VMware vSphere 6.0 Ultimate Bootcamp

Adopt the learn it do it know it approach, with explanations, on-screen demonstrations of real-world actions, optional labs, end-of-section questions and answers, and expert tips highlighted by a green icon.

Explore VMware virtualization concepts in topic one of chapter two, within the VMware vSphere 6.0 ultimate bootcamp.

Explore software defined datacenter, where the hypervisor abstracts cpu and ram, and storage, networking, and security are presented to virtual machines through software interface, enabling simpler management and faster provisioning.

Virtualization simplifies management by turning physical servers into virtual machines, reducing overhead and driver issues. Templates streamline VM provisioning, and backing up VM files yields a complete backup or clone.

Discover how VMware's bottom-of-the-screen total cost of ownership calculator compares to Microsoft in a head-to-head analysis of when you'll break even on your virtualization task.

Explore how a virtual machine is software built from storage files that define virtual hardware through a software interface. A configuration file captures hardware details and wizard inputs.

Explore Horizon View, a desktop virtualization technology that uses the same ESXi host and vCenter backend to run virtual desktops, with Horizon View components to build the desktop infrastructure.

Explore how VMware Fusion 8 on Apple OS X desktops matches Workstation capabilities, including Unity mode, by running a Windows XP VM that appears on the Apple OS X desktop.

Explore VMware Workstation Player, a hypervisor many users try first. Learn to download it, import OVL files, create films, and use unity mode to run apps on your desktop.

Explore Windows Server virtualization with Hyper-V 2012 R2, a true type 1 hypervisor booted from bare metal, noting licensing for advanced features and live migration capabilities.

Learn to plan the ESXi deployment within the VMware vSphere 6.0 bootcamp, focusing on chapter three topic one.

64-bit hardware with at least two cores and 480 logical cores; enable annex XTi bios bit, provide ram (minimum 4 gb, 8 gb recommended) and a gigabit nic.

Explore the vSphere hypervisor ESXi, its three licensing modes—trial, free, and paid—plus how licensing affects vCenter access and feature sets, footprint, and deployment options.

Boot your esxi host from a san lun via an hba and bios boot to the san lun, enabling storage-network boot for blade center and diskless hosts, with quick recovery.

Demonstrates booting esxi from a san lun by configuring a bios to a fiber channel hba with a world wide name, contrasted with hba settings showing an ip address.

Explore esx/esxi storage with linux-like vmfs directories, where volumes and devices show hex IDs and human names, enabling programmatic access across local, san, and nfs, and Windows drive letters.

Explore vSphere 6.x deployment guidelines and best practices, covering topic 2 from the course, to guide efficient and reliable VMware infrastructure deployment.

Plan a VMware vSphere deployment by assessing guest operating systems, applications, hardware, licensing, storage, and growth needs, with memory as the critical resource.

Explore storage capacity and performance for virtual machines, covering base disk sizing, snapshots, and swap files, plus how raid, spindles, and interfaces affect throughput.

Learn the installation of the vSphere hypervisor (ESXi) as covered in chapter three topic three for the VMware vSphere 6.0 Ultimate Bootcamp.

Explore ESXi installation options, including interactive ISO installs, scripted deployments, and PXE/auto deploy methods, plus remote management tools for installing ESXi on remote hosts.

Access ESXi via the direct console (DCUI) to configure the management network, set a static IP or DHCP, assign a VLAN, and update DNS and hostname, plus lockdown or reset.

Explore vSphere 6.x auto deploy enhancements, including stateless boot with PXE, stateless cached mode using local storage to cache images, and the new stateful install mode for local installations.

Connect to the host with the vSphere client, open DNS and routing configuration, and review the DNS name and server IPs stored in /etc/hosts, plus the DNS suffix search list.

Explore chapter three topic five on troubleshooting ESXi, focusing on diagnosing common issues and solutions for VMware vSphere environments.

The bios loads the boot loader from the boot device and starts the hypervisor kernel, then loads low-level drivers, runs configuration scripts, and starts services until the dc ui.

Understand the hostie process, the host management service, and its watchdog that restarts hostie automatically if it stops. Verify status with hostie status or restart with hostie restart.

Learn how the purple screen of death signals a hardware fault, often tied to memory or RAM, and how to capture it for VMware to identify the failing RAM bank.

Outline chapter 3 review, focusing on planning esx side deployment, deployment guidelines, and components of your plan, then cover installation, hostname resolution, network time protocol, and esx ii troubleshooting techniques.

Explore chapter 4 topic one, an overview of third party tools in this VMware vSphere bootcamp.

Use ISO programs to create, modify, and burn ISO files from CDs or DVDs, then mount them in a VM’s virtual CD ROM for isolated, local access.

Explore extrovert dotcom's virtualization resources, from UK engineering white papers to ESX installation guides in virtual machines, plus free tools like the VM or documentation downloader and central alarms monitor.

Explore multiple management paths for ESXi hosts and vCenter, from direct console and remote access cards to VCL II scripts, PowerShell, and the web client for center-wide control.

