I just installed esXpress 3.0 rc3 in our ESX 3.0 test lab. Among bugfixes and smaller extra features, restore options have now been added to the text based console menu. This is just one of the many restore options that will be available. Restores using the GUI and in a VBA is coming soon. Restores in a VBA will shift the load from the ESX console to a helper virtual machine.

In this release (rc3) you can restore through the ESX console. This is done by launching the phd program from the ESX console.

What you see above is the available backups for a virtual machine called xmoss. We take a backup of this machine every night (differentials). That allows me to restore the most recent virtual machine state but also those of previous days.

During an upgrade to service pack 2 of an Exchange 2003 active/passive cluster, we had the following error:

The solution was simple but difficult to find. You need to make sure that the cluster's public network interface is listed first in the network binding order. This is done from Control Panel / Network Connections / Advanced menu / Advanced Settings.

So before you start such an upgrade, check those settings and correct them. It is actually a best practice when a cluster is installed.