Turn Your QNAP, Synology, ASUSTOR, WD, or Netgear NAS into a VM Backup Appliance, claiming to improve backup performance by up to 2X and offload your IT infrastructure
I recently wrote about NAKIVO v8.5.2 with detailed walk-thru install and configure videos, see that detailed article here:
NAKIVO Inc., a fast-growing software company dedicated to protecting virtualized and cloud environments, announced today the release of NAKIVO Backup & Replication v9. The new version adds support for Microsoft Windows Server backup, allowing customers to protect physical, virtual, and cloud environments from a single pane of glass.
Application-Consistent Backup
NAKIVO Backup & Replication v9 can now perform incremental, application-aware backups of physical Microsoft Windows Servers. The solution provides application-consistent backups of business-critical applications and databases running on physical Windows Server machines, including Microsoft Exchange, SQL, SharePoint, Active Directory, and Oracle.
NAKIVO Backup & Replication is a unified solution for protecting physical, virtual, and cloud infrastructures with strict data protection requirements. NAKIVO Backup & Replication allows you to seamlessly perform Windows Servers backup, ensuring data consistency of applications and databases.
Incremental Windows Server Backup
NAKIVO Backup & Replication performs incremental Windows server backup, which helps save time and storage resources. The software runs backup jobs using the proprietary change tracking method and transfers only changed blocks of data to the repository.
Here's a really helpful feature that I'm hoping to have a chance to fully test soon:
Physical to Virtual
NAKIVO Backup & Replication can recover physical Windows Server machines to VMware and Hyper-V VMs. With the Physical to Virtual (P2V) functionality in place, you can easily perform a migration of your physical workloads to a virtual environment or simply make sure you'll be able to recover business-critical physical machines under any circumstances.
Physical Server Requirements
To provide data protection to physical Windows servers, make sure they meet the following hardware and software requirements:
Hardware
CPU: x86_64
RAM: At least 1 GB
Firmware: BIOS or UEFI
Partition table: MBR or GPT
Disk: up to 64 TB in size
Software
OS of the physical server should be 64-bit.
Physical server should be accessible over network.
Administrative credentials should be provided to the physical server.
PowerShell must be installed.
SMBv2 or higher version of SMB protocol must be enabled.
Note
In case firewall is enabled, the corresponding rule for SMB-in should be enabled too.
Note that NAKIVO offers NFR (Not For Resale) to many IT Professionals, which I explain in more detail here:
If you are a VMUG member, VMware vExpert, VCP, VSP, VTSP, or VCI you can receive a FREE two-socket Not For Resale (NFR) license of NAKIVO Backup & Replication for one year and use it in your home or work lab.
The NFR licenses are available for non-production use only, including educational, lab testing, evaluation, training, and demonstration purposes.
Apply for NFR download access here.
I'm not sure what their selection criteria is, or how long it takes for NAKIVO to get back to you. The latest version filename is currently: NAKIVO_Backup_Replication_VA_v9.0.0_Full_Solution_NFR.ova
This part is in progress. First I download and install the OVA Appliance, then when I add a Physical Windows Server to inventory, it automatically installs the agent.
Their Pricing page seems to indicate that protection of physical servers is only available on a Subscription License basis, with Perpetual Licenses options for VMware and Hyper-V only. The thing is, it appears this agent isn't really called out here, so this is subject to change, I'd recommend you revisit this pricing page or use the online chat to inquire.
Full Disclosure: "TinkerTry.com, LLC" is registered as a NAKIVO Bronze Partner, mostly to help get notified of latest news and code releases. I get no special early-access, anybody can sign up for the betas. All TinkerTry site advertising goes through middle-man BuySellAds, and NAKIVO has run ads on TinkerTry through BuySellAds off and on the past few years. NAKIVO does know if you found their affiliate link from my site, which means the possibility of reseller commissions if you eventually upgrade to one of their paid offerings. Here's their pricing.
I pretty much tell the story of the day in pictures in my tweets, here's all of my VTUG-related tweets.
One of the most touching moments in my IT career ever, thanks to Matthew Broberg and Matt Koskloski!
Yes, the very last lobster!
An excellent interview by Stu Minimin, one of my idols in the world of those with mad interview skills. A fitting, final tribute, with a great history summary of this 16 year legendary New England meetup every winter and summer. Thank you Dawn Harney, Chris Harney, and Chris Williams for your many years of making it all happen! My wife, my kids, and even my mom thank you for some very fond memories of visiting lovely Freeport Maine for many summers, and for the incredible number of vendors and invaluable new friendships formed only because the VTUG existed. I even got to know some folks at Microsoft that typically wouldn't be at VTUGs, which was one of the unique strengths of the VTUG organization. For all that and so much more, I'm eternally grateful!
We are excited to announce the future release of VMware vSphere 6.7 Update 3. This new vSphere release comes with enhancements that will continue to deliver on our goal of providing a highly performant, efficient and more secure hybrid cloud platform to our partners and customers. Next to various enhancements and driver updates, we again will include new features into this release for simplified operations and increased performance.
File size: 314.66 MB
File type: iso
Download Now Name: VMware-VMvisor-Installer-6.7.0.update03-14320388.x86_64.iso
Release Date: 2019-08-20
Build Number: 14320388
ESXi 6.7x to 6.7 Update 3
Once we're done upgrading to VCSA 6.7 Update 3 from any prior 6.7 using the built-in VAMI UI, you'll also be able to use the preferred method for ESXi upgrades using VUM. If that's not an option for you, check here.
This vSphere update was officially announced 6.7 Update 3 last week, and yesterday, it became available to download. For folks with only VMUG Advantage EVALExperience with its (currently) older 6.7 Update 2 VMware-VMvisor-Installer-6.7.0.update02-13006603.x86_64.iso
they can instead use ESXCLI to upgrade which downloads and installs with one command, and doesn't require my.vmware.com credentials or software trials. This is the method of upgrading that I tested first, but not with doing things in the correct order, which was to upgrade my VCSA first!
I encountered one issue with my VCSA upgrade using the built-in Update feature. I got the following error: Error in method invocation Timeout happens while sending message to microservice
and until I restarted my VCSA appliance, it wouldn't let me actually proceed with the "Stage and install" upgrade. Video footage of that issue is lost (hotel room with poor internet), but I'm glad the work-around was a simple restart. Unfortunately, I didn't have a time or a mechanism to report this potential bug to get to root cause, but at least I'm documenting it here in case you also bump into this issue. Google searching for that error didn't get me any useful hits, so it appears to be a rare issue.
I used ESXCLI on my test system and it went smoothly, and I grabbed a transcript of that SSH session so you can see each and every VIB that was updated on my Supermicro SYS-5028D-TN4T SuperServer Bundle.
Note the new VCSA login page. Dump Adobe Flash, HTML5 UI has 100% feature parity since 6.7 Update 1!
At least preliminarily, this upgrade seems to function just fine on the Xeon D, but I'll need some more days of testing, along with an upgrade of my primary workstation when I'm back home, to be much more comfortable with that assertion. In other words, proceed with upgrades at your own risk, and backing up your ESXi first, especially in a home lab where you likely have no official VMware support mechanism. Rolling back to when things worked might be your only option should things go wrong for you.
Please feel free to let us know how your upgrade goes by dropping a comment below, particularly if you're on a supported hardware such as a SuperServer Bundle, and try to mention what upgrade method you used.
This video is a bit of a mess, with poor hotel room/laptop audio, and a rather unpolished flow. You're basically looking at me doing my first upgrade test, and working through a VAMI upgrade issue and a browser caching issue, and it's nearly unedited.
Aug 21 2019 10:10pm Update
Got pinged by a fellow vExpert that there may be a change in the behavior of the X557 10G ports on Xeon D motherboards, testing/monitoring now...
We now, as I was rushing to catch a flight today, I grabbed my Apple Smart Battery case that's always charged and in my go bag, then realized I hadn't tested whether it would fit on my 2 day old iPhone 11 Pro Max? Would it charge?
The answer to both is yes! It does block the flash and the 0.5X lense, but you're otherwise good to go as-is. Best for daytime travel use for me, for now.
It's all covered in this short video below, shot on, you guessed it, an iPhone 11 Pro Max, in 4K. Enjoy!
Note: I also tested pass through charging, and that works fine as well,both the iPhone 11 Pro Max and the Case charger simultaneously. Note that I forgot to test and mention that in the first-and-only-take video.
How did your testing go? Leave us your comments below!
I'm about to take-off on a 3 hour flight, and need to add some significant usability issues to this article. it seems the button misalignment if large enough that my power button only works about 80% of the time on the first press. The volume buttons are also not consistent.
So for my use today, to extend battery life on my flight in coach, these caveats aren't too big of an issue, and I still prefer this occasional use case to an external battery pack.
This article will be updated over the next few weeks with comments added about which items worked well and which didn't work out so well, along with some photos.
Back in July, a very exciting email arrived from Rick Vanover at Veeam:
From: Rick Vanover
Date: July 16, 2019 at 6:06:47 AM CDT
To: Rick Vanover
Subject: Veeam Vanguard Communications - New People, RSVP for Vanguard Summit
Hey Vanguards! ... we are well underway planning for the cornerstone experience as a Vanguard, the 2019 Annual Veeam Vanguard Summit in Prague, Czech Republic.
I’ve been writing about Veeam backup software for years, and Veeam Agent for Windows actually saved my bacon many times. I've also submitted a lot of product feedback over the years, and even did some beta testing. It's such an honor to be in this invite-only program for my fifth year!
Like last year, I had heard about Vanguards going to Prague again this year, but I really wasn't sure it would work out, given my new job. Not unless it was an actual possibility for me personally did I want to get excited about this. Turns out it all worked out, I'm taking PTO, and off I go!
The Veeam Vanguard Summit runs from Monday October 14 to Thursday October 17.
Disclosure
Veeam paid for my flight and hotel, as they do for all Veeam Vanguard Summit attendees. I'm grateful for the opportunity to learn about their latest developments, and for the opportunity to spend time with so many distinguished bloggers and podcasters from across the world. Check out the list of Veeam Vanguards! More disclosure details below.
Why Newark to Munich?
In a word, it was actually cheaper flying to Munich than into Prague. BDL and BOS had no direct flights, and the costs were nearly double.
My dad has wanted to get to Florence Italy for many years, and is of German descent. My mom is very much into art. It also turns out parents lived in Germany for over 3 years when he was in the US Army, and his parents were from Insel Fohr. This trip of mine to EU turned out to be a great opportunity for me to get to spend some time with the both of them on quite the adventure before and after my attending the Veeam Vanguard Summit in Prague Sunday October 13 to Thursday October 17.
Here's the technology that will help make this trip a bit smoother, with only a few items I was able to re-use from last year. The focus here was on travel safety and comfort, affordable internet on-the-go, and the ability to blog in a pinch from hotel rooms.
Originally I briefly considered taking our 3 Verizon service iPhones to EU as-is, using the Verizon TravelPass International Travel Plan, I quickly reconsidered. At $10 per day per phone, it only allows 1/2GB data per day before throttling to 3G speeds. Also, each border crossing would incur another $10 charge, per phone. No thank you. Found this out the hard way last year with two phones, not interested in that again with 3 phones this trip.
I went with buying 2 of these instead, one to go into one of my parent's iPhones so they could call emergency services if needed when I'm not with them in Prague, and the other into a WiFi Hotspot we'll be sharing when together.
