vSphere 4 VCP Exam Blueprint Study Notes
Section 1 – Plan, Install and Upgrade VMware ESX/ESXi
Objective 1.1 — Install VMware ESX/ESXi on local storage
Knowledge
- Identify minimum hardware requirements
- Download, prepare and validate installation media
- Determine appropriate ESX/ESXi configuration in a given situation
- Obtain required information for environment
- Verify hardware against the VMware Hardware Compatibility Guide
- Perform a custom installation
- Customize storage layout for given situations
- Configure ESXi from the direct console
- Configure ESX/ESXi NTP
- Manage ESX/ESXi licensing
- Compare/Contrast VMware vSphere editions
- Manage license keys
Tools
- VMware Hardware Compatibility Guide
- Product documentation
- VMware Virtualization Toolkit
Objective 1.2 – Upgrade VMware ESX/ESXi
Knowledge
- Plan a VMware vSphere upgrade
- Backup/Restore ESX/ESXi host configuration
- Understand Virtual Machine backup options
- Determine if existing hardware meets upgrade requirements
- Understand VMware ESX/ESXi upgrade scenarios
- Perform upgrade to ESX 4.0
- Upgrade VMware ESX/ESXi
- Upgrade virtual machine hardware
- Upgrade VMware Tools
- Verify success of upgrade
- Understand upgrade roll back options ©VMware, Inc. All rights reserved May 2009 Page 2
Tools
- vSphere Host Update Utility
- vCenter Update Manager
- esxupdate
Objective 1.3 – Secure VMware ESX/ESXi
Knowledge
- Identify default security principles
- Understand Service Console firewall operation
- Service Console Security Level
- Opening/Closing ports in the firewall using the vSphere Client
- Set up user/group accounts
- Determine applications needed for accessing the service console in a given scenario
Tools
- vSphere Client
- Product documentation
Objective 1.4 – Install VMware ESX/ESXi on SAN Storage
Knowledge
- Configure LUN Masking
- Prepare SAN
- Configure FC or iSCSI HBA BIOS
- Enable BIOS
- Select Boot LUN
- Install VMware ESX/ESXi
- Determine boot LUN size in a given situation
Tools
- FC or iSCSI HBA BIOS Tools
- FC SAN Configuration Guide
- iSCSI SAN Configuration Guide
- Product documentation
Objective 1.5 – Identify vSphere Architecture and Solutions
Knowledge
- Differentiate VMware platform products and editions
- Understand the various datacenter solutions (View, SRM, Lab Manager, etc.)
- Explain ESX/ESXi architecture
- Compare and contrast bare metal vs. hosted architecture
Tools
- Product Documentation
- VMware vSphere Editions Comparison Chart
Section 2 – Configure ESX/ESXi Networking
Objective 2.1 – Configure Virtual Switches
Knowledge
- Understand Virtual Switch and ESX/ESXi NIC and port maximums
- Determine the vSwitch NIC teaming policy in a given situation
- Determine the appropriate vSwitch security policies in a given situation
- Create/Delete Virtual Switches
- Create Ports/Port Groups
- Assign Physical Adapters
- Modify vSwitch NIC Teaming and failover policies
- Modify vSwitch security policy and VLAN settings
- Configure VMotion
Tools
- Product documentation
- VMware vSphere Client
Objective 2.2 – Configure vNetwork Distributed Switches
Knowledge
- Understand ESX Host and port maximums for dvSwitches
- Determine the virtual port group NIC teaming and fail-over policy in a given situation
- Determine the appropriate virtual port group security policies in a given situation
- Create/Modify a vNetwork Distributed Switch
- Create/Modify Uplink Group settings
- Create/Modify dvPort Group settings
- Add an ESX/ESXi Host to a vNetwork Distributed Switch
- Add/Delete a VMkernel dvPort
- Migrate Virtual Machines to a vNetwork Distributed Switch
Tools
- Product documentation
- VMware vSphere Client
Objective 2.3 – Configure VMware ESX/ESXi Management Network
Knowledge
- Modify Service Console IP Settings
- Configure Service Console availability
- Configure DNS and Routing settings for an ESX Host
Tools
- Product documentation
- VMware vSphere Client
Section 3 – Configure ESX/ESXi Storage
Objective 3.1 – Configure FC SAN Storage
Knowledge
