Book Image

Learning VMware vSphere

By : Rebecca Fitzhugh, Abhilash G B
Book Image

Learning VMware vSphere

By: Rebecca Fitzhugh, Abhilash G B

Overview of this book

Computer virtualization is a method to enable the running of multiple application workloads on a machine to achieve efficient utilization and reduce the number of physical machines in a data center. This has now become the foundation of many modern day data centers. What began as a technology to virtualize x86 architecture has now grown beyond the limits of a server’s hardware and into the realm of storage and network virtualization. VMware is currently the market leader in developing data center virtualization solutions. This book goes into the details of designing and implementing VMware solutions that form the foundation of a VMware infrastructure. The book begins by introducing you to the concepts of server virtualization followed by the architecture of VMware’s hypervisor – ESXi and then by its installation and configuration. You then learn what is required to manage a vSphere environment and configure advanced management capabilities of vCenter. Next you are taken through topics on vSphere Networking, Storage, ESXi Clustering, Resource Management and Virtual Machine Management. You will then be introduced to SSL Certificate Management and its use in a vSphere environment. Finally, you will learn about the lifecycle management of a vSphere environment by effectively monitoring, patching and upgrading vSphere components using Update Manager. By the end of the book, you will know how to use VMware’s vSphere suite of components to lay the foundation of a modern day virtual infrastructure.
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
Learning VMware vSphere
Credits
About the Authors
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface

VMware vCenter Server concepts


VMware vCenter Server is available in two forms, a Windows version and a Linux appliance. An appliance is nothing but a virtual machine running a Just enough Operating System (JeOS) version of SUSE Linux with all the vCenter components pre-installed on it.

Tip

JeOS refers to a traditional operating system that has been customized to fit the needs of a particular application that will be installed on it.

There is no Linux installable version of vCenter. It is only available in the form of a Linux appliance. The Linux version of vCenter offers the same functionalities and performance as the Windows version. However, there are differences in how they can be installed, deployed, and configured. The Windows version will require you to run an installer on a virtual or physical machine running a supported version of Microsoft Windows; however, the Linux version is available in the form of an appliance, which can be deployed as a virtual machine.

The vCenter bundle contains...