Vmware 6.5 Lab

HOL-1710-SDC-1
Table of Contents
Lab Overview - HOL-1710-SDC-1 - Virtualization 101: vSphere 6.5� ............................... 2
Lab Guidance .......................................................................................................... 3
Module 1 - Introduction to Virtualization - (30 Minutes) .................................................... 9
What is Virtualization? .......................................................................................... 10
Module 2 - The vCenter Server Appliance is the New Standard - (60 Minutes) ............... 22
vCenter Server Appliance Overview...................................................................... 23
vSphere Update Manager Integration ................................................................... 24
vCenter Server Availability.................................................................................... 27
Platform Services Controller Topologies & Platform Services Controller High
Availability............................................................................................................. 30
vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) Backup ............................................................. 36
Hands-on Labs Interactive Simulation: vCenter Server Appliance Restore ........... 47
Migration Assistant................................................................................................ 48
Module 3 - Next Generation Management Clients - (45 Minutes).................................... 52
VMware Host Client Overview ............................................................................... 53
vSphere Web Client Enhancements ...................................................................... 59
Module 4 - Introduction to vRealize Log Insight - (30 Minutes) ....................................... 69
Overview of vRealize Log Insight - New ................................................................ 70
Exploring vSphere Log Events - New..................................................................... 76
Module 5 - Administration Basics - (60 Minutes) ............................................................. 92
Cluster Management............................................................................................. 93
Create and Edit a Virtual Machine ......................................................................... 94
Migrate a Virtual Machine ................................................................................... 116
Working with Virtual Machine Snapshots ............................................................ 124
Cloning Virtual Machines and Using Templates ................................................... 136
Abstraction of Storage for More Efficient Management and Better Control......... 153
Conclusion........................................................................................................... 167
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Lab Overview -
HOL-1710-SDC-1 -
Virtualization 101:
vSphere 6.5�
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Lab Guidance
This introductory lab will explore the components and their capabilities within vSphere
6.5. It will cover how to implement these in addition to basic administration topics. This
is an excellent place to begin your experience with VMware vSphere.
The lab is broken into 5 Modules which can be taken in any order:
Module 1 - Introduction to Virtualization(30 minutes - Basic)
This module will provide a basic overview of virtualization and its core concepts.
Module 2 - The vCenter Server Appliance is the New Standard(60 minutes -

Basic)
This module will cover deployment models, management, and availability of the vCenter
Server Appliance and the Platform Services Controller. In this lab we'll also discuss the
interoperability between the vCenter Server Appliance and vSphere Update Manager.
Module 3 - Next Generation Management Clients(45 minutes - Basic)
This module will cover the next generation of HTML5-based management clients. First
we’ll discuss the VMware Host Client which enables vSphere Administrators to manage
their ESXi hosts through an HTML5 web interface. Then we’ll cover the enhancements
made to the current vSphere Web Client as well as introduce the next generation of
vSphere Client using HTML5.
Module 4 - Introduction to vRealize Log Insight(30 minutes - Basic)
vRealize Log Insight is a sophisticated and scalable log analytics and log management
platform. This module will provide an overview and walkthough of several of the
capabilities vRealize Log Insight has to offer.
Module 5 - Administration Basics(60 minutes - Basic)
This module will cover basic administration of a vSphere environment. Topics will include
management of vSphere clusters, virtual machines, ESXi hosts, storage, and
networking.
Lab Captains:
• Joseph Suma, Staff Technical Account Manager (Modules 1, 2, 3 and 5)

• Ben Todd, Staff Solutions Architect (Module 4)
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Note: It will take more than 90 minutes to complete this lab. You should expect to only
finish 2-3 of the modules during your time. The modules are independent of each other
so you can start at the beginning of any module and proceed from there. You can use
the Table of Contents to access any module of your choosing.
The Table of Contents can be accessed in the upper right-hand corner of the Lab
Manual.
This lab manual can be downloaded from the Hands-on Labs Document site found here:
[http://docs.hol.vmware.com/HOL-2017/hol-1710-sdc-1_pdf_en.pdf]
This lab may be available in other languages. To set your language preference and have
a localized manual deployed with your lab, you may utilize this document to help guide
you through the process:
http://docs.hol.vmware.com/announcements/nee-default-language.pdf
Disclaimer
This session may contain product features that are currently under
development.
This session/overview of the new technology represents no commitment from

VMware to deliver these features in any generally available product.
Features are subject to change, and must not be included in contracts,

purchase orders, or sales agreements of any kind.
Technical feasibility and market demand will effect final delivery.
Pricing and packaging for any new technologies or features discussed or

presented have not been determined.
• “These features are representative of feature areas under development. Feature

commitments are subject to change, and must not be included in contracts,
purchase orders, or sales agreements of any kind. Technical feasibility and market
demand will affect final delivery.”
Location of the Main Console
1. The area in the RED box contains the Main Console. The Lab Manual is on the tab
to the Right of the Main Console.
2. A particular lab may have additional consoles found on separate tabs in the upper
left. You will be directed to open another specific console if needed.
3. Your lab starts with 90 minutes on the timer. The lab can not be saved. All your
work must be done during the lab session. But you can click the EXTEND to
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increase your time. If you are at a VMware event, you can extend your lab time
twice, for up to 30 minutes. Each click gives you an additional 15 minutes.
Outside of VMware events, you can extend your lab time up to 9 hours and 30
minutes. Each click gives you an additional hour.
Alternate Methods of Keyboard Data Entry
During this module, you will input text into the Main Console. Besides directly typing it
in, there are two very helpful methods of entering data which make it easier to enter
complex data.
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Click and Drag Lab Manual Content Into Console Active

Window
You can also click and drag text and Command Line Interface (CLI) commands directly
from the Lab Manual into the active window in the Main Console.
Accessing the Online International Keyboard
You can also use the Online International Keyboard found in the Main Console.
1. Click on the Keyboard Icon found on the Windows Quick Launch Task Bar.
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Click once in active console window
In this example, you will use the Online Keyboard to enter the "@" sign used in email
addresses. The "@" sign is Shift-2 on US keyboard layouts.
1. Click once in the active console window.

2. Click on the Shift key.
Click on the @ key
1. Click on the "@" key.
Notice the @ sign entered in the active console window.
Activation Prompt or Watermark
When you first start your lab, you may notice a watermark on the desktop indicating
that Windows is not activated.
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One of the major benefits of virtualization is that virtual machines can be moved and
run on any platform. The Hands-on Labs utilizes this benefit and we are able to run the
labs out of multiple datacenters. However, these datacenters may not have identical
processors, which triggers a Microsoft activation check through the Internet.
Rest assured, VMware and the Hands-on Labs are in full compliance with Microsoft
licensing requirements. The lab that you are using is a self-contained pod and does not
have full access to the Internet, which is required for Windows to verify the activation.
Without full access to the Internet, this automated process fails and you see this
watermark.
This cosmetic issue has no effect on your lab.
Look at the lower right portion of the screen
Please check to see that your lab is finished all the startup routines and is ready for you
to start. If you see anything other than "Ready", please wait a few minutes. If after 5
minutes you lab has not changed to "Ready", please ask for assistance.
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Module 1 - Introduction to
Virtualization - (30
Minutes)
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What is Virtualization?
If you are not familiar with Virtualization, this lesson will give you an introduction to it.
Session Introduction
Throughout VMworld you will be exposed to many of the technologies which

make up VMware's Architecture for IT. The foundation which this all builds on
top of is Virtualization.
Goals for this session:
• Understand the customer benefits of virtualization

• Gain a fundamental understanding of VMware’s core virtualization technology
• Explore how vSphere components work together to form a complete cloud
infrastructure platform
• Teach you how to get started today!
So what is virtualization?
Today's x86 computer hardware was designed to run a single operating system and a
single application, leaving most machines vastly underutilized. Virtualization lets you
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run multiple virtual machines on a single physical machine, with each virtual machine
sharing the resources of that one physical computer across multiple environments.
Different virtual machines can run different operating systems and multiple applications
on the same physical computer.
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Virtualization Defined
Virtualization is placing an additional layer of software called a hypervisor on top of your

physical server. The hypervisor enables you to install multiple operating systems and
applications on a single server.
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Partitioning
In this screen, you can see how partitioning helps improve utilization.
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Isolation
You can isolate a VM to find and fix bugs and faults without affecting other VMs and
operating systems. Once fixed, an entire VM Restore can be performed in minutes.
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Encapsulation
Encapsulation simplifies management by helping you copy, move and restore VMs by
treating entire VMs as files.
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Hardware Independence
VMs are not dependent on any physical hardware or vendor, making your IT more
flexible and scalable.
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Benefits
Virtualization enables you to consolidate servers and contain applications, resulting in

high availability and scalability of critical applications.
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Simplify Recovery
Virtualization eliminates the need for any hardware configuration, OS reinstallation and
configuration, or backup agents. A simple restore can recover an entire VM.
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Reduce Storage Costs
A technology called thin-provisioning helps you optimize space utilization and reduce
storage costs. It provides storage to VMs when it's needed, and shares space with other
VMs.
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Cost Avoidance
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Evolution of Virtualization and VMware
Over the years Virtualization has continued to evolve beyond Server Consolidation and
continues to be beneficial with CAPEX and OPEX savings for the enterprise. As you
continue working through these labs, several of the key benefits that make these
savings possible will be discussed and demonstrated as part of vSphere with Operations
Manager.
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Module 2 - The vCenter

Server Appliance is the
New Standard - (60
Minutes)
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vCenter Server Appliance Overview

With the release of vSphere 6.5, the vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) has surpassed the
feature set and performance of the Windows Installable vCenter server. Configuration
maximums have been equal between the two since vSphere 6.0. There are two
components: vCenter and Platform Services Controller. Depending on the size/
deployment model, these can be embedded or external. These concepts and the
architecture will be covered later in this module.
Why VCSA 6.5 Should Be The Default Deployment Choice
For starters, the installer has gotten an overhaul with a new modern look and feel. Users
of both Linux and Mac will also be ecstatic since the installer is now supported on those
platforms along with Microsoft Windows. If that wasn’t enough, the vCenter Server
Appliance now has features that are exclusive such as:
• Migration
• Improved Appliance Management
• Native High Availability
• Built-in Backup / Restore
There are several other general improvements:
• VMware Update Manager is now part of the vCenter Server Appliance

