o ks-first-safe.cfg Installs ESX on the first detected disk and preserves the VMFS datastores on the disk.
o ks-first.cfg Installs ESX on the first detected disk.
o The default root password is mypassword.
o /boot and vmkcore are physical partitions. /, swap, /var/log, and all the optional partitions are stored on a virtual disk called esxconsole-
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/esxconsole.vmdk. The virtual disk is stored in a VMFS volume.
o You cannot define the sizes of the /boot, vmkcore, and /vmfs partitions when you use the graphical or text installation modes. You can define
these partition sizes when you do a scripted installation.
o ESX Required Partitions
Mount Point Type Size Location
/boot ext3 1.25GB of free space and includes the /boot and vmkcore
partitions. The /boot partition alone requires
1100MB.
Physical partition
N/A swap 600MB recommended minimum 1600MB maximum. Virtual disk in a VMFS volume
/ ext3 Based on the size of the /usr partition. By default, the
minimum size is 5GB and no /usr partition is defined.
Virtual disk in a VMFS volume
N/A VMFS3 For VMFS volumes hosting esxconsole.vmdk: 1200MB and
an additional 10GB. VMFS2 is supported in read-only
mode to import legacy VMs.
Physical partition.
N/A vmkcore See /boot Physical partition
o ESX Optional Partitions
Mount Point Type Recommended Size Location
/home ext3 512MB Virtual disk in a VMFS volume
/tmp ext3 1024MB Virtual disk
/usr ext3 Missing in PDF Virtual disk
/var/log ext3 2000MB Virtual disk. The graphical and text
installers create this partition by
default.
o vihostupdate command applies software updates to ESX4/ESXi4 hosts and installs and updates ESX/ESXi extensions (use vihostupdate35 on
ESX 3.5/ESXi 3.5 hosts.)
o The esxupdate utility is for ESX only. 9L0-403
o You can use the vihostupdate utility in conjunction with offline bundles or with a depot
o vSphere Databases:
o Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express – up to 5 hosts and 50 VMs. If the machine has Microsoft SQL Native Client installed, remove it before
installing vCenter Server with the bundled database. If the machine has MSXML Core Services 6.0 installed, remove it before installing
o Microsoft SQL Server 2005 – Windows XP, apply MDAC 2.8 SP1 to the client. Use the SQL Native Client driver (version 9.x) for the client.
Ensure that the machine has a valid ODBC DSN entry. Remove MSXML Core Services 6.0 before
o Microsoft SQL Server 2008 – Windows XP, apply MDAC 2.8 SP1 to the client. Use the SQL Native Client driver (version 10.x) for the client.
Ensure that the machine has a valid ODBC DSN entry.
o Oracle 10g – If necessary, first apply patch 10.2.0.3 (or later) to the client and server. Then apply patch 5699495 to the client. Ensure that
the machine has a valid ODBC DSN entry.
o Oracle 11g – Ensure that the machine has a valid ODBC DSN entry.
o Even though vCenter Server is supported on 64-bit operating systems, the vCenter Server system must have a 32-bit DSN. This requirement
applies to all supported databases. By default, any DSN created on a 64-bit system is 64 bit. On a 64-bit system use
C:\WINDOWS\SYSWOW64\odbc32.exe.
o vCenter Server must have a computer name that is 15 characters or fewer. The data source name (DSN) and remote database systems can
have names with more than 15 characters.
o To prepare a SQL Server database to work with vCenter Server, you generally need to create a SQL Server database user with database 9L0-510
operator (DBO) rights.
o If you use SQL Server for vCenter Server, do not use the master database.
o When using Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition with vCenter Server, do not name the instance MSSQLSERVER.
o The vCenter Server performs a silent installation of vCenter Orchestrator. If you install vCenter Server on an IPv6 operating system, the
vCenter Orchestrator module is not supported.
o The vSphere Host Update Utility is for updating and patching ESXi 4.0 hosts and upgrading ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5 hosts to ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0.
o You can join multiple vCenter Server systems to form a Linked Mode group.
o Linked Mode global data includes:
o Connection information (IP and ports)
o Certificates
o Licensing information
o User roles
01/08/2010
Testking VCP-410
o The evaluation period is 60 days and begins as soon as you power on the ESX machine, even if you start in license mode initially.
o The installer creates three basic partitions: /boot, vmkcore and VMFS. The service console VMDK file contains swap, and /var/log, by default,
and any other partitions that you specify.
o The media depot is a network-accessible location that contains the ESX installation media. You can use HTTP/ HTTPS, FTP, or NFS to access the
depot.
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o Scripted installation – you must point to the media depot in the script by including the install command with the nfs or url option.
o Interactive installation – include the askmedia boot option.
o The boot options list appears when you boot the installer and press F2.
o Bootstrap Commands for ESX Installation
Command Description
askmedia Allows you to interactively select the location of the ESX installation media. This option is required if the
image is hosted at an HTTP, FTP, or NFS location.
