Events and alarms are part of the user-configurable subsystem in vSphere. The administrator can specify conditions that trigger the alarm as well as the severity levels and automated actions that can happen when certain events occur.

vCenter Server comes with a large set of predefined alarms' definitions, which can be used to monitor different components of the system.

A task is any system activity that takes time to complete, for example, VM migration or powering a VM on/off. Tasks can be started manually or scheduled using the built-in scheduler.

VMware vSphere Update Manager 5 allows administrators to manage patches for ESX and ESXi servers, VMs, and virtual appliances. It allows centralized and automated patch management.

A baseline is a collection of patches, extensions, and upgrades.

After an object has some baselines attached, it can be scanned for compliance. Scanning evaluates an object by comparing the installed patches, extensions, and upgrades to those present in the baseline...