How to Re-format an Eqaullogic volume

So you have a thin provisioned Equallogic volume with "dirty bits".  This can happen when you delete a vm, or vmotion it off somewhere else.  Even though you no longer have the data on the volume (as far as VMWare is concerned), Equallogic treats that space as used.

Vmware sees the volume as empty.

But Equallgic thinks it's full.  What the hey!?

But there is a sneaky way to "re-format" the volume.  You're not actually reformatting it, just shrinking it really small and expanding it again.  It accomplishes what you want though, which is to free up the dirty bits without actually deleting the volume.  Here are the steps:

1) Make sure there is no data on the volume that you need.  Check twice. :)

2) Remove the volume from vmware.

3) Log into the EQL GUI, delete snapshots of the volume

4) change the volume to "thick provisioned" ( volume - modify settings - space tab - uncheck "thin provisioned volume")

5) set volume offline (right click volume - set offline)

6) Log into the EQL command line interface (via putty or whatever), and type the following:  "volume select [name] shrink 1g".  You can't do this step in the GUI.  Here's an example where my volume name was "rld9":
 

7) Now go back into the EQL GUI, expand the volume back to the size you want, thin provision it again, and add the storage back to vmware.

Here's a screenshot of the volume afterwards.  Free space again, woot!
 

VMWare ESXi 4.1 - How to List All VMs with a Snapshot

It took me a while to figure out that there was a way in VMWare to list all of the virtual machine guests with a snapshot, so I'm posting this in the hope that it may help others as well. :)

In our environment (ESXi 4.1) we use snapshots as part of our automated backup process, and occasionally they get orphaned and grow out of control.  So it's important to have a way to list all of them at once in case they need to be deleted.

In VSphere make sure you have the storage plug-in enabled.
 

Select your datacenter on the left drop down menu, and then on the right select "Storage views".

 
You can see which VMs have snapshots based on their higher disk usage.  In the example above they are highlighted in yellow.

You can only use storage views for the particular vcenter site that you are logged into.  If you have additional sites, you will need to log into those sites to view their snapshots.

Also remember that snapshots my be used by third party products (such as Veeam or Comvault), Make sure that if you delete a snapshot, it isn't in use by your backup process. :)

Star Trek Movie Rankings

From best to worst:

#1) Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan.  The special effects of the eighties aren't quite up to par, but the best storyline by far.
#2) Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. A fitting sendoff for the original crew.
#3) Star Trek XI: The new kid on the block, I'm still evaluating this one. But I really liked it.
#4) Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Save the whales! Lots of fun. Lots of colorful metaphors.
#5) Star Trek Generations
#6) Star Trek III:
#7) Star Trek First Contact
#8) Star Trek I: Slow, the beginning really drags. Did they really need to spend 30 minutes spanning different shots of the Enterprise? This was lame even when it first hit the theaters and the special effects were new and cool.
#9) Star Trek V: Hands down the worst movie by far. What were they thinking? This one stinks so bad I refuse to buy it even with a set.

2012 Olympics Per Capita Medals by Population

In 2012 the United States won the medal count in the Olympics.  Next up were China, Russia, and Great Britain.  These are some of the largest and most populated countries, and they usually dominate.  However, if medals are adjusted by population per country, some different countries rise to the top.  These little nations win the most medals per person.  Interestingly, a number of them are Caribbean islands, with Grenada, Jamaica, and Trinidad topping the list.