• Performance improvements to the vSphere Web Client and the fully supported
HTML5-based vSphere Client
Security
Although the vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) has previously been built on a
customized 'VMware edition' of a SUSE Enterprise Linux appliance, the vCSA 6.5 runs
PhotonOS. PhotonOS is a Linux OS that is purpose-built for virtualization by VMware.
Therefore it comes pre-hardened and does not support the installation of third party
software. The configuration disables unnecessary services, uses special host firewall and
network interfaces and removes local accounts except for the application's
administration. VMware pre-hardens the vCenter Server Appliance using the applicable
guidelines of the Unix SRG STIG. Customers do not install software within the VCSA
except for updates obtained from VMware. There is no general-purpose interface to the
Linux operating system. Even the SSH interface, reserved for administrators, is disabled
by default.
Module Lessons
The remainder of this module focuses on lessons around these feature enhancements.
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vSphere Update Manager Integration

vSphere Update Manager is now integrated with the vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA).
When you deploy the vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA), the VMware vSphere
Update Manager Extension service starts automatically. You can no longer
connect a vSphere Update Manager instance that is installed on a Windows Server
machine with the vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA). Attempts to connect vSphere
Update Manager during installation on a Windows operating system to a vCenter Server
Appliance (vCSA) fail with an error.
vSphere Update Manager deployed with the vCenter Server Appliance uses a
PostgreSQL database. While vSphere Update Manager and the vCenter Server Appliance
(vCSA) share the same PostgreSQL database instance, they use separate PostgreSQL
databases which run on the vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA). In case you need to reset
the vSphere Update Manager database, the vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) database
remains intact.
vSphere Update Manager enables centralized, automated patch and version

management for VMware vSphere and offers support for VMware ESXi hosts, virtual
machines, and virtual appliances (Upgrade and patch operations of virtual appliances
will be deprecated in a future release).
With vSphere Update Manager, you can perform the following tasks:
1. Upgrade and Patch ESXi hosts

2. Install and update third-party software on hosts
3. Upgrade virtual machine hardware, VMware Tools, and Virtual Appliances
vSphere Update Manager Web Client
1. vSphere Update Manager Web Client for the vSphere Web Client - View scan
results and compliance states for vSphere Inventory
It is also recommended to complete HOL-SDC-1710-4 "Working with vSphere

Update Manager" to gain in-depth knowledge about administering vSphere
Update Manager.
What's new in vSphere Update Manager 6.5
• Update Manager 64-bit application support: The Update Manager server 6.5
and UMDS 6.5 are now supported 64-bit applications.
• Update Manager as a service in the vCenter Server Appliance: The Update
Manager server is fully integrated with the vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) and
is enabled by default with the deployment of the vCenter Server Appliance
(vCSA).
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• Support for UMDS installation on Linux: You can install the UMDS on a 64-bit
Linux-based operating system. UMDS 6.5 installer is delivered with the ISO file of
the vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA).
• Support for Update Manager Utility installation on Linux: You can install
the Update Manager Utility on a 64-bit Linux-based operating system.
• Support for migration of Update Manager on Windows to vCenter Server
Appliance 6.5: VMware provides supported paths for migrating Update Manager
from a Windows operating system to a vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA).
• Update Manager tab changed position in the vSphere user interface: The
Update Manager tab is now a top-level tab, same as the Monitor tab, the
Configure tab, the Datacenters tab, the Host & Clusters tab, etc.
Update Manager Web Client
The client component of Update Manager is a plug-in to the vSphere Web Client. The
Update Manager client component provides you with the full set of capabilities you need
to perform patch and version management for your vSphere inventory.
The Update Manager plug-in for the vSphere Web Client requires no installation. After
starting the Update Manager service in the vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA), the
Update Manager client component is automatically enabled in the vSphere Web Client.
An Update Manager icon appears on the Home screen, and the Update Manager
appears amongst the top-level tabs in the vSphere Web Client.
You can access the Administration view of Update Manager from vSphere Web Client
Home screen. You can access the Compliance view of Update Manager by selecting an
object from the vSphere inventory and navigating to the Update Manager tab.
Update Manager Download Service
vSphere Update Manager Download Service (UMDS) is an optional module of Update

Manager that you can use to download patch definitions on a system that is separate
from the Update Manager server. Use UMDS in case your Update Manager deployment
system is secured and the machine on which the Update Manager server is installed has
no access to the Internet.
You have two options for installation of UMDS. You can install UMDS on a 64-bit Windows
operating systems. You must not install the UMDS on the same Windows machine where
the Update Manager server is installed.  You can also install the UMDS on a Linux-based
system. In vSphere 6.5 release, an installer for UMDS 6.5 is delivered with the ISO file of
the vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA). As a prerequisite to install the UMDS on Linux, you
need a Linux server on which you must preconfigure the PostgreSQL database and a
64-bit DSN. Mount the ISO file of the vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) to the Linux
machine, and install and configure UMDS 6.5.
To use UMDS, the download service must be of a version that is compatible with the
Update Manager server. For more information about the compatibility between Update
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Manager and the UMDS, see the Installing and Administering VMware vSphere Update
Manager documentation.
Update Manager Utility
The Update Manager Utility allows you to change the database password and proxy
authentication, re-register Update Manager with vCenter Server, and replace the SSL
certificates for Update Manager. For more information about reconfiguring the Update
Manager settings by using the utility, see the Reconfiguring VMware vSphere Update
Manager documentation.
When you install Update Manager or UMDS, vSphere Update Manager Utility is silently
installed on your system as an additional component.
Migration Options
VMware provides supported paths for migrating Update Manager from a Windows
operating system to run in the vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA).
Update Manager can be migrated to vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) in the following
vCenter Server deployment models:
• vCenter Server and Update Manager run on the same Windows machine
• vCenter Server and Update Manager run on different Windows machines
• Update Manager runs on a Windows machine and is connected to a vCenter
Server Appliance (vCSA)
For detailed information how to perform migration, see the Installing and Administering
VMware vSphere Update Manager and the vSphere Upgrade documentation.
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vCenter Server Availability

VMware vCenter® Server Appliance™ (vCSA) sits at the heart of vSphere and provides
services to manage various components of a virtual infrastructure like ESXi hosts, virtual
machines, and storage and networking resources. As large virtual infrastructures are
built using vSphere, vCenter Server becomes an important element in ensuring the
business continuity of an organization. vCenter Server must protect itself from a set of
hardware and software failures in an environment and must recover transparently from
such failures. vSphere 6.5 provides a brand new high availability solution for vCenter
Server, known as vCenter Server High Availability, or VCHA. VCHA is only available for
the vCenter Server Appliance.
vCenter Server High Availability protects vCenter Server Appliance against host and
hardware failures. The active-passive architecture of the solution can also help you
reduce downtime significantly when you patch the vCenter Server Appliance.
vCenter High Availability is a three-node cluster that contains an Active, Passive, and
Witness nodes. Two different configuration paths are available called Basic and
Advanced. What you select depends on your existing configuration but both Basic and
Advanced result in exact same capabilities. In other words, use Basic whenever
possible. If the vCenter Server being enabled for vCenter HA is being managed by a
different vCenter Server in a separate SSO Domain or the Active, Passive, and Witness
nodes are going to be managed by different vCenter Servers, the Advanced workflow
will be required.
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Architecture Overview
A vCenter HA cluster consists of three vCenter Server Appliance instances. The first
instance, initially used as the Active node, is cloned twice to a Passive node and to a
Witness node. Together, the three nodes provide an active-passive failover solution.
Deploying each of the nodes on a different ESXi instance protects against hardware
failure. Adding the three ESXi hosts to a DRS cluster can further protect your
environment. If using the Basic workflow to enable vCenter HA, then the workflow will
automatically place the nodes on different hosts and create anti-affinity rules for you if
DRS is enabled. If the Advanced workflow is being used then node placement is manual
as is the creation of any DRS rules.
When the vCenter HA configuration is complete, only the Active node has an active
management interface (public IP). The three nodes communicate over a private network
called vCenter HA network that is set up as part of configuration. The Active node and
the Passive node are continuously replicating data.
Roles for each type of node in a vCenter HA cluster
Active Node:
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• Node that runs the active instance of vCenter Server

• Enables and uses the public IP address of the cluster
Passive Node:
• Node that runs as the passive instance of vCenter Server

• Constantly receives state updates from the Active node via both PostgreSQL
replication (synchronous) and rsync file-based replication (near synchronous)
• Equivalent to the Active node in terms of resources
• Takes over the role of Active Node in the event of failover
Witness Node:
• Serves as a quorum node

• Used to break a tie in the event of a network partition causing a situation where
the Active and Passive nodes cannot communicate with each other
• A light-weight VM utilizing a reduced set of hardware resources (1 vCPU & 1 GB
RAM, same disk footprint as the original vCenter Server)
• Does not take over role of Active/Passive nodes
How does vCenter Server High Availability work?
Availability of the vCenter Server Appliance works as follows under the following failure
conditions:
1. Active node fails: As long as the Passive node and the Witness node can
communicate with each other, the Passive node will promote itself to Active and
start serving client requests.
2. Passive node fails: As long as the Active node and the Witness node can
communicate with each other, the Active node will continue to operate as Active
and continue to serve client requests.
3. Witness node fails: As long as the Active node and the Passive node can
communicate with each other, the Active node will continue to operate as Active
and continue to serve client requests. The Passive node will continue to watch the
Active node for failover.
4. More than one node fails or is isolated: This means all three nodes - Active,
Passive, and Witness - cannot communicate with each other. This is more than a
single point of failure and when this happens, the cluster is assumed non-
functional and the vCenter Server application shuts down to protect itself from
data corruption.
5. Isolated node behavior: When a single node gets isolated from the cluster, it is
automatically taken out of the cluster and all services are stopped. For example,
if an Active node is isolated, all services are stopped to ensure that the Passive
node can take over as long as it is connected to the Witness node. Isolated node
detection takes into consideration intermittent network glitches and resolves to
an isolated state only after all retry attempts have been exhausted.
Note that the RTO time for a failover is approximately 5 minutes.
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Platform Services Controller

Topologies & Platform Services
Controller High Availability
The Platform Services Controller provides a set of common infrastructure services to the
vSphere environment. The services include licensing, certificate management, and
authentication with vCenter Single Sign-On. In this module we will cover each of these
topologies and the High Availability options for the Platform Services Controller.
vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller

Deployment Types
As mentioned, you can deploy vCenter Server as an Appliance or install vCenter Server
for Windows. With Windows, you can also install/configure with an embedded or
external Platform Services Controller. Like vCenter, the Platform Services Controller can
be installed as an appliance or installed on Windows.
Before you deploy the vCenter Server Appliance or install vCenter Server for Windows,
you must determine the deployment model that is suitable for your environment. The
different types of deployment models are discussed in detail in the following lessons.
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vCenter Server with an Embedded Platform Services

