Consolidated Backup Process

VCB Process

This is the process that VCB takes to backup a VM. Using your backup software create a backup job for the VM(s) you want to backup. The backup jobs purpose is to backup a location on the VCB server. You will know the location once you determine what type of VCB backup you are going to perform. See Image‐level virtual machine backups. See File‐level backups. When the backup job is launched, the following steps take place: Step 1 The backup software calls the pre‐backup script. The pre‐backup script does the following: 1. Runs a pre‐freeze script in the VM. The pre‐freeze script prepares the VM for backup. (this is optional) 2. Quiesces NTFS and FAT file systems inside the VM (only for VMs running 32‐bit versions of Windows XP, Windows 2000, or Windows 2003). This ensures that no file system writes are pending at the time the snapshot is taken, allowing the creation of file‐system consistent backups. 3. Puts the virtual machine into snapshot mode. 4. Unquiesces the NTFS and FAT file systems that were quiesced. 5. Runs a post‐thaw script in the VM. (this is optional) 6. Makes the VM snapshot available to the 3rd party backup software: See Image‐level VM backups. See File‐level VM backups. Step 2 The backup software performs a backup of the VM snapshot. Step 3 The backup software runs a post‐backup script, which does the following: 1. Unmounts the VM snapshot from the backup proxy. 2. Takes the VM out of snapshot mode. Commits changes made while the VM was in snapshot mode.

Find VMs and information - vcbvmname.exe

vcbvmname.exe can be used to find out a VMs name, IP address, ID and hostname. It can be found in \Program Files\VMware\VMware Consolidated Backup Framework along with the rest of the VCB commands. Here is an example of the command: vcbvmname -h vcserver -u vcbuser -p secretpass -s Any: Found VM: moref:vm-6354 name:ExampleVM1 uuid:31458901-2535-c376-1f56-5984ba3685d2 ipaddr:192.168.1.2

Full Virtual Machine Backup

A full virtual machine backup is a backup of all the files that make up the virtual machine. These are: .vmx Virtual machine configuration .nvram VM BIOS .vmdk Virtual disk .vmsd Dictionary for snapshots and associated disk .vmss Virtual machine suspend file -Snapshot#.vmsn Virtual machine configuration of a snapshot -flat-vmdk Disk that contains the data -f001.vmdk First extend of preallocated disk split into 2gb files -s001.vmdk First extend of growable disk split into 2gb files -delta.vmdk Snapshot differences file To perform a full backup of a virtual machine (the above files) you need to run this command on the VCB Proxy Server: vcbMounter -h 192.168.1.123 -u vcbuser -p vcbpass -a name:VM1 -t fullvm -r C:\VCB-Backups\VM1-full

Get Your Dream IT Job! 77 Questions You Need to be Ready For

Are you still looking for the IT job of your dreams? Don’t give up, it’s out there! I’m lucky enough to have one, and so can you!
Finding an opening for an awesome job is hard enough; once you get the call for an interview, you need to make sure that you’ll make a good impression. So before you walk in for your interview, here are the top 77 questions that you need to be ready for.

Top Interview Questions for IT Pros

First you’ll find interview questions by position type:

• Entry Level and Help Desk — for those who are starting out in the IT field
• Network Administrator and System Administrator — for more advanced positions

The last set of questions includes general HR questions, some of which you might be familiar with.
As you’ll notice, there aren’t any answers, but that’s because I want YOU to come up with them. Do some research if you have to and maybe you’ll even learn a thing or two. The most important thing is that you will be fully prepared! You will be ready for anything they’ll throw at you, and you will get the job!
I would also suggest that you practice answering these questions until you feel confident. Make sure your answers reflect your knowledge, skills and personality — in other words, the real you — not what you think the person interviewing you wants to hear.
Now before we get started, I would like to encourage you to add your own interview questions in the comments below so that others can benefit from them. Try to stick to IT related questions, but general HR questions are fine too.

Entry-Level and Help Desk Positions

These questions are mostly for Help Desk positions but I wouldn’t be surprised if an entry-level candidate was asked any one of these questions. If you don’t know the answer, find it, memorize it and then practice explaining it in your own words.
1. What is the difference between a hub and a switch?
2. What is a network?
3. What is Active Directory?
4. What is TCP/IP and what does it stand for?
5. What is a default gateway?
6. What does DHCP stand for?
7. What is an IP Address?
8. What is the significance of the IP address 255.255.255.255?
9. What are the 3 major classes of an IP network?
10. What is a Class D IP address?
11. What is OSPF?
12. A user is complaining of delays when using the network. What would you do?

