- Putty and SSH Plug-in – SSH clients for remotely connecting to the ESX service console. Putty runs as a standalone application and the SSH Plug-in is a VI client plug-in that integrates an SSH console directly into the client.
- WinSCP and Veeam FastSCP – SCP clients for browsing ESX server file systems and transferring files to/from ESX hosts.
- VI3 SnapHunter and SnapAlert – Utilities that can report all running snapshots on ESX hosts including name, size and date. Can also automatically email reports and optionally commit snapshots.
- VI Scripted Backup Utility – A backup utility that is run from the Service Console that provides VMDK level backups of any VM on storage accessible by the host. The script can be targeted at any ESX server or VC server, and if pointed at a VC server is DRS aware.
- MCS StorageView – A utility that displays all the logical partitions, operating system, capacity, free space and percent free of all virtual machines on ESX 3.x or Virtual Center 2.x. It can also display how many gigabytes you can save by decreasing the logical partition to a size the VM really needs.
- Storage VMotion Plug-in – A VI client plug-in that extends the client’s functionality by providing an integrated, graphical tool that can be used to invoke storage VMotion (SVMotion) operations.
- VMotion Info – A program that will collect Vendor, Model, CPU Types and the CPU feature bits from all hosts to check for vMotion compatibility.
- VMCdConnected – Scans all Virtual Machines and shows if they have a CD connected to it. After scanning the VM’s you can disconnect all the CD’s with a click of a button.
- VMware Converter – Performs hot and cold conversions of physical and virtual servers to virtual machines. Also converts image formats.
- Tripwire ConfigCheck – Quickly assesses the security of VMware ESX 3.5 hypervisor configurations compared to the VI3 Security Hardening guidelines. Ensures that ESX environments are properly configured and provides the necessary steps towards full remediation when they are not.
Category: Top 10 List
Jun 27 2008
Top 10 Free Tools that must be in every VMware Administrators toolkit
Jun 26 2008
Top 10 things you must read to get more technical with VI3
- The Role of Memory in VMware ESX Server 3 – A white paper from VMware that describes the advanced memory management features of ESX.
- Understanding Performance in a Virtualized Environment – A VMworld 2007 presentation on understanding virtulization performance and overhead as well as dispelling common myths.
- ESX Server CPU Scheduling – A VMworld 2007 presentation that provides an in-depth look at the sophisticated ESX Server CPU scheduler. It also covers some of the most common performance related issues with single- and multi-processor VMs with specific hints for how to deal with them.
- VMware Infrastructure 3 in a Cisco Network Environment – A document that is a collaboration between Cisco and VMware. It documents a set of suggested best practices for deploying VMware Infrastructure (VI) 3.x and VMware ESX Server 3.x in a Cisco network environment. The document provides details regarding the internal constructs of the ESX Server and their relation to external Cisco network devices are discussed.
- Resource Management Guide – A manual from Vmware that discusses resource management for VI3 environments. Its focus is on the following major topics: Resource allocation and resource management concepts, virtual machine attributes and admission control, Resource pools, Clusters, Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS), High Availability (HA), advanced resource management options and performance considerations.
- SAN Configuration Guide – A guide from VMware that explains how to use an ESX Server system with a Storage Area Network (SAN). It also discusses conceptual background, installation requirements, and management information.
- Understanding “Host” and “Guest” Memory Usage – A VMworld 2007 presentation that defines the “host” and “guest” memory terms and answer some common questions related to them. It also discusses a variety of memory management concepts, such as virtual memory, large page support, memory pressure, and memory reclamation techniques and also provides some best practices around memory management.
- Timekeeping in VMware virtual machines – A white paper from VMware that describes how timekeeping hardware works in physical machines, how typical guest operating systems use this hardware to keep time, and how VMware products virtualize the hardware. The paper also describes several known timekeeping issues you may encounter and how to correct or work around them.
- 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.
- VMware Virtual Machine File System: Technical Overview and Best Practices – A white paper from VMware that gives a technology overview of VMFS, including a discussion of features and their benefits. It also provides best practices and architectural considerations for deployment of VMFS.
Jun 17 2008
Top 10 things you must read if you are new to VMware
- VMware Infrastructure 3 architecture – A white paper from VMware that provides a general overview of the VI3 architecture and features.
- VMware Infrastructure 3: Pricing, Packaging and Licensing Overview – A white paper from VMware that describes the all of VI3 feature, licensing and pricing models that are available.
- Introduction to VMware Infrastructure – A manual from VMware that provides information about the features and functionality of VI3.
- Tips and Tricks for Implementing Infrastructure Services on ESX Server – A white paper from VMware that provide advice on leveraging key features of VMware Infrastructure for deployment of infrastructure services for system administrators who are new to VMware Virtual Infrastructure.
- Configuration Maximums for VMware Infrastructure 3 – A document from Vmware that lists all the configuration maximums for virtual machines, VirtualCenter and ESX host servers.
- Security Design of the VMware Infrastructure 3 Architecture – A white paper from VMware that describes the security features and design that are part of VI3 architecture.
- SAN System Design and Deployment Guide – A huge guide from VMware that describes how to design and deploy virtual infrastructure systems using VI3 with SANs.
- ESX Server Architecture – A VMworld 2007 session on that provides a technical overview of the ESX Server architecture including an overview of the VMkernel and its support for virtual machines, an overview of the ESX Server storage and networking architecture, and an introduction to resource management concepts and features in ESX Server.
- Using VMware Infrastructure for Backup and Restore – A white paper from VMware that covers virtual disk files and methods for backing up and restoring your virtual environment.
