What is Virtualization ?

Virtualization is the creation of a virtual (rather than actual) version of something,

such as an operating system, a server, a storage device or network resources.

You probably know a little about virtualization if you have ever divided your hard
drive into different partitions. A partition is the logical division of a hard disk drive
to create, in effect, two separate hard drives.

Operating system virtualization is the use of software to allow a piece of hardware

to run multiple operating system images at the same time. The technology got its
start on mainframes decades ago, allowing administrators to avoid wasting
expensive processing power.

In 2005, virtualization software was adopted faster than anyone imagined,

including the experts. There are three areas of IT where virtualization is making
headroads, network virtualization, storage virtualization and server virtualization.

>What are the benefits of virtualization ?

There are some well accepted and inherit benefits to using Virtualization. Here are
some of them:

*Reduce the number of physical servers

*Reduce the infrastructure needed for your data center (power, cooling, battery
backup, network switch ports, KVM ports and space)
*Reduce administrative overhead because servers can be administered from a
single console
*Ability to bring up new servers quickly (it could take days or weeks to put in a new
physical server but it could take just a few minutes to create a new virtual server
from a template)
*Hardware Independence of virtual servers a virtual server can run on any host
server, regardless of the host hardware
*Because of hardware independence, you receive reduce your disaster recovery
cost, complexity, and recovery time
*A greener datacenter & server environment due to the consolidation
Overall, lower TCO of servers

>What is a Hypervisor ?
You can think of a Hypervisor as the kernel or the core of a virtualization platform.
The Hypervisor is also called the Virtual Machine Monitor. The Hypervisor has
access to the physical host hardware.

Of the total amount of disk space taken for a virtualization platform (like Hyper-V or
VMware ESX), the Hypervisor is, by far, the smallest part. A Type 1 Hypervisor runs
on the bare metal of the hardware. Examples of a Type 1 Hypervisor are Hyper-V
and ESX Server. A Type 2 Hypervisor is hosted by an operating system. Examples
of a Type 2 Hypervisor are VMware Server and Microsoft Virtual Server.
What is ESX Server ?
ESX Server is VMwares flagship enterprise server virtualization platform. It comes
in two versions ESX Server and ESXi Server where the latter has no service
console and is the thinnest version available. ESX Server has many optional
features like VMotion and VMHA (both discussed below) and some built-in features
like the VMFS file system. Most end users purchase VMware ESX Server with some
set of optional features in a package called VMware Infrastructure. ESX Server is
managed by the VMware Infrastructure Client. Its centralized management platform
is called Virtual Center.

>What is Hyper-V ?
Codenamed "Viridian" but given the formal name of Hyper-V, it is a hypervisor-
based Windows Server virtualization platform that is included as a role of Windows
Server 2008. Hyper-V enables you to consolidate workloads onto a single physical
server using a broad range of services ranging from resource-intensive services like
Microsoft SQL Server to third-party applications that may run on previous versions
of Windows or Linux.

>What are a host, guest, and virtual machine ?

A host system (host operating system) would be the primary & first installed
operating system. If you are using a bare metal Virtualization platform like Hyper-
V or ESX, there really isnt a host operating system besides the Hypervisor. If you
are using a Type-2 Hypervisor like VMware Server or Virtual Server, the host
operating system is whatever operating system those applications are installed into.

A guest system (guest operating system) is a virtual guest or virtual machine (VM)
that is installed under the host operating system. The guests are the VMs that you
run in your virtualization platform.

Some admins also call the host & guest the parent and child.

>What products are available for Server Virtualization ?

Bare Metal Hypervisor / Native / Type 1:

VMware ESX Server

Microsoft Hyper-V
Citrix/Xen Server

Hosted in an OS / Type 2:

VMware Server
Microsoft Virtual Server
Parallels Server
How VMWare Kernel different from other kernels?

VMWare kernel is a proprietary kernel that means that it is a registered kernel by

VMWare Company and it is not based on any other kernel architecture or any other
operating system. VMWare consists of a kernel that requires an operating system to
boot it. A service console is being provided when VMware kernel is booted.

What are the features provided by VMware for easy access?

VMware provides several features to make it easy for the user to access and
maintain it. The features are as follows:
VMware provides web browser interface
It provides easy to use wizard to configure the settings
It provides tools to easily create hosts and maintain it from one place
It provides easy maintenance of Virtual machines
It provides easy graphics to configure the VMware settings for security

What are the features of VMware Player?

VMware player is a stand-alone player that comes with the installation of VMware
also. The features that make it more popular are as follows:

Creation of virtual machines can be done with easy install options. The creation
and installation can be done directly to the system.
VMware Player can run any virtual machine and it can be used by anyone,
anywhere. It allows quick and easy access, to take the advantage of security,
portability and flexibility to manage the virtual machines.
VMware player allows s haring of virtual machines with other computers or users.

What are the different components used in VMware infrastructure?

The different and major components used in VMware infrastructure is as follows:

1. VMware infrastructure consists of the lowest layer which acts as a ESX server
host.
2. VMware infrastructure also use the virtual center server that keep tracks of all
the VM related images and manage it from one point.
3. VMware infrastructure (VI) client: this allows the client to interact with user's
applications that are running on VMware.
4. Web browser is used to access the virtual machines.
5. License server is used to create a server that provides licensing to the applications
6. Database servers are used to maintain a database.
5. What are the benefits of virtualization?

Virtualization is a creation of virtual machines and to manage them from one place.
It allows the resources to be shared with large number of network resources.
Virtualization is having lots of benefits and they are as follows:
1. It helps in saving lots of cost and allows to easily maintaining it, in less cost.
2. It allows multiple operating systems on one virtualization platform.
3. It removes the dependency of heavy hardware to run the application.
4. It provides consolidating servers that are used for crashing of a server purpose
5. It reduces the amount of space being taken by data centers and company data.

6. What is the purpose of a Hypervisor?

Hypervisor is a program that manages the virtual machine. It also act like virtual
machine manager that manages the many virtual machines from one place. It
allows multiple operating system to share single hardware host. Each operating
system in this consists of its own defined space consisting of space, memory and
processor. It is used as a controller program to control host processors and
resources. It separates out the layer between many operating systems so that one
can't conflict with another one.

7. How ESX server related to VMware?

ESX server is the enterprise edition of VMware. It provides server virtualization

platform that allows many operating systems to be shared together in a convenient
way and consists of a centralized management platform that is also known as
virtual centre. ESX server is a virtualization technique that is used to create cloud
applications and allows easy development of cloud platforms. It is related to
VMWare as it is the upper layer of it.

8. What is the difference between ESX and GSX server?

GSX server acts as type 2 hypervisor that gets installed on the host operating
systems hardware like windows and Linux. VMWare workstation gets mixed up with
GSX server to provide it more functionality to run your applications and operating
systems. ESX server on the other hand, is type 1 hypervisor that runs its software
directly on the systems hardware and it doesnt require any operating system prior
to its installation. It is level 0 hypervisor and it has its own operating system.
9. What is the use of VMWare workstation?

VMWare workstation is software that allows user to run more than one operating
system in there system. It provides virtualization to run different applications on
many operating systems at a single time. It saves the current configuration of
operating system for the user in the form of virtual machines. VMWare allows user
to view there application and work with so many different OS without even
switching between the OSs.

10. What are the different types of extensions used by VMWare?

1. .log: is used to keep a log file to maintain a key for VMWare. This file allows user
to see the problems encountered during any installation or while using VMWare.
2. .nvram: is used to store the state of the virtual machine in systems BIOS.
3. .vmdk: is a virtual disk file that is used to store the content of virtual machine.
4. .vmsd: stores the information and metadata of the systems snapshots.
5. .vmsn: is used to store the snapshot state. It stores both the running state and
the time when you have taken it.
6. .vmss: stores the suspended state of a virtual machine.
7. .vmtm: stores the configuration team data.
8. .vmx: store the primary configurations for the new virtual machine.

11. How virtual machines concept is different for host and guest systems?

Host system is the system that runs the operating system and over which the
virtual platform can be installed. The virtual platform that runs another operating
system is called as guest operating system. Host and guest can be connected with
each other by using the virtual machines. A host system that runs all together its
own operating system is called as virtualization host and the guest operating
system will be that, which get installed over that operating system.

