Nick Marshall wh uae drown. G Dlar Frta nd Ryan Johnson day Pat Gelsinger Mastering VMware vsphere 629 SYBEX
Mastering VMware vSphere @ 6.7I
Mastering VMware vSphere® 6.7
M mastering VMware vSphere@ 6.7 Nick marshall Mike brown G. Blair fritz Ryan Johnson SYBEX A wiley Brand
Mastering VMware vSphere® 6.7 Nick Marshall Mike Brown G. Blair Fritz Ryan Johnson
Development Editor. Stephanie Barton Technical Editor: Rebecca Fitzhugh Production Editor: Athiyappan Lalith Kumar Copy Editor: Kathryn Duggan Content Enablement and Operations Manager: Pete Gaughan roduction Manager: Kathleen Wisor ssociate Publisher: Jim Mintel proofreader: Evelyn Wellborn Indexer: Johnna VanHoose Dinse Project Coordinator, Cover: Brent Sava Cover Designer: Wiley Cover Image: @ColorBlind Images Copyright G 2019 by John Wiley Sons, Inc, Indianapolis, Indiana BN:978-1-119512950(ebk) N:978-1-119-51297-4(ebk) Manufactured in the United States of America ted under Sections 107 or 10S of the 1976 United States Copyrigh hout either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the ght Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978)750-8400, fax(978)646-8600 Requests to the Publisher for per should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley Sons, Inc, 1l1 River Street, Hoboken, NJ,(201)748-6011 fax(201)748-6008,oronlineathttp://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The nor make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy erials. The advice and strategies contained erein may not be suitable for every situation. is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, is required, the services of a competent professional person should be ought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Web site is re- Web sites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read.e that Internet on or Web site may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical rt, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at(877)762-2974, outside the U.S. at (317)572-3993, or fax(317) viley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions theversionyoupurchasedyoumaydownloadthismaterialathttp://booksupport.wileycomFormoneithatisnotincludedin of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or dvd tha Library of Congress Control Number: 2018956539 filiates. in the United States an ountries, and may not be used without written pe permission. VMware vSphere is a registered tra nark of vMware Inc. All other ks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley Sons, Inc is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. 10987654321
Development Editor: Stephanie Barton Technical Editor: Rebecca Fitzhugh Production Editor: Athiyappan Lalith Kumar Copy Editor: Kathryn Duggan Content Enablement and Operations Manager: Pete Gaughan Production Manager: Kathleen Wisor Associate Publisher: Jim Minatel Proofreader: Evelyn Wellborn Indexer: Johnna VanHoose Dinse Project Coordinator, Cover: Brent Savage Cover Designer: Wiley Cover Image: ©ColorBlind Images Copyright © 2019 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana Published simultaneously in Canada ISBN: 978-1-119-51294-3 ISBN: 978-1-119-51295-0 (ebk) ISBN: 978-1-119-51297-4 (ebk) Manufactured in the United States of America No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and the author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales or promotional materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organization or Web site is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organization or Web site may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that Internet Web sites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. For general information on our other products and services or to obtain technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at (877) 762-2974, outside the U.S. at (317) 572-3993, or fax (317) 572-4002. Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com. Library of Congress Control Number: 2018956539 TRADEMARKS: Wiley, the Wiley logo, and the Sybex logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates, in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. VMware vSphere is a registered trademark of VMware, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
dedicate this book to my family. My wife Natalie, my so Ethan, and my daughters, Estelle and ve. You are the reason i do what i do -Nick Marshall
I dedicate this book to my family. My wife Natalie, my son Ethan, and my daughters, Estelle and Eve. You are the reason I do what I do. —Nick Marshall
Acknowledgments What a journey it has been the last few years since my previous Mastering vSphere book. When completing the last book, I had just moved to Palo Alto, California from Australia and was awaiting the arrival of my second child. The opportunity had come up to work out of VMware's headquarters on a beautiful campus not far from Stanford University. However, after a fantastic 2.5 years in the US, it was time to move back closer to our family in australia When writing my last book, I spoke about my wife being my rock, and that has not changed. Our life is somehow even more chaotic with three kids, yet she amazingly handles it all in her stride. Nat, you are still my everything I owe you more than I could possibly repay, but I hope a remote tropical holiday for two might be a good first step Thanks to my fellow authors, work mates and good friends, Mike Brown, Blair Fritz, and Ryan Johnson. You guys really knocked it out of the park with your contributions. Your dedica- tion to refining and (re)writing your respective sections reinforces my respect for you as