Data Recovery – Administrator’s Guide
o Data Recovery uses a VM appliance & a client plug-in to manage & restore backups.
o All backed-up VMs are stored in a de-duplicated store.
o Data Recovery supports the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS),
o Data Recovery can concurrently back up a maximum of eight VMs.
o Maximum of eight 220 702
restore jobs can run at the same time.
o No more than two backup destinations simultaneously.
o The backups use the changed block tracking functionality on the ESX hosts.
o To maximize de-duplication, back up similar VMs to the same destination.
o Valid vSphere licensing includes: Essential Plus, Advanced, Enterprise, or Enterprise Plus licenses.
o Each Data recovery backup appliance can protect a total of 100 VMs
o VSS produces consistent shadow copies by coordinating with business applications, file-system services, backup applications, fast-recovery
solutions, & storage hardware. VSS support is provided with VMware Tools. VMware provides a VSS Requestor & a VSS Snapshot Provider
(VSP). The Requester component is available inside a supported guest & responds to events from an external backup application. The
Requestor also controls the progress of backup operations inside the guest and interacts with the VSP. The Requestor is instantiated by the
VMware Tools service when a backup process is initialized. The VSP is registered as a Windows service & notifies Data Recovery of providerspecific
events during a VSS backup.
o VSS is supported on:
o Windows Server 2003, 32 bit & 64 bit
o Windows Vista, 32 bit & 64 bit
o Windows Server 2008, 32 bit & 64 bit
o For VMs with Windows operating systems that do not support VSS, VMware Tools uses the default LGTO SYNC driver. For other guest
operating systems, VMware Tools uses crash-consistent quiescing.
o Data Recovery is designed 9L0-403 to support de-duplication stores that are up to 1TB & each backup appliance is designed to support the use of two
de-duplication stores. Data Recovery does not impose limits on the size of de-duplication stores or number of de-duplication stores, but if
more than two stores are used or as the size of a store exceeds one terabyte, performance may be affected.
o You can store backups on any virtual disk supported by ESX. Data Recovery also supports Common Internet File System (CIFS) based storage
such as SAMBA.
o The Data Recovery plug-in connects to the backup appliance using port 22024.
o First time logging on to the backup appliance, the default credentials are username: root, password: vmw@re.
o By default, backup jobs run at night on Monday through Friday & at any time on Saturday & Sunday. Data Recovery attempts to back up each
VM in a job once a day during its backup window.
o Complete a restore rehearsal to confirm that a VM is being backed up as expected & that a successful restore operation would complete as
expected.
From Mike Laverick’s notes:
o De-duplication process operates by analyzing the VM to be backed up & breaking it up into smaller variable blocks size chunks which are
anywhere between the range of 2KB to 64KB.
o The de-duplication process cannot be disabled; the data is also encrypted to prevent malicious interception of the data.
o De-duplication data is 9L0-510 stored as 1GB files in the VMwareDataRecovery folder.
o Backup of individual files contained inside the VM is currently “experimental”.
o Both VCB & vDR cannot backup the end-user generated snapshots.
o vDR can utilize tape but you need a 3rd party solution.

o To restore a VM: vcbRestore -s
o Identify the folder that will store the VM: vcbUtil -c vmfolders
o Use vcbResAll to restore all the VMs from the archive you created using vcbSnapAll.
Appendix B - Restoring VMs from ESX Server 2.5.x to ESX Server 3.x
Supplementary Documentation
vSphere Management Assistant Guide (vMA)
o The vSphere Management 220 701 Assistant (vMA) is a VM that includes a Linux distribution, the vSphere command-line interface, & the vSphere SDK
for Perl. vMA allows administrators to run scripts or agents that interact with ESX/ESXi & vCenter systems without having to explicitly
authenticate each time. vMA can also collect ESX/ESXi & vCenter logging information and store the information on vMA for analysis.
o vMA comes preconfigured with two accounts, vi-admin & vi-user.
o You can use the vima-update utility from inside vMA to download updates & VMware components, including the operating system.