The market for these is odd in the US. AT&T and Verizon want you to buy their Hotspots and sign-up for their pricey service abroad, no thank you. Unlocked devices don't tend to come with brand names you're used to, at least not the ones intended for travel across Europe. Finally, the better battery life and ability share out the hotel WiFi and the prepaid SIM car cinched the deal and got me to try my first Huawei product. Yeah, this brand isn't exactly popular in the US for a variety of political and technical reasons, but there really didn't seem to be any suitable alternatives either. I plan to use a VPN for all my traffic anyway.
Last year, in the same Prague hotel, paying for better WiFi bumped me up from 3.73 MBps down / 4.15 up to 11.78 Mbps down / 11.62 up, so I'm much happier paying for that one connection which I'll then share out to our WiFi devices.
I tried a 3rd party USB-C cable in the vehicle, and that didn't work well at all, about 1/5th the speed of the Apple cable, which charges at an amazing rate of roughly 1% per minute, even when driving, but only when using the USB C port on the Anker charger listed above.
Not the best option out there, but it does tend to hug the dashboard better than most, allowing the phone to stay relatively still on those bumpy roads.
Sure am glad I got this new phone before the trip, with a big leap forward in photo technology, as you can see in my many 0.5X lense and low-light demonstration photos that I've recently tweeted.
I'm quite pleased the timing worked out, and like year, I'm planning to share some of my travel pictures below this article. Unlike Twitter, in full-resolution. Having that big OLED display is just awesome. Thanks to excellent results without a tripod, I won't be bothering to fly with one this year, at least not one that's full size.
I may use this in the rental car, but only if the weather is good and the car has a suitable place to mount it. I've found it to be a bit unstable during prolonged video shoots such as timelapse, but I managed to get some pretty good in-car footage anyway.
If you're in the market for such a device, I'd strongly recommend waiting for the GoPro HERO8 Black instead. Those built-in fold out feet for the special GoPro mounts avoid the need for that clumsy outer shell.
I've got my Visa card, as well as American Express, which is much less useful in Europe. If I try to use my Apple Pay backed by American Express, the charge is often declined in Europe, so I then fall back to Apple Pay backed by my Visa instead.
Their iOS app is invaluable, helps me keep tabs on what's happening with my flight status including the status of the the inbound plan my flight will be using, and the weather radar map superimposed along the planned and actual route, on any airline.
ran Windows Update and reboot until there are no more updates
disabled crummy USB 2 based onboard 2.4GHz WiFi adapter in Device Manager
installed OURLINK 802.11AC WiFi adapter, manually update the Realtek driver to 1030.38.712.2019, then change the properties of the adapter to 802.11ac mode (from default Auto, which locked me into 2.4GHz)
ran speedtest from dslreports.com/speedtest to be sure I'm getting expected throughput on my fast home connection
configured and test VPN
installed Veeam Agent 3.02.1170 and used my Workstation Edition license key, created recovery media, and performed a backup to my network
turned "Tap to Click" off on the tray icon, then pressed the hotkey to disable the TrackPad
Of course, I'll also bring my ASUS ZenScreen MB16AC as a secondary display, a huge productivity booster.
I have little concern about theft or the data on it. Admittedly, a mere 13" display with only 1600 x 900 pixels isn't ideal, but it's just my "dumb" terminal used to do an occasional bit of blogging while far away, such as writing this article from 4,064 miles away, to be exact. How? Read onward...
If you leave a Windows VM running, and register your home's cable modem with a service like noip.com, and you configure port forwarding from port 443 to port 3389, you too can get reasonably secure temporary access to your home network. You wouldn't want to run it fulltime, but did you know that there's a free roll-your-own two factor security option that I've been using for over a year now? You can read all about exactly how one implements this dual factor (multi-factor, MFA) access to your home lab at Duo here:
Duo integrates with Microsoft Windows client and server operating systems to add two-factor authentication to Remote Desktop and local logons.
Recently, Cisco acquired Duo, so I wonder how much longer I'll be able to do this for free, but it works very well. I launch a shortcut on my Taskbar that opens a saved RDP connection, and moments later I force-touch the phone pop-up to Accept. If my iPhone (works with iOS or Android) happens to be locked, the prompt will show up on my watch instead. Awesome!
This video below was recorded in October of 2018 in my hotel room in Prague 4,064 miles from my home lab. Before leaving, I set port 443 to forward to port 3389 to the IP address of my static reservation Windows 10 VM using my Ubiquiti EdgeRouter Lite, and I only light up that forwarding rule when I need it by connecting over VPN first. I've also created an RDP connection on my older/slower Lenovo Yoga laptop, using a fake hostname by editing my hostfile, to obfuscate my actual connection's details. Finally, I'm using Duo Authentication for Windows Logon and RDP, which is currently free, to allow dual factor / MFA access to that VM. Note that Cisco recently acquired Duo, so I'm not sure that this feature will continue to be free.
Since my iPhone was locked while recording this video, you'll see that I'm prompted to accept the RDP connection from my Apple Watch (2nd Gen.), which is very handy. Normally this prompt appears in under a second, but in this video, you'll see the latency and poor speed of my hotel WiFi meant the authentication prompt took a little longer. FYI, using Duo Mobile from the Apple Store on a compatible Apple iPhone, you can use force touch to click on the Duo "Approve" option.
Duo Mobile can be installed on Android too from Google Play.
TinkerTry.com, LLC is not a Veeam Pro Partner, but I am a Veeam Vanguard Program member who received travel assistance getting to VeeamOn 2017. Veeam has been an advertiser on many virtualization sites for years now, and Veeam had a BuySellAds-purchased advertisement along the top of TinkerTry as well, but that was longer than 12 months ago.
All TinkerTry advertisement goes through third party BuySellAds. None of my articles are sponsored posts, and there are currently no affiliate links for Veeam Endpoint Backup FREE, or any of their other products. There are no commissions for any Veeam products folks buy after reading one of my articles.
TinkerTry takes extreme care to protect visitors by using only one ad network, BuySellAds, which has never had a security issue to date, and is very commonly used in the virtualization blogger community. Their CEO seems to get what's going on with ad blockers, evident in his recent post. I regularly receive lucrative offers from various companies looking to have me inject JavaScript trackers into TinkerTry, which I of course turn down.
I reserve and exercise the right to freely write about topics that I choose, whenever I choose to, an essential part of what makes blogging about home virtualization labs, storage, and backup so much fun for me. I tend to feature articles about stuff I actually use.
This article is a work in progress, having told several people here in Prague that I'll publish full resolution of my iPhone photos as soon as possible, as the blurring that Twitter does really doesn't show what phones are capable of these days.
I had promised to share full resolution images of some of my recent iPhone 11 Pro Max photos, and figured I'd put some older phone pictures in as well, for comparison.
Back on Sep 19th, I tweeted about iOS 13, which kicked off a long string of replies with sample pictures I had taken with my iPhone 11 Pro Max.
The below gallery aren't necessarily my favorite photos, they're just representative samples of what is possible with new low-light capabilities, and those new 0.5X, 1.0X, and 2.0X lenss. I've been waiting for a quality wide-angle lens in my pocket for about a decade now, and I'm so glad it's finally here!
1000 Islands Harbor Hotel. Clayton, NY. iPhone XS Max, hand held.Newington, New Hampshire. iPhone XS Max, hand held.Washington, DC. iPhone XS Max, hand held.Washington, DC. iPhone XS Max, hand held.iPhone XS Max, hand held.Silas W. Robbins House, Wethersfield, Connecticut, 0.5X lens.Silas W. Robbins House, Wethersfield, Connecticut, 1.0X lens.Silas W. Robbins House, Wethersfield, Connecticut, 2.0X lens.CornFest, Wethersfield, Connecticut, 2.0X lens.CornFest, Wethersfield, Connecticut, 2.0X lens, Portrait mode Bokeh effect.CornFest, Wethersfield, Connecticut, 2.0X lens, Portrait mode Bokeh effect.Tampa, Florida, 0.5X lens, automatic HDR. Interesting that aiming at the sun didn't ruin the image, only a small lens flare artifact.Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from JetBlue, hand-held for 3 about seconds. Sorry I couldn't block the ambient cabin lighting, I sure as heck tried.New York, New York from JetBlue, hand-held for about 3 seconds. Sorry I couldn't block the ambient cabin lighting, I sure as heck tried.Boston, Massachusetts.LastPass event featuring Steve Gibson and Leo Laporte at the Intercontinental Hotel, Boston, Massachusetts. Building edges vertically made straight by Photo app straighten function.Boston, Massachusetts.Boston, Massachusetts.Wethersfield, Connecticut.Glockenspiel at Marienplatz, Munich, Germany. Apple store facade with iPhone 11 Pro promotion.Glockenspiel at Marienplatz, Munich, Germany.Lenggries, Bavaria, GermanyLenggries, Bavaria, GermanyLeutasch, Austria. Nighttime. Seems like reciprocity failure of the parking lot lamp at bottom right, it wasn't actually green.Leutasch, Austria. Full moon and jet plane vapor trails, nighttime.Leutasch, Austria, notice it's actually nighttime.Leutasch, Austria.Leutasch, Austria.Leutasch, Austria.Leutasch, Austria.Leutasch, Austria.Leutasch, Austria.Leutasch, Austria.Leutasch, Austria.Leutasch, Austria.Leutasch, Austria.Leutasch, Austria.Salzburg, Austria.River Salzach, Salzburg, Austria.River Salzach, Salzburg, Austria.Salzburg, Austria.Salzburg, Austria.Mozart's Gebursthaus/Birthplace, Salzburg, Austria.Salzburg, Austria.Salzburg, Austria.Prague, Czech Republic.Prague, Czech Republic.Prague, Czech Republic.Prague, Czech Republic.Prague, Czech Republic.Prague, Czech Republic.Prague, Czech Republic.Prague, Czech Republic.Prague, Czech Republic.Prague, Czech Republic.Prague, Czech Republic. Full moon.Prague, Czech Republic.Prague, Czech Republic.Prague, Czech Republic.
Today, October 28th of 2019, is my very first day at Dell! To be more precise, I'm now an Advisory vArchitect at Dell Techologies, and I'm quite glad to finally be able to share the news.
Dell EMC, Rocky Hill, Connecticut.
As a 21-year IBM veteran with a background in datacenters and virtualization who pivoted to a storage Technical Advisor role a decade ago, and who got to enjoy the wild-ride ascendancy of vSAN as a VMware HCI SE, this is a pretty sweet new gig for me. I'm so happy to be here, and so grateful for the opportunity to talk about hardware more while traveling much less, focused on working with enterprise customers in my home state of Connecticut. Having the opportunity to work at the market leader in the datacenter is amazing. Note that Dell Technologies consists of Dell, Dell EMC, Pivotal, RSA, Secureworks, Virtustream and VMware, and my VMware experience will play a prominent role in my new responsibilities. More about my career here and here.
Dell Latitude 5400.
I'm already feeling quite at home after Day 1, with some great people I get to work with and some very speedy NVMe SSD sweetness care of Samsung under a comfortable and quiet Dell Latitude 5400 keyboard. The integrated pointing stick is reminiscent of the beloved TrackPoint I'm so accustomed to using, and the integrated fingerprint reader and Windows Hello camera (with a mechanical shutter!) will surely be handy. If you have a look at my Dell-related tweets, you'll soon realize I've actually been following Dell's innovation in servers and laptops for years.
