Bits, Bytes, & Radio Waves

A Journey Through Discovery

  • vRealize Operations – Unlock Photon OS root Account

    vRealize Operations Manager Version: 8.4Photon OS Version: 3.0 (build 11dd065) VMware References: How to reset the root password in vRealize Operations (2001476) (https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2001476) Upgrade to vRealize Operations Manager 8.x fails due to the admin or root account password (75195) (https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/75195) About the vRealize Operations Administration Interface Overview I deployed three new appliances and when I…

  • VMware Blast Extreme Group Policy Settings

    The policy files required are vdm_blast.admx and vdm_blast.adml. They are downloaded as part of the VMware-Horizon-Extras-Bundle. In a typical environment, the admx policy files go into \\<domain name>\SYSVOL\<domain name>\Policies\PolicyDefinitions. The adml files go into the language folder, in my case, en-US. If the Group Policy Editor was already open, close and reopen for the changes…

  • How to Remove Hidden Devices in Windows Device Manager

    Quick Method: If running on a modern Windows 10, Windows 11, or Windows Server, check that PNPUTIL supports the /enum-devices and /remove-device command. I found that Windows Server 2019 did not support the /enum-devices and therefore did not have a /remove-device command. If it does, however, the following one liner should work. foreach ($dev in…

  • Failover Clustering

    TLS Certificate Considerations When adding a certificate for Windows Server Failover Clustering on general purpose servers, ensure the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for the cluster name, essentially the load-balanced name, is in the Subject Name of the certificate using the Common Name (CN) attribute. The FQDN of the cluster name and the FQDN of…

  • VMware vRealize Orchestrator Not Logging In

    VMware vRealize Orchestrator Not Logging In

    This occurred for me when upgrading to or installing a new vCenter 7 and replacing the self-signed certificate. I tested in a lab and was able to successfully install both vCenter 7 and Orchestrator 8.3. I was able to successfully configure both appliances and log in, as well. I did use vSphere Authentication as the…

  • Configuring VMware Horizon Connection Server – Windows Server

    ADSI Edit If you do not change the expiration period, Connection Server will stop accepting SAML assertions from the SAML authenticator, such as a Unified Access Gateway appliance or a third-party identity provider, after 24 hours, and the metadata exchange must be repeated. 1. Start the ADSI Edit utility on your Connection Server host. 2….

This is how it all started…

I started this site with the intent to aggregate as much information as possible in one place. I use this to record lessons learned or frustrating configurations I have experienced on the job or just tinkering (learning) and just couldn’t find a better resource available. I have tried to be as thorough and accurate as possible, but technology is rapidly evolving and every environment is different. I may miss things along the way and my setup most likely differs compared to yours.

I hope you find this site has some value to you.

Welcome to Bits, Bytes, and Radio Waves! 

If you have any questions or comments (or just want to give me a shout-out), please feel free to contact me!

Aaron Rombaut

Writer & Technologist