About VMware

Incorporated in 1998, VMware is a cloud computing and virtualization technology

company based in Palo Alto, California. The company has offices around the
world and has a global presence. The company offers advanced cloud services
through its partnerships with Cisco Systems and Amazon Web Services. It is
known worldwide for its vSphere VMware Hypervisor, which allows any
architecture, whether x86 or x64, to be virtualized. Performance, reliability,
flexibility, and scalability are at the heart of its engineering work.

Working with VMware allows you to collaborate with a global community that is
working together to address the vital technological challenges of today. The
business is driven by the values of innovation, positive leadership, and respect.
VMware's incredible culture and its principles have contributed greatly to the
growth of the company, and a great management team and work-life balance
make it one of the best companies to work for.

Despite having a desire to get a job with VMware, many of you are unsure what
to expect in your interview. The purpose of this article is to let you know what an
interview at VMware looks like. If you're about to take a VMware interview, these
tips and VMware Interview questions will help you succeed.
VMware Interview Questions for Freshers
1. Explain what you mean by Port-group.
As the name suggests, port groups are groups of virtual ports on our virtual
switch. In general, the port group provides a stable anchor point for virtual
machines connected to labeled networks by aggregating multiple ports into a
single configuration. Every port group is assigned a network label, which is
unique to the host. VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) tags, for example, are
shared by each port group member.

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2. Explain the different types of virtualization available.

Virtualization generally enables your organization to run many processes at once
with fewer physical infrastructures, leading to greater efficiency and cost
savings. VMware manages different types of virtualizations, each having different
uses in the industry.
Types of virtualization-
 Server Virtualization: It is a type of virtualization where many virtual
machines (VMs) run on one physical server. Since you do not have to buy
new servers or expand your server room, you save floor space and money.
Server virtualization is offered by a few well-known providers, such as
vSphere, XenServer, Hyper-V, and RedHat.

 Network Virtualization: It refers to the process of combining all the

physical network components into one virtual network. A virtual network
can be composed of NICs, switches, VLANs, network storage devices,
virtual network containers, and network media. This type of virtualization
has the primary function of eliminating physical network device
dependencies. One of its examples includes VMware NSX.
 Application Virtualization: The process involves virtualizing and hosting
applications on a server so that end users can have access to them on
their devices such as laptops, smartphones, and tablets. The app can be
accessed via any Internet-connected device, so you don't have to log in to
a desktop at your office to use it. Its example includes VMware ThinApp,
Citric XenApp, etc.

 Desktop Virtualization: Often called OS virtualization or VDI (Virtual

Desktop Infrastructure), desktop virtualization is the process that enables
 you to run or deploy multiple virtual desktop OS on a physical server. The
user may access his or her virtual desktop from anywhere since it is stored
on a remote server. In this way, the need for individual CPUs is eliminated.
Its example includes VMware Horizon View, Citrix Xen Desktop, etc.

 Storage Virtualization: Using storage virtualization, multiple network

storage devices can be combined into a single storage device/array by
pooling their physical storage. It provides an easy way to manage storage
and ensure consistent performance. Its example includes vSAN.

3. Explain VMKernel and its importance.

VMware's VMkernel is a high-performance operating system that runs directly on
the ESXi host. VMkernel generally acts as an interface between VMs and the
physical hardware of the system and is referred to as microkernel by VMware
since it runs on bare metal, directly on VMware ESX hosts. In addition to
providing hardware abstraction and operating system (OS) services, VMKernel
allocates memory and schedules CPUs. In addition, it handles services such as
vMotion, Fault Tolerance, NFS, and iSCSI. In order for VMs to communicate with
ESXi, the VMKernel is vital.
4. Write four core elements of the VMkernel networking layer.
VMkernel networking enables vSphere to interact with the outside world. It
consists of four core elements:
 Virtual SAN
 Fault Tolerance
 Science storage
 VMotion
5. What do you mean by Hypervisor? Write its type.
Hypervisors, also known as VM monitors or VMMs, are software that creates and
runs virtual machines (VMs) as well as also manages and allocates resources to
them. By sharing its resources in virtual ways, such as memory and processing, a
host computer can support multiple guest VMs. The special feature of a
hypervisor allows several virtual machines to run on a single physical server. As
a result, it reduces:
 Space efficiency
 Energy usage
 Server maintenance requirements.
Types of Hypervisor-
 Type-1 Hypervisor (also known as Bare Metal or Native Hypervisor)
 Type-2 Hypervisor (also known as Hosted Hypervisor)
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6. What do you mean by ESXi?
ESXi (Elastic Sky X Integrated): ESXi (formerly ESX) is a virtualization platform
developed by VMware for deploying and managing virtual machines. With ESXi,
you get a very secure OS architecture that includes and integrates essential OS
components like the Kernel. For efficiency, reliability, and performance, it's the
leading choice. ESXi partitions hardware to consolidate applications and reduce
costs by directly accessing and controlling underlying resources. It is a
hypervisor that makes use of bare-metal virtualization technology.
7. Explain NFS and VMFS.
 NFS (Network File System): ESXi hosts use this file-sharing protocol to
share files with NAS devices. Storage devices such as NAS connect to
networks and enable ESXi hosts to access files.
 VMFS (Virtual Machine File System): In VMware vSphere, it is a block-
level file system that stores virtual machine files. In vSphere 6.0, it can
also store large files up to 64TB in size.

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8. Explain the .vmdk file.
Virtual Machine Disk (VMDK) is an open file format by VMware which is used to
store the content of virtual hard disks. In vSphere 5.5 and later versions, it can
be up to 62 TB in size. Earlier, VMware products used the extension .dsk to store
content or data or virtual disk files.
9. Name some of the VMware products.
VMware offers the following products:
 VMware Mirage
 VMware Pivotal Container
 VMware Photon Platform
 VMware Thinapp
 VMware vCloud NFV
 VMware vCloud NFV Openstack
 VMware vRealize
 VMware vRealize Operations, etc.
10. What are the VMware components?
VMware infrastructure consists of the following components:
 VMware ESX Server
 VirtualCenter Server
 VMware Infrastructure Client (VI Client)
 VMware Infrastructure Web Access (VI Web Access)
 VMware Virtual Machine File System (VMFS)
 VMware Virtual Symmetric Multi-Processing (SMP)
 VMware VMotion and VMware Storage VMotion
 VMware High Availability (HA)
 VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS)
 VMware Consolidated Backup (Consolidated Backup)
 VMware Infrastructure SDK
11. Explain VMware DRS.
DRS (Distributed Resource Scheduler), as the name suggests, provides a way
to schedule and balance resources across a vSphere environment. Through the
use of clusters and resource pools, virtual environments are able to
automatically balance available resources across hosts. DRS uses VMware HA
(High Availability) to move VMs from one host to another to ensure that
resources are evenly distributed among them.
12. What is the importance of virtualization?
A virtualization process creates a virtual version of a physical device, such as a
server, storage device, network device, on a physical host. On a single
machine/server known as an ESXi (ESX integrated) host, several virtual
machines, as well as multiple operating systems and applications, can be
operated. It has the following advantages:
 Increasing IT agility, flexibility, and scalability while reducing costs.
 Increased workload mobility, performance, and resource availability.
 Automated operations that save time.
 Simplify IT management and make it less expensive to operate.