Configuration file: /etc/vmware/esxupdate/vimaupdate.conf
o You can move files from the ESX/ESXi host to the vMA console (and back) using the vifs command.
o vMA also includes an authentication component (vi-fastpass) & a logging component (vi-logger).
o When you add an ESX/ESXi system as a target server, vi-fastpass creates two users with obfuscated passwords on the target server:
o vi-admin (administrator privileges)
o vi-user (read-only privileges)
o After the target server has been added, you must initialize vi-fastpass. Use one of the following methods:
o Run vifpinit.
o Call LoginByFastpass in a Perl or Java program.
o vi-logger consists of a log daemon (vilogd) that collects & processes log files & the vilogger CLI that supports logger configuration.
o By default, vilogd places the logs in /var/log/vmware. To specify a different log location, change the /etc/vmware/viconfig/vilogdefaults.xml
file.
o You can use vMA to target ESX/ESXi 3.5 Update 2 or later, ESX/ESXi 4.0, or vCenter Server 4.0 systems.
o The root user account is disabled on vMA. To run privileged commands, use sudo. By default, only vi-admin can run commands that require
sudo.
o You cannot upgrade from 220 702 VIMA 1.0 to vMA 4.0. You must deploy the vMA 4.0 OVF instead.
o You cannot use the vi-user account until you have specified a password.
o The vi-user account has limited privileges on target ESX/ESXi systems & cannot run any vilogger commands or any commands that require
sudo execution.
o On vCenter Server targets, vi-user is not supported.
o Add Target Servers:
o sudo vifp addserver
o Initialize vi-fastpass: vifpinit
o Verify that the target server has been added: vifp listservers
o If the name of a target server changes, you must remove the target server using vifp removeserver with the old name, then add the server
using vifp addserver with the new name.
o Running vifpinit always 220 701 initializes all current target servers. If you add multiple servers in sequence, you do not have to call vifpinit for each
server.
o The directory /opt/vmware/vima/samples contains examples in Perl & Java.
o Commands with options:
o vifpinit
o vifp (administrative interface)
o addserver
o removeserver
o rotatepassword
o listservers
o vilogger (logging interface)
o enable
o disable
o updatepolicy
o list
o vifplib (library)
o vilogger interface - collect log files from the target ESX/ESXi or vCenter Server hosts.
o The vifplib library allows you to programmatically connect to vMA targets using Perl or Java.

o Makes the VM snapshot available to the third-party software.
o The backup software performs an ordinary backup of the VM snapshot moving the data to a backup medium.
o The backup software calls the post-backup script:
o Unmounts the VM snapshot from the backup proxy.
o Takes the VM 640 802 Dumps out of snapshot mode.
o Types of VCB backups:
o Image-level backup
o File-level backup
o Full file backup
o Differential backup
o Incremental backup
o VCB proxy:
o Windows 2003 SP1 (32-bit or 64-bit)
o Windows 2003 R2 (32-bit or 64-bit)
o Windows 2003 SP2 (32-bit or 64-bit)
o Windows 2008 - Server Core (command line) not supported.
o Disable automatic drive-letter assignment to newly seen volumes:
o diskpart
o automount disable
o Clean out entries of previously mounted volumes: automount scrub
o VCB configuration file: C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Consolidated Backup Framework\config\config.js
o You need to specify a user name.
o Use the same password you use for logging in to the vCenter host or ESX Server host.
o If you do not specify the password, VCB checks if the password is set in the registry.
o You can configure VCB to use Security Support Provider Interface (SSPI) for authentication.
o When VCB communicates with the vCenter server or ESX Server host, it can transfer data over an encrypted SSL connection or use an
unencrypted network channel.
o VCB supports a maximum of 60 concurrently mounted VMs disks.
o In the Hot-Add mode, you need to create a shadow VM for VCB to use internally. The shadow VM has the same name as your virtual VCB
proxy with the (VCB-HELPER) suffix added.
o If you are using VCB in the Hot-Add mode, in addition to the VCB User role, you need to create the VMware VCB Proxy role.
o You cannot perform a file-level backup simultaneously with an image-level backup for the same VM.
o When you perform a first backup for a VM, the VM has to be powered on, otherwise the backup fails.
o You do not need to power on a VM if your integration module is configured to use VM display names instead of IP addresses or DNS names.
o VMware VSS 640-802 Component. Guest operating systems:
o Windows Server 2003 32-bit/64-bit
o Windows Vista 32-bit/64-bit
o Windows Server 2008 32-bit/64-bit
o VCB uses the VMware VSS component to create quiesced snapshots of the VM volumes.
o 2003 - VSS snapshots are application-consistent.
o Vista & Windows Server 2008, the snapshots are file-system consistent.
o SYNC Driver
o XP 32-bit
o 2000 Server 32-bit
o 2003 32-bit
o SYNC driver holds incoming I/O & flushes all dirty data to a disk, making snapshots file-system consistent.
o Locations of Custom Quiescing Scripts:
o Pre-freeze - C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Tools\backupScripts.d or /usr/sbin/pre-freeze-script - All scripts are invoked in ascending
alphabetical order with freeze as the first argument.
o Post-thaw - C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Tools\backupScripts.d or /usr/sbin/post-thaw-script - All scripts are invoked in
descending alphabetical order with thaw or freezeFail as the first argument.
o Cleaning Up After a Failed Backup Job: run vcbCleanup at the end of your backup cycle.
