Tips

Tips

• VMware VCA exam is the first step in new certification tracks

  The VMware Certified Associate (VCA) exam, while not overly technical, can help people who need to prove they understand various VMware technologies.  Continue Reading

• How VMware VSAN differs from a traditional VSAN

  The VMware VSAN product gives virtualization administrators the ability to provision storage without needing to involve the storage team.  Continue Reading

• What's the best number of virtual machines for a data store?

  The best number of virtual machines on each data store depends on, among other things, the performance needs of each virtual machine.  Continue Reading

• VMware High Availability and high availability: What's the difference?

  For novices to virtualization, there may be some confusion about the term high availability and how it differs from VMware High Availability.  Continue Reading

• The vdmadmin utility puts the VMware View administrator in command

  Using the vdmadmin tool, a VMware View administrator can make virtual desktops dance through command-line wizardry.  Continue Reading

• How to find the right size for your environment's data stores

  Administrators need to balance performance and manageability when building data stores, while also considering the limits in vSphere versions.  Continue Reading

• VMFS vs. RDM: Which cluster file system should you use?

  Choosing either the VMFS or RDM cluster file system depends on whether there are special circumstances in your virtual infrastructure.  Continue Reading

• Comparing differences in vSphere Data Protection versions

  The free version of vSphere Data Protection (VDP) has some limitations and lacks some features of the advanced version.  Continue Reading

• Improve storage performance for VMs with vSphere's Storage DRS feature

  Storage DRS in vSphere examines the disk capacity of data stores in a cluster to determine whether changes are needed to increase efficiency.  Continue Reading

• Prevent vSphere High Availability woes through a proper configuration

  Until vSphere High Availability settings have been tuned to your environment, virtual machines may not restart after a failure.  Continue Reading

• Correcting misconfigured ESXi shared storage settings

  IT shops that started small may find they need to update their ESXi shared storage settings to prevent significant issues when a host fails.  Continue Reading

• Top techniques to improve vSphere performance

  Looking to boost your vSphere performance? These battle-tested tips will help keep your virtual infrastructure humming along.  Continue Reading

• Tweaking vSphere's DRS advanced options can yield performance boost

  The advanced options in vSphere's DRS settings allow experienced sysadmins to squeeze more performance out of their virtual environments.  Continue Reading

• Creating ESXi shared storage in VMware vSphere Hypervisor

  With a few clicks in the vSphere Client, you can augment VMware data stores on local hosts with ESXi shared storage.  Continue Reading

• Starting out with VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1

  VMware vSphere Hypervisor 5.1 is a free way to start out with virtualization. Installation comprises two elements: ESXi and the vSphere Client.  Continue Reading

• VMware vSphere basics: ESXi host cluster, vCenter and shared storage

  Small and large VMware shops use the same building blocks. The basics of vSphere virtualization involve identical hosts, shared storage and vCenter.  Continue Reading

• Enabling HTML access to VMware View 5.2 virtual desktops with Blast

  Virtual desktop users will appreciate HTML-based access in VMware View 5.2. Here's how to enable VMware Blast and how it compares to PCoIP access.  Continue Reading

• Analyzing VMware vSphere cost and benefits for a small business

  The free VMware vSphere Hypervisor might seem like the perfect virtualization tool for SMB IT. But spending the money for vSphere Essentials pays off.  Continue Reading

• Five VMware home lab ideas for beginner to advanced users

  These tips will help you build everything from a starter VMware home lab to a vTARDIS vSphere lab or one that can host vCloud Suite.  Continue Reading

• Finding ESXi compatibility beyond VMware's Hardware Compatibility Guide

  If a server isn't on the hallowed VMware Hardware Compatibility Guide, that doesn't mean it won't support ESXi. But it's a tough road to verification.  Continue Reading

• Fine-tuning host and VM high availability in a vSphere deployment

  VMware vSphere High Availability ensures host and VM uptime. You can set VM monitoring, constraints and other thresholds for HA with a few clicks.  Continue Reading