12. What are some major differences between VMWare Server and ESX server?

ESX server is a bare metter virtualation platform that is a physical server

whereas, VMWare server needs an operating system to run itself.
ESX server is type 1 hypervisor virtualization platform whereas, VMWare server is
a type-2 hypervisor virtualization platform.
ESX server gives better performance then VMWare server, due to less overhead.
ESX server have more features available then VMWare server.
VMWare server is good to be used on small platforms and with less resources but,
ESX server requires high specifications.
13. What is the use of Para-virtualization?

Para-virtualization is a virtualization technique that allows similar virtual machines

to be created on particular hardware. It allows many operating systems to run on
host hardware at the same time. It makes good use of resources like processors,
memory and networking. It acts as a virtual machine monitor that has high
performance and more efficient. It is used for development, testing and production
of the virtual machines. It also good in disaster recovery by moving the guest
virtual machine till the hardware is being repaired.

14. Why snapshots are really important in VMWare?

Snapshots are images that is been taken at a particular point from the virtual guest
operating system. The snapshot consists of the virtual machine configurations,
memory and the devices that were present at the time of the snapshot. By doing
this, you can return back to virtual machine which might have become corrupted or
might not be working. Snapshots can be taken anytime according to your need and
requirement. Snapshots can be saved and then system can be reverted back in
case of any disaster happened to your operating system.

15. What are the disadvantages associated with VMWare virtualization platform?

The disadvantage of VMWare virtualization platform is as follows:

VMWare concept requires the knowledge of the concept.
It requires money to buy the resources required for virtualization platform.
It requires high end server with lots of high end configuration and specification
that increases the cost.
It requires different technologies that have to be implemented for the enterprise
virtualization systems.
Reliability decreases and cost increases in case of the system failures.

VMWare interview questions and answers

How VMWare Kernel different from other kernels?

What are the features provided by VMWare for easy access?
What are the features of VMWare Player?
What are the different components used in VMWare infrastructure?......................

Virtual box interview questions and answers

What are the similarities between Virtual box and Qemu?

What is the function of release log file?
What is the role of Virtual box debugger?
What is the Virtual box core format for all VMs?
What is the function of VboxClient?....................

QEMU interview questions and answers

What is the function of QEMU?
What are the different modes of operations performed by QEMU?
What is the function of dynamic translator in context with the QEMU?
What is the function of QEMU accelerator?
How can you achieve dynamic translation using QEMU?

KVM interview questions and answers

What is the use of KVM switch?

What is the requirement of KVM switch?
What is the difference between passive and active switches?

Microsoft virtual server interview questions and answers

How Microsoft virtual server manages the virtualization platform?

What are the features provided in Microsoft Virtual Server?
What are the limitations of Microsoft Virtual server?

OpenVZ interview questions and answers

How OpenVZ different from other virtualization technologies?

What is the main function and use of OpenVZ?
What are the containers that are involved in virtualization and isolation?

Citrix xen desktop interview questions and answers

What is the use of desktop virtualization?

How citrix xen fullfill the requirements produced by desktop virtualization?
How Xen desktop helps in popularizing the businesses?

Virtuozzo interview questions and answers

What is the use of virtual environment in virtuozzo?

What are the benefits of using virtuozzo?
How to use and maintain virtuozzo?

Virtual iron interview questions and answers

What kind of virtualization that is being supported by Virtual Iron?

What is the difference between para-virtualization and native virtualization?
What are the capabilities that are provided by Virtual Iron?

Simics interview questions and answers

What is the function of SIMICS?

What is the difference between emulation and virtualization?
How to load SimICS inside an operating system?

Parallels Workstation (for Windows and Linux)

Does Parallels Workstartion virtualize Mac OSX or support Mac OSX as Host OS?
What are the minimum requirements suggested for Parallels Workstation ?
What is Para-virtualization, is it supported by Parallels Workstation ?

Parallels for Desktop (for Mac)

Parallels Desktop is a Type-2 Hypervisor just like Vmware Workstation, why there is
a need of special hypervisor on Mac?
Can we use any parallels virtualization solution to run Mac on a non Mac OSX host
OS?
Does Legacy Mac OSX OS are supported by Parallels Desktop on Mac?

Microsoft Virtual PC 2007

What all OS are supported by Virtual PC 2007 as a host OS?

What was XP Mode in Windows 7?
Is Virtual PC 2007 a hypervisor?

Bochs

Does Bochs support Hardware Virtualization?

What all architecture does Bochs support ?
Does Bochs work in Windows SafeMode ?

1) Explain about your production environment? How many clusters, ESX, Data
Centers, H/w etc ?
2) How does VMotion works? Whats the port number used for it?
ANS--> TCP port 8000

3) Prerequisites for VMotion?

Ans-->
1)ESX Servers must be configured with VMkenerl ports enabled for vmotion
and on the same network segment
2)ESX Servers must be managed by the same Virtual Center server
3)ESX Must have compatible CPUs
4)ESX Servers muct have consisten Networks and NEtwroks labels
5)The VMs must be stored on shared storage - iSCSI or FC SAN or NAS/NFS
6)The VMs can not use localcd/floppy or internal only vrtual switches on the
ESX server

Check out
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi3_35/esx_3/r35u2/vi3_35_25_u2_admin_gui
de.pdf for more information

4) How does HA works? Port number? How many host failure allowed and
why?
ANS--> Maximum allowed host failures within a HA cluster is 4. What
happens if 4 hosts have failed and a 5th one also fails.
I have still enough free resources to start up the virtual machines on the
remaining hosts. Will HA start these virtual machines from the 5th failed host
on the remaining hosts?
ANS) That depends. If you have admission control enabled, if there are any
resource constraints some VM's may not restart. If you have admission
control disabled, the VM's will get restarted on any host left in the cluster.
However, that doesn't mean they will be functional. Make sure you have
enough port groups configured on your vSwitch for your Virtual Machine port
group to accommodate

Host Firewalls. On ESX/ESXi hosts, VMware HA needs and automatically

opens the following firewall ports.
Incoming port: TCP/UDP 8042-8045
Outgoing port: TCP/UDP 2050-2250

5) What are active host / primary host in HA? Explain it?

ANS-->
When you add a host to a VMware HA cluster, an agent is uploaded to the
host and configured to communicate
with other agents in the cluster. The first five hosts added to the cluster are
designated as primary hosts, and
all subsequent hosts are designated as secondary hosts. The primary hosts
maintain and replicate all cluster
state and are used to initiate failover actions. If a primary host is removed
from the cluster, VMware HA
promotes another host to primary status.
Any host that joins the cluster must communicate with an existing primary
host to complete its configuration
(except when you are adding the first host to the cluster). At least one
primary host must be functional for
VMware HA to operate correctly. If all primary hosts are unavailable (not
responding), no hosts can be
successfully configured for VMware HA.

One of the primary hosts is also designated as the active primary host and its
responsibilities include:
n Deciding where to restart virtual machines.
n Keeping track of failed restart attempts.
n Determining when it is appropriate to keep trying to restart a virtual
machine.
If the active primary host fails, another primary host replaces it.
6) Prerequisites for HA ?
First, for clusters enabled for VMware HA, all virtual machines and their
configuration files must
reside on shared storage (Fibre Channel SAN, iSCSI SAN, or SAN iSCI NAS),
because you need to
be able to power on the virtual machine on any host in the cluster.
Second, VMware HA monitors heartbeat between hosts on the console
network for failure
detection. So, to have reliable failure detection for HA clusters, the console
network should have
redundant network paths. That way, if a host's first network connection fails,
the second
connection can broadcast heartbeats to other hosts.
Last, if you want to use DRS with HA for load balancing, the hosts in your
cluster must be part of
a VMotion network. If the hosts are not in the VMotion network, however,
DRS can still make
initial placement recommendations.

