03-25-2010 / 11:02
The following log files contain information that needs to be track on a VMware vSphere ESX 4 Classic Host to be in compliance with many security standards and best practices such as CIS Benchmark, PCI-DSS, SOX section 404, HIPPA, CPNI, COSO, ISO 20001, COBIT, and so on.
You can use syslog or splunk lightweight forwarders for this purpose.
/var/log/vmkernel
/var/log/secure
/var/log/vmkwarning
/var/log/vmksummary
/var/log/vmksummary.txt
/var/log/messages
/var/log/vmware/*.log
/var/log/vmware/aam/*.log
/var/log/vmware/aam/*.err
/var/log/vmware/webAccess/*.log
/var/log/vmware/vpx/vpxa.log
/vmfs/volumes/*/*/*.log
Table with Explanation of files to log for VMware vSphere ESX Classic version 4
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Component
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Location
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Purpose
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VMkernel
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/var/log/vmkernel
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Records activities related to the virtual machines and ESX
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VMkernel warnings
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/var/log/vmkwarning
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Records activities with the virtual machines
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VMkernel summary
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/var/log/vmksummary
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Used to determine uptime and availability statistics for ESX; comma separated
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VMkernel summary human readable
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/var/log/vmksummary.txt
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Used to determine uptime and availability statistics for ESX; human‐readable summary
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ESX host agent log
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/var/log/vmware/hostd.log
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Contains information on the agent that manages and configures the ESX host and its virtual machines
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vCenter agent
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/var/log/vmware/vpx/vpxa.log
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Contains information on the agent that communicates with vCenter
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Web access
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Log all the files in the directory /var/log/vmware/webAccess/*.log
client.log, proxy.log, unitTest.log, viewhelper.log, objectMonitor.log, timer.log, updateThread.log
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Records information on Web-based access to ESX
(service vmware-webAccess start on ESX host to enable this)
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Authentication log
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/var/log/secure
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Contains records of connections that require authentication, such as VMware daemons and actions initiated by the xinetd.
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Service Console
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/var/log/messages
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Contain all general log messages used to troubleshoot virtual machines or ESX
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Virtual machines
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The same directory as the affected virtual machine’s configuration files; named vmware.log and vmware‐*.log
/vmfs/volumes/<DS>/<VM>/vmware.log
/vmfs/volumes/<DS>/<VM>/vmware-*.log
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Contain Virtual Machine Power Events, system crashes, Tools status and activity, Time Sync, Virtual Hardware changes, VMotion Migrations, Machine Clones,
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Table – List of ESX Host Files to Log
03-19-2010 / 14:30
VMware just updated their KB: Reserved or overhead ports for virtual switches (http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1008040) and we’ve run into this issue a number of times since upgrading to vSphere ESX 4. These new high memory hardware architectures allow an unprecedented number of virtual machine guests to be consolidated on a single ESX host.
By default a vswitch may not have enough ports to support the consolidation ratio your equipment can support. New ESX hosts can have 256 GB of RAM with 4 hex core processors and easily support 100 or more virtual machines. These virtual machines might have 1, 2, or more vNICs configured and each would need a port on the vswitch. One might imagine the need for 500 to 1000 ports needed per esx host. Why not just make it 2000 so we don’t have to worry about it later on?
Once you run out of vswitch ports you cannot power on any more vms on that host and even get errors about unplugged network cable. Increasing the vSwitch port allocation seems easy enough, vmotion all workload off the host, put it in maintenance mode, change the vswitch config, reboot. Some system administrators run into this issue and decide to make the number of ports allocated to the vswitch really high to prevent this from ever being an issue. This can cause problems though.
There’s a limit of how many vswitch ports in total an ESX host has to hand out to it’s various vswitches. In addition, if security is a concern, you may start running firewall virtual appliances like vShield Zones or Catbird. WAN Accerators and Performance Monitoring tools like AppSpeed also require additional vSwitches to be created. Ports used on these vSwitches all take away from the total bucket of available ports.