BOOTIF Accepts the format for the boot network adapter as supplied by PXELINUX.
gateway= Sets this network gateway as the default gateway during the install.
ip= Specifies a static IP address to be used for downloading the script and the installation media. The IPAPPEND
option is also supported if you PXE boot the installer.
ks=cdrom:/ Performs a scripted installation with the script at , which resides on the DVD in the DVD-ROM drive.
ks=file:// Performs a scripted installation with the script at , which resides inside the initial ramdisk image.
ks=ftp://// Performs a scripted installation with a script located at the given URL.
ks=http:/// Performs a scripted installation with a script located at the given URL.
ks=https:/// Performs a scripted installation with a script located at the given URL.
ks=nfs:/// Performs a scripted installation with the script located at on a given NFS server.
ks=usb Performs a scripted installation with the ks.cfg script in the root directory of the USB flash drive attached to
the host. If multiple flash drives are attached, the installer cycles through each one, mounting and
unmounting them until the file named ks.cfg is found.
ks=UUID::/ Performs a scripted installation with a script located on the ext partition with the given UUID.
ksdevice= Same as netdevice
nameserver= Specifies a domain name server as the nameserver during the install.
netdevice= Tries to use a network adapter when looking for an installation script and installation media. Specify
as a MAC address (for example, 00:50:56:C0:00:01). If not specified and files need to be retrieved over
the network, the installer defaults to the first discovered network adapter. The IPAPPEND option is also
supported if you PXE boot the installer.
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netmask= Specifies subnet mask for the network interface that downloads the installation media.
noapic Flags the kernel to use the XTPIC instead of the APIC.
text Starts the ESX installer in text mode.
url= Looks for the installation media at the specified URL. When you are PXE booting the installer, the url=
command only works with earlier versions of SYSLINUX. The command does not work with
SYSLINUX/PXELINUX version 3.70 and higher.
vlanid= Configures the VLAN for the network card.
o PXE Boot the ESX Installer:
1. Install TFTP server software that supports PXE booting.
2. Put menu.c32 file in an accessible place
3. Install PXELINUX.
4. Configure the DHCP server.
5. Create the kernel image and ramdisk directory by copying the vmlinuz and initrd.img files from the /isolinux directory on the ESX
installation DVD to a supported location.
6. Create the /tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg directory on your TFTP server.
7. Create a PXE configuration file. PXE configuration file in /tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg
o In an interactive installation, omit the ks= option.
o ESX 3.x supported a hybrid installation. You could supply an incomplete ESX installation script, and the installer prompts you for the missing
parts. ESX 4.0 does not support this.
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o Install ESX interactively or by using a script. For interactive installation, you can use graphical mode or text mode.
o The installer erases all content on the selected storage device.
o Installing ESX on a USB device is not supported.
o VMFS2 volumes are not recognized by the ESX 4.0 installer.
o The installation log is /var/log/esx_install.log.
o The installation script can reside in one of the following locations:
o Default installation script
o FTP
o HTTP/HTTPS
o NFS
o USB flash drive
o Local disk
o The installer creates a /root/ks.cfg script, which reflects the choices you made in the interactive installation.
o Installation media contains the following default installation scripts:
VMware VCP-410 Exam
Main Documentation Set
Introduction to VMware vSphere
o vCompute – aggregate resources
o vStorage – enables the most efficient use and management of storage
o vNetwork – simplify and enhance networking
o Fault Tolerance – a secondary copy. Actions completed on the primary VM are also applied to the secondary VM. If the primary VM becomes 640 802 Dumps
unavailable, the secondary machine becomes active, providing continual availability.
o Distributed Virtual Switch (DVS) – spans many hosts reduction of maintenance and increasing network capacity.
o Host Profiles – host configuration management through user-defined configuration policies. Captures the blueprint and monitors compliance.
o Pluggable Storage Array (PSA) – greater array certification flexibility and improved array-optimized performance. A multipath I/O framework.
o Cluster – aggregate computing and memory resources of a group of physical x86 servers sharing the same network and storage arrays.
o Resource pools – partitions of computing and memory resources from a single host or a cluster. can be hierarchical and nested.
o Storage VMotion – enables the migration of VMs from one datastore to another datastore without service interruption
o Fault Tolerance (FT) – uses vLockstep technology, continuous availability by protecting a VM (the Primary VM) with a shadow copy (Secondary
VM) that runs in virtual lockstep on a separate host.
o vNetwork Distributed Switch (dvSwitch) – functions as a single virtual switch across all associated hosts.
o dvPort (distributed virtual port) – a port on a DVS that connects to a host’s service console or VMkernel or to a VM’s network adapter. 640-802
o vApp – has the same basic operation as a VM, but can contain multiple VMs or appliances.
o Web Access cannot be used to access a host running ESXi 4.0.
o Web Access is turned off by default for ESX hosts.