- Identify FC SAN hardware components
- Identify how ESX Server connections are made to FC SAN storage
- Describe ESX Server FC SAN storage addressing
- Describe the concepts of zoning and LUN masking
- Configure LUN masking
- Scan for new LUNs
- Determine and configure the appropriate multi-pathing policy
- Differentiate between NMP and third-party MPP
Tools
- Product documentation
- FC SAN Configuration Guide
- VMware vSphere Client
Objective 3.2 – Configure iSCSI SAN Storage
Knowledge
- Identify iSCSI SAN hardware components
- Determine use cases for hardware vs. software iSCSI initiators
- Configure the iSCSI Software Initiator
- Configure Dynamic/Static Discovery
- Configure CHAP Authentication
- Configure VMkernel port binding for iSCSI Software multi-pathing
- Discover LUNs
- Identify iSCSI addressing in the context of the host
Tools
- Product documentation
- iSCSI SAN Configuration Guide
- VMware vSphere Client
- esxcli
Objective 3.3 – Configure NFS Datastores
Knowledge
- Identify the NFS hardware components
- Explain ESX exclusivity for NFS mounts
- Configure ESX/ESXi network connectivity to the NAS device
- Create an NFS Datastore
Tools
- Product documentation
- VMware vSphere Client
Objective 3.4 – Configure and Manage VMFS Datastores
Knowledge
- Identify VMFS file system attributes
- Determine the appropriate Datastore location/configuration for given virtual machines
- Determine use cases for multiple VMFS Datastores
- Create/Configure VMFS Datastores
- Attach existing Datastore to new ESX host
- Manage VMFS Datastores
- Group/Unmount/Delete Datastores
- Grow VMFS volumes
Tools
- • Product documentation
- • VMware vSphere Client
Section 4 – Install and Configure vCenter Server
Objective 4.1 – Install vCenter Server
Knowledge
- Identify hardware requirements
- Understand configuration maximums
- Determine availability requirements for a vCenter server in a given situation
- Determine appropriate vCenter Server edition
- Determine database size requirements
- Prepare/Configure vCenter Server database
- Install vCenter Server using downloaded installer ©VMware, Inc. All rights reserved May 2009 Page 7
- Install additional modules
- vCenter Guided Consolidation
- vCenter Update Manager
- vCenter Converter
- Determine use case for vCenter Linked Mode Groups
Tools
- Product documentation
- Database Sizing Tool/Calculators
Objective 4.2 – Manage vSphere Client plug-ins
Knowledge
- Identify available plug-ins
- Determine required plug-ins for a given application
- Ensure permissions to install plug-ins
- Enable plug-ins after installation
Tools
- Product documentation
- vSphere Client
Objective 4.3 – Configure vCenter Server
Knowledge
- Identify the vCenter Server managed ESX Hosts and Virtual Machine maximums
- Join ESX/ESXi Hosts to vCenter Server
- Configure Guest OS Customization
- Use datacenters and folders to organize the environment
- Configure/Use Scheduled Tasks
- Configure/Use Resource Maps
- Use Storage Reports/Storage Maps
- View/Manage Events
- Configure vCenter Server settings
- Configure vSphere Client settings
Tools
- Product documentation
- vSphere Client
Objective 4.4 – Configure Access Control
Knowledge
- Create/Modify user permissions in vCenter
- Create/Modify user permissions in ESX Server
- Restrict access to vCenter inventory objects
- Define vCenter predefined roles and their privileges
- Create/Clone Edit roles
- Assign roles to users and groups
- Describe how privileges propagate
- Understand permissions as applied to user and group combinations
Tools
- Product documentation
- vSphere Client
Section 5 – Deploy and Manage Virtual Machines and vApps
Objective 5.1 – Create and Deploy Virtual Machines
Knowledge
- Understand virtual machine hardware maximums
- Create a virtual machine
- Determine appropriate SCSI adapter
- Determine Virtual Disk type
- Install/Upgrade/Configure VMware Tools
- Create/Convert templates
- Customize Windows/Linux virtual machines
- Manage Customization Specifications