Controller
All services that are bundled with the Platform Services Controller are deployed together
(embedded) with the vCenter Server services on the same virtual machine or physical
server.
You cannot join additional vCenter Server or Platform Services Controller instances to
this vCenter Single Sign-On domain.
In vSphere 6.0, replicating embedded PSCs (also called Enhanced Linked Mode) was
deprecated. Therefore, in vSphere 6.5, connecting multiple embedded PSCs in Enhanced
Linked Mode is not supported.
Deployment Workflow of a vCenter Server Appliance with

an Embedded Platform Services Controller
Prerequisites:
• Verify that your system meets the minimum software and hardware
requirements.
• Download the vCenter Server Appliance Installer.
Procedure:
Stage 1 - Deploy the OVF file as a vCenter Server Appliance with an embedded
Platform Services Controller.
• With stage 1 of the deployment process, you deploy the OVF file, which is
included in the vCenter Server Appliance installer, as a vCenter Server Appliance
with an embedded Platform Services Controller.
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Stage 2 - Set Up the newly deployed vCenter Server Appliance with an embedded
Platform Services Controller.
• When the OVF deployment completes, you are redirected to stage 2 of the
deployment process to set up and start the services of the newly deployed
vCenter Server Appliance with an embedded Platform Services Controller.
Note: Due to the existing configuration required within vCenter for this lab, it was not
possible to have you perform this process in this lab.
Platform Services Controller and vCenter Server Appliance

with an External Platform Services Controller
You can deploy a vCenter Server Appliance with an external Platform Services
Controller. This way you deploy two different appliances.
To have the Platform Services Controller and the vCenter Server instance deployed as
two different appliances, first deploy the Platform Services Controller, then deploy
vCenter Server as another virtual appliance. Then register the vCenter Server Appliance
to the Platform Services Controller.
You can also register multiple instances of vCenter Server to work with one common
external Platform Services Controller instance. All vCenter Server instances that are
registered with one or multiple joined Platform Services Controller instances are
connected in Enhanced Linked Mode.
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Installing vCenter Server with an external Platform Services Controller has the
following advantages:
• Less resources consumed by the shared services in the Platform Services

Controller instances enables a reduced footprint and reduced maintenance.
• This model is suitable for large-scale environments that consist of multiple
vCenter Server instances.
Installing vCenter Server with an external Platform Services Controller has the
following disadvantages:
• The connection between vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller is over
the network and is prone to connectivity and name resolution issues.
• If you install vCenter Server on Windows virtual machines or physical servers, you
need more Microsoft Windows licenses.
• You must manage more virtual machines or physical servers.
Deployment Topologies with External Platform Services

Controller Instances
Multiple external PSCs can be deployed at a single site serving one or more vCenter
Server system. A load balancer is required to front-end the PSC instances. By having
more than one PSC instance behind the load balancer, the PSC can be made highly
available.
Compatible Load Balancers:
• F5 Networks Big-IP
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• NSX for vSphere (NSX-v)

• Citrix NetScaler
Example of a Pair of Platform Services Controller Instances

in High Availability
• 1 vSphere Single Sign-On domain

• 2 vSphere Single Sign-On sites
• 2 or more external Platform Services Controllers per Single Sign-On Site
• 1 or more vCenter Server with external Platform Services Controllers
• 1 third-party load balancer per site
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Platform Services Controller Across vCenter Single Sign-

On Sites
• 1 Single Sign-On domain

• 2 Single Sign-On sites
• 2 or more external Platform Services Controllers per Single Sign-On Site
• 1 or more vCenter Server with external Platform Services Controllers
Limitations
• In the event of a Platform Services Controller failover the vCenter Servers will
need to be manually repointed to the functioning Platform Services Controller.
• vCenter Servers attached to higher latency Platform Services Controller may
experience performance issues
Platform Services Controller High Availability with vCSA -

Walkthrough
This walkthrough demonstrates how to install and configure highly available Platform
Services Controllers using the VMware vCenter Server Appliance. Use the arrow keys to
navigate through the screens. Please take note that this is based on vSphere 6.0
which may differ slightly from the 6.5 process. Once completed, remember to
close the browser tab this was open in.
https://featurewalkthrough.vmware.com/#!/vsphere-6-0/vcenter-server-install/vcenter-
server-6-0-psc-ha-vcsa
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vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA)

Backup
In vSphere 6.5, the vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) has an out-of-the-box file-based
backup and restore solution. You can back up to a single folder all of vCenter Server’s
core configuration, inventory, and historical data. All of this data is streamed over FTP
(or SFTP / FTPS) or HTTP / HTTPS. When it is time to restore to a previous backup, you
can deploy a fresh appliance, point to the folder location of the vCenter Server backup
files, and restore all of vCenter Server's configuration and inventory data (with optional
historical data) from the backup.
In this lesson we will go through the steps to create a backup of the vCenter Server
Appliance (vCSA) and then verify the back up. The restore process will be described and
shown in the following lesson Hands-on Labs Interactive Simulation: vCenter
Appliance Restore within Module 2.
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Load Google Chrome
If Google Chrome is not already running, double click the Google Chromeicon on the
Main Console Desktop or single click the icon on the Quick Launch bar.
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Log in to Appliance Management UI
You will back up your vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) configuration files, inventory, and
selected historical data to a folder of files placed on an FTP server.  
Log in to the Appliance Management UI to monitor the vCenter Server

Appliance (vCSA) and begin the vCenter Server backup process.
1. Click the HOL Admin bookmark.

2. Click the vcsa-01a Mgmt shortcut in the drop-down.
3. Type root for the username.
4. Type VMware1! for the password.
5. Click the Login button.
Back up the vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) using the

Backup Appliance Wizard
Backing up the vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) starts on the summary page of the
Appliance Management UI (port 5480 of your vSphere web client IP / hostname).
 To begin the process of backing up the appliance:
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1. Click the Backup icon in the upper right corner of the Appliance Management UI.
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Backup Appliance Wizard - Enter Backup Type and

Location
The first set of information you will need to enter are backup protocol (FTP, FTPS, SFTP,
HTTP, HTTPS), the backup location or path, and a username/password for accessing that
backup location.
 You also have the option of encrypting your data before any of it is transferred to the
backup location, by checking the “Encrypt Backup Data” box. Note that the password
you set here would be needed during the Restore process to access the vCenter Server
Appliance (vCSA) backup. For this lab, leave “Encrypt Backup Data” unselected.
You will need to access this FTP server to place your vCenter Server backup files. You
can create a new folder on the FTP path by adding to the path name after the IP address
of the FTP server. Please name the VC backup folder “vcsa01a-backup”.
1. Click the Backup Protocol drop-down and select FTP. The drop-down does
show you all the possible protocols.
2. In the Backup Location field, type 192.168.110.60/vcsa01a-backup.
3. Port keep as 21
4. In the Username field, type root.
5. In the Password field, type VMware1!  .
6. Click the Next button to continue.
Note: The path in the Backup UI should be entered without ftp://, so that the Backup
location should start with the FTP server’s IP address itself. You will also notice (see
arrows) that you can Encrypt the backup and it will warn you when you are using the
unsecure FTP/HTTP protocols. This is a fenced lab, so the need for a secured protocol is
not necessary.
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Backup Appliance Wizard - Select parts to backup
Next, you’ll want to select whether you choose to back up optional Stats, Events,
Alarms, and Tasks (SEAT) data from the vCenter Server database. A core set of data (VC
inventory, services, and OS) will be backed up by default.
1. Leave the checkbox marked Stats, Events, Alarms, and Taskschecked to

include this data in the backup.
2. Type vCenter Backup Primary DC in the Description field to help identify this
backup.
3. Click the Next button to continue.
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Backup Appliance Wizard - Ready to complete
The third and last step provides a backup summary which gives you a confirmation of
your backup protocol, location, credentials, encryption, and optional data.
1. Confirm the selections are correct.

2. Begin the backup by clicking the Finish button.
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Backup Appliance Wizard - Progress Window
A pop-up window with the backup status will be displayed.
1. Once the backup is complete, Click the OK button to close the Backup Progress
window.
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Verify the backup was successful
Once the backup is complete, we need confirm the backup was successful.
1. Overwrite the address box with ftp://192.168.110.60.

2. An Authentication Required window will be displayed. Type root in the User
Name field.
3. Type VMware1! in the Password field.
4. Click the Log In button.
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Verify the backup was successful - Continued...
1. Verify that vcas01a-backup exists and click on the link.

2. The next screen shows the content stored in the vcsa01a-backup folder.
What is actually backed up (Content Library)
To add some specifics for the vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) backup, let’s look at an
existing content library that resides within the vCenter Server Appliance. Content
Library stores it's metadata (the library’s description) in the vCenter embedded Postgres
database and has its services running in a vCenter Server. It stores it's content (OVF,
VMDK, ISO, etc.) in a Datastore outside the vCenter Server Appliance. That means that
the vCenter Server Appliance (vCSA) backup only captures the metadata of the library.
 Note: For more information on the Content library, please refer to lab
HOL-1710-SDC-3 Module 1 - What's New in vSphere?
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Hands-on Labs Interactive Simulation:

vCenter Server Appliance Restore
The vCenter Server Appliance Restore process consists of two stages:
• Stage 1: Deploy a fresh appliance / OVF

• Stage 2: Setting up the vCenter Server Appliance
This portion of the lab is presented as a Hands-on Labs - Interactive Simulation. This
simulation will enable you to navigate the software interface as if you are interacting
with a live environment.
This simulation will go through each stage to restore a vCenter Server Appliance.
1. Click here to open the interactive simulation. It will open in a new browser
window or tab.
2. When finished, click the "Return to the lab" link or close the windows to continue
with this lab.
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Migration Assistant
VMware provides supported paths for migrating and upgrading from vCenter Server
version 5.5 and version 6.0 installations on Windows to the vCenter Server 6.5
Appliance. This section will provide a brief overview of these migration paths and the
Migration Assistant for vSphere 6.5
Supported vSphere Migration Paths
You can migrate the following deployments as described in the following table.
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Overview of Migration from vCenter Server on Windows to

an Appliance
The Migration Assistant contains the following characteristics:
• Windows console application (see screen capture).

• Guides the user with the migration process.
• Enables target vCenter Server Appliance to run remote commands on the source
vCenter Windows machine.
• Delivered as part of the vCenter Server Appliance ISO.
• No installation is required.
• Migration through GUI or CLI.
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Migration Workflow
The workflow shown here describes the high level tasks for vCenter Server on Windows
Migration to a vCenter Server Appliance on Linux.
Note: For a deeper understanding of the Migration Assistant, make sure to complete
HOL-1710-SDC-2 Module 3 - vCenter Server Appliance Migration as it
demonstrates use cases for the Migration Assistant.
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Module 3 - Next
Generation Management
Clients - (45 Minutes)
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VMware Host Client Overview

The VMware Host Client is an HTML5-based client that is used to connect to and manage
single ESXi hosts.
You can use the VMware Host Client to perform administrative and basic troubleshooting
tasks, as well as advanced administrative tasks on your target ESXi host. You can also
use the VMware Host Client to conduct emergency management when vCenter Server is
not available.
It is important to know that the VMware Host Client is different from the vSphere Web
Client, regardless of their similar user interfaces. You use the vSphere Web Client to
connect to vCenter Server and manage multiple ESXi hosts, whereas you use the
VMware Host Client to manage a single ESXi host.
VMware Host Client functions include, but are not limited to the following operations:
• Basic virtualization operations, such as deploying and configuring virtual

machines of various complexity
• Creating and managing networking and datastores
• Advanced tuning of host level options to improve performance
NOTE: The VMware Host Client only works for administrative users.
VMware Host Client Requirements
Make sure that your browser supports the VMware Host Client.
The following Guest Operating systems and Web Browser versions are supported for the
VMware Host Client.
Supported Guest Operating Systems and Browser Versions for the VMware Host Client
are shown here in the above table.
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Using the VMware Host Client
The embedded VMware Host Client is an HTML5-based client that has a similar interface
to the vSphere Web Client but is only used to manage single ESXi hosts. You use the
VMware Host Client to conduct emergency management when vCenter Server is
temporarily unavailable.
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VMware Host Client and Log In
Procedure
1. In the Google Chrome Web browser enter the target host name or IP address
using the form https://esx-01a.corp.local/ui or https://192.168.110.51/ui
2. A log in screen appears.
3. Enter User name: root and Password: VMware1!
4. Click Login to continue.
5. You may or may not be presented with a VMware Customer Experience
Improvement Program (CEIP) page. If so, uncheck you want to join the program.
6. Click OK.
You are now logged in to your target ESXi host.
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Host Management
A similar interface to the vSphere Web Client, it too has a Navigation pane and shortcuts
that you can use to manage the individual host.
1. Minimize Recent Tasks to expand your view of the Host window
Manage Advanced Settings in the VMware Host Client
With the VMware Host Client, you can manage advanced host settings, assign or remove
licenses to your host, configure start and stop policies for host services, and manage
time and date configuration for the host.
1. Select Manage within Navigator

