VMware vSphere Labs – Infrastructure – Setting Up Active Directory on Windows 2008 R2

This Tutorial runs through a quick overview of installing Active Directory 2008 R2 on a Windows Virtual Machines running in VMware Workstation 8. It has a Video and general instructions to help you out. Enjoy!

1. Deploy from the template
2. Configure NICS Static
3. Disable Extra NIC
4. Gateway and DNS are the Gateway list in “Virtual machine Editor”
5. Keep DNS as the secondary DNS of the Domain Controller
6. Rename machine to appropriate Computer Name to reflect your Domain Controller (sysprep gives silly names)
7. Reboot
8. Add Role from server manager
9. Select Active Directory Domain Services
10. Yes, Install the .Net Stuff….
11. Run DCPRomo.exe from powershell or within the server manager under AD role
12. Install DNS (if not you must be doing something a bit more advanced )
13. Reboot and validate you can log into AD with a Domain Account.
14. Join another Virtual Machine to the Domain

VMware vSphere Labs – Foundations – Installing VMware Workstation 8 Custom

This video simply depicts how to install VMware workstation 8. It’s nothing really advanced it just covers a more thoughtful way of install VMware workstation 8.

The only thing really important to note is that VMware Workstation 8 installs windows services as part of the installation. What this means is that if you do install it on a separate drive it will need to be a part of a back up in order to do a full system restore. Meaning that you will have to do an image of that other drive. When using windows 7 of course. Remember this is a simple approach and may not cover as deep as you may want it too.

***Disclaimer: The thoughts and views expressed on VirtualNoob.wordpress.com and Chad King in no way reflect the views or thoughts of his employer or any other views of a company. These are his personal opinions which are formed on his own. Also, products improve over time and some things maybe out of date. Please feel free to contact us and request an update and we will be happy to assist. Thanks!~

VMware vSphere Labs – Foundations – First Series

Well, I have decided to dub my basic intro into VMware workstation labs as “Foundations” . I, like many others, enjoy discussing and learning about everything. Storage, networking, what I want to achieve, what I am designing for, name a few things you will have to consider in your lab. Sure, there is the easy stand up a lab slap some storage on it, run ESXi, Build vCenter, but for the few, the proud, and the pros… we like to cover it all. This series is pretty much going to go through every bit of that. Yeah, every bit… even the crumbs from the table. So here is the outline and obviously post videos and notes on each. Duly note, that at any time I may add a few dozen more post to foundations as I embark on this journey. I am looking forward to it and I hope you do as well! (Perhaps when I get to it I will do some CommVault vs. Veeam videos when I get a chance – OH, the drama!)

1. The different kinds
2. The Downloads and what you need to know
3. VMware Workstation Storage Considerations
4. Networking Considerations and Design
5. Installing Custom VMware Workstation 8
6. Creating you windows 2008 R2 template VM in VMware Workstation 7 and 8

Yeah, I know who would’ve ever thought a lab took this much thought. It’s just good stuff to think about and if people are board well you got something to do or watch. By the way, some videos have some music others don’t. Again feedback always appreciated!

***Disclaimer: The thoughts and views expressed on VirtualNoob.wordpress.com and Chad King in no way reflect the views or thoughts of his employer or any other views of a company. These are his personal opinions which are formed on his own. Also, products improve over time and some things maybe out of date. Please feel free to contact us and request an update and we will be happy to assist. Thanks!~

VMware vSphere Labs – Foundations – VMware Workstation Storage Considerations

This video informs you of what you may or may not know about the different types of storage you can use for your VMware vSphere lab set up. Things like physical iSCSI and NFS and Virtual Storage Appliances (VSA) are important to know about and some are MIUCH cheaper than the other.

Links Show in the video:

http://www.techhead.co.uk/how-to-configure-openfiler-v23-iscsi-storage-for-use-with-vmware-esx


http://go.iomega.com/en-us/products/network-storage-desktop/storcenter-network-storage-solution/network-hard-drive-ix4-200d-cloud/?partner=4760


http://nickapedia.com/2010/05/01/celerra-vsa-uber-smaller-faster-easier-geekier/


http://thehyperadvisor.com/?p=934


http://www.vmware.com/products/datacenter-virtualization/vsphere/vsphere-storage-appliance/overview.html

***Disclaimer: The thoughts and views expressed on VirtualNoob.wordpress.com and Chad King in no way reflect the views or thoughts of his employer or any other views of a company. These are his personal opinions which are formed on his own. Also, products improve over time and some things maybe out of date. Please feel free to contact us and request an update and we will be happy to assist. Thanks!~

VMware vSphere Labs – Foundations – The Template on Workstation 7 and 8 – Windows 2008 R2

This videos covers the template we will be setting up for deploying windows server 2008 r2 from. On this template we will be installing Active Directory, DNS, vCenter Server, and a lot more stuff. At the bottom of the blog will be references for ensuring your template is supremely prepped for space and performance!

