Dell

How to fix TPM 2.0 device detected but a connection cannot be established on Dell EMC VxRail nodes

I just built a new environment and was greeted by this error. This fix will likely work on other Dell servers, and the settings may apply to other vendors.

High level is you need to set TPM2 Algorithm Selection to SHA256 in the BIOS. You MIGHT have to turn on Intel TXT, and then enable Secure Boot. This SHOULD NOT impact the ESXi installation, but there is a chance it might. Enabling Secure Boot on a machine with modified or unsigned files carries with it the risk of rendering your machine unbootable with the current ESXi installation.

So, here we go:

Initial thoughts of the Dell XPS 13 Ultrabook, unofficial review

I received a demo of the Ultrabook and I have to say I’m pleased out of the box. It’s obvious it took some cues from the ‘other’ laptop, and it’s nice. First thing I noticed is how light and thin it is. It’s probably as thick as my Viewsonic G Tablet, and boots faster. I timed it, from the time I pressed the power button, until I had a mouse pointer without the ‘wait’ signal, was about 20 seconds. The windows boot logo never even finished! Craziness.

How to determine RAM speeds on Dell’s new 12G servers with Intel Sandy Bridge Xeon E5-2600 Procs

I’m sure many of you have dealt with trying to figure out how much RAM you can shove in a box, say an R720, and still keep RAM speeds up. I actually had some docs from Dell, figures, diagrams, graphs, and a few charts. Even then, it was difficult.

Enter the “Dell 12G Memory Solution Tool”. It is a website that allows you to test RAM & CPU configurations to get optimal speeds. For instance, you can select the R720, 2 CPUs, and that you want 256GB of RAM. That’s a nicely sized box for virtualization. The tool tells me I can get 16x 16GB of 2R4 DIMMS at 1333MHz or 1600MHz. Of course, I’m going to go with the 1600MHz! What if I want to bump the RAM? I checked out 384GB & 512GB to see how they stack up; 384GB gives me the option for 24 16GB DIMMS, but drops my speed to 1066; and 512GB has two options, either 800MHz, or 1333MHz (yes please!).

It also shows you some quick price & power consumption rankings on a 1-5 scale.

Pretty awesome, imo! Here’s the link: http://poweredgecpumemory.com/

Playing with the Dell Streak – GSM Android ‘Tablet’ Phone

I recently got the chance to play with the Dell Streak. If you haven’t heard, the Streak is the latest GSM Android phone from Dell. I use the term phone loosely, however, as it’s more of a tablet.

Sure, it’s a phone, but using it as a phone felt quit odd, like I went back in time and was holding an old ‘brick’ phone to my head. Ideally, you’d want to use some form of handsfree device with it so you don’t have to hold the tablet up to your face.

Dell’s Caption Contest Winner gets trip to VMworld 2010

Click here for more information.

Voting ends this Friday at 5pm CST and I’m currently in 3rd place. I’d appreciate any votes I can get, as I doubt my employer will send me to VMworld again this year.

If you view the leader board, mine are by “cougar694u” and the one I like most says “I told you we should’ve bought the m1000e filled with m610’s instead of this unstable UCS carp!”

I have a feeling the first two people have people gunning for them, as they’re growing daily, but it doesn’t hurt to ask, does it?

Working with VMware View

This past week I’ve been working on putting together a presentation to the CIO and senior business leadership for our plans for a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). The presentation will include a short PowerPoint backed discussion as well as a live demo using VMware View. I’ve been working with Scott Reopelle from the Desktop team as his team will be the application owner for the broker as well as continuing the support and development of Desktops no matter the platform.

vSphere Maximum Configuration – VMs per host limitations on Update 1

When planning a new virtualization environment, consolidation numbers are always flying around, and specifically the number of VMs you can run on a host.

According to This Doc you can have a max of 320 VMs per host, but keep in mind the number’s different for HA clusters. I was also pleased to find out the numbers were slightly changed for Update 1.

Cisco UCS Blade System – Part 3 – moar vSphere ESXi & UCS woes

Well, Cisco finally came with an answer to why I was able to break the stuff like clock work before, and that answer was firmware. A new firmware has been release for the chassis, blades, & FEX (and I’m sure I’ve either got that in the wrong order or hardware), but I can’t say I’m excited about it.

We set more time aside to have Cisco come in and upgrade the bits, as if we haven’t wasted enough time already. This time, they sent the big guns to work on it, or gun, rather, as they sent one of the engineers named Troy. He was a good guy, very knowledgeable, but he can’t help it that he works for Cisco, we’ve all gotta eat, right?

Cisco no longer makes switches for other blade enclosure manufacturers

I heard today that Cisco will no longer make their Nexus-line of switches for non-Cisco brand blade enclosures.

What does this mean exactly? Those of us with the Dell M1000e blade chassis who are currently using pass-throughs and were waiting for the promised Cisco Nexus 4000 won’t have to wait anymore because it’s NEVER coming out.

Am I the only one who thinks Cisco shot themselves in the foot by doing this?

I mean, I have hands-on experience with UCS and wouldn’t wish that evil on anyone.

*EDIT*
I just wanted to add that this affects all OEM vendors like Dell, HP, and IBM, as Cisco dropped production of new switches for other blade systems.