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13. Write three port-groups that are configured in ESXi networking.
The following are the three port-groups configured in ESXi networking:
 Virtual Machine Port Group: They are used for Virtual Machine
Network.
 Service Console Port Group: They are used for Service Console
Communications.
 VMKernel Port Group: They are used for vMotion, iSCSI, NFS (Network
File System) Communications.
14. Explain iSCSI storage.
Generally, iSCSI SANs consist of an iSCSI storage system, which houses one or
more storage processors. Communication between the host and array occurs
over TCP/IP protocol, and ESXi hosts are configured with an iSCSI initiator. Such
an initiator is either hardware- or software-based. The hardware-based initiators
can be dependent or independent; the software-based ones are called iSCSI
software initiators.
15. What is the meaning of VVol?
vSphere 6.0 introduces the concept of Virtual Volume, also known as VVol, for
managing virtual disks. Whenever a virtual disk is created in a virtual
environment, VVol is automatically created. At the virtual disk level, it enables
array-based operations.
16. Explain Cluster.
In VMware, the cluster is defined as a logical grouping of multiple ESXi hosts. It
lets you add and remove hosts from a cluster. HA and DRS are also provided on
the cluster.
17. Explain cold and hot migration?
 Cold Migration: This is the process of migrating a powered-off VM,
including its configuration and data, from a single host to another. One
can migrate VMs manually or set up a scheduled task to perform cold
migration.
 Hot Migration: This is the process of migrating a powered-on VM from a
single host to another. It is also known as live migration because there is
no need to shut down the VM.
VMware Interview Questions for Experienced
1. What is VDI?
With VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure), users can host a desktop operating
system (OS) on a server and access VM-based desktops remotely from different
devices and locations. VDI is a type of IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service), which
can be run in a private or public cloud. When VDI is used, the end-user can
access his or her desktops via a device called a thin client.
2. How many CPUs can be used for a VM in FT in vSphere 7.0?
In VMware vSphere 7.0, up to 8 vCPUs can be used with the VMware vSphere
Enterprise Plus license.
3. Explain FT logging traffic.
For VMware FT, fault tolerance logging traffic is considered as the second
network requirement. For continuous data syncing between primary and
secondary VMs, Fault Tolerance applies FT logging. Additionally, this is a
VMkernel connection type used to move nondeterministic events from primary to
secondary VMs.
4. What is the difference between vSphere and vCenter?
 VMware vSphere: It's an enterprise-scale virtualization platform that lets
you build a reliable and resilient infrastructure to meet pretty much any
business need while staying within your budget. Vsphere adds important
capabilities to data center infrastructure that prevent unplanned
downtime and can completely eliminate maintenance and storage
downtime.
 VMware vCenter: It is a centralized platform used to manage virtual
infrastructure. From a single console, you can control all your hosts and
 virtual machines, enhancing visibility and preventing errors. Even if you
are managing a large-scale environment, vCenter Server lets you optimize
routine operations and daily tasks. As a result of this functionality, you are
able to get a detailed understanding of how your environment is
configured.
5. Will FT (Fault Tolerance) work if the vCenter server goes down?
Fault Tolerance on a VM can only be enabled through the vCenter Server. FT
does not require vCenter to be online once configured. Due to this fact, no FT
failure between the primary and the secondary will occur when vCenter is down.
6. What is the use of vMotion?
VMware's VMotion technology enables you to migrate active virtual machines
from one ESX-host to another without disrupting service or functionality. During
this process, there is zero downtime, constant service availability, and overall
transaction integrity. vMotion technology plays a key role in creating a dynamic,
automated, and self-optimizing data center and provides great flexibility for
virtual environments. Ensure that both hardware and software requirements are
met by the cloud provider. The compatibility requirements are reduced if
powered-off VMs are migrated.
7. What will happen if vMotion fails?
A virtual machine will not be migrated if the target host does not have enough
memory i.e., vMotion fails. This can be fixed by moving the VM to another ESXi
host providing guaranteed memory, or by reducing the virtual machine's
memory reservation.
8. Explain Promiscuous mode.
A promiscuous mode is network security, monitoring, and administration method
that allows any network adapter configured on a host system to access all
network data packets. You can specify it at the virtual switch or port group level
in vSphere ESX/ESXi. Essentially, promiscuous mode is a method of monitoring
(sniffing) network traffic. You have two options: accept or reject. Additionally, all
communication will be visible to all virtual machines if the promiscuous mode is
set to accept.
9. There are several features such as DRS (Distributed Resource
Scheduler), SMP (Symmetric Multi-Processing), VMotion, etc., but why
do we need ‘HA’?
VMware HA is critical for us since we need uninterrupted service. Let's suppose
that one of the ESX servers in the cluster crashes suddenly for some reason.
What would happen to the virtual machines running on that server? Do they
continue running or are they falling? Likewise, they go down too. Thankfully,
VMware HA allows you to restart these VM's on any other ESX server in the same
cluster as soon as they fail.
10. What is the importance of snapshots in VMware?
VMware snapshots allow you to quickly and easily save the state of a VM before
making changes. A snapshot is taken when upgrading or installing software. In
VMware snapshots, the current state of the virtual machine is preserved, so after
testing, the machine can be quickly reverted to the desired state. After a specific
task is completed, a snapshot should be removed to improve performance.
11. What are vSS and vDS?
To connect virtual machines, VMware vSphere offers two types of virtual
switches. vSphere administrators can control the traffic between VMware virtual
machines using either type of virtual switch.
 vSphere Standard Switch (VSS): VSS is the default virtual switch when
ESXi is installed. The switch allows VMs installed on one physical host to
communicate with one another. The switch controls how a VM
communicates with another VM on the same physical server, just as a
physical switch would.

