VMware Data Center Virtualization: Core Technical Skills

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Course Overview

Over 70% of enterprise workloads now run in virtual environments—and VMware vSphere® leads the market. This introduction to VMware gives IT professionals the core technical skills needed to support virtual machines, networking, and storage in a vCenter Server environment. In this hands-on course, you'll work directly in a vSphere lab environment to perform key admin tasks using VMware ESXi™, vSphere Client, and other tools. You'll also explore virtualization and vSphere concepts, monitor resource usage, and manage a vSphere cluster with High Availability and DRS.

Who Should Attend

Technical professionals with basic system administration skills and operators responsible for managing virtual machines using VMware ESXi™ and VMware vCenter Server®

Course Objectives

    By the end of this training, you’ll be able to operate a vSphere environment with confidence. You’ll gain core technical skills in virtualization infrastructure, learning to manage virtual machines, configure network and storage, and respond to performance and availability issues using VMware best practices.

    • Navigate the vSphere Client and manage vCenter Server inventory
    • Create and maintain virtual machines and templates
    • Configure virtual networking and datastore storage
    • Monitor vSphere performance, logs, and alarms
    • Administer vSphere cluster features like DRS and High Availability

Course Outline

Introduction to the Course

  • Course logistics and expectations
  • Key learning objectives

Virtualization and vSphere Concepts

  • How virtual machines work and share resources
  • The role of hypervisors and the software-defined data center
  • Overview of VMware cloud infrastructure and vSphere tools

Navigating the vSphere Client

  • Organize inventory objects in vCenter Server
  • Configure ESXi services, assign licenses
  • Set roles and permissions for administrators

Managing Virtual Machines

  • Add and remove VM hardware
  • Create and configure virtual machines
  • Install and upgrade VMware Tools and VM compatibility

Networking in a Virtual Environment

  • Understand standard vs. distributed switches
  • Apply NIC teaming, traffic shaping, and security settings
  • Troubleshoot network issues in VMs

Storage and Datastores

  • Identify datastore types and usage
  • Monitor storage performance in the vSphere interface

Deploying and Cloning Virtual Machines

  • Use templates, cloning, and OVF deployments
  • Perform VM migrations and Storage vMotion
  • Manage and revert with VM snapshots

Monitoring and Performance Management

  • Configure CPU/memory shares and resource controls
  • Use charts, logs, and alarms to track performance
  • Respond to alerts and system events

Cluster Services and High Availability

  • Enable vSphere cluster services like DRS
  • Monitor High Availability responses to host failures
  • Understand Enhanced vMotion Compatibility

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Class Dates & Times

Class times are listed Central time

This is a 4-day class

Register for Class

Register When Time Where How
Register 12/15/2025 9:00AM - 5:00PM Online VILT
Register 02/02/2026 9:00AM - 5:00PM Online VILT
Register 04/06/2026 9:00AM - 5:00PM Online VILT