Once 4096 ports are allocated to existing vSwitches you will not be able to add additional hosts to a vNetwork Distributed Switch either.
We also have the following Security Recommendation:
Only allocate vswitch ports to virtual machines on demand and as needed.
This will make it difficult if not impossible to “plug” a VM into the wrong network by accident. Testing for this can be done manually through the vSphere Client. If there are no ports available on a vSwitch then this is a positive test.
1. While connected to the vCenter Server Navigate to Home – Inventory – Networking in the vSphere Client and click on the vDS in question.
2. Click on the Ports Tab
3. If all of the ports in the list have a VM associated with it in the “connected”column then this is a positive test.
Deployment scenarios where a very large number of uplinks are teamed together on a single virtual switch might significantly impact the number of ports on that virtual switch available for virtual machine use, and the overall size of the virtual switch might need to be adjusted accordingly.
The current port utilization data for virtual switches can be reviewed by using the esxcfg-vswitch –list command.
The current overhead utilization on a given virtual switch can be calculated by subtracting the Used Ports value for all PortGroups from the Used Ports value for that virtual switch.
Recommendation: Use VNDS vNetwork distributed Switches for all Virtual Machine traffic and limit the number of ports assigned to each standard vSwitch used for vmkernel and service console.
Standard vSwitch Procedure:
Note: A server reboot is required to apply the following configuration change. Migrate the virtual machines off the ESX host to prevent any downtime. On the vswitch there is an option to specify the number of ports the vswitch supports.
To view this setting:
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Click the Configuration tab of the ESX host in the Virtual Infrastructure Client (VI Client).
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Click Networking.
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Click Properties.
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Click on vSwitch.
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Click Edit.
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On the General tab select the number of ports you want and click OK.
Reboot the ESX host for changes to take effect.
Reference Links
03-18-2010 / 16:08
How to create a virtual appliance
Background:
The Open Virtualization Format (OVF) specification is a standard being developed within the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) association to promote an open, secure, portable, efficient, and extensible format for the packaging and distribution of software to be run in virtual machines.
For use within an organization, Level 1 or Level 2 compatibility may be good enough, since the OVF package is distributed within a controlled environment where specific purchasing decisions of hardware or virtualization platforms can ensure consistency of the underlying feature set for the OVF.
Level 1. Only runs on a particular virtualization product and/or CPU architecture and/or virtual hardware selection. This would typically be due to the OVF containing suspended virtual machines or snapshots of powered on virtual machines, including the current run-time state of the CPU and real or emulated devices. Such state ties the OVF to a very specific virtualization and hardware platform.
Notes:
Virtual machines created from OVF sources with SCSI LSI Logic disk controller might not start up after conversion to an ESX destination
OVF sources with LSI Logic disk controllers might fail to boot when imported to an ESX destination. This is because Converter Standalone might change the controller type to Bus Logic instead of preserving the source controller type.
Workaround: Using VI client, edit the settings of the imported virtual machine to change the controller type from Bus Logic back to LSI Logic. This will enable the virtual machine to boot.
While exporting a virtual machine from an ESX 3.5 host to OVF “folder of files” format by using Converter Standalone, the vNICs are forcibly changed from their native type
While exporting a virtual machine source from an ESX 3.5 host to the OVF “folder of files” format, Converter Standalone changes the source vNICs from their native type (vmxnet, vlance, or e1000) to either PCNet32 (vlance) or E1000 (e1000). This might result in an unexpected lack of network connectivity when the OVF is imported.
Workaround: Edit the .vmx file to manually modify the vNIC type after importing the virtual appliance.
NOTE: VMXNET3 is recommended for all vSphere Virtual Machine Guests.
How to Make a Portable Virtual Appliance
You can export a virtual machine to a virtual appliance, making it available to other users to import into their inventories. The resulting virtual appliance is an OVF 1.0 appliance and contains one virtual machine. OVF Virtual Appliances contain many files that are typically compressed into an archive that can be put on removable media or downloaded from a server. This file much be decompressed prior to being imported and is more cumbersome to use. Consider using OVA for internal enterprise use.
