daily checklist for vcenter

Daily Health Checks

Verify that the vCenter Server is reachable and responsive.

Check the status of ESXi hosts and confirm they are in a connected state.

Review the logs for any critical errors or warnings from the vCenter Server and ESXi hosts.

Ensure all services (e.g., SSO, Web Client) are running without issues.

Here are some additional steps that could be included in the Daily Health Checks section of your vCenter Daily Checklist

Verify that VM tools are up to date on all virtual machines

Check for any virtual machines that are powered off and not scheduled to be off

Monitor the performance of key VMs for CPU, memory, and disk usage to identify any resource bottlenecks

Confirm that the datastore usage is within acceptable thresholds and that there is sufficient free space

Check the status of VM snapshots and ensure there are no excessively large or outdated snapshots

Review alarms and notifications configured in vCenter for any triggered alerts

Validate that all networking components (e.g., vSwitches, port groups) are functioning correctly

Ensure that distributed resource scheduler (DRS) is functioning as expected and make adjustments if necessary

Confirm that the licensing status for vCenter and ESXi hosts is valid and up to date

Check for any orphaned VMs or resources that may need attention or cleanup

Resource Utilization Analysis

Monitor CPU, memory, and storage utilization across all hosts and VMs.

Identify any VMs that are over-utilizing resources and may need optimization.

Check for idle VMs that may be candidates for consolidation or powering off.

Backup and Recovery Verification

Confirm that scheduled backups for vCenter and all critical VMs were completed successfully.

Review the backup logs for any errors or warnings.

Test restore functionality on a non-critical VM to ensure backups are valid.

Patch and Update Review

Check for any available updates or patches for vCenter and ESXi hosts.

Review the change log for any updates that may impact your environment.

Prepare a plan for applying any necessary updates during maintenance windows.

Network Configuration Monitoring

Verify the health and configuration of distributed switches and port groups.

Check for any network-related issues or alerts in the vSphere client.

Ensure that VLAN configurations are applied correctly to all relevant VMs.

Storage Health Assessment

Review datastore performance metrics for latency and throughput.

Check for any alerts or warnings related to storage devices.

Assess capacity usage on datastores and plan for future growth.

VM and Template Management

Review the status of VM clones and templates for updates or refresh.

Check for orphaned or unused VMs and consider decommissioning them.

Ensure that VM tools are updated on all VMs for optimal performance.

Security Compliance Check

Review user access permissions and remove any obsolete accounts.

Check for any changes in compliance status against security policies.

Monitor for unauthorized changes in the environment using audit logs.

Documentation and Reporting

Document any changes made during the day, including configuration updates.

Prepare a summary report of system health and any issues encountered.

Communicate findings and actions to relevant team members or stakeholders.

Feel free to adjust or expand any sections to better suit your operational needs!