• The hidden culprit behind slow vSphere performance -- and how to fix it

  If you find vSphere performance deteriorating, unintentional resource limits on VMs could be to blame. The good news? They're easy to remove.  Continue Reading

• VMware vCloud Director evaluation guide: Five use cases to consider

  VMware vCloud Director brings cloud computing features to vSphere shops, but it's a significant investment that warrants serious evaluation first.  Continue Reading

• Tough Metro vMotion requirements make for a dream infrastructure

  VMware's Metro vMotion requirements for networking, storage and vCenter keep live VM migration between data centers just a dream for most IT shops.  Continue Reading

• Ways to investigate and fix VMware View Connection Server issues

  VDI admins can troubleshoot and fix problems in a VMware View Connection Server and its LDAP directory using just a few commands.  Continue Reading

• VMware snapshot size and other causes for slow snapshots

  Snapshots offer multiple restore points for VMs, but add complication. Poor performance can stem from the VMware snapshot size and other root causes.  Continue Reading

• How to set up a home vSphere lab using a nested hypervisor

  A vSphere lab created with a nested hypervisor can be more stable with less overhead than a similar home lab on a hosted hypervisor like Workstation.  Continue Reading

• SRM replication choices: vSphere Replication vs. storage replication

  VMware's disaster recovery manager SRM has two replication options: via the hypervisor or via storage. The choice involves scalability and cost.  Continue Reading

• Finessing vSphere DRS with admin input for highly efficient hosts

  DRS balances virtual workloads and optimizes power use, all tailored to an admin's settings. But without a pricy vSphere edition, DRS is out of reach.  Continue Reading

• Which VMware network settings to adjust to troubleshoot VM packet loss

  Even the best VMware networking setups hit snags, but you have tools. Adjusting specific VMware network settings can fix packet loss in a VM.  Continue Reading

• VMware IaaS: Converting from virtualization to a software-defined data center

  From vSphere virtualization to VMware Iaas: Read how data centers look before and after the adoption of a vCloud software-defined data center.  Continue Reading

• How the VMware software defined data center works: An IaaS example

  VMware's software-defined data center concept creates IaaS within a company. To see how it's different than virtualization, check out this example.  Continue Reading

• VMware command line options to keep in your ESXi toolbox

  The vSphere Client works great for some tasks, but repetitive mass actions call for scripts. And, you have options in the VMware command line toolbox.  Continue Reading

• Ways to mirror vSphere networking with VMware Virtual Network Editor

  Not every VMware vSphere networking option is available in Workstation, but it's a useful tool for users to mirror the ESXi network for tests.  Continue Reading

• VMware Fusion vs. Workstation: Choosing an end-user virtualization tool

  VMware Fusion and Workstation are similar virtualization tools for end-user computing, and do many of the same tasks. Here's how to select a product.  Continue Reading

• Migrating from a standard switch to VMware vDS with no downtime

  Replacing standard switches with VMware vDS will broaden your virtual network's capabilities. Learn how to migrate switches without powering down VMs.  Continue Reading

• Disaster recovery hosting in the cloud eliminates redundant data centers

  Despite the benefits of disaster recovery hosting in the cloud, VMware admins will find that SRM and vCloud Director don't make cloud-based DR easy.  Continue Reading

• Moving VM testing from VMware vSphere ESX/ESXi to Workstation

  VMware admins can't skip VM testing just because it eats up vSphere resources. Testing ESX/ESXi VMs in VMware Workstation frees up vSphere for production.  Continue Reading

• Comparing VMware vSphere backup software options for SMBs

  SMB admins have a lot of VMware vSphere backup software options, including the free VDP appliance. Here's how VDP stacks up to third-party options.  Continue Reading

• A vCloud Director lab is within reach, even on virtual lab setups

  VMware admins can't learn everything they need to know about vCloud Director by reading. It's time to build a vCloud Director lab -- here's how.  Continue Reading