Here are both the videos one for doing it:
VMware workstation 7:

On this video I made a few mistakes… but this wouldn’t be VirtualNoob if I didn’t make a few of those.
VMware workstation 8:

Really great resource:

http://www.happysysadm.com/2010/11/vmware-windows-2008-r2-template.html

***Disclaimer: The thoughts and views expressed on VirtualNoob.wordpress.com and Chad King in no way reflect the views or thoughts of his employer or any other views of a company. These are his personal opinions which are formed on his own. Also, products improve over time and some things maybe out of date. Please feel free to contact us and request an update and we will be happy to assist. Thanks!~

VMware vSphere Labs – Foundations – Networking Considerations and Design

This how to will go into some detail of the Networking consideration for your VMware Lab. It’s all in what you want to do.

This video addresses those considerations and provides some details on how you may want to do that. If you want some resources for particular lab setup head on to the bottom.

Another Lovely Video

Networking (As seen in the video if you want to reproduce

1. Management Stack for vCloud :
2. Production stack for tenants:
3. VMnet1  192.168.240.xxx – ESXi Management Host-Only (isolated for security )
4. VMNET2 192.168.238.xxx – iSCSI (vmkernal port group and NFS will be shared)
5. VMNET3 192.168.237.xxx – vMotion
6. VMNET4 192.168.5.xxx – VM Networks for ESXi host
7. VMnet8 192.168.4.xxx – Production-MGMT

   .10 = Domain Controllers

   .20 = vCenter Servers (2 interfaces one for ESXi MGMT and Production)

   .30 = All Other systems

8. VMNET5 192.168.120.xxx – vCloud Mgmt

Other Wonderful Links on vSphere Labs and Networking Design included are SRM and vCloud Director Setups:

http://nickapedia.com/2010/10/07/lights-camera-replication-uber-srm-video-guide/


http://www.hypervizor.com/2010/09/video-guide-taking-vmware-vcloud-director-for-a-spin-and-on-the-go/


http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2010/09/13/creating-a-vcd-lab-on-your-maclaptop/


http://blog.tsugliani.fr/featured/create-your-own-virtual-vcloud-lab-part-1/


http://www.chriscolotti.us/vmware/vsphere/vmware-vcloud-in-a-box-for-your-home-lab/

***Disclaimer: The thoughts and views expressed on VirtualNoob.wordpress.com and Chad King in no way reflect the views or thoughts of his employer or any other views of a company. These are his personal opinions which are formed on his own. Also, products improve over time and some things maybe out of date. Please feel free to contact us and request an update and we will be happy to assist. Thanks!~

VMware vSphere Labs – Foundations – Downloads and knowing what you need

This video just covers the basics of what you need to download to get your vSphere Lab up and going. For more this video isn’t useful but it does address understanding Trials, how to access to products, and etc. This is covering a VMware Workstation 8 Lab set up.

Basically here is an overview of what the video covers:

1. 60 Day Trials
2. The Value of Partnerships
3. Understanding the foundation and products for building your lab
4. What to consider from a product stand point
5. #VMTNSubscription Movement

***Disclaimer: The thoughts and views expressed on VirtualNoob.wordpress.com and Chad King in no way reflect the views or thoughts of his employer or any other views of a company. These are his personal opinions which are formed on his own. Also, products improve over time and some things maybe out of date. Please feel free to contact us and request an update and we will be happy to assist. Thanks!~

VMware Certification Journey – Where is yours going?

I recall a bit over a year ago I attained my first VMware certification VCP4 and definitely viewed it as a milestone. The company I was working for didn’t make a point to spend a whole lot of cash on getting people certified and I honestly was one of the few lucky ones that got to take part in the class. Then, it was the VMware fast track and I have to say, it was definitely a fun class.

This year it also seems that I am lucky yet again because VMware is offering the VCP 5 without having to take a what’s new class as of now. This will expire early next year in February. With that being said I cannot help but wonder how this would affect the current value of VMware Certified Professional on vSphere 5. Although, VMware has potentially saved other corporations, contractors, and consultants thousands of dollars in training it doesn’t mean that at the same time there could be a hit on the value of the VCP5 certification versus the VCP4. I can honestly wonder what would really prevent anyone from just downloading a dump and getting an easy breezy VCP certification for close to nil of what it used to cost?

Though I am thankful for the opportunity many may or may not make a point to really master or learn vSphere 5 before taking that test and getting the VCP5. This would result in a  lower overall value of the VCP certification, IMHO. I personally like the fact that I have to go to training, but there again many businesses cannot always put up that kind of cash.. especially some of the SMB companies out there.

I sometimes cannot help but wonder with all the cool new features if this too also helps SMB’s even further by making the transition to vSphere 5 that much easier. Cheaper training a guess came at the added cost of licensing – yeah pretty ironic right? After all they did set that limit to attain the certification by a certain date and I am sure that not all VCPs will just go study a dump per se.