7) How do DRS works? Which technology used? What are the priority counts
to migrate the VMs?
8) How does snap shots works?
9) What are the files will be created while creating a VM and after powering
on the VM?
10) If the VMDK header file corrupt what will happen? How do you
troubleshoot?
11) Prerequisites VC, Update manager?
12) Have you ever patched the ESX host? What are the steps involved in
that?
13) Have you ever installed an ESX host? What are the pre and post
conversion steps involved in that? What would be the portions listed? What
would be the max size of it?
14) I turned on Maintenance mode in an ESX host, all the VMs has been
migrated to another host, but only one VM failed to migrate? What are the
possible reasons?
15) How will you turn start / stop a VM through command prompt?
16) I have upgraded a VM from 4 to 8 GB RAM; its getting failed at 90% of
powering on? How do you troubleshoot?
17) Storage team provided the new LUN ID to you? How will you configure
the LUN in VC? What would be the block size (say for 500 GB volume size)?
18) I want to add a new VLAN to the production network? What are the steps
involved in that? And how do you enable it?
19) Explain about VCB? What it the minimum priority (*) to consolidate a
machine?
20) How VDR works?
21) Whats the difference between Top and ESXTOP command?
22) How will you check the network bandwidth utilization in an ESXS host
through command prompt?
23) How will you generate a report for list of ESX, VMs, RAM and CPU used
in your Vsphere environment?
24) What the difference between connecting the ESX host through VC and
Vsphere? What are the services involved in that? What are the port
numberss used?
25) How does FT works? Prerequisites? Port used?
26) Can I VMotion between 2 different data centers? Why?
27) Can I deploy a VM by template in different data centers ?
28) I want to increase the system partition size (windows 2003 server- Guest
OS) of a VM? How will you do it without any interruption to the end user?
29) Which port number used while 2 ESX transfer the data in between?
30) Unable to connect to a VC through Vsphere client? What could be the
reason? How do you troubleshoot?
31) Have you ever upgraded the ESX 3.5 to 4.0? How did you do it?
32) What are the Vsphere 4.0, VC 4.0, ESX 4.0, VM 7.0 special features?
33) What is AAM? Where is it used? How do you start or stop through
command prompt?
ANS) VMware-aam = HA.
VMware purchased the HA technology from Legato, who originally coined it
as "Automated Availability Manager".

34) Have you ever called VMWare support? Etc

35) Explain about Vsphere Licensing? License server?

36) How will you change the service console IP?

Note: ESX 4.0 Update 2 introduces a new tool that simplifies the process of
creating or restoring networking in the ESX service console. For more
information, see Configuring or restoring networking from the ESX service
console using console-setup (1022078).

Changing settings from the physical or remote console connection

Changing the IP for the Service Console must be done from the physical
console or through a remote console session. If you make changes through a
network connection such as SSH, network connectivity to the Service Console
disconnects because the Service Console's network interface changes.

1.Run this command to set the IP address:

[root@server root]# esxcfg-vswif -i -n vswif0

where is the IP address and is the subnet mask.

Note: In this example, vswif0 is the Service Console adapter that is the
interface to which you are applying the IP address change.

2.Open the /etc/hosts file with a text editor and modify it so that it reflects
the correct IP address and hostname.
3.To change the default gateway address and the hostname, edit the
/etc/sysconfig/network file and change the GATEWAY and HOSTNAME
parameters to the proper values.
4.For the changes to take place, restart the network service with the
command:

[root@server root]# service network restart

Note: If you are required to edit the hostname, then you must reboot the
host.

Note: This command breaks any current network connections to the Service
Console, but virtual machines continue to have network connection. If the
ESX host is managed by VirtualCenter or vCenter Server, you may have to
remove and re-add the host to the inventory. For more information, see ESX
not working properly in VirtualCenter after IP address change (1005633).
Note: Making changes to IP and DNS server settings can have a negative
impact on the normal operation of ESX/ESXi, particularly in HA clustered
environments. For more information, see Identifying issues with and setting
up name resolution on ESX/ESXi Server (1003735).

Note: If the changed IP does not persist across a reboot, try deleting and
recreating the Service Console vswif management interface. For more
information, see Recreating Service Console networking from the command
line (1000266).
Changing the hostname without rebooting
To dynamically change the hostname, run the command:

[root@server root]# hostname newname

Note: This command creates a temporary hostname change. This change is

lost when the system is rebooted.

Changing the DNS server settings

To change the DNS server settings, update the nameserver IPs and search
domain in the /etc/resolv.conf file.

Changing settings in VMware vSphere or Infrastructure Client

To change the hostname, domain, DNS servers, and default gateway in
VMware vSphere or Infrastructure Client:

1.Highlight the ESX host and click the Configuration tab.

2.Click DNS and Routing.
3.Click Properties.
4.To change the hostname, domain, and DNS servers, click the DNS
Configuration tab and enter the appropriate values.
Note: Disable VMware High Availability if you do not want virtual machines to
failover during the hostname IP change.

5.To change the default gateway, click the Routing tab and enter the
appropriate value.
6.Reboot the ESX host for the changes to take effect .
7.Reconnect the ESX host to vCenter Server with the new IP address.
Generating new certificates for the ESX host
The ESX host generates certificates the first time the system is started.
Under certain circumstances, it might be required to force the host to
generate new certificates. Typically new certificates only need to be
generated if the hostname has been changed or the certificates have been
deleted accidentally.

Each time you restart the vmware-hostd process, the mgmt-vmware script
searches for existing certificate files ( rui.crt and rui.key). If the files cannot
be found, new certificate files are generated.

To generate new certificates:

1.Put the host into Maintenance Mode.

2.In the directory /etc/vmware/ssl, back up any existing certificates by
renaming them with these commands:

[root@server root]# mv /etc/vmware/ssl/rui.crt /etc/vmware/ssl/orig.rui.crt

[root@server root]# mv /etc/vmware/ssl/rui.key
/etc/vmware/ssl/orig.rui.key

Note: If you are regenerating certificates because you accidentally deleted

them, you do not have to rename them.

3.Reboot your host to allow it to begin using the new certificate, or restart
the host services:

a.Restart hostd, using this command:

service mgmt-vmware restart

b.Restart vmkauthd, using this command:

service vmware-vmkauthd restart

4.Exit Maintenance Mode.

5.Confirm that the ESX host successfully generated new certificates by
running this command and comparing the time stamps of the new certificate
files with orig.rui.crt and orig.rui.key:

[root@server root]# ls -la /etc/vmware/ssl/rui*

Notes:

Disable VMware High Availability if you do not want virtual machines to

failover during the hostname IP change. If you are using vSphere 4.x you
can just disable host monitoring in the HA settings.
For related information, see Verifying ESX Server host networking
configuration on the service console (1003796).
You may be required to regenerate your SSL certificate. For more
information, see Replacing or Regenerating an SSL Certificate for the
Management Interface (1843).
You are required to edit files on an ESX host. For more information, see
Editing files on an ESX host using vi or nano (1020302).
For information on replacing VirtualCenter Server ceritificates, see:
?Replacing VirtualCenter Server Certificates in Virtual Infrastructure 3
?Replacing VirtualCenter Server Certificates in vSphere 4
The iSCSI Qualified Name used for iSCSI storage configuration is based on
the hostname of the ESX host. If you change the hostname of the ESX host,
ensure to review your iSCSI software initiator configuration. For more
information on iSCSI troubleshooting, see Configuring and troubleshooting
basic software iSCSI setup (1008083).
For more information on changing the hostname, see Changing the name of
an ESX host (1010821).

37) Whats the difference between ESX and ESXi?

38) Whats the difference between ESX 3.5 and ESX 4.0?

39) P2V Prt Number and Log file location?

TCP/IP Ports Required by VMware Converter
Table lists the ports Converter uses in the conversion process.
If your VirtualCenter Servers or ESX Servers are configured to listen on port
905, you will have to make
adjustments accordingly.
Communication Paths | Port
Converter application to remote physical machine | 445 and 139
Converter application to VirtualCenter Server | 902
Converter application to ESX Server 3.x | 902
Physical machine to VirtualCenter Server | 902
Physical machine to ESX Server 3.x | 902
Log File Locations:
UFAD logs:
%WINDIR%\Temp\vmware-temp\vmware-converter*
%WINDIR%\vmware-temp\vmware-converter* (in Windows NT)
Client logs:
%TEMP%\vmware-temp\vmware-client*

Send these in to support using File > Export Logs. For Converter Boot CD,
map a network drive using the
network configuration tool (see Chapter 5, Using the Converter Boot CD for
Local Cold Cloning, on page 37)
and use File > Export Logs.

40) Micro vMotion

41)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Q: How is VMware more stable than, say, a new physical server?

A: The idealized hardware provided by VMware provides a consistent virtual

hardware environment that increases that stability of your virtual machines
independent of the underlying physical hardware.

Q: Is any installation method better than any other?

A: No. Whichever installation method you're comfortable with and that

produces a good build is the one for you.

Q: I'm having problems with my installation. What should I do?

A: Ensure that the hardware you're loading ESX Server on is supported. The
same goes for the configuration. If you are certain the hardware and
configuration are supported, then run the vm-support script mentioned
previously.

Q: Why does this chapter include only the graphical installer method?

