Title Page Copyright and Credits The Complete VMware vSphere Guide About Packt Why subscribe? Packt.com Contributors About the authors Packt is searching for authors like you Preface Who this book is for What this book covers To get the most out of this book Download the example code files Conventions used Get in touch Reviews The Virtual Data Center Benefits and technologies of virtualization The hypervisor Virtual machines Virtual infrastructure management Understanding the benefits of virtualization Identifying when not to virtualize Becoming a virtual data center architect How it works… There's more… Using a holistic approach to data center design How to do it… How it works… Passing the VMware VCAP6-DCV Design exam Getting ready How to do it… There's more… Becoming a VMware Certified Design Expert How to do it… There's more… Identifying what's new in vSphere 6.7 How to do it… How it works… There's more… Planning a vSphere 6.7 upgrade How to do it… How it works… The Discovery Process Identifying the design factors How to do it… How it works… Identifying stakeholders How to do it… How it works… There's more… Conducting stakeholder interviews How to do it… How it works… Using VMware Capacity Planner How to do it… How it works… There's more… Using Windows Performance Monitor How to do it… How it works… There's more… Conducting a VMware optimization assessment How to do it… How it works… Identifying dependencies How to do it… How it works… The Design Factors Identifying design requirements How to do it… How it works… There's more… Identifying design constraints How to do it… How it works… There's more… Making design assumptions How to do it… How it works… There's more… Identifying design risks How to do it… How it works… Considering infrastructure design qualities How to do it… How it works… There's more… Creating the conceptual design How to do it… How it works… Design requirements Design constraints Assumptions There's more… vSphere Management Design Identifying vCenter components and dependencies How to do it… How it works… Selecting a vCenter deployment option How to do it… How it works… Determining vCenter resource requirements How to do it… How it works… There's more… Selecting a database for the vCenter deployment How to do it… How it works… Determining database interoperability How to do it… How it works… There's more… Choosing a vCenter deployment topology How to do it… How it works… Designing for management availability How to do it… How it works… Designing a separate management cluster How to do it… How it works… There's more… Configuring vCenter mail, SNMP, and alarms How to do it… How it works… Using Enhanced Linked Mode How to do it… How it works… Using the VMware Product Interoperability Matrix How to do it… How it works… There's more… Backing up the vCenter Server components How to do it… How it works… Planning vCenter HA to increase vCenter availability How to do it… How it works… Upgrading vCenter Server How to do it… How it works… Designing a vSphere Update Manager Deployment How to do it… How it works… There's more… vSphere Storage Design Identifying RAID levels How to do it… How it works… There's more… Calculating storage capacity requirements How to do it… How it works… There's more… Determining storage performance requirements How to do it… How it works… There's more… Calculating storage throughput How to do it… How it works… Storage connectivity options How to do it… How it works… Storage path selection plugins How to do it… How it works… Sizing datastores How to do it… How it works… There's more… Designing VSAN for virtual machine storage How to do it… How it works… There's more… Using VMware Virtual Volumes How to do it… How it works… Incorporating storage policies into a design How to do it… How it works… NFS version 4.1 capabilities and limits How to do it… How it works… Using persistent memory to maximize VM performance How to do it… How it works… vSphere Network Design Determining network bandwidth requirements How to do it… How it works… There's more… Standard or distributed virtual switches How to do it… How it works… There's more… Providing network availability How to do it… How it works… Network resource management How to do it… How it works… Using private VLANs How to do it… How it works… There's more… IP storage network design considerations How to do it… How it works… Using jumbo frames How to do it… How it works… Creating custom TCP/IP stacks How to do it… How it works… Designing for VMkernel services How to do it… How it works… vMotion network design considerations How to do it… How it works… There's more… Using 10 GbE converged network adapters How to do it… How it works… IPv6 in a vSphere design How to do it… How it works… Remote direct memory access options How to do it… How it works… vSphere Compute Design Calculating CPU resource requirements How to do it… How it works… Calculating memory resource requirements How to do it… How it works… Transparent page sharing How to do it… How it works… There's more… Scaling up or scaling out How to do it… How it works… There's more… Determining the vCPU-to-core ratio How to do it… How it works… Clustering compute resources How to do it… How it works… Reserving HA resources to support failover How to do it… How it works… Using distributed resource scheduling to balance cluster resources How to do it… How it works… Ensuring cluster vMotion compatibility How to do it… How it works… Using resource pools