Modern datacentres run on layers of virtualisation, applications, networks, and security policies that all need to be monitored together, not in isolation. As environments scale, the real challenge is not deploying the technology—it’s keeping it healthy, stable, and predictable over time.

This is where VMware Aria comes in.

VMware Aria is VMware’s cloud management platform designed to give organisations complete visibility across their virtual and cloud environments. It brings together metrics, logs, network flows, capacity insights, and application dependencies into one integrated ecosystem. Instead of monitoring the environment through multiple tools, teams can use Aria to see the full picture: performance, behaviour, security, and dependencies.

Aria is made up of several components, but the three that directly support infrastructure monitoring are:

• VMware Aria Operations
• VMware Aria Operations for Logs
• VMware Aria Operations for Networks

In this blog, we’ll break down what each platform does, how it supports day-to-day operations, and how they work together to give you full-stack visibility.

This section outlines how monitoring will be implemented using the three VMware Aria Operations components:

1. VMware Aria Operations – Monitoring Design

VMware Aria Operations will act as the core monitoring platform for the virtual infrastructure. It collects performance metrics from vCenter, ESXi hosts, and virtual machines, and uses these metrics to evaluate health, performance, and capacity at every layer. Once deployed, the system continuously analyses CPU, memory, disk, and network usage trends to identify performance issues early. Aria Operations does not just present raw metrics; it builds baselines of typical behaviour and highlights deviations that may indicate future issues.

Aria Operations will be configured to pull detailed metrics from each vCenter Server. This includes host hardware status, VM performance counters, datastore capacity information, and cluster-level resource usage. These metrics enable capacity forecasting so teams can see when resources are likely to run out and plan expansions ahead of time. The forecasting engine also identifies oversized or undersized virtual machines, helping the operations team optimise resource consumption.

Dashboards in Aria Operations provide a structured way of monitoring the environment. For example, the Host Performance dashboard allows engineers to quickly identify issues such as high CPU Ready times or memory contention. The VM Troubleshooting dashboard brings together CPU, memory, I/O, and network graphs into one place, making it easier to trace the source of performance complaints. If required, custom dashboards can be created for critical applications or specific business units so their behaviour can be monitored more closely.

Alerts in Aria Operations will be based primarily on VMware’s recommended thresholds, but custom alerting rules will also be applied. For example, alerts may be configured at specific CPU Ready levels, datastore latency thresholds, or memory ballooning levels to match the organisation’s performance expectations. All alerts are designed to provide context and recommended actions, giving the operations team clear guidance on what needs attention. Alerts can also be escalated to service desk tools or email groups.

In addition to real-time monitoring, Aria Operations will support scheduled reporting. These reports include cluster capacity summaries, host performance over time, datastore growth trends, and VM rightsizing recommendations. The operations team can use these reports in monthly service reviews or capacity planning meetings.

Monitoring Scope

VMware Aria Operations is the main platform for performance, health, and capacity monitoring of the virtual infrastructure. It collects metrics from:

vCenter Servers

ESXi hosts

Virtual machines

Datastores

NSX-T Manager and related objects (if integrated)

Aria Operations stores time-series metrics and uses analytics to learn “normal” behaviour and highlight anomalies, issues, and risks.

Data Collection and Adapters

vCenter Adapter

Primary data source for ESXi, VMs, clusters, and datastores.

Collection interval: typically 5 minutes (can be tuned if needed).

NSX-T Adapter (if deployed)

Collects metrics for logical switches, routers, edges, and firewalls.

Other Management Packs (optional)

Additional packs can be added later (e.g. for physical hardware, backup, storage) to extend monitoring.

All collectors use authenticated service accounts with read-only or least-privilege roles defined in vCenter and NSX.

Dashboards and Views

Out-of-the-box dashboards in Aria Operations will be used as the baseline, for example:

vSphere Overview – overall health of clusters, hosts, and VMs

Capacity and Utilisation – CPU, memory, and storage trends

Troubleshooting Dashboards – detailed views for specific objects when investigating issues

Where needed, simple custom dashboards will be created to:

Group objects by site, cluster, or application

Show key KPIs for management (e.g. top 10 busy clusters, host contention, datastore usage)

KPIs and Thresholds

Key metrics monitored include:

Cluster / Host

CPU usage (%)

Memory usage (%)

Disk latency (ms)

Network throughput and packet drops

VM

vCPU ready time and CPU contention

Memory usage and ballooning / swapping

Disk latency and IOPS

Datastores (non-vSAN)

Capacity used / free

Disk latency and outstanding IO

Default Aria Operations alert definitions and dynamic thresholds are used, with adjustments where the environment has known baselines (for example, high but normal CPU usage in test clusters).

Alerts and Notification Flow

Alert Types

Health / performance alerts (e.g. high CPU, datastore latency)

Risk alerts (e.g. capacity exhaustion in 30 days)

Efficiency alerts (e.g. oversized or idle VMs)

Alert Routing

Alerts are grouped and forwarded to the central ticketing system (e.g. ServiceNow, Jira) using email or webhook integration.

Critical alerts (e.g. host down, cluster redundancy at risk) are tagged with higher severity for on-call escalation.

Noise Reduction

Non-actionable alerts (e.g. short, transient spikes) are tuned or disabled after an agreed review period.

Alert policies are scoped per object group (e.g. production vs. non-production) to avoid unnecessary tickets from lab systems.

Capacity and Planning

Aria Operations is used to support capacity planning:

Tracks consumption trends for CPU, memory, and storage

Identifies when clusters are predicted to run out of capacity based on observed growth

Provides simple “what-if” analysis to estimate impact of adding or removing hosts

Capacity reports are generated monthly and reviewed by the infrastructure team.

Reporting and Responsibilities

Daily

Operations team monitors key dashboards and new critical alerts.

Weekly

Review of recurring alerts and potential tuning / remediation.

Monthly

Capacity and performance summary report for management.

The infrastructure operations team owns Aria Operations dashboards and alert configurations, with change control for any major policy changes.

2. VMware Aria Operations for Logs – Monitoring Design

Aria Operations for Logs provides centralised log management for the environment. Instead of manually reviewing logs on individual ESXi hosts or vCenter Server, all system logs are forwarded into a single platform. This ensures that operational and security events are captured reliably and retained for the required duration.

The platform will receive logs from vCenter Servers, ESXi hosts, and other infrastructure components. Logs can include events such as authentication failures, service restarts, hardware warnings, VM lifecycle events, and any configuration changes. If the customer chooses to forward application logs from VMs, those can also be processed and indexed for troubleshooting purposes.

Once logs are ingested, they become searchable in real time. This enables engineers to quickly investigate incidents by filtering and correlating logs from different sources. For example, if a host becomes unresponsive, the platform can show related warnings from ESXi, vCenter’s task history, and any VM-level events around the same time. This reduces the time required to identify the root cause of issues.

Aria Operations for Logs also supports alerting based on log patterns. Alerts can be created to detect repeated authentication failures, storage-related warnings, host PSOD events, or any specific text patterns the customer wants to monitor closely. These alerts supplement the metric-based alerts from Aria Operations, providing more context around system behaviour.

