Network Audit and Documentation, CENTREL Solutions Blog

When you try and configure a Cloud Witness in a Microsoft Failover Cluster you may find you receive the following error. An error occurred while validating access to Azure from cluster node ‘nodename’. Verify the Azure storage account name, storage account type, storage account key, and network connectivity over HTTPS. This error is very misleading as it can occur when there's an existing Cloud Witness in the cluster core resources.

When using the Win32_TPM class you can get the manufacturer name from the ManufacturerIdTxt property on Windows Server 2019 and above. For older operating systems you can convert the numeric ManufacturerId property to it's string value using the following PowerShell command as the value is actually an ASCII encoded string stored as an integer. $tpm = Get-CimInstance -Namespace "root\CIMV2\Security\MicrosoftTpm" -ClassName "Win32_Tpm" ; $bytes = [ System.BitConverter ]:: GetBytes( $tpm . ManufacturerId); [ System.Array ]:: Reverse( $bytes ); $manufacturer = [ System.Text.Encoding ]:: ASCII . GetString( $bytes );  

If you want to install Azure HCI Stack on VMware workstation it IS  possible though there are a few issues. There's a great YouTube video here on installing Azure Stack HCI in general https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12Zoayvrols&t=1837s And there's a specific article on installing it on VMware https://virtualg.uk/how-to-install-azure-stack-hci-23h2-in-your-lab In summary there's a few things to think about in terms of VMware Use the latest version of VMware workstation (it has better support for encryption). Encrypt the virtual machines. Enable UEFI and Secure Boot. Use at least 4 cores in the virtual processors (else cluster creation will fail with AzStackHci_MOCStack_CpuCoreCount). Enable Virtualize Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD-V/RVI as you always have to with nested virtualization. Use two NICs Use 3 NVMe drives 200GB (boot) 500GB 500GB Add a TPM to the hardware Modify the .vmx file for all HCI stack hosts and change ethernet0 and ethernet1 from the e1000e adapter to the vmx

When you try and install Azure HCI Stack and setup the Arc agent you may find you see the following error. Installing Azure HCI Stack "EC test Test TPM Property LockoutCount is 0" This occurs when a TPM lockout has occurred. Run the Get-Tpm PowerShell cmdlet and check the LockoutCount property. You will have to wait until the time limit has passed and the property correctly shows zero. Click the power sign off button in the user inteface. Log in again and restart the Arc Setup wizard.

If you want to access device manager and network connections in Azure Stack HCI you can install them with this command. Add-WindowsCapability -Online -Name ServerCore.AppCompatibility~~~~0.0.1.0 You will need to reboot the node but then you can run "devmgmt.msc" and "ncpa.cpl". The recommended method for managing devices however it use to use Windows Admin Center. https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows-server/windows-admin-center

If you try and setup an Azure HCI cluster on VMware workstation or vSphere the cluster setup fails and you see the error:    {       "Name" : "AzStackHci_Hardware_Test_Tpm_Certificate_Properties" ,       "DisplayName" : "Test TPM DEMO-HCI-01" ,       "Tags" : {},       "Title" : "Test TPM Certificate Properties" ,       "Status" : 1,       "Severity" : 2,       "Description" : "Checking TPM for desired properties" ,       "Remediation" : "https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure-stack/hci/deploy/deployment-tool-prerequisites" ,       "TargetResourceID" : "Machine: DEMO-HCI-01, Class: TpmCertificates, Subject: TPMVersion=id:00020065, TPMModel=VMware TPM2, TPMManufacturer=id:564D5700, Thumprint: 42E5DC85B4ABC9C7C64BBA3868A2C100017F3E8B" ,       "TargetResourceName" : "Machine: DEMO-HCI-01, Class: TpmCertificates, Subject: TPMV