VMware ESX 3.5 Update to Build Number

ESX 3.5.0 Update 1 = Build 64607
ESX 3.5.0 Update 2 = Build 110268
ESX 3.5.0 Update 3 = Build 123630
ESX 3.5.0 Update 4 = Build 153875
ESX 3.5.0 Update 5 = Build 207095
ESX 4.0    Update 1 = Build 208167

To find build numbers without logging into the VI Client is to run:

vmware -v

Find more from -- http://www.techhead.co.uk/how-to-determine-the-vmware-esx-or-esxi-build-version

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Step by step instructions to install Vmware ESX Server 3.x

Follow the below link to install ESX.

http://www.virtualizationtrainings.com/vmware-basic-trainings/installation-of-vmware-esx-server-3.5

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Export Distribution List Members (from Active Directory to Text)

Here is the Script to Export the members from DL

On Error Resume Next

WScript.Echo Now()
Set objGroup = GetObject _
("ldap://CN=testgroup,OU=groupname,DC=domain,dc=com")
objGroup.GetInfo
arrMemberOf = objGroup.GetEx("member")
WScript.Echo "Members:"
For Each strMember in arrMemberOf
WScript.echo strMember
Next

Copy the above code and save it in Notepad. Save this file as "DLmembers.vbs"

Execute from Command mode

c:\>cscript dlmembers.vbs >c:\output.txt

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Batch File to Map network drive.

First, open up Notepad or your favorite text editor.


Next, copy the commands as shown below and paste them into the file. Don't forget to modify the net use command with the drive letter you want to use, the name of the Computer and share you want to map a drive to, and password and account name.

ECHO Starts Mapping Drive
net use W: file://computer1/Test
net use X: file://computer2/NewFolder
exit

Then save the file with any name and a .bat extension
When you need to map the drive(s), just double click on it.

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How to Move VM from One ESX to another ESX server

follow this: http://www.heuers.org/wp/?p=264

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Active Directory Interview Questions

What is Group Policy?
Group Policy is to apply one or more desired configurations or policy settings to a set of targeted users and computers within an Active Directory environment.
No Override - This prevents child containers from overriding policies set at higher levels
Block Inheritance - Stops containers inheriting policies from parent containers
What is the KCC (Knowledge consistency checker)
The KCC generates and maintains the replication topology for replication within sites and between sites. KCC runs every 15 minutes.
What is the ISTG - Intersite topology generator?

ISTG is responsible for creating Active Directory Replication Connection objects for appropriate bridgehead servers within its site. Intersite replication can utilize either RPC over IP or SMTP to convey replication data. 

Bridgehead server - A domain controller that is used to send replication information to one or more other sites
DHCP Superscope:

A rage of IP address that span several subnets. The DHCP server can assign these address to clients that are on several subnets.

DHCP Scope:

A range of IP address that the DHCP server can assign to clients that are on one subnet
A stub zone 
It is a copy of a zone that contains only those resource records necessary to identify the authoritative Domain Name System (DNS) servers for that zone. A stub zone is used to resolve names between separate DNS namespaces. This type of resolution may be necessary when a corporate merger requires that the DNS servers for two separate DNS namespaces resolve names for clients in both namespaces.

