Book follow-up

Following our announcement last week about the new VMware vSphere Design book, I wanted to follow-up on some of the feedback we’ve received.

Firstly, and I know I speak for Scott and Maish here, we are extremely grateful for all the kind words and thoroughly encouraged by those of you who let us know via email, blog comments and twitter that you had already ordered your copy.  All three of us were very enthused about writing this book, because we felt it would fill a gap that exists at the moment.  I sincerely hope that everyone in the VMware community who grabs themselves a copy finds it useful.

There are a few recurring questions that we’ve been asked, so I’ll try to answer them here (let me know in the comments if there are others, and I’ll update the post):

Will there be an electronic/kindle/nook/etc version available?

Yes.  The publishers will release an electronic version at the same time that the paper copy leaves the warehouse.  It is up to each retailer to convert it into their chosen electronic format.  We expect the electronic versions to be available from your favourite retailers around the same time as the printed version.

Does the book focus on vSphere 4.0 or 4.1? Does it cover feature XXX in 4.1?

The book was conceived before the release of version 4.1, and in fact the writing had begun by the time 4.1 was released.  Personally I had completed one chapter and was partway through a second when 4.1 hit.  However, I went back and made sure I “retrofitted” those to include anything new from 4.1.  So all the chapters I wrote certainly cover 4.1, and I also tried to make note of where there was a difference between the two.

The book certainly stands for both versions and I fully expect the majority of it to be relevant for vSphere 4+1, as the book tries to focus on conceptual ideas first.

Will the book be available in the UK/Europe/Netherlands/Timbuktu?

This book is distributed by a regular book publisher (Sybex, part of the Wiley group), not a self-publishing group.  As such it should be available for order via any reputable book retailer.  Like any technical book, you are more likely to find it on their online store first.  If you don’t find it on the shelf of your local bricks ‘n mortar bookshop, they should be able to order it for you.

Does it prepare me for my VCDX defence/application or VCAP-DCD exam?

This book is not specifically written for either the VCDX process or the VCAP-DCD exam.  It does discuss vSphere design in-depth, and therefore should be valuable while considering the design process.  Primarily this book is aimed as a practical guide to understanding vSphere design, not a study guide.  If it does help you, then that’s great.

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I’m immensely proud to have it finished, and to have been able to work in such great company as Scott, Maish and Jason Boche (who was our technical editor).  Until it’s actually out there, here is a peek at the chapters:

  1. An introduction to designing vSphere environments
  2. ESX versus ESXi
  3. Designing the management layer
  4. Server hardware
  5. Networking
  6. Storage
  7. Virtual machine design
  8. Datacenter designs
  9. Designing with security in mind
  10. Monitoring and capacity planning
  11. Bringing it all together (design case-study)

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Now that I’ve actually finished working on it, it affords me some more time to get back to my (ir)regular blogging.  One thing I noted whilst writing the book was there was occasionally not enough pages (and unfortunately never enough time) to always dive as deeply into some areas that I’d have liked.  There were a number of areas I realized that weren’t covered in much depth elsewhere and I’d love to explore them more.  So, as time permits, I’m going to concentrate on some of those and dig into things a bit.  I’ve already got a couple of posts brewing; I’m just working out my plan for them now.  All published on my blog here.  Now, I just need to find the hours to write them 🙂

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The VMware vSphere Design book is now available for pre-order on Amazon and will be in the stores around the middle of March 2011.  Pre-order your copy today:

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