I just wanted to spend some time to tell you about two great books recently released by Pearson publishing. Both are focused on VMware vSphere 4 and will help you do two things…learn more about vSphere and how to administer it, then help you to pass the VCP-410 exam which is needed for VMware Certified Professional (VCP) certification.

The first book, VMware ESX and ESXi in the Enterprise by Edward Haletkyis now in its second edition which includes details into the new features found in vSphere 4.1. As you may or may not know, Edward runs VirtualizationPractice.comand has been a virtualization evangelist for quite some time. In addition to the blog site, Edward is also the moderator and host of the Virtualization Security Podcast. If you’re looking to expand your vSphere knowledge I’d strongly suggest checking out this book, there is even a free chapter available for download.

Once you’ve read Edward’s book and have configured your own vSphere environment in your home lab, the next thing to do is prepare for the VCP-410 exam. VCP4 Exam Cram: VMware Certified Professional, 2nd Edition has just been revised to include all of the latest updates to the VCP-410 exam. Elias Khnaser takes you through what is needed to become VCP Certified, it provides coverage and practice questions for every exam topic. The book contains an extensive set of preparation tools, such as quizzes, Exam Alerts, and a practice exam, while the CD provides real-time practice and feedback with a 75-question test engine.

There you have it, two great reads on expanding your knowledge around VMware vSphere 4. You don’t have to take my word for it, but the job market around virtualization is growing like crazy so learning as much as you can and becoming certified is the clear cut way to jumping into this great line of work!

Get Your Contest On!

Would you like a free copy of the VCP4 Exam Cram? The nice people at Pearson gave me 10 copies to give away and one of them could be yours! I’ll make this contest really simple, I will be giving away 5 copies to readers that comment on this post and 5 copies to followers on Twitter. That means you have 2 chances to win!

Chance #1: Post a comment on this page expressing your interest in becoming VCP Certified.
Chance #2: Follow me on Twitter(@rick_vmwaretips) and send a tweet to me that says you want to become VCP Certified (example:  @rick_vmwaretips I’d love to get my hands on the VCP4 Exam Cram!)

UPDATE: Contest is now closed, I will be notifying the winners tonight and they must respond by Monday to receive their prize. Entries made after 2/24 at 8:30am PST are ineligible.

Fine print:  Contest ends February 24 at 8:30 a.m. PST.  Winners must respond by February 28 at 11:59 PST or prize will be forfeited.  US residents only.

Posted under Certification, Good Reading

VMware vSphere 4 Administration Instant Reference, written by Scott Lowe, Jase McCarty and Matthew Johnson is now available for pre-order on Amazon.com. I was fortunate enough to work on this book as a technical editor, and must say that it is the perfect vSphere quick reference book for both the beginner vSphere admin as well as the seasoned veteran. Be one of the first to get your own copy, and order it now for under $20, it makes the perfect holiday gift!

Posted under Good Reading, Training, vSphere

Scott Lowe’s forthcoming book, Mastering VMware vSphere 4, is now available for pre-order via Amazon! Click here to see all the details. The book is available with a fairly significant discount (37%), but I don’t know how long that price will last. Get it now!

More information on my involvement with Mastering VMware vSphere 4 can be found here.

Posted under Good Reading, vSphere

About a month ago, Scott Lowe announced that he will be writing a book focused on virtualization. It is with a great deal of enthusiasm, that I get to tell you that he has asked me to be the Technical Editor for this project. It is such an honor to be working with a talented virtualization evangelist like Scott.

My contracts with Wiley Publishing have been signed and I have already started editing. Lets just say that this is going to be a true masterpiece, Scott is doing a great job and just from working on this the past week I can already tell that a great deal of effort is going into this (from both Scott and Wiley Publishing).  I truly feel that the readers of this upcoming book will be impressed with its thoroughness and detail.

With that said, please do not be sad if you see the amount of posts dropping over the next few weeks.  Editing this book while still maintaining a full time job and a life has proven to be time consuming.  Rest assured, as soon as I find some free time I will be keep you all up to date with the latest VM news.

Posted under Good Reading