Troubleshooting VMware Virtual Infrastructure gives the student an opportunity to setup a VMware environment. After it is set up, the class will see how to troubleshoot an environment, and then use those tools to actually solve problems that have been set on the lab.

This class will focus on troubleshooting processes and developing troubleshooting skills. The resources used in class will provide students with a toolbox that can be used in their production environment. The student should have a working knowledge of VMware (vSphere or VI3). The class will be approximately 25% lecture and 75% demo and labs.

Course duration

The class can be 4 days or 5 days. The 5th day will focus on Security Configuration and Troubleshooting.

VMware Training Course outline

I. Introduction

II. Virtualization Overview
      a. ESX
      b. ESXi
      c. vSphere Client
      d. vCenter

III. CLI
      a. ESXi
            i. vMA
      b. ESX

IV. Configure Logging and Log Files
      a. ESXi
      b. ESX
      c. vCenter
      d. Centralized Logging Host
      e. Troubleshooting with Log Files

V. Configure and Troubleshoot vCenter Services
      a. VMware Mount Service for VirtualCenter
            i. Guest OS customization
      b. VMware Tools Service
            i. Not installed as part of vCenter - but rather installed into a guest O/S
      c. VMware vCenter Orchestrator Configuration
            i. Service for Orchestrator , a workflow engine that can help administrators automate existing manual tasks
      d. VMware VirtualCenter Management Webservices
            i. Allows configuration of vCenter management services
      e. VMware VirtualCenter Server
            i. Core of vCenter Server
      f. VMwareVCMSDS
            i. vCenter Server LDAP directory services

VI. Networking Configuration and Troubleshooting
      a. Standard vSwitch
      b. Distributed vSwitch
      c. Port Group configuration
            i. Security
            ii. Bandwidth Shaping
            iii. VLANs
      d. Connection Types
            i. VMkernal
            ii. Service Console
            iii. Virtual Machine
      e. Traffic Monitoring
            i. Network Sniffer
            ii. Network Utilization

VII. Troubleshooting vSphere Management Utilities
      a. SSH
      b. vSphere Client
      c. Web Services

VIII. Storage Configuration and Troubleshooting
      a. Configure Shared Storage
            i. NFS
                  1. Linux
                  2. Microsoft
            ii. iSCSI
                  1. Authentication
                  2. Digests
      b. Troubleshoot iSCSI
            i. CLI tools
            ii. vSphere Client

IX. vMotion Configuration and Troubleshooting
      a. vMotion
      b. Storage vMotion

X. Clusters and Data Protection Configuration and Troubleshooting
      a. DRS
            i. Requirements
            ii. Configuration
            iii. VM Management and Troubleshooting
      b. HA
            i. Requirements
            ii. Configuration
            iii. VM Monitoring

XI. Troubleshooting Lab
      a. ½ day of troubleshooting a broken environment

XII. (Optional 5 day) Security Configuration and Troubleshooting
      a. Secure access to console and vSphere Client
      b. Configure ESX firewall
      c. Create a firewall VM and produce a private secure network
      d. Networking
            i. VLANS
            ii. Port Group Security Settings
      e. Hacking a Virtual Infrastructure (and protection mechanisms)
      f. Security Best Practices