Learn to use the direct console user interface to modify the host configuration, navigate options, and view the VM kernel log in real time using Alt-F12.

Connect to your ESX hosts primarily through the vSphere Client (VIC), a .NET Windows desktop appliance. It's Windows-only, with no Linux version, for configuring and working with individual ESX hosts.

Explore the management user interface (MUI), a static web page on any host or VSAN accessible by browser, to browse data stores and download the vSphere client and vCenter trial.

Learn how to customize the vSphere web client 6.0 login UI by editing specific files to control its look and feel for your organization.

Secure shell access is disabled by default; enable it ahead of time to permit tools like PuTTY and SecureCRT to access the host via SSH.

Explore the datastore browser to create, view, copy, move, upload, download, and delete folders and files on data stores, from host or web client. It’s not intelligent, so exercise caution.

Enable the ESXi shell or SSH, connect with the vSphere client, and review summary screen warning; in labs you can suppress it via an advanced setting from 0 to 1.

Examine the evolution of vSphere 6.0 command line tools, from ESX to ESX Selye namespaces, noting deprecated commands replaced by ESX Selye equivalents, VCL commands, and Power Selye commands.

Explore multiple ways to run the same command from the command line, with the preferred ESX Selye namespace and a chart of older methods now replaced by the SEC Seelye.

Explore the vSphere command line interface (vCLI) in Windows and Linux. Download from VM or for free, install on the desktop, and run Perl scripts, with Windows including active Perl.

Connect to a host using vCLI command syntax, authenticate with a username and password, and learn session files and vi fastpath; if no password is provided, you will be prompted.

Discover how the vSphere Perl SDK extends standard tools with an extensive library of Perl scripts, downloadable as the software development kit, enabling host connections with username and password.

Explore vSphere management assistant (vMA) 6.0, a downloadable standalone Linux appliance with VMware tools pre-installed, the VCL II, and the SDK for Perl.

Discover PowerCLI 6.0 release 1, an add-on to PowerShell, that adds over 450 commands for vSphere 6 and runs only on Windows with PowerShell installed.

Windows admins explore which vSphere commands mirror Linux commands, learning copy, move, ls, date, grep, and find to navigate ESXi, with practical comparisons between Windows and Linux styles.

Learn common command line interface options, including bin and sbin binaries, help switches (-h, --help, -?), piping with more, filtering with grep, and viewing with less.

Master efficient command line workflows with tab completion for paths and commands, plus history recall and a built-in editor that lets you edit commands with arrow keys.

Learn troubleshooting techniques for the vSphere client (VIC) in chapter 4. Navigate common issues encountered when using the VIC in the VMware vSphere 6.0 bootcamp.

Troubleshoot cannot log in using vic by verifying the target (host or vCenter), checking passwords, and performing network checks; replace self-signed SSL certificates and ensure management agents and vCenter services.

Chapter four review outlines third party tools and management tools for hosts and view center server. It also covers a Linux command review for Windows admins and troubleshooting VSE client.

Explore licensing and planning for the center server deployment, Windows or Linux installation, the sphere web client, and the future of management, inventory, and troubleshooting.

Explore licensing concepts in topic one of chapter five of the VMware vSphere 6.0 ultimate bootcamp.

Discover how vCenter Server 6 shifts licensing to the platform services controller, a new server type, replacing the older approach of licensing in vCenter Server with a separate license server.

Outline five licensed vcenter server versions, including essentials and essentials plus for small business, noting price differences, high availability, data protection, motion, and up to three hosts per kit.

Discover vSphere 6.0 licensing types—standard, enterprise, and enterprise plus—and compare per-VM VCP limits, fault-tolerant VMs support, and the inclusion of distributed resource scheduler features and pricing.

Learn features from vSphere 5.1 that persist in 5.5 and 6.0, including center operations manager renamed to center realized operations, a read-only health view, data protection, shield endpoint, S.R.O.

Explore the two forms of vCenter Server: Windows installer and Linux appliance, and learn how it provides centralized management with container objects like folders, data centers, clusters, and resource pools.

Explore vCenter server 6.0 specifications for Windows edition, detailing dual 2.0 ghz processors, Intel or AMD support, minimum 4 gb RAM, and VMware recommends running as a Windows VM.

The vCenter server database stores inventory and performance metrics; external options: Oracle or SQL Server 2008 R2+; embedded uses PostgreSQL by default and supports up to 20 hosts.

Compare Windows vCenter 6.0 to vCSA 6.0, noting that both are largely similar. Reveal vCSA's Linux appliance option and its missing sql support, Windows Update Manager, and the migration path.

Understand the architecture of vcenter 5.1/5.5, where a vcenter server controls virtualization via sso and identity sources, with web client services, and learn how multiple vcenter servers can be linked.

Discover how vCenter server 6 centralizes services with the platform services controller, moves SSL to the bottom, and streamlines authentication to manage a worldwide virtual infrastructure from a single center.