Getting Started with ESX
o ESX Service Console is held in the esxconsole.vmdk partition.
o vCenter Server uses Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express for small deployments with up to 5 hosts and 50 VMs.
o If SQL Native Client is already installed, uninstall SQL Native Client before you begin the vCenter Server installation.
o vCenter server must belong to a domain rather than a workgroup. Otherwise it’s not able to discover – using such features as vCenter Guided
Consolidation Service. The computer name cannot be more than 15 characters.
o vCenter Server cannot be an Active Directory domain controller.
o The Domain user account should have the following permissions:
o Member of the Administrators group
o Act as part of the operating system
o Log on as a service
ESX and vCenter server installation guide
o ESX4 will only install and run on servers with 64-bit x86 CPUs. They require a 2GB RAM minimum.
o vCenter Server must have 2 CPUs and 3GB RAM.
o The vCenter Server has a service called VMware VirtualCenter Management Webservices. This service requires 128MB to 1.5GB of additional
memory.
o You can use a 32-bit Windows for up 200 hosts. A 64-bit Windows can have 200-300 hosts.
o The vSphere Client requires the Microsoft .NET 3.0 SP1 Framework.
o vCenter server required firewall ports:
Port Description
80 Redirects requests to HTTPS port 443.
389 LDAP port number for the Directory Services for the vCenter Server group. Needs to bind to port 389, even if you are not joining this
vCenter Server instance to a Linked Mode group.
443 Listen for connections from the vSphere Client.
636 For vCenter Linked Mode, this is the SSL port of the local instance
902 Uses to send data to managed hosts. Managed hosts also send a regular heartbeat over UDP port 902 to the vCenter
902/903 Ports used by vSphere Client to display VM consoles. 640 802 braindumps
8080 Web Services HTTP. Used for the VMware VirtualCenter Management Webservices.
8443 Web Services HTTPS. Used for the VMware VirtualCenter Management Webservices.
o If ESX will not use an NTP server, make sure that the server hardware clock is set to UTC in the BIOS (EDIT: As a matter of best practice you
should always set ESX server’s hardware clocks to UTC)
o IPv6 is not supported for ESX installation
o The service console must be installed on a VMFS datastore that is resident on a host's local disk or on a SAN disk that is masked and zoned to
that particular host only.
VCP-410 Real Exam Questions
o Performance charts
o WebAccess
o vCenter Storage Monitoring/Storage Views tab
o vCenter Service Status
o When a server is connected to other vCenter Server systems using Linked Mode, you can connect to that vCenter Server system and view and vcp 4
manage the inventories of all the vCenter Server systems that are linked.
o Linked Mode uses Microsoft Active Directory Application Mode (ADAM) to store and synchronize data.
o The following requirements apply to each vCenter Server system that is a member of a Linked Mode group:
o DNS must be operational.
o Can be in different domains if the domains have a two-way trust relationship.
o When adding a vCenter instance to a Linked Mode group, the installer must be run by a domain user who is an administrator on both the
machines.
o Must have network time synchronization. The installer validates that the machine clocks are not more than 5 minutes apart.
o The roles defined on each vCenter Server system in a linked mode group are replicated to the other systems in the group.
o Troubleshooting:
o Conflicts can occur, when you clone a vCenter Server instance that is running in a VM and you do not use sysprep or a similar utility to
ensure that the cloned vCenter Server instance has a globally unique identifier (GUID).
o The DNS name of the machine must match with the actual machine name.
o Joining a Linked Mode group:
1. Verify that the vCenter Server domain name matches the machine name.
2. Update the URLs to make them compatible with the new domain name and machine name (if required).
3. Join the vCenter Server system to a Linked Mode group.
o When you are logged in to a vCenter Server system that is part of a connected group, you can monitor the health of services running on each
server in the group.
o Client uses ports 80 and 443 to communicate with vCenter Server and ESX/ESXi hosts. These ports cannot be changed.
o The SNMP traps sent by vCenter Server are defined in VMWARE-VC-EVENT-MIB.mib
o ESX/ESXi includes an SNMP agent embedded in hostd that can both send traps and receive polling requests such as GET requests. This agent is
vmware vcp 4
referred to as the embedded SNMP agent. Versions of ESX prior to ESX 4.0 included a Net-SNMP-based agent. You can continue to use this
Net-SNMPbased agent in ESX 4.0 with MIBs supplied by your hardware vendor and other third-party management applications. However, to
use the VMware MIB files, you must use the embedded SNMP agent. By default, the embedded SNMP agent is disabled. To enable it, use the
vSphere CLI command vicfg-snmp.
o Both the embedded SNMP agent and the Net-SNMP-based agent available in the ESX service console listen on UDP port 161 by default. If you
enable both of these agents for polling on an ESX host, you must change the port used by at least one of them.
o Can use SNMP to monitor guest operating systems or applications running in VMs. Do not install agents in the VM that are intended to
monitor physical hardware.
o VMware MIB Files
MIB File Description
VMWARE-ROOT-MIB.mib Contains VMware’s enterprise OID and top level OID assignments.
VMWARE-AGENTCAP-MIB.mib Defines the capabilities of the VMware agents by product versions.
VMWARE-ENV-MIB.mib Defines variables and trap types used to report on the state of physical hardware components of
the host computer.
