VMware Cookbook

Chapter 1. VMware Infrastructure Installation

Before we can begin serving the main recipes of our cookbook, we have to make sure that all of our readers understand the terms we’ll use in the rest of the book, and that you have all the necessary components installed. This book aims to be useful for both new and seasoned VMware ESX users. Because of the nature of this cookbook, we will assume from time to time that you have advanced knowledge and understanding of how the products work.

Virtualization provides a way for multiple operating systems to be installed on the same physical hardware. By using virtual technology, we can consolidate hardware and instantly build quality assurance and test environments. This is a tremendous breakthrough, as it allows underutilized equipment to do more than sit around idle, as well as allowing developers and administrators to test and use multiple software configurations and packages that require different operating systems on the same piece of equipment, without having to purchase, set up, and maintain multiple computers. This savings makes the accounting department and managers happy and gives the technology lovers an opportunity to do all the things they want or need to do at the same time.

A typical IT scenario goes something like this: you have lots of servers in your rack or collection of racks. Most of them only run at about 10–15% of their capacity the majority of the time, but you let that happen because you want to keep their various functions ...