Section 11.1. Introduction

11.1. Introduction

In Chapter 2, this book covered the installation of VMware ESX Server. This chapter goes into further detail regarding the directory structure, configuration files, boot process, and the interaction between the Service Console, VMkernel, and virtual machines. VMware ESX Server uses a modified version of Red Hat Linux 7.2 for the boot process and to run the Service Console. Each component serves a specific purpose, and each interacts with the others to provide the services and processes necessary to run and manage virtual machines. This chapter explains the system architecture of ESX Server to ensure you have a thorough understanding of the underlying components and their dependencies. Another goal of this portion of the book is to help fill in the blanks for individuals without a Linux background so you gain a better understanding of ESX Server and better manage your virtual infrastructure.