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VMware VCP550 exam retired in 2017. We are continuing to make this content available for those who wish to use it to study the foundational information it contains.
The exciting new VCP5-DCV Official Certification Guide, Premium Edition eBook and Practice Test is a digital-only certification preparation product combining an eBook with enhanced Pearson IT Certification Practice Test.
The Premium Edition eBook and Practice Test contains the following items:
About the Premium Edition Practice Test
This Premium Edition contains an enhanced version of the Pearson IT Certification Practice Test (PCPT) software with three full practice exams. In addition, it contains all the chapter-opening assessment questions from the book. This integrated learning package
Pearson IT Certification Practice Test minimum system requirements:
Windows XP (SP3), Windows Vista (SP2), or Windows 7; Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 Client; Microsoft SQL Server Compact 4.0; Pentium class 1GHz processor (or equivalent); 512 MB RAM; 650 MB disc space plus 50 MB for each downloaded practice exam
About the Premium Edition eBook
VCP5-DCV Official Certification Guide focuses specifically on the objectives for the VMware Certified Professional—Data Center Virtualization. VMware Certified Instructor Bill Ferguson shares preparation hints and test-taking tips, helping you identify areas of weakness and improve both your conceptual knowledge and hands-on skills. Material is presented in a concise manner, focusing on increasing your understanding and retention of exam topics.
Well regarded for its level of detail, assessment features, comprehensive design scenarios, and challenging review questions and exercises, this official study guide helps you master the concepts and techniques that will enable you to succeed on the exam the first time.
The official study guide helps you master all the topics on the VCP550 exam. Key topics include
· Installing, upgrading, and securing all the key components in your vSphere, including ESXi hosts, vCenter, datastores, and network components
· Networking components in vSphere, including vSphere standard switch and vSphere distributed switch concepts
· Configuring and managing all forms of storage, including Fibre Channel, iSCSI, and network-attached storage
· Creating, configuring, and managing virtual machines and vApps
· Keeping your vSphere running smoothly and recovering quickly from any failure, including services that improve overall utilization and recoverability
· Identifying the key components of your vSphere and how they work together
· Understanding the “core four” resources in any computer system: CPU, memory, disk, and network
· Preparing to schedule, take, and pass the VCP550 test
VCP5-DCV Official Certification Guide is part of a recommended learning path from VMware that includes simulation and hands-on training from authorized VMware instructors and self-study products from VMware Press. To find out more about instructor-led training, e-learning, and hands-on instruction offered worldwide, please visit www.vmware.com/training.
Introduction xxiii
Chapter 1 Planning, Installing, Configuring, and Upgrading vCenter Server and VMware ESXi 3
“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 3
Foundation Topics 6
Identifying and Explaining vSphere Editions and Features 6
Identifying Available vSphere and vCenter Server Editions 6
Identifying the Various Data Center Solutions that Interact with vSphere 9
Explaining ESXi and vCenter Server Architectures 10
Identifying Available vSphere Editions and Features 10
Explaining ESXi and vCenter Server Architectures 11
Explaining Private/Public/Hybrid Cloud Concepts 12
Determining the Appropriate vSphere Edition Based on Customer Requirements 14
Identifying Single Sign-On Requirements 15
Deploying the vCenter Appliance 15
Installing vCenter Server into a Virtual Machine 20
Sizing the vCenter Server Database 24
Installing Additional vCenter Server Components 24
Installing/Removing vSphere Client Plug-Ins 25
Enabling/Disabling vSphere Web Client Plug-Ins 26
Licensing vCenter Server 26
Determining Availability Requirements for vCenter Server in a Given vSphere Implementation 27
Determining Use Cases for vSphere Client and Web Client 28
Installing and Configuring VMware ESXi 28
Performing an Interactive Installation of ESXi 29
Deploying an ESXi Host Using Auto Deploy 31
Configuring NTP on an ESXi Host 33
Configuring DNS and Routing on an ESXi Host 33
Enabling/Configuring/Disabling Hyperthreading 34
Enabling/Sizing/Disabling Memory Compression Cache 35
Licensing an ESXi Host 36
Planning and Performing Upgrades of vCenter Server and VMware ESXi 37
Identifying Upgrade Requirements for ESXi Hosts 37
Identifying Steps Required to Upgrade a vSphere Implementation 38
Upgrading a vSphere Distributed Switch 39
Upgrading from VMFS3 to VMFS5 40
Upgrading VMware Tools 41
Upgrading Virtual Machine Hardware 44
Upgrading an ESXi Host Using vCenter Update Manager 45
Determining Whether an In-Place Upgrade Is Appropriate in a Given Upgrade Scenario 50
Securing vCenter Server and ESXi 50
Identifying Common vCenter Server Privileges and Roles 51
System Roles 52
Sample Roles 52
Custom Roles 53
Describing How Permissions Are Applied and Inherited in vCenter Server 53
Example 1: Permissions That Apply Directly to an Object Supersede Those That Are Inherited 53
Example 2: If a User Is a Member of Multiple Groups, the User Is Assigned the Union of the Privileges for Each Group 54
Example 3: User/Role Pairings Applied Directly to an Object Supersede User/Role Pairings That Are Inherited 55
Example 4: Permissions That Are Applied Directly to a User Supersede Permissions That Are Inherited Through Group Membership 55
Single Sign-On Architecture 56
Configuring and Administering the ESXi Firewall 57
Enabling Lockdown Mode 58
Configuring Network Security Policies 59
Promiscuous Mode 60
MAC Address Changes 61
Forged Transmits 61
Adding/Modifying/Removing Permissions for Users and Groups on vCenter Inventory Objects 62
Creating/Cloning/Editing vCenter Server Roles 63
Creating Roles 63
Cloning Roles 64
Editing Roles 66
Adding an ESXi Host to a Directory Service 68
Applying Permissions to ESXi Hosts Using Host Profiles 69
Determining the Appropriate Set of Privileges for Common Tasks in vCenter Server 69
Summary 70
Exam Preparation Tasks 70
Review All the Key Topics 70
Review Questions 71
Chapter 2 Planning and Configuring vSphere Networking 75
“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 75
Foundation Topics 78
Configuring vSphere Standard Switches 78
Identifying vSphere Standard Switch (vSS) Capabilities 78
Creating/Deleting a vSphere Standard Switch 79
Deleting a vSphere Standard Switch 84
Adding/Configuring/Removing vmnics on a vSphere Standard Switch 85
Configuring VMkernel Ports for Network Services 91
Adding/Editing/Removing Port Groups on a vSphere Standard Switch 93
Determining Use Cases for a vSphere Standard Switch 97
Configuring vSphere Distributed Switches 97
Identifying vSphere Distributed Switch Capabilities 98
Creating/Deleting a vSphere Distributed Switch 101
Deleting a vDS 104
Adding/Removing ESXi Hosts from a vSphere Distributed Switch 104
Adding/Configuring/Removing dvPort Groups 110
Adding/Removing Uplink Adapters to dvUplink Groups 113
Creating/Configuring/Removing Virtual Adapters 118
Migrating Virtual Adapters To/From a vSphere Standard Switch 125
Migrating Virtual Machines To/From a vSphere Distributed Switch 127
Configuring vSS and vDS Policies 132
Identifying Common vSS and vDS Policies 132
Configuring dvPort Group Blocking Policies 138
Configuring Load Balancing and Failover Policies 139
Load Balancing 140
Network Failover Detection 141
Notify Switches 141
Failback 142
Configuring VLAN Settings 143
Configuring VLAN Policy Settings on a vDS 145
Configuring VLAN Trunking Policies on a VDS 145
Configuring Private VLAN Policy Settings on a vDS 146
Configuring Traffic Shaping Policies 148
Traffic Shaping Policies for vSphere Standard Switches 148
Traffic Shaping Policies for vSphere Distributed Switches 150
Enabling TCP Segmentation Offload Support for a Virtual Machine 150
Enabling Jumbo Frames Support on Appropriate Components 152
Enabling Jumbo Frames for VMkernel Interface on a vSS 152
Enabling Jumbo Frames on a vDS 154
Enabling Jumbo Frame Support on Virtual Machines 155
Determining Appropriate VLAN Configuration for a vSphere Implementation 155
Monitoring dvPort State 157
Backing Up and Restoring vDS Configuration 157
Configuring LACP on Uplink Port Groups 159
Determining Use Cases for a vSphere Distributed Switch 166
Summary 166
Exam Preparation Tasks 167
Review All the Key Topics 167
Review Questions 168
Chapter 3 Planning and Configuring vSphere Storage 175
“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 175
Foundation Topics 179
Configuring Shared Storage for vSphere 179
Identifying Storage Adapters and Devices 179
Fibre Channel 180
FCoE 180
iSCSI 181
NAS 181
VSAN 181
Identifying Storage Naming Conventions 182
Storage Naming Conventions for Local and SAN 182
Identifying Hardware/Dependent Hardware/Software iSCSI Initiator Requirements 184
Comparing and Contrasting Array Thin Provisioning and Virtual Disk Thin Provisioning 185
Array Thin Provisioning 186
Virtual Disk Thin Provisioning 186
Describing Zoning and LUN Masking Practices 188
Zoning 188
Masking 189
Scanning/Rescanning Storage 189
Identifying Use Cases for FCOE 191
Creating an NFS Share for Use with vSphere 191
Connecting to an NAS Device 192
Enabling/Configuring/Disabling vCenter Server Storage Filters 195
Configuring/Editing Hardware/Dependent Hardware Adapters 197
Enabling/Disabling Software iSCSI Initiator Settings 197
Configuring iSCSI Port Binding 199
Enabling/Configuring/Disabling iSCSI CHAP 201
Determining Use Cases for Hardware/Dependent Hardware/Software iSCSI Initiator 204
Determining Use Cases For and Configuring Array Thin Provisioning 204
Creating and Configuring VMFS and NFS Datastores 205
Identifying VMFS and NFS Datastore Properties 205
Identifying VMFS-5 Capabilities 207
Creating/Renaming/Deleting/Unmounting a VMFS Datastore 207
Mounting/Unmounting an NFS Datastore 216
Extending/Expanding VMFS Datastores 220
Extending VMFS Datastores 220
Expanding VMFS Datastores 223
Upgrading a VMFS-3 Datastore to VMFS-5 226
Placing a VMFS Datastore in Maintenance Mode 228
Selecting the Preferred Path for a VMFS Datastore 229
Disabling a Path to a VMFS Datastore 231
Determining Use Cases for Multiple VMFS and NFS Datastores 232
Determining Appropriate Path Selection Policy for a VMFS Datastore 232
Summary 233
Exam Preparation Tasks 234
Review All the Key Topics 234
Review Questions 235
Chapter 4 Deploying and Administering Virtual Machines and vApps 241
“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 241
Foundation Topics 244
Creating and Deploying Virtual Machines 244
Identifying Capabilities for VM Hardware Versions 244
Identifying VMware Tools Device Drivers 246
Identifying Methods to Access and Use Virtual Machine Console 246
Identifying Virtual Machine Storage Resources 248
Placing Virtual Machines in Selected ESXi Hosts/Clusters/Resource Pools 249
Configuring and Deploying a Guest OS into a New Virtual Machine 249
Creating/Converting Thin/Thick Provisioned Virtual Disks 251
Configuring Disk Shares 253
Installing/Upgrading/Updating VMware Tools 256
Configuring Virtual Machine Time Synchronization 258
Converting a Physical Machine Using VMware Converter 259
Importing a Supported Virtual Machine Source Using VMware Converter 262
Modifying Virtual Hardware Settings Using VMware Standalone Converter 262
Configuring/Modifying Virtual CPU and Memory Resources According to OS and Application Requirements 263
Configuring and Modifying Virtual Machine CPU 263
Configuring and Modifying Virtual Machine Memory 264
Configuring/Modifying Virtual NIC Adapter and Connecting Virtual Machines to Appropriate Network Resources 267
Determining Appropriate Datastore Locations for Virtual Machines Based on Application Workloads 267
Creating and Deploying vApps 268
Identifying vApp Settings 268
Application Properties 269
Deployment 269
Authoring 272
Start Order 273
Creating/Cloning/Exporting a vApp 274
Adding Objects to an Existing vApp 282
Editing vApp Settings 282
Configuring IP Pools 283
Suspending/Resuming a vApp 284
Determining When a Tiered Application Should Be Deployed as a vApp 284
Managing Virtual Machine Clones and Templates 285
Identifying the vCenter Server, Managed ESXi Hosts, and Virtual Machine Maximums 286
Identifying Cloning and Template Options 288
Cloning an Existing Virtual Machine 289
Creating a Template from an Existing Virtual Machine 290
Deploying a Virtual Machine from a Template 293
Updating Existing Virtual Machine Templates 295
Deploying Virtual Appliances and/or vApps from an OVF Template 298
Importing and/or Exporting an OVF Template 301
Creating and Publishing Content Libraries 303
Determining the Appropriate Development Methodology for a Given Virtual Machine Application 303
Administering Virtual Machines and vApps 303
Identifying Files Used by Virtual Machines 304
Identifying Locations for Virtual Machine Configuration Files and Virtual Disks 305
Identifying Common Practices for Securing Virtual Machines 308
Hot Extending a Virtual Disk 309
Configuring USB Passthrough from an ESXi Host 312
Configuring Serial Port Redirection 313
Configuring Virtual Machine Options 314
General Options 315
VMware Remote Console Options 315
VMware Tools 316
Power Management 317
Advanced 318
Fibre Channel NPIV 318
Configuring Virtual Machine Power Settings 319
Configuring Virtual Machine Boot Options 320
Configuring Virtual Machine Troubleshooting Options 321
Assigning a Storage Policy to a VM 321
Verifying Storage Policy Compliance for Virtual Machines 323
Determining When an Advanced Virtual Machine Parameter Is Required 324
Adjusting Virtual Machine Resources (Shares, Limits, and Reservations) Based on Virtual Machine Workloads 324
Summary 324
Exam Preparation Tasks 325
Review All the Key Topics 325
Review Questions 327
Chapter 5 Establishing and Maintaining Service Levels 333
“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 333
Foundation Topics 336
Creating and Configuring VMware Clusters 336
Describing DRS Virtual Machine Entitlement 336
Creating/Deleting a DRS/HA Cluster 337
Adding/Removing ESXi Hosts from a DRS/HA Cluster 338
Adding or Removing Virtual Machines from a DRS/HA Cluster 344
Configuring Storage DRS 345
Configuring Enhanced vMotion Compatibility 351
Monitoring a DRS/HA Cluster 352
Configuring Migration Thresholds for DRS and Virtual Machines 353
Configuring Automation Levels for DRS and Virtual Machines 355
Enabling and Disabling Host Power Management 356
Enabling BIOS P/C States 357
Creating VM-Host and VM-VM Affinity Rules 358
Enabling/Disabling Host Monitoring 363
Enabling/Configuring/Disabling Virtual Machine and Application Monitoring 364
Enabling/Configuring/Disabling Virtual Machine Monitoring 364
Enabling/Configuring/Disabling Application Monitoring 366
Configuring Admission Control for HA and Virtual Machines 366
Admission Control 367
Admission Control Policy 367
Determining Appropriate Failover Methodology and Required Resources for an HA Implementation 370
Host Failures the Cluster Tolerates 370
Percentage of Cluster Resources as Failover Spare Capacity 371
Specify Failover Hosts 371
Planning and Implementing VMware Fault Tolerance 371
Identifying VMware Fault Tolerance Requirements 372