My manager is Corey Ehrenwerth, and I sure am glad that I introduced myself to him at a VxRail event earlier this year. I also get to work with Sean Thulin now, both of us reporting to Corey. Corey and Sean may be familiar to those of you who attend VMUGs (and/or VTUGs) in New England, and I remember getting to know Sean way back at a VTUG Winter Warmer in 2013. I also remember his kindness offering to reserve a Cronut for me at the Boston VMUG back in 2015. He sure made me feel much more at home among the hundreds of strangers, and we've stayed in touch as our HCI-related careers have shifted and progressed.
Of course you may wonder, how will this new job affect TinkerTry? In short, it shouldn't. I properly disclosed my site to Dell prior to joining. This site is still independent, featuring only my voice and opinions, not those of my employer. I will continue to look at all home lab options, regardless of who makes them. There may occasionally be work-related posts, but only when it makes sense to do so.
I'm looking forward to getting up to speed on all the things on my new laptop and new mobile apps, then diving in to the latest in Dell's vast portfolio of PowerEdge Servers and storage offerings. You may be surprised to learn that even when I was an IBMer I had the opportunity to deploy Dell PowerEdge Servers on several occasions, and I quite like that rich iDRAC life-cycle management functionality. I've also done some consulting work with some Dell PERC RAID controller customers as well. The leaps forward that 2nd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable Processors and now AMD EPYC Processors have made lately should make for some interesting times in the datacenters of our future, where Dell will continue to play a very prominent role.
OK, that's a wrap for today, time to tweet this news out, and update my profiles, then recharge all my batteries for day 2!
Michael Dell on stage photo by Paul Braren.Dell EMC VxRail photo by Paul Braren.
Last week, this timely twitter exchange occurred, seen at right. JD Wallace noticed that the code at VMUG Advantage isn't always quite at the very latest patch level. The kind volunteer who updates the VMUG Advantage EVALExperience growing library of huge files does so on a quarterly basis in general. Exceptions are for when major new releases like when 6.7 first appear, he'll then usually get that code updated within weeks or even days. But if you just can't wait even that long, and you're hankering to home-lab test the latest bits, no problem, TinkerTry has you covered, see How to update any VMware ESXi Hypervisor to the latest using ESXCLI for easy download and install. As for VCSA, it's got updating built right in, see also my video that covers both, it's called Updating to VMware vSphere 6.7 Update 3 - VCSA first using VAMI, then ESXi Xeon D host using ESXCLI. Yes, I've closed the gap, you can update as soon as the bits are available, even if you don't have a My VMware account or the right entitlements!
I normally don't interact with the companies that come and go from the BuySellAds area of TinkerTry, but what happened here was quite different. After 455 mentions of VMUG Advantage and 357 EVALExperience spread over the past 8+ years of blogging, the thankful VMUG organization reached out to me directly via email, wanting to see if I'd be interested in having a set of ads run that get the word out about their new offerings, while also offering everybody who enters TINKERTRY into their EVALExperience shopping cart 10% off. What a match, their ads are spot-on for my audience. We talked, then it happened, and as with all ads, I reviewed them before they went live.
Ever since I heard folks grousing at the unfortunate loss of the VMTN subscription to VMware code when eating lunch at Moscone during VMworld 2012, I new this gap had to be solved. I'm so glad the VMUG organization came to the rescue of home lab enthusiasts across the globe.
If you have an ad blocker enabled, here's the 3 VMUG ads running right now through the end of 2019 that you're not seeing, seen below. They sum up nicely what's new while directly helping TinkerTry continue to produce valuable content for my audience. Ask anybody who is blogging these days, it isn't easy creating a sustainable model to fund the innovations in hardware and software that TinkerTry is all about. Nearly everything I write about is purchased outright, then blogged about when things work out, any excepts are clearly disclosed.
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Tonight, my wife and I are departing for Tesla's dealership in Mount Kisco New York. We need to be sure we're ready to take delivery as scheduled at 11 am tomorrow, even if we have to walk from our hotel to get there in the snow. You see, there's 2-4" of snow followed by sleet predicted tonight, but we're both off from work tomorrow and we don't want to jeopardize taking delivery this year. Rescheduling just might do that. The $1,875 Federal Tax rebate goes away Dec 31 2019, and we know we're currently eligible for the $1,500 Connecticut CHEAPR rebate too, which only applies to this more affordable model.
It's really quite awesome to see my wife converted from skeptic to enthusiast with one test drive last November when we decided together to get me a new car, given my travel-heavy VMware System Engineer job at the time. She didn't do the test driving, but turns out she was already sold. I learned this when she mentioned that the reason she waited for many months before taking my Model 3 out for a drive was that she was afraid she'd like it too much. Translation, we needed more time to get comfortable with getting rid of her 2005 Honda Civic EX. Didn't hurt that she was interested in the safest and most efficient car ever tested. Also one that got increased from 240 miles of range to 250 miles of range last month with a over the air software update!
Along came August of 2019, when she needed her first tow. Blown head gasket, something we've dealt with before, with 3 failed repairs back in the 90s, and a lot of lost resale value. So this was a little like PTSD. Time to test drive my car.
Along came November of 2019, when she needed her second tow. Steering pump failure, in extremely cold weather. Me away at a class, unable to assist.
All confidence lost in her ability to safely get to where she needs to go for her work. With our sons now grown up with jobs of their own, it was time to talk. Given her short commute most days, the model that made sense just so happens to have arrived just a few months ago, thankfully. It's the Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus:
Why Westchester-Mt. Kisco Tesla? Because Connecticut has this crazy idea that it's good to keep Tesla from opening a dealership in this state. No biggie, they without Connecticut sales tax for me, they handle new Connecticut plates and registration for, and they even fill in the Connecticut CHEAPR $1500 rebate paperwork too. Driving 60 miles away isn't exactly a big deal for me, having covered 24,000 these past 11 months and 3 weeks of owning my Tesla Model 3 Long Range All Wheel Drive. The best decision we ever made, given I get reimbursed 56 cents per business mile. Also the best tech thing we ever bought.
Enough said for now, more to come, it's time to hit the road!
This is the new price based on a recent $500 price increase. Yes, demand is that good, and there are now over half a million of them on the road.2018 Tesla Model 3 at left, 2005 Honda Civic EX at right.Had the electrician install a second NEMA 14-50 outlet last year, just in case.
We only buy a new car every 12 to 15 years, so this was a huge decision for us. If you find this article helpful and decide to jump in and get a Tesla too, consider using this referral link to place your order, so you and I both get 1,000 free miles of Supercharging.
Disclosure: I own no stock in Tesla, and Tesla doesn't advertise at TinkerTry or anywhere else.
There's so much I left out of this unscripted video below, but that's OK. I've already spilled a whole lot of (digital) ink on the electric vehicle ownership experience in the many articles I've listed out for you below.
It's been a year since we took delivery of our Tesla Model 3 Long Range All Wheel Drive on Dec 23 2018, seems like a great time to share some stats, which TeslaFi (that I wrote about here) makes quite easy! Note that I didn't use TeslaFi until I already had the car for about a month already, so about 2,000 miles are missing.
Dec 23 2018 - 5 miles on the odometer at Tesla in Mount Kisco NY. Dec 23 2019 - 24,781 miles on the odometer! This was the most I've driven in one year in my life, given my travel heavy day job, and family spreading out across the northeast. We'll easily be hitting 25,000 on the odometer in the next 48 hours, so figured it was fair to round up. We drove in 2.5 hours of miserable holiday traffic today, where the traffic aware cruise control really shone. Even the $36K Model 3 that my wife has it, all trim levels have it. Even better, all Model 3 trim levels include lane-assist now as well, eliminating most of the stress of stop-and-go traffic. I'm so glad they include that now. It's simply awesome, and not something we really anticipated the value of in advance. In fact, my car had neither of those awesome features when I bought it, the ownership has gotten SO much better over these last 12 months. It can't be underestimated how valuable it is to the owner when a car gets better with each firmware update. Significantly better, in many meaningful ways.
Every time I walk up to this car, I feel like pinch me, I really own this thing? Well, technically the bank and my wife and I, details. It's literally the car of my dreams for about 3 decades now, listen to the video where I explain.
When I set off on my next adventure and press the go pedal, it just goes, exactly like I asked it to. There's such an inexplicable thrill in that. No gas car comes close, and wow, when I drive rental cars after distant flights for work, it feels absurd. Seriously, test drive this car, and it will likely ruin you, and all of your passengers. Permanently. In a good way. The auto industry has set your expectations far too low, for far too long.
Helping take my own small steps by eliminating both of our gas cars from our garage forever was a first step, a baby step. No more smelly gas fingers too.
At least 4 people I know personally took my wife and I up on test drives, and could ask us anything they wanted to know about owning the Model 3. That also has an impact.
Finally, writing all about owning an electric vehicle, the biggest impact of all. If just a few folks out there reading this decide to place their order, the carbon footprint reduction is far greater than anything I've written about over these past 8.5 years of blogging about efficient computing. Less than 2% of the world's vehicles are electric so there is a long way to go, but the mass-produced Model 3 sales of over 600,000 already is really starting to give hope as our climate continues to change for the worse. Even better when folks are able to fuel their road trips directly from the sun using solar.
Gas cars are ancient fossils that burn dead dinosaur juice, and we now have a way to turn those vehicles into mere memories of what it used to be like, back when cars sucked.
Click the screenshot above to get started with TeslaFi using the TinkerTry referral code.
I love stats! 1,572 drives, about $2260.33 saved already over gas, but actually I didn't pay for the $500 worth of Supercharging. Also, I've been reimbursed 56 cents per business mile. A LOT of business miles. Do the math. Yes, this is how I was able to step up from about 30 years of Honda Civic ownership. My secret is out, and TeslaFi keeps me from having to manually track my aventures. Expense reporting sure is easier now. Even if you don't drive for work, perhaps you can still see why others write articles like how it's generally more economical to own a Model 3 car for 5 years than a Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla.
Drives - Lifetime Map
There are 22,764 miles tracked by TeslaFi, but my odometer is at 24,781. So that means I drove 2,012 miles that first untracked month.
Charges - Battery Report
This all looks pretty normal, with most folks loosing about 4% their first year, then much less for subsequent years.
AC Charging Charges - AC Charging Totals
Because I bought my Tesla with a referral link, I didn't pay anything for Supercharging, saving about $522.80.
Drives - Drive Summary
Top Ten Longest Drives. That first one listed is a 356.66 mile drive that included a half hour Supercharging stop, yet it shows as a single drive, in error. This is the only issue I've noticed with the summary report.This was the longest single drive segment, lasting 4 hours and 34 minutes, with an incredible 163 MPGe rating.
Going from a 2018 Tesla Model 3 Long Range All Wheel Drive VIN# 119,xxx to 2020 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus VIN# 612,XXX, here's my changelog, based on first-hand observations. Why? I could not find this information anywhere else. See also:
Autopilot enables your car to steer, accelerate and brake automatically within its lane.
Current Autopilot features require active driver supervision and do not make the vehicle autonomous.
Traffic Aware Cruise Control is now standard, see Autopilot above
Taken in Wethersfield Connecticut on Oct 23 2019 by Paul Braren with an iPhone 11 Pro Max. I like the outdoors, and I like our planet.