VMWARE-OBSOLETE-MIB.mib Defines OIDs that have been made obsolete to maintain backward compatibility with earlier
versions of ESX/ESXi. Includes variables formerly defined in the files VMWARE-TRAPS-MIB.mib
and VMWARE-VMKERNEL-MIB.mib.
VMWARE-PRODUCTS-MIB.mib Defines OIDs to uniquely identify each SNMP agent on each VMware platform by name, version,
and build platform.
VMWARE-RESOURCES-MIB.mib Defines variables used to report information on resource usage of the VMkernel, including
physical memory, CPU, and disk utilization.
640 802
VMWARE-SYSTEM-MIB.mib The VMWARE-SYSTEM-MIB.mib file is obsolete. Use the SNMPv2-MIB to obtain information
from sysDescr.0 and sysObjec ID.0.
VMWARE-TC-MIB.mib Defines common textual conventions used by VMware MIB files.
VMWARE-VC-EVENTS-MIB.mib Defines traps sent by vCenter Server. Load this file if you use vCenter Server to send traps.
VMWARE-VMINFO-MIB.mib Defines variables for reporting information about VMs, including VM traps.
VCP-410 Test Questions
o After you upgrade all of your hosts to ESX4/ESXi4, you can optionally uninstall your license server and remove the license server configuration
from vCenter Server.
o For ESXi, the vSphere Host Update Utility does not support roll back.
o You can remove the ESX 4.0 boot option from the ESX bootloader menu and perform a complete roll back to ESX 3.x. Any changes made to
vcp-410
the ESX 4.0 service console are lost after the rollback.
o Any changes made to VMs will persist after the rollback.
o If you upgraded the VM hardware, the VMs will not work after you perform the ESX rollback. To avoid this situation, take a snapshot of
the VM before you upgrade the VM hardware.
o Run the rollback-to-esx3 command – reconfigures the bootloader.
o Reboot the server.
o After the host boots into ESX 3.x, delete the ESX 4.0 service console VMDK folder from the VMFS datastore.
o Each time you update an ESXi host, a copy of the ESXi build is saved on your host.
o ESXi permits only one level of rollback.
o When you manually boot into the standby build instead of the current boot build, an irreversible rollback occurs.
o When the page that displays the current boot build appears, press Shift+r to select the standby build.
o Do not use vmware-vmupgrade.exe to upgrade VMs.
o Some VMs that you create on ESX4 hosts are supported on ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5 hosts. If you create a VM on ESX4 and select the typical path, the
virtual hardware version is version 7. Virtual machines with virtual hardware version 7 are not supported on ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5 hosts. Select the
custom path and select virtual hardware version 4
o If you create VMs that use paravirtualization (VMI) or an enhanced networking device (vmxnet), VMotion is not supported. In this case, you
can only move the VM to the ESX 3.x host if the VM is powered off.
o On Windows guest operating systems, you must reboot the VM a total of three times when you upgrade VMware Tools and the virtual
hardware: vmware vcp 410
1. Power on the VM.
2. Upgrade VMware Tools.
3. Reboot the VM at the end of the VMware Tools upgrade.
4. Power off the VM.
5. Upgrade the virtual Hardware.
6. Power on the VM.
7. The Windows operating system detects new devices and prompts you to reboot the VM.
8. Reboot the VM to make the devices work properly.
o During the virtual hardware upgrade, the VM must be shut down for all guest operating systems.
o When you upgrade from virtual hardware version 3 to version 7, the upgrade is irreversible, even if you take a VM backup or snapshot before
performing the upgrade. 4 to version 7 the upgrade is reversible if you take a VM backup or snapshot
o Tools for installing updates and patches to ESX/ESXi hosts:
o Host Update Utility – graphical utility for ESXi only.
o Update Manager – for ESX and ESXi,
o vihostupdate – command-line utility for ESX and ESXi.
o esxupdate – command-line utility for ESX only.
o If the Host Update Utility does not meet the needs of your environment, you can customize the application the settings.config XML file,
located in %PROGRAMFILES%\VMware\Infrastructure\VIUpdate 4.0
o Run vihostupdate on ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0 hosts. Run vihostupdate35 on ESX 3.5/ESXi 3.5 hosts.
o The esxupdate utility is supported as well. It is for ESX only.
o The vihostupdate command works with bulletins.
o You can use the vihostupdate utility in conjunction with offline bundles or with a depot.
o To get the build number of an ESX4 host: # vmware –l (from KB 1001179).
vSphere Basic System Administration
o VMware modules (plugins) include:
o Update Manager
o Converter Enterprise
o vShield Zones – an application-aware firewall built for vCenter Server integration. It inspects client-server communications and intervirtual- vmware vcp 410
machine communication to provide detailed traffic analytics and application-aware firewall partitioning.
o Orchestrator – a workflow engine that enables you to create and execute automated workflows.
o Data Recovery – a disk-based backup and recovery solution. Enable centralized and efficient management of backup jobs and includes
data de-duplication.
o Tomcat Web server is installed as part of the vCenter Server installation. The components that require Tomcat are:
o Linked Mode
o CIM/Hardware Status tab
VCP-410 Dumps
o Back up the VirtualCenter 2.x SSL certificates. %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\Application Data\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter or
%ALLUSERSPROFILE%\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\.
