Earlier this summer, Synology reached out to me to discuss the possibly of turning in some long term evaluation NAS equipment in return for some hands-on time with the very new Synology 1522+ featuring AMD Ryzen and ECC memory capability. Naturally, I said yes, especially since they were offering this evaluation unit to arrive near it's June 29th product launch! Be sure to also have a look at this little 5 bay NAS's product page at Synology DiskStation DS1522+: Flexible data management for…
This article is a natural follow-on to my previous, closely-related article about some hands-on time I had with this 2018 product: Synology DiskStation DS1618+ NAS First Look featuring 10GbE! Mar 11 2019 which generated many reader comments where it became evident that others felt much as I did. We wanted a version of this NAS where we didn't have to choose between 10G or M.2. Instead, we want to have both! See also at TinkerTry: Sep 10 2020 I now have a DS1621xs+ in the TinkerTry home lab to…
Introduction This article is an update to my previous, closely-related article about some hands-on time I had with this 2018 product: Synology DiskStation DS1618+ NAS First Look featuring 10GbE! Mar 11 2019 which generated many reader comments where it became evident that others felt much as I did. We wanted a version of this NAS where we didn't have to choose between 10G or M.2. Instead, we want to have both. Now it appears Synology has now given owners exactly this powerful combination,…
Last year, I wrote about NAKIVO v8.5.2 with detailed walk-thru install and configure videos, see that detailed article here, and it included Windows Server backups too: NAKIVO Backup & Replication v8.5.2 arrives with VMware vSphere 6.7 Update 2 support May 27 2019 This year, major new functionality has been added yet again to NAKIVO's product line. While it might take me some time to add to this article some of my experiences with testing v10 out in my vSphere/ESXi 7.0b home lab, the UI…
On January 21 2020, Microsoft began allowing anybody who clicks on "Check for updates" to get their Windows 10 Version 1909. That means a lot of folks have it by now, and with the New Veeam Availability Suite v10 set to launch tomorrow, and it's likely that the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows 4.0 offering will be arriving soon too, good timing! As a Veeam Vanguard, I obtained permission to get my hands on the release candidate code and share a look with you today! What I'm…
Put your nomination(s) in by January 21 2020, all the instructions are in Nikola Pejková's post here. You can nominate yourself (or be nominated by another person), so don’t be shy and apply by sending your profile summary or CV to As Veeam calls it in their recent post Join the Veeam Vanguard 2020 class!: But being a Vanguard is not given for life. You must earn it. This veeamazing group of professionals is truly a global community where each member, coming from their own career path, en…
See also last year's Travel Tech for my 10 days of driving around Germany, Poland, and Czech Republic for Veeam Vanguard Summit in Prague Veeam Vanguard 2015 to 2019 Back in July, a very exciting email arrived from Rick Vanover at Veeam: From: Rick Vanover Date: July 16, 2019 at 6:06:47 AM CDT To: Rick Vanover Subject: Veeam Vanguard Communications - New People, RSVP for Vanguard Summit Hey Vanguards! ... we are well underway planning for the cornerstone experience as a Vanguard, the 2019…
I recently wrote about NAKIVO v8.5.2 with detailed walk-thru install and configure videos, see that detailed article here: NAKIVO Backup & Replication v8.5.2 arrives with VMware vSphere 6.7 Update 2 support May 27 2019 NAKIVO Releases v9 with Support for Physical Windows Server Backup NAKIVO Backup & Replication v9 can protect physical, virtual, and cloud environments. NAKIVO Inc., a fast-growing software company dedicated to protecting virtualized and cloud environments, announced…
Table of Contents Here's all the links for you, jumping you right down to the section you're most interested in below: Microsoft Windows Update Microsoft Windows Download Microsoft Windows Evaluation Center Microsoft Visual Studio Downloads Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) Backstory Last week, Microsoft announced 1903, but the ISOs had already been on Visual Studio Downloads for a few days, formerly known as MSDN. Gladly, no big issues this time it would seem, and certainly…