Appendix A: Using Service Console to Back Up & Restore VMs (valid for ESX4?)
o /etc/vmware/backuptools.conf configuration file to set the most common parameters
o You can use vcbMounter to back up an entire VM in the service console. The vcbMounter utility creates a quiesced snapshot of the VM &
exports the snapshot into a set of files, which can be later used to restore the VM.
o To search for a particular 640 802 braindumps VM & get information about it, use vcbVmName.
o You can back up a VM to a local directory or to a remote server using scp.
o Use vcbSnapAll to create an archive of groups of VMs in the service console. The vcbSnapAll utility has the same functionality as vcbMounter,
but, in addition, can identify groups of VMs.

o WebOperator – a demo web interface
o Emuneration
o Net – provides Telnet, FTP & POP3
o XML
o Database – JDBC
o Refactoring
o Other plugins:
o Microsoft (separate download) – WMI & Active Diretory.
o VI3 (separate download) –backward compatibility
o VI3.5 (Add-on located in /extras/plugins) –backward compatibility
o By default, Orchestrator vcp 4 client search returns 20 objects at a time.
o By default the Orchestrator JavaScript engine can access only the classes in the java.util.* package. Full access to the Java virtual machine
(JVM) presents potential security issues. If you require JavaScript access to a wider range of Java classes, you must set an Orchestrator system
property to grant this access.
o Use the Troubleshooting tab to globally reset the server & remove all traces of previous runs. Before you click a troubleshooting option, make
sure the vCO server is stopped.
o The default size of the server log is 5MB.
VMware Consolidated Backup - Virtual Machine Backup Guide
o Backup terminology:
o Differential backup - Backs up only those files that have changed since the last full backup.
o File-level backup - A type of backup that is defined at the level of files & folders.
o Full backup - Backs up all selected files.
o Full VM backup - Backs up all files that comprise the entire VM. These files include disk images, .vmx files, & so on.
o Image-level (volume-level) backup - Backs up an entire storage volume.
o Incremental backup - Backs up only files that have changed since the last backup, whether it is a full or incremental backup.
o Quiescing - A process of bringing the on-disk data of a physical or virtual computer into a state suitable for backups. This process might
include such operations such as flushing dirty buffers from the operating system’s in-memory cache to disk, or other higher-level
application-specific tasks.
o VCB proxy - A physical or VM running Microsoft Windows Server 2003, VCB, & third-party backup software. Used to perform file-level &
image-level VM backups.
o Traditional backup approach - You vmware vcp 4 deploy a backup client to every system that requires backup services. You can then regularly schedule
automatic backups.
o VMware VCB - enables offloaded & impact-free backups for VMs. This approach lets you use the VM snapshot technology & SAN-based data
transfer in conjunction with traditional file-based backup software. If you do not have SAN, you can use VCB in the LAN mode.
o Key features of VCB:
o Most major backup applications integrate with VCB.
o Eliminates the need for having a backup agent installed in each VM.
o Can read virtual disk data directly from your SAN storage device using Fibre Channel or iSCSI, or through the ESX Server I/O stack or use a
network connection to an ESX Server host.
o Can run in a VM.
o Supports file-level full & incremental backups for VMs running Microsoft Windows operating system & image-level backups for VMs
running any operating system.
o You can use VCB against a single ESX Server host or with a vCenter.
o The third-party software, integration module, & VCB run on the VCB proxy, a physical or VM that has Microsoft Windows operating system
installed.
o Methods of accessing VM disk data:
o SAN Mode – Use with Fibre Channel & iSCSI storage to completely off-load backups to a physical VCB proxy.
o Hot-Add Mode – Use with any type of storage to perform backups by a VCB proxy set up in a VM. including NAS or local storage. The only
exception is that it does not back up any disks of the VM that has any independent disk, Physical Compatibility RDM, or IDE.
o LAN Mode (NBD Mode) – Use when your environment does not permit the use of the SAN or Hot-Add modes. Your virtual disks cannot
be larger than 1TB each.
o Workflow:
o Backup software 640 802 calls the pre-backup script:
o (Optional) Runs your custom pre-freeze script in the VM.
o Quiesces the VM.
o Puts the VM into snapshot mode.
o Unquiesces the VM that was quiesced.
o (Optional) Runs your custom post-thaw script in the VM.

