Interview Questions: VMware L3 Administrator

December 29, 2010gunnalag Leave a comment Go to comments

This is an attempt to make a list of typical questions you can expect in the initial technical round for
VMware administrator L3 positions. Apparently most people can answer these questions just by
preparation but it makes to the interviewer about how strong the candidate in basic overview.
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What will be your daily activities in VMware

What is the difference between VMware and Hyper-V, when do you use one over the other
When you encounter PSOD, what steps do you follow
What do you do when you encounter Failed to load, swap file not found error
What port does P2V uses
What is the command to format and mount a file system
What is dvSwitch and why do you need it
What is the command you use for reading vm dump file and where does dump file reside
Explain the process you follow for Physical to Virtual conversion
What is P2V Cleanup and explain it
What do you do when the VC becomes frozen/not responding
What is ballooning and explain it
What is DRS
What is HA and how frequent it checks the hosts connectivity
what is AAM (Always Available Manager, Active Alert Manager) and its role
What is Forged Traffic and what is the default value its set to
What is Promiscuous mode
What is RDM and when do you use it
What is ks.conf file
How do you expand root/C: drive of a VM
What are the features of VMFS
How do you restart the services of ESX and vCenter
Which port vCenter server listens on or uses
What is traffic shaping/filtering/prioritization, NIC teaming
Suppose I select 1 mb block size what is the maximum file size I can have?
What are Networking Policies
What network types available in VMWare?
Ill prepare a list for questions in next rounds as well when I find some time again.
Vmware interview questions third round of technical interview in IBM
1. Explain the physical topology of Virtual Infrastructure 3 Data Centre ?
2. How do you configure Clusters,Hosts,Resource Pools in VI3 ?
3. What are resource pools & whats the advantage of implementing them ?
4. Explain why Vmware ESX Server is preferred over Virtual Server or Workstation for enterprise
implementation ?
5. In what different scenarios or methods can you manage a VI3 ?
6. Explain the difference between access through Virtual Infrastructure Client (vi client), Web access,
Service Console access(ssh) ?

7. Explain advantages or features of Vmware Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) ?

8. What are the types of datastores supported in ESX3.0 ?
9. How can you configure these different types of datastores on ESX2.5 ?
10.What is Vmware Consolidate Backup (VCB) ? Explain your work exposure in this area ?
11.How do you configure Vmware Virtual Centre Management Server for HA & DRS ? What are the
conditions to be satisfied for this setup ?
12.Explain your work related to below terms :
VM Provisioning:
Alarms & Even Management:
Task Scheduler:
Hardware Compatibility List:
13.What SAN or NAS boxes have you configured VMware with ? How did you do that ?
14.What kind of applications or setups you have on you Virtual Machines ?
15.Have you ever faced ESX server crashing and Virtual Centre Server crash? How do you know the
cause of these crashes in these cases ?

Increasing VMware VMFS Volume

April 17, 2011gunnalagLeave a comment

With vSphere-4, you have option to increase the VMFS Volume similar to the way you expand
the disk using Snap Drive/DiskPart on Window servers.
Here are the steps for doing this:
Increase the LUN (and Volume if applicable) size to new size on Neap Side.
Select a particular host that has access to this Shared VMFS Volume -> Configuration ->
Storage -> Properties
3.
Verify that the Device Capacity and Primary Partitions Capacity shows the difference
in size thats increased above.
4.
Choose Increase -> select the desired Volume to be expanded and ensure its showing
that free space will be added to expand the disk.
5.
Perform Storage Refresh on other hosts in the Cluster to get the new disk size reflected
(can use Get-VMHostStorage Refresh cmdlet to do this task)
These steps can only be done by directly connecting to any of the hosts in the cluster.
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Categories:VMware

Administering ESXi 4.1

January 3, 2011gunnalagLeave a comment

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Choose the right version

ESXi free unlimited use but with features limitations
ESXi Installable commercial version of ESXi and supports all advanced
features. Can be installed on any choosen server.