It seems fitting to write this post today to give this decade a bit of closure, especially since I created TinkerTry back near the start of this decade. It was June of 2011. With back-end development help from my oldest son Andrew, then a high school senior, I began my hobby of writing mostly on evenings and weekends. I quickly realized I was hooked. Here I am over a thousand articles and five hundred videos later. So much has happened in the tech industry, and to me personally and professionally. Here's a technical note or two from each year to set the stage and give some context, followed by some TinkerTry historical flavor below, in italics. If you just don't have the time for such a long piece, I hope you'll at least consider skipping to my closing thoughts below.
I wish you all peace and happiness for the next decade and beyond!
We all remember how big a deal this new form factor was, after the immense success of the iPhone. Family members expressed interest, eventually trading in laptops for iPads a few years later.
TinkerTry was just an idea at this point. I began pondering about what it would be like to blog publicly, having having the fortune of meeting Duncan Epping at VMworld. He was one of my many inspirations, along with William Lam and many others. I had internally done many newsletters and blog posts for 400K+ IBMers to view that were completely lost over time due to budget cuts, and that really bothered me.
I recall testing out Sprint vs Verizon, since I happened to have two cell phones for a couple of weeks. I was visiting St. Louis for work, Sprint's HQ. Despite my geographical luck, Verizon still won every test I did while driving around the area.
I recall bring your family to work day back at IBM. My mom and I watched this Watson event unfold live, as we enjoyed the live stream with about 200 others in an IBM auditorium at the Southbury, Connecticut location. My mom's take the night before, via email, preparing for our little adventure together:
I did TiVo Jeopardy for this week so I wouldn’t miss this experience. Watching WATSON in action made me feel the déjà vu of watching HAL (I think I’ve got that name right) from the movie “2001.” I also couldn’t help noticing how much space Watson’s “brain” occupies compared to the human brain.
TinkerTry.com was launched in June of 2011, covering mostly home lab topics. Despite some pretty niche content such as how to use an LSI RAID adapter under ESXi, at least one of my dozens of articles that first year found an audience of over 10,000 readers. The stats were pretty horrible overall, but I persevered.
I recall being a bit surprised to spot the first of these no-tailpipe vehicles, but when I checked the price, I pretty much ignored what was happening. This early adopter vehicle fueled by the deep pockets of the wealthy greatly limited the appeal to me, but looking back now, the industry is realizing what a watershed moment this vehicle's release was. I also had no idea that Tesla’s mission is to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, using the more expensive early models to fund and refine the development of a vehicle for the masses. Even in 2019, the rest of the industry hasn't caught up with the efficiency, safety, and speed of this iconic brand's first widely produced vehicle, the Tesla Model S, see also Tesla Model S gets another 'Car of the Decade' Award: 'Nothing Else Comes Close'.
You can see a sampler of the kinds of articles I was writing in 2012 right here.
Reading about quad copters brought me back to my childhood days of launching this model rocket. Seeing the page from the Estes catalog still brings me chills.
I recall reading about these noisy little guys, not surprising given how into aerial photography I've been since I was about 12. Yes, I was the kid with the Estes Astrocam, launching at Wethersfield High School, hoping to catch a glimpse of our nearby house.
Those first drones/quadcopters, the price, oh my. Not to mention I live too close to an airport to be able to fly such a thing legally/safely. So I never bought one.
Created "TinkerTry.com, LLC" to allow the collection of modest revenues from Amazon Associates and YouTube videos and easier filing of taxes. These revenues were all invested into growing the site, and covering costs. Not breaking even yet, but getting closer. The "TinkerTry IT @ home" tag line of "Efficient virtualization, storage, backup and more" was created, and I've remained true to those themes through the rest of the decade.
Finally, some refinement in Windows that allowed much easier cloning and use in VMware ESXi VMs, without the usual BSODs that tended to greet users of any earlier Windows version when restoring bare metal backups to different hardware.
This meant I sure was using MSDN membership a lot, and I sure was blogging a lot about using Windows 10 in a VMware vSphere VM.
This was my very first year as a member of the awesome VMware vExpert program!
One of my sons bought one of these Dell XPS 15 laptops, and I was hooked. The slim design, the nice rubbery palm rests, and the thin bezel. Oh my. Only in 2017 did I manage to have one of my own as a VMware employee. That was the corporate version of the basic chassis design, using beefier hinges. It was called the Dell Precision Workstation 5510, and later a limited edition 5520.
2015 was also when Xeon D arrived. I had my eye on it since it was announced in March of 2015, when I also blogged all about it. I even got my hands on what may have been the very first Xeon D-1541 based system, and unboxed it live, seen here and here, which was kind of a crazy thing to attempt.
The Veeam Vanguard Program was started, and to my amazement I was honored to become an inaugural member.
Apple clashed with the FBI, and refused to unlock an iPhone. Having had secret clearance for IT work in the Federal Sector, and having followed Edward Snowden's saga, this story sure caught my attention too.
I bought an Apple Watch Series 2 on sale at Macy's for only $229. Finally, a watch that sets itself as soon as I land in whatever timezone, and my first smart watch. It would go on to last me 3 years until the battery life started to suffer. The screen held up better than any watch I've ever owned, and I used it all the time. Painting, yard work, etc. Apple even gave me$50 trade-in value, when I picked up my Apple Watch Series 5 with the always-on display. Now that's a tech success.
The iPhone XS Plus arrived, with that notch! Finally a large enough screen that I've wanted in my pocket forever.
This was a huge year for me personally and professionally, landing a job at VMware as a vSAN Systems Engineer! While it remained difficult to afford a proper (fully supported) vSAN at home, eventually that vision became reality, and I'm pretty darn thankful for that!
Facebook's demise really seems to accelerate. More glad than ever that I never got on this social network in the first place. On top of the horrifying political stuff, there's also the extreme sleaze of pretending to use your mobile number for enhanced 2FA (two factor) security, instead they use that number to target you with ads too.
Sadly, my high school friends remain unphased.
At TinkerTry, I continue to completely ignore the audience I could gain by having any sort of presence on Facebook.
Finally, a miniature go anywhere camera I could hit the road with. I don't mean stable images, my GoPro HERO7 had those two. I mean stable, as in doesn't overheat and shut down abruptly when recording 4K for more than 10-20 minutes at room temperature using certified compatible MicroSD media. Helped me have some fun on the weekends to produce content like these stable 4K videos.
This pic was taken in nearly complete darkness, note the stars in the night sky. I could barely make out the mountain with my own eyes. Click to view the TinkerTry Photo Gallery.
This was also the year that marked the arrival of nighttime photography, in the form of the very impressive tech inside my iPhone 11 Pro Max. See also my sample photo gallery.
This year I started a new whole new chapter in my career at Dell Technologies, what an great opportunity to bring some of my IBM/x86 hardware experience and VMware software experience forward! Instead of carrying a second phone around, I simply asked for just the SIM, and now I have 2 phones in one! When the signal for one carrier's data is weak, it fails over to the other. Awesome, thank you eSIM technology! turns out Dual SIM capabilities arrived with the iPhone XS/XS Max/XR last year.
At TinkerTry, I continued to write about whatever catches my attention and inspires passion. With Intel floundering in its attempts to mass produce anything smaller than 14nm CPUs including Xeon D, my attention temporarily wandered toward other green technologies that have a big impact, such as how we move humans around safely, while helping reduce our carbon footprint. It just so happens my two challenging job changes in 2019 meant I also needed to drive over 25,000 in one year, much of that invested in customer visits. This also moved my career ahead, providing for my family. Gladly, the problem of how to replace about 30 years of favorable Honda Civic experiences (each lasting 10 to 15 years) was solved handily with a way more efficient (and fun) Tesla Model 3. Finally, an electric vehicle that now starts at the same price as the average American car, but a lower long-term cost of ownership. Read more at TinkerTry.com/Tesla and see more on YouTube. If you feel sorry for reliable stalwarts like Honda, don't, have a listen to what the CEO is saying to defend his inertia. Meanwhile, VW seems to get it, and maybe even Detroit’s Ford. There’s also Germany, The Netherlands and Norway too, phew!
I'm more optimistic than ever that folks all over the world are actually starting to realize that humans have affected our climate, and that we can do something to meaningfully reduce our own families carbon footprint.
Home Servers
With home labs and home servers that may be left running 24x7, that means compact and efficient servers. I've found some amazing form factor innovation recently that I hope to be able to share at TinkerTry very soon, stay tuned. AMD is sure making things interesting with EPYC lately too, and this should be the year for yet more advancements in NVMe storage tech too, along with more articles featuring products that help your in sysadmin of your home lab, including WipeDrive by WhiteCanyon, VMUG Advantage EVALExperience, new SuperServer BIOS testing, and more. Much more.
Transportation Tech
As far as safe daily transportation of your family, it can mean getting an electric vehicle instead of a gas powered one. Kind of timely that I was cowering in my electric car just last night, pondering how strange and scary it was to be witnessing what may well be the most intense winter thunderstorm I've ever experienced my lifetime, waiting it out while watching from the relative safety of my electric car. This is New England in December? Hmm. I know it's just one data point. But still, the emotion.
The Future
Now that solar and wind power are more economically viable than coal plants, and now that younger generations seem to innately understand that their ancestors have messed up our planet pretty bad, I'm increasingly confident the political and economic will is finally there for us to really start turning the corner. I can only hope to be writing another post like this in 10 years saying that I was right, and that a catastrophic global temperature rise seems to have been largely averted.
OK, things got a little too dark there, and I'm taking myself and my little blog way too seriously. Don't worry, I still know how to have fun, and my focus is still largely on experiencing a variety of emerging technologies, then sharing details with you about the experiences that work out well.
First, right now, it's time to hang out with my wife and celebrate the end of one decade and the beginning of the next. I'm very grateful for my many blessings.
TeslaFi Affiliate Link above, Amazon and other commission-earning links below.
I just got home from a roadtrip to visit family in Boston, spending just $9.11 cents in electricity to move ourselves 208 miles total. What a nice treat to catch this tweet (pictured at right) by @awraynor, time to write up a post!
I'm not great at article title SEO, but here's how I'd summarize the car portion of the episode: Nerd and his wife have been driving Honda Civics for 30 years, but the Tesla Model 3 convinced them dump their old gas cars forever to increase their safety, save money, and have more fun!
Yeah, Jim's title is better, well, maybe just one correction: Paul Braren Podcasts from the Tesla 3 andFinancesAnother
See also the Honda CEO in denial story. The moment anybody reading this article test drives a Tesla Model 3 (or, the soon to be even more popular Model Y), they'll know just how absurd it is for Takahiro Hachigo to make those claims, also explained in a rather blunt but funny way by Fred Lambert at Electrek here.
This new podcast episode 429 is now available at the averageguy.tv here, where you can also view, listen, and/or subscribe. Here's an excerpt:
Paul Braren joined us live from his garage and inside his now one year-old Telsa 3 for his annual visit to Home Gadget Geeks. We talk about how he has enjoyed the Telsa since purchasing it a year ago, why we bought another and how he will never purchase a gas-powered car again. Of course, there is lots of gadget chat along the way. I think you will enjoy the show.
Best watched on Jim's video playback available below, as I show you around the car and my garage, talk about new jobs and new tech my life over the past year. I used eero WiFi to blanket my garage in strong signal for the podcast, testing the speeds from inside the Model 3 at 131 Mbps down and 39 Mbps up!