OVA is also available – this format is a single file that is easier to distribute within an organization. The OVA format is not simply a tar. It places certain restrictions on the ordering and naming of files. These rules ensure that OVA archives are easy to stream – a tool or hypervisor does not need to download an entire OVA first and then unpack it.
You cannot select a virtual appliance destination for physical machine sources or virtual appliance sources.
The OVF created as a result of this conversion is not compatible with Workstation 6.5.x, nor with Converter 3.0.3.
Install Converter Standalone in Windows
You can install Converter Standalone onto a physical or a virtual machine. The Local setup installs the Converter Standalone server, Converter Standalone agent, and Converter Standalone client for local use. For remote access, you can create a Client-server installation. With remote access you can create and manage conversion tasks remotely.
When you install the Converter Standalone agent and the Converter Standalone server, the local machine becomes a server for conversions, which you can manage remotely. When you use the local machine with the Converter Standalone client, you can convert the full range of machine types.
Start the Wizard for a Conversion
The Conversion wizard helps you specify your source machine, the destination for the machine, and to select the machine’s settings.
- Start the VMware vCenter Converter Standalone application.
- Click Convert Machine in the application menu.
The Specify Source page introduces the conversion process: Specify Source, Specify Destination, View/Edit Options, and Ready to Complete.
What to do next
You can now select the source machine type to convert.
Select a Source to Convert
You can select from several source options for the type of machine to convert. If you are converting a virtual machine that runs on a VMware DRS cluster that vCenter Server manages, set VMware DRS Power Management (DPM) to manual to avoid DPM powering off the ESX hosts used by Converter Standalone. When the conversion process completes, restore DPM to its original settings. For information about how to change DPM settings, see the Resource Management Guide.
- Select a VMware Infrastructure Virtual Machine Source
You can convert a virtual machine that resides on an ESX host or ESX host that vCenter Server manages.
What to do next
You can now select the destination for your new virtual machine.
Select a Destination for the New Virtual Machine
Prerequisites
The source virtual machine must be powered off.
Procedure
- On the Destination page, select Virtual Appliance from the drop-down menu.
- In the Virtual appliance details pane, type the virtual appliance name in the Name text box.
- Click Browse to select a destination location.
The destination folder can be local or a remote machine shared over the network.
- (Optional) If you are connected to a remote Converter Standalone server, click Connect as and provide the user credentials to be used when connecting to the destination machine.
You must manually type the path to the destination.
- Select the Distribution format from the drop-down menu.
You can create virtual appliance packages that contain monolithic compressed .vmdk files only. You can store the resulting files in an .ovf folder or place them in a single .ova tarred file.
- Click Next to customize the virtual appliance.
You selected to export a virtual machine to a virtual appliance.
What to do next
On the View/Edit Options page, you can make more precise settings to the conversion task.
Then begin the conversion. Once conversion is complete you can move the OVA file to a location where it can be accessed by an administrator with privileges to create virtual machines on the VMware vCenter Server.
Use vCenter to import a virtual machine from OVF/OVA
Start the Deploy OVF Template Wizard
You deploy an OVF template with the Deploy OVF Template wizard.
Procedure
Select File > Deploy OVF Template
On the Source page, you can specify to deploy an OVF template from a file or from a URL.
- Deploy from a File
You can deploy from a file that is either a OVF (.ovf file) or a OVA (.ova file) format. The OVF format is optimal for a web server or image library and deploys from a set of files. The OVA format is optimal for deploying from physical media and is packaged in a single file.
- Deploy from a URL
You may deploy the OVF template from a URL.
03-17-2010 / 12:42
SUMMARY: For best performance be sure to upgrade your VMFS Block Storage when you upgrade your ESX hosts to vSphere.
