VMware Cloud Foundation: Planning, Management, Operations

Course subjects

1. Course Introduction

• Introductions and course logistics

• Course objectives

2. VMware Cloud Foundation Overview

• Describe the VMware Cloud Foundation solution

• Describe VMware Cloud Foundation architecture

• Identify VMware Cloud Foundation components

• Describe VMware Cloud Foundation topology

• Define VMware Cloud Foundation terminology

3. Day Zero Tasks

• Identify the requirements for deploying VMware Cloud Foundation

• Identify management domain sizing considerations

• Identify workload domain sizing considerations

• Detail design considerations for ESXi in management and VI workload domains

• Detail design considerations for vCenter in management and VI workload domains

• Detail the VMware Cloud Foundation bring-up process

• Identify information required for the Planning and Preparation Workbook

• Identify information required for the Deployment Parameter Workbook

• Describe how VMware Cloud Builder automates the deployment process

• Explain how the Deployment Parameter Workbook is imported into VMware Cloud Builder

• Recognise the configuration validation process performed by VMware Cloud Builder

• Detail the deployment of the management domain

• Recognise the options to image a host

• Identify the key capabilities of VIA

• Recognise how to use VIA for imaging the ESXi Nodes

4. Post Deployment Operations

• Understand VMware Cloud Foundation integration with VMware Single Sign-On

• Configure user access to VMware Cloud Foundation

• Describe the importance of user roles in vSphere

• Configure identity sources in vSphere to use with VMware Cloud Foundation

• Manage passwords in VMware Cloud Foundation

• Explain the importance of using VMware Cloud Foundation to manage passwords for vSphere components

• Detail the best practices for password management for VMware Cloud Foundation

• Retrieve and secure the password list

• Describe the process for rotating passwords not managed by VMware Cloud Foundation

5. VMware Cloud Foundation License Management

• Describe how to add license keys to the VMware Cloud Foundation inventory

• Describe how to view license keys in SDDC Manager

• Describe how to assign license keys

• Describe how to remove license keys

• Describe how to replace expiring licenses

6. VMware Cloud Foundation Networking with NSX-T

• Describe NSX Management plane and Control planes

• Detail design considerations for workload domains with shared NSX Manager instances

• Detail design considerations for workload domains with dedicated NSX Manager instances

• Describe the spine-and-leaf design

• Describe the addressing scheme for the underlay

• Recognise possible variations of the spine-and-leaf design

• Describe the multi-NIC design

• Describe NSX Edge node design and BGP peering with the physical network

• Describe cluster design and rack design

• Explain dynamic routing with BGP

• Explain virtual IP addressing

• Describe logical switching

• Detail NSX Edge functions

• Define application virtual networks

• Describe management domain rack options

• List NSX Edge cluster requirements for vSphere with Tanzu

• Discuss NSX Edge cluster placement considerations

• Describe NSX-T Data Center deployment in VMware Cloud Foundation

• Explain how logical routing works in NSX-T Data Center

• Identify NSX Edge functions

• Describe data plane preparation for NSX-T Data Center Edge nodes in a workload domain

• Recognise Tier-0 and Tier-1 gateway topologies

• Recognise features of NSX distributed firewalls

• Describe the benefits of NSX Federation in VMware Cloud Foundation

• Identify NSX Federation Use Cases

• Explain NSX Federation Components and Architecture

• Discuss NSX Federation configuration basics

7. Managing Workload Domains

• Define workload domains

• Detail design considerations for vSphere networking in management and VI workload domains

• Detail design considerations for storage in management and VI workload domains

• Recognise design choices for a consolidated design or standard design

• List the types of workload domains

• State scale limits for workload domains

• Identify use cases for multiple clusters in a workload domain

• List workload domain prerequisites

• Explain how to create a workload domain

• Describe how to scale a workload domain

• Explain how to delete a workload domain

• Describe host decommissioning

8. vSphere with Tanzu in VMware Could Foundation

• Discuss the vSphere with Tanzu solution

• Define the role of Spherelet

• Describe the supervisor cluster control plane

• Define vSphere with Tanzu namespaces

• Describe the role of NSX-T networking components

• Discuss vSphere with Tanzu networking topology

• Describe VMware Container Networking with Antrea

• Describe control plane VM management networking requirements

• Plan appropriate IP address CIDR ranges for pod, ingress, and egress networking

