Books - 9

VMware vSphere PowerCLI is a must-have tool for any administrator managing VMware vSphere in a Windows environment. Having to repeat vSphere administrative tasks can be time consuming and error-prone, but PowerCLI—created specifically for Windows environments—allows VMware administrators to automate tasks. Written to the latest PowerCLI, this handy guide shows you step by step how to use the PowerCLI cmdlets for daily administration procedures and frequently performed tasks for VMware vSphere 4.1. The reference is organized by vSphere tasks, providing a practical approach to accessing the information you need while you are on the job. Supported by real world examples and no-nonsense instruction, coverage includes installation, configuration, and management of a vSphere environment, management of the virtual machine life-cycle, security, and monitoring and reporting.

http://www.powerclibook.com/

Luc Dekens, Alan Renouf, Glenn Sizemore, Arnim van Lieshout, Jonathan Medd
ISBN: 978-0-470-89079-0
Paperback
768 pages
April 2011

VMware vSphere For Dummies is a plain-English guide to the market-leading virtualization and cloud computing technology. With virtualization, a single server can host dozens or hundreds of virtual machines running a variety of operating systems, and even hook them together in a virtual network or cloud infrastructure. This practical guide shows you how to create a virtual system using the VMware VSphere environment.  You'll find all the information you need to understand, design, and deploy one—without getting overwhelmed with technical detail. And once you’re up and running, this book is the perfect reference for maintenance and troubleshooting issues.  

• Introduces you to virtualization and VMware’s virtualization/cloud computing technology, the most recent version is VMware vSphere Shows you how to design a vSphere environment
  
• Covers installation, deployment, management, maintenance, and troubleshooting
  
• Provides what IT managers and system administrators need to roll out their first virtualized or cloud infrastructure, or to get up to speed on VMware’s technology
  

http://www.amazon.com/VMware-vSphere-Dummies-Computer-Tech/dp/047076872X

This edition features detailed coverage of new vSphere features such as Storage IO Control, Network IO Control, Load-Based Teaming, Distributed Virtual Switches, ESXi, hardware and processors, and a significantly expanded discussion of auditing and monitoring. Haletky offers new or enhanced coverage of VM Hardware, virtual networking, VMsafe, and more. All new coverage is thoroughly integrated into Haletky’s insightful discussion of the entire lifecycle: planning, installation, templates, monitoring, tuning, clustering, security, disaster recovery, and more. Haletky consistently presents the most efficient procedures, whether they use graphical tools or the command line.

 

You’ll learn how to:

•    Assess VMware datacenter and infrastructure hardware requirements
•    Understand technical, licensing, and management differences between ESX/ESXi 3.5 and 4.x
•    Plan installation for your environment and identify potential “gotchas”
•    Select, configure, utilize, and support storage cost-effectively
•    Manage key operational issues associated with virtual infrastructure
•    Adapt existing network and security infrastructure to virtualization
•    Configure ESX from host connections
•    Configure ESX Server from Virtual Centers or hosts
•    Create, modify, and manage VMs (with detailed Windows, Linux, and NetWare examples)
•    Troubleshoot VM issues with eDirectory, private labs, firewalls, and clusters
•    Utilize vSphere 4.1’s improved Dynamic Resource Load Balancing (DRLB)
•    Implement disaster recovery, business continuity, and backup
•    Plan for vApps and the future of virtualization

VMware ESX and ESXi in the Enterprise has long been the definitive single-source guide to VMware planning, deployment, and management. For today’s VMware architects, administrators, and managers, this edition will be even more valuable.

http://www.informit.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0137058977

 
VMware vSphere is the industry’s most widely deployed virtualization solution. The current release VMware vSphere 4 is considered the most robust and sophisticated virtualization product. This book is the only one of its kind to clearly and concisely show you how to create a vSphere 4 implementation so that it is tailored to meet a company’s needs and resources. Expert authors share with you the factors that influence and shape the design of a vSphere 4 implementation. You will learn how to make the right design decisions for your company.