VMware authorities. The content of this book is so much better thanks to your involvement. even if you didn't know what you were getting yourselves into I'd also like to thank our technical editor, Rebecca Fitzhugh. Thanks for keeping us honest, Rebecca. Your technical review was most appreciated, and the feedback rightfully kept us on our toes Once again, the team at Wiley /Sybex have been so supportive. Jim Minatel, thank you for your guidance and direction. Stephanie Barton, thank you for graciously coming back and keeping our rambling streams of consciousness somewhat cohesive for a third time. Also, to Athiyappan Kumar and the rest of the team, thank you for all that you did to ensure the quality of this work. Your attention to detail is second to none As always, I'd like to thank the VMware community as a whole. To all the bloggers, speakers, tweeters, and podcasters: without you all, I would never have started down this virtual road nick marshall
Acknowledgments What a journey it has been the last few years since my previous Mastering vSphere book. When completing the last book, I had just moved to Palo Alto, California from Australia and was awaiting the arrival of my second child. The opportunity had come up to work out of VMware’s headquarters on a beautiful campus not far from Stanford University. However, after a fantastic 2.5 years in the US, it was time to move back closer to our family in Australia. When writing my last book, I spoke about my wife being my rock, and that has not changed. Our life is somehow even more chaotic with three kids, yet she amazingly handles it all in her stride. Nat, you are still my everything; I owe you more than I could possibly repay, but I hope a remote tropical holiday for two might be a good first step. Thanks to my fellow authors, work mates and good friends, Mike Brown, Blair Fritz, and Ryan Johnson. You guys really knocked it out of the park with your contributions. Your dedication to refining and (re)writing your respective sections reinforces my respect for you as VMware authorities. The content of this book is so much better thanks to your involvement. . . even if you didn’t know what you were getting yourselves into! I’d also like to thank our technical editor, Rebecca Fitzhugh. Thanks for keeping us honest, Rebecca. Your technical review was most appreciated, and the feedback rightfully kept us on our toes. Once again, the team at Wiley/Sybex have been so supportive. Jim Minatel, thank you for your guidance and direction. Stephanie Barton, thank you for graciously coming back and keeping our rambling streams of consciousness somewhat cohesive for a third time. Also, to Athiyappan Kumar and the rest of the team, thank you for all that you did to ensure the quality of this work. Your attention to detail is second to none. As always, I’d like to thank the VMware community as a whole. To all the bloggers, speakers, tweeters, and podcasters: without you all, I would never have started down this virtual road. —Nick Marshall
About the author Nick Marshall is a Senior Integration Architect with nearly 20 years of IT experience. He is currently working for VMware in the Integrated Systems Business Unit. Previously, Nick has worked in a number of roles, ranging from computer assembler, t infrastructure architect, to product manager. Nick loves to solve business problems with techni- cal solutions Nicks passion for virtualization is evident by his involvement in starting the most popular virtualizationpodcastobroWnbag,andwritingonhispersonalblogatwww.nickmarshall.com. au. You can also find him speaking at industry conferences such as VMworld, VMUG(VMware User Group), and PEX (Partner Exchange). To recognize his contributions to the VMware community, Nick has been awarded the v Expert award each year since 2012 Outside of his day job, Nick has a budding interest in woodworking, professional audio and ideo production, and volunteering at his local church Nick lives in melbourne australia with his wife Natalie, and their three children. ethan Estelle, and Eve
About the Author Nick Marshall is a Senior Integration Architect with nearly 20 years of IT experience. He is currently working for VMware in the Integrated Systems Business Unit. Previously, Nick has worked in a number of roles, ranging from computer assembler, to infrastructure architect, to product manager. Nick loves to solve business problems with technical solutions. Nick’s passion for virtualization is evident by his involvement in starting the most popular virtualization podcast, vBrownBag, and writing on his personal blog, at www.nickmarshall.com. au. You can also find him speaking at industry conferences such as VMworld, VMUG (VMware User Group), and PEX (Partner Exchange). To recognize his contributions to the VMware community, Nick has been awarded the vExpert award each year since 2012. Outside of his day job, Nick has a budding interest in woodworking, professional audio and video production, and volunteering at his local church. Nick lives in Melbourne, Australia with his wife, Natalie, and their three children, Ethan, Estelle, and Eve