A: It's the recommended installation method from VMware and one that
many in the x86-world are the most comfortable with. If you wish to try it
another way, VMware offers a very complete installation document covering
the various installation methodologies.
Q: When I copy my virtual machine and try to run it on my network, I get
hostname already exists and IP address already exists errors. I thought I
could simply copy my virtual machine. What is the problem?

A: You can copy your virtual machine, which is why you're running into this
problem. The copy is an exact copy. Thus, you need to change the hostname,
IP address, and even the computer's SID (if it has one).

Q: Can I move my Gold Master to my other ESX Servers?

A: Yes, it's a recommended time-saver. If your ESX Servers share a LUN,

that too is a way to access your Gold Master or your VMlibrary for that
matter.

Q: Are there any limitations to the number of virtual machines I can run on
my ESX Server?

A: Yes. Each ESX Server allows for only 80 virtual CPUs and 200 registered
virtual machines.

Q: Can I take a virtual machine running on VMware Workstation or GSX and

run it in ESX?

A: It depends. The process is not as simple as cutting and pasting. There is a

specific import process required for migrating virtual machines from either
Workstation or GSX into ESX. Access the following link for the exact
instructions: http://www.vmware.com/pdf/mobility_guide.pdf.
Q: Do you need to tweak the settings of your virtual machines after you've
built them?

A: No. VMware has configured the defaults of your build to suit most server
loads. However, depending on the profile of your server and the resource
intensiveness of the service it's providing, you may want to consider
tweaking some of the default settings to better ensure service stability and
reliability.

Q: Are there more advanced features than the ones detailed in this chapter?

A: Yes a lot more.

Q: Is clustering more stable in VMware?

A: We find that the idealized hardware, in combination with VMware's

improvements in clustering support, has made virtual clustering very stable.

Q: Can you Vmotion a cluster?

A: That depends on the cluster type and how it is configured. Clusters using
Raw Device Mapping in virtual mode can be moved with Vmotion according
to VMware documentation.
Q: Does VMware support NIC teaming?

A: Yes, and it's a very good idea to configure your ESX Server, especially if
it's for production, with teamed NICs. This will provide hardware fault
tolerance in case one NIC fails.

Q: How many physical NICs do I need on my ESX Server?

A: That depends on the number of virtual machines and the network traffic
they produce. You should have a minimum of two: one for your Service
Console and one dedicated to your virtual machines.

Q: If I'm building a cluster using Microsoft Clustering Service, what's the best
configuration for my heartbeat NIC?

A:For a Cluster in a Box, create a VMnet that your nodes of your cluster can
attach their heartbeat NICs.

Q: Can you attach virtual machines on any ESX Server to a VMnet?

A: No. Only virtual machines on the ESX Server that the VMnet resides can
attach to it.
Q: Why should you pay for a p-to-v toll when there are a number of ways to
do it for free?

A: If you don't have the time or inclination to learn the manual process or
need the assurance of a vendor for your physical-to-virtual migrations, then
a tool that comes with support is a very reasonable option.

Q: What takes the longest in the p-to-v process?

A: Transferring the data of the physical server into either an image file or the
virtual server itself. That's why tweaking your network settings for optimal
throughput is essential when p-to-v'ing a server.

Q: Can you create complete backups of your physical servers and then
recover them into virtuals?

A: I've used NTBackup to back up Windows 2000 Professional and Windows

XP, and created virtuals out of .bkf files. It works but there's a bit of futzing
around with the virtual once it is running. Try it.

Q: What's the most essential part of creating a smooth migration plan?

A: Practice. No matter what the tool or process, practice it and learn its
gotchas and the workarounds. No matter what method you use, there will be
times when it won't go as planned. Practicing your p-to-v process on a
number of physical platforms and disk configurations allows you to become
more adept once you're doing it for real.
Q: Will my software vendor support my application in a VMware
environment?

A: You'll need to contact your specific software or applications vendor to find

out; however, an increasing number of software vendors support virtualized
environments. Once you've migrated your application from a physical to
virtual environment it's very easy to migrate back to a physical environment
for vendor support. An excellent document provided by VMware can be found
at the following link: www.vmware.com/pdf/ms_support_statement.pdf.

Q: What are the best enablers to help ensure our server consolidation is a
success?
A: Engaging with the lines of business and application owners not only
assists in attaining an actionable schedule, but also develops a highly
collaborative environment that facilitates buy-in and support for your project.
In addition it will be difficult to incorporate rationalization into your project
unless you are working directly with the business or application owners.

Q: What tools do you recommend for a server consolidation or virtualization

project?

A: It's imperative to have a robust and comprehensive tool for capacity

planning, including historical data. This tool can be utilized in every phase of
your project. Other tools to support the project include modeling tools used
in test consolidation scenarios. Finally, you'll need to evaluate and document
tools and processes for each technology you wish to consolidate. The
migration tools will need to support all the platforms you wish to use in your
migration scenarios.
Q: What is the VMlibrary?

A: The VMlibrary (/vmlib) is simply a directory on your ESX Server that lets
you organize the tools and files you need to manage and maintain your
virtual infrastructure,

Q: Can ISOs be shared between ESX Servers?

A: If you place your VMlibrary on a LUN that's shared amongst your ESX
Servers, you can share your ISO images or anything else you place in your
VMlibrary.

Q: Why is Vmotion so cool?

A: Try itand then imagine the possibilities and applications. You'll be a

convert soon enough.

Q: You mentioned that additional ISVs were creating management

capabilities for virtual infrastructures in their products. Which ones?

A: Look at HP Insight Manager, Dell OpenManage, IBM Director, BMC's Patrol

product line, Computer Associates' Unicenter, and many others.
Q: I can't add a new virtual hard drive to my virtual machine. What should I
do?

A: You may not have the appropriate permissions to add virtual hardware to
the VM, or the VM may be powered on and won't allow the addition of virtual
hardware while powered on.
2) Q: I just created a new virtual machine and attached to an existing disk.
Every time I power on the VM, I get a blue screen. What could the problem
be?

A: Make sure the OS type that you selected when you created the VM
matches the OS type installed on the virtual disk. For example, if you
selected Windows 2003 Standard for the VM when you created it, but the
existing virtual disk has Windows 2000 Standard installed, you'll probably
encounter issues.

Q: I followed the directions for Active Directory authentication, and I still

can't log in using an account and password in AD. What should I do?

A: Check the time on your ESX Server and Active Directory and make sure
they're synced up. Kerberos is very sensitive to being out of sync and could
reject credentials if the time is not within specific limits. You can also review
the System event logs for clues.
Q: What is the most important aspect of deploying ESX Server and virtual
machines?

A: The ability to provide service at least as good as that which you had with
physical servers. With adherence to best practices, you should easily be able
to provide this and exceed it by a phenomenal degree.

Q: ISOs have been mentioned in several of the chapters. Why are they so
important?

A: Good administrators strive to never leave their chairs, cubes, or offices. If

they do, they may just run into a user (we're kidding, of course). Having a
library of ISOs can help you in this endeavor. In addition, they run a lot
faster than regular CDs.

Q: What will happen if I deploy systems management software on the ESX

Server itself?

A: If you're going to do this, make sure you allocate enough memory so that
the application doesn't impact the performance of your ESX Server and thus
your virtual machines. Also, use a system management package that is
supported and test your installation on your ESX Server thoroughly. If you
notice a degradation of performance, contact the systems management
software vendor. The major vendors have instructions and best practices for
deploying their products onto ESX Server.

Q: What is the most important best practice to follow?

A: The one that ensures your smooth evolution into a virtual infrastructure
education. Learn every aspect of a virtual environment to the best of your
ability. Be passionate about it and you'll reap the rewards. See the
recommended reading list, troll the VMware Web site regularly, as well as
other Web sites dedicated to virtualization such as p2v.net, vmguru.com, and
virtual-strategy.com.
Q: Which version of VMware ESX Server supports Boot from SAN?

A: ESX Server 2.5 supports Boot from SAN but has the following limitations:
ESX server had to be installed in boot from SAN mode, the HBA can only be
used by the Service Console, LUN masking should be used to restrict other
ESX servers from the boot LUN, the HBA of the boot LUN must be a QLogic
HBA, and the boot LUN must be the lowest numbered LUN controlled by the
storage processor.

Q: Where are log files for VMware ESX Server written to?

A: /var/logs/vmware

Q: What do you do if you forget the root password of the Service Console?

A: You will need to boot into single-user mode from the Service Console by
selecting linux from the LILO boot menu and appending -s to your boot
choice. This will boot the console into single-user mode and will allow you to
use the passwd command to change the root user password.