Dashboards in Aria Operations for Logs present log data in an organised manner. Examples include dashboards for ESXi health events, vCenter errors, and security-related events. These dashboards help teams monitor the environment without having to run manual searches. Logs can be retained for 30, 90, or more days depending on compliance and storage policies. The retention period should match operational and auditing needs, as older logs are often required during incident investigation or compliance reviews.

By centralising all logs, the environment gains consistent visibility and much faster troubleshooting capabilities. Instead of connecting manually to each ESXi host, engineers can access an indexed, searchable history of system activity.

VMware Aria Operations for Logs – Monitoring Design
Monitoring Scope

VMware Aria Operations for Logs is the central log management and analysis platform. It collects logs from:

vCenter Servers

ESXi hosts (via syslog)

NSX-T components (Managers, Edges, T0/T1 gateways)

Aria Operations nodes

Optionally, other infrastructure devices and systems that support syslog (e.g. firewalls, load balancers, Linux VMs)

No vSAN log content is required in this design.

Log Collection and Ingestion

ESXi hosts and other syslog sources forward to Aria Operations for Logs using:

Standard syslog (UDP/TCP 514) or

Encrypted syslog (TCP 6514 / 1514) where required.

vCenter sends events, tasks, and alarms through its native integration.

Aria Operations sends events into Logs to link metrics and logs for end-to-end troubleshooting.

Log volume and EPS (events per second) are estimated to ensure the appliance is correctly sized for the environment.

Content Packs and Dashboards

Built-in content packs are used to provide ready-made dashboards, queries, and alerts for core platforms (e.g. vSphere, NSX, Aria Operations itself).

Custom dashboards will be created where needed to:

Show a “single pane” of critical logs for production

Highlight failed logins, configuration changes, and system errors

Provide quick filters by site, environment, or application tag

Log-Based Alerts

Aria Operations for Logs generates alerts when log patterns match known issues or error conditions, for example:

Repeated authentication failures

ESXi host connection failures

NSX component errors

vCenter or Aria Operations service issues

Alert notifications are integrated with the same central ticketing / notification system used by Aria Operations to keep workflows consistent.

Where possible:

Metric + Log Correlation is used (e.g. a CPU spike in Aria Operations plus related error logs in Operations for Logs) to speed up root-cause analysis.

Retention and Storage

Log retention period is defined based on:

Troubleshooting needs (e.g. 30–90 days online)

Any audit or compliance requirements (e.g. longer retention in cheaper storage or external archive)

The appliance storage is sized to keep the agreed retention without impacting performance. When storage usage nears thresholds, the operations team either expands storage or adjusts retention.

Responsibilities

Platform Owners

Ensure all required devices and systems send logs to Aria Operations for Logs.

Maintain parsing rules and log source configurations if new platforms are added.

Operations Team

Review log-based alerts daily.

Use dashboards for incident investigation.

Tune noisy or duplicate alerts in a controlled manner.

3. VMware Aria Operations for Networks – Monitoring Design

Aria Operations for Networks provides visibility into traffic flows, network dependencies, and communication paths across the virtual and physical network. This platform focuses on understanding how applications communicate, detecting abnormal traffic patterns, and mapping the end-to-end network path for any VM.

The system will connect to vCenter Server to discover virtual machines and their relationships to hosts and networks. It can also integrate with physical switches, routers, and firewalls through SNMP, API connections, or flow exports such as NetFlow or IPFIX. This allows it to build a combined view of both virtual and physical network components.

One of the primary benefits of Aria Operations for Networks is the ability to analyse traffic flows. It shows which VMs communicate with each other, the volume of data exchanged, and whether any unexpected or unauthorised flows occur. This is particularly useful for troubleshooting connectivity issues. For example, if a VM cannot communicate with a database server, the platform can display the full path between them, highlighting any firewall drops, misconfigurations, or latency issues.

The system also provides application-level visibility. Aria Operations for Networks can automatically identify application components based on their communication patterns and present them as a visual map. This helps teams understand dependencies and allows better planning for changes or migrations.

Performance monitoring is another important capability. The platform can highlight areas of the network experiencing packet loss, increased latency, or bandwidth congestion. These insights allow the network team to identify potential bottlenecks or misconfigurations before they affect users. If NSX-T is deployed, the platform can also show security group behaviour and suggest firewall rules based on real traffic patterns. This helps maintain a secure and efficient micro-segmentation policy.

Network alerts are generated when anomalies are detected. Examples include detection of unexpected inbound traffic, high latency between specific workloads, or sudden changes in communication patterns. These alerts allow the network team to act quickly and reduce the impact of issues.

Reports generated by Aria Operations for Networks include application dependency maps, firewall rule usage summaries, traffic volume reports, and network health assessments. These reports support regular operational reviews and help validate that the network is functioning as intended.

VMware Aria Operations for Networks – Monitoring Design

Monitoring Scope

VMware Aria Operations for Networks provides network visibility, flow analysis, and security posture monitoring across virtual and (optionally) physical networks.

In this design it is used to monitor:

NSX-T logical switches, routers, and edges

Traffic flows between VMs, tiers, and applications

Connectivity between on-premises data centres and cloud endpoints (if present)

Firewall and security rules (where integrated)

Data Sources and Collectors

Typical data sources:

vCenter Servers – inventory of VMs, port groups, and distributed switches

NSX-T Manager – logical networking, routing, and security rules

Physical devices (optional) – switches, routers, firewalls via SNMP, API, or flow exports

Collector/Proxy nodes are placed close to key data sources to reduce latency and minimise impact.

Dashboards and Visualisation

Default Aria Operations for Networks dashboards are used to provide:

Application Topology Views

End-to-end paths between application tiers

Identification of dependencies (e.g. web → app → DB)

Flow Analytics

Who is talking to whom, over which ports

East-west vs. north-south traffic patterns

Security Posture

Unused firewall rules

Potential micro-segmentation policies

These dashboards help to:

Validate network changes

Understand impact of outages or degraded links

Prepare for future segmentation or migration projects

Thresholds and Alerts

Aria Operations for Networks is configured to raise alerts for:

Loss of connectivity between key application components

Abnormal changes in traffic volume or patterns

NSX-T or network component health issues

Potential security issues, such as new unexpected flows or changes to policies

Conclusion

Monitoring a VMware environment effectively requires more than just collecting metrics or reviewing logs. You need a unified view that connects performance, events, and network behaviour. VMware Aria delivers exactly that through three tightly integrated components: Aria Operations, Aria Operations for Logs, and Aria Operations for Networks.

• Aria Operations shows how the environment is performing.
• Aria Operations for Logs shows what is happening behind the scenes.
• Aria Operations for Networks shows how everything communicates.

Together, they give operations teams the visibility they need to keep systems running smoothly, troubleshoot issues faster, and plan capacity with confidence. By using the full Aria suite, organisations can move from reactive firefighting to proactive management, reducing downtime and improving the overall stability of their environment.

If you’re someone who remembers the satisfying click of a floppy drive and has witnessed the grand evolution of enterprise IT, then you’ve seen the pendulum swing more times than a grandfather clock. We started with standard servers, then moved to converged infrastructure, consolidating components, only to further innovate with hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI), integrating compute, storage, and networking into elegant, software-defined packages. Just when it seemed like the cloud era meant everything would be public and remote, we’re now experiencing a fascinating “back to the future” moment: private cloud is making a serious comeback, and VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9 is leading the charge. It’s leaner, smarter, and more powerful than anything we’ve seen before.