 vSphere Distributed Switch (VDS): It acts as the single switch in a

virtual environment and provides central provisioning, administrative, and
monitoring capabilities for virtual networks. Additionally, it supports
advanced networking features in VMware vSphere.
12. What do you mean by VMware HA and VMware FT? Difference
between them.
 VMware HA (High availability): It generally works on Cluster Level. By
pooling VMs and the hosts they reside on into a cluster, VMware HA
provides high availability for VMs. VMs running on a failed host are forced
to be restarted on alternate hosts.
 VMware FT (Fault Tolerance): It generally works on VM Level. In this, a
secondary VM is created and maintained that is identical to the primary
and can replace it when the ESXi host fails to provide continuous
availability of VMs. A complete copy of a VM is made, including storage,
computation, and memory. To configure FT, a 10GB NIC is recommended.
Difference between VMware HA and VMware FT-
 While VMware HA is enabled per cluster, VMware FT is enabled per VM.
 VMware HA works on cluster level whereas VMware FT works on VM level.
 An HA system will restart and power on VMs on another host in the event
of a failure, while an FT system will activate the second copy in case of a
loss of the primary host. By providing fast backup and continuous
availability, it reduces downtime.
13. What do you mean by vCloud Suite?
vCloud Suite is often described as an enterprise-grade cloud and management
solution. It is a collection of multiple VMware components to build and provide a
completely integrated cloud infrastructure, that includes virtualization, software-
defined datacenter services, disaster recovery, application management, etc.
14. Why use VMware Workstation?
VMware Workstation is software that allows users to run multiple operating
systems on the same host computer. Virtual machines are capable of running
one instance of any operating system such as Microsoft, Linux, etc.
Here are three reasons why VMware workstation is useful:
 Allows the user to run more than one operating system on the same
computer.
 It saves the current OS configuration as virtual machines.
 You can work across different OSs without switching.
15. Why use virtual machines instead of original hardware?
In the absence of virtualization, it would be impossible to run multiple operating
systems at once, such as Windows and Linux. Virtual machines serve mainly the
purpose of running multiple operating systems concurrently on a single piece of
hardware. Splitting a physical server into multiple units reduces the need to
invest in additional units. You can also use VMs to enable rapid disaster recovery
and automatic backups of your data.

16. What is the major advantage of VM running under a type 1

hypervisor than type 2 hypervisor?
  Type-1 Hypervisor: It acts as a lightweight OS and runs directly on the
host system. A base server OS is not required, and direct hardware access
is available. Its example includes VMware ESXi, Citrix XenServer, etc.
 Type-2 Hypervisor: It cannot run directly on the underlying host system,
but can run as an application layer on a host system, similar to other
computer programs. Its example includes VMware player or parallel
desktop, VMware Server, etc.
Advantages of using Type-1 over Type-2 Hypervisor:
It is more secure to use type-1 hypervisors since they do not rely on the
underlying OS, unlike type-2 hypervisors. The type 2 server also loses some
efficiency, performance, and speed due to this dependency. So, if you're under
attack, a type-1 hypervisor will give you better protection than a type-2
hypervisor.
17. What do you mean by RDM?
The Raw Device Mapping (RDM) files are contained in VMFS and act as proxies
for raw physical devices. This feature enables VMware's virtual machines (VMs)
to access logical unit numbers (LUNs) directly. This eliminates the need to use
the virtual machine file system (VMFS) because the LUN can be formatted using
any file system like NTFS (New Technology File System). It is generally beneficial
for cluster configurations including VM-to-VM, physical-to-VM, or SAN (Storage
Area Network) snapshots. But it has some limitations, including the inability to
map disk partitions and possibly not working with direct-attached block devices.
The figure above shows that an RDM disk exists as an address mapping file on a
VMFS volume. This mapping file acts as a symbolic link between a VM's access to
an RDM disk to LUNs.
18. What is clone and template in VMware? Differentiate between them.
 VMware clone: It is an identical copy of a VM (called parent VM (Virtual
Machine), since it is the one from which you made a clone). MAC
addresses and UUIDs for both cloned and parent VM, however, will be
different. Any changes to the cloned VM will not impact the original VM or
parent VM (and vice versa).
 VMware template: It is a golden image or a master copy of Virtual
Machine that is capable of creating and provisioning virtual machines. It
can later be used to make many clones.

Clone Template

An exact copy of an
A master copy of a VM with basic configurations,
existing virtual machine
although it cannot work independently.
that works independently.

You can turn it on/off. You cannot turn on/off or edit a template.

The template can be converted back to a Virtual

It is not possible to convert
Machine and updated with the latest configuration
a cloned VM back to a
before being converted back to the template for use
parent or original VM.
in future VM deployments.

They are ideal for test

For deployment of mass virtual machines in
environments or disaster
production environments, the template works well.
recovery environments.

For large deployments of

When deploying large numbers of VMs, it is
VMs, it is not
recommended.
recommended.

The VM that is powered on A powered-on VM cannot be used to create a

can be cloned. Template.

Tips to Prepare for VMware Interview

1. VMware Interview Preparation
1. The Generic Tip: Using online IDEs and platforms such as HackerEarth,
Hacker Rank, LeetCode, Code Chef, and so on, is always a good idea for
practicing coding questions. Since it is critical to code your solution
accurately and in a timely manner, use the programming language you're
most comfortable with.
2. Speak what you believe: At the moment, the point is how to give them
what they are looking for. The interviewer will have no prior knowledge of
your abilities, yet they will attempt to assess your years of education in
30–40 minutes. Even if you write the correct solution to the problem
without saying anything, the interviewer is unlikely to deduce anything
 about your mental state. The only way out is to say exactly what you're
thinking because your voice is the only method for them to understand
what and how you are thinking. So, you must express yourself at every
stage of your thought process. Even if you believe your method may be
incorrect, just say so. Don’t ever hesitate.
3. Prepare Well: The technical round may include a number of questions.
Prepare all in advance. Make sure you have knowledge of DSA. Basic
questions related to coding, OS, process synchronization, recursion and
iterative techniques, sorts, searches, and traversals should also be
considered as well. Become well-versed in fundamental subjects such as
operating systems, databases, and computer networks. Reading prior
interview experiences and questions will also improve your insight into the
interview process.
4. Ask for Hints: Don't pester the interviewer with demands for hints. In
fact, try if you can find and fix the issues yourself. And if you feel
absolutely stuck, instead of continuing to flounder, simply ask for help. It
demonstrates that you acknowledge your insufficiency of knowledge, but
do not immediately give up trying to learn. Make use of the hints you've
been given. In most cases, the interviewer is familiar enough with the
question to recognize which tips would help you next if you get stuck.
5. Confidence is crucial: No matter how frightened you are, face the
interviewer with confidence. The confidence you exude isn't for you; it's
for the interviewer to feel comfortable enough to hire you. You must
persuade her/him that you are a valuable asset to the firm.
6. Prepare generic questions for HR or Managerial round: Find out
online what general HR questions you might be asked during your
interview. Never know when someone will ask you, "Why did you choose
VMware?" or "Why not another company?". It's, therefore, a good idea to
learn a bit about the company before your interview.
7. Ask questions: Be sure to keep the flow two-way. If you have doubts,
you should voice them to the interviewer. Your willingness to join will be
apparent to the interviewer if you do this.
FAQ
1. How many rounds are there in VMware Interview?
Generally, 4-5 rounds are there in the VMware Interview process:
 Online Assessment
 Technical Rounds (2-3)
 Managerial Interview
 HR Interview
2. How to get a job in VMware?
As a software company, VMware is committed to the notion of equal employment
opportunities for all employees, as well as to providing a non-discriminatory and
harassment-free workplace. At VMware, employees are hired based on business
needs, job specifications, and individual qualifications. All applicants are
encouraged to apply, whether they are freshers or experienced. Therefore, if you
want to get hired, you must prepare thoroughly. Start by researching about the
company, their interview process, tips on how to prepare for the interview, and
then prepare accordingly. If you would like to apply, you can visit the career
portal and apply directly or you can ask for a referral.
3. How long does the offer process take at VMware?
It will take approximately 2-4 weeks to receive an offer letter following the final
interview.
4. Why do you want to join VMware?
As a VMware employee, we will be a part of a global community of innovators
and leaders that solve technical challenges together. Here, employees are
surrounded by an environment filled with possibilities and are always
encouraged to bring new ideas to life. Every day, employees are challenged to
innovate in everything VMware does.
5. Is VMware Interview hard?
The amount of time and effort you put into preparing for an interview can greatly
affect how tough it is going to be. VMware interviews usually consist of easy to
medium level questions, however, this depends on the individual. Since the
number of rounds varies from 4-5, some candidates may find it intimidating. I
assure you it is worth the effort if you join.
6. What is the role of VMware admin?
Virtual machines, hardware, and servers are familiar terms to most VMware
admins. They use a specific VMware environment such as vSphere to create and
install computer infrastructure, including hardware, servers, and virtual
machines. Maintenance and troubleshooting are a major part of their job.
The following are some of the roles of a VMware administrator:
 Managing the host's storage and VMs
 Maintain and upgrade the Virtual Center
 Simplify template management and cluster management
 Coordinate with vendors
 VM Troubleshooting, etc.
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Basic VMware Interview Questions

