracker_ReportNotFoundLocators_LocatorNotProduced,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.GetTask

[10-10-2018_03:02:41] Powering On lab02-esxi03 ...
Start-VM : Cannot validate argument on parameter 'VM'. The argument is null or empty. Provide an argument that is not null or empty, and then try the command again.
At D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7\Homelab6.7-failure.ps1:563 char:48

•         Start-VM -Server $viConnection -VM $vm -Confirm:$false |  ...
  

•                                            ~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : InvalidData: (:) [Start-VM], ParameterBindingValidationException
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : ParameterArgumentValidationError,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.StartVM

PS D:\Download\HomeLab\6.7>

General Virtual SAN Error

After successfully deploying my nested 6.0 environment, I wanted to deploy vSphere 6.5 as well. I disabled NSX for now, but always run into the following error:

[10-10-2017_11:21:14] Adding ESXi host esxi65-1 to Cluster ...
[10-10-2017_11:21:41] Adding ESXi host esxi65-2 to Cluster ...
[10-10-2017_11:22:05] Adding ESXi host esxi65-3 to Cluster ...
[10-10-2017_11:22:32] Enabling VSAN Space Efficiency/De-Dupe & disabling VSAN Health Check ...
Set-VsanClusterConfiguration : 10.10.2017 23:22:55    Set-VsanClusterConfiguration        General Virtual SAN error.
Reason 1: Detected host(s) are running in mixed mode, please upgrade ESX servers to the same version.
At C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\VMware-Autolab\vsphere-6.5-vghetto-standard-lab-deployment.ps1:856 char:83
+         Get-VsanClusterConfiguration -Server $vc -Cluster $NewVCVSANClusterName  ...
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : InvalidOperation: (:) [Set-VsanClusterConfiguration], ViError
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : Storage_Impl_VsanServiceImpl_ErrorSettingSpaceEfficiency,VMware.VimAutomation.Storage.Commands.Cmdlets.Vsan.SetVsanClusterConfig
   uration

[10-10-2017_11:23:02] Querying ESXi host disks to create VSAN Diskgroups ...
[10-10-2017_11:23:02] Creating VSAN DiskGroup for esxi65-1.vmw.virtlab.cloud ...
New-VsanDiskGroup : 10.10.2017 23:23:03    New-VsanDiskGroup        VSAN runtime fault on server '/VIServer=virtlab65.local\[email protected]:443/':
Unknown server error.
At C:\Users\Administrator\Desktop\VMware-Autolab\vsphere-6.5-vghetto-standard-lab-deployment.ps1:872 char:13
+             New-VsanDiskGroup -Server $vc -VMHost $vmhost -SsdCanonicalName $vsa ...
+ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : InvalidArgument: (:) [New-VsanDiskGroup], ViError
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : Storage_Impl_VsanServiceImpl_ErrorCreatingDiskGroup,VMware.VimAutomation.Storage.Commands.Cmdlets.Vsan.NewVsanDiskGroup

I am not sure why it thinks I am running in a "mixed mode", as every nested ESXi comes from the Nested_ESXi6.5d_Appliance_Template_v1.0.ova template (without any updates for now).

I am deploying this to a VMware ESXi, 6.5.0, 6765664 with SSDs only (2 x 500 GB). For the nested VCSA deployment I am using VCSA-6.5.0-4602587.

when I deploy make error on vapp

Deploying Nested ESXi VM vesxi7-3 ...
Import-VApp : 15/09/2022 06:57:10 p. m. Import-VApp URI no válido: no se puede analizar el nombre de host.
En D:\Desktop\LAB\lab-deployment\vsphere-7.0.3-standard-lab-deployment.ps1: 493 Carácter: 19

• ... $vm = Import-VApp -Server $viConnection -Source $NestedESXiAppl ...

•             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  

  • CategoryInfo : NotSpecified: (:) [Import-VApp], ViError
  • FullyQualifiedErrorId : Client20_NfcLease_RunNfcTask_Error,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.ImportVA
    pp

Failed to download file from guest with error '(vim.fault.InvalidGuestLogin)

William

After I got a proper copy of your script I entered in all the variables and ran the script - it deployed the 3 ESXi hosts and the VCSA - but during the attempt to configure the VCSA the script had repeatedly tried to login to my existing vcenter appliance to download /var/log/firstboot/rpmInstall.json

Here are the log files and the generated json files (renamed to allow upload to github) that were located in the Appdata install folder vcsaCliInstaller-2018-10-12-19-36-kpmblg

So basically I have 3 ESXi nested hosts all configured with IPs and names but the VCSA didn't get configured image attached

As a test I made sure that I was able to putty into my existing VCSA with the creds i used in the script, I also have all the records in DNS, and I was able to find the json file on my VCSA appliance and I enabled the Bash Shell during the running of the script

I tried this twice (deleted the vAPP first time) but haven't rebooted my VCSA yet

Do you have any ideas? First off is this the correct process and if so have any suggestions?

Thanks
Dwayne

vcsa-cli-installer.log

ovftool.log

vcsa-cli-installer.json.log

generated_install.json.log

Feature request: Add option [-CoresPerSocket <Int32>]

Hi,

I have some NSX NFR licenses and when I spin up a LAB I run out of CPU licenses.
But by adding more cores rather than vCPU sockets those licenses allow me to spin up more vESXi hosts.

'# Nested ESXi VM Resources
$NestedESXivCPU = "1"
$NestedESXivCores = "2"
$NestedESXivMEM = "16" #GB
$NestedESXiCachingvDisk = "20" #GB
$NestedESXiCapacityvDisk = "40" #GB

Set-VM -Server $viConnection -VM $vm -NumCpu $NestedESXivCPU -CoresPerSocket $NestedESXivCores -MemoryGB $NestedESXivMEM -Confirm:$false | Out-File -Append -LiteralPath $verboseLogFile

NSX requires vCenter based deployment?