"Home Gadget Geeks" T available in 5 colors & 3 sizes.
Oh, and that t-shirt you see me styling? It's available on Amazon in many colors!
As I did years ago, you too can be a supporter of Jim's at "the average guy" Patreon Page.
Detailed shownotes, podcast feeds to subscribe to, and an easy way to leave greatly appreciate podcast reviews, all found right over at Jim's source page:
While on the air, I failed to mention the very well regarded 11 speaker sound system which still brings chills to my spine, more details found here. Not sure I should share what song I played first to test it.
Shop on tryroadie.com
I also mentioned the Raspberri Pi-Zero based device a fellow Connecticut resident started selling internationally last month that is very helpful for Tesla Model 3 owners looking to avoid having to remove an MicroSD or SSD from their car to review the Sentry Mode or Dashcam footage. It's called the Roadie for Tesla.
Thank you again Jim, for you being you, and for inviting me again!
Free Supercharging:If you find this article of value and decide to order a Tesla or Tesla Solar, please consider using thists.la/paul68544referral link when placing your order so you and I both get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging.
Disclosure:My family owns no stock in Tesla because I'm hoping my many words about Tesla have more impact that way. Tesla doesn't advertise at TinkerTry or anywhere else. This is not a sponsored post. We have invested in two Tesla Model 3s, replacing my 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid in late 2018 and replacing my wife's 2005 Honda Civic EX in late 2019. This bold move was our first step in our mutual desire to help others to also go green, avoid gasoline, be safe, have fun, and save money in the long run.
But being a Vanguard is not given for life. You must earn it. This veeamazing group of professionals is truly a global community where each member, coming from their own career path, enriches the knowledge about our products with their unique experience from the field.
Because of this diversity, we decided not to set any guidelines to the Vanguards’ way of being active. Most of them have their own blogs where they share their experience with specific issues and scenarios encountered during their job duties. And often these encounters involve Veeam which is a great recipe for a truly unique experience-based content.
There's certifications, great for prepping for your day job work, and for getting your career moved forward. Been doing those since MSCS in 1997, as have many folks reading articles like this.
Then there's VMware's vExpert program, signifying how much you give back to the community, with lots of perks including access to VMware code and a chance to hang with Pat Gelsinger every year at VMworld! There are now thousands of vExperts around the world. A great program.
As of Jan 15 2020, just 33 days to go until V10 arrives!
The Veeam Vanguard Program takes it further. Much further, well beyond access to the latest bested code including Veeam Availability Suite v10, and many chances to talk directly with developers. That was my favorite part of the whole Summit 2019 actually, spending about a half hour nerding out about my use of the Windows and Linux agents to protect and occasionally bare-metal-restore my most precious systems, those of my family. It was amazing, and a little magical. Standing there outside a bar in Prague, going on and on about what I learned using their software, and one of the actual developers soaking it all in, and asking for more details.
So if you are deserving and have done the work, and get in to the Veeam Vanguard program, you also get that opportunity to meet with the world's top bloggers and data protection experts at the annual Summit, in person! It's an amazing mix of dedicated Veeam employees, and fellow Veeam Vanguards. What a list!
So yes, the Veeam Vanguard program is an incredible networking opportunity to be with around a hundred folks for several magical days and evenings in Europe. It's a real joy, and quite an honor.
The last 2 years were in Prague Czech Republic, which personally meant a LOT to me and my wife personally, see also a bit about my experiences in 2018 and 2019.
Some of the closest friends I've made at any conference were who I confided in last year, my second year there. The value in having fellow IT Professionals to discuss career and personal challenges with is incredible.
I'm not going to mince my words here. When I say an opportunity, I mean funding. For me personally, that made ALL the difference. There was absolutely no way I'd be able to fly off to Europe these past two Octobers for this 4 day event if it wasn't for the travel funds that Veeam generously provides to Vanguards. All Vanguard. Across the world.
Veeam FastSCP. Thumbnail from VMinstall.
Frankly, there have been two huge factors that have kept me close to Veeam products ever since Veeam FastSCP arrived way back in 2007, which I used regularly doing professional services in 35 of 50 of the United States. You see, when somebody is paying your employer upwards of $200/hr to get servers racked and stacked, updated, and ESXi/vCenter installed, you better believe every minute counted when it came time to upload big Windows and Linux ISOs to their shiny new datastore.
Years later, in 2014, I was a multi-year Windows Home Server super-fan in my home lab. I became disillusioned when Microsoft essentially give it all up, the wonders of simple agent-based daily backups and bare-metal restores of PCs. I penned the headline Microsoft left the home backup server market, is Veeam Endpoint Backup FREE about to take over?, and I moved on, using Veeam Endpoint on a dozen or so systems in my extended family.
Then I wrote about Veeam. A lot, using their products in all sorts of scenarios, mostly about the experience of using Veeam Agent. I had quite a favorable impressions of their technical support whenever I did bump into a minor issue or bug.
So it was quite an honor when I was nominated into the program back in 2015, and I've been super thankful ever since!
I've had the honor of meeting Nikola Pejková in person, which was also a chance to thank Rick Vanover for finding her, she's certainly been taking the Veeam Vanguard program to the next level. I found her dedication and enthusiasm to be quite inspiring, and it was with great joy that I took that picture of Anton clapping as he finished saying some well-deserved kind words to hear at the Summit last year. Seen pictured at right.
I hope I've inspired at least a few readers to go ahead and apply. Please drop a comment below this article if you have any questions, and hopefully we get to meet in person someday.
So put your nomination(s) in soon, there's not a lot of time left, you only have until Jan 21 2020. All the instructions are in Nikola Pejková's post here:
You can nominate yourself (or be nominated by another person), so don’t be shy and apply by sending your profile summary or CV to nikola.pejkova@veeam.com.
Disclosure
Veeam Vanguard Program.
TinkerTry.com, LLC is not a Veeam Pro Partner, but I am a Veeam Vanguard Program member who received travel assistance getting to VeeamOn 2017, and Veeam Vanguard Summits 2018 and 2019. Veeam has been an advertiser on many virtualization sites for years now, and Veeam had a BuySellAds-purchased advertisement at TinkerTry as well, but that was well over 12 months ago.
All TinkerTry advertisement goes through third party BuySellAds. None of my articles are sponsored posts, and there are currently no affiliate links for Veeam Endpoint Backup FREE, or any of their other products. There are no commissions for any Veeam products folks buy after reading one of my articles.
TinkerTry takes extreme care to protect visitors by using only one ad network, BuySellAds, which has never had a security issue to date, and is very commonly used in the virtualization blogger community. Their CEO seems to get what's going on with ad blockers, evident in his recent post. I regularly receive lucrative offers from various companies looking to have me inject JavaScript trackers into TinkerTry, which I of course turn down.
I reserve and exercise the right to freely write about topics that I choose, whenever I choose to, an essential part of what makes blogging about home virtualization labs, storage, and backup so much fun for me. I tend to feature articles about stuff I actually use.
White Canyon Software has been in the business of certified drive wipes for over 21 years! It's about time I had a look for myself, here's their WipeDrive 9 Product Page.
Disclosure This unpaid video demonstrates WipeDrive by WhiteCanyon. Note, WhiteCanyon has run an occasional ad on TinkerTry.com within the past year, but their product is consistent with the theme of my site and I reached out to them to do this video.
Some hurried home lab enthusiasts may find themselves doing a DBAN (Darik's Boot and Nuke) to get a drive wipe done before disposal or resale, or even something a little more elegant like Parted Magic. But when it comes to doing some actual consulting, quick-and-dirty isn't going to cut it. Let me explain.
During my recent revisit to the federal sector last year, I spent considerable time in the DC area doing hands-on consulting again, much like I had done in the early 2000s. This experience got me thinking that it sure would be good to bone up on how a proper drive wipe is done these days, with all the right certification documentation to prove that it was done properly. I've had some experience with this at prior jobs where customers paid more to choose the drive retention option to never allow a drive out of the datacenter, or they'd just pay a consultant to do the drive wipes for them. What about if a consultant wants to do a drive wipe themselves?
So I reached out to White Canyon and I got a rather quick response. The VP of Sales offered to go through the product with me, along with its positioning in the marketplace. We fired up a web meeting, I hit the record button, we introduced ourselves, and we got going with the demonstration. I quite enjoyed the whole experience, I hope you will too, when you watch the video below.
ISO mounted in a VM, with an NVMe drive passed through. Unsupported but convenient.
I had this crazy idea that a little twist might be fun, and that figuring out if I could also get their product working not just when booted from an ISO, but also from a running VMware ESXi host. How? How about about SATA drive pass through for motherboards that support it, or in my particular configuration, NVMe pass through for the NVMe SSD I had on hand. For those interested, I've documented how that's done here, and for this run, I chose these VM settings (way overkill) using just my ESXi 6.7 Update 3 home lab, a stock 8 core Supermicro SuperServer Bundle:
CPU 2
Memory 4 GB
Guest OS Linux
Guest OS Version Ubuntu Linux (64-bit)
CD/DVD drive 1 / Datastore ISO File / wd-enterprise-dongle.iso
While full access to the underlying hardware should be available when you pass through a drive using SATA passthrough, NVMe passthrough, or even RDM mappings, I'd recommend going with a fully supported native boot if you're actually doing consulting, not just preparing for it. Yes, normal people would use a fully supported configuration, imagine that!
ISO mounted via iKVM, a supported method of booting WipeDrive.
Insert the drives to wipe, and remove all others if you can, I used a Samsung 960 M.2 SSD to demonstrate
Power up, then choose F11 (or similar) for the one-time boot device selection, picking the USB drive
Alternatively, use something like iLO, iDRAC, or in Supermicro's case, iKVM, to remotely mount the ISO that you're booting from
Hopefully this video below gives you enough of a feel for the product that you might consider giving it a go for yourself. They are very fast at turning around key requests, and of course they handle secure locations where a local key (rather than cloud activation) is required.
Disclosure This unpaid video demonstrates WipeDrive by WhiteCanyon. Note, WhiteCanyon has run an occasional ad on TinkerTry.com within the past year, but their product is consistent with the theme of my site and I reached out to them to do this video.
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The only information I have about this 2.1 BIOS release is from [a helpful TinkerTry commenter who said:
I reached out to Supermicro, and they gave me some rather vague info: "BIOS 2.1 update info for SYS-5028D-TN4T/ X10SDV MB BIOS 2.1 has Intel security fix and some bug fix.
We suggest our customer to update it if they can."
Supermicro restricts me from publishing their BIOS release notes, unfortunately. If I run into issues, or others leave comments to report their issues, I'll update this article accordingly.
Initial testing of BIOS 2.1 has gone well so far for me on my Xeon D-1541 SuperServer, testing on my Xeon D-1567 is next. I do have a report of one TinkerTry visitor having no issues with it, seen in the TinkeTry comments here.
Wiredzone will soon be shipping all Bundles with BIOS 2.1 and IPMI 3.86, once I've fully "TinkerTry'd" both firmware levels on both systems.
Here's the current Supermicro Xeon D-1500 systems with X10SDV motherboards with RJ45 10GbE, in form factors suited for home and small business (single PSU), eligible for these new releases:
Note, as of BIOS 2.1, the Flex ATX E300-8D with the X10SDV-TP8F motherboard have the same release numbers, but may have a different file to download. I don't own a Flex ATX system to test, so my focus is on the SYS-5028D-TN4T with its X10SDV-TLN4F motherboard used in all Bundles.
