VMWARE and ACTIVE DIRECTORY Q&A

 

Elastic Sky X [ESX]

·         It is Operating System software developed by VMware Company which converts hardware server into multiple hardware servers

·         Increases the utilization of idle resources to greater extent like Memory usage, Hard disk usage, power consumption etc

·         Absolutely bug free

·         Maintenance cost is very less

RAM 2GB, Hard Disk 2GB, Processor 2GHz, 1 or more gigabyte Ethernet controller

ESX 3.5	ESX 4.0/4.1	ESXi 5.0
VMFS 3	VMFS 3	VMFS 5
Max RAM per host 256 GB and VM 64 GB	Max RAM per host 1TB and VM 255GB	Max RAM per host 1TB and VM 1TB
Storage vMotion is available with CLI	Storage vMotion is available with GUI	SRDS
Virtual switch	DV switch	DV switch
VM hardware version 4	VM hardware version 7	VM hardware version 8
Maximum LUN size 2 TB	Maximum LUN size 2 TB	Maximum LUN size 64 TB
VM’s per host 170	VM’s per host 320	VM’ per host 512
No FT	FT	FT
No thin/thick provision	Thin provision	Thin provision

 

ESX	ESXi
Linux based service console and use CLI	No service console instead but uses VCLI
Greater security	Lesser security
Partition size 800 MB	Partition size 32 MB
Supports thickest version	Supports thinnest version
More patches	Less patches
Supports 10 GB Ethernet card	Does not supports 10 GB Ethernet card
It is a bigger version	It is lighter version
It is an OS with full features of virtualization	Limited features OS with 32 MB image
Trouble shooting performed through Service Console	Trouble shooting performed through Shell
Lock down mode  not present	Lock down mode  Present
vMotion, storage and FT	Management Network, vMotion, storage, FT, ISCSI port binding

 

Virtualization

·         It is software which allows creating virtual hardware and multiple virtual machines and running multiple OS on a single physical server.

·         There are five types of virtualization Application, network, storage, server and presentation

VCenter server

·         It is a windows based application.

·         It is used to manage multiple ESX servers and provide additional features like data center and cluster

·         Core services are VM provisioning, task scheduling and event logging

·         It is a service that acts as a central administration point for ESXi hosts and their VM’s connected on a network

·         It provides access to the ESXi through a VCenter server agent named vpxa

·         The vpxa process is started on the host when it is added to the VCenter server inventory

·         The VCenter server agent communicates with an ESXi host agent known as hostd process 

VCenter logs: connect to VCàhomeàsystem logs

VCenter 4.0	VCenter 5.0
Manage up to 1500 hosts and 10000 VM’s	Manage up to 2500 hosts and 15, 000 to 20,000 VM’s
No SDRS	SRDS
Have both ESX and ESXi	No ESX server
VMFS version 3	VMFS version 3 and 5
No vMotion across cluster	vMotion across cluster
Supports up to Windows server 2008	Supports all Windows OS server versions
Only windows based vCenter available	vCenter is now available as Windows installation and also LINUX based application
Update manager can be used to path guest OS as well	Update manager used to patch ESXi server, VM’s not support for guest OS available
Only vSphere client	Web client to connect vCenter and introduced SSO and inventory services as well

Hard ware Two 64 bit CPU’s, 2 GHz processor, 2 GB RAM, 2 GB HD, 1 gigabyte Ethernet controller

Data base: MS SQL server 2005,MS SQL server 2008, Oracle 11g

Software Requirements

·         Microsoft windows server 2003 standard, enterprise or datacenter SP2 64 bit

·         Microsoft windows server 2003 standard, enterprise or datacenter R2 64 bit

·         Microsoft windows server 2008 standard, enterprise or datacenter SP2 64 bit

·         Microsoft windows server 2008 standard, enterprise or datacenter R2 SP1 64 bit

·         Microsoft windows server 2008 standard, enterprise or datacenter R2 64 bit

·         Microsoft windows server 2008 standard, enterprise or datacenter SP1 64 bit

 

V sphere client

·         It is a windows based application which acts as an interface that allows users to connect remotely to ESX server and VC

·         An infrastructure virtualization suit that provides virtualization, management, resource optimization, application availability and operational automation capabilities

·         Aggregates physical hardware resources and provides virtual resources to data center

1 vSphere client we can connect 1 ESXi server

1 vSphere client+VCenter server we can connect to multiple ESXi servers

H/W: 1 CPU, 1 GHz processor, 1 GB RAM, 2 GB HD, Microsoft .net 2.0/.net 3.0 SP1

V Sphere 4.1	V Sphere 5.0
VMFS 3	VMFS 5
It supports both ESX and ESXi	It supports ESXi
No SDRS	SRDS
HA agent AAM	HA agent FDM
Virtual CPU per VM 8	Virtual CPU per VM 32
VM hardware version 7	VM hardware version 8
VM’s per host 320	VM’s per host is 512
RAM per hot 1 TB and VM 255 GB	RAM per host 2 TB and VM 1 GB
vMotion is possible across clusters and not across data centers	vMotion is possible across clusters and data centers
V motion does not supports multiple NIC’s	V motion does supports multiple NIC’s
If you have snapshot SvMotion is not possible	For Snapshot Storage vMotion is possible
Maximum LUN size 2TB	Maximum LUN size 64TB
LUN’s per host 256	LUN’s per host 256
VM swap file size 255 GB	VM swap file size 1TB
max number of restart retries that can be attempted an a VM was 6	limited to 5 including the initial restart attempt
Fire wall not available	Fire wall available
VMware tools version 4.1	VMware tools version 5

 

vSphere 5.1	vSphere 5.5
Physical RAM per host 2 TB	Physical RAM per host 4TB
Physical CPU’s per host 160	Physical CPU’s per host 320
Maximum v CPU’s per host 2048	Maximum v CPU’s per host 4096
VMDK file size 2 TB	VMDK file size 62 TB
VM hardware version 9	VM hardware version 10
5 hosts and 50 VM’s	100 hosts and 3000 VM’s
One LACP [Link Aggregation Control Protocol] group per distributed switch	Supports up to 64
NUMA nodes per host 8	NUMA nodes per host 16

 

vSphere Client	vSphere Web Client
supports for only Windows OS	Supports all kinds of OS
Can connect to VC server or either directly to host	Can connect to vCenter server only
To manage VMware update manager and site recovery manager	Web based application
3rd party desktop plug-in	VM latest hardware versions 9 and above
Locally installed application	Inventory tagging –Virtual DS, Health check and Export/restore configuration
VC server maps	Diagram filtering
Create and custom attributes	vCenter single sign on Authentication/Administration
Inflate thin disk option found in the data store browser

Virtual Machine

·         It is a software machine like a physical machine where we can run OS and applications

·         It is as set of discrete files

·         It uses standardized virtual device drivers

·         OS installed on VM is called as a guest OS

·         Maximum RAM per VM is 255 GB

·         Maximum swap file size per VM is 255 GB

·         Maximum virtual NIC’s per VM is 10

·         Maximum serial ports per VM is 4

·         Maximum disk size per VM is 2TB-512 GB

·         Maximum vCPU’s per VM is 8

·         Maximum concurrent remote console connections per VM is 40

VM Uses

·         It is used to reduce the cost and manpower.

·         It allows multiple operating system on one VM

·         It reduces the amount of space being taken datacenters.

Path: select VMàsummaryàdata storeàR/càselect browse data storeàVM ware logs

VM file system

·         Configuration file .vmx

·         Swap file .vswp

·         BIOS file .nvram

·         Log files .log

·         Virtual disk files .vmdk and flat.vmdk

.vmx	this file is a configuration file without this file we cannot power on VM
.vmdk	this file stores the content of the VM hard disk file (Description/Index file)
.flat-vmdk	Disk File or HD file (Actual data)
.nvram	used to store BIOS file loads the OS
.log	this file can be useful for trouble shooting 7 log file will be created
.vswp	It is a swap file created when power on & deleted when power off of VM
.vmsn	This file stores the running state of VM when you take snap shot
.vmsd	This is a centralized file for storing information & meta data about Snapshot
-delta.vmdk	Is created when a snapshot of a VM is created
.vmss	Suspended state file
-rdm.vmdk	Created when a VM uses a raw device instead of a .flat.vmdk
.vmx.lck	Lock file will be created when VM is in a power on state

Way to build VM’s

The name of VM’s can be up to 80 characters long and may contain alphanumeric character, the underscore and the hyphen. This name must be unique within the folder name and are case-insensitive: the name ʺmy_vmʺ is identical to ʺMy_Vmʺ.