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ESXi Embedded preinstalled as firmware so that you dont have to install it

again. The downside is you cant transfer the license to other physical hardware.
Requirements (for ESX Installable version called VMware VMvisor)
With x64 bit x86 processor (i.e., x86-64). x86-64 is an extension of the x86
instruction set. Examples: AMD Opterons and Intel Xenon and Nehalem processors. With VT
enabled.
Minimum of 2 GB RAM. For upgrades, 3GB RAM is required if the ESXi host is
managed by vCenter Server.
One or More 1 Gb network adapter.
Create the DNS entry for the static IP with host A record entry. Note IPv6 is not
supported for ESXi PXE installation.
Hardware Storage Controllers (Basic SCSI Adapter, FC Adapter, Internal RAID
Controller, SAS, or SATA)
Storage/Disk space
Basic SCSI Controller or SCSI disk drives
SATA disk through supported SAS contollers, or RAID LUN with
unpartitioned space.
SAS disk drives
FC or iSCSI
Download ESXi Installable version bootable image (ISO/CD)
Installation
Insert the ESXi bootable CD or connect the ISO via server remote management
applications like
HP Integrated Lights-Out (iLO),
Dell Remote Access Card (DRAC),
IBM management module (MM), and IBM Remote Supervisor Adapter II
(RSA II), etc.,
Boot the server to start the ESXi bootable device
Choose the boot image from the VMware VMvisor Boot Menu
ESXi Installer (enter by default with in 10 seconds)
Boot from the Local Disk
Press [Tab] to edit Options
Choose the Install option from the Welcome screen options
[ESC] to Cancel
(R) Repair
(Enter) Install
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Press F11 to Accept EULA and Continue
Select a Disk
Choose the right disk from the displayed list and press Enter
Press F11 to confirm the selection
Installation Proceeds and once its done
ESXi will be installed in Evaluation mode
There is no Host based Licensing for ESXi
Removable the install disk and Press Enter to reboot

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Once server/hypervisor boots up, Press F2 to Customize System from Direct

Console Mode
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Post Install Configuration
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Configure Password (Default Not Set)
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Configure Lockdown Mode (Default Disabled)
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Prevents remote users from logging on to host using root user (like
disable SSH)
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Network Configuration Options
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Configure Management Network
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Network Adapters
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VLAN
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IP Configuration (Default gets a IP address from DHCP, you have
to set a Static IP here)
4.
IPv6 Configuration
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In case if IPv6 is enabled or disabled its will restart the
HOST
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DNS Configuration
1.
Type Primary and Secondary DNS servers
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Provide the ESX host name in FQDN format
6.
Custom DNS Suffixes
7.
Confirm the network changes by press <Y> yes to Apply changes
and restart management network?. You may notice a brief network outage on for that host and
its guests.
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Restart Management Network
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May be required to restore networking or to renew DHCP lease.
2.
If DHCP renew results in a new identity, the remote management
software will be disconnected
3.
Test Management Network
1.
Ping the configured Default Gateway
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Ping the configured Primary and Secondary DNS servers
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Resolve the configured host name
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Disable Management Network
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Restore Standard Switch
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Configure keyboard
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View Support Information
1.
Server serial number
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License serial number
3.
SSL Thumbprint
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VMware Global Support Services URL
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View System logs
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<1> Messages
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<2> Config
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<3> Management Agent (hostd)

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Restart Management Agents

Are the programs that allow remote management software to monitor and
control this host
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This will disconnect all the remote management software
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Reset System Configuration
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All the system parameters will be reverted to their software defaults.
Including any parameters customized by the hardware manufacturer.
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The root password will be reset to nothing
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All Virtual Machines will be unregistered
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This operation requires a HOST restart so migrate your VMs to other hosts
if needed
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Remove Custom Extensions
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Press Alt+F12 to view the real time Kernel Logs/Activities use Alt+F2 to return to
Direct Console User Interface
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Login to Tech Support mode: (which unsupported if run without VMware support
consultation)
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Press Alt+F1 to go to Text mode console (unsupported Tech support
mode) from Direct Console User Interface
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You dont get a login prompt there and none of the keys will be echoed
back
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Type unsupported
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Then type root account password at the Password prompt
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Type Exit to exit
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Then Press Alt+F2 to return to Direct Console User Interface
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Categories:VMware

