VMware Technical Questions and Answers and Interview FAQ -Part1



1.List the major components of Vmware Infrastructure ?

 


* The major components of VMware Infrastructure are: ESX Server host .

Virtual Center Server.

 Virtual Infrastructure (VI) Client . Web browser.

 License server. Database.

 

2. What are the minimum H/W requirements to install VirtualCenter Server ?
* VirtualCenter Server hardware must meet the following requirements:

Processor : 2.0GHz or higher Intel or AMD x86 processor. Processor requirements can be larger if your database server is also run on the same hardware.

 Memory : 2GB RAM minimum. RAM requirements can be larger if your database is run on the same hardware
Disk storage :Nearly 1GB free disk space

Networking : 10/100 Ethernet adapter minimum (Gigabit recommended).
Scalability : A VirtualCenter Server configured with the hardware minimums can support 20 concurrent clients, 50 ESX Server hosts, and over 1000 virtual machines.
A dual processor VirtualCenter Server with 3GB RAM can scale to 50 concurrent client connections, 100 ESX Server hosts, and over 2000 virtual machines.



3. Which softwares are supported to install Virtual Center Server Software ?

 


* The VirtualCenter Server is supported as a service on the 32 bit versions of these operating systems : The Virtual Center installer requires Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher in order to run.
o Windows 2000 Server SP4 with Update Rollup 1 (Update Rollup 1 can be downloaded from Windows XP Pro (at any SP level)

o Windows 2003 (all releases except 64 bit)
Virtual Center 2.0 installation is not supported on 64 bit operating systems.(Please check with Vmware Web for newer version )



4. Which Databases are supported to VirtualCenter ?

 
* Virtual Center supports the following database formats: o Microsoft SQL Server 2000 (SP 4 only)
o Oracle 9iR2, 10gR1 (versions 10.1.0.3 and higher only), and 10gR2 o Microsoft MSDE (not supported for production environments)



5. What are the Hardware requirements for Virtual Infrastructure Client ?
* The Virtual Infrastructure Client hardware must meet the following requirements : o Processor : 266MHz or higher Intel or AMD x86 processor (500MHz recommended). o Memory . 256MB RAM minimum, 512MB recommended.

o Disk Storage . 150MB free disk space required for basic installation. You must have 55MB free on the destination drive for installation of the program .

o Networking . 10/100 Ethernet adapter (Gigabit recommended).



6. Which softwares are supported for Virtual Infrastructure Client ?
* The Virtual Infrastructure Client is designed for the 32 it versions of these operating systems: o Windows 2000 Pro SP4

o Windows 2000 Server SP4

o Windows XP Pro (at any SP level)

o Windows 2003 and 2008 (all releases except 64bit)

 The Virtual Infrastructure Client requires the .NET framework 1.1 (included in installation if required).
 

7. What are the Requirements for VirtualCenter VI Web Access ?
 * The VI Web Access client is designed for these browsers :

o Windows . Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher, Netscape Navigator 7.0, Mozilla 1.X, Firefox 1.0.7 and higher. o Linux . Netscape Navigator 7.0 or later, Mozilla 1.x, Firefox 1.0.7 and higher.

 

8. What are the Minimum Hardware Requirements for ESX Server 3.x ?

*  You need the following hardware and system resources to install and use ESX Server. At least two processors:
o 1500 MHz Intel Xeon and later, or AMD Opteron (32bit mode) .
o 1500 MHz Intel Xeon and later, or AMD Opteron (32bit mode) for Virtual SMP. o 1500 MHz Intel Viiv or AMD A64 x2 dualcore processors

1GB RAM minimum.

One or more Ethernet controllers. Supported controllers include:
*  Broadcom NetXtreme 570x Gigabit controllers
*  Intel PRO/100 adapters
For best performance and security, use separate Ethernet controllers for the service console and the virtual machines.
A SCSI adapter, Fibre Channel adapter, or internal RAID controller:
*  Basic SCSI controllers are Adaptec Ultra160 and Ultra320, LSI Logic Fusion MPT, and most NCR/Symbios. SCSI controllers.
*  RAID adapters supported are HP Smart Array, Dell Perc RAID (Adaptec RAID and LSI MegaRAID), and IBM (Adaptec) ServeRAID controllers.
*  Fibre Channel adapters supported are Emulex and QLogic host bus adapters (HBAs).

A SCSI disk, Fibre Channel LUN, or RAID LUN with un partitioned space. In a minimum configuration, this disk or RAID is shared between the service console and the virtual machines.

 

9. Which Storage systems supports for installing and booting ESX Server ?
* ESX Server supports installing and booting from the following storage systems: IDE/ATA disk drives Installing ESX Server on an IDE/ATA drive or IDE/ATA
RAID is supported. However, you should ensure that your specific drive controller is included in the supported hardware.
Storage of virtual machines is currently not supported on IDE/ATA drives or RAIDs. Virtual machines must be stored on VMFS partitions configured on a SCSI drive, a SCSI RAID, or a SAN.
SCSI disk drives . SCSI disk drives are supported for installing ESX Server. They can also store virtual machines on VMFS partitions.
Storage area networks (SANs) . SANs are supported for installing ESX Server. They can also store virtual machines on VMFS partitions.



10.  Enhanced Performance Recommendations for ESX Server
* Some recommendations for enhanced performance:
RAM : Having sufficient RAM for all your virtual machines is important to achieving good performance. ESX Server hosts require more RAM than typical Servers : An ESX Server host must be equipped with sufficient RAM to run concurrent virtual machines, plus run the service console.

Dedicated fast Ethernet adapters for virtual machines : Dedicated Gigabit Ethernet cards for virtual machines, such as Intel PRO/1000 adapters,iimprove throughput to virtual machines with high network traffic.

 Disk location : For best performance, all data used by your virtual machines should be on physical disks allocated to virtual machines. These physical disks should be large enough to hold disk images to be used by all the virtual machines.

 VMFS3 partitioning :For best performance, use VI Client or VI Web Access to set up your VMFS3 partitions rather than the ESX Server installer. Using VI Client or VI Web Access ensures that the starting sectors of partitions are 64K aligned, which improves storage performance.
Processors : Faster processors improve ESX Server performance. For certain workloads, larger caches improve ESX Server performance.

Hardware compatibility : To ensure the best possible I/O performance and workload management, VMware ESX Server provides its own drivers for supported devices. Be sure that the devices you plan to use in your server are supported.

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