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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