Administering ESX 4
January 3, 2011gunnalagLeave a comment

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Requirements
With x64 bit x86 processor (i.e., x86-64). x86-64 is an extension of the x86
instruction set. Examples: AMD Opterons and Intel Xenon and Nehalem processors. With VT
enabled.
Minimum of 2 GB RAM
One or More network adapter. The ESX installer needs a live network connection
to properly detect certain network settings, such as the host name under DHCP.
IPv4 static IP address. Create the DNS entry for the static IP with host A record
entry. IPv6 is not supported for ESX installation.
Hardware Storage Controllers (SCSI Adapter, FC Adapter, or Internal RAID
Controller)
Storage/Disk space
SCSI disk, FC LUN, or RAID LUN with unpartitioned space.
A hardware iSCSI, a disk attached to an iSCSI controller, such as the
QLogic qla405x. Software iSCSI is not supported for booting or installing ESX.

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The service console must be installed on a VMFS datastore that is resident

on a hosts local disk or on a SAN disk that is masked and zoned to that particular host only. The
datastore cannot be shared between hosts.
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ESX at least requires 1.25 GB. If the service console is installed on the
same machine at least 9.5 GB is required.
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Must be at least 10GB if you install the components on a single disk.
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Download ESX bootable image (ISO/DVD) (Note that its a DVD image not a
CD, if you have to burn it use DVD only)
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Insert the ESX bootable CD or connect the ISO via server remote management
applications like
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HP Integrated Lights-Out (iLO),
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Dell Remote Access Card (DRAC),
3.
IBM management module (MM), and IBM Remote Supervisor Adapter II
(RSA II), etc.,
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Boot the server to start the ESX bootable device
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Choose the install mode from below options
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Install ESX in graphical mode
2.
Install ESX in text mode
3.
ESX Scripted Install using USB ks.cfg file
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ESX Scripted Install to first disk
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ESX Scripted Install to first disk (overwrite VMFS)
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Boot from first hard disk
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F2 to other options
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Choose the Keyboard layout (Required)
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Install Custom drivers (Optional). In case, if you have any hardware that is not on
VMwares hardware compatibility list, then you should install the respective device drivers
provided by the device vendor for ESX platform. You can install the custom drivers via CLI
later.
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ESX will load the default and specified drivers
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vSphere license key (Optional). Primarily for Host based Licensing. For
centralized licensing select later and activate the host via vSphere. If not provided ESX will be
installed in Eval mode and you need to activate the host by valid license within 60 days period.
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Choose the Network Adapter. (Required)
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Specify VLAN ID (Optional) if you want the host to be in a specific vLAN. Use
MAC address to verify which adapter its referring to.
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Configure Network Adapter. You can allow DHCP to configure the network
during installation. After installation, you can change the network settings. Thus below details
are Optional if you use DHCP.
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IP address
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Subnet mask
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Gateway
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Primary DNS
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Secondary DNS
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Host name (provide a FQDN )
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Use Test these settings tab to verify the network accessibility

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Choose the Setup type

Standard Setup (Setup ESX on a single hard drive or LUN)
Advanced Setup
Virtual disk partitions. View and customize the individual ESX
partitions

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The installer creates three basic partitions: /boot, vmkcore, and

VMFS.

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The service console VMDK file (The name of this file is

esxconsole-<system-uuid>/esxconsole.vmdk) resides on the VMFS partition. The service
console VMDK file contains /, swap, and /var/ log, by default, and any other partitions that you
specify.
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Configure bootloader automatically (leave checked if unsure)
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Bootloader kernel options
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Bootloader password
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Select the Install location (Required)
1.
By default lists Local Storage
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If you have hardware iSCSI target attached disk then you will see the
Remote Storage Location
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Choose Datastore. Specify if you already have a datastore created for the host or
let the installer create the new Datastore by specifying the name for the new datastore to be
created.
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Create on the same device as ESX
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Then configure the Service Console virtual disk image
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Increase the /var/log partition size to a good number say 5 GB instead of default 2
GB
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Time zone
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Configure Date and Time
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Use Automatically and specify the NTP server.
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Specify your internal NTP server name
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You can use the global NTP server pool.ntp.org
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Then click Synchronize to get the date and time automatically set
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Manually. Specify the right time
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Set Administrator (Root) password. Password must be at least 6 character long
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Additional user accounts. This is required if you want to immediately REMOTE
into the ESX host via ssh since default root account will be denied for remote ssh.
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Review the Summary of Installation Settings
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Click Finish to reboot the server and start ESX
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Use URL via browser to manage the server
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After the server boot up, verify that all the boot checks passed with status OK
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Press I to enter the interactive startup
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Press Alt+F1 for console login and Alt+F11 to return back to standard server
console
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3.
Patching
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Upgrading
5.
Retiring