1.       Create a VM directly on an ESX host

Path: Select ESXàR/CàNew VMàCustom/TypicalàEnter VM nameàSelect OS versionàSelect RAM, CPU, HD ----etc. àNextàFinish

Copy the contents of OS from CD and it save with ISO image file extension

Mount CDàrestarts VMàInstall OS

2.      Cloning

·         Duplicating an existing VM with same configuration and installation without performing any additional settings

·         Clone is used for testing and development environments

·         We cannot convert back the cloned VM to normal VM

·         Prevent OS rebuild

·         A clone of a virtual machine can be made when the virtual machine is powered on

·         Full Clone: Independent copy of a VM that does not share anything with parent VM

·         Linked Clone: It shares virtual disks with the parent VM. It enables multiple virtual machines to use the same software installation.

Path: Select VMàR/CàCloneàEnter VM nameàSelect destination detailsànextàfinish

·         When a clone is created, vCenter Server provides an option for customizing the guest operating system of that VM

·         VM should be in power off mode then only customization is possible

·         We would be having three radio options in customizing the guest OS of the new VM

a.       Do not customize

b.       Customize using the customization wizard

c.       Customize using an existing customization specification

Path: CustomizationàSystem nameàIP addressàSecurity IDàPasswordàTime setting

3.       Template

·         A master copy of a VM used to create and provision new VM’s

·         It can be converted back to the virtual machine to update the base template

·         It cannot be powered on once it’s changed and we cannot make changes

·         It can be used for production environments

·         It typically includes a guest OS, a set of applications and a specific virtual machine configuration

·         Templates are used by VCenter server to create new VM

·         When virtual machine is powered on, it cannot convert virtual machine to template, but can convert clone to template

Cloning a virtual machine to templateàVM can be power on/off

It offers you the choice of format in which to store the VM’s virtual disks

Convert a virtual machine to templateàVM must be powered off

Does not offer a choice and leaves the VM’s disk files intact

Path: Select VMàR/CàTemplateàclone to template/convert to templateàenter VM nameà  select destination detailsàOkàfinish

Deploy VM from template

Here you have to provide such information as the VM name, inventory location, host, data store and guest OS customization data

Path: Select VMàR/CàTemplateàDeploy VM from templateàenter VM nameàselect destination detailsàOkàfinish

4.      P2V or V2V [Physical to Virtual or Virtual to Virtual]

Pre requisites

·         Minimum 250 MB free space in physical machine drive

·         Disable antivirus protection

·         Stop critical services and applications running on it

·         Run CHKDSK and defragmentation of drivers

·         Should take backup

 

 

Post conversion

·         Update VMware tools

·         Upgrade hardware versions

·         Start antivirus, important applications

·         Remove monitoring tools, NIC card and power adapters

·         Reboot VM

P2V failures

·         0%-5% creation of the target VM

·         5%-6% preparing to clone the disk

·         6%-97% cloning

·         95%-97% post-cloning

·         97%-99% customizing / reconfiguring

·         99%-100% install tools/Power on

5.      Deploy from ova/ovf

ova= Open virtual appliance-Single file A packaging format for VM that allows VM templates to be distributed, customized and instantiated on any OVA supporting VMM

·         ovf [open Virtual machine format] it contains 2 file (Hardware and Configuration)

·         ovf is a file format that allows for exchange of virtual appliances across products and platforms.

·         ovf files are compressed, allowing for faster downloads

Path: Log into VCàFileàDeploy ovf templateàSelect [ova/ovf file] àenter VM nameàselect destinationànextàfinish

Data center

·         A data center is the primary container of inventory objects such as hosts and VM’s

·         Typically we can add, organize inventory objects like host, folders and clusters

·         We can move a VM with vMotion technology across hosts within a data center but not a host in other data center

·         A host can be managed under datacenter

·         We can have maximum 100 hosts per datacenter

Host

·         The primary component upon which all VM reside

·         It is computer that uses virtualization software such as ESX/ESXi to run VM

·         Host provides the CPU, memory resources that the VM use and give VM access to storage and network connectivity

 

 

Ways to access Host

1.   Directly through VC

2.   By using putty/power shell

3.   Directly enter IP address of host in IE

4.   By using V sphere client

Hypervisor

·         It is a program that manage the VM

·         It act like “Virtual Machine Manager” that manages multiple VM’s from one place

·         It allows multiple OS to share single hardware host

·         Each OS appears to have the host’s processor, memory and other resources all to it self

Types of Hypervisor

Bare metal hypervisor: in this application we can directly install the ESX on brand new machine

Host Hypervisor: workstation (R & D) purpose we are using beta 3.5

VMware Tools

·         Contains power control settings for the VM

·         If these tools are not installed we cannot use shut down or restart options

·         It is a suite of utilities that enhances the performance of the VM’s guest operating system

·         VMware Tools is an optional, free set of drivers and utilities that enhances both the performance of a virtual machine’s guest operating system and interaction between the guest and the host.

·         VMware Inc makes VMware Tools available for Microsoft Windows, Linux, Sun Solaris, FreeBSD, and Novell NetWare guest systems.

Set of drivers for any VM

a.       NIC drivers

b.       Videos drivers

c.       SCSi drivers

d.       Balloon drivers

e.       Time Sync drivers

Path: Select VMàsummaryàVMware tools status

a.       Not installed = no tools installed

b.       Out of date = old tools

c.       Current = latest tools

Path: Select VMàR/Càguestàinstall/upgrade toolsàOk

Path: Login to VM through service consoleàGo to my Computeràdouble click on CD/DVDà nextànextàfinish

·         If VM is running on ESX i 5.0 or lesser versions then reboot of VM is needed after tools installation

·         If VM is running on ESX i 5.1 or later versions the no reboot is required after tools installation

NTFS = New technology file system is correct, redundant

FAT=File Allocation Table [old file system]           SOP = Standard Operating Procedure

Storage Basics

Windows                                 Linux                                      VMware ESX

NTFS, FAT                      Ext3= Extended Portion          VMFS [VM ware File system]

No sharing                     No sharing                               Sharing is possible

·         In Windows and UNIX we cannot format, partition or create drivers like D, E, and F etc.

·         It can access data only

·         As per VMware if we install ESX OS and format vmfs files system then we can access data, partition and create drivers according to the requirement

Data Store           Addressing Scheme                Data Transfer                Cabling

iSCSI                    Relies on IP                             Files                               RJ 45

FC                        Relies on WWN                        Blocks                            Fiber cables

SAN = Storage Area Networks                                                  SP = Storage Processor

LUN= Logical Unit number [A raw portion on SAN array]

Add LUN to Host

Path: select hostàconfigurationàstorageàadds storageàselect disk/LUNàselect VMFS versionàdata store nameàspecify block sizeàfinish

Delete LUN

Path: select hostàconfigurationàstorageàR/C on data storeàclick on unmount

Server logs Path: Select ESXàview logsàF2àsystem/view logs

.sys logs,.vm kernel logs, .config log, .mgmt, .vc agent, .vmware ESXi observation log

Configure Time synchronize with host

Path: R/C on VMàedit settingsàoption tabàVMware toolsàenable time synchronize with host

Data store

·         A LUN formatted with vmfs file system is called as data store

·         Data stores are used to hold virtual machine files, templates and ISO images

·         Both VMFS and NFS data stores can be shared across multiple ESXi hosts

Increase Data Store

Path: select ESXàconfigurationàstorageàR/C on data storeàpropertiesàextent

Storage: It is a device which is used to store VM files and disks

a.    SCSI ID unique SCSI identifier

b. Canonical name NAA [Network Address Authority] ID is unique LUN identifier, guaranteed to be persistent across reboots in addition devices can be identified by mpx or t10 identifiers

c. Runtime name uses the convention vmhba N: C: T: L. this name is not persistent through reboots

Types of Storage

1.       FC= Fiber Channel file system is VMFS

2.       ISCSI=Internet small computer system Interface file system is VMFS

3.       NAS [Network attached storage] file system is NFS [Network File system]

Fiber Channel     

·         Data transfer through light

·         It easily identifies the adapters

·         High performance

·         Too costly and maintenance is less

·         WWN is a unique hexadecimal number

·         It does not follow OSI layer but it split similarly into five layers

WWN [WORLD WIDE NUMBER is 64 bit in size]

HBA [Host Bus Adapter]

It helps to connect the hosts and storages. It is used in only Fiber Channel.

