binaryfactory.ca » Virtualization

vCenter Update Manager SSL error

Guillaume — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 21:30:00 +0000

When installing vCenter update manager in a lab, I got this :

“Error 25005.Setup failed to generate the SSL keys”

It appears that since I have installed vCenter Server, vSphere client, and tried to install the update manager all in one sitting without rebooting, there has been some path confusion and it could not find openssl.exe (or the right version of it). Allowing it to roll back, rebooting, and trying again fixed the issue for me.

How to package Firefox extensions for Global installs

Guillaume — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 00:44:48 +0000

Firefox extensions are distributed in XPI packages (pronounced zippy).

XPI packages are in reality just a ZIP file with a standard file and folder structure in it.

Two types of add-on installations can be performed : Per-user, and per-workstation (Global). Typically, extensions are installed per-user, especially if the user is not a local administrator on his workstation.

However, there may be cases where a global installation is preferred: a standard extension would need to be installed multiple times for every user of a shared workstation. It would also be harder to push extensions out to users instead of machines.

Here is how to create install a firefox extension globally in a way that can easily be packaged with anything that allows running batch files. The same information can easily be used to create clean MSI packages as well, using WiX or anything else, just put the files in the right location and set the proper registry keys. It would probably be more reliable to do it with an MSI than batch files.

1) Obtain the XPI package

2) Unzip the XPI package

3) Open the install.rdf file in the package.

We need to identify the “ID” of the package. Look for something similar to this:

Blah blah

The ID contained in the EM:ID anchors may be a name or a GUID. Note it down.

4) Create a registry import file

Create a .reg file.

This will be used to tell Firefox where to look for the new globally installed extension. This can be anywhere you want as long as the user that will open firefox has read access to it.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\Firefox\Extensions]

“em-id-of-extension”=”C:\\Program Files\\Mozilla Firefox\\PathToExtension”

5) Create a registry import file for uninstallation

This file needs to be identicaly to the above, but with a minus instead of the path to the extension. This simply deletes the string we created before.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Mozilla\Firefox\Extensions]

“em-id-of-extension”=-

6) Create a batch file for installation

This batch file simply needs to copy the files to the location you specified in your .reg file, and then run regedit /s regfile.reg to import the registry changes.

7) Create a batch file for uninstallation

This batch file simply deletes the directory containing your extension and runs regedit /s on the uninstallation regfile.

VCP on vSphere 4 – VCP410 exam resources

Guillaume — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 20:57:23 +0000

Here is a list of what I used last week, right after taking the ICM course for vSphere, in order to pass my VCP exam.

vSphere4 Card | vReference

This little document packs a lot of punch, read it a few times !

vSphere4 notes | vReference.

This document is longer, and includes a lot of interesting info about vSphere. Could be just what you need if upgrading from an older certification !

And finally, I used a few test exams:

VCP vSphere 4 Practice Exam – The SLOG – SimonLong/Blog.

All exams from Simon Long were useful, the ones concentrating on the maximums will help you know if you know that stuff by heart as you should. Be aware that I felt that the actual exam was a good 20-25% harder than the test questions of the main test exam.

I then used the mock exam from VMware (you can find it after login into myLearn).

Be sure not to attempt the test exams before you are relatively sure you’re ready, as they don’t have many questions and doing them too fast will then make them useless as you will already know most questions and answers. VMware’s mock exam felt a bit easier than the real one too, by about 10-15%.

Good luck to everyone!