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2. How HA works?
VMware HA continuously monitors all servers in a resource pool and detects server failures. An agent placed on
each server maintains a “heartbeat” with the other servers in the resource pool and a loss of “heartbeat” initiates
the restart process of all affected virtual machines on other servers. VMware HA ensures that sufficient resources
are available in the resource pool at all times to be able to restart virtual machines on different physical servers in
the event of server failure. Restart of virtual machines is made possible by the Virtual Machine File System
(VMFS) clustered file system which gives multiple ESX Server instances read-write access to the same virtual
machine files, concurrently. VMware HA is easily configured for a resource pool through VirtualCenter.
Key Features of VMware HA
• Automatic detection of server failures. Automate the monitoring of physical server availability. HA detects server
failures and initiates the virtual machine restart without any human intervention.
• Resource checks. Ensure that capacity is always available in order to restart all virtual machines affected by
server failure. HA continuously monitors capacity utilization and “reserves” spare
capacity to be able to restart virtual machines.
• Automatic restart of virtual machines. Protect any application with automatic restart in a different physical server
in the resource pool.
• Intelligent choice of servers (when used with VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS)). Automate the
optimal placement of virtual machines restarted after server failure.
VMware HA Features
Using a cluster enabled for VMware HA provides the following features:
• Automatic failover is provided on ESX Server host hardware failure for all running virtual machines within the
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3. What is DRS?
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business organization. VMware DRS ensures that resource utilization is maximized while business units retain
control and autonomy of their infrastructure. Resource pools can be flexibly added, removed, or reorganized as
business needs or organization change.
• Priority Settings. Assign priorities in the form of shares or reservations to virtual machines within resource pools
and to sub resource pools to reflect business priorities. For example, the production sub resource pool can have
higher shares of the total resources in a cluster and business critical applications within the production resource
pool can have fixed guarantees(reservations) of CPU bandwidth and memory,
• Management of sets of virtual machines running a distributed application. Optimize the service level of
distributed applications by controlling the aggregate allocation of resources for the entire set of virtual machines
running the distributed application.
• Affinity Rules. Create rules that govern placement of virtual machines on physical servers. For example, a group
of virtual machines can be set to always run on the same server for performance reasons. Alternatively, certain
virtual machines can be set to always run on different servers to increase availability. New in vSphere 4.1 is the
ability to restrict placement of virtual machines to a group of physical servers in a cluster. This is useful for
controlling the mobility of virtual machines that run software licensed for a specific group of physical servers. In
addition, this feature can be used to keep sets of virtual machines on different racks or blade systems for
availability reasons.
• Power Management. Reduce energy consumption in the datacenter by using the Distributed Power
Management (DPM) feature of DRS to consolidate workloads and power off servers when they are not needed by
the virtual machines in the cluster. When resource requirements of virtual machines increase, DPM brings hosts
back online so service levels can be met.
• Manual and Automatic Mode. VMware DRS collects resource usage information from servers and virtual
machines, and then generates recommendations to optimize virtual machine allocation. These recommendations
can be executed automatically or manually.
o Initial placement. When a virtual machine is first powered on, VMware DRS either automatically places the
virtual machine on the most appropriate physical server or makes a recommendation.
o Continuous optimization. VMware DRS continuously optimizes resource allocations based on defined resource
allocation rules and resource utilization. The resource allocation changes can be automatically executed by
performing live migration of virtual machines through vMotion. Alternatively, in manual mode, VMware DRS
provides execution recommendations for system administrators.
• Maintenance mode for servers. Perform maintenance on physical servers without disruption to virtual machines
and end users. When a physical server is placed in maintenance mode, VMware DRS identifies alternative
servers where the virtual machines can run. Based on automation mode settings, the virtual machines are either
automatically moved to use the alternative servers, or the system administrator performs the move manually using
the VMware DRS recommendations as a guideline.
• Large-scale management. Manage CPU and memory across up to 32 servers and 1280 virtual machines per
DRS cluster.
4. What is vMotion?
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Live migration of a virtual machine from one physical server to another with VMware VMotion is enabled by three
underlying technologies.
First, the entire state of a virtual machine is encapsulated by a set of files stored on shared storage such as Fibre
Channel or iSCSI Storage Area Network (SAN) or Network Attached Storage (NAS). VMware vStorage VMFS
allows multiple installations of VMware ESX® to access the same virtual machine files concurrently.
Second, the active memory and precise execution state of the virtual machine is rapidly transferred over a high
speed network, allowing the virtual machine to instantaneously switch from running on the source ESX host to the
destination ESX host. VMotion keeps the transfer period imperceptible to users by keeping track of on-going
memory transactions in a bitmap.
Once the entire memory and system state has been copied over to the target ESX host, VMotion suspends the
source virtual machine, copies the bitmap to the target ESX host, and resumes the virtual machine on the target
ESX host. This entire process takes less than two seconds on a Gigabit Ethernet network.
