Mastering VMware vSphere 6

Nick Marshall, Grant Orchard, Josh Atwell

• Publisher: Sybex
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9781118925164
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Computer Science
• Subtopic: Virtualisation
• Index: Computer Science

Master your virtual environment with the ultimate vSphere guide

Mastering VMware vSphere 6 is the fully updated edition of the bestselling guide to VMware's virtualization solution. With comprehensive coverage of this industry-leading toolset, this book acts as an informative guide and valuable reference. Step-by-step instruction walks you through installation, configuration, operation, security processes, and much more as you conquer the management and automation of your virtual environment. Written by certified VMware vExperts, this indispensable guide provides hands-on instruction and detailed conceptual explanations, anchored by practical applications and real-world examples.

This book is the ultimate guide to vSphere, helping administrators master their virtual environment. Learn to:

• Install, configure, and manage the vCenter Server components
• Leverage the Support Tools to provide maintenance and updates
• Create and configure virtual networks, storage devices, and virtual machines
• Implement the latest features to ensure compatibility and flexibility
• Manage resource allocation and utilization to meet application needs
• Monitor infrastructure performance and availability
• Automate and orchestrate routine administrative tasks

Mastering VMware vSphere 6 is what you need to stay up-to-date on VMware's industry-leading software for the virtualized datacenter.

Chapter 1

Introducing VMware vSphere 6

Now in its sixth generation, VMware vSphere builds on previous generations of VMware’s enterprise-grade virtualization products. vSphere 6.0 extends fine-grained resource allocation controls to more types of resources, enabling you to have even greater control over how resources are allocated to and used by virtual workloads. With dynamic resource controls, high availability, unprecedented and further improved fault-tolerance features, distributed resource management, and backup tools included as part of the suite, IT administrators have all the tools they need to run an enterprise environment ranging from a few servers to tens of thousands of servers.

In this chapter, you will learn to

• Identify the role of each product in the vSphere product suite
• Recognize the interaction and dependencies between the products in the vSphere suite
• Understand how vSphere differs from other virtualization products

Exploring VMware vSphere 6.0

The VMware vSphere product suite is a comprehensive collection of products and features that together provide a full array of enterprise virtualization functionality. The vSphere product suite includes the following products and features:

• VMware ESXi
• VMware vCenter Server
• vSphere Update Manager
• VMware vSphere Desktop Client and vSphere Web Client
• VMware vRealize Orchestrator
• vSphere Virtual Symmetric Multi-Processing
• vSphere vMotion and Storage vMotion
• vSphere Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS)
• vSphere Storage DRS
• Storage I/O Control and Network I/O Control
• Storage-Based Policy Management (SBPM)
• vSphere High Availability (HA)
• vSphere Symmetric Multi-Processing Fault Tolerance (SMP-FT)
• vSphere Storage APIs
• VMware Virtual SAN (VSAN)
• vSphere Replication
• vSphere Flash Read Cache
• vSphere Content Library

Rather than waiting to introduce these products and features in their own chapters, I will introduce each product or feature in the following sections. This will allow us to explain how each one affects the design, installation, and configuration of your virtual infrastructure. After I cover the features and products in the vSphere suite, you’ll have a better grasp of how each of them fits into the design and the big picture of virtualization.

Certain products outside the vSphere product suite extend the vSphere product line with new functionality. These additional products include VMware Horizon View, VMware vRealize Automation, and VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager, just to name a few. VMware even offers bundles of vSphere and these other products in the vCloud Suite to make it easier for users to purchase and consume the products in their environments. However, because of the size and scope of these products, they are not covered in this book.

As of this writing, VMware vSphere 6.0 is the latest release of the VMware vSphere product family. This book covers functionality found in version 6.0. Where possible, I’ve tried to note differences between vSphere versions. For detailed information on other vSphere versions, refer to the previous books in the Mastering VMware vSphere series, also published by Sybex.

To help simplify navigation and to help you find information on the breadth of products and features in the vSphere product suite, I’ve prepared Table 1.1, which contains cross-references to where you can find more information about a particular product or feature elsewhere in the book.

Table 1.1 Product and feature cross-references

VMware vSphere product or feature	More information found in this chapter
VMware ESXi	Installation—Chapter 2 Networking—Chapter 5 Storage—Chapter 6
VMware vCenter Server	Installation—Chapter 3 Networking—Chapter 5 Storage—Chapter 6 Security—Chapter 8
vSphere Update Manager	Chapter 4
vSphere Desktop Client and vSphere Web Client	Installation—Chapter 2 (vSphere Desktop Client) Installation—Chapter 3 (vSphere Web Client) Usage—Chapter 3
VMware vRealize Orchestrator and PowerCLI	Chapter 14
vSphere Virtual Symmetric Multi-Processing	Chapter 9
vSphere vMotion and Storage vMotion	Chapter 12
vSphere Distributed Resource Scheduler	Chapter 12
vSphere Storage DRS	Chapter 12
Storage I/O Control and Network I/O Control	Chapter 11
Profile-driven storage	Chapter 6
vSphere High Availability	Chapter 7
vSphere Fault Tolerance	Chapter 7
vSphere Storage APIs for Data Protection	Chapter 7
VMware Data Protection	Chapter 7
VMware Virtual SAN	Chapter 6
vSphere Replication	Chapter 7
vSphere Flash Read Cache	Installation—Chapter 6 Usage—Chapter 11
vSphere Content Library	Chapter 9

First we’ll look at the products that make up the VMware vSphere suite, and then we’ll examine the major features. Let’s start with the products in the suite, beginning with VMware ESXi.

Examining the Products in the vSphere Suite

In the following sections, I’ll describe and review the products found in the vSphere product suite.

VMware ESXi

The core of the vSphere product suite is the hypervisor, which is the virtualization layer that serves as the foundation for the rest of the product line. In vSphere 5 and later, including vSphere 6.0, the hype...