These commonly asked VMware Interview Questions will help you answer your
upcoming interview confidently and land your dream job.
1. What is VMware?
VMware is a virtualization technology-based software tool used to test various
software virtually by making a virtual operating system. It is like using a different
operating system simultaneously as your current OS. It develops virtualization
software, which means creating an abstraction layer over computer hardware
that allows the hardware elements of a single computer to be divided into
multiple virtual computers, also called virtual machines (VMs).
2. What is the reason for using virtual machines instead of original
hardware?
VM or Virtual machines allow us to operate multiple operating systems
simultaneously from the same piece of hardware. Without virtualization,
operating multiple systems like Windows and Linux would require two separate
physical units. So it reduces the requirement to invest in additional units by
splitting up a physical server into multiple servers.
3. What are the different types of virtualization available?
There are five types of visualizations available, they are:
 Desktop Virtualization.
 Application Virtualization.
 Server Virtualization
 Storage Virtualization.
 Network Virtualization
4. What is the server software VMware provides us?
VMware provides us with:
 VMware ESX Server,
 VMware ESXi Server, and
 VMware Server.
5. Name some VMware products.
 VMWARE MIRAGE,
 VMWARE PIVOTAL CONTAINER SERVICE,
 VMWARE PHOTON PLATFORM,
 VMWARE THINAPP,
 VMWARE VCLOUD NFV,
 VMWARE VCLOUD NFV OPENSTACK,
 VMWARE VCLOUD SUITE,
  VMWARE VREALIZE.
6. What is desktop virtualization? How does desktop virtualization
work?
Desktop virtualization is a technology that simulates a workstation load to access
a desktop from a connected device remotely or locally. This separates the
desktop environment and associated application software from the physical
client device used to access it.
Desktop virtualization works in many ways, but the basic two types of desktop
virtualization are based on whether the operating system instance is local or
remote.
 Local Desktop Virtualization: It denotes the operating system runs on a
client device where all processing and workloads occur on local hardware.
This desktop virtualization works when users don’t need a continuous
network connection and can meet application computing requirements
with local system resources. Although this requires processing to be done
locally, you cannot use local desktop virtualization to share VMs or
resources across a network to thin clients or mobile devices.
 Remote Desktop Virtualization: Remote desktop virtualization is a
commonly used virtualization that operates in a client/server computing
environment. It allows users to run operating systems from a server while
all user interactions occur on a client device. The result is that IT
departments have more centralized control over applications and desktops
and can maximize the organization’s investment in IT hardware through
remote access to shared computing resources.
7. What is network virtualization?
In virtualization technology, network virtualization is the process of combining
network resources and network functionality into a single software-based
administrative entity which is called a virtual network. It can combine multiple
physical networks into one virtual software-based network, or it can divide one
physical network into separate independent virtual networks.
8. Explain memory and storage virtualization?
Memory virtualization is the process of creating a memory pool by aggregating
the resources of Random Access Memory (RAM) from individual systems in the
data centre.
Storage virtualization is a process of taking information about all of the storage
hardware resources on storage area networks. Logically this can be used to
combine hardware resources from different networks and data centers.
9. What are the components of VMware infrastructure?
The major components of VMware infrastructure are:
 VMware ESX Server
 VirtualCenter Server
  VMware Infrastructure Client (VI Client)
 VMware Infrastructure Web Access (VI Web Access)
 VMware Virtual Machine File System (VMFS)
 VMware Virtual Symmetric Multi-Processing (SMP)
 VMware VMotion and VMware Storage VMotion
 VMware High Availability (HA)
 VMware Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS)
 VMware Consolidated Backup (Consolidated Backup)
 VMware Infrastructure SDK
10. What is the requirement for running ESXi in the BIOS of the server?
Running ESXi in the BIOS requires the NX/XD bit to be enabled for the CPU in the
BIOS in order to ensure the smooth installation of the software programs.
11. What does ESXi stand for?
ESXi stands for ESX Integrated.
VMware ESXi is a type-1, enterprise-class hypervisor which easily installs on to
your server and divides itself into multiple virtual machines. It isn’t a software
application, although it includes and integrates vital OS components, such as a
kernel.
12. What is VMKernel? What is the VMkernel port used for?
The VMkernel is the interface between virtual machines (VMs) and the physical
hardware of the system. The responsibility of VMkernel is scheduling CPUs,
allocating memory and providing other hardware abstraction with other
operating systems (OS) services.
Virtual machines cannot communicate with the ESXi server without VMKernel, so
that’s why it’s very important for VMs.
VMkernel port, also called VMkernel adapter, is a type of VMkernel network
interface that works as a service provider used by the ESXi host to communicate
with the VMware-based infrastructure. These adapters or ports are created
according to the type of services required by vMotion, Fault Tolerance,
Management or perhaps vSAN etc.
13. What is VMotion? Why is it used?
VMotion could also be a key enabling technology for creating the dynamic,
automated, and self-optimizing data centre.
We used VMware VMotion because it enables the live migration of running virtual
machines from one physical server to a special one with zero downtime,
continuous service availability, and complete transaction integrity.
14. What is Port-group?
VM port groups are how we will create logical rules round the virtual ports that
are made available to VMs. It’s common to make a port group for every VLAN
and network subnet that you simply want to present to your VMs.
15. What is vSwitch in VMware?
vSwitch is the software-based virtual networking switch used to connect virtual
machines to the ESXi host & it also provides the connectivity between the virtual
machines on that virtual switch. vSphere Standard Switch is referred to as
vSwitch. Each ESXi host requires its own vSwitch.
16. How does vMotion work in the background?
The Virtual Machine Memory state is copied over the Vmotion Network from the
source Host to the Target Host. Users still access the virtual machine and
potentially update memory pages. A list of modified pages in memory is kept
during a memory Bitmap on the source host.
17. What happens if VMotion fails?
VMotion will fail if the target host does not have enough memory to satisfy the
reservation of the virtual machine. If you want to fix this, migrate the virtual
machine to another ESXi host that can provide the guaranteed memory for the
VM or reduce the memory reservation of the virtual machine.
18. What is the hypervisor and its types?
A hypervisor may be a virtualization layer that permits multiple operating
systems to share one hardware host. Each operating system or Virtual Machine is
allocated physical resources such as memory, CPU, storage etc by the host.
There are two types of hypervisors.
 Hosted hypervisor – works as application i.e. VMware Workstation
 Bare-metal – is virtualization software i.e. VMvisor, Hyper-V which is
installed directly onto the hardware and controls all physical resources.
19. We have got tons of features like VMotion, DRS, SMP, etc, but why
do we like HA?
We’d like this because we want our services running without interruption.
Assume like, for a couple of reasons if anyone of the ESX server within the
cluster goes down suddenly, what happens to the virtual machines which are
running thereon particular server? Do they continue to run or go down? Yes, they
also go down. But with the help of VMware HA, these VM’s are often restarted
immediately on the other ESX servers within an equivalent cluster. But here,
you’ll get a downtime of 5 –10 mins because a server crash is an unexpected
thing.