o Orchestrator Default Ports:
Purpose Port Description
Lookup 8230 The main port to communicate with the Orchestrator server (JNDI port).
Command 8240 The application communication port (RMI container port) used for remote invocations
Messaging 8250 The Java messaging port used to dispatch events.
Data 8244 The port used to access all Orchestrator data models, such as workflows and policies.
HTTP server 8280 The vcp-410 port for the HTTP connector used to connect to the Web front-end.
HTTPS server 8281 To connect to the Web front-end and to communicate with vCenter API.
HTTP access 8282 The access port for the Web UI of Orchestrator configuration.
HTTPS access 8283 The SSL access port for the Web UI of Orchestrator configuration. To enable configure Jetty to use SSL.
LDAP 389 The look up port of your LDAP Authentication server.
LDAP using SSL 636 The look up port of your secure LDAP Authentication server.
PostgreSQL 5432 PostgreSQL Server for Orchestrator database.
SQL Server 1433 Microsoft SQL Server for Orchestrator database.
Oracle 1521 Oracle Database for Orchestrator database.
MySQL 3306 MySQL for Orchestrator database.
SMTP Server 25 Email notifications.
o The Orchestrator configuration interface uses a secure connection to communicate with vCenter. You can import the required SSL certificate
from a URL or file.
o The users in the Developers role have editing privileges on all elements.
o Plug-in file extensions are .vmoapp (can contain several .dar files) and .dar (contains all the resources associated with one plug-in).
o You must import the vCenter Server license. The set of plug-ins delivered with Orchestrator do not require a license
vCenter Orchestrator 4.0 – Administration Guide
o VMware vCenter Orchestrator is a development & process-automation platform that provides a library of extensible workflows to allow you to
create & run automated, configurable processes to manage the VMware vCenter infrastructure.
o Orchestrator is composed of three distinct layers: an orchestration platform that provides the common features required for an orchestration
tool, a plug-in architecture to integrate control of subsystems, & a library of preexisting processes.
o Three global user roles: Administrators, Developers (creates applications, customizes/creates new workflows & customizes web front ends), &
End Users (can run & schedule workflows & policies.).
o You can access Orchestrator through the Orchestrator client interface, through a Web browser, or through Web services.
o The Orchestrator client is a desktop application to perform daily administration tasks such as importing packages, running & scheduling
workflows & policies, & managing user permissions. It also serves as an IDE for creating or customizing workflows.
o Workflows consist of vmware vcp 410 actions, attributes, parameters, & schemas.
o Read-only workflow attributes act as global constants for a workflow. Writeable attributes act as a workflow’s global variables.
o You use attributes to transfer variables between workflow elements.
o A workflow schema is a graphical representation of a workflow that shows the workflow as a flow diagram of interconnected workflow
elements.
o A workflow token represents a workflow that is running or has run.
o Actions are JavaScript functions that take multiple input parameters & have a single return value.
o Action referencing is based on the action module name & action name. Make sure that all elements that reference this action are still valid
after you move the action.
o The Find Elements that Use this Element function checks all packages, workflows, & policies, but it does not check in scripts.
o You can use a task to schedule a workflow once, or multiple times.
o Policies are event triggers that monitor the activity of the system. Policies run predefined events in response to changes in the status or
performance of certain defined objects.
o Packages are for transporting content from one Orchestrator server to another. Packages can contain workflows, actions, policies, Web views,
configurations, or resources.
o Orchestrator signs packages & encrypts the packages for data protection. Packages use X509 certificates to monitor which users export &
redistribute elements.
o Orchestrator client interface allows you to add, import, export, & synchronize packages.
o The naming convention vmware vcp 410 for packages is .category..
o Packages from Orchestrator 4.0 are not backwards compatible with Orchestrator 3.2.
o Plugins installed by default:
o vCenter 4.0
o vCO library – provides workflows that act as templates
o Mail – SMTP
o SSH

o Each vCenter Converter server must be associated with only one vCenter Server.
o You can install vCenter Converter on:
o Windows Server 2000 SP4 with Update Rollup 1
o Windows Server 2003 SP2 (32 bit & 64 bit)
o Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2 (32 bit & 64 bit)
o Windows Server Passed VCP410 2008 (32 bit & 64 bit)
o Windows Vista SP1 (32 bit & 64 bit)
o Windows XP Professional SP3 (32 bit & 64 bit)
o You can install the vCenter Converter CLI on Linux computers.