o Note any non-default settings, such as the IP address, the database DSN, user name, password, and assigned ports.
o Create a backup copy of vpxd.cfg.
o The database upgrade log is at %TEMP%\VCDatabaseUpgrade.log.
o By default, a vCenter Server creates a maximum of 10 simultaneous database connections.
o Datastores and networks have their own set of privileges that control access to them.
o Users are initially granted the No Access role on all new managed objects, including datastores and networks. All existing objects in vCenter Passed VCP410
maintain their permissions after the upgrade.
o The upgrade process uses the datacenter's “Read-only” privilege.
o If the “Read-only” privilege is nonpropagating (not inherited by child objects), VMware assumes access privileges should not be assigned
to datastores and networks.
o If the “Read-only” privilege is propagating (inherited by child objects), VMware assumes access privileges should be assigned to
datastores and networks so users can view them and perform basic operations that require access.
o The “Read-only” propagating permission on a datacenter, as well as all other permissions you have set, will continue to work as expected after
the upgrade.
o You must change “Read-only” nonpropagating datastore permissions to propagating datastore permissions in order for users to access the
datastore. You can assign datastore permissions on datastore or folders containing datastore. The same goes for Network permissions.
o The “Database Consumer” sample role assigns the “Allocate Space” privilege to the datastore. “Network Consumer” sample role assigns the
“Assign Network” privilege.
o Host Update Utility does not upgrade VMFS datastores or VM
o Update Manager supports mass remediation.
o During host upgrades using the Update Manager, static IP addresses are a requirement.
o The upgrade to ESXi4 & ESX4 preserves almost all configuration data, including your networking, security, and storage configuration. The only
configuration not preserved is related to licensing.
o For ESX only, the upgrade reuses the existing /boot partition to hold the ESX 4.0 boot files. After the upgrade, the ESX 3.x installation is Passed VCP 4
mounted in the new ESX 4.0 installation under the /esx3-installation directory.
o Backup the ESX Host Configuration:
o Back up the files in the /etc/passwd, /etc/groups, /etc/shadow, and /etc/gshadow directories.
o Back up any custom scripts.
o Back up your .vmx files.
o Back up local images, such as templates, exported VMs, and .iso files.
o Backup the ESXi Host Configuration: vicfg-cfgbackup --server --portnumber --
protocol --username username --password -s
o You cannot perform an in-place upgrade from ESX to ESXi (or from ESXi to ESX).
o The only ESX 2.x version that has upgrade support is ESX 2.5.5 – you can perform a migration upgrade with or without VMotion.
o Direct, in-place upgrade from ESX 2.5.5 to ESX 4.0 is not supported, even if you upgrade to ESX 3.x as an intermediary step. The default ESX
2.5.5 installation creates a /boot partition that is too small to enable upgrades to ESX 4.0. As an exception, if you have a non-default ESX 2.5.5
installation on which at least 100MB of space is available on the /boot partition, you can upgrade ESX 2.5.5 to ESX 3.x and then to ESX 4.0.
o The upgrade logs are here:
o /esx3-installation/esx4-upgrade/
o /var/log/vmware/
o For an unsuccessful ESX upgrade:
o /esx4-upgrade/
o /var/log/vmware/
o You may need to reconnect the host to vCenter Server and assign an upgraded license to your product within 60 days after the upgrade.
o The host sdX devices might be renumbered after the upgrade. vcp 410
o You must convert LUN masking to the claim rule format. Run the esxcli corestorage claimrule convert command. It converts
the /adv/Disk/MaskLUNs advanced configuration entry in esx.conf to claim rules with MASK_PATH as the plug-in.
o Web Access service is disabled after you upgrade the host.
o vSphere Web Access is not supported on ESXi hosts.
o 60-day evaluation count down starts even if the host is licensed and you are not using evaluation mode.
o One advantage of using evaluation mode is that it offers full feature functionality.
o After you determine that the ESX 4.0 upgrade is stable, you can remove the ESX 3.x boot option from the ESX 4.0 bootloader menu to disable
the ability to roll back to ESX 3.x. If you deselected the rollback option, this procedure is not applicable. Run the cleanup-esx3 command
with the optional -f (force) flag.
o The cleanup-esx3 script removes the following files and references from the ESX 4.0 host:
o ESX 3.x references in the /etc/fstab directory
o ESX 3.x boot files in the /boot directory
o The rollback-to-esx3 script in the /usr/sbin/ directory
Testking VCP-410
o When you restore the standard switch, a new virtual adapter is created and the management network uplink that is currently connected to
vNetwork Distributed Switch is migrated to the new virtual switch.
o The software creates these partitions:
o One 4GB VFAT scratch partition for system swap.
o One VMFS3 partition on the remaining free space.
o The installer creates a 110MB diagnostic partition for core dumps.
o The scratch partition is not required (but created by default during the installation). It is used to store vm-support output, which you need VCP-410 questions
when you create a support bundle.
