VMware Novice - Experts Exchange

6 downloads 227 Views 284KB Size Report
This is one of the more common mistakes that you might make when transitioning into VMware, because you're applying logi
VMware Novice: 3 Common Traps to Avoid

An Experts Exchange Whitepaper

VMware Novice: 3 Common Traps to Avoid Whether you’re a seasoned IT veteran or just starting out in tech, there’s a lot to know about VMware. Especially if you’re working a full-time job, it’s easy to feel overloaded and overwhelmed. Mistakes are also part of the game, no matter how prepared you think you are. However, if you avoid these three major traps that many novices fall into, you’ll be on a better track towards success:

1. More Doesn’t Mean Better This is one of the more common mistakes that you might make when transitioning into VMware, because you’re applying logic based on previously held assumptions that doesn’t work the same way with VMware technology. Many VMware Junior Admins like yourself are tasked to pump out more performance to meet quarterly goals. In order to achieve that goal, you might think that you simply need to add more power to your systems, whether that translates to video cards, memory, or CPUs for server systems. You might think the same rule applies when addressing power limitations on a virtual server. However, after adding more vCPUs to your system, you’re actually seeing performance drop significantly. How can this be the case? Instead, what you should be doing is scaling out what you do have over more RDS servers and also create

(877) 211-8911 x299

|

Experts-Exchange.com

2

virtual CPUs and memory. By adding more vCPUs, what you’re actually doing is preventing the virtual machines from using the vCPU correctly. By assigning more cores (via more processors) to the virtual machine, the VMware scheduler has to wait until those cores are “free”, thereby pausing these cores and slowing down your overall performance 1.

Unless the software is specifically optimized for more processors, the system will slow itself down.

Unless the software is specifically optimized for more processors, the system will slow itself down. You should instead start by assigning one vCPU to the machine, then slowly increase until there is a performance hit, in which case you should scale back.

2. Relying on Snapshots for Testing Sometimes when you’re trying to avoid making simple mistakes, you can often just end up making different mistakes altogether. As ironic as it may seem, it’s a pretty common occurrence. Let’s say you need to implement a new patch for the version that you have. You’re no doubt thinking of a way to test the patch without messing up your virtual machine. Perhaps in your mind, the quickest way to do that is with the VMware snapshot feature. This allows you to essentially create a picture (or snapshot) of a moment in time from your virtual machine. That way, if something breaks while implementing the patch or new version, you can go back to that moment in time and unfreeze it, as though the problem never happened.

(877) 211-8911 x299

|

Experts-Exchange.com

3

The problem is that these snapshots are not true backups of your system 2. While snapshotting can be used effectively in certain instances, the problem arises when this becomes the go-to procedure for testing. Because the virtual machine will be running slower on the snapshot, the updates will take longer to process. Plus, after it’s done processing, merging the files in order to delete the snapshot will often end up taking hours to complete. This is not an efficient process. Instead, what you should do is take a full clone of your virtual machine to act as a backup before you start running updates. If there happens to be an issue during the process, you can simply destroy the machine, rename the clone, and restart it. If the update is successful, you can simply delete the clone without waiting hours to complete the merge. It’s safer for your system, and faster as well.

Take a full clone of your virtual machine to act as a backup before you start running updates.

3. Installing ESXi on the Local Disk Just as it may seem obvious to add more physical CPUs to increase the performance, you may think that the local disk is the best place for installing your first ESXi whitebox. Though it may seem like a more secure location than a flash drive, it actually takes up a fair amount of space on the disk that you should reserve instead for the virtual machine datastores. There are a number of different reasons why a flash drive works better for the ESXi install. First, it does

A flash drive works better for the ESXi install.

(877) 211-8911 x299

|

Experts-Exchange.com

4

save space. Since the flash drive is only used to boot up the ESXi OS before it switches over to the memory resident, there’s no need to waste the space on the local disk. Secondly, having it on a flash drive makes it easier to backup or replace if something were to happen, rather than wiping the local disk and starting from scratch. Make sure to use a high quality flash drive, however, and follow the correct steps when booting from the drive.

Having it on a flash drive makes it easier to backup or replace.

The Next Step: The Experts Exchange Community While knowing these three things to avoid will help you get a leg up on the competition, you’ve only just scratched the surface of things you need to know as a VMware novice.

You’ve only just scratched the surface of things you need to know as a VMware novice.

To make your life as a VMware professional even easier, Experts Exchange has VMware tools featuring: • Over 29,000 VMware solutions, how-to articles, and video tutorials from contributors who are well-respected in the VMware community. • Ability to network with VMware experts, to collaborate and discuss new patches, software releases and versions, and anything else VMware. • Access to industry peers and vExperts, including some of the top 50 vExperts in the world, in one of the strongest online communities, enabling you to build your professional network.

(877) 211-8911 x299

|

Experts-Exchange.com

5

One of those professionals, Andy Hancock, is one of the top 25 vExperts in the world, and has many tutorials for novices. Check out the rest of his highly rated content through the community. The life of a VMware novice isn’t easy, but there is help out there. The Experts Exchange Community is the oldest and strongest technology community in the world. As a VMware professional, you will be required to work with many technologies beyond VMware, from operating systems to storage area networks. Thankfully, with the Experts Exchange Community you have a way to get everything you need to grow in your career all in one place.

The Experts Exchange Community is the oldest and strongest technology community in the world.

Sources http://www.experts-exchange.com/articles/10300/How-To-VMware-Snapshots-Be-Patient.html

(877) 211-8911 x299

|

Experts-Exchange.com

6

ABOUT EXPERTS EXCHANGE Experts Exchange is the network for technology professionals. With unparalleled access to technical experts, verified real-world solutions, and diverse educational content, we enable technology professionals to solve difficult problems, make better decisions, and build expertise on their own terms. By enabling personalized skills development and relevant professional exposure. Experts Exchange powers the growth and success of technology professionals worldwide.

Visit the Experts Exchange Community

Customer Service (877) 211-8911 x299

(877) 211-8911 x299

|

Experts-Exchange.com

7