Simplify and automate server administration tasks with PowerCLI About This Book Automate VMware's VSphere environment by learning the essentials of PowerCLI Impress your peers by developing scripts to perform administration tasks Discover the intricate workings of PowerCLI through simple and real-life examples Who This Book Is For PowerCLI Essentials is focused toward virtualization professionals and system administrators who want to discover and learn about the automation techniques associated with PowerCLI for complex virtual environments. What You Will Learn Download and install PowerCLI and its basics as well as the basics of PowerShell Enchance your scritping experience Build longer scripts and simpler reports Relate a task in VMware administration to a PowerCLI script Discover methods to acquire and change information remotely Set up orchestrator to manage your workflow In Detail Have you ever wished you could automatically get a report with all the relevant information about your VMware environments in exactly the format you want? Or that you could automate a crucial task that needs to be performed on a regular basis? Powerful Command Line Interface (PowerCLI) scripts do all these things and much more for VMware environments. PowerCLI is a command-line interface tool used to automate VMware vSphere environments. It is used to handle complicated administration tasks through use of various cmdlets and scripts, which are designed to handle certain aspects of VSphere servers and to help you manage them. This book will show you the intricacies of PowerCLI through real-life examples so that you can discover the art of PowerCLI scripting. At the start, you will be taught to download and install PowerCLI and will learn about the different versions of it. Moving further, you will be introduced to the GUI of PowerCLI and will find out how to develop single line scripts to duplicate running tasks, produce simple reports, and simplify administration. Next, you will learn about the methods available to get information remotely. Towards the end, you will be taught to set up orchestrator and build workflows in PowerShell with update manager and SRM scripts. Style and approach Each and every topic in this book is explained in a very easy-to-follow fashion with real-life, simple examples so you'll get an idea not only about working with PowerCLI, but will also get an idea about scripting.

If you are a virtualization professional who wants to unleash the power of automation and combat the complexity of sprawling virtual environments, this book is ideal for you. This book will enhance your skills of administering VMware vSphere and vCloud Director with PowerCLI.

Understand and implement VMware Virtual SAN: the heart of tomorrow's Software-Defined Datacenter (SDDC) VMware's breakthrough Software-Defined Datacenter (SDDC) initiative can help you virtualize your entire datacenter: compute, storage, networks, and associated services. Central to SDDC is VMware Virtual SAN (VSAN): a fully distributed storage architecture seamlessly integrated into the hypervisor and capable of scaling to meet any enterprise storage requirement. Now, the leaders of VMware's wildly popular Virtual SAN previews have written the first authoritative guide to this pivotal technology. You'll learn what Virtual SAN is, exactly what it offers, how to implement it, and how to maximize its value. Writing for administrators, consultants, and architects, Cormac Hogan and Duncan Epping show how Virtual SAN implements both object-based storage and a policy platform that simplifies VM storage placement. You'll learn how Virtual SAN and vSphere work together to dramatically improve resiliency, scale-out storage functionality, and control over QoS. Both an up-to-the-minute reference and hands-on tutorial, Essential Virtual SAN uses realistic examples to demonstrate Virtual SAN's most powerful capabilities. You'll learn how to plan, architect, and deploy Virtual SAN successfully, avoid gotchas, and troubleshoot problems once you're up and running. Coverage includes Understanding the key goals and concepts of Software-Defined Storage and Virtual SAN technology Meeting physical and virtual requirements for safe Virtual SAN implementation Installing and configuring Virtual SAN for your unique environment Using Storage Policy Based Management to control availability, performance, and reliability Simplifying deployment with VM Storage Policies Discovering key Virtual SAN architectural details: caching I/O, VASA, witnesses, pass-through RAID, and more Ensuring efficient day-to-day Virtual SAN management and maintenance Interoperating with other VMware features and products Designing and sizing Virtual SAN clusters Troubleshooting, monitoring, and performance optimization

This book is intended for virtualization administrators who want to learn VMware vSphere quickly. It is assumed that you have some basic knowledge of virtualization and the vSphere environment.