About the Contributors The following individuals also contributed to this book. Mike Brown( Chapters 5 and 6)is a Senior SDDC Integration Architect in VMware's Integrated Systems Business Unit. He currently focuses on Architecture and Design for the core phere, Networking, and NSX components of the VMware Validated Designs Mike is a double VMware Certified Design Expert(VCDX #71)in Datacenter and Network Virtualization. He also holds many other industry certifications. He has been awarded the VMware vExpert award each year since 2011 Mike has been working in IT since 1997 where he worked for a small VAR. Since then he has worked both in a customer environment and also as a consultant for a few local companies before joining VMware's Professional Services team in 2012. Since joining VMware, Mike spent two years as a Senior Consultant before moving into the vCloud Suite Technical Marketing Team where he spent another two years before moving into the VMware Validated Desi Architects team Mike lives in Houston, Texas with his amazing wife, Courtney, and five children Brycen(11), Brennan(9), Bronson(6), Joy (3), and Joss(1) G. Blair Fritz( Chapters 3, 4, and 8)is a SDDC Integration Architect in VMware's Integrated Systems Business Unit, alongside Mike, Ryan, and Nick, where he currently focuses on Architecture and Design for the core vSphere, Operation Management (including vRealize Operations and vRealize Log Insight), and Lifecycle Management of the VMware Validated Designs and VMware Cloud Foundation. Blair has been working in IT since 2003 where he started his adventures by working at The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis. Since then, he's had over 15 years of experience as a support engineer and technologist, ranging from systems engineer, staff escalation engineer, technic. lead, and solutions architect roles Blair lives in Indianapolis, Indiana with his wonderful wife, Jenny, and their two dogs, Theo and Olive. When he isn, t working, you'll likely find him bike riding, playing tennis, or playing Dungeons and Dragons Ryan Johnson( Chapters 11, 12, and 14)is a Senior Solutions Architect in the Integrated Systems Business Unit at VMware where he is an architect, author, and product owner for both the VMware Validated Designs and VMware Cloud Foundation. yan has over 23 years of experience as a technologist, ranging from systems engineer, nterprise architect, and solutions architect roles Ryan lives in Tallahassee, Florida with his incredibly patient wife, Darcie, and their two reative boys, Nolan and Parker. You are likely to find him on one of many nearby trails
About the Contributors The following individuals also contributed to this book. Mike Brown (Chapters 5 and 6) is a Senior SDDC Integration Architect in VMware’s Integrated Systems Business Unit. He currently focuses on Architecture and Design for the core vSphere, Networking, and NSX components of the VMware Validated Designs. Mike is a double VMware Certified Design Expert (VCDX #71) in Datacenter and Network Virtualization. He also holds many other industry certifications. He has been awarded the VMware vExpert award each year since 2011. Mike has been working in IT since 1997 where he worked for a small VAR. Since then he has worked both in a customer environment and also as a consultant for a few local companies before joining VMware’s Professional Services team in 2012. Since joining VMware, Mike spent two years as a Senior Consultant before moving into the vCloud Suite Technical Marketing Team where he spent another two years before moving into the VMware Validated Design Architect’s team. Mike lives in Houston, Texas with his amazing wife, Courtney, and five children Brycen (11), Brennan (9), Bronson (6), Joy (3), and Joss (1). G. Blair Fritz (Chapters 3, 4, and 8) is a SDDC Integration Architect in VMware’s Integrated Systems Business Unit, alongside Mike, Ryan, and Nick, where he currently focuses on Architecture and Design for the core vSphere, Operation Management (including vRealize Operations and vRealize Log Insight), and Lifecycle Management of the VMware Validated Designs and VMware Cloud Foundation. Blair has been working in IT since 2003 where he started his adventures by working at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. Since then, he’s had over 15 years of experience as a support engineer and technologist, ranging from systems engineer, staff escalation engineer, technical lead, and solutions architect roles. Blair lives in Indianapolis, Indiana with his wonderful wife, Jenny, and their two dogs, Theo and Olive. When he isn’t working, you’ll likely find him bike riding, playing tennis, or playing Dungeons and Dragons. Ryan Johnson (Chapters 11, 12, and 14) is a Senior Solutions Architect in the Integrated Systems Business Unit at VMware where he is an architect, author, and product owner for both the VMware Validated Designs and VMware Cloud Foundation. Ryan has over 23 years of experience as a technologist, ranging from systems engineer, enterprise architect, and solutions architect roles. Ryan lives in Tallahassee, Florida with his incredibly patient wife, Darcie, and their two creative boys, Nolan and Parker. You are likely to find him on one of many nearby trails
Contents at a glance Chapter 2. Planning and Installing VMware ESXi Chapter 3. Installing and Configuring vCenter Server Chapter 4.vSphere Update Manager and the vCenter Support Tools hapter 5. Creating and Configuring a vSphere Chapter 6. Creating and Configuring Storage Devices Chapter 7. Ensuring High Availability and Business Continuity Chapter 8. Securing VMware vSphere Chapter 9. Creating and Managing Virtual Machines 495 Chapter 10. Using Templates and vApps Chapter 12. Balancing Resource Utilization. Chapter 13. Monitoring VMware vSphere Performance Chapter 14. Automating VMware vSphere ppendix A The Bottom Line
