Summary

A vSphere administrator needs to understand virtual machine concepts before creating virtual machines. A virtual machine is a set of virtual hardware presented to a guest operating system whose characteristics are determined by a set of files. There are multiple VMware file types that are associated with and make up a virtual machine and are located in the VM's directory on a datastore. These files include the .vmx, .nvram, .vswp, .vmdk, -flat.vmdk, and .log files. Each virtual machine is equipped with virtual hardware and devices, such as one or more virtual CPUs, memory, video cards, IDE devices, SCSI devices, DVD/CD-ROM, parallel and serial ports, and network adapters, that provide the same functionality as physical hardware. Once the administrator understands that the virtual hardware is available, the next step is to learn how it can be configured. VMware Tools is a utility suite that enhances the performance of a virtual machine's guest OS. VMware Tools should be installed in every virtual machine to ensure the virtual machines aren't lacking in any functionality.

The next chapter will discuss how to create a virtual machine using the wizard and other associated configuration options.