Network Administrator Positions

Some of these questions may also be included in the previous category for Help Desk Technician positions. In either case, they’re worth preparing for.
13. What is the difference between layer 2 and layer 3 in the OSI model?
14. What is the difference between a hub, switch, and router?
15. What is a VLAN?
16. What is the difference between TCP and UDP?
17. How do you distinguish a DNS problem from a network problem?
18. What are a runt, Giant, and collision?
19. What is a broadcast storm?
20. What is the purpose of VRRP?
21. What is a VPN?
22. What is a default route?
23. How do you set a default route on an IOS Cisco router?
24. What is a metric?
25. What is a MAC address?
26. What is ARP/RARP?
27. Describe a TCP connection sequence.
28. What is MTU?
29. What other TCP setting can you modify besides MTU to shorten packets?

System Administration Position

Here are a few more questions that are a little bit more difficult. System Admins should know all these answers by heart in addition to the Network Administrator questions.
30. What is the difference between layer 2 and layer 3 devices?
31. What is the subnet for a class C network?
32. Have you configured a NIS server/client before? If so, describe what you did.
33. Have your configured a NFS server?
34. What are RAID 1 and RAID 5?
35. What are the required components of Windows Server 2003 for installing Exchange 2003?
36. What must be done to an AD forest before Exchange can be deployed?
37. What Exchange process is responsible for communication with AD?
38. What connector type would you use to connect to the Internet, and what are the two methods of sending mail over that connector?
39. How would you optimize Exchange 2003 memory usage on Windows Server 2003 with more than 1Gb of memory?
40. What are the standard port numbers for SMTP, POP3, IMAP4, RPC, LDAP and Global Catalog?
41. Name the process names for the following: System Attendant, Information Store, SMTP/POP/IMAP/OWA.
42. What is the maximum amount of databases that can be hosted on Exchange 2003 Enterprise?
43. What are the disadvantages of circular logging?
44. >What is Active Directory schema?
45. What are the domain functional levels in Windows Server 2003?
46. What is the default domain functional level in Windows Server 2003?
47. What are the forest functional levels in Windows Server 2003?
48. What is a global catalog server?
49. How can we raise domain functional and forest functional levels in Windows Server 2003?
50. What is the default protocol used in directory services?
51. What is IPv6?
52. What are the physical & logical components of ADS?
53. In which domain functional level, we can rename a domain name?
54. What is multimaster replication?
55. What is a site?
56. Which is the command used to remove active directory from a domain controller?
57. What is the file that’s responsible for keeping all Active Directory databases?

General HR Questions

These general questions can be the toughest ones to get through. They might sound easy, but they require a lot of thought and preparation. I would suggest writing down your answers first, then reading them over a few times so that you’re comfortable in answering them.
Some of these questions are very tricky and can get you in trouble. So if you run into problems finding a good answer, check out these 64 Interview Questions for some help.
58. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
59. What are your greatest strengths?
60. What are your greatest weaknesses?
61. What do you like about your current job or what did you like about your last job?
62. Give us an example of when you handled a stressful situation.
62. Give us an example of one of the toughest problems you had to face, and how did you deal with it?
63. Why do you think you should get this position?
64. Do you think you are the best person for this job? If so, why?
65. Why did you apply for this position?
66. Why did you apply for a position with our company and what do you know about us?
67. Why should we hire you?
68. Tell us about your short and long term goals?
69. Where do you see yourself five years from now?
70. Please explain, what does customer service mean to you?
71. What does being a team player mean to you?
72. Give us an example of how you handled a conflict with another employee?
73. What are your salary expectations?
74. What would you consider your most important accomplishment?
75. How would you define success?
76. At your last review, what improvements did your manager suggest you make?
77. What would your coworkers say about you?
I hope these are helpful! As I mentioned above, feel free to post your own interview questions in the comments below.

VmWare Networking Configuration

Networking Configuration - vSwitches and Port Groups with 2 Physical NICs

When configuring networking on an ESX/ESXi server it is important that you plan and configure it correctly.

Doing so will ensure you get the best reliability, performance and security within your virtual network.

Depending on your requirements the configuration will vary slightly. For example if network storage such and iSCSI and NFS will be used the setup will need to plan for this.

I will explain the different setups for these needs.

The following setup is the best for a server with 2 physical networks cards. As most servers typically come with 2 onboard NICs this is a common initial configuration in test or small setups.

To ensure the most reliable configuration it is best to use both physical network cards for one vSwitch.

This configuration has sacrificed performance for reliability.