Third, the networks being used by the virtual machine are also virtualized by the underlying ESX host, ensuring
that even after the migration, the virtual machine network identity and network connections are preserved.
VMotion manages the virtual MAC address as part of the process. Once the destination machine is activated,
VMotion pings the network router to ensure that it is aware of the new physical location of the virtual MAC
address.
Since the migration of a virtual machine with VMotion preserves the precise execution state, the network identity,
and the active network connections, the result is zero downtime and no disruption to users.
Reliability.
Proven by thousands of customers in production environments since 2004, VMotion continues to set the standard
for the most dependable live migration capabilities.
Performance.
Perform live migrations with downtime unnoticeable to the end users. Optimal use of CPU and network resources
ensures that the live migrations occur quickly and efficiently.
Interoperability.
Migrate virtual machines running any operating system across any type of hardware and storage supported by
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VMware ESX.
• Support for Fibre Channel SAN.
Implement live migration of virtual machines utilizing a wide range of up to 4GB Fibre Channel SAN storage
systems.
• NAS and iSCSI SAN support. Implement live migration of virtual machines with lower-cost,
more easily managed shared storage.
• Customizable CPU compatibility settings. Ensure that virtual machines can be migrated across different
versions of hardware. Enable virtual machines to benefit from the latest CPU innovations.
• New - Enhanced VMotion Compatibility. Live migrate virtual machines across different generations of
hardware. Migrate virtual machines from older servers to new ones without disruption or downtime.
Manageability
• Migration wizard.
Quickly identify the best destination for a virtual machine using real-time information provided by migration wizard.
• Multiple concurrent migrations.
Perform multiple concurrent migrations to continuously optimize virtual machine placement across the entire
IT environment.
• Priority levels.
Assign a priority to each live migration operation to ensure that the most important virtual machines always have
access to the resources they need.
• Scheduled migration tasks.
Automate migrations to happen at pre-defined times, and without an administrator’s presence.
• Migration audit trail.
Maintain a detailed record of migration operations, including date/time and the administrators responsible for
initiating them.
VMware Storage VMotion is a component of VMware vSphere™ that provides an intuitive interface for live
migration of virtual machine disk files within and across storage arrays with no downtime or disruption in service.
Storage VMotion relocates virtual machine disk files from one shared storage location to another shared storage
location with zero downtime, continuous service availability and complete transaction integrity. Storage VMotion
enables organizations to perform proactive storage migrations, simplify array migrations, improve virtual machine
storage performance and free up valuable storage capacity. Storage VMotion is fully integrated with VMware
vCenter Server to provide easy migration and monitoring.
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VMware Storage VMotion allows virtual machine storage disks to be relocated to different datastore locations with
no downtime, while being completely transparent to the virtual machine or the end user.
Before moving a virtual machines disk file, Storage VMotion moves the “home directory” of the virtual machine to
the new location. The home directory contains meta data about the virtual machine (configuration, swap and log
files). After relocating the home directory, Storage VMotion copies the contents of the entire virtual machine
storage disk file to the destination storage host, leveraging “changed block tracking” to maintain data integrity
during the migration process. Next, the software queries the changed block tracking module to determine what
regions of the disk were written to during the first iteration, and then performs a second iteration of copy, where
those regions that were changed during the first iteration copy (there can be several more iterations).
Once the process is complete, the virtual machine is quickly suspended and resumed so that it can begin using
the virtual machine home directory and disk file on the destination datastore location. Before VMware ESX allows
the virtual machine to start running again, the final changed regions of the source disk are copied over to the
destination and the source home and disks are removed.
This approach guarantees complete transactional integrity and is fast enough to be unnoticeable to the end user.
Interoperability.
Storage VMotion can migrate storage disk files for virtual machines running any operating system across any type
of hardware and storage supported by VMware ESX.
1) How we manage the licenses, i.e. timely updating licenses, briefly explain?
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2) If we found HA issue, what are steps we should follow to resolve the issues?
To troubleshoot HA errors:
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Note: Most of these troubleshooting steps are done on the ESX console.
1.Run this command to verify that host name is in lowercase and is fully qualified:
hostname
2.Run this command to verify that hostname is shortname only and is in lowercase:
hostname –s
3.Run this command to verify that the correct service console IP is displayed:
hostname –i
4.Verify that the host name in /etc/hosts is lowercase and both FQDN and shortname are present.
5.Verify that the search domain is present in the /etc/resolv.conf file and is in lowercase.
6.Verify that the host name in /etc/sysconfig/network is FQDN and is in lowercase.
7.Verify that the host name in the /etc/vmware/esx.conf file is FQDN and is in lowercase.
8.Verify that the system name returned by the uname -a command is in lowercase.
9.Verify that the host name is in your DNS server and is in lowercase. To do this, run these commands:
a.nslookup
b.nslookup
c.nslookup
10.Make sure the route for the service console is correct. To do this, from each host, ping the other hosts in the
environment.