o Lockdown mode prevents remote personnel from logging in to the ESXi host by using the root login name. By default, lockdown mode is
disabled.
o Resetting the configuration does not remove virtual machines on the ESXi host. After you reset the configuration defaults, the virtual
machines are not visible, but you can retrieve them by reconfiguring storage and reregistering the virtual machines.
o When you perform a configuration backup, the serial number is backed up with the configuration and is restored when you restore the
configuration. The serial number is not preserved when you run the Recovery CD (ESXi Embedded) or perform the repair operation (ESXi
Installable).
o When you restore the configuration, the target host must be in maintenance mode, which means all virtual machines (including the vSphere
CLI virtual appliance) must be powered off.
o Run the vicfg-cfgbackup command with the -s flag to save the host configuration to the specified backup filename.
o When you restore configuration data, the build number currently running on the host must be the same as the build number that was running
when you created the backup file. You can override this requirement by including the -f (force) flag with the vicfg-cfgbackup
command.
o Run the vicfg-cfgbackup command with the -l flag to load the host configuration from the specified backup file.
o You can restore the ESXi Installable software by running the ESXi installation CD in repair mode. All host configuration data is overwritten by VCP-410 dumps
system defaults.
o During the repair operation, your existing ESXi 4.0 Installable VMFS datastore is preserved if it is in its original location on the ESXi 4.0 boot
disk, or if it is located on another disk (separate from the boot disk). If you changed the VMFS location on the boot disk, it is preserved if it is
located beyond the 900MB partition.
vSphere upgrade guide
o When you upgrade from ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5 to ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0, you can use either the vSphere Host Update Utility or vCenter Update Manager.
o EDIT – you can also use the upgrade script (esxupgrade.sh – KB 1009440). VMware doesn’t mention the option of a fresh install at any point;
they are pushing the upgrade option as much as possible. You can’t seem to do an upgrade with the ESX4 install CD.
o Host Update Utility is used for upgrading ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5 standalone hosts to ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0 and for patching ESXi 4.0 standalone hosts. It is
a standalone Microsoft Windows application recommended for smaller deployments with fewer than 10 ESX/ESXi hosts, without vCenter
Server or Update Manager.
o vCenter Update Manager is for upgrading and updating ESX/ESXi hosts that are managed in vCenter Server.
o Orchestrated upgrades can be used to upgrade the VM hardware and VMware Tools.
o No VMFS upgrade is required if you are upgrading from ESX 3.x
o You must upgrade VMware Tools before upgrading virtual hardware.
o After you upgrade to vCenter Server, you cannot revert to VirtualCenter 2.x. Take appropriate backups before starting the upgrade.
o Upgrade VirtualCenter 2.x to vCenter Server 4.0:
o Make sure your database is compatible
o Have required permissions
o Take a full backup of the VirtualCenter 2.x database
o Back up the VirtualCenter 2.x SSL certificates
o Install the vSphere Client
o vCenter Converter, upgrade
o vCenter Guided Consolidation upgrade Passed VCP-410
o Upgrade to vCenter Update Manager 4.0.
o Use vCenter Update Manager to upgrade ESX 3.x hosts to ESX 4.0. (or use host update utility)
o Use vCenter Update Manager to upgrade your VMs. vCenter Update Manager ensures that the VMware Tools upgrade and the virtual
hardware upgrade happen in the correct order
o Upgrade your product licenses
o ESX 2.x hosts cannot be added to clusters.
o Oracle 9i is no longer supported.
o Microsoft SQL Server 2000 is no longer supported.
o To Back Up VirtualCenter 2.x:
o Make a full backup of the VirtualCenter 2.x database.
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o vCenter Server instances in a Linked Mode group can be in different domains if the domains have a two-way trust relationship.
o The installer must be run by a domain user who is an administrator on both the machines.
o The vCenter Server installer validates that the machine clocks are not more than 5 minutes apart.
o The instances can run under different domain accounts.
o Windows Server 2008 automatically configures the firewall to permit access. Launch firewall.cpl and add an exception for
C:\Windows\ADAM\dsamain. exe VCP-410 exam
o When you install vCenter Server in Linked Mode, the firewall configuration on any network-based firewalls must be modified.
o Configure Windows RPC ports to generically allow selective ports for machine-to-machine RPC communication.
o vCenter Collector service – uses port 8181 and 8182, by default.
o vCenter Web Server – uses ports 8080 and 8443, by default.
o All product licenses are encapsulated in 25-character license keys that you can manage and monitor from vCenter Server.
o vSphere Licenses – For ESX/ESXi.
o vCenter Server Licenses – For vCenter Server.
o vCenter Server 4.0 does not require a license server to manage ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0 hosts. However, vCenter Server 4.0 does requires a license
server to manage ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5 hosts.
o If a vCenter Server license expires, the managed hosts become disconnected.
o If an ESX/ESXi host license expires, the VMs that reside on the host continue to run, but you cannot power on the VMs or reset them.
