Administering VMware vSphere 8 (Learn, Setup ESXi + vCenter)

You too can become a VMware Virtualization expert!

Want to Learn all about VMware vSphere, ESXi and vCenter 8?

In this course we'll give you all the skills needed to start out with VMware, all the way up to becoming an expert.

We'll show you how to setup VMware vSphere 8, including VMware's Hypervisor ESXi and manaing vCenter. We'll also run you through the steps to start building your own Virtual Machines (VM's) and build your own Virtualization environment!

VMware is the leader in Virtualization technologies and used in thousands and thousands of businesses around the world. Whether you are new to IT or have worked in IT for a while we'll give you the skills needed to get that job, get promoted while improving your VMware skillset.

In this course we’ll cover -

- Differences between VMware vSphere, ESXi and vCenter.

- How to setup VMware ESXi and vCenter 8

- Building your own Virtual Machines, and keeping them healthy

- Using advanced vCenter features such Auto Startup, vMotion, HA, FT and DRS

- Using Virtual Networking switches

- Managing storage and datastores

- Diagnosing, Troubleshooting and Keeping your environment running great

** This course is aimed at VMware vSphere 8 administration, however it is also relevant to earlier versions of VMware vSphere including v7.0 and v6.x.

Do I need to be an expert?

No, this course is designed for people who may be starting out with Virtualization technologies but also forming a strong foundation for those who already work with VMware.

We'll give you the skills to become a lot more proficient in VMware.

What hardware and software do I need?

You can just follow along but to make your learning better it's best to also have -

- a copy of VMware ESXi and vCenter (we'll cover how to get these)

- a few spare computers to load VMware software onto them

- a number of ISO's to build some VM's. These could be copies of Windows and Linux.

Throughout this course, below are some tasks you can complete yourself

- download VMware ESXi off the VMware website

- setup some computers with VMware ESXi

- download or have ready some of your favorite Operating System ISO files

- build and configure a pool of VM's

- build and setup VMware vCenter

- Configure High Availability across a few hosts

- Deploy some virtual switches, both standard and distributed

Happy learning!

** In November 2023, Broadcom completed its acquisition of VMware.

As of early 2024 you can no longer get a free licensed copy of ESXi. Although there are still free versions floating around the internet, you'll now need to obtain the ESXi installer software either from an OEM or from the Broadcom Support Portal. You can also find cutomizable versions for Dell, HPE etc, ie if you search for HPE ESXi download.