Intermediate VMware Interview

Questions
If you are someone who already has a basic understanding of VMware, this
section is helpful for you as it covers the intermediate VMware interview
questions.
20. What architecture changes were seen between ESXi 4.1 and 5.0?
vSphere 5.0 involves a replacement HA architecture. HA has been rewritten from
the bottom up to shed a number of those constraints that were enforced by AAM.
HA, as a neighbourhood of 5.0, also mentioned as FDM (fault domain manager),
introduces less complexity and better resiliency. From a UI perspective, not tons
have changed, but there are tons under the covers that have changed. Though
no more primary/secondary node concept as stated but a master/slave concept
with an automated election process.
21. Is HA dependent on Vmware vCenter Server?
Yes. But only during the initial installation and configuration.
22. What is VM Monitoring status?
HA will usually monitor ESX hosts and reboot the virtual machine within the
failed hosts within the opposite host within the cluster just in case of host
isolation. Still, I want the HA to monitor Virtual machine failures also. Here the
feature called VM monitoring status as a neighbourhood of HA [Link]
monitoring would restart the virtual machine if the VMware tools heartbeat didn’t
receive within the specified time using Monitoring sensitivity.
23. What is VMware vSphere API and vSphere SDK?
VMware vSphere API may be a set of interfaces for managing vSphere. You can
use the API to try to do most of the items the vSphere Client can do. The API is
defined as SOAP Web Services with WSDL. The vSphere SDK could also be a
group of libraries that support vSphere API, also as tools and samples that assist
your development efforts. The vSphere SDK is additionally referred to as VI SDK,
vCenter SDK, ESX SDK, etc. In most discussions, the vSphere API and vSphere
SDK are used interchangeably.
24. What’s VMFS?
VMFS may be a block-level, high-performance clustered filing system for
virtualization. It is often shared between multiple ESXi hosts or VMs and may
simultaneously write and read data to and from one storage location.
25. What advantages does VMware filing system provide over the
utilization of traditional file systems?
The advantages of the VMware filing system over the utilization of a traditional
filing system are that the structure of VMFS makes it possible to store VM files in
a single folder and simplifies VM administration. Traditional file systems
authorize only one server to get read/write access to a storage resource. This
guarantees that a VM works with only one ESXi server at a time.
26. What’s a VMware Data-store?
Data-stores are the storage containers for files. Generally, data-stores hide the
specifics of every memory device and supply a consistent model for storing VM
files. Data-stores are wont to hold virtual machine files, templates, ISO images
etc.
27. What’s the difference between NFS and VMFS data-stores?
NFS may be a file-level filing system, while VMFS may be a block-level filing
system. Once we create a VMFS Data-store, the VMFS filing system is made by
the vSphere, but the NFS filing system is on the Storage side and is merely
mounted and features a shared folder on the vSphere.
28. What’s iSCSI in VMware?
iSCSI may be a protocol which uses the TCP to move SCSI commands and also
enables the utilization of the prevailing TCP/IP networking infrastructure as a
cargo area Network.
29. What’s the default port employed by iSCSI during a VMware
vSphere environment?
In a VMware vSphere environment, iSCSI uses TCP ports 860 and 3260 with
higher-level names wont to address the objects within the protocol.
30. What’s multipathing in vmware?
In VMware, multipathing may be a process that permits you to employ quite one
physical path that transfers data between the host and an auxiliary storage
device. During a failure of any element within the SAN network, like a switch,
adapter, or cable, ESXi can switch to a different physical path that doesn’t use
the failed component.
31. What’s FCoE protocol?
Fibre Channel over Ethernet or FCoE may be a transport standard that takes
Fibre Channel frames and encapsulates them within an enhanced Ethernet
network. FCoE retains Fibre Channel upper-level protocol features like flow
control and data integrity checking but not its cables and interfaces.
32. What’s the difference between FC and FCoE?
FCOE maps Fiber channels over full duplex Ethernet networks based on IEEE
802.3 standard. And therefore the other hand, Fiber Channel or FC may be a
serial data transfer protocol and standard for high-speed enterprise-grade
storage networking. It accelerates to 128 Gbps and delivers storage data over
fast optical networks.
33. How does VMware measure IOPS?
VMware measures IOPs by these two formulas:
A. IOPS = 1/(Avg. Latency + Avg. Seek)(ms) (per Disk )
B. Total IOPS = IOPS * Total number of Disks.
34. What’s IOPS in VMware?
IOPS stands for Input/output Operations per Second and may be a common
performance measurement to benchmark memory devices like hard disc drives,
solid state drives and cargo area networks.
35. What’s the utilization of snapshots in VMware?
The VMware snapshot is used to preserve the state and data of the Virtual
machine at the present point in time, so once you are done testing, you’ll quickly
revert the VM back to the desired state. In VMware, VMware snapshots are easy
and quick thanks to saving the state of a virtual machine before you test a
software update, patch or other change.
36. What percentage sorts of snapshots are there in VMware?
As the perspective of files VMware snapshot are often four types:
1. Delta disk files
2. Flat file
3. Database file
4. Memory file
37. Are you able to restore a VM from a snapshot?
Yes, one can restore a snapshot in VMware by using the Revert and attend
commands.
38. What’s ALUA storage?
ALUA stands for Asymmetric Logical Unit Access. ALUA may be a specific
memory device capable of servicing I/O to a given LUN on two different storage
processors but unevenly. Using ALUA, I/O to a given LUN are often sent to
available ports on any of the SPs within the storage array.
39. What’s NUMA in VMware?
The full sort of NUMA is Non-uniform access. It’s a memory design utilized in
multiprocessing, where the access time depends on the memory location relative
to the processor. The biggest disadvantage is that the access of the CPU is
usually the fastest when the CPU can access its local memory.
40. How do I enable NUMA in VMware?
There are thanks to enable NUMA in VMware which is:
 Configure one virtual machine to use hyper-threading with NUMA, add
NUMA and VCPU.
 Click on the VM option then select Edit Settings.
 Now configure all virtual machines to use hyper-threading with NUMA. Add
numa then configure PreferHT=1 for per-host advanced configuration file.
41. What’s vNUMA or Virtual NUMA?
vNUMA or virtual non-uniform access may be an access optimization technique
for VMware virtual machines (VMs), which helps prevent memory-bandwidth
bottlenecks. Virtual NUMA is particularly useful with large, multiple VMs during a
vApp or high-performance virtual machines.
42. What’s a LUN in VMware? What’s the complete sort of LUN?
LUN stands for Logical Unit Number. LUN could also be a logical section of
storage. A LUN is often one disk or multiple disks, and it can also be allocated
from a disk pool or disk volume relying on the storage vendor’s terminology. A
data store could also be a representation VMware uses for an area of storage
that virtual machines can reside on.
43. Why is RDM employed in VMware?
RDM allows Virtual machines to bypass VMFS. VMware’s default storage
management interface and access the memory device directly. In this manner,
an RDM acts as a proxy for a raw LUN residing during a VMFS volume. RDM or