o The operating system on which you install vCenter Converter server determines which VMs & third-party images you can import, export, &
reconfigure.
o VMs must be powered off before you import them. You cannot import suspended VMs.
o Ports required by vCenter Converter:
Communication path Port
vCenter Converter server to remote physical machine TCP– 445, 139 UDP– 137, 138
vCenter Converter server to vCenter Server 443
vCenter Converter client to vCenter Converter server 443
Physical machine to vCenter Server 443
Physical machine to ESX/ESXi 902
o You must install the Microsoft Sysprep tools on your vCenter Server machine in the appropriate location: C:\Documents & Settings\All
Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware VCENTER\sysprep.
o You can export VMs that vCenter Server manages to managed formats or hosted formats.
o You can download & use the VMware peTool to add storage & network drivers to the boot CD ISO image.
o You can migrate physical & virtual source machines by using the converter-tool executable file & the command-line interface (CLI). This
provides access to functionality without requiring the vSphere Client plug-in. Can run on Windows & Linux computers.
o The vCenter Converter installer does not support Linux. You must download the latest version of the Linux installer.
vCenter Orchestrator 4.0 – Installation and Configuration Guide
o vCenter Orchestrator is a development Passed VCP 4 and process-automation platform that provides a library of extensible workflows.
o Orchestrator exposes every operation in the vCenter Server API.
o Three global user roles: Administrators, Developers, and End Users.
o Support for several OS:
o Server 2003 R2, 32bit, 64bit
o Server 2008, 32bit, 64bit
o Supported directory service types:
o Active Directory
o OpenLDAP
o eDirectory
o Sun Java Directory Server
o Supported browsers:
o IE 6.0 and 7.0
o Firefox 3.0.6 or later
o Safari 3.x (experimental)
o The database is separate from the standard vCenter database.
o Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise (SP2) and x64 and (SP1)
o Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Standard (SP2), (SP1)
o Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Enterprise (SP4)
o Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Standard (SP4)
o Oracle 10g Enterprise Release 2 (10.2.0.3.0) x32 and x64
o Orchestrator does vcp 410 not support IPv6 operating systems.
o Orchestrator Configuration Service startup type is set to Manual by default.
o http://:8282.
o HTTPS connection through port 8283, you must configure Jetty to use SSL.
o You cannot change the vmware default user name.

o When you restore the standard switch, a new virtual adapter is created and the management network uplink that is currently connected to
vNetwork Distributed Switch is migrated to the new virtual switch.
o The software creates these partitions:
o One 4GB VFAT scratch partition for system swap.
o One VMFS3 partition on the remaining free space.
o The installer create VCP-410 questions a 110MB diagnostic partition for core dumps.
o The scratch partition is not required (but created by default during the installation). It is used to store vm-support output, which you need
when you create a support bundle.
o Lockdown mode prevents remote personnel from logging in to the ESXi host by using the root login name. By default, lockdown mode is
disabled.
o Resetting the configuration does not remove virtual machines on the ESXi host. After you reset the configuration defaults, the virtual
machines are not visible, but you can retrieve them by reconfiguring storage and reregistering the virtual machines.
o When you perform a configuration backup, the serial number is backed up with the configuration and is restored when you restore the
configuration. The serial number is not preserved when you run the Recovery CD (ESXi Embedded) or perform the repair operation (ESXi
Installable).
o When you restore the configuration, the target host must be in maintenance mode, which means all virtual machines (including the vSphere
CLI virtual appliance) must be powered off.
o Run the vicfg-cfgbackup command with the -s flag to save the host configuration to the specified backup filename.
o When you restore configuration data, the build number currently running on the host must be the same as the build number that was running
when you created the backup file. You can override this requirement by including the -f (force) flag with the vicfg-cfgbackup
command.
o Run the vicfg-cfgbackup command with the -l flag to load the host configuration from the specified backup file.
o You can restore the ESXi Installable software by running the ESXi installation CD in repair mode. All host configuration data is overwritten by
system defaults.
o During the repair VCP-410 dumps operation, your existing ESXi 4.0 Installable VMFS datastore is preserved if it is in its original location on the ESXi 4.0 boot
disk, or if it is located on another disk (separate from the boot disk). If you changed the VMFS location on the boot disk, it is preserved if it is
located beyond the 900MB partition.
vSphere upgrade guide
o When you upgrade from ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5 to ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0, you can use either the vSphere Host Update Utility or vCenter Update Manager.
