VMware vSphere: Fast Track [V5.0]

Course Description

This accelerated, extended-hours course packages the complete content of two Authorized VMware courses, VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage [V5.0] and VMware vSphere: Automation with vSphere PowerCLI [V4.x], with a voucher for the VMware Certified Professional on vSphere 5 (VCP5) exam for five intensive days of VMware vSphere™ skills building and certification preparation.

You will gain hands-on experience installing, configuring, and managing VMware vSphere, which consists of VMware ESXi™ 5.0 and VMware vCenter™ Server 5.0. You will also learn to improve efficiency, availability, flexibility, and manageability by automating tasks using VMware vSphere PowerCLI. You will spend nearly half of your time in class completing more than 30 hands-on labs.

This fast-track course satisfies the coursework requirement for VCP5 certification and includes a prepaid voucher for the VCP5 exam. It also serves as excellent exam preparation. Along with completing this course, we recommend that you study the VCP5 Exam Blueprint prior to taking the exam.

Skills Gained

• Install and configure ESXi
• Install and configure vCenter Server components
• Configure and manage ESXi networking and storage using vCenter Server
• Deploy, manage, and migrate virtual machines
• Manage user access to the VMware infrastructure
• Use vCenter Server to monitor resource usage
• Use vCenter Server to increase scalability
• Use VMware vCenter Update Manager to apply ESXi patches
• Use vCenter Server to manage higher availability and data protection
• Automate VMware ESX™ configuration
• Automate provisioning virtual machines
• Automate virtual machine configuration changes
• Automate cluster operations
• Automate reporting

Who Can Benefit

• System administrators
• Systems engineers
• Operators responsible for ESXi and vCenter Server

Prerequisites

System administration experience on Microsoft Windows or Linux. Experience scripting in Windows PowerShell, VBScript, Perl, UNIX, or other languages featuring variables and control structures.

Syllabus

VMware vSphere: Install, Configure, Manage [V5.0]

1. VMware Virtualization

• Virtualization, virtual machines, and vSphere components
• Server, network, and storage virtualization concepts
• Where vSphere fits into the cloud architecture
• Install and use vSphere user interfaces

2. Virtual Machines

• Virtual machines, virtual machine hardware, and virtual machine files
• Deploy a single virtual machine and virtual machine appliance

3. VMware vCenter Server

• vCenter Server and database requirements
• vCenter Server architecture
• Deploy a vCenter Server appliance
• View and create vCenter Server inventory objects

4. Configure and Manage Virtual Networks

• Create and manage a standard virtual switch
• Modify standard virtual switch properties

5. Configure and Manage vSphere Storage

• Configure ESXi with iSCSI, NFS, and Fibre Channel storage
• Create and manage vSphere datastores
• Configure, deploy, and manage the VMware Virtual Storage Appliance

6. Virtual Machine Management

• Deploy virtual machines using templates, cloning, and VMware vCenter Converter™
• Modify and manage virtual machines
• Create and manage virtual machine snapshots
• Perform VMware vMotion® and Storage vMotion migrations

7. Access and Authentication Control

• Control user access through roles and permissions
• Configure and manage the ESXi firewall
• Integrate ESXi with Active Directory
• vShield Zones

8. Resource Management and Monitoring

• Control virtual machine access to CPU, memory, and I/O resources
• VMkernel methods for optimizing CPU and memory usage
• Monitor resource usage using vCenter Server performance graphs and alarms

9. Data Protection

• Strategies for backing up ESXi hosts
• Backup/recovery APIs
• Strategies for backing up virtual machines

10. High Availability and Fault Tolerance

• Configure and manage a VMware High Availability (HA) cluster
• Configure fault-tolerant virtual machines using VMware Fault Tolerance

11. Scalability

• Configure and manage a VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) cluster
• Configure Enhanced vMotion Compatibility
• Using VMware HA and DRS together

12. Patch Management

• Manage ESXi patching and patch compliance using vCenter Update Manager

13. Installing VMware vSphere 5 Components

• ESXi Installable installation
• vCenter Server installation
• Additional vCenter Server module installation

VMware vSphere: Automation with vSphere PowerCLI [V4x]

1. Introduction to vSphere PowerCLI

2. Main vSphere PowerCLI Object

• Main commandlets in vSphere PowerCLI
• Connect to a vSphere infrastructure
• Get help for commandlets

3. Automating ESX Host Configuration

• Automate configuration of virtual switches on ESX hosts
• Automate configuration of datastores on ESX hosts

4. Virtual Machine Provisioning, Configuration, and Protection

• Automate creation of virtual machines
• Change virtual machine settings programmatically
• Run vSphere PowerCLI scripts in virtual machines
• Automate virtual machine protection

5. Automating Cluster Operations

• Automate virtual machine storage migration
• Automate VMware vMotion™
• Create a VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler/VMware High Availability cluster
• Automate cluster configuration
• Automate resource pool creation and configuration