2. Click each tab to view
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Monitoring an ESXi Host in the VMware Host Client
When you connect to a host using the VMware Host Client, you can monitor the host
health status, and view performance charts, events, tasks, system logs, and
notifications.
1. Select Monitor within Navigator

2. Click each tab to view
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Log Out of the VMware Host Client
When you no longer need to view or manage your target ESXi host, log out of the
VMware Host Client.
NOTE: Closing a VMware Host Client session does not stop the host.
Procedure
• To log out of the ESXi host, click the user name at the top of the VMware Host
Client window and select Log out from the drop-down menu.
You are now logged out of the VMware Host Client. Your target ESXi host continues to
run all its normal activities.
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vSphere Web Client Enhancements

New Web Client UI features like Custom Attributes, Object Tabs, and Live
Refresh are presented alongside other performance and usability improvements.
In the following steps lets explore the vSphere Web Client's latest features as part of this
overview.
Navigation and shortcuts
1. Open the vSphere Web Client for the RegionB vCenter using your Google
Chrome web browser
2. User name: [email protected]
3. Password: VMware1!
4. Click Login
Note: The Inventory Tree will be the default view.
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Task #1 - Use Keyboard Short Cuts for Navigation and

View Them in Home Menu
Keyboard shortcuts are present in the 5.5 and 6.0 vSphere Web Client, but were not
visible. You can now see these shortcuts by hovering your mouse over the Home menu
(see above screen capture).
View the objects in your vSphere environment using the key combinations in the
following steps to quickly navigate between Home, the vCenter Inventory Lists, and the
4 inventory trees:
Note: Ctrl+Command work on a Mac
1. Ctrl+Alt+1– Home screen

2. Ctrl+Alt+2– vCenter Inventory Lists (Object Navigator)
3. Ctrl+Alt+3 – Hosts and Clusters tree
4. Ctrl+Alt+4– VMs and Templates tree
5. Ctrl+Alt+5 – Storage tree
6. Ctrl+Alt+6– Networking tree
After reviewing these Click Home to enter the Home Screen
Recent Objects Pane
The Recent Objects global pane is available in the lower left corner of the vSphere
Web Client view. For optimum viewing we have this pane "unpinned" or what is also
referred to as "minimized".
1. Click Recent Objects in the lower left hand corner of the screen to pin this pane
for viewing.
Recent objects are displayed in two separate tabs:
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• Viewed
• Created
As you select objects in the Navigator pane, the objects appear in the Viewed tab. As
you create objects during your user session, the new objects appear in the Created tab.
In each tab, the most recently viewed objects appear at the top, and the maximum
number of items is 10.
Object Tabs
In prior releases, all objects within a container, or related to an object, appeared under
the Related Objects tab. This tab has been replaced with top-level tabs that categorize
the related objects as: Hosts, VMs, Datastores, and Networks. This change has
been made for all vSphere objects, and only the applicable categories are shown for
each object type (for a VM, the tabs are Datastores, and Networks).
This example shows "vcsa-01b.corp.local" is the selected object. (For best viewing
results you may need to maximize your window in this lab)
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Object Details Titlebar: Action Icons
The Object Details titlebar displays the selected object’s icon and name,
action icons, and the Actions menu. Using the action icons, you can now perform
common actions with a single click.
This example shows "vcsa-01b.corp.local" is the selected object.
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Custom Attributes
The following steps will cover creating, renaming and deleting Custom Attributes.
1. Select "vcsa-01b.corp.local"
2. Click Homebutton
3. Select Tags & Custom Attributes
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Task 1. Creating Custom Attributes using the Global

Custom Attributes View (Copy)
1. Select the Custom Attributes tab. You can see all the custom attributes defined
in this vCenter Server.
2. Select "vcsa-01b.corp.local"
3. To create a new Custom Attribute, click the Add icon and the New Custom
Attribute dialog appears.
4. Enter VM_custom in the Attribute field and choose Virtual Machine from the
Type combo box.  The new attribute will be available for objects of the selected
type. If you choose Global, the new attribute will be available for all object types.
Click OK or press Enter. The new attribute appears in the list.  
5. Repeat steps 3-4 to create another custom attribute: Attribute name:
vApp_custom Type: Virtual App
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Task 2: Renaming Custom Attributes using the Global

Custom Attributes view
1. Select vApp_custom in the list.

2. Click the Edit… button. The Edit Custom Attribute dialog appears. The name is
preselected in the Attribute text field.
3. Rename the attribute: vApp_custom_upd and click OK. In the list, the selected
attribute’s name changes to the one you just entered.
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Task 3: Deleting Custom Attributes using the Global

Custom Attributes view
1. Select vApp_custom_upd from the list view

2. Click the Delete button.
3. A confirmation appears. Press TAB to highlight the Yes button and press Enter
(or click Yes). The attribute is removed from the list and repeat the previous
steps to delete custom attribute: VM_custom before moving to Step 4
4. Click drop down arrow next to [email protected]
5. Click Logout
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Live Refresh
Live refresh improves the original mechanism for refreshing recent tasks, triggered
alarms and the trees to now happen in real time. All users logged into vSphere Web
Client will see the real time updates as long as they have permission to see the
changes.
HTML5-based vSphere Client
The following features for the time being (we feel that these are the most
commonly used actions/views):
• VM Power Operations (common cases)

• VM Edit Settings (simple CPU, Memory, Disk changes)
• VM Console
• VM and Host Summary pages
• VM Migration (only to a Host)
• Clone to Template/VM
• Create VM on a Host (limited)
• Additional monitoring views (Performance charts, Tasks, Events)
• Global Views (Recent tasks, Alarms--view only)
Functionality Updates for the vSphere Client
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http://pubs.vmware.com/Release_Notes/en/vsphere/65/vsphere-
client-65-html5-functionality-support.html
Conclusion
This concludes the section "vSphere Web Client Enhancements". You should now have a
solid understanding of the enhancement coming to the vSphere Web Client.
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Module 4 - Introduction to
vRealize Log Insight - (30
Minutes)
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Overview of vRealize Log Insight - New

vRealize Log Insight delivers real-time log management for VMware environments, with
machine learning-based Intelligent Grouping, high performance search and better
troubleshooting across physical, virtual, and cloud environments.
High Performance Ingestion
vRealize Log Insight can process any type of log or machine generated data. vRealize
Log Insight supports very high throughput rates and low latency. vRealize Log Insight
possesses a collection framework, which accepts data through syslog, Windows and
Linux agents, or via a RESTful Ingestion API.
Scalability
vRealize Log Insight can scale out by using multiple virtual appliance instances. This
enables linear scaling of the ingestion throughput, increases query performance and
allows for ingestion high availability. In cluster mode, vRealize Log Insight provides
master and worker nodes. Both master and worker nodes are responsible for a subset of
data. Master nodes can query all subsets of data and aggregate the results. vRealize
Log Insight provides an internal Load Balancer for scale out, allowing you to load
balance and scale out from out of the box.
Real-Time Search
Data ingested by vRealize Log Insight is available for search within seconds. Also,
historical data can be searched from the same interface with the same low latency.
vRealize Log Insight supports complete keyword queries. Keywords are defined as any
alpha-numeric, hyphen, or underscore characters. In addition to the complete keyword
queries, vRealize Log Insight supports glob queries (for example, erro?, vm*) and field
based filtering (for example, hostname does NOT match test*, IP contains "10.64").
Furthermore, log message fields that contain numeric values can be used to define
selection filters (for example, CPU>80, 10<threads<100, and so on).
Search results are presented as individual events. Each event comes from a single
source, but search results may come from multiple sources. You can use vRealize Log
Insight to correlate the data on one or multiple dimensions (for example, time and
request identifiers) providing a coherent view across the stack. This way, root cause
analysis becomes much easier.
vRealize Log Insight Agent
vRealize Log Insight uses a native Windows and Linux agent to gather log data from
Windows and Linux servers as well as desktops. You can collect events from Windows
event channels and log files, and forward them to the vRealize Log Insight server. Some
of the benefits are centralized configuration, ease of use, data compression, and
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encryption. 3rd party agents are supported as well, but those benefits listed above
provide unique advantages by using our native agent.
Intelligent Grouping
vRealize Log Insight uses a new machine learning technology. Intelligent Grouping scans
incoming unstructured data and quickly groups messages together by problem type in
order to give you the ability to rapidly understand issues that may span your physical,
virtual, and hybrid cloud environments. The Event Trends tab in the Interactive Analytics
page provides automatic analysis of your events with context around new insights and
anomaly detection. We can now see how events are trending in a specified time interval
and easily detect ones that are potentially affecting the health of your environment or
application.
Aggregation
Fields that are extracted from log data can be used for aggregation. This is similar to the
functionality that GROUP-BY queries provide in a relational database or pivot-tables in
Microsoft Excel. The difference is that there is no need for extract, transform, and load
(ETL) processes and vRealize Log Insight scales to any size of data.
You can generate aggregate views of the data and identify specific events or errors
without having to access multiple systems and applications. For example, while viewing
an important system metric, for example the number of errors per minute, you can drill
down to a specific time-range of events and examine the errors that occurred in the
environment.
Runtime Field Extraction
Raw log data is not always easy to understand, and you might need to process some
data to identify the fields that are important for searching and aggregation. vRealize Log
Insight extracts most fields automatically, and you can dynamically extract a new field
from the data. It is as easy as double-clicking the message text and selecting “Extract
Field”. The regex is provided automatically based on your selection. The extracted
fields can be used for selection, projection, and aggregation.
Dashboards
You can create dashboards of useful metrics that you want to monitor closely. Any query
can be turned into a dashboard widget and summarized for any range in time. You can
check the performance of your system for the last five minutes, hour, or day. You can
view a breakdown of errors by hour and observe the trends in log events.
Security Considerations
IT decision makers, architects, administrators, and others who must familiarize

themselves with the security components of vRealize Log Insight must read the VMware
vRealize Log Insight Security Guide. For more information, you can visit the vRealize Log
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Insight Documentation found at https://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/log-insight-

