Free VM Monitor Tool From SolarWinds

Today while taking a break from writing some project related IP, I kicked over to my home lab rebuild that was pretty much stalled in lieu of the other things I have running around these days.  While I was waiting for some things to update I decided to take a look at one of the free tools the folks over at SolarWinds have called VM Monitor.  Now I have always been a fan of both their free tools as well as some of their full versions.  In the next month or so I may be kicking the tires on more of them just to see what they have these days.

This little gem is actually perfect for me in my home lab since I only have a single physical ESX host.  The tool is very easy to set up and I actually had nothing on the ESXi 5.0 host to configure.  It gives you some instant real-time data of all the Virtual Machines running on the selected host.  Seeing as I only have one host running, this is a perfect tool for me to keep an eye on them without hitting the host or firing up vCenter Server.  So how do you set this thing up?  Easy as 1….2….3

  • Step #3 – Look at the details of your Virtual Machines

What you get is a really nice graphical view directly from your windows workstation of the real-time stats of the Virtual Machines on the host.  This little guy is so easy to set up and get running you should give it a try if you have not yet.  This tool has been out for a while, but is still pretty cool to use.  I will be downloading some of their other tools as well to see how they work with vSphere and vCloud Director once the lab is re-built.

About Chris Colotti

Chris is active on the VMUG and event speaking circuit and is available for many events if you want to reach out and ask. Previously to this he spent close to a decade working for VMware as a Principal Architect. Previous to his nine plus years at VMware, Chris was a System Administrator that evolved his career into a data center architect. Chris spends a lot of time mentoring co-workers and friends on the benefits of personal growth and professional development. Chris is also amongst the first VMware Certified Design Experts (VCDX#37), and author of multiple white papers. In his spare time he helps his wife Julie run her promotional products as the accountant, book keeper, and IT Support. Chris also believes in both a healthy body and healthy mind, and has become heavily involved with fitness as a Diamond Team Beachbody Coach using P90X and other Beachbody Programs. Although Technology is his day job, Chris is passionate about fitness after losing 60 pounds himself in the last few years.

2 comments

  1. Very helpful review!

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