Explore the vCenter Server 6.0 architecture, including Platform Services Controller, identity sources, external databases, core infrastructure services, ESXi host and VM management, and extensible plug-ins for patching and automation.

The platform services controller in vcenter 6.0 centralizes four services: single sign-on, license server, lookup service, and VMCA certificate authority, continuing SSO and license management across hosts.

Explore vCenter 6 typologies from embedded to external platform services controller setups, weighing all-in-one versus separate PSC and vCenter deployments, with single sign-on domains and a load-balanced, high-availability configuration.

Explore vCenter Server 6.x database sizing by adjusting statistics collection levels from 1 to 4, showing how 50 hosts and 2000 CMS influence the estimated database size and growth.

Explore backup strategies for the vcenter server, covering embedded versus external databases, physical-to-virtual cloning, fault-tolerant cms, and direct-to-host restores with the VTB or Sfeir data protection appliance.

Master vCenter Server installation in topic 3 of chapter 5 in the VMware vSphere 6.0 ultimate bootcamp.

Install an external platform services controller and external center server on Windows, configure system name, ports, and storage locations, complete the setup, then proceed to the VSE on the server.

Install the center server for an external vcenter 6.0 deployment, register with the single sign-on, configure certificates and the vip xd service account, and prepare the web client for configuration.

connect to the vcenter server as administrator via the web client, add active directory as an identity source, and assign domain admins the administrator role with propagation to children.

Explore the chapter 5 topic for the vSphere web client within topic 4 of the VMware vSphere 6.0 ultimate bootcamp.

Explore the vSphere web client version 6, delivering faster logging and right-click, redesigned menus, improved drag-and-drop, and the new vmrc remote console for streamlined vm operations.

Use the vSphere web client 6.0 to connect to the center server, manage hosts and clusters, and operate VM consoles via the web and remote console.

Explore chapter 5 topic 5, the vCenter Server inventory. Review the vCenter Server inventory within chapter 5 topic 5.

Explore data center objects as logical containers for hosts and other objects. Create at least one data center before adding hosts, and learn how resource pools manage cpu and ram.

Organize virtual machines by creating folders in the VMs and templates view to group them and simplify permissions, enabling folder based access for sub administrators.

Navigate the vCenter inventory to view virtual machines or VM templates via the related objects tab, and customize columns to display host, guest OS, compatibility, RAM, NIC, and IP details.

Explore networking in vSphere by comparing standard virtual switch port groups with the distributed switch (vds) and its expanded settings, actions, and child objects.

Discover content libraries in vSphere 6.0, a new feature to store templates, OVL packages, and other files, with local or cross-site replication and one up-to-date copy.

Create a new content library via content libraries, using the wizard to name and configure it on the center server, with global permissions and the local or subscribe option.

Schedule tasks in vSphere by using the manage tab's schedule task button to select inventory objects and automate actions like creating virtual machines and adding hosts.

Manage center sessions by sending messages to all connected users and setting a message of the day. Use the sessions tab to monitor connections and terminate sessions with proper permissions.

Navigate alarms and work in progress panels in vSphere 6.0, manage alarms with right-click actions, track progress in the recent task pane, and switch between my task and all tasks.

View, filter, and export system logs from the center using the log browser and the export button. Retrieve logs and apply text filters or advanced filters to locate specific items.

Explore flings at VMware Labs, including the VAMC/CCMA Linux-based appliance, accessible from Apple or Android devices, with a web client-like interface to perform various tasks.

Troubleshoot vCenter Server and the database, guided by chapter 5 topic seven, to identify and resolve common issues.

Refresh vCenter items via the upper-right link or F5, then restart hostd or vpxa from CLI or GUI, and use security profile or troubleshooting options for service restarts.

Explore the monitor tab for a host in the vSphere web client to view hardware status, sensors, alerts, and the system event log, serial numbers or asset tags when available.

Use the home page monitoring icon to check vCenter server services; green means good, red shows problems with detailed causes and remediation hints.

Log into the host as root, list the .id files in the VM directory to reveal the PID, then kill -9 the process and restart management services.

Learn where vcenter server logs reside, how current logs end in .log while older ones compress to .gz, and how to adjust log levels via the GUI.

Learn how vCenter Server service (vpxd) failures occur on Windows, and diagnose them by checking VSAN disk space, ODBC connections, recovery options, and Event Viewer logs.

Troubleshoot vCenter Server startup by running the vpxd -s standalone command to dump startup information to the screen, revealing issues not captured in logs.

Explain vSphere client session errors when the server loses connection to a host, causing host and VM state changes. Identify causes like network glitches and host rebooting, and note troubleshooting.

Chapter five reviews seven topics: licensing, deployment planning for the center server, installation on Windows and Linux, the web client, server inventory, center management, and troubleshooting licensing and the database.

Master creating and modifying virtual networks in VMware vSphere 6.0, with practical guidance on configuring network components.

Learn how a standard virtual switch operates at layer 2, using MAC addresses and software-only networking in RAM, with uplink and VM kernel ports handling management and other traffic.