How to do it… How it works… Providing Fault Tolerance protection How to do it… How it works… Leveraging host flash How to do it… How it works… vSphere Physical Design Using the VMware Hardware Compatibility List How to do it… How it works… There's more… Understanding the physical storage design How to do it… How it works… Understanding the physical network design How to do it… How it works… Creating the physical compute design How to do it… How it works… Creating a custom ESXi image How to do it… How it works… There's more… The best practices for ESXi host BIOS settings How to do it… How it works… There's more… Upgrading an ESXi host How to do it… How it works… Virtual Machine Design Right-sizing virtual machines How to do it… How it works… Enabling CPU hot add and memory hot plug How to do it… How it works… Using paravirtualized VM hardware How to do it… How it works… Creating virtual machine templates How to do it… How it works… There's more… Upgrading and installing VMware Tools How to do it… How it works… There's more… Upgrading VM virtual hardware How to do it… How it works… There's more… Using vApps to organize virtualized applications How to do it… How it works… Using VM affinity and anti-affinity rules How to do it… How it works… Using VM to Host affinity and anti-affinity rules How to do it… How it works… Converting physical servers with vCenter Converter Standalone How to do it… How it works… Migrating servers into vSphere How to do it… How it works… Deployment Workflow and Component Installation vSphere components and workflow ESXi deployment plan Choosing the hardware platform Identification of the storage architecture Defining the network configuration ESXi installation Where should I install ESXi? Preparing for deployment Interactive installation Unattended installation Auto Deploy installation How Auto Deploy works Configuring DHCP Configuring TFTP Creating an image profile Creating deployment rules Auto Deploy modes Stateless installation Stateless caching installation Stateful installation vCenter Server components PSC Linked Mode vCenter Server Migration from vCenter for Windows to vCSA Where to install – physical or virtual? vCenter Server Appliance deployment Why deploy vCSA instead of the Windows version? Installing the vCSA PSC Installing the vCSA vCenter Installing the vCSA with Embedded Platform Service Controller vCSA HA vCenter HA configuration Configuring and Managing vSphere 6.7 Using the VMware vSphere HTML5 client Configuring ESXi Management network configuration Enabling Secure Shell (SSH) access ESXi firewall Configuring the Network Time Protocol (NTP) ESXi 6.7 partition layout Boot banks Scratch partition Centralized log management vRealize Log Insight Free syslog servers Syslog configuration Backing up and restoring ESXi Backing up and restoring ESXi using CLI Backing up and restoring ESXi using PowerCLI Backing up using PowerCLI Restoring using PowerCLI Backing up all ESXi servers within a single vCenter server Configuring vCSA Basic setup using the vCenter Server Appliance Management Interface (VAMI) Modifying the IP address and DNS Exporting a support bundle Configuring time synchronization Changing the vCSA password Licensing Roles and permissions AD integration Configuring ESXi with AD authentication Installing the VMware Enhanced Authentication plugin vCSA and PSC Repointing the vCSA to another external PSC Pointing the vCSA with an embedded PSC to an external PSC Resetting the SSO password Exporting and importing the vCSA configuration The vCSA backup procedure vCSA restoration procedure Managing data centers, clusters, and hosts Creating a data center Adding a host to the vCenter Server Disconnecting a host from vCenter Server Removing a host from vCenter Server Creating a cluster Removing a host from a cluster Managing hosts Using tags Tasks Scheduling tasks Managing host profiles Automating tasks with scripts Automating with PowerCLI PowerCLI script examples vCenter REST API Life Cycle Management, Patching, and Upgrading Patching a vSphere 6.7 environment Upgrade flow to vSphere 6.7 Upgrading the workflow and procedure Step 1 – pre-migration Step 2 – migration Step 3 – validation Upgrading vCSA 6.5 to vCSA 6.7 Upgrading vCenter 6.5 for Windows to vCenter  6.7 for Windows PSC upgrade Upgrading vCenter Server Migrating vCenter 6.5 for Windows to vCSA 6.7 Migration procedure Upgrading standalone ESXi servers ESXi compatibility checker Updating or patching ESXi hosts through the installation ISO Updating or patching ESXi hosts through the command line Rolling back to the previous version VUM Configuring VUM Working with baselines Baseline groups Attaching or detaching baselines Scanning VMs and hosts Staging and remediating patches Upgrading hosts with VUM Upgrading VM hardware Upgrading VM Tools Updating the vCSA Updating the vCSA through the command line Staging and remediating patches Updating the vCSA with VAMI VM Deployment and Management The components of a virtual machine Virtual hardware vCPUs Memory Network adapter Virtual disks Storage controller File structure Changing the default file position Virtual machine tools OVT Deploying VMs Creating a new VM Hardware version Setting the default hardware version Installing the OS Installing Virtual Machine Tools Cloning a VM Deploying a VM from a template VM customization Specifications Content library Creating a content library Local content library Subscribed content library Working with