- Deploy a virtual machine from a template
- Deploy a virtual machine using VMware vCenter Converter Enterprise
- Perform a Hot Clone
- Perform a Cold Clone
- Perform System Reconfiguration
- Deploy a virtual machine using Guided Consolidation
- Perform Discovery
- Analyze discovered virtual machines
- Consolidate selected virtual machines
- Clone a virtual machine
- Import a virtual machine from a file/folder
Tools
- Product documentation
- vSphere Client
Objective 5.2 – Manage Virtual Machines
Knowledge
- Configure/Modify virtual machines
- Add/Hot Add virtual machine hardware
- Grow virtual machine disks
- Determine appropriate disk format
- Connect virtual machines to devices
- Configure virtual machine options
- General Options
- Advanced Options
- Power Management OptionsVMware Tools Options
- Configure appropriate virtual machine resource settings
Tools
- Product documentation
- vSphere Client
Objective 5.3 – Deploy vApps
Knowledge
- Determine whether a vApp is appropriate for a given situation
- Define Open Virtual Machine Format (OVF)
- Import/Export a Virtual Appliance
- Build a vApp
- Create/Add virtual machines to a vApp
- Edit vApp Properties
- Export vApps
- Clone a vApp
Tools
- Product documentation
- vSphere Client
- OVF Tool
Section 6 – Manage Compliance
Objective 6.1 – Install, Configure and Manage VMware vCenter Update Manager
Knowledge
- Determine installation requirements and database sizing
- Install Update Manager Server and Client components
- Configure update manager settings
- Configure patch download options
- Create baselines
- Attach baselines to vCenter inventory objects
- Scan ESX hosts and virtual machines
- Remediate ESX hosts and virtual machines
- Stage ESX/ESXi Host updates
- Analyze compliance information from a scan
Tools
- Product documentation
- Update Manager Database Sizing Tools
Objective 6.2 – Establish and Apply ESX Host Profiles
Knowledge
- Create/Delete Host Profiles
- Import/Export Host Profiles
- Edit Host Profile Policies
- Associate an ESX host with a host profile
- Check for Compliance
- Apply Host Profiles
- Analyze configuration compliance information from a scan
Tools
- Product documentation
- vSphere Client
Section 7 – Establish Service Levels
Objective 7.1 – Create and Configure VMware Clusters
Knowledge
- Create new cluster
- Add ESX/ESXi hosts to a cluster
- Configure High Availability basic/advanced settings
- Enable/Configure VM Monitoring
- Configure Distributed Resource Scheduler basic/advanced settings
- Configure Distributed Power Management
- Configure Enhanced VMotion Compatibility
- Configure swap file location
- Analyze HA host failure capacity requirements
- Analyze HA admission control
- Determine use cases for DRS automation levels and migration thresholds
- Determine use cases for DPM policies
Tools
- Product documentation
- vSphere Client
Objective 7.2 – Enable a Fault Tolerant Virtual Machine
Knowledge
- Identify FT restrictions
- Evaluate FT use cases
- Set up an FT network
- Verify requirements of operating environment
- Enable FT for a virtual machine
- Test an FT configuration
- Upgrade ESX hosts containing FT virtual machines
Tools
- Product documentation
- vSphere Client
Objective 7.3 – Create and Configure Resource Pools
Knowledge
- Determine Resource Pool requirements for a given situation
- Evaluate appropriate shares, reservations, and limits in a given situation
- Evaluate virtual machines for a given Resource Pool
- Create Resource Pools
- Set CPU resource shares/reservations/limits
- Set memory resource shares/reservations/limits
- Define Expandable Reservation
- Add virtual machines to pool
- Describe resource pool hierarchy
Tools
- Product documentation
- vSphere Client
Objective 7.4 – Migrate Virtual Machines
Knowledge
- Identify compatibility requirements
- Cite the three methods of virtual machine migration
- Understand/Apply
- Determine migration use cases
- Compare and contrast migration technologies
- Migrate a virtual machine using VMotion