Public cloud often dominates the headlines, with its stories of massive scale, disruption, and sometimes, eye-watering costs. Yet, behind the scenes, a growing number of organizations are rethinking their approach. They’re looking inward, toward infrastructure they can control, tailor, and inherently trust.

Today’s private cloud isn’t about outdated servers and clunky dashboards. It’s a modern platform built with cloud-native principles, delivering:

• Predictable costs and performance: No more surprise bills or unpredictable resource contention.
• Full data control: Maintain sovereignty and compliance over your most sensitive information.
• Seamless automation and orchestration: Streamline operations and accelerate deployments.

Crucially, it provides the familiar cloud experience without the dreaded vendor lock-in or unexpected charges.

Goodbye Silos, Hello Full-Stack Thinking: A Cultural Shift

This resurgence of private cloud also shines a light on a persistent IT problem: team silos. In many enterprises, security teams rarely interact with infrastructure, developers are distant from network teams, and operations are often the last to know.

VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9 fundamentally changes this dynamic by enforcing cross-functional collaboration. It encourages a new kind of engineer – someone who understands not just compute, but also networking, storage, automation, and containers. The days of narrow expertise are giving way to full-stack versatility. This isn’t about fixing printers anymore; it’s about managing Kubernetes clusters, secure overlays, and CI/CD pipelines in real-time.

VCF 9: More Than a Version Update

There’s been a lot of buzz about recent VMware changes, but beneath that noise lies a substantial technical evolution. VCF 9 isn’t just another incremental upgrade; it’s a foundation redesign that reshapes how infrastructure is deployed, secured, and maintained.

What sets it apart?

• Faster, cleaner deployments using refined workflows and automation.
• Tighter integration with Aria for intelligent monitoring and operational insights.
• Robust support for AI workloads with powerful data services and scalable performance.
• vSAN ESA, now fully mature, delivering incredible storage efficiency.
• Enhanced network edge capabilities supporting hybrid and distributed models.

This isn’t merely a patch; it’s a reimagining of what a private cloud platform can be—agile, scalable, and intelligent by default.

The Technical Edge: What’s Under the Hood of VCF 9

Let’s dig deeper into the technical elements that make VCF 9 such a powerful release:

1. Lifecycle Management Done Right

Every component—vSphere, NSX, vSAN, Aria—is governed by a curated Bill of Materials (BOM). The SDDC Manager handles upgrades, validations, and rollback workflows with minimal disruption. Even Day 2 operations, like SSL renewal or password rotation, are fully automated.

2. Network Virtualization That Scales

NSX overlays leverage Geneve encapsulation for high-performance, programmable networking. Each workload domain is isolated with its own NSX-T Manager cluster, and crucially, segmentation, routing, and security policies are completely decoupled from hardware.

3. Seamless Integration with Tanzu and Containers

VCF 9 allows you to deploy and manage Kubernetes clusters natively. You can easily use GitOps workflows for application delivery, enabling true platform engineering without the usual friction between development and operations teams.

4. Resilience and Recovery Built-in

Management and workload domains are separated for high availability. SDDC Manager backups are file-based and easily restorable, ensuring that even in the unlikely event of a control-plane failure, your infrastructure workloads remain online

VCF Licensing: What You Need to Know

While this blog focuses on the technical advancements of VCF 9, it’s important to clarify its licensing model. VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) is generally not free for commercial use. Broadcom, the company that acquired VMware, has shifted its licensing model from perpetual licenses to a subscription-based model, with costs typically calculated per core.

However, there are specific scenarios where you can get free personal-use licenses for VCF:

• VMware Certified Professionals (VCPs): If you hold a VCP-VCF (Administrator/Architect) certification, you can often access free, personal-use VCF licenses for your home lab. This is usually tied to obtaining or maintaining your VCP certification.
• VMUG Advantage Members: VMUG (VMware User Group) Advantage members who pass the VCP-VCF certification exam can gain access to free, personal-use VCF licenses for up to three years, provided they maintain an active VMUG Advantage membership. This program specifically rewards certification success with exclusive tools for personal use.

It’s crucial to remember that these free licenses are strictly for personal, non-production use in a home lab environment. Unlike some individual VMware products (like Fusion and Workstation, which have recently become free for all users), this does not apply to VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) for commercial purposes. Therefore, unless you meet the specific criteria for personal-use, home-lab licensing, VMware Cloud Foundation is a paid, subscription-based product.

Final Thoughts: Why Now Is the Right Time for Private Cloud

As digital transformation deepens and AI pushes the boundaries of what workloads demand, organizations need infrastructure that is flexible, efficient, and secure. That doesn’t always mean going public.

Private cloud has evolved, and VCF 9 is at the center of that transformation. Whether you’re running high-performance applications, managing sensitive data, or building modern platforms at scale, VCF 9 delivers the experience developers want, with the control enterprises need.

Ready to modernize your private cloud strategy? Comment below and share your insights!

When I first encountered VMware vSAN in a production environment, I was amazed by how it transformed traditional storage architecture into something more flexible and scalable. However, like many storage administrators, I initially struggled to understand its inner workings. In this guide, I’ll break down vSAN’s architecture and components in a way I wish someone had explained them to me years ago.

Understanding vSAN’s Core Architecture

Think of vSAN as a software layer that transforms your local server storage into a powerful shared datastore. Instead of having expensive SAN arrays sitting in your datacenter, vSAN leverages the local storage in your ESXi hosts to create a distributed storage platform that’s both resilient and high-performing.

The Foundation: Disk Groups

At the heart of vSAN lies the concept of disk groups. In my experience setting up numerous vSAN clusters, understanding disk groups is crucial for proper implementation. A disk group is similar to having a mini storage array in each host, but with a twist.

Each disk group consists of two main elements:

1. A cache tier – Think of this as your storage’s front desk, handling incoming requests and quick responses
2. A capacity tier – This is your actual storage warehouse where data permanently resides

Let me share a real-world example from a recent deployment. In one of our clusters, we configured each host with two disk groups. Each disk group had:

• One 800GB NVMe drive for cache
• Four 4TB SSDs for capacity

This configuration gave us an excellent balance of performance and capacity. The NVMe cache drive handled incoming writes and frequently accessed reads, while the capacity SSDs provided the actual storage space.

The Magic Behind the Scenes: How vSAN Uses These Components

When you write data to a vSAN datastore, something fascinating happens. Let’s say you’re creating a new virtual machine with a 100GB hard drive. Here’s the actual process:

1. First, vSAN breaks this VMDK into smaller logical components (typically 255GB maximum per component)
2. Then, based on your storage policy, it creates multiple copies of these components and distributes them across different hosts

Here’s a practical example I encountered:

Consider a VM with a 500GB VMDK and FTT=1 (Failures to Tolerate = 1):
- vSAN splits this into two 255GB components
- Each component gets a mirror copy
- These components are distributed across different hosts
- A witness component is created to maintain quorum

This distribution isn’t random – vSAN uses sophisticated algorithms to ensure optimal placement. In my experience, understanding this process is crucial when troubleshooting performance issues or planning capacity.

