- Blind-sysadmins - lists.hodgsonfamily.org

Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Access to VMware ESX 5.5 (both gui and VM guest console)
by Andrew Hodgson 02 Apr '17

02 Apr '17

Hi, When I am talking about Packer, I am talking about Hashicorp's Packer that builds the image. When working with VMWare, it has two options, either to start from an ISO image or a VMX file. The thing I like about Packer on ESX is it gets you past the boring part of logging onto the console, pressing escape at the right time etc. You then get a predictable image every time that can be used in other places later on. This saves you time as it means that you don't need to provision a new machine and wait for that to complete etc. How many times have you tried to provision a new machine and have some part of it fail as it couldn't access a network file, or something went wrong with deployment etc.? I realise that in most enterprises this type of technology is seen as very new and certainly in the place where I work the team I am in are the only ones using this type of workflow, the rest of the teams are still using older ways to get machines up which are not as usable. I think that in time we will see a lot more of this automation which is good news for us. >From an AWS point of view you need to think about servers very differently, the servers I spin up in AWS last only for a few weeks, and in AWS terminology for a lot of places that is a long time. I am different in that I am working with a Windows stack, although I do use some Redhat in some places. The AWS console is not too bad, but the real power comes from automating the provisioning of the network and the systems. I typically make heavy use of the AWS PowerShell, and Hashicorp Terraform to build the infrastructure. I am building the infrastructure from the networks, each subnet, connectivity between the subnets, firewalls, network appliances etc., all controlled via Terraform. In terms of the machines itself I have set things up so I never really need to log into a machine, the machines have health checks to identify whether specific services and files are in place, and if these fail the machines are killed. I know a machine is up properly because at the end of the Chef run the system calls out to a deployment server and so I can see the machine requesting application code and the code going on the server. All very accessible and no interacting with a server rack or network cable! I realise a lot of enterprises are a long way from this, where I work we have an enormous amount of ground to make up in getting other parts of the business on-board with the new technology, and it changes fundamentally the way in which a team works. For example I am having to do a lot of architecture work, as well as work on lower levels of the network stack, for example creating and testing the firewall rules, whereas before I was only working on the server side. I don't know how long I will be able to continue this, as there are lots of changes being proposed, so for now I am trying to learn as much as I can until I have to move. Hope this helps, Andrew. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Ryan Hutchings Sent: 01 April 2017 22:56 To: 'Blind sysadmins list' <blind-sysadmins(a)lists.hodgsonfamily.org> Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Access to vmware ESX 5.5 (both gui and VM guest console) Hi Andrew, We do use packer along with kickstart files that are stored on a network server; virtual machines are then instructed to boot from PXE to kick (install os), and then we have a postinstall script executed after the os is installed, which installs puppet and configures iptables, ssh etc after which point I have ssh access and can connect to the machines. However, there are two issues. 1. If the machine fails halfway through kickstart and I need to get onto the machine to see what the problem is, I am unable to, as ssh is not yet setup. 2. When powering the virtual machine one, I am unable to get into the menu that allows one to select "network boot" or "pxe" - this is a vmware option as aposed to a option in the guest itself, and is done by pressing f12 just as the VM is powering on. I tried to see if powershell or ruby vmware cli tools could automate pressing f12 at the appropriate time, but alas, it cannot. I have been thinking of looking into AWS and maybe moving more towards that sideo f things, since that is the future of virtual machine deployment anyway, and seems, on the face of it, to be more accessible. Incidentally, does AWS work well with screen readers? As a note, we use Redhat enterprise Linux 6 at the particular company I am working in at the moment; this does not allow initiating an install via ssh, whereas some distributions of Linux do, such as debian. If I was able to initiate the install via ssh I could monitor the kickstart via that. Thanks, Ryan -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Hodgson Sent: 01 April 2017 21:35 To: Blind sysadmins list <blind-sysadmins(a)lists.hodgsonfamily.org> Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Access to vmware ESX 5.5 (both gui and VM guest console) Hi, There is no real way of accessing ESX consoles with speech since they use a graphical representation of the screen. I believe the way forward for us is to use automation as much as possible to get us a working system without having to resort to console access. I realise this is quite a different story in most companies, for example the work I am doing for the people I work for I am in the automation team, which is working in AWS, and completely separate from the rest of the business using ESX with a very different workflow. I am typically using Packer to create images in code, then those are deployed to VMs and I can then use those going forward with SSH or something else. I would recommend looking at Packer with ESX if you can to see if that will help you with your workflow. Andrew. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Ryan Hutchings Sent: 01 April 2017 15:46 To: blind-sysadmins(a)lists.hodgsonfamily.org Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Access to vmware ESX 5.5 (both gui and VM guest console) Hi all, I recently joined the list, as I came across it while researching the above subject. I am a Linux system administrator in the UK, and contract out my services to various companies. A few places I have worked in predominantly use virtual machines for their servers, via vmware ESX 5.5. I have found access to both the GUI of vmware ESX (which is done via a web interface which uses inaccessible flash) and Virtual machine consoles themselves, to be nearly impossible to use with a screen reader (have tried both JAWS and NVDA). Supposedly, vmware ESX 6.0 has improved the accessibility of its web interface, but I haven't come across a company who uses ESX 6.0 yet, and the ones that I have worked for that use 5.5 have been reluctant to upgrade because of the perceived risk, virtual machine migration and so on. I have tried using the virtual console on Linux machines and network serial port access on vmware ESX (which I had to get sighted colleagues to setup), but this caused issues for sighted people who then wanted to use machines via the main vmware guest console. This meant that I had to enable serial port access when initially setting up a machine (via kickstart), and then disable the serial port once I had done the setup, both these tasks requiring sighted assistance. Have any of you had experience with using Vmware guest consoles / the vmware ESX 5.5 GUI with a screen reader? I have used vmware workstation and vmware player at home several times to run my own virtual machines, but I was able to access most machines via ssh and telnet. At the compaies I have worked at, ssh/telnet access is blocked for initial kicking of a machine, and is only available once machine configuration is complete. I have also explored using powershell and ruby esx interfaces to ESX via the command line, but these do not allow booting a machine via PXE for example, which is required for initial machine setup using kick start over a network. Many thanks for any advice, Ryan Hutchings _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins(a)lists.hodgsonfamily.org https://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins(a)lists.hodgsonfamily.org https://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins(a)lists.hodgsonfamily.org https://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

