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Easily disable vSphere Cluster Services (vCLS) using UI/API in vSphere 8.0 Update 2

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As shared on Twitter/X yesterday, I just learned that we have made it much easier to disable (as well as enable) the vSphere Cluster Services (vCLS) using the vSphere UI and API in the upcoming vSphere 8.0 Update 2 release. vCLS is enabled by default when a new vSphere Cluster is created and is required for vSphere DRS functionality but there may be scenarios where you are not using vSphere DRS or if you need to perform some clean up, one easy way is to simply disable and re-enable the vCLS service

The current method today for disabling vCLS is by putting a vSphere Cluster into what is called Retreat Mode, which involves adding a new vCenter Server Advanced Setting that contains the Managed Object Reference (MoRef ID) of the vSphere Cluster that you wish to disable vCLS on. If that sounds a bit complicated, it certainly can be and this needs to be done for each and every vSphere Cluster that you wish to disable vCLS, which can add an additional operational overhead.

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ESXi on Lenovo ThinkStation P3 Tiny

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Earlier this year, I came to learn about an interesting system from Lenovo called the ThinkStation P3 Tiny, which packs a ton of potential for its tiny form factor.


Funny enough, I have never actually worked with a Lenovo kit before, so I was definitely interested in getting hands on with this system. In fact, with the recent announcement of VMware Edge Cloud Orchestrator (VECO), the P3 Tiny could also make for an interesting candidate for deploying at the Edge using Project Keswick! 😄

Thanks to the Lenovo ThinkStation team, I got the opportunity to explore the P3 Tiny and see what it can offer to the VMware community.
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How to setup custom vSphere Content Library on a Synology?

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The ability to run a diverse set of custom add-on applications from backup, security, multimedia, developer tools and many more directly on a Synology NAS makes it extremely versatile and can enable a number of new capabilities within your environment.


While browsing through the packages, I noticed there is a WebStation package which can be used to host a basic website (can also support advanced web applications). This immediately gave me an idea as I can now host my own custom vSphere Content Library, also referred to as a 3rd party content library that are managed outside of vCenter Server, directly on the Synology!

Note: Installing add-on applications will consume additional CPU and memory resources on your Synology, make sure you have enough resources, especially memory before running additional services on your Synology.

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