A stub zone consists of: SOA, NS, A Records

What is a Flexible Single Master Operation? 
 It is a role that only one DC can (or should) hold at any given time within its boundary. 
Schema Master - Use MMC "Active Directory Schema Snap-in". The schema master domain controller controls all updates and modifications to the schema. Once the Schema update is complete, it is replicated from the schema master to all other DCs in the directory.
Domain Naming Master - Use "Active Directory Domains and Trusts". It controls the addition or removal of domains in the forest. 
Primary Domain Controller (PDC) Emulator - Use the "ADUC" . The PDC emulator is necessary to synchronize time in an enterprise. 
Relative ID Master (RID Master) - Use "ADUC". All objects have a SID and a domain SID. The RID assigns relative IDs to each domain controller.
Infrastructure Master - Use the "ADUC". Updates group membership information when users from other domains are moved or renamed.
The Infrastructure Master (IM) role should be held by a domain controller that is not a Global Catalog server (GC). If the Infrastructure Master runs on a Global Catalog server it will stop updating object information because it does not contain any references to objects that it does not hold. 
How to transfer FSMO Roles?
ntdsutil - type roles - connections - connect servername - q - type transfer role - at the fsmo maintenance prompt - type trasfer rid master
How to Seize FSMO Roles?
ntdsutil - type roles - connections - connect servername - q - type seize role - at the fsmo maintenance prompt - type seize rid master
What the the Directory Partitions?
Schema Partition:
Only one schema partition exists per forest. The schema partition is stored on all domain controllers in a forest. It contains definitions of all objects and attributes that can be created in the directory.
Configuration Partition:
There is only one configuration partition per forest. the configuration partition contains information about the forest-wide active directory structure.
Domain Partition:
Many domain partitions can exist per forest. Domain partitions are stored on each domain controller in a given domain. A domain partition contains information about users, groups, computers, and organizational units.
Application Partition:
It stores information about applications in Active Directory. It is replicated only to specific domain controllers.
How do you create a new application partition?
dnscmd DC-1 /createdirectorypartition CustomDNSPartition.contoso.com
How do you view replication properties for AD partitions and DCs?
Replmon
What is the Global Catalog?
A global catalog server is a domain controller that, in addition to its full, writable domain directory partition replica, also stores a partial, read-only replica of all other domain directory partitions in the forest
Global group's membership is limited to accounts from the same domain. The membership is replicated in its own domain only.
Universal group's memership is limited to accounts from the same forest.The membership is replicated across the forest
How do you view all the GCs in the forest?
repadmin.exe /options * and use IS_GC for current domain options.
nltest /dsgetdc:corp /GC
How to find FSMO roles?
Netdom query fsmo      OR    Replmon.exe
What is REPLMON?
Replmon is the first tool you should use when troubleshooting Active Directory replication issues
What is ADSIEDIT?
ADSI Edit is an LDAP editor for managing objects in Active Directory. This Active Directory tool lets you view objects and attributes that are not exposed in the Active Directory Management Console.
What is NETDOM?
NETDOM is a command-line tool that allows management of Windows domains and trust relationships
What is REPADMIN?
is a command line tool used to monitor and troubleshoot replication on a computer running Windows.
• Checks replication consistency between replication partners.
• Monitors replication status.
• Displays replication metadata.
• Forces replication events.
What is LSDOU?
It’s group policy inheritance model, where the policies are applied to Local machines, Sites, Domains and Organizational Units
What’s the difference between local, global and universal groups?
Domain local groups assign access permissions to global domain groups for local domain resources. Global groups provide access to resources in other trusted domains. Universal groups grant access to resources in all trusted domains.
Where are group policies stored?
%SystemRoot%System32\GroupPolicy
What is GPT and GPC?
Group policy template and group policy container.
Where is GPT stored?
%SystemRoot%\SYSVOL\sysvol\domainname\Policies\GUID
Explan the List Folder Contents permission on the folder in NTFS?
Same as Read & Execute, but not inherited by files within a folder. However, newly created subfolders will inherit this permission.
What hidden shares exist on Windows Server 2003 installation?
Admin$, Drive$, IPC$, NETLOGON, print$ and SYSVOL.
What’s the number of permitted unsuccessful logons on Administrator account?
Unlimited. Remember, though, that it’s the Administrator account, not any account that’s part of the Administrators group.
How frequently is the group policy refreshed?
90 minutes give or take.
What is the SYSVOL folder?
The Sysvol folder on a Windows domain controller is used to replicate file-based data among domain controllers.  %systemroot%\SYSVOL
What are RODCs? And what are the major benefits of using RODCs?
Read only Domain Controller, organizations can easily deploy a domain controller in locations where physical security cannot be guaranteed.
What’s New in Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Domain Services?
AD Domain Services auditing, Fine-Grained Password Policies,Read-Only Domain Controllers,Restartable Active Directory Domain Services
How do you upgrade from Windows 2003 DC to Windows 2008 DC?
Windows 2003 must be running with SP2
Run adprep /forestprep
Run adprep /domainprep
Start the installation from Windows 2008 DVD
Domain level must be in Native Mode
Installation must be started from windows 2003 OS
Where is the AD database held? What other folders are related to AD?
%SystemRoot%\ntds\NTDS.DIT.
Edb*.log is the transaction log file. Each transaction file is 10 megabytes (MB). When Edb.log file is full, active directory renames it to Edbnnnnn.log, where nnnnn is an increasing number starts from 1.
Edb.chk is a checkpoint file which is use by database engine to track the data which is not yet written to the active directory database file. The checkpoint file act as a pointer that maintains the status between memory and database file on disk. It indicates the starting point in the log file from which the information must be recovered if a failure occurs.
Res1.log and Res2.log: These are reserved transaction log files. The amount of disk space that is reserved on a drive or folder for this log is 20 MB. This reserved disk space provides a sufficient space to shut down if all the other disk space is being used.
What is DNS Scavenging?
Scavenging will help you clean up old unused records in DNS.
What are the standard Port numbers?