2 2

Need recommendation for voice recording?
by Can Kırca 02 Apr '17

02 Apr '17

Hello, I know that there are system admins in this list. Maybe this is an off-topic, but decide to ask. We are using cloud based telephone system with Red5 to receive calls, dial numbers and talking between locations. I have to record welcome and some IVR messages at 8KHZ-16bit. Do you have any accessible voice recorder software recommendation? I know that audacity is working, but looking for an other solution for that. I have Sonar and Samplitude as well, but not sure how to set above settings with them . Thanks in advance.

2 1

Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Access to VMware ESX 5.5 (both gui and VM guest console)
by Andrew Hodgson 01 Apr '17

01 Apr '17

Hi, When I am talking about Packer, I am talking about Hashicorp's Packer that builds the image. When working with VMWare, it has two options, either to start from an ISO image or a VMX file. The thing I like about Packer on ESX is it gets you past the boring part of logging onto the console, pressing escape at the right time etc. You then get a predictable image every time that can be used in other places later on. This saves you time as it means that you don't need to provision a new machine and wait for that to complete etc. How many times have you tried to provision a new machine and have some part of it fail as it couldn't access a network file, or something went wrong with deployment etc.? I realise that in most enterprises this type of technology is seen as very new and certainly in the place where I work the team I am in are the only ones using this type of workflow, the rest of the teams are still using older ways to get machines up which are not as usable. I think that in time we will see a lot more of this automation which is good news for us. >From an AWS point of view you need to think about servers very differently, the servers I spin up in AWS last only for a few weeks, and in AWS terminology for a lot of places that is a long time. I am different in that I am working with a Windows stack, although I do use some Redhat in some places. The AWS console is not too bad, but the real power comes from automating the provisioning of the network and the systems. I typically make heavy use of the AWS PowerShell, and Hashicorp Terraform to build the infrastructure. I am building the infrastructure from the networks, each subnet, connectivity between the subnets, firewalls, network appliances etc., all controlled via Terraform. In terms of the machines itself I have set things up so I never really need to log into a machine, the machines have health checks to identify whether specific services and files are in place, and if these fail the machines are killed. I know a machine is up properly because at the end of the Chef run the system calls out to a deployment server and so I can see the machine requesting application code and the code going on the server. All very accessible and no interacting with a server rack or network cable! I realise a lot of enterprises are a long way from this, where I work we have an enormous amount of ground to make up in getting other parts of the business on-board with the new technology, and it changes fundamentally the way in which a team works. For example I am having to do a lot of architecture work, as well as work on lower levels of the network stack, for example creating and testing the firewall rules, whereas before I was only working on the server side. I don't know how long I will be able to continue this, as there are lots of changes being proposed, so for now I am trying to learn as much as I can until I have to move. Hope this helps, Andrew. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Ryan Hutchings Sent: 01 April 2017 22:56 To: 'Blind sysadmins list' <blind-sysadmins(a)lists.hodgsonfamily.org> Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Access to vmware ESX 5.5 (both gui and VM guest console) Hi Andrew, We do use packer along with kickstart files that are stored on a network server; virtual machines are then instructed to boot from PXE to kick (install os), and then we have a postinstall script executed after the os is installed, which installs puppet and configures iptables, ssh etc after which point I have ssh access and can connect to the machines. However, there are two issues. 1. If the machine fails halfway through kickstart and I need to get onto the machine to see what the problem is, I am unable to, as ssh is not yet setup. 