pubs.html
The Security Guide contains concise references to the security features of vRealize Log
Insight. Topics include the product external interfaces, ports, authentication
mechanisms, and options for configuration and management of security features.
Dashboards Overview
Dashboards– Think of the dashboards page as an overview section. Dashboards

provide the ability to quickly visualize log data and determine potential issues within an
environment. Log Insight provides two different types of widgets inside a dashboard:
charts and queries. Charts are a visual representation of data and the most commonly
used widget. Queries are saved pieces of information that provide both a visual and
textual representation of data on the Interactive Analytics page, but they are listed only
by a defined name on the dashboards page. Query widgets are typically used when a
chart widget does not necessarily provide useful information.
Interactive Analytics– Allows administrators and engineers to perform searches using

plain language or REGEX strings and view log message detail to determine problem
areas and perform root cause analysis.
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Interactive Analytics Overview
The Interactive Analytics page allows administrators and engineers to drill down into log
messages, to determine problem areas, and to perform root cause analysis.
At the top of the page, just below the navigation bar, you will notice a section with a
black background. This section gives you a visual representation of your log data.
The chart in this section should look similar to the chart widgets that you saw on the
Dashboards page. By default, the overview chart is a bar chart that displays the count
of all events over time for the log messages seen over the last five minutes. Log Insight
refers to ingested data as events. The events visually represented on the overview chart
can be manipulated in a variety of ways, but most commonly are changed through the
use of functions and groupings.
There are many options available once you have created a custom query in the
Interactive Analytics page:
• Add current query to favorites - You can save your current query and time
range in Log Insight to view it later. Saved queries can only be loaded from the
Interactive Analytics page.
• Add current query to dashboard - You can save lists of search queries to your
custom dashboards by creating query list widgets.
• Export or share current query - In addition to saving a dashboard you can
also choose to save a query. NOTE: A saved query stores the time range in
addition to the query. This is different than how all other pieces of information are
saved in Log Insight (i.e. everything else you can save does not include the time
range.)
• Create or Manage Alerts - When you find a query you care about you might
want to configure an alert when that query returns one or more results. Log
Insight allows for alerts to be sent via email or vCenter Operations.
• Manage Extracted Fields - This is important if you wish to find an extracted
field that does not appear on the current query page.
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Content Packs Overview
Content packs provide a powerful way to extend Log Insight through pre-defined
knowledge about particular events. To browse to the Content Packs section, select the
three bars icon in the navigation bar and select Content Packs.
A content pack is made up of various components. These components can include:
• Dashboards – the dashboard groups (i.e. pages) that make up the selected
dashboard
• Queries
◦ Chart widgets
◦ Saved queries – located under Saved Searches
• Alerts – remember always disabled when exported

• Agent Groups - contain configuration for monitoring, parsing, and tagging event
to be sent to Log Insight
• Fields – labeled as Extracted Fields
Administration Overview
The administration section provides health information as well as allows for the
modification of configuration settings. All information displayed during the initial
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configuration wizard of the product can be modified from the administration section.
There are other aspects of the administration section that are not configurable during
the initial configuration wizard such as where cluster members and agents can be
managed.
Configuring vRealize Log Insight
Now that we understand the purpose of vRealize Log Insight, the next step is to
configure our environment.
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Exploring vSphere Log Events - New

In this section we will use Log Insight explore the logs of a vSphere environment. Often,
without a log analysis tools such as Log Insight, log errors are not viewed until
production workloads have degraded or failed and the business is impacted. With Log
Insight we can uncover log events and patterns that may ultimately lead to problems so
we can take action beforehand. In this section we will focus on log analysis and
dashboards, though you can use these same principles to create alerts and forward
them to vRealize Operations or via SMTP.
Launch Chrome
1. Open Google Chrome browser by double clicking on "Google Chrome" icon on

desktop
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View Logs in vRealize LogInsight
1. Click on "vRLogInsight" Favorite in the tool bar - Because we are running the
vCenter version of vRealize LogInsight, you will be prompted to trust the SSL Cert
as you can only change the SSL Cert for the web interface into LogInsight with
the vRealize Suite Version of LogInsight.
2. Click on "Advanced"
3. Then Click on "Proceed to log-01a.corp.loca (unsafe) - Don't worry, its safe
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Login to LogInsight
1. Username: admin
2. Password: VMware1!
3. Click Login
Log Insight Dashboard General Overview
If you have successfully connected to a vCenter, earlier in this module, the first screen
you will see is the General Overview dashboard.
1. If you are not already at this screen click the Dashboard tab.
2. This is the dashboard category tile; it tells you the source of the dashboards that
are available (to see a complete list of installed dashboards click the down arrow
next to the category title). Dashboards are either created within Log Insight or
come as part of a Content Pack. By default, the vSphere Content Pack comes pre-
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installed. Dashboards from any other content pack that you install can be found
by clicking the arrow.
3. This section is a list of actual dashboards for the current category - The image
above shows the dashboards from the VMware - vSphere content Pack.
4. This section of the screen allows you to apply a date/time range filter to limit the
data you are viewing within the dashboard.
5. This section shows the filters which are available as part of this dashboard. The
filters allow you to quickly focus the dashboard on a specific object/item of
interest.
6. Widgets, the widget in Log Insight are configured to query the consolidated log
database and show specific areas of regular interest. In this case, the widget is
showing a graphical representation of all the vSphere log messages and when
they were generated. Widgets can be arranged in multiple ways and sizes.
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Switch to Interactive Analytics
1. Click the Interactive Analytics tab
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The Interactive Analytics Screen
The following describes the different sections of the Interactive Analytics Screen:
1. This area shows the graphical representation of the current Query, because we
have not specified anything as a query or filter all the events are being shown.
2. This section modifies how the graph displays the data.
3. With the Search box, you can enter anything here you would like to search for
within the logs. For example, this could be a host name, error message or
number.
4. With Data Range, Log Insight auto-correlates all log data, in this field you can
specify a specific time range you would like to search for log entries. By default,
the time range field is set to Latest 5 minutes of data. Be advised: large date
ranges will take a longer time to return the complete set of data, but that data
will stream in as the query result is returned. In this lab we have only just
connected to the vCenter thus we have a limited time range where data is
available.
5. Events are the log entries which match the query and will be displayed here. The
key words (Fields) contained in each of the log messages will be called out in blue
below the log message. By default, Log Insight understands all the Syslog defined
fields. As part of content packs Fields are added which are specific to their
domain. In this case all the vSphere and Syslog Fields are available.
6. The Field List is all the defined fields from all the log messages which are part of
the result set from the query. You can click on any one of them and they will show
you a graphical representation of the number of log messages which are
associated to that field.
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Searching Log Events
As you enter keyword searches inside the search box, Log Insight will provide auto
complete options as you type.
1. In the search field type vcsa* (remember to type in the asterisk), in this case we
are looking for all messages which are related to the vCenter vcsa-01a. In
English, simply type in what you are looking for and add an asterisk as the
wildcard.
2. Enter the data range, Latest 5 minutes of data.
3. Click the search Icon.
Event Types
Event Types are used when troubleshooting to quickly narrow down the resulting set of
log messages into pattern matched clusters. This capability allows you to quickly
eliminate irrelevant log messages.
1. Click the Event Types Tab. This will sort the result set of log messages by Event
type.
2. The Events column will provide the count of messages of the pattern matched
type
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3. Click the x to remove this message type from the result set and automatically
creates a filter for that message type (you must hover the mouse over the area
for the "x" to display.
Note: The lab you are taking is a live dynamic environment. What you see will differ
from what is captured in the screenshot. Please choose any event in the window and
proceed to the next step.
Filters
After deleting the Event Type, the log messages are retained. They are only removed
from this query and the system automatically creates a filter or constraint excluding
that specific event type.
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Creating a Filter
Now we will create a new filter to only include log messages based on the text api
invocations. This will show the number of api connections to your vCenter server.
1. Click Add Filter
Set Filter Constraints
1. Set Filter to text.

2. Set the Operator to contains
3. Type API invocations
4. Click the search button (you may need to adjust the time field to "All Time")
5. At this point the result list will only show log messages related to the text API
invocations that are not event_type you filtered.
NOTE: Now we have narrowed down our results. Prior to adding filters there were over
a dozen different event types.
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Field Extraction
Extracted fields provide a powerful way to construct queries in Log Insight. You can also
create your own custom extracted fields.
1. Switch back to the Events tab.
2. Highlight the value next to "API invocations:". In the example above, its listed as 1,
but this number could be different.
3. A pop up window appears, select Extract field.
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Fields configuration
A Fields configuration will appear on the right side of your screen. We now need to name
the extracted field, determine who can use the field, then save the field for use in the
future. You will use this extracted field later in this module when we integrate with
vRealize Operations Manager.
1. In the Field Name input box, type vmw_vc_api.
2. Under Available for drop down, you have the option to make this extracted field
available to just yourself or all users. Leave this as Me Only.
3. Click Save.
Extracted Field Complete
Notice that we now have a new field called vmw_vc_api. We will leverage this later in
the module. For now, we will move to the next step.
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Grouping Events
Now we want to group these events which add some additional data into our graph.
1. Select over time drop down
2. Place a check next to vmw_vc_auth_source (VMware - vSphere) and

vmw_vc_auth_user (VMware - vSphere)
3. Click Apply
Legend Created
Notice that a legend has been created on the right side of the graph to display the IP
address and the username for who was connecting to the vCenter appliance.
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Add Query to Dashboard
Now we will create a new dashboard called API Invocation Events based on our search
results.
1. Click Add to Dashboard.
Add Chart to Dashboard
1. Enter API Invocation Events in the Name field, replacing the default content
2. Ensure the Dashboard 1 is selected. You can change the dashboard you are
adding this query to any dashboard you have rights to modify or create a new
dashboard
3. Click Add
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Navigate to the Dashboards page
1. Click the Dashboards tab
Select My Dashboards
1. Click the drop down arrow for the dashboard list

2. Select My Dashboards
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Observe the Modified Dashboard
Observe that a new widget named API Invocation Events is now included with
Dashboard 1.
Section Complete
You now know how to use Log Insight to explore the logs of a vSphere environment. You
can leave the browser open for the next section.
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Module 5 - Administration
Basics - (60 Minutes)
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Cluster Management
A vSphere cluster is a construct that lets you aggregate compute resources. The
Clusters construct allows for features like vSphere High Availability (HA) and vSphere
Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS). The cluster construct provides the ability to
manage a group of VMs and ESXi hosts to improve resource utilization. When you power
on a virtual machine that is part of a cluster, it can be given resources from anywhere in
the cluster, rather than being tied to a specific vSphere ESXi host. If an ESXi host fails,
the VM is restarted on another ESXi host within the cluster (assuming HA is configured).
If an ESXi host experiences contention, DRS provides the ability to vMotion the VM to
another ESXi host in the cluster that has available resources.
Video: Create vCenter Inventory (Datacenter, Cluster,

Hosts) for VMware vSphere (2:51)
The following video will show the basics to getting started creating your VMware
vCenter Server Inventory using the vSphere Web Client.
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Create and Edit a Virtual Machine

In this lesson, you will walk through creating a virtual machine and editing its settings.
Launch Google Chrome
If Google Chromeis not already running, double click the Google Chromeicon on the
Login to the VMware vSphere Web Client
1. Insure you are connecting to vcsa-01a.corp.local. If not, click RegionA vCenter

from the Google Chrome bookmark.
2. Type [email protected] in the User name field.
4. Click the "Login" button.
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Note: All of the user credentials used in this lab are listed in the README.TXT file on
the desktop.
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Create a Virtual Machine
There are several ways to create a new VM using the vSphere Web Client. We will be
using the Getting Started tab under the VMs and Templates navigation tab.
1. Navigate to the Home icon at the top of the screen. Note that you do not need
to click on the icon.
2. Select "VMs and Templates"from the drop-down menu.
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Starting the Virtual Machine Wizard
1. Toggle the drop down triangle to expand the "vcsa-01a.corp.local" tree.