Learn to add and edit networking in vSphere 6.0 using the web client, including virtual switches, VM kernel ports, physical adapters, and port groups.

Explore the standard virtual switch (vss) components, including vmkernel ports and venx NICs with their IPs and MACs. Learn how traffic moves within subnets, gateways, and internal port groups.

Identify and label virtual switches, port groups, and VM kernel ports in a VMware vSphere environment, including the default switch zero, VM network, management network, and sandboxing with internal switches.

This lecture explains how VMware assigns MAC addresses to VMkernel ports and virtual NICs, including the first three octets and the address stored inside the VM and its OS.

Discover how to set a custom MAC address in VMware vSphere 6.0, including any hex value, and how the VMX file stores the MAC for the virtual machine.

Explore virtual switch physical NIC configurations in vSphere, from internal only switches to single-nic setups and NIC teaming to prevent single points of failure.

Explore NIC teaming for load distribution and redundancy on a single virtual switch, with configurable failover and network policies, using standard or distributed switches in Cisco or IBM environments.

Explore the Cisco discovery protocol on standard vSS; modify its settings with the ESX Seelye command and note LLDP is not yet supported.

Modify standard switch properties through the ports tab in the VIC from the vSphere client, noting effects only on ESX 5.1 or earlier and the host port count.

Ports are elastic in 5.5 and higher; the vic shows 120 ports with editing but no back-end effect, and the web client also displays elastic with no port numbers listed.

Modify the speed and duplex for each physical NIC in the network adapters tab; auto negotiate is the default, but some switches fail with it, so you may adjust settings.

Learn how VLANs isolate broadcast traffic to form separate broadcast domains on layer 2. Traffic from virtual machines is encapsulated with VLAN IDs and unwrapped at the switch via trunking.

Compare vlan implementations in vSphere: virtual switch tagging with a port group vlan id, virtual guest tagging using 802.1q inside the vm, and external switch tagging handled by switches.

Configure standard vSwitch VLANs by opening the port group properties and entering a VLAN ID with tagging. Native VLAN 1 is not supported on standard switches.

Explore how standard vSwitch port group security policies govern promiscuous mode, MAC address changes, and forged transmits, and how accepting or rejecting these settings affects MAC spoofing in virtual machines.

Traffic shaping works on standard and distributed switches, throttling outbound on standard switches and both inbound and outbound on distributed switches; port group settings override parent switch to affect VM.

Learn standard virtual switch and port group policy exceptions for NIC teaming and outbound load balancing, including overriding failover order on child port groups or VM kernel ports.

Learn the default load balancing method in VMware vSphere 6.0: route based on originating virtual port ID, which sticks traffic to a NIC and rounds robin across NICs when needed.

Explore how eight uplinks and multiple port groups on a virtual switch create active and standby ports in vSphere 6.0, with NICs failover controlling temporary traffic sharing.

Discover how the vSphere distributed switch (vDS) is configured at the datacenter level, with policies applied to all hosts and support for PVLAN, up to 1000 hosts per switch.

Discover the vSphere distributed switch enhancements in vSphere 5.0, including user defined network IO controls, net flow version 5 support, and port mirroring for troubleshooting, plus LDP support.

Explore features of vSphere distributed switch version 5.1, with network health checks, automatic rollback and recovery, MAC address management, and port mirroring with net flow version 10 and SNMP/SR-IOV support.

vSphere 6.0 introduces vds per-vm bandwidth reservations for multi-tenant clouds, plus multicast snooping with IGMP (IPv4) and MLD (IPv6) to boost performance and scale and ensure SLA adherence.

Edit the distributed switch settings to configure the vds name, uplinks, pvlan types (promiscuous, isolated, community), mtu, discovery protocols, netflow, and health checks.

Edit vds uplink settings by selecting the uplink object and opening manage settings properties. Adjust the few modifiable options, including the name, disconnect, lcp, net flow, and port blocking.

Edit vds port group settings by adjusting all properties at the port group level, including security, traffic shaping, and uplink mappings, while using logical uplinks for scalable host connections.

Explore private VLANs in vSphere, including promiscuous, community, and isolated PVLAN types, how they govern communication, and how to select PVLAN options per port group.

Explore network control for traffic using predefined and user defined flow types such as vSAN, vSphere replication, and VM traffic, plus configuring limits, shares, and 802.1p quality of service tags.

Configure port mirroring in vSphere 6.0 by selecting source and destination ports, enabling ingress and egress, mapping port groups, and installing packet sniffing software on the connected VM.

Enable the vDS health check, configure teaming and failover, and review health notices in the distributed switch monitor tab, noting good media status and a VLA health warning.

Enable traffic filtering and marking at port group or uplink levels, using DSCP tags at layer 3 and packet filters to control IP port numbers, layer 4, and MAC addresses.

Learn how to configure per VM NIOC 3 settings to reserve bandwidth on a per VM basis, and set shares, limits, and other values on the individual VM.

