Course Content
VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage Content
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Course Introduction
Introduction to vSphere and the Software Defined Data Center
As a vSphere administrator, you must be familiar with the components on which vSphere is based. You must also understand the following concepts: Virtualization, the role of the ESXi hypervisor in virtualization and virtual machines Fundamental vSphere components and the use of vSphere in the software-defined data center Use of vSphere clients to administer and manage vSphere environments
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Overview of vSphere and Virtual Machines
vSphere Virtualization of Resources
vSphere User Interfaces
Overview of ESXi
Virtual Machines
You can create a virtual machine in several ways. Choosing the correct method can save you time and make the deployment process manageable and scalable.
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Creating Virtual Machines
Virtual Machine Hardware Deep Dive
Introduction to Containers
vCenter Server
vCenter Server helps you centrally manage multiple ESXi hosts and their virtual machines. If you do not properly deploy, configure, and manage vCenter Server Appliance, your environment might experience reduced administrative efficiency or ESXi host and virtual machine downtime.
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Centralized Management with vCenter Server
Deploying vCenter Server Appliance
vSphere Licensing
Managing the vCenter Server Inventory
vCenter Server Roles and Permissions
Monitoring vCenter Server Appliance
Backing Up and Restoring vCenter Server Appliance
vCenter Server High Availability
Configuring and Managing Virtual Networks
When you configure ESXi networking properly, virtual machines can communicate with other virtual, and physical, machines. In this way, remote host management and IP-based storage operate effectively.
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Introduction to vSphere Standard Switches
Configuring Standard Switch Policies
Configuring and Managing Virtual Storage
Understanding the available storage options helps you set up your storage according to your cost, performance, and manageability requirements. You can use shared storage for disaster recovery, high availability, and moving virtual machines between hosts.
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vSphere Storage Concepts
Fibre Channel Storage
iSCSI Storage
VMFS Datastores
NFS Datastores
vSAN Datastores
Virtual Machine Management
Virtual machines are the foundation of your virtual infrastructure. Managing VMs effectively requires skills in creating templates and clones, modifying VMs, migrating VMs, taking snapshots, and protecting the VMs through replication and backups.
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Creating Templates and Clones
Working with Content Libraries
Modifying Virtual Machines
Migrating VMs with vSphere vMotion
Enhanced vMotion Compatibility
Migrating VMs with vSphere Storage vMotion
Creating Virtual Machine Snapshots
vSphere Replication and Backup
Resource Management and Monitoring
Although the VMkernel works proactively to avoid resource contention, maximizing performance requires both analysis and ongoing monitoring. Developing skills in resource management, you can dynamically reallocate resources so that you can use available capacity more efficiently.
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Virtual CPU and Memory Concepts
vSphere Resource Controls
vSphere Resource Monitoring Tools
Monitoring Resource Use in vSphere
Using Alarms in vSphere
vSphere Clusters
Most organizations rely on computer-based services like email, databases, and web-based applications. The failure of any of these services can mean lost productivity and revenue. By understanding and using vSphere HA, you can configure highly available, computer-based services, which are important for an organization to remain competitive in contemporary business environments. And by developing skills in using vSphere DRS, you can improve service levels by guaranteeing appropriate resources to virtual machines.
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vSphere Clusters Overview
vSphere DRS
Introduction to vSphere HA
vSphere HA Architecture
Configuring vSphere HA
Introduction to vSphere Fault Tolerance
vSphere Lifecycle Management
Managing the life cycle of vSphere involves keeping vCenter Server and ESXi hosts up to date and integrated with other VMware and third-party solutions. To achieve these goals, you must understand how to use the new features provided by vSphere Lifecycle Manager, namely, clusterlevel management of ESXi hosts and the vCenter Server Update Planner.
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vCenter Server Update Planner
Overview of vSphere Lifecycle Manager
Working with Baselines
Working with Images
Managing the Life Cycle of VMware Tools and VM Hardware
VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage
About Lesson

Introduction to vSphere Fault Tolerance

Learner Objectives

After completing this Introduction to vSphere Fault Tolerance lesson, you should be able to meet the following objectives:

  • Describe the features and benefits of using vSphere Fault Tolerance
  • Describe how vSphere Fault Tolerance works
  • Describe how vSphere Fault Tolerance works with vSphere HA and vSphere DRS
  • Enable vSphere Fault Tolerance using the vSphere Client

About vSphere Fault Tolerance

vSphere Fault Tolerance provides instantaneous failover and continuous availability:

  • Zero downtime
  • Zero data loss
  • No loss of VM network connectivity

vSphere Fault Tolerance Features

vSphere Fault Tolerance protects mission-critical, high-performance applications regardless of the operating system used. vSphere Fault Tolerance:

  • Supports VMs configured with up to 8 vCPUs and 128 GB memory
  • Supports up to four fault-tolerant VMs per host with no more than eight vCPUs between them
  • Supports vSphere vMotion migration for primary and secondary VMs
  • Creates a secondary copy of all VM files and disks
  • Provides fast checkpoint copying to keep primary and secondary VMs synchronized
  • Supports multiple VM disk formats: thin provision, thick provision lazy-zeroed, and thick provision eager-zeroed
  • Can be used with vSphere DRS only when Enhanced vMotion Compatibility is enabled • Supports interoperability with vSAN

vSphere Fault Tolerance with vSphere HA and vSphere DRS

vSphere HA and vSphere DRS are vSphere Fault Tolerance aware:

  • vSphere HA:
    • Is required for vSphere Fault Tolerance
    • Restarts failed VMs
  • vSphere DRS:
    • Selects which hosts run the primary and secondary VM, when a VM is powered on
    • Does not automatically migrate fault-tolerant VMs

Redundant VMDK Files

vSphere Fault Tolerance creates two complete VMs. Each VM has its own .vmx configuration file and .vmdk files. Each VM can be on a different datastore.

Video 12296vSphere Fault Tolerance Checkpoint

Changes on the primary VM are not processed on the secondary VM. The memory is updated on the secondary VM.

Video 12301vSphere Fault Tolerance: Precopy

Using vSphere Fault Tolerance, a second VM is created on the secondary host. The memory of the source VM is then copied to the secondary host.

Video 12306vSphere Fault Tolerance Fast Checkpointing

The vSphere Fault Tolerance checkpoint interval is dynamic. It adapts to maximize the workload performance.

vSphere Fault Tolerance Shared Files

vSphere Fault Tolerance has shared files. The shared.vmft file ensures that the primary VM always retains the same UUID. The .ft-generation file is for the split-brain condition. Video 12311

Enabling vSphere Fault Tolerance on a VM

You can turn on vSphere Fault Tolerance for a VM using the vSphere Client.

Review of Learner Objectives

After completing this Introduction to vSphere Fault Tolerance lesson, you should be able to meet the following objectives:

  • Describe the features and benefits of using vSphere Fault Tolerance
  • Describe how vSphere Fault Tolerance works
  • Describe how vSphere Fault Tolerance works with vSphere HA and vSphere DRS
  • Enable vSphere Fault Tolerance using the vSphere Client

Activity: Virtual Beans Clusters (1)

As a Virtual Beans administrator, you want to place ESXi hosts in a vSphere cluster for a scalable and highly available infrastructure. Match the goal to the feature that helps achieve the goal. Goal o Add ESXi hosts to the data center and let vSphere balance the load across the hosts.

  • Make business-critical applications 99.99 percent available (downtime per year of 52.56 minutes).
  • Identify VMs that are experiencing serious resource contention.
  • Improve the performance of certain VMs by ensuring that they always run together on the same host.

vSphere Feature o vSphere HA o VM scores

  • Cluster Quickstart o vSphere Fault Tolerance o VM-Host affinity

Activity: Virtual Beans Clusters (2)

As a Virtual Beans administrator, you want to place ESXi hosts in a vSphere cluster for a scalable and highly available infrastructure. Match the goal to the feature that helps achieve the goal.

Virtual Beans Goals vSphere Feature
Add ESXi hosts to the data center and let vSphere balance the load across the hosts. vSphere DRS
Make business-critical applications 99.99 percent available (downtime per year of 52.56 minutes). vSphere HA or vSphere Fault Tolerance
Identify VMs that are experiencing serious resource contention. VM scores
Improve the performance of certain VMs by ensuring that they always run together on the same host. VM-Host affinity

Key Points

  • When you create a cluster, you can enable vSphere DRS, vSphere HA, vSAN, and the ability to manage image updates on all hosts collectively.
  • vSphere DRS clusters provide automated resource management to ensure that a VM’s resource requirements are satisfied.
  • vSphere DRS works best when the VMs meet vSphere vMotion migration requirements.
  • vSphere HA restarts VMs on the remaining hosts in the cluster.
  • You implement redundant heartbeat networks either with NIC teaming or by creating additional heartbeat networks.
  • vSphere Fault Tolerance provides zero downtime for applications that must always be available.
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