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G
Categories:VMware

Software vs. hardware iSCSI for VMware ESX

January 1, 2011gunnalagLeave a comment

1. Hardware iSCSI Features and Limitations

Below are some items to consider if you are planning to use the iSCSI hardware intitiator.
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ESX Server host booting from iSCSI SAN is possible only with hardware iSCSI initiator
Multipathing support for failover only, no load-balancing by using multiple QLA4010s
Support for VMotion, VMware HA, and VMware DRS
Support for RDMs
No support for Microsoft Cluster Server
No VMware Consolidated Backup over iSCSI
2. Software iSCSI Features and Limitations
Below are some items to consider if you are planning to use the iSCSI software intitiator.

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No support for booting ESX Server from software iSCSI

Software initiator supports only a single storage interface (vmhba40)
Multipathing support for failover only, no load balancing by using multiple physical
network adapters (NIC teaming)
Support for VMotion, VMware HA, and VMware DRS
Support for RDMs
No support for Microsoft Cluster Server
No VMware Consolidated Backup over iSCSI
3. Step to enable MultiPath failover for iSCSI storage
If you plan to use NIC teaming to increase the availability of your network access to the iSCSI
storage
array, you must turn off port security on the switch for the two ports on which the virtual IP
address is shared.
The purpose of this port security setting is to prevent spoofing of IP addresses. Thus many
network
administrators enable this setting. However, if you do not change it, the port security setting
prevents failover
of the virtual IP from one switch port to another and NIC teaming cannot fail over from one path
to another.
For most LAN switches, the port security is enabled on a port level and thus can be set on or off
for each port.

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Categories:VMware

iSCSI SAN Design Considerations

January 1, 2011gunnalagLeave a comment

1.

A basic difference between iSCSI and Fibre Channel is that when an iSCSI path is
overloaded, the TCP/IP protocol drops packets and requires them to be resent. Fibre Channel
communications over a dedicated path are not at risk of being overloaded. When a network path

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carrying iSCSI storage traffic is oversubscribed, a bad situation quickly grows worse and
performance further degrades as dropped packets must be resent.
Another potential disadvantage with implementing software-initiator iSCSI (but not
hardware-initiator iSCSI) is that standard 10/100 Ethernet interfaces do not have enough
throughput for practical iSCSI work. Gigabit Ethernet interfaces are required, and those
interfaces tend to consume large amounts of CPU time. One way of overcoming this demand for
CPU resources is to use TOEs (TCP/IP offload engines).
TCP/IP offload engines shift TCP packet processing tasks from the server CPU to
specialized TCP processors on the network adapter or storage device. The QLA4050 hardware
initiator, which is supported on ESX Server 3.0, uses a TOE.
iSCSI does not work well over most shared wide area networks. one should consider
iSCSI a local-area technology, not a wide-area technology, because of latency issues and security
concerns.
One should also segregate iSCSI traffic from general traffic. Layer 2 VLANs are a
particularly good way to implement this segregation.
Best practice is to have a dedicated LAN for iSCSI traffic and not share the network with
other network traffic.
It is also best practice not to oversubscribe the dedicated LAN.
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Categories:VMware

VMware HA
December 31, 2010gunnalagLeave a comment

HA stands for one of the critical enterprise cluster feature of VMware called High Availability.
It can be configured on a VMware cluster to auto recover VMs from a ESX host failure.
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When you configure HA via vCenter Server on VMware cluster, it

installs Automated Availability Manager (AAM) (VMware HA agent) on
individual ESX host
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The HA agent (AAM) runs a heartbeat mechanism on each host in a cluster to
signal that the host is running and is a part of the cluster.
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Categories:VMware

KickStart automated ESX install

December 31, 2010gunnalagLeave a comment

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Extract the ESX media from the bootable ISO/DVD received from VMware
Copy them to a network location and make them accessible
Create the ks.cfg (kickstart configuration file) answer file with custom values to
installation options. The main sections of the ks.cfg file are as below
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accepteula or vmaccepteula (required)