I managed to borrow one of each X10SDV system, for VMworld 2016. As for updating your BIOS and IPMI firmware to the latest release, you might not have to. For all SuperServer Bundle customers, Wiredzone handles these upgrades for you prior to shipment, along with the DIMM install, and 4 hour burn-in test with certificate. Nice touches that save you about 45 minutes while reducing your risk.
Here's Supermicro's Disclaimer:
WARNING!
Please do not download / upgrade the BIOS/Firmware UNLESS your system has a BIOS/firmware-related issue. Flashing the wrong BIOS/firmware can cause irreparable damage to the system.
Here's a copy of TinkerTry's Disclaimer, exactly as posted below every article:
Disclaimer
Emphasis is on home test labs, not production environments. No free technical support is implied or promised, and all best-effort advice volunteered by the author or commenters are on a use-at-your-own risk basis. Properly caring for your data is your responsibility. TinkerTry bears no responsibility for data loss. It is up to you to follow all local laws and software EULAs.
This all boils down to you needing to contact Supermicro's SuperServer Technical Support if something goes wrong, with no guarantees that they can help you if you bricked your system. I would add that you should be sure to run your SuperServer off an uninterruptable power supply during any firmware upgrades, and be sure you use a stable network connection, or a known-good USB flash drive for bootable media.
Right here at TinkerTry, there's full release notes that go all the way back to the beginning. It would be even better if Supermicro published them themselves, but having them here is a good start. Just one of those little victories, trying to help everybody out there, and I'm so very glad I'm able to share these notes with everybody here:
There is a way to upgrade the BIOS over IPMI that I describe here and show on video here, but it may require waiting for a trial license key for Supermicro Update Manager, unless you bought it already.
Then there's the old school safest way to upgrade your BIOS(s), anytime:
make sure your SuperServer is on UPS-protected power
power on or reboot your SuperServer, then enter the BIOS setup by pressing Del when prompted
to (temporarily) turn UEFI OFF, going into the BIOS's Boot tab, and choosing Legacy mode
to turn CSM ON (Compatibility Support Mode) to On (it's on by default), see details here
create a bootable USB flash drive on another Windows workstation using Rufus
extract all X10SDVF9_B22.zip files to the root directory of the USB drive, which includes the BIOS image itself named X10SDVF9.B22
properly eject the USB drive using the Windows Taskbar Safely Remove... icon.
insert the USB drive into any available USB port on your SuperServer
power up or reboot, and get ready to press that F11 key to choose alternative boot device, then choose the USB drive from the list
Using either a locally attached keyboard and mouse, or over iKVM, at the DOS command line, type: FLASH X10SDVF9.B22 (you can use type-ahead to auto-complete)
wait until it's done, takes about 5 minutes, it will tell you when it's done
unplug the power cord from the SuperServer for about 15 seconds
remove the USB flash drive
plug the power cord back into your SuperServer
power on your SuperServer
you will notice it boots, finishes POST but doesn't prompt you to press any buttons, then it auto-reboots again, this is normal
press Del to enter the BIOS setup again, you will see you've been reset to factory default BIOS settings. Switch back to UEFI mode, and turn CSM back to off if you like, see the rest of the Recommended BIOS Settings and differences between UEFI and BIOS
reboot, make sure your default boot device comes up, you're done!
if you encounter issues, you can go back to the prior BIOS level 1.1c, found here.
on another PC, use a browser and type in the IP address of your BMC/IPMI/iKVM management interface in the URL area
login, default is ADMIN/ADMIN
you should gracefully shut down any OS you may have running on this system, and leave it powered off, or use iKVM's Power Off button
under Maintenance, IPMI Configuration, you may wish to use the Save IPMI Configuration feature to save a config file for possible restore later, since you are about to lose all of your IPMI configuration settings
under Maintenance, Firmware Update, select the Enter Update Mode button and follow the instructions, using the IPMI file downloaded called REDFISH_X10_386_20191115_unsigned.zip that you extracted, choosing REDFISH_X10_386_20191115_unsigned.bin inside the extraction folder, then make sure to Un-check both checkboxes when prompted to preserve your configuration, as seen pictured at right. Keeping your certificate or not is up to you, I went with unchecking all 3 boxes. If you don't uncheck those first two, you may get voltage alerts or critical sensor error / 5V Dual warnings in VMware ESXi, or other problems, which folks resolved by reflashing to the same level again, making sure to uncheck the boxes this time.
wait until it's done with the IPMI upgrade, takes about 5 minutes, when done, it will prompt you to wait another minute, click OK and wait some more as it says "Rebooting..." and once the IPMI Web Interface starts to respond to login again, you can continue
unplug the power cord from the SuperServer for at least 15 seconds (optional but recommended, more difficult if you're remote, I realize)
plug the power cord back in to your SuperServer
power on your SuperServer, wait a minute for IPMI to boot up
on another PC, use a browser and type in the IP address of your BMC/IPMI/iKVM management interface in the URL area
optional - under Maintenance, IPMI Configuration, you may wish to use the Reload IPMI Configuration feature to choose your saved file, and restore it
I've added some testing in here, finding out that it appears 2400MHz memory is now properly supported, but note that only Xeon D-1541 supports that speed.
The only Xeon D CPU released last year that supports 2400MHz speeds is the Xeon D-1541, see validation of this in Intel's Product Brief. Thank you for spotting this newly revised update to the brief, reported by Bryce Wilkins right here at TinkerTry. Keeping this minor issue in perspective, 2400MHz is easier to find and cheaper to acquire, so the argument that you're not getting what you paid for is weakened somewhat, see also this excellent article about how little most workloads would ever notice this difference in speed.
It would seem that finally, the Flex ATX systems have a BIOS update available, this is good! Table above updated accordingly, making this change:
Aug 16 2016 / 1.0b was the last release.
Sep 21 2017 / 1.0c is the latest release, and the direct download file is called X10SDVT7_A31.zip, and the BIOS release notes are found here, thanks to @BennyE_HH!
I have not tested 1.0c since I don't have a Flex ATX X10SDV system. The Mini ITX X10SDV system's release notes are posted by me here, and have been testing those frequent BIOS updates at a rate of several new releases per year.
On Monday January 27 2020, I enjoyed some pleasant weather on my afternoon career related road trip from my home in Wethersfield Connecticut, heading to the Philadelphia Pennsylvania area for the evening. That's about 419 miles to cover, in one day. Knowing I'd be passing by the Fairfield Connecticut Supercharger that opened in earlier this month, I decided this was a great opportunity to document the charge rates I'd be getting on this somewhat mild winter day of 45°F / 7.8°C. Details with video below, read onward!
Free Supercharging:If you find this article of value and decide to order a Tesla, please consider using thists.la/paul68544referral link when placing your order so you and I both get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging. If you order Solar, it's a $250 award after system activation.
Disclosure:My family owns no stock in Tesla, and I'm hoping my writings will have more impact that way. Tesla doesn't advertise at TinkerTry, or anywhere else, and this is not a sponsored post. We financed the purchase of two Tesla Model 3s, replacing my 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid in December of 2018 and replacing my wife's 2005 Honda Civic EX in December of 2019. These bold moves were our first steps in our mutual desire to go green, avoid gasoline, be safe, have fun, and save money in the long run. Mostly for my job, I drive a lot, 25,000 miles in 2019 for example, and I thoroughly enjoy sharing what I've learned with you. I hope you can tell!
Normally, you leave your garage with your Tesla charged to around 90% for daily driving, more if you're about to take a long trip. But for several days before this trip, I used A Better Route Planner to calculate how much battery capacity I'd need to lave home with to make sure I'd arrive in Fairfield at around 10% remaining. That way, I'd have a better shot at seeing some faster charge rates. The calculation worked out pretty well, as you'll see me start my charge session at 11%.
Note that despite setting my destination as the Fairfield Supercharger on I-95 Southbound, the usual preconditioning your battery message never appeared. This could be because my car battery was apparently warm enough already, or the car was making sure I would make it to the Supercharger so using more energy to warm the battery wouldn't be the smart thing to do.
Note that without preconditioning, Tesla only claims 25% reduction in charging session time versus at 50% reduction.
This visit also a great opportunity to accurately collect charge rates in a detailed graph form using [TeslaFi](https://www.teslafi.com/signup.php?referred=TinkerTry), which I've written about many times starting in [January 2019]([link](https://www.teslafi.com/signup.php?referred=TinkerTry)). It also afforded me the opportunity to compare/contrast with prior V2 Supercharger sessions I've done. I suspect we'll need considerably warmer temps to really see a V3 go even faster here in the Northeastern US, but based on this first V3 visit, speeds are looking pretty good. Over time, with more V3 experience under their belt, Tesla might offer further firmware tweaks to the Model 3 to see even faster charging, we'll see.
Note that there's a whole lot of V3 construction around here happening right now, as seen in this [great map](https://www.google.com/mymaps/viewer?mid=1i6fqIFjgf7Hl6e0Oo2HdiLbscpaXYaK3&hl=en) from the data at the great [supercharger.info](https://supercharge.info/changes) site.
Overall, I'd say the amount of time spent at the highest charge levels was pretty short, but I knew this already based on some information coming from visitors to the V3 Supercharger in Las Vegas.
Here's Tesla's claims.
"Up to 180 miles in 15 minutes" - this spot in the official Tesla [video](https://youtu.be/ChvAV3I0DXM?t=46).
"...reducing average charge times for owners by 25%" - in the Mar 06 2019 article [Introducing V3 Supercharging](https://www.tesla.com/blog/introducing-v3-supercharging), here's some more excerpts:
> **Faster Charging, No More Power Sharing**
V3 is a completely new architecture for Supercharging. A new 1MW power cabinet with a similar design to our utility-scale products supports peak rates of up to 250kW per car. At this rate, a Model 3 Long Range operating at peak efficiency can recover up to 75 miles of charge in 5 minutes and charge at rates of up to 1,000 miles per hour. Combined with other improvements we’re announcing today, V3 Supercharging will ultimately cut the amount of time customers spend charging by an average of 50%, as modeled on our fleet data.
> ...
> Supercharger stations with V3’s new power electronics are designed to enable any owner to charge at the full power their battery can take – no more splitting power with a vehicle in the stall next to you. With these significant technical improvements, we anticipate the typical charging time at a V3 Supercharger will drop to around 15 minutes.
I actually had a chance to see contractors working on those new 1MW power cabinets at the new [Tesla V3 Supercharger that's under construction in Meriden Connecticut](https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/supercharger-meriden-ct.115369/page-4), but this trip, I had a great opportunity to actually use one!
##Findings
Here's what I found:
- As usual, there can be some loud clunks from the battery pack during charging in cold weather. Despite Tesla Service of Milford CT replacing my battery breathers for free a couple of weeks ago during a routine brake service visit, this minor annoyance persists.
- There are some intervals of a little noise and some vibration felt in the car during charging, this is likely from the coolant circulating in the now-thinner charging cable. Barely noticeable.
- Everything else about the experience is very much like a V2, but without the worries about whether anybody pulls up and shares your charger, which is great!
I've got some videos for you below, followed by some summary observations about the data/graphs.