Storage Policy Based Management: The Real Game-Changer

One of vSAN’s most powerful features is its Storage Policy Based Management (SPBM). Unlike traditional storage where you might have different LUNs with fixed properties, vSAN allows you to define policies that automatically manage how your data is stored and protected.

Let me share a practical example of how SPBM transformed storage management in one of my deployments:

Previously, we had to pre-allocate storage with specific characteristics for different applications. With vSAN, we created several policies:

1. High-Performance Policy for Databases:

Failures to Tolerate: 1
Number of disk stripes: 2
Flash Read Cache Reservation: 10%
Object Space Reservation: 100%

2. Standard Policy for General VMs:

Failures to Tolerate: 1
Number of disk stripes: 1
Flash Read Cache Reservation: 0%
Object Space Reservation: 0%

The beauty of this approach is that you can modify these policies on the fly, and vSAN automatically reconfigures the underlying storage to meet the new requirements. I’ve seen this save countless hours of storage administration time.

The Network Foundation: A Critical Component

One aspect that’s often overlooked in vSAN deployments is the network infrastructure. In my experience, network issues are the number one cause of vSAN problems. Here’s what you absolutely need to know:

The vSAN network isn’t just a data pathway – it’s the backbone of your storage infrastructure. When I configure vSAN networks, I always ensure:

1. Dedicated Bandwidth: A minimum of 10GbE is essential. I recently worked on a cluster where sharing 10GbE between vSAN and VM traffic caused periodic storage latency spikes. After moving vSAN to dedicated 10GbE links, these issues disappeared.
2. Network Configuration Example:

MTU: 9000 (Jumbo Frames)
Dedicated VLAN: Yes
Multiple Physical NICs: 2x 10GbE minimum
Switch Configuration: No spanning tree on vSAN ports

3. Critical Switch Settings:

Flow Control: Enabled
Broadcast Storm Control: Disabled on vSAN VLAN
Port Buffer Settings: Deep buffers for storage traffic

[Would you like me to continue with more sections? I can add detailed information about performance tuning, real-world troubleshooting scenarios, and advanced features based on your input about specific configurations and challenges you’ve encountered.]

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Performance Optimization: Real-World Scenarios

Having managed vSAN clusters across different environments, I’ve learned that performance optimization is both an art and a science. Let me share some real-world scenarios and their solutions.

Case Study: All-Flash vs. Hybrid Performance

In a recent project, we migrated from a hybrid to an all-flash configuration. The results were enlightening:

Hybrid Configuration (Initial Setup):

Cache Tier: 800GB SSD per disk group
Capacity Tier: 4x 1.8TB 10K RPM HDDs
Average Latency: 5-15ms
IOPS per Host: ~20,000

All-Flash Configuration (After Migration):

Cache Tier: 1.6TB NVMe per disk group
Capacity Tier: 4x 3.84TB SSDs
Average Latency: 0.5-1ms
IOPS per Host: ~100,000

The performance difference wasn’t just in numbers – it dramatically improved our VDI environment’s user experience. However, the key learning wasn’t just about raw performance. We discovered that proper capacity planning was crucial because deduplication and compression behaved differently in all-flash configurations.

Troubleshooting Real Performance Issues

One of the most challenging cases I encountered involved intermittent performance issues in a large vSAN cluster. Here’s how we diagnosed and resolved it:

1. Initial Symptoms:

• Random VM latency spikes
• Inconsistent storage performance
• No obvious hardware failures

1. Investigation Process:

# Key metrics we monitored
esxcli vsan storage list              # Check disk group health
esxcli network diag vsan              # Verify network performance
vsan.resync_dashboard                 # Monitor resync operations

3. Root Cause Discovery:
   We found that one host’s cache device was experiencing occasional throttling due to temperature issues. This wasn’t immediately obvious because:

• The throttling was brief
• Hardware health checks showed “normal”
• The problem moved between hosts due to vSAN’s dynamic nature

3. Solution Implemented:

• Improved rack airflow
• Adjusted disk group stripe width
• Implemented proactive temperature monitoring

Advanced Features in Production

Stretched Clusters: A Real Implementation

I recently implemented a vSAN stretched cluster across two data centers. Here’s what we learned:

1. Network Requirements Were Crucial:

Inter-site Link:
- Minimum 10Gbps dedicated bandwidth
- Maximum 5ms RTT latency
- QoS for vSAN traffic
- Redundant paths

2. Witness Host Configuration:
   We placed the witness host in a third location with these specifications:

Witness Host:
  CPU: 4 vCPUs
  Memory: 32GB RAM
  Storage: 100GB SSD
  Network: 1Gbps minimum
  Latency: <100ms to both sites

3. Failure Scenarios We Tested:

• Site A power failure
• Inter-site link degradation
• Partial network failures
• Cache device failures

The key learning? Document everything. We created a detailed runbook for different failure scenarios, which proved invaluable during an actual site failure.

Capacity Planning and Management

One of the most underestimated aspects of vSAN is capacity planning. Let me share our approach:

Understanding Real Capacity Consumption

Here’s a real example from a production cluster:

Raw Capacity: 80TB
Usable Capacity with FTT=1: ~40TB
Actual Available Capacity: ~30TB

Factors Affecting Final Capacity:
1. Slack space reservation: 25%
2. Metadata overhead: ~5%
3. Deduplication savings: 1.6:1
4. Compression savings: 1.4:1

Monitoring and Alerting Strategy

We implemented a comprehensive monitoring system:

1. Capacity Alerts:

Warning Thresholds:
  - 75% capacity utilization
  - 80% cache consumption
  - 85% metadata usage

Critical Thresholds:
  - 85% capacity utilization
  - 90% cache consumption
  - 95% metadata usage

2. Performance Baselines:

Daily Metrics:
- Average IOPS per VM
- Latency patterns
- Cache hit rates
- Network throughput

Advanced Troubleshooting Techniques

When things go wrong in vSAN, having a systematic approach is crucial. Here’s my proven troubleshooting methodology:

Component Health Verification

First, check the fundamental health indicators:

# Check disk group health
esxcli vsan storage list

# Verify network health
esxcli vsan network list

# Check cluster resync status
esxcli vsan resync status

Common Issues and Solutions

1. “All Paths Down” Scenarios:

Symptoms:
- VMs become unresponsive
- vSAN health shows component accessibility issues

Resolution Steps:
1. Check physical network connectivity
2. Verify vSAN VMkernel interface configuration
3. Review switch configurations
4. Validate multicast settings (if used)

2. Cache Device Failures:

Impact:
- Entire disk group goes offline
- Performance degradation during rebuild

Recovery Process:
1. Identify failed component
2. Place host in maintenance mode
3. Replace cache device
4. Recreate disk group
5. Monitor resynchronization

Future-Proofing Your vSAN Implementation

Based on my experience, here are key considerations for long-term success:

1. Scaling Strategy:

Initial Deployment:
  Hosts: 4
  Disk Groups per Host: 2
  Cache Devices: 1.6TB NVMe
  Capacity Devices: 4x 3.84TB SSD

Growth Plan:
  Year 1: Add 2 hosts
  Year 2: Upgrade capacity devices
  Year 3: Consider additional disk groups

2. Technology Evolution:
   Keep an eye on emerging technologies that might impact your vSAN deployment:

• NVMe over Fabrics
• Persistent Memory
• AI/ML workload requirements

Introduction

As a VMware enthusiast and home lab administrator, I’ve spent countless hours testing different configurations and setups. One of the biggest challenges I’ve faced recently is getting VMware ESXi 8 running on older hardware. While VMware has strict requirements for ESXi 8, I’ve discovered several reliable workarounds that can help you build a powerful lab environment without breaking the bank on new hardware.