As of now though you can really get a gage on what the national average is for a VCP currently in the United States:

Image courtesy of Indeed – still a good time to be a VCP

As you can see it seems to have steadied out for now but it definitely was on decline up until around the vSphere 5 announcement. Anyways, my only point was really the value of that certification and right now it still seems like a golden opportunity to upgrade this certification and not to mention that sweet little 25% discount as well offered to even make the test cheaper.

With that being said I will kind of share my goals as of now:

• VCP5 (this month)
• VCA-DT or VCP-DT (probably VCP since VCA is really not a strong value imo)
• VCAP-DCA (6 months)
• re-evaluate certifications (maybe new or old ones)
• VCAP-DCD (TBD)
• Eventually maybe VCDX (In the next two years)

Obviously it still more VMware centric, I wouldn’t even mind picking up a CCNA between the VCP 5 and VCAP-DCD just to enforce my network knowledge. Since I know work with CiscoUCS it may not be a bad idea to also look at those certifications if I do get a CCNA.

So what is your certification plan and where are you going?

***Disclaimer: The thoughts and views expressed on VirtualNoob.wordpress.com and Chad King in no way reflect the views or thoughts of his employer or any other views of a company. These are his personal opinions which are formed on his own. Also, products improve over time and some things maybe out of date. Please feel free to contact us and request an update and we will be happy to assist. Thanks!~

vSphere VCP 510 Study Guide – Prepping up! (VCP5 resources Updated!)

UPDATED: ( Check out my VCP 5 Experience!  )
Recently heard some things around the rumor mill that the VMware test has recently been changed/updated in December.  I am still getting a lot of feedback that it covers a lot of the things that haven’t changed between vSphere 4 and 5 while at the same time addressing some of the newer features.  The previous one seemed to have more to do with vSphere 4.1.  Again this is just what I hear on random threads and so forth.  I have also updated my resources page and will be working on an offline guide here soon.

So in response to all these opinions I think I have found a solid list to help.  I am also working on a documentation source that could be available offline for others to study as we don’t always have internet access.  These are a bunch of PDF’s from both websites and VMware alike.  If this is a problem I could remove it later. (Click here to get what I have for now)

** Check out my VMware vSphere Lab Series Here! **

vSphere 5 Helpful Study Links:

http://vcp5.wordpress.com/


http://cosonok.blogspot.com/search/label/vSphere5

http://vinfrastructure.it/en/certifications-on-virtualization/vcp/vcp5/


http://damiankarlson.com/category/vcp-5/


http://damiankarlson.com/2011/11/01/vmware-vcp-5-resources/


http://virtuallanger.com/vcp5/


http://blog.mwpreston.net/vcp-5/

http://www.vreference.com/vsphere-5-notes/


http://www.vreference.com/vsphere-5-card/

Blueprint related for VCP5

http://damiankarlson.com/2011/07/13/vcp5-vs-vcp4-comparing-exam-blueprints/

http://virtuallanger.com/vcp5/

VMware Blue Print Download

Test Quizzes:

http://www.kalenarndt.com/vcp-510-quiz/


http://www.simonlong.co.uk/blog/vcp5-practice-exams/

vSphere 5 Links for Everything:

http://vsphere-land.com/vsphere-links/vsphere-5-links.html

VCP5 Videos:

http://www.trainsignal.com/VMware-vSphere-5-Training.aspx

http://cbtnuggets.com/it-training-videos/series/vmwr_vcp5


http://professionalvmware.com/brownbags/

Networking:
vsphere-5-new-networking-features-enhanced-nioc
vSphere 5 New Networking Features – Introduction
vSphere 5 New Networking Features – NetFlow
vSphere 5 New Networking Features – Port Mirroring

Storage Related Studying:
vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 1 – VMFS-5
vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 2 – Storage vMotion
vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 3 – VAAI
vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 4 – Storage DRS – Initial Placement
vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 5 – Storage DRS – Balance On Space Usage
vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 6 – Storage DRS – Balance On I/O Metrics
vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 7 – VMFS-5 & GPT
vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 8 – Handling the All Paths Down (APD) condition
vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 9 – Snapshot Consolidate
vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 10 – VASA – vSphere Storage APIs – Storage AwarenessvSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 11 – Profile Driven Storage
vSphere 5.0 Storage Features Part 12 – iSCSI Multipathing Enhancements

What’s New Documentation
What’s New in VMware vSphere 5.0 Platform
What’s New in VMware vSphere 5.0 Storage
What’s New in VMware vSphere 5.0 Performance
What’s New in VMware vSphere 5.0 Networking
What’s New in VMware vSphere 5.0 Availability

If you want the complete documentation for vSphere 5 resources to keep offline you can download it from here.
If you want to check out my resource page for downloading other files check it out here.

***Disclaimer: The thoughts and views expressed on VirtualNoob.wordpress.com and Chad King in no way reflect the views or thoughts of his employer or any other views of a company. These are his personal opinions which are formed on his own. Also, products improve over time and some things maybe out of date. Please feel free to contact us and request an update and we will be happy to assist. Thanks!~