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

vSphere Replication and Backup

Learner Objectives

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

  • Identify the components in the vSphere Replication architecture
  • Deploy and configure vSphere Replication
  • Recover replicated virtual machines
  • Explain the backup and restore solution for VMs
  • Describe the benefits of vSphere Storage APIs – Data Protection

About vSphere Replication

 

  • vSphere Replication is an extension for vCenter Server.
  • It provides hypervisor-based VM replication and recovery.

About the vSphere Replication Appliance

The vSphere Replication appliance provides all the components that are required to perform VM replication.

Replication Functions

With vSphere Replication, you can replicate a VM from a source site to a target site, monitor and manage the replication status, and recover the VM at the target site.

Deploying the vSphere Replication Appliance

You use the vSphere Client to deploy the vSphere Replication appliance on an ESXi host:

  1. Download the installation package to a local directory or obtain its URL.
  2. Use the standard vSphere OVF deployment wizard to deploy the appliance.
    1. Select Menu > Hosts and Clusters.
    2. Right-click an ESXi host and select Deploy OVF template.

Configuring vSphere Replication for a Single VM

To configure vSphere Replication for a VM in the vSphere Client, right-click the VM in the inventory and select All vSphere Replication Actions > Configure.

 

Configuring Recovery Point Objective and Point in Time Instances

During replication configuration, you can set an RPO and enable retention of instances from multiple points in time.

Recovering Replicated VMs

With vSphere Replication, you can recover VMs that were successfully replicated at the target site. You can recover one VM at a time on the Incoming Replications tab.

Backup and Restore Solution for VMs

  • To protect your VM’s data, you can use a backup solution based on vSphere Storage APIs – Data Protection.
  • With vSphere Storage APIs – Data Protection, backup products can perform centralized, efficient, off-host, LAN-free backups of vSphere VMs.

vSphere Storage APIs – Data Protection: Offloaded Backup Processing

  • Configure the storage environment so that the backup server can access the storage volumes that are managed by the ESXi hosts.
  • Backup processing is offloaded from the ESXi host to the backup server, which prevents local ESXi resources from becoming overloaded.

 

vSphere Storage APIs – Data Protection: Changed-Block Tracking

  • With changed-block tracking, the backup solution copies only file blocks that changed since the last backup.
  • Changed-block tracking supports faster incremental backups.

Review of Learner Objectives

After completing this vSphere Replication and Backup lesson, you should be able to meet the following objectives:

  • Identify the components in the vSphere Replication architecture
  • Deploy and configure vSphere Replication
  • Recover replicated virtual machines
  • Explain the backup and restore solution for VMs
  • Describe the benefits of vSphere Storage APIs – Data Protection

Activity: Virtual Beans VM Management (1)

use for key VM management processes. Provide one or more suggestions for each process.

Virtual Beans Process vSphere Suggestions
Provisioning and deploying VMs
Maintaining VMs (patching and upgrading operating systems and applications)
Backing up VMs
Disaster recovery and business continuity

Activity: Virtual Beans VM Management (2)

use for key VM management processes. Provide one or more suggestions for each process.

Virtual Beans Process vSphere Suggestions
Provisioning and deploying VMs
  • Use VM templates. Consider creating a template and a customization specification for each guest operating system type.
  • Manage all templates with the content library. Have the primary data center publish its library to the secondary data center, when it comes online.
Maintaining VMs (patching and upgrading operating systems and applications) Take a snapshot of the VM before applying any patches or updates. Manage all templates with the content library. Using the content library, you can update templates while VMs are deployed from the template.

Activity: Virtual Beans VM Management (3)

use for key VM management processes. Provide one or more suggestions for each process.

Backing up VMs• Use a vSphere Storage APIs – Data Protection solution. Check knowledge base article 1021175 for backup solutions that are currently available.

Disaster recovery and business • Use vSphere Replication, which protects VMs from partial or continuity complete site failure. • For planned downtime, use the various types of vSphere vMotion migrations to move VMs between hosts, between vCenter Server instances, and even between data centers.

Key Points

  • vCenter Server provides features for provisioning virtual machines, such as templates, cloning, and content libraries.
  • By deploying VMs from a template, you can create many VMs easily and quickly.
  • You can dynamically manage a VM’s configuration by adding hot-pluggable devices and increasing the size of a VM’s virtual disk.
  • Hot migrations use vSphere vMotion, vSphere Storage vMotion, or both.
  • You can use VM snapshots to preserve the state of the VM so that you can return repeatedly to the same state.
  • You can use vSphere Replication to protect VMs as part of a disaster recovery strategy.
  • Backup products that use vSphere Storage APIs – Data Protection can be used to back up VM data.
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