automation

  • VMwareNew scheduled task delete snapshots

    New Scheduled Task to Delete Snapshots in vSphere 8.0 Update 3

    In case you have not seen as of yet, one of the new features that is a welcomed addition to vSphere 8.0 Update 3 is a new built-in scheduled task feature that gets rid of snapshots on virtual machines. This…

  • ProxmoxProxmox packer template for ubuntu 24.04

    Proxmox Packer Template for Ubuntu 24.04

    I have been playing around with Packer and getting templates updated in the home lab. In moving more into Proxmox in the lab environment, I wanted to get similar templates in place as I have with VMware vSphere. Let’s look…

  • DevOpsUbuntu 24.04 server packer template

    Ubuntu 24.04 Packer Template for VMware

    Now that the release of Ubuntu 24.04 LTS is official with Ubuntu dropping news of the release today of both the new Desktop and Server, it’s time to start updating some automation in the home lab. I wanted to test…

  • ProxmoxTop 10 proxmox cli commands for ultimate control in 2024

    Top 10 Proxmox CLI Commands for Ultimate Control in 2024

    One of the great things about Proxmox VE Server is that it contains very powerful command line utilities for controlling, configuring, and managing your Proxmox server. There are many Proxmox CLI utilities you need to know for ultimate control over…

  • home labLinux updates with gitlab

    Automate Home Lab Server Updates with GitLab CI CD

    I recently wrote a blog post about replacing traditional Windows scheduled tasks with a CI/CD pipeline and the automation it provides. There are so many advantages to running something like Gitlab in your home lab to centralize your automation and…

  • DevOpsForget scheduled tasks

    Forget Task Scheduler PowerShell Scripts Use CI/CD Instead

    If you are a Windows admin, VI Admin, or you use Windows task scheduler to run powershell scripts in your environment, you have probably noticed a few headaches with this process. Yes, it is easy enough and it is a…

  • Automation

    Ansible Software Patching for Beginners

    Ansible is a powerful open-source automation platform designed to help administrators manage and automate various tasks across their infrastructure. Open-source technologies like Ansible are awesome for automation! Ansible helps simplify the deployment, configuration, and patch management processes, making it an…

  • Proxmox

    Proxmox scripts PowerShell Ansible and Terraform

    Proxmox is growing more and more popular, especially for home lab enthusiasts and those looking to spin up labs based on totally free and open-source software. Proxmox has a great API that allows throwing automation tasks at the solution and…

  • DevOpsTerraform remote-exec provisioners

    Terraform remote exec provisioner to run shell commands

    If you are delving into using Terraform in your production or home lab environment, it is a great way to automate your infrastructure, either in a private cloud or public cloud environment. The Terraform provisioner block allows running commands on…

  • Choosing the Best VMware Automation Tools

    Providing streamlined and consistent management across the virtual estate is extremely important when using enterprise virtualization servers to run virtual machines in the enterprise data center. Managing a vSphere environment can require performing many different management tasks that are tedious…