VMware vSphere® 5 Building a Virtual Datacenter

VMware vSphere® 5 Building a Virtual Datacenter

by
Released August 2012
Publisher(s): VMware Press
ISBN: 9780133057584

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Book description

Every year, datacenter managers must deliver more services faster, with greater flexibility. They must efficiently handle soaring amounts of data, and unprecedented levels of complexity. And they must do all this with lower budgets and fewer resources. Datacenter virtualization with VMware’s vSphere® 5 is the best way to achieve these goals and to accelerate your transition to cloud services. VMware vSphere® 5: Building a Virtual Datacenter brings together all the practical knowledge you need to evaluate, plan, implement, and manage vSphere 5 in your datacenter environment.

Top datacenter virtualization consultants Eric Maillé and René-François Mennecier begin by introducing vSphere 5 from the viewpoint of the datacenter manager and professional. They present essential definitions, advantages, and functions; review vSphere 5’s architecture; and introduce core components  such as vCenter Server and ESXi 5.0.

Next, Maillé and Mennecier turn to implementation, presenting detailed examples, schemas, and best practices drawn from their extensive experience. They share practical insights into budgeting, scheduling, and planning; choosing the right architecture; and integrating vSphere with existing datacenter elements, including servers, storage, clusters, network infrastructure, and business continuity plans. They conclude  with a start-to-finish case study: a datacenter virtualization project designed to support specific  business objectives.

Coverage includes

     •    Assessing the potential benefits of datacenter virtualization in your environment

     •    Organizing and managing a smooth migration to the virtualized datacenter

     •    Anticipating specific challenges and risks associated with datacenter virtualization

     •    Making tradeoffs to optimize stability, elasticity, scalability, and cost

     •    Choosing the best installation/configuration options for your environment

     •    Effectively linking vSphere 5 virtualization  to existing datacenter elements

     •    Driving more value from vSphere 5’s powerful new datacenter features

     •    Providing storage to efficiently support your hosted VMs, now and in the future

     •    Managing limited memory and other  server constraints

     •    Leveraging new options for service continuity and high availability

     •    Using backup architecture as a lever to  reduce costs

Table of contents

  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Page
  3. Dedication Page
  4. Contents
  5. About the Authors
    1. About the Technical Reviewer
  6. Acknowledgments
  7. We Want to Hear from You!
  8. Reader Services
  9. Foreword
  10. Preface
  11. Disclaimer
  12. Chapter 1. From Server Virtualization to Cloud Computing
    1. Virtualization: The Heart of IT Transformation
    2. Phases of Virtualization
    3. Virtualization Ecosystem
    4. The Future Looks Bright
  13. Chapter 2. The Evolution of vSphere 5 and Its Architectural Components
    1. VMware Overview
    2. vSphere 5 Licenses
    3. What’s New in vSphere 5?
    4. Existing Features
    5. Software Sold Separately
    6. vSphere 5 Technical Architecture
    7. Security
    8. An Evolved Solution
  14. Chapter 3. Storage in vSphere 5
    1. Storage Representation
    2. Available Storage Architectures
    3. Storage Networks
    4. VMFS
    5. Virtual Disk
    6. The Datastore
    7. Storage vMotion
    8. Storage DRS
    9. Storage I/O Control
    10. vSphere Storage Appliance
    11. VMware Storage APIs
    12. Multipathing
    13. Disk Technology Considerations
    14. Device Drivers
    15. Storage Is the Foundation
  15. Chapter 4. Servers and Network
    1. ESXi Servers
    2. Network
    3. Applications in a Virtualized Environment
  16. Chapter 5. High Availability and Disaster Recovery Plan
    1. General Comments
    2. Local Availability
    3. Business Continuity
  17. Chapter 6. Backups in vSphere 5
    1. Backups: An Overview
    2. Backup Methods in Virtual Environments
    3. Snapshots
    4. Application Consistency
    5. Troubleshooting Virtual Environments
    6. Backup Process Through VADP APIs
    7. Data Recovery 2.0
    8. Backups Are Important, But Restores Are Critical
  18. Chapter 7. Implementing vSphere 5
    1. Sizing
    2. The Different Installation Modes
    3. Pre-Installation
    4. Preparing the Server
    5. Installation
    6. The Different Connection Methods
    7. vCenter Configuration
    8. Efficient Management of the Virtual Environment
  19. Chapter 8. Managing a Virtualization Project
    1. Context
    2. Project Stages
    3. Planning
    4. Design
    5. Implementation
    6. Management
    7. Summary and Conclusion
    8. A Compelling Story
  20. Common Acronyms
  21. Index
  22. Add Page

Product information

  • Title: VMware vSphere® 5 Building a Virtual Datacenter
  • Author(s):
  • Release date: August 2012
  • Publisher(s): VMware Press
  • ISBN: 9780133057584