Q: Why do I still see processes for my virtual machine when running the ps
command on the Service Console even though my virtual machine is
powered down?

A: If there is still a virtual console session running for your VM, you will still
see processes associated with it for mouse, keyboard, and screen (MKS)
even though it is powered off.

Q: I accidently unmounted the VMFS volume on my ESX Server. How can I

re-mount the volume without re-booting

A: You can type mount t vmfs vmfs /vmfs

Q: What software is qualified for use with VMware 2.5.1?

A: Please see http://vmware.com/pdf/esx_backup_guide.pdf for an up-to-

date list of software that's compatible with ESX.

Q: What SANs are compatible with ESX Server?

A: Please see http://vmware.com/pdf/esx_SAN_guide.pdf for details on ESX-

to-SAN server compatibility.

Q: What are the certified backup tools for ESX?

A: Please see
http://vmware.com/support/esx25/doc/backup_tools_links.html.

Q: Can I back up my entire virtual machine from the Service Console?

A: Yes, but it is not advised. The console services should be left alone to
manage the entire virtual machine infrastructure. It's best that backups be
performed by separating the applications and data from the operating
systems because backups can become quite large very quickly. You should
consider a backup of the environments that change frequently (data and
applications) with an agent specifically designed to perform this function. A
backup of those virtual disks that change infrequently and need VMFS
formats should be backed up from the Service Console. These console-based
backups should be performed in a powered-down or suspended approach
(preferred), or a suspended environment using redo logs as an alternative.
All backups performed from a systems console mode must be restored in an
all-or-nothing approach. Recovery for a single file or directory can only be
accomplished via a backup agent or from a backup to a SAN environment
using a variety of different recovery/restoral techniques.
Q: I'm not able to connect to the Service Console over the network. What
could the issue be?

A: You may have allocated the Service Console NIC to the VMkernel. Use
vmkpcidivyi to reassign the NIC to the Service Console.

Q: I have a virtual machine that did not start up correctly, but now I can't
power it down from the MUI or Virtual Center. How can I get this VM to shut
down?

A: You can use the vmware-cmd utility to force a hard power down. The
following syntax should work:

vmware-cmd /path-to-vm/vm-directory/vm.vmx stop hard

Q: I find using commands to be very difficult. Why can't I use X Windows on

the Service Console?

A: You actually could run the X Windows system on the Service Console, but
it will eat up valuable resources that are needed by the system to manage all
the processes related to Virtualization. VMware specifically says not to run X
Windows on the Service Console. So, it's best to just buck up and deal with
it.

Q: Is there a way to mount the vmfs volumes if they accidentally get

unmounted without having to reboot?

A: Yes. You can run mountt vmfs vmfs /vmfs.

 3) Q: How do I check the speed and duplex setting of the Service Console NIC?
Also, how do I change it if needed?

A: You'll need to cat out the eth0.info file for your type of adapter. This file
can be found at /proc/net/type-of-nic/eth0.info. To give you an example, our
server has an Intel Pro 100 Nic for the Service Console, so for us to find the
speed and duplex information we would type: cat
/proc/net/PRO_LAN_Adapters/eth0.info.
Q: How long has Xen been around?

A: Since 2004, and they're located in Palo Alto, California. Hmmwhat other
virtualization company is in Palo Alto?

Q: What is a hypervisor?

A: In VMware parlance, it's the virtualization layer.

Q: Why did VMware limit its beta of ESX Server 3.0 to so few?

A: Good questionWe don't know, and we hope that VMware's future beta
programs are opened up to a larger audience.

Q: If I can't get a SAN, will local storage with a RAID device be sufficient?

A: Absolutely. You won't get some of the cooler tools like VMotion, but being
virtual on local storage is better than remaining physical.

What is Service Console?

The service console is developed based up on Redhat Linux Operating system, it is

used to manage the VMKernel

What are the basic commands to troubleshoot connectivity

between vSphere Client /vCenter to ESX server?
service mgmt-vmware restart (restarts host agent(vmware-hostd) on vmware esx
server)

service vmware-vpxa restrat (restarts Vcenter agent service)

service network restart (restarts management networks on ESX)

What is vCenter Agent?

VC agent is an agent installed on ESX server which enables communication between
VC and ESX server. This Agent will be installed on ESX/ESXi will be done when you
try to add the ESx host in Vcenter.

What is the command used to restart SSH, NTP & Vmware Web access?

Service sshd restart

Service ntpd restrat

Service vmware-webaccess restart

What are the types of Ports groups in ESX/ESXi?

There are 3 types of port groups in ESX

1.Service console port group

2.VMkernel Port group
3. Virtual machine port group

There are only 2 types of port group in ESXi

1. Vmkernel Port group

2.Virtual Machine Port group

What is VMKernel ?

VMWare Kernel is a Proprietary kernel of vmwareand is not based on any of the

flavors of Linux operating systems, .VMkernel requires an operating system to boot
and manage the kernel. A service console is being provided whenVMWare kernel is
booted. Only service console is based up on Redhat Linux OS not VMkernel.

What is the use of Service Console port ?

Service console port group required to manage the ESX server and it acts as the
management network for the ESX.Vcenter/Vsphere Client uses the service console
IP's to communicate with the ESX server.

What is the use of VMKernel Port ?

Vmkernel port is used by ESX/ESXi for vmotion, ISCSI & NFS communications. ESXi
uses Vmkernel as the management network since it don't have service console
built with it.

What is the use of Virtual Machine Port Group?

Virtual Machine port group is used by Virtual machine communication.

How Virtual Machine communicates to another servers in Network ?

All the Virtual Machines which are configured in VM Port Group are able to connect
to the other machines on the network. So this port group enables communication
between vSwitch and Physical Switch by the use of uplink (Physical NIC) associated
with the port group.

What is the default number of ports configured with the Virtual Switch?

When the time of Virtual switch created, Vswitch is created with 56 ports by
default. We can extend the no of ports by editing the vswitch properties.

What are the different types of Partitions in ESX server?

/ -root
Swap
/var
/Var/core
/opt
/home
/tmp

What are the security options available for ESX vswitch?

Promiscuous Mode - Reject

MAC Address changes - Accept
Forged Transmits - Accept

What is Promiscuous Mode ?

If the promiscuous mode set to Accept, all the communication is visible to all the
virtual machines, in other words all the packets are sent to all the ports on vSwitch.
It can be useful when you are running virtual machines with network sniffers to
capture packet in that network.

What is MAC Address changes?

All the virtual machines nics are provide with the MAC address at the time of
creation and it is stored in .VMX file. If the packet doesn't match with the MAC
address as same as in the .VMX file , it does not allow incoming traffic to the VM by
setting this option as reject.

If it is set as Accept,ESX accepts requests to change the effective MAC address to

other than the MAC address save din the .VMX file.

What is Forged Transmits ?

Which is same as the Mac Address changes setting but it worked for the outgoing
traffic but the MAC address changes setting is for incoming traffic.

What is a VLAN ?

A VLAN is the Virtual LAN which is used to broke down the Broadcast traffic into
many logical groups. Basically, one physical switch comprise of one broadcast
domain. VLAN used to separate the one broadcast domain into many small pieces
to separate the networks within the broadcast domain.

What are the types of VLAN tagging in Vsphere?

There are 3 types of VLAN tagging available in Vsphere.

1.Virtual Switch Tagging (VST)

2.External Switch Tagging (EST)
3.Virtual Guest Tagging (VGT)

What is VST , EST & VGT?

Please refer my blog post on VST , EST & VGT .

What are the Traffic Shaping policies available in the Vswitch?

Traffic shaping policies are disabled by default. There are 3 different traffic shaping
policy setting

Average Bandwidth
Peak Bandwidth
Burst Size

Average Bandwidth is defined in KBPS

Peak bandwidth is defined in KBPS
Burst Size is defined in Kilobytes

What are the Load balancing policies available in vswitch?

Route based on the originating virtual switch port ID

Route based on source MAC hash
Route based on IP hash

Route based on the originating virtual switch port ID - Chooses an uplink

based on the virtual port where the traffic entered the virtual switch. The traffic
will be always send with that same uplink until that particular uplink is failed and
failed over to another NIC.

Route based on source MAC hash - Choose an uplink based on a hash of the
source Ethernet MAC address.The traffic will be always send with that same uplink
until that particular uplink is failed and failed over to another NIC.

Route based on IP hash - Choose an uplink based on a hash of the source and
destination IP addresses of each packet.

What are the types for Network Failover Detection settings?