2. When powering the virtual machine one, I am unable to get into the menu that allows one to select "network boot" or "pxe" - this is a vmware option as aposed to a option in the guest itself, and is done by pressing f12 just as the VM is powering on. I tried to see if powershell or ruby vmware cli tools could automate pressing f12 at the appropriate time, but alas, it cannot. I have been thinking of looking into AWS and maybe moving more towards that sideo f things, since that is the future of virtual machine deployment anyway, and seems, on the face of it, to be more accessible. Incidentally, does AWS work well with screen readers? As a note, we use Redhat enterprise Linux 6 at the particular company I am working in at the moment; this does not allow initiating an install via ssh, whereas some distributions of Linux do, such as debian. If I was able to initiate the install via ssh I could monitor the kickstart via that. Thanks, Ryan -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Hodgson Sent: 01 April 2017 21:35 To: Blind sysadmins list <blind-sysadmins(a)lists.hodgsonfamily.org> Subject: Re: [Blind-sysadmins] Access to vmware ESX 5.5 (both gui and VM guest console) Hi, There is no real way of accessing ESX consoles with speech since they use a graphical representation of the screen. I believe the way forward for us is to use automation as much as possible to get us a working system without having to resort to console access. I realise this is quite a different story in most companies, for example the work I am doing for the people I work for I am in the automation team, which is working in AWS, and completely separate from the rest of the business using ESX with a very different workflow. I am typically using Packer to create images in code, then those are deployed to VMs and I can then use those going forward with SSH or something else. I would recommend looking at Packer with ESX if you can to see if that will help you with your workflow. Andrew. -----Original Message----- From: Blind-sysadmins [mailto:blind-sysadmins-bounces@lists.hodgsonfamily.org] On Behalf Of Ryan Hutchings Sent: 01 April 2017 15:46 To: blind-sysadmins(a)lists.hodgsonfamily.org Subject: [Blind-sysadmins] Access to vmware ESX 5.5 (both gui and VM guest console) Hi all, I recently joined the list, as I came across it while researching the above subject. I am a Linux system administrator in the UK, and contract out my services to various companies. A few places I have worked in predominantly use virtual machines for their servers, via vmware ESX 5.5. I have found access to both the GUI of vmware ESX (which is done via a web interface which uses inaccessible flash) and Virtual machine consoles themselves, to be nearly impossible to use with a screen reader (have tried both JAWS and NVDA). Supposedly, vmware ESX 6.0 has improved the accessibility of its web interface, but I haven't come across a company who uses ESX 6.0 yet, and the ones that I have worked for that use 5.5 have been reluctant to upgrade because of the perceived risk, virtual machine migration and so on. I have tried using the virtual console on Linux machines and network serial port access on vmware ESX (which I had to get sighted colleagues to setup), but this caused issues for sighted people who then wanted to use machines via the main vmware guest console. This meant that I had to enable serial port access when initially setting up a machine (via kickstart), and then disable the serial port once I had done the setup, both these tasks requiring sighted assistance. Have any of you had experience with using Vmware guest consoles / the vmware ESX 5.5 GUI with a screen reader? I have used vmware workstation and vmware player at home several times to run my own virtual machines, but I was able to access most machines via ssh and telnet. At the compaies I have worked at, ssh/telnet access is blocked for initial kicking of a machine, and is only available once machine configuration is complete. I have also explored using powershell and ruby esx interfaces to ESX via the command line, but these do not allow booting a machine via PXE for example, which is required for initial machine setup using kick start over a network. Many thanks for any advice, Ryan Hutchings _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins(a)lists.hodgsonfamily.org https://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins(a)lists.hodgsonfamily.org https://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins _______________________________________________ Blind-sysadmins mailing list Blind-sysadmins(a)lists.hodgsonfamily.org https://lists.hodgsonfamily.org/listinfo/blind-sysadmins

1 0

Accessible softphone client for windows?
by Can Kırca 01 Apr '17

01 Apr '17

Hello, Which software are you using/recommending as a softphone client on Windows? I will use it for connecting my SIP account. I installed X-Lite, but it is not accessible at all. Thanks.