the content library Uploading ISO images Uploading templates and OVF files Deploying VMs from the content library ISO files from the content library Managing VMs Adding or registering an existing VM Removing or deleting a VM Managing the power state of a VM Managing VM snapshots Creating a snapshot Reverting to a snapshot Committing changes Snapshot consolidation Importing and exporting VMs Deploying Open Virtual Format (OVF) and Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) templates Exporting a virtual machine and an Open Virtual Format (OVF) Converting VMs P2V conversion V2V conversion VM Resource Management Virtual machine resource management Reservations, limits, and shares Shares Reservations Limits CPU resources Memory resources VM swapping ESXi host memory states TPS Ballooning Compression Host swapping Virtual machine migration Compute vMotion Storage vMotion vMotion without shared storage DRS Virtual network-aware DRS Managing DRS rules VM-VM affinity rule VM-Host affinity rule DRS recommendations DRS utilization Managing power resources Resource pools and vApps Resource pool configuration  Expandable resource pool Resource allocation monitoring and calculations Managing resource pools vApps Network and storage resources Availability and Disaster Recovery VMware vSphere HA vSphere HA configuration vSphere HA heartbeats vSphere HA network heartbeats  vSphere HA storage heartbeats vSphere HA protection mechanism Virtual Machine Component Protection (VMCP) Proactive HA Admission control VM restart and monitoring VMware vSphere FT FT configuration Working with FT-enabled VM FT performance implications Virtual machine clustering Clustering features available in VMware vSphere RDM device and multi-writer flag Virtual machine backup Transport modes Backup solutions for VMware vSphere Veeam Backup and Replication NAKIVO Backup and Replication Altaro VM Backup Vembu VMBackup Deduplication appliances Hyper-scale solutions Cohesity Rubrik VMware vSphere Replication vSphere Replication installation Working with vSphere Replication Configuring vSphere Replication  Disaster recovery and disaster avoidance DR of a virtual data center DR versus disaster avoidance DR versus stretched clusters VMware solutions VM Replication Stretched cluster SRM Securing and Protecting Your Environment Security and hardening concepts in vSphere Hardening vSphere Authentication and identity SSO configuration Password management Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) Active directory integration MFA Smart cards RSA SecurID vCenter Server, ESXi, and VM hardening ESXi hardening Lockdown mode Networking Transparent Page Sharing (TPS) VIB acceptance level Host encryption mode ESXi Secure Boot vCenter hardening VM hardening VM Secure Boot Other security aspects Log management Monitoring protocols Certification management Encryption options of the vSphere Protecting the data at rest VM encryption Protecting data in motion Encrypted vMotion Analyzing and Optimizing Your Environment Monitoring a virtual environment vSphere monitoring vCenter Server statistics levels Performance monitoring with vCenter Server ESXi health Working with alarms CLI monitoring ESXTOP PowerCLI VM optimization Using the default VM templates Using only the necessary virtual hardware Choosing the correct virtual network adapter VMware tools Paravirtual SCSI (PVSCSI) storage controller Don't use snapshots in production Don't oversize your VMs VMware OS Optimization Tool (OSOT) Log management vRealize Log Insight vRealize Operations vRealize Operations installation vRealize Operations analytics vRealize Operations integrations Other monitoring tools Veeam ONE Opvizor Troubleshooting Your Environment What is troubleshooting? Troubleshooting a virtual environment CLI tools esxcli commands esxcfg-* Ruby vSphere console vim-cmd vcsa-cli PowerCLI Logs ESXi host logs Troubleshooting vSphere components Troubleshooting the vCenter Server Troubleshooting the ESXi host Troubleshooting cluster HA or DRS Troubleshooting a virtual network Troubleshooting storage Troubleshooting VMs Building Your Own VMware vSphere Lab The importance of lifelong learning Why build a lab? VMware Hands-On Lab (HOL) VMware forums Blogs Choosing the right platform Standard rack servers Desktop PC Small, dedicated PCs Cloud-based solutions A dedicated server in a data center Software components and licensing VMware licensing VMware EVALExperience Windows licensing Other software components Storage Networking Architecture and logical design The architecture of the lab The Master ESXi hypervisor iSCSI storage Virtual router Management station AD IP address plan Management network vMotion network iSCSI network Production network A detailed implementation guide Master ESXi server configuration Network configuration Virtual switches Port groups Virtual machines Virtual router Virtual router configuration Firewalls and access to the virtual router DNS configuration License configuration VLAN configuration Windows infrastructure DC01.learnvmware.local DC02.learnvmware.local Mgmt.learnvmware.local iscsi.learnvmware.local Storage design iSCSI target configuration DNS configuration Centralized management iSCSI target configuration ESXi servers Network configuration vSwitches Port groups VMkernel ports Network verification Storage configuration The vCenter Server vSphere configuration Other Books You May Enjoy Leave a review - let other readers know what you think