Book excerpt: Successfully meeting the challenges of combining VMware and Oracle, this comprehensive reference provides a broad spectrum of technological recommendations that demonstrate how to reliably and consistently achieve optimal configuration and maximum performance for any virtualized Oracle database scenario. The guide includes the best practices for virtualized servers, suggested virtualization server configuration, and recommendations for client operating system configuration for Oracle in a virtualized world. With real-world examples and highly applicable advice, this handbook also details the complexities of designing, configuring, maintaining, and tuning Oracle database deployments, making it a complete compendium for keeping virtualized Oracle databases in top form.