11.Verify that all primary service consoles have the same name.
12.Verify that all primary service consoles are in the same IP subnet.
13.If the vmkernel port group of vMotion is on same vSwitch as primary Service Console port group, add
das.allowVmotionNetworks=1 to the advanced settings of
HA.
14.If the host has multiple service consoles, add das.allowNetwork0 to the Advanced HA Settings of the cluster to
ensure that only the primary service
console is allowed. For more information, see Incompatible HA Networks appearing when attempting to configure
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The host appears as not responding in the vCenter Server after a while.
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3) Redundancy between NICs in an ESX server & how many minimum NICs required for esx
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4) Minimum requirements for VMotion configure?
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5) How licenses calculated/purchased for VMware environment?
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6) What are the partitions of an ESX server?
Service Console Partitions and Sizes for Each ESX Server Host
/dev/sda (Primary)
N/A swap 1600 MB Change for maximum service console swap size
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/dev/sda (Extended)
/var ext3 4096 MB Create partition to avoid overfilling root with log files
/tmp ext3 1024 MB Create partition to avoid overfilling root with temporary files
/opt ext3 2048 MB Create partition to avoid overfilling root with VMware HA log files
/home ext3 1024 MB Create partition to avoid overfilling root with agent / user files
Free Space (Optional) Auto-configured and used for local VMFS-3 volume (needed for virtual machines running
Microsoft’s Clustering Software.
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7) Whether we need licenses for HA, DRS feature?
Yes,
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8) What should be the main reason for purple screen errors?
A Purple Screen of Death as seen in VMware ESX Server 3.0 In the event of a hardware error, the vmkernel can
'catch' a Machine Check Exception.This results
in an error message displayed on a purple console screen. This is colloquially known as a PSOD, or Purple
Screen of Death.
Upon displaying a PSOD, the vmkernel writes debug information to the core dump partition. This information,
together with the error codes displayed on the
PSOD can be used by VMware support to determine the cause of the problem.
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9) How to configure virtual switches & what is port-group & what is VLAN?
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10) Whether HA use VMotion or not?
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11) Whether DRS use VMotion or not?
yes
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12) What are processes & port numbers for virtual center, HA running in ESX?
80 – Required for direct HTTP connections. Port 80 redirects requests to HTTPS port 443.
443 - Listens for connections from the vSphere Client, vSphere Web Access Client, and other SDK clients. Open
port 443 in the firewall to enable the vCenter
Server system to receive data from the vSphere Client.
389 - This port is used for Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) services. Who says LDAP, says Active
Directory Services for the vCenter Server
group.
636 – SSL port of the local instance for vCenter Linked Mode. It’s the port of the local vCenter Server ADAM
Instance.
902 - Used to send data to managed hosts. To send data to your ESX or ESXi hosts. Also this port is used for
remote console access to virtual machines from
vSphere Client. This port must not be blocked by firewalls between the server and the hosts or between hosts.
60099 - Used to stream inventory object changes to SDK clients. Firewall rules for this port on the vCenter Server
can be set to block all, except from and
to localhosts if the clients are installed on the same host as the vCenter Server service.
--------Various services are installed when you deploy vCenter, in total 5 services are installed----------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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14) Explain the purpose of Redo log files?
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15) VM is not able to power off, how to trouble shoot d issues?
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To determine if you must use the command line, attempt to power off the virtual machine:
1.Connect VMware Infrastructure (VI) Client to the Virtual Center Server. Right-click on the virtual machine and
click Power off.
2.Connect VI Client directly to the ESX host. Right-click on the virtual machine and click Power off.
If this does not work, you must use the command line method.
Determining the virtual machine's state
1.Determine the host on which the virtual machine is running. This information is available in the virtual machine's
Summary tab when viewed in the VI Client
page.
2.Log in as root to the ESX host using an SSH client.
3.Run the following command to verify that the virtual machine is running on this host:
# vmware-cmd -l
The output of this command returns the full path to each virtual machine running on the ESX host. Verify that the
virtual machine is listed, and record the
full path for use in this process. For example:
# /vmfs/volumes///.vmx
4.Run the following command to determine the state in which the ESX host believes the virtual machine to be
operating:
# vmware-cmd getstate
If the output from this command is getstate() = on, the VirtualCenter Server may not be communicating with the
host properly. This issue must be addressed in
order to complete the shutdown process.
If the output from this command is getstate() = off, the ESX host may be unaware it is still running the virtual
machine. This article provides additional
assistance in addressing this issue.
Powering off the virtual machine while collecting diagnostic information using the vm-support script
Use the following procedure when you want to investigate the cause of the issue. This command attempts to
power off the virtual machine while collecting
diagnostic information. Perform these steps in order, as they are listed in order of potential impact to the system if
performed incorrectly.