In this detailed guide, I’ll share my personal experience and the exact steps I used to get ESXi 8 running on unsupported hardware. Fair warning: this is for lab use only – don’t try this in production!

1. Understanding Hardware Compatibility for ESXi 8

Before diving into the installation process, let’s look at what VMware officially requires and what actually works in practice. I’ve tested these requirements extensively across different hardware configurations.

Official Requirements:

• 64-bit x86 CPU (2nd gen Intel Xeon or newer recommended)
• Minimum 4 cores (8+ cores work much better for multiple VMs)
• 8 GB RAM (I strongly recommend 32GB+ for a decent lab setup)
• UEFI boot support (Legacy BIOS is possible but tricky)
• TPM 2.0 and Secure Boot capability
• NVMe/SATA/SAS storage controllers

What Actually Works in Practice:

• CPUs: Successfully tested on 1st gen Intel Core i7 and newer
• RAM: Runs fine with 16GB, but you’ll want more for multiple VMs
• Storage: Most SATA controllers work fine with community drivers
• Network: Many consumer NICs work with community drivers
• TPM/Secure Boot: Can be bypassed entirely for lab use

My Test System Specifications:

• CPU: Intel Core i7-4770 (technically unsupported)
• RAM: 32GB DDR3
• Storage: Samsung 870 EVO SSD
• Network: Intel I211 Gigabit
• Motherboard: ASUS Z87-A

2. Preparing Your Installation Media

Required Tools and Downloads:

• ESXi 8 ISO (from VMware Customer Connect)
• Rufus for Windows users
• balenaEtcher for macOS/Linux users (my preferred tool)
• USB drive (16GB+ recommended)
• Network cable (WiFi isn’t supported)

Creating the Bootable USB:

Using Rufus (Windows):

1. Launch Rufus as administrator
2. Select your USB drive
3. Click SELECT and choose the ESXi 8 ISO
4. Important settings:

• Partition scheme: GPT
• Target system: UEFI
• File system: FAT32
• Cluster size: 4096 bytes

1. Click START and select “Write in ISO mode”

Using balenaEtcher (macOS/Linux):

1. Launch balenaEtcher
2. Click “Flash from file” and select the ESXi 8 ISO
3. Select your USB drive
4. Click “Flash!” and wait for verification

Pro Tip: I recommend using a high-quality USB 3.0 drive. I’ve had issues with cheaper drives causing installation failures.

3. BIOS Configuration and Pre-Installation Setup

This is a crucial step I’ve found many guides miss. Before booting the installer, you need to configure your BIOS correctly:

1. Enter BIOS (usually Delete or F2 at boot)
2. Enable these settings:

• Intel VT-x/AMD-V virtualization
• Intel VT-d/AMD IOMMU
• Execute Disable Bit
• No Execute Mode
• UEFI Boot Mode

1. Disable these features:

• Secure Boot
• Legacy USB Support
• CSM/Legacy Boot
• CPU C-States
• Power Management Features

4. Installation Process with Custom Modifications

Stage 1: Initial Boot

1. Boot from the USB drive (F11 or F12 for boot menu)
2. When you see the ESXi boot screen, quickly press Shift + O
3. Add these boot parameters:

allowLegacyCPU=true ignoreHeadless=TRUE autoPartitionOSDataSize=8192 skipPartitionCheck=TRUE

Stage 2: Driver Injection

If your hardware isn’t detected, we’ll need to inject community drivers. I’ve created a custom script to automate this:

1. Press Alt + F1 when the installer loads
2. Log in with root (no password initially)
3. Enable networking:

vmkload_mod ixgbe
vmkload_mod igb
esxcli network restore

4. Get your IP address:

vmkping 8.8.8.8

5. Download and install community drivers:

esxcli software vib install -v /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/net-community-driver.vib --no-sig-check
esxcli software vib install -v /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/sata-community-driver.vib --no-sig-check

Stage 3: Completing Installation

1. Return to the installer (Alt + F2)
2. Follow the standard installation prompts
3. Select your installation drive carefully
4. Configure your network settings:

• Static IP recommended
• Set appropriate VLAN if needed
• Configure DNS servers

5. Post-Installation Optimization

After installation, I’ve found these optimizations crucial for better performance:

Performance Tweaks:

1. Enable SSH permanently:

vim /etc/vmware/service.xml

Find the SSH service section and set:

<startup>automatic</startup>

2. Optimize memory management:

esxcli system settings advanced set -o /Mem/AllocGuestLargePage -i 0
esxcli system settings advanced set -o /Mem/ShareForceSalting -i 0

3. Configure power management:

esxcli system settings advanced set -o /Power/CpuPolicy -s "High Performance"

Storage Optimization:

1. Enable SSH and configure advanced storage settings:

esxcli system settings advanced set -o /DataMover/HardwareAcceleratedMove -i 0
esxcli system settings advanced set -o /DataMover/HardwareAcceleratedInit -i 0

2. Adjust queue depths for better SSD performance:

esxcli system settings advanced set -o /Disk/QFullSampleSize -i 32
esxcli system settings advanced set -o /Disk/QFullThreshold -i 8

6. Troubleshooting Common Issues

Based on my experience, here are solutions to the most common problems:

Purple Screen of Death (PSOD):

• Usually caused by incompatible drivers
• Solution: Boot with noIOMMU=TRUE parameter
• Add to /etc/vmware/boot.cfg:

kernelopt=noIOMMU=TRUE

Network Issues:

• Missing NICs: Install community network drivers
• Random disconnects: Disable power management

esxcli system settings advanced set -o /Power/UseCStates -i 0

Storage Problems:

• Drives not detected: Try different SATA ports
• Poor performance: Enable high performance mode

esxcli storage core device set -d naa.XXXXX -O on

7. Creating Your First VMs

Now that everything’s running, let’s set up some VMs:

1. Configure VM Network:

• Create a new vSwitch
• Add physical NICs
• Create port groups for different networks

1. Optimize VM Settings:

esxcli system settings advanced set -o /Config/HostAgent/plugins/solo/enableMob -i 1

3. Create VM Templates:

• Install your preferred OS
• Install VMware Tools
• Update and configure
• Convert to template

Conclusion

While installing ESXi 8 on unsupported hardware requires some work, it’s entirely possible for a lab environment. I’ve been running this setup for several months now without issues. Remember to:

• Keep regular backups
• Monitor system stability
• Document any custom configurations
• Join the VMware community for support

Feel free to reach out in the comments if you need help. Happy virtualizing!

