1 Course Introduction

• Introduction and course logistics
• Course objectives

• 2 Introduction to vSAN

  • Describe vSAN architecture
  • Describe the vSAN software components: CLOM, DOM, LSOM, CMMDS, and RDT
  • Identify vSAN objects and components
  • Describe the advantages of object-based storage
  • Describe the difference between All-Flash and Hybrid vSAN architecture
  • Explain the key features and use cases for vSAN
  • Discuss the vSAN integration and compatibility with other VMware technologies

  • 3 Planning a vSAN Cluster

    • Identify requirements and planning considerations for vSAN clusters
    • Apply vSAN cluster planning and deployment best practices
    • Determine and plan for storage consumption by data growth and failure tolerance
    • Design vSAN hosts for operational needs
    • Identify vSAN networking features and requirements
    • Describe ways of controlling traffic in a vSAN environment
    • Recognize best practices for vSAN network configurations

    • 4 Deploying a vSAN Cluster

      • Recognize the importance of hardware compatibility
      • Ensure the compatibility of driver and firmware versioning
      • Use tools to automate driver validation and installation
      • Apply host hardware settings for optimum performance
      • Use VMware vSphere® Lifecycle ManagerTM to perform upgrades
      • Deploy and configure a vSAN Cluster using the Cluster QuickStart wizard
      • Manually configure a vSAN Cluster using VMware vSphere® Client™
      • Explain and configure vSAN fault domains
      • Using VMware vSphere® High Availability with vSAN
      • Understand vSAN Cluster maintenance capabilities
      • Describe the difference between implicit and explicit fault domains
      • Create explicit fault domains

      • 5 vSAN Storage Policies

        • Describe a vSAN object
        • Describe how objects are split into components
        • Explain the purpose of witness components
        • Explain how vSAN stores large objects
        • View object and component placement on the vSAN datastore
        • Explain how storage policies work with vSAN
        • Define and create a virtual machine storage policy
        • Apply and modify virtual machine storage policies
        • Change virtual machine storage policies dynamically
        • Identify virtual machine storage policy compliance status

        • 6 vSAN Resilience and Data Availability

          • Describe and configure the Object Repair Timer advanced option
          • Plan disk replacement in a vSAN cluster
          • Plan maintenance tasks to avoid vSAN object failures
          • Recognize the importance of managing snapshot utilization in a vSAN cluster

          • 7 Managing vSAN Storage Space Efficiency

            • Discuss deduplication and compression techniques
            • Understand deduplication and compression overhead
            • Discuss compression only mode
            • Configure erasure coding
            • Configure swap object thin provisioning
            • Discuss reclaiming storage space with SCSI UNMAP
            • Configure TRIM/UNMAP

            • 8 vSAN Security Operations

              • Identify differences between VM encryption and vSAN encryption
              • Perform ongoing operations to maintain data security
              • Describe the workflow of data-in transit encryption
              • Identify the steps involved in replacing Key Management Server

              • 9 vSAN HCI Mesh

                • Understand the purpose of vSAN HCI Mesh
                • Detail vSAN HCI Mesh technology and architecture
                • Perform mount and unmount of a remote datastore

                • 10 vSAN File Service and iSCSI Target Service

                  • Understand the purpose of vSAN File Services
                  • Detail vSAN File Services architecture
                  • Configure vSAN File Shares
                  • Describe vSAN iSCSI Target Service

                  • 11 vSAN Stretched and Two Node Clusters

                    • Describe the architecture and uses case for stretched clusters
                    • Detail the deployment and replacement of a vSAN witness node
                    • Describe the architecture and uses case for two-node clusters
                    • Explain storage policies for vSAN stretched cluster

                    • 12 vSAN Cluster Maintenance

                      • Perform typical vSAN maintenance operations
                      • Describe vSAN maintenance modes and data evacuation options
                      • Assess the impact on cluster objects of entering maintenance mode
                      • Determine the specific data actions required after exiting maintenance mode
                      • Define the steps to shut down and reboot hosts and vSAN clusters
                      • Use best practices for boot devices
                      • Replace vSAN nodes

                      • 13 vSAN Cluster Monitoring

                        • Describe how the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) enables VMware to improve products and services
                        • Use VMware Skyline Health for monitoring vSAN cluster health
                        • Manage alerts, alarms, and notifications related to vSAN in VMware vSphere® Client™
                        • Create and configure custom alarms to trigger vSAN health issues
                        • Use IOInsight metrics for monitoring vSAN performance
                        • Use a vSAN proactive test to detect and diagnose cluster issues

                        • 14 vSAN Troubleshooting

                          • Use a structured approach to solve configuration and operational problems
                          • Apply troubleshooting methodology to logically diagnose faults and optimize troubleshooting efficiency
                          • Use VMware Skyline Health to investigate and help determine failure conditions
                          • Explain which log files are useful for vSAN troubleshooting

                          • 15 vSAN Express Storage Architecture

                            • Understand the purpose of vSAN Express Storage Architecture
                            • Describe the vSAN Express Storage Architecture components
                            • Identify Storage Policy differences
                            • Understand compression and encryption operation differences