Explore the Cisco Nexus 1000v virtual switch, the first third-party distributed switch for vSphere, its licensing, and features like port channels, quality of service, PVLANs, ACLs, port security, and SPAN.

Compare the Nexus 1000v editions, highlighting the free essentials version versus the purchasable advanced edition and features like HTP snooping, IP source guard, and dynamic ARP inspection.

Explore networking in vSphere, covering standard and distributed switches, port groups and vmkernel ports, VLAN usage, traffic shaping, and the vmxnet3 driver for optimal performance.

Learn storage concepts in chapter 7 topic one of the VMware vSphere 6.0 ultimate bootcamp.

Compare san and nas in vSphere, highlighting san as block storage with luns and multipathing, nas as file sharing with directories, and note nas is not supported by the platform.

Explore how storage is accessed in vSphere using device names and pathnames, including automatic host labeling at boot, and the roles of storage processors, targets, luns, and slices.

Trace the evolution of vSphere’s storage APIs from the pluggable storage architecture (PSA) to the vSphere API for storage integration (VHI), and standardize naming like store JPI and array integration.

Explore storage APIs for array integration in vSphere, enabling full VM copy/move via extended commands, hardware assisted locking, zeroing, thin provisioning, and space reclamation across SANs.

Explore multipathing and redundancy with multiple host-to-san paths to LUNs, where only one path is active at a time, and learn about the round up pathing policy and failover settings.

Examine the storage api for multipath and the pluggable storage architecture. Describe path selection plug-ins and native options like fixed, MRU, round robin, and active-active or active-passive modes.

Explore path selection to avoid single-path contention, using multiple paths with fixed or MRU policies. Round robin switches paths after thresholds, defaulting to 1000 operations, and cache flushing affects learning.

Learn to install third-party multipathing plugins for vSphere via the VSE/VIC workflow, including importing the plugin zip into Update Manager and creating a host extension baseline.

Explore all paths down (apd) improvements and pdl enhancements, including complex failure handling, cluster high availability to restart vms on another host, and device removal and re-addition via api updates.

Explore SIOC enhancements, including a statistics-only mode, automatic threshold computation, and the IO injector that estimates a 90 percent threshold latency.

Learn to set up sioc in the web client by enabling it in data store settings, adjusting the peak throughput percentage, and configuring per vm shares to balance contention.

Discover how vmkernel scans iSCSI and Fibre Channel LUNs, now supporting up to 1024 per host, and how to tune the maximum LUNs and perform rescans via GUI or esxcli.

Explore how iSCSI transfers scuzzy commands over an IP network to a SAN, using gigabit or 10 gidgee and TCAP port 30 to 60 by default.

Explore esx/esxi and iSCSI san architecture, including disk arrays with software-based LUNs, RAID layers, and multipath via storage processors, plus hardware vs software iSCSI managed by the vmkernel.

Explore iSCSI multipathing, where a host supports up to 1024 paths and you choose between hardware (up to eight initiators) or software initiators, but not both.

Configure the iSCSI initiator by adding the software iSCSI adapter and naming it with an iqn-style domain reversed, then bind vm kernel ports, discover the san ip, and rescan.

Jumbo frames raise frame size to 9000 bytes; 5400 is standard. Real gains vary 33–50 percent, and all devices must match jumbo size; SAN devices auto set to 9000.

Troubleshoot the iSCSI software initiator with standard network checks, ping the iSCSI target, then inspect the host log for iSCSI or network failures.

Identify tested and approved iSCSI vendors and products for vSphere 6.0, review hardware versus software iSCSI targets, and note that FreeNAS and Openfiler are not approved.

Explain fiber channel as a protocol with 1 to 16 gbps transfer rates, native fiber channel over ethernet, data center bridging, and booting from SAN in a fiber channel mesh.

Explore fiber channel terms for an ESXi host, including boot from SAN, format a LUN on a fiber channel SAN, label a data store, and configure raw device mappings.

Explore the fiber channel SAN architecture, including switches and host connections, learn WWN addressing, and master zoning and masking to control traffic visibility.

Explore VMware vSphere 6.0's subset of fiber channel vendors and products, and note that some fiber channel over ethernet targets are not supported by VMware.

Explore vmfs datastores within VMware vSphere 6.0, focusing on chapter 7 topics and data stores for effective storage management.

Updates in VMware vSphere 5.5 VMFS raise max file size from 2 tb to 62 tb, enabling VMFS3 to VMFS5 upgrades; snapshots and device maps scale in virtual compatibility mode.

Learn how to extend a vmfs datastore with extents, merge a data volume with an empty one, and manage the overhead in esxi while understanding the limits of 32 extents.

Expand an ESXi 6.0 VMFS volume via a two-step process: enlarge the SAN LUN, then expand the datastore on the host, yielding a VMFS size and a single extent backing.

Explore vmkfstools, the Swiss Army knife of VMware command line tools, to create and label VMFS volumes, view metadata with -P and -H, resize, export, and clone virtual disks.