ESXi Installable and vCenter Server Setup Guide
o When you power on the ESXi host for the first time or after resetting the configuration defaults, the host enters an autoconfiguration phase
during which system network and storage devices are configured with defaults.
o By default, DHCP configures IP and all visible blank internal disks are formatted with VMFS so that virtual machines can be stored on the disks.
o ESXi has an interface called the direct console to:
o Configuring host defaults
o Setting up administrative access VCP-410 exam questions
o Troubleshooting
o Minimum hardware configurations supported by ESXi 4.0:
o 64-bit x86 CPUs.
o 2GB RAM minimum
o Supported SATA, SAS or SCSI disks
o The installer reformats and partitions the target disk and installs the ESXi 4.0 boot image.
o ESXi Installable is always installed in evaluation mode (60 days).
o ESXi Installable and ESXi Embedded cannot exist on the same host.
o Booting multiple servers from a single shared ESXi image is not supported.
o If there is no DHCP available during the install, it assigns the link local IP address, which is in the subnet 169.254.x.x/16.
o Direct Console
Action Key
View and change the configuration F2
Change the user interface to high-contrast mode F4
Shut down or restart the host F12
Move the selection between fields Arrow keys
Select a menu item Enter
Toggle a value Spacebar
Confirm sensitive commands, such as resetting configuration defaults F11
Save and exit Enter
Exit without saving Esc
Exit system logs q VCP-410 study guide
o To change the security banner > Advanced Settings window, select Annotations.
o Test Management Network:
o Pings the default gateway
o Pings the primary DNS nameserver
o Pings the secondary DNS nameserver
o Resolves the configured host name
o Restarting the management agents restarts all management agents and services that are installed and running in /etc/init.d on the ESXi host.
Typically, these agents include hostd, ntpd, sfcbd, slpd, wsman, and vobd. The software also restarts the Automated Availability Manager
(AAM) if it is installed.
o Disable the management network is if you want to isolate an ESXi host from an HA and DRS cluster, but you do not want to lose your static IP
and DNS configurations or reboot the host.
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o ks-first-safe.cfg Installs ESX on the first detected disk and preserves the VMFS datastores on the disk.
o ks-first.cfg Installs ESX on the first detected disk.
o The default root password is mypassword.
o /boot and vmkcore are physical partitions. /, swap, /var/log, and all the optional partitions are stored on a virtual disk called esxconsole- VCP-410 dumps
/esxconsole.vmdk. The virtual disk is stored in a VMFS volume.
o You cannot define the sizes of the /boot, vmkcore, and /vmfs partitions when you use the graphical or text installation modes. You can define
these partition sizes when you do a scripted installation.
o ESX Required Partitions
Mount Point Type Size Location
/boot ext3 1.25GB of free space and includes the /boot and vmkcore
partitions. The /boot partition alone requires
1100MB.
Physical partition
N/A swap 600MB recommended minimum 1600MB maximum. Virtual disk in a VMFS volume
/ ext3 Based on the size of the /usr partition. By default, the
minimum size is 5GB and no /usr partition is defined.
Virtual disk in a VMFS volume
N/A VMFS3 For VMFS volumes hosting esxconsole.vmdk: 1200MB and
an additional 10GB. VMFS2 is supported in read-only
mode to import legacy VMs.
Physical partition.
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N/A vmkcore See /boot Physical partition
o ESX Optional Partitions
Mount Point Type Recommended Size Location
/home ext3 512MB Virtual disk in a VMFS volume
/tmp ext3 1024MB Virtual disk
/usr ext3 Missing in PDF Virtual disk
/var/log ext3 2000MB Virtual disk. The graphical and text
installers create this partition by
default.
o vihostupdate command applies software updates to ESX4/ESXi4 hosts and installs and updates ESX/ESXi extensions (use vihostupdate35 on
ESX 3.5/ESXi 3.5 hosts.)
o The esxupdate utility is for ESX only.
o You can use the vihostupdate utility in conjunction with offline bundles or with a depot
o vSphere Databases:
o Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express – up to 5 hosts and 50 VMs. If the machine has Microsoft SQL Native Client installed, remove it before
installing vCenter Server with the bundled database. If the machine has MSXML Core Services 6.0 installed, remove it before installing
o Microsoft SQL Server 2005 – Windows XP, apply MDAC 2.8 SP1 to the client. Use the SQL Native Client driver (version 9.x) for the client.
Ensure that the machine has a valid ODBC DSN entry. Remove MSXML Core Services 6.0 before
o Microsoft SQL Server 2008 – Windows XP, apply MDAC 2.8 SP1 to the client. Use the SQL Native Client driver (version 10.x) for the client.
Ensure that the machine has a valid ODBC DSN entry.
o Oracle 10g – If necessary, first apply patch 10.2.0.3 (or later) to the client and server. Then apply patch 5699495 to the client. Ensure that
the machine has a valid ODBC DSN entry.
o Oracle 11g – Ensure that the machine has a valid ODBC DSN entry.
o Even though vCenter Server is supported on 64-bit operating systems, the vCenter Server system must have a 32-bit DSN. This requirement
applies to all supported databases. By default, any DSN created on a 64-bit system is 64 bit. On a 64-bit system use
C:\WINDOWS\SYSWOW64\odbc32.exe.