- Migrate a virtual machine using Storage VMotion
- Cold migrate a virtual machine
Tools
- Product documentation
- vSphere Client
Objective 7.5 – Backup and Restore Virtual Machines
Knowledge
- Describe different back-up/restore procedures and strategies
- Create/Delete/Restore Snapshots
- Install Backup and Recovery Appliance
- Install vCenter Data Recovery plug-in
- Create a backup job with vCenter Data Recovery
- Perform full VM/file-level restore with vCenter Data Recovery
Tools
- Product documentation
- vSphere Client
- Backup and Recovery Appliance
Section 8 – Perform Basic Troubleshooting and Alarm Management
Objective 8.1 – Perform Basic Troubleshooting for ESX/ESXi Hosts
Knowledge
- Understand general ESX Server troubleshooting guidelines
- Troubleshoot common installation issues
- Monitor ESX Server system health
- Understand how to export diagnostic data
Tools
- Product documentation
- vSphere Client
Objective 8.2 – Perform Basic Troubleshooting for VMware FT and Third-Party Clusters
Knowledge
- Analyze and evaluate VM population for maintenance mode considerations
- Understand manual Third-Party failover/failback processes
- Troubleshoot Fault Tolerance partial or unexpected failovers
Tools
- Product documentation
- vSphere Client
Objective 8.3 – Perform Basic Troubleshooting for Networking
Knowledge
- Verify VM is connected to the correct port group
- Verify port group settings are correct
- Verify that the network adaptor is connected within the VM
- Verify VM network adaptor settings
- Verify physical network adaptor settings
- Verify vSphere network management settings
Tools
- Product documentation
- vSphere Client
- ping, vmkping, tcpdump, nslookup
Objective 8.4 – Perform Basic Troubleshooting for Storage
Knowledge
- Identify storage contention issues
- Identify storage over-commitment issues
- Identify storage connectivity issues
- Identify iSCSI software initiator configuration issues
- Interpret Storage Reports and Storage Maps
Tools
- Product documentation
- FC SAN Configuration Guide
- iSCSI SAN Configuration Guide
- vSphere Client
Objective 8.5 – Perform Basic Troubleshooting for HA/DRS and VMotion
Knowledge
- Explain the requirements of HA/DRS and VMotion
- Verify VMotion functionality
- Verify DNS settings
- Verify the service console network functionality
- Interpret the DRS Resource Distribution Graph and Target/Current Host Load Deviation
- Troubleshoot VMotion using topology maps
- Troubleshoot HA capacity issues
- Troubleshoot HA redundancy issues
Tools
- Product documentation
- vSphere Client
- DRS Resource Distribution Graph
- Topology Maps
- cpuid, ping, vmkping
Objective 8.6 – Create and Respond to vCenter Connectivity Alarms
Knowledge
- List vCenter default connectivity alarms
- List possible actions for connectivity alarms
- For a given alarm, analyze and evaluate the affected virtual infrastructure components
- Create a vCenter connectivity alarm
- Relate the alarm to the affected components
Tools
- Product documentation
- vSphere Client
Objective 8.7 – Create and Respond to vCenter Utilization Alarms
Knowledge
- List vCenter default utilization alarms
- List possible actions for utilization alarms
- For a given alarm, analyze and evaluate the affected virtual infrastructure resource
- Create a vCenter utilization alarm
- Relate the alarm to the affected resource
Tools
- Product documentation
- esxtop/resxtop
- Performance Charts
- vSphere Client
Objective 8.8 – Monitor vSphere ESX/ESXi and Virtual Machine Performance
Knowledge
- Identify critical performance metrics (e.g., CPU ready, queue depth, etc.)
- Explain memory metrics (ballooning, shared, etc.)
- Explain CPU metrics (ready/wait time, etc.)
- Explain network metrics (usage, packet drops, etc.)
- Explain storage metrics (latency, queuing, etc.)
- Compare and contrast Overview and Advanced Charts
- Create an Advanced Chart
- Determine host performance using guest Perfmon
Tools
- Product documentation
- esxtop/resxtop
- Performance Charts
- vSphere Client