ABSTRACT
A virtual machine is a software emulation of a physical computer. In a virtual machine, the virtualized computer hardware devices are a set of files. These files are used to run an operating system (OS) or applications like a physical computer. This chapter explores the Elastic Sky X Integrated (ESXi)-hosted virtual objects such as virtual machines, templates, and vApps. It describes the template that is used as the master copy for virtual machine cloning. The chapter introduces vApp, which is a set of virtual machines preconfigured to form an IT infrastructure. Virtual networks can also be built in a vApp. Like a virtual machine, a vApp can be exported as an Open Virtual Machine Format (OVF) or Open Virtual Appliance (OVA) file to be transported to another virtualized computing environment. The hands-on practice of the chapter explains the tasks such as installing the guest OS, importing and exporting the OVF and OVA files, and creating and transporting vApps.
