VMware ESXi Cookbook [PDF]

What this book covers

• Chapter 1, Installing and Configuring ESXi, begins by introducing ESXi, different vSphere licensing options available, and then explains how to select the right hardware for deployment. This chapter also covers different deployment methods of the ESXi host and then moves on to some of the configuration to be done after the hosted deployment.
• Chapter 2, Installing and Using vCenter, chalk out the importance of the vCenter Server in the vSphere Infrastructure and demonstrates how to plan, install, and configure the vCenter Server.
• Chapter 3, Networking, helps you to the understand the vSphere networking concepts—both vSphere standard and the distributed switch—then moves on to discuss some of the more
  advanced networking configurations available in the distributed switch, and then ends with the security policies available in vSphere.
• Chapter 4, Storage, talks about implementing and configuring various storage options and optimizing storage using storage I/O control and storage profiles.
• Chapter 5, Resource Management and High Availability, helps you understand how to create and configure various clusters including High Availability (HA), Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS), Dynamic Power Management (DPM), and Storage DRS.
• Chapter 6, Managing Virtual Machines, teaches you to provision and manage virtual machines, configure Fault Tolerance for VMs, and understand the methods to use snapshot, template, and clone.
• Chapter 7, Securing the ESXi Server and Virtual Machines, dwells on the subject of securing ESXi hosts using a firewall, configuring AD authentication, and strengthening the security for virtual machines.
• Chapter 8, Performance Monitoring and Alerts, helps you understand how to view performance graphs and export the graph for future reference.
• Chapter 9, vSphere Update Manager, educates you on the installation steps for Update Manager and also explains how to upgrade the ESXi host and virtual machine using Update Manager.

What you need for this book

You will need to set up the following software for this book:

• VMware ESXi 5.1
• VMware vCenter Server 5.1
• VMware vCenter Server Appliance 5.1
• Compliance Checker for vSphere
• VMware Update Manager 5.1
• Update Manager Download Service

Who this book is for

The book is primarily written for technical professionals with system administration skills and basic knowledge of virtualization who wish to learn installation, configuration, and administration of vSphere 5.1. Essential virtualization and ESX or ESXi knowledge
is advantageous.