VMWware ESXi : Fix ESXi Hypervisor "SEsparse" Issue

 VMWare ESXi may report "SEsparse" snapshot may report guest data inconsistencies, refer to VMWare KB 59216.

This issue have also caused the Synology Active Backup for Business failed to perform scheduled backup thus generating error messages.

As per VMWare's KB 59216, the "datastore" capacity that has >2TB may encounter such issues from ESXi v.5.5 and above which means v.6.7 was also affected.

And the solution is update/patch the ESXi Host up to v.6.7 Update 1.

1. Browse to VMWare's Build Number & Listing to get the actual "Release Name" and its corresponding "Build Number" and download the patches accordingly.

2. Login to VMWare Patch Download page (you need to have an login ID, if not proceed to register an account).

3. Select --> ESXi (embedded and installable)

4. Select the appropriate ESXi version you are running, in my case my server is running on VMWare ESXi v.6.7

5. Now you need to compare the current build version vs. the listing and download the appropriate updates/patches.

6. Shutdown all VM(s) that are inside the Host.

7. Host --> Enter Maintenance Mode.

8. Host --> Enable SSH Service.

9. Host --> Enable Console Service.

10. Open --> Putty --> Login via SSH to the Host server.

11. At the CLI --> vmware -l          (to display current version)

12. At the CLI --> vmware -v          (to display current build)

13. At the CLI --> esxcli network firewall ruleset set -e true -r httpClient

14. Login to Host WebUI and browse the "datastore" (eg. datastore1).

15. Create a folder called "updates".

16. Upload all the downloaded patch files (eg. xxxx.zip) into the newly created folder (eg. "updates").

17. At the CLI --> esxcli software vib update -d /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/updates/xxxx.zip

18. Check the status of the updates (at top of the message), if status is "Successful" then proceed to "Reboot" the Host server.

19. Once rebooted, proceed to update the rest of the updates and each updates must be rebooted for it complete.

20. Upon reaching "Update 1", you may need to run a dependency check --> esxcli software profile update -d https://hostupdate.vmware.com/software/VUM/PRODUCTION/main/vmw-depot-index.xml -p ESXi-6.7.0-20181002001-standard

20.1 If you encountered any error, try this step to check the profile available --> esxcli software sources profile list -d /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/updates/update-from-esxi6.7-6.7_update01.zip

20.2 Then take note of the available profile (eg. ESXi-6.7.0-20181002001-standard).

20.3 Type this CLI --> esxcli software profile update -p ESXi-6.7.0-20181002001-standard -d /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/updates/update-from-esxi6.7-6.7_update01.zip

21. Once complete, reboot the Host server again.

22. Double check whether "Update 1" was successfully update.

23. At the CLI --> esxcli network firewall ruleset set -e false -r httpClient

24. Reboot the Host server again.

25. If everything is OK, proceed to "Exit Maintenance Mode" and power-on the VMs.

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!

20-Dec-2022, Note: Added Steps #20.1, 20.2 & 20.3

VMWare : How To Enabled for Synology Active Backup for Business

 I believe anyone that uses a Synology product will or may be using of their plugin package called "Active Backup for Business". It's a FREE tools for you to do backup for Physical Desktops/Servers, Hyper-V, VMWare ESXi.

But how do you enabled the access from Synology to the ESXi server ? The steps are very simple and straighforward.

1. Login to the ESXi server and enable both the Secure Shell (SSH) and Console Shell services.

2. Next is to shutdown that VM Guest before performing the next step.

3. Still in the ESXi server, Right-Click the VM Guest --> Edit Settings.

4. Goto --> VM Options --> Advanced.

5. Click --> Edit Configurations.

6. Click --> Add Parameters.

7. Type-in the following configurations :

7.1 Parameter = ctkEnabled

7.2 Set the value = true

7.3 Parameter = scsi0:0.ctkEnabled

7.4 Set the value = true

Note : If the VM Guest is using an IDE HDD type then the parameter should be "ide0:0.ctkEnabled" 

Also whenever a new HDD was added to the VM Guest, the device will be assigned either "scsi0:1" or "scsi1:1", this assignment may varies per VM.

8. Now save the configurations and proceed to boot-up the VM.

9. After boot-up, you can double check the configurations by browsing the datastore, a new file will be created "[VM Name]-ctk.vmdk". This file will be used by Synology Active Backup for Business the access and identification of the backup.

As how to configure for the Active Backup for Business it will be for another post, but you can always refer to Synology website for tutorials.

!!! HAPPY COMPUTING !!!