Verify Host Firewall Settings

The VMWare host needs a custom firewall rule to allow VNC connections, to verify if this already exists browse to the host in the inventory, go to the configuration tab, and click ‘Security Profile’ under the Software section of links:

Click image to view full size.

You should see the VNC firewall rule shown above, if not then the rule needs to be configured: (If the rule already exists, skip to ‘Configure a Virtual Machine for VNC’ section.)

*In the ‘Services’ section of the security profile window shown above, click Properties

*Select SSH and click the options button, then start SSH

*SSH to the IP address of the VMWare host and enter the following command:

vi /etc/vmware/firewall/VNC.xml

This will create a new firewall rule file, press ‘a’ on your keyboard to enter edit mode. (vi is a CLI based text editor)

<ConfigRoot>
<service>
<id>VNC</id>
<rule id='0000'>
<direction>inbound</direction>
<protocol>tcp</protocol>
<porttype>dst</porttype>
<port>
<begin>2000</begin>
<end>2099</end>
</port>
</rule>
<rule id='0001'>
<direction>outbound</direction>
<protocol>tcp</protocol>
<porttype>dst</porttype>
<port>
<begin>0</begin>
<end>65535</end>
</port>
</rule>
<enabled>true</enabled>
<required>false</required>
</service>
</ConfigRoot>

Paste the above into the file (opens ports 2000 – 2099), then press the escape key and enter ‘:wq’ (without the quotes) to save the file and exit the text editor. Now you need to refresh the firewall rules:

esxcli network firewall refresh

Now if you refresh the firewall rules in vSphere the new VNC rule should appear.

Configure a Virtual Machine for VNC

Now that the firewall rule is enabled all that is left is to enable VNC on the virtual machine. The VM needs to be shut down to edit this setting.

1. Go to ‘Edit Settings’ for the virtual machine
2. Go to the ‘Options’ tab
3. Select ‘General’ under the Advanced section
4. Click the ‘Configuration Parameters’ button
5. Add rows to the list as shown in the image below:

Click image to view full size.

Be sure to choose a port number within the range 2000 – 2099 as these are the ports we opened on the firewall. ‘RemoteDisplay.vnc.password’ is optional, if you do not add it then VNC will work without any authentication.

That’s it! You should now be able to VNC to the IP address of the VMWare host, with the port number you configured for the VM!

You can also check out my ‘Map My Ride’ page to see the details of each run/cycle including avg speed, incline etc: Map My Ride

The internship at Cisco is going pretty well so far, I am about four months in so have got the hang of it now Seems like working at Cisco in general is pretty awesome; we get to lay our hands on all the latest and greatest Cisco devices (some are not even released when we get them!), and there are endless resources for me to practice for the CCNP exam with! I pretty much have a whole rack full of equipment to myself to study with

On a separate note myself along with the other interns in ECATS have signed up for the 2012km challenge for the London Olympics next year! This means that we will have to travel (by running, cycling, swimming, rowing etc etc…) 2012km, I think we are aiming to do it before the end of our years internship which more or less coincides with the start of the 2012 Olympics. I think it is going to be tough, but hopefully I won’t be such a fat bastard by the end of it, plus raise some money for charity along the way!

If you would like to sponsor us I will be posting some details of how to donate here soon, once we have got our plan together and sorted out the donate page etc!

“Regarding working from home:  Working from home is always at your managers discretion, so please always ensure you check with your manager first. Please find attached some documents relating to working from home. Here I have included our working from home policy, some health and safety guidelines for you to follow and Staff form B, which must be completed and returned to me for assessment before you commence working from home. You must include the height of your desk, and a full description of the type of chair you’ll be using. Once received I will confirm if your equipment meets our guidelines and whether we can approve working from home.”

Sometimes I think that health and safety goes too far, surely if I was working from home its down to me if I think my desk is ‘safe’ enough or not? Anyway I am really looking forward to starting the job on Monday (18th July ’11) and will post more updates about how it is going soon!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/trouter42/sets/72157626684800758

and the party photos from the Sunday are here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/trouter42/sets/72157626674212380

I thought I would just share this with you! Pictures to follow!!!

UPDATE: Here are the pictures, as promised!

As there is no case we are currently having to turn it on by connecting the + and – pins for the power switch with some kind of metal object, but it works; just booted into windows 7