If you're looking to migrate to the newest version of VMware vSphere, this concise guide will get you up to speed and down to business in no time. If you're new to VMware vSphere, this book is for you too! The compact size of this quick reference makes it easy for you to have by your side—whether you're in the field, server room, or at your desk. Helpful elements for finding information such as thumb tabs, tables of contents with page numbers at the beginning of each chapter, and special headers puts what you need at your fingertips, fast.

No matter your skill level, this book's focus on essential day-to-day tasks for administering vSphere make it a handy reference for anyone.

• Covers the highly anticipated release of VMware vSphere
• Allows you to hit the ground running with the latest VMware vSphere software
• Provides you answers on the spot with concise, no-nonsense instruction

Designed for busy IT professionals, this instant reference is the perfect go-to resource.

Part I: Building a VMware vSphere Environment 1

Chapter 1: Introduction to vSphere 3

Understand the Legacy Features of vSphere 5

VMotion 5

VMware Cluster 7

Distributed Resource Scheduler 7

High Availability 8

VMware vCenter Converter 9

VMware vSphere Update Manager 10

64-Bit 11

VMware Capacity Planner 11

Host Profiles 11

vCenter Linked Mode 12

Distributed Power Management 12

Enhanced VMotion Compatibility 12

VMware Data Recovery 13

vSphere Client 13

VMkernel Protection 14

Virtual Disk Thin Provisioning 14

VMware DCUI 15

vSphere Web Client 15

Understand the New Features of vSphere 16

Enhancements in Storage 16

Storage DRS 16

Enhancements in VMFS-5 16

Enhancements in Storage VMotion 17

Virtual Machine Scalability 17

vCenter Improvements 18

Fault Tolerance 18

Networking Enhancements 19

VMware vShield 5 Suite 19

Chapter 2: Installing and Configuring ESXi 21

Prepare for Installation 22

Install ESXi 24

Install ESXi Manually 26

Automate ESXi Installation 29

Configure Post-Install Options 34

Configure ESXi from the Console 35

Install the vSphere Client 38

Configure ESXi from within the vSphere Client 39

Chapter 3: Installing and Configuring vCenter Server 51

Prepare for Installation 52

Identify Hardware Requirements 53

Identify Operating System Requirements for

vCenter Server and vSphere Client 53

Identify Database Requirements 55

Identify Networking Requirements 56

Identify Authentication Requirements 58

Install a Database 58

Create a vCenter Database in Microsoft SQL

Server 2008 R2 58

Create a vCenter Database in Oracle 61

Prepare and Install vCenter Server 63

Prepare for Installation 64

Install vCenter Server 65

Deploy a vCenter Server Appliance 69

Configure a vCenter Server Appliance 73

Install Additional Components 78

Install vSphere Client 85

Configure vCenter Server 86

Connect to vCenter Server 86

Install Plug-Ins in vSphere Client 87

Configure Advanced vCenter Server Settings 89

Create a Datacenter 90

Add a Cluster 91

Add a Host 100

Chapter 4: Understanding Licensing 103

Become Familiar with VMware Licensing 104

Review the Versions of vSphere 106

Review the Licensing Method in vSphere 110

Manage Licenses 111

Install Licenses 111

Assign Licenses 114

Unassign and Remove Licenses 118

Change Licenses Assigned to Assets 120

Install Licenses for Legacy Hosts 121

Review Installed Licenses 124

View Licenses by Product 125

View Licenses by License Key 126

View Licenses by Asset 127

Chapter 5: Upgrading to vSphere 5 129

Prepare for the Upgrade 130

Upgrade vCenter Server 132

Upgrade to vCenter Server 5.0 on the Same System 133

Upgrade to vCenter Server 5.0 on a Different System 134

Install vCenter Server Appliance 135

Perform Postupgrade Tasks 136

Upgrade ESX/ESXi Hosts 139

Upgrade ESX/ESXi Using vCenter Update Manager 140

Perform a Manual In-Place Upgrade 144

Upgrade with a Fresh ESX/ESXi Installation 144

Perform Postupgrade Tasks 145

Upgrade VMware Tools 145

Upgrade Virtual Machine Hardware 146

Part II: Configuring Your vSphere Environment 149

Chapter 6: Creating and Managing Virtual Networking 151

Understand the Basics 153

Work with Virtual Switches 153

Understand Network Services 154

Use NIC Teaming 154

Configure VLANs 155

Use VLAN Tagging 155

View Networking Configuration and Network Adapter Information 156

Network with vSwitches 157

