Hidden VMWare ESXi Console!

This little hack allows you to run commands directly at the server itself and is very handy for doing things like enabling SSH in inetd.conf. First thing first. This only works on the fee based version not the free one and you must be sitting at the server and not RCLI.

  • Step One: At the server console type ALT-F1
  • Step Two: Now you’ll just see basically a console log with no prompt. Don’t sweat it! Just type: unsupported and hit enter. This does not echo back so you will not see your input.
  • Step Three: Now a big scary tech support warning will pop up. Just laugh it off and enter your server password at the prompt.

And you’re in! I really just do this to enable SSH but I have also used this to edit etc/hosts to rule out DNS issues.

From NetworkWorld

Posted in Uncategorized at March 25th, 2009. No Comments.

Install VMware Tools – Debian Lenny

Quick tip for anyone running Debian Lenny under VMware. As the tools were open sourced you can now find an implementation in your apt tree. Although personally i haven’t seen a quick and easy guide floating around.

Run the fowling as root

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apt-get update
apt-get install open-vm-source
module-assistant prepare open-vm
module-assistant auto-install open-vm
Posted in Uncategorized at March 11th, 2009. 4 Comments.