Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 2
Planning and Installing VMware
ESXi
Now that you've taken a closer look at VMware vSphere and its suite of applications in
Chapter 1, “Introducing VMware vSphere 5.5,” it's easy to see that VMware ESXi is the founda-
tion of vSphere.
Although the act of installation can be relatively simple, understanding the deployment
and coni guration options requires planning to ensure a successful, VMware-supported
implementation.
In this chapter, you will learn to
Understand ESXi compatibility requirements
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Plan an ESXi deployment
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Deploy ESXi
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Perform post-installation coni guration of ESXi
Install the vSphere C# Client
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Planning a VMware vSphere Deployment
Deploying VMware vSphere is more than just virtualizing servers. The effects of storage, net-
working, and security in a vSphere deployment are as equally signii cant as they are with the
physical servers themselves. As a result of this broad impact on numerous facets of your orga-
nization's IT, the process of planning the vSphere deployment becomes even more important.
Without the appropriate planning for your vSphere implementation, you run the risk of coni gu-
ration problems, instability, incompatibilities, and diminished i nancial impact.
Your planning process for a vSphere deployment involves answering a number of questions
(please note that this list is far from comprehensive):
What types of servers will I use for the underlying physical hardware?
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What kinds of storage will I use, and how will I connect that storage to my servers?
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How will the networking be coni gured?
In some cases, the answers to these questions will determine the answers to other questions.
After you have answered these questions, you can then move on to more difi cult issues. These