SMTP - 25, POP3 - 110, IMAP4 - 143, RPC - 135, LDAP - 389, SSL - 443, HTTP - 80, RDP - 3389, DNS - 53, DHCP - 67,68, FTP-21, GC-3268, Secure LDAP - 636, Kerberos - 88, NNTP - 119, TFTP - 69, SNMP - 161.

Why Netlogon?

Maintains a secure channel between this computer and the domain controller for authenticating users and services. If this service is stopped, the computer may not authenticate users and services, and the domain controller cannot register DNS records."
What is Kerberos?
Kerberos is a network authentication protocol. It is designed to provide strong authentication for client/server applications by using secret-key cryptography.

What is Active Directory?
An active directory is a directory structure used on Microsoft Windows based computers and servers to store information and data about networks and domains.
What is Domain Controller?
In an Active directory forest, the domain controller is a server that contains a writable copy of the Active Directory Database participates in Active directory replication and controls access to network resource. 
What is LDAP?
The Lightweight Directory Access Protocol, or LDAP , is an application protocol for querying and modifying data using directory services running over TCP/IP
A site link defines the direction of Active Directory replication between sites.
Site Cost: The Active Directory uses cost to determine which site links have precedent over other site links. Lower-cost site links are favored over higher-cost site links

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VMware Interview Questions ESX..

What is VMHA?
Minimize Downtime from Server and Operating System Failures
Key features of VMware HA include:
1) Proactive monitoring of all physical  and virtual machines 2) Automatic detection of server failure 3) Optimal placement of virtual machines after server failure 4) Scalable availability up to 32 nodes across multiple servers
What is VMware DRS (Distributed Resource Scheduler) ?
It is an utility that balances computing workloads with available resources.
features of VMware DRS
1)Continuous monitoring of hardware utilization 2) Downtime-free server maintenance
3) Centralized control of hardware parameters
DRS Configuration Steps:
Manual: vCenter will suggest migration recommendations for VM'sPartially Automated: VM's will be automatically placed onto hosts at power on and vCenter will  suggest migration recommendations Fully Automated:  VM's will be automatically placed onto hosts at power on and will be automatically migrated to attain best use of resources.
What is vMotion?

Move running virtual machines from one physical server to another with no impact to end users

What is SVmotion?
Storage VMotion relocates virtual machine disk files from one shared storage location to another shared storage location with zero downtime.

Required ports for VMware?
902/903 - vSphere Client to display virtual machine consoles./ communication between VI client and ESX server.
8080 –vCenter Management Webservices HTTP,8000 - ESX during vMotion
60099 - Used to stream inventory object changes to SDK clients
80, 443 - communication between VI client and virtual Center & web access client  
SSL port of the local instance for Vcenter Linked mode - 636
 ISCSI 3260, NFS - 2049 , Update manager SOAP - 8086, update manager web port - 9084
vmware converter SOAP port - 9085
What are port Groups?
vSwitches can be subdivided into smaller units called port groups
1. Virtual Machine
2. Service Console
3. VMKernel (for vMotion, VMware FT logging and IP storage)
what is VMKernal?
It provides basic operating system services needed to support virtualization: hardware abstraction, hardware drivers, scheduler, memory allocator, filesystem (vmfs), and virtual machine monitor (vmm)
What is Thin and Thick disks.
thick disk pre-allocates all of the space specified during the creation of thedisk
Thin disk eliminates storage waste and the need for dedicated capacity.
what is vmdk?