2. Click on the "RegionA01" datacenter
3. In the "Getting Started" tab, click the "Create a new virtual machine" option.
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Virtual Machine Wizard - Select a creation type
1. Insure you are highlighted on"Create a virtual machine".

2. Click the Next button to advance to the next wizard option.
Note: There are many options for deploying a new virtual machine. For this lesson, we
will use the Create a New Virtual Machine option.
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Virtual Machine Wizard - Select a name and folder
1. In the "Enter a name for the virtual machine" text box, type linux-Web-01a.
2. Insure "RegionA01" datacenter is selected.
3. Click the "Next" button to advance to the next wizard option.
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Virtual Machine Wizard - Select a compute resource
1. Toggle the drop down triangle for "RegionA01-COMP01" cluster.

2. Select "esx-01a.corp.local".
3. Confirm Compatibility says"Compatibility checks succeeded".
4. Click the "Next"button to advance to the next wizard option.
Note: If you know Distributed Resource Scheduling {DRS} is enabled you can select
"RegionA01-COMP01" cluster and DRS will find the best location for the VM. For the
purposes of this lab we are showing the granular capability of being able to select a
specific ESXi host.

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Virtual Machine Wizard - Select the Datastore
We need to select a datastore to place the new virtual machine.
1. Confirm RegionA01-ISCSI01-COMP01 datastore is highlighted.

2. Confirm Compatibility says Compatibility checks succeeded.
3. Click the Next button to advance to the next wizard option.
Note: If you have Storage Policy Based Management, you can enable and configure
storage policies for the VM. For the purposes of this demonstration, we are not enabling
this feautre.

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Virtual Machine Wizard - Select Compatibility
The version of virtual hardware that your virtual machine is built on will determine which
hosts it can run on. If you have older hosts in your environment, you would need to
select the corresponding version of virtual hardware. For our environment, our hosts are
the next version of ESXi, so we can use the latest virtual hardware version 13.
1. Confirm"ESXi 6.5 and later" is selected from the drop-down menu.

2. Click the "Next"button to advance to the next wizard option.

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Virtual Machine Wizard - Select a Guest OS
We need to identify which guest OS will be installed on the new virtual machine. This
will allow the wizard to provide appropriate default installation parameters
1. From the "Guest OS Family" drop-down select "Linux".

2. From the "Guest OS Version" drop-down, scroll to the bottom and select "Other
Linux (64-bit)".

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Virtual Machine Wizard - Customize Hardware
We can now verify the virtual hardware for our new virtual machine and make
modifications if necessary.
1. We can easily add or modify hardware for the virtual machine including CPU.
Memory, or Hard drive space if necessary from the corresponding drop-down
boxes on this page. Make sure "VM-RegionA01-vDS-COMP (RegionA01-vDS-
COMP) is the selected network.
2. We are not making changes, so click the "Next"button to advance to the next
wizard option.

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Virtual Machine Wizard - Ready to complete
1. Review the settings for the new virtual machine.

2. Click the "Finish" button to start the creation task.

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Power On linux-Web-01a
Once the virtual machine has been created, we can now power it on.
1. Click on the "Hosts and Clusters" tab in the navigation pane.

2. Toggle the drop down triangles for "vcsa-01a.corp.local", "RegionA01" and
"RegionA01-COMP01".
3. Right-click on "linux-Web-01a".
4. Expand the drop-down menu by hovering over "Power".
5. Click "Power On" from drop-down.
Power On Recommendations
Based on the DRS settings, you may receive a "Power On Recommendations" window.

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1. If you receive this pop-up, click the "OK" button.
Power Off linux-Web-01a
Let's power off our virtual machine now.
1. Right-Click on "linux-Web-01a".
2. Expand the drop-down menu by hovering over "Power".
3. Click "Power Off" from drop-down and select "Yes" in the pop-up box.

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Delete linux-Web-01a
Let's delete linux-Web-01a.
1. Right-Click on "linux-Web-01a".
2. Click on "Delete from Disk" and select "Yes" when prompted from the pop-up box.
Note: Worth noting is there is "Remove from Inventory" and "Delete from Disk". We
selected "Delete from Disk" to remove the VM from inventory and also remove it from
the disk.

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Video: Create VM, Install Guest OS and Install VMware

Tools (4:09)
We have just completed creating our virtual machine, but at this point, there is no
operating system installed. The Hands-on Lab Environment does not have sufficient
resources to allow us to complete the process of installing the guest OS and VMware
tools. The following video will show the remainder of the process.

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Edit the Settings of a Virtual Machine
Once we have created a virtual machine, we can change the hardware that is associated
with it, just like a physical machine.
1. Right-Click on "linux-micro-01a".
2. Click "Edit Settings" to add additional physical resources to the virtual machine.

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Add a New Device to the Virtual Machine
We now see the hardware associated with the VM. From this screen we can add
additional hardware to the VM. For this example, we will add a second network adapter.
1. Click the "New Device" drop-down list.

2. Click the "Add" button to add the new network adapter.
Configure the New Hardware
We have added the new network adapter, now we need to configure it.

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1. Toggle the drop down triangle next to "New Network" to expand and view its
settings. At this time, you will also select which network to connect the NIC to as
well as what type of Adapter you would like to use. Notice that the MAC Address
is blank at this point. A new MAC address will be generated once this NIC is
added or we can specify (with some rules) our own MAC address.
2. Deselect the "Connect At Power On" checkbox.
3. Click the "OK" button to add the device to the VM. When you select "OK" a new
task to create the network adapter is started.
Prepare to Delete the New Hardware
We will can also delete resources from our virtual machine.
1. Right-Click on "linux-Base-01a".

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2. Click "Edit Settings" from the drop-down menu.

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Delete the Network Adapter
Now that we are done with this portion of the lab, let's remove the new network adapter
since we're not going to use it.
1. Hover or click on "Network Adapter 2".

2. Click on the "X" that appears on the right side of the window. The device name
will change and will show as "Device will be removed"

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Delete the Network Adapter - Confirm
1. Confirm "Network adapter 2" says "Device will be removed".

2. Click the "OK" button to commit the change.

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Migrate a Virtual Machine

VMware vMotion enables the live migration of running virtual machines from one
physical server to another with no perceivable impact to the end user. vMotion is a key
technology for creating a dynamic, fully automated datacenter.
With vMotion you can:
• Perform scheduled maintenance without scheduled downtime by moving powered

on virtual machines from one host to another.
• Proactively migrate virtual machines away from failing or underperforming
servers.
• Automatically optimize and allocate entire pools of resources for optimal
hardware utilization and alignment with business priorities.

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Migrate Powered-On Virtual Machine with vMotion (Copy)
First we want to confirm where the Virtual Machine (VM) is running.
1. Confirm you are still highlighted on the VMs and Templates tab in the
navigation pane.
2. Click on "linux-micro-01a".
3. Click the "Summary" tab in the context pane.
4. Confirm the "Host" the VM is running on. In this case, the VM is running on
"esx-01a.corp.local".

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Start the Migrate wizard
You can use the Migrate wizard to migrate a powered-on virtual machine from one host
to another using vMotion technology. To relocate the disks of a powered-on virtual
machine, the Migrate wizard uses Storage vMotion technology.
Before migrating a virtual machine with vMotion, you should ensure that your hosts and
virtual machines meet the requirements for migration with vMotion.
1. Locate "linux-micro-01a" and right-click on the virtual machine.

2. From the drop-down menus, select "Migrate...".

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Migration Wizard - Select the migration type
The Wizard will prompt you to select the type of migration you wish to perform:
compute resource, storage, or both. For our lab, we will migrate to the other host in
"Region01A-COMP01"
1. Confirm the "Change compute resource only" radio button is selected.


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Migration Wizard - Select a compute resource
Currently, the virtual machine is running on host esx-01a.corp.local. Let's migrate it to

the other host in the cluster.
1. Confirm the "Hosts" tab is selected.

2. Select the host "esx-02a.corp.local" radio button.
3. Confirm "Compatibility" says "Compatibility checks succeeded".
4. Click the "Next" button to advance tot he next wizard option.

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Migration Wizard - Select networks
Select the destination network from the dropdown box to provide network connectivity
for the virtual machine.
1. We are not changing the virtual switch, so confirm "VM-RegionA01-vDS-COMP" is

still selected in the drop-down menu.
2. Confirm "Compatibility" says "Compatibility checks succeeded".

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Migration Wizard - Select vMotion priority
1. Confirm the "Schedule vMotion with high priority (recommended)" radio button is
selected.

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Migration Wizard - Ready to complete
1. Review the information in the wizard to make sure it is correct.

2. Launch a Command Prompt and type: ping 192.168.120.51 -t
3. Click the Finish button to start the migration.
The migration task is now complete. You will notice the VM is still reachable via the ping
that was executed.
The running virtual machine has been migrated to the other host in our cluster. You
have now accomplished moving a running workload between physical hardware without
interruption.

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Working with Virtual Machine

Snapshots
Snapshots preserve the state and data of a virtual machine at the time you take the
snapshot. Snapshots are useful when you must revert to a previous virtual machine
state. You can also take multiple snapshots of a virtual machine to create restoration
points in a linear process. With multiple snapshots, you can save many positions to
accommodate many kinds of work processes. The Snapshot Manager in the vSphere
Web Client provides several operations for creating and managing virtual machine
snapshots and snapshot trees. These operations let you create snapshots, restore any
snapshot in the snapshot hierarchy, delete snapshots, and more.
A Virtual Machine snapshot preserves the following information:
• Virtual machine settings - The virtual machine directory, which includes disks that
were added or changed after you took the snapshot.
• Power state - The virtual machine can be powered on, powered off, or suspended.
• Disk state - State of all the virtual machine's virtual disks.
• Memory state (optional) - The contents of the virtual machine's memory.
In this lesson, you will create a Virtual Machine snapshot, make changes to the Virtual
Machine's hardware and configuration state, and then revert back to the original state
of the Virtual Machine by leveraging the vSphere Web Client Snapshot Manager.

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Taking a Snapshot
The previous lesson left the vSphere Web Client open at the VMs and Templates
navigation pane. If you closed Google Chrome or the Web Client, navigate back to VMs
and Templates in the vSphere Web Client.
To start the VM Snapshot Wizard:
1. Locate linux-micro-01a and right click on the VM

2. Hover over Snapshots
3. Select Take Snapshot in the drop-down menu

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Snapshot Wizard - Take Snapshot
1. Type Snapshot-1 in the Name field

2. Type Snapshot prior to settings change. in the Description field. You should
always provide a meaningful description for the Snapshot
3. Click the OK button to complete the process
Note: The snapshot creation will be visible in the Recent Tasks pane.