Process to add storage

·         VM= share WWN info with SAN team

·         SAN team = MAP LUN to ESX/i

·         VM= Create a data store that we have to format with VMFS

Identify/Locate WWN

Path: Select ESXàConfigurationàStorage AdaptersàSelect AdapteràCopy WWNàOk

 

Path Create Data Store

Select ESXàConfigurationàStorageàRescan allàadd storageàDisk/LUNàSelect LUNàEnter Data Store nameàSelect VMFS version (3/5) ànextàselect block size (VMFS 3) à nextàfinish

iSCSI Storage

·         Ordinary copper cables, Adapters……etc

·         Low performance and less costly than FC

·         Date transfer through magnetic, electric signal etc.,

·         Manually we have to map adapters to SAN target but it is one time task

·         It can be used to transmit data over LAN,WAN or Internet

Addressing of iqn [ Iqn: 2008.08:com.brocade:iSCSI.server 01]

·         Iqn: iSCSI qualified name

·         2008.08: Manufacturer registration date

·         com.brocade: Manufacturer domain

·         iSCSI. Server01: iSCSI identifier

Process to add storage

·         VM= share WWN/ Iqn info with SAN team

·         VM=iSCSI Adapter binding with iSCSI target or SAN target (one time task)

·         SAN=Map LUN with host

·         VM=create data store

Path Locate/ share iqn

Select ESXàConfigurationàStorage AdaptersàSelect AdapteràCopy iqnàOk

iSCSI Adapter binding with SAN target

Path: Select ESXàConfigurationàStorage AdaptersàSelect AdapteràR/CàpropertiesàDynamic discoveryàaddàenter iSCSI server name/IPàOkàFinish

Path Create Data store

Select ESXàConfigurationàStorageàRescan allàadd storageàDisk/LUNàSelect LUNàEnter Data Store nameàSelect VMFS version (3/5) ànextàselect block size (if VMFS 3 only) ànextàfinish

NAS [Network Attached Storage]    

·         No dedicated storage architecture

·         NFS file system

·         Less performance, less costly than FC and iSCSI

·         As a VM ware administrator we want NFS server name or IP and share folder name to create a data store.

·         If we add hard disk, that act as NFS server for that we have to enable NFS option

·         We have to create a folder to do NFS sharing

Path: To enable NFS option start buttonàall programsàadministrative toolsàserver manageràrolesàadd rolesàenable NFSànextàapply

Path Create NFS Data Store

Select ESXàConfigurationàStorageàAdd Storageàselect NFSàEnter NFS server name, NFS share name, data store nameànextàFinish

Path increasing data store

Select ESXàConfigurationàStorageàRe Scan allàselect data storeàR/Cà propertiesàclick on increaseàselect available free spaceànextàfinish

·         VMFS is designed, constructed and optimized for virtualization environment

·         VMFS is a high-performance cluster file system designed for virtual machines

·         It uses distributed journalizing of its file system Meta data changes to allow fast and resilient recovery in the event of a hardware failure

·         It employs a file structure similar to Linux or UNIX operating system.

·         It has been optimized to support large files and to perform many small concurrent writes

·         We can extend vmfs data store but cannot shrink it

Features

·         Automated file system with hierarchical directory structure

·         Optimization for virtual machines in a clustered environment

·         Dynamic data store expansion by spanning multiple storage extents

Benefits

·         Optimizes VM Access

·         Facilitates dynamic growth

·         Simplifies Disaster Recovery

VMFS 3	VMFS5
ESX= Max 256 LUN’s	ESX= Max 256 LUN’s
1 LUN=Max 2 TB+2 TB+2TB+2TB---	1LUN= max 64 TB
An Extent is a partition on a LUN we can do 32 extents 2TB per extent	64 TB per extent
No SDRS	SDRS
Partition style is MBR [Master Boot Record]	Uses GPT GUID partition type style
	Can be dynamically expanded Provides on-disk, block level locking
LUN Size                   Block Size 256 GB                      1 MB 512 GB                      2 MB 1024 GB                    4 MB 2048 GB                    8 MB	1 MB

·         Block Size is maximum file system that can be stored in that data store   

·         Block size is the maximum file size and the amount of space a file occupies

·         Sub-blocks are small allocations on a VMFS volume, and they are used to back small files.

·         In VMFS-3 sub-block size is 64k where as in VMFS-5 sub-block size is 8k

·         This should be alleviated in VMFS-5 as there are now 8 times as many sub-blocks compared to VMFS-3

·         Sub-blocks are not used for backing files which reside inside a Guest OS.

Multi-path

·         It is path section policy where the data will flow in more than one way between host and storage

·         We have to do it manually

·         Default is Fixed recommended is Round Robin

·         Round Robin gives better performance and load balance of data flow

Fixed

·         In fixed if data is flowing through path ‘A’ other path ‘B’ will in sleep mode, if path ‘A’ fails automatically data flow through path B.

·         Once path A is issue fixed and active data flow through path ‘A’, path B will go to sleep mode

MRU [Most recently used]

·         In MRU if data is flowing through path ‘A’ other path ‘B’ will in sleep mode, if path ‘A’ fails automatically data flow through path ‘B’.

·         Even though path ‘A’ is issue fixed and active data flow through path ‘B’

RR [Round Robin]

·         In RR if data is flow through both paths that is ‘A’ and ‘B’, if path ‘A’ fails data flow through Path ‘B’.

·         Once path ‘A’ is issue fixed and active data flow through both the path’s ‘A’ and ‘B’

Path Set Multi-path

Select ESXàConfigurationàStorageàselect data storeàR/CàPropertiesàManage pathsàpath selection policyàselect fixed, MRU or Round RobinàChangeàOk

Power path

·         Automate path selection policy

·         Developed by EMC2

·         When we install on ESX server it will automatically select RR by default

Port Group

·         It segregates the type of network communication over ESX server

·         If you have 4 port groups on the ESX host same number of port groups should be there on the remaining hosts in the cluster with same naming convention and case sensitive

·         At least 1 port group and 1 virtual switch is required for 1 ESX

·         1 ESX we can create maximum 512 port groups and 127 virtual switches

·         Default number of ports configured with the virtual switch is 56 is created we can extend by editing properties

ESX port group	ESXi port group
VM kernel	VM kernel
Virtual Machine	Virtual Machine
Service Console

VM kernel port group ESX uses for storage access, vMotion and NFS communication. Whereas ESXi uses as management network, storage access, vMotion

Virtual Machine port group is used for Virtual Machine communication

Service Console port group used for as management network for ESX.