Link Status only

Beacon Probing

Link Status only - Relies solely on the link status provided by the network adapter.
This detects failures, such as cable pulls and physical switch power failures, but it
cannot detect configuration errors, such as a physical switch port being blocked by
spanning tree or misconfigured to the wrong VLAN or cable pulls on the other side
of a physical switch.

Beacon Probing - Sends out and listens for beacon probes Ethernet broadcast
frames sent by physical adapters to detect upstream network connection failures
on all physical Ethernet adapters in the team. In addition to link status, to
determine link failure. This detects many of the failures which are not detected by
Link Status.

What is the command to check the IP address along with the detailed
network cards assigned to the esx server?

Ifconfig -a

Output appears like this

====================================================
====================

lo Link encap:Local Loopback

 inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:9365 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:9365 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:8127714 (7.7 MiB) TX bytes:8127714 (7.7 MiB)

vmnic0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:0C:29:85:0D:76

UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:100772 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:5103 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:35475848 (33.8 MiB) TX bytes:402120 (392.6 KiB)
Interrupt:145

vmnic1 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:0C:29:85:0D:80

UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:105895 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:35894203 (34.2 MiB) TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)
Interrupt:129

vmnic2 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:0C:29:85:0D:8A

UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:105908 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:35895750 (34.2 MiB) TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)
Interrupt:137

vmnic3 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:0C:29:85:0D:94

 UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:105690 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:228 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:35883279 (34.2 MiB) TX bytes:13680 (13.3 KiB)
Interrupt:145

vswif0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:50:56:4D:69:D1

inet addr:192.168.0.75 Bcast:192.168.0.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:14893 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:2575 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:966513 (943.8 KiB) TX bytes:230028 (224.6 KiB)

vswif1 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:50:56:4F:45:B1

BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:11042 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:30 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:717158 (700.3 KiB) TX bytes:1260 (1.2 KiB)

====================================================
=====================

You can use "ip addr" command also to view the ip information

====================================================
=====================

[root@ESXTEST1 etc]# ip addr

1: lo: mtu 16436 qdisc noqueue
 link/loopback 00:00:00:00:00:00 brd 00:00:00:00:00:00
inet 127.0.0.1/8 scope host lo
2: vmnic0: mtu 1500 qdisc noop qlen 1000
link/ether 00:0c:29:85:0d:76 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
3: vmnic1: mtu 1500 qdisc noop qlen 1000
link/ether 00:0c:29:85:0d:80 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
4: vmnic2: mtu 1500 qdisc noop qlen 1000
link/ether 00:0c:29:85:0d:8a brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
5: vmnic3: mtu 1500 qdisc noop qlen 1000
link/ether 00:0c:29:85:0d:94 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
6: vswif0: mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast qlen 1000
link/ether 00:50:56:4d:69:d1 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
inet 192.168.0.75/24 brd 192.168.0.255 scope global vswif0
7: vswif1: mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast qlen 1000
link/ether 00:50:56:4f:45:b1 brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
9: vswif2: mtu 1500 qdisc pfifo_fast qlen 1000
link/ether 00:50:56:43:92:be brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff
inet 192.168.0.96/24 brd 192.168.0.255 scope global vswif2

====================================================
=====================

what is the command to check the ESX vswitch details, port group and its
ip address?

Esxcfg-vswitch -l
Outuput will appear like this:
====================================================
=====================
[root@ESXTEST1 ~]# esxcfg-vswitch -l
Switch Name Num Ports Used Ports Configured Ports MTU Uplinks
vSwitch0 32 4 32 1500 vmnic0

PortGroup Name VLAN ID Used Ports Uplinks

Service Console 0 1 vmnic0
VMkernel 0 1 vmnic0

Switch Name Num Ports Used Ports Configured Ports MTU Uplinks
vSwitch1 64 3 64 1500 vmnic2,vmnic1

PortGroup Name VLAN ID Used Ports Uplinks

VM-10.0.0 subnet 0 0 vmnic2,vmnic1
VM-192.168.0 subnet 0 0 vmnic2,vmnic1

Switch Name Num Ports Used Ports Configured Ports MTU Uplinks
vSwitch2 64 4 64 1500 vmnic3

PortGroup Name VLAN ID Used Ports Uplinks

Service Console 2 0 1 vmnic3
Vmotion 0 1 vmnic3
====================================================
=====================
From the above output,
we come to know that we have 3 virtual switches named vSwitch0,vSwitch1 and
vSwitch2.
4 uplinks (physical nics in our esx server) Vmnic0,vmnic1,vmnic2,vmnic3.
vswitch0 constains 2 port group (Service Console & VMKernel), vSwitch1 contains 2
virtual machine port group (VM-10.0.0 subnet & VM-192.168.0 subnet) and
Vswitch2 contains 2 port group (Service Console 2 & Vmotion) port group.

What is command to get the information about Service console ports and
its IP address assigned to it?
esxcfg-vswif -l

Output will appear like this:

====================================================
=====================
[root@ESXTEST1 ~]# esxcfg-vswif -l
Name Port Group/DVPort IP Family IP Address Netmask
Broadcast Enabled TYPE
vswif0 Service Console IPv4 192.168.0.75 255.255.255.0
192.168.0.255 true STATIC
vswif1 Service Console 2 IPv4 192.168.0.78
255.255.255.0 192.168.0.255 false STATIC
====================================================
=====================

what is the command to get the information about vmkernel ports and its
ip address?
esxcfg-vmknic -l

Output will appear like this:

====================================================
=====================
[root@ESXTEST1 ~]# esxcfg-vmknic -l
Interface Port Group/DVPort IP Family IP Address Netmask
Broadcast MAC Address MTU TSO MSS Enabled Type
vmk0 VMkernel IPv4 192.168.0.110
255.255.255.0 192.168.0.255 00:50:56:78:7e:73 1500 65535 true
STATIC
vmk1 Vmotion IPv4 192.168.0.77 255.255.255.0
192.168.0.255 00:50:56:76:42:df 1500 65535 true S
====================================================
=====================

what is the command to get the information about physical nics installed
on ESX server?
esxcfg-vmknic -l

Output will appear like this:

====================================================
=====================
[root@ESXTEST1 sbin]# esxcfg-nics -l
Name PCI Driver Link Speed Duplex MAC Address MTU
Description
vmnic0 02:00.00 e1000 Up 1000Mbps Full 00:0c:29:85:0d:76 1500 Intel
Corporation 82545EM Gigabit Ethernet Controller (Copper)
vmnic1 02:02.00 e1000 Up 1000Mbps Full 00:0c:29:85:0d:80 1500 Intel
Corporation 82545EM Gigabit Ethernet Controller (Copper)
vmnic2 02:03.00 e1000 Up 1000Mbps Full 00:0c:29:85:0d:8a 1500 Intel
Corporation 82545EM Gigabit Ethernet Controller (Copper)
vmnic3 02:04.00 e1000 Up 1000Mbps Full 00:0c:29:85:0d:94 1500 Intel
Corporation 82545EM Gigabit Ethernet Controller (Copper)
====================================================
====================
What is command to add the new virtual switch named (vswitch3) to our
ESX server?

[root@ESXTEST1 sbin]# esxcfg-vswitch -a vswitch3

Now vswitch3 is created without any port group.

====================================================
==================

Switch Name Num Ports Used Ports Configured Ports MTU Uplinks
vswitch3 64 1 64 1500

PortGroup Name VLAN ID Used Ports Uplinks

====================================================
====================

What is command to add the new port group named (mgmt)to vswitch
(vswitch 3) ?

[root@ESXTEST1 sbin]# esxcfg-vswitch -A mgmt vswitch3

now port group "mgmt" is added.

====================================================
=====================
Switch Name Num Ports Used Ports Configured Ports MTU Uplinks
vswitch3 64 1 64 1500

PortGroup Name VLAN ID Used Ports Uplinks

mgmt 0 0
====================================================
=====================

How to add the service console port (vswif2) to our newly created port
group "mgmt" with the ip addr 192.168.0.79 ?
[root@ESXTEST1 sbin]# esxcfg-vswif -a vswif2 -i 192.168.0.79 -n 255.255.255.0
-p "mgmt"

where i is the ip address, n is subnet mask p is to mentione the port group name
====================================================
=====================
vswif2 mgmt IPv4 192.168.0.79 255.255.255.0
192.168.0.255 true STATIC
====================================================
=====================

How to add the vmkernal port (vmk2) to our newly created port group
"mgmt" with the ip addr 192.168.0.83?