o EDIT – you can also use the upgrade script (esxupgrade.sh – KB 1009440). VMware doesn’t mention the option of a fresh install at any point;
they are pushing the upgrade option as much as possible. You can’t seem to do an upgrade with the ESX4 install CD.
o Host Update Utility is used for upgrading ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5 standalone hosts to ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0 and for patching ESXi 4.0 standalone hosts. It is
a standalone Microsoft Windows application recommended for smaller deployments with fewer than 10 ESX/ESXi hosts, without vCenter
Server or Update Manager.
o vCenter Update Manager is for upgrading and updating ESX/ESXi hosts that are managed in vCenter Server.
o Orchestrated upgrades can be used to upgrade the VM hardware and VMware Tools.
o No VMFS upgrade is required if you are upgrading from ESX 3.x
o You must upgrade VMware Tools before upgrading virtual hardware.
o After you upgrade to vCenter Server, you cannot revert to VirtualCenter 2.x. Take appropriate backups before starting the upgrade.
o Upgrade VirtualCenter 2.x to vCenter Server 4.0:
o Make sure your database is compatible
o Have required permissions
o Take a full backup of the VirtualCenter 2.x database
o Back up the VirtualCenter 2.x SSL certificates
o Install the vSphere Client
o vCenter Converter, upgrade
o vCenter Guided Consolidation upgrade
o Upgrade to vCenter Update Manager 4.0.
o Use vCenter Update Manager to upgrade ESX 3.x hosts to ESX 4.0. (or use host update utility)
o Use vCenter Update Manager to upgrade your VMs. vCenter Update Manager ensures that the VMware Tools upgrade and the virtual
hardware upgrade happen in the correct order
o Upgrade your Passed VCP-410product licenses
o ESX 2.x hosts cannot be added to clusters.
o Oracle 9i is no longer supported.
o Microsoft SQL Server 2000 is no longer supported.
o To Back Up VirtualCenter 2.x:
o Make a full backup of the VirtualCenter 2.x database.

o When you restore the standard switch, a new virtual adapter is created and the management network uplink that is currently connected to
vNetwork Distributed Switch is migrated to the new virtual switch.
o The software creates these partitions:
o One 4GB VFAT scratch partition for system swap.
o One VMFS3 partition on the remaining free space.
o The installer create VCP-410 questions a 110MB diagnostic partition for core dumps.
o The scratch partition is not required (but created by default during the installation). It is used to store vm-support output, which you need
when you create a support bundle.
o Lockdown mode prevents remote personnel from logging in to the ESXi host by using the root login name. By default, lockdown mode is
disabled.
o Resetting the configuration does not remove virtual machines on the ESXi host. After you reset the configuration defaults, the virtual
machines are not visible, but you can retrieve them by reconfiguring storage and reregistering the virtual machines.
o When you perform a configuration backup, the serial number is backed up with the configuration and is restored when you restore the
configuration. The serial number is not preserved when you run the Recovery CD (ESXi Embedded) or perform the repair operation (ESXi
Installable).
o When you restore the configuration, the target host must be in maintenance mode, which means all virtual machines (including the vSphere
CLI virtual appliance) must be powered off.
o Run the vicfg-cfgbackup command with the -s flag to save the host configuration to the specified backup filename.
o When you restore configuration data, the build number currently running on the host must be the same as the build number that was running
when you created the backup file. You can override this requirement by including the -f (force) flag with the vicfg-cfgbackup
command.
o Run the vicfg-cfgbackup command with the -l flag to load the host configuration from the specified backup file.
o You can restore the ESXi Installable software by running the ESXi installation CD in repair mode. All host configuration data is overwritten by
system defaults.
o During the repair VCP-410 dumps operation, your existing ESXi 4.0 Installable VMFS datastore is preserved if it is in its original location on the ESXi 4.0 boot
disk, or if it is located on another disk (separate from the boot disk). If you changed the VMFS location on the boot disk, it is preserved if it is
located beyond the 900MB partition.
vSphere upgrade guide
o When you upgrade from ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5 to ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0, you can use either the vSphere Host Update Utility or vCenter Update Manager.
o EDIT – you can also use the upgrade script (esxupgrade.sh – KB 1009440). VMware doesn’t mention the option of a fresh install at any point;
they are pushing the upgrade option as much as possible. You can’t seem to do an upgrade with the ESX4 install CD.
o Host Update Utility is used for upgrading ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5 standalone hosts to ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0 and for patching ESXi 4.0 standalone hosts. It is
a standalone Microsoft Windows application recommended for smaller deployments with fewer than 10 ESX/ESXi hosts, without vCenter
Server or Update Manager.
