GSAtrain

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1. VMware Management Resources

• Configuring VMware vSphere Management Assistant (vMA)
• Esxcli and Vicfg Commands
• Configuring ESXi Tech Support Mode and Ssh Access
• ESXi and vCenter Server Log Files
• Configuring a Centralized ESXi Log Host

2. Performance in a Virtualized Environment

• vSphere Performance Troubleshooting Methodology
• Software and Hardware Virtualization Techniques and Impact on Performance

3. Network Scalability

• Creating, Configuring, and Managing vSphere Distributed Switches
• Using the Command-Line for Network Configuration
• Distributed Switch Features
• PVLANs
• Network I/O Control
• Port Mirroring
• NetFlow

4. Network Optimization

• Performance Features of Network Adapters
• Performance Features of vSphere Networking
• Monitoring Key Network Performance Metrics
• Troubleshooting Common Network Performance Problems

5. Storage Scalability

• Configuring Storage Multipathing
• VAAI and VASA
• Policy-Driven Storage
• Adding a Storage Policy to a Virtual Machine Storage Profile
• Storage DRS Operation
• Configuring Storage DRS and Storage I/O Control

6. Storage Optimization

• Diagnosing Storage Access Problems
• Storage Protocols, VMFS Configuration, Load Balancing, and Queuing Affect Performance
• Monitoring Key Storage Performance Metrics
• Troubleshooting Common Storage Performance Problems

7. CPU Optimization

• CPU Scheduler and Other Features Impacting CPU Performance
• Monitoring Key CPU Performance Metrics
• Troubleshooting Common CPU Performance Problems

8. Memory Optimization

• Memory Reclamation Techniques and Over Commitment
• Monitoring Key Memory Performance Metrics
• Troubleshooting Common CPU Performance Problems

9. Virtual Machine and Cluster Optimization

• Performance Guidelines for DRS Clusters, Resource Pools, and Resource Allocation Settings
• Troubleshooting Virtual Machine Power-On Failures
• Troubleshooting vSphere Cluster Errors

10. Host and Management Scalability

• Using Image Builder to Create an ESXi Installation Image
• Using Host Profiles to Manage ESXi Configuration Compliance
• Using vCenter Server Linked Mode to Manage Multiple vCenter Server Inventories
• Configuring and Managing VMware vSphere Distributed Power Management
• VMware vSphere PowerCLI and Custom Scripts
• Using vSphere Auto Deploy to Provision ESXi Hosts

Labs

Lab 1: Use VMware vSphere Management Assistant

• Access your student desktop system
• Add valid licenses to vCenter Server
• Power on a virtual machine
• Enable the ESXi Shell and SSH services
• Log in to vMA and connect to your vCenter Server and ESXi host
• Use esxcli commands to retrieve information about an ESXi host
• Use vicfg commands to configure NTP
• Use vmware-cmd to manage virtual machines

Lab 2: VMware Monitoring Tools

• Start database activity in your test virtual machine
• Display custom vSphere Client performance charts
• Log in to the vMA appliance and start resxtop
• Explore the resxtop screens
• Run resxtop in batch mode
• Use Windows Perfmon to display batch mode output

Lab 3: vSphere Distributed Switches

• Configure infrastructure to use a single vCenter Server - Part I
• Configure infrastructure to use a single vCenter Server - Part II
• Create a distributed switch for the virtual machine network
• Create a distributed switch port group
• Migrate virtual machines to a distributed switch port group
• Verify that your virtual machine has proper access to the Production network

Lab 4: Port Mirroring

• Configure port mirroring on a distributed switch
• Verify that port mirroring works properly

Lab 5: Monitoring Network Activity

• Start the network client and network server virtual machines
• Configure resxtop
• Perform test case 1: Measure network activity over the e1000 network adapter
• Modify test virtual machines to use vmxnet3
• Perform test case 2: Measure network activity over the vmxnet3 network adapter
• Perform test case 3: Measure network activity over the same network

Lab 6: Command-Line Network Management

• Virtual switch configuration
• .vmx file entries related to the network configuration
• Net-dvs output