##Videos
##Closing Thoughts
From my video (first one above), you can see at about 1 minute into the charging session, I hit 220 kW which for this car is 898 mi/hr (miles of range added per hour). Turns out the TeslaFi data isn't quite as granular, showing a peak of 874.8 mi/hr charge rate. Looking closely at the graph is interesting, especially as you compare it with a V2 session from a year earlier. Click on the screenshot to make it larger, use left and right arrows to quickly go back-and-forth.
Jan 27 2020 V3 Supercharger in Fairfield CT, from 11% to 90% in 45°F / 7.8°C temperature. Model 3 LR AWD.Mar 03 2019 V2 Supercharger in Danbury CT, from 27% to 91 % in 39°F / 3.9 °C temperature. Model 3 LR AWD.
---
***Free Supercharging:*** *If you find this article of value and decide to order a Tesla or Tesla Solar, please consider using this* ***[ts.la/paul68544](https://ts.la/paul68544)*** *referral link when placing your order so you and I both get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging.*
***Disclosure:*** *My family owns no stock in Tesla, and I'm hoping my [writings](https://tinkertry.com/category:Tesla) will have more impact that way. Tesla doesn't advertise at TinkerTry, or anywhere else, and this is not a sponsored post. We have invested in two Tesla Model 3s, [replacing](https://tinkertry.com/why-tesla-model-3-is-replacing-my-13-year-old-honda-civic-hybrid) my 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid in December of 2018 and [replacing](https://tinkertry.com/tesla-tuesday) my wife's 2005 Honda Civic EX in December of 2019. These bold moves were our first steps in our mutual desire to help others [go green](https://www.carbonbrief.org/factcheck-how-electric-vehicles-help-to-tackle-climate-change), [avoid gasoline](https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323426.php#why-is-gasoline-bad-for-peoples-health), be [safe](https://cleantechnica.com/2018/10/08/tesla-model-3-safest-car-ever-tested-by-nhtsa-how-did-tesla-pull-it-off/), [have fun](https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/11/consumer-reports-teslas-model-3-most-satisfying-car.html), and [save money](https://cleantechnica.com/2019/09/22/honda-accord-toyota-camry-buyers-what-the-heck-are-you-doing/) in the long run. Mostly for my job, I drove my Model 3 [25,000 miles in 2018](https://tinkertry.com/one-year-and-25k-miles-of-tesla-model-3-is-going-incredibly-well), and I thoroughly enjoy sharing what I've learned with you. I hope you can tell!*
---
##See also at TinkerTry
All Tesla related **[videos](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCuu-J0IWcS4yzNJ0DQkJfJEeSzso9obg)** and articles:
- **[TinkerTry.com/Tesla](https://tinkertry.com/tesla)**
###
- **[Featured on "Home Gadget Geeks" Episode #429 "Paul Braren Podcasts from the Tesla 3 and Buys Another"](https://tinkertry.com/tesla-on-hgg429)**
Jan 12 2020
###
- **[Design and specification changes between Tesla Model 3 2018 and 2020 model years and between LR AWD and SR+ models](https://tinkertry.com/differences-between-2018-and-2020-tesla-model-3)**
Dec 24 2019
###
- **[First year and 25,000 miles of Tesla Model 3 ownership went very well, far exceeding our expectations](https://tinkertry.com/one-year-and-25k-miles-of-tesla-model-3-is-going-incredibly-well)**
Dec 23 2019
###
- **[Tesla Tuesday for my wife, getting rid of our last gas car ever, a 2005 Honda Civic](https://tinkertry.com/tesla-tuesday)**
Dec 16 2019
###
- **[Tesla's new $35K Model 3 blows Leaf (and Bolt) away in price, range, and safety, so will sub-$40K Model Y Crossover SUV](https://tinkertry.com/model-3-blows-leaf-and-bolt-away)**
Mar 03 2019
###
- **[Charging your Tesla Model 3 at home and on the road, with details to discuss with your electrician](https://tinkertry.com/tesla-model-3-known-good-charging)**
Jan 30 2019
###
- **[Best road-tested Tesla Model 3 accessories for all-weather long-distance safety and convenience](https://tinkertry.com/tesla-model-3-known-good-accessories)**
Jan 05 2019
###
- **[Experiencing the first SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch from 7 miles away, the most powerful rocket to launch since Apollo 17 in 1973!](https://tinkertry.com/experiencing-the-first-falcon-heavy-launch-from-7-miles-away)**
Feb 05 2018
###
- **[Elon Musk's Powerwall, time-shifting the energy from that handy fusion reactor in the sky](https://tinkertry.com/elon-musk-powerwall-inspires-world-change)**
May 04 2015
---
##See also
- **Tesla Motors Club [Supercharger - Fairfield](https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/posts/4428638)**
Jan 28 2020
- **[Introducing V3 Supercharging](https://www.tesla.com/blog/introducing-v3-supercharging)**
Mar 06 2019 by The Tesla Team
Four little contact patches of rubber are all that is between you and the road in your powerful Tesla. My Tesla Model 3 Long Range AWD was made in November of 2018, and it came with the OEM tires that Tesla uses for all North American Model 3s ordered with the default/standard 18" wheel size: Michelin Primacy MXM4 P235/45R18 XL 98W. See also Michelin Primacy Product Page and Tire Rack listing. I had 26,400 miles of mostly highway miles and between 4/32 and 5/32" in tread depth on mine before I proactively replaced all four of them this week. FYI, Tesla had inspected them 3 times for wear in my 13 months of ownership, and Tesla rotated them once at 12,000 miles at my home, using Mobile Service. Given my wife and I sometimes need to get to work even when it snows or rains, and given it's the middle of winter here in New England right now, it was time for a new set of tires.
If you're the TLDR sort, you can skip on down to the video where I test for curb protection and noise levels, my conclusions, and my handy shopping links.
Free Supercharging:If you find this article of value and decide to order a Tesla, please consider using thists.la/paul68544referral link when placing your order so you and I both get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging. If you order Solar, it's a $250 award after system activation.
Disclosure:My family owns no stock in Tesla, and I'm hoping my writings will have more impact that way. Tesla doesn't advertise at TinkerTry, or anywhere else, and this is not a sponsored post. We have invested in two Tesla Model 3s, replacing my 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid in December of 2018 and replacing my wife's 2005 Honda Civic EX in December of 2019. These bold moves were our first steps in our mutual desire to help others go green, avoid gasoline, be safe, have fun, and save money in the long run. Mostly for my job, I drove my Model 3 25,000 miles in 2018, and I thoroughly enjoy sharing what I've learned with you. I hope you can tell!
So a couple of weeks ago I set out to do some research. I quickly decided that I wasn't going to invest the time, money, and considerable space required to store a complete set of 4 tires mounted on rims. This was basically required back when I lived in Ithaca NY with a Honda Civic, but not so much living here in Southern New England just 30 miles from the temperature-moderating Atlantic Ocean, so we really don't drive on snow pack very often around here. Certainly not enough to justify the considerable cost of dedicated snows.
I thought about what I wanted in my next tire, and documented them in this order of priority:
a little better tread life rating than the original tires, for a more economical overall cost of ownership
better performance in snow
better performance in heavy rain
a little less noise would be a bonus, but not essential
After a pretty exhaustive search, seen in the See Also section below, it quickly became evident that getting a tire with all 4 of my preferences and noise reducing foam inside and low rolling resistance was going to be impossible. Every tire selection is a set of compromises. Gladly, one tire kept popping to the very top of various lists and ratings, the Michelin CrossClimate+, introduced in early 2017, here's the press release:
Set for a January/February 2017 launch in 15- to 18-inch tyre sizes, Michelin CrossClimate+ fitments expand on the range’s unique status as a summer tyre with winter capabilities by offering excellent traction on snow-covered roads, from the first mile to the last – with little difference in performance as the tyre tread wears down.
I believe that the popularity in the Tesla Model 3 greatly contributing to Michelin finally offering this desirable tire in the required P235/45R18 XL 98W size, load, and weight rating in mid-2019. Also interesting to note that the photo at the top of this article from Michelin's CrossClimate+ Product Page actually features a Tesla Model 3 wheel.
One notable example of the top ratings is on TireRack.com. After entering in an 2018 Tesla Model 3 18", there it was, the CrossClimate+, right on top of the list of 37 choices compatible with my ride.
I read a lot of reviews online, and when I came across this one from tyrereviews.co.uk, I made up my mind. What I found interesting was the way the CrossClimate tires supposedly would keep up good performance all the way down to minimum tread depth (1.6 mm). That should make for a compelling case in terms of cost per mile.
Nov 04 2019 by Jesper Berggreen at CleanTechnica
Rear underside view of my Tesla Model 3 right rear CrossClimate+ tire in the same P235/45R18 size as the OEM tire.
Note the author uses a slightly wide tire, to avoid curb rash, and says the noise levels are a little less than the OEM tire. When I began checking online and also contacting local shops for pricing of installation, balancing, 4 wheel alignment, and TPMS sensor reset, I ran into issues with anybody willing to use a tire other than the exact same size and same load rating (or higher). I'd also rather not have a speedometer that isn't perfectly accurate.
So after an exhaustive search of the next best choices in the list, in the end, I decided to go with the CrossClimate+, crossing my fingers that I'd be able to actually measure whether the sound level was less at 65 mph, using the same test methodology I used here. Read onward to see and hear the results!
The drop in performance can be so vast after 4mm that certain countries where "three peak mountain and snowflake" tyres are a legal requirement for winter driving, they can lose their legality after 4mm, meaning you only get to use half of your tyres tread.
Should this be the case? Michelin have been making alot of noise recently regarding the negative impact of having to scrap a tyre with half its tread life remaining, and their arguments are compelling. Not only are you costing the customer more, but you're also causing a much higher negative environmental impact by doubling natural resourse usage and doubling waste.
This comment goes for anyone in this thread. If you need to replace your first set of Michelin MXM4's, go to a Michelin approved dealer like Discount Tire or another store and they can prorate the discount on the tire warranty. My Michelin cross climate new set was $513 out the door and I got a 60% discount on replacing them at 17k miles. Those tires would have cost $1100+ without the warranty. The only major stipulation is that you need to repalce with new Michelin tires.
I saw a mention on cross climate's above, and they are better on traction and weather than the MXM4's, but they do seem to be less efficient on that front. I did a 4077 mile road trip on them over the Christmas holidays and overall had no issues, but my average was 315 wh/m for my entire trip. I did not have any issues with noise on mine. They seem about equal on that front, just some surfaces are louder than others.
At first I had an appointment and a price agreement with Pops Tires, who went ahead and ordere the tires from Michelin, only to have to call me back to let me know their Hunter wheel alignment calibration software wasn't ready. Gladly, he didn't leave me back at square one, referring me to Town Fair Tire of Rocky Hill, Connecticut, and offering to transfer the tires to them for my installation. While the price I'd be paying was very slightly higher, Town Fair Tire could get me all squared away in 2 days rather than 2 months. They have 99 locations across New England. I let Pops Tires know how much I appreciated their referral, and that I'd look them up again when the time came for my wife's Model 3 tires to be replaced.
One very nice perk quickly surfaced when talking to Town Fair Tire. They actually offered to try to get me some money back from Michelin, doing all the paperwork for me! That's right, when you stick with the same brand of tire as the original equipment tire, a big added benefit was that you might get a prorated discount on your new purchase. In their experience, customers usually get their check from Michelin in the mail within 60 to 70 days, but sometimes it can take up to 4 months. The process starts with shipping the used 4 tires back to Michelin, presumably for inspection. I'll believe the check when I see it, of course.