# vm-support -x
2.Kill the virtual machine by using the following command in the home directory of the virtual machine:
# vm-support -X
Note: This command uses several different methods to stop the virtual machine. When attempting each method,
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# cat /proc/vmware/vm/*/names
# less -S /proc/vmware/vm/####/cpu/status
3.Scroll to the right with the arrow keys until you see the group field. It appears similar to:
Group
vm.####
4.Run the following command to shut the virtual machine down with the group ID:
# /usr/lib/vmware/bin/vmkload_app -k 9 ####
If the preceding steps fail, perform the following steps for an ESX 4.x host:
1.List all running virtual machines to find the vmxCartelID of the affected virtual machine with the command:
# /usr/lib/vmware/bin/vmdumper -l
2.Scroll through the list until you see your virtual machine's name. The output appears similar to:
3.Run the following command to shut the virtual machine down with the vmxCartelID:
# /usr/lib/vmware/bin/vmkload_app -k 9 ####
Powering off the virtual machine using the vmware-cmd command
This procedure uses the ESX command line tool, and attempts to gracefully power off the virtual machine. It works
if the virtual machine's process is running
properly and is accessible. If unsuccessful, the virtual machine's process may not be running properly and may
require further troubleshooting.
1.From the Service Console of the ESX host, run the following command:
vmware-cmd stop
Note: is the complete path to the configuration file, as determined in the previous section. To verify that it is
stopped, run the command:
# vmware-cmd getstate
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2.From the Service Console of the ESX host, run the command:
Note: is the complete path to the configuration file, as determined in the previous section. To verify that it is
stopped, run the command:
# vmware-cmd getstate
3.If the virtual machine is still inaccessible, proceed to the next section.
Using the ESX command line to kill the virtual machine
If the virtual machine does not power off using the steps in this article, it has likely lost control of its process. You
need to manually kill the process
at the command line.
Caution: This procedure is potentially hazardous to the ESX host. If you do not identify the appropriate process id
(PID), and kill the wrong process, it may
have unanticipated results. If you are not comfortable with the following procedure, contact VMware Technical
Support and open a Service Request. Please
refer to this article when you create the SR.
1.To determine if the virtual machine process is running on the ESX host, run the command:
The output of this command appears similar to the following if the .vmx process is running:
root 3093 0.0 0.3 2016 860 ? S< Jul30 0:17 /usr/lib/vmware/bin/vmkload_app /usr/lib/vmware/bin/vmware-vmx -
ssched.group=host/user -# name=VMware ESX Server;version=3.5.0;licensename=VMware ESX
Server;licenseversion=2.0 build-158874; -@ pipe=/tmp/vmhsdaemon-0/vmx569228e44baf49d1;
/vmfs/volumes/49392e30- 162037d0-17c6-001f29e9abec//.vmx
The process ID (PID) for this process is in bold. In this example, the PID is 3093. Take note of this number for use
in the following steps.
Caution: Ensure that you identify the line specific only to the virtual machine you are attempting to repair. If you
continue this process for another
virtual machine the one in question, you can cause downtime for the other virtual machine.
If the .vmx process is listed, it is possible that the virtual machine has lost control of the process and that it must
be stopped manually.
# kill
# kill -9
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16) Why we use two different ports for licenses, and what r those port No.?
27000 --- License transactions from ESX Server 3i to the license server (lmgrd.exe).|Outgoing TCP|
27010 --- License transactions from ESX Server 3i to the license server (vmwarelm.exe).|Outgoing TCP|
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17) VC server is not coming up, how to troubleshoot?
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18) Difference between ESX3.5 & 4.0?
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19) Briefly describe about update Manager, is it possible to update the powered off vms by update manager?
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20) Explain VMware Snapshot & what is d command to take a snapshot?
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21) Suppose we have 3 port groups configured in a single Vswitch (connected to single physical NIC of the esx
host) with 3 different VLANs so how d VMs from
one VLAN will communicate to another VM of different VLAN?
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22) What is d command to list all the running VMs & registered VMs?
Run the vm-support -x command to show which virtual machines are currently running on the ESX host.
Run the vmware-cmd -l command to display the names of the virtual machines registered on this host.
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23) What is d command to list d HBAs?
esxcfg-scsidevs -A (-A|--hba-device-list Print a mapping between HBAs and the devices it provides paths to.)
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24) What r d P2V conversion processes/tools available, how we can perform d P2V of a Linux server with d help
of CLI commands (in case no specific tools
available)?
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Converter server to Source computer 445, 139, 9089, 9090 137, 138 If the source computer uses NetBIOS, port
445 is not required. If NetBIOS is not being
used, ports 137, 138, and 139 are not required. If in doubt, make sure that none of the ports are blocked.
Note: Unless you have installed Converter server to the source computer, the account used for authentication to
the source computer must have a password, the
source computer must have network file sharing enabled, and it cannot be using Simple File Sharing.