Virtual machine disk is a file format used by VMware products. to store a virtual machine image and the contents of a VMware virtual machine hard disk.
What are the 10 major differences between VMware ESX Server and ESXi Server?
1. VMware ESXi Server has no service console VMware
2. ESXi Server uses RCLI (Remote command line interface) instead of service console utilities
3. VMware ESXi Server is extremely thin  = fast installation + faster boot
4. VMware ESXi Server can be purchased as an embedded hypervisor on hardware
5. ESXi is so small that it can be easily installed and can even be booted from a USB Flash disk
6. VMware ESXi Server’s service console (firewall) is configured differently
7. VMware ESXi Server has a “yellow firmware console”
8. VMware ESXi Server has server health status built in
9. Some networking features are configured through the service console are not available or are experimental 10. VMware ESXi Server requires fewer patches and less rebooting
11. You can buy VMware ESXi Server for as little as $495 where esx foundation is $1500
How to upgrade ESX 3.5 to 4.0 through GUI
Login to vsphere client and put the esx in maintenance mode.
next run the vmware host update utility - > click on add host -> and click on update host and select iso image of ESX file and click next - > enter root password - > click finish.
How to upgrade ESX 3.5 to 4.0 through Command mode.
put the ESX server in maintenance mode 
vimsh -n -e /hostsvc/maintenance_mode_enter
This command upgrades an ESX 3.x host by using the ESX 4.x installation DVD:

# ./esxupgrade.sh /vmfs/volumes/storage1



To upgrade the host by using the ESX 4.x DVD
Run this command: 
# .//esxupgrade.sh
where:
is the full path to the esxupgrade.sh script.
is the VMFS datastore for the ESX 4.x service console VMDK.


1) Upgrade to ESX 4.0 using vSphere Host Update Utility which was part of vSphere Client 4.0 using the ESX 4.0 install ISO.

2) Use esxupdate/vihostupdate to upgrade to ESX 4.1 using the "pre-upgrade-from-ESX4.0-to-4.1.0-0.0.260247-release.zip" and "upgrade-from-ESX4.0-to-4.1.0-0.0.260247-release.zip" bundles.
upload these two bundles in ESX datastore and run the bundle from command mode using command esxupdate --bundle=(upgrade bundle path) update.

vSphere 5 features?

http://www.virtualizationadmin.com/articles-tutorials/vmware-esx-and-vsphere-articles/general/5-features-vsphere-5-that-you-should-care-about.html

Explain steps to install ESX server?

1. When booting from the DVD you will be presented with the ESX 4.0 installation menu

2. Select “Install ESX in graphical mode” , The installer begins

3. The End User License Agreement appears. Click the “I accept the terms of the license agreement” and click Next.
4. Select your desired keyboard layout. We’ll be using U.S. English. Click Next.

5. Do you need to install any custom drivers such as NICS, HBA’s, etc then select yes and click Next. We won’t be installing any custom drivers. Click Next.

6. Drivers have now been loaded and you’re ready for the next step. Click Next.

7. You have the option to enter in the serial number for your ESX host now or later. As we’ll be connecting this server to vCenter, we’ll select to add it later so that we can control all the licenses through one management platform. Click Next.

8. Select the network adapter that will be used to connect to the Service Console

9. You can assign an IP address to your ESX host automatically or statically. DHCP is not recommended.

10. Standard setup will get you up and running quickly with all the defaults

 11. Give a name for the local datastore. By default it is Storage1. Click Next

12.  The below screen shows the default partitioning. We’ll be changing these in the next few screens to better optimize ESX. Click Edit

13. Select time zone

14. You can enter in an NTP server or manually select the time

15. Enter in the root password.

16. You are finally presented with an installation summary

17. Installation is now complete. Click Next

18. You are prompted to reboot to complete the installation. Click Finish to reboot
How do you create new Datastore in ESX?

1) highlight your esx server
2) go to the configuration tab
3) under hardware, highlight "storage adapters"
4) highlight vmhba0 (type Block SCSI)
5) under details, you should see all your local drives that your server would see.
6) now go to storage
7) go to "Add Storage"
8) use the wizard to select local drive. Make sure you select "free space" and not "all partition" since it will delete your ESX installation.
9) once you are done, you should now see your local space.

