My top 5 VMware Tools

1. Putty http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html
2. RVTools http://www.robware.net/
3. RDP Plugin http://xtravirt.com/vsphere-client-rdp-plug-in
4. FastSCP from Veeam http://www.veeam.com/
5. WinSCP http://winscp.net/eng/download.php

Installing VMtools on a Novell Sever VM

Power on the Novell Server VM
Select VM and then select Install VMware Tools
Open a console session on the Novell VM Server
Close the Novell GUI if it is running 
From the Novell Server : Prompt
: Load CDDVD
: vmwtools:\setup.ncf
Once the VMtools install has completed you can End the VMware Tools Install
Done!

Cannot log into VI client- "The server could not interpret the communication from the client. (The remote server returned an error: (503) Server Unavailable)".

Here's a good one. I created a 2 ESX Server "Sandbox environment" for my lab testing with 1 Windows 2008 VM providing DNS to the test servers. The idea was to use the 2 ESX servers with a Dell EqualLogic iSCSI SAN to test replication and failover from the prodcution tot the DR site of the Windows 2008 server. I ran into some trouble when I rebooted the ESX severs I could not log back in to either of the ESX servers with the VI client. I came accross this article below which helped me out tremendously and put an end to this madness. I know that normally this would not be a problem since a DNS server would be up and running at both the production and DR sites however, in my sanbox this was not the case. I changed the Windows 2008 VM to automatically startup with the ESX host so that I would have a DSN server available to the ESX servers.

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1012942

Anyway...The moral of the short story is to make sure your DNS server is up and running before you try to login to the ESX servers otherwise you could be waiting a while to login to the VI client.

VMware Introduces Enhanced Virtualization Offerings for Small and Midsize Businesses

On July 13th, 2010 VMware introduced VSphere 4.1 with supposedly over 150 new features.
Read the news here http://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vsphere-4-1.html

Great news for SMB's VMotion in now available for Essentials Plus!
Read the news here http://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vsphere-4-1-smb.html

How do I get my USB to be recognized on a VM?

First of all you need to be running VSpshere ESX 4 update 1
and your VSphere Host needs to support passthrough configuration
1. You can set this feature in the BIOS if it is a newer chipset if you do not have this option then it is most likely not going to work- Look in the BIOS for something like Intel vt-d or VT IO
2. If your machine has passthrough configured in the BIOS then go to the VI Client – Select the Host, select configuration tab then select the Advanced Settings under Hardware area.
3. You will then have to select the USB and check off for passthrough for the USB device
4. Also make sure you upgrade the virtual machine hardware to version 7 and upgrade the vm tools
5. Add a USB controller to VM- the VM needs to be powered off to add this device
You should now be able to see the USB device on the VM