VMware Cloud Foundation: Planning, Management, Operations [V4.3]

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
• Recognize the configuration validation process performed by VMware Cloud Builder
• Detail the deployment of the management domain
• Recognize the options to image a host
• Identify the key capabilities of VIA
• Recognize 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
• Recognize 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
• Recognize Tier-0 and Tier-1 gateway topologies
• Recognize 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
• Recognize 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
• Recognize storage options for VMware Cloud Foundation
• Recognize the supported storage options for each domain
• Recognize the connectivity options for supplemental storage
• Explain why vSAN is the best option for VMware Cloud Foundation storage
• Recognize 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
• Recognize 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
• Recognize 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 thirdparty 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 Baselinebased 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

• Recognize the benefits of the federation feature in VMware Cloud Foundation
• Describe the federation feature and multisite management
• Recognize 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
• Recognize 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