Contents at a Glance Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxiii Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxv Chapter 1 • Introducing VMware vSphere 6.7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Chapter 2 • Planning and Installing VMware ESXi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Chapter 3 • Installing and Configuring vCenter Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Chapter 4 • vSphere Update Manager and the vCenter Support Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 Chapter 5 • Creating and Configuring a vSphere Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 Chapter 6 • Creating and Configuring Storage Devices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 265 Chapter 7 • Ensuring High Availability and Business Continuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 369 Chapter 8 • Securing VMware vSphere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 433 Chapter 9 • Creating and Managing Virtual Machines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 495 Chapter 10 • Using Templates and vApps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 549 Chapter 11 • Managing Resource Allocation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 591 Chapter 12 • Balancing Resource Utilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 645 Chapter 13 • Monitoring VMware vSphere Performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697 Chapter 14 • Automating VMware vSphere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 735 Appendix A • The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 775 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 801
Contents Foreword ntroduction Chapter 1. Introducing VMware vSphere 6.7 Exploring VMware vSphere 6.7 Examining the Products in the vSphere Suite Examining the Features in VMware vSphere Licensing VMware vSphere Why Choose vSphere The bottom line Chapter 2. Planning and Installing VMware ESXi ...23 VMware ESXi Architecture Understanding the ESXi Hyperviso Examining the ESXi Components Planning a VMware vSphere Deployment Choosing a Server Platform 26 Determining a Storage Architecture. Integrating with the Network Infrastructure Deploying VMware ESXi stalling VMware ESXi Interactively Performing an Unattended Installation of VMware ESXi. Deploying VMware ESXi with vSphere Auto Deploy Performing Post-installation Configuration Reconfiguring the Management Network Using the vSphere Host Client Configuring Time Synchronization 43 Configuring Name Resolution The bottom li Chapter 3. Installing and Configuring vCenter Server ucin Centralizing User Authentication Using vCenter Single Sign-On Understanding the Platform Services Controller 52 Using the vSphere Web Client for Administration Providing an Extensible Framework Choosing the Version of vCenter Serve Planning and Designing a vCenter Server Deploymen zing Hardware for v Center Serve anning for v Center Ser
Contents Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxiii Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxv Chapter 1 • Introducing VMware vSphere 6.7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Exploring VMware vSphere 6.7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Examining the Products in the vSphere Suite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Examining the Features in VMware vSphere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Licensing VMware vSphere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Why Choose vSphere? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Chapter 2 • Planning and Installing VMware ESXi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 VMware ESXi Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Understanding the ESXi Hypervisor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Examining the ESXi Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Planning a VMware vSphere Deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Choosing a Server Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Determining a Storage Architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Integrating with the Network Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Deploying VMware ESXi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Installing VMware ESXi Interactively . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Performing an Unattended Installation of VMware ESXi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Deploying VMware ESXi with vSphere Auto Deploy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Performing Post-installation Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Reconfiguring the Management Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Using the vSphere Host Client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Configuring Time Synchronization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Configuring Name Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 The Bottom Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Chapter 3 • Installing and Configuring vCenter Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Introducing vCenter Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Centralizing User Authentication Using vCenter Single Sign-On . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 Understanding the Platform Services Controller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Using the vSphere Web Client for Administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Providing an Extensible Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Choosing the Version of vCenter Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Planning and Designing a vCenter Server Deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Sizing Hardware for vCenter Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 Planning for vCenter Server Availability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58