Top 10 things you must read about VirtualCenter

By Eric Siebert
published: Monday, May 19 2008

VirtualCenter is the heart of any large VMware VI3 environment, with it you can centrally manage and administer all your ESX hosts. Some often overlooked area’s of VirtualCenter include the usage of templates and clones, performance reporting and roles & permissions. This top 10 list will help you maximize your investment into VirtualCenter and help you to take full advantage of all of its features and functionality. Of vital importance to VirtualCenter is it’s database where it stores all of its configuration and statistical data which must be properly maintained on an ongoing basis to ensure peak performance of VirtualCenter. This list contains a collection of presentations from VMworld and also various VMware tech notes and white papers that cover everything you will need to know about the database, the advantages and disadvantages of running VirtualCenter as a virtual machine, roles, permissions templates and how to properly configure it. 

 
Bulletproof VirtualCenter

A VMworld 2007 presentation on properly configuring and protecting VirtualCenter so it has high availability.

http://www.vmworld.com/vmworld/mylearn?classID=11017

 
VirtualCenter Database Maintenance: SQL Server

A white paper from VMware on how to maintain the VirtualCenter database when using SQL Server.

http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/vc_microsoft_sql_server.pdf

 
Running VirtualCenter in a Virtual Machine

A white paper from VMware discussing the advantages and limitations of running VirtualCenter as a VM.

http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi3_vc_in_vm.pdf

 
VirtualCenter Database Performance for Microsoft SQL Server 2005

A white paper from VMware on performance statistic collections and there effect on the VirtualCenter database.

http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/vc_database_performance.pdf

 
VirtualCenter 2 Diagnostics

A VMworld 2006 presentation on troubleshooting problems with VirtualCenter.

http://download3.vmware.com/vmworld/2006/tac4096.pdf

 
Managing Vmware VirtualCenter Roles & Permissions

A white paper from VMware on configuring roles and permissions in VirtualCenter.

http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi3_vc_roles.pdf

 
VirtualCenter 2.0  The Technical Insights

A VMware TSX 2007 presentation on the technical architecture of VirtualCenter.

http://www.vmware-tsx.com/download.php?asset_id=52

 
Template Usage and Best Practices

A white paper from VMware on creating, managing and using templates to deploy virtual machines.

http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vc_2_templates_usage_best_practices_wp.pdf

 
Replacing VirtualCenter Server Certificates

A technote from VMware on replacing the default certificates in VirtualCenter.

http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi_vcserver_certificates.pdf

 
VirtualCenter Technical Best Practices

A document from VMware with technical details on VirtualCenter and vMotion.

http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vc_technical_best.pdf

Coming Next Week: Top 10 Things you must read about VMware Security  

VMware , VirtualCenter , Discussing the ESX Server