See https://github.com/lamw/vghetto-vsphere-automated-lab-deployment/blob/master/vsphere-6.5-vghetto-standard-lab-deployment.ps1#L585

Is this required, or can you use the vcsa deployed in prior steps?

Feature request: Library-ize

The four scripts share a number of common functions and operations. These can be pulled into functions or modules (whatever the PowerShell word for this is) and be consumed from a central point rather than repeated in each script.

about only deploy nested Esxi

Hello, if I want to modify the script only if I want to deploy esxi, I will comment on the variables with nsx and vcenter, the script runs wrong, I hope your reply，thx

https://github.com/lamw/vghetto-vsphere-automated-lab-deployment.git

The '<' operator is reserved for future use

William

I am attempting to use your script - I am running Powershell 5.1 build 14409 1012 with Powercli 6.5 R1 build 4624819 - I followed the directions to update the variables to match what I want to deploy and when I run the PS1 file via Powercli or Powershell ISE I get several lines of code where it has an issue with the open < as well it wants to bracket & with " "

Have you seen this before and am I missing something - to be honest I have only used very simple JSON templates in Azure training which were already prebuilt and this script of yours is very comprehensive. Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks
Dwayne

At E:\Downloads\Software\VMware\Lab\vsphere-6.5-vghetto-standard-lab-deployment-HDJLAB.ps1:136 char:19

•               ~
  

The '<' operator is reserved for future use.
At E:\Downloads\Software\VMware\Lab\vsphere-6.5-vghetto-standard-lab-deployment-HDJLAB.ps1:140 char:19

•               ~
  

The '<' operator is reserved for future use.
At E:\Downloads\Software\VMware\Lab\vsphere-6.5-vghetto-standard-lab-deployment-HDJLAB.ps1:145 char:19

•               ~
  

The '<' operator is reserved for future use.
At E:\Downloads\Software\VMware\Lab\vsphere-6.5-vghetto-standard-lab-deployment-HDJLAB.ps1:150 char:19

•               ~
  

The '<' operator is reserved for future use.
At E:\Downloads\Software\VMware\Lab\vsphere-6.5-vghetto-standard-lab-deployment-HDJLAB.ps1:154 char:19

•               ~
  

The '<' operator is reserved for future use.
At E:\Downloads\Software\VMware\Lab\vsphere-6.5-vghetto-standard-lab-deployment-HDJLAB.ps1:390 char:185

• ... TF-8" method="post"><input name="utf8" type="hidden" value="✓" ...

•                                                             ~
  

The ampersand (&) character is not allowed. The & operator is reserved for future use; wrap an ampersand in double quotation marks ("&") to pass it as part of a string.
At E:\Downloads\Software\VMware\Lab\vsphere-6.5-vghetto-standard-lab-deployment-HDJLAB.ps1:394 char:18

• Join GitHub today

•              ~
  

The '<' operator is reserved for future use.
At E:\Downloads\Software\VMware\Lab\vsphere-6.5-vghetto-standard-lab-deployment-HDJLAB.ps1:497 char:214

• ... it/13f8253a9707a1aa4f4938f9f4e57a16e377a0c1">Fixing "sort" -> Sort ...

•                                                             ~
  

The ampersand (&) character is not allowed. The & operator is reserved for future use; wrap an ampersand in double quotation marks ("&") to pass it as part of a string.
At E:\Downloads\Software\VMware\Lab\vsphere-6.5-vghetto-standard-lab-deployment-HDJLAB.ps1:503 char:54

•                                                  ~
  

Missing file specification after redirection operator.
At E:\Downloads\Software\VMware\Lab\vsphere-6.5-vghetto-standard-lab-deployment-HDJLAB.ps1:520 char:17

•             ~
  

The '<' operator is reserved for future use.
Not all parse errors were reported. Correct the reported errors and try again.
+ CategoryInfo : ParserError: (:) [], ParentContainsErrorRecordException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : RedirectionNotSupported

Feature request: Error Handling

Currently each action happens in a fire and forget status. For example:

https://github.com/lamw/vghetto-vsphere-automated-lab-deployment/blob/master/vsphere-6.5-vghetto-standard-lab-deployment.ps1#L627

Produces this:

[03-07-2017_09:51:02] Connecting directly to vesxi65-3 for ESXi upgrade ...
Connect-VIServer : 3/7/2017 9:51:03 AM  Connect-VIServer                The HTTP service located at https://10.0.1.173/sdk is unavailable.  This could be because the
service is too busy or because no endpoint was found listening at the specified address. Please ensure that the address is correct and try accessing the
service again later.
At C:\users\bunchc\downloads\vghetto-vsphere-automated-lab-deployment-master\vghetto-vsphere-automated-lab-deployment-master\vsphere-6.5-vghetto-standard-la
b-deployment.ps1:627 char:18
+ ...    $vESXi = Connect-VIServer -Server $VMIPAddress -User root -Passwor ...
+                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    + CategoryInfo          : NotSpecified: (:) [Connect-VIServer], ViError
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : Client20_ConnectivityServiceImpl_Reconnect_Exception,VMware.VimAutomation.ViCore.Cmdlets.Commands.ConnectVIServer

If we could check for the success or failure of the command and repeat, report, or fail (or something configurable?) it would make deploys much easier.

PowerCLI version compatibility

Even though the min requirement call for PowerCLI 6.5 R1, would it be a problem if used a more up to date version for deployment (e.g. 12)