NA> I never really got into the Exsi-specific commands, because as explained
NA> once
NA> all the VM's sense that dummy file they shutdown via. the Windows
NA> shutdown command. I'm not running non-Windows stuff here though...

I have a mixture of all types of stuff running as VMs.  Windows, various Linux,
some Linux based appliances, etc. Technically, vCenter itself is one of those
appliances.

NA> What about the startup-sequence settings in Exsi? List the DC first on
NA> that one server and just use timer sequence on the others?

Yes, there is a startup delay that can be added in ESXi to auto-start VMs in a
certain order.  It seemed to work ok the few times I tried it, just have to
tweak the timers to get the right settings.

NA> I have one APC SmartUps 1400 and replace the batteries every couple of
NA> years from some local vendor that actually sells them at a decent price.
NA> The daughterboards for those APC UPS's are a godsend and I'll never
NA> understand why Ethernet or probe-contacts were never made "standard
NA> issue" for their stuff until much later.
NA> 
NA> I've actually never had a full-cycle on UPS, I'm guessing I'll get about
NA> a half hour or so of runtime with all the stuff in the rack.
NA> Non-essential stuff just goes to the main PDU... I don't need NAS storage
NA> during an outage.

I order all my APC batteries from Battery Sharks.  They have the best price
online and I can't find any better deals locally.  I typically get around 3
years on them before they give me the error that they need to be replaced. SInce
I have so many of them, I seem to be always replacing one of them.  I just
swapped the batteries in the one that runs my main PC just last week.

- Mark

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