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Manage Snapshots
We can view the snapshot history of a virtual machine with the Snapshot.

2. Hover over Snapshots
3. Select Manage Snapshots in the drop-down menu

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Manage Snapshots - View VM Snapshot Details
1. Click on Snapshot-1
2. Note the operational state of the VM relative to the snapshot timeline. We can
see the current state of the virtual machine as well as the snapshots that are
present
3. There is also a tool bar with a Revert, Edit, Delete button and All Actions
drop-down menu
4. Along with using the VM drop-down menu, you can access the snapshot manager
via the Manage tab and Snapshot sub-tab
Note: Snapshots are not a substitue for back-ups. If you "Revert" to an earlier snapshot,
then all changes since the snapshot are lost, so backing up data remains a critical
infrastructure process.
Reconfigure the Virtual Machines - Power Off VM
Let's power off our virtual machine now:

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1. Right-Click on linux-micro-01a
2. Expand the drop-down menu by hovering over Power
3. Click Power Off from drop-down and select Yes in the pop-up box

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Reconfigure the Virtual Machines - Edit the Virtual

Machines Settings
In this step, we will adjust the Memory setting for the Virtual Machine:

2. Select Edit Settings from the drop-down menu

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Reconfigure the Virtual Machines - Change the CPU/

Memory Settings
1. Select the drop-down menu for the CPU Settings and select "2"
2. Select the drop-down menu for Memory and select "512" (MB)
3. Click the OK button to save the changes.
Manage Snapshots - Revert Virtual Machine Settings
In this step, you will revert the VM's CPU/Memory configuration back to the original state
using the Snapshot Manager
1. Select linux-micro-01a in the navigation pane, if it is not already highlighted

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2. Confirm the Manage tab is selected

3. Confirm the Snapshots sub-tab is selected
4. Highlight Snapshot-1
5. Click the Revert icon
Note: This could also be completed by clicking the pull-down menu and selecting
"Revert to latest snapshot". This method provides greater control when you have
multiple snapshots.
Manage Snapshots - Confirm Revert Virtual Machine
1. The Virtual Machine is powered off, so there is no need to check the "Suspend
this virtual machine..." checkbox
2. Click the Yes button to revert the virtual machine
Note: If there had been any changes to data on the disk, this would be lost as well.
Snapshots have many use-cases, but are not a substitue for backups.

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Confirm the VM state
Reverting to the Snapshot will take the VM back to the state it was in before we added
the additional CPU/Memory. To confirm:
1. Confirm your are still highlighted on linux-micro-01a

2. Click the Summary tab.
3. Toggle the drop down triangle for VM Hardware
4. Confirm the CPU has been reset to 1 CPU from 2 CPUs
5. Confirm the Memory has been reset to 64 MB from 512 MB
Note: You may see that Network adapter 2 that was deleted in an earlier lesson has re-
appeared. This will be a rare circumstance in the lab when the VM times out on deleting
the network adapter. If this has happened in your lab, just ignore this and continue on
with the lessons.

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Lab Clean-up - Delete Snapshots
1. Right-Click on linux-micro-01a
2. Expand the drop-down menu by hovering over Snapshots
3. Click Delete All Snapshots from drop-down and select Yes in the pop-up box
Video: Virtual Machine Snapshots for VMware vSphere

(2:32)
For our lab, the snapshot was used to revert our virtual machine to a previous hardware
state. A typical use case can be to take a snapshot of a virtual machine before the
installation of a software package. If something goes wrong, you can revert to a

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previous state and retry the installation. The following video will provide additional
insight into the value of virtual machine snapshots.

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Cloning Virtual Machines and Using

Templates
VMware provides several ways to provision vSphere virtual machines. One method is to
create a single virtual machine, install an operating system on it and then use that
virtual machine as a base image from which to clone other virtual machines. Cloning a
virtual machine can save time if you are deploying many similar virtual machines. You
can create, configure, and install software based on a single virtual machine. You can
clone it multiple times, rather than creating and configuring each virtual machine
individually.
Another provisioning method is to clone a virtual machine to a template. A template is a

master copy of a virtual machine that you can use to create and provision virtual
machines. Creating a template can be useful when you need to deploy multiple virtual
machines from a single baseline, but want to customize each system independently of
the next. A common value proposition for using templates is to save time. If you have a
virtual machine that you will clone frequently, make that virtual machine a template and
deploy your virtual machines from that template.
In this lesson, you will clone an existing Virtual Machine to a Template and deploy a new
Virtual Machine from that Template.

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Clone Virtual Machine to Template
You should still be on the VMs and Templates tab in the navigation pane.
1. Locate linux-micro-01a and right-click on the VM.

2. Hover over Clone
3. Select Clone to Template

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Clone Virtual Machine to Template Wizard - Select a Name

and Folder
1. Type Tiny Linux Template In the "Enter a name for the template" field
2. Confirm the location is RegionA01
3. Click the Next button to advance to the next option

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Clone Virtual Machine to Template Wizard - Select a

compute resource
1. Toggle the drop down triangles for RegionA01 and RegionA01-COMP01

2. Click on esx-02a.corp.local
3. Confirm "Compatibility" says "Compatibility checks succeeded

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Clone Virtual Machine to Template Wizard - Select Storage
1. Click the "Select virtual disk format:" drop-down and select Thin Provision (This
is a lab environment, so Thick Provisioned will utilize unnecessary space)
2. There is only one datastore in the lab, so RegionA01-ISCSI01-COMP01 will
already be highlighted
Note: The datastore with the most free space is automatically chosen.

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Clone Virtual Machine to Template Wizard - Ready to

Complete
1. Review the VM Template Settings

2. Click the Finish button to start the clone process

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Monitor Task Progress / Confirm Template creation
1. If your Recent Tasks pane is minimized, you can open it and view the status
2. You can also confirm by viewing the navigation pane and locating the Tiny Linux
Template Template object

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Deploy a Virtual Machine from a Template
1. Select the Template Tiny Linux Template

2. Confirm the Getting Started tab is selected
3. Under "Basic Tasks", click the Deploy to a new virtual machine link

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Deploy from Template Wizard - Select a name and folder
1. Type TinyLinux-VM In the "Enter a name for the virtual machine" field
2. Confirm the location is RegionA01

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Deploy from Template Wizard - Select a compute resource
1. Toggle the drop down triangles for "RegionA01" and "RegionA01-COMP01"

2. Click on esx-02a.corp.local
3. Confirm "Compatibility" says Compatibility checks succeeded

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Deploy from Template Wizard - Select Storage
1. Click the "Select virtual disk format:" drop-down and select Thin Provision (This
is a lab environment, so Thick Provisioned will utilize unnecessary space)
2. There is only one datastore in the lab, so RegionA01-ISCSI01-COMP01 will
already be highlighted
Note:The datastore with the most free space is automatically chosen.

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Deploy from Template Wizard - Select clone Options
1. Check the Power on virtual machine after creation checkbox

Note: In order to manage the time to complete this module, the template OS installed
will not be customized.

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Deploy from Template Wizard - Ready to Complete
1. Review the Deploy fromTemplate Settings.

2. Click the Finish button to start the "Deploy from Template" process

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Monitor the Task Progress
1. Note the new VM TinyLinux-VM in the navigation Pane

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Cleanup - Power Off TinyLinux-VM
Let's power off our virtual machine now:
1. Right-Click on TinyLinux-VM
2. Expand the drop-down menu by hovering over Power
3. Click Power Off from drop-down and select Yes in the pop-up box

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Cleanup - Delete TinyLInux-VM
Let's delete this Virtual machine from our environment:
1. Right-click on TinyLinux-VM
2. Click Delete from Disk from the drop-down menu and select the Yes button
when prompted from the pop-up box

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Video: Virtual Machine Cloning and Templates for VMware

vSphere (4:04)
For additional features of cloning and templates for vSphere, please watch the following
video.

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Abstraction of Storage for More

Efficient Management and Better
Control
vSphere Storage Overview
The following lesson provides an overview of the different types of storage available in
vSphere. The vSphere Hypervisor, ESXi, provides host-level storage virtualization, which
logically abstracts the physical storage layer from virtual machines.
A vSphere virtual machine uses a virtual disk to store its operating system, program
files, and other data associated with its activities. A virtual disk is a large physical file, or
a set of files, that can be copied, moved, archived, and backed up as easily as any other
file. You can configure virtual machines with multiple virtual disks.
To access virtual disks, a virtual machine uses virtual SCSI controllers. These virtual
controllers include BusLogic Parallel, LSI Logic Parallel, LSI Logic SAS, and VMware
Paravirtual. These controllers are the only types of SCSI controllers that a virtual
machine can see and access.
Each virtual disk resides on a vSphere Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) datastore or
an NFS-based datastore that are deployed on physical storage. From the standpoint of
the virtual machine, each virtual disk appears as if it were a SCSI drive connected to a
SCSI controller. Whether the actual physical storage device is being accessed through
parallel SCSI, iSCSI, network, Fibre Channel, or FCoE adapters on the host is transparent
to the guest operating system and to applications running on the virtual machine.
The vSphere storage management process starts with storage space that your storage
administrator allocates on different storage systems prior to vSphere ESXi assignment.
vSphere supports two types of storage - Local and Networked. Both are detailed in the
following pages.

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Local Storage
The illustration depicts virtual machines using Local VMFS storage directly attached to a
single ESXi host.
Local storage can be internal hard disks located inside your ESXi host, or it can be
external storage systems located outside and connected to the host directly through
protocols such as SAS or SATA.

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Networked Storage
The illustration depicts virtual machines using networked VMFS storage presented to
multiple ESXi hosts.
Networked storage consists of external storage systems that your ESXi host uses to
store virtual machine files remotely. Typically, the host accesses these systems over a
high-speed storage network. Networked storage devices are typically shared. Datastores
on networked storage devices can be accessed by multiple hosts concurrently, and as a
result, enable additional vSphere technologies such as High Availability host clustering,
Distributed Resource Scheduling, vMotion and Virtual Machines configured with Fault
Tolerance. ESXi supports several networked storage technologies - Fiber Channel, iSCSI,
NFS, and Shared SAS.
Viewing a Datastores Configuration
This lab will walk you through creating and configuring an NFS datastore for use by your
vSphere hosts.

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Launch Google Chrome
If Google Chromeis not already running, double click the Google Chromeicon on the

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Login to the VMware vSphere Web Client
1. Insure you are connecting to vcsa-01a.corp.local. If not, click RegionA vCenter

from the Google Chrome bookmark.
2. Type [email protected] in the User name field.
4. Click the "Login" button.
Note: All of the user credentials used in this lab are listed in the README.TXT file on
the desktop.

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Navigate to Storage
1. Select "Storage" from the Home context pane.

