Infrastructure Automation ⁽⁷⁾

Here is a simple snippet for timing file system performance. I wrote this as part of a script to detect an infrequent but recurrent error mode on a NAS that causes performance degradation. I run the script hourly from a Linux host with a CIFS…

Here is a technique to permanently enable SSH access on ESXi hosts. VMWare warns against leaving SSH access enabled on production servers due to security concerns. However, in my homelab this is an acceptable risk. Using the VMWare Web Interface, do Host > Services >…

Connections to cloud-hosted servers are typically secured using an RSA Private Key rather than password. If you have the key saved to a file on a local machine, here is how to use it with SSH, Scp, Rsync and Ansible To use SSH to perform…

The free license option for VMWare ESXi lacks the backup APIs enabled by a vSphere license. Here is a simple script that I use instead to backup my guest VMs on my VMWare ESXi running on a Raspberry Pi 4. The script assumes: Use SSH,…

This article is the first in a series that discusses the design, implementation and use of a free Infrastructure Architecture system to monitor, improve and automate your infrastructure. It records my experiences of building such systems for various clients. The aim of my Infrastructure Architecture…

Ventoy is a simple but effective tool that enables multiple bootable ISOs to coexist on a single USB Pendrive. It is convenient and expedient solution to booting hardware using a range of different operating systems. The problems with bootable Pendrives You are probably familiar with…

Presence indication in Teams, Skype for Business and other IM clients is really useful, especially when working remotely. However, when we are on the phone, in a meeting, reading, or waiting for a lengthy script to run then lack of keyboard or mouse activity can…