DutchVMUG Live blog: Eric Sloof Managing vSphere with the virtualization EcoShell

Next on stage, Eric Sloof.

Virtualization EcoShell contains a lot of pre defined filters to show you for example age of snapshots, VMs that are ballooning, etc.

EcoShell is free, you can easily add your own powerpacks and create your own scripts to manage your virtual infrastructure in the way best suited for you.

The EcoShell helps you to:

  • Gather
  • Filter
  • Remediate
  • Report
  • Integrate

Eric is going way too fast to live blog all this great info :-)

EcoShell can connect to Visio to automatically create a view on your virtual infrastructure.

Eric talking about Powerful Script Assistance. Showing the underlying PowerShell script that is used in the EcoShell. In this way you can get to 100% customization to even better meet your requirements for scripts.

Ecoshell can produce charts that you can re-use in your reports. Export them as images. Pie, bar, donut charts, whatever you want.

Best Practice Filters help you quickly get to the info on your systems. Want to know how many memory your environment is using, a simple filter will get you results in seconds. See which pNics of your host are not at the correct duplex setting. Orphaned VMDKs? It is all in the Best Practice filters.

PowerPack Management. A powerpack is a collection of Powershell Scripts that you can easily add to the EcoShell. Eric shows the website that holds a large number of PowerPacks to add to your EcoShell. All free of course.

Clearly the PowerPack from PowerShell Master Alan Renouf is mentioned and can considered to be one of the best.

Alan Renouf’s Daily Report (vCheck) is a great way to check your environment daily.

Getting started:

  1. Get your EcoShell at http://www.thevesi.org
  2. Get Windows PowerShell from Microsoft (already included in W2008 /W7 )
  3. Get the VMware Powershell command lets.

Eric doing live demo now, running ESXi inside VMware Workstation. Starting a number of VMs. Laptop with 18GB RAM :-) Running all this from his laptop makes Eric very “Heppie de Peppie”. Great demo to proof that with almost no typing a lot of info can be retrieved from your virtual infrastructure. Also report and perform actions by just a mouse click.

Eric now promoting the Alan Renouf website http://www.virtu-al.net

Eric showing how a vDiagram can connect to visio and report about your environment. Great stuff.

This was a very good presentation by Eric. Hope I can someday reach the same level when presenting :-)

Now the stage is to Scott Herold. He will show what the next version of EcoShell has to offer and the integration with VizionCore products.

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