Explores the newest release of VMware vSphere, the industry’s most widely deployed virtualization solution Details the overall design process, server hardware, network layout, security, storage infrastructure, application ownership, and more Reviews everything you need to know in order to make the right decisions for using VMware vSphere 4 to meet your company’s needs Shows you step by step how to use tools such as VMware vCenter Server Heartbeat, VMware vCenter Server Role Based Access Controls, CapacityIQ, vKernel, and more Packed with real-world examples, VMware vSphere 4 Design shows you just how the design for your company should ideally look—and how you can achieve that goal.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/0470922028

VMware vSphere 4.1 HA and DRS Technical Deepdive zooms in on two key components of every VMware based infrastructure and is by no means a "how to" guide. It covers the basic steps needed to create a VMware HA and DRS cluster, but even more important explains the concepts and mechanisms behind HA and DRS which will enable you to make well educated decisions. This book will take you in to the trenches of HA and DRS and will give you the tools to understand and implement e.g. HA admission control policies, DRS resource pools and host affinity rules. On top of that each section contains basic design principles that can be used for designing, implementing or improving VMware infrastructures.

Coverage includes

- HA node types
- HA isolation detection and response
- HA admission control
- VM Monitoring
- HA and DRS integration
- DRS imbalance algorithm
- Resource Pools
- Impact of reservations and limits
- CPU Resource Scheduling
- Memory Scheduler
- DPM

The video

Last week I already received a proof copy of the new book by Duncan and Frank and I must say that I’m impressed. When you think - you know everything there is to know about HA and DRS, you should definitely read it. You will be amazed with the amount of detailed information about vSphere 4.1 DRS and HA clustering. Two other great takeaways are the “clear timelines” and “best practices”.  I’ve recorded a video in which I’ll dive into some of the stuff I’ve seen in “VMware vSphere 4.1 HA and DRS Technical deepdive”. I hope you enjoy it.

About the authors

Duncan Epping (VCDX 007) is a Consulting Architect working for VMware as part of the Cloud Practice. Duncan works primarily with Service Providers and large Enterprise customers. He is focused on designing Public Cloud Infrastructures and specializes in vCloud Director, VMware HA and vSphere in general. Duncan is the owner of Yellow-Bricks.com, the leading Virtualization/VMware blog.

Frank Denneman (VCDX 029) is a Consulting Architect working for VMware as part of the Professional Services Organization. Frank works primarily with large Enterprise customers and Service Providers. He specializes in Resource Management, DRS and storage. Frank is the owner of frankdenneman.nl which has recently been voted number 6 worldwide on vsphere-land.com.

How to order?

VMware vSphere 4.1 HA and DRS Technical deepdive (ISBN 1456301446) is available for order at createspace, Amazon and comcol.

Dave Mishchenko has released a new book about VMware for ESXi: Planning, Implementation, and Security which is available for order at Amazon. VMware ESXi is the easiest way to get started with virtualization -- and it's free. It allows administrators to consolidate their applications onto fewer servers and start saving money through reduced hardware, power, cooling, and administration costs. VMware ESXi has been optimized and tested to run even their most resource-intensive applications and databases with minimal performance overhead. "VMware ESXi: Planning, Implementation, and Security" covers the key features critical to successfully planning for and implementing VMware's ESXi. The book is perfect for current VMware VI3 and vSphere administrators who may be planning their migration to vSphere ESXi. These users may have some experience with ESXi but not yet have it deployed within their production environment. This book provides the guidance to implement ESXi in their environment, ensuring a smooth transition from their current deployment of ESX.

 

 The HP Virtual Connect team is pleased to announce that HP Virtual Connect for Dummies® - 2nd  Edition is now available as an e-book, simply register and you will be taken to the download page:

 • What's new with Virtual Connect and all about the new Virtual Connect FlexFabric Module
 • How HP Virtual Connect simplifies your data center, lowers costs, and saves time
 • About the HP Virtual Connect product family

 

This book introduces the core concepts and technologies for HP Virtual Connect and uses information supplied by HP so you can get a good idea of how HP Virtual Connect lives up to its billing as the most complete and advanced server edge virtualization solution available. This book was written for HP. Consider this an easy reference tool that you can go back to whenever you need to learn more about what HP Virtual Connect is all about. Like any book in the For Dummies series, the information in this book is easily accessible so even when we start getting into technospeak (and some of that is inevitable) you won’t feel overwhelmed. And there aren’t any quizzes at the end of the chapters, so don’t feel pressured to remember anything you read in this book.

