vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage

Overview

– Describe the software-defined data center

– Deploy an ESXi host and create virtual machines

– Describe vCenter Server architecture

– Deploy a vCenter Server instance or VMware vCenter Server Appliance

– Use vCenter Server to manage an ESXi host

– Configure and manage vSphere infrastructure with VMware vSphere Client and VMware vSphere Web Client

– Configure virtual networks with vSphere standard switches

– Use vCenter Server to manage various types of host storage: VMware vSphere VMFS, NFS, virtual SAN, and Virtual Volumes

– Manage virtual machines, templates, clones, and snapshots

– Create a vApp

– Describe and use the content library

– Migrate virtual machines with VMware vSphere vMotion

– Use VMware vSphere Storage vMotion to migrate virtual machine storage

– Monitor resource usage and manage resource pools

– Use VMware vRealize Operations Manager to identify and solve issues through analytics and alerts

– Manage VMware vSphere High Availability and VMware vSphere Fault Tolerance

– Use VMware vSphere Replication and VMware vSphere Data Protection to replicate virtual machines and perform data recovery

– Use VMware vSphere Distributed Resource Scheduler clusters to improve host scalability

– Use vSphere distributed switches to improve network scalability

– Use VMware vSphere Update Manager to apply patches and perform basic troubleshooting of ESXi hosts, virtual machines, and vCenter Server operations

 


Course Details

Course Introduction

– Introductions and course logistics

– Course objectives

– References and resources

Software-Defined Data Center

– Introduce components of the software-defined data center

– Describe where vSphere fits into the cloud architecture

– Install and use vSphere Client

– Overview of ESXi

Creating Virtual Machines

– Introduce virtual machines, virtual machine hardware, and virtual machine files

– Create and work with virtual machines and templates

vCenter Server

– Introduce the vCenter Server architecture

– Deploy and configure vCenter Server Appliance

– Use vSphere Web Client

– Manage vCenter Server inventory objects and licenses

Configuring and Managing Virtual Networks

– Describe, create, and manage standard switches

– Configure virtual switch security and load-balancing policies

– Create, configure, and manage vSphere distributed switches, network connections, and port groups

Configuring and Managing Virtual Storage

– Introduce storage protocols and storage device types

– Discuss ESXi hosts using iSCSI and NFS storage

– Create and manage VMFS and NFS datastores

– Introduce VMware Virtual SAN

– Introduce Virtual Volumes

Virtual Machine Management

– Use templates and cloning to deploy new virtual machines

– Modify and manage virtual machines

– Perform vSphere vMotion and vSphere Storage vMotion migrations

– Create and manage virtual machine snapshots

– Create vApps

– Introduce the types of content libraries and how to deploy and use them

Resource Management and Monitoring

– Introduce virtual CPU and memory concepts

– Configure and manage resource pools

– Describe methods for optimizing CPU and memory usage

– Use various tools to monitor resource usage

– Create and use alarms to report certain conditions or events

– Identify and troubleshoot virtual machine resource issues

– Introduce vRealize Operations Manager for data center monitoring and management

vSphere HA and vSphere Fault Tolerance

– Explain the vSphere HA architecture

– Configure and manage a vSphere HA cluster

– Use vSphere HA advanced parameters

– Introduce vSphere Fault Tolerance

– Enable vSphere Fault Tolerance on virtual machines

– Introduce vSphere Replication

– Use vSphere Data Protection to back up and restore data

Host Scalability

– Describe the functions and benefits of a vSphere DRS cluster

– Configure and manage a vSphere DRS cluster

– Work with affinity and anti-affinity rules

– Use vSphere HA and vSphere DRS together for business continuity

vSphere Update Manager and Host Maintenance

– Use vSphere Update Manager to manage ESXi patching

– Install vSphere Update Manager and the vSphere Update Manager plug-in

– Create patch baselines

– Use host profiles to manage host configuration compliance

– Scan and remediate hosts

Installing vSphere Components

– Install ESXi

– Introduce vCenter Server deployment options

– Describe vCenter Server hardware, software, and database requirements

– Discuss installation of vCenter Server Appliance and a vCenter Server instance

– Demonstrate vCenter Server installation

 


Prerequisites

– System administration experience on Microsoft Windows or Linux operating systems

– Understanding of concepts presented in the VMware Data Center Virtualization Fundamentals course for VCA-DCV certification