What are the files that make a Virtual Machine  ? 

     .vmx - Virtual Machine Configuration File 

     .nvram - Virtual Machine BIOS 

     .vmdk - Virtual Machine Disk file 

     .vswp - Virtual Machine Swap File 

     .vmsd - Virtual MAchine Snapshot Database 

     .vmsn - Virtual Machine Snapshot file 

     .vmss - Virtual Machine Suspended State file 

     .vmware.log - Current Log File 

     .vmware-#.log - Old Log file

Benefits of VMFS?

• Automated Cluster File System Capability

• Optimizes VM Access

• Encapsulates the Entire VM State in a Single Directory

• Simplifies Provisioning and Administration of VMs

• Provides Distributed Infrastructure Services for Multi-ESX Servers

• Facilitates Dynamic Growth

• Intelligent Cluster Volume Management

• Enables HA with Lower Management Overhead

• Simplifies Disaster Recovery

Explain P2V steps?

1. Right-click on the ESX host  and click import machine

2. Select the source machine as physical computer and click Next, provide physical computer

     hostname and administrative credentials.

3. vConverter will connect to the physical machine and Agent will be on that system.

4. Review the disk volumes

5. choose the Disk volume and ignore the page and hibernation files.

6. You can see the destination ESX host.

7. Provide name to the VM.

8. Select the datastore and NIC’s you want to connected to the new vm.

9. Install vmware tools.

10. You will be given the option to schedule the P2V conversion

11. After you click Finish, the P2V conversion (import) will begin

What is the difference between VMware and Citrix?

vmare is used for operating system virtualization and citrix is used for apllication virtualization 

Minimum system requirements to install ESX server?

VMware ESX/ESXi 4.x only installs and run on servers with 64-bit x86 CPUs.

All AMD Opterons support 64 bit.

All Intel Xeon 5100/5300 5200/5400

2GB RAM minimum

one or more network adapters. 

SCSI Adapter, Fibre Channel Adapter, or Internal RAID Controller

What is the new features in vSphere?

In vSphere 4.0 we can add Memory and Processor along with HDD and NIC's while the machine running

What is Promiscuous Mode on vSwitch ? What happens if it sets to Accept?
If the promiscuous mode set to Accept, all the communication is visible to all the virtual machines, in other words all the packets are sent to all the ports on vSwitch 

If the promiscuous mode set to Reject, the packets are sent to inteded port, so that the intended virtual machine was able to see the communication.

What is a template ?

 We can convert a VM into Template, and it cannot be powered on once its changed to template. This is used to quick provisioning of VM's.

Can I do an in place upgrade from 4.0 to 4.1?

Virtualcenter unisntalls your previously installed VC and then installs the new versión.

will I  be able to just point 4.1 to the existing SQL database server after the upgrade?

SQL database will be updated with the new data or if you want  you can reinizialize

Can you manage esx4.0 hosts with vcenter 4.1?

YES

How does HA know to restart a VM from a dropped Host

(storage lock will be removed from the metadata)

Does HA use vmotion? 

The answer is no - vm stops and restarts on ESX other host

What will VCB do for me?

Here are the benefits of VMware's VCB:

Centralize backups of VMware ESX Virtual Servers

Provide file-level backups of VMware ESX Virtual Servers and provides image level backup and also provides LAN-Free backup because the VCB server is connected to the SAN through your fibre channel adaptor

Provides

Utilizes VMware Snapshots

Basically, here is how VCB works:

1) If you are doing a file level backup, VCB does a snapshot of the VM, mounts the snapshot, and allows you to backup that mounted "drive" through VCB to your 3rd party backup software

2) If you are doing an image level backup of the VM, VCB does a snapshot of the VM, copies the snapshot to the VCB server, unsnaps the VM, and allows you to backup the copied snapshot image with your 3rd party backup software.

Commands: mountvm.exe, VCBMounter.exe, vcbVmName.exe

What is not so great about VMHA?

1)CPU on each host must be compatible (almost exactly)

2)Virtual machines that are on the host system that goes down will have to be restarted.

What is Cloning?
With clones, you can make many copies of a virtual machine from a single installation and configuration process.
What is Virtulization?