Master PowerCLI to automate all aspects of VMware environments About This Book Leverage PowerCLI to perform administration tasks in a more effective and efficient way Escape from daily tedious and repetitive tasks by unleashing the full potential of your creative side through scripting Master the intricate workings of PowerShell and PowerCLI through easy and real-life examples Who This Book Is For If you are a system administrator with working knowledge of PowerShell and PowerCLI who wants to perform quick and easy scripting but at the same time achieve complex results and write production grade scripts, then this book is for you. What You Will Learn Use GitHub for collaboration and Pester to automate unit tests Write advanced reusable functions and dynamic variables and learn about error handling in PowerShell Automate ESXi host installation using Auto-Deploy, host profile, and host image Implement security best practices in a vSphere data center Manage SRM, vCloud Air, and vRealize Operations environments Access and utilize vSphere APIs to manage advanced aspects of vSphere and work with .NET view objects Utilize REST APIs to manage vRealize Automation environments Create a Windows GUI through the use of PowerShell and Sapien PrimalForms CE In Detail Have you ever wished that every morning you could automatically get a report with all the relevant information about your datacenter in exactly the same format you want? Or whether you could automate that boring, exhausting task? What if some crucial task needs to be performed on a regular basis without any error? PowerCLI scripts do all that and much more for VMware environments. It is built on top of the popular Windows PowerShell, with which you can automate server tasks and reduce manual input, allowing you to focus on more important tasks. This book will help you to achieve your goals by starting with a short refresher on PowerShell and PowerCLI and then covering the nuances of advanced functions and reusable scripts. Next you will learn how to build a vSphere-powered virtualized datacenter using PowerCLI while managing different aspects of the environment including automated installation, network, and storage. You will then manage different logical constructs of vSphere environment and different aspects of a virtual machine. Later, you will implement the best practices for a security implementation in vSphere Environment through PowerCLI before discovering how to manage other VMware environments such as SRM, vCloud Director and vCloud Air through PowerCLI. You will also learn to manage vSphere environments using advanced properties by accessing vSphere API and REST APIs through PowerCLI. Finally, you will build a Windows GUI application using PowerShell followed by a couple of sample scripts for reporting and managing vSphere environments with detailed explanations of the scripts. By the end of the book, you will have the required in-depth knowledge to master the art of PowerCLI scripting. Style and approach In this book, every topic is explained in a very easy-to-follow fashion with real-life, simple examples so that you get an idea of not only the topic but also the context in which it should be used or where it can be best utilized.

Master vSphere automation with this comprehensive reference VMware vSphere PowerCLI Reference, Automating vSphere Administration, 2nd Edition is a one-stop solution for vSphere automation. Fully updated to align with the latest vSphere and PowerCLI release, this detailed guide shows you how to get the most out of PowerCLI's handy cmdlets using real-world examples and a practical, task-based approach. You'll learn how to store, access, update, back up, and secure massive amounts of data quickly through the power of virtualization automation, and you'll get acquainted with PowerCLI as you learn how to automate management, monitoring, and life-cycle operations for vSphere. Coverage includes areas like the PowerCLI SDK, SRM, vCOPS, and vCloud Air. Plus guidance toward scheduling and viewing automation, using DevOps methodology and structured testing and source control of your PowerCLI scripts. Clear language and detailed explanations make this reference the manual you've been looking for. This book is your complete reference for managing vSphere in a Windows environment, with expert instruction and real-world application. Automate vCenter Server deployment and configuration Create and configure virtual machines, and utilize vApps Monitor, audit, and report the status of your vSphere environment Secure, back up, and restore your virtual machines Work with other vSphere components from your PowerCLI scripts Take control of your PowerCLI scripts through versioning and structured testing Don't spend another day slogging through routine systems management — automate it, with this invaluable guide.

vSphere allows you to transform your IT infrastructure into a private cloud, then bridge it to public clouds on demand, delivering an IT infrastructure as an easily accessible service. This book is a fast-paced guide that enables you to explore and harness the vast potential of VMware vSphere. The book begins by providing you with a rapid introduction to VMware vSphere architecture and the major considerations for VMware vSphere design. Beginning with the essentials of VMware vSphere, it will get you started with VMware ESXi host, cluster, vCenter and patterns that are required to be applied while designing your VMware vSphere. As you progress through the chapters, you will learn about analyzing the key components that are needed for a network. By the end of the book, you will have also learned about the major factors influencing vCloud needs and have finalized the requirements for designing a vCloud.