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 HA

Learner Objectives

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

  • Identify options for configuring a highly available vSphere environment
  • Describe how vSphere HA responds when an ESXi host, a virtual machine, or an application fails

Protection at Every Level

With vSphere, you can reduce planned downtime, prevent unplanned downtime, and recover rapidly from outages.

About vSphere HA

vSphere HA provides rapid recovery from outages and cost-effective high availability for applications running in VMs. vSphere HA protects application availability in several ways.

Protects Against How Does vSphere HA Provide Protection?
ESXi host failure By restarting the VMs on other hosts within the cluster
VM failure By restarting the VM when a VMware Tools heartbeat is not received within a set time
Application failure By restarting the VM when an application heartbeat is not received within a set time
Datastore accessibility failure By restarting the affected VMs on other hosts that still can access the datastores.
Network isolation By restarting VMs if their host becomes isolated on the management or vSAN network. This protection is provided even if the network becomes partitioned.

vSphere HA Scenario: ESXi Host Failure

When a host fails, vSphere HA restarts the impacted VMs on other hosts in the cluster. Video 12103

vSphere HA Scenario: Guest Operating System Failure

When a VM stops sending heartbeats or the VM process (vmx) fails unexpectedly, vSphere HA resets the VM. Video 12108

vSphere HA Scenario: Application Failure

When an application fails, vSphere HA restarts the impacted VM on the same host. Video 12113

vSphere HA Scenario: Datastore Accessibility Failures

If VM Component Protection (VMCP) is enabled, vSphere HA can detect datastore accessibility failures and provide automated recovery for affected VMs. You can determine the response that vSphere HA makes to such a failure, ranging from the creation of event alarms to VM restarts on other hosts:

  • All paths down (APD):
    • Recoverable.
    • Represents a transient or unknown accessibility loss.
    • Response can be either Issue events, Power off and restart VMs – Conservative restart policy, or Power off and restart VMs – Aggressive restart policy.
  • Permanent device loss (PDL):
    • Unrecoverable loss of accessibility.
    • Occurs when a storage device reports that the datastore is no longer accessible by the host.
    • Response can be either Issue events or Power off and restart VMs.

vSphere HA Scenario: Protecting VMs Against Network Isolation vSphere HA restarts VMs if their host becomes isolated on the management or vSAN network.

Host network isolation occurs when a host is still running, but it can no longer observe traffic from vSphere HA agents on the management network:

  • The host tries to ping the isolation addresses. An isolation address is an IP address or FQDN that can be manually specified (the default is the host’s default gateway).
  • If pinging fails, the host declares that it is isolated from the network.
  • This protection is provided even if the network becomes partitioned.

Importance of Redundant Heartbeat Networks

Redundant heartbeat networks ensure reliable failure detection and minimize the chance of host isolation scenarios. In a vSphere HA cluster, heartbeats have the following characteristics:

  • They are sent between the master host and the subordinate hosts.
  • They are used to determine whether a master host or a subordinate host has failed.
  • They are sent over a heartbeat network.

Redundancy Using NIC Teaming

A heartbeat network is implemented in the following ways:

  • By using a VMkernel port that is marked for management
  • By using a VMkernel port that is marked for vSAN traffic when vSAN is in use You can use NIC teaming to create a redundant heartbeat network on ESXi hosts.

Redundancy Using Additional Networks

 

You can create redundancy by configuring more heartbeat networks.

On each ESXi host, create a second VMkernel port on a separate virtual switch with its own physical adapter.

Redundant management networking supports the reliable detection of failures and prevents isolation or partition conditions from occurring, because heartbeats can be sent over multiple networks.

Review of Learner Objectives

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

  • Identify options for configuring a highly available vSphere environment
  • Describe how vSphere HA responds when an ESXi host, a virtual machine, or an application fails
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