- Scaling Your Virtual Infrastructure – Getting Started – A VMworld session with planning tips for designing a Vmware virtual infrastructure including what type of resources to prepare, time constraints and how to operationalize your virtual infrastructure.
May 12 2008
.Top 10 List Index
May 08 2008
Top 10 things you must read about VMware Performance
- Understanding Performance in a Virtualized Environment (VMworld 2007) – A VMworld 2007 presentation on understanding virtulization performance and overhead as well as dispelling common myths.
- Interpreting Performance Statistics in VI3 (VMworld 2007) – A VMworld 2007 presentation on understanding and interpreting VirtualCenter/ESX statistics in the VI Client and esxtop.
- Performance Tuning Best Practices for ESX Server 3 – A white paper from VMware with performance tips that cover the most performance-critical areas of Virtual Infrastructure 3.
- Top 12 ways to Improve Guest Server Performance under VMware ESX Server – A VMworld 2006 presentation with 12 tips for configuring hosts, virtual machines and guest environments for best performance.
- Performance Monitoring and Capacity Planning – A VMworld 2006 presentation on performance tuning methodologies and approaches.
- ESX Workload Analysis: Lessons Learned – A VMworld 2006 presentation on performing workload analysis and performance analysis of virtual workloads.
- VMware ESX Server: Best Practices for Performance – A presentation from EMC World 2007 with recommended performance practices and benchmarking guidelines.
- VM Performance Monitoring and Logging – A VMUG presentation from VMware on performance monitoring and using log files.
- ESX3 Performance Tuning – A VMUG presentation from Long View Systems on performance tuning ESX hosts and virtual machines.
- Performance Tuning for VI3 – A VMworld 2006 presentation on basic performance concepts, tools, technologies and recommendations.
May 06 2008
Top 10 things you must read about VMware Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity
- Tips and Tricks – Disaster Recovery in a Box (VMworld 2007) – A VMworld 2007 presentation on the technical details of implementing a cost effective DR solution and packaged solutions.
- VMware Infrastructure 3 Capabilities for Improving Disaster Recovery – A VMworld 2006 presentation on why using virtual machines is a great option for disaster recovery.
- New Trends in Disaster Recovery for VMware (VMworld 2007) – A VMworld 2007 presentation on current DR options and using Site Recovery Manager to automate DR workflows.
- VMware ESX Server and Storage Architecture Best Practices for Performance, Backup, and Disaster Recovery – A VMworld 2006 presentation on how to architect storage for use in a VMware DR environment.
- Disaster Recovery Virtualization – A white paper from VMware and DoubleTake on using virtual machines and data replication for disaster recovery.
- Leveraging VMware ESX Server in Disaster Recovery Solutions – A VMworld 2006 presentation with case studies on using VMware ESX as a DR solution.
- Disaster Recovery Solution Architecture for VMware (VMworld 2007) – A VMworld 2007 presentation describing how to use Site Recovery Manager as an effective DR solution.
- Innovative Approaches for High Availability and Disaster Recovery in Your VMware Infrastructure Environment – A VMworld 2006 presentation by Symantec on DR challenges and solutions and using Veritas Cluster Server as a DR option.
- VMware ESX Server as a Foundation for High Availability and Disaster Recovery for the Microsoft Server Platform – A VMworld 2006 presentation by EMC on using HA layers, DR layers and Contimuation of Operations.
- VMware users explore disaster recover options – An article on different DR options used by various companies with their VMware infrastructure.
May 05 2008
Top 10 things you must read about VMware Networking
- VI3 Networking – Concepts and Components (VMworld 2007) – A VMworld 2007 presentation describing the VI3 network architecture and how to properly configure it.
- VI3 Networking – Advanced Configurations and Troubleshooting (VMworld 2007) – A VMworld 2007 presentation on advanced virtual networking topics with tips for troubleshooting problems.
- VMware ESX Server 3 802.1Q VLAN Solutions – Provides concepts and configuration tips for using 802.1Q VLAN tagging with your vSwitch configurations.
- Integrating Virtual Machines into the Cisco Data Center Architecture – A white paper written by Cisco on ESX server networking architecture and integration with Cisco network devices.
- Networking Performance in VMware ESX Server 3.5 – A white paper from VMware comparing virtual to physical networking performance.
- Network Throughput in a Virtual Infrastructure – A white paper from VMware that outlines the considerations that affect network throughput.
- ESX3 Networking Internals – A VMware TSX 2007 presentation on the internals of how ESX vSwitches function.
- High Performance ESX Networking – A VMware TSX 2007 presentation on ESX network design considerations.
- How To Configure Networking from the Service Console Command Line – A VMware KB article on setting up networking via the CLI, a must know if you lose your networking configuration and cannot connect to an ESX Server via the VI Client.
- Server Virtualization – Network Implications and Best Practices – A presentation from Cisco on network virtualization architecture and design considerations for Cisco networks to support virtual environments.
Apr 28 2008
Top 10 things you must read about VMware Troubleshooting
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Troubleshooting VMware Infrastructure 3 – A VMworld 2007 lab manual with troubleshooting tips for the networking, VirtualCenter, vMotion, Virtual Machine, DRS/HA and more.
- 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.
- VI3 Networking – Advanced Configurations and Troubleshooting – A VMworld 2007 presentation on troubleshooting virtual NIC’s, switches and other networking functions.
- Using esxtop to troubleshoot performance problems – A VMware Tech Note on how to use the esxtop utility to troubleshoot performance problems.
- 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.
- VirtualCenter 2 Diagnostics – A VMworld 2006 presentation covering how to troubleshoot problems with VirtualCenter.
- Performance Troubleshooting – A VMworld 2006 lab manual with detailed information on performance troubleshooting.
