Book Image

VMware vSphere 5.x Datacenter Design Cookbook

By : Hersey Cartwright
Book Image

VMware vSphere 5.x Datacenter Design Cookbook

By: Hersey Cartwright

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VMware vSphere 5.x Datacenter Design Cookbook
Hersey Cartwright
Jan, 2014 | 260 pages
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Table of Contents (19 chapters)
VMware vSphere 5.x Datacenter Design Cookbook
VMware vSphere 5.x Datacenter Design Cookbook
Credits
Credits
About the Author
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Acknowledgments
About the Reviewers
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Preface
Free Chapter
1
The Virtual Datacenter
The Virtual Datacenter
Introduction
Becoming a virtual datacenter architect
Using a holistic approach to datacenter design
Passing the VMware VCAP-DCD exam
2
The Discovery Process
The Discovery Process
Introduction
Identifying the design factors
Identifying stakeholders
Conducting stakeholder interviews
VMware Capacity Planner
Using Windows Performance Monitor
Identifying dependencies
3
The Design Factors
The Design Factors
Introduction
Identifying design requirements
Identifying design constraints
Making design assumptions
Identifying design risks
Creating the conceptual design
4
The vSphere Management Design
The vSphere Management Design
Introduction
Identifying vCenter components and dependencies
Selecting a vCenter deployment option
Determining the vCenter system requirements
Selecting a database for vCenter deployment
Determining database interoperability
Choosing a vCenter Single Sign-On deployment mode
Designing for management availability
Backing up the vCenter Server components
Using vCenter Server Heartbeat to provide vCenter availability
Securing the management components
Designing a separate management cluster
5
The vSphere Storage Design
The vSphere Storage Design
Introduction
Identifying RAID levels
Calculating storage capacity requirements
Determining storage performance requirements
Calculating storage throughput
Storage connectivity options
Storage path selection plugins
Sizing datastores
6
The vSphere Network Design
The vSphere Network Design
Introduction
Determining network bandwidth requirements
Standard or distributed virtual switches
Providing network availability
Virtual switch security
Network resource management
Using private VLANs
IP storage network design considerations
vMotion network design considerations
7
The vSphere Compute Design
The vSphere Compute Design
Introduction
Calculating CPU resource requirements
Calculating memory resource requirements
Scaling up or scaling out
Determining the vCPU-to-core ratio
Clustering compute resources
Reserving HA resources to support failover
Using distributed resource scheduling to balance cluster resources
Ensuring cluster vMotion compatibility
8
The vSphere Physical Design
The vSphere Physical Design
Introduction
Using the VMware Hardware Compatibility List (HCL)
Understanding the physical storage design
Understanding the physical network design
Creating the physical compute design
Creating a custom ESXi image
Best practices for ESXi host BIOS settings
9
The Virtual Machine Design
The Virtual Machine Design
Introduction
Right-sizing virtual machines
Enabling CPU Hot Add and Memory Hot Plug
Creating virtual machine templates
Using vApps to organize virtualized applications
Using VM affinity and anti-affinity rules
Converting physical servers with vCenter Converter Standalone
10
Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity
Introduction
Backing up ESXi host configurations
Configuring ESXi host logging
Backing up virtual distributed switch configurations
Deploying VMware Data Protection
Using VMware Data Protection to back up virtual machines
Replicating virtual machines with vSphere Replication
Protecting the virtual datacenter with Site Recovery Manager
11
The Design Documentation
The Design Documentation
Introduction
Creating the architecture design document
Writing an implementation plan
Developing an installation guide
Creating a validation test plan
Writing operational procedures
Presenting the design
Implementing the design
Index
Index

Introduction

This chapter discusses the design considerations that should be taken into account when designing the management layer of the virtual infrastructure. We will look at the different components that make up vCenter and how to size them correctly. This chapter also covers the different deployment options for vCenter and its components as well as the importance of availability, recoverability, and security of these components. The following diagram displays how management design is integrated into the design process:

Questions that the architect should ask and answer during the management design process are as follows:

  • What components are necessary to manage the virtual environment?

  • How will management components be deployed?

  • What resources are required to support the management components?

  • What impact will the loss of a management component have on the environment?

  • How to recover from the loss of a management component?

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