It's no secret that I appreciate the simplicity of installing the NAKIVO Backup & Replication appliance in my home's personal datacenter. To get your most precious VMs protected easily and effectively, it takes only about 10 minutes to install and configure the appliance then kick off your first VM backup job, with the simple process demonstrated in my video and NAKIVO's video below. Some folks may prefer to install NAKIVO on an existing Linux or Windows physical system or VM. Some might…
Below is the article as it originally appeared, with updates added [below](https://tinkertry.com/veeam-agent-3-works-with-windows-10-version-1903#may-28-2019-update). --- ##Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows 3.0.1 Last week, Microsoft released Windows 10 May 2019 Update Version 1903, all sorts of details found [below](https://tinkertry.com/veeam-agent-3-works-with-windows-10-version-1903#see-also). I had a chance to install 1903 and the latest Veeam Agent this past weekend. Before I dove in, I…
Dear Home Lab Enthusiast with data to protect: Today's Veeam announcement was big. A way to run enterprise level software with all the features you need for a lab environment, with none of the guilt. That's right, up to 10 VMs, and physical systems too! Got your attention? Read on! I started using Veeam back in the FastSCP days in the mid 2000s, saving the enterprise customers I was paid to train huge chunks of consulting time. This simple product moved ISOs into new VMware vSphere VMFS…
Backstory I've used NASs occasionally since 2006, including the Infrant ReadyNAS (which eventually got bought by Netgear), FreeNAS, and OpenFiler, as I mentioned way back in 2011 here. Admittedly, I wasn't impressed by the speeds, so I tended to use them only for backups, not VMs. When I had them running and working, that is. The roll-your-own approach tended to require a bit too much care, so instead I stuck with Windows Home Server for my drive-pooling, network shares, and backup. From 2011…
Table of Contents Here's all the links for you, jumping you right down to the section you're most interested in below: Microsoft Windows Update Microsoft Windows Download Microsoft Windows Evaluation Center Microsoft Visual Studio Downloads Microsoft Volume Licensing Service Center (VLSC) Backstory Yesterday morning, I noticed that the elusive new ISOs hadn't arrived on Visual Studio Downloads (formerly known as MSDN) yet, ever since they were pulled away over 6 weeks ago: Windows 10 October…
Backstory How VVols landed me in Germany Ever since I was 11, I wanted to get back to Germany, where half my family is from. Finally, thanks to an opportunity to write about VVols in an IBM Redbook, that dream came true in September 2014, as VMware was preparing for the Feb 2 2015 launch of vSphere 6.0. That trip was a lot of work, and a lot of fun, with extensive rental car adventures that involved a manual transmission and a side-trip to visit the island where my last name originated. That…
It's no secret that I appreciate the simplicity of installing the NAKIVO Backup & Replication appliance in my home's personal datacenter. To get your most precious VMs protected easily and effectively, it takes only about 10 minutes to install and configure the appliance then kick off your first VM backup job, with the simple process demonstrated in my video below. Some folks may prefer to install NAKIVO on an existing Linux or Windows physical system or VM. Some might instead choose to…
If you've been watching my article: Status of VMware vSphere 6.7 support by VM backup companies Apr 19 2018 Apr 17 2018 Veeam Availability Suite 9.5 Update 3a is now available! Platform support is a priority at Veeam. Whether that is the latest operating systems, new storage systems or updated hypervisors, we take platform support seriously. Since Veeam Backup & Replication 9.5 Update 3 has been released, a number of ecosystem changes have warranted an update ahead of the upcoming set…
Simple & free clone, for peace of mind before patching or upgrading
I created the video below that features a very detailed walk-through of an imaging process of the ESXi hypervisor installation that seems to work quite well for me. I tested this heavily when tinkering with various vSphere 6.5 and 6.7 versions in my home lab. While the use of such an tool isn't suited for production server use because it's completely unsupported by VMware, I have found it to be invaluable for lab testing purposes, giving me complete peace of mind that I can avoid long…
I may not have been VMware's first choice to cover this Other Veeam Vanguards from VMware's Technical Marketing team were unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts, so when VMware management went looking for who else might be able to swing booth duty, another Veeam Vanguard like me seemed to be a decent second choice. Awesome, I love Chicago, sign me up! I actually enjoy talking to people. I'm one of the newer folks around at VMware, starting as a vSAN Systems Engineer just 16 months ago,…