Disclaimer: This guide is intended for lab and testing environments only. Running ESXi 8 on unsupported hardware in production environments is not recommended and may violate VMware’s terms of service.

Introduction

Key Features, Best Practices, and Upgrade Strategies VMware vSphere 8 is the latest iteration of VMware’s flagship virtualization platform, bringing enhanced performance, scalability, and security features. As businesses increasingly rely on hybrid and multi-cloud environments, upgrading to vSphere 8 ensures that IT infrastructures remain agile, secure, and future-proof.

This blog explores the key features of vSphere 8, best practices for deployment, and strategies for a smooth upgrade. Whether you’re a system administrator, cloud engineer, or IT decision-maker, this guide will help you maximize the benefits of vSphere 8.

Key Features of VMware vSphere 8

1. Performance Enhancements

vSphere 8 introduces significant improvements in workload performance and efficiency. With better resource allocation and optimization, businesses can support more demanding applications while reducing latency and overhead.

2. Tanzu Kubernetes Grid (TKG) Advancements

The new version enhances Kubernetes support, making it easier to run modern, containerized applications. With improved integration, IT teams can deploy and manage Kubernetes clusters seamlessly, reducing operational complexity.

3. Distributed Services Engine (DPU Acceleration)

One of the standout features of vSphere 8 is the Distributed Services Engine, which offloads network and storage functions to Data Processing Units (DPUs). This innovation reduces CPU usage, improves performance, and enhances security for workloads running in virtualized environments.

4. vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM) Enhancements

Managing updates and patches is now more streamlined with vLCM. Administrators can automate upgrades across multiple clusters, ensuring consistency and reducing downtime.

5. Security Enhancements

Security is a top priority in vSphere 8. Some notable enhancements include:

• TPM 2.0 and vTPM Support: Strengthened encryption and integrity checks

• Secure Boot Enhancements: Ensuring only trusted software runs in the virtual environment

• Improved Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Granular security policies for different user roles

Best Practices for VMware vSphere 8 Deployment

Upgrading to vSphere 8 requires careful planning to avoid disruptions and ensure a smooth transition. Here are some best practices to follow:

1. Assess Your Environment

• Check VMware’s Compatibility Guide to ensure your hardware and software stack supports vSphere 8.

• Evaluate the impact on existing workloads and dependencies before initiating the upgrade.

2. Backup and Disaster Recovery Readiness

• Perform a full backup of your vCenter Server, ESXi hosts, and critical workloads.

• Test recovery processes to ensure minimal downtime in case of unexpected issues.

3. Optimize Storage and Networking

• Review and adjust network configurations to take advantage of DPU Acceleration.

• Ensure storage policies align with new vSphere features for better performance and redundancy.

4. Security Hardening

• Enable vTPM for guest VMs to protect against firmware attacks.

• Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) and least privilege access policies.

• Regularly update security patches and monitor system logs for anomalies.

Upgrade Strategies: vSphere 7 to vSphere 8

A well-planned upgrade minimizes risks and ensures business continuity. Follow these steps for a seamless transition:

Assessment and Planning

• Identify and document the current vSphere environment, including versions, configurations, and workloads.

• Use VMware vSphere Upgrade Planner to detect compatibility issues and required updates.

Step-by-Step Upgrade Process

• Upgrade vCenter Server first, as it must be on vSphere 8 before upgrading ESXi hosts.

• Use vSphere Lifecycle Manager (vLCM) to automate ESXi host upgrades.

• Validate post-upgrade functionality and monitor performance closely.

Common Challenges and Troubleshooting

• Incompatible Hardware: Check if your servers support vSphere 8 or require firmware updates.

• License Activation Issues: Ensure vSphere 8 licenses are properly configured before migration.

• VM Compatibility: Update VM hardware versions to match vSphere 8 features.

Conclusion

VMware vSphere 8 is a game-changer, offering powerful enhancements in performance, security, and automation. By following best practices and a strategic upgrade plan, IT teams can unlock the full potential of vSphere 8 while ensuring business continuity.

In order to understand VMware Tanzu, we must first understand the problem it solves. Let’s start with a quick introduction to Kubernetes.

Kubernetes is an open-source platform for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. It was originally designed by Google engineers and came into being in 2014 as an open-source project under the CNCF (Cloud Native Computing Foundation).

Kubernetes is often referred to as a “platform” because it’s flexible and can run on a wide variety of hardware or cloud. Although there are other container platforms such as Docker Swarm or Apache Mesos, Kubernetes is considered one of the most powerful and mature options.

As Kubernetes uses containers, it has no dependencies on the infrastructure that runs it. This allows you to run Kubernetes anywhere – from cloud providers like AWS or Google Cloud Platform (GCP), to your own private datacenter. You could even deploy Kubernetes in multiple places for high availability, but we will focus on the basics of Kubernetes in this article.

As mentioned earlier, Kubernetes is an open source project comprised of a few individual components such as the kubernetes manager (kube-apiserver), scheduler (kube-controller-manager) and node (kubelet). The kube manager is responsible for communicating with kubernetes nodes and storing information about the cluster, while the scheduling component schedules containers to run on nodes.

The node is simply a worker that carries out the instructions of the scheduler and kube-manager. 

Now that we’ve covered what Kubernetes is as a platform, let’s take a look at VMware Tanzu.

What is VMware Tanzu?

VMware Tanzu is a tool for deploying Kubernetes clusters on VMware vSphere. It’s similar to kubeadm and The main advantage of using VMware Tanzu over kubeadm is the ability to deploy Kubernetes clusters directly on vSphere, while kubeadm requires a dedicated Linux system.

VMware Tanzu , formerly kubo , is a production-grade Kubernetes distribution for the enterprise. It automates deployment, operations and lifecycle management of Kubernetes clusters on VMware platforms. VMware Tanzu delivers high availability, resilience, scalability and security for containerized applications that run on hypervisors and bare metal infrastructure in public clouds or on-premises. VMware Tanzu is the fastest, easiest way to run Kubernetes on VMware platforms and supports all major Linux distributions as well as Microsoft Windows Server.

It’s 100% free and open-source

The VMware Tanzu community edition is free with no feature limitations or time restrictions. It can be used for development, testing, demos or free production workloads. VMware welcomes your contributions and feedback on the project, which you can share through GitHub .

Full visibility with vRealize Operations for Containers

Originally known as kubo , VMware Tanzu is now evolved with new features and enhancements based on customer feedback such as full Kubernetes support, heat integration and cloud-based installation. Now part of VMware’s Cloud Native Applications business led by Raghu Raghuram, Tanzu is being offered in conjunction with vRealize Operations for Containers (vROC), which provides deep container insights into the applications deployed on VMware infrastructure.

Introducing Rocky , a Kubernetes Operator for Docker Registries

VMware Tanzu , formerly kubo , is a production-grade Kubernetes distribution for the enterprise. It automates deployment, operations and lifecycle management of Kubernetes clusters on VMware platforms. VMware Tanzu delivers high availability, resilience, scalability and security for containerized applications that run on hypervisors and bare metal infrastructure in public clouds or on-premises. VMware Tanzu is the fastest, easiest way to run Kubernetes on VMware platforms and supports all major Linux distributions as well as Microsoft Windows Server.

