Virtualization Essentials

by Portnoy, Matthew

• ISBN13: 9781118176719
• ISBN10: 1118176715
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-05-01
• Publisher: Sybex

Summary

Virtualization Essentials provides aspiring IT professionals and those just starting out in IT a solid foundation in virtualization by teaching them fundamental concepts and skills to working in a virtual environment. Presented in full-color, this practical book takes on a learning-by-doing approach to gaining a core understanding of virtualization. Each chapter begins by clearly identifying what readers will learn in the chapter, followed by a straightforward discussion of concepts and then engaging readers in hands-on tutorials for readers to gain strong understanding of the chapter topics. Chapters conclude with suggested exercises that allow readers to reinforce their understanding. In this book, readers will learn to: Understand how virtualization software operates within a computing environment Distinguish between Type 1 and Type 2 hypervisors and compare hypervisor products in the market today Create a virtual machine, by scratch and by migrating from physical to virtual Manage the basics of CPU, memory, storage, and networking of a virtual machine Configure supporting devices for a virtual machine Make considerations for availability And more!

Author Biography

Matthew Portnoy is a Senior System Engineer at VMware and has more than 30 years of work experience in the IT industry. He is an Adjunct Professor at Wake Tech Community College, teaching CIS classes since 2007. Matt has presented at many trade shows and industry events, including VMware User Group events and VMworld, which is the largest virtualization conference.

Table of Contents

Introduction xv

CHAPTER 1 Understanding Virtualization 1

Describing Virtualization 1

Microsoft Windows Drives Server Growth 3

Explaining Moore's Law 6

Understanding the Importance of Virtualization 9

Examining Today's Trends 11

Virtualization and Cloud Computing 14

Understanding Virtualization Software Operation 15

Virtualizing Servers 15

Virtualizing Desktops 15

Virtualizing Applications 17

CHAPTER 2 Understanding Hypervisors 19

Describing a Hypervisor 19

Exploring the History of Hypervisors 20

Understanding Type 1 Hypervisors 21

Understanding Type 2 Hypervisors 23

Understanding the Role of a Hypervisor 24

Holodecks and Traffic Cops 24

Resource Allocation 25

Comparing Today's Hypervisors 27

VMware ESX 27

Citrix Xen 29

Microsoft Hyper-V 31

Other Solutions 32

CHAPTER 3 Understanding Virtual Machines 35

Describing a Virtual Machine 35

Examining CPU in a Virtual Machine 38

Examining Memory in a Virtual Machine 39

Examining Network Resources in a Virtual Machine 39

Examining Storage in a Virtual Machine 41

Understanding How a Virtual Machine Works 42

Working with Virtual Machines 43

Understanding Virtual Machine Clones 44

Understanding Templates 45

Understanding Snapshots 47

Understanding OVF 48

CHAPTER 4 Creating a Virtual Machine 51

Performing P2V Conversions 51

Investigating the Physical-to-Virtual Process 52

Hot and Cold Cloning 53

Loading Your Environment 54

Exploring VMware Player 60

Building a New Virtual Machine 63

Thinking About VM Confi guration 64

Creating a First VM 65

CHAPTER 5 Installing Windows on a Virtual Machine 71

Loading Windows into a Virtual Machine 71

Installing Windows 7 72

Installing VMware Tools 83

Understanding Confi guration Options 89

Optimizing a New Virtual Machine 95

CHAPTER 6 Installing Linux on a Virtual Machine 97

Loading Linux into a Virtual Machine 97

Installing Linux into a Virtual Machine 98

Installing VMware Tools 113

Understanding Confi guration Options 117

Optimizing a New Linux Virtual Machine 122

CHAPTER 7 Managing CPUs for a VM 125

Understanding CPU Virtualization 125

Confi guring VM CPU Options 129

Tuning Practices for VM CPUs 130

Choosing Multiple vCPUs vs. a Single vCPU 131

Hyper-Threading 132

Working with Intel and AMD Servers 134

CHAPTER 8 Managing Memory for a Virtual Machine 137

Understanding Memory Virtualization 137

Confi guring VM Memory Options 140

Tuning Practices for VM Memory 142

Calculating Memory Overhead 143

Memory Optimizations 144

CHAPTER 9 Managing Storage for a Virtual Machine 151

Understanding Storage Virtualization 151

Confi guring VM Storage Options 156

Tuning Practices for VM Storage 162

CHAPTER 10 Managing Networking for a Virtual Machine 171

Understanding Network Virtualization 171

Confi guring VM Network Options 181

Tuning Practices for Virtual Networks 187

CHAPTER 11 Copying a Virtual Machine 191

Cloning a Virtual Machine 191

Working with Templates 197

Saving a Virtual Machine State 201

Creating a Snapshot 204

Merging Snapshots 208

CHAPTER 12 Managing Additional Devices in Virtual Machines 211

Using Virtual Machine Tools 212

Understanding Virtual Devices 213

Confi guring a CD/DVD Drive 214

Confi guring a Floppy Disk Drive 215

Confi guring a Sound Card 218

Confi guring USB Devices 219

Confi guring Graphic Displays 221

Confi guring Other Devices 222

CHAPTER 13 Understanding Availability 227

Increasing Availability 227

Protecting a Virtual Machine 230

Protecting Multiple Virtual Machines 234

Protecting Datacenters 238

CHAPTER 14 Understanding Applications in a Virtual Machine 243

Examining Virtual Infrastructure Performance Capabilities 243

Deploying Applications in a Virtual Environment 248

Understanding Virtual Appliances and vApps 256

Index 261