Explore network attached storage as a file sharing system for VMware vSphere, enabling VMs, templates, and ISO images on an fs mount, with vmkernel ports and no boot from LUN.

Explains NFS v4.1 support in vSphere 6.0, including multipath session trunking and Kerberos authentication, with built-in file locking and data store options.

Configure an NFS target on Windows server 2003 r2 and higher by enabling the NFS sharing service, name mapping, and access options including no root squash or allow root access.

Explore raw device mapping (RDM) in topic 6 of chapter 7 within the VMware vSphere 6.0 ultimate bootcamp, detailing how RDM enables direct storage access.

Explore raw device mapping (RDM) that lets a virtual machine access a volume directly via a mapping file on the VMFS, enabling direct reads and writes by the VM.

Explore raw device mapping benefits: snapshots, distributed file locking for shared use, VM migration, Microsoft clustering services, and NPIV-enabled virtual WWNs on the fiber channel fabric.

Select a raw device map and the host, then choose virtual or physical backing. The VM recognizes the drive and you can format it with its native file system.

Explore solid state disks (SSD) concepts in the bootcamp's seventh topic, explaining their role and benefits within VMware vSphere 6.0 environments.

Learn how solid state disks (ssd) are used in VMware vSphere 6.0, including hybrid storage options and formatting ssd storage with VMFS for faster performance.

Discover how ESXi identifies SSDs and how to use ESX CLI to set up claim rules when the host does not automatically recognize an SSD.

Explore how smart metrics monitor SSD health, including media wear, high temperatures, and reallocated sectors. View core attributes via esxcli command line using the built-in smartd plugin, with on-demand scripts.

Configure the host cache by dedicating part of an ssd vmfs data store for host swap space and adjust the allocation in the host cache configuration.

Configure the host swap cache using the flash resource in the host managed settings, and set its size up to four terabytes depending on data store storage.

Explore virtual flash read cache and assign flash resources to individual VMs to accelerate IO, using a host flash resource to speed sequel server IO via caching, with advanced settings.

Set the virtual flash cache per VM by opening the VM, selecting managed settings, and editing virtual flash cache to adjust size or block size in advanced.

Dell fog light storage for vSphere offers a purchasable storage management solution with performance and capacity monitoring, topology views, and out-of-the-box alerts and reports.

Explore vOptimizer Pro (vOPS storage optimizer) from Dell Software, a storage tool that reclaims space and adapts VMT quotas or policies, applying changes at the next reboot to minimize waste.

Explore VMware vSphere 6.0's virtual san (vsan) in chapter 7 topic 9 to present the key concepts clearly.

Discover how VSAN uses local storage with at least one SSD and one hard drive, where SSD caches and buffers writes while drives store data, with disk groups per host.

VSAN introduces a new data store across the cluster, using total storage minus SSD cache, with three hosts for two-copy VM protection and up to 32 hosts (version 5.5).

Explore chapter 7 topic 10, focusing on vSphere virtual volumes (VVols) and the vizir virtual volumes concept.

Explore vSphere virtual volumes (VVols) limitations and guidelines, including IPv6 not supported, dynamic discovery, IP configuration, protocol endpoints for multipath, storage containers within a single array, and vCenter.

In 2015, seven certified storage vendors offered vVols support. Continue checking the VMware compatibility site for tested and approved vVols vendors as initial support rolled out.

Explore vmware vSphere 6.0 virtual hardware, including hardware version 11, Phoenix BIOS support, and the evolution of RAM, serial ports, and USB controllers. Understand how these options optimize VM performance.

Explore virtual NIC drivers from software-only options to e1000, VMXNET, and VMXNET3, including jumbo frames, and see how VMware Tools affect OS detection and initial network access.

In VMware vSphere 6.0 bootcamp lecture on VMDK stub file creation, learn to recreate a VM from VMDK flat files by rebuilding stub and using the wizard with existing disks.

Learn about vmdk disk provisioning types—thin, lazy zero thick, and eager zero thick—how they allocate space, when zeros are written, and appropriate use cases for databases and storage efficiency.

Explore how virtual disks are built from two files, default to lazy zeroed thick, and change provisioning by moving disk files via hot or cold migrations or storage vMotion.

Understand hardware version 9 compatibility, scheduling upgrades for powered-off VMs, and HIV virtual hardware virtualization for nested labs, including up to 64 vcpus per VM and Horizon View, Cloud Director.

Explore hardware version 10 in esxi 5.5, including sas support for oracle, new vca controllers (up to four, 120 devices), and three enhanced gps modes with linux graphics acceleration.

Review hardware version 11 in vSphere 6, with up to 128 vcpu per vm, 4 tb ram, swap file considerations, and dgpu support.

Discover how vSphere 6.0 supports up to 62 TB virtual disks, updated in hardware version 10, and learn offline extension of 2 TB drives, which can't be done online.

Explains AHCI SATA controller support in hardware version 10, enabling 30 devices per adapter and four adapters, and recommends using separate controllers for each hard drive to boost throughput.