o vCenter Update Manager is for upgrading and updating ESX/ESXi hosts that are managed in vCenter Server.
o Orchestrated upgrades can be used to upgrade the VM hardware and VMware Tools.
o No VMFS upgrade is required if you are upgrading from ESX 3.x
o You must upgrade VMware Tools before upgrading virtual hardware.
o After you upgrade to vCenter Server, you cannot revert to VirtualCenter 2.x. Take appropriate backups before starting the upgrade.
o Upgrade VirtualCenter 2.x to vCenter Server 4.0:
o Make sure your database is compatible
o Have required permissions
o Take a full backup of the VirtualCenter 2.x database
o Back up the VirtualCenter 2.x SSL certificates
o Install the vSphere Client
o vCenter Converter, upgrade
o vCenter Guided Consolidation upgrade
o Upgrade to vCenter Update Manager 4.0.
o Use vCenter Update Manager to upgrade ESX 3.x hosts to ESX 4.0. (or use host update utility)
o Use vCenter Update Manager to upgrade your VMs. vCenter Update Manager ensures that the VMware Tools upgrade and the virtual
hardware upgrade happen in the correct order
o Upgrade your Passed VCP-410product licenses
o ESX 2.x hosts cannot be added to clusters.
o Oracle 9i is no longer supported.
o Microsoft SQL Server 2000 is no longer supported.
o To Back Up VirtualCenter 2.x:
o Make a full backup of the VirtualCenter 2.x database.

o vCenter Server instances in a Linked Mode group can be in different domains if the domains have a two-way trust relationship.
o The installer must be run by a domain user who is an administrator on both the machines.
o The vCenter Server installer validates that the machine clocks are not more than 5 minutes apart.
o The instances can run under different domain accounts.
o Windows Server 2008 VCP-410 exam automatically configures the firewall to permit access. Launch firewall.cpl and add an exception for
C:\Windows\ADAM\dsamain.exe
o When you install vCenter Server in Linked Mode, the firewall configuration on any network-based firewalls must be modified.
o Configure Windows RPC ports to generically allow selective ports for machine-to-machine RPC communication.
o vCenter Collector service – uses port 8181 and 8182, by default.
o vCenter Web Server – uses ports 8080 and 8443, by default.
o All product licenses are encapsulated in 25-character license keys that you can manage and monitor from vCenter Server.
o vSphere Licenses – For ESX/ESXi.
o vCenter Server Licenses – For vCenter Server.
o vCenter Server 4.0 does not require a license server to manage ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0 hosts. However, vCenter Server 4.0 does requires a license
server to manage ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5 hosts.
o If a vCenter Server license expires, the managed hosts become disconnected.
o If an ESX/ESXi host license expires, the VMs that reside on the host continue to run, but you cannot power on the VMs or reset them.
ESXi Installable and vCenter Server Setup Guide
o When you power on the ESXi host for the first time or after resetting the configuration defaults, the host enters an autoconfiguration phase
during which system network and storage devices are configured with defaults.
o By default, DHCP configures IP and all visible blank internal disks are formatted with VMFS so that virtual machines can be stored on the disks.
o ESXi has an interface called the direct console to:
o Configuring host defaults
o Setting up administrative access
o Troubleshooting
o Minimum hardware configurations supported by ESXi 4.0:
o 64-bit x86 CPUs.
o 2GB RAM minimum
o Supported SATA, SAS or SCSI disks
o The installer reformats and partitions the target disk and installs the ESXi 4.0 boot image.
o ESXi Installable is always installed in evaluation mode (60 days).
o ESXi Installable and VCP-410 exam questions ESXi Embedded cannot exist on the same host.
o Booting multiple servers from a single shared ESXi image is not supported.
o If there is no DHCP available during the install, it assigns the link local IP address, which is in the subnet 169.254.x.x/16.
o Direct Console
Action Key
View and change the configuration F2
Change the user interface to high-contrast mode F4
Shut down or restart the host F12
Move the selection between fields Arrow keys
Select a menu item Enter
Toggle a value Spacebar
Confirm sensitive commands, such as resetting configuration defaults F11
Save and exit Enter
Exit without saving Esc
Exit system logs q
o To change the security banner > Advanced Settings window, select Annotations.
o Test Management Network:
o Pings the default gateway
o Pings the primary DNS nameserver
o Pings the secondary DNS nameserver
o Resolves the configured host name
o Restarting the management VCP-410 study guide agents restarts all management agents and services that are installed and running in /etc/init.d on the ESXi host.
