VMware vSphere Mastery: Build and Manage Virtualized Infra

Explore types of virtualization, including storage, network, desktop, and server virtualization, with a VMware vSphere example to understand traditional server deployment and modern virtualization concepts.

Explore the traditional data center setup with racks of physical servers, where each application typically uses its own dedicated server.

Explore the drawbacks of traditional data centers, including one-to-one server deployment, high power and cooling needs, backup power requirements, large space and manpower needs, and underutilized resources.

Explore how server virtualization lets a single physical server run multiple operating systems as separate virtual machines, managed by a hypervisor, and compare virtual architecture with traditional architecture.

Identify VMware as a software company that develops virtualization and cloud software, not just a virtualization tool; founded in 1998 and first released VMware Workstation in 1999.

VMware pioneered virtualization for the x86 platform in the 1990s to address underutilization and other issues, establishing foundational virtualized infrastructure.

Explore how VMware leads x86 virtualization, serving over 400,000 customers and all Fortune 500 companies, with more than 80% of virtualized workloads and many business critical apps running on VMware.

Discover VMware products such as cloud detector, SD one, Horizon View, app virtualization, network virtualization, storage virtualization, and vSphere for server virtualization, and learn how to visualize the servers.

Learn what vSphere is, a VMware product that virtualizes x86 servers, and explore its components such as ESXi, vCenter, vMotion, enhanced vMotion, high availability, fault tolerance, and single sign-on.

Explore hypervisor concepts by examining the ESXi hypervisor, a virtualization software installed on a physical server to create multiple virtual machines and run several operating systems simultaneously.

Explore type 2 hypervisors from Oracle, Microsoft, and VMware, including VirtualBox, Virtual PC, and VMware Workstation, to understand desktop virtualization options.

Explore type 1 hypervisors, or bare metal hypervisors, that run directly on physical hardware to manage CPU, RAM, and NIC resources and host multiple virtual machines.

Explore type 1 hypervisors from Oracle VM to VMware ESXi, and examine iSCSI as the core component that virtualizes x86 architecture within vSphere.

Explore how ESXi, a type one hypervisor, is installed on physical servers to create and run multiple virtual machines with separate operating systems.

ESXi shares the resources of the physical server with multiple virtual machines, including CPU, RAM, CD/DVD drive, and iSCSI, as a core component of vSphere.

Explore the DCUI console for the initial ESX host configuration—setting hostname, IP address, subnet mask, and gateway—and why advanced tasks require the VMware host client.

Use the VMware host client to create virtual machines and virtual switches, manage storage, and administer ESXi hosts remotely via a web-based interface.

Set up a virtual lab for vSphere mastery by using a virtual server and iSCSI, install ESXi on VMware Workstation, create virtual machines, and install operating systems.

Install and configure a virtual server using VMware Workstation, a type 2 hypervisor, and set up iSCSI by following the provided links.

Access esxi host remotely via web, ssh, and putty; explore esxi options, iscsi interface, maintenance and lockdown modes, services, licensing, performance, and basic networking and storage configurations for vm creation.

Create a new virtual machine on the ESXi host via the GUI, selecting compatibility, guest OS, data store, and thin provisioning; learn about ready-made VMs and registering existing ones.

Install Windows Server on a virtual machine by mounting the ISO image in the data store, booting the console, selecting language and edition, creating partitions, and completing setup.

Install VMware Tools on a Windows Server 2012 virtual machine to enable full screen and smooth operation, access via remote or browser console, and manage drivers and icons.

Explore how virtual machines are a set of files stored in a data store; the lecture covers configuration, virtual disk, ram setting, swap memory, lock, log, and snapshot files.

Explore how access control assigns Bruce and other users to roles—read-only, administrator, no access, and no cryptography administrator—to govern who can read, create, or encrypt virtual machines.

Create and assign custom VMware vSphere roles for virtual machines and data stores, then grant users specific permissions by creating roles, users, and assigning them to hosts.

Install a second ESXi host on a virtual server via VMware Workstation, configuring 12 GB RAM, 2–4 CPUs, and 300 GB disk, then set up vCenter and use VMware labs.

Learn how vCenter Server centralizes management of multiple ESXi hosts from one session, adding hosts to a single server and accessing them via the web client.

Understand how vCenter Server enables advanced VMware vSphere features such as vMotion, distributed resource scheduler, VM cloning, and other components.

Explore optional vCenter components like vMotion, storage vMotion, vSphere storage, and fault tolerance that require separate licenses, and learn basic hardware sizing for vCenter deployments.

Install the vCenter Server appliance with an embedded platform services controller, create a US data center, and add two ESXi hosts to manage a compact vSphere environment.

Explore ESXi host management and vCenter navigation, including creating virtual machines, deploying templates, resource pools, maintenance mode, certificates, storage and networking basics, and host profiles.

Explore template options in vSphere, deploy a Windows Server 2012 template to a virtual machine, power on the VM, and access the console to verify the setup.

Learn how physical and virtual networks connect ESXi hosts and virtual machines, using physical switches and IP configurations on real machines, and virtual switches and virtual NICs for VM-to-VM communication.

Configure VMkernel ports with unique IP addresses to manage traffic—management, storage, NFS, replication, and motion traffic—ensuring uplink redundancy for fault-tolerant operations.

Learn to edit virtual switch MTU and security settings in vSphere, including MTU values, uplinks, link discovery with CDP, and promiscuous mode, MAC address changes, and forged transmit.