Converter server to VirtualCenter 443 Only required if the conversion target is VirtualCenter.
Converter client to Converter server 443 Only required if a custom installation was performed and the Converter
server and client portions are on different
computers.
Source computer to ESX 443, 902 If the conversion target is VirtualCenter then only port 902 is required.
Converter server to Fileshare path 445, 139 137, 138 This is only required for standalone virtual machine sources
or destinations.
If the computer hosting the source or destination path uses NetBIOS, port 445 is not required. If NetBIOS is not
being used, ports 137, 138, and 139 are not
required. If in doubt, make sure that none of the ports are blocked.
Converter client to Converter server 443 Only required if a custom installation was performed and the Converter
server and client portions are on different
computers.
Converter server to VirtualCenter 443 Only required if the target is VirtualCenter.
Converter server to ESX 443, 902 If the conversion target is VirtualCenter, only port 902 is required.
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25) What is d command to check d status of a VM?
vmware-cmd getstate
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For example:
vmware-vim-cmd vmsvc/power.getstate 160
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26) What is d command to rescan the HBAs?
esxcfg-rescan
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27) How to find the world ID of a particular VM and what is d VMware proprietary command to kill the same?
vm-support -x
esxcli vms vm list
List all running virtual machines on the system to see the World ID of the virtual machine you want to
stop.
esxcli vms vm list
The command supports three --type options. Try the types sequentially (soft before hard, hard before
force). The following types are supported through the --type option:
. soft – Gives the VMX process a chance to shut down cleanly (like kill or kill -SIGTERM)
. hard – Stops the VMX process immediately (like kill -9 or kill -SIGKILL)
. force – Stops the VMX process when other options do not work.
If all three options do not work, reboot your ESX/ESXi host to resolve the issue.
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28) what is d command to add a route in esx to communicate to different network segment?
#route add -net 142.121.56.0 netmask 255.255.254.0 gw 224.58.175.1 Add the following line to /etc/rc.local so
that route is set on boot:
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#/sbin/route add -net 142.121.56.0 netmask 255.255.254.0 gw 224.58.175.1 To ensure the route holds on reboot,
create an executable file.
#vi routes
##! /bin/bash # case "$1" in 'start') echo "Adding additional routes... "
/sbin/route add -net 172.31.3.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 gw 172.31.8.1; echo ;; *) echo "Usage: $0 { start }" ;; esac
#ln /etc/init.d/routes
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•ESX Host – 8GB RAM -> Default allocated Service Console RAM = 300MB
•ESX Host – 16GB RAM -> Default allocated Service Console RAM = 400MB
•ESX Host – 32GB RAM -> Default allocated Service Console RAM = 500MB
•ESX Host – 64GB RAM -> Default allocated Service Console RAM = 602MB
•ESX Host – 96GB RAM -> Default allocated Service Console RAM = 661MB
•ESX Host – 128GB RAM -> Default allocated Service Console RAM = 703MB
•ESX Host – 256GB RAM -> Default allocated Service Console RAM = 800MB
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cp /etc/vmware/esx.conf /etc/vmware/esx.conf.old
cp /boot/grub/grub.conf /boot/grub/grub.conf.old
/bin/sed -i -e ‘s/272/800/’ /etc/vmware/esx.conf
/bin/sed -i -e ‘s/512/800/’ /etc/vmware/esx.conf
/bin/sed -i -e ‘s/272M/800M/’ /boot/grub/grub.conf
/bin/sed -i -e ‘s/512M/800M/’ /boot/grub/grub.conf
/bin/sed -i -e ‘s/277504/818176/’ /boot/grub/grub.conf
/bin/sed -i -e ‘s/523264/818176/’ /boot/grub/grub.conf
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ESX 4.x 8000 TCP ESX/ESXi Host (VM Target) TO ESX/ESXi Host (VM Source) VMotion Communication on
VMKernel Interface
ESX 4.x 8000 TCP ESX/ESXi Host (VM Source) TO ESX/ESXi Host (VM Target) VMotion Communication on
VMKernel Interface
ESXi 4.x 8000 TCP ESX/ESXi Host (VM Target) TO ESX/ESXi Host (VM Source) VMotion Communication on
VMkernel Interface
ESXi 4.x 8000 TCP ESX/ESXi Host (VM Source) TO ESX/ESXi Host (VM Target) VMotion Communication on
VMkernel Interface
Converter 4.x 22 TCP Helper Virtual Machine Source Computer to be converted Required for conversion of Linux-
based source computers (data flows from source
to VM)
Converter 4.x 22 TCP vCenter Converter Server Source Computer to be converted Required for conversion of
Linux-based source computers
Converter 4.x 137 UDP vCenter Converter Server Source Computer to be converted For hot migration. Not
required if the source computer does not use NetBIOS
Converter 4.x 138 UDP vCenter Converter Server Source Computer to be converted For hot migration. Not
required if the source computer does not use NetBIOS
Converter 4.x 139 TCP vCenter Converter Server Source Computer to be converted For hot migration. Not
required if the source computer does not use NetBIOS
Converter 4.x 443 TCP vCenter Converter Client vCenter Converter Server Only required if the Converter Client
and Converter Server were installed on
different systems
