Vmware: vMware vSphere Components and Features

An introduction to the components and features of VMware vSphere helps you to understand the parts and how they interact.

VMware vSphere includes the following components and features.

1. VMware ESX and ESXi:

A virtualization layer runs on physical servers that abstract processor, memory, storage, and resources into multiple virtual machines.

Versions of ESX are available:

A. VMware ESX 4.1 contains a built-in service console. It is available as an installable CD-ROM boot image.

B. VMware ESXi 4.1 does not contain a service console. It is available in two forms: VMware ESXi 4.1 Embedded and VMware ESXi 4.1 Installable. ESXi 4.1 Embedded is firmware that is built into a server’s physical hardware. ESXi 4.1 Installable is software that is available as an installable CD-ROM boot image. You install the ESXi 4.1 Installable software on to a server’s hard drive.

C. In VMware ESXi 5 a virtualization layer run on physical servers that abstracts processor, memory, storage, and resources into multiple virtual machines.

2. VMware vCenter Server:

The central point for configuring, provisioning, and managing virtualized IT environments. It provides essential datacenter services such as access control, performance monitoring, and alarm management.

3. VMware vSphere Client:

An interface that allows users to connect remotely to vCenter Server or ESX/ESXi from any Windows PC.

4. VMware vSphere Web Client:

A Web interface that enables users to connect remotely to vCenter Server from a variety of Web browsers and operating systems.

5. VMware vSphere SDKs:

Feature that provides standard interfaces for VMware and third-party solutions to access VMware vSphere.

6. vSphere Virtual Machine File System (VMFS):

VM File System	VM File System Versions
VMFS 5	V5
VMFS 3	V4
VMFS 2	V3

A high performance cluster files system for ESX/ESXi virtual machines.

7. vSphere virtual SMP:

Enables a single virtual machine to use multiple physical processors simultaneously.

8. vSphere vMotion:

Live migration of VM from 1 ESXi host to ESXi host 2.

Enables the migration of powered-on virtual machines from one physical server to another with zero down time, continuous service availability, and complete transaction integrity.

Migration with vMotion cannot be used to move virtual machines from one datacenter to another.

9. vSphere Storage vMotion (svMotion):

Live migration of virtual machine storage from 1 storage to storage 2.

Enables the migration of virtual machine files from one datastore to another without service interruption. You can place the virtual machine and all its disks in a single location, or select separate locations for the virtual machine configuration file and each virtual disk. The virtual machine remains on the same host during Storage vMotion.

Migration with Storage vMotion lets you move the virtual disks or configuration file of a virtual machine to a new datastore while the virtual machine is running. Migration with Storage vMotion enables you to move a virtual machine's storage without any interruption in the availability of the virtual machine.

10. vSphere High Availability (HA):

Auto restart of VM on any other ESXi host within the same cluster. Down Time = Restart Time.

A feature that provides high availability for virtual machines. If a server fails, affected virtual machines are restarted on other available servers that have spare capacity.

11. vSphere Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS):

It is nothing but auto load balancer across the cluster with respect of CPU & Memory. It is also work with cluster level.

Allocates and balances computing capacity dynamically across collections of hardware resources for virtual machines.

12. Distributed Power Management (DPM):

Distributed power management (DPM) capabilities that enable a datacenter to significantly reduce its power consumption.

13. vSphere Storage DRS:

Allocates and balances storage capacity and I/O dynamically across collections of datastores. This feature includes management capabilities that minimize the risk of running out of space and the risk of I/O bottlenecks slowing the performance of virtual machines.

14. vSphere Fault Tolerance (FT):

Provides continuous availability by protecting a virtual machine with a copy. When this feature is enabled for a virtual machine, a secondary copy of the original, or primary, virtual machine is created. All actions completed on the primary virtual machine are also applied to the secondary virtual machine. If the primary virtual machine becomes unavailable, the secondary machine becomes immediately active, providing continuous availability.

15. vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS):

It is distributed switch & also called as advanced switch.

A virtual switch that can span multiple ESXi hosts, enabling significant reduction of on-going network maintenance activities and increasing network capacity. This increased efficiency enables virtual machines to maintain consistent network configuration as they migrate across multiple hosts.

16. vSphere Host Profile:

Standardizing Configuration of your ESXi Host across the data center & this feature is included in VMware Vsphere Enterprise License.

A feature that simplifies host configuration management through user-defined configuration policies. The host profile policies capture the blueprint of a known, validated host configuration and use this configuration to configure networking, storage, security, and other settings across multiple hosts. The host profile policies also monitor compliance to standard host configuration settings across the datacenter. Host profiles reduce the manual steps that are involved in configuring a host and can help maintain consistency and correctness across the datacenter.

Host profiles are also a component of vSphere Auto Deploy. The concept of an auto deployed host means that vCenter Server owns the entire host configuration and it is captured within a host profile. Certain policies require user input to provide host-specific values. To support Auto Deploy for host profiles, an answer file is created that contains the definitions for those policies.

17. VDR: VMware Data Recovery

It is used to back up & restore guest systems.

18. Hot Add:

The connection and disconnection of peripherals or other components without interrupting system operation.

19. vSphere Vshield: Virtual Firewall From VMware

20. Standard Switch:

21. Thin Provisioning:

It will block space which is actual required.

Cloud Computing:

It is refers to the logical computational resources (data, software) access via a computer network, rather than from a local computer.

Users or clients can perform a task such as word processing with a client such as browser & with service provided through the cloud based computational resources.

Vsphere Components:

· Esxi

· vCentre Server

· Vstorage VMFS

· VSMP

· vCentre Update Manager

· vMotion/Svmotion

· HA/FT

· DRS/DPM

· Vstore Thin provisioning

· Data Recovery

· Host Profiles

· vShield Zones

· vNetwork Distributes Switch

vCentre Update Manager-

It is used to apply patched and to upgrade of ESXi host

Vmware vSphere related Products:

1. v Centre – Centralised manage servers to manage multiple ESX, ESXi hosts.

vCentre Edition-

Fundamental- vCntre support for 3 Hosts

Standard- vCentre supports -1000 Hosts and 10000VMs.

2. vCentre Converter- Converts Physical Machine to Virtual Machines (P2V) and

Different format Virtual machine to Vmware format VM(V2V).

3. vCentre Orchestrater- Automation

V4:

Hardware	Standard	Advanced	Enterprise	Enterprise +
SMP	4	4	4	8
Ram	256	256	256	Unlimited
CPU	6	12	6	12

V5:

Hardware	Standard	Enterprise	Enterprise +
SMP	8	8	32
vRam	32	64	96
CPU	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited

V5.1:

Hardware	Standard	Enterprise	Enterprise +
SMP	8	32	64
Ram	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited
CPU	Unlimited	Unlimited	Unlimited

Vmware

Sunday, 16 February 2014

vMware vSphere Components and Features

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