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Storage - Summary
You will now see the datastores that are provisioned in your environment.
1. Toggle the drop down triangles for "vcsa-01a.corp.local" and "RegionA01".

2. Select the "RegionA01-ISCSI01-COMP01" datastore.
3. Click on the "Summary" tab for additional information about the datastore.
4. Toggle the drop down triangle for the "Details" sub-pane. This pane provides the
Location, Type, Hosts connected, Virtual Machines risiding on the storage and
templates residing on the storage.
Note: There is also a handy image showing you the used and free capacity fo the
particular datastore.

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Storage - VMs
1. Click on the "VMs" tab.

2. Click the "Virtual Machines" sub-tab. You now have a list of four virtual machines
mentioned in the "Summary" tab.
3. You now have a summary of all the virtual machines running on the highlighted
datastore.
Note: You can also click on the "VM Templates in Folders" sub-tab to see the two
templates. Your lab may only have one template, if you did not complete the lesson
that generated the second template.
Common Virtualized Storage terms
This lesson will wrap up by providing an overview of a few common terms:
• Virtual Machine Disks

• Storage vMotion
• vSphere Replication
• Virtual Volumes
Virtual Machine Disks
The illustration depicts virtual machines using different types of virtual disk formats
against a shared VMFS Datastore.
When you perform certain virtual machine management operations, such as creating a
virtual disk, cloning a virtual machine to a template, or migrating a virtual machine, you

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can specify a provisioning policy for the virtual disk file format. There are three types of
virtual disk formats:
Thin Provision
Use this format to save storage space. For the thin disk, you provision as much
datastore space as the disk would require based on the value that you enter for the disk
size. However, the thin disk starts small. When deployed, it only uses as much
datastore space as the disk needs for its initial operations. It then expands on the
physical disk as more space is required. Thin Provisioned disks can be converted to
thick assuming there is sufficient physical storage availalbe.
Thick Provision Lazy Zeroed
Creates a virtual disk in a default thick format. Space required for the virtual disk is
allocated when the virtual disk is created. Data remaining on the physical device is not
erased during creation, but is zeroed out on demand at a later time on first write from
the virtual machine. Using the thick-provision, lazy-zeroed format does not zero out or
eliminate the possibility of recovering deleted files or restoring old data that might be
present on this allocated space. You cannot convert a thick-provisioned, lazy-zeroed disk
to a thin disk, however you can use the migrate wizard to perform this function.
Thick Provision Eager Zeroed
A type of thick virtual disk that supports clustering features such as Fault Tolerance.
Space required for the virtual disk is allocated at creation time. In contrast to the thick
provision, lazy-zeroed format, the data remaining on the physical device is zeroed out
when the virtual disk is created. In general, it takes much longer to create disks in this
format than to create other types of disks. For disk write intensive and disk latency
sensitive applications, the disks should be prepared as Thick Provision Eager Zeroed to
maximize write performance.

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Storage vMotion
Planned downtime typically accounts for over 80% of datacenter downtime. Hardware
maintenance, server migration, and firmware updates all require downtime for physical
servers. To minimize the impact of this downtime, organizations are forced to delay
maintenance until inconvenient and difficult-to-schedule downtime windows.
The vMotion. and Storage vMotion functionality in vSphere makes it possible for
organizations to reduce planned downtime because workloads in a VMware environment
can be dynamically moved to different physical servers or to different underlying
storage without service interruption. Administrators can perform faster and completely
transparent maintenance operations, without being forced to schedule inconvenient
maintenance windows. With vSphere vMotion and Storage vMotion, organizations can:
• Eliminate downtime for common maintenance operations.

• Eliminate planned maintenance windows.
• Perform maintenance at any time without disrupting users and services.
Note: There are not two datastores in this lab to demonstrate a storage vMotion,
although storage vMotion uses the same "Migrate" wizard as vMotion.

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Datastore Cluster
A vSphere Datastore Cluster balances I/O and storage capacity across a group of
vSphere datastores. Depending on the level of automation desired, Storage Dynamic
Resource Scheduler will place and migrate virtual machines in order to balance out
datastore utilization across the Datastore Cluster.
vSphere Replication
VMware vSphere Replication, the VMware proprietary replication engine, provides data
protection and disaster recovery for the vSphere platform by replicating virtual machine
disks within the same site and across sites. It is tightly integrated with vSphere and is
managed using the vSphere Web Client. It is included with vSphere Essentials Plus Kit
and higher editions of vSphere. Multiple points in time recovery can be enabled to
provide as many as 24 recovery points for a replicated virtual machine. vSphere
Replication is used as a standalone solution and as a replication engine for VMware
vCenter Site Recovery Manager and VMware vCloud Air Disaster Recovery.
For more on VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager, take the "HOL-1705-SDC-1 -
Data Center Migration and Disaster Recovery with Site Recovery Manager" lab.
The recovery point objective (RPO) can be set on a per–virtual machine basis and can
range from 15 minutes to 24 hours. After initial synchronization between the source and
the target locations, only changes to the virtual machines are replicated, enabling
vSphere Replication to minimize network bandwidth consumption. New to vSphere
Replication in vSphere 6.0 to further improve efficiency is the option to compress
replicated data as it is sent across the network. It is now possible to easily isolate
network traffic associated with vSphere Replication. This enables vSphere
administrators to control bandwidth by configuring more than one network interface
card in a vSphere Replication virtual appliance and by using vSphere Network I/O
Control to separate network traffic. The result is improved performance and security.
Enhancements have been made to the way vSphere Replication performs a full
synchronization. Previous versions of vSphere Replication requested and compared
remote checksums with local checksums to determine the regions of a virtual disk that
had to be replicated. With some storage platforms and vSphere 6.0, vSphere Replication
can query vSphere for storage allocation information, to reduce the amount of time and
network bandwidth required to perform a full synchronization.
vSphere Replication is fully compatible with VMware vSphere Storage vMotion at both
the source and target locations. Prior to vSphere 6.0, moving a replica at the target
location required vSphere Replication to perform a full synchronization. With vSphere
6.0, migrating a replica with vSphere Storage vMotion no longer requires this. That
makes it much easier to balance storage utilization with vSphere Storage vMotion and
VMware vSphere Storage DRS while avoiding RPO violations. Improvements have also
been made to VMware Tools for Linux virtual machines. With some Linux OSs, VMware
Tools features the ability to quiesce the guest OS during replication and backup

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operations. vSphere Replication can utilize this new functionality to enable file
system–consistent recovery of Linux virtual machines.

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Virtual Volumes
Virtual Volumes (VVOL) is a new integration and management framework that virtualizes
SAN/NAS arrays, enabling a more efficient operational model that is optimized for
virtualized environments and is centered on the application instead of the storage
infrastructure. Currently, storage management is generally LUN-centric, or volume-
centric. With VVOL's, we can manage our storage based on the requirements of the
application.
Virtual Volumes simplifies operations through policy-driven automation that enables

more agile storage consumption for VMs and dynamic adjustments in real time. It
simplifies the delivery of storage service levels to individual applications by providing
finer control of hardware resources and native array-based data services that can be
instantiated with per VM granularity.
Some of the key features are:
• Simplifies Storage Operations - Virtual Volumes simplifies storage operations

by automating manual tasks and eliminating operational dependencies between
the VI Admin and the Storage Admin that have traditionally added complexity.
Provisioning is faster and change management is simpler as the new operational
model is built upon policy-driven automation.
• Simplifies the Delivery of Storage Service Levels - Virtual Volumes
simplifies the delivery of storage service levels to applications by providing
administrators with finer control of storage resources and data services at the VM
level that can be dynamically instantiated and controlled in real-time.
• Improves Resource Utilization - Virtual Volumes improves resource utilization
by enabling more flexible consumption of storage resources, when needed and
with greater granularity. The precise consumption of storage resources eliminates
overprovisioning.
For more on Virtual Volumes (VVOL), take the "HOL-1708-SDC-2 - Virtual Volumes
and Storage Policy Based Management" lab.

HOL-1710-SDC-1

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Conclusion
We hope you have enjoyed taking this module and have a better understanding of using
vSphere 6.5. Be sure to take the survey at the end.
For more information on vSphere 6.5, here is a list of additional online resources you can
use:
• VMware vSphere 6.5 Youtube videos

• VMware 6.5 Feature Walkthrough

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Conclusion
Thank you for participating in the VMware Hands-on Labs. Be sure to visit
http://hol.vmware.com/ to continue your lab experience online.
Lab SKU: HOL-1710-SDC-1
Version: 20170426-141819

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HOL-1710-SDC-1

Module 1 - Introduction to Virtualization(30 minutes - Basic)

Module 2 - The vCenter Server Appliance is the New Standard(60 minutes -

Module 3 - Next Generation Management Clients(45 minutes - Basic)

Module 4 - Introduction to vRealize Log Insight(30 minutes - Basic)

Module 5 - Administration Basics(60 minutes - Basic)

• Joseph Suma, Staff Technical Account Manager (Modules 1, 2, 3 and 5)

This session/overview of the new technology represents no commitment from

Features are subject to change, and must not be included in contracts,

Technical feasibility and market demand will effect final delivery.

Pricing and packaging for any new technologies or features discussed or

• “These features are representative of feature areas under development. Feature

Location of the Main Console

Alternate Methods of Keyboard Data Entry

Click and Drag Lab Manual Content Into Console Active

Accessing the Online International Keyboard

Click once in active console window

1. Click once in the active console window.

Click on the @ key

1. Click on the "@" key.

Notice the @ sign entered in the active console window.

Activation Prompt or Watermark

This cosmetic issue has no effect on your lab.

Look at the lower right portion of the screen

Throughout VMworld you will be exposed to many of the technologies which

Goals for this session:

• Understand the customer benefits of virtualization

Virtualization is placing an additional layer of software called a hypervisor on top of your

Virtualization enables you to consolidate servers and contain applications, resulting in

Reduce Storage Costs

Evolution of Virtualization and VMware

Module 2 - The vCenter

vCenter Server Appliance Overview

Why VCSA 6.5 Should Be The Default Deployment Choice

There are several other general improvements:

• VMware Update Manager is now part of the vCenter Server Appliance

vSphere Update Manager Integration

vSphere Update Manager enables centralized, automated patch and version

1. Upgrade and Patch ESXi hosts

vSphere Update Manager Web Client

It is also recommended to complete HOL-SDC-1710-4 "Working with vSphere

What's new in vSphere Update Manager 6.5

Update Manager Web Client

Update Manager Download Service

vSphere Update Manager Download Service (UMDS) is an optional module of Update

Update Manager Utility

vCenter Server Availability

Roles for each type of node in a vCenter HA cluster

• Node that runs the active instance of vCenter Server

• Node that runs as the passive instance of vCenter Server

• Serves as a quorum node

How does vCenter Server High Availability work?

Note that the RTO time for a failover is approximately 5 minutes.

Platform Services Controller

vCenter Server and Platform Services Controller

vCenter Server with an Embedded Platform Services

Deployment Workflow of a vCenter Server Appliance with

Platform Services Controller and vCenter Server Appliance

• Less resources consumed by the shared services in the Platform Services

 To begin the process of backing up the appliance: