vmware ESX -3 Planing and installing vmware esx server

Planing and installing vmware esx server
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Select the right hardware for virtualization
. most hardware selected for a tradition server is

oversized and much of the capacity goes

underutilized
 .keep in mind that the performance of the virtual

server host determins the performance of 

infrastucture
 . multi-core cpu are excellent for vmware
 . compare the option of fewer high performance

servers vs more lower perfoemance servers.
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in general
 . RAM - the more the better, 16GB+ on new

enterprise productin servers
 . CPU -multiple multi-core processors -4xquad-

core=16 cores
 .networking -1Gb ethernet
 . disk -consider SAN options - iSCSI and FC. at

minimum local SCSI disk or RAID disk array, on

the local disk array or the SAN, use RAID 1,5,or

10
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ESX sever Requirements
ESX server requires a computer with the following

specifications:
 . At least two processors of the following types:
    1500MHZ intel Xeon and later, or AMD opteron

(32-bit mode)
    1500MHZ intel Viiv or AMD A64x2 dual-core

processors
  . 1GB RAM minimum
  . one or more erthernet controllers- Broadcom

Netxtreme 570xGB ethernet or Intel pro/100
  . A SCSI adapter, Fiber channel adapter, or 

internal RAID controller
      Basic SCSI controllers are adaptec Ultra-160

and Ultra-320,LSI logic Fusion-MPT, and most

NCR/symbios SCSI controllers
     RAID and LSI megaRAID, and IBM (adaptec)

server RAID controllers.
     Fibre channel adapters supported are Emulex

and QLogic host bus adapters(HBAS)
   . A SCSI disk, Fibre cannel LUN, or RAID LUN

with unpartitioned space(ESX supports boot from

SCSI disk or SAN,SATA is not supported)
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Esx server installation recommendations:
  . 1GB for VMs(256MBx4) + 272MB for SC(server

console)  + overhead for each VM
  .dedicated 1GB ethernet adaptor for vms
  .dedicated disk for vms
  . set VMFS3 partitions to be 64k aligned to

improve performance (done with VI client)
  . Faster processors and more cache
  . match exact hard medels with ESX compatible

list
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VMware esx server hardware maximum
 . storage
    16 host bus adapters(HBAs) per esx

server,with 15 targets per HBA
    128 logical unit numbers(LUNs) per storage

array
    255 LUNs per esx server system
    32 paths to a LUN
    maximum LUN ID: 255
 Virtual machine File System( VMFS)
    128 VMFS volumes per esx server system
    maximum physical extents per VMFS volume
    VMFS-3 volumes: 32 physical extents
    VMFS-2 volumes: 32 physical extents(VMFS-2

volumes are read-only for esx server 3.0)
   2TB per physical extent
   Maximum size per VMFS volume
  VMFS-3 volumes:approximately 64TB, with a

maximum of 2TB per physical extent
  VMFS-2 volumes:approximately 64TB, with a
maximum of 2TB per physical extent(VMFS-2

volumes are read-only for esx server3.0)
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Importance of SAN storage
 . your virtual machines are stored on disk -of

some kind
 . those virtual disks could be on each server, a

NFS mount,iSCSI array, or Fibre channel(FC)

storage array( the performance improves in that

order)
 . without SAN disk storage( either iSCSI or FC),

many of the advanced capabilities of ESX server

&VI (virtual infrastrucutre) won't work
 . Thus, unless you just have 1 or 2 single ESX

servers and plan on using it only as a stand-along

server virtualization product, otherwise you should

begin planning for iSCSI or FC storage for your

VM servers.
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Lencensing options for esx server -host based vs

server based
 . the VI client is used to import the licenses
 . host-based -files stored on each host
 . server-based -stored on a central server
 To use VC and other advanced features you

must use server-based licensing
 with server licenses:
  . licenses are in a pool and can be shared
  . centralized license managment
  . 14 day grace period if license are unavailable,

even if servers reboot
   . you are required to install a windows license

server

vmware features are licensed in  both per-

processor and per-feature
   . per-processor : licenses and could be shared

when using server-based licensing. multi-core

systems count as a single processor
  . per-feature -two types, esx server & virtual

center. VC feature licenses are not only for the

server but also for functions that the server

performs like VMotion,VM HA, and VM DRS
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installation disk partitioning with VMware esx
 .required vmware esx disk partitions
    /boot -100MB -ext3
    swap -544MB
    /root -2560MB -ext3 - for the service sonsole
    vmcore -100MB -core dump
   VMFS -1GB+ -could be local, network, or SAN
  . optional
     /home
     /tmp
     /var/log
     VFAT -for raw disks
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 how to i nstall vmware esx server
  consider what servers will be virtualized and

what their requirements are
  plan your infrastructure design around the needs

of the servers that will be virtualized , both now

and in the future.
  consult the various hardware compatibiltiy

guide& obtain hardware
  obtain your media and license key
  install esx server
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