Configuration for a server without network based IP storage:

Physical NIC        Virtual Switch        Port Group(s)

vmnic0                        vSwitch0                      Service Console + vMotion + VM Network

vmnic1                        vSwitch0                      Service Console + vMotion + VM Network

Configuration using network based IP storage:

Physical NIC        Virtual Switch        Port Group(s)

vmnic0                        vSwitch0                      Service Console + vMotion + VM Network + VMkernel (IP Storage)

vmnic1                        vSwitch0                      Service Console + vMotion + VM Network + VMkernel (IP Storage)

Alternativley the opposite could be done. To get the best performance configuration have two vSwitches and a NIC to each as follows.

This configuration has sacrificed reliability for performance.

Configuration for a server without network based IP storage:

Physical NIC        Virtual Switch        Port Group(s)

vmnic0                        vSwitch0                      Service Console + vMotion

vmnic1                        vSwitch1                      VM Network

Configuration using network based IP storage:

Physical NIC        Virtual Switch        Port Group(s)

vmnic0                        vSwitch0                      Service Console + vMotion + VMkernel (IP Storage)

vmnic1                        vSwitch1                      VM Network

Ideally VLANs should be used to seperate these networks.

Ceating a Microsoft Hyper-V Virtual Machine

Guest operating systems supported on Hyper-V are:

Supported Server Operating Systems:
Windows Server 2008 R2 (x64)
Windows Server 2008 (x86 and x64)
Windows Server 2003 R2 (x86 and x64)
Windows Server 2003 (x86 and x64)
Windows Server 2000 (x86)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 (x86 and x64)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 (x86 and x64)
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 5.2, 5.3 and 5.4 (x86 and x64)

Supported Client Operating Systems
Windows 7 (x86 and x64)
Windows Vista (x86 and x64)
Windows XP Professional (x86 and x64)

To check the lastest visit http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/hyperv-supported-guest-os.aspx

1. Open the Hyper-V Manager.

2. Right click the Hyper-V server and Select New --> Virtual Machine

3. The New Virtual Machine Wizard will open. Click next.

4.  Give the virtual machine a Name and specify a Location for the virtual machine files. Click next.

5. Enter the amount of memory. Click next.

6. Select the virtual network to connect the virtual machine to. It can remain disconnected if required. Click next.

7. Specify the size of the virtual hard disk, the name and the location. Click next.

8. Choose how the operating system will be installed in the virtual machine. Click next.

9. Review the configuration for the virtual machine and click Finish to create it.

10. To start the virtual machine click Start in the actions pane to the right.

11. The state will change to "Running".

12. To open a virtual console to the virtual machine, click Connect in the actions pane.

Installing VMware vCenter Server 4.1

VMware vCenter Server is "THE" management system for your VMware vSphere virtual infrastructure. It's used to manage your clusters of ESXi servers, configure HA, DRS and vMotion, manage your virtual networks and their interfaces to the physical network.

Its also used to provison storage (maybe even integrated with your SAN) and create virtual machines, including templates and other wonderful things.

For those wanting to find out the new features specifically in vSphere and vCenter server 4.1 please see here.

So whats required for VMware vCenter server you ask...(and you do!)
Well firstly it CAN be either virtual or physical and its supported on either.
The operating system for vCenter 4.x must be 64-bit, this has changed from earlier releases such as vCenter 2.5 which was 32-bit only. Also note that a 64-Bit DSN is now required to access the vCenter database.


Minimum requirements for the vCenter Server are as follows:
Processor: Two 64-bit CPUs Intel or AMD x64 2.0GHz or faster (could be one dual core - the key is two logical processors at a minimum)
Memory: 3GB RAM. RAM requirements may be higher if your database runs on the same machine. (VMware VirtualCenter Management WebServices requires 128Mb to 1.5GB of memory which is allocated at startup)
Disk storage: 2GB (Disk requirements may be higher if your database runs on the same machine)
Networking: 1GB recommended (If physical team NICs for redundancy)
Database: SQL Express for small deployments (5 hosts/50 VMs) or see below for supported databases.

Note: If you will be running SQL Server on the same server as vCenter server (thats either express or standard/enterprise) the requirements for the above will be higher.


Operating System:Windows XP Pro SP2 (SP2 required, 64-bit)
Windows Server 2003 (SP1 required, 64-bit)
Windows Server 2008 (64-bit)
Windows Server 2008 R2

Database:

Microsoft SQL server Database Support:
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express (Note: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express is intended for use with small deployments of up to 5 hosts and/or 50 virtual machines)
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Standard edition (SP1, SP2, SP3)
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Standard edition (SP2, SP3) 64 bit
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise edition (SP1, SP2, SP3)
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Enterprise edition (SP2, SP3) 64 bit
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition 64 bit
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Edition
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Enterprise Edition 64 bit
 

Oracle Database Support:

Oracle 10g Standard edition (Release 2 [10.2.0.4])
Oracle 10g Enterprise edition (Release 2 [10.2.0.4])
Oracle 10g Enterprise edition (Release 2 [10.2.0.4]) 64 bit
Oracle 11g Standard edition
Oracle 11g Enterprise edition
 

IBM DB2 9 Support:

IBM DB2 Express C
IBM DB2 Express Edition 9
IBM DB2 Workgroup Server Edition 9
IBM DB2 Enterprise Server Edition 9

(For detailed OS and Database information please refer to the VMware vSphere Compatibility Matrix)


The following is used in this walkthrough installation of vCenter Server 4.1:
Windows Server 2008 Standard R2 64-Bit
SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard 64-Bit (on a seperate server sql1.vmadmin.local)
VMware vCenter Server 4.1



1. Creating the SQL Server Database

1a. Install a supported version of SQL server on a seperate server or on the vCenter server (skip to step  if using SQL Server Express).

1b. Create a new SQL Server database:
SQL Server -> Databases -> Right Click -> New Database...

1c. Name the new database "VCDB" and set the required location for the database files (this will server as your vCenter Server database).

1d. Create a SQL Server user named "vpxuser":
SQL Server -> Security -> Logins -> Right Click -> New Login

1e. Enter the login name "vpxuser", enter a password.
Untick "Enforce password policy" and change the default database to "VCDB".

1f. While still in the user login dialog, goto the "User Mapping" section.
Tick the "Map" box next to both the "msdb" and "VCDB" databases.
For both databases set the default schema to "dbo" and set the role membership to "db_owner".
Click Ok.
Note: The role membership of "db_owner" on the "msdb" database can be revoked after installation (It will be required again when upgrading).



2. Creating the Data Source

Note: The DSN must be a 64-bit DSN.

2a. Create a system DSN on the vCenter server:
Go to Start -> Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Data Sources (ODBC).

Go to the "System" tab.
Click Add.

2b. Select SQL Native Client and click Finish.

2c. Give the ODBC DSN a name "VCDB" and description.
Select/type in the server name from the drop-down menu.
Configure SQL Server authentication and click Next.
Type your SQL Server login name and password.
Configure the default database as the vCenter database you created "VCDB" and click Next.
Click Finish.

  

2d. Test Data the Source.
Click Ok and Close the ODBC Data Source Administrator.

3. Installing vCenter Server

3a. Insert DVD or unzip "VMware-VIMSetup-all-4.1.0-259021.zip"

If it does not autorun, use "autorun.exe" in the root of the cd or folder.
Click "vCenter Server" to start the installation.

3b. Choose your language.


3c. Read the Introduction page and click Next.


3d. Read the license agreement and agree. Click Next.


3e. Enter the username, company name and license key (if you havent got a license key it will install a full evaluation version for 60 days)
Click Next.

3f. Enter the system DSN that your created for the vCenter server database.
If using SQL Server 2005 Express select so and continue the installation which will install an instance of SQL Server Express to use as the vCenter database.


3g. Enter the username and password for the system DSN SQL Server user.

3h. If your SQL Server database for vCenter server is set to the full recovery model you will get the following warning about transaction log backups.
Click Ok or read the KB article 1001046 if you do not understand what this means, essentially ensure you are making regular transaction log backups otherwise the transaction logs will fill up your database servers disk!

3i. Enter the service acccount information that the vCenter server service will run under.
It can run under the SYSTEM account fine but it is recommended you create a standard active directory user to be used as the service account and add this to the "local administrators group" on the vCenter server.

3j. Change the installation destination as required. 

3k. Choose "Create a standard VMware vCenter Server Instance".

3l. Keep the ports unless your are required to specifically change them form their defaults. 

3m. Select your deployment inventory size to correctly size the JVM memory for vCenter server web services. 

3n. Click install and make a cup of tea! 

3o. The installation will complete and click Finish. 

4. Check and Login to vCenter Server

4a. Check the services for vCenter server have been installed and are started:
Click Start -> Run -> services.msc
Ensure the following services are started and are running under the account your specified (SYSTEM or domain\svc_yourvcenteraccount)
VMware VirtualCenter Management Webservices
VMware VirtualCenter Server
VMwareVCMSDS (Note: Runs under Network Service)

4b. Login to vCenter Server:
Start -> Programs -> VMware -> VMware vSphere Client
Enter the FQDN or IP of your vCenter server, username and password (or use windows session credentials to passthrough).
Click Login.

4c. You will receive a security warning due to the vCenter server using self signed certificates.
Tick "Install this certificate.." and click Ignore.

4d. And there you have it! Your vCenter Server is installed and ready to configure.
See Creating a Datacenter, HA DRS Cluster and Adding a Host for the next steps you need to take...