Converter 4.x 443 TCP Source Computer to be converted ESX/ESXi Host Required for destination VM access
when target is ESX/ESXi/vCenter
Converter 4.x 443 TCP Source Computer to be converted vCenter Server Required if vCenter Server is the
conversion target
Converter 4.x 443 TCP vCenter Converter Server vCenter Server Required if vCenter Server is the conversion
target
Converter 4.x 443 TCP vCenter Converter Server ESX/ESXi Host Required for system conversion
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Converter 4.x 443 TCP vCenter Converter Server Helper Virtual Machine Required for conversion of Linux-based
source computers
Converter 4.x 445 TCP vCenter Converter Server Source Computer to be converted Required for system
conversion. Not required if the source computer uses
NetBIOS
Converter 4.x 902 TCP Source Computer to be converted ESX/ESXi Host Required for data transport during
cloning of system to be converted to target ESX/ESXi
Host
Converter 4.x 9089, 9090 TCP vCenter Converter Server Source Computer to be converted Required for system
conversion. Remote agent deployment
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32) How to create Vmkcore partition after the esx build?
using parted we can create vmkcore partition if there is free space availabe else first free up about 100MB space
on disk by resizing the root or any other
partion on the disk and then create new vmkcore partion with fc filesystem and reboot the host.
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33) What r d agents will install, after adding an esx in VC server?
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34) What r d port No. for VMware management service?
8080, 8443 VMware vCenter 4 Management Web Services - HTTP and HTTPS
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35) What is d max No of VMs can run per host?
320
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36) What r all d files going to b create after a vm build?
.vmx, .vmfx, .vmsd, .vmdk (when start 3 more files are created --- .log, vswp, .nvram)
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37) What r d location of VC server log files?
C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\Logs
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38) What r d necessary log files in ESX server?
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1) Vmkernel
a. Location: /var/log/
b. Filename: vmkernel
c. This log records information related to the vmkernel and virtual machines
2) Vmkernel Warnings
a. Location: /var/log/
b. Filename: vmkwarning
3) Vmkernel Summary
a. Location: /var/log/
b. Filename: vmksummary
c. This log records information used to determine uptime and availability statistics for ESX Server. This log is not
easily readable by humans, import
into a spreadsheet or database for use.
a. Location: /var/log
b. Filename: boot.log
c. Log file of all actions that occurred during the ESX server boot.
a. Location: /var/log/vmware/
b. Filename: hostd.log
c. Contains information on the agent that manages and configures the ESX Server host and its virtual machines
(Search the file date/time stamps to find
the log file it is currently outputting to).
6) Service Console
a. Location: /var/log/
b. Filename: messages
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c. Contain all general log messages used to troubleshoot virtual machines on ESX Server.
7) Web Access
a. Location: /var/log/vmware/webAccess
8) Authentication Log
a. Location: /var/log/
b. Filename: secure
c. Contains the records of connections that require authentication, such as VMware daemons and actions initiated
by the xinetd daemon.
a. Location: /var/log/vmware/aam/
b. Filename: aam_config_util_*.log
c. These files contain information about the installation, configuration, and connections to other HA agents in the
cluster.
a. Location: /var/log/vmware/vpx
b. Filename: vpxa.log
c. Contains information on the agent that communicates with the VirtualCenter Server.
a. Location: The same directory as the virtual machine’s configuration files are placed in.
b. FileName: vmware.log
1) The following install logs are located in the %TEMP% directory of the user that installed VirtualCenter
a. vmlic.log i. Contains various test results for provided license file during the installation.
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h. vmmsi.log i. The VI client installation log. Vpxd-0.log is a small log from the starting the client the first time.
1) Location:
3) Logs rotate each time vpxd is started, and also when it reaches 5 MB in size
VI Client Logs
3) Logs rotate each time VI Client is started, and is should be used for client-specific diagnostics
Miscellaneous Logs
1) Core Dump
a. Location: %SystemRoot%\Temp
b. Filename: lmgrd.log i. This file is overwritten each time the service starts
c. This file contains various information about the license file and server.
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esx-console logs
sysboot-vmkernel-boot.log , sysboot-dmesg-boot.log, sysboot-vmkernel-late.log, sysboot-dmesg-late.og,
sysboot.log
cd /vmfs/volumes/ESX-Storage-94-1/esxconsole-4c44398f-4238-b888-226e-001e0bcd236a/logs/
Core-dump location
cd vmfs/volumes/ESX-Storage-94-1/esxconsole-4c44398f-4238-b888-226e-001e0bcd236a/core-dumps
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39) What is ESXTOP command and how to use this command (with all the fields/options)?
^L - redraw screen
space - update display
h or ? - help; show this text
q - quit
Sort by:
U:%USED R:%RDY N:GID
Switch display:
c:cpu i:interrupt m:memory n:network
d:disk adapter u:disk device v:disk VM p:power mgmt
9:26:17pm up 9 days 45 min, 149 worlds; CPU load average: 0.02, 0.06, 0.06
PCPU USED(%): 2.5 32 38 0.3 19 0.5 0.3 0.4 2.2 57 0.0 0.0 0.3 24 0.3 50 AVG: 14
PCPU UTIL(%): 3.4 34 41 0.5 26 1.0 0.7 0.7 2.7 65 0.2 0.2 0.6 29 0.6 60 AVG: 16
CCPU(%): 0 us, 2 sy, 97 id, 0 wa ; cs/sec: 108
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ID GID NAME NWLD %USED %RUN %SYS %WAIT %RDY %IDLE %OVRLP %CSTP %MLMTD %SWPWT
1 1 idle 16 1351.56 1497.67 0.00 0.00 122.22 0.00 0.94 0.00 0.00 0.00
59 59 Ubuntu 7 229.64 264.45 0.00 441.37 0.02 138.50 0.79 0.00 0.00 0.00
11 11 console 1 1.65 2.66 0.03 98.24 0.07 98.23 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00
60 60 VMVXP-1 5 1.08 1.56 0.00 500.00 0.10 199.79 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00
7 7 helper 77 0.04 0.05 0.00 7700.00 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
8 8 drivers 10 0.01 0.01 0.00 1000.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
56 56 vmkiscsid.4303 2 0.01 0.01 0.00 200.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
49 49 storageRM.4292 1 0.00 0.00 0.00 100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
19 19 vmkapimod 9 0.00 0.00 0.00 900.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
2 2 system 7 0.00 0.00 0.00 700.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
9 9 vmotion 4 0.00 0.00 0.00 400.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
47 47 FT 1 0.00 0.00 0.00 100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
48 48 vobd.4291 6 0.00 0.00 0.00 600.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
52 52 net-cdp.4300 1 0.00 0.00 0.00 100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
53 53 net-lbt.4301 1 0.00 0.00 0.00 100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
57 57 vmware-vmkauthd 1 0.00 0.00 0.00 100.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
The following optional switches, relevant to esxtop in batch mode, can be used:
a Shows all statistics and not what is specified in the default configuration file, if it exists.
b Runs esxtop in batch mode.
c Loads a user-defined configuration file instead of the ~/.esxtop310rc default.
d Specifies the delay between statistics updates; the default is 5 seconds and the minimum is 2.
n Specified the number of statistics updates to capture before exiting.
For example, the following command would run esxtop in batch mode, updating all statistics to the file
perfstats.csv every 10 seconds for 360 iterations (a
total of 60 minutes) before exiting:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40) What is d location of esx dump file and how to read it?
Core-dump location
cd vmfs/volumes/ESX-Storage-94-1/esxconsole-4c44398f-4238-b888-226e-001e0bcd236a/core-dumps
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41) What id d location of the license file (*.LIC) in VC server and ESX server?
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42) What is d command to check the VMFS version and ESX version?
vmkfstools -P storageN
vmware -v and
vimsh -n -e 'hostsvc/hostsummary' | grep fullName OR
cat /proc/vmware/version
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44) What is d command to clone a VM?
# vmkfstools -i /vmfs/volumes/Datastore04/rhel5_test_template/rhel5_test_template.vmdk
/vmfs/volumes/Datastore04/rhel5_test_clone/rhel5_test_clone.vmdk
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45) What is d command to check all d virtual switch configuration details?
In the Link column, Up indicates that the network adapter is available and functioning.
2.List the current virtual switches with the command:
In the example output, there exists a virtual machine network named VM Network with no Service Console
portgroup. For illustration, the proceeding steps show
you how to create a new virtual switch and place the service console port group on it.
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Because there is a space in the name (Service Console), you must enclose it in quotation marks.
Note: To create Service Consoles one at time, you may need to delete all previous settings. For more information,
see Recreating Service Console Networking
from the command line (1000266).
8.Create the vswif (Service Console) interface. For example, run the command:
Nothing to flush.
[root@esx]# esxcfg-vswif –l
Name Port Group IP Address Netmask Broadcast Enabled DHCP
v swif0 Service Console 192.168.1.10 255.255.255.0 192.168.1.255 true false
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46) What is d command to upgrade the FS fromVMFS2 to VMFS3?