Raw Device Mapping may be a mapping file that maps a LUN on to a VM.
44. What’s the difference between RDM and VMDK?
RDM is additionally referred to as a pass-through disk and may be a mapping file
that acts as a proxy for a physical device like a LUN. On the opposite side, VMDK
may be a file that appears as an uncompromising drive to the guest OS.
Fundamentally it’s a virtual disk drive.
45. How to add RDM to VMware?
First, you’ve got to create the RDM pointer file, then attach the RDM to a virtual
machine using the vSphere Client; Right-click the virtual machine you would like
to feature an RDM disk, Click Edit Settings, Click Add, Select hard disc, Select
Use an existing virtual disk.
46. What’s the first feature of VMware vSAN?
The primary feature of VMware vSAN is its work with VM storage policies to
support a VM-centric approach to storage management.
47. What’s the difference between SAN and vSAN?
SAN leverages storage protocols like FCP and iSCSI while vSAN only works with
ESXi hosts. Within the case of SAN, storage administrators are required to pre-
allocate storage on different systems although vSAN automatically converts local
storage resources into one storage pool.
48. What’s NAS in VMware?
The NAS or network-attached storage transport mode enables the virtual server
agent proxy computer to read data directly from the network digital computer
(NFS) without browsing an ESX host or transferring data over the local area
network.
49. What’s vSphere replication NFC?
vSphere replication NFC is that the replication traffic was sent and received using
the management interfaces of ESXi and VRA appliances. NFC (Network File Copy)
traffic is employed to repeat VM replication data from the vSphere Replication
Server appliance at the target site to the destination datastores.
50. What’s VMware VAAI?
VMware VAAI is hardware acceleration or hardware offload APIs which are a
group of APIs to enable communication between VMware vSphere ESXi hosts and
storage devices.
51. How do I know if VAAI is enabled?
To enabled VAAI steps are following,
1. In the vSphere Client inventory panel, click the host.
2. Click the Configuration tab, then click Advanced Settings under Software.
3. Check that these options are set to 1 (enabled).
52. What’s NFS in VMware?
NFS generally referred to as Network File Systems, may be file-level storage
allocated by shared storage. Its network-attached storage will be shared through
a cluster in vSphere. It also allows a user on a computer to access files over a
network similar to local storage.
53. What’s the default number of ports configured with the virtual
switch?
The default number of ports configured with the virtual switch is 128 ports.
54. What’s vDS in VMware?
The full form is vDS is VMware vSphere Distributed Switch which provides a
centralized interface from which you’ll configure, monitor and administer virtual
machine access switching for the whole data center. And it also provides support
for advanced VMware vSphere networking features.
55. What’s a vSphere client?
The vSphere Client is application software that permits the management of a
vSphere installation. The vSphere Client provides an administrator with access to
the key functions of vSphere without the necessity to access a vSphere server
directly.
56. What’s the max number of virtual machines per host?
Maximum number of virtual machines per host is 100.
57. What’s a host and cluster in VMware?
A Host is the virtual representation of the computing and memory resources of a
physical machine running ESX Server, and a cluster may be a group of hosts.
58. What’s VMware auto deploy?
Auto Deploy is a process of VMware that stores the knowledge for the ESXi hosts
to be provisioned in several locations. Information about the situation of image
profiles and host profiles is initially laid out in the principles that map machines
to image profiles and host profiles.
59. How does one automate a VM deployment in VMware?
Steps to automate a VM deployment in VMware:
1. Enter the vCenter IP address, username and password.
2. Select your vCenter platform.
3. Enter the registration details, and therefore the new specification name.
4. Enter the administrator password.
60. What are the 2 reasons why a virtual machine might fail to power
on?
The two reasons for a virtual machine might fail to power on:
1. The virtual machine is running on an ESXi host which has an expired
license.
2. The virtual machine is running on a data-store which has insufficient disc
space for the .vswp file.
61. What’s VMware VUM?
VUM, also called VMware vSphere Update Manager, may be a tool that gives a
patch management framework for VMware vSphere. IT administrators use VUM
to patch and upgrade VMware ESXi hosts, VMware Tool, virtual hardware for
virtual machines, and appliances.
62. What’s an appliance in VMware?
A virtual appliance consists of application software running on a preconfigured
virtual machine with JeOS or simply enough OS needed to support the functions
of the appliance.
63. What’s the utilization of vCenter server?
vCenter is employed to manage multiple ESXi hosts, virtual machines and every
one dependent component from one centralized location.
64. What are the most components of vCenter server architecture?
The vCenter Server architecture consists of three main components which are
vSphere Web Client, vCenter Server Database and vCenter Single Sign-On.
65. What are the services in vCenter server?
The vCenter Server services are vCenter Server, vSphere Web Client, Inventory
Service, vSphere Auto Deploy, vSphere ESXi Dump Collector, VMware vSphere
Syslog Collector on Windows and VMware Sphere Syslog Service for the vCenter
Server Appliance.
66. What are the extra modules of VMware vCenter server?
VMware vCenter server additional modules are vCenter Update Manager,
vCenter Converter, and vCenter Guided Consolidation Service.
67. How do I export VM from vCloud director?
The steps to export VM from vCloud director:
 1. Navigate to the organization you would like to export from.
2. Click on Catalogs.
3. Click on vApp Templates.
4. Right-click on the VM that you simply wish to export, and choose
Download.
5. Click on Browse, and choose a folder and a reputation to store the OVF
export
68. Which cloud service does VMware vCloud air provide?
vCloud Air provides three Infrastructure as a Service(IaaS) subscription service
types- dedicated cloud, virtual private cloud, and disaster recovery.
69. What’s VMware VADP?
VMware VADP may be a VMware vStorage API that backs up and restores
vSphere virtual machines. VADP replaces the VMware Consolidated Backup
(VCB) framework, this offloads backup processing from ESX hosts and allows
each ESX host to run more VMs.
70. What does MOB in VMware stand for?
MOB in VMware stands for Managed Object Browser.
71. How do I disable Storage DRS for the Data-store?
The steps are:
1. Browse to the data-store cluster within the vsphere Client.
2. Click the Configure tab and click on Services.
3. Select Storage DRS and click on Edit.
4. Select activate vSphere DRS and click on OK.
An optional step is to disable only I/O-related functions of Storage DRS, leaving
space-related controls enabled then perform the subsequent steps.
72. What do you mean by clone & template in VMware? What is the
difference between the two?
Clone VMware: Clone virtual machines are the identical copy of the parent
virtual machine; however the clone virtual machine and parent virtual machine
will have different MAC addresses and UUIDs. Any changes done on a cloned
virtual machine will not affect the parent virtual machine and vice-versa.
Template VMware: Template VMware the master copy or golden image of
virtual machine that is used to provision virtual machines. This image can be
later used to clone multiple virtual machines.