Fellow vExpert Ulli Hankeln over at the VM-sickbay has written a very helpful handbook which can guide you to a solution when you’re in real deep VMDK trouble. The VMDK Handbook is an awesome list with the most in-depth information regarding VMDK files. It’s definitely worth a look before you get into trouble. Do you want to get a good understanding of the structure of a virtual disk file and learn everything about how to identify the vmdk-type, sparse and flat - thin and thick, snapshots or redo logs, the parameters used in a vmdk description and CID-parameters? Then go to http://vm-sickbay.com/

Ulli is going to attend the VMworld 2010 in Copenhagen and can be found on Twitter @sanbarrow

Maximum vSphere is the complete, up-to-the-minute working reference for everyone who plans, implements, or runs VMware virtual infrastructure. Authored by top VMware consultant Eric Siebert, the book brings together proven best practices, tips, and solutions for achieving outstanding performance and reliability in your production environment. This book brings together crucial knowledge you won’t find anywhere else, including powerful new vSphere 4 techniques drawn from the experiences of dozens of advanced practitioners. You’ll find sophisticated, expert coverage of virtual machines, ESX/ESXi hosts, vCenter Server, networking, storage, monitoring, troubleshooting, backups, vMotion, fault tolerance, vSphere management, installation, upgrades, security, third-party tools, and more. The author takes the same hands-on approach that made his VMware® VI3 Implementation and Administration so popular. Whether you’re implementing or managing vSphere 4, upgrading from older virtualization technologies, or taking new responsibilities in any VMware environment, you’ll find this book indispensable.
 
Chapter 1: Introduction to vSphere
Chapter 2: ESX & ESXI HOSTS
Chapter 3: Virtual Machines
Chapter 4: vCenter Server
Chapter 5: Storage in vSphere
Chapter 6: Networking in vSphere
Chapter 7: Performance in vSphere
Chapter 8: Backups in vSphere
Chapter 9: Advanced Features
Chapter 10: Management Of vSphere
Chapter 11: Installing vSphere
Chapter 12: Upgrading To vSphere
Chapter 13: Creating And Configuring Virtual Machines
Chapter 14: Building Your Own vSphere Lab

Other Book Details:

Paperback: 400 pages
Publisher: Prentice Hall; 1 edition (20 Aug 2010)
Language English

Simon Seagrave and Eric Siebert have confirmation that the book is released this morning.  It will be available in both paperback and Kindle formats, an electronic version is also available on the Safari book website.
Simon has written the chapters on ‘Performance in vSphere’ and ‘Building Your Own vSphere Lab’ with Eric writing all the other chapters.  The forword is by John Troyer. 

Continue reading "New Book: Maximum vSphere" »

Pearson IT Certification has released the first sample chapter of the upcoming book "VMWare High Availability Constructs" written by Duncan Epping and Frank Denneman.

Duncan Epping is a Consulting Architect working for VMware as part of the Cloud Practice. Duncan works primarily with Service Providers and large Enterprise customers. He is focused on designing Public Cloud Infrastructures and specializes in bc-dr, vCloud and VMware HA. Duncan is a VMware Certified Professional and among the first VMware Certified Design Experts (VCDX 007). Duncan is the owner of Yellow-Bricks.com, one of the leading VMware/virtualization blogs worldwide (recently voted number 1 worldwide on vsphere-land.com) and co-author of the "vSphere Quick Start Guide" and "Foundation for Cloud Computing with VMware vSphere 4," which has recently been published by Usenix/Sage (#21 in the Short Topics Series). He can be followed on twitter at http://twitter.com/DuncanYB.

Frank Denneman is a Senior Consultant working for VMware as part of the Professional Services Organization. Frank works primarily with large Enterprise customers and Service Providers. He is focused on designing large vSphere Infrastructures and specializes in Resource Management and DRS in general. Frank is a VMware Certified Professional and among the first VMware Certified Design Experts (VCDX 029). Frank is the owner of FrankDenneman.nl an upcoming blog which has recently been voted number 14 worldwide on vsphere-land.com. He can be followed on twitter at http://twitter.com/FrankDenneman.

When configuring VMware High Availability (HA), two major decisions will need to be made. Will I enable Admission Control? And which Isolation Response will I select? This chapter will explain both concepts in depth and make you aware of the caveats and the impact of your decisions. After reading this chapter you will be able to select the correct Isolation Response and Admission Control policy based on your requirements and constraints.

This is Chapter 5 from the upcoming book.