[ale] Getting rid of VMware

[Tod Fassl]

Once I got pointed in the right direction, I was able to figure out the 
extra cables. From the wikipedia page on LAG:


=== begin quote ===

Most backbone installations install more cabling or fiber optic pairs 
than is initially necessary, even if they have no immediate need for the 
additional cabling. This is done because labor costs are higher than the 
cost of the cable, and running extra cable reduces future labor costs if 
networking needs change.

=== end quote ===


I am not sure I agree with it though. It violates the KISS principle.


On 3/12/21 10:47 AM, DJ-Pfulio via Ale wrote:
> Posted too quick. Would agree that bonded NICs is much more likely.
> The ARP scan should help confirm that.  All the major Linux distros
> support bonding ethernet links. Easier in some than others.
>
> I deployed iSCSI for a VMware setup about a decade ago. It was easy.
> Need that because most of the VMs at the client were Windows and we
> were replacing about 20 out-of-support servers with 2 new boxes
> running VMware ESXi. It also lowered their power use and cooling and
> UPS needs for the building drastically.
>
> I never liked the backup solution we had to use due to VMware. A
> straight Linux OS with KVM provides so much more flexibility without
> being tied to paid licenses.  But the client wanted to pay, so we
> let them pay.  Around 2011, I retired the last VMware from my home
> lab, retired Xen and switched to KVM for everything. I've never, ever,
> regretted that specific choice.
>
> With KVM, you can mix and match at the level you want for very little
> risk.  I run containers, VMs, and some direct-on-hardware stuff all on
> the same systems. Which gets used depends on the level of isolation
> needed. Flexibility.
>
>
> On 3/12/21 11:35 AM, DJ-Pfulio via Ale wrote:
>> On 3/12/21 9:08 AM, Tod Fassl via Ale wrote:
>>> The virtual machine that is acting as a file serveris running on a
>>> ESXI host that has 6 ethernet cables connected to it. But it looks
>>> like most of the ports aren't even active. I would *assume* I can
>>> safely remove those cables. But why the heck are they there in the
>>> first place?
>> It is there because the last 4 guys were afraid like you. Schedule
>> some maintenance downtime, label the cables carefully, and pull them
>> one at a time while someone checks which storage is impacted.  May
>> want to run an ARP/scan against the subnet to see if you can easily
>> trace back the MAC -to- IP relationship.
>   
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