• Using VMware Player to virtualize Linux and other OSes for free

  Player 5 lets you virtualize Linux and other OSes, and it's free. Here's how to test new OSes or support legacy ones.  Continue Reading

• Backup is easy with VMware VDP, but scalability limits the free tool

  VMware VDP overhauls the vSphere backup appliance. VDP is free, simple to set up, stable and easy to manage, but not right for every data center.  Continue Reading

• VMware Player requirements and installation cheat sheet

  VMware Player requirements are fairly easy to meet, but there is one major caveat to check out before you install the free tool.  Continue Reading

• Navigate VM availability acronyms: VMware HA vs. FT and SRM vs. VADP

  VMware's options for virtual machine availability and backup can look like an alphabet soup. Get a handle on VMware VADP, SRM, HA and FT features.  Continue Reading

• VMware View certificate tips: How to prevent VDI user confusion

  Why plan ahead for a VMware View certificate installation? Because one misstep could lead to a lot of help desk tickets from nervous VDI users.  Continue Reading

• Protect VMware Workstation shared VMs with custom access settings

  VMware administrators can guard multi-user VMs, often found in classrooms and kiosks, from malware or upgrades with VM access control settings.  Continue Reading

• Deploy VMware vCenter Protect for antivirus, asset inventory and more

  VMware endowed vCenter Protect with antivirus patch management as well as scripting and inventory features for physical and virtual machines.  Continue Reading

• VMware Workstation encryption prevents unauthorized VM access

  VMware Workstation encryption helps you protect information on VMs from unauthorized users. Learn how -- and when -- to encrypt virtual machines.  Continue Reading

• How to meet VMware FT requirements for hardware, storage and networking

  VMware FT ensures that critical VMs never fail. With a 10 Gb/sec network and other storage hardware requirements, however, it requires some prep work.  Continue Reading

• Choose the right VMware certification path: Data center, cloud or EUC

  Reading the new VMware certification map can get confusing, but most paths start out at VCP-DV. The next step could lead to cloud or EUC titles.  Continue Reading

• Moving VMs between VMware Workstation 9 and vSphere, and other tips

  VMware Workstation 9 includes updates to closely integrate work in the test-and-development tool with the production vSphere environment.  Continue Reading

• VMware for small business owners: The wrong kit could cost you

  VMware virtualization is typically associated with enterprise IT. But, with the right kit, it's good for small business virtualization projects, too.  Continue Reading

• Monitor VMware ESXi with your existing Nagios application

  Many IT shops already use Nagios monitoring software. With a simple plug-in install and command definitions, Nagios can monitor VMware ESXi.  Continue Reading

• Install VMware Workstation 9 without price or performance pain points

  VMware Workstation 9 came out right on the heels of Workstation 8. Here's how to install Workstation 9 so VMs move seamlessly over from Workstation 8.  Continue Reading

• What VMware's software-defined data center is missing

  VMware envisions a software-defined data center running all commodity hardware, but its current SDDC product offering falls short on several fronts.  Continue Reading

• VSphere 5.1 licensing changes offer SMBs enterprise-class computing

  VMware's new tiers for vSphere 5.1 licensing give SMBs access to enterprise-class virtualization capabilities such as data protection and vMotion.  Continue Reading

• How to monitor network traffic in VMware environments

  Network virtualization complicates how IT pros monitor network traffic. With proper configuration, free tools can help monitor the network's traffic.  Continue Reading

• Virtual network switches in the VMware admin's world: Pros and cons

  Virtual switches connect VMs to the physical network. Virtual switches differ from physical switches, putting them in the VMware admin's control.  Continue Reading

• Using vSphere distributed switches for virtual networks

  VMware's vSphere distributed switch is shared between hosts in a network, unlike standard switches. Here's how to create and use distributed switches.  Continue Reading

• VMware vSphere networking best practices

  VMware vSphere networking requires several decisions before installing ESXi hosts. Follow these best practices for the proper virtual network setup.  Continue Reading

