VMWare VCP 3.0 notes
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Maximum Config for ESX Server 16 HBA's w/ 15 Targets 128 LUN per array 255 LUN per ESX Serv. 32 paths to a LUN Max LUN ID 255 64 GM RAM 128 Virtual Procs Disconnect HBA's during Install SSE3 & CPU Vendor are required for VMotion & consistently labeled networks
Max Config for VMFS 128 VMFS Volumes per ESX Serv 32 Physical Storage Extents 2TB per Extent (8mb blocks)
Max Config misc 1024 ports per virtual machine 20 NIC 64 Adapters
ESX Requirements 1GB Ram 2 1.5GHZ Procs 1 Adapter Unpartitioned space
Max / Min LUN 256 Max LUN 128 Max LUN (Install) 1.2GB Min LUN capacity Do not install ESX on Shared LUN (Boot from SAN)
VMM (Virtual Machine Monitor) virtualizes CPU
Shares tell you how much resources a machine can get. Shares default is Normal High 2000 Shares per vCPU (20 Shares per MB of Virtual Memory Normal 1000 Shares, 10 Shares per MB Low 500 Shares, 5 Shares per MB
Data Center Management Services: Task Scheduler VM Provisioning Host and VM Configuration Resources and Virtual Machine Inventory Statistics and Logging Alarms and Event Management
Servers connected to same vSwitch are routed locally
NFS needs IP Storage Port and VMotion
Resource Pools can benefits include: Flexible hierarchial orginization isolation between pools, sharing within pools access control and delegation seperation of resources from hardware management of sets of virtual machines running a multi-tier service
Resource Pool Attributes: Memory Shares CPU Shares Reservation Expandable Reservationi Limit
Network Load Balancing policies Router based on ip hash based on source mac hash use explicit failover routebased on originating virtual port id
NIC Teaming Requirements: vSwitches must have more then 1 uplink
Memory sample period specifies the time interval in seconds of the vm's execution time over which memory activity is monitored to estimate working sizes. Default is 60
Memory share scan controls the rate which the system scans memory to identify opportunities for sharing memory default is 50 LUN Masking done on Host or SP
Network Adapter Panel Provides Device Speed Configured vSwitch Networks
Local Only, Virtual Center and Priviledges are not privileges within roles
Virtual Infrastructure Web Access can access remote console, change virtual hardware and view inventory of the virtual machines in VI
vmmemctl = balloon driver & reclaims unused memory from the guest OS Provides least negative effect on performance of running VM's
Memory Idle Tax specifies the idle memory tax rate as a percentage. A tax rate of 0 defines an allocation policy that ignores working sets and allocates memory based on shares. A high tax rate results in an allocation policy that allows idle memory to be reallocated away from virtual machines that are hoarding it. Default is 75 (Remember MemTax = 75)
Memory Tax prevents virtual machines from hoarding idle memory
Memory Virtualization does not provide contiguous physical memory
Swap is size between memory and reservation
Type is for resource pools Resource pools manage host memory and cpu
Recommendation: Use dedicated switch when using Software Initiators
VMWare Server 1.x does not support dynamic resource management
You can add hardware to virtual machines through Web Access
Increasing the memory shares for a virtual machines has no effect on the physical memory resources used for virtualization overhead
vmkcore is a required partition for storing core dumps when debugging vmware w/ Tech Support
HA supports a MAX of 4 host failures
vSwitch policies consist of Layer 2 Security, Traffic Shaping, Load Balancing and Failover
Maximum # of vSwitches is 127
Virtualization layer schedules both service console and VM's OS, this layer manages how the OS access physical resources.
VirtualCenter Server Requirements 2.0GHz 560MB Disk 2GB Ram or More Windows 2003, XP, 2000 SP4 Update 1
Network Adapter Panel shows: Device Speed Configured vSwitch Networks
3260 is the defailt port used by iSCSI
During ESX installation VMFS3 partition must be 600MB or more.
Memory Balance Period specifies the time interval in seconds for automatic memory reallocations. Default is 15
Ports 902, 27000 and 27010 need to be opened in FW for full use of VC
3 Configurable security policy exceptions for a virtual switch are promiscuous mode, MAC address change and Forged transmits
Distributed Services have 4 key interfaces: ESX Server Management, VMWare Infrastructure API, Database Interface, Active Directory Interface
When configuring vswitch for NIC teaming, "Notify Switches" notifies the Physical Switch when a virtual NIC changes locations
You can have a maximum of 512 port groups on a single host
Load Balancing Policies: Route based on the originating virtual port ID Route based on ip hash Route based on source MAC hash Use explicit failover
Core Service are basic management services for a datacenter, they include: Task Scheduler VM Provisioning Host and VM Configuration Resource and Virtual Machine Inventory Management Statistics and Logging Alarms and Event Management
Virtual Machines can run in 2 different modes: Direct execution Virtualization Mode
The 2 options in Promiscuous Mode are Reject and Accept
4 Benefits of Virtualization: Isolation Encapsulation Compatibility Hardware Independence
ESX uses short-lived SCSI reservations as part of its distributed locking protocol
LUN Masking is done on the host and storage processor
Server manages network and disk resources on a per-host basis
MRU is recommended policy for Active / Passive Fixed is recommended policy for Active / Active
Mem.ShareScanVM controls the rate at which the system scans memory to identify opportunities for sharing memory (default 50)
3 physical implmentation alternatives for SCSI devices .vmdk file stored on a VMFS volume Local SCSI device passed through directly Device mapping to a SAN LUN
MRU and Fixed are 2 possible storage multipathin policies
Affinity is ignored as a part of VMotion
Shares Value is the number of shares allocated to a Machine
VMKernel controls memory, physical processor, storage controllers, networking, keyboard / video / periphrials
3 pre-defined ESX Server Roles are Administrator, Read Only and No Access
A characteristic of a mapped SAN LUN set to Virtual Compatibility mode is to allow the virtual machines to use VMWare Snapshots
Max iSCSI targets is 64
The default number of ports for a vSwitch is 56 however it can be created with up to 1016 ports.
Check High CPU ready value for CPU performance problems
Direct Excecution & Virtualization mode are 2 modes that Virtual Machines run
When virtual machines crash they leave a dump in the same directory as the VM