Typically, these agents include hostd, ntpd, sfcbd, slpd, wsman, and vobd. The software also restarts the Automated Availability Manager
(AAM) if it is installed.
o Disable the management network is if you want to isolate an ESXi host from an HA and DRS cluster, but you do not want to lose your static IP
and DNS configurations or reboot the host.

o ks-first-safe.cfg Installs ESX on the first detected disk and preserves the VMFS datastores on the disk.
o ks-first.cfg Installs ESX on the first detected disk.
o The default root password is mypassword.
o /boot and vmkcore are physical partitions. /, swap, /var/log, and all the optional partitions are stored on a virtual disk called esxconsole-
/esxconsole.vmdk. The virtual disk is stored in a VMFS volume.
o You cannot define VCP-410 dumps the sizes of the /boot, vmkcore, and /vmfs partitions when you use the graphical or text installation modes. You can define
these partition sizes when you do a scripted installation.
o ESX Required Partitions
Mount Point Type Size Location
/boot ext3 1.25GB of free space and includes the /boot and vmkcore
partitions. The /boot partition alone requires
1100MB.
Physical partition
N/A swap 600MB recommended minimum 1600MB maximum. Virtual disk in a VMFS volume
/ ext3 Based on the size of the /usr partition. By default, the
minimum size is 5GB and no /usr partition is defined.
Virtual disk in a VMFS volume
N/A VMFS3 For VMFS volumes hosting esxconsole.vmdk: 1200MB and
an additional 10GB. VMFS2 is supported in read-only
mode to import legacy VMs.
Physical partition.
N/A vmkcore See /boot Physical partition
o ESX Optional Partitions
Mount Point Type Recommended Size Location
/home ext3 512MB Virtual disk in a VMFS volume
/tmp ext3 1024MB Virtual disk
/usr ext3 Missing in PDF Virtual disk
/var/log ext3 2000MB Virtual disk. The graphical and text
installers create this partition by
default.
o vihostupdate command applies software updates to ESX4/ESXi4 hosts and installs and updates ESX/ESXi extensions (use vihostupdate35 on
ESX 3.5/ESXi 3.5 hosts.)
o The esxupdate utility is for ESX only.
o You can use the vihostupdate utility in conjunction with offline bundles or with a depot
o vSphere Databases:
o Microsoft SQL Server VCP-410 2005 Express – up to 5 hosts and 50 VMs. If the machine has Microsoft SQL Native Client installed, remove it before
installing vCenter Server with the bundled database. If the machine has MSXML Core Services 6.0 installed, remove it before installing
o Microsoft SQL Server 2005 – Windows XP, apply MDAC 2.8 SP1 to the client. Use the SQL Native Client driver (version 9.x) for the client.
Ensure that the machine has a valid ODBC DSN entry. Remove MSXML Core Services 6.0 before
o Microsoft SQL Server 2008 – Windows XP, apply MDAC 2.8 SP1 to the client. Use the SQL Native Client driver (version 10.x) for the client.
Ensure that the machine has a valid ODBC DSN entry.
o Oracle 10g – If necessary, first apply patch 10.2.0.3 (or later) to the client and server. Then apply patch 5699495 to the client. Ensure that
the machine has a valid ODBC DSN entry.
o Oracle 11g – Ensure that the machine has a valid ODBC DSN entry.
o Even though vCenter Server is supported on 64-bit operating systems, the vCenter Server system must have a 32-bit DSN. This requirement
applies to all supported databases. By default, any DSN created on a 64-bit system is 64 bit. On a 64-bit system use
C:\WINDOWS\SYSWOW64\odbc32.exe.
o vCenter Server must have a computer name that is 15 characters or fewer. The data source name (DSN) and remote database systems can
have names with more than 15 characters.
o To prepare a SQL Server database to work with vCenter Server, you generally need to create a SQL Server database user with database
operator (DBO) rights.
o If you use SQL Server for vCenter Server, do not use the master database.
o When using Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition with vCenter Server, do not name the instance MSSQLSERVER.
o The vCenter Server performs a silent installation of vCenter Orchestrator. If you install vCenter Server on an IPv6 operating system, the
vCenter Orchestrator module is not supported.
o The vSphere Host VCP-410 braindump Update Utility is for updating and patching ESXi 4.0 hosts and upgrading ESX 3.x/ESXi 3.5 hosts to ESX 4.0/ESXi 4.0.
o You can join multiple vCenter Server systems to form a Linked Mode group.
o Linked Mode global data includes:
o Connection information (IP and ports)
o Certificates
o Licensing i