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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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ESXi on SolidRun V3000

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The name SolidRun is no stranger to the VMware ecosystem, both the Honeycomb LX2 and MacchiatoBin are two popular Arm platforms that are used with the ESXi-Arm Fling, especially for development and testing purposes.

However, what I did not know about SolidRun was that they also catered to the x86 market, which I recently came to learn about with their launch of the Bedrock V3000 (AMD Zen 3) and V7000 (AMD Zen 4) platforms respectively.

Given the opportunity to get hands on with one of the SolidRun x86 kits, the V3000, I knew I had to take it for a spin!


After unboxing the V3000, the first thing that immediately stands out is the overall build quality and aesthetics. The system is truly beautiful to look at and hold, not words I typically use to describe a server 🙂 The V3000 is not for a typical homelab, it is designed to run in harsh and demanding industrial type environments, especially those found at the Edge.

The unique fanless design and cooling of the V3000 enables it to be deployed to a number of locations, including ruggedized environments where traditional mounting kits may not be available and the use of DIN-Rail are required. Another thing that stood out to me while reading about the V3000, is the modularity of their platform where you can easily add a Networking and I/O board (NIO), Storage and Extension Cards board (SX) and Power Module (PM) to address your different use cases and requirements.

Lets now take a closer look at running ESXi on the V3000!

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