VMFS 3 versions and upgrade paths
Purpose
It is not possible to upgrade an existing VMFS to a later version. However, all VMFS versions work with any version of ESX 3.0.0 and later. That is, ESX 3.0.0 can run a virtual machine from VMFS 3.33 and ESX 4 can run virtual machines from VMFS 3.21 volumes.
Resolution
VMFS3 which was released initially with ESX 3.0.0 as version 3.21 has since evolved with new minor versions:
- ESX 3.0.0 is provided with 3.21 (initial release)
- ESX 3.5.0 is provided with 3.31
- vSphere (ESX 4.0) is provided with 3.33
If for some reason you must upgrade your VMFS minor version:
Warning: This removes the formatting of the LUN and all the data on the datastore. Relocate your virtual machines and files prior to removing the datastore.
- Migrate all the data off the VMFS datastore that you are upgrading.
- Delete the datastore from VI Client.
- On the VI Client connected to VirtualCenter, choose your ESX 3.5 or 4.0 host. Alternatively connect directly to the ESX host with the VI Client.
- Recreate the datastore from that ESX 3.5 or 4.0 host. Click Storage > Add Datastore.
- Migrate the data from step 1 to the newly formated datastore.
Additional Information
Features like VMFS grow in ESX 4 work regardless of the minor version.
Reference:
http://www.vfrank.org/2010/01/31/vmfs-3-versions-maybe-you-should-upgrade-your-vmfs/
http://virtualizationreview.com/blogs/everyday-virtualization/2009/06/vstorage-vmfs-version-notes.aspx
http://communities.vmware.com/message/1071323
http://www.onlinetechblog.com/blog/index.php/2009/11/vsphere-4-0-places-service-console-in-local-vmfs-volume/
03-11-2010 / 11:57
esx network ports
The amazing Dudley Smith, from VMware’s Technical Account Manager team has release a larger version of his vSphere Network Connections and Ports for ESX diagram and an accompanying excel spreadsheet listing all the TCP/IP ports for various communication purposes.
Get them directly from the VMware blog site here:
http://communities.vmware.com/blogs/dudleysmith
03-10-2010 / 09:32
HyTrust Appliance 2.0 is available. Building on the successes of 2009, which included our initial product launch and numerous awards, we’re happy to see the streak continue into 2010 by delivering a major new release that will empower enterprises to capitalize on the wave of datacenter virtualization and accelerate efforts to virtualize tier-one applications. The features available in HyTrust Appliance 2.0 deliver true enterprise-class policy management and access control capabilities to virtual infrastructure. New features include the following:
* Root Password Vault: Locks down privileged host accounts and provides passwords for temporary use to enable time-limited privileged account access. Root accounts on hypervisors are extremely powerful and, as a consequence, can create a significant liability if not kept out of the wrong hands. With the aid of Root Password Vault, all root account access is attributable to an individual and every action is logged, providing far greater visibility and accountability.
* Federated Deployment: Secure distributed system architecture allows for automated replication of policies and templates across multiple HyTrust Appliances as well as geographic boundaries. For larger enterprises with multiple datacenters and collocation facilities, Federated Deployment of HyTrust Appliances ensures consistency of controls across the entire infrastructure.
* Virtual Infrastructure Search: Enables quick and easy accessibility to all virtual infrastructure objects, policies, and logs within HyTrust Appliance.
* Remote API: Interface to remotely access and automate the administration of the HyTrust Appliance. Provides the greater scalability demanded by large, enterprise-wide deployments of virtualization.
* Object Policy Labels: Creates a policy categorization structure, similar to “Web 2.0 tagging” for virtual infrastructure objects, which enables better organization and tighter, more consistent controls. Object Policy Labels enable access, network segment, and zoning policies, which allows administrators to dictate which virtual machines are allowed to connect to which network segments or hosts via RuleSets and Constraints.
