Running the NetApp ha-config-check script

Running the NetApp ha-config-check script from Windows can be problematic because you need SSH or RSH software on your Windows client.
But instead you could choose an easier way and use a secure connection via SSH. First create a Linux (e.g. Ubuntu) virtual machine (VM) on your Windows client. You can use VMware workstation for this purpose but others might do as well.
The VM needs to have network access to the filers.
Poweron the VM, logon, start a terminal session and navigate to the folder desktop (e.g. cd Desktop).
Next copy the ha-config-check.cgi and README.pod files to the VMs desktop.
Add execution permissions to the ha-config-check.cgi script by running the command chmod a+x ha-config-check.cgi.
Now you’re ready the run the script, enter the command ./ha-config-check.cgi –s root@<filer1> root@<filer2>
You will be prompted for the filers root passwords several times, just enter them.
If you want to capture the output into a text file enter the command script –a ha-config-check.txt before running the script, when the script is finished enter exit and all the output is stored in the text file.

NetApp file operations from the console

NetApp Ontap has some limited options to edit and manipulate files from the console.
First you need to change the permission using the command: priv set advanced

You can read files using the command: rdfile
e.g rdfile /etc/hosts  will display the content of the hosts file.

Editing files can be done with the command: wrfile
e.g adding a line to the hosts file can be done with the command: wrfile -a /etc/hosts 192.168.233.15 filer2
The -a option will append to the file, without the -a option the file will be overwritten!
So first make a copy before start editing file this way.
There is a java shell available that will help you with this task, run the command: java netapp.cmds.jsh
This will give you the options below:

cd [directory]
pwd
ls [-l]
cat file
rm file [file2 ...]
cp src dest
mv src dest
ps [-l]
kill threadName
gc
classpath [pathname]
syspath [pathname]
Debug on|off
threads
monitors
heap
version
syncdb
du [-sk] [files or directories]
java_class [&]
ONTAP_cmd

Howto kill a stuck VM

VMware  has a very good KB article howto kill a stuck VM, please refer to this link.
This KB covers most of the articles found on the Internet.

VMware troubleshooting

If you encounter issues with your VMware environment, think before you act!
VM-sickbay can help you diagnose and resolve various issues.
For VMDK problems or if you want to know techical details about VMDKs please check this.

NetApp Simulator

The NetApp simulator is a great to tool to get familiar with NetApp ONTAP. Some tips and tricks can be found here.

Replace vCenter SSL certificate

A good instruction for replacing the vCenter SSL certificate can be found here.
Replacing the SSL certificate with your own can help you to get rid of the SSL warning when using the vCenter client, however you must use the exact name as used in the certificate otherwise you still get the SSL warning message.

Sharing files via the web

There are lots of websites allowing you to share files via Internet with friends. But most of them require some kind of registration.
wetransfer.com does not have these kind of limitations and a very easy to use interface.

SNMP trap receiver

The application Trap Receiver can be verry useful when testing SNMP.
It’s a simple application receiving traps and display the trap data so you don’t have to setup a complex management application.
You can get more info and download Trap Receiver on www.trapreceiver.com

VI Toolkit

Are you writing scripts to automate tasks in VMware?
VI-Toolkit is a wiki alike site that has lots of documentation and samples.

Learning Powershell

Dr. Tobias Weltner has written a great Master-PowerShell guide that will provide a good and comprehensive explanation how to use Powershell.
You can view it online or download it as PDF.