Use the virtual scsi controller as a high-speed secondary adapter for non-C drives when VMware Tools are installed, and avoid it for the operating system drive.

Launch the VMRC remote console to open a standalone window similar to the vSphere client, access VM tasks via menu items, and view the virtual hardware in the upper right.

Learn to install VMware Tools across Windows and Linux guests, choosing typical, complete, or custom installs, selecting drivers, and using auto mount, manual ISO mounting, and quiescing for snapshots.

Compare VMware Tools across 5.0 and earlier versus 5.1/5.5/6.0, noting upgrade behavior, lack of configurable settings, time synchronization, and backward compatibility with older VMs.

Learn to create multiple vms using templates and clones to deploy and manage scalable environments in the VMware vSphere 6.0 ultimate bootcamp.

Customize the OS in a VM by cloning or deploying from a template, and tailor Windows and Linux themes on the fly with open-source Linux tools on vCenter.

Create a customisations specification using the customisations specification manager wizard, choosing Windows or Linux and optionally loading a preexisting cist prep file to populate name, network, and domain settings.

deploy a new app or virtual machine from a library template in vSphere 6.0 via the actions menu, including naming, data stores, and networks.

Customize any powered-off VM from the content library using the customize guest OS wizard, choose an answer file, and finish to start the VM's customization process.

Deploy across data centers using a single template or content library to standardize VM deployments across your entire VMware vSphere infrastructure.

Explore chapter 8 topic three virtual appliances in the VMware vSphere 6.0 ultimate bootcamp. Clarify how virtual appliances are presented in this topic.

Explore virtual appliances, preconfigured virtual machines for databases, web servers, and security tooling, using the open virtualization format (OVF) to export and import across workstation and ESXi for cross-platform deployment.

Learn to deploy a virtual appliance in vSphere by selecting a host, accepting the end-user license, and configuring the VM name, datastore, networking, and static IPs, then power on.

Export a virtual machine to an ovl appliance to achieve cross-platform portability, packaging all disks and metadata into a single compressed archive with a manifest.

Learn how to configure and use vApps in VMware vSphere 6.0, as covered in chapter 8 of the ultimate bootcamp.

Learn how a vApp packages multiple virtual machines into a portable appliance with resource controls and startup order for cloning and multi-tier deployments.

Create and configure a vApp with the wizard, selecting new or clone, and set inventory, name, and resource allocation. Power on the vApp to start all VMs in proper order.

Explore VMware Converter and its P2V and V2V conversions, enabling physical to virtual and virtual to virtual migration workflows within the VMware vSphere bootcamp.

Identify convertible sources with VMware Converter 6.0, using hot clone technology for running or powered-off virtual machines. Include VMware, Hyper-V, and third-party sources via system images.

Explore VMware vCenter Converter 6.0’s hot cloning and VSS-based synchronization for Windows systems, with Linux limitations, disk resizing, and support for Workstation Player or Fusion VMs; plan for time and concurrency.

Explore the hot cloning 4-step process: prepare the source with an agent and snapshots, create and copy to the destination VM, install drivers and customize services, then clean up.

After conversion, remove unnecessary virtual hardware, reconfigure static IP if needed, and strip QoS and load balancing services; use a two-step batch file with device manager to reveal hidden devices.

Demonstrates how to perform a standalone VMware vCenter Converter 6.0 conversion: select source, choose destination, configure hardware, networks, services, and throttling, then run and monitor the progress.

PlateSpin migrate 9.3 by NetIQ acts as the everything-to-everything converter, a reliable fallback when other converters fail, and uniquely enables turning a virtual machine back into a physical server.

Learn how hot add memory and CPUs in vSphere 6.0 work, enabled ahead of time while powered off, with hardware version 7 support for Windows enterprise licenses.

Learn to add usb devices to a vm by creating a usb controller and attaching host or desktop usb devices, then verify with the device manager and compatibility lists.

Explore vm properties options, including general settings (name, configuration file location, os type and version), tools and time synchronization, power and boot options, and advanced npi fiber channel support.

Resize the virtual disk by increasing the VMDK, then extend the guest partition via Windows Disk Management or DiskPart, with a workaround for Windows 2003 using a second VM.

Extend vmdk from the command line or with tools to increase its size, then follow remaining steps. Disk Manager can automatically extend C drive on newer Windows versions.

Extend partitions with gparted by booting from the live cd, selecting the target partition, dragging the end handle, applying changes, and rebooting.

The vOptimizer Pro lets you set a target free space percentage and automatically shrink or grow virtual disks at the next reboot to match that setting.

Learn thin provision disk reclamation by reclaiming freed blocks after the guest OS deletes files, using s delete and VM cafs tools punch zero on Windows.

Learn to zero free space in virtual machines using SDelete, a TechNet utility, and perform a DMD grade level wipe to sanitize a hard drive.

Explore the VMware vSphere 6.0 guest reclaim fling to reclaim space from flat partitions and flat disks, as introduced in the ultimate bootcamp.