Configuring VMware Fault Tolerance Networking 373
Enabling/Disabling VMware Fault Tolerance on a Virtual Machine 373
Testing an FT Configuration 375
Determining Use Case for Enabling VMware Fault Tolerance on a Virtual Machine 375
Creating and Administering Resource Pools 375
Describing the Resource Pool Hierarchy 376
Defining the Expandable Reservation Parameter 377
A Description of vFlash Architecture 377
Creating/Removing a Resource Pool 378
Configuring Resource Pool Attributes 380
Adding/Removing Virtual Machines from a Resource Pool 381
Determining Resource Pool Requirements for a Given vSphere Implementation 381
Evaluating Appropriate Shares, Reservations, and Limits for Resource Pools Based on Virtual Machine Workloads 382
Migrating Virtual Machines 383
Identifying ESXi Host and Virtual Machine Requirements for vMotion and Storage vMotion 383
ESXi and VM Requirements for vMotion 384
ESXi and VM Requirements for Storage vMotion 385
Enhanced vMotion (Cross-Host vMotion) 386
Identifying Enhanced vMotion Compatibility CPU Requirements 387
Identifying Snapshot Requirements for vMotion/Storage vMotion Migration 389
Migrating Virtual Machines Using vMotion/Storage vMotion 390
Migrating a VM Using vMotion 390
Migrating a VM’s Files Using Storage vMotion 394
Configuring Virtual Machine Swap File Location 396
Migrating a Powered-Off or Suspended Virtual Machine 399
Utilizing Storage vMotion Techniques 399
Backing Up and Restoring Virtual Machines 401
Identifying Snapshot Requirements 401
Creating/Deleting/Consolidating Virtual Machine Snapshots 401
Identifying VMware Data Protection Requirements 408
Explaining VMware Data Protection Sizing Guidelines 409
Installing and Configuring VMware Data Protection 410
Creating a Backup Job with VMware Data Protection 412
Installing, Configuring, and Managing vSphere Replication 412
Determining Appropriate Backup Solution for a Given vSphere Implementation 416
Patching and Updating ESXi and Virtual Machines 416
Identifying Patching Requirements for ESXi Hosts and Virtual Machine Hardware/Tools 417
Creating/Editing/Removing a Host Profile from an ESXi Host 417
Attach/Apply a Host Profile to an ESXi Host or Cluster 421
Performing Compliance Scanning and Remediation of an ESXi Host Using Host Profiles 423
Installing and Configuring vCenter Update Manager 425
Configuring Patch Download Options 429
Creating/Editing/Deleting an Update Manager Baseline 430
Attaching an Update Manager Baseline to an ESXi Host or Cluster 434
Scanning and Remediating ESXi Hosts and Virtual Machine Hardware/Tools Using Update Manager 434
Summary 435
Exam Preparation Tasks 436
Review All the Key Topics 436
Review Questions 439
Chapter 6 Performing Basic Troubleshooting 443
“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 443
Foundation Topics 447
Performing Basic Troubleshooting for ESXi Hosts 447
Identifying General ESXi Host Troubleshooting Guidelines 447
Learn How to Access Support Mode 447
Know How to Retrieve Logs 451
Troubleshooting Common Installation Issues 453
Troubleshooting Boot Order 453
Troubleshooting License Assignment 454
Troubleshooting Plug-Ins 454
Monitoring ESXi System Health 455
Exporting Diagnostic Information 456
Performing Basic vSphere Network Troubleshooting 461
Verifying Network Configuration 461
Verifying a Given Virtual Machine Is Configured with the Correct Network Resources 463
Troubleshooting Virtual Switch and Port Group Configuration Issues 463
Troubleshooting Physical Network Adapter Configuration Issues 464
Identifying the Root Cause of a Network Issue Based on Troubleshooting Information 465
Performing Basic vSphere Storage Troubleshooting 466
Verifying Storage Configuration 467
Troubleshooting Storage Contention Issues 469
Troubleshooting Storage Overcommitment Issues 471
Excessive Reservations Cause Slow Host Performance 471
Path Thrashing Causes Slow Performance 471