• Describe prerequisites for vSphere with Tanzu cluster compatibility

• Deploy vSphere with Kubernetes

• Create a vSphere namespace

• Configure limits and permissions for a vSphere namespace

• Enabling Harbor Image Registry

9. VMware Cloud Foundation Storage Management

• Identify vSAN architecture and components

• Recognise storage options for VMware Cloud Foundation

• Recognise the supported storage options for each domain

• Recognise the connectivity options for supplemental storage

• Explain why vSAN is the best option for VMware Cloud Foundation storage

• Recognise vSAN design considerations

• Identify sizing and performance considerations that impact the storage design

• Describe vSAN requirements for the management and workload domains

• Define deduplication and compression

• Discuss how to scale vSAN clusters in VMware Cloud Foundation

• Explain how storage policies work with VMware Cloud Foundation vSAN clusters

• Explain storage policy failure tolerance rules

• Identify a VM storage policy compliance status

• Relate storage policies to Kubernetes storage classes

• Describe persistent volumes

• Monitor Cloud Native Storage in the vSphere Client

10. Availability and Business Continuity

• Identify steps in the SDDC Manager backup and restore process

• Recognise the importance of external service availability

• Describe native vSphere availability options

• Identify steps in the NSX backup and restore process

• Identify stretched cluster use cases

• Identify stretched cluster components\

• Recognise stretched cluster requirements in VMware Cloud Foundation

• Prepare and deploy a vSAN stretched cluster using APIs

11. VMware Cloud Foundation Certificate Management

• Describe public key infrastructure (PKI)

• Explain the purpose of certificate signing requests (CSRs)

• List the available CA options in SDDC Manager

• Describe how to view certificates

• Explain how to generate a CSR

• Describe how to replace and install certificates for VMware Cloud Foundation components

• List the available CA options in SDDC Manager

• Explain how to configure the Microsoft CA server

• Describe how to install certificates issued by the Microsoft CA server

• Explain how to add OpenSSL CA in SDDC Manager

• Describe how to install certificates issued by OpenSSL CA

• Explain how to install certificates issued by third-party CAs

12. VMware Cloud Foundation Life Cycle Management

• Describe Life Cycle Management

• List products that you can upgrade using VMware Cloud Foundation Lifecycle Manager

• Describe the available options for online and offline bundle download using VMware Cloud Foundation Lifecycle Manager

• Describe the role of vSphere Lifecycle Management in VMware Cloud Foundation

• Describe vSphere Lifecycle Manager Baseline-based and Image-based Clusters

• Detail how and when to use cluster images

• Explain how to import a cluster image

• Explain how to extract a cluster image

• Describe the importance of hardware support managers

• Describe the upgrade prerequisites

• Outline the upgrade precheck process

• Describe the order of upgrade for VMware Cloud Foundation components

• Explain how to upgrade VMware Cloud Foundation software and components

13. VMware Imaging Appliance

• Identify the requirements for starting a deployment

• List the options to image a host

• Identify the key capabilities of the VMware Imaging Appliance

• Explain how to use the VMware Imaging Appliance to image hosts

14. VMware Cloud Foundation Multisite Instance Federation

• Recognise the benefits of the federation feature in VMware Cloud Foundation

• Describe the federation feature and multisite management

• Recognise ways a federation helps manage resources and provide visibility in a multi-instance implementation of VMware Cloud Foundation

• Describe how to create, join, leave, and dismantle a federation

• Recognise the design considerations for a federation

15. VMware Cloud Foundation Troubleshooting

• Explain how to perform checks and create log bundles with the SoS tool

• List VMware Cloud Foundation services

• Identify VMware Cloud Foundation log files

• Describe the use of reference token IDs to troubleshoot failed workflows