Unable to log into a new VCSA Appliance added to an SSO Domain

So today I ran into an interesting issue. I was adding a new VCSA appliance to an preexisting SSO domain for a post that will come out in the coming weeks and I discovered a few things.

First of all, I learned that there are not many blogs covering this so I figured I would make a post just encase I get hit with a brick and forget.

So I ran through the install of the new VCSA appliance and selected all the settings as you would normally do. However when the installation completed it said everything was fine and I should be able to log in at the new URL.

I opened the URL and tried to log in.... and It failed. This being the first time I have tried this I was not sure what to expect, and here is what I mean:

The Platform Services Controller (or PSC) is responsible for authentication to vSphere. That being said I figured I might be able to log in with my Domain credential.... I was wrong.

So I then tried logging in with the Administrator Credentials for the SSO Domain.... that too did not work.

I then logged into the vSphere Web Client for the First VCSA to see if I could see what is going on over there. It turns out, from an SSO Perspective, everything was running great. I went to see if I could reset the Administrator password and discovered that I must not have had enough coffee this morning. You see, because vSphere is based on some form of Linux Kernel, I forgot to take into account that THE USER NAME IS CASE SENSITIVE!!!!!

So I went back to the login screen and logged in with the correct credentials and IT WORKED!!

Now to figure out why AD Authentication was not working.....

Well it turns out that that lack of coffee I mentioned earlier came back to bite me yet again <face palm>

Although the SSO component was working and showed my AD domain as a valid and default authentication source, it doesn't mean squat if the server is not a member of the Active Directory Domain. A quick add to AD and a reboot later and we were in business.

Lesson Learned:

1. Don't skip out on Coffee
2. Linux based credentials are Case Sensitive
3. Drink more Coffee
4. Make sure that host is added to AD before you try to authenticate.

I hope you found this helpful and if I ever get around to it I will add screen shots for a more TL:DR experience.

Philly VMUG Meeting Recap

On May 16th Philly VMUG held it's first meeting of 2019. The meeting was at the Dave and Busters on Delaware Ave in Philadelphia and it was very well attended.

We has 3 presenters:

PureStorage

Hytrust

Nexenta

Since we had so much interest in out event, we decided to create a YouTube Channel to showcase our speakers and to help get their message out. You can click on the links above to view the videos or click on the link below to view our YouTube channel where you can subscribe and stay notified on what is going on with our local VMUG Community.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7iMzG8B29-BwMCmpAt40vA

17 Days until UserCon !!!

Hey everyone, there is only 17 days until the Philadelphia VMUG UserCon. Registration is free to attend and you can register at the link below:

https://vmug12.snoball.events/a/kenneth-shinn-1

Click on the link to get registered!! 

We have so many awesome speakers coming out to speak with Ducan Epping, Frank Denneman as our Keynote Speakers and Ariel Sanchez coming out to speak about the vCommunity. 

Tools Discussion - VMWare Converter Standalone

Today I wanted to talk about VMware Converter Standalone which has been a constant in my bag of tricks for a long time. VMware Converter is a tool that allows you to convert a Physical Machine to a Virtual Machine which can run on a VMware ESXi host or VMware Workstation / Player. You can also use VMware Converter to resize Virtual machines or even convert them from Thick Provisioned virtual disks to thin.

Before VMware Converter was a free Standalone product, it was an add-on to vCenter (version 3-4.1 if my memory was correct) that was licensed by VMware. It enabled you (much like it does now) to convert a physical machine and turn it into a Virtual Machine. Pretty Sweet huh?!

Somewhere between vSphere 4 and 5 they decided to remove it from vCenter as an add on and make it a a separate product and best of all made it free!

During the installation process you are now asked to decide if you are doing a standalone installation or a Client Server install. I will probably do an install guide for this later so I can discuss further as both have their merits.

If you are interested in getting a copy of VMware Converter Standalone you can follow this link. It will also be available on the Tools page once this post goes live.

I hope you found this post helpful and please check back later for more articles.

Philadelphia VMUG UserCon just a month away!!!

I am very proud to announce that Philadelphia's VMUG UserCon is only a month a way. 

Have you registered yet? If not, here is the link to the registration page.

I have always had a great time at the UserCon in years past, and I am sure that this year will be no different. 

As always registration is free and this year we have a list of All Star speakers such as:

Duncan Epping

Frank Denneman
Ariel Sanchez

Just to name a few. We also have some amazing giveaways just to add icing to that cake.

If you are able to attend, I can assure you that you will not be disappointment. 

Philly VMUG has scheduled it's first meeting of 2019

Hey guys, as you all know I am a VMUG Leader for Philadelphia (AKA Philly VMUG) and I am very excited to announce that we have our first meeting of 2019.

This being the first meeting that I am involved in with scheduling and setting up, I am very excited to see the outcome.

To learn more about VMUG click on the link here.

To learn what a VMUG Leader is Click here.

If you are interested in attending out meeting click on this link to register.