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autopart (required)
clearpart (optional)
dryrun (optional)
install (required)
keyboard (optional)
serialnum or vmserialnum (optional)
network (optional)
paranoid (optional)
part or partition (optional)
rootpw (required)
%include or include
%pre (optional)
%post (optional)
%firstboot
The previous version to 4.0 of ESX server used to support incomplete ks.cfg file by
which it uses the defined values for settings in the ks.cfg and prompt user for configuring the
rest. This is now changed from ESX[i] 4.0 where you should have all the responses specified in
ks.cfg or dont have the ks.cfg at all. So ESXi only allows a zero-touch builds via ks.cfg.
To have readily setup solution, refer to Virtaul Applicances ESX Deployment Appliance
(EDA)
References:
http://communities.vmware.com/blogs/vmwareinsmb/2010/07/13/esxi-41scripted-installation-via-pxe-and-kickstart
http://www.virtuallyghetto.com/2010/09/automating-esxi-41-kickstart-tips.html
for ks.cfg setup tips
http://www.kendrickcoleman.com/index.php?/Tech-Blog/esxi-41-kickstart-installwip.html
autodeploy_fling.pdf (application/pdf Object)
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Categories:VMware

Setting up Virtual Infrastructure using VMware

December 30, 2010gunnalagLeave a comment

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ESX server
Administering ESX 4
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ESXi server
Virtual Center (vCenter) server (is the centralized management server for
complete infrastructure)
Installed on a Windows server that is part of AD domain
vSphere client (VMware-viclient.exe)
Download from any of ESX server URL, vCenter server or ISO from
VMware
Install on vCenter server or any workstation

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Choose to install Host Update Utility 4.0

This tool allows you to upgrade ESX 3.x to ESX 4.0 and ESXi 3.5
to ESXi 4.0. The utility also allows you to patch and update ESXi hosts.
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Using Software
vSphere Client is a single GUI application to
Connect to specific ESX host and administer
Connect to vCenter server to manage multiple ESX hosts
You can to the remote server using
IP Address or host name
Logon using
vCenter administrator logon credentials or
loggedon Windows session credentials if it has all
permissions
Configure AD security group and assign permission to your
Windows logon account and use that account
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F
Categories:VMware

Virtualization
December 30, 2010gunnalagLeave a comment

Definition in simple terms referring to practical understanding:

Process of separating physical components of computing infrastructure from the logical
components that demand the resources.
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Types of Virtualization:
Server : Where you use Virtual machines to separate hardware from virtual
operating systems, allowing you to run the multiple operating systems on a single machine, all at
the same time.

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Storage: Removing physical mapping of storage and moving storage into logical
objects, which can be easily managed
Network: process of combining hardware and software network resources and
network functionality into a single, software-based administrative entity, a virtual network. There
two types of N/W Virtualizations
Internal: Network functionality provided by software
External: combining multiple network functions into one unit
Application: Process of encapsulating applications to be able to run on another
system without actually installing them, allowing applications to run without conflicts
Desktop: consolidation of desktop computers into virtualized server systems
d
How server virtualization can help?.
Consolidate data center servers, desktops,
efficient h/W resources utilization,
less energy and cooling,
less IT staff to maintain and increased IT productivity
respond faster to business needs by faster server deployments
HA and load-balancing
Categories:VMware

PXE booting to RIS servers after migrating to WDS PXE in

VM infrastructure
December 29, 2010gunnalagLeave a comment

1.

Create a new VDI with

a.
Latest NIC VMXNET3, you need latest version in order to boot to WDS server. The
default NIC Flexible doesnt work
b.
Use SCSI controller of BUS logic. None of the latest LSI logic SCSI controller work with
RIS builds
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Boot the VDI to Win7 build

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Have a computer account created with all the required options (through pre-setup.bat)

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Change the netbootMachineFilePath attribute to point to RIS build servers (say
buildserver1.org.com).
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AD object Attribute Editor tab is not visible via dsa.msc, use adsiedit instead.

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Move computer to respective AD site OU.

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Remove the latest version NIC

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Add a Flexible NIC to let the computer to boot to RIS server

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Build computer with Automatic setup in RIS. Custom setup doesnt work.