Clone VMware Template VMware

 Create the exact copy of the
It is a master copy of a VM with basic configuration
parent virtual machine that
and can’t work independently
can work independently

Template VMware can be converted back to virtual

The cloned VM can’t be
machine and updated the latest configuration before
converted back to the parent
converting back to template for future VM
VM or original VM
deployment

For deploying large numbers of For deploying large numbers of VM it is

VM it is not recommended recommended

Clone VM can we turned on/off Template can’t be turned on/off or edit it

Powered on VM can we cloned Powered on VM can’t be used to create templates

73. What are VMware HA and VMware FT? What is the difference
between the two?
VMware HA: VMware HA (High Availability) works on cluster level. By pooling
virtual machines and hosts resides into a cluster. Virtual machines running on
failed hosts are forced to restart on alternate hosts.
VMware FT: Vmware FT (Fault Tolerance) works on VM Level. In this a
secondary virtual machine is created and maintained as identical to the primary
virtual machine and it can be replaced when ESXi hosts fail to provide continuous
availability of virtual machines. It is a complete copy of a virtual machine
including storage, computation and memory.

VMware HA VMware FT

VMware HA is enabled per

VMware FT is enabled per Virtual Machine
cluster

VMware HA works on
VMware FT works on VM level
cluster level

In case of failure the HA

In case of failure the FT system will start secondary host
system will restart and
in case the lost of primary host by providing fast backup
power on VM on another
and continuous availability and reduces downtime
host

74. How many CPUs can be used for a VM in FT in vSphere 7.0?

In VMware vSphere 7.0, we can use up to 8 vCPUs with VMware vSphere
Enterprise Plus license.
75. Explain Fault Tolerance logging traffic.
Fault tolerance logging traffic is considered to be the second network
requirement. For syncing the data between primary VMs and secondary VMs
fault tolerance applies FT logging.
76. Differentiate between vSphere and vCenter.

vSphere vCenter

vSphere is a complete infrastructure for vCenter is a centralized and extensible

virtualization platform

It is complete infrastructure for

It is a centralized and extensible platform
virtualization

It allows IT team to build reliable and It allows IT team to automate and deliver a
resilient infrastructure virtual infrastructure

The initial release of vSphere was April The initial release of vCenter was
21, 2009 December 5, 2003

77. Will FT work if the vCenter server goes down?

Fault tolerance does not require vCenter to be online once configured, due to
this no fault tolerance between primary and secondary will occur when vCenter
is down.
78. What do you understand about Promiscuous mode?
Promiscuous mode is used for monitoring traffic. In the Promiscuous mode, all
the network data packets can be viewed and accessed by all the network
adapters operating in this mode. It is a network security, monitoring, and
administration method that allows any network adapter configured on a host
system to access all network data packets.
79. What do you mean by cold and hot migration?
Cold Migration: In this migration, the powered-off VM, along with its
configuration and data, is migrated from one host to another host. The VMs can
be migrated manually, or one can set up scheduled tasks to perform this
migration.
Hot Migration: In this migration, the powered-on VM is migrated from one host
to another. This is also known as live migration because there is no need to shut
down the virtual machine.
80. What is the difference between virtual desktop and remote
desktop?
Remote Desktop: The remote desktop program allows a computer that is
located at a different location and interacts with the desktop as if they are
accessing them physically, sitting in front of that device. Its solution is best for
people who want to access their computers if they are away from their usual
workplace. Also, it is beneficial for the technician who wants to fix any issues
remotely by taking the remote console of that system.
Virtual Desktop: Virtual Desktop and Remote Desktops offer similar
functionality – under the surface, there are a few significant differences. Virtual
desktops provide a pre-configured image of operating systems or applications –
separate from the device used to access them. Over the internet, any endpoint
device – be it a laptop, tablet, or smartphone can be used to access the virtual
desktop.
81. How can I differentiate between virtual machine port groups and
VMkernel ports?
The VMKernel port provides connectivity to the host, and it handles the traffic
like vMotion, Fault Tolerance traffic, and management. The IP address is
assigned to the Virtual Kernel Adapter (VMK) of the VMKernel port group. The
Virtual machines are connected to the VM port group.
One of the important differences is that a Virtual Machine port group is just
passing your garden variety virtual machine traffic, and a VMKernel port group is
passing traffic specific to VMware vSphere.
82. What’s the difference between VMFS and NFS?
VMFS (Virtual Machine File System): VMFS is a block-level file system that is
used to store virtual machine files. In vSphere 6.0, it can also store large files up
to 64TB in size.
NFS (Network File System): NFS is a distributed file system protocol that was
first developed by Sun Microsystems in 1984. It has a client/server architecture,
which contains a client program, server program, and protocol that helps to
communicate between the client and the server. It helps the user to access the
data and files easily over the network.
83. What do you understand about RDM?
The Raw Device Mapping (RDM) files are contained in VMFS and act as proxies
for raw physical devices. This helps virtual machines access logical unit numbers
(LUNs) directly. The RDM contains metadata used for managing and redirecting
disk access to the physical device.
Is VMware interview difficult?
The difficulty of the VMware interview depends on the individuals efforts and the
company they are applying for. It may seem quite intimidating if you are a
fresher and don’t have much experience, however, it depends on the individual.
The questions may range from easy to intermediate.
How many rounds of Interview at VMware?
In the VMware interview process, there are around 4-5 interview rounds, such as:
– Online Assessment
– Technical Round (2-3)
– Managerial Interview
– HR Interview
Does VMware pay well?
According to Payscale, the salary in US may range from $80,267 to $183,781 a
year.
What is the role of a VMware admin?
VMware admins use a specific VMware environment such as vSphere that can be
used to install computer infrastructure such as servers, virtual machines, and
hardware. Troubleshooting and maintenance are part of a VMware admins job
responsibilities. Apart from this, they would also work on maintaining the virtual
center, simplifying template management and cluster management, coordinating
with vendors, and managing the host’s storage and virtual machines.
How long is the interview process at VMware?
The overall interview process takes close to 2-4 weeks, at the end of which, you
will receive the offer letter.
This brings us to the end of the blog on the top 80+ VMware Interview Questions
and Answers. We hope that this list of the top VMware Interview Questions was
helpful, and you are now better equipped to attend your upcoming interview
confidently. To further solidify your knowledge and skills, explore online
courses for VMware and virtualization technologies to enhance your preparation
and expertise.