[root@ESXTEST1 sbin]# esxcfg-vmknic -a -i 192.168.0.83 -n 255.255.255.0 -p

"mgmt"

====================================================
=====================
vmk2 mgmt IPv4 192.168.0.83 255.255.255.0
192.168.0.255 00:50:56:7b:bd:36 1500 65535 true STATIC
====================================================
=====================

How to change the ip addresss of the existing service console "vswif2"?

nano /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-vswif2.

Edit the file with your new id address " 192.168.0.255" then save and exit.
====================================================
==
DEVICE=vswif2
HOTPLUG=yes
MACADDR=00:50:56:43:92:be
ONBOOT=yes
PORTGROUP=mgmt
BOOTPROTO=static
BROADCAST=192.168.0.255
DHCPV6C=no
IPADDR=192.168.0.96
IPV6INIT=no
IPV6_AUTOCONF=no
NETMASK=255.255.255.0
====================================================
==
restart the network service for ip change to take effect:

[root@ESXTEST1 sysconfig]# service network restart

Shutting down interface vswif0: [ OK ]
Shutting down interface vswif2: [ OK ]
Shutting down loopback interface: [ OK ]
Bringing up loopback interface: [ OK ]
Bringing up interface vswif0: [ OK ]

Another way is to connect to the console of the ESX server and at the shell prompt
type in :esxcfg-vswif -d vswif2

This will delete the existing vswif0 and it will give the message about "nothing to
flush".

then type the below command

esxcfg-vswif -a vswif2 -p mgmt -i 192.168.0.97 -n 255.255.255.0
====================================================
=====================
[root@ESXTEST1 etc]# esxcfg-vswif -d vswif2
Nothing to flush.
[root@ESXTEST1 etc]# esxcfg-vswif -a vswif2 -p mgmt -i 192.168.0.97 -n
255.255.255.0
[2011-09-17 19:35:46 'Vnic' warning] Generated New MAC address,
00:50:56:43:92:be for vswif2
Nothing to flush.
====================================================
=====================

How to change the ESX host name and default gateway?

edit the below file:

nano /etc/sysconfig/network
======================================
NETWORKING=yes
HOSTNAME=ESXTEST1.lab.com
GATEWAY=192.168.0.20
GATEWAYDEV=vswif0
IPV6_AUTOCONF=no
NETWORKING_IPV6=no
======================================
restart the network service for ip change to take effect:

[root@ESXTEST1 sysconfig]# service network restart

How to edit the ESX host file ?

nano /etc/hosts

Edit the file to make entry to your host file.

==========================================
127.0.0.1 localhost
::1 localhost
192.168.0.75 ESXTEST1.lab.com ESXTEST1
==========================================

How to edit the DNS entry of your ESX server?

nano /etc/resolv.conf

Edit the file to make changes or to make new entry of dns for your ESX server
========================
nameserver 192.168.0.20
search lab.com
=======================

what is the command to query the firewall ports ?

esxcfg-firewall - q

How to open the port in firewall (port no 8877, tcp, incoming , name:
test3 ?

esxcfg-firewall -o 8877,tcp,in,test3

Question #1 (Whiteboard & Marker Required)

Please draw on the whiteboard a high level drawing that details a cluster of 4 ESXi
hosts, connected to a vCenter, that has 20 VMs evenly balanced across the hosts.
There are 2 network switches (A & B) connected to vSwitches for data and
management vLans. The hosts are connected to 4-500GB shared storage LUNs that
are presented via fiber channel.

Note: Most qualified virtualization engineers will be able to draw something. If you
are recruiting to fill an engineering spot that will be representing your team, it is
important that they can whiteboard a high level design with confidence.

Question #2

Explain the process of P2V and the cleanup process that is required after Windows
Servers have been converted from a physical server into a VM.

Answers: Uninstall all no longer required applications for physical hardware, remove
hidden devices, and adjust drive sizes, memory and vCPUs. Install VMtools and set
screen resolution. Adjust OS swap file.

Question #3

A new type of SAN storage has been added to the environment to replace the old
SAN storage. After presenting the new datastores and migrating the VMs to them,
users report slower performance. What could need to be done to the VM file system
to fix this?

Answer: Run a block alignment which requires a reboot of the VM (this may not be
required on newer operating systems).

Question #4

You have a cluster of 8 ESXi hosts that require installation of a new security patch
that will require a reboot of each host. Explain how you would reboot each host
without impacting the VMs.

Answer: Place each host in maintenance mode, which will automatically vMotion the
VMs off, then install the patch and reboot the host. Once all is okay and the host is
back online, then remove the host from maintenance mode. Repeat the process on
the other 7 hosts.

Question #5

Describe how you would determine when additional ESXi hosts are required?
Explain how you determined this?

Answer: By setting thresholds and monitoring host memory and CPU utilization.

Question #6

How many ESXi hosts have you been responsible for managing in the last 3 years?
Ask about the challenges faced.
Answer: More than 30 ESXi hosts is best to provide them with enough hands-on
time to experience most of the common issues associated with virtual
infrastructures. ESXi Updates, storage, VMtools are common problems.

Question #7

How many P2Vs have you completed in the last 3 years? Ask about the issues they
had.

Answer: More than 25 P2Vs is best because each P2V is unique and develops
knowledge of workarounds important for future consolidation projects.

Question #8

How many VM gold templates have you created? Explain the process you used for
resetting any 3rd party applications such as antivirus and backup agents, or any
other application which requires a unique key.

Answer: Windows GUIDs are unique IDs that need to be reset or they will be
duplicated and cause issues. Also, it is important to sysprep each Windows Server
created.

Question #9

Do you have any experience with cloud automation scripting that leverages Amazon
AWS or other cloud computing provider APIs?

Note: Any experience in this area will be beneficial to longer term growth of your
environment.

Question #10

What are your recommendations for backing up VMs? Follow up question, what are
your recommendations for monitoring?

Note: These VMware technical interview questions will help you determine what 3rd
party applications they are familiar with and allow the candidate to show you if they
are passionate about the technology.

1.What is vMotion?Live migration of a virtual machine from one ESX server to

another with Zero downtime . VMs disk files stay where they are (on shared
storage)
2. What are the use cases of vMotion ?
Balance the load on ESX servers (DRS
Save power by shutting down ESX using DPM
Perform patching and maintenance on ESX server (Update Manager or
HW maintenance
3. What are Pre-requisites for the vMotion to Work?
ESX host must be licensed for VMotion
ESX servers must be configured with vMotion Enabled VMkernel Ports.
ESX servers must have compatible CPUs for the vMotion to work
ESX servers should have Shared storage (FB, iSCSI or NFS) and VMs
should be stored on that storage.
ESX servers should have exact similar network & network names
4. What are the Limitations of vMotion?
Virtual machines configured with the Raw Device Mapping(RDM) for
clustering features using vMotion
VM cannot be connected to a CD-ROM or floppy drive that is using an ISO
or floppy image stored on a drive that is local to the host server. The device
should be disconnected before initiating the vMotion.
Virtual Machine cannot be migrated with VMotion unless the destination
swapfile location is the same as the source swapfile location. As a best practice,
Place the virtual machine swap files with the virtual machine configuration file.
Virtual Machine affinity must not be set (aka, bound to physical CPUs).
5. Steps involved in VMWare vMotion ?
A request has been made that VM-1 should be migrated (or VMotioned)
from ESX A to ESX B.
VM-1s memory is pre-copied from ESX A to ESX B while ongoing changes
are written to a memory bitmap on ESX A.
VM-1 is quiesced on ESX A and VM-1s memory bitmap is copied to ESX B.
VM-1 is started on ESX B and all access to VM-1 is now directed to the copy
running on ESX B.
The rest of VM-1s memory is copied from ESX A all the while memory is
being read and written from VM-1 on ESX A when applications attempt to
access that memory on VM-1 on ESX B.
If the migration is successful, VM-1 is unregistered on ESX A.

1. VMWare Kernel is a Proprietary Kenral and is not based on any of the UNIX
operating systems, it's a kernel developed by VMWare Company.

2. The VMKernel can't boot it by itself, so that it takes the help of the 3rd party
operating system. In VMWare case the kernel is booted by RedHat Linux operating
system which is known as service console.

