Module 1: Course Introduction

1. Introductions and course logistics

2. Course objectives

Module 2: vSphere and Virtualization Overview

1. Explain basic virtualization concepts

2. Describe how vSphere fits in the software-defined data center and the cloud infrastructure

3. Recognize the user interfaces for accessing vSphere

4. Explain how vSphere interacts with CPUs, memory, networks, storage, and GPUs

5. Install an ESXi host

Module 3: vCenter Management

1. Recognize ESXi hosts communication with vCenter

2. Deploy vCenter Server Appliance

3. Configure vCenter settings

4. Use the vSphere Client to add and manage license keys

5. Create and organize vCenter inventory objects

6. Recognize the rules for applying vCenter permissions

7. View vSphere tasks and events

8. Create a vCenter backup schedule

9. Recognize the importance of vCenter High Availability

10. Explain how vCenter High Availability works

Module 4: Deploying Virtual Machines

1. Create and provision VMs

2. Explain the importance of VMware Tools

3. Identify the files that make up a VM

4. Recognize the components of a VM

5. Navigate the vSphere Client and examine VM settings and options

6. Modify VMs by dynamically increasing resources

7. Create VM templates and deploy VMs from them

8. Clone VMs

9. Create customization specifications for guest operating systems

10. Create local, published, and subscribed content libraries

11. Deploy VMs from content libraries

12. Manage multiple versions of VM templates in content libraries

Module 5: Configure and Manage vSphere Networking

1. Configure and view standard switch configurations

2. Configure and view distributed switch configurations

3. Recognize the difference between standard switches and distributed switches

4. Explain how to set networking policies on standard and distributed switches

Module 6: Configure and Manage vSphere Storage

1. Recognize vSphere storage technologies

2. Identify types of vSphere datastores

3. Describe Fibre Channel components and addressing

4. Describe iSCSI components and addressing

5. Configure iSCSI storage on ESXi

6. Create and manage VMFS datastores

7. Configure and manage NFS datastores

8. Discuss vSphere support for NVMe and iSER technologies

Module 7: Managing Virtual Machines

1. Recognize the types of VM migrations that you can perform within a vCenter instance and across vCenter instances

2. Migrate VMs using vSphere vMotion

3. Describe the role of Enhanced vMotion Compatibility in migrations

4. Migrate VMs using vSphere Storage vMotion

5. Take a snapshot of a VM

6. Manage, consolidate, and delete snapshots

7. Describe CPU and memory concepts in relation to a virtualized environment

8. Describe how VMs compete for resources

9. Define CPU and memory shares, reservations, and limits

10. Recognize the role of a VMware Tools Repository

11. Configure a VMware Tools Repository

12. Recognize the backup and restore solution for VMs

Module 8: vSphere Monitoring

1. Monitor the key factors that can affect a virtual machine's performance

2. Describe the factors that influence vCenter performance

3. Use vCenter tools to monitor resource use

4. Create custom alarms in vCenter

5. Describe the benefits and capabilities of VMware Skyline

6. Recognize uses for Skyline Advisor Pro

Module 9: Deploying and Configuring vSphere Cluster

1. Use Cluster Quickstart to enable vSphere cluster services and configure the cluster

2. View information about a vSphere cluster

3. Explain how vSphere DRS determines VM placement on hosts in the cluster

4. Recognize use cases for vSphere DRS settings

5. Monitor a vSphere DRS cluster

6. Describe how vSphere HA responds to different types of failures

7. Identify options for configuring network redundancy in a vSphere HA cluster

8. Recognize the use cases for various vSphere HA settings

9. Configure a cluster enabled for vSphere DRS and vSphere HA

10. Recognize when to use vSphere Fault Tolerance

11. Describe the function of the vCLS

12. Recognize operations that might disrupt the healthy functioning of vCLS VMs

Module 10: ESXi Operations

1. Use host profiles to manage ESXi configuration compliance

2. Recognize the benefits of using configuration profiles

Module 11: Managing the vSphere Lifecycle

1. Generate vCenter interoperability reports

2. Recognize features of vSphere Lifecycle Manager

3. Describe ESXi images and image depots

4. Enable vSphere Lifecycle Manager in a vSphere cluster

5. Validate ESXi host compliance against a cluster image and remediate ESXi hosts using vSphere Lifecycle Manager

6. Describe vSphere Lifecycle Manager automatic recommendations

7. Use vSphere Lifecycle Manager to upgrade VMware Tools and VM hardware

Module 12: Network Operations

1. Configure and manage vSphere distributed switches

2. Describe how VMware vSphere Network I/O Control enhances performance

3. Define vSphere Distributed Services Engine

4. Describe the use cases and benefits of vSphere Distributed Services Engine

Module 13: Storage Operations

1. Describe the architecture and requirements of vSAN configuration

2. Describe storage policy-based management

3. Recognize components in the vSphere Virtual Volumes architecture

4. Configure Storage I/O Control