* Router-Mode: a deployment option where all VMware management traffic is forced to flow through the HyTrust Appliance. HyTrust Appliance acts as a router for the “protected” management subnet and ESX/ESXi hosts and vCenter Server use HyTrust Appliance as their default gateway. This adds yet another flexible deployment option to the other existing options, ensuring the HyTrust Appliance will easily adapt to any enterprise architecture.
Along with the new capabilities delivered in 2.0, we’d like to introduce you to the new editions of HyTrust Appliance:
* Community Edition is a free version of the product that supports up to three hosts.
* Standard Edition supports an unlimited number of hosts and offers more flexible deployment options.
* Enterprise Edition supports an unlimited number of hosts, offers more flexible deployment options, supports federation of multiple HyTrust Appliances, enables privileged account management via Root Password Vault, allows two-factor authentication, and offers a remote API for additional management flexibility.
You can download the Community Edition of HyTrust Appliance at http://www.hytrust.com/community.
01-08-2010 / 15:45
VMware Hardware MMU Info
Interesting paper on the nehalem MMU stuff:
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/Perf_ESX_Intel-EPT-eval.pdf
By comparison here’s the tests on AMD hardware:
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/RVI_performance.pdf
Summary, some things AMD is a little faster on; Intel is consistently a little faster on a few more tasks though.
All in all though the difference appears minimal.
10-22-2009 / 12:06
From http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_esx_server_config.pdf <— look on page 98 or the VMware ESXi Configuration Guide
Network Attached Storage
ESX supports using NAS through the NFS protocol. The NFS protocol enables communication between an NFS client and an NFS server.
The NFS client built into ESX lets you access the NFS server and use NFS volumes for storage. ESX supports only NFS Version 3 over TCP.
You use the vSphere Client to configure NFS volumes as datastores. Configured NFS datastores appear in the vSphere Client, and you can use them to store virtual disk files in the same way that you use VMFS-based datastores.
*** NOTE: ESXi does not support the delegate user functionality that enables access to NFS volumes using non- root credentials.
Also see these links for more info on read only capabilities for different licenses.
http://partnerweb.vmware.com/comp_guide/docs/vSphere_Comp_Matrix.pdf
On the ViOPs site there is a comparison matrix of ESXi/ESX in case we’re asked ‘which one should I use?’.
VMware ESX and ESXi 4.0 Comparison – http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1015000
VMware ESX and ESXi 3.5 Comparison - http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1006543
RCLI is limited to read-only access for the free version of VMware ESXi. To enable full functionality of RCLI on a VMware ESXi host, the host must be licensed with VI Foundation, VI Standard, or VI Enterprise.
http://www.vmware.com/products/vsphere/buy/editions_comparison.html
Comparison of product offerings for vSphere 4.0 and VMware Infrastructure 3.X – http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1010579
08-01-2009 / 11:11
VMware makes periodic updates to the ESXi Installable version you can download. This page was created to help track and locate those.
- VMware Infrastructure Client
Use these numbers to determine when a system was patched last and to make sure the VMware Infrastructure Client is the right one.
Best Practice:
ESXi: Run the VMware Infrastructure Update tool from a windows management station with the VMware Infrastructure Client every month.
ESX: Use vCenter Update Manager to scan and remediate ESX hosts when new security patches are available.
How to Check the Version Numbers:
- Download the VMware Infrastructure Client from the Web User Interface.
For example: https://ESX-HOST-IP-ADDRESS/client/VMware-viclient.exe
- Start the VMware Infrastructure Client
- Click the Help Menu
- Select “About”
- Note the Version and Build for both the Client and Server.
- Compare to list below to ensure they are at same release.
- If you update the Server you should connect to the Web User Interface and download the latest VMware Infrastructure Client.