3. The service console is developed based up on Redhat Linux Operating system, it

is used to manage the VMKernel
4. To restart webaccess service on vmware
service vmware-webaccess restart this will restart apache tomcat app

5. To restart ssh service on vmware

service sshd restart

6. To restart host agent(vmware-hostd) on vmware esx server

service mgmt-vmware restart

7. Path for the struts-config.xml

/usr/lib/vmware/webAccess/tomcat/apache-tomcat-5.5.17/webapps/ui/WEB-INF/

8. To start the scripted install the command is

esx ks=nfs:111.222.333.444:/data/KS.config ksdevice=eth0
location device name

9. Virtual Network in Simple.

Virtual Nic(s) on Virtual Machine(s) ----->

Physical Nic on the ESX Server (Virtual Switch - 56 Ports) ----->

Physical Switch Port Should be trunked with all the VLANS to which the VM's need
access

All the ESX servers should be configured with Same number of Physical Nics
(vSwitches) and Connectivity also should be same, So that vMotion succeeds
All the Virtual Machines are connected to one vSwitch with Different VLANS, this
means the Physical Nic(vSwitch) needs to be trunked with the same VLANS on the
Physical Switch Port

10 What are the three port groups present in ESX server networking
1. Virtual Machine Port Group - Used for Virtual Machine Network
2. Service Console Port Group - Used for Service Console Communications
3. VMKernel Port Group - Used for VMotion, iSCSI, NFS Communications

11. What is the use of a Port Group?

The port group segregates the type of communication.
12. What are the type of communications which requires an IP address for
sure ?
Service Console and VMKernel (VMotion and iSCSI), these communications does
not happen without an ip address (Whether it is a single or dedicated)

13. In the ESX Server licensing features VMotion License is showing as Not
used, why?
Even though the license box is selected, it shows as "License Not Used" until,
you enable the VMotion option for specific vSwitch

14. How the Virtual Machineort group communication works ?

All the vm's which are configured in VM Port Group are able to connect to the
physical machines on the network. So this port group enables communication
between vSwitch and Physical Switch to connect vm's to Physical Machine's

15. What is a VLAN ?

A VLAN is a logical configuration on the switch port to segment the IP Traffic.
For this to happen, the port must be trunked with the correct VLAN ID.

Back to the top

16. Does the vSwitches support VLAN Tagging? Why?

Yes, The vSwitches support VLAN Tagging, otherwise if the virtual machines in
an esx host are connected to different VLANS, we need to install a separate
physical nic (vSwitch) for every VLAN. That is the reason vmware included the
VLANtagging for vSwitches. So every vSwitch supports upto 1016 ports, and BTW
they can support 1016 VLANS if needed, but an ESX server doesnt support that
many VMs. :)

17. What is Promiscuous Mode on vSwitch ? What happens if it sets to

Accept?
If the promiscuous mode set to Accept, all the communication is visible to all
the virtual machines, in other words all the packets are sent to all the ports on
vSwitch
If the promiscuous mode set to Reject, the packets are sent to inteded port, so
that the intended virtual machine was able to see the communication.

18. What is MAC address Changes ? What happens if it is set to Accept ?

When we create a virtual machine the configuration wizard generates a MAC
address for that machine, you can see it in the .vmx (VM Config) file. If it doesn't
matches with the MAC address in the OS this setting does not allow incoming traffic
to the VM. So by setting Reject Option both MAC addresses will be remains same,
and the incoming traffic will be allowed to the VM.

19. What is Forged Transmits ? What happens if it is set to Accept ?

When we create a virtual machine the configuration wizard generates a MAC
address for that machine, you can see it in the .vmx (VM Config) file. If it doesn't
matches with the MAC address in the OS this setting does not allow outgoing traffic
from the VM. So by setting Reject Option both MAC addresses will be remains
same, and the outgoing traffic will be allowed from the VM.

20. What are the core services of VC ?

VM provisioning , Task Scheduling and Event Logging

21. Can we do vMotion between two datacenters ? If possible how it will

be?
Yes we can do vMotion between two datacenters, but the mandatory requirement is
the VM should be powered off.

22. What is VC agent? and what service it is corresponded to? What are the
minimum req's for VC agent installation ?
VC agent is an agent installed on ESX server which enables communication between
VC and ESX server.
The daemon associated with it is called vmware-hostd , and the service which
corresponds to it is called as mgmt-vmware, in the event of VC agent failure just
restart the service by typing the following command at the service console

" service mgmt-vmware restart "

VC agent installed on the ESX server when we add it to the VC, so at the time of
installtion if you are getting an error like " VC Agent service failed to install ", check
the /Opt size whether it is sufficient or not.

23. How can you edit VI Client Settings and VC Server Settings ?
Click Edit Menu on VC and Select Client Settings to change VI settings
Click Administration Menu on VC and Select VC Management Server Configuration
to Change VC Settings

24. What are the files that make a Virtual Machine ?

.vmx - Virtual Machine Configuration File
.nvram - Virtual Machine BIOS
.vmdk - Virtual Machine Disk file
 .vswp - Virtual Machine Swap File
.vmsd - Virtual MAchine Snapshot Database
.vmsn - Virtual Machine Snapshot file
.vmss - Virtual Machine Suspended State file
.vmware.log - Current Log File
.vmware-#.log - Old Log file

25. What are the devices that can be added while the virtual Machine
running
In VI 3.5 we can add Hard Disk and NIC's while the machine running.

In vSphere 4.0 we can add Memory and Processor along with HDD and NIC's while
the machine running

26. How to set the time delay for BIOS screen for a Virtual Machine?
Right Click on VM, select edit settings, choose options tab and select boot option,
set the delay how much you want.

27. What is a template ?

We can convert a VM into Template, and it cannot be powered on once its changed
to template. This is used to quick provisioning of VM's.

23. What to do to customize the windows virtual machine clone,?

copy the sysprep files to Virtual center directory on the server, so that the wizard
will take the advantage of it.

24. What to do to customize the linux/unix virtual machine clone,?

VC itself includes the customization tools, as these operating systems are available
as open source.

25. Does cloning from template happens between two datacenters ?

Yes.. it can, if the template in one datacenter, we can deploy the vm from that
template in another datacenter without any problem.

Back to the top

26. What are the common issues with snapshots? What stops from taking a
snapshot and how to fix it ?
If you configure the VM with Mapped LUN's, then the snapshot failed. If it is
mapped as virtual then we can take a snapshot of it.
If you configure the VM with Mapped LUN's as physical, you need to remove it to
take a snapshot.

27. What are the settings that are taken into to consideration when we
initiate a snapshot ?
Virtual Machine Configuration (What hardware is attached to it)
State of the Virtual Machine Hard Disk file ( To revert back if needed)
State of the Virtual Machine Memory (if it is powered on)

28. What are the requirements for Converting a Physical machine to VM ?

An agent needs to be installed on the Physical machine
VI client needs to be installed with Converter Plug-in
A server to import/export virtual machines

29. What is VMWare consolidated backup ?

It is a backup framework, that supports 3rd party utilities to take backups of ESX
servers and Virtual Machines. Its not a backup service.

30. To open the guided consolidation tool, what are the user
requirements ?
The user must be member of administrator, The user should have "Logon as
service" privileges - To give a user these privileges,open local sec policy, select
Logon as service policy and add the user the user should have read access to AD to
send queries

- See more at: http://www.01world.in/p/vmware-admin-interview-

questions.html#sthash.yR8sE5GZ.dpuf

http://www.techiebird.com/vm1.htmlhttp://www.techiebird.com/vm1.html
http://hardeepsingh06.blogspot.in/2012/02/vmware-top-interview-questions-with.html

http://clickmore.in/40-top-vmware-interview-questions-answers/

http://wintual.wordpress.com/technologies/vmware/question-and-answers/vmware-interview-
questions-and-answers-vmotion/

http://www.slideshare.net/latifsiddiqui/30-
importantvirtualizationvmwareinterviewquestionswithanswers

http://www.vmwarearena.com/search/label/Video%20Tutorials

http://www.vmwarearena.com/2013/03/vmware-interview-questions-history-of.html

http://www.vmwarearena.com/2012/10/difference-between-vsphere-41-and.html

http://www.vmwarearena.com/2012/10/difference-between-esx-35-esx-40.html

http://www.vmwarearena.com/2012/08/vmware-interview-questions-answers.html

http://www.vmwarearena.com/2012/08/vmware-interview-questions-and-answers.html

http://www.vmwarearena.com/2012/07/vmware-interview-questions-and-answers_20.html

http://www.vmwarearena.com/2012/07/vmware-interview-questions-and-answers.html

http://www.vmwarearena.com/2012/07/vmware-interview-questions-svmotion.html

http://www.vmwarearena.com/2012/07/vmware-interview-questions-vmotion.html