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o vCenter Server must have a computer name that is 15 characters or fewer. The data source name (DSN) and remote database systems can
have names with more than 15 characters.
o To prepare a SQL Server database to work with vCenter Server, you generally need to create a SQL Server database user with database
operator (DBO) rights.
o If you use SQL Server for vCenter Server, do not use the master database.
o When using Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition with vCenter Server, do not name the instance MSSQLSERVER.
o The vCenter Server performs a silent installation of vCenter Orchestrator. If you install vCenter Server on an IPv6 operating system, the
vCenter Orchestrator module is not supported.
o The vSphere Host Update Utility is for updating and patching ESXi 4.0 hosts and upgrading ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5 hosts to ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0.
o You can join multiple vCenter Server systems to form a Linked Mode group.
o Linked Mode global data includes:
o Connection information (IP and ports)
o Certificates
o Licensing information
o User roles
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o The evaluation period is 60 days and begins as soon as you power on the ESX machine, even if you start in license mode initially.
o The installer creates three basic partitions: /boot, vmkcore and VMFS. The service console VMDK file contains swap, and /var/log, by default,
and any other partitions that you specify.
o The media depot is a network-accessible location that contains the ESX installation media. You can use HTTP/ HTTPS, FTP, or NFS to access the
depot.
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o Scripted installation – you must point to the media depot in the script by including the install command with the nfs or url option.
o Interactive installation – include the askmedia boot option.
o The boot options list appears when you boot the installer and press F2.
o Bootstrap Commands for ESX Installation
Command Description
askmedia Allows you to interactively select the location of the ESX installation media. This option is required if the
image is hosted at an HTTP, FTP, or NFS location.
BOOTIF Accepts the format for the boot network adapter as supplied by PXELINUX.
gateway= Sets this network gateway as the default gateway during the install.
ip= Specifies a static IP address to be used for downloading the script and the installation media. The IPAPPEND
option is also supported if you PXE boot the installer.
VCP-410 study guide
ks=cdrom:/ Performs a scripted installation with the script at , which resides on the DVD in the DVD-ROM drive.
ks=file:// Performs a scripted installation with the script at , which resides inside the initial ramdisk image.
ks=ftp://// Performs a scripted installation with a script located at the given URL.
ks=http:/// Performs a scripted installation with a script located at the given URL.
ks=https:/// Performs a scripted installation with a script located at the given URL.
ks=nfs:/// Performs a scripted installation with the script located at on a given NFS server.
ks=usb Performs a scripted installation with the ks.cfg script in the root directory of the USB flash drive attached to
the host. If multiple flash drives are attached, the installer cycles through each one, mounting and
unmounting them until the file named ks.cfg is found.
ks=UUID::/ Performs a scripted installation with a script located on the ext partition with the given UUID.
ksdevice= Same as netdevice
nameserver= Specifies a domain name server as the nameserver during the install.
netdevice= Tries to use a network adapter when looking for an installation script and installation media. Specify
as a MAC address (for example, 00:50:56:C0:00:01). If not specified and files need to be retrieved over
the network, the installer defaults to the first discovered network adapter. The IPAPPEND option is also
supported if you PXE boot the installer.
netmask= Specifies subnet mask for the network interface that downloads the installation media.
noapic Flags the kernel to use the XTPIC instead of the APIC.
text Starts the ESX installer in text mode.
url= Looks for the installation media at the specified URL. When you are PXE booting the installer, the url=
command only works with earlier versions of SYSLINUX. The command does not work with
SYSLINUX/PXELINUX version 3.70 and higher.
vlanid= Configures the VLAN for the network card.
o PXE Boot the ESX Installer:
1. Install TFTP server software that supports PXE booting.
2. Put menu.c32 file in an accessible place
3. Install PXELINUX.
4. Configure the DHCP server. VCP-410 questions
5. Create the kernel image and ramdisk directory by copying the vmlinuz and initrd.img files from the /isolinux directory on the ESX
installation DVD to a supported location.
6. Create the /tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg directory on your TFTP server.
7. Create a PXE configuration file. PXE configuration file in /tftpboot/pxelinux.cfg
o In an interactive installation, omit the ks= option.
o ESX 3.x supported a hybrid installation. You could supply an incomplete ESX installation script, and the installer prompts you for the missing
parts. ESX 4.0 does not support this.
o Install ESX interactively or by using a script. For interactive installation, you can use graphical mode or text mode.
o The installer erases all content on the selected storage device.
o Installing ESX on a USB device is not supported.
o VMFS2 volumes are not recognized by the ESX 4.0 installer.
o The installation log is /var/log/esx_install.log.
o The installation script can reside in one of the following locations:
o Default installation script
o FTP
o HTTP/HTTPS
o NFS
o USB flash drive
o Local disk
o The installer creates a /root/ks.cfg script, which reflects the choices you made in the interactive installation.
o Installation media contains the following default installation scripts:
