April 2008 archive

Top 10 things you must read about VMware Troubleshooting

  1. Top Support Issues and How to Solve Them – Batch 1 – A VMworld 2007 presentation on troubleshooting storage issues including multipathing, vmfs, SAN snapshots and VCB.
  2. Top Support Issues and How to Solve Them – Batch 2 – A VMworld 2007 presentation on troubleshooting issues with the service console, networking, VM snapshots, vmfs and extents.
  3. Tips for Troubleshooting ESX Server 3.x Faults – A VMworld 2007 presentation on troubleshooting ESX faults including hardware, host, VMM, Guest OS and application faults.
  4. Troubleshooting VMware Infrastructure 3 – A VMworld 2007 lab manual with troubleshooting tips for the networking, VirtualCenter, vMotion, Virtual Machine, DRS/HA and more.
  5. VI3 Advanced Diagnostics Logs Analysis – A VMworld 2007 presentation that provides in-depth detail on the ESX server logs and how to use them to troubleshoot problems.
  6. VI3 Networking – Advanced Configurations and Troubleshooting – A VMworld 2007 presentation on troubleshooting virtual NIC’s, switches and other networking functions.
  7. Using esxtop to troubleshoot performance problems – A VMware Tech Note on how to use the esxtop utility to troubleshoot performance problems.
  8. Troubleshooting Vmware ESX Server 3 and Vmware VirtualCenter 2 – A VMworld 2006 presentation with tips for troubleshooting ESX, VirtualCenter, Licensing Server, VC Database and vMotion.
  9. VirtualCenter 2 Diagnostics – A VMworld 2006 presentation covering how to troubleshoot problems with VirtualCenter.
  10. Performance Troubleshooting – A VMworld 2006 lab manual with detailed information on performance troubleshooting.
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Top 10 things you must read about VMware Storage

  1. SAN Configuration Guide – A big guide from VMware on SAN background, installation and management.
  2. SAN System Design and Deployment Guide – Another big guide from VMware on designing and deploying SAN environments to use with VI3.
  3. Design, Build and Manage your SAN Environment using VI3 – A VMworld 2007 presentation from VMware that discusses how VMware Infrastructure 3 can solve SAN management problems by providing solutions such as managing multiple hosts/clients from sprawling, multipathing management without the high cost and complexity, cluster file system for HA solutions, LUN security, and storage consolidation. This is a vendor neutral session providing topics for SAN architects and administrators ideas on ways to best deploy VMware Infrastructure 3 on SAN.
  4. NFS & iSCSI – Performance Characterization and Best Practices – A VMworld 2007 presentation from VMware that provides a performance-oriented overview of the technology along with performance troubleshooting techniques and best-practice recommendations in typical ESX Server deployment. Up-to-date performance data, a review of performance optimizations available currently and a preview of features in upcoming releases are also be presented.
  5. Choosing and Architecting Storage for your Environment – A VMworld 2006 presentation on selecting and architecting the right storage solution for your ESX environment.
  6. ESX Storage Virtualization Insights – A TSX 2007 presentation on the ESX storage stack, VMFS vs. RDM and multi-pathing.
  7. Network Appliance and VMware ESX Server 3.0 Storage Best Practices – A white paper from Netapp with general best practices and recommendations on using storage with ESX.
  8. iSCSI, NAS and IP Storage Configuration for Vmware ESX Server – A VMworld 2006 presentation on using iSCSI and NAS instead of a SAN with ESX.
  9. Comparison of Storage Protocol Performance – A VMware performance study comparing Fibre Channel, Hardware iSCSI, Software iSCSI and NFS.
  10. Configuring iSCSI in a Vmware 3 environment – A white paper from VMware on using and configuring iSCSI in your ESX environment.
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Top 10 things you must read about vCenter Server

  1. Bulletproof VirtualCenter – A VMworld 2007 presentation on properly configuring and protecting VirtualCenter so it has high availability.
  2. VirtualCenter Database Maintenance: SQL Server – A white paper from VMware on how to maintain the VirtualCenter database when using SQL Server.
  3. Running VirtualCenter in a Virtual Machine – A white paper from VMware discussing the advantages and limitations of running VirtualCenter as a VM.
  4. VirtualCenter Database Performance for Microsoft SQL Server 2005 – A white paper from VMware on performance statistic collections and there effect on the VirtualCenter database.
  5. VirtualCenter 2 Diagnostics – A VMworld 2006 presentation on troubleshooting problems with VirtualCenter.
  6. Managing Vmware VirtualCenter Roles & Permissions – A white paper from VMware on configuring roles and permissions in VirtualCenter.
  7. VirtualCenter 2.0 The Technical Insights – A VMware TSX 2007 presentation on the technical architecture of VirtualCenter.
  8. Template Usage and Best Practices – A white paper from VMware on creating, managing and using templates to deploy virtual machines.
  9. Replacing VirtualCenter Server Certificates – A technote from VMware on replacing the default certificates in VirtualCenter.
  10. VirtualCenter Technical Best practices – A document from VMware with technical details on VirtualCenter and vMotion.
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Top 10 things you must read about VMware Security

  1. VMware Infrastructure 3 Security Hardening – A white paper from VMware with tips on securing ESX servers, VirtualCenter and Virtual Machines.
  2. Security Design of the VMware Infrastructure 3 Architecture – A white paper from VMware describing the security architecture of VI3 including networking, storage, service console and the hypervisor.
  3. Security Hardening and Monitoring of VMware Infrastructure 3 – A VMworld 2007 lab manual that covers real-world examples of securing VI3.
  4. VMware ESX Server – Providing LUN Security – A white paper from VMware written in response to LUN security concerns that have been raised.
  5. CIS ESX Server 3.x Security Benchmark – Center for Internet Security (CIS) recommended guidelines for securing ESX servers.
  6. CIS Virtual Machine Security Benchmark – Center for Internet Security (CIS) recommended guidelines for securing Virtual Machines.
  7. Security Architecture Design and Hardening VI3 (VMworld 2007) – A VMworld 2007 presentation on the security design of VI3 and recommended hardening steps.
  8. VI3 Security Risk Assessment Template – A great document from Xtravirt to help assess and mitigate security risks with VI3.
  9. Security in a Virtualized Environment (VMworld 2007) – A VMworld 2007 presentation comparing physical to virtual security.
  10. Virtualization Security Playbook – A compilation of 8 good virtual security articles.
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