• Why a free private cloud with VMware vCloud may not be worth the money

  IT shops considering a private cloud can upgrade to VMware's vCloud suite for free, but consider these caveats before you sign the deal.  Continue Reading

• Optimizing resources with vSphere memory management techniques

  Memory management techniques are invaluable tools for resource optimization. VMware vSphere comes equipped with several such techniques.  Continue Reading

• Comparing and contrasting vCenter Server with vCSA

  Torn between vCenter Server or vCSA for the centralized management of vSphere? The decision may come down to the scale of your infrastructure.  Continue Reading

• SRM and SwapFiles

  SRM and SwapFiles  Continue Reading

• Spend a little to save a lot: Why a $200 VMUG membership is a bargain

  A VMUG Advantage membership will run you about $200, but according to one expert, the membership pays for itself in no time.  Continue Reading

• Deleting components in SRM

  One of the things you might want to do is delete and remove components from SRM. When you go about doing that its important to understand the relationships that bind the product together.  Continue Reading

• What’s (not so) new in vSphere5 – Part 4 (Storage)

  What’s really new is stuff like support for a Software-based FCoE adapter (along the same lines as the iSCSI Software Adapter except it needs the supported NICs to work properly), the implementation of VASA (along side improvements to its big ...  Continue Reading

• What's (not so) new in vSphere5 – Part 1 (ESX, vCenter, VUM, VCVA)

  This is the first part in a series of posts about what’s new in vSphere5. It’s meant to be a summary of all the major changes and improvements in the vSphere5 platform. The idea of these blogpost is to be both as as an checklist reminder to read ...  Continue Reading

• SRM and VMware snapshots

  Read this tip on SRM and snapshots from expert Mike Laverick.  Continue Reading

• When you need, and don't need, vCenter Server

  Some organizations don't need the advanced features offered by vCenter Server and can effectively manage their infrastructure with the free vSphere Client. Can yours?  Continue Reading

• VMware training at a discount: Is all-access eLearning worth it?

  Formal VMware training is notoriously expensive. With many organizations slashing training budgets, find out if $500 for an all-access eLearning subscription is worth the money.  Continue Reading

• Using vCenter Infrastructure Navigator to map application dependencies

  VMware’s Infrastructure Navigator is a key addition to the vCenter Operations suite that can help you better understand application dependencies and improve disaster recovery.  Continue Reading

• Top five tips to improve VMware server capacity planning

  Server capacity planning is an important part of every environment, and VMware shops have some specialized tools to help them make the most of their hardware resources.  Continue Reading

• Finding and correcting performance bottlenecks in a vSphere lab

  Performance bottlenecks aren’t limited to production environments. Learn about the tools that can identify problems and prevent slow VMs from bogging down your vSphere lab.  Continue Reading

• Setting VMware vCenter alarms for better management

  VMware vCenter alarms are important parts of a proactive monitoring system that can automatically alert an admin to spikes in CPU or memory use before they become a problem.  Continue Reading

• Vendorwag – Centrix [Episode 75]

  Centrix Software specialise in analysing the activity of users desktops in real-time in order to gather data about application usage – called “WorkSpace iQ”.  Continue Reading

• Installing a CIM provider to improve vSphere Client host monitoring

  While ESXi includes support for many popular hardware platforms, comprehensive server health monitoring with the vSphere Client sometimes requires installing the correct CIM provider.  Continue Reading

• VMware SSD updates: Making a solid case for local ESXi storage

  Solid-state storage is beginning to make a splash in data centers, and there are a handful of VMware SSD use cases for that can improve ESXi host performance.  Continue Reading

• The Perils of vSphere Standard Switches – Renaming Portgroups

  For years I’ve warned people about the perils of renaming portgroups on Standard vSwitches.  Continue Reading

• Getting started with VMware Orchestrator

  VMware Orchestrator automation and plug-ins make some parts of an admin’s job easier, but there is a steep learning curve to move beyond built-in workflows.  Continue Reading

