Customer Reviews

Mastering VMware Infrastructure 3

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a computing architect/engineer, I have cover-to-cover read many books
over my career. Part of my job is also to write detailed step-by-step
technical documentation for work I have done. With that as preamble, I'd
like to say that this book is extremely well written. You can tell
the author endeavored to give the complete story of the VI3 suite without
sacrificing the deep detail for each component. He succeeded. Not long
before I read Chris McCain's book, I participated in a 5 day (12hrs/day)
deeply intensive VMWare course covering the same VI3 material. I'm not
a fan of crash/boot-camp type courses, but this one was an exceptionally
thorough/good one. Well, you can pretty much replace that intensive
course with the contents of the "Mastering VMware Infrastructure 3"
book and one (and preferably two) servers qualified for ESX use. Almost
every aspect of VI3 that could be neatly partitioned off into its
own chapter and thoroughly treated, was in this book. Chapters either
cover a VI3 component and/or covers a real world best-practice use
of it. There is little hand-waiving in this book; and if you enjoy the
UNIX CLI way of doing things, as I do, you'll also appreciate the
ESX commands that are peppered throughout the book to
complement/supplement the UI screen shots. Job well done. Highly
recommended.

This is currently the best learning book on the market for VMware, better than the inappropriately named VMware Certified Professional Test Prep.

This really provides enough information to begin using the product(s) effectively and is what I would provide a staffperson with no knowledge of VMware. I appreciate that it is a softcover book, making it much easier to read for me.

The only rub here is that VMware has excellent documentation of their own. A person reading only the documentation would have more pages to read, but would come away with a higher level of knowledge. I mentioned this is the book I would use to get someone up to speed, but if their goal was to pass the VCP test, I would direct them directly to the documentation. There's really no need to read anything else.

I've taken the VI3 course twice and this book goes into greater detail than the vendor course does. The author gives real world applications to many of the issues that VMWare administrators would face. He also presents more detailed explanations of ancilliary subjects such as SANs, command line functions and planning scenarios than you would find by attending the course.

However, the text is a little on the small side. Not enough to be much of a bother when going through the book generally, but trying to read the text in most of the screen shots without a magnifying glass is so difficult that I found myself ignoring the examples he gives. That's why I gave only four stars.

As far as the writing is concerned, I feel that the subject matter is right in line with the knowledge and skills that I know the author possesses. He has a distinct ability to explain a sometimes difficult subject in such a way that even those who are marginally acquainted with VMWare will be able to understand.

Great book, Chris! I just wish I could read it all without straining these middle-aged eyes.

This is a beginner to intermediate+ level book for VMWare engineers. It it clear and concise in describing the build and configuration of ESX servers with easy to use, step by step instructions, screen shots for reference. There are valuable discussions as to how, why and when to configure certain features of ESX servers. The book is well organized and contains practical and relevant information for anyone wanting to understand and engineer ESX environments.

I have been waiting a long time for a resource like Mastering VMWare Infrastructure 3. After 1/2 year navigating lengthy pdf files to get my job done, the author of this book pulled off a methodical, yet detailed resource to allow you to truly master VI3. I have found answers to questions even VMWare tech support couldn't give me. In one night, I am at least twice as knowledgable about my VI3 environment, and therefore twice as confident. If you can't get funding for the VCP course, get this book, and if you need an additional resource, get it anyway. It rocks.

Over the course of several years and having read many in depth technical books pertaining to VMware's ESX and VI. I would have to say that this book is by far the best I have read. The author has done a stellar job at making the book easy to read and absorb at all levels. In addition the author really drives home the point he is trying to make in all of the topics covered. Great job Chris!! Keep up the good work.

I am certifying in both VMWare and XenServer, so I have been "book heavy." The technical material in this book, once you get to it, is good, but the writing is poor, chatty, maybe OK for a chat in front of a few friends. The author tries to be funny and conversational, but I strongly doubt that anyone buying this book is interested in being chatted up. I am poorer for my choice, but I will try the V4 book, mostly because it is by a different author.

Detailed Coverage of VI3. A must for anyone responsible for the architecture of a VI3 environment.

This book is very well written and highly recommended. The screenshots and network diagrams are helpful and the author gives many 'real world' analogies to help you understand the virtual world of vmware infratructure 3. Fonts of the book are nice and clear but most importantly the subject matter is discussed in full detail and in a good order for learning. Pick this one up.

About a year ago, I read this book and used it for interactive training at my previous job and I thought it was pretty good then. This week, I took the VI3 VCP Fast Track and realized that a good deal of material is already covered in Mastering VMware Infrastructure 3 so it helped me focus more on the DSA portion of the class. I recommend this book for anyone who may be taking the FastTrack in the future.