Virtualization is an architecture that allows you to run multiple OS simultaneously on a single computer

What is Resource pool?
A VMware ESX Resource pool is a pool of CPU and memory resources
What is dvSwitch
dvSwitch is being centralized in vCenter and using the concept of compliance to assign a dvSwitch to a host. you will need vSphere enterprise plus to run the Nexus 1000v

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SCOM 2007 / MOM 2005 Interview Questions

What is the port number for SNMP? 161
What is the Default port number for SQL? 1433
How do u migrate from MOM 2005 to SCOM 2007?
Only side by side migration is possible.
How many services will run on RMS server and on a agent machine?
How many accounts required to configure SCOM 2007?
What is the difference between MOM 2005 and SCOM 2007?
- Features in SCOM 2007 Service Oriented Monitoring, Active Directory Integrated, Role Based security, Audit Collection, Client Monitoring.
What is the default database size for SCOM 2007?
How many jobs will be running on MOM 2005 daily?
What is the maximum size recommended for a MOM DB?
30 GB. It can go much larger, but performance suffers.
How do you configure the alerts in SCOM 2007?
What is the extension for Management packs in scom 2007?
What are the different rule types in MOM?
Run As Accounts in Operations Manager 2007?
Run As account allows you to specify the necessary privileges for use with rules, tasks, monitors, and discoveries targeted to specific computers on an as-needed basis.
How do you configure notifications in SCOM 2007?

What is the use of ACTION account ?
How do you configure Webconsole in SCOM 2007?
How do you Monitor Network devices using SCOM 2007?
how do u import Management packs in scom 2007?
How to Create a Simple Windows Event Unit Monitor in Operations Manager 2007
How to Create Rules in Operations Manager 2007 R2?
Follow this link to create Rules  http://www.toolzz.com/?p=364
-Open Authoring -Open Rules -Right click and start the Create Rule Wizard.
Choose the event based NT Event Log (Alert)
-Select the proper management pack to save the rule in
On the Rule Name and Description page, do the following:
-Type the Rule name, such as “Network Card The network link is down”
-Type the description, such as “Generates an error when the network link is down”
-Type the category,  Event Collection
-Type the rule target, Windows ServerLeave Rule is enabled selected, to have the rule take effect at the completion of the wizard, or clear the check box to enable the rule at a later time, and then click Next.
-Event ID Equals 4
-Event Level Equals Warning
-Insert a new Parameter and fill in EventDescription---Click finish.

Root Management Server
The root management server (RMS) is a specialized type of management server in a management group, and it is the first management server installed in a management group. Only one RMS can be active per management group at a time.
Management Packs
Management packs contain an application’s health definition as defined by the application developers. When imported into Operations Manager, they enable the agent to monitor the health of an application, generate alerts when something of significance goes wrong in the application
Operations Console
The Operations console provides a single, unified user interface for interacting with Operations Manager 2007. The Operations console provides access to monitoring data, basic management pack authoring tools, Operations Manager 2007 reports, all the controls and tools necessary for administering Operations Manager 2007
Gateway Server
Operations Manager 2007 requires that agents and management servers authenticate each other and establish an encrypted communication channel before they exchange information. Kerberos is the default authentication protocol
Reporting Server
Operations Manager Reporting Server is installed into an instance of Microsoft SQL 2005 Reporting Services SP1 or later or Microsoft SQL Server 2008 SP1 Reporting Services. It is responsible for building and presenting the reports from data queried from the Reporting Data Warehouse.
Audit Collection Services
Audit Collection Services (ACS) is a high-performance, secure solution that collects and stores events from the Security Event Log on monitored computers. Events are stored in a separate database, the ACS database, in Microsoft SQL Server 2005 SP1 or later and Microsoft SQL Server 2008 SP1. ACS collects all events written to the Security Event Log on computers that the ACS Forwarder is enabled on.
Agentless Exception Monitoring
In Windows operating systems, when an application error occurs, the Watson service can capture the error and forward the information about the error to Microsoft to determine the root cause of the problem.

What is Reporting server's role in OpsMgr?
How grooming works for DW, what is the grooming interval?
How do you import Management pack?
Name any 3 kind of Rules in Ops Mgr?
What is MP dependency?
Different version of SCOM?
What is  Gateway server and its functionality?

Source: Petri.co.il

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