vSphere Virtualization Overview Flashcards
Virtualization Terminology:
Define “Operating System”
Software designed to allocate physical resources to applications
Ex) Microsoft Windows, Linux
Virtualization Terminology:
Define “Application”
Software that runs on an operating system, consuming physical resources
Ex) Microsoft Office, Chrome
Virtualization Terminology:
Define “Hypervisor”
Specialized operating system designed to run VMs
Ex) ESXi, Workstation, Fusion
Virtualization Terminology:
Define “Virtual Machine”
Specialized application that abstracts hardware resources into software; is a software representation of a physical computer and its components
Virtualization Terminology:
Define “Guest”
The operating system that runs in a VM (also called the guest operating system)
Ex) Microsoft Windows, Linux
Virtualization Terminology:
Define “Host”
Physical computer that provides resources to the ESXi hypervisor
Virtualization Terminology:
Define “vSphere”
Server virtualization product of VMware that combines the ESXi hypervisor and the VCenter Server management platform; ESXi is the hypervisor on which you run virtual machines (VMs); vCenter is the central administration platform for ESXi hosts, virtual machines, storage and networking
Virtualization Terminology:
Define “Cluster”
Group of ESXi hosts whose resources are shared by VMs
Virtualization Terminology:
Define “vSphere vMotion”
Feature that supports the migration of powered-on VMs from host to host without service interruption
Virtualization Terminology:
Define “vSphere HA”
Cluster feature that protects against host hardware failures by restarting VMs on hosts that are running normally
Virtualization Terminology:
Define “DRS”
Cluster feature that uses vSphere vMotion to place VMs on hosts and ensure that each VM receives the resources that it needs
What are examples of challenges faced by non-virtualized Data Centers?
1) The model is not flexible and can be inefficient
2) the planning and cost of proper infrastructure (square footage, rack space, power, cooling, cabling and server provisioning)
3) one-to-one relationship between physical computer and the software it runs, resulting in most computers being vastly under utilized
4) Cost of the space and power required to house, run and keep computer systems cool can be expensive
5) Provisioning physical servers is a time-consuming process, time must be allotted to procure new hardware, place it in the data center, install an operating system, and patch an operating system
6) installing and configuring an operating system can take weeks because the process includes a myriad of other tasks to integrate the system into the current infrastructure, for example, configuring firewall rules, enabling switch ports and provisioning storage
What are benefits of data center virtualization?
1) virtualization enables you to run more workloads on a single server by consolidating the environment so that your applications run on virtual machines
2) Converting to a virtualized data center reduces the required data center square footage, rack space, power, cooling, cabling, storage and network components by reducing the number of physical machines
3) physical machines can be converted to virtualized machines (VMs) thus consolidating several machines onto a single host server
4) time to provision a virtual machine is a matter of seconds rather than weeks for a physical machine
What are the components of a virtual machine (VM)?
guest operating system (OS), VMware tools, virtual resources that include: CPU, network adapters, disks and controllers, and GPUs
What are some constraints regarding physical machines?
1) difficult to move or copy
2) bound to a specific set of hardware components
3) often have a short life cycle
4) require personal contact to upgrade hardware