Pasting values from your host into your VM with ESXI 6.0, ESXI 5.5, and ESXI 4.0+

I got annoyed trying to find an option to allow copy and pasting from the ESXI host directly into the VM while trying out some T-SQL queries and after looking around myself finally googled the answer for pasting into my VM. I know VirtualBox has a quick way to enable it.  I eventually found instructions on vmware's website, I'm copying here to save me time looking later.

• -Screenshots are after the walk-through.
• Warning by VMWare - 

 If a user copies sensitive information to the clipboard before using the console, the user—perhaps unknowingly—exposes sensitive data to the virtual machine. To prevent this problem, copy and paste operations for the guest operating system are disabled by default.

• It is possible to enable copy and paste operations for virtual machines if necessary.
• Note: This requires the VM be shut down or else you cannot even click the options

Let's get started

How to Escape from ESXI Console Screen for VM

How to Escape from ESXI Console Screen for VM

The first time you're going to try to exit an ESXI console is probably when you get bored during extraction of OS files when you're installing some OS and feel like alt+tabbing to go looking at a webpage.  All the sudden you're going to notice you can't get out with an ALT+TAB, or an Escape.  It's constantly sending keys to the console.  The first thing I thought of was Admiral Ackbar "ITS A TRAP", but we all know it isn't.  We'll try our standby of CTRL+ALT+DELETE.  Which does work, but isn't what we want because it sends those commands to both the console as well as our desktop and gives us an warning from ESXI notifying us of what just happened.

However, we're close, the commands you're looking for are CTRL+ALT.  That's all it takes to exit the console window or frame within ESXI to get back to our Desktop

If you're on a Mac, I found the answer in this post
https://communities.vmware.com/thread/458525?start=0&tstart=0

Keys on Macbook Pro

fn  -- ctrl -- opt -- cmd

--------^------^------------ out of the console and still in the VM

--------^---------------^--  out of the console and out of the VM = all the way out

Hope that helps

Upgrading and testing HP RAM in a Dell server

I recently went to try some 16GB 10600R RAM from a HP DL360 in my Dell r510/r710 which had 6x2gbs/12x2gbs respectively of UDIMMs.  I have a Dell T130 which specifically requires UDIMMs and not RDIMMs, so I was wondering if it was possible for r510s/r710s to have the same problem. I've seen enough Dell servers on eBay listing RDIMMs but wanted to empirically double check. A quick check of the owner's manual probably would answer this question.  After installing the 16 GB 10600R, I went into my iDRAC system to start up the system and noticed something weird.  I was downgraded from my Enterprise license to Express on my iDRAC system in my Dell r510. My goal is to see if 10600R ram works in this device . I need to see if Dell locks your system specs to the iDRAC license.

TL;DR:
Result: The end result was that the iDRAC snap-in card came loose and I didn't lose Enterprise.  This error shows if you don’t have an iDRAC Enterprise card installed, change hardware and had "Collect System Inventory on Restart" enabled.  Dell did not implement a separate license for Enterprise iDRACs until generation 12 and generation 13 servers, ie r720 and r730 servers.  It is only hardware module to enable Enterprise before 12g which runs about 10-20dollars on ebay.

See this document for details: http://en.community.dell.com/cfs-file/__key/telligent-evolution-components-attachments/13-4491-00-00-20-17-06-31/Lifecyclecontroller_5F00_PartReplacement_5F00_lc.pdf?forcedownload=true

HP RDIMM RAM worked fine in my Dell r510 and Dell r710.

However, something to note. is that if you fill all of the memory bank channels.  Your RAM will decrease in speed from 1333/1067 MHz to 800 MHz.  There's a note at the bottom of this post talking about which RAM numbers to look for if you're on eBay looking for a used server.   If you'd like more details on that open up the post and skip to the end.  If you've had any experience where HP RAM didn't work correctly in a Dell Server please leave that in the comments so I can try and investigate that.  Especially if it was a mix and match.