The VMware Tanzu community edition is free with no feature limitations or time restrictions. It can be used for development, testing, demos or free production workloads. VMware welcomes your contributions and feedback on the project, which you can share through GitHub .

Full visibility with vRealize Operations for Containers

Originally known as kubo , VMware Tanzu is now evolved with new features and enhancements based on customer feedback such as full Kubernetes support, heat integration and cloud-based installation. Now part of VMware’s Cloud Native Applications business led by Raghu Raghuram, Tanzu is being offered in conjunction with vRealize Operations for Containers (vROC), which provides deep container insights into the applications deployed on VMware infrastructure.

The latest release of VMware Tanzu also includes Rocky , a Kubernetes Operator for Docker registries. With this operator, users can pull container images from public or private Docker registries into their clusters without having to alter their production workflow. Rocky automates image pulling by creating, updating and deleting objects in the registry with tags, and image pushing by automatically adding images to the registry.

The VMware Tanzu installer can be downloaded from GitHub , and it’s recommended that you do this on a separate Linux machine for best results. After installing the required dependencies (see prerequisites section in README), we can move onto installing the installer.

VMware Tanzu uses a Go binary, so make sure you have GOBIN in your PATH , and then run the following commands to install VMware Tanzu:

$ go get -u github.com/vmware/tanzu       $GOPATH /bin/tanzu install –cluster-name tkp –cluster-version 1.8

Once VMware Tanzu has been installed, we are ready to set up a Kubernetes cluster using the CLI. Before doing so, let’s take a quick look at the prerequisites:

Docker and Docker Compose must be installed on your system.

At least three ESXi servers must be available to run the Kubernetes master, scheduler and worker nodes. These can be physical systems or virtual machines (VMs). Each VM should have at least 6 GB of RAM . Ideally, you would want more than 12-16GB for each machine, but this will vary based on your requirements.

At least three network interfaces should be available on the VMware ESXi servers (one for each Kubernetes node, and one for kube-master). In the examples below we’ll create a separate vSwitch for each interface. If you wish to run VMware Tanzu in production, it’s recommended that you setup an isolated network for your Kubernetes cluster to ensure high availability.

The VMware Tanzu binary comes as a tar file, so you’ll have to unpack it if you download it directly onto your ESXi server. If you use vSphere Client to install the binary, then this step is taken care of for you. Make sure that after unpacking the tar file, VMware Tanzu is started by running ./start.sh . 

Create a Kubernetes Cluster with VMware Tanzu

To install your first Kubernetes cluster using VMware Tanzu, we will run several commands in a terminal session on an ESXi server with direct access to kubectl (as opposed to running kubectl commands over SSH). Run the following command on one of your ESXi servers:

$ kubectl cluster-info          

A Kubernetes cluster will require 3 masters. The default size for a master node is at least 2 vCPU and 8GB of RAM. In case you are wondering

Tanzu Key Features:

» VMware Tanzu has been updated with a new, streamlined deployment experience that is quicker, easier and more personalized than before. VMware guarantees you will have your Kubernetes cluster up and running in 30 minutes or less. » The new release brings support for the Kubernetes cluster to run on bare metal infrastructure. Use VMware PowerCLI and other vSphere/VCSA tools for managing your Tanzu environment. » The new release offers a cloud-based installation, which provides preconfigured images via the VMware Cloud Marketplace . Now you can deploy clusters with just one click without any additional customization. » VMware Tanzu now supports all major Linux distributions: Ubuntu, RedHat, SUSE and Debian. Choose the operating system that matches your requirements. Refer to this compatibility matrix for details about supported versions .

» VMware Tanzu offers a simplified update process that applies new features and bug fixes without disrupting running workloads. You can control which updates you want to apply so you can retain your configurations and prevent unintended data loss.

» VMware Tanzu offers a centralized CLI for Kubernetes cluster, edge gateway and Istio-related commands to make it as easy as possible to monitor and manage the system from anywhere in your network using SSH or WinRM .

» VMware TKG provides seamless integration with VMware vSphere and vRealize Automation for managing Kubernetes clusters. » VMware Tanzu can be deployed in multiple environments, including a standalone cluster on physical infrastructure, VMs or bare metal servers; a mixed environment consisting of both virtual machines and physical machines; and a hybrid cloud environment that includes local containers as well as those in remote clouds. » VMware Tanzu has been tested and optimized on the latest VMs, bare metal servers from Supermicro, Dell EMC and HPE , as well as cloud instances from AWS Marketplace . For more information about system requirements , visit the official GitHub repository .

» Tanzu leverages Kubernetes for managing applications and containers and Istio to provide service meshes for microservices. It also offers several other capabilities, including a centralized CLI for managing the system, REST-based APIs to deploy applications and access logs and metrics via Prometheus , distributed tracing through Jaeger , monitoring through vROC (which now supports Istio service mesh) and management via VMware vSphere and vRealize Automation .

» VMware Tanzu is available in three editions: Standard, Advanced and Enterprise. The Standard edition offers the basic functionality while providing enterprise-grade security and support; the Advanced edition adds additional monitoring and logging capabilities as well as a centralized CLI that extends Kubernetes’ commands via APIs to users outside the cluster; and the Enterprise edition adds features that enable high availability, disaster recovery and automated upgrades.

Conclusion :

You’ve already seen how VMware TKG can be used to deploy Kubernetes, and VMware Tanzu is the latest tool in the family. You can download VMware Tanzu free of charge from VMware official website https://vmware.com . And if you want to dive deeper into applications running on the cluster, I highly recommend that you use vRealize Log Insight . Stay tuned for more information about VMware TKG and VMware Tanzu in upcoming blog posts. Until then, share your thoughts with us in the comment section below or tweet me @ibrahimquraishi .

Want to learn more, check out this post : How to Get Started with VMware Tanzu Community Edition

Hey All,

Great news guys, I have now got online labs available for you.

Advantages of having this lab is

1. No cost of buying an expensive server and noisy servers.
2. Save Electricity cost.
3. Save time on setting up and troubleshooting. start learning immidately.

What’s included? you will get access to your own cluster with 2 EXS hosts you can connect to the vCenter directly and start practising without wasting any time. I have seen people who can’t setup a lab loose interest very soon, and if you struggle to get the lab running that can put you off too. This is the idea behind my Online lab this lets you start practising without wasting time troubleshooting issues.

I have had a lot of request in the past few months especially after I started the sessions for vSpehre 7 about how to get access to labs.

I would like to keep this for the people who are very interested in learning however they do not have a setup at home to create a home lab. with my experience, we need at least 32 GB of memory to be able to configure a proper vSphere 7 lab.

To give you an idea this is the minimal resources you will need to give to setup a decent lab to practice.

12 GB Memory for vCenter Server

4 GB at least for ESX1

4 GB at least for ESX2

4 GB for Windows AD server ( optional if you don’t want to use DNS) alternate you can use a Linux DNS server too.

8 GB for the setup of shared storage, in my lab I have used FreeNAS to set up shared storage.

So it all adds up to 32 GB, If you don’t have this kind of hardware and you really want to practice, do reach out to me and I might be able to offer you some discount for early birds trying out my virtual datacenter for a small price.