For me, that check is $206, which is $51.75 of credit per tire. This was made as as good-will gesture from Michelin for my situation, after Town Fair Tire called them while I was waiting for my vehicle. Your results might vary, and certainly don't assume you'll get anything back. But you can at least ask when you're shopping around.
Roadie app, directly connected over WiFi to my Roadie about 80' away through a cinder block wall.
My Roadie actually allowed me to view (almost-live) footage from 4 of my Model 3's built-in cameras while I waited in the waiting area, right over direct-connect WiFi. But I could also look up at the customer lounge's TV monitors for a live video feed from the shop area, along with another screen indicating repair status and approximately how much longer I'd be waiting. My entire visit was a little under 2 hours, as expected.
Names and status.You can sort of see the shop from from the live video feed.
My new tire pressures were set to 40 psi, despite the receipt indicating 42 psi, and despite the Tesla door sill sticker recommending 42 psi. No problem, I set my tires to 42 when I got home, double-checking my garage's compressor measurement by verifying on the Tesla's display that shows real-time TPMS data.
My right-front tire's valve stem cap was now silver.
All 4 tire's balancing weights were a rather bright silver.
When I mentioned the bright silver weights that showed up in my pictures, Town Fair Tire offered to swap out my weights for me at no charge, along with getting me my 4th black valve stem. I took them up on that offer today, and it turns out they had to remove all 4 tires to properly scrape the old ones off and put on the new black ones in the same exactly spots.
When contacting potential installers, be sure they can:
a. order 4 of this exact tire, Michelin CrossClimate+ 235/45R18 XL 98Y.
b. lift your vehicle safely, with jack pads, in exactly the right 4 spots.
c. handle warranty claim for the OEM tires, aka Original Equipment (OE) tires.
Bring a printout of pages 168 and 182 of the Model 3 Owner's Manual to hand to the installer, which show the jack lift points, and the Lug Nut Torque of 129 lb. ft. / 175 Nm. Note my receipt indicated they used 129 lb. ft.
Bring your Lifting Jack Pads to hand to the installer. Don't take their word for it, politely ask if you can see the lift and that it actually only touches the jack points.
Mention you'd like the residue from the old weights removed if possible, and that you'd prefer dark colored weights when balancing your new tires.
What a nice surprise to find that not only is the noise level not any worse, but I seem to now have a bit of curb rash protection too! I wasn't really a fan of those rim guards anyway, and one of mine started to peel off after about 10,000 miles. I only have a slight curb rash on the right front tire during an Auto-park session in Montreal, but nice to know that low speed curb bumps likely won't result in rim damage with these tires.
I've done about 40 highway miles and another 35 miles around town, and I can safely say that the sound levels don't seem to be any different. Handling is excellent, with no chirp off the line even when flooring it. When there are tiny stones sprinkled on the road, I'd say these tires pick them up and fling them into the wheel wells at very low speeds, but that's about all I noticed. The weather has been been good, so I can't yet report my gut feel on their performance in wet and snowy conditions. But considering the huge difference in ratings between these and the OEM tires, I've got little reason to worry about that.
It is worth noting that folks have notice a possible decrease in efficiency compared to the OEM tires:
So yes, I knew the rolling resistance would be higher, but it's going to be very hard to know how much higher. Will my range be less? Yes, but probably not by enough to really notice.
I can see why Tesla chose the OEM tires that they did. The foam inside to suppress noise in some circumstances sounds compelling on spec sheets, as does the low rolling resistance for their most efficient and affordable default 18" wheel choice. Here in the New England and the NYC area where winter potholes are common, I really can't see wanting 19" or 20" wheels anyway, damage from them is very expensive not to mention inconvenient. There has also been considerable discussion about the rims sticking out further than the tire rubber on the OEM tires for aerodynamics reasons, which equates to increased range. Naturally, you'd expect an OEM to put high MPGe tires to achieve the #1 spot for efficiency.
Will the CrossClimate+ tires appreciably increase my total cost of ownership? Highly unlikely, especially if I make it more like 35,000 to 50,000 miles on them. Only time will tell. I plan to update this article with wear reports over time.
Yes, even EVs (Electric Vehicles) need some routine maintenance, including tire rotation, tire and wiper replacement, and in winter climates, brake caliper cleaning and lubrication. Please always check with Tesla for the latest information. While I'm just linking to the online version of the instruction manual below, you should check the searchable instruction manual on your Tesla Model 3's screen for the latest information.
Tire Wear
Adequate tread depth is important for proper
tire performance. Tires with a tread depth less
than 4/32” (3 mm) are more likely to
hydroplane in wet conditions and should not
be used. Tires with a tread depth less than
5/32” (4 mm) do not perform well in snow and
slush and should not be used when driving in
winter conditions.
Model 3 is originally fitted with tires that have
wear indicators molded into the tread pattern.
When the tread has been worn down to 4/32”
(3 mm), the indicators start to appear at the
surface of the tread pattern, producing the
effect of a continuous band of rubber across
the width of the tire. For optimal performance
and safety, Tesla recommends replacing tires
before the wear indicators are visible.
Tire Rotation, Balance, and Wheel Alignment
Tesla recommends rotating the tires every
10,000-12,000 miles (16,000-20,000 km).
Unbalanced wheels (sometimes noticeable as
vibration through the steering wheel) affect
vehicle handling and tire life. Even with regular
use, wheels can get out of balance. Therefore,
they should be balanced as required.
If tire wear is uneven (on one side of the tire
only) or becomes abnormally excessive, check
the alignment of wheels.
Note: When replacing only two tires, always
install the new tires on the rear.
Brake Wear
Model 3 brake pads are equipped with wear
indicators. A wear indicator is a thin metal
strip attached to the brake pad that squeals as
it rubs against the rotor when the pad wears
down. This squealing sound indicates that the
brake pads have reached the end of their
service life and require replacement. To
replace the brake pads, contact Tesla Service.
Brakes must be periodically inspected visually
by removing the tire and wheel. For detailed
specifications and service limits for rotors and
brake pads, see Subsystems on page 179.
Additionally, Tesla recommends cleaning and
lubricating the brake calipers every year or
12,500 miles (20,000 km) if in an area where
roads are salted during winter months. Warning: Neglecting to replace worn
brake pads damages the braking system
and can result in a braking hazard.
Tesla Milford Connecticut service charged me $175 for this brake service.
If these CrossClimate+ tire's life exceeds 30,000, when the time comes for new tires for my wife's 2020 Tesla Model 3 Standard Range+ RWD, I'll probably go with the same exact CrossClimate+ tires as my AWD. Yes, even though she's driving the most efficient car currently sold.
When it comes time to using Town Fair Tire for my free lifetime tire rotations, I may want to look into using a different location that has a Tesla-compatible lift that I can see for myself.
If I lived in a climate like southern California where rain and snow are barely considerations, I would possibly just replace the original tires with the same exact tire, because efficiency would then be a bigger priority. But for our one car that we both use when the weather is bad, I just needed something even more likely to avoid accidents than the stock tires. The CrossClimate+ seems likely to deliver, at an out-of-pocket cost of $964.34 to our family.
The difference is slight. While lighting failed to be adequate to see my dB meter on the way to the tire replacement, you can hear a difference. At least on this surface, the CrossClimate+ tires are slightly quieter than the OEM tires. Watch the video below. Note that my wife's 2020 Model 3 SR+ has only 1,000 miles on its original tires, so I can compare, but its' not apples to apples because there have been numerous engineering changes that could affect acoustics.
You ignore the effect on range. Not all aspects of performance are aided by the wider tires, higher rolling resistance, and poorer aero. A Tesla engineer estimates a 31 mile loss with this tire package vs stock, a big deal in the EV world especially on longer road trips.
So higher propensity to pop on potholes, and considerably less range. Given I frequently do long road trips for work, with about 50 Superchargers in 2019 alone, the boost in performance 19" wheels could give me wouldn't be worth the trade-off for me.
Ensuring the reputation of these online sites is your responsibility, not mine. I haven't bought from any of them besides TireRack.com.
Michelin Product Page with FIND A DEALER button.
This CrossClimate+ tire size can be a little hard to find online, and be sure your local installer is willing to actually do the installation on a tire bought elsewhere. In my case, Town Fair Tire does not install tires bought elsewhere including online, but they claim to match prices with anyone. They actually have these exact tires in their warehouses, but they aren't listed on their website yet.
My original Michelin Primacy MXM4 P235/45R18 XL 98W tires.Here's what 4/32" tread looks like on the OEM tires after 26,400 miles.Jan 29 2020, install day at Town Fair Tire Rocky Hill, Connecticut.CrossClimate+ 235/45R18 XL 98Y tires.Waiting area, took about an hour and a half, got some work done on my laptop, on my lap.CrossClimate+ 235/45R18 XL 98Y tires, mounted. It's winter, there's mud, strange that it got past the mud flap though.Door sill sticker says 42 psi, but they're filled to 40 psi. Fixed it back home.Oops, mismatched valve stem cap. They made it right when I went back a couple of days later.Aero Wheel Covers just removed. Time to install the Tesla Model 3 Aero Wheel Cap Kit from Tesla Shop.Tesla Model 3 Aero Wheel Cap Kit from Tesla Shop. Tesla logo wheel cap installed.Tesla Model 3 Aero Wheel Cap Kit from Tesla Shop. Wheel lug caps added.Back to Town Fair Tire to swap those weights out at no charge.Silver weights were bright. They replaced them.Black weights sure look better.Curb rash seems a lot less likely, at least for gentle curb contact at low speeds.Spotted this 5" sharp metal on the road on my way home. Safely picked it up to spare somebody else considerable grief.
Free Supercharging:If you find this article of value and decide to order a Tesla, please consider using thists.la/paul68544referral link when placing your order so you and I both get 1,000 miles of free Supercharging. If you order Solar, it's a $250 award after system activation.
Disclosure:My family owns no stock in Tesla, and I'm hoping my writings will have more impact that way. Tesla doesn't advertise at TinkerTry, or anywhere else, and this is not a sponsored post. We have invested in two Tesla Model 3s, replacing my 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid in December of 2018 and replacing my wife's 2005 Honda Civic EX in December of 2019. These bold moves were our first steps in our mutual desire to help others go green, avoid gasoline, be safe, have fun, and save money in the long run. Mostly for my job, I drove my Model 3 25,000 miles in 2018, and I thoroughly enjoy sharing what I've learned with you. I hope you can tell!
I have a Model 3 LR DM with 18,500 miles and the original tires are down to 4/32.
First is the PSA: To qualify for the Michelin Treadwear warranty, you need a dealer to certify you rotated and inspected the tires at least every 6,000-8,000 miles. Make sure you get it done and keep the receipts.
The Turanza QuietTrack is an all-season touring tire designed to fit some of today’s most popular cars and sedans. Engineered to quietly impress, the QuietTrack utilizes Bridgestone’s latest technologies to dampen road noise and provide a quiet, comfortable ride. The Turanza QuietTrack helps deliver control in wet and snowy conditions and is built to provide long-lasting performance for 80,000 miles.Certain conditions and limitations apply. See a Bridgestone representative or BridgestoneTire.com for details.