1 0

Windows Server 2016
by George Bell 01 Apr '17

01 Apr '17

I've a feeling it won't be too long before some of you may be faced with installing Windows 2016 Server. You may want to bear the following in mind as it cost us a week and much frustration before stumbling on the solution. The initial setup of a Dell PowerEdge R330 server took some time itself to get set up since its BIOS and associated iDrac needed to be set up to boot from either CD or USB drive before the hard drive. Once we found a good technical support person at Dell, that issue was soon resolved. Installing Server 2016 from the USB drive was a surprisingly easy and intuitive operation. I cannot speak for accessibility, but I was assisted by telephone a totally blind friend with much server experience. His comment was along the lines that Microsoft had finally managed to tidy the whole process up leading to Server Manager. Within a very short time - less than an hour in fact - we had one Windows 10 and 3 Windows 7 workstations all subscribed to the new domain. However, we soon found issues in accessing (or rather NOT accessing) the Internet. We checked all manner of things in Server Manager to ensure the Gateway was correct, etc., etc., etc.. We contacted our ISP, who advised us that all was well at the Router, which we could both ping and access. Finally we rang Dell, who spent over an hour going through all the same settings yet again. Eventually we found we did a Windows + R on workstations, enter \\[Domain name] see the shares there we would be able to run IE. Now bear in mind that during the 2016 server install, we had elected to use only one of the two Ethernet ports, and disable the second, and all indications in Server Manager confirmed this. It was pure chance that I had reason to look at Device Manager, and spotted that the second Ethernet port was operational and moreover had an IPv4 IP address way outside our Domain. Back to Server Manager and it said it was disabled. So back to Device Manager and disabled it there. Suddenly after a reboot, all began to work as it should. Have since reported this to our ISP and our Dell guy, and it appears they had begun to get others with the same problem - which of course they could now resolve. I hope this helps at least one of you. George.

3 5

Need recommendation for voice recording?
by Can Kırca 01 Apr '17

01 Apr '17

Hello, I know that there are system admins in this list. Maybe this is an off-topic, but decide to ask. We are using cloud based telephone system with Red5 to receive calls, dial numbers and talking between locations. I have to record welcome and some IVR messages at 8KHZ-16bit. Do you have any accessible voice recorder software recommendation? I know that audacity is working, but looking for an other solution for that. I have Sonar and Samplitude as well, but not sure how to set above settings with them . Thanks in advance.

1 0

MCSA SQL Server Certification
by Donnacha McCarthy 31 Mar '17

31 Mar '17

Hi All, I'm considering taking the examinations for the MCSA SQL Server Certifications, I'm just wondering if anyone on the list here have done any of the Microsoft certifications and whether the exams are accessible to someone whose blind? I've been in touch with my local exam center but they weren't really to tell me much about the exams other than they were text passed! I'd appreciate any feedback. Thanks, Donnacha.

7 16

SCCM accessibility
by Ryan Shugart 31 Mar '17

31 Mar '17

Hello: Wanted to share the below link for an article on SCCM accessibility posted a few days ago. I know there's a few SCCM admins on the list, so this may be of assistance. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sccm/core/understand/accessibility-features At this point the doc is pretty basic, it lists the specialized keyboard commands for the console and some basic tips for moving around, but do expect this to grow over time. We are continuing to work on access to the SCCM console, if you have any specific issues that we aren't already working on please feel free to contact me and let me know what they are. Thanks. Ryan Ryan Shugart Program Manager II, Cloud+Enterprise Accessibility Microsoft Corporation 425-705-1262

1 0

MCSA SQL Server Certification
by Donnacha McCarthy 30 Mar '17

30 Mar '17

Hi All, I'm considering taking the examinations for the MCSA SQL Server Certifications, I'm just wondering if anyone on the list here have done any of the Microsoft certifications and whether the exams are accessible to someone whose blind? I've been in touch with my local exam center but they weren't really to tell me much about the exams other than they were text passed! I'd appreciate any feedback. Thanks, Donnacha.

1 0

2 factor authentication, google authenticator accessibility, and sshd configuration
by David Mehler 28 Mar '17

28 Mar '17

Hello, I realize that's a complex subject. Let me break it down. First, is anyone using google authenticator to implement two factor authentication with a service? I lost a google account password, forgot it is more like it, so I went in and google sent my phone a sms message, that I just had to open and then I was logged in. This is a capability i'd like to have with my services, openssh sshd to be specific. If anyone is using this or has additional information i'd like to know about it. Thanks. Dave.

3 2