Specifications

VMware, Inc. 35
Chapter 1 Introduction to VMware ESX Server
Working With ESX Server
This!section!includes!information!on!maintenance!tasks,!performance!enhancements,!
and!general!troubleshooting!tips.
Table 1‐3!includes!ESX!Server!maintenance!tasks!for!an!Administrator!(root!user).
Create!a!virtual!
machine.
The!Add!Virtual!Machine!wizard!lets!you!add!a!small!number!of!
devices!to!a!virtual!machine.!This!makes!the!initial!creation!process!
simpler.!Add!devices!later!by!clicking!Add!Device!in!the!Hardware!
tab!for!the!virtual!machine.
If!you!purchased!the!VMware!Virtual!SMP!for!ESX
!Server!product,!
you!can !create!dual‐virtual!CPU!SMP!virtual!machines.
Take!into!account!the!type!of!applications!you!plan!to!run!on!this!
virtual!machine!when!making!your!choices!during!its!creation.!
See!“Creating!a!New!Virtual!Machine”!on!page 39.
Add!additional!disks,!
drives,!network!
adapters,!and!SCSI!
devices.
Click!Add
!Device!in!the!Hardware!tab!for!the!virtual!machine.
See!“Configuring!a!Virtual!Machine’s!Hardware”!on!page 102.
Install!guest!operating!
system!and!VMware!
Tools.
VMware!Tools!is!a!software!package!installed!in!the!guest!
operating!system!that!gives!you!device!drivers!specific!to!VMware!
virtual!devices!where!necessary!and!includes!communication!
channels
!between!the!virtual!machine!and!the!ESX!Server!
virtualization!layer.
See!“Installing!a!Guest!Operating!System!in !a!Virtual!Machine”!on!
page 43,!and!see“VMware!Tools!Settings”!on!page 159.
Table 1-2. VMware Management Interface Tasks (Continued)
Task Description
Table 1-3. Maintenance tasks for an Administrator
Task Description
Back!up!your!
virtual!machines.
You!can!do!backups!for!each!virtual!machine,!or!from!the!service!console.
Backups!from!the!service!console!are!best!for!system!images,!because!they!
result!in!a!backup!bootable!virtual!disk!and!are!suitable!for!rapid!
redeployment.!See!“Backing!Up!from!Within!a!Virtual!Machine”!
on!
page 152
. Backups!from!within!the!virtual!machine,!using!a!backup!agent,!
are!best!for!application!data!because!no!system!shutdown!is!required.!See!
“Backing!Up!Virtual!Machines!from!the!Service!Console”!on!page 153.