VMware vSphere Fundamentals

Install iSCSI on a physical server to build a VMware vSphere lab; choose hardware like Gigabyte Brix or NUC, ensure driver compatibility, and use a VLAN-enabled network.

Download the evaluation VMware vSphere software, including the vCenter server image for Linux, the 6.5 virtual appliance, and the script, using Image Builder and tools like PowerCLI, Rufus, and Putty.

Create a custom ESXi image using Image Builder and PowerCLI, connect to depots, clone a profile, add required packages, export an ISO, and prepare a bootable USB.

Install esxi by enabling virtualization and ahci in bios, boot from usb to install on the ssd, then configure static ip, dns, hostname, and create a vmfs data store.

Install the control center VM for VMware vSphere Fundamentals, configure DNS and NFS, deploy from OVF, and use Yast and SSH to finalize network settings for vCenter.

Edit and run a PowerShell script to install ESXi hosts and vCenter Server from a mounted VCSA ISO, configuring host names, IPs, DNS, and datastore.

Discover the HTML5 client in vSphere 6.5, a faster, flash-free alternative to the web client with partial functionality and a familiar interface for managing hosts, VMs, and storage.

Log in to the vSphere web client, use the familiar panes to manage roles and identity sources (Active Directory or LDAP), handle licensing, and add an ESXi host to vCenter.

Add the physical ESXi host to vCenter Server by creating a cluster not vSAN and entering the host IP and root credentials. Access console via web or VMware remote console.

safely shut down a vsan cluster by placing esxi hosts in maintenance mode one at a time, powering down vms, then powering on in the correct reverse order.

Explore vSphere networking, covering VMkernel and virtual machine networking, with vSwitches, port groups, uplinks, and vMotion TCP/IP stacks to enable scalable, secure traffic.

Deploy a Linux VM from the exercise template and three OVA files, apply the one host storage policy, then power on, verify network access, and clone a second VM.

Learn to clone Linux VMs in vSphere, power off for speed, apply storage policy, and customize after boot; then create and deploy a template to spin up new VMs.

Migrate virtual machines between esxi hosts with vmotion, using vmkernel adapters on the same subnet, performing memory and storage transfer for running or cold migrations while validating cpu compatibility.