Latest Install ISO is VMware ESXi 3.5 Installable Update 4 Build Number: 153875
Released: (2009.03.20)
ESXe350-200907401-O-SG – PATCH Build 176894 (2009.05.28) – VIC 147633 – Tools 176894 <– Latest Patch
ESXe350-200906401-O-BG – PATCH Build 169697 (2009.05.28) – VIC 147633 – Tools 169697
ESXe350-200905401-O-BG – PATCH Build 163429 (2009.05.28) – VIC 147633 – Tools 158874
ESXe350-200904401-O-SG – PATCH Build 158874 (2009.04.29) – VIC 147633 – Tools 158874
ESXe350-200904201-O-SG – PATCH Build 158869 (2009.04.10) – VIC 147633 -
ESXe350-200903201-O-UG – UPDATE Build 153875 (2009.03.30) – VIC 147633 <– Update 4
ESXe350-200903411-O-BG – PATCH Build 153840 (2009.03.20) – VIC 119801
ESXe350-200901401-O-SG – PATCH Build 143129 (2009.01.30) – VIC 143129
ESXe350-200811401-O-SG – PATCH Build 130755 (2009.12.02) – VIC 119801
ESXe350-200810401-O-UG – UPDATE Build 123629 (2008.11.17) – VIC 119801 Update 3
The typical way to apply patches to ESXi hosts is through the VMware Update Manager. For details, see the VMware Update Manager Administration Guide.
ESXi hosts can also be updated by downloading the most recent “O” (offline) patch bundle from http://support.vmware.com/selfsupport/download/ and installing the bundle using VMware Infrastructure Update or by using the vihostupdate command through the Remote Command Line Interface (RCLI). For details, see the ESX Server 3i Configuration Guide and the ESX Server 3i Embedded Setup Guide (Chapter 10, Maintaining ESX Server 3i and the VI Client) or the ESX Server 3i Installable Setup Guide (Chapter 11, Maintaining ESX Server 3i and the VI Client).
Note: ESXi hosts do not reboot automatically when you patch with the offline bundle.
Reference:
http://support.vmware.com/selfsupport/s3portal.portal?_nfpb=true&_windowLabel=SearchPatch&SearchPatch_actionOverride=%2Fportlets%2Fpatchupdate%2FfindPatchByProductVersion&_pageLabel=s3portal_pages_downloadPatch_page&version=3.5&product=ESXi%20(Embedded%20and%20Installable)
06-29-2009 / 18:29
How we watch movies on our iMac
Overview
Operations
Parts List
Parts Description
Apple iMac 24″ Intel Core 2 Duo
- 24-inch widescreen display
- 1GB memory
- 250GB hard drive
- 8x SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
- NVIDIA GeForce 7300GT with 128MB GDDR3 memory
- Built-in iSight camera
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Logitech Harmony 1000 Remote Control
 The
Logitech Harmony 1000 features a brilliant 3.5” color touch screen that allows for one-touch
activity-based control of even the most sophisticated A/V components.
Navigation controls located on the right side of the panel make it easy
for you to scroll through several options. Say goodbye to the wasted
time and unnecessary complexity of multiple remotes controlling
multiple devices; Logitech’s patented Smart State Technology makes it
easy! Control your HDTV, adjust aspect ratios, or change sound
modes—there are no complicated macros to program. Just press an
on-screen activity icon and Harmony does the rest.
The Harmony 1000′s sleek shape and brushed aluminum surfaces
will look right at home as the centerpiece of your digital living room.
The remote is all you’ll need to control even the most complex home
entertainment systems. And when used together with a Harmony® RF
Wireless Extender (sold separately), you can further reduce clutter by
placing your components out of sight. Since the remote can transmit
both infrared and radio frequency commands, you can control equipment
inside a cabinet or even in the next room. Control your electronic
devices in an organized fashion. With the Logitech Harmony 1000, it’s
all within your fingertips. |
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Optical Digital Audio Cable: Mitsubishi Eska POF
When we have a choice, we prefer to run
digital audio in coax; it’s more robust over distance, and the cable is
interchangeable with cable used for certain other applications (e.g.,
composite video). However, an increasing number of devices are coming
onto the market with digital audio available only in optical form,
following the TOSlink standard. For these applications, we build our
optical cables using the finest high-performance Plastic Optical Fiber
(POF), Mitsubishi’s ESKA Fiber. While POF is in general rather lossy
stuff compared to glass optical fiber, we prefer it for optical digital
audio use because it’s much more physically durable and because its
aperture matches the spec for optical digital audio use, unlike glass
fiber which is too small and must be used in bundles. Our fiber is
encased first in a tough cladding layer and then, for added durability,
a flexible outer PVC jacket similar in texture to the PVC on some of
our high-flex Belden cables (e.g. Belden 1505F). In our own usage,
we’ve tested these cables at lengths up to 50 feet and found them to
perform perfectly even at those extended distances. |
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Female HDMI/Male DVI Adapter
For plugging an HDMI cable into a DVI jack.