Categories:VMware

Lets troubleshoot VMware

December 29, 2010gunnalagLeave a comment

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Scenario#1: Logon to Virtual Center Server Fails with generic error Unable to connect to
remote server
Isolate if its a Networking issue
adfind Ensure the server name is typed correctly and is a valid Windows
server in AD using adfind
ping Ensure the remote vCenter server is reachable using ping
nslookup Ensure the DNS entries are correct for the server by doing a
nslo0kup
FQDN use FQDN JIC if some DNS Zones entries issues is around causing the
network connectivity
Isolate if its a Windows server issue
telnet to 443 Check the connectivity to the vCenter web service to ensure
web service at least responding
sc query vmware virtualcentre server Ensure that the VMware virtualcentre
server service is running fine
eventvwr check if there are any vcenter errors in application log or
service/system errors in system log
vpxd.exe check the vpxd log file %ALLUSERSPROFILE%\VMware\vmware
virtualcentre\Logs\vpxd-#.log
Attempt to start the service if its not running
If service fails with error, correlate it with the log statements in vpxd log files
Isolate if its a DB connectivity issue
In case if there are any ODBC errors in vpxd log file follow below steps
according to the error message usually authentication errors
if the DB used is a locally installed SQlExpress version or Access DB, verify
that the SQL Server DB service is running fine
If the DB is a remote SQL/Oracle DB, check the reachability to the server
Open the ODBC Manager and very the DSN entry and test the connectivity to
the server
In case of authentication issues, try to use
the other login account or
attempt with Integrated Windows authentication
If still there is any issue, correlate the issue with SQL authentication/security
and DB logging
Once all the issues are isolated and if its indeed DB connection issues that got
fixed, then attempt to start the vmware virtualcentre server service on vCenter server.
Categories:VMware

Interview Questions: VMWare L3 Administrator

December 29, 2010gunnalag4 comments

This is an attempt to make a list of typical questions you can expect in the initial technical round for
VMWare administrator L3 positions. Apparently most people can answer these questions just by
preparation but it makes to the interviewer about how strong the candidate in basic overview.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

What will be your daily activities in VMWare

What is the difference between VMWare and Hyper-V, when do you use one over the other
When you encounter PSOD, what steps do you follow
What do you do when you encounter Failed to load, swap file not found error
What port does P2V uses

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What is the command to format and mount a file system

What is dvSwitch and why do you need it
What is the command you use for reading vm dump file and where does dump file reside
Explain the process you follow for Physical to Virtual conversion
What is P2V Cleanup and explain it
What do you do when the VC becomes frozen/not responding
What is ballooning and explain it
What is DRS
What is HA and how frequent it checks the hosts connectivity
what is AAM (Always Available Manager, Active Alert Manager) and its role
What is Forged Traffic and what is the default value its set to
What is Promiscuous mode
What is RDM and when do you use it
What is ks.conf file
How do you expand root/C: drive of a VM
What are the features of VMFS
How do you restart the services of ESX and vCenter
Which port vCenter server listens on or uses
What is traffic shaping/filtering/prioritization, NIC teaming
Suppose I select 1 mb block size what is the maximum file size I can have?
What are Networking Policies
What network types available in VMWare?
Ill prepare a list for questions in next rounds as well when I find some time again.

Check the health of all Hosts and VM objects in vCenter. Are there any active alarms in
vCenter? Have you set up any alarms in the first place? Do the alarms automatically
trigger notification or any type of incident tracking mechanism?

Are all vCenter plug-ins functioning properly?

Do you have any Host Hardware issues? Alarms, bad memory, power supply or capacity
issues?

Are all Hosts in compliance with Host Profiles?

Are there any resource bottlenecks? Memory, CPU, Disk, Network? Do you have any,
or need any, additional tools to have a better handle on this?

Are you running at your optimum resource levels? In other words, is the load properly
distributed?

Are you running out of resources anywhere? LUNs with low disk space, etc. Do you
need to start looking at budgeting for additional capacity?

Check for Firmware updates on Host hardware

Check for ESX Patches

Check for VM Patches

Check VMware Tools version

Run scripts to identify the existence of VMs with snapshots and follow up to see if they
are still needed.

Have you schmoozed with your Storage Admins lately? A good idea since you cannot
get very far without them.