Troubleshooting iSCSI Software Initiator Configuration Issues 472
Troubleshooting Storage Reports and Storage Maps 472
Storage Reports 472
Storage Maps 475
Identifying the Root Cause of a Storage Issue Based on Troubleshooting Information 476
Performing Basic Troubleshooting for HA/DRS Clusters and vMotion/Storage vMotion 476
Identifying HA/DRS and vMotion Requirements 476
Verifying vMotion/Storage vMotion Configuration 477
Verifying vMotion Configuration 478
Verifying HA Network Configuration 478
Verifying HA/DRS Cluster Configuration 479
Troubleshooting HA Capacity Issues 480
Troubleshooting HA Redundancy Issues 480
Interpreting the DRS Resource Distributing Graph and Target/Current Host Load Deviation 481
Troubleshooting DRS Load Imbalance Issues 483
Troubleshooting vMotion/Storage vMotion Migration Issues 483
Interpreting vMotion Resource Maps 484
Identifying the Root Cause for a DRS/HA Cluster or Migration Issue Based on Troubleshooting Information 484
Summary 486
Exam Preparation Tasks 487
Review All the Key Topics 487
Review Questions 488
Chapter 7 Monitoring a vSphere Implementation 493
“Do I Know This Already?” Quiz 493
Foundation Topics 497
Monitoring ESXi, vCenter Server, and Virtual Machines 497
Describing How Tasks and Events Are Viewed in vCenter Server 497
Viewing by Object Selected in the Navigator 498
Filtering the Output 499
Filtering by Keyword 499
Identifying Critical Performance Metrics 500
Explaining Common Memory Metrics 501
Explaining Common CPU Metrics 506
Explaining Common Network Metrics 507
Explaining Common Storage Metrics 507
Comparing and Contrasting Overview and Advanced Charts 508
Configuring SNMP for vCenter Server 510
Configuring Active Directory and SMTP Settings for vCenter Server 511
Configuring Active Directory Settings for vCenter 511
Configuring SMTP Settings for a vCenter Server 512
Configuring vCenter Server Logging Options 514
Creating a Log Bundle 515
Creating/Editing/Deleting a Scheduled Task 518
Configuring/Viewing/Printing/Exporting Resource Maps 524
Starting/Stopping/Verifying vCenter Service Status 527
Starting/Stopping/Verifying ESXi Host Agent Status 529
Configuring vCenter Server Timeout Settings 530
Monitoring/Administering vCenter Server Connections 531
Creating an Advanced Chart 533
Determining Host Performance Using Resxtop and Guest Perfmon 536
Determining Host Performance Using Resxtop 536
Determining Host Performance Using Guest Perfmon 540
Given Performance Data, Identifying the Affected vSphere Resource 541
Creating and Administering vCenter Server Alarms 541
Listing vCenter Default Utilization Alarms 542
Listing vCenter Default Connectivity Alarms 543
Listing Possible Actions for Utilization and Connectivity Alarms 543
Creating a vCenter Utilization Alarm 544
Creating a vCenter Connectivity Alarm 548
Configuring Alarm Triggers 551
Configuring Alarm Actions 552
For a Given Alarm, Identifying the Affected Resource in a vSphere Implementation 552
Installing, Configuring, and Administering vCenter Operations Manager 553
Differentiating Between Major/Minor vCOPs Badges 554
Explaining vCOPs Architecture 555
Deploying and Configuring a vCOPs Appliance 556
Upgrading vCOPs 564
Understanding Metrics Used by Major/Minor vCOPs Badges 566
Monitoring Your vSphere Environment 567
Summary 568
Exam Preparation Tasks 569
Review All the Key Topics 569
Review Questions 571
Chapter 8 What Do I Do Now? 575
Foundation Topics 576
Scheduling the Test 576
Comparing Your Knowledge to the VCP550 Exam Blueprint Objectives 577
Studying the Questions at the End of Each Chapter and on the Bonus Material 577
Taking the Mock Exam on the VMware Website 578
The Day of the Test 579
Sending Me an Email When You Pass 579
Appendix A Answers to the “Do I Know This Already?” Quizzes and Chapter Review Questions 581
“Do I Know This Already?” Answers 581
Chapter Review Answers 583
9780133962079 TOC 7/9/2014