The first thing that you will need to do to perform the upgrade is log into the ESX 3 host as root. Once logged in
then you need to unload the ESX 3 VMFS
drivers that are currently loaded. The unloading of the VMFS drivers is for both VMFS 2 and VMFS 3. To perform
this you need to run the commands below.
vmkload_mod -u vmfs2
vmkload_mod -u vmfs3
You then need to load a specific driver for ESX3 that is called the "ESX3 Auxiliary FS driver". The command
below that loads this driver also includes the
switch to enable the upgrade mode contained within the driver.
The next step is to perform the upgrade on the VMFS2 volume. To do this, you need to make sure that there are
no other hosts accessing the volume. This is
very important, as it will go pear shaped quickly if other servers try to access the volume during the upgrade
process.
vmkfstools -T /vmfs/volumes/
Once the upgrade is completed, you need to check and confirm that the volume is vmfs3. You can do this by
running the following command which is once again
another vmkfstools command.
vmkfstools -P /vmfs/volumes/
You should also confirm that all your files are ok by checking the file system. The commonly used list command
for file systems at the service console is "ls
-l". If you have any more volumes to upgrade you may rinse and repeat the steps above until they are all done.
Once all your volumes are upgraded you do
need to unload the "auxiliary driver" that we loaded before and reload the normal VMFS drivers. Two ways of
doing this, one is to reboot and the other is to
run the commands below.
vmkload_mod -u fsaux
vmkload_mod vmfs2
vmkload_mod vmfs3
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47) What is RDM and what r all d File Systems (FS) it supports?
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48) What is SRM and how it works?
VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager delivers advanced capabilities for disaster recovery management, non-
disruptive testing and automated failover. VMware
vCenter Site Recovery Manager can manage failover from production datacenters to disaster recovery sites, as
well as failover between two sites with active
workloads. Multiple sites can even recover into a single shared recovery site. Site Recovery Manager can also
help with planned datacenter failovers such as
datacenter migrations.
. Create and manage recovery plans directly from VMware vCenter Server.
. Discover and display virtual machines protected by storage replication using integrations certified by storage
vendors.
. Extend recovery plans with custom scripts.
. Monitor availability of remote site and alert users of possible site failures.
. Store, view and export results of test and failover execution from VMware vCenter Server.
. Control access to recovery plans with granular role-based access controls.
. Leverage iSCSI, FibreChannel, or NFS-based storage replication solutions.
. Recover multiple sites into a single shared recovery site.
. Take advantage of the latest features and technologies included in VMware vSphere.
Non-Disruptive Testing
. Use storage snapshot capabilities to perform recovery tests without losing replicated data.
. Connect virtual machines to an existing isolated network for testing purposes.
. Automate execution of tests of recovery plans.
. Customize execution of recovery plans for testing scenarios.
. Automate cleanup of testing environments after completing tests.
Automated Failover
. Initiate recovery plan execution from VMware vCenter Server with a single button.
. Automate promotion of replicated datastores for recovery using adapters created by leading storage vendors for
their replication platforms.
. Execute user-defined scripts and pauses during recovery.
. Reconfigure virtual machines’ IP addresses to match network configuration at failover site.
. Manage and monitor execution of recovery plans within VMware vCenter Server.
. Protect more of your environment with added support for NFS storage replication.
. Set up many-to-one failover using shared recovery sites.
. Leverage new features in vSphere.
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49) What is d series of H/W (virtual) used for VM’s virtual mother mother/main board?
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50) What r d date store path selections & what r d options available for network load balancing?
You can display information about paths by running vicfg-mpath with one of the following options:
. List all devices with their corresponding paths, state of the path, adapter type, and other information.
vicfg-mpath --list-paths
. Display a short listing of all paths.
vicfg-mpath --list-compact
. List all paths with adapter and device mappings.
vicfg-mpath --list-map
For each storage device managed by NMP (not PowerPath), an ESX/ESXi host uses a path selection policy. By
default, VMware supports the following path selection policies. If you have a third‐party PSP installed on your
host, its policy also appears on the list. The following path policies are supported by default:
Policy Description
VMW_PSP_FIXED The host always uses the preferred path to the disk when that path is available. If the host
cannot access the disk through the preferred path, it tries the alternative paths. If you use the
VMW_PSP_FIXED policy, use esxcli nmp fixed to set or get the preferred path
VMW_PSP_FIXED_AP Extends the VMW_PSP_FIXED functionality to active‐passive and ALUA mode arrays.
VMW_PSP_MRU The host uses a path to the disk until the path becomes unavailable. When the path becomes
unavailable, the host selects one of the alternative paths. The host does not revert back to the
original path when that path becomes available again. There is no preferred path setting with
the MRU policy. MRU is the default policy for active‐passive storage devices and is required
for those devices.
VMW_PSP_RR The host uses an automatic path selection algorithm rotating through all available paths. This
algorithm implements load balancing across all the available physical paths. Load balancing
is the process of spreading server I/O requests across all available host paths. The goal is to
optimize performance in terms of throughput (I/O per second, megabytes per second, or
response times).
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