Content-wise, the book is split into two main parts. The first part provides the foundation and theory. The second part provides the solutions and sample use cases.

Chapter 1, Virtual Data Center – It's Not a Physical Data Center, Virtualized, aims to clear up the misunderstandings that customers have about SDDC. It explains why a VM is radically different from a physical server, and hence a virtual data center is fundamentally different from a physical data center. It then covers the aspects of management that are affected.

Chapter 2, Capacity Management in SDDC, takes the topic of the previous chapter further by discussing how capacity management should be done in a virtual data center. Together with Chapter 1, Virtual Data Center – It's Not a Physical Data Center, Virtualized, it is useful if you need to explain these topics to your peers, customers, or management.

Chapter 3, Mastering the Key Counters in SDDC, sets the technical foundations of performance and capacity management by giving you a tour of the four infrastructure elements (CPU, RAM, network, and storage). It also maps these four elements into all the vSphere objects, so you know what is available at each level.

Chapter 4, CPU Counters, covers CPU counters in detail. It is the first of four chapters that cover the core infrastructure element (CPU, RAM, network, and storage). If you do not fully understand the various counters in vSphere and vRealize Operations, how they impact one another, and what values you consider healthy, then these four chapters are good for you. They dive deep into the counters, comparing the counters in vCenter and vRealize Operations. Knowing the counters is critical, as choosing the wrong counters, or interpreting the values wrongly, will lead to a wrong conclusion.

Chapter 5, Memory Counters, continues the deep dive by covering memory counters. It explains why VM memory is one of the most complex area to monitor and troubleshoot.

Chapter 6, Network Counters, continues the deep dive by covering network counters.

Chapter 7, Storage Counters, completes the coverage by covering storage counters. It explains the multiple layers of storage that occur as a result of virtualization.

Chapter 8, Dashboard Examples and Ideas, covers the practical aspects of this book, as they show how sample solutions are implemented. This chapter provides both performance management and capacity management.