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Dermot GleesonFlag for Australia

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VMWare environment audit

Hello Experts - I have just started a new contract job as a Sys Admin but there is no hand-over as the previous person has left already. There is very little documentation, the docs all look out of date or incomplete & it's a very small team so no-one within the team can tell me exactly how many applications we have (50'ish best guess!!), what they are, versions, etc, etc. Not ideal.

I really need to find a way to audit my VMWare ESXi V5.5 environment & give me detailed info on my applications, the infrastructure side is much easier to work out. The type of application info I need is what apps & the versions, what databases are they using, size of databases, maintenance/backup schedule info & most crucial of all - what application interfaces do I have. I don't know what (if any) middleware they have so the application interface info is the biggest concern.

I'm thinking apps such as LabTech, SpiceWorks & Puppet Enterprise run as a 30 day trial will give me infrastructure info but I don't know if they also provide that detailed application audit info I need. I know VMware vSphere can give me infrastructure info on the VMware farm but I don't think it provided application info but I could be wrong.

My on premise VMware farm has 62 servers Windows 2008 & 2012 & RHEL V6. I know my databases are a mix of MS SQL & Oracle. The apps cover ERP, Payroll, Retail, Business Intelligence, Supply Chain, Manufacturing plus the usual Microsoft AD, Exchange, etc, etc.

Appreciate any help & suggestions you can offer.

Thanks,
Dermot
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Avatar of Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)
Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)
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Thank you for your suggestions, the mix of server names, Service Desk info & the userbase will help me to get info on what applications & therefore the number of applications. But I also need that middleware/application interface audit tool. Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Dermot.
No easy method here, other than start looking at the services and servers, and what has been installed.

An Audit tool, is not going to shed much light on what is on the server.
Do you think my best bet is a Middleware tool? And if so any suggestions or experts/groups I could contact?

Thanks,
Dermot.
A middleware tool is a very vague thing....I'm aware of lots of middleware, but nothing that will audit it.

Can you not check with Vendors, Support Agreements, Licenses for software and middleware.
Yes all very good suggestions - thank you. I was hoping there was an inventory tool that could help fill in the blanks rather than me manually checking every server.

Are you aware of any middleware that can help me understand the application interfaces? I don't mind if it doesn't spit out a report, I just need to understand what apps & their databases interface with others.

Thanks,
Dermot.
Middleware is often custom, either supplied by vendors, or their third parties.

Most is hidden, and not seen, not sure it will help you with the application interfaces.

Survey the user base.
Thank you for your help.