The price is only to cover the cost of the expensive hardware I have put in and the running electricity cost and internet charges. if you want to discuss this you can reach out to me on my email ibrahim@agileops.co.uk

So, you may ask how do I get the access?

Very simple you will just use Microsoft Remote Desktop client from your laptop or computer.

you will get an RDP login to enter the domain name to connect to my label which is agileops.loginto.me. hang on before that you need to contact me so that I can set up your account once I have sent you the details for login you are good to go. you will have full access to your own ESXi and vCetner to practice and learn on your own time. I will send an email with all the instructions on how to login and access the environment.

as you can see the setup below, you can connect to an RDP JUMP server which will allow you to use single sign-on to connect tot he vCenter Environment, it will be ready to use form the point you login.

How to Pay and when will I get access?

first, before you book email me and let me know which lab you need as there are only limited labs I can offer do not pay first.

You can pay after I have confirmed to you select what pass you want I have created three options for you too select.

1. An online Day pass is for 24, and we have two choices RTU which is Ready to Use or BIY Build it yourself.
2. Online Week Pass is for one whole week offering two choices RTU which is Ready to Use or BIY Build it yourself.
3. Online Month pass is for one whole month offering two choices RTU which is Ready to Use or BIY Build it yourself.

you can use paypay to pay easily don’t forgot to mention the lab name as the lab will be created for the specific option. https://paypal.me/agileops

I have also included CISCO UCS Platform Emulator for anyone who wants to learn Cisco Unified Computing system

You can follow one of the YouTube Session to practice one topic or try and configure everything from scratch. This is the best way to learn and I have a very reasonable price for each lab.

If you like it share it with others so that they can benefit it.

This blog will be about installing the ESX server from scratch. Once you have mounted the iso or created the nested VM, check out the previous blog post hear https://agileops.co.uk/how-to-install-nested-esxi-server/  if you are doing nexted setup to enabled nested ESX installation.

1. Installation

   Boot the server or VM with ESXi CD

   

   It may take some time to load the installation files and you will start to see the very famious Gray and Yellow screen

   

   Welcome Screen will pop up once the installation files are loaded. You will have two choices ESC to Cancel or Enter to Continue as shown below:

   
   

   You will need to press F11 to Accept and Continue
   

   
   

   You will then need to select the location to install your ESXi Server as my setup is nested ESX and I have allocated 40GB VMDK file you can see it here select and click Enter to continue.
   

   
   
   

Next you will be asked to select the Keyboard layout. I have selected UK and Click on Enter to continue

You will then be selecting a root password, need to be alpha numeric and make sure you remember it or you might need to re-install the ESXi again if you forgot it.

Click Enter to Continue

Nearly done, you will be given a Waring that the disk will be repartitioned so this is the final stage click F11 to install

Note if you are upgrading you will not be asked for entering root password however you will be asked few options

1. In place Upgrade
2. Upgrade as new OS

   You can now sit back and watch the installation should not take more than 4 to 5 minutes.

   

Once the installation is completed you will be asked to press Enter to reboot.

1. Configuration

   In the configuration section you will learn how to configure the ESXi host, assign IPaddress, DNS, Gateway Address using DCUI.

   The Direct Console User Interface (DCUI) allows you to interact with the host.

   Press F2 to login to the DCUI.

   

   Enter the root password which you have chosen during the installation

   

   The first thing you will be doing is configuring the Management Network

   

   Scroll down to the IPv4 Configuration

   

   Configure the following:

   1. Set static IPv4 address and network configuration
   2. IPv4 Address
   3. Subnet Mask
   4. Default Gateway
   5. Press Enter to save and exit.

      

      Then Set option to Use the folloing DNS server address and hostname

      then setup your DNS and the host name

      

      Finally set the Suffixes, and press Enter.

      

      Then press Esc to exit

      

      You will see a pop up appring for confirmation

      Press Y

      

      You can test the configuration by clicking Test Management Network

      

   How to add a host to a cluster in vCenter

   1. Right click on the cluster and click on Add host

      

      Give the host name and root password. Click on Next accept the thumbprint.

      

      You will see the security alert for sha1 thumbprint click on OK.

      

      Click on Next

      

      Click on Finish

      Finally you will be able to see your host added in the cluster

      

You will find a full video tutorial on how to install nested ESX on my YouTube channel, or you can follow the step by step instructions below.

We will first start by creating a new virtual machine

Select the Create a new virtual machine

Click Next

Give a name for the VM, in my case as this is going to an ESXi 7 I have given esx-03.agiileops.co.uk. Select the DataCenter and

Click Next

Select the computer cluster and host if required.

Click Next

Select the Datastore or storage,

Click Next

Select the compatible

Click Next

Select the Guest OS Family Other

Guest OS Version VMware ESXi7 or later. If you wish to install old version of ESXi server select the appropriate options as given below,

Now this is the most important step for Nested Installation of ESX

Note Expand CPU and on the Hardware virtualization tick the option Expose hardware assisted virtualization to the guest OS.

Then Expand New Hard disk,

Edit the New Hard disk select Disk Provisioning to Thin Provision

Click Next

Click Finish

Now you can open VMRC and start the ESXi Installation after mounting the ISO.

With the new release with vCetner 7, there is a new and improved Distributed Resource Scheduler ( DRS ) and in this post, we will go through some comparison with the original DRS and the new DRS.

In the Orignal DRS which has been there since VMware introduced, no doubt there has been enhancements and additions to it example we only had Compute DRS later VMware added Storage DRS leveraging vMotion and Storage vMotion of course

Orginal DRS Cluster centric

Runs every 5 minutes

Uses Cluster -wide Standard

Uses Cluster-wide Standard deviation model

VMware has done great thinking about how the new DRS 2.0 should work and they have changed the algorithm to work on the modern application.

The New DRS is Workload Centric so instantly we get better performance

Improved DRS

Workload Centric

Runs every 1 minute

Use the VM DRS score based on granted memory (New Matrix)

Let’s discuss how this new DRS works a little bit. VMware has started using a new matrix for workload, or VM. its called VMDRS Score

Improved DRS using VM DRS Score

VM DRS is necessary because with the modern-day application we need to focus on the VM / Workload perform as appose to cluster performance which the Orignal DRS cared about.

so we have a fundamental change on the way the improved DRS works using VM DRS score which is the foundation of the DRS. lets a closer look at it.

we already explained that the new improved DRS runs every 1 minute.

We have in the UI a lower bucket score from 0 to 20 % or 20 to 40% whenever we see another host can give a lower bucket score the DRS considers moving the VM.

the vm DRS score is calculated using a lot of matrices. example CPU ready time, capacity, headroom of ESXi host. network utilization.

Finally, it also checks the migration cost of the VM. ie how much network resource is going to be used in doing this migration if its going to expensive or performance constrains DRS migration will not take place.

To learn more about new features with vSphere 7 and vCenter 7 click on the links below:

VMware Cloud Foundation 4

vCenter Server Profiles

Content Library with version control

New and improved DRS 2.0

vSphere 7 and vSGX Intel Software Guard Extension

vCenter Server Upgrade Planner

Improved vMotion