Lab 7: Profile-Driven Storage

• Create a VMFS datastore configuration for this lab
• Create a user-defined storage capability
• Create a virtual machine storage profile
• Enable your host to use virtual machine storage profiles
• Associate storage profiles with virtual machines

Lab 8: Manage Datastore Clusters

• Create a datastore cluster enabled for Storage DRS
• Perform a datastore evacuation with datastore maintenance mode
• Manually run Storage DRS and apply migration recommendations
• Acknowledge Storage DRS alarms

Lab 9: Monitor Storage Performance

• Use vmhbas for local storage and shared storage
• Add disks to your test virtual machine
• Display the real-time disk performance charts of the vSphere Client
• Perform test case 1: Measure sequential write activity to your remote virtual disk
• Perform test case 2: Measure random write activity to your remote virtual disk
• Perform test case 3: Measure random read activity to your remote virtual disk
• Perform test case 4: Measure random read activity to your local virtual disk

Lab 10: Command-Line Storage Management

• Use esxcli to view storage configuration information
• Use vmkfstools to manage volumes and virtual disks
• Generate disk activity in your test virtual machine
• Start vscsiStats
• Use vscsiStats to generate a histogram for disk latency
• Use vscsiStats to determine type of I/O disk activity
• Generate disk activity in your test virtual machine
• Use vscsiStats to determine type of I/O disk activity

Lab 11: Monitor CPU Performance

• Run a single-threaded program in a single-vCPU virtual machine
• Use resxtop to observe baseline data
• Use the vSphere Client to observe baseline data
• Import the CPU-HOG vApp
• Generate CPU contention
• Run a single-threaded program in a dual-vCPU virtual machine
• Run a dual-threaded program in a dual-vCPU virtual machine
• Run a multithreaded program in a quad-vCPU virtual machine

Lab 12: Diagnose CPU Performance

• Generate CPU activity
• Display pop-up charts for your ESXi host and your test virtual machine
• Check for host CPU saturation
• Check for guest CPU saturation
• Check for using only one vCPU in an SMP virtual machine
• Check for low guest CPU utilization

Lab 13: Monitor Memory Performance

• Generate database activity
• Display the memory screen in resxtop
• Display a memory performance chart for your test virtual machine
• Import the RAM-HOG vApp
• Over-commit memory resources

Lab 14: Diagnose Memory Performance

• Generate memory activity
• Display the memory performance charts for your ESXi host and virtual machines
• Check for active host-level swapping
• Check for past host-level swapping
• Check for guest operating system paging
• Check for high guest memory demand

Lab 15: Diagnose Virtual Machine and Cluster Performance

• Move your ESXi host into the first problem cluster
• Troubleshoot the first cluster problem
• Troubleshoot the second cluster problem

Lab 16: Work with Host Profiles

• Create a host profile
• Attach a host profile to an ESXi host and check compliance
• Purposely introduce configuration drift
• Check compliance again
• Remediate the managed host
• Detach the managed host from the host profile

Lab 17: vCenter Linked Mode

• Enable vCenter Linked Mode
• Perform a combined query from a Linked Mode group
• Execute administration operations in a Linked Mode group
• Isolate a vCenter Server instance from a Linked Mode group

Lab 18: Using Windows PowerShell

• Start vSphere PowerCLI and find the vSphere PowerCLI version
• Retrieve the Windows PowerShell security policy
• Create a simple script
• Display the vSphere PowerCLI help files
• Connect and disconnect to your ESXi host
• Define a variable to store the ESXi host and vCenter Server system names
• Connect to the vCenter Server system
• Run cmdlets to find ESXi host-related information
• Use Get-VM to retrieve virtual machine properties
• Use Get-Stat to retrieve performance information
• Migrate a virtual machine's disk to shared storage
• Use vMotion to migrate a virtual machine

Lab 19: Use Image Builder

• Export an image profile to an ISO image

Lab 20: Configure VMware vSphere Auto Deploy on a Windows vCenter Server System

• Install Auto Deploy
• Configure the DHCP server and TFTP server for Auto Deploy
• Use vSphere PowerCLI to configure Auto Deploy
• Configure the ESXi host to boot from the network (For vClass users only)
• Configure the ESXi host to boot from the network (For non-vClass users)
• View the autodeployed host in the vCenter Server inventory