Rank	Country	Medals	Population	Per Capita
1	Grenada	1	105,000	105,000
2	Jamaica	12	2,706,000	225,500
3	Trinidad	4	1,317,714	329,429
4	New Zealand	13	4,435,000	341,154
5	Bahamas	1	353,658	353,658
6	Brunei	1	422,700	422,700
7	Slovenia	4	2,057,960	514,490
8	Mongolia	5	2,844,000	568,800
9	Hungary	17	9,962,000	586,000
10	Montenegro	1	620,029	620,029
11	Denmark	9	5,585,000	620,556
12	Lithuania	5	3,187,700	637,540
13	Georgia	7	4,498,000	642,571
14	Estonia	2	1,294,236	647,118
15	Australia	35	22,697,000	648,486
16	Croatia	6	4,290,612	715,102
17	Belarus	13	9,458,000	727,538
18	Cuba	14	11,248,000	803,429
19	Netherlands	20	16,739,000	836,950
20	Cyprus	1	838,897	838,897
21	Qatar	2	1,699,435	849,718
22	Ireland	5	4,588,252	917,650
23	Azerbaijan	10	9,235,000	923,500
24	Great Britain	65	62,262,000	957,877
25	Latvia	2	2,070,371	1,035,186
26	Czech Republic	10	10,504,000	1,050,400
27	Armenia	3	3,268,500	1,089,500
28	Sweden	8	9,507,000	1,188,375
29	Norway	4	5,028,700	1,257,175
30	Kazakhstan	13	16,775,000	1,290,385
31	Slovakia	4	5,445,324	1,361,331
32	Gabon	1	1,564,000	1,564,000
33	Russia	82	143,117,000	1,745,329
34	Moldova	2	3,559,500	1,779,750
35	Serbia	4	7,120,666	1,780,167
36	South Korea	28	50,004,000	1,785,857
37	Finland	3	5,414,100	1,804,700
38	Germany	44	81,859,000	1,860,432
39	Puerto Rico	2	3,725,789	1,862,895
40	France	34	65,350,000	1,922,059
41	Canada	18	34,885,000	1,938,056
42	Switzerland	4	7,952,600	1,988,150
43	Botswana	1	2,038,228	2,038,228
44	Romania	9	19,043,000	2,115,889
45	Italy	28	60,821,000	2,172,179
46	Ukraine	20	45,566,000	2,278,300
47	Singapore	2	5,183,700	2,591,850
48	Spain	17	46,163,000	2,715,471
49	United States	104	314,141,000	3,020,587
50	Japan	38	127,530,000	3,356,053
51	Tunisia	3	10,673,800	3,557,933
52	Kuwait	1	3,582,054	3,582,054
53	Belgium	3	10,951,266	3,650,422
54	Bulgaria	2	7,364,570	3,682,285
55	Poland	10	38,501,000	3,850,100
56	Kenya	11	42,749,000	3,886,273
57	North Korea	6	24,554,000	4,092,333
58	Dominican R	2	9,445,281	4,722,641
59	Greece	2	10,787,690	5,393,845
60	Colombia	8	46,646,000	5,830,750
61	Iran	12	75,150,000	6,262,500
62	Hong Kong	1	7,103,700	7,103,700
63	Uzbekistan	4	29,123,400	7,280,850
64	Tajikistan	1	7,800,000	7,800,000
65	South Africa	6	50,586,757	8,431,126
66	Argentina	4	40,117,096	10,029,274
67	Portugal	1	10,561,614	10,561,614
68	Brazil	17	192,376,000	11,316,235
69	Taiwan	2	23,261,747	11,630,874
70	Ethiopia	7	84,322,000	12,046,000
71	Malaysia	2	28,334,135	14,167,068
72	Guatemala	1	14,713,763	14,713,763
73	Turkey	5	74,724,269	14,944,854
74	China	87	1,346,350,000	15,475,287
75	Mexico	7	112,336,538	16,048,077
76	Thailand	3	65,479,453	21,826,484
77	Afghanistan	1	25,500,100	25,500,100
78	Saudi Arabia	1	27,136,977	27,136,977
79	Venezuela	1	27,150,095	27,150,095
80	Morocco	1	32,637,900	32,637,900
81	Uganda	1	32,939,800	32,939,800
82	Algeria	1	37,100,000	37,100,000
83	Egypt	2	82,498,000	41,249,000
84	Indonesia	2	237,641,326	118,820,663
85	India	6	1,210,193,422	201,698,904

Medal Count: ESPN.
Country Population: Wikipedia

How to Fix a Choppy/Slow/Lagging Mouse in Vmware for Windows 2008

1) Make sure vmware tools are already installed and running on the server.

2) Go to device manager, display adapters, standard VGA graphics adapter, right click, update driver software.



3) Browse for driver software and go to c:\Program Files\Common Files\VMWare\Drivers\wddm_video
4) Install driver and reboot server.

How to Rebuild the Battery for a Merida TEV 500/550

If you are the owner of a Merida Electric assist bicycle, you are probably aware that it's impossible to get factory replacement batteries, because they are no longer shipped to the USA.

I was able to successfully rebuild my Merida battery, and it now works great! Total cost was about $100 with tax. It took me about three hours labor. If you are more mechanically inclined, you can probably do it in less time than I did.

For replacement batteries I used four WKA6-8.2F batteries from Batteries Plus. These are slightly different than the original batteries, but close enough in size and amp hours to work. The original batteries were two 12 volt 9 amp hour batteries (for a total of 24v 9 ah). Replacement batteries were four 6 volt 8.2 amp hour batteries (for a total of 24v 8.2 ah).

To open the case, unscrew the 4 screws at the base of the battery, and the two ones on the side where the power plugs into. You do not need to undo the screws at the top where the metal plate is. That area controls the ignition and can be left alone.

Inside you will find two SLA batteries that are wired together. You will need to wire cut the old batteries out. Cut the red wire and black wire close to the terminal connections (the two at the bottom right and left of pic above). The important thing is to leave enough wiring for when you put everything back together.

Add in the new batteries. You will need to wire them all together to complete the circuit. I was fortunate in that the guy at at the Kennewick Batteries Plus store soldiered all of my connections together and did it for free! Wire in positive and negative connections on the two ends, these will connect back into the electrical system. Notice that the four batteries fit in quite nicely. Sorry about the cluttered work bench. :)
Crimp the ends back into the wiring system. Use yellow 12-10 gauge crimps - available at any hardware store. Make sure the wiring goes in the same direction as when you pulled it out. :)

The fit is kind of snug for putting the cover back on. Make sure to neatly manage the wiring as best you can, so the cover will go.

Enjoy!
Be sure to drop a comment if you do a replacement, I'd like to hear how the process went for you

Happy cycling. :)