Administering vSphere 5: Planning, Implementing and Troubleshooting [Paperback]

This book is a very valuable contribution to the IT community. I highly recommend this book for any level of expertise but especially for the beginner/intermediate technician. This book is detailed in explaining all features of the product and you can easily walk yourself through labs at home. A lot of thought has been put into this book so that it takes the perspective of the reader. The order of it's context is well designed, starting from planning to installation and implementation of it's many features. I was able to read this book and pass the VCP5 with flying colors (485/500)! This was the only book that I read outside of taking the class.

I have recommended this book to other beginners and professionals who have all said great things about this book. I have also recommended this book to an IT Manager who said he did not administer vSphere himself but wanted to understand the language that his technicians were talking when it comes to virtualization. He has told me that this book improved his ability to manage vSphere projects and tasks because of the understanding he gained from this book.

I read this book during my deployment in Afghanistan and had the honor of having Mr. Brian Eiler as my instructor at Kandahar. He is truly an expert and brings a high level of professionalism to his work. All of the content that he contributed to this book was written at Kandahar, Afghanistan. Because of his high level of dedication to the IT community and assisting the contactors/soldiers in a combat zone, Mr. Eiler is well deserving of his recognitions. No other book on the market includes this level of dedication in it's context.

If you are looking for a book to start with or looking for another guide to add to your library, this is the one. I found myself referencing this book more often than Google.

Hats off to the authors and thank you for your hard work and dedication!

If you are going for your VCP or planning an environment this coupled with Scott Lowe(Still better) mastering Vsphere. Scott lowes book is great for knowing all the features in and out, this book gears more to lab based teaching. If you aren't very technical and just getting into Vmware I would reccomend reading this first then grabbing scotts book, if you are expedienced in virtualization then go straight for scott lowes book first then get this for Vcli

As a VMware consultant I am always looking for new information, how-to's, etc., that will broaden my skillset and make my job easier. This book is well written and would be very helpful to someone with less than a year or two of experience with VMware products.