Class overview :

Class goals :

At the end of the course, you will be able to do the following:

• Use vSphere tools to monitor the performance of VMware ESX/ESXi hosts
• Diagnose performance problems relating to CPU, memory, network, and storage on an ESX/ESXi host
• Apply guidelines for monitoring application performance
• Use the VMware vSphere Client and command-line utilities to diagnose and rectify ESX/ESXi, VMware vMotion, VMware Storage vMotion, VMware High Availability, VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler, and virtual machine power-on problems
• Use ESXi technical support mode to diagnose and rectify problems on ESXi
• Create and use a network packet capture utility to capture and display virtual switch network traffic

Content of VMware vSphere 4 : Advanced Fast Track

Course Introduction

• Introductions and course logistics
• Course objectives

Performance in a Virtualized Environment

• Discuss the vSphere performance troubleshooting methodology
• Discuss software and hardware virtualization techniques and their impact on performance
• Monitor performance using vCenter Server performance charts and the ESX/ESXi resxtop command

CPU Performance

• Discuss the CPU scheduler and other features that have an impact on CPU performance
• Monitor key CPU performance metrics
• Troubleshoot common CPU performance problems

Memory Performance

• Discuss memory reclamation techniques and memory overcommitment
• Monitor key memory performance metrics
• Troubleshoot common memory performance problems

Guidelines for DRS and Resource Controls

• Discuss performance guidelines for DRS clusters, resource pools, and resource allocation settings

Network Performance

• Discuss the performance features of modern network adapters
• Monitor key network performance metrics
• Troubleshoot common network performance problems

Storage Performance

• Discuss how storage protocols, VMware vStorage VMFS configuration, load balancing, and queuing affect performance
• Monitor key storage performance metrics
• Troubleshoot common storage performance problems

Virtual Machine Performance

• Discuss guidelines for configuring a virtual machine for optimal performance

Application Performance

• Discuss tools and guidelines for application performance

Guidelines for DRS and Resource Controls

• Discuss performance guidelines for DRS clusters, resource pools, and

Course Introduction

• Introductions and course logistics
• Course objectives

ESXi Command-Line Troubleshooting Methods

• Install and use the VMware vSphere Management Assistant
• Learn common vSphere command-line interface commands and syntax
• Configure ESXi technical support mode and Secure Shell (SSH) access
• ESX, ESXi, and vCenter Server Log Files
• View ESX, ESXi, and vCenter Server log files
• Configure a centralized ESX/ESXi log host

Network Troubleshooting

• Identify and configure vNetwork components
• Configure and use a network traffic packet capture utility

Management Troubleshooting

• Troubleshoot vSphere management components

Storage Troubleshooting

• View, configure, and diagnose storage-access problems
• Configure iSCSI authentication and digests

vMotion Troubleshooting

• Troubleshoot vMotion and Storage vMotion errors

VMware Infrastructure Troubleshooting

• Troubleshoot DRS cluster errors with shares, pools, and limits
• Troubleshoot VMware HA cluster errors with slot calculations, admission control, and host monitoring
• Review virtual machine power-on requirements
• Troubleshoot virtual machine power-on failures