Vcenter/VSphere client uses Service Console IP’s to communicate with the ESX server

Create Port group

Path: Select ESXàconfigurationànetworkingàV switch propertiesàaddàselect port group (vmk/ vmn)àselect NICàenter IP (if VM kernel)ànextàfinish

Modify an existing port group

Path: Select ESXàconfigurationànetworkingàV switch propertiesàselect port group/ switch àeditàmodificationsànextàfinish

NIC [Network Interface Card]

·         We can have 16 NIC maximum and minimum 2 for a Host

·         We can have 10 NIC maximum and minimum 2 for a VM

·         Service console needs at least 1 NIC; ideally you also want a second NIC for redundancy

·         For every NIC there will be having one MAC [Media Access Control] address

·         MAC address is a hexadecimal and unique number

·         MAC address length is 16 and 64  bit size

·         Network adapter that comes in two types: UAA and LAA

Network Securities

a.   Security Policies

b.   Traffic Shaping

c.    NIC Teaming

d.    V LAN

e.    Port’s (Fire wall Configuration)

·         The security policies, Traffic shaping and NIC teaming we can change either in switch level or port group

·         If you change on port group it is applicable to all VM machines on that port group

·         If you change at switch it is applicable to all port groups

·         Network policies set at the standard switch level can be overridden at the port group level

Path: Select ESXàconfigurationànetworkingàV switch propertiesàselect port groupàeditàsecurity policies/NIC teaming/VLAN IDànextàfinish

Security Policies                                                

·         Recommended Promiscuous mode accept, MAC address and Forged transmits be reject

·         NIC are provided with MAC address that will be stored in .vmx file

·         Traffic Shaping

·         It is mechanism for controlling a virtual machines network bandwidth

·         It is disabled by default

·         On a standard switch it controls outbound traffic only

Promiscuous mode

 

·         Promiscuous mode is a security policy which can be defined at the virtual switch or port group level

·         A virtual machine, Service Console or VM kernel network interface in a port group which allows use of promiscuous mode can see all network traffic traversing the virtual switch.

·         If this mode is set to reject, the packets are sent to intended port so that the intended virtual machine will only be able to see the communication.

·         Example: In case you are using a virtual XP inside any Windows VM. If promiscuous mode is set to reject then the virtual XP won't be able to connect the network unless promiscuous mode is enabled for the Windows VM.

MAC Address changes

·         All the VM’s NIC’s are provided with the MAC address at the time of creation and it is stored in .vmx file

·         If the packet does not match with the MAC address as same as in the .vmx file , it does not allow incoming traffic to the VM by setting this option as reject

Forged Transmits

·         It worked for the outgoing traffic

·         When we create a VM the configuration wizard generates a MAC address for the VM, you can see it in .vmx file. If it does not match with the MAC in the OS this setting does not allow out going traffic from the VM.

·         So, by setting reject option both MAC address will be remain same, and the outgoing traffic will be allowed from the VM

Traffic Shaping

·         It is mechanism for controlling a virtual machines network bandwidth

·         It is disabled by default

·         On a standard switch it controls outbound traffic only

NIC teaming

·         NIC teaming involves connecting multiple physical network adapters to single V switch.

·         Avoids interruption to business even when physical NIC fails  

VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network)

·         A VLAN is a logical configuration on the switch port to segment the IP traffic.

·         For this to happen, the port must be trunked with the correct VLAN ID.

·         A private network within a network for greater security and performance

·         Virtual guest tagging (VGT) is useful only for guest OS that support and understand VLAN tags.

·         We can have 0 to 4095 VLAN Id’s but last 10 we cannot use

·         There are three types VLAN tagging Virtual Switch tagging(VST), External switch tagging (EST) and Virtual guest tagging (VGT)

Port’s [s Wall Configuration] 

·         A channel of communication

·         Opening or closing of port is called as firewall configuration

·         We can have 0 to 65535 ports

·         Firewall is a network security system that controls the incoming and outgoing network traffic based on an applied rule set

Path: Select ESXàconfigurationàsecurity profileàfirewall propertiesàenable/disable portànextàOk

Virtual Center	902
vSphere client	901/903
vMotion	8000
High Availability	8042
SSH	22
iSCSI	3260
DNS	53
DHCP server	67
NTP	123
DHCP client	68
HTTPS	443
HTTP	440
Web access	80

Migration VM from one host to another

Path: Select VMàR/CàMigrateàwe will be having three options

·         Moving a powered off VM from one host to another host

·         Moving a powered off VM files from one data store to another data store

·         Moving both host and data store concurrently to another host and data store when VM is powered off

àNextàselect destinationàselect cluster where the host is neededànextàselect free space dataànextàfinish

V Motion

·         Migrating a powered on VM from one host to another host

·         It is also known as live migration

·         Resources can be dynamically relocated to VM across physical server

·         It requires V Motion enable on both the source and target host.

·         The Virtual Center Server centrally coordinates all V Motion activities

·         By using V Motion there is no business impact

·         We can migrate 8 VM’s at a time without any performance barrier

Path: Select VMàR/Càmigrateàchange hostàselect destination hostàvalidationànextàfinish

Enable V Motion

Path: Select ESXàconfigurationànetworkingàV switch propertiesàSelect VM kernel port groupàeditàenable V Motionàok

Key Features of vMotion

·         Reliability

·         Performance

·         Interoperability

·         Manageability

Pre requisites

·         VM should be on shared storage

·         V motion should be enabled on source and destination VM kernel ports

·         Same CPU family and generation on source and destination

·         No CD/DVD mounted on VM

·         No Snapshot on VM

·         VM ware tools installation should not be in progress

·         Similar Network settings on source and destination [Port group, security policies…]

·         It does not work with affinity rules in place

Back ground process

·         Capture the current status of VM into a single file (bitmap image)

·         Move bitmap image source to destination host over VM kernel port group

·         VM goes into sleep mode on source   

·         Resume VM at destination

·         Remove temp file on source

Storage V Motion

It used to migration VM files and disks of power on VM from one data store to another data store without any service interruption.

Purpose of Storage vMotion

·         Hardware maintenance on SAN array

·         LUN’s crossed threshold limit

Path: Select VMàR/Càmigrateàchange data storeàselect destinationàdata storeànextàfinish

Advanced S V Motion

Path: Select VMàR/Càmigrateàchange data storeàadvancedàselect HDàbrowseàselect destination data storeànextàfinish

Pre requisites

·         No Snapshot

·         Source and destination LUN’s should be accessible by ESX where VM is running

·         Destination LUN should have enough free space

·         All hosts should be licensed for SV motion

Back ground process

·         VM files and disks will be created as blocks, that blocks move from source to destination

·         ESX host perform fast suspend and resume of VM

·         VM will be continuously running on the destination data store and source files will be deleted

·         In v sphere 5.0 with snapshot we can do SV motion

 

Cluster

·         Cluster is logical grouping of hosts

·         When you add a host to a cluster, the host resources become part of the cluster

·         One cluster can have minimum 2 hosts and maximum 32 hosts

·         Host out of cluster is known as standalone host

Features

·         Each cluster should have separate data store

·         Technical tasks are possible between hosts in a cluster like V motion, SV motion….etc

·         Similar networking settings on all hosts in that cluster like Port group, VLAN…..etc

·         All the hosts in that cluster should have same hardware model [server model & configuration]

Create a cluster

Path: R/C on data centeràcreate new clusteràenter cluster nameàokàfinish

Add Host to Cluster

Path: R/C on clusteràAdd hostàenter name / IPàuser name, passwordànextànextàfinish

Features of Cluster

a.       HA=High Availability

b.       DRS=Distributed resource scheduler

c.       DPM=Distributed power management

d.       EVC=Enhanced V motion compatibility

HA [High Availability]

·         When an ESX fails in a cluster all the VM’s running on that host will be rebooted on another host in that cluster within 12 seconds of minimum downtime

·         Works when VC fails

·         V center always communicates with master host

·         Re active

·         Failover feature on VM’s

·         Automatic detection of server failure

·         Rapid restart of virtual machines affected by server failure

·         VMware HA provides uniform, cost-effective failover protection against hardware and operating system failures within your virtualized IT environment.

Path: select clusteràR/Càedit settingsàenable HAàOk

 

Pre requisites

·         HA should be enabled in cluster

·         At least 2 hosts in a cluster

·         Shared storage

·         All hosts should be configured with static IP address

·         All hosts should have enterprise licenses for HA

·         All hosts must be accessed by same management network

·         Same CPU family and generation on source and destination

·         No CD/DVD mounted on VM

·         IP address for isolation check

HA election process occurs when

·         HA is enabled

·         Master host fails

·         Management network partition and isolation

HA failure scenario’s

a.    ESXi host failureàrestarts the affected VM’s on other hosts

b.   Guest OS failureàVM process crashes HA restarts the VM’s in the same host

c.    Application failureàwhen application fails HA restarts the affected VM on the same host so VM ware tools should the installed

Key Features of VMware HA

·         Automatic detection of server failures

·         Resource checks

·         Automatic restart of virtual machines

·         Intelligent choice of servers when used with DRS

Admission Control Policyàhelps ensure sufficient resources to provide HA

Admission controlàrefers to the amount of available resources that can be used to start VM’s on a specific ESXi host always Enabled

By three ways host will be selected which is master

·         Slog based algorithm

·         Maximum data store

·         MO ID [Management Object ID]

Role of master host

·         Monitors all the slaves

·         Adding and removing of hosts from the cluster

·         Configuration of cluster slave

 

HA firewall ports

·         Incoming port: TCP/UDP 8042-8045

·         Outgoing port: TCP/UDP 2050-2250

HA in Vsphere 4.0	HA in Vsphere 5.0
Agent is AAM [Automated Availability Manager]	Agent is FDM [Fault Domain Manager]
Log file save in path etc/opt/VMware/AAM	Log files saved in path etc/opt/VMware/FDM
Heart beat for every 5 seconds	Heart beat for every 1 second
First 5 hosts added to cluster are primary rest all secondary	Mater and Slave there will be only 1 master rest all slave
Max failover will allow 4 hosts	Max failover will allow 3 hosts
AAM agent always look for default gate way	FDM agent look for SAN and default gate way
Communication type is broad casting	Communication type is one-one
	FDM use a single process agent
	Spawns watchdog process

DRS [Distributed Resource Scheduler]

·         When a host is running out of memory/CPU DRS will V Motion few VM’s to another host in that cluster

·         Proactive

·         It continuously monitors high utilization and load balancing between ESX servers in a cluster

·         No downtime

·         Does not work when VC fails

Path: select ClusteràR/Càenables DRSàOk

Pre requisites

·         DRS feature should be enabled on source and destination host

·         Shared storage

·         Same CPU family & generations on source and destination

·         Similar network settings on source and destination

·         No CD/DVD mounted on VM

·         VM ware tools installations should not be in progress

·         No Snapshot

Back ground process

·         DRS continuously monitor all servers in a cluster.

·         If one host has heavy utilization then some VM’s on that will be migrated to another host

·         DRS can be performed by using V motion and mathematical algorithm

 

Automation Level

a.            Manual

b.           Partially Automated

c.            Fully Automated

DRS Rules (when dependencies happen)

Affinity: Keeps VM’s together always on the same host            

Anti Affinity: Keeps VM’s always far that means not on the same host even though you manually migrate it does not make any sense

Path: select cluster à R/C à edit settingsàrulesàaddàselect affinity/anti affinityàaddàselect VM’s from clusterànextàfinish                                             

DPM [Distributed Power Management]

·         It capabilities that enables a datacenter to significantly reduce its power consumption

Path: ClusteràR/Càedit settingàpower managementàselect automation levelàOk

Automation Level: off, partially automated, fully automated [recommended]

EVC [Enhanced V Motion Compatibility]

·         Makes V Motion possible across hosts with same CPU family but different CPU generations

·         Two types of hosts like enable host for AMD hosts and enable for Intel hosts

·         V Motion of VM from lower CPU generation to higher CPU generation then power off/on the VM to get new features after migrating older CPU to new CPU using EVC.

Path: Select clusteràR/Càedit settingsàEVCàoff/enable V Motion for Intel/ enable EVC for AMDàselect generationàok

Fault Tolerance

·         It works between two VM’s

·         It can be performed using V lockstep technology

·         It continuously provides 0% loss of data and 0% downtime of VM’s in a host.

·         When you enable FT on primary VM a duplicate copy of VM will be created on another host

·         If primary VM failed the secondary VM on another host will be immediately gets active

·         Maximum 4 VM’s can protect with FT per host

·         VMware vLockstep is technology that captures inputs and events that occur on a primary virtual machine (VM) and sends them to a secondary VM.

·         VMware vLockstep is the technology that supports VMware's Fault Tolerance component of VMware

Pre requisites

·         VM should be having 1 CPU

·         HA should be enabled and DRS should be disabled

·         No resource pool in that cluster

·         No Snapshot

·         Not support thin provision of disk

·         Shared storage

Path: select VMàR/CàFTàturns on FTàok

SDRS [Storage DRS]

·         It is an automatic process of SV motion

·         It is a new feature introduced in V sphere 5.0 providing smart VM placement and load balancing mechanism based on I/O and space capacity

·         SDRS helps decreasing operational effort associated with the provisioning of VM and monitoring of the storage environment

Path: Homeàdata stores & cluster àR/Càdata centeràcreate new clusteràenter SDRS nameàselect data storeànextàok

Adding a network to switch

Path: select hostàconfigurationànetworkàadd networkàselect VMàgive the name & VLAN IDàfinish

Virtual Switch

·         It is a software switch and each host has one switch

·         One side of the switch are port group that are connected to VM

·         Other side are uplinks that are connected to the physical adapters on ESX servers

Path: Select ESXàConfigurationàNetworkingàadd networkingàselect port group type (vmk/vmn) ànextàselect NICànextàenter IP (if VM kernel) ànextàfinish

Standard Switch

·         It is a software switch used to connect multiple hosts at host level

·         It is configured at the host level

·         We can have a maximum of 4088 virtual switch ports per standard switch and 4096 virtual switch ports per host

·         When a standard switch is created, 120 ports are created by default

DV Switch

·         It is a software switch used to manage multiple hosts at data center level

·         Reduces administrative tasks

·         Provides common networking settings for VM’s & management

·         For one DV switch we can connect 100 hosts

Path: HomeànetworkingàR/C on data clusterànew DV Switchàenter nameàport groupànextàok

Prerequisites: 2GHz processor, 2 GB RAM/4GB RAM and 1 GB network card

Update Manager

·         It is windows based application and a Patching tool

·         We can install the Update Manager server only on 64bit machines.

·         But it is a 32 bit application and requires a 32 bit DSN

·         Update Manager enables centralized, automated patch and version management for ESXi hosts, virtual machine hardware, VMware tools and virtual appliances

·         It automates patch management and eliminates manual tracking and patching of hosts and virtual machines.

·         It compares the state of hosts with baselines, then updates and patches to enforce compliance.

·         If we install on VM performance of VC goes down

·         Patches is installed on host after installation go to plug-in

·         From update manager we can down load all patches

·         By using update manager we can install any third party tools

·         To know the patches click on patch repository, add patches, browse for path

·         Stage and schedule patching for remote sites.

·         Deploy offline patch bundles downloaded directly from vendor websites.

Patch= a software update Update= group of patches     Upgrade=one version to another

Purpose of Patching

·         Better performance

·         Greater security

·         Bug fixes

·         Enhancements [new features]

·         1 VC = 1 VUM [Virtual Update manager]

·         Grouping of patching is a onetime process for one VM

Capabilities

·         Enables cross-platform upgrade from ESX to ESXi

·         Automated patch downloading

·         Creation of baselines and baseline groups

·         Scanning-inventory systems are scanned for baseline compliance

·         Remediation-inventory systems that are not current can be automatically patched

 

Major Components

·         Update manager server

·         Patch database

·         update manager plug-in

·         guest agents

Types of base lines

·         host patch

·         host extension

·         host upgrade

·         VM patch

·         virtual appliance upgrade

Patching process

1.   Create baseline: grouping of patches is a onetime process for each VC

Log into VCàupdate manageràadmin viewàbase lines& groups àcreate baselineàenter base line nameàselect dynamic/fixedàtime durationànextàfinish

2.   Attach baseline: attach baseline with ESX

Update manageràattachàselect baseline name ànextàfinish

3.   Scan baseline: scan for compatibility check

Update manageràscanàselect baseline nameàscanànextàfinish

4.   Enter ESX server in Maintenance Mode: vacate ESX

R/C on ESXàenter ESX in Maintenance Modeàok

5.   Staging (Optional): copy patches to ESX local drive

VMàstagingàselect base lineàok

6.   Remediate date: Install Patches

VMàremediateàbase lineàimmediately/scheduleànextàfinish

7.   After installation ESX reboots, disconnect from VC & connect back to VC

8.   R/C on ESX, exit from MM

9.   Proceed with another host

RDM [Raw Device Mapping]

·         It provides the mechanism for a VM to have direct access to a LUN on the physical storage system

·         RDM is a symbolic link from a vmfs volume to a raw LUN

·         The mapping makes LUN appear as file in a vmfs volume

·         RDM contains metadata which controls the disk access to the physical device

Path: select VMàR/Càedit settingsàaddàHDàRDMàselect LUNànextàfinish

Add hard disk to RDM

Path: R/C on VMàedit settingsàclick on addàselect hard diskàselect disk typeàenable raw device mapping

a.       Physical Compatibility mode

·         Adding directly a LUN to VM

·         Snapshot is not possible

b.       Virtual Compatibility mode

·         Uses mapping file to access RDM

·         Can take Snapshot

Resource Pool

·         Effective utilization of resources by categorizing into application type

·         It can be hierarchical or nested

·         We will be having share, reservation and Limit options for CPU and Memory resources

·         It is a pool of CPU and Memory allocation for host or cluster

·         We can create multiple resource pools and configure them for different groups or purposes

Path: select Cluster/ESXàcreates new resource Poolàenters nameàelect RAM/CPUàOk

Pre requisites

·         Verify V sphere client is connected directly to the VC, if so; we cannot create a resource pool

·         We have to check for sufficient permissions to create resource pool

·         Verify the cluster, v apps or other objects are parent to resource pool

Linked mode

·         Linked mode is a logical grouping of 2 or more VC’s at a time

·         Across VC we cannot perform V motion or SV motion between two VC’s

·         No technical tasks are possible across VC’s

·         We should have access to both VC’s

·         Time difference between VC’s should not exceed 5 minutes

·         We can connect maximum 10 VC’s with one linked mode

·         Maximum hosts in linked mode environment is 1000

Path: log into VC consoleàstartàVMwareàlinked mode configurationà

Enter another VC nameànextàfinish

Snapshot

·         Capturing precise execution state of a VM either in power on, off and suspended state

·         It creates .vmsn, .vmsd, delta.vmdk , .vmtx and vmtd as well as previous files also exists

·         After snapshot we install patches if machine crashes, we can revert back to the current working state

·         It will take extra disk space

·         Go to : Discard changes

·         Delete: save changes to original disk

·         Patches install will be saved in data store

·         We can take snapshots up to data store availability

·         But performance goes down as snapshots increases

·         In original data store the deleted snap shots data will be stored

·         Snapshot uses the free space in data store but not the original disk that is .vmdk file space

·         There are three types of Snapshot Single, multiple and none

Snapshot Manager

A control that enables you to take actions on any of the snapshots associated with the selected VM.

Path: VMàR/Càsnap shotàtake snap shotàenter nameàok

Path: VMàR/Càsnap shotàsnap shot manageràgo to/ deleteàok

SSO [Single Sign on]

·         Common authentication system for infrastructure

·         It is available as .ova file

To enable SSH

Path: select hostàconfigurationàsecurity profile in softwareà fire wall propertiesàenable SSH

Service sshd restart

Host Profile

·         Create a profile on one ESX host

·         Capture profile and apply on remaining hosts in a cluster

 

 

To build new ESX

·         Install OS

·         IP Configuration

·         Add to VC

·         Network configuration

·         Storage connectivity

·         Time configuration

·         DNS & Routing configuration

·         Security profile [firewall configuration]

 Path Create a Host profile

Select ESXàR/Càhost profilesàcreate profileàenter name for host profileànextàfinish

Apply host profile

Path: VCàHomeàhost profileàselect host profileàR/Càadd cluster/hostànextàfinish

ALARAMàit is used to know the status of the resources usage of a VM

EventàUsed to monitor the tasks that are take place on ESX server or VC

UPLINK

It is associated with adapters that provides connection between physical and virtual networks

Lock Down Mode

When you enable lock down mode, it prevents remote users logging directly into host

Service ConsoleàIt is developed based up on by REDHAT Linux OS; it is used to manage the VM kernel

VM kernel

·         It is a piece of software from which we can able to boot the OS

·         It is a proprietary kernel of VMware and is not based on any of the favors of Linux OS.

·         Only service is based upon Red hat Linux OS not VMkernel

Memory management Techniques

a.    TPS

b.   Ballooning

c.    Swap file

Path: select ESXàconfigurationàsoftwareàadvanced settingsàTPS/Ballooning/Swap fileàok

TPS [Transparent Page sharing] àMemory pages will be shared by same OS versions running in VM

BallooningàManaging memory across VM’s in host according to the usage percentage

Virtual memory ballooning allows a physical host to recapture unused memory on its guest virtual machines and allocate the resources where needed

Swap file

·         Created when VM is power on and deleted when Power off

·         Reservation: minimum RAM required to power on VM

·         Limit: maximum RAM that VM can use from allocated RAM

·         Swap file= limit-reservation

Default reservation= 0 GB; default limit = allocated RAM

·         If RAM size is full the swap file of 5 GB created in SAN is used as a %RAM and it will be power on

·         If SAN is also full by 98 GB out of 100 GB at that time VM is not power on, we can add reservation to 4 GB or 3 GB that it will be ok

Limit- reservation= 5-4= 1 GB

Unable to power on VM

·         Check data store free space

·         If no free space, increase reservation/ SV motion/ delete or move unwanted data

·         Check RAM utilization on ESX

·         Disable HA admission control

·         Power on VM from ESX using commands

Path: select VMàedit settingsàresourcesàmemory/CPUàreservation/limitàOk

Host Add/Plug

Host Add: Increasing RAM on a powered on VM

Host Plug: Extend VM CPU count while VM is powered on

Path: Power off VMàR/CàEdit settingsàoptionsàmemory/CPUàenable host add/plugàokàpower on VM

Every VM needs reboot to identify increased RAM/CPU except W.S.2008 R2 datacenter/web editions

Increase RAM: VMàedit settingsàselect memoryàincreaseàok

Increase CPU: VMàedit settingsàselect CPUàincrease virtual socketàok

Thin Provisioning	Thick Provisioning
We cannot do drive expansion	We can do drive expansion
Does not Supports FT	Supports FT
Proper Memory usage is there	Memory wastage, we cannot use for other transactions
On demand usage hard disk	Reserved disk

 

Convert thick to thin disk

1.       SV Motion

VMàR/Càmigrateàchange data storeàadvancedàselect HDàdisk formatàchange to thinàselect diff data storeànextàfinish

2.       Using V2V

Convert Thin to Thick disk

1.       SV Motion

VMàR/Càmigrateàchange data storeàadvancedàselect HDàdisk formatàchange to thickà select diff data storeànextàfinish

2.       Using V2V

3.       Select vmdk from data storeàR/Càinflateàok

VMware works License features on Socket and cores that is VCenter server and ESXi

Drive Expansion Windows 2008 (C&D)

My computeràR/Càmanageàdisk managementàok

·         Select VMàR/Càedit settingsàselect HDàright sideàenter total valueàok

·         Go to my computersàR/Càmanageàdisk managementàactionsàrescan diskàok

·         Disk managementàR/C on driveàextend volumeànextànextàfinish

·         Go to my computers verify space increased

In Windows 2003 [data drives D, E, and F…]

·         Select VMàR/Càedit settingsàselect HDàright sideàenter total valueà ok

·         Go to my computersàR/Cà manageàdisk managementàactionàrescan diskàok

·         Go to command prompt

·         Disk part (press enter)

·         Disk part # list volume (press enter)

o   C:  vol1       30

o   D:  vol2       30

·         Disk part select volume# (press enter)

·         Disk part extend(press enter)(if not)

·         Disk part extend file system(press enter)

·         Go to my computer verify space increased

In Windows2003 [OS Drive C]

·         Select VMàR/Càedit settingsàselect HDàright sideàenter total valueàok

·         Go to my computersàR/Càmanageàdisk managementàactionàrescan diskàok

·         Power off that VMàedit settingsàselect HDàcopy its pathàremoveàok

·         Go to test VM (any powered on VM)àedit settingsàaddàHDàadd an existing diskàbrowse to the location where you copied path in previous step or copy paste the pathànextàok

·         Go to disk managementàassign drive letter

·         Go to command prompt enter Disk part and press enter

·         Disk part # list volume (press enter)

§  C:  vol1       30

§  D: vol2        30

·         Disk part # select volume# (press enter)

·         Disk part # extend (press enter)(if not)

·         Disk part # extend file system (press enter)

·         Go to Test VMàedit settingsàselect HDàremoveàok

·         Go to original VM àR/Càedit settingsàaddàHDàadd an existing HDàbrowse to select HDànextàok

·         Power on original VM

·         Verify its capacity on My compute

Basic Commands on ESX (4.0, 4.1)

a.       List registered VM’s on ESX

#vmware-cmd –l

b.       VM-power on/off/restart

#vmware-cmd /vmfs/volumes/data store name/VM name/ VMname.vmx   start

#vmware-cmd /vmfs/volumes/data store name/VM name/ VMname.vmx   stop

#vmware-cmd /vmfs/volumes/data store name/VM name/ VMname.vmx   reset

c.       Restart management agents

hostd agent; # service  mgmt-vmware                            restart

upax agent;  # service vmware-upax                               restart

any service; # service   vmware-servicename                   restart

d.       Rescan for storage

#esxcfg-rescan      vmha# (0, 1)

On ESXi (5.0, 5.1, 5.5)

a.       List registered VM’s on ESX

#vim-cmd             vmsvc/getallvms

b.       VM-power on/off/restart

#vim-cmdvmsvc/power.onvmid

#vim-cmdvmsvc/power.offvmid

#vim-cmdvmsvc/power.resetvmid

c.       Restart management agents

hostd agent;  # /etc/init.d/hostd                                  restart

upax agent;  # /etc/init.d/upax                                    restart

any service; # services.sh                                               restart

d.       Rescan for storage

#esxcli         storage        core   adapter       rescan         vmha# (0, 1)

Active Directory

·         It is a directory service that Microsoft developed for Windows domain networks and is included in most Windows servers OS as a set of process and services

·         It uses LDAP [Light Weight Directory Access Protocol] versions 2 and 3 Microsoft version of Kerberos and DNS

·         It is a data base which stores a data base like your user information, computer information and also other network object info.

·         It is a Meta Data

·         It service is an extensible and scalable directory service that enables you to manage network resources efficiently.

·         Using ntsdutil.exe we can transfer roles in AD

Schema

·         All databases have a schema which is formal definitions (set of rules) which govern the database structure and types of objects and attributes which can be contained in the database. The schema contains a list of all classes and attributes in the forest.

Backup of AD

For taking backup of active directory you have to do this : first go to start -> program -> accessories -> system tools -> backup/restore when the backup screen is flash then take the backup of SYSTEM STATE it will take the backup of all the necessary information about the system including AD backup , DNS ETC.

Logical structure of AD

·         Objects

·         Forest, Trees and Domains

·         Organizational Units

·         Shadow Groups

·         Partitions

File system of AD

ntds.dit

This is the main file for Active Directory. All the AD information will be stored in this file.

edb.log

•        When a change is triggered to AD database, first the information will be written to this file, and the same will be then written to ntds.dit. The AD performance depends on how fast the updates will be transferred from edb.log to ntds.dit

res1.log & res2.log

•        Initial size of these files will be 10MB each, used as reserved space for AD updates, in case of Low disk space issues the same files will be used to save the AD updates.

edb.chk

•        The checkpoint file (edb.chk) records transactions committed to the AD database (ntds.dit) during shutdown. A "shutdown" statement is written to the edb.chk file when we shutdown the AD server. Then, during a reboot, AD determines that all transactions in the edb.log file have been committed to the AD database. If, for some reason, the edb.chk file doesn't exist on reboot or the shutdown statement isn't present, AD will use the edb.log file to update the AD database.

temp.edb

•        This is a scratch pad used to store information about in-progress transactions and to hold pages pulled out of Ntds.dit during compaction.

The file extension .DIT stands for Directory Information Tree.

The file extension .CHK stands for Check Point file.

DHCP [Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol] Server for Windows

·         A DHCP Server assigns IP addresses to client computers.

·         This is very often used in enterprise networks to reduce configuration efforts.

·         All IP addresses of all computers are stored in a database that resides on a server machine.

·         DHCP Server for Windows based systems supporting all Windows operating systems from Windows 98 to Windows 8.

·         The configuration data as well as the client “database” is kept in an INI file.

·         The DHCP Server runs instantly without any installation as a service or application.

·         The DHCP Server is free software: it can be used and redistributed for both academic and commercial purposes at absolutely no cost.

 

Domain Name System (DNS)

·         It is a hierarchical distributed naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to the Internet or a private network.

·         It is an essential component of the functionality of the Internet.

·         The Domain Name System is maintained by a distributed database system, which uses the client–server model.

·         The nodes of this database are the name servers.

·         The client side of the DNS is called a DNS resolver.

·         A resource record (RR) is the basic data element in the domain name system

A Record: Contains information about IP address. It is helpful in resolving host names to IP addresses.

PTR Record: Pointer record contains information about host name. It is helpful in resolving IP address to hostname.

CNAME Record: Alias of a Record. It is helpful in giving multiple names to a single host. Which means, the same host is able to provide multiple services? In that case, for segregation of service and to communicate with that service we need to give different names to each service. Even though these services are hosted on a single server, but we can send our request to the target service. CNAME record was helpful in identifying and communicating with that service on that server.

MX Record: It is a record helpful in identifying the mail server in a DNS domain (for that organization)

NS Record: It is a record helpful in identifying the DNS server in a DNS domain (for that organization)

SRV Record: This record is created when we install a service which is DNS dependent. It is automatically generated and will be associated with a specific IP address. It is called as Service record.

SOA Record: Start of Authority record, this is not a record associated with any IP address. But it is associated with a number, which determines the update number. Whatever the update, whenever it is done this number will be incremented.

These are the records associated with each and every server in this world. A fact is that "DNS is the biggest database in the world and that is the only one which gets updated every second" And this database is not located at a single place, it is spread across the world in different places like, different companies, different ISP's, different homes etc. And the name resolution process is explained in my previous post Understanding DNS. That is the reason why, a DNS request goes to different location to get the correct answer

DHCP (D) discover, (O) offer, (R) request and (A) acknowledge

When we install a DHCP server into our network then DHCP server works on the basis of DORA process first DHCP server sends a hello message in to the network to discover the client’s pc and when any client pc found in the network then, DHCP server offers the IP to client pc. When client pc selects any IP from DHCP server then client pc request for selected IP to DHCP server then DHCP server provide that IP to client pc and both send acknowledgement to each other.

This process is called DORA process on the basis of this process DHCP server works to provide IP's dynamically to client pc in network

Global Catalog

·         It is a role handled by domain controllers in AD

·         All domain controllers can be promoted as GC

·         It helps in faster search of Ad objects

·         By default first DC of in a forest will be a GC server

RAID (originally redundant array of inexpensive disks; now commonly redundant array of independent disks) is a data storage virtualization technology that combines multiple disk drive components into a logical unit for the purposes of data redundancy or performance improvement.

Level                    Description                               Min number of drives              FT

RAID 0 Block-level striping without parity or mirroring       2                     none

RAID 1 Mirroring without parity or striping                                  2           1 drive failures

RAID 5 Block-level striping with distributed parity                 3                  1 drive failures

RAID 6 Block-level striping with double distributed parity      4                 2 drive failures

RAID 0 Min 2 disks, no parity, no mirroring, excellent performance and no redundancy

RAID 1 Min 2 disks, no parity, no stripe, good performance, excellent redundancy

RAID 5 Min 3 disks, good performance, and good redundancy, write operation will be slow

·         There are two types of disks basic and dynamic

·         Whereas dynamic is used for RAID only

·         OS admin can use only RAID 0, 1 and 5

·         As a storage Admin use RAID 6, 10 and 50

Ways to connect to remote server

·         HP-ILO [Integrated Lights Out]

·         Dell-iDRAC [Integrated Dell Remote Access Control]

·         IBM-IMM [Integrated Management Module]

·         CISCO- UCS [Unified Computing Structure]

 

FSMO roles [Flexible Single Master Operation]

Schema Master    1 per forest  Schema modifications

Domain Naming Master         1 per forest 

Addition and removal of domains if present in root domain

PDC Emulator     1 per domain       

·         It provides backwards compatibility for NT4 clients for PDC operations (like password changes).

·         The PDC runs domain specific processes such as the Security Descriptor Propagator (SDP), and is the master time server within the domain.

·         It also handles external trusts, the DFS consistency check, holds current passwords and manages all GPOs as default server.

RID Master 1 per domain       

Allocates pools of unique identifiers to domain controllers for use when creating objects

Infrastructure Master   1 per domain/partition 

·         It synchronizes cross-domain group membership changes.

·         It should not be run on a global catalog server (GCS) unless all DCs are also GCs, or the environment consists of a single domain.

Group Policy

·         It is a feature of the Microsoft Windows NT family of operating systems that controls the working environment of user accounts and computer accounts.

·         It provides the centralized management and configuration of operating systems, applications, and users' settings in an Active Directory environment.

Group Policy Objects

1.       Local - Any settings in the computer's local policy. Prior to Windows Vista, there was only one local group policy stored per computer. Windows Vista and later Windows versions allow individual group policies per user accounts.

2.       Site - Any Group Policies associated with the Active Directory site in which the computer resides. (An Active Directory site is a logical grouping of computers, intended to facilitate management of those computers based on their physical proximity.) If multiple policies are linked to a site, they are processed in the order set by the administrator.

3.       Domain - Any Group Policies associated with the Windows domain in which the computer resides. If multiple policies are linked to a domain, they are processed in the order set by the administrator.

4.       Organizational Unit - Group policies assigned to the Active Directory organizational unit (OU) in which the computer or user are placed. (OUs are logical units that help organizing and managing a group of users, computers or other Active Directory objects.) If multiple policies are linked to an OU, they are processed in the order set by the administrator.

TOP Command

·         It only shows stats for the virtual machine that you're seeing on the console of your ESX host also known as the Service Console.

·         That's also why you're only seeing limited memory and a single CPU present.

ESXTOP Command

·         It is a customized version of top that will give you statistics of the virtual environment.

·         It is an excellent tool for getting detailed info on the environment of a single host.

Types of License? Standard, Enterprise and Enterprise+

Export Logs

Hostd.log: hardware related issues

Vmkernel.log: ESXi level issues

Vpxa.log: if vCenter and ESXi not communication issues

What is server?

·         A system capable of managing and running virtual machines

·         It is running instance of an application capable of accepting request from the client and giving response accordingly.

·         It often provides essential services across a network, either to private users inside a large organization or to public users via internet.

·         In server 2 SD cards will be there for mirroring if one fails other will work for redundancy

Types of servers

Database, file server, mail, print, web etc

What is PSOD?

Purple screen of death is a diagnostic screen with white type on a purple background that is displayed when the VM Kernel of an ESX/ESXi host experience a critical error and becomes inoperative, it’s running VM’s.

If VMDK header file corrupt what will happen? How do you trouble shoot?

We have to recreate the VMDK description file

Vmware-vdiskmanager utility to create a new disk with same type and size of the –flat.vmdkfile

Is there any limitation to the number of VM’s I can run on my ESX server?

Yes, each ESX server allows for only 80 virtual CPU’s and 200 registered VM’s

What is VM library?

It is simply a directory on your ESX server that lets you organize the tools and files you need to manage and maintain your virtual infrastructure

Where are log files for VMware ESX server written to?

/var/logs/vmware

How to know it is Physical or Virtual machine?

You can also look at the MAC address. Although it’s possible to change it if it begins with 00:50:56 it is a virtual machine

TCP [Transmission Control Protocol]

·         A reliable transfer protocol which is used between two end points of a network

·         It is built on top of the Internet protocol

WAN [Wide Area Network]

It is computer network that connects a wider area than a LAN typically by use of high speed, long distance communication technology

Explain about your production environment? How many Clusters, ESX, data centers, Hardware etc?

·         Virtual Centers—3

·         Data Centers-55

·         Clusters-63

·         ESX server 4.0-43

·         ESX server 4.1-53

·         ESXi server 5-62

·         Virtual Machines-2500 [approximately]

·         Ticketing tool-Service now, VMC Remedy

·         Third party tool-Putty/Power shell

How to create RAID in DELL iDRAC?

·         Type IP address of iDRAC in IE or Firefox etc

·         Example: https://10.62.1.16 press enter

·         It gives details of server example DELL Inc Power Edge T620

·         Enter user credentials

·         User Name: root                                Password: calvin

·         Press submit

·         It log’s into physical server

·         Click on launch then it go for booting

·         Press Ctlr+R

·         Press F2 to destroy

·         Select delete VD

·         Press enter

·         Yes

·         Enter

·         Go to  Control

·         Press F2

·         Create new VD

·         Press enter

·         Select RAID 5

·         Select Tab

·         TabàTab

·         OkàOk

·         Press F2 Initialization

·         Use right Arrow Select fast initialization

·         Yes àOk

·         EscàOkàEnter

VMware consolidated backup?

It is a backup framework that support 3^rd party utilities like VERITAS net backup, VEEAM backup software’s to take backup of ESX server and VM’s

VM fails when trying to power on?

When the files associated with that VM are locked by a host it won’t powered on. At that time you must un-register the VM from the host using vmware-cmd utility

Flash Read Cache

·         V sphere 5.5 supports SSD Solid State Drive using this we can assign caching space on VM’s like how we are assigning CPU, memory and other resources to VM’s.

·         It provides much better than IOPS compare to normal disk

What is VMware Performance Monitoring tool?

·         VMware VCOPS - vCenter Operations Manager (VCOPS) focuses mainly on monitoring the VMware tiers.

·         It collects metrics regarding the VMware hypervisor and virtual machines.

 

 

What is an Inventory service?

·         It is used to maintain the virtual center inventory information and perform search operations

Masking

·         It is done on the storage end to make sure only certain LUN's are visible to the HBA's

Zoning

·         It is done on the FC switch to make sure that only specified HBA's can connect to the specified storage processors

What are host isolation responses available?

·         leave VM's powered on

·         power off VM's

·         Shutdown VM's

Mapping of ISO image?

·         Click on Launch

·         MacrosàClr+Alt+Del

·         Virtual Media

·         Add ISO image

·         Connect media

·         Map CD/DVD

·         Browse the where the ISO image is there

·         Select the ISO image

·         Map ISO image

·         Next boot

·         Virtual DVD&ISO image

·         Macroà Clr+Alt+Del

·         Remove ISO image after installation

What are the devices that can be added while the VM running?

·         In VI 3.5 we can add Hard Disk and NIC’s while VM is running

·         In vSphere 4.0 we can add memory and processor along with HDD and NIC’s while VM running

Can we do vMotion across two datacenters?

Yes we can do vMotion across two data centers, but the mandatory requirements is the VM should be power off mode

 

How to set the time delay for boot screen for a VM?

Right click on VMàselect edit settingsà choose options tabàselect boot optionàset the delay according to requirement

What is the main use of HA and DRS?

HA is a ESX failover feature and DRS is ESX load balancing feature

Where you can use patches?

In Bug fixes, security, enhancements

What is converter? Did you create any?

Converters are used to convert the Physical to Virtual and Virtual to Virtual. No

How many types of conversions do you know?

Two types of conversions are there P2V and V2V

What is backup? Can you took any backups and how?

Duplication of data is called backup. No.

In VMware VDP (VMware data protection) tool is used to take backup.

Which tools are you using to check the performance of servers?

I will not use any tools. I go to performance tab to check the performance.

What is VMA?

·         The vSphere Management Assistant allows administrators and developers to run scripts and agents to manage ESXi hosts and vCenter Server systems.

·         vMA is a virtual machine that includes prepackaged software, a logging component, and an authentication component that supports non-interactive login.

     Cheers

Happy Learning