Set Up NIC Teaming on the Management Network 157

Assign Static IP Addresses for the Management Network 159

Create a vSwitch for Virtual Machine Networking 159

Network with vSphere Distributed Switches 163

Configure a vSphere Distributed Switch 164

Add Hosts and Adapters to a vDS 167

Edit General and Advanced vDS Settings 168

Manage Physical and Virtual Network Adapters 168

Migrate Existing Virtual Adapters into vDS 171

Add a dvPort Group 173

Edit a dvPort Group 174

Create a Private VLAN 175

Migrate VMs to a vDS 176

Understand Advanced Networking 178

Customize MAC Addresses 178

Create VMkernel Ports for Software iSCSI 179

Troubleshoot Using the Command Line 182

Enable Cisco Discovery Protocol 184

Enable IPv6 185

Chapter 7: Configuring and Managing Storage 187

Become Familiar with Storage Concepts 188

Learn the Basics of Storage in vSphere 188

Learn the Types of Supported Storage 191

Learn the Benefits of Remote Storage 192

Guidelines for Implementing Storage 195

Configure Fibre Channel SAN Storage 196

Connect Fibre Channel Storage to an ESXi Host 197

Manage Fibre Channel Storage on an ESXi Host 198

Configure NPIV for Virtual Machines 202

Configure iSCSI SAN Storage 205

Become Familiar with ESXi iSCSI SAN Requirements 205

Configure Hardware iSCSI Initiators if Present 206

Configure Software iSCSI Initiators 206

Configure NFS Storage 223

Configure NFS Storage with ESXI 223

Chapter 8: High Availability and Business Continuity 229

Minimize Planned Downtime 230

Configure and Use vMotion 230

Migrate Virtual Disks with Storage vMotion 236

Protect Against Host Failure 237

Set Up vSphere High Availability 237

Set Up vSphere Fault Tolerance 243

Guard Against VM Failure 249

Chapter 9: Managing Virtual Machines 253

Create Virtual Machines 254

Create a New Virtual Machine 255

Clone an Existing Virtual Machine 259

Deploy a Virtual Machine from a Template 262

Create a Template 263

Modify Virtual Machines 266

Reconfigure the Hardware of a Virtual Machine 267

Add Hardware to a Virtual Machine 271

Remove Hardware from a Virtual Machine 276

Manage Virtual Machine Hardware Versions 276

Determine the Virtual Machine Hardware Version 277

Upgrade Virtual Machine Hardware 279

Perform Other Virtual Machine Management Tasks 279

Change the Virtual Machine Power State 280

Work with Virtual Machine Snapshots 281

Install or Upgrade the VMware Tools 284

Chapter 10: Importing and Exporting Virtual Machines 287

Understand the Migration Process 288

Understand the Types of Migrations 288

Review the Components in a Migration 289

Perform a Physical-to-Virtual Migration 290

Perform a Hot Migration 291

Perform a Cold Migration 293

Clean Up After a Migration 295

Troubleshoot Physical-to-Virtual Migrations 296

Perform a Virtual-to-Virtual Migration 297

Migrate to or from a Different VMware Platform 298

Migrate from a Competing Product 302

Use a Virtual-to-Virtual Migration for Reconfiguration 302

Troubleshoot Virtual-to-Virtual Migrations 305

Import an Open Virtualization Format Template 306

Understand OVF Templates 306

Deploy an OVF Template 307

Chapter 11: Configuring Security 311

Configure vCenter Server Access Control 312

Understand vCenter Server’s Predefined Roles 312

Customize Roles 314

Manage Permissions 317

Secure vCenter Server 319

Harden the vCenter Server Computer 319

Remove Default Administrative Access to vCenter Server 320

Secure Your ESXi and ESXi Hosts 321

Control Network Access to the Management Network 321

Isolate the Management Network 323

Delete Unnecessary Local Accounts 324

Understand Lockdown Mode 325

Secure Your Virtual Machines 325

Configure Virtual Machine Isolation 326

Harden the Guest Operating System 328

Chapter 12: Managing Resources and Performance 329

Understand Resource Allocation 330

Allocate Resources to Virtual Machines 331

Allocate Resources in the VM Configuration 331

Guarantee Resources with Reservations 333

Constrain Resource Usage with Limits 335

Control Resource Allocation Using Shares 338

Use Resource Pools 341

Create a Resource Pool 342

Control CPU Allocation with a Resource Pool 343

Control Memory Allocation with a Resource Pool 348

Monitor Performance 348

Identify a Resource-Constrained ESXi Host 348

Identify a Resource-Constrained Virtual Machine 350

Appendix A: Fundamentals of the Command-Line Interface 355

Index