Category Archives: Lab Infrastructure

Leveraging VMware Aria Operations for Power Consumption Tracking

I’ve been looking for a good reason to try out the Aria Operations Management Pack Builder, ever since a peer of mine built one for Pi-Hole back in early 2023. One thing that I thought would be of particular interest … Continue reading

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Step-by-Step: Installing Ubuntu 24.04 on a Raspberry Pi for DNS and NTP

In my home network, I have a Raspberry Pi4 which provides DNS (pi-hole) and NTP (chrony). Its a device that I don’t touch often and is a ‘production’ type service — in my lab I don’t mind blowing up / … Continue reading

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Automating Cluster Management with Aria Operations API

As part of routine maintenance, it is sometimes necessary to take an Aria Operations cluster offline. For example, it is recommended to take the cluster offline to perform backups (https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Aria-Operations/8.12/Best-Practices-Operations/GUID-1D058B4A-93BA-44D1-8794-AE8E1B96B3E4.html). Since most folks want to schedule backups, it is important … Continue reading

Posted in Lab Infrastructure, Scripting, Virtualization | 1 Comment

Scaling Your Tests: How to Set Up a vCenter Server Simulator

I’ve recently been testing a handful of reporting tools against vCenter Server endpoints. I have several lab instances for various major releases, which allow me to test a wide range of configurations. However, there are some tests that are hard … Continue reading

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Monitoring MongoDB Enterprise using LDAP Authentication

I had a recent need to dig into MongoDB monitoring with Aria Operations. In those posts, I used a preconfigured Bitnami MongoDB virtual appliance. This virtual appliance used MongoDB Community Edition. As a follow-up, I was looking into if it … Continue reading

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