Female TOSlink/Male 1/8″ Plug Adapter
For plugging a TOSlink cable into an optical-compatible 1/8″ jack.
Subwoofer Cables
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In
some ways, the subwoofer cable interconnect is the least demanding
application in home theater. While HD video demands cables able to
carry high-bandwidth signals, at tight impedance tolerances, the
subwoofer cable has the relatively easy job of carrying a very
low-frequency, very low-bandwidth signal. But a subwoofer cable has a
critical job to do, and needs to do it well: keep out hum. Hum can come
from ground loops (cable won’t help you if that’s the case, but see our
isolation transformer
below) or, often, from EMI (electro-magnetic interference).
High-energy, low-frequency noise, like the 60-cycle hum from nearby
power cords, fluorescent lights, and other miscellaneous sources, is
the hardest type of interference to shield against, and the best
defense here is a dense and highly-conductive braid shield. Our
recommended subwoofer interconnect cables have not one, but two, dense
braid shields, and in our testing we’ve found this to be the best
shield configuration, outperforming conventional single-braid,
braid-and-foil, and unbalanced twisted-pair cables when it comes to hum
rejection. |
The Cable: Blue Jeans Cable LC-1 Analog Audio Cable
Our
recommended subwoofer cable is our own proprietary design, the LC-1
low-capacitance audio cable. It has an extremely heavy double-braid
shield layer for the best possible rejection of induced low-frequency
hum, and extremely low capacitance for the flattest possible frequency
response. It is thick — about .305 inch in diameter — but is more
flexible than comparably-sized cables, and is therefore easy to route
around corners and obstacles. Unlike most analog audio cables on the
market, too, LC-1 is UL-listed and bears a CM rating under the National
Electrical Code, so is suitable for in-wall installation in both
residential and commercial environments. (CM is a superior rating to
the more often-seen CL-2 and CL-3 ratings). For more information and
specs on this cable, see our “Design Notes” article about LC-1.
The Connectors: Taversoe Crimp RCA Plugs
Connectors
are a critical part of any audio cable, because if the cable isn’t
well-joined to the connectors, or if the connectors don’t make firm
electrical contact with the jacks, it doesn’t much matter how good the
cable is. Our LC-1 cables are terminated with the Taversoe RCA plug, a
high-quality RCA plug with an all-metal body and shell specifically
designed for the perfect dimensions for use with LC-1. Its all-metal
body, crimped tightly to the shield braid, completes the shielding
assembly from cable end to cable end, to ensure that the cables do not
become an entry point for noise. These plugs are gold-plated on all
jack-contact surfaces, and employ a set of leaf-spring style grippers
on the outer RCA ring which apply just the right amount of force to the
jack to grip it firmly without overtightening. |
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HDMI Cables
HDMI is a digital signal format, developed
primarily as a platform for the implementation of HDCP (High Definition
Content Protection) to prevent consumers from having complete access to
the contents of high-definition digital recordings. As one might expect
from a standard that was developed to serve the content provider
industries, rather than the best interests of the consumer, HDMI is
something of a mess. The signal is not robust over distance because it
was designed to run balanced when it should have been run unbalanced
(SDI, the commercial digital video standard, can be run hundreds of
feet over a single coax without any performance issues); the HDMI cable
is an unnecessarily-complicated rat’s-nest arrangement involving
nineteen conductors; switches, repeaters and distribution amplifiers,
by virtue of this complicated scheme, are made unnecessarily expensive;
and the HDMI plug is prone to falling out of the jack with little more
than a light tug. As more and more manufacturers move to implement HDMI
on more home theater devices, however, it falls to the consumer to try
to make the best of this dubious and poorly-thought-out standard.