• Configuring VMware vSwitch security settings: Don’t trust defaults

  It is important for administrators to understand and address the default VMware vSwitch security settings that could leave their networks vulnerable to attacks.  Continue Reading

• VMware vCenter Converter: V2V and P2V migrations made easy

  VMware vCenter Converter Standalone is a free tool that shops can use to import VMs from other virtualization platforms into vSphere or perform a hassle-free P2V migration.  Continue Reading

• Designing a virtual environment with VMware Capacity Planner

  Using VMware Capacity Planner to inventory data center resources and project hardware needs, IT pros can save time and money when planning a virtual environment.  Continue Reading

• Installing the vSphere Web Client for browser-based VMware management

  Break free from the Windows ball and chain, and install the vSphere Web Client for browser-based VMware management. It’s great for admins who are constantly on the go.  Continue Reading

• VMware vSphere Web Client: Browsing the features

  The vSphere Web Client includes most features found in the traditional vSphere Client with the added advantage of allowing admins to work from any location or operating system.  Continue Reading

• Top five VMware network performance tips

  Tweaking a few, simple configuration settings can improve VMware network performance and ensure that VMs receive their fair share of bandwidth.  Continue Reading

• Understanding VMware vCenter roles and permissions

  Following best practices when assigning VMware vCenter roles and permissions to users in a virtual environment can improve vSphere security.  Continue Reading

• FAQ: Creating a VMware disaster recovery plan

  A VMware disaster recovery plan reduces downtime and ensures that vital data is safe. But it involves several technical and political considerations as well as the right DR tools.  Continue Reading

• Building a remote VMware disaster recovery site

  Constructing a remote VMware disaster recovery site ensures that your business stays running after a disaster. But without proper planning, you’ll waste a lot of time and money.  Continue Reading

• Using VM performance monitoring tools for VMware vSphere 5

  There are a variety of VM performance monitoring tools for VMware vSphere 5. Using the right combination of utilities will ensure a productive and efficient virtual environment.  Continue Reading

• Configuring VMware ESXi syslog settings for centralized logging

  Adjusting a few VMware ESXi syslog preferences can enable centralized logging on a remote host, which reduces the chance of losing important log data after a disaster.  Continue Reading

• Storing VMware ESXi syslog events on a remote Linux server

  Designating a remote Linux server to record VMware ESXi syslog events allows you to access that important information, even if the ESXi host crashes.  Continue Reading

• Building a VMware test lab: How to obtain and interpret performance metrics

  In a VMware test lab, you have to pay attention to VM density, resource usage and more. Learn how to glean the right VMware performance metrics.  Continue Reading

• Preparing for the VCP exam and advanced VMware certifications

  There are different course requirements, costs and objectives for each level of VMware certifications, so it’s best to do your homework before taking the VCP exam or others.  Continue Reading

• VMware vCloud Director 101

  Now that vCloud Director 1.5 is out, learn about the installation process and licensing requirements for VMware’s private and hybrid cloud management tool.  Continue Reading

• Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop on VMware vSphere: Peaceful coexistence

  One way to try desktop virtualization is by running Citrix XenDesktop on VMware vSphere. Explore XenApp on VMware, too.  Continue Reading

• Network time synchronization for VMware ESXi: Timing is everything

  Time is money, and in your VMware infrastructure, network time synchronization ensures that your ESXi hosts are timed to work correctly with other hosts and services.  Continue Reading

• VMware ThinApp deep dive: Deployed vs. streaming execution modes

  If you’re using VMware ThinApp for application virtualization, you should know the difference between its deployed and streaming execution modes.  Continue Reading

• VMware disaster recovery options: Beyond Site Recovery Manager

  VMware offers its own disaster recovery tools, but there are a number of viable third-party products you can use for VMware disaster recovery.  Continue Reading

• Top 5 vSphere security features in VMware vSphere 5

  There are lots of new features in VMware vSphere 5, and the vSphere security enhancements aren’t lacking. There’s the ESXi firewall, logging improvements and more.  Continue Reading