Table of Contents, in alphabetic order: Altaro VM Backup Commvault Micro Focus VM Explorer Virtual Machine Backup NAKIVO Backup & Replication Unitrends Backup Veeam Backup & Replication This short article is really just about one of the very first questions that pops up very soon after any major release of VMware vSphere. Experienced enthusiasts tend to look for ways to learn about and test the latest release of vSphere putting their VM backups at risk. You can see here that the…
It's no secret that I quite enjoy the simplicity of installing the NAKIVO Backup & Replication appliance in a home lab. Getting your most precious VMs protected easily and effectively takes under 10 minutes to install and configure, kicking off your first backup job. See also: Nov 28 2017 Mar 28 2017 Mar 22 2016 Here's just 3 of the 11 new features that caught my eye: Automated Self-Backup NAKIVO Backup & Replication v7.4 Beta includes the Self-Backup feature, which automatically back…
Press Release There have been new features and refinements happening regularly ever since NAKIVO started out in 2012, as their backup solutions for VMs gains maturity, yet retaining their signature ease-of-use kudos, including home virtualization lab enthusiasts like Florian Grehl and Vladen Seget. See also NAKIVO's post, What's New in v7.3. All the details of today's v7.3 announcement are right in NAKIVO's press release, with a focus on performance enhancements this time around. Here are some…
Turns out the question of what backup solution to use to protect a home lab's VMs in a home lab comes up a lot here at TinkerTry, especially when a major new release of vSphere arrives on the scene. It's become such an important thing to consider for IT Pros working off the NFR code (non-time-bombed) code in their home labs, so much so that they might decide to hold off on upgrading until their backup solution is ready. The wait since the July 27 2017 release of 6.5 Update 1 was rather short!…
If you've read TinkerTry for a while, you'll know I've enjoyed relying on Veeam Endpoint Backup FREE, right through version 1.5, to protect multiple physical PCs in my family. Several times a year, I'll do a full restore of important PCs to a VM, to be absolutely sure my backups are good. Occasionally, I'll go grab a single file out of a backup too. Recently renamed, Veeam Agent for Windows v2 continues to offer a free version, but should add quite a bit of value add for folks that wish to…
TinkerTry - PCs, EVs, home tech, efficiency and more, including virtualization. My opinions here. Full-time IT Professional, occasional consultant.
Paul Braren, MCSE in 1998, VCP #2681 in 2005, vExpert 2014 to 2025, Veeam Vanguard Emeritus, 2015 to 2019.
Project Manager of my All-Electric Home Retrofit
Easily update VMware ESXi at TinkerTry.com/easy-update-to-latest-esxi
Source - Below paragraphs generated by this comprehensive Perplexity Deep Research report that includes information from 43 sources including Wikipedia - Enshittification:
Why This Exemplifies Enshittification
- Initial Value: VMware initially built goodwill by offering reliable, feature-rich virtualization products and VMUG Advantage, which provided significant value to users.
- Business User Phase: Broadcom prioritized enterprise/hyperscaler customers, extracting more revenue from them while degrading the experience for smaller users (perpetual license elimination, steep subscription costs, discontinued free products).
- Shareholder Phase: The rapid transition to subscriptions and price increases align with maximizing short-term shareholder value, potentially at the long-term expense of the platform's broader ecosystem.
...
The VMware situation perfectly illustrates what one industry observer described as "the classic case of enshittification—where a platform degrades in value to the user to extract maximum value for the shareholder". Even if Broadcom were to reverse course, "the trust is gone" and "the threat of future audits and contract changes remains".
Mar 01, 2026 at 1:23 AM UTC
"Sorry this comment slipped by me as I was in the midst of implementing a way to post comments even for users that say no to cookies. I'm using Supermicro's built-in iKVM feature: https://t..."
Feb 02, 2026 at 6:44 PM UTC
"Thank you for the backup process. I followed the video and everything worked as expected. I was wondering if you could share some information on the tool you use to have a VNC-like connection to you..."