Types of VMware Backup

There are several ways to back up VMware environments, depending on
requirements and business needs:
🔹 1. Full VM Backup (Image-Level Backup)
✅ What is it?
 Takes a full backup of the entire VM (including OS, applications, and
data).
 Useful for disaster recovery and fast restoration.
✅ How does it work?
 Uses VMware vSphere Storage APIs (VADP) to take a snapshot of the
VM.
 The backup software extracts data from the snapshot and stores it in a
backup repository.
✅ Pros & Cons
✔️Fast recovery of the entire VM.
✔️Works well for large-scale environments.
❌ Requires more storage compared to incremental backups.
📌 Example:
"In Genpact, we used Veeam Backup & Replication to take full VM backups
every week to ensure disaster recovery readiness."

🔹 2. Incremental Backup
✅ What is it?
 Backs up only the changed data since the last backup.
 Uses Change Block Tracking (CBT) to track and copy only modified
blocks.
✅ How does it work?
 The first backup is a full backup.
 Future backups copy only the new/modified data.
✅ Pros & Cons
✔️Saves storage and reduces backup time.
✔️Ideal for daily backups.
❌ Slower recovery time compared to full backup.
📌 Example:
"We configured Commvault to take incremental backups every night, reducing
storage consumption by 70%."

🔹 3. Differential Backup
✅ What is it?
 Backs up all data changed since the last full backup.
✅ How does it work?
 First, a full backup is taken.
 Every subsequent backup contains all changes since the last full
backup (not just the last incremental backup).
✅ Pros & Cons
✔️Faster restore than incremental backups.
✔️More efficient than full backups.
❌ Requires more storage than incremental backup.
📌 Example:
"For a high-priority application in VMware, we used Veritas NetBackup with
differential backups for faster recovery."

🔹 4. Snapshot-Based Backup
✅ What is it?
  Uses VMware snapshots to take point-in-time backups.
 Not a real backup, but a quick way to revert to an earlier state.
✅ How does it work?
 When a snapshot is taken, VMware creates delta VMDK files to store
changes.
 Rolling back restores the VM to the snapshot state.
✅ Pros & Cons
✔️Quick recovery for testing and patching.
✔️Does not impact performance immediately.
❌ Not a long-term backup solution.
❌ If not deleted, snapshots consume a lot of storage and affect performance.
📌 Example:
"Before applying a security patch in Genpact, we took VM snapshots to ensure
quick rollback in case of failure."

🔹 5. Replication-Based Backup (Disaster Recovery - DR)

✅ What is it?
 Creates a real-time copy of VMs on a secondary ESXi host or DR site.
✅ How does it work?
 Uses vSphere Replication (VR) to sync VMs between the primary and
DR site.
 If the main site fails, you can quickly switch to the DR site.
✅ Pros & Cons
✔️Instant failover for disaster recovery.
✔️Minimal downtime.
❌ Requires additional hardware & bandwidth.
📌 Example:
"For critical applications, we used VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) to
replicate VMs to a secondary data center."

2️⃣ VMware Backup Tools

Several backup tools support VMware vSphere, ESXi, and vCenter:

Backup Tool Key Features

Veeam Backup & Uses VADP, CBT, and Instant Recovery for fast VM
Replication backups.

Supports deduplication and cloud backup for

Commvault
VMware workloads.
Backup Tool Key Features

Enterprise-grade backup with incremental & full

Veritas NetBackup
backup.

Nakivo Backup &

Lightweight and agentless backup for ESXi hosts.
Replication

Acronis Cyber Protect Backup with anti-ransomware protection.

VMware vSphere
Built-in replication for disaster recovery.
Replication

📌 Example:
"At Genpact, we used Veeam for VM backups and VMware SRM for replication
to an alternate data center."

3️⃣ VMware Backup Best Practices

✅ 1. Follow the 3-2-1 Backup Rule
 3 copies of data.
 2 different storage types (HDD, cloud, tape, etc.).
 1 copy offsite (for disaster recovery).
📌 Example:
"We stored VMware backups on local SAN, in AWS S3, and a DR data
center for redundancy."

✅ 2. Schedule Regular Backups

 Full backup: Weekly.
 Incremental backup: Daily.
 Snapshot retention: Max 3-5 days (to avoid storage issues).

✅ 3. Enable VMware Change Block Tracking (CBT)

 Reduces backup size by tracking changed data blocks instead of
copying everything.
📌 Example:
"With CBT enabled, our backup times reduced by 60%, improving performance."

✅ 4. Test Backups Regularly

 Run test restores to ensure backups are working.
📌 Example:
"At Genpact, we performed monthly test recoveries to verify backup
integrity."

✅ 5. Use Application-Aware Backups

 For databases (SQL, Oracle, Exchange), enable application-aware
processing to avoid corruption.
📌 Example:
"For Microsoft SQL Server, we used Veeam's Application-Aware Backup to
ensure database consistency."

4️⃣ VMware Backup Recovery Options

Recovery Type Description

Full VM Restore Restores the entire VM from backup.

File-Level Restore Recovers specific files inside a VM.

Instant VM Runs the VM directly from the backup repository to

Recovery minimize downtime.

Disaster Recovery Activates replicated VMs at the DR site if the primary

Failover site fails.

📌 Example:
"At Genpact, after a ransomware attack, we performed Instant VM Recovery
to restore affected servers quickly."

Conclusion
VMware backup is essential for disaster recovery, business continuity,
and data protection. Using the right backup strategy, tools, and best
practices ensures that VMs can be restored efficiently in case of failures.
Would you like specific VMware backup troubleshooting scenarios? 🚀
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