Explore Rocco's perfect storage, a two-in-one utility that is not free; it zeroes out and then performs scuzzy unmap to reclaim space, with a 25 percent discount via V.M. training.

VMware vSphere 6.0 ultimate bootcamp teaches how renaming a virtual machine automatically updates all related files, simplifying move and rename operations across versions 5.5 and above.

Learn about virtual machine start up and shut down in VMware vSphere 6.0 Ultimate Bootcamp, chapter 8 topic seven.

Explore host-level startup and shutdown of virtual machines, with configurable auto startup in specific or any order, or manual mode; clustering disables auto startup to support live migration.

Enable vm startup/shutdown in vSphere 6.0 by configuring the startup order and two-minute delays, customizing per-VM settings, and setting the default guest OS shut down.

Explore virtual machine snapshots in topic 8, chapter 8 of the VMware vSphere 6.0 ultimate bootcamp.

Understand that VMware snapshots are testing tools, not backups. Snapshot a VM to test changes, commit if successful, or rollback if not, with up to 64 snapshots per VM.

Snapshots create a vmdk and a delta file that store binary differences and grow rapidly. Delete snapshots promptly to prevent slowdowns, and note index and ram state file are produced.

Capture a vSphere snapshot by naming it with a date-time stamp and description, then choose to snapshot memory or the operating system; these options are mutually exclusive.

Understand the snapshot manager, including selecting, moving, and deleting snapshots in a chronological chain, and how deleting merges binary differencing data into the parent to avoid holes in time.

Delete snapshots quickly by choosing delete or delete all; delete merges or removes snapshots into the timeline to reach the target point, with faster performance in 5.0 and above.

Troubleshoot vm problems by inspecting physical host resources and virtual resources, starting minimal and expanding; verify RTP access, ISO connections, and permissions with ping or trace route.

Differentiate VMs from physical servers with the 1-1-1 rule, noting physical raid, load balancing, and NIC aggregation versus VM datastores, limited drivers, and easily changed resources.

Create single and multiple virtual machines with templates and clones, and organize them into a vApp with virtual appliances. Master startup and shutdown, snapshots, and basic VM troubleshooting.

Learn to control user access and manage passwords in VMware vSphere 6.0 ultimate bootcamp, with emphasis on access control and password policies.

Learn how vSphere 6.0 moves from local host accounts to centralized identity sources like Active Directory, enabling token-based authentication via the web client server service and lockdown mode.

Improve audit trails by logging actions under the performing user, enable smartcard authentication to the DCU, and offer more flexible lockdown modes with the DCU service not running itself.

Explore how to configure vSphere 6.0 lockdown modes on a host via the web client, choosing between normal and strict, and managing exception users from local or Active Directory accounts.

Assign permissions by pairing a user or group with a role on an inventory object, propagating to child objects, ensuring access only for designated users or groups.

Explore the built-in roles, including administrator, read-only, and no access, and learn how sample roles function in the center and how to create your own roles.

Explore how vSphere privileges empower access control, revealing over 280 role-based options and granular rights you can customize, with plugins like SRM adding privileges for disaster recovery.

Examine default host permissions and note that D.C. y en route hold the administrator role, while the VIP X user account appears only after adding the host to the center.

Explore how Windows vCenter permissions differ from Linux, why Domain Admins no longer automatically pass through local admin rights, and how to create dedicated virtualization administration groups with roles.

Discover how multiple group permissions combine without conflicts: the managers group grants VM power-on at the USA data center, while a separate group adds VM power-off in the same scope.

Demonstrates no-conflicts permissions for users and groups in VMware vSphere 6.0, where only one direct permission set applies to an object, and illustrates block inheritance in a resource pool.

Discover how conflicting group permissions, including no access for the VM admins group, hide resource pools and VMs, while read-only access may persist across multiple groups.

Understand how explicit permissions override inherited ones in vSphere. Experience read-only access at the top, administrator rights at a resource pool, and no access at lower resources.

The lecture demonstrates the differences between explicit and inherited permissions and shows that lower-level group permissions can override higher-level explicit permissions in vSphere 6.0.

Master ESXi active directory (AD) integration in the VMware vSphere 6.0 ultimate bootcamp, focusing on topic 2.

Discover how to join an ESX/ESXi host to an Active Directory domain, by providing the domain name, a join user account, and password, and configure the proxy server option.

Join your ESXi hosts to active directory to pull accounts for permissions, and add users to the ESX Admins group to automatically grant local administrator rights on all hosts.

Master managing firewalls in VMware vSphere 6.0, focusing on topic 3 and chapter 9 concepts.

Discover esxi 5.1’s default-on firewall that protects the management interface, blocks all traffic except essential services, and is managed via the vSphere client or web client.

Master topic 4: managing security certificates in the VMware vSphere 6.0 ultimate bootcamp, chapter 9.

Explore chapter 9 topics: controlling user access and passwords; join the ESX host to Active Directory for single authentication; manage firewalls; and manage the new security certificates.