Yellow Bricks

by Duncan Epping

training

Best training course in ages!

· ·

I’ve done a lot of training courses in my career. A lot of them were disappointing as they never met my expectations. I guess the ones that did meet my expectations, or even exceeded them, were mainly VMware related. Especially the DSA course rocked. But there’s a new training in town, and it just claimed the crown… VMware vSphere: Manage for Performance!

I read the course material this week and I can honestly say that it rocks! Of course I did not expect anything less becauseVMware’s performance guru Scott Drummonds was involved in developing this course. (Scott wrote an article about the training a month ago, you can find it here.) Below you will find a short description.

This hands-on training course explores the management of performance in a VMware vSphere™ environment. It provides the knowledge and skills necessary to make fundamental design decisions that enhance performance and to meet performance goals in an already-deployed vSphere installation. The course is based on VMware® ESX™ 4.0, ESXi 4.0, and vCenter™ Server 4.0.

source pdf

Like I said, heavily recommended for everyone!

VCP 4 exam…

· ·

Today, Friday the 13th, I did my VCP 4 exam. I was a bit nervous as I, literally, only had a couple of hours to prepare. I did however pass. Because I only had a couple of hours to prepare I focused on what I expected to be the most difficult part to score on, the max configs. I used Simon’s VCP vSphere practice exam to test if I actually knew them or not. Here are the links to the resources I used:

So who’s next?

New VMware vSphere Training by Train Signal

· ·

David Davis just released a brand new computer based training, VMware vSphere. The CBT is nearly 18 Hours on 3 Jam Packed DVDs! I haven’t seen the CBT yet, but if it’s anywhere near the quality of the previous CBT it’s definitely worth it. David gave me a coupon code(VSPHERE25) which gives you guys a $ 25,- reduction so be sure to use it. Check the preview and head over to Train Signal and pick it up, definitely one of the easiest and most relaxed ways to get familiar with VMware vSphere!

Here’s a preview:

For those who are going to VMworld, Train Signal are sponsoring the VMworld 2009 Sunday night extravaganza, and also the VMworld 2009 Run. David Davis will be doing a “signing” / meet the author session on Wednesday at the VMworld bookstore from 12:00 till 13:00. If you want to have your copy signed be sure to get there on time.

VCDX Enterprise Exam prep material

· ·

Lately I’ve been receiving so many emails/dm’s/pm’s about how to prepare for the Enterprise Exam(VCDX) that I decided to actually write an article as I did not have one yet.

As a start I would like to recommend the Deploy, Secure and Analyze course. The course covers 99% of the exam. If you don’t have the budget you could also use the following material to prepare:

Besides these links my tip would be: Just do it!

ps: if someone has additional docs/links they would like to have added, leave a comment and I will add them to the list.

VCDX Enterprise Administration and Design Exams available at VMworld 2009!

· ·

Jon Hall posted this info on the VMTN Communities which I wanted to share with you guys.

VMware will be providing onsite testing services at VMworld 2009. A great deal is available on the VCP exam (see my post at http://communities.vmware.com/thread/222191?tstart=0 ), but more importantly, the VCDX Enterprise Administration and Design Exams will be offered! You must be pre-authorized to take these exams, so if you are already in process to take the Enterprise Administration Exam, contact certification@vmware.com to inquire about the availability of the exam at VMworld. You can register at Pearson VUE for the Design Exam, but again you must already be in process and have authorization from VMware to take the exam. The link for registering with Pearson for the Design Exam is http://pearsonvue.com/vmware/vmworld/ . For the Enterprise Administration Exam only, you must contact us directly.

For those who want to do the Enterprise Exam check the mock exam that has also has just been released: Enterprise Administration Mock Exam.

Dave Convery also posted about discounts for these exams, which might be a nice incentive to get you guys studying!