Jan 04, 2026 at 3:12 AM UTC
TinkerTry's 2025 Home Tech Refresh
"This is a simple test of TinkerTry.com new improved handling of Disqus, and it uses the new API and lazy and deferred loading wherever possible. Disqus comments have returned to the sidebar area of al..."
Nov 18, 2025 at 4:29 AM UTC
How to easily update your VMware ESXi Hypervisor to the latest version with one ESXCLI command
"so on an existing installation is not possible to update it? i couldnt even figure out how to create the tokens lol i dont have that option i think on the dashboard..."
Nov 18, 2025 at 4:24 AM UTC
Download all the VMware vSphere 5.5 pieces to get your home lab started
"I cannot do that. I run a legit site, and I have no special access to the code anyway since I don’t work for Broadcom."
Nov 18, 2025 at 4:23 AM UTC
How to easily update your VMware ESXi Hypervisor to the latest version with one ESXCLI command
"It is quite frustrating. While I managed to get the free ESXi 8U3e hypervisor installed (new install only) with a license that doesn’t expire, you still need a token to even patch it the easy way: h..."
Nov 16, 2025 at 8:44 PM UTC
How to easily update your VMware ESXi Hypervisor to the latest version with one ESXCLI command
"i m trying to find the way to generate the tokens etc but i m confused with broadcom....i think its about the time to start migrating to different platform...."
Jul 29, 2025 at 6:08 PM UTC
Download all the VMware vSphere 5.5 pieces to get your home lab started
"Hello, I need help with the vCenter installer. Could you make it available in some drive so I can download it? I have the license and need to activate it to work in an old environment."
Jul 29, 2025 at 6:07 PM UTC
Download all the VMware vSphere 5.5 pieces to get your home lab started
"Olá preciso de ajuda com o instalador do vCenter, poderiam me disponibiliar em algum drive para que eu possa fazer o download? Eu possuo a licença e preciso ativar para trabalhar em um antigo ambien..."
Jul 20, 2025 at 4:22 PM UTC
How to resolve “This virtual machine appears to be in use” error in VMware Workstation
"Still works, using VMware 17.6.3"
Jun 11, 2025 at 7:51 PM UTC
How to easily update your VMware ESXi Hypervisor to the latest version with one ESXCLI command
"I sourced the update zip from a third-party website and ran the following commands. The update seem to have gone fine. I suggest verifying the checksum of the file if you go down that route, as an ext..."
Jun 05, 2025 at 4:57 PM UTC
TinkerTry Supermicro SuperServer Bundles - powerful and efficient virtualization home labs
"I have not, as I moved homes and got rid of everything old, and I tend to avoid eBay stuff partly for support and energy use reasons. It’s amazing that I’m still running both of my SuperServers t..."
Jun 05, 2025 at 8:19 AM UTC
How to easily update your VMware ESXi Hypervisor to the latest version with one ESXCLI command
"Yes. It can be downloaded from the Broadcom site. It is under Free Downloads and comes with a Free license integrated in the ISO. https://support.broadcom.com/group/ecx/free-downloads"
Jun 05, 2025 at 2:56 AM UTC
How to easily update your VMware ESXi Hypervisor to the latest version with one ESXCLI command
"I admit I haven't looked into that, but I appreciate you dropping that idea my way here on TinkerTry! I'm doing much of the same soul searching and tech solution searching that many others are likely ..."
Jun 04, 2025 at 8:41 PM UTC
How to easily update your VMware ESXi Hypervisor to the latest version with one ESXCLI command
"Is there a way to upgrade with the full ISO without overwriting the currently installed license? It wouldn't be a total loss if we could somehow mount the ISO and use a command like below to upg..."
May 28, 2025 at 11:33 AM UTC
TinkerTry Supermicro SuperServer Bundles - powerful and efficient virtualization home labs
"This was such an insightful look back at the impressive legacy of these Supermicro Xeon D bundles! It's remarkable how these compact yet powerful systems served the homelab community so well for ..."
Allan Tygert
Mar 01, 2026 at 3:58 PM UTC
USB Image Tool for Windows easily backs up and restores your complete VMware ESXi hypervisor on USB or SD drives, a simp
"Thank you."