BJC Series-2 HDMI Cables:
In addition
to our new Belden-built cables, we continue to offer our more
economical, Chinese-sourced Series-2 HDMI cables. These cables are of
excellent quality and we have found them dependable up to lengths of 50
feet at all resolutions up to 1080p/60. They are rated CL2 for in-wall
installation, and use 24 AWG silver-plated copper signal conductors.View the drawing and spec sheet on our Series-2 HDMI and HDMI/DVI Cables, in .pdf format. |
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Sony STR-DE995B Receiver
• Stereo Power Rating: 100 Watts Per Channel x 2 (8 ohms 20 Hz-20 kHz, THD .09%)
• Dolby® Digital EX, dts®, 96k/24 bit dts ES®, dts:Neo6®, Dolby® Pro Logic® II Decoding
• A & B/A or B Speaker Switch
• 32-bit Dolby® Digital, Dolby® Pro Logic® and dts® Decoder
• 32-bit DSP with 13 acoustic environments
• Digital Cinema Sound™ system with Cinema Studio EX modes |
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Philips USA 42PFL7422D 42″ Widescreen 1080p HDTV LCD
- 1920 x 1080p pixel resolution
- 8000:1 dynamic contrast ratio
- 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio
- 500 cd/m² brightness
- 176°H/176°V viewing angle
- Perfect Pixel HD Engine offers the unique combination of ultimate sharpness, natural detail, vivid colors and smooth natural motion on all qualities of HDTV
- Built-in analog/digital tuner (NTSC/ATSC) USB connector for easy, instant multimedia playing
- Three HDMI inputs for easy full HD connectivity
- 42PFL7422
- D: 41 3/16″ W x 27″ H x 4 5/8″ D
- weight: 73.6 lbs.
- 47PFL7422
- D: 45 5/8″ W x 29 5/8″ H x 4 5/8″ D
- weight: 52.8 lbs.
- VESA 600mm x 400mm compliant
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HDMI™ 3-to-1 Video Switch
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The Belkin PureAV HDMI 3-to-1 Video Switch allows
you to connect to and switch among three high-definition,
digital-video source devices through only one High-Definition
Multimedia Interface (HDMI) or Digital Visual Interface (DVI)*
connection on your high-definition television (HDTV).
Its quick
adoption has made HDMI one of the most common audio video connections
available. It is used on high-definition components, such as HDTVs,
up-converting DVD players, HD cable/satellite boxes, entertainment
computers, and the newly released Blu-ray® and HD-DVD players. This has
created a bottleneck at the HDTV connection—with a common scenario
featuring three HDMI/DVI sources to only one HDMI/DVI input. The Belkin
PureAV HDMI 3-to-1 Video Switch lets you connect three sources into one
HDMI input on your HDTV. Then, simply select from among the source
devices either by pressing the input-selector button on the Switch
itself, or by using the included remote control to scroll to or
directly select a source. |
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Bose Acoustimass-5 Speakers
Two Direct/Reflecting® cube speaker arrays
deliver the warmth and emotion of string and wind instruments. Those
sounds are lifelike and spacious thanks to .
With a blend of reflected and direct sound, this innovative Bose
technology approximates the way sound reaches your ears during a live
performance. You experience the richness of your favorite music from
almost anywhere in the room.
The
produces dramatic low tones without audible distortion and can be
hidden behind furniture. Music and movie effects all seem to come